ã€ŠMy Werewolf Systemã€‹


 Chapter 1: An Obsession

    <h4>Chapter 1: An Obsession</h4>

    ¡°Hey Gary, get your butt over here and check out the highlights from yesterday¡¯s Altered fight!¡± A boy yelled from his ss seat.

    The sound of the school bell rang out through the halls, signaling it was time for lunch. Immediately opening his drawer from under his desk, the boy pulled out an object. However, it wasn¡¯t a packed lunch like one would expect, instead the boy had taken out a tablet and put it on the table, propping it up, tilting it so he couldfortably watch the video.

    The immediate destination, PouTube, the number one video sharing tform. Soon there was a crowd of ssmates around him. All with their eyes glued to the screen.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not here in five seconds, I¡¯m starting the video without you,¡± Tom warned. Looking over at his friend he saw Gary focused on ying with something under his desk.

    He could see Gary was moving his knees up and down, and he had made sure to cover his actions from the eyes of others. Tom was starting to think his friend was doing something that could get him in serious trouble.

    ¡®Bro. we¡¯re in the middle of ss,e on! At least go to the bathroom if you¡¯re that desperate,¡¯ Tom thought.

    ¡°Just give me a sec, okay?!¡± Gary shouted back. ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m in the middle of something?¡± Underneath his own desk, Gary was staring at his phone. He had received a message and wasn¡¯t sure how to reply. It was already the fifth time he had typed out his response, but ended up deleting it because it seemed insufficient.

    [Be there this evening at 6.] The message read.

    *Duuuuun nun, dun, dun na na!*

    With the sound of the opening theme song ying, Gary understood they had really started without him. He had given uping up with a proper type of response, and in his haste, he wrote one letter. K.

    ***

    ¡°K? ¡­ K?! Who does this kid think he is?!¡± A man shouted in frustration as he received the message on his end.

    ***

    Meanwhile, Gary had gotten over to the others by shoving his way through the crowd, allowing him to stand directly behind his friend Tom. Just in time, for the fight was about to begin.

    Two men stood opposite each other in nothing but tight shorts. Their abs and muscles on full disy. Proud of all the hard work they had put in for the fight this day.

    In one corner, weighing in at 200 pounds, undefeated for 13 fights in a row, stood Kirk Summerfield. A man with a small goatee beard and ck spiked up hair, short on the sides.

    His opponent, weighing in at 190 pounds, simrly with a win record of 10 straight wins, was Sam Dillpickle. He was a shorter bald-headed man with a creepy smile.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think these two look a bit like Tom and Gary?¡± one of the students suddenly mentioned.

    ¡°Holy crap, you are right! They totally look like those two!¡±

    The students in the crowdughed together at this discovery. Everyone, but Tom and Gary themselves. Unfortunately, it was hard to deny the simrities between the two friends and the fighters.

    Although Gary didn¡¯t have facial hair, even though he was sixteen, he never could grow a single hair on his face, body, chest or legs. He was hairless.

    It was the genes that some women wished they had. Although he did have hair in one area, he promised and made sure everyone knew that.

    It was an incident many of his male ssmates wished to forget. Having been teased so much about it, he decided to show everyone proof. Of course, shing your fellow ssmates wasn¡¯t the best way to prove it, and it had cost him a week¡¯s worth of detention.

    At least he made sure it was during the males P.E ss; otherwise, it could have been worse.

    Still, he did have the same hairstyle as the first introduced fighter, only that his hair was green in colour. It wasn¡¯t his natural hair colour, but a decision he had made over the summer. Everyone was initially surprised when he hade to ss looking like that, but at the same time it wasn¡¯t that strange for Gary to do something crazy like that. He already had a reputation of always doing crazy, absurd things.

    As for Gary¡¯s best friend, Tom, he looked like the spitting image of the other man in the video. His hair wasn¡¯t exactly bald, but he always got a number one when going to the barber.

    When Gary asked him about his choice of hairstyle, his friend had exined how it was low maintenance to keep it like that. That was pretty much his motto in life. He liked things likeputers, games, TV shows and books. Things that couldn¡¯t talk back to him.

    Tom hated interacting with people so much that he refused to go to anything but the self-service scanner at supermarkets. The idea that someone would try to make conversation with him about something he didn¡¯t like was enough to send shivers down his spine.

    Given theirplete differences in character, it was odd that these two boys had be friends in the first ce, but it had somehow worked out.

    While their ssmates were all busyughing away, the fight had started.

    As soon as the bell had rung, the appearance of both men in the ring had started to slightly change.

    ¡°Ladies and Gentleman, it looks like our Altereds are starting off full throttle right from the bat!¡± the announcer for this match hyped up the crowd.

    The most notable changes in Kirk were his grown nails as well as his skin color which had slightly yellowed. Going up and down his arm, ck spots started to appear, and small patches of fur showed up on his face.

    On the other side, Sam¡¯s cheeks had puffed up, and his legs appeared to be slightly webbed after his change.

    ¡°As you can see, Kirk is an Altered based on a cheetah-like beast, while his opponent Sam is based on a frog type. It¡¯s going to be an interesting match up if I do say so myself!¡± The announcer shouted.

    The transformations took less than a second, and the first one to make a move was Sam. He whipped out his toad-like tongue and grabbed onto Kirk¡¯s forearm.

    The look on Kirk¡¯s face just screamed ¡®DISGUSTING!¡¯. He tensed up his arm, making his huge biceps from before grow evenrger in size. The veins were visible, practically bulging out, and with a single sh, he managed to cut off the tongue of his opponent.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°Come on, Kirk!¡±

    Speeding across the small cage, he ran faster than any natural human should be able to. At the same time, Sam had leaped up, jumping higher than any normal person could thanks to his frog powered legs. s, it just wasn¡¯t quick enough. Kirk managed to grab him by the leg before he mmed the opponent to the ground.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the referee to dere Kirk to be the winner of this match and also the winner of this Altered fighter¡¯s rookie tournament.

    What the kids and everyone was watching was known as an Altered match. It was currently the most poprbat sport globally, mostly because they featured a new breed of humans called the Altered, although some argued whether they could even be called humans anymore.

    Humans had discovered ancient fossils that belonged to the ancient beasts that used to roam the earth. They were undoubtedly the progenitors of today¡¯s animals, only fiercer,rger and more powerful.

    In the end, a scientist had made a major breakthrough and discovered a way to alter humans, which would allow him to inject the fossil¡¯s DNA into a human, thereby creating what people now knew as an Altered.

    These ¡®special humans¡¯ possessed the ability to shift their appearance, changing parts of their body to mimic the beasts they had been infused with. They were stronger, faster and even aged slower than normal humans. If one was ever struck with a disease, it could change the humanposition to the point where it felt like a new body, ridding it of such a thing.

    But not everyone could be an Altered. The fossils discovered were limited in number and although every so often new fossils would be unearthed, until science found a way to artificially recreate them they were valued at absurd prices. Only the rich and powerful could afford to turn themselves into an Altered.

    Even the contestants they were watching right now, had only received this opportunity because they were sponsored by some big corporations.

    Nearly every boy looked up to the Altered. In a way, they were like real-life superheroes. But the two biggest fans in the room were undoubtedly Tom and Gary. They were the ones who had gotten everyone hooked on the sport in the first ce.

    It was normal for people to wish to one day be an Altered and it was the same for these two. Only the reason for them wanting to be one differed greatly.

    ¡°A big round of apuse for our winner, Kirk Summerfield!!!¡± the announcer called out the end of the show.

    When a beautiful female came on to the stage to deliver therge check for 10 million dors, Gary¡¯s eyes practically turned into dor signs. The young boy was obsessed with money, and watching the Altered fight, especially therge check, he couldn¡¯t think of an easier way to quickly be rich and famous.

    Ironically, it would be this obsession with money that would soon enough take him down a dark path. A path which he wouldn¡¯t be able to turn back from.

    *****

    Author of My vampire system bringing you My Werewolf system.

    Follow on Instagram: Jksmanga to keep updated

 Chapter 2: The Game Of Rugby

    <h4>Chapter 2: The Game Of Rugby</h4>

    A loud piercing sound entered the ears of the students as the whistle was blown. It served as a reminder to everyone out on the school field that it was time for their daily warm-up, meaning they had to run two bigps around the school field.

    School lessons may have ended, but that didn¡¯t mean it was the end of the school day.

    Staring off into the distance, Gary watched therge clock ced on the front of the school building. He was squinting hard, trying to make out where the two hands were on the dial, not because the clock was too small, but because his eyesight had gotten terrible.

    Still, Gary had always refused to wear sses. He felt like if he did, it was only admitting to himself that he had bad eyesight. He was afraid that it would only deteriorate quicker if he gave in, and it would prove that he had bad genes. Something Altered , did not have.

    After cing his hands by the side of his head, he pulled slightly, narrowing his field of vision, allowing him to focus in. A technique he had learned when trying to see the screen at the back of the ss.

    ¡®Three-thirty, I still have a lot of time left.¡¯

    ¡°Get a move on, broli head, unless you want my size twelve feet in your backside!¡± Mr Root shouted. He was arge man who towered not only above the students but also all the other adults.

    Hisst name was very fitting for a man like himself. If Gary didn¡¯t know any better, he would have sworn that his teacher¡¯s genes must have been mixed in with some giant ancient tree. He was thatrge and sturdy.

    Not wanting to anger his teacher further, he joined the rest trodding along at the back of the ss. There he ran side by side with his friend Tom, who was huffing and panting away.

    ¡°Why¡­do¡­they¡­want¡­to¡­kill¡­me?¡± Each time he uttered a word, he had to take a deep breath before being able to say the next.

    ¡°Did you know that it¡¯s easier to breathe if you don¡¯t speak and run at the same time?¡± Gary pointed out. He was doing just fine and could have passed his friend, yet he still chose to stay at the back.

    It was the same every day, and it didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Tom. He was aware that Gary was staying behind because of him.

    In the end, Tom decided to give up keeping up with the rest of the ss and started to slow down his pace. ¡°That¡¯s better. ording to the inte, when you¡¯re jogging, you should jog at a pace where you can still talk to each other.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­but I don¡¯t think they meant this.¡± The two of them were now moving so slow that they were practically walking. Trying to make their loss of tempo less obvious they were swinging their arms backwards and forwards, imitating those running in front of them.

    Unfortunately, this didn¡¯t get past Mr Root, and the rest of the students were now busy waiting for them.

    ¡°Just get over here, you vegetables!¡± hemanded.

    Once the students were all lined up Mr Root ced a rugby ball on the ground right in front of himself. Out of the lineup, he selected thergest student named ke.

    He was the pride of their ss. The type that was too good to be true and usually only appeared in movies as the main character. However, this wasn¡¯t a movie,and he was right in front of his fellow students.

    ke had golden tanned skin, with wavy brown hair that had just the right amount of curls. To top it off, his body was that of a naturally lean muscle builder, seemingly designed to excel in sports.

    ¡°You know, they say ten percent of the boys match with ny percent of the girls,¡± Tom whispered to Gary while looking at ke. ¡°On Binder I mean. Not that I¡¯ve used that app myself. Seriously, what¡¯s the point when I know nobody would swipe for me. That¡¯s why I go on the app,just to swipe the other direction. That way I¡¯ve rejected all of them before they could ever reject me.¡±

    ¡°I thought you just said you didn¡¯t use the app?¡±

    Looking at his buddy, and then looking at himself, Gary was a little disheartened. It wasn¡¯t because someone like ke must have girls lining up to be his girlfriend. No, it was because people like him were the perfect candidates to be chosen to be an Altered. As long as there were people like ke in the world, how would he ever get selected?

    ¡°I won¡¯t mince words. We all know that ke here is the best on our team. Too bad for you lot, that there are hundreds of kes out there on other teams as well.¡± Mr Root gave his very ¡®motivating¡¯ pep talk¡­ ¡°What this teamcks is a good line of defence. People who can tackle. We¡¯re here to find our tacklers.¡±

    The aim of today¡¯s training was to try to either A) get the ball off of ke while he was running towards you, stopping him from reaching the white try line, or B) tackle him to the ground.

    After watching the first few students attempt and fail, it became clear that it was an impossible task. Eventually, it was time for Gary to have his go at it.

    Mr Root didn¡¯t really have any high hopes for Gary, but ording to school regtions everyone deserved an equal chance.

    The whistle was blown, and ke started bulldozing his way towards him, gripping onto the ball tightly as if it was a newborn baby.

    ¡®Hey, hey, can¡¯t you go easy on me?¡¯

    ¡®Seeing the tight grip on the ball, my weak small hands aren¡¯t ever going to be able to rip it off him. The only thing I can do then¡­ is go for a tackle.¡¯

    Charging forward, Gary summoned the will to face ke. If there was one strong point making Gary stand out from the rest then it would be hiscking sense of fear, something even Mr Root had to admire.

    When they were closing in on each other, Gary bent his knees slightly getting into a lower position. Although it may have looked like he wasn¡¯t paying attention to others, Gary had picked up on multiple details and habits.

    ¡®Whenever, ke feints, he does so with his right foot first. The extra weight can be seen shifting in his body to that side. The grass field is soft today, and his feet are sinking deeper than usual. All of this is done so he can push himself forward, spinning his body over to the right side.¡¯

    Knowing all of this, Gary went along with his feint, aiming to go in for the tackle, but stopped at thest second, and went to his own right. Just like he had predicted, all of these little details had ke¡¯s n of spinning around to avoid the tackle, but Gary knew where he would end up.

    Going low, he saw the legs and was ready¡­ only to see ke¡¯s colossal knee m towards his face and wack him right on the nose, followed by a loud crack that even the onlookers might have heard.

    Blood started to pour down in an instant, and Garyid there on the cold grass field.

    ¡®Sh*t. So what if I¡¯ve figured out where he would go? It¡¯s not like I have the body to do anything about it.¡¯

    From the years of watching Altered fights, Gary was great at picking up habits and seeing the way people¡¯s bodies moved before they did. He would see through patterns that maybe even the person themselves wouldn¡¯t realise they have.

    s, it was all useless.

    ¡°Hey man, I¡¯m so sorry. Are you alright? Let me take you to the doctor.¡± ke said as he helped Gary off the ground to see if his nose was okay.

    Touching his nose lightly, blood started to gush down even more. ¡°I think it¡¯s broken,¡± Gary said more to himself.

    ¡°Oh, man, I¡¯m so sorry. Let me take you to my family¡¯s clinic. I¡¯m gonna tell them what happened, so they won¡¯t charge you.¡±

    The worst thing about ke in Gary and Tom¡¯s collective minds was that despite being so popr and seemingly having been handed everything in life, he was actually a nice guy. At least in the movies or TV shows, someone who was this perfect would have a bad side and act arrogant, probably even bullying the geek in ss, but in real life that wasn¡¯t the case at all.

    No one hated ke, everyone loved his gentle soft side. Including Gary and Tom, who were merely jealous.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± Gary muttered under his breath as he walked off to be with Tom on the side. ¡°It was my fault for trying anyway.¡±

    Walking past, ke had heard Gary¡¯s word. Out of everyone who had tried to tackle him today, Gary was the only one that had managed to predict where he would be going. This ssmate of his obviously had talent, and ke wanted to tell him that, but he had already gone off to the side with Tom, who was apanying him to the nurse¡¯s office.

    ¡°You should have seen your head fly back!¡± Tom teased his friend, all excited. ¡°You know when you came back from the summer holiday, with your head all dyed green and that? I thought you had changed, but turns out you¡¯re just the same idiot as always.¡±

    Usually, the two wouldugh about something like this, but it seemed like today, Gary wasn¡¯t in the mood to be joking around. He didn¡¯t respond at all to his buddy¡¯s little whims.

    ¡°Why do they even make us do this sport, anyway? Oh, that¡¯s right, because our country has an obesity crisis. So they made it mandatory for every student to take part in a sports club every day, so we don¡¯t turn out into pigs like most of the adults who came with that stupid idea,¡± Tom continued, but this didn¡¯t get a response out of Gary either.

    ¡°Hey, so how¡¯s your sister doing?¡± Tom asked, trying to change the subject.

    ¡°You can¡¯t date her,¡± Gary replied instantly, still holding pieces of tissue up his nose.

    ¡°What, I didn¡¯t mean it like that. Although she is growing up to be quite the beauty. I can already picture it, in a couple of years, she¡¯ll be embarrassed to be hanging around with her big brother. She won¡¯t be like she is now. You should treasure these days.¡±

    A picture started to form in Tom¡¯s mind, of a slim curvy girl with short brown hair and perfect shapedrge eyes. Only his vision was slightly altered in a particr area. Instead of melons, they were the size of watermelons.

    ¡°I know,¡± Gary sighed in defeat, aware that soon enough he might have to fight off his sister¡¯s suitors.

    After visiting the nurse¡¯s office to have his nose looked at, she informed him of what he had already guessed himself. His nose was indeed broken. The nurse rmended he visit the hospital if he didn¡¯t want it to remain crooked like that. It was possible to do a surgery to fix itter on as well, but it would be easier to do it before it healed crooked.

    That¡¯s when he noticed the time, and Gary rushed out of the room.

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll promise to have it looked at!¡± he called back.

    But he wasn¡¯t rushing off to the doctors. Instead, he was running back home.

    Leaving school, he rushed outside the gate and started running as fast as possible to get back home. They lived in a small town , so it was quicker for him to run rather than get the bus. Not to mention, there was another reason why he wanted to avoid using the bus. He didn¡¯t really want to spend any money on it, especially since he could be back home within ten minutes if he hurried.

    Litter filled the streets of his neighbourhood and there were patches of graffiti near the apartment blocks. He was aware that their area wasn¡¯t the greatestpared to others.

    It was by no means the worst ce to live in, but it certainly wasn¡¯t the best either. Eventually, he reached an apartment block. The buzzer attached to the side of the door had been broken a long time ago and had never been fixed, allowing anyone toe in as they pleased.

    The only thing left was the gruelling task of walking up six flights of stairs. The apartments had no elevator, and their family was ¡®lucky¡¯ enough to be ced on the top floor.

    Finally reaching the top, he felt like someone was reaching into his stomach and trying to pull out all his organs. He was huffing and panting louder than Tom had been out on the field.

    He waited a minute to catch his breath before entering apartment 604.

    ¡°Wee back, Darling.You¡¯re just in time for dinner, although I¡¯m gonna need a couple of minutes. Do you want me to leave it out for you tonight as well?!¡± His mum shouted from the kitchen.

    ¡°Yes, Mum. I¡¯ll be going out with Tom tonight as well,¡± he shouted back, rushing into his bedroom.

    Their apartment was rtively small, only consisting of two bedrooms and a kitchen that simultaneously was the dining area as well as the living room when not in use. It was all his family could afford and since there were only two bedrooms, it meant¡­

    ¡°Gary, what the hell happened to your nose?!¡± His sister, who had been lying on her bed, noticed her brother¡¯s arrival. She was still in her school uniform and listening to some music on her phone. Just moments ago, she had been singing away until a certain someone had bulldozed into the room.

    ¡°Amy, don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ve got to go,¡± Gary replied, as he quickly changed out of his school uniform and into something else. ¡°And please don¡¯t tell mum.¡±

    That was right, the two of them shared rooms with each other. Even though he was sixteen and she was fifteen, only a year younger than himself. Of course, both of them kept this a secret from their friends. If people found out, they might spread rumours about them being some sort of a freakish family who got up to some strange things.

    But it wasn¡¯t like the siblings had much of a choice. Their family situation wasn¡¯t the best, and they both knew that. They had never onceined about their situation to their mother, since the poor woman worked harder than everyone else to raise her teenage children to the best of her ability while working multiple jobs.

    After changing clothes, Gary quickly rushed out of the apartment and was heading off. On his way, he would constantly look at his phone to check the time, and it was now five-thirty.

    ¡®I made it, with even some time to spare as well.¡¯

    He had arrived outside a well-known nightclub. Above him a sign read ¡®Basement¡¯. It was in the town centre, and he wasn¡¯t here to meet Tom. He had lied about that part.

    ¡®I promise I will make our lives better,¡¯ Gary thought as he walked through the doors.

    Inside, there was a group of men in suits who greeted him. The only one sitting on one of the sofas was a man with a cigar in his hand at the back. Two more men stood close to him obviously acting as his personal bodyguards.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you, kid,¡± the man spoke with a smile as he let out a puff of smoke.

    Gary had a deep, dark secret that he had been hiding from everybody. Not just his family, but his closest friends too. There was a reason for sudden change in his appearance over the summer.

    Unbeknownst to them all, he had joined a gang.

    ******

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 Chapter 3: The Underdogs

    <h4>Chapter 3: The Underdogs</h4>

    Over the summer holidays, it had been an eventful time for Gary. It was not just because he had chosen to dye his hair and get a new look, but because he hade to the decision to join a gang. Something that he had kept hidden from his friend, his mother and even sister didn¡¯t know about.

    ¡°Had you beente I was thinking of chopping one of your toes off, so you didn¡¯t forget,¡± the man sitting down told him.

    It was only five-thirty, so the night club had a few hours before it would officially open. However, the club itself was actually just a front, run and used by the gang known as the Underdogs. The smoking man, who was talking to Gary, was the leader of the Underdogs, Damion Hawk.

    The gang members mostly wore suits, making them look like the average businessman or someone who worked for the secret service. This included their leader, although even a student could tell he wasn¡¯t a businessman. He had this crazy look about him which was just too wild for someone who was supposed to sit inside a cubicle all day. He had a ck mohawk for his hair and a round earring on his right ear.

    Yet the most prominent feature about the man were his eyes. They were the eyes of a madman. Usually, Gary was fearless for someone his age. If he wasn¡¯t, he would have never gathered the courage to join a gang in the first ce¡­ But these people scared him.

    Gary gulped a little, not saying a word. The palms of his hands were starting to sweat a little.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just kidding,¡± Damionughed, ¡°Why don¡¯t you head to the back while the grownups do a bit of talking? I¡¯ll get someone to fetch you when we need you.¡±

    While walking, Gary was shaking a little. It was hard to tell whether Damion had actually been joking about this sort of punishment. There had been times when he had been forced to witness the leader actually cut off one of his own men¡¯s limbs.

    Before joining this gang Gary had decided to do some research into gangs. Unfortunately, he had only ended up reading a fewics and manga books here and there, and to be honest, this had led him to the conclusion that it wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble. Even the odd inte searches and movies had romanticised gangs.

    s, being in a real gang had turned out to be nothing like in thoseics and manga books. The members of Underdogs did anything to make a profit. They didn¡¯t shy away from selling drugs, killing, stealing, or extorting others. There were many times when Gary had wished to just leave, but there were two things keeping him there.

    One of them was the fear of leaving the ce. Would they even let him? After everything he had seen and heard? It was a question he didn¡¯t dare to ask out loud.

    ¡®Come on, Gary, you can do this! Just think of the money, man,e on!¡¯

    And that was the second reason.

    Pushing the door open, Gary entered the back of the night club where there was arge staff room. Inside were other teens that were not too far apart in age to him, sitting on a sofa. He sat down beside them, but not a single one of them spoke a word.

    Gary had seen them a few times before, but from what he could tell none of them went to his school. While looking at them, he wondered what their reasons could be for being here. Not why they were there today, he knew that, but why they had decided to join a gang. Most people his age only joined out of necessity

    The world was a tough ce to live in at the moment. The economy had been greatly affected ever since the introduction of autonomous machinery. It had created new jobs, but at the same time gotten rid of many old jobs. Gary¡¯s own family had suffered the aftermath.

    His old mother had lost her job as a factory worker sorting out parts, but she wasn¡¯t the only one. Mass unemployment had ruined many families.

    The government¡¯s solution to all of this had been to offer retraining in the new skills and departments that the world now required, such as cybersecurity, programming, engineering, mechanics and so on. But it had proven to be too hard for her to go through any type of training with the little time she had. Ever since, she had been stuck doing odd jobs.

    All of this had created a tiering system within the towns and cities, making the divide between the rich and poor even more evident. Tier-5 being the lowest, while Tier-1 would be the highest. These tiers were based on how high their GDP per month was. The quality of life, the technology, the medical care, all of these things were better the more cash a town or city generated.

    However, there was one sector that had started to boom because of this, and that was organised crime. It was highly profitable for them, as they catered and fed on the truly desperate, who were clinging onto anything that lived in the tier fives, while also serving the very top in the higher tiers.

    Gangs would exist in all of the tiered cities, and would often work together as the middlemen.

    The Underdogs were one such group. They weren¡¯t a huge gang, due to Garying from a small town in the first ce, but they were widely known and feared in the town. He was aware of the bad things they hadmitted, but he had chosen to ignore it.

    Their town was a Tier-3, so the quality of life was okay, but they had to make sacrifices to stay here. Forced to live in a small rundown ce, with little room. Still, they were barely hanging on, and both children knew that despite their mother¡¯s best attempts at hiding it from them.

    Gary had seen the bills that woulde in the mail. If this carried on, then it would just be a matter of time until they would have to move to a lower-tier city. The education would be worse and crime rates would be higher.

    He wasn¡¯t going to let this happen. Their life had already turned to crap as it was and he didn¡¯t want it to deteriorate. No, he wanted a better future for his mother and his little sister¡­ even if he had to pay the price for it.

    He was the older sibling, the only man of the house, and he wished to return the favour to his mother, who had been looking after them even when times had been tough. He did not wish to run like that man!

    While waiting in the staff room, the double doors suddenly opened again. When Gary saw who it was, his eyes started to light up with excitement.

    ¡°Hey kiddo, you¡¯re here again,¡± the man greeted him with a smirk on his face.

    ¡°Kirk, I just saw your fight this morning! Congrattions,¡± Gary said, jumping up from the sofa.

    The man who had entered the room was the same one from the video that he had been watching earlier today with Tom and their ssmates. The winner of the Altered fight.

    Most Altered worked for some type of organisation and Kirk was no different. He worked for the Underdogs as well. They were his sponsor or at least they owned the corporation which Kirk was part of. Gary didn¡¯t know much of the details of how the rtionships between them came to be. Still, he couldn¡¯t imagine how much money the Underdogs must have put into Kirk for him to be the Altered semi-superstar he was today.

    ¡°When the Frog man jumped up like that, and you used your raw power to smash him to the ground, it all seemed too easy for you,¡± Gary continued to speak excitedly.

    ¡°It might have looked easy, but most of the things I did today, I only managed because I was an Altered. Don¡¯t go around trying to do things like that yourself, otherwise, you will just end up hurting yourself.¡± Kirk cautioned his overeager fanboy.

    ¡°I know,¡± Gary replied, a little depressed as he thought about how different his life would be if he could be an Altered himself.

    Seeing the strange look on his face and noticing something else about Gary, a light bulb lit up above Kirk¡¯s head.

    ¡°I know, you should have some time before you have to do your thing, right? Come with me,¡± Kirk ordered. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, if Damion calls for you I¡¯ll say you were with me.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t know what was going on, but trusted Kirk and decided to follow him. Ever since he had joined the gang, everyone had seemed a bit scary to him, rough around the edges, all but Kirk. With the Altered, everything just seemed to click.

    The good thing was, Kirk was also treated as quite the valuable asset to the group, so he could get away with things the others couldn¡¯t. If Kirk said he wouldn¡¯t get in trouble, then he should be safe.

    The two of them left the staff room and went over to one of the empty clubrooms. It was quite arge club with three different rooms that would often y three different music types. Right now, they were in what was known as the cheese room. It would usually y one¡¯s favourite hits from the time Gary¡¯s mother would have been his age.

    Still, during the day, it lookedpletely different. The lights were on, so there were no fancy coloured lights, and the disco ball above looked less than special.

    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Gary asked. ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask me to dance with you or something like that, are you?¡±

    Kirk started tough, Gary seemed to have a talent for making himugh.

    ¡°No, you idiot. I¡¯m going to teach you how to fight.¡±

    ¡°How to fight? Why would I need to learn that?¡±

    Kirk pointed to his own nose, and that¡¯s when Gary realised. His nose was still broken from the rugby practice.

    ¡®Huh, wait, I think he has the wrong idea? Does he think I¡¯m getting bullied or something?¡¯

    ¡°No, wait this is -¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin yourself. I¡¯m sure the other guy looks even worse. Anyway, it will be good to just show you a few basic things. With the line of work you¡¯re doing, who knows when it wille in handy.¡± Kirk interrupted him.

    Gary didn¡¯t say anything else. He decided it would be stupid if he did try to clear up this missunderstanding. Besides, since one of his idols had offered to give him a personal lesson, he would be silly to try to get out of it.

    It started off with Kirk showing him the first basic punch, a jab in boxing. Punching the air, he demonstrated it a few times. A few major points that Gary took from this, was that Kirk¡¯s right hand was always covering the side of his face, even when throwing out the punch.

    The left foot would twist slightly while throwing the punch outward, at the same time, his hip would move in as well. Rather than a push, the punch was more of a snap.

    It was now Gary¡¯s turn to try these things, and he repeated all the steps in his head. He punched a few times, and it looked good and felt right.

    ¡°It looks like I have a talent for this. Maybe I should join a boxing club instead, what do you think?¡± Gary asked, but turning his head, he could see the look of disappointment on Kirk¡¯s face.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Kirk said, rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Your punch is good, the movements are perfect, and you did everything right¡­¡±

    Garry had a feeling a huge ¡°but¡± wasing.

    ¡°But¡­ your punch is so slow. Is that as fast and hard as you can go?¡± Kirk asked.

    Gary would have loved to tell him it wasn¡¯t, but unfortunately that would be a lie. He had been trying his hardest without holding back. Things always seemed to end up this way for him. He understood the theory, understood how things worked, yet, for some reason it was impossible to perform the way he pictured it in his head.

    The doors to the cheese room opened and interrupted their training session. One of the men in suits walked in. ¡°There you are, the boss has been looking for you.¡±

    When Gary returned to the first club room, he saw Daimon still sitting down on the sofa. Opposite him were five kids, including Gary, all standing up straight and waiting for orders. Out on the table were five metal briefcases locked with a uniquebination.

    ¡°Time for you guys to get to work,¡± Damion said.

    This was Garry¡¯s job in the organisation. He worked as a transporter, and tonight his job would be to deliver whatever was in these suitcases.

    While Damion was busily exining the job details, something had caught Gary¡¯s eyes. It was just for a brief moment, so he was unsure if his eyes might have yed a trick on him, but he felt he had seen something very odd¡­

    ¡®Did that briefcase just move?¡¯

    *****

    Follow on instagram for updates: Jksmanga

 Chapter 4: The System

    <h4>Chapter 4: The System</h4>

    The exnation from Damion continued about today¡¯s special task. There were five briefcases in front of them, and there were five of them. Each person was to deliver the suitcase in front of them to the correct location safely, and naturally they had all been given different locations.

    Damion continued to mention some other details, but Gary was not paying too much attention to that, still focused on the briefcase in front of him, waiting for it to move again. Gary was smart enough to figure out the reason for there being five of them. A few of them had to be dummies, mixed in to confuse whoever might n to steal them.

    If his intuition was right, the one in front of him was the real one. That and the fact that he could have sworn he saw it move, although ever since he had started staring at it, it had behaved like a normal suitcase.

    ¡®Am I imagining things?¡¯ Gary started to doubt himself.

    He looked at one of the men in a suit who was closest to the case. The two of them made eye contact for a brief second before Gary looked away. If he kept up eye contact for any longer, he was worried he was going to get hit.

    ¡°Alright, are there any questions?¡± Damion asked.

    One of the students standing there raised his hand. He was a tall, weak-looking boy with curly hair. He hadn¡¯t been in the organisation for long, and Gary had only seen him a couple of times.

    ¡°What¡¯s in the package?¡± The boy asked.

    Immediately, Gary clenched his fist and looked down at the floor as he knew what wasing next. Just as expected, a few secondster he heard a whack and could see the student tumble from the corner of his eye.

    The man looked like he was about to hit him again, but Damion interrupted him, ¡°Stop. The boy is still new, so I¡¯ll forgive him.¡± Damion then looked at the others before stopping at Gary. ¡°Greeny, tell him the rules of being a transporter.¡±

    ¡°Yes ,Boss,¡± Gary answered, turning his body looking down the line of people. ¡°Never take the package, never ask what¡¯s in the package, and never look inside the package!¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Damion replied with a slow p. ¡°Break one of these rules and¡­ let¡¯s just say you don¡¯t want to break these rules. I can proudly tell you that we never had anyone break the rules twice. Make of that what you will.¡±

    Clicking his fingers, one of the suited men handed each of them a small wad of cash tied up with an stic band. It wasn¡¯t thick like in the movies, but judging by the size and weight, this job was the highest paying job Gary had ever been on.

    Each of them had been given five hundred dors, which was just half of the payment upfront. Uponpleting the job they would get the other half when they returned. Seeing the amount of money in his hand, Gary gulped. A thousand dors was a lot of money to him. Especially for someone who was sixteen and best of all it would go a long way to help out his family.

    He was already doing calctions in his head. They could pay the electric and gas bill, and with what would be left, he could buy a new phone for his sister. This money was nothing for the gangsters, and simply put they were taking advantage of the students, both sides were aware of that, but the students didn¡¯t have another choice.

    Where would they get a job at their age, not mention such a high paying one? All the supermarket and fast-food jobs had been reced byputer screens and machinery. The construction sites were already full of manualbourers. Only technology whiz-kids might get a job helping another corporation be the next new thing, and Gary wasn¡¯t one of these people.

    That type of stuff was more suited to his friend Tom.

    Each of them was given a location, and the job had officially started. Picking up the metal suitcase, it had some weight to it, but it was hard for him to tell if there was anything inside or if that was just the case¡¯s weight.

    Jiggling it he was trying to guess what it was, and once again another man was giving him a stare.

    ¡®Right, don¡¯t ask what¡¯s in the case.¡¯

    They left the nightclub, and then each of them went their separate ways, including the tall, curly-haired boy who now had a bloody nose.

    ¡°Stay safe guys,¡± Gary said quietly, more to himself than the others, as each of them went off. During all of this, there was one big worry at the back of Gary¡¯s mind. This was the highest paying job they had ever received. The gangsters wouldn¡¯t just hand out money willy-nilly, so this also meant it was the most dangerous job that he had ever been given as well.

    There had been no problems so far on all of his runs. It was the reason why the Underdogs were using students in the first ce. They didn¡¯t look suspicious, and their faces were unknown. There was less of a chance for the students to rat them out to another gang and they would be too scared to do something like that anyway.

    Still, with every job there was this risk, and it didn¡¯t get easier. On the contrary, with each sessful mission, it felt that at some point his luck would run out.

    It was safe to say that Gary stood out a bit. He was running around with a fancy metal briefcase that looked too fancy for the clothes he was wearing. Usually, he would do his drop-offs on foot, so he was still in his trainers and his favourite ck and red tracksuit.

    He didn¡¯t care about the gawking eyes that were looking at him, and he just hurried on to the location. When he had eventually reached the location, it turned out to be a construction site. The workers had already left and gone home for the day. The initial foundation for an apartment block had already been built, but there were no walls or roof yet.

    For his job, Gary was to give the briefcase to a person that was meant to meet him there. He waited in the apartment building centre, where there was nothing but the ground and a few cement bags here and there.

    Gary was nervously tapping his foot and continued to look all over the ce. When he pulled out his phone, it was now 8:05 pm, already past the meeting time.

    ¡°Hello!¡± Gary shouted, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± His voice echoed slightly, but there was no reply.

    ¡®Am I in the wrong ce?¡¯ he thought to himself. After double-checking he was in the right ce, he sent a text to Damion.

    [No one here, what should I do?]

    It was the first time something like this had happened.

    Tired of waiting, Gary started to walk around, checking if he could spot the person.

    Then, while walking around, he saw it. He discovered a dark red liquid on the floor,ing from behind one of the building¡¯s support pirs.

    ¡®Please tell me that¡¯s just paint.¡¯ Gary silently prayed.

    This wasn¡¯t some movie and Gary wasn¡¯t dumb enough to go around that pir when he was already sure there would be a dead person behind it.

    *Ding* his phone went off.

    He pulled the phone out of his pocket, and there were only two words.

    [Run back!]

    Lifting his head, he could see a four-inch deing right towards him. Out of instinct, the only thing he could do was lift the metal suitcase up, and thankfully a nging sound was heard as the suitcase shed with the knife, protecting his face.

    He only saw the man who had thrown the knife for a brief second, because before he knew it, Gary was running for his life. He didn¡¯t know where he was running, he just knew he had to get away from that psycho. He could feel his heart beating so loudly that he thought it would jump out of his chest. He also noticed that his underwear was feeling ufortably warm as he had let the fluids held up in him go.

    ¡®I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m going to die! That was a real gangster, and he just tried to stab me.¡¯

    Running towards where he came from, he saw a few more men at the gate that were wearing suits. As soon as they saw him, they charged at him as well.

    ¡®There¡¯s more! What the hell do I do?¡¯

    Dashing to the side, he left the apartment block and was now heading to the more gritty area of the construction site, where there were several mounds of dirt, diggers, and more. The problem was, there were only two entrances to the construction site, the one that he had entered from and the other on the opposite end.

    One was stationed in the north, the other south, yet in his panic he had run west¡­ There was a wall surrounding the area and on the top there was barbed wire. Even if he didn¡¯t care about hurting himself, scaling something like that would have been impossible.

    Eventually, the adrenaline in Gary¡¯s body had lessened, and he was feeling incredibly weak after the rush. His hands and legs were shaking, and he knew he couldn¡¯t run away for much longer. Diving in between objects he eventually decided to hide behind a dirt mound to catch his breath.

    Gary could use several objects and things to hide in between, in his attempt to avoid the men chasing after him. Peaking around the hill of dirt he had hidden behind, he could see three of them in total, all with a de in their hand.

    At this point, Gary was wondering if he should call the police, but if he did, then it would just be his own gang after his life.

    Suddenly, the suitcase started to move about again, flinging Gary¡¯s hand slightly. It defely felt like there was something alive inside.

    ¡®What the hell is in there?¡¯ But that wasn¡¯t important right now.

    Observing, he peeked around the corner again, nning to make his next move. He could see one person on his far left and the other on his far-right, searching between all the items for him.

    ¡®Wait, where¡¯s the third person?¡¯

    A sharp shooting pain spread in Gary¡¯s lower back. It was suddenly throbbing and felt warm.

    Gritting his teeth, Gary slung the suitcase while turning around. The corner managed to smash the top of his assaulter¡¯s head, causing Gary to let go of the suitcase, which fell to the ground. The man appeared hurt and dizzy momentarily, but he wasn¡¯t knocked out. More notably, Gary could see that his hands had blood on them.

    Touching his back, he felt the blood there as well. He had been stabbed.

    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m just a kid in high school,¡± Gary blurted out.

    The man looked stunned by the words for a second as it looked like Gary¡¯s weaving body was about to fall over. From the shock and the tension of everything that was happening he fell towards the man. At that moment he started to think about his sister¡¯s smile, and his mother¡¯s crying face if he was to leave them now.

    Before hitting the ground, he fought through the pain and ced his left foot out stabilising himself, he twisted his hip and back foot, and with his right hand he threw out the strongest push he could, hitting the man right on the chin. It wasn¡¯t a jab but another punch that he had seen Kirk do. Learning the principles of the jab had set him up for this perfect punch. A right straight.

    On contact, he felt it connect cleanly, and he felt a surge through his arm.

    The man fell to the floor and was knocked out while at the same time, Gary fell down as well.

    Despite his aplishment, he felt tired, weak and just wanted to close his eyes. The only thing he could see in front of him was the suitcase. It was moving more than ever, so much so, that the suitcase looked to be jumping up and down.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die,¡± Garry whispered, barely enough energy to speak.

    *Click*

    He heard the sound of the suitcase opening up. The next moment his vision had gone to ck. His senses were still slightly there, and he felt an even more immense pain now digging into his wrist. It was far worse than the stab, but he was too tired to even react or shout out.

    Then, even with his eyes closed and his vision gone, something appeared in front of him.

    [Congrattions you have been granted the Werewolf System!]

    *****

    For updates follow on Instagram: jksmanga

 Chapter 5: What am I?

    <h4>Chapter 5: What am I?</h4>

    Gary¡¯s eyes started to flutter open slowly as he was regaining consciousness. The first thing he saw were some very tall trees above him. The sky was gray, making it hard to tell if it was just about to turn to night or whether it would soon be day again. As he lifted up his body, he noticed the sound of ruffling, which turned out toe from the many leaves underneath him.

    ¡®Am I in the woods?¡¯ Gary thought. He looked around and could see nothing but trees, yet no sign of a pathway or road. ¡®Why did Ie here? Wasn¡¯t I jus-¡¯

    ¡°Argh!¡± His head started to ring with pain. When lifting it up he could see that the sleeves of his clothing were partially torn. Thinking back he tried to remember thest thing that had happened, but all that came to mind was the throbbing pain in his back side.

    ¡®That guy¡­ he stabbed me!¡¯ Lifting up his shirt, he peeked over his shoulder. Gary tried to take a look, but he found nothing, not even after running his fingers over the supposed wound. For a second he questioned himself. ¡®Could it be that all of it was just a bad dream?¡¯

    s, he quickly noticed something that made him think all of it had been real. Running down his trousers there were signs of dried blood, looking to have dripped from his own wound. Something had definitely happened earlier.

    He should have been in pain. There should have been a wound, yet there was nothing! In fact, his body felt far better than it had ever done before.

    ¡®Just what the hell happened after I got stabbed? How the hell did I get here? Sh*t, where the hell is ¡®here¡¯ in the first ce?¡¯

    He had no memories whatsoever of what had happened from the construction site to where he was now, and in all his thinking he hadpletely ignored something obvious that was right in front of him this whole time. His vision had slightly been altered and in more ways than one.

    Even though it was quite dark out, he could see details in the night he shouldn¡¯t have been able to with his vision. The groves on the trees a distance away, the ants crawling up on the trees, passing food to each other, and then there was the moon. It was still out and would suggest that it was still the middle of the night after all.

    ¡®Hang on¡­ are those ANTS?!¡¯ Eventually Gary noticed the discrepancy with his eyes. ¡®How is that possible? Could it be because of all those carrots Mum has been cookingtely? They say it improves your eyesight¡­ Or is that just another inte myth? I bet Tom would know.¡¯

    In the middle of his crazy thoughts, he registered something in the top left corner of his vision. When looking at it, it reminded him of a notification from an email or a game. He moved his head trying to get rid of it, but wherever he would look it would stay there.

    Then he started to touch his face to see if he was wearing anything, but there was nothing. The notification appeared to be glued onto his vision.

    ¡®How the hell do I get rid of this thing?!¡¯ When thinking about the notification itself, it suddenly opened and a screen appeared in front of him, hovering in midair.

    [Your bloodlust has been lowered]

    [You are no longer enraged]

    [State has been updated to: Normal]

    ¡®Is that¡­ a system?¡¯

    Gary had yed a few games in the past with a simr interface before. However he wasn¡¯t quite the gamer himself. He never had time for them as he was always busy trying toe up with ways to make money. The one who this would have been perfect for would be his buddy Tom, but with his limited knowledge Gary still knew how to navigate it a bit.

    The notifications looked like they could be deleted and it looked like there were more options on his general interface. The annoying thing was it was all blocking his field of vision Still, at the same time he couldn¡¯t deny it was kinda cool. Like he had been turned into some futuristic robot.

    Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t like what he was reading. The word ¡®Bloodlust¡¯ did not sound good at all¡­ What exactly had happened? Had he been turned into some type of vampire and was now required to feed on blood? It would at least exin the wounds healing on his body so far. He had read supernatural stories of things like that before.

    Quickly touching his teeth, he felt nothing and they appeared to be the same as they had always been.

    Then there was the second half of the message, ¡®it had been lowered¡¯. Reading this he gulped down and tried to look at himself. There wasn¡¯t a huge amount of blood on him apart from that on his trousers. Being able to escape from that construction site alive while three men were chasing him, he started to consider the worst case scenario.

    ¡®No, nothing happened, stop being paranoid!¡¯ Gary tried to convince himself. ¡®Surely, I would have remembered something like that. ¡­ but would I really? ¡­ I still have no clue how I got in the woods in the first ce.¡¯

    Unfortunately with his tendency to forget even menial tasks like emptying the washing machine when his mother asks him to, he was unable to rely on his good memory.

    After deleting those notifications, Gary decided to study the system a little. The first thing he could see was an image of himself looking back at him and his name by the side with a few stats.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [Level 1]

    [Exp 0/100]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 100/100]

    [Heart rate 42 BPM]

    [State: Normal]

    Looking at the information in front of him, he was trying to figure out what they meant. Gary appeared unable to open some sort of description for them and there wasn¡¯t really anyone or anything that told him what was going on.

    ¡®Health¡¯ seemed to be pretty self-exnatory, but ¡®Energy¡¯? The best he coulde up with was that it might be something simr to Stamina. As for the ¡®Heart rate¡¯, he considered it to be a very strange thing to appear in the first ce. What worried him was that his resting heart rate had never been that low. This was the heart rate that athletes were able to achieve and although Gary wasn¡¯t unfit, he was far from being an athlete.

    As for ¡®State¡¯ he could only rte it to the message he had gotten previously about his bloodlust decreasing, something he chose to ignore for now. What interested him more than anything was the level by his name. It reminded him of the RPG games that had been introduced to him.

    He didn¡¯t know why, but his favourite part in those games had never been thepletion of quests nor the exploration of the world, but simply its grinding. He would spend hours just killing creatures watching that bar increase. Tom would alwaysin about his y style, stating that it wasn¡¯t the fastest way to level up. After all, he was defined as a ¡°noob¡± in Tom¡¯s eyes.

    On the screen itself, at the top the tab read ¡®Status¡¯, but right next to that, there was another little tabbeled ¡®Quests¡¯. It had a little red dot, which would usually indicate that there was something new that he hadn¡¯t seen before. At least that would be the case if it worked like his phone notifications.

    Cloaking on that, a few more screens popped up in front of him again.

    [New quest received]

    [Get the perfect body]

    [You can now do amazing things you never could have done before, but you¡¯re limited by your former weaker self. You need to get into top shape to disy your full potential! Do you even lift? No? Then start lifting! Diet is crucial to this task. You will soon see improvements beyond your wildest dreams! The most important thing is to stay consistent!]

    [Daily tasks (Tuesday)]

    [Push day: Get to the gym and start pushing, instructions will appear once you get there.]

    [Diet: Eat 2 kilograms of meat per day, get that sweet protein!]

    [Quest reward: That sweet exp you need and love.]

    ¡®Two kilograms of meat?! Is the system crazy?! What does it think I am, some tiger or something? How is it even possible to eat that much?¡±

    Apart from that, the system messages seemed enthusiastic to say the least. Whoever had designed it must be by a very strange person. Scrolling up there seemed to be one more quest that he had received before that one.

    [New quest received]

    [Your first turning]

    [14 days until the next full moon]

    [Survive!]

    Reading this carefully, his thoughts reached a certain conclusion. There was only one supernatural creature in books in movies that he could think of that had any rtion to the full moon. Heading back to the notifications, he scrolled up and checked the very first one he had received. Because it wasn¡¯t a new one he had missed before but now he remembered seeing something before ck out.

    He read the words multiple times, the first system message that had ever appeared.

    ¡®I¡¯m not a vampire¡­ Well it seems like I won¡¯t have a problem with body hair anytime soon.¡¯

    *****

    Follow on instagram: jksmanga

 Chapter 6: Werewolf

    <h4>Chapter 6: Werewolf</h4>

    Werewolf.

    Gary had seen the concept of the mythological creature being used in books and movies, but he had never really been the type to pay too close attention to these things. Thinking back to the few films he had watched with such being, a certain thought came to his mind.

    ¡®Am I now an Altered?¡¯

    It sounded a bit strange, because from what Gary knew bing an Altered should be a long and difficult process. However, perhaps the thing inside the suitcase might have been a new product from somepany that had discovered a way to speed up the process.

    Looking around him, the suitcase itself was long gone, probably left behind at the construction site.

    ¡®Maybe it¡¯s just called a ¡®Werewolf¡¯, because it has made me into an Altered based on a wolf-type beast? Who knows maybe all Altered have such a ¡®system¡¯ and have just kept it a secret or maybe it¡¯s something new that was in the suitcase? Either way, if I am an Altered, then my body should have changed!¡¯

    Gary knew for a fact that his vision had suddenly improved, so why not other things?

    When a human became an Altered one of the big changes he would undergo would be getting superhuman strength. To test his theory, he walked up to one of the trees, looked at it for a few seconds and then started to shake his whole arm.

    Gary was confident, all the signs were telling him he had be an Altered. With no doubt in his mind, he threw out his fist and hit the tree with great force.

    For a few seconds, there was nothing and then an almighty scream travelled throughout the forest.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± The tree waspletely fine, but the same could not be said about Gary¡¯s knuckles. Looking at them he could see they were grazed and slightly bleeding. The skin was starting to peel off. It was apparent he hadn¡¯t held back at all when throwing the punch.

    [You have been injured]

    [- 2HP]

    [98/100 HP]

    ¡®Minus 2 HP for that? I¡¯m not sure if I shouldin about this being a lot or be happy about it not doing more damage to me¡­ Also what happens when I hit 0 HP? Will I just instantly die? Well, I suppose hitting it 49 more times at full strength would eventually break my fists and lead to severe blood loss¡­Maybe¡®

    It was clear that the system itself was quiteplicated

    [Your heart rate has increased]

    [50 BPM]

    It seemed kind of useless to Gary that the system showed off his heart rate. He didn¡¯t see any need in it as it didn¡¯t seem to affect anything else.

    After the pain had subsided Gary wanted to run a few more tests. He nned to check if he was now faster or could transform parts of his body. Unfortunately, being in the middle of a forest, hecked any equipment to measure his speed and just running felt the same as always. Gary also had no idea how to change parts of his body.

    He tried concentrating on his arm, wishing for it to turn into something else, but nothing happened. It didn¡¯t make any difference when he tried to do the same with his legs, nose, ears, eyes or any other parts. Eventually, he sighed and gave up for the time being.

    He was interested in the quests, but it was already starting to gette, so he couldn¡¯t go to the gym at this time to see if there would be any improvements. The food quest was theoretically the easiest toplete, but given his family situation, it would be a tough one. Meat was expensive and eating two kilograms a day would be near impossible. There was half the payment upfront, but if he could he would have still liked to help his mother with that.

    Finally, there was the other quest that would arrive in fourteen days. He had an idea of what would happen on this day, but he couldn¡¯t believe it. So far, there had been no signs of his body drastically being altered other than what the system was telling him.

    At least he had fourteen days to figure out what to do about it. It was dark out and if he stayed out anyter his mother would probably be worrying about him, so he decided to exit the woods.

    It didn¡¯t take long as he could clearly see a pathway with his improved vision and when he was out of the woods he knew exactly where he would be. From there he started to jog.

    He had be quite the good runner, working as a transporter and being cheap with his money. The journey from where he was would take around twenty minutes.

    Finally, he had arrived back home and could hear the sound of his sister singing from outside the door. When he went to open it he noticed something. His breath.

    ¡®I just ran for twenty minutes and I¡¯m not even tired. Maybe I AM an Altered after all!¡¯

    This thought excited Gary more than anything. Checking his heart rate it had also lowered down to 45 BPM.

    Entering inside, he immediately started to take off his clothes. They had been torn ragged and some of them had signs of blood on them. He headed into their room and his sister was a little surprised that her brother had just started to strip in front of her. She immediately closed her eyes and turned around.

    ¡°What the hell?! Gary, hurry up and put some clothes on!¡± Amy shouted.

    He quickly stuffed his clothes into a school sports bag and ced that in the bottom corner, before throwing the rest of his belongings on his bed and finally changing into something new.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back, Gary! The food is ready for you whenever you need it, just warm it up in the microwave!¡± His mother shouted.

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m not hungry,¡± Gary replied. ¡°Feel free to have seconds if you want.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s strange, you usuallye back starving. Did you eat at Tom¡¯s?¡± She asked with some motherly worry.

    ¡°Err, yeah!¡± Gary shouted back.

    It certainly was strange, every time when he came back from his work Gary would be hungry, and he hadn¡¯t eaten before leaving. Thest meal he had was from lunch, but he didn¡¯t feel hungry at all.

    Going through multiple drawers, Gary was looking for something. Without noticing it, he eventually searched through Amy¡¯s side of the room.

    ¡°What the? A diary?¡± He murmured to himself, picking it up.

    ¡°Hey, stay away from my things!!!¡± She snatched the diary and immediately went over to his side of the room. ¡°Just tell me what you¡¯re looking for.¡±

    ¡°Bandages, sters or something for my han-¡° When looking at his hand he noticed that it hadpletely healed.

    ¡®When did that happen?¡¯

    [100/100 HP]

    [99/100 Energy]

    [Eat more meat to restore your energy. When idle, energy points will be used to restore HP]

    It looked like super healing could be added to the list of abilities he might possess.

    ¡°Did you go to the doctor? Your nose looks better,¡± Amy pointed out, noticing it wasn¡¯t crooked anymore.

    ¡°Err, yeah,¡± Gary replied, which seemed to be his go-to response today. It was hard for him to process everything that was going on around him.

    *Ding* *Ding* *Ding*

    Multiple notifications sounds wereing in one after the other. When Amy turned around, she noticed that they wereing from her brother¡¯s phone. Since she was closer to it, at the moment she passed it to him, but not before sneaking a peek at what the messages were.

    [Bastard, I¡¯ll kill you!!!] was the preview message. The rest of it was cut off.

    ¡°Gary, are you in trouble?¡± She asked while handing over the phone.

    He snatched away his phone and left the room in a hurry. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, must be Tom ying a prank on me. Don¡¯t worry about it. Before his sister could ask any questions he already locked himself on the toilet.

    Sitting down, he started to read the messagesing through one by one and his hands couldn¡¯t stop shaking.

    [Where are you?!]

    [Answer now!!!]

    [The item is missing! You know the rules!!!]

    [You have until the end of today to return back with the item!!!]

    [If you¡¯re not here, you can say goodbye to your family.]

    ¡®Oh SH*T!!!¡¯ Gary was unsure what exactly had happened to the item, but he coulde up with a few guesses. The item was currently with him, or more urately speaking, it hadbined with him.

    After a person became an Altered it was impossible to reverse the process.

    If he returned to the gang and tried to exin to them what had happened, he would be killed for sure. That or they would enve him and make him work as an Altered, although he first would have to prove to be one, which ironically he was unable to.

    Alternatively, the real item might still be in the suitcase, but if so it must have long since been taken by the other group after his stabbing. However, it would mean that his current situation would be unrted, which seemed more than unlikely.

    Either way, at the end of the day he had failed his job, and that meant that his end wouldn¡¯t be a pretty one.

    It was the first time this had ever happened to Gary, yet he had seen what had happened to others in the gang who had failed the Underdogs. Going back there would just be suicide.

    ¡®It¡¯s a good thing I gave them a fake address. They don¡¯t know where my real home is, but what do I do if they find out? What will happen to Amy and Mum?¡±

 Chapter 7: White Rose

    <h4>Chapter 7: White Rose</h4>

    ¡°Sir, the police have arrived so we had to stop our investigation,¡± a man in a suit reported on the phone.

    ¡°Damn it! Do you have any idea how important that thing inside the suitcase was? ¡®Course you don¡¯t!! Screw this, just bring that kid here and find out who the hell betrayed us!!!¡±

    ***

    It was early morning and the sun had barely risen, causing a dull gray sky. That day, at a construction sight, when the workers were about to start work, they came across three gruesome bodies.

    In fact, it was hard for them to call them bodies. Each one appeared to have been mauled beyond recognition. Each hadrge pieces of flesh torn off and huge scratches across their faces and bodies. Blood was all over the construction site.

    The first thing they did was call the police, who had promptly closed off the site as a crime scene.

    ¡°What do you think, boss?¡± a young policemen asked his superior, whose most prominent features were his brown overcoat and his scruffy beard. Anton Millstun was this small town¡¯s chief of police.

    They were used to little cuffs happening here or there, but nothing on this sort of scale.

    Kneeling down he started to look at the blood.

    ¡°Did you take a DNA sample of all the blood you could find?¡± Anton questioned.

    ¡°Yup, they¡¯re already testing it and shoulde up with a few things soon. Hopefully we already have them on file.¡±

    ¡°If my guess is right, it looks like we have a little gang war going on. Someone transporting certain goods, a trade gone wrong, and an empty briefcase. In that case, chances are good we already have their prints in the system.¡± And yet there was one thing Anton had no answer for yet. Why had the transporter left behind the briefcase?

    ¡°You mean, these three corpses were the attackers, boss?¡±

    ¡°Transporters usually travel alone, since it¡¯s easier to blend in that way. From what we know the gangs mostly use teenagers and young adults, none of whom would dress as shy as the victims. Still, this makes it even more bizarre that a transporter could kill three armed thugs.¡±

    ¡°Unless of course, the one transporting goods was something they didn¡¯t expect. An Altered,¡± a female voice concluded.

    Turning around, the two of them saw a middle-aged woman and man walk underneath the yellow tape. Neither one was dressed like police. They were in uniform, although it looked a little bit fancy for one to be wearing it out in the open.

    The uniforms were grey in colour, with gold around the edges where the trim would be. It was tight fitting while still allowing for free movement, expandable and most importantly breathable. What stood out most though, was the crest on their left chests.

    A silver rose with a sword going down the middle, clearly showing who they were and where they hade from.

    ¡°Damn it, what are you guys doing here? It¡¯s too early to say for sure that this is an Altered case!¡± Anton stood up toin.

    The handsome middle-aged man with the strange uniform, whose name tag read Frank Hue, had short ck hair and a serious look to him. When Anton looked at him, he felt a slight shiver go down his spine because he felt nothing. There were no emotions emanating from this man. Despite the gruesome state of the victims he didn¡¯t even blink an eye.

    At least with his female partner, Sadie Nimper, she disyed an arrogant air of importance. Unfortunately, she seemed to not be shy about it either.

    ¡°Look, Mr. Millstun, even a toddler could tell you at first nce that this crime scene could only have been aplished by an Altered,¡± she berated the local chief of police. ¡°The two of us will take over this investigation from now on. I expect you to support us, as is your duty.¡±

    Without waiting for a reply, Sadie was off to talk to the others about the evidence that had been found so far.

    ¡°Sir, are they really members of that White Rose?¡± The young policeman whispered to not attract the attention of the scary looking female.

    ¡°Yes and unfortunately that means they¡¯re in charge,¡± Anton replied, clenching his fist and walking away. He had never liked their attitude and how they behaved as if they were above the police force.

    Anton wasn¡¯t upset because they outranked him. No, it was because they genuinely behaved as if they were superior beings. ¡°Heed my advice boy, never fight with them. I¡¯m sure you know this already, but both of them are Altered.¡±

    ***

    With the introduction of Altered, it was unfortunately a sad reality that certain people would try to use these special abilities and powers for no good. As the police¡¯s simple guns wouldn¡¯t do much when faced with an Altered, the government decided tobat fire with fire.

    The Altered Investigation Force was established, moremonly known as ¡®White Rose¡¯.

    ***

    The next day, the sound of the rm woke Gary up. Instinctively he hit the big snooze button above it, to turn it off. He felt horrible, and his head was pounding with a strange pain.

    ¡®Seems like I feel asleep after all,¡¯ Gary thought.

    He had hardly gotten a wink of sleep. Less because of all that had happened to him ever since yesterday¡¯s cursed transporter job and more because he had been too scared imagining what Daimon would do to him¡­ or to his family.

    ¡®I have to make sure, they never find out about this ce,¡¯ Gary reminded himself, when his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a strange scent entering his nose.

    Like a dog, he started to unconsciously sniff about in the air and followed the origin of the scent. That¡¯s when he noticed his bully rumbling. He was extremely hungry afterst night.

    Eventually he arrived in front of the fridge. Opening it, he found a fresh uncooked steak sitting in a small pile of blood.

    Before he knew it, his hand had already reached out and grabbed the piece of meat. He lifted the whole thing up, about to ce it in his mouth.

    ¡°E!¡± Amy shouted. ¡°What are you doing? That¡¯s still raw!¡±

    Hearing the voice of his younger sister, Gary snapped out of it, realising he had been about to eat a raw piece of uncooked meat. Caught in the act, he quickly ced it back in the fridge.

    ¡°Now we¡¯ll have to eat steak tonight with all your germs over it! Did you even wash our hands before? Look, they¡¯re covered in blood,¡± Amy continued toin. ¡°Mom was saving that to treat us tonight! You should know how rare it is that we get to eat something so nice!¡±

    To make matters worse, his mother entered the room, drawn in by themotion.

    ¡°What are you two arguing about so early in the morning?¡± she asked with bags under her eyes.

    ¡°This doofus just tried to eat raw steak!¡± Amy shouted pointing at him.

    Gary¡¯s hands were shaking. Everything was kind of getting to him and now he couldn¡¯t even control his body¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Gary apologised as he ran past the two of them and headed to the bathroom. ¡°I¡¯ll buy a new one, I promise.¡±

    When he entered the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror, half expecting to see someone else, but from the looks of it, he was still the same. The only thing ¡®wrong¡¯ with him was his fast beating heart and the system was there to tell him.

    Then he noticed something else, his bloody hands that had touched the steak were in his mouth. He pulled them out quickly, but it was already toote. When he had checked the system he had licked them clean, and he could still taste it. Even worse, he enjoyed this aftertaste.

    After spending some time inside to regain hisposure, Gary finally left the bathroom and went to join the others for breakfast. The TV was on while they ate. Amy refused to talk to him and was just giving him the cold shoulder.

    Simrly, his mother had also stayed quiet. Gary was unsure whether it was because she was mad at him or just too sleepy.

    In front of him was a sliced ham sandwich. It didn¡¯t take long for him to finish it, and afterward he decided to check the status of one of his quests.

    [28/2,000g of meat consumed]

    The single slice of ham only weighed 28 grams. If possible, he would like to test ifpleting the quest would give him the promised exp, and if he could eventually level up just like in those games.

    Unfortunately, there was arge barrier. Meat was expensive. He still had the 500 dors of upfront payment in his pocket, but this amount of money could help their family a lot.

    ¡°In recent news, it looks like the Altered Hunters have struck again. This time killing an Altered in his own home. Just like in previous cases, their calling card had been left in the victim¡¯s household.¡±

    ¡®Altered Hunters, huh?¡¯ Gary thought. If he really was an Altered, they might be something he needed to worry about in the future.

    Not everyone liked the idea of Altered existing. Those Altered Hunters seemed to believe that this kind of power should either be something that everyone should have ess to or no one.

    ¡°In other Altered-rted news, three mutted corpses have been found at a construction site in the small town of Slough. The extent of their wounds suggests that an Altered had been involved, in what the police currently assumes to be a gang trade gone wrong.¡±

    ¡°ording to the found evidence, all three deceased have sessfully been identified as members of a certain gang. Although the blood of a fourth person has been found at the crime scene, the police have been unable to find the corresponding person, currently believed to be the killer Altered.¡±

    ¡°The police have offered a reward for any hints leading to¡­¡±

    Gary had stopped listening to all the words after the news.

    ¡®Great, now the police are after me as well¡­¡¯

 Chapter 8: Fight back!

    <h4>Chapter 8: Fight back!</h4>

    Today, Gary was walking to school a lot slower than he usually would. He was constantly looking around his surroundings, checking if there wasn¡¯t anybody following him. He had recognised the three deceased gang members on TV as the same ones who had been after him at the construction site.

    ¡®The Underdogs must have tried to get their package back. Whatever was inside must have been important enough for them to have killed the gang members! If they killed them that easily, then what are they going to do to me? The unknown blood, it has to be mine from the stab wound.¡¯ Gary thought. Then he thought back to the system and the news report, of how it was an Altered¡¯s doing.

    He stopped in the middle of the pathway, and gulped.

    ¡®At least I hope it was the Underdogs, it couldn¡¯t be¡­could it? I would have remembered something like that.¡¯

    Shaking the horrible thought from his head, he decided that he better hurry to school. It was about the only thing that was normal at the moment for him.

    ¡°Argh!¡± A loud piercing shriek was heard.

    Looking around, Gary discovered the female shriek to have originated from an alleyway closeby. The poor girl was surrounded by four guys who had brought her there, with one of them currently pinning her up against the wall. His neighbourhood wasn¡¯t exactly the best, but for something like this to happen in broad light so early in the morning¡­

    ¡®Really, is it just that kind of day?¡¯

    Gary¡¯s initial reaction was to just walk away. He didn¡¯t want to get involved, especially since there was nothing he could realistically do against four adult men. After all, he was no hero, but merely a teenager. Besides, if they were about tomit such an atrocity who was to say that they were unarmed? Maybe they would do more than just beat him up if he tried to interfere¡­

    The group of males continued to push her down the alleyway, out of sight from the main road, around the back of one of the apartments. At this point, when the girl turned the corner, Gary¡¯s sharp eyes spotted something on her uniform.

    It was his school¡¯s crest. She went to the same school as him.

    ¡®Damn it, my own arse is already on the line. Should I try and bluff, telling them I¡¯m part of the Underdogs? No, that won¡¯t work, given my age it¡¯s clear that I¡¯m merely a transporter. And using their gang name might not be the best idea. Sh*t, why did it have to be a girl?!¡±

    In all honesty, if it had been a guy then Gary wouldn¡¯t have struggled this much. People were struggling all over the world, and had bad things done to them. He knew that since he himself had even joined a gang in hopes of a better future.

    However, when he saw a girl being abducted, especially in his own neighbourhood, not too far from where he lived, he couldn¡¯t help but imagine the men doing the same thing to his sister. Who knew whether she had a brother, who would me himself for the rest of his life that he hadn¡¯t been there? Even if she was an only child, what about her parents?

    Gary considered creating a ruckus. Looking around there weren¡¯t many others that would help, and if he exined the situation he knew no one would for fear that the group of men belonged to one of the gangs. It was easier to just hide their head in the sand, pretending not to have noticed the situation, telling themselves there¡¯s nothing they could do¡­

    Alternatively he could try to call the police, but one of the things he had learned in the Underdogs was that the police reacted slowly to such cases, not only because they were understaffed, but also because those higherup had been paid off, to make sure the response time was dyed. By the time they would actually get here, whatever those guys were nning would have already happened by now.

    ¡®Looks like I got to figure this one out myself,¡¯ Gary thought.

    As soon as he had made the decision to act, a notification screen appeared in front of him.

    [New quest received]

    [Save the girl!]

    [You have assessed that there are no other options and you¡¯re the only one she can rely on, are you really going to turn your back on her now? It¡¯s time for you to show off your new skills!]

    ¡®New skills? That¡¯s right, I¡¯m an Altered now! ¡­ well at least I think I am. I have super healing and¡­and¡­good eyesight? Hey, system, how the hell am I supposed to beat them with those things?! Do you want me to act as their punching bag?¡¯

    ¡°Get away!¡± Gary heard the girl scream again, but it was quickly muffled up.

    He knew he didn¡¯t have the time to think about what to do next. If there was one thing he was known for, it was his tendency to just act. Right now was no different, his legs had started moving and he was already heading down the alleyway. When he took the turn, he could see one of the guys with his hands over the girl¡¯s mouth.

    The group of men turned their heads and they didn¡¯t look like the friendliest bunch, that was for sure. Most of them were wearing simr clothing. Baggy trousers with a ck top of some kind.

    ¡®A colour gang? Damn it, I should have noticed sooner!¡¯

    No wonder they were able to act so brazenly in broad daylight. Colour gangs usually were university students, or high school students, some of them worked under one of therge main gangs, but to Gary¡¯s knowledge, there shouldn¡¯t be any colour gang in the Underdog¡¯s that wore the color ck, which was a relief.

    ¡°Kid, we¡¯re feeling nice, so why don¡¯t you just get out of here, and head back to school.¡± One of the men at the back waved him off after recognising him as just a stupid brat.

    Gary looked at the school uniform confirming he and the girl did indeed go to the same school. He was most likely looking for an excuse to avoid the current situation, but then he saw the fear in the girl¡¯s eyes again. She even had a simr hairstyle to his sister, only that her hair was ck. Seeing this was just building up the rage inside of him.

    ¡®Four of them, I¡¯m going to get hit a few times, but it can¡¯t hurt more than getting stabbed, right?¡¯ Gary tried to convince himself. Committing himself to the situation, he went into a boxing stance as Kirk had shown him.

    They men started to break out inughter.

    ¡°Oh, looks like we have a knight in shining armour. Alright, let¡¯s see what you got, boy, maybe we¡¯ll give you a little invitation,¡± one of the men said walking forward.

    Gary waited, focusing on the man¡¯s toes. He thought back to when he hadnded a punch on the gangster that night, and to everything Kirk had taught him.

    ¡®Not yet, he¡¯s still not close enough.¡¯

    Then, when the man was finally in range, Gary threw out a perfect jab that even Kirk would likely praise him for. However, the punch ended up hitting nothing but air. The man had moved to the side and grabbed his fist.

    ¡°Do you have any idea how obvious that punch was? Seriously, if we allowed ourselves to be hit by amateurs like you, we wouldn¡¯t be doing what we¡¯re doing in the first ce!¡±

    The man berated him as he pulled Gary forward by the wrist. He punched him right in the head, flinging his body backward, yet the man didn¡¯t let go, and pulled him forward again, this time kneeing him in the stomach.

    The wind was knocked out of Gary, who was finding it hard to breathe.

    ¡®I was wrong! This pain feels a lot worse than getting stabbed.¡¯

    While the men were distracted watching the beating, the girl saw this as her opportunity to escape. She pulled down the distracted man¡¯s hand that had been covering her mouth, and bit down as hard as she could. When he let go of her, she followed it up with a kick towards the crown jewels before running out of the alleyway from the other end.

    ¡°Now look at what you have done!¡± one of the men shouted, ¡°You let her get away, now it¡¯s going to be ten times harder to catch her again! Kid, how are you going to pay us back for this?!¡±

    Gary was on his knees still hurting from the knee to the stomach, when a notification screen appeared in front of him.

    [Questpleted]

    [40 Exp received]

    ¡®She really got away, huh? But what¡¯s the point in exp, if I¡¯m not going to live to see another day.¡¯

    The man had recovered from being hit in his sensitive area and was walking towards Gary heavy footed. The others went up against the wall not getting in his way, as he suddenly threw out a kick hitting him right in the head sending him to the floor.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re going too far? You could kill him,¡± one of hispanions from the side cautioned, but another one stopped him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try stopping Raph now, or he will just take it out on you instead.¡±

    ¡°Answer me!¡± Raph shouted at Gary.

    ¡®Do people like this really deserve to live? I¡¯m already beaten.¡¯

    The next kick was aimed at his stomach.

    ¡®If I wasn¡¯t the one getting hit right now, would they have done this to the girl?¡¯

    As he had these thoughts filled in his head, his temper was rising and so was something else.

    [BMP 85]

    Another kick, again aimed at his stomach, and blood started to dribble out from Gary¡¯s mouth.

    ¡®These scum, would they have done this to Amy as well?¡¯

    [BPM 120]

    [BPM 125]

    Running up, Raph went for another kick.

    ¡°Bring that bitch back now!¡± He shouted, but this time, his leg was stopped, and looking down, he could see Gary holding it.

    ***

    The girl was running back as fast as she could and behind her two policemen were following. As soon as she was set free, she had gone around looking for help, and had eventually found some that were in the area.

    ¡°It¡¯s down here, we have to hur-¡°

    She paused, as she looked down the alleyways and could see four men on the floor. Some of them knocked out, others rolling about in pain, and the leg of one of them had been bent to an unnatural degree.

    ¡®What happened here? Was it done by that boy from before?¡¯

    *****

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    Editor Devils_Advocate

 Chapter 9: My Heart Beat

    <h4>Chapter 9: My Heart Beat</h4>

    When Gary slid the door open to enter his ssroom, he was surprised to see that not everyone was there yet. His eyes peaked in the direction of the school clock and could still see there was a good fifteen minutes before ss started.

    ¡®What, how? I was walking so slow, and got caught up in that¡­incident.¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    His hands were still slightly shaking, he still didn¡¯t understand what he had done or what had happened just moments ago, right after he dealt with the little ¡®problem¡¯ he had. His body had started to sprint towards the school, getting away from it all.

    Which made him make up for any time that was lost on the way.

    ¡®Still, I shouldn¡¯t have arrived this early¡­ just how fast was I running?¡¯

    Going to his seat, he ced his bag down, and his usual friend Tom was there to greet him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You look like¡­ I don¡¯t even know how to describe you. You just don¡¯t look like your usual self.¡± Tommented.

    ¡°Thanks for the kind words,¡± Gary replied. In truth, Gary just wished things could go back to normal. School was the one ce where he didn¡¯t have to worry about his second life as a gang member.

    However, now with his whole body going through these weird changes, it was hard to keep everything separate.

    ¡°Actually I have a question for you. You¡¯re into games, books and all that stuff, so what do you know about¡­werewolves?¡± Gary asked.

    Tom had a little smirk on his face when this question was asked.

    ¡°Oh, I thought you weren¡¯t interested in these types of things. Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re going to ask me the age old question: ¡®Which one is stronger?¡¯ or ¡®Which would you rather be, a vampire or a werewolf¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Vampires? No, I just wanted to talk about werewolves, I¡¯m just curious about what they do, is there anything to look out for, you know I¡¯m terrible at looking these things up on the inte.¡±

    It was strange that Gary had a sudden interest in these things, but at the same time, Gary would always be obsessed with the next thing he was watching or reading. At one point he was reading aic about tennis yers and tried to be a professional tennis yer.

    The next time he saw him ying chess after watching a TV series, and before summer he had been fanboying stories about gangs. As such, Tom didn¡¯t think much of it, besides it just being Gary¡¯stest obsession, so he decided to humor him.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s hard to say. With these types of things there are so many different types of lore out there depending where you get your information from or what you¡¯re reading. Silver bullets, magical nts, bites and more, but they all have one thing inmon.¡±

    ¡°On a full moon, that¡¯s when a werewolf is at its strongest and in some stories that¡¯s also when they go out of control and eat their closest friends as well,¡± Tom exined, making the actions of a wolf and attempting to scare Gary.

    However, Gary didn¡¯t flinch, nor was heughing. Instead he had a very deeply concerned look and the palm of his hands were feeling incredibly sweaty.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Tom asked.

    Gary contemted whether or not he should tell Tom. He was still unsure if he was an Altered. It was easy to exin his symptoms by just telling him he was one, the problem was, then Gary would have to tell Tom everything.

    How he hade across the strange suitcase, informing him that he had joined a gang¡­ one that was hunting him currently. He couldn¡¯t do that to Tom. Not after what he had been through.

    There was also the high chance that telling him anything, would involve him in all of this as well. This was his problem and he was going to solve it.

    The door slid open once again, and seeing that it was the teacher. The kids got into their seats and stopped their chatter. Their teacher was a skinny male who wore sses called Mr Gray. Despite having a reputation for being very strict, everyone still respected him greatly.

    He just knew the right way to deal with kids. When he entered the room, a student that none of them had seen before followed behind him.

    Her long gray ash hair flowed walking behind the teacher, the colour stood out nearly as much as Gary¡¯s. When she stood straight her fringe went just down to her eyebrows. It made her big eyes and small symmetrical face stand out.

    The moment Gary saw this girl¡­

    Something strange started to happen, his heart started to beat, but not just a little. It was to the point where he could feel it pounding in his chest as if it wanted to escape. He could hear it clearly through his ears bagning and banging, overpowering the sound of everything else around him.

    [BPM is rising]

    [BPM 140]

    [BPM 145]

    While staring at the girl he had heard a slight creaking from below. Looking down he could see that his tight grip around the desk had caused it to break a little, what was worse, his thumb nail had grown and had pierced the topyer of the wood.

    ¡®Oh no, it¡¯s happening again. That strange feeling from before, but this didn¡¯t happen!¡¯ Gary started to panic, and it was only raising his heart beat even higher.

    [BPM 150]

    ¡®These system messages are really starting to piss me off!¡¯

    And his anger only raised his heart beat even more.

    [BPM 155]

    Gary started to do the only thing he could to calm himself down. Close his eyes and take deep breaths. Trying to think about nothing.

    ¡®Like a monk, think of nothing¡­nothing¡­¡¯ He continued to repeat inside his head like a mantra.

    ¡°Hello everyone,¡± a sweet voice greeted the ss. ¡°My name is Xin Clove, it¡¯s nice to meet you all. I recently moved into this town so I don¡¯t know anyone and I¡¯m a little nervous, but the school looks like a good ce to be and I look forward to getting on with you all.¡±

    ¡°Clove?¡± A student mumbled. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the new Mayor¡¯s name as well?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re right, he was the person that wanted to take the town and raise this ce from Tier-3 to a Tier-2 city, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, everyone has high hopes for him.¡±

    Hearing all these things, Xin took a little step back, and that¡¯s when they noticed that her face had gone a little red.

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re the Mayor¡¯s daughter!¡±

    The revtion had caused quite themotion and everyone was excited to see someone of importance in their ss.

    ¡°Can we have some respect in the room please!¡± Mr Gray said in a firm voice and soon the others quietened down. ¡°No matter who she is, I ept that everyone will treat her just like every other student in the room.¡±

    Xin was given a seat by the window, away from everyone else, and it was quite noticeable that she had gained a lot of attention not just because of her rtion to the mayor, but because she was considered a beauty by the boys as well.

    Throughout ss, for some reason, Gary couldn¡¯t help but stare in the direction of Xin, and every time he would do so, his heartbeat would raise and he would have to look away. The one thing it was helping him with, was controlling his heartbeat.

    It helped him find the best method to get in a meditative state to calm it down.

    ¡®Seriously, every time something gets me excited or gets my heart beating, am I going to have this problem?¡¯

    ¡°You horny dog!¡± Tommented, punching him on the shoulder. He had been watching his actions for a while now and noticed he kept staring at a certain someone in the room.

    ¡°Tom!¡± Mr Gray shouted. ¡°Are you really interrupting my ss again? I know, as a punishment, once school ends, why don¡¯t you take Miss Clove and show her around before heading to your Club.¡±

    ¡®Damn it, he¡¯s in one of those moods today,¡¯ Tom thought.

    When the ss had ended, it was the end of school lessons for the day, but there was still thirty minutes until they had to go to theirpulsory club lessons after school.

    ¡°Hey, so do you want toe with me and take the new girl around the school for a bit, maybe you too can get to know each other?¡± Tom suggested, giving Gary a nudge while he packed his things.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s something else I need to do and I¡¯m in a bit of a rush.¡± Gary apologised, and before Tom could say anything else Gary had already left.

    Gary couldn¡¯t control his heart rate just looking at the girl, so he couldn¡¯t imagine what talking to her would do, however this wasn¡¯t the only reason why he had refused. Worried about the gang on his back and them finding out where he lived, he needed to tie up any loose ends.

    And there was a really big loose end in the school. There was one person in school he needed to speak to, Kai. He was the person, who was a fellow student, and also the person who had introduced him to the Underdog gang in the first ce.

    Seeing his friend storm out of the room, Tom couldn¡¯t help but think Gary was acting weird. When turning to look at his desk, that¡¯s when he noticed something.

    From both ends of the desk, the wood had been destroyed. It looked like it was done with someone¡¯s bare hand using their grip alone. But that wasn¡¯t possible, for a human at least.

 Chapter 10: How to make Money? (1)

    <h4>Chapter 10: How to make Money? (1)</h4>

    Given that whatever had been in the suitcase had been able to change Gary into an Altered, or at least an Altered-like being, the Underdogs should be desperately looking for him by now. However, judging by the fact that Gary didn¡¯t see any of the gang¡¯s members waiting for him by the school entrance, he could only assume Kai hadn¡¯t informed them yet, for whatever reason.

    It was the end of the day, so Gary knew where Kai would be. Everyone at their school was required to attend some extracurricr activity clubs. Since it was impossible to circumvent this mandatory requirement, Kai had somehow talked the teachers into letting him create an Astrology Club. Unsurprisingly, he was the club¡¯s only member, but since he actually stayed at school for that period of time, the teachers left him be.

    Opening the doors that led to the roof, Gary could see Kai standing up against the surrounding outer fence, looking down at the school field. His bleach blonde hair blew in the wind along with the dangly earring on his left ear.

    It was as if Kai was posing for a K-Pop photo shoot. It didn¡¯t hurt that he totally had the looks to go with it as well. Gary didn¡¯t swing that way, but he could easily imagine how a girl would swoon over Kai after seeing the picturesque scene in front of him.

    ¡°Kai,¡± Gary called out as he carefully strolled over to him, making sure to pay attention to his surroundings. He got ready to sprint away in case this turned out to be some sort of borate trap. ¡°I need to speak with you.¡±

    Watching Gary act so paranoid, Kai tried to stifle hisughter, but eventually burst out to Gary¡¯s surprise.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Underdogs don¡¯t know that you¡¯re here.¡± The older student informed him as he wiped away a tear from all thatughter. ¡°I was sure you woulde to me and you¡¯re right on time.¡±

    ¡®Looks like they already did try and contact him. Just how much does he know and why hasn¡¯t he reported me yet? Did he want to make sure I wouldn¡¯t try and run away first?¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯ve really caused quite amotion. I knew you were desperate for money, but I thought the Underdogs were paying you well. From what I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re actually regarded as quite the capable and reliable transporter, so just how much did the other side pay you to bring them the package? ¡± Kai asked Gary. His face didn¡¯t change, making it hard for Gary to judge whether this was a trick question or just pure curiosity.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what happened!!!¡± Gary protested vehemently. He would have loved to exin what had really happened, s it was impossible. The situation was just too crazy to be regarded as anything but some bad excuse from a teenager. What¡¯s worse, if someone were to actually believe him, Gary had the feeling that the consequence for him might be far worse.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, you¡¯ve never struck me as the double-crossing type. You care too much about your family to try something like that. Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but the whole reason you wanted me to introduce you was for the sake of your sister Amy and your mother, right?¡±

    Hearing this, Gary¡¯s heart started to thump louder and faster.

    ***

    The situation at Gary¡¯s home had turned for the worse a few months ago. He had noticed that more and more letters hade through the door, and he was beginning to suspect that his mum was hiding a great pain behind the smile she would give him every day.

    Desperate to help out, Gary needed to find a way to make money, but being only sixteen years old prevented him from doing any official work. The only thing he could do was a paper route, although that paid peanuts, and you werepeting with around a hundred twelve-year-old boys that wanted to do the same thing.

    While thinking hard about the best thing to do, he walked past a particr student in the hallway. Kai Hamper. As he swung his arms, Gary saw his designer ck and gold watch shining brightly. His limited edition trainers cost more than the wardrobe of Gary¡¯s entire family put together. Finally, sitting there at eye level, he wore a unique thick gold chain that he was sure was made out of twenty-four-carat gold.

    Kai was a student that just screamed wealth. It was strange, as being in a Tier-3 city meant there weren¡¯t many wealthy people. Still, it wasn¡¯tpletely impossible. There were a couple of reasons for wealthy people to live in a lower-tier city. The mostmon one would be having apany based in that city or they had decided that trading some guaranteed safety for the chance to live like a king instead of amoner would be worth it.

    After all, houses and apartments¡¯ prices rose to ridiculous levels as you went up the city¡¯s tiers. A mansion in a Tier-3 city could only get you a small apartment in Tier-1.

    Whatever the case, ultimately a kid who was barely older than Gary had ess to a LOT of money. Plucking up the courage and concerned about his family¡¯s situation, Gary went to pay him a visit one day. It was lunch break, and Gary was met with surprise as he saw Kai sitting at the very back on his own staring out the window, even though he had all that money.

    He wasn¡¯t eating anything, nor was anyone paying him any attention or bother. Pulling a chair up from one of the empty seats, Gary sat next to him at his table.

    ¡°Do you mind?¡± Gary asked.

    What Gary didn¡¯t realise at the time was that Kai was a person that was avoided in the school. He never really paid any attention to those things, but Kai often got into fights, and there were rumours about where he had gotten his money from. But even if Gary had known about these rumours, it still wouldn¡¯t have stopped him.

    ¡°I came here to ask you, how do I make money?¡± Gary asked.

 Chapter 11: How to make Money? (2)

    <h4>Chapter 11: How to make Money? (2)</h4>

    ¡°I came here to ask you, how do I make money?¡± Gary asked. ¡°I know I don¡¯t know who you are, or what you do. You might just be some kid who has a rich parent, but whatever it takes, if you want me to be yourckey, bring you food in the morning I don¡¯t care, I just need the money.¡±

    Even when Gary had propped himself on Kai¡¯s table, he still seemed uninterested, and it wasn¡¯t until Gary spoke that he turned his head, and a smile was shown on his face.

    ¡®This kid, his eyes, his determination to do whatever it takes huh, well let¡¯s see how long youst.¡± Kai thought.

    After that day, Gary had learnt how Kai made his money, and Kai had be Gary¡¯s ¡°In¡± person to join the gang.

    ***

    ¡°Rx, I haven¡¯t told them anything,¡± Kai informed Gary since the younger boy had grown silent. ¡°Still, you¡¯re not wrong to be cautious. They seem to be very keen to find you. I don¡¯t know what exactly you took from them, whether it was important or rare or something like that, but it¡¯s already toote to simply return it. Right now, it¡¯s just the principle of the matter. You stole from them, so they need to punish you for what you have done. It¡¯s been quite a while since someonest dared to cross the Underdogs so they likely have something gruesome in store. You know, to send a message to others.¡±

    Of course, Gary already knew everything Kai had said. Still, hearing it from someone else was just making matters worse.

    ¡°Fortunately for you, I don¡¯t n to tell the Underdogs about you.¡± Kai told him with a giant grin on his face.

    ¡®Huh, he won¡¯t? Why would he be looking out for me? We¡¯re not friends or anything like that, barely acquaintances. There has to be something¡­something he wants from me.¡¯ Gary became wary about Kai¡¯s generosity.

    ¡°Ooh, you seem to catch on rather quickly. Indeed, I don¡¯t n to simply help you out,¡± Kai admitted. ¡°I want to ask you for a favour which will benefit both of us. You see, for a while now, I¡¯ve nned to leave the Underdogs. However, if that would be so easy you wouldn¡¯t be in your current situation, now think about how much worse it¡¯s for me who knows so much more about their gang.¡±

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s not like it¡¯spletely impossible. What do you think we would need to do to protect ourselves from a gang like the Underdogs?¡± Kai asked with a mischievous grin.

    Gary wasn¡¯tpletely sure if Kai actually wanted him to answer the question or not, but in case he did, Gary had no clue what the right answer would be, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be in his current predicament. All of this seemed to be some sort of spiel from Kai to get Gary¡¯s help. The strange thing was that as far as he knew Gary didn¡¯t have anything to offer Kai.

    No longer waiting for Gary toe up with an answer, Kai enlightened his underssman. ¡°It¡¯s actually quite simple, we would have to be part of a bigger gang. Of course, just joining another one is out of the question. The Underdogs could simply pay off whoever we go to to hand us out. As such, our only choice is to create our own gang that is bigger and more powerful than the Underdogs. That¡¯s where youe in. You will be my little dog in all this. You will help me grow our gang!¡±

    Gritting his teeth, Gary was annoyed at the fact that Kai was calling him a dog, but he had to put his emotions aside. What Kai was suggesting was crazy, for more reasons than one. The problem was, this crazy person could report him at any time. He held all the cards while Gary had none.

    Gary was smart enough to understand that threatening to reveal Kai¡¯s wish to leave the gang wouldn¡¯t help him in any way. Going against Kai would risk getting his family involved, not to mention he could simply deny Gary¡¯s usation.

    If it came down to it, who would the gang believe? The boy they assumed had stolen from them or the boy who had worked with them for a long time who also happened to have told them where to find Gary?

    ¡°How would that even be possible? The other gangs won¡¯t follow someone in secondary school. They already have a base of strong people and those in university are already part of different colour gangs. It¡¯s impossible to form a gang!¡± Gary argued, trying to put some reasoning behind his n.

    Lifting his hands up, Kai did a little spin.

    ¡°Where are we right now? Did you forget? Aren¡¯t there plenty of people to use right in this school? Why do the gangs use us as transporters? It¡¯s because people underestimate us high-school students! There are plenty of us that are strong and love to fight, and I have my ways to persuade them.¡±

    ¡°The gangs think of us as nothing but kids, but soon enough we will be adults. It starts off small but eventually, we can create something greater than all of them. Now tell me Gary, are you with me or not?¡± Kai asked, walking over, holding out his hand as he looked into Gary¡¯s eyes.

    ¡®This person is crazy¡­but¡­what choice do I have?¡¯ Gary thought as he shook Kai¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Fine, but you have to promise not a single word to anyone in the Underdogs or the other gangs about me, or my family!¡±

    ¡°Of course, you have my word.¡±

    At that moment, a notification screen had appeared.

    [A spoken deal has been made, would you like to mark ¡°Kyle Hamper¡±?]

    There was no other information disyed about what a mark was or what it did. Gary tried to ask the system, but by the time he did, Kai had let go, and the system message had disappeared. Whatever it was, it was toote to implement now.

    Kai waved Gary off, as he walked back to look down on the school field. Leaving the roof, Gary rushed off to prepare for his own club activities. Turning around, he briefly saw Kai grin at him.

    ¡°So Mai, are you really sure, he was the one who defeated the members of that colour gang that was chasing after you today?¡± Kai asked.

    From behind the roof¡¯s storage room, a girl with ck hair stepped forward. ¡°No doubt about it. I don¡¯t know how he did it, but all of those guys were rolling over by the time I returned with the police.¡±

    Hearing the response, Kai grin got even wider. ¡°It sounds like this is going to be an exciting year.¡±

 Chapter 12: The Girl of your dreams

    <h4>Chapter 12: The Girl of your dreams</h4>

    After the conversation with Kai, Gary was stomping his foot on the ground, twisting it about in the grass. The whole conversation with Kia had put him in a sour mood.

    ¡°Hey are you okay, bro?¡± Tom whispered to his buddy. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you went, but I think it¡¯s best you calm down before you get called up.¡±

    At the moment, both of them were taking part in their mandatory extracurricr club activity, rugby. It would be an understatement to say that Gary wasn¡¯t really in the mood for it. The two boys sat on the bench along with the rest while Mr Root was giving his typical lecture.

    The gist of it was that they were going to try the same thing today as they had donest time, as they had shown enough talent to be selected for the team, not that Gary was paying too much attention to what the coach was saying anyway. He was more preupied with the agreement he had just made.

    He didn¡¯t know when, but during their conversation on the roof Kai had somehow managed to slip Gary what was known as a ¡®burner phone¡¯. A phone often used by gangs, they weren¡¯t digital like smartphones, and instead just had the normal physical dealing buttons with a poor screen disy. He was also given a new number that Gary wasn¡¯t even aware of.

    ¡®I don¡¯t even know when he slipped it over to me?¡¯ Gary thought.

    He only realised when in the middle of his walk, something started to vibrate in his pocket. On the screen there was a message.

    [This is your new phone. Don¡¯t give this number to anyone. Whenever I need to contact you I will do so through here, so remember to keep it charged ;-3]

    ¡®So he really is going to treat me like his loyal dog to do his bidding, hmm.¡¯

    Before his anger could get the better of him, he reminded himself just why he had joined a gang in the first ce.

    For the sake of his family.

    No matter what he needed to do, his priority was to keep his family safe from the Underdogs. If that meant he had to be Kai¡¯s personal dog for a while then so be it. Personally he found it a lot more annoying to be ordered around by someone so close to his own age, but that was something he would have to swallow.

    ¡°What is wrong with you kids?!¡± Mr Root shouted in his deep booming voice. Apparently Gary hadn¡¯t been the only one who hadn¡¯t been paying attention to Mr Root. Even Tom seemingly considered picking his nose to be a more fruitful activity.

    ¡°It seems you guys need some motivation! Luckily for you, I know just the thing that would have rattled my behind when I was your age.¡± Blowing on his whistle, it was Mr Root¡¯s signal to cue in their surprise.

    At that moment, walking from the school yground onto the field were a group of girls, who were still in their school uniform. A couple of boys who looked to be from the years above were carrying a couple of benches around with them and ced them on the field for the girls.

    Immediately, Gary noticed that the new girl Xin was among the spectators.

    ¡°Hey calm down, buddy or your little soldier might pop out,¡± Tom teased him.

    The very next moment, Gary looked down on the ground and started taking deep breaths. Tom might have only been jesting, but a teenage boy¡¯s hormones truly were no joke. Just thinking about the possibility, elicited some type of reaction in his pants.

    ¡°You know, Xin¡¯s a cool girl. You should have apanied us, she actually likes ying video games, and I¡¯m not talking about those cheap ass casual mobile games. Also she seems to be into martial arts. I believe she might even practice some kind herself. Oh and get this, the best thing about her¡­ she friggin loves Altered fights! She¡¯s like the perfect girl, something¡¯s got to be wrong with her, right?¡± Tom further nudged his buddy Gary on, expecting some type of reaction.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Gary said, taking in a deep breath and a slight pause.

    ¡®Gary, first you scare me by saying weird things, and doing strange things. You would tell me if there was something wrong with you, yeah bro.¡¯ Tom thought, but was too afraid to say this out loud to him.

    Tom was afraid of rejection in the end, and he didn¡¯t want to seem pushy, especially since Gary was his only friend.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m feeling better now.¡± Gary said, lifting his head up and his face slightly read.

    Tom sighed and wiped his forehead. Normally he would have had another snarky reply, but something was clearly off about Gary today.

    ¡°Now that we have an audience, some of you might actually start to take things seriously. I bet some of you will be looking to impress these sweet youngdies. And if you aren¡¯t able to do that then you should feel embarrassed for wasting their time, having to watch such a pathetic disy of sport!¡± Mr Root screamed.

    Just likest time, ke was made to carry the ball, and the coach would call a group of three people from the bench to try to sessfully take the ball from ke. Unsurprisingly, nothing really changed now that the girls watched them.

    Eventually, after everyone else had failed, Gary, Tom and Brick were called up to be the defenders. Gary dragged his feet across the ground and didn¡¯t look up once, too afraid of what might happen if he caught a glimpse of Xin again. If he were to transform with all eyes on him the situation would be¡­ disastrous didn¡¯t even cover it.

    ¡°Hey, what the hell is wrong with him, why is he walking so strange?¡± one of the girls whispered from the sideline.

    ¡°I think he might have crapped his pants,¡± another one made fun of him in a hushed tone.

    ¡°Why is his hair so green? Does he want us to mistake him for grass?¡± a third one badmouthed him.

    Even though they were a fair distance away from the girls, Gary could hear it all. He could hear his heartbeat, the boys and all the girls talking about the boys including him. Naturally, everyone had nothing but good things to say about ke, but then something interesting caused Gary¡¯s ears to twitch.

    ¡°Hey Xin, as the new girl, who do you have your eyes on?¡± one of the girls surrounding her asked. With Xin being the mayor¡¯s daughter, there were plenty of girls who wanted to befriend her.

    ¡°It has to be ke, right? All these other boys are a bit immature and strange if you ask me. Like, can you believe it, they get far too obsessed with those Altered fights. Why would you find two people hitting each other fun, I just don¡¯t understand it,¡± another girlmented.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Xin replied in surprise. ¡°I actually like those Altered fights a bit myself. As for the boys¡­ hmm, I agree that ke has potential. His muscles are built solidly and his lean body frame allows for fast movements. His reflexes so far have been amazing as well.¡±

    ¡°However, if you mean romantically then I¡¯m not interested in any of them. Maybe if one of these boys could beat me in a fight then I would be impressed.¡±

    Her words had stunned the other girls and they didn¡¯t really know what to say.

    ¡°Erggh, right. I guess those Altered fights are a little cool, hehe¡± the one who had just made fun of the sport had quickly changed her tune.

    ¡®What a bunch of fakes,¡¯ Xin thought to herself, but outwardly kept her nice appearance. ¡®This is exactly why I told Dad that I didn¡¯t want to transfer here or at least under a fake name.¡¯¡¯

    Gary had heard it all from the field, and specifically he was repeating in his head what was thest thing Xin had said. That if someone could beat her in a fight then she might show a bit of interest.

    A smile appeared on Gary¡¯s face.

    ¡®If I beat ke here, won¡¯t it show her that I¡¯m strong? Maybe that will get her interested in me!¡¯

    [Quest received]

    [Whoo the girl of your dreams]

    [At your age boys only care about two things, money and girls, so act as if your life depended on it and show her who the Alpha is!]

    [Task: Retrieve the ball from the opponent!]

    [Reward 10 Exp]

    Gary was a little bit distracted by the new Quest popping up right in front of him, but the piercing sound of the whistle quickly snapped him back into action. ke was running towards them, with the ball gripped tightly. Passing Tom was easy enough, as his best friend just stood there like a nt.

    ¡°TOM!!!¡± Mr Root shouted enraged. ¡°I¡¯m going to, I¡¯m going to¡­ Just get off the field, you disgrace!!!¡± He shouted as he kicked a patch of grass.

    Brick attempted to get the ball, but as usual, an athlete like ke easily avoided the grab leaving only Gary, who was now intentionally hyping himself up.

    [BPM 130]

    [BPM 135]

    [BPM 140]

    His pulse didn¡¯t stop rising, and Gary wasn¡¯t trying to control it. Running forward, arge piece of mud with grass was thrown into the air, and Gary shot off like a rocket towards his schoolmate.

    ke didn¡¯t even have time to react and the only thing he could do was go for a spin.

    ¡®I¡¯m faster! I¡¯m faster than before! I can do it!¡¯ Gary thought triumphantly.

    When ke had finished his spin, Gary was right there in front of him. The two of them collided, with Gary¡¯s shoulder and ke¡¯s shoulder banging into each other.

    Defying everyone¡¯s expectations, the one to fly through the air with the ball still in his hand was none other than ke, despite hisrger size. Not letting his eye off the ball, Gary followed up with a great leap that would even make some professional basketball yers jealous.

    When the twonded on the ground, Gary was the first one to get up with the ball held in his hand.

    ¡°I got it, I got the freaking ball!¡± Gary shouted with joy, holding in his hand a deted ball that his thumb had managed to pierce through.

    ¡°Excellent!¡± Mr Root shouted. ¡°Now that¡¯s what I call a tackle. Congrattions, you¡¯re officially off the bench!¡±

    Out of the corner of his eye, Gary decided to take a peak towards the girls. Most of them were saying horrible things about him for hurting the school¡¯s superstar, but he didn¡¯t care about their opinion. He was only interested to know what Xin thought about him.

    ¡°What a crazy good jump,¡± the girl muttered to herself. Although this was in no way a directplement, it was nevertheless enough for Gary¡­ for now.

    ¡®Maybe this Werewolf thing isn¡¯t so bad after all. I will just have to learn to control it.¡¯

    [13 days until the next full moon]

    ¡®¡­ the sooner, the better¡­¡¯

 Chapter 13: The Gym

    <h4>Chapter 13: The Gym</h4>

    [Questpleted]

    [10 exp received]

    ¡°Amazing performance! Did you all see that?!¡± Mr Root seemed to be ecstatic at Gary¡¯s performance. ¡°Last week he wasying on his arse, and now he put ke on his back side instead.¡±

    Honestly, even Gary was impressed with his own performance, something like that would have been impossible for him before. Although being able to follow ke¡¯s movements, he had alwayscked the strength or speed to act on it, so this was a huge improvement.

    ¡°You¡¯re on the team and will be ying in the first match, broli head!¡¯ Mr Root shouted as the field was being cleared up, as it was the end of practice for the day.

    Gary, for a brief second having forgotten about what had happened to him, suddenly noticed that ke was still on the ground and quickly came over, offering him a helping hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that! You¡¯re not hurt or anything, are you?¡± Gary asked, worried that he might have scratched him or broken a few bones. He had yet to find out just how strong he was inparison to a human, something that he had not taken into ount in all his excitement.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a lot better than you were yesterday.¡± ke answered jokingly as he epted Gary¡¯s hand. He could see that Gary wasn¡¯t paying attention to him directly, for his eyes were aimed right past him, toward the girls who were leaving the field.

    ¡®Seems like Coach¡¯s method really got you motivated.¡¯ ke thought with a smile.

    The others got to work clearing the rest of the field, putting away the cones and the balls that would be used for practice. Tom was one of these helpers and he was also the one to have stumbled upon the very ball that Gary had taken out of ke¡¯s hand.

    Picking it up, he noticed that it waspletely deted and when turning it around he could see there was arge puncture wound. One could have still been a coincidence, but the football had five going into the ball as if someone had pierced it with their fingers.

    ¡®First the desk in ss and now the ball? Gary what the hell did you do? No, this isn¡¯t a movie or some book. I¡¯m sure there has to be a perfectly normal exnation for this¡­ but then why did you ask me all those questions about werewolves earlier?¡¯ At this moment, Tom was feeling more distant from his friend than ever, as the whole rugby team had congratted him on his performance and weed him onto the team.

    Walking back home, Gary had a huge smile on his face. It had been one horrible day followed by one of the best days of his life he mused, but soon he was reminded by the troubles he still had to face.

    ¡®My heartbeat, it looks like the faster it gets, the more it affects my transformation. Sh*t, doesn¡¯t that mean if I get too excited I might fully turn? How the hell would I exin suddenly growing fur or bingrger? And what was that thing with the mark when I shook Kai¡¯s hand earlier.¡¯

    Thinking about this, he opened up the system screen, and information about the mark was disyed.

    [Bond Mark]

    [A Bond Mark is a type of marking you can leave when you have made a sincere promise with another party. Those that are marked are given a unique scent, allowing the user to track down the Bond at any point in time. If the promise gets broken the marking will break as well.]

    [Those with a Broken Mark will automatically be hunting targets.

    Additional stats will be awarded if one manages to sessfully hunt their target down!]

    Gary grabbed the side of his head, cursing himself for not having taken advantage of the opportunity to mark Kai.

    ¡®Wait is the mark invisible, or at least something only I can see? Wouldn¡¯t that raise a ton of questions otherwise?¡¯ Then he gulped as he thought about the second part. ¡®Sessfully hunt down a target¡­ so does the system want me to kill them?¡¯

    Trying to forget about the negative side, Gary started to think about something more positive, and thought back to the game when he had snatched the ball from ke.

    ¡®The Quest gave me 10 Exp just for that alone, coupled with the 40 Exp I got for defeating those guys earlier means I¡¯m halfway to a Level Up! Just what will happen once I reach 100 Exp? Will I just get stronger or perhaps I will gain an ability or a skill?¡¯

    Thinking about this, reminded Gary that he still had to try toplete the other Quests. One of them was eating 2kg of meat a day, and the other required him to join the gym. With the pre-payment from his old gang job he still had a wad of cash on him to go for thetter.

    ¡®I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try it,¡¯

    He headed towards a high street gym and paid them the one day trial fee. He was ready to work out. There were a few people inside the gym that looked at him as he entered wearing his school clothes, making it clear to everybody inside that he had to be an amateur.

    ¡®What am I meant to even start with, did the system just expect me toe in here and start lifting?¡¯ With a confused look on his face, it wasn¡¯t long until a friendly trainer approached him.

    He had a giant smile on his face as he rubbed his hands together.

    ¡°This looks like your first time here. I¡¯m a personal trainer, so if you need any help I will give you the first lesson for free.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay I-¡°

    ¡°No need to be so cautious, as I said the first lesson ispletely free! Here let me guide you on how to use the equipment. You won¡¯t believe how many gym users injure themselves because they do things wrong. So first of all, let¡¯s weigh you and then we¡¯ll look at your body fat percentage. With that data I¡¯ll create a personal n just for you.¡±

    Not even letting Gary get a word in, he was soon tailored off to the weighing scale, and the personal trainer had him just where he wanted him.

    ¡®These personal trainers¡­ they¡¯re worse than car salesmen! I just wanted to try to do my own thing and get out of here! What am I meant to do now?¡¯ Gary thought, but caught up in the wind, at the end of the day the guy did say the first lesson was free.

    After some measurements the trainer took him over to the bench press. He was quite the buff guy, nearly as muscr as his teacher Mr Root. Weight after weight was being put on either end, and soon the trainer was pushing away, while describing all the correct points.

    ¡®Is this guy really trying to teach me, or does he just want to show off in front of a newbie?¡¯

    Finally, the trainer stopped and allowed Gary to try, while he went around the back of the rack to help him in case anything was to go wrong.

    ¡®I¡¯ve never even been to the gym before, how much weight can I lift?¡¯

    The trainer was looking at the weights on the bar that he still had, and also had his hands ready. He hadn¡¯t even removed any of the weight he had originally put on the bars.

    ¡®This kid, I can see he wasn¡¯t impressed by my bulging hard muscles. I guess he¡¯s never been to the gym before so he doesn¡¯t know how hard this is. When he tries to even lift the weight off the bar he¡¯ll soon understand, and I¡¯ll be there to pick the weight off him when he does.¡¯ The trainer thought.

    Although it didn¡¯t look like Gary had paid too close attention, he had actually remembered each of the points the trainer made, and was now copying his starting position, arching his back slightly. Gary had copied the trainer to the point where he almost looked like a replica.

    ¡®Oh, this kid¡¯s form is pretty good.¡¯ The trainer was surprised, wondering if Gary was just pretending to be new to this.

    Then, when trying to push the weight of the rack slightly, Gary could feel it budge only slightly. He held his breath and began pushing and pushing.

    ¡®It¡¯s no use.¡¯

    [BPM 100]

    [BPM 110]

    [BPM 120]

    [Your Strength is increasing]

    Soon the bar was pushed off the rack, and lowered down to his chest. He then pushed it back up again. cing it perfectly backpleting one full rep.

    Wiping the sweat from his head, Gary got off the bench.

    ¡°Did I do a good job?¡± Gary asked.

    The man stood there stunned, and started to look around to see if anyone else had seen what he had just witnessed.

    ¡°This is a joke, right? One of those PouTube videos surely.¡± Heughed to himself, but when trying to lift the bar up, he could tell the weight was still there, no one had tampered with it.

    ¡®The weight was at least 80kg, how was he able to push that much in one go?!¡¯

    [You¡¯ve had your first taste of working out]

    [I¡¯ll let you off for now and allow you toplete the quest, but remember to workout daily, to get a body fit for a werewolf]

    [Daily questplete]

    [10 Exp received]

    ¡®Ah this is great, I thought I would have had to stay here all day, I¡¯lle back tomorrow.¡¯ Gary was ted and ran off leaving his stunned trainer tthere.

    Knowing that the system was giving him exp forpleting all these quests, using the money he still had, Gary decided to stop off at the supermarket. Here he grabbed two kilograms of meat, piled up in his basket, and it was time for him toplete the second daily quest.

    While walking though, he suddenly stopped.

    ¡®No, I can¡¯t just go and bring back the food! If I cook all of this and eat it in front of Mum, she¡¯ll ask where I got the money to buy so much steak from, and they¡¯ll think I¡¯m a monster for chugging down so much meat!¡¯

    Pulling the meat he had just bought out of the stic back, Gary could see it through the cellophane stic. The red blood that was dripping off the raw steak, the white marble areas. He never found raw meat apprising before but for some reason his mouth was just rolling at the site of it.

    Looking around, he made sure no one was looking, and then stepped into an alleyway between two buildings. He soon found himself using his nail to pierce the stic and the scent had immediately hit his nose.

    There was no second guessing himself, as if he was being controlled by something, his hand grabbed onto the raw meat and he took a big chunk out of it. Soon he found himself golfing all the food, ripping it through it with his teeth with ease.

    When all the meat was gone, once again the message had popped up.

    [Daily questplete]

    [10 Exp received]

    Naturally he wiped his mouth with the sleeves of his shirt which was now covered in blood.

    ¡®What the hell am I? No regr Altered ever said that his instincts got the better of them. Oh God, I really am a monster!¡¯ Garymented having epted the job that day.

    Now that he walked home, Gary was depressed as his head was filled with these types of negative thoughts, but when he entered his bad neighbourhood he was soon reminded of why he was doing what he was doing.

    ¡®If this system is really like a game, then when I Level Up I should get stronger! Those Quests were daily so I should get them again tomorrow as well,¡¯ he thought. ¡®The problem is, meat isn¡¯t cheap, yet neither is joining the gym and then I still want to help Mum and Amy. To do all this I¡¯m still going to need money and lots of it, yet I can¡¯t go back to my old part time job.¡¯

    Racking his head, thinking of anything he could do he regretfully decided to text one person.

    [I can¡¯t go back to the Underdogs, but I really need some cash ASAP! Do you have a way for me to make more? Maybe I can help you with something?]

    The text message was sent to Kai. Even though the two of them had both belonged to the same gang, he had never seen the other boy work as a Transporter, not to mention his upperssman was clearly a lot better off than he was, so Gary was willing to bet Kai was doing something else for the gang.

    [No problem. Meet me at the school gate tonight, just make sure toe alone!]

 Chapter 14: Curious Tom (1)

    <h4>Chapter 14: Curious Tom (1)</h4>

    Once school was over, Tom had directly headed home, only today it had been without his best friend by his side. Honestly, after how weird his buddy had behaved the whole day, Tom was convinced that something was going on with Gary.

    ¡®The broken desk, suddenly being able to send ke flying and the pierced rugby ball¡­ could Gary really be a¡­¡¯ He gulped before allowing his mind to finish his thought. ¡®A werewolf?!¡¯

    Just one day ago he would have immediately refused to believe such lunacy. Unfortunately for the current him, it was an answer that wouldpletely and perfectly exin all the strange urrences today. If Gary hadn¡¯t brought it up earlier, it might have never even crossed his mind.

    As always, Tom was the first one to arrive home. His parents were both scientists working for some importantpany one hour¡¯s drive away in a Tier-2 city and were therefore gone for most of the day. He was happy that their ie allowed them to livefortably in this middle ss house, in their middle ss city, although he wouldn¡¯t have minded seeing them more often. By the time they came home they werepletely tired out, and working overtime and on weekends was unfortunately rather the norm than the exception.

    Tom worked extra hard at school to avoid ending up like his parents. His dream was to one day own a huge mansion in a Tier-1 city, surrounded by beautiful maids who would cater to his every wish. Just like Gary, he saw bing an Altered as a sure-fire way to end up living such a cozy life.

    However unlike his best friend he was also very interested in the technical side surrounding Altered. Tom had clearly inherited his parent¡¯s curiosity, so he kept up to date on everything in that regard as well. Be it whenever new fossils were unearthed or any developments that might allow humanity to gain more Altered.

    Entering his room, it was filled withputers that Tom had handbuilt himself. There was more than one tower, and he also had multiple screens with tabs still open from months before. Sitting down at his desk, his hands were slightly shaking as his fingers hovered over the keyboard.

    ¡®If Gary really is a werewolf, and it¡¯s like in those movies and books, then on a full moon this could get very dangerous. He could end up hurting everyone, including his mother, his sister or even myself.¡¯

    With this in mind, Tom knew what to search for and he started typing away.

    ¡®How to kill a werewolf.¡¯

    As usual the inte was full of contradicting information. Not counting the sites that imed that werewolves didn¡¯t exist, others made them out to be just supernatural beings, most likely dog-types Altered, which could be killed simrly to humans, it would just take a little bit more effort.

    However, this wasn¡¯t what Tom was looking for. He just wanted to find an easy method to verify whether Gary was one. The mostmon answer that came up was to use silver which was supposed to hurt those creatures to varying degrees depending on the source.

    He opened his drawer and pulled out a snake-shaped silver pendant his parents had gifted him on hisst birthday. He had never worn it at school because he thought jewelry was a little too tacky and didn¡¯t really fit his style.

    ¡®Of course it¡¯s a snake,¡¯ Tom thought as he looked around the room. During his childhood he had a phase when he had been fascinated by those cold-blooded reptiles and he had made the ¡®mistake¡¯ of telling his parents exactly that. From that day on, all of his rtives, including his parents, bought him presents pertaining to those creatures.

    Be it snake posters, snake toys or snake movies. Unsurprisingly, he had long sincee to grow to hate them. Still, for once he was d as he held the silver ne in his hand. However, just that wasn¡¯t enough for him and Tom wanted something else.

    After a couple hours of research. he found something else that might work, though the opinions on that were very split. It was a hypothesis that since neither dog nor wolves could digest chocte, the same was likely true for their werewolves. As dumb as he found the idea to be, it was the best thing he could actually test for.

    Rushing down to the cupboard, Tom opened it to only be disappointed.

    ¡®I better go out and get some then.¡¯ Tom thought.

    It was a littlete out at night, and he had heard his parentse home today of all days. They might be sleepy, but they wouldn¡¯t let him go out, unless he had a very good reason for it. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out ¡®getting chocte¡¯ wouldn¡¯t cut it.

    This left him with no other choice but to sneak out via his bedroom window. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time climbing down to leave the house without anyone finding out. Fortunately, there was a shop that should have some not too far away, so Tom wasn¡¯t too worried, but just to be safe he still changed into a hoodie.

    During the day it wasrgely peaceful, but everyone knew that the city had many gangs. Once the sun had set it wasn¡¯t umon to run into someone belonging to one of them. Covering his own head made him feel a little safer. It was just a short ten minute walk to the nearest convenience store, so he gambled on his luck to not encounter any.

    On the way he passed through an empty park, and then through a few back streets without a hinch. However, standing outside his destination there were a few older looking high-school students wearing a ck band around either their arms or legs. They were smoking and drinking alcohol, with their bikes on the floor.

    ¡®These low lives¡­ is this really how they n to live? Just hanging outside a shop all day smoking and drinking? Good luck getting into university!¡¯ For a second Tom made eye contact with one of them.

    ¡°What the hell are you looking at, man?!¡± one of the men uttered. ¡°You look at me like that again and I¡¯ll bust your lip!¡±

    Tom didn¡¯t want any confrontation, so he quickly averted his look and practically rushed inside the shop. He went ahead and purchased quite a fewrge chlorate bars. As soon as he left the shop, he quickly started walking away ignoring the gang members.

    ¡®I hope this is enough chocte.¡± Tom thought. ¡®The question is, how do I get Gary to eat it without it seeming odd?¡¯

    Walking through the dark alleys back, with only a few lights lighting up the area, Tom was starting to feel nervous. It was dark and there was no one else around.

    Suddenly, he heard the sound of studentsughing derisively and a few secondster, a bike skidded out in front of him, blocking his path.

    ¡°I told you, no one looks at me that way and gets away with it!¡± The one in front told him, while the ones behind him were looking forward to a good show.

 Chapter 15: Top Dog

    <h4>Chapter 15: Top Dog</h4>

    ¡®A horrible situation.¡¯ Was Tom¡¯s thought.

    ¡°I told you, no one looks at me that way and gets away with it!¡± The one in front told him, while the ones behind him were looking forward to a good show.

    ¡®This sh*tty neighborhood! I didn¡¯t even do anything to you! I may have thought you were a scum of society, but it¡¯s not like I told you that to your face! I never spoke those words out to you!¡¯ Tom gulped down hard. Outrunning someone on a bike was impossible for someone like him.

    There were four of them, all with a ck band around a part of their body showing their affiliation to a colour gang. Tom was considering what to do, but he was afraid resisting or fighting back would just worsen his situation.

    ¡®Looks like there is no way around a beating. I just hope after a few punches he¡¯ll get bored and they¡¯ll leave.¡¯

    The one Tom had ¡®offended¡¯ hopped off his bike, while the rest stayed on theirs, likely to catch up to him if he tried to make a run for it. Tom had resolved himself to his inevitable fate, so he gritted his teeth, clenched his hands and closed his eyes as he waited for the impact from the fist that had just been thrown.

    Instead, he heard a scream from the boy.

    ¡°My arm! You sh*thead, this had nothing to do with you! Who the hell are you?!¡±

    Opening his eyes, Tom saw the boy down on the floor, holding his elbow which appeared to have been broken. He was addressing a manpletely dressed in ck with arge trench coat, who had suddenly appeared in front of Tom.

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m just someone who happened to pass by. This world has enough dangers that we humans don¡¯t have the need to be fighting amongst each other, yet here you are ganging up on a defenseless kid. You scum are the worst.¡± The man answered.

    Since he was in front of him, Tom could only see that the man had long flowing hair and a solid body. Calling him tall would be an understatement, Tom estimated him to be well over eight feet. As he turned around, Tom got a good look at his face. His savior had a scruffy beard, but overall good looks. It was as if he was staring at an older version of ke.

    The other students who hadn¡¯t gotten hurt, got off their bikes and started to pull out weapons, with the one on the floor taking out a pocket knife.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I deal with things a lot worse than these small time trashes on a daily basis,¡± the man smiled at Tom, as he ran forward to one of the students with a bike chain.

    The boy panicked andshed it out, but stepping away, the man avoided it and grabbed it. He then ripped the bike chain out of the other¡¯s hands, and swung it at the attacker¡¯s legs. Tom found it a bit ironic that the man seemed to have better mastery over the boy¡¯s weapon.

    Without taking a break, the man easily dispatched the other¡¯s one by one. Without breaking a sweat he had simply knocked the pocket knife from the first boy¡¯s hand, before kneeing him in the face.

    Tom had to pinch himself, to make sure he wasn¡¯t dreaming. He even took a look around to check for some hidden cameras, but of course there were none. There was no one else to witness the six of them. It didn¡¯t take long and the man had taken out all four of them carefully.

    ¡°Go home kid, there are a lot more dangerous things in the middle of the night and you won¡¯t always be lucky enough for a good samaritan to help you out,¡± the man advised as he started to walk away.

    ¡®Who was that?¡¯ Tom wondered.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    There was one more person who had snuck out from home, only in Gary¡¯s case it was a lot harder to do so. At least it should have been, however this time, he found it a lot easier to escape their apartment on the top floor. There was a lot more strength in his fingers as he grabbed onto the window ledges, and slowly went down until he reached the bottom floor. Evennding on the floor from his height didn¡¯t result in any pain to his feet or knees.

    ¡®Hehe.¡¯ Gary smirked to himself. ¡®Maybe this whole werewolf thing does have more perks than I initially thought.¡¯

    The meeting ce set by Kai was in front of the school. He would have usually changed into his normal ck and red tracksuit when out, but that was also the uniform given to him by his gang. There was no reason to run around with a target on his back, instead Gary had grabbed some in clothing, just a white top, and some ck trousers.

    When Gary finally arrived, he could see Kai, standing there, staring off into the distance just as he had done on the rooftop. The only thing missing was the wind to make his hair flutter. From a distance, Gary noticed the other one still wearing his ck and gold Bolex watch, which just annoyed him even more, but also reminded him why he was here.

    ¡°I¡¯m here just like you asked, so what¡¯s the job?¡± Gary asked, getting straight to the point.

    Kai looked Gary up and down, and scoffed a little at what he was wearing.

    ¡°You got here a lot faster than I expected, seeing as I only texted you a short while ago. Did you already happen to be in the area?¡± Kai questioned back and Gary just scratched his head nervously and nodded. ¡°Well, it seems to be a good thing, considering your current outfit. There¡¯s no way in hell, I¡¯m letting you go like that. Here!¡±

    Kai threw a sports bag over to Gary.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Gary asked. Opening it up, he found some clothing inside waiting for him. He was surprised to see that it was just his size, even though he had never told Kai that information.

    ¡°Have you already forgotten what I told you? We¡¯ll be making a new gang and today you¡¯ll be the one to represent us. I don¡¯t want us to be one of those poor gangs who wear hoodies and tracksuits and harass people. The first impression counts and since this will be our debut, you¡¯ll need to make yourself look a little nice.¡±

    Gary looked around, looking for somewhere to change but the school was already closed and there was nowhere else. Seeing him hesitate, Kai pointed at the floor.

    ¡°It¡¯s nearly the middle of the night, so there¡¯s nobody to see you anyway.¡± Kai pointed out as he tapped his foot impatiently.

    Gary wanted to argue that Kai was there, but the other¡¯s gaze made it clear that he was starting to get irritated. Unfortunately for Gary, he was depending on Kai and couldn¡¯t risk pissing him off. Although he didn¡¯t want to, Gary reluctantly got changed in front of the school into the new clothes that Kai had brought for him.

    Gary now had a small jacket over this white top, without a hood, yet with a cor that popped outward. The trousers were quite tight fitting, but in a material that expanded, and a matching pair of boots to go with it. In fact even though the clothes looked ufortable the material was very flexible making it feel quite nice on his skin.

    However there was one thing he didn¡¯t like, the colours, making him wonder whether it was his fashion sense that was off or Kai¡¯s.

    ¡°Perfect, you actually look half-decent now. Don¡¯t look at me like that, you should know that every gang has something that symbolises which gang they¡¯re from,¡± Kai started to exin. ¡°Before you wore red and ck and now you shall be ck and gold. Trust me, with how many gangs there are, this was the best avable colourbo!¡±

    Now that Kai had pointed it out Gary noticed that everything that Kai was already dressed that way. The main colour of his clothes was ck, with the trim, outline and the small details golden.

    ¡°Unfortunately, your hairstyle still sticks out like a sore thumb, but we don¡¯t have the time to do anything about it. It¡¯s something we¡¯ll have to solve another time.¡± Kai stated with a smirk as he jokingly made a gesture of cutting them off. At least Gary hoped that it was just a joke.

    The two of them did not move inside since the actual meeting ce wasn¡¯t at the school. The destination was somewhere else, but no matter how many times Gary asked where they were going, after telling him it would be a surprise the first time Kai ignored his questioning.

    Eventually, they reached a car park. It was a bit away from the main shopping street and other ces and it also looked a little rundown, but Gary could tell from afar that it appeared to be quite lively inside. There were actually people hanging outside who acted as some sort of bouncers. The most surprising thing was that they looked to high-school students no older than eighteen.

    Finally, following Kai, they entered an elevator and went ahead to the top floor. When it opened. Gary was hit with a wave of cheers and screams as if he hade to a rave party.

    ¡®What the hell is going on?¡¯ Gary thought.

    Looking around, they were all high-school students, some even still in their school uniforms, and what they were all cheering at was a fight happening in the centre.

    ¡°This is an illegal fighting event, for high-school students only,¡± Kai exined, with a nasty smile on his face. ¡°Here¡¯s where the strongest students meet up and duke it out amongst themselves to decide who the top dog is!¡±

 Chapter 16: Green Fang

    <h4>Chapter 16: Green Fang</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty impressive for just high school students, right? And this isn¡¯t the only one. This is one of the many underground fighting clubs spread through the whole country. Although this is just a small one,¡± Kai revealed to Gary who was still a bit taken aback at the idea that people his age would gather in secret to watch others duke it out live.

    ¡®If this is considered ¡®small¡¯, just howrge is big for you?¡¯

    Gary found it hard toprehend since he guessed that there were at least five hundred people present. On closer inspection he noticed another thing, those teens and tweens seemed to be gathered in groups, each wearing their own sort of uniform. It looked like a club meeting from all sorts of different schools were going on.

    Kai, having a keen eye, noticed what Gary was looking at.

    ¡°Remember what I said about many people from different school groups being here? Those school gangs take this thing here quite seriously. The reason they dress the way they do is so they can make a name for themselves. Just like with the gangs, the idea is for you to see their clothing and instantly know who they belong to. It might sound impressive for a bunch of students to organize all of this¡­ it¡¯s because the ones responsible are the gangs.¡±

    ¡°Gangs?¡± Gary gulped looking around to see if he could see any well known ones amongst them. ¡°Do you mean like the Underdogs?¡± Referring to the gang Gary used to work at.

    Kai couldn¡¯t help but chuckle seeing Gary acting so nervous.

    ¡°Do you think the Underdogs woulde down here personally? This here is the VERY minor leagues, basically just a gathering of a bunch of no name schools, or what we refer to as ¡®loners¡¯ attempting to join one of the other gangs, proving their strength.¡±

    ¡°Still this is technically a recruitment field and there are scouts from gangs here, but they would be like D-Tier gangs. They either absorb one of these smaller gangs into their own, or look at who they can snatch up and join their gang in the future. You know, since guns are now non-existent, knowing how to use your fists or a weapon is a big deal. At the bigger events there are even those that are Altereds.¡±

    What Kai was referring to was the ¡®Harmful Weapons Act¡¯, which came into y a little after they had been born. With how fast and how bad the world had been deteriorating, countries were worried that World War Three could start at any moment and humanity would just end up destroying the.

    So a pact was agreed between every single country. To get rid of all weapons, nuclear weapons, missiles, tanks, anything of mass destruction. With technology it was nearly impossible to hide anything from other countries, so they couldn¡¯t even build things in secret.

    This just made the development of Altered growth between countries, as they strived to create the perfect human being.

    What shocked Gary, was there were apparently things like this going all over the ce that he didn¡¯t know about. The underworld was certainly another side that people didn¡¯t see unless they were involved in it and more importantly invited.

    ¡°So what are we doing here?¡± Gary asked, as the two of them started to push through the crowd, until they eventually reached the outer edge. The onlookers had formed a naturalrge rounded ring to not interfere with the fighters. For those that were in a difficult position, the fight was being live streamed and others could watch it on their phones and devices.

    ¡°Well, remember what I said about loners not belonging to a gang? It¡¯s easy to see who is part of one and who isn¡¯t by their colours, or more urately theck thereof.¡± Kai pointed out.

    Gary could see there were quite a few people that weren¡¯t wearing any obvious colours, like the ones currently in the ring.

    ¡°Wait, what are you saying?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying we can¡¯t create a gang with just the two of us! We need more people, and can you think of a more perfect ce other than this?¡±

    Gary suddenly understood why Kai had more than one pair of clothing in the bag he had handed him earlier. He intended to give it to the new recruits on the spot!

    Gary watched the two as they fought, wanting to get an idea of just how skilled these fighters would be. Both those in the centre looked the same age as him. Around sixteen or fifteen years old.

    One was a ck boy, with short spiky blonde hair, wearing a sleeveless shirt, his muscles showed quite well and he had a couple of scars on his shoulders.

    His opponent was arger boy who was nearly twice as big as the first one. It wasn¡¯t that the other boy was small, it was just that this one was incrediblyrge.

    The two of them exchanged a few blows, and a few punches from the ck boy had hit therger one in the stomach, but he justughed it off, as if it was nothing.

    ¡°Who will win, Innu the Warrior or Spike the Blob?! Last chance to ce your bets, everyone!¡± One of the students announced walking around with a board showing the odds which were currently in favour of the Blob.

    ¡°Interested in cing a bet? If I¡¯m not mistaken you should have received a nice down payment. Although knowing you, you probably didn¡¯t take any along, so want me to lend you some?¡± Kai offered with a wide grin.

    Watching the two exchange a few punches gave Gary a good idea who he thought would win, but cing a bet was out of the question for him. Although he was sure, anything could happen in a fight, especially one like this without any clear rules. He came here to win money, not risk losing it all and he had a premonition that borrowing from Kai would just be him cing a leash on himself.

    ¡°Is this what you meant, when you said we could make money?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Nah, as I said this is just something for fun. I¡¯m merely curious to know who you think would win? Remember I haven¡¯t finished testing out how useful you are to me yet.¡±

    So far none of the attacks from Innu the Warrior had connected and it looked like Spike the Blob would soon tire him out and beat him. Just then, Innu took a stance, where he bent his knees slightly and raised his hands above his head.

    It looked simr to a boxing stance, but Gary knew straight away it wasn¡¯t a boxing stance.

    ¡°I don¡¯t gamble, but if I had to ce a bet I would ce it on Innu,¡± Gary said, making sure to emphasise his no gambling policy. However Kai was no longer listening. He brought out a wad of cash and waved the person over to register his bet.

    ¡°All of this on Innu!¡± Kai demanded as he put down what Gary estimated to be at least one thousand dors.

    ¡°Wait! I told you I don¡¯t want to borrow any of your money!¡±

    ¡°Who says it¡¯s for you? Don¡¯t worry this is my own bet.¡±

    The fight continued, and this time the Blob got into a downward portion simr to one in American football. He then readied himself and charged forward at a great speed that no one had seen before in the fight.

    Those that had bet on the Blob cheered at this sight. Before they had thought it likely for him to win, but seeing this disy of his talent they were sure of it. Even the scouts from the gangs seemed to consider giving him an offer after this round.

    At that moment though, at the right time, using his knee. Innu struck him in the face, using his own force against him. Blood sttered as his nose was broken, the fighter himself thrown back in the air and dazed. Innu the Warrior didn¡¯t stop there, using the Blob¡¯s thigh, he lept off it, and struck down with his elbow at the top of his opponent¡¯s head. Innu did this three times in a row, and gripped onto his head with both of his thighs.

    Falling to the ground, Innu never let go, and once the Blob¡¯s body hit the floor, Innu finally rolled over and there was a clear winner.

    The crowd erupted in cheers despite some of them having lost their money, as people always loved seeing a turn around, and Innu had given them quite the spectacle.

    After collecting his own fight money, Innu went to rest and Spike the Blob was carried off to the side.

    ¡°Just a lucky guess?¡± Kai asked as he was gleefully counting his winnings, that Gary couldn¡¯t stop eyeing, now wishing he had made the bet.

    ¡°His stance, although it looked like boxing, he¡¯s actually a Muay Thai fighter. They focus on using their knees and elbows. One had fighting experience and was calm throughout the match, never looking worried, while the other was just a street fighter, in other words your average bully,¡± Gary answered.

    Kai couldn¡¯t help but let out an appreciating whistle, realising that Gary was more so special than he had realised. He brought out his phones and started to type away, and without looking down asked Gary a question. ¡°So have you thought about an alter ego name for today? Given that the Underdogs still want you to hide using your real name or the fake one you¡¯ve given them, isn¡¯t advisable. What would you want as a stage name?¡±

    ¡°A stage name?¡± Garry thought about it for a moment. Given his change, he would pick something werewolf rted. ¡°Erghh maybe something like Silver Fang, but wh-¡±

    ¡°Silver Fang won¡¯t do, your hair¡¯s green.¡± Kai interrupted him, as he finished typing and sent out his message.

    ¡°Next we have a new fighter, fighting for the first time. He wishes to keep his name a secret but he goes by the name, Green Fang!¡± The announcer shouted out to the crowd to hype them up, while Gary had still been connecting the dots.

    ¡°You wanted to make some money, right? Don¡¯t worry, I will bet on you, and we can share the profits. This is the best way to get our name out here, so it¡¯s time for you to go make us some money, Green Fang.¡± Kyle said with a smile.

 Chapter 17: Round 1

    <h4>Chapter 17: Round 1</h4>

    Before Gary had any chance to refuse participating in the next fight, the crowd opened up a way for him and with a not so gentle push, Kai forced him to enter the arena. The highschool students were now looking at him from all over. It felt as if they were seeing right through him trying to analyse what type of person he was.

    ¡®Was it a mistake to go to Kai?¡¯ Gary was left wondering. As a fan of Altered fights he had naturally dreamed about being on stage himself. Who would have thought he would get a chance¡­ only that it would be at an ¡®underground¡¯ fighting club?

    The spectators did not seem to be too impressed with Gary as he was pretty average in terms of height. Today had been the first time he had ever visited a gym, so his lean figure did not have any muscles for him to show off. Compared to thest contestants, he just didn¡¯t look as if he wouldst long.

    [Your heart rate is increasing]

    [90 BPM]

    [95 BPM]

    [99 BPM]

    ¡®Goddamnit Kai, why couldn¡¯t you have warned me at least?! Sh*t, I have to calm down. With so many people watching I can¡¯t disy too much power!¡¯ Gary worried as he looked around. His fight-or-flight response kicked in, and he would definitely prefer thetter option until he got a better feel for his newfound powers.

    Unfortunately for Gary, Kai was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Let¡¯s now give a big wee to his opponent! With fifteen fights under his belt, he has won ten of them, Biiilllllyyyy Buuuuusssstttteeeeerrrrr!¡± The announcer called out and the crowd erupted in cheers as arge bald headed man entered from the opposite side. Billy had his top off disying his six pack of bs, and aside from a normal looking pair of pants, he had a pair of thick gloves on his hands.

    ¡°Oi, you gotta be kidding me! I thought this was highschool students only?! Why the hell is my opponent a middle-aged man?!¡± Garyined to the announcer, panicking far too much to realise that what he had just said could be heard by everyone including his opponent.

    ¡°¡­ your opponent might have been held back, but he is merely neen years old!¡± The announcer exined to Gary, as well as some other neers.

    ¡°Thanks for not making me feel bad about giving you a beating!¡± Billy spoke, approaching Gary as he punched his right fist into his left open hand, arge vein sticking out from his head due to his anger.

    ¡°Looks like both of our fighters are ready, let¡¯s get this show on the road!¡± The announcer shouted out and Gary¡¯s system apparently agreed with him as well.

    [New quest received]

    [Win your debut fight]

    [The opponent in front of you is out for blood! Use whatever means necessary to defeat him!]

    [Quest reward: 50 Exp]

    The Quest this time didn¡¯t make Gary feel any better about the person he had to fight, and through the clear screen he could see Billy charging right at him, swinging his right fist. The attack seemed sloppy to him and Gary¡¯s improved eyesight allowed him to almost see the very wrinkles on his opponent¡¯s hand.

    His natural instincts kicked in and he ducked down avoiding the attack, cing his hands over his face. Having dodged the attack, Gary didn¡¯t use the chance to attack the other part. Instead¡­ he started to run away from Billy.

    ***

    After having won his fight Innu had gone over to the bar counter and had ordered himself a beer, part of the quirks he had received for winning his match. As he had expected, several people had quicklye over, attempting to recruit him over to their teams.

    It was rare to see a ¡®Loner¡¯ who was quite talented and knew martial arts on top of that. Innu had listened to the various offers, but none of them had piqued his interest.

    Kai had deliberately waited for all the hyenas to disappear, but rather than to directly approach Innu like all the others had done, he had ordered himself a fancy cocktail. Once he had received it he took a big swig and leaned against the counter from which he had simply started to watch Gary¡¯s match for a bit.

    So far Green Fang had managed to avoid the wild but powerful swings from Billy a few times, even thrown a couple of them himself, unfortunately they all had rebound off the other¡¯srge belly.

    ¡°Do you fancy yourself a betting man, Innu?¡± For the first time, Kai addressed the other boy.

    Innu took a second to reply, as he had started to believe that Kai might have really juste over for a drink. He had noticed that he was dressed in the same colours as the fighter in the arena.

    The strange thing about that was, although Kai had the looks of a pretty boy, he nevertheless appeared to have the physique of an experienced fighter. Much more so than his buddy whose only strength appeared to be dodging and running. Even under his clothes his muscles were apparent and Innu had a feeling that the other was not only someone who would not shy away from a fight, but might actively seek it.

    However, most importantly to Innu, the one trait that stood out even more than the others¡­ was that this entric boy next to him smelled of money! From the hoses he wore, to the watch he was wearing on his wrist, all of it looked to be genuine brand-name items!

    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t a betting man, then I wouldn¡¯t be here and I bet with my life every time I fight,¡± Innu eventually replied.

    ¡°Well, that makes two of us then. Thanks to your performance in thest match I¡¯ve already earned a pretty penny~,¡± Kai said, as he took out a wad of cash which he then yfully tossed up. He noticed that Innu¡¯s eyes became bigger, seemingly trying to estimate how much it was worth, putting a mild smirk on Kai¡¯s face.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that you¡¯ve rejected the offers of the other guys, so how about a little wager to make things interesting? In a moment, I will go over to ce a bet on ¡®Green Fang¡¯ winning with the money I used for my earlier bet. If I turn out to be correct, you¡¯ll join our gang and half the payout sum will be yours. We can call it a nice ¡®little¡¯ advance payment for joining the crew. On the other hand, if he loses, all the money you see here will be yours.¡±

 Chapter 18: Round 2

    <h4>Chapter 18: Round 2</h4>

    This wasn¡¯t the first underground fight that Innu had appeared at. He had been to quite a few before and each time he showed off his skills there would be those that approached him. It was the first time he had been to one of this size, so he thought today would be the day he finally decided to join a gang.

    To him, it was a stepping stone. These small gangs would be recruited by bigger gangs in the future, or maybe if he stood out he would get on the fast track but for some reason, when he heard this Blonde boy speak, he did so with a confidence different to all the others. Which made him want to know more about him.

    A smile appeared on Innu¡¯s face as this was less a bet and more of a win-win scenario for him. Either way he would get a lot of cash, but it did serve its purpose to make him intrigued.

    Suddenly, he started paying a lot more attention to the ongoing fight. Innu recognised that Green Fang was able to see Billy¡¯s movements clearly, yet neither his punching nor his kicking showed any signs of being a trained fighter.

    Between the two of them, there was also another clear difference. Weight ss. The weight ss of one was toorge of a gap to ovee. From the few hits that Gary hadnded on his opponent, none seemed to have had any effect so his downfall would be whenever Billy managed to catch him. In the middle of the fight, he wouldn¡¯t suddenly grow in strength. Perhaps he might be able to tire out his opponent, but this arena had something that wouldbate that strategy to make things more interesting.

    If fights took too long, the crowd would start to close in on the fighters, forcefully shrinking down the arena size. Eventually there would not be enough room for fighters like Gary to evade, in which case a couple of hits from Billy and he would win.

    ¡°Why would I say no, to free money?¡± Innu chuckled, holding out his hand, and Kai pped it, confirming their deal. Although Innu believed there was a low chance of losing the bet, he also wouldn¡¯t mind. The way Kai treated money as just something he could throw around leisurely, Innu was sure that joining him wouldn¡¯t be entirely bad. Besides, the eyes of that fellow gave off the feeling that he knew what he was doing.

    ¡®Now it¡¯s all up to you, Green Fang,¡¯ Kai thought, as he went over to ce the bet.

    ***

    In the middle of the match, Gary made a discovery. Looking at his stats he noticed that his Energy value had dropped by two points. His System had only told him that Energy would be used to restore his HP when idle and that meat could be used to fill it up. Apart from that, he had been under the impression that it would function as a sort of a Stamina bar.

    Despite all the running and wild swinging he had been doing, he still felt like he could go on for hours, so if it was that, then he had far more stamina than a normal human. He just had to take a look at Billy for that. The fighter was no longer in the best shape of his life with sweat visibly dripping down from his face. Deep huffing and panting and his swings were getting slower as his arms felt heavier.

    ¡®Should I just wait for him to run out of gas?¡¯ Gary wondered, yet at that point a buzzer-like sound could be heard. The next moment, everyone in the crowd took a single step forward. Suddenly the arena had gotten smaller.

    Gary didn¡¯t know the rules of the event, but he could tell that something was about to change, and it was unlikely to be anything good. With Gary looking around in a slight confusion, Billy saw it as a chance and went in for a grab. With no path of retreat, Gary went to do the only thing he could do.

    ¡®It should be something like this, right?!¡¯ Jumping off his feet towards the other guy, he shoved his right knee forward. Billy¡¯s head had been slightly tilted, so Gary¡¯s knee connected with the other¡¯s face.

    From the outside it looked like an exact replica of what Innu had done before. The one in question nearly choked on his beer as he watched how his move had been copied after seeing it once.

    s, unlike Innu, Garycked the experience to follow up. He had clearly heard and felt Billy¡¯s nose break and thought this would be the end of it. The reality of the matter was, that the other was able to shake the hit, and filled with rage swung his right fist, for the first time managing to hit Gary.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if he was imagining it or not, but Gary could have sworn he heard a few cracking sounds as he was sent tumbling to the ground holding his side.

    The pain was intense and with every breath he took it seemed to hurt even more.

    ¡®Does that blob have a sledgehammer hidden in those gloves?!¡¯

    [You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

    [-17 HP]

    [83/100 HP]

    [Your left rib cage has been broken]

    [Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

    [-10 Energy]

    [88/100 Energy]

    As soon as this message appeared, Gary could feel something escape his body. His real energy sapped away, while at the same time his breathing got better. A few breathster and he was back to normal. It was as if he had never been hit in the first ce. His broken bones hadpletely healed. However, while looking at his HP value it said otherwise.

    ¡®Whoa!¡¯ Gary thought, tapping his hurt side slightly. ¡®I healed, and so quickly. Is this what it means to be a werewolf?¡±

 Chapter 19: BPM Rising

    <h4>Chapter 19: BPM Rising</h4>

    Gary had visibly suffered arge blow, yet he somehow managed to stand up as if it had been nothing more than a light tap. The crowd was bbergasted, but not as much as Billy himself, who knew best how much power should have been behind his hit.

    ¡®Billy¡¯s weight should be two times that of Green Fang,¡¯ Innu calmly analysed from the side. ¡®Unlike the rookie he should also know how to fight properly, so it¡¯s impossible for him to have gone easy on his opponent. I¡¯m also pretty sure there¡¯s a reason behind him wearing those gloves¡­¡¯

    Innu had been certain that Billy was the clear favorite in this match. Although Gary hadn¡¯t been too bad in terms of dodging and evading the other¡¯s attack, the rules of the arena were too much in favor of the veteran fighter. That one hit alone should have been the deciding factor.

    ¡°There¡¯s always a puncher¡¯s chance as they say in boxing,¡± Kaimented, looking on leisurely, as if everything was proceeding exactly ording to his calction. Nobody noticed that the cocktail ss that he had put aside was on the brink of fracturing.

    ***

    Gary was just as amazed at the extent of his ¡®resilience¡¯ as everyone else, but since it was his body, he was simultaneously the first toe to the realisation that it sadly changed very little. If anything, it just meant that he would have to suffer longer as a punching bag.

    As if on cue, Billy¡¯s experience helped hime to the same conclusion. Since Green Fang had not used this opportunity to fight back, it just meant that his opponent stillcked the means to defeat him. Why else would he have run around the whole time?

    As such, Billy went in for another punch towards Green Fang¡¯s head. Sensing the iing threat, Gary braced himself and used his hands to block it, yet in the next moment he felt a sharp pain from his sides, once more.

    ¡°Closing your eyes in the middle of a match?! You really are a greenhorn!¡± Billy shouted.

    [You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

    [-20 HP]

    [63/100 HP]

    [Your left rib cage has been broken]

    [Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

    [-15 Energy]

    [73/100 Energy]

    Gary was unable to reply, too busy to grit through the pain. His opponent had fully intended to incapacitate him by striking at his supposedly injured side once more. Were it not for his newly attained healing factor, Gary was sure that the resulting injury would have put him out ofmission for a few weeks in the best case scenario.

    ¡®I need more power to be able to do anything to that blob!!¡¯ Gary thought to himself. ¡®I just have to be careful to not let my heart rate rise too much!¡¯ He was not sure where exactly his limits were, but from the few times he had experienced it Gary was aware that around 100-120 BPM he seemed to grow more powerful. Nevertheless, somewhere between 130-150 BPM he also started to transform and lose his sanity¡­

    The pressure of having to continuously dodge Billy¡¯s fists, but more prominently the second rm sounding out, the crowd closing in on them, making the fighting area even smaller than it was before, worked in his favour.

    [100 BPM]

    [103 BPM]

    [107 BPM]

    Unfortunately, although Gary¡¯s n was working as intended, it was not doing so fast enough. Unless he got a power boost fast, he might end up losing this fight. His Energy was seemingly unable to heal his HP and he was not looking forward to find out what happened once it hit zero.

    He thought back to earlier today and what had allowed him to get his boost. It was one person, the new girl, Xin. He imagined that she was somewhere in this crowd, watching his fight, like she had done earlier today.

    [111 BPM]

    [118 BPM]

    [125 BPM]

    [Your Strength is increasing]

    Gary could feel the strength rising in him, and seeing Billy¡¯s fist, he didn¡¯t evade it. This time he widely swung back, and both fists collided mid air. Some of those in the crowd squealed as they imagined the pain Gary must experience at that moment. They were not wrong, he was in a lot of pain, convinced that the knuckles in his fist were broken, yet if they were, it didn¡¯t seem to be to a degree that his Energy ¡®healing¡¯ kicked in.

    ***

    ¡°Ladies and gentleman, this is the first time that Green Fang has not been pushed back by Billy Buster,¡± the announcer gleefullymented. ¡°Could this be the start of aeback for our underdog?!¡± The crowd erupted in cheers as this fight finally started to resemble an actual brawl instead of a game of tag.

    ***

    Gary could care less about the crowd¡¯s entertainment. Internally he was cursing due to the pain his hand was suffering from, pleading the system to do to his hand what it had done to his rib. s, it was to no avail. He had no choice but to continue to ignore it, yet the good thing was that Billy was suffering even more than him.

    The metal ting the fighter had kept hidden had been smashed by Gary. Using such underhanded tricks was not against the rules of the arena, merely frowned upon since the crowd was expecting to see a ¡®fair fight¡¯. Using brass knuckles and the like was basically the equivalent of a fighter admitting that they didn¡¯t believe in their own skills.

    ¡®How is that possible? How did that broli head¡¯s punch suddenly get so much stronger?¡¯ Billy was left wondering, as he stood there looking at him, with his right hand throbbing. ¡®Could it be he just pretended to be weak to y with me earlier? No that should be impossible, he is obviously a greenhorn, so how?¡¯

    It was a strange sight to behold, but Green Fang suddenly seemed like an entirely different person. His eyes were dead set on the person in front of him, and Billy could feel a slight shiver run through his body.

    Today, it was midnight already going into the next day, and the sky was quite clear, shining down on all of them was part of the moonlight. Although Gary was unaware of all of this, he was just ready to go with his natural instincts.

    ¡®I¡­I¡­need to calm down.¡¯ Gary thought.

    The pain in his hand, the adrenaline of the fight and the thoughts of Xin were all pushing his heart rate above what he had ever had before.

    [150 BPM]

    [155 BPM]

    [160 BPM]

    ¡®What is happening to me?¡¯

 Chapter 20: He Did What?

    <h4>Chapter 20: He Did What?</h4>

    Gary could tell that slowly he was losing his mind, and all his thoughts resolved on his desire to get rid of the person in front of him. He started running forward, ignoring the pain. Gary just hoped that if he could win the fight fast enough and get out of the arena, he could try and calm down.

    Or at least get far enough away from anyone he could end up hurting.

    Billy, who had been too frightened to move up until now, finally snapped out of his earlier daze, having convinced himself that Gary obviously must be far worse off than he was after smashing his fist into the brass knuckle. At that moment he saw his opponent leap through the air with his hands behind his back.

    For the first time, Gary was the aggressor. Hetched onto the surprised Billy with his legs between his armpits and his hands behind his neck. Billy managed to losely grab Gary¡¯s hairs and pulled him forward, although it was not enough to free his arms, it allowed him to punch Green Fang¡¯s head.

    After the first hit, almost possessed, Gary decided to dig his teeth right into Billy¡¯s right shoulder. His strong powerful jaws were easily able to get through the thick skin. His victim screamed in pain, wanting nothing more but to get his crazed opponent off, Billy let go. This prompted Gary to do the same and hended on the ground.

    As Billy stumbled slightly backward, worried about the throbbing wound. Unfortunately for him, Gary was not done yet. He leapt through the air once more, but this time delivering a dropkick aimed right at Billy¡¯s head. The blob¡¯s head flung to the side, and his whole body soon followed after it.

    Therge body tumbled to the ground, as he had taken quite a hit and let out a small tremor that those at the front had felt. Unable to think straight, Gary was making sure to finish Billy off. He climbed on top of the poor guy, pinning his arms under his knees, and started to punch his head with his open palmed hands as if he was wing at the person, one after another.

    ***

    ¡°Gary, stop!!! Listen to me, the fight is over!!!¡± Kai shouted out from the side. The smirk on his face gone, reced with a serious face. He had seen many go through a fighter¡¯s high, but in Gary¡¯s case it seemed that there was something more to it.

    ¡°Oi, announcer, are your eyes only for decoration? Even an amateur could tell you that Billy Buster is out cold. Announce the result!¡±

    Innu, just like everyone else, couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. How was it possible for such a scrawny guy to have such strength and such wildness. At the end, his fighting style, if one wanted to call it that, seemed more like that of a wild animal. One that had been backed into a corner and started to fight without any concern for self-preservation.

    Fortunately, the call had reached Gary who had stopped, looking over to where Kai was. He suddenly felt exhausted and could only look over. His gaze seemed to ask Kai whether the fight was really over and the next moment his eyes and body felt as if he had run a marathon.

    ¡°Ah, yes. Everyone, as you¡¯ve heard, Billy Buster seems to have passed out. Please give a big round of apuse for our neer, GRRREEEENNNN FAAAANNNNNGGGG!!!¡± The announcer dered, after it had be clear that the fight could not continue. Once he did, the system screen appeared in front of Gary to congratte him.

    [Quest reward: 50 Exp]

    [Congrattions, you have reached now level 2]

    [A new skill has been unlocked]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    Gary was quite interested in the new skill, but quite honestly he felt like he was going to copse at any second, and just when his eyes were about to close, he could see Kai that Kai had hurried over, with his hand held out.

    ¡°You did well, Green Fang. Come on, I¡¯ll take you home,¡± Kai insisted.

    epting his hand, Kai carried Gary out of the ce with him over his shoulder. There were many that wanted to speak to them on the way out, but nobody dared to stop Kai as they made their way back.

    Before leaving, he turned towards Innu. ¡°Remember our deal, I¡¯ll contact you about where and when to meet tomorrow,¡± Kai said, as he continued to walk out, shortly stopping to collect his earnings.

    ¡°But how will I contact you?¡± Innu asked, with a big smile on his face.

    ¡°Check out your new uniform!¡±

    Looking down in the bag that Kai had left next to him, Innu pulled out a uniform and underneath the clothes there was a little Burner phone. It was old and had physical buttons on it, but programmed on the phone was Kai¡¯s number.

    ¡®Looks like I found my gang.¡¯ Innu thought.

    A few minutester, after Kai and Gary had left, Innu suddenly realised that the former had yet to give him his money!

    ***

    Unable to move Billy had been taken off the stage and transported to the medical area. He had woken up around half an hour after he had been knocked out. Thest thing he remembered was having been bitten by Green Fang. Although he wasn¡¯t sure what happened next, he just knew that there was no way in hell he would ever fight that crazy bastard.

    The medical staff present were mostly university students who were studying medicine. They were able to treat most things as long as they were not too serious. Billy¡¯s broken nose had not been a problem and once he had woken up, they had informed him that he was mostly fine. The main thing they were concerned about was the bite mark on his shoulder.

    ¡°We tried our best to disinfect it, but if it still hurts or stings by tomorrow it would be in your best interest to get it checked out at the hospital,¡± the one in charge, an actual graduate who was already helping at his parent¡¯s doctor¡¯s office advised him, before he went to check on his other patients.

    Standing up, Billy did indeed feel fine, only the wound on his shoulder continued to throb.

    ¡®How the hell am I supposed to exin to them that I was bitten by a human, though?¡¯

 Chapter 21: Rabid Dog

    <h4>Chapter 21: Rabid Dog</h4>

    After a while Gary felt fine enough to be able to walk on his own, yet he didn¡¯t know how to tell Kai that. His upperssman was still carrying him over his shoulder and it would be strange for Gary to recover this fast. After the fight he had, it wouldn¡¯t be too surprising if it would take a week to recover. Without any better idea, Gary just continued to y the role of an exhausted fighter.

    ¡®I really need to find a way to control this power. Whenever my heart rate rises my whole body feels¡­different, and then soon after when it¡¯s all over I get to a low point.¡¯

    By low Gary was referring to his Energy value which would deplete after a while and in his actual status he had used a lot of Energy points for healing as well that seemed to affect him.

    Eventually Kai arrived at their school.

    ¡°Are you going to be okay getting back on your own?¡± Kai asked. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you¡¯re walking a lot better.¡±

    Gary hadn¡¯t even noticed that Kai had stopped helping him as soon as they got close to the school and he was standing fine, meaning his cover was blown.

    ¡°Ehh yeah, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Gary replied, nervously, his face turning a shade redder for having been caught. Fortunately, with howte it was, Kai didn¡¯t notice it¡­ or at least pretended not to.

    ¡°Good.¡± Kai nodded while retrieving a bundle of cash and cing it into Gary¡¯s hands. ¡°Here¡¯s five hundred for today¡¯s fight.¡±

    Gary had to repeat the number in his head and he instinctively counted the cash to make sure the other boy wasn¡¯t joking. It was only a couple of days ago that he had received five hundred for doing the most dangerous job ever, and now he was receiving this much because of one fight.

    ¡°Is this how much I won, for fighting?¡± Gary asked, still shocked, wondering why he had ever risked his life working as a transporter when he could have just be a fighter.

    ¡®Actually scratch that idea! What are you thinking Gary, you would have lost every single fight before getting this System!¡¯ His voice of reason reminded him.

    ¡°Not quite. This is a low level event after all. Normally, you would have received between one hundred and two hundred bucks, depending on how exciting your match would have been. As an incentive from the arenas you get some extra depending on how many bets were ced because of your fight.¡±

    ¡°Most of that is due to the bets I had made on you. As a neer your odds were naturally horrendous, so great job pulling through. Since this was your debut fight and you left quite an expression it seemed kind of shabby just giving you the minimum amount. Besides, I haven¡¯t forgotten that you came to me because you were in dire need of money.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s actually a lot more to it than that, but for now the rest of today¡¯s earnings will be set aside as ¡®Gang funds¡¯ for the future. I¡¯ll keep setting that money aside for a rainy day or when the gang needs expanding. Once our gang has grown into a respectable size, you¡¯ll have free reign over it,¡± Kai exined casually as if he had nned this all along.

    ¡°You¡¯ll let me have ess to even more money than what I¡¯m holding?¡± Gary questioned. His brain was trying to process all that information. He had juste out today, to earn some cash, yet his partner in crime apparently had already made ns far beyond that.

    ¡°Of course I will let you use the money. I¡¯d advise you to discuss what to use it for with your future lieutenants, but as the leader of a gang your word will bew.¡± Kai answered nonchntly.

    ¡°Leader?! Now hang on a moment. I know you said you wanted to form a gang and wanted me to work, but this is the first time I¡¯m hearing anything about me being the leader of it! Why would you even do that? It¡¯s your gang.¡± Garyined.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ve already made up my mind after watching you fight today. A gang needs a certain type of leader, and I think you¡¯re perfect for that role. Me, I will be the brains behind the whole thing, I don¡¯t really like being in the limelight anyway. It¡¯s not my style.¡± Kai argued.

    However, Gary wasn¡¯t really convinced by that. In school he stuck out like a sore thumb, not to mention all the fancy jewelry and expensive clothes of his practically screamed ¡®Look at me!¡¯.

    ¡°Do you really think you have much of a choice, Mr. loyal dog?¡± Kai teased him after seeing the unwillingness in the other¡¯s eyes. ¡°Just think of it as being the public face of our gang. All you need to do for the time being is concentrate on getting stronger. For starters, you might want to pick up a proper style, otherwise ¡®Green Fang¡¯ might soon enough be infamous as ¡®Rabid Dog¡¯.¡±

    Afterwards they each went their separate ways. It had been a crazy evening that was for sure, and it was hard for Gary to take everything in. Truth be told, he didn¡¯t take it all in. One event was just leading to another for him but most of all he just wanted to figure out this crazy system.

    [Level 2]

    [Exp 20/200]

    Before Gary had 70 points of Exp and needed 30 more points to level up. After defeating his opponent he had gained 50 points of exp, bringing his total to 120/100.

    ¡®At least it looks like the exp carries over, but the way questse up is so random, the only one that is consistent is the workout one and eating food since they¡¯re both daily quests.¡¯

    However, with the level up there also seemed to be a few more changes. For one, he had received a stat point which appears as if it could be used in a number of different ways.

    [A stat point can be used to improve a user¡¯s basic stats, or can be used to increase one¡¯s health. If used on health or energy it will be increased by ten points.]

    ¡®Wait I have stats, didn¡¯t see that before, what even are my stats?¡¯

    Thinking about this, another status screen appeared in front of him.

    [Strength 4]

    [Dexterity 3]

    [Endurance 8]

    Looking at these numbers, Gary didn¡¯t really know how to gauge them at all, but he knew based on how high his Endurance was, that his Strength and Dexterity were extremely low.

    ¡®I knew I was weak, but that weak?¡¯

    ¡®So I have Health, which seems to go down as my body gets injured. Then there¡¯s Energy, which is used up just on a day to day basis, but if I start fighting more than it uses it simr to a stamina bar in a game. However, it can also be used in an emergency to heal my body as well.

    ¡®As for the normal stats, Strength had to mean how strong I am right? Dexterity must be things like speed, agility and reflexes. I am pretty slow so that makes sense, and then Endurance. I¡¯m d to know that the only thing my body is good at is taking a beating, but I¡¯m guessing some of that has to do with me turning into a ¡­I don¡¯t even want to say the word. It feels like bad luck or something.¡¯

    Thinking about the fight that just urred, Gary was wondering what the best way to use the stat point was. At first his mind thought something like dexterity would be most useful. He could be a counter hitter using openers strength against them, especially if he was going to participate in more underground tournament fights.

    However, his mind started to wander and he found himself thinking about the rugby match and how Xin thought he was kinda cool when he had tackled ke.

    ¡®Don¡¯t be stupid, your life is more important then getting some girl.

    [Your energy has now increased to a maximum of 110]

    In the end, Gary had opted for increasing his energy. With the other basic stats, Gary wondered if he continued to go gym if they would change by themselves. His stats were based on how his body currently was, so he thought this was possible, but how would he increase his energy or his health without the system?

    The energy was important for him to fight for a long time, which would give him more time toe up with a way to defeat his opponents and also healed him up. To him, this was a no brainer.

    There was one more message that had appeared in the middle of the match and that was that Gary had acquired a new skill.

    Thinking about it again, another screen appeared in front of him.

    [Current list of skills]

    [Mark: 0/5]

    [Charging Heart] (new)

    He had already seen what a mark was and what it was meant to do, but it was interesting that he could only have five of them active at one time.

    [Charging Heart]

    [When activated, the user¡¯s heart rate will increase to 150 BPM. The skill will take 10 points of energy to use. When the users heart rate is above 150, all physical stats will be doubled]

    ¡¯Does that happen even if my heart rate rises that high on it¡¯s own? That would exin where the sudden surge of strength came from, but if I had this in thest fight I wouldn¡¯t have had to start thinking about¡­ Anyway this is good news, if only there was a skill that could lower it as well.¡¯

    After reading all the notifications, Gary thought it was time for him to head home. He couldn¡¯t stop counting the money that had been given to him as he walked. With this amount, depending on how regrly he earned it he would be able to help out his family.

    He was still unsure how much he could rely on Kai, but it was working out for now. Using some of the money, Gary stopped by a twenty four hour convenience store and bought some raw steaks. They were expensive but his energy was low and he knew to replenish it he needed to eat, plus it didn¡¯t hurt to treat himself once in a while.

    It was the middle of the night so no one was around and this time it was a lot easier for him to eat. He dug into the steaks so quickly that he didn¡¯t realise how much his body needed it.

    [Daily questplete]

    [5 Exp received]

    The quest to consume two kilograms of meat had already beenpleted and it was nearly one o¡¯clock at night, but this time the exp awarded was half that of before.

    ¡®Looks like I¡¯ll have to find other ways to gain Expter. For now I better head home.¡¯ Gary thought, as he ran through the empty streets to his bed.

    ***

    The next day, with the sun rising, Tom was a little nervous. He had his silver pendant ready and his bag of chocte.

    ¡®Gary, I hope what I¡¯m thinking isn¡¯t true.¡¯

 Chapter 22: Charging Heart

    <h4>Chapter 22: Charging Heart</h4>

    After consuming the raw meat he had purchased from the convenience store, Gary¡¯s Energy bar quickly started to fill up and by the time he snuck back home he already felt as good as he had before leaving for this nightly adventure.

    Waking up nearly five hourster, Gary¡¯s body feltpletely fine. The teenager was unsure whether this meant that he could use the raw protein as an energy drink substitute to keep on going for as long as he needed, but at least his need for sleep appeared to have lessened.

    ¡®I feel so alive!¡¯ Gary thought, as he moved his body about and got ready to school before anyone else. His mother and sister were not even awake yet. There was one thing he was thankful for though, the fact that his sister was keeping everything a secret for him.

    Gary was sure that she didn¡¯t know what he was doing, but since the two of them had to share a room, it had been impossible to hide the fact that he had disappeared from her. ¡®Damn, I bet she¡¯s going to ask for some big favourter on.¡¯ Garymented internally, as he scribbled a note for Amy to make sure she knew he had in fact returned and hadn¡¯t gone missing.

    Waking up before everyone else proved to be a blessing in disguise, especially since his acquired taste had changed. During his nightly trip to the convenience store, Gary had not only purchased meat for himself to consume. Right now the Dem family fridge was fuller than it had been for weeks.

    ¡®If Mum asks where I got it from, I¡¯ll just say it was a gift from one of the local stores.¡¯ Gary decided. He had already done this a few times during his work as a transporter, so it shouldn¡¯t stand out too much.

    Anything to lighten the load and stress of his mother. With all this newfound energy, Gary didn¡¯t waste time leaving before everyone else, yet on the way out he noticed all the letters that had piled up on the kitchen counter.

    ¡®A dozen more nights like yesterday and it should help us get out of this mess. The only question is how can I help us without having to exin where I got all this money from.¡¯ Gary wondered.

    No normal sixteen year old should be able to get a job that would pay this well, at least not legally and Gary wasn¡¯t exactly proficient ining up with excuses. The fact that he was a miserable liar and his mother could instantly tell when he lied wasn¡¯t exactly in his favor. In fact, even his excuse about the convenience stores gifting them those products has been met with skepticism by her, the first few times he had brought it up.

    ¡®I guess I¡¯ll just have to ask Kai, I¡¯m sure he will know a way.¡¯ Gary bemoaned the fact that he was relying more and more on his upperssman, but at least so far he had been keeping his promise and it was undeniable that he knew how to make money.

    This early in the morning, barely anyone was out and about, but Gary still kept his hood up on the way to school. He was afraid that any moment now Damion and the Underdogs could pop up. He was sure that they had not given up their manhunt on him and he was already dreading opening up his phone. In fact, he was nning to purchase a new one after school, and throw this into the river or perhaps bury it somewhere in the forest.

    Just as Gary was daydreaming how he could get rid of it without leaving a trail leading back to him, he suddenly spotted a particr girl up ahead.

    ¡®She looks familiar¡­ hang on, isn¡¯t she the same girl who got in trouble with that colour gang from before?¡¯ Gary soon enough had an epiphany about who it was.

    They were quite the distance away, but Gary was convinced. It was impossible for him not to recognise someone who indirectly forced him into ying the part of a hero. Despite the school crest on her uniform telling him that they were both visiting the same school, he had never actually seen her before he had rescued her, nor afterwards for that matter. Admittedly, he hadpletely forgotten all about her due to the plethora of other problems in his life right now, but seeing her again made him wonder what exactly she had done to get into trouble with a colour gang.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t she learn her lessonst time? How can she walk this way while being on her own again? At this point, she is just asking for trouble.¡¯ Gary shook his head in disbelief. He would have loved to just mind his business, but seeing as the two of them were using the same route, he couldn¡¯t just not look out for her.

    Eventually, Gary decided to catch up to her since there was no real reason for him to hide. He had followed her from a distance for a while and had been happy that there had been no encounters, however a few moments ago the girl had abruptly quickened her pace. The teenage boy had yet to realise that the girl had done so because she had felt that someone had been following her¡­

    ¡®Let¡¯s see what I can do, and how close I can get.¡¯ Gary thought.

    [Charging Heart]

    Activating the skill, he could feel his chest in great pain almost instantly, to the point he nearly fell over. His heart was beating as if he was sprinting even though he was just standing still. After the initial shock of impact was over though, he now was filled with energy. Ten points from his energy stat had been consumed, and his heart was now above 150 BPM. With this new energy, Gary started walking faster, but he knew he couldn¡¯t just get straight up behind her, so he thought maybe there would be a better way.

    Going down one of the alleys behind a small apartment block, he looked at all the pipes and ledges from the windowsills.

    ¡®This is crazy, right? Am I really going to try this?¡¯

 Chapter 23: The Test

    <h4>Chapter 23: The Test</h4>

    It was only a few days ago, where Gary couldn¡¯t do any type of physical activity and now, he was nning to scale the side of an apartment block. Leaping up, Gary had jumped higher than he had ever before and grabbed onto one of the ledges.

    He could feel his muscles working, and soon propped his other arm up to grab onto the ledge with both of his arms up. The only way to progress further up, was if he leapt up to the next windowsill, or if he jumped to the metal pipe and attempted to climb that.

    Afterpleting the first jump, he was full of confidence and swung his body over, but, at thest second, he hesitated. Still his body weight had swung in motion and his fingertips had left the windowsill.

    ¡°Aw Crap!¡± Gary shouted, as he hadpletely missed the metal pipe and had fallen onto the solid hard concrete.

    ¡°That freaking hurt.¡± Gary said, attempting to get up slowly. His heart was still beating fast though and his energy points were going down quicker than when he didn¡¯t use the skill.

    ¡®I guess, even if this skill does make me stronger, it still doesn¡¯t change me, I need to get used to it.¡¯ He started to flex his fingertips a bit and could see that the skin on it had slightly ripped as well, and his arms were now sore from holding onto the ledge, but he could feel the pain going away quickly.

    ¡®I guess, double my current strength and stats isn¡¯t so impressive. If I can improve my whole-body shape and increase my stats, that will also make the skill more effective. I also have to be wary of my energy points.

    ¡®Using the skill itself takes up ten energy points, and it almost feels like an adrenaline shot, but then I have less points to heal myself with. While getting my heart rate up naturally that high, it won¡¯t use the energy points initially.

    ¡®But other than thinking of that¡­ I don¡¯t really have a good method of controlling my heart rate.¡¯

    Thinking of that said person, Gary almost forgot the reason why he was trying to scale the wall in the first ce. He thought if he got up high, then maybe he could start leaping across rooftops while following the girl.

    It was a fantasy that was short lived.

    Canceling the skill was easy, and Gary soon just stuck to what he was doing before as he exited out of the alleyway and attempted to catch up with the girl.

    The good news was there didn¡¯t seem to be any signs of trouble. Gary wasn¡¯t sure if it was because it was so early in the morning, or if something else was going on. Eventually though they had reached the school and, at least knowing this ce was safe from others, he could take off his hood, but he didn¡¯t stop to follow the strange girl.

    ¡®Damn, I feel like a stalker, why am I still following her anyway? I was just going to protect her, right?¡¯ Gary thought, and eventually found himself on the third floor, where the senior students would be. He never expected her to be a senior student. Just as he was about to turn away though, he saw the girl talking to someone else he knew, and it looked like the two of them were on good terms.

    ¡®Is that Kai?¡¯ Gary thought. Without a doubt it was Kai, but why would these two know each other? He thought that anyone who would know Kai would also be involved in the underworld like he was. Thinking about this, made him think about how the girl was also being attacked by the gang, could it have something to do with Kai?

    Unfortunately, without getting any closer and being found out, Gary would just have to leave it at that, making his way back to his own ss.

    Just outside though, he managed to bump into someone that he was actually pleased to see.

    ¡°Oh Gary!¡± Tom said, holding a carrier bag, and nearly stepped back after seeing Gary.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You seem a little jumpy, is everything okay?¡± Gary asked, as he walked past and entered the ssroom putting his bag on the desk. He was happy to see Tom, because Tom was the only normal thing he still had left of his ordinary life, and he was hoping talking to him would remind him of the time before all this craziness.

    Tom went to touch the pendent in his pocket, he grabbed it for a second and was wondering just how he would get Gary to wear it or touch it. Even if he could, or if it would do anything.

    ¡°Hey, do you mind if I show you a magic trick?¡± Tom asked.

    ¡®If it starts hurting him, I¡¯ll take it off straight away and I¡¯ll know the truth.¡¯

    ¡°Okay, but I didn¡¯t know you were into magic now as well.¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°Just keep your palm open and close your eyes for a second.¡± Tom said.

    That¡¯s when Gary could hear it, something was definitely up with Tom. The two of them weren¡¯t far from each other, and now he could hear it. He could hear Tom¡¯s heartbeat, beating faster and faster.

    ¡®Is he that nervous that the magic trick is going to fail?¡¯ Gary thought, and closed his eyes, opening the palm of his hand to give him more confidence.

    Then holding the silver chain with the pendent. Tom was about to ce it in his hand when he started to have second thoughts.

    ¡®Why am I doing this, shouldn¡¯t I just ask?¡¯ Tom thought, as he felt a little bad, he was tricking his long-time best friend.

    Due to how long it was taking, Gary got impatient.

    ¡°Come on.¡± Gary said, having opened his eyes and grabbed the pendent. He then looked at it and wondered what it was. Tom nearly shouted out telling him to stop, but there seemed to be no reaction at all. A big, huge smile appeared across his face instead.

    ¡°Did I ruin the trick?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Umm, yeah but don¡¯t worry I need more practice anyway.¡± Tom said, as he took the pendant away and ced it back into his pocket.

    ¡®What the hell was I thinking, Gary a werewolf, maybe I¡¯ve been reading too many novels.¡¯ Tom thought.

    ¡°Hey so what¡¯s in the bag?¡± Gary called out.

    ¡°Oh this?¡± He replied, opening it up and pulling out arge chocte bar. He then threw it over with no worries at all to his friend. ¡°I had a craving in the middle of the night, but I can¡¯t eat all this on my own so decided to bring it in.¡± Tom smiled.

    ss hadn¡¯t started yet, as the students were stilling in. The tutor had arrived but wouldn¡¯t take the student register until the bell rang anyway. So, Gary thought it wouldn¡¯t be bad to take a nice bite of chocte, after all recently everything he had been eating was a little strange.

    Not having a care, Gary nearly bit half of the chocte bar off as if he didn¡¯t have a care in the world. When suddenly, he felt his throat swelling up. He ced his hands around his throat as if he couldn¡¯t breathe.

    ¡°Gary, are you okay, what¡¯s wrong!¡± Tom asked.

    Soon, Gary¡¯s body couldn¡¯t take it anymore, as it rejected the chocte, throwing up the contents in his stomach. It spread across the whole floor and soon all the students stepped away.

    ¡°What is that? Is that bile? But why is it so¡­ red?¡± The students thought.

    ¡®He threw up¡­ Why did he throw up?! Don¡¯t tell me it was from the chocte bar!!!¡¯ Tom started to panic.

 Chapter 24: Red Sick

    <h4>Chapter 24: Red Sick</h4>

    ¡°Is that¡­ blood? That can¡¯t be healthy. Should we call him an ambnce or something?¡± The students started to mumble to each other, unsure how to react given the situation.

    Gary could hear everyone around him whisper, but he was too busy after throwing up. At least, he started to feel a LOT better after doing so, but his sense of bnce was off, and holding himself up he had his arm on his chair.

    [You havee into contact with a substance that is poisonous to you]

    [-20 HP]

    [80/100 HP]

    [Until your body has broken down the poison, you are unable to heal]

    ¡®What is happening to me?¡¯ Gary thought as he struggled to realise what had just happened.

    As if his luck wasn¡¯t bad already, the next person toe into ss turned out to be Xin. The new girl was at first confused about what was going on, but following the direction everyone was pointing at, she quickly started to get the picture.

    ¡®If he¡¯s ill then why did hee to school in the first ce?¡¯ Xin wondered as she walked over and saw all the red vomit on the ground with different chunks of meat that strangely enough looked to be raw. More and more students began to enter the ssroom and one of them started to scream at the sight of the vomit.

    ¡°What is that?! Why is it so red? That¡¯s disgusting, someone get him out of here!¡± A group of girls huddled up and screamed.

    Xin turned to look at them, only to recognise the ringleader as the one who had been so heavily interested in ke when they had been watching the rugby match. If she wasn¡¯t wrong the girl had introduced herself as Tiffany and it was clear she was the one that everyone seemed to follow.

    ¡°Tiffany¡¯s right, he could be infected with something throwing up like that. He could pass all the disease onto us, get him out of here.¡± A boy agreed, quickly checking up on the ss diva.

    ¡®What have I done?¡¯ Tom still tried to make heads and tails of the suddenly devolved situation. ¡®Sh*t, I never thought it could have such an effect on you. Gary, don¡¯t you die on me, man! I can¡¯t be responsible for killing you!¡¯

    While the rest of the ss was busy ostracizing him, the first one to approach turned out to be none other than Xin.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you all? Are you sure you¡¯re all highschoolers and not just a bunch of kindergarten kids? Have you never seen anyone get sick before? You act as if he is the carrier of a deadly disease when I bet the poor guy must have just drunk some tomato juice or something beforeing here. Teacher, I¡¯ll take him to the nurse¡¯s office!¡±

    She pulled his arm up onto her shoulder, and was ready to take him away. When Gary turned his head, even though he was still feeling groggy, he recognised who it was.

    ¡°Are you an angel?¡± Gary blurted out, his words slurping like a drunk man.

    ¡°Easy there, Romeo, if you have the energy to spout such fluttery bullsh*t, then get a grip and help me bring you to the nurse¡¯s office.¡± Xin replied. If it had not been for his miserable situation she would have been convinced he was hitting on her.

    ¡°Wait, let me do it.¡± Tom insisted, as he clenched his fist. After all, this entire situation was his fault. He had been so focused on wanting to find out the ¡®truth¡¯ about his best friends that he had failed to consider the consequences of his actions.

    ¡°You probably don¡¯t know where the nurse¡¯s office is yet, and he¡¯s my best friend. Let me take him.¡± Tom argued, ashamed that the new girl was the first and only one who had been willing to help Gary. Xin was a bit surprised that Tom wanted to take over with such enthusiasm, but she saw no need to argue, as long as someone helped the poor guy.

    ¡°Damn Gary, can you please stop leaning on me so hard? You should know that the only muscles I have are in my fingers!¡± Tomined in a hushed tone as soon as the two of them had exited the ssroom

    With the two of them gone, Xin looked over the contents of the vomit one more time before looking at their desks when she noticed something. Tom had ced his carrier bag down on his table and it was full of chocte while Gary¡¯s seat had a half piece of eaten chlorate bar on his table.

    ¡®Was the green-haired guy allergic to chocte? Shouldn¡¯t his ¡®best friend¡¯ have known that?¡¯

    While looking at the tables someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder. Driven by instinct, she grabbed the offender¡¯s wrist, and spun the person around. The next second she had dug her hip into them and flipped them onto the ground¡­ right into the vomit.

    Only after finishing her routine did Xin suddenly realise what she had done.

    ¡®Oh no, why did we have to practice throws all day yesterday?¡¯ Xin cursed as she looked at Tiffany, whose blond hair was now covered with the red vomit.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, let me help you up.¡± Xin quickly apologised, offering her hand, but the other party unsurprisingly pped it away.

    ¡°You bitch!¡± Tiffany shouted in anger. ¡°What the hell did you do that for? Thanks to you I have puke all over me!¡±

    The two of her friends suddenly appeared behind Tiffany and were now standing behind Xin. One of them was a small girl with short purple hair, while the other was quite macr with ck pigtails.

    ¡°I swear, it was aplete ident! You startled me when you came up on me. What possible reason would I have to do this to you on purpose when I don¡¯t even really know you?¡± Xin tried to exin herself. She wasn¡¯t the least bit afraid of the physical capabilities of the two goons who had ced themselves in between the two girls as if to protect their queen bee, no she was just unwilling to deal with the possible aftermath this could have if left unresolved.

    Her father had warned her to not use her fists. Even though he was the mayor, it wasn¡¯t like the times of the past where they had the highest authority. In reality they had to obey andply with the many gangs that really ran the area, and angering the wrong people, not even he could help her.

    Thest thing she wanted to do was make her dad¡¯s stressful job even harder.

    ¡°You think a simple ¡®sorry¡¯ is going to cut it?!¡± Tiffany bellowed at Xin, her eyes filled with anger and malice. She could easily just wash off the puke, but nothing could change the fact that everyone in the ssroom had seen her make a fool of herself. It was practically a given that rumours would spread about her being ¡®puke girl¡¯.

    The teacher cleared his throat, reminding everyone that he was still there and the sudden tension seemed to rx as the two girls helped Tiffany up. The adult wanted to say something, as they walked out of the ssroom but with a re from her, he quickly zipped his mouth shut.

    ¡®Screw me. Judging by her eyes, there is no way she is just going to let things go.¡¯ Xin sighed, wishing she could just turn back time a couple minutes to avoid all of this drama.

    ***

    Tom and Gary had eventually made it to the nurse¡¯s office. Fortunately, Gary¡¯s metabolism was doing a good job expelling that poison, allowing him to slightly recover. His system had even told him that he was no longer poisoned.

    ¡°Gary, you¡¯ve beening in here quite a lot.¡± The nurse shook her head. ¡°Well, I guess you can¡¯t really help it if you ate something bad. Just make sure to not eat that stuff again and for the time being take this medicine, it should be able to help you. It might be for the best if you rest here for the first period and we will see how you do after that. If you still feel unwell I¡¯m going to have to rmend you go to the hospital.¡±

    ¡®There is no way I can go to a hospital! If they find out what I am, who knows what they will do with me!¡¯ Gary thought, but outwardly he just nodded weakly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with him and make sure he takes the medicine!¡± Tom volunteered and closed the curtain. The nurse had left a small round pill next to a white cup with water for Gary to take, but Tom wasn¡¯t sure that it would help. Since Gary had reacted so violently to chocte that he had been able to eat without any issues in the past, who was to say how he would react to these pills?

    The next second, Tom ced the pills in his own mouth and drank the water gulping it down.

    ¡°Tom what the-? Why did you do that¡­don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve be a ¡­ pie popper!¡± Gary eximed, worried for his friend.

    ¡°No, you idiot!¡± Tom whispered back in an angry voice, he pulled the curtain back to see if the nurse was still there, and while she was, she seemedpletely focused on her phone call. Whatever it was, it seemed to have been important and urgent, because soon after she hung up, she left the room, telling the boys she would be back in a few minutes.

    ¡°Good she¡¯s gone, we can finally talk.¡± Tom sighed out a breath of relief, while Gary was still confused about why Tom was acting so mysterious. While his body might have recovered, he still had trouble thinking clearly.

    ¡°Gary, do you even know what happened back there and why you got sick?¡± Tom asked.

    ¡°I have no idea, maybe it¡¯s the raw meat I¡¯ve been eating.¡± Gary blurted out without thinking, continuing to speak before thinking about what he said.

    ¡°Raw meat¡­¡± Tom repeated while his hands were shaking. He had to reassure himself that the one before him was still good old harmless Gary and not the beast he had tested him to be.

    ¡°Gary¡­ I have noticed you have been behaving super strange thesest couple of days? I gave you the chocte to test a hypothesis of mine, but I didn¡¯t want to hurt you. I never thought it would turn out this way, please you gotta believe me. You know you can tell me anything, right? So I gotta ask¡­ Gary, are you a werewolf? ¡±

 Chapter 25: The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 25: The Truth</h4>

    As soon as the question was asked, Gary could feel the palms of his hands getting sweaty and his heartbeat rising. These weren¡¯t good signs, especially if he was going to try and hide it from Tom. He ced his hand on his chest and knelt over slightly, appearing to be in pain.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, is the chocte still hurting you?¡± Tom asked worriedly as he knelt down to see if his friend was okay. ¡°Gary you shouldn¡¯t deny it, being able to poison you is proof that I¡¯m right!¡± He suggested as he pointed his finger at Gary taking on a pose as if he was some famous detective who had just solved a case.

    The sight of Tom acting so ridiculous was somehow enough to calm Gary¡¯s heart rate down a little.

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t you find it ridiculous? Chocte being some sort of kryptonite for a werewolf? Next thing you will tell me you are a vampire or a dragon.¡± Gary tried to joke around, but the nervous smile on his face made him appear all the more guilty. He himself was struggling whether it might be better to just admit to it or not.

    So far, he had tried to make sense of all those changes to his body by himself, having to learn all these new things on his own¡­ he would actually wee having someone to talk to about all those. Sometimes, he didn¡¯t know if he was doing the right thing or not, but thinking about it, he couldn¡¯t imagine someone better than his trusted friend Tom.

    Since using him, and trapping him into a corner didn¡¯t seem to have worked Tom tried a different approach.

    ¡°Look, I know that the chocte alone would be ridiculous, but then how do you exin suddenly being able to tackle ke? Or the puncture wounds on it? You were the only one who held it yesterday. If you have some other exnation, then I¡¯m all ears. I¡¯m your best friend, right? I¡¯m not here to hurt you and I just want you to know that we can handle this together.¡± Tom offered in a soft voice.

    From the look on Gary¡¯s face this approach worked far better. He had already been on the verge of telling Tom, but with Tom pulling on his heartstrings, it was hard to remain silent.

    However, now the question was how much should he tell Tom? Admitting to it, also meant he would have toe clean about his work as a member of the Underdogs gang, who had handed him the metal suitcase that had that strange Werewolf System inside of it. But if he were to tell Tom, there was a big risk of dragging him into all of this mess.

    ¡°You know what?¡± Tom asked while Gary was still debating on how much to reveal. ¡°I¡¯m just going to take your silence as a yes. I mean, you aren¡¯t even denying it like you were just seconds ago. Now I have done a lot of research into this matter, because I know you¡¯re bad with all this fantasy mumbo jumbo.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t exactly know how much lore is true out there, but now that I have finally met a real werewolf and he¡¯s my friend, it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. From all the stuff I have read on the Inte they all pretty much have one thing inmon. All sources seem to agree that on the night of full moon, a werewolf turns without being able to control it. That gives us only twelve days to think of a way to restrict you, otherwise you might just go on a rampage killing everyone.¡±

    When Tom said these words, he looked directly at Gary staring him in the eye, not facing away. Tom, his friend who never confronted anyone and was bad at all types of physical activity, looked powerful and reliable at this moment.

    What worried Gary even more was that he already knew that something was indeed going to happen on the night of the full moon. His system had given him a Quest titled ¡®Your first turning¡¯ that had a countdown for that day. Even more worrisome was the fact that his Quest only specified that he would have to ¡®survive¡¯¡­

    Since Gary still wasn¡¯t saying anything, Tom sighed and was ready to leave the room. He had already done whatever he could and was now hoping that either he had been very wrong, something he seriously doubted after all the time he had put into thinking things over, or that Gary woulde to him eventually to confess things on his own.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gary called out. ¡°Fine, since you¡¯ve already figured things out, you might as well know the whole thing. You¡¯re right¡­I¡¯m a¡­I¡¯m a werewolf¡­¡± Gary admitted, his face going red saying those words out loud, especially in front of someone who could hear him.

    Closing the door, after making sure nobody else had been around, Tom turned towards Gary and jumped for joy, a sparkle in his eyes.

    ¡°I knew I was right! Tell me, Gary, since when were you a freaking werewolf! ¡°How did this happen? Did you venture into the woods at night? Did an alpha wolfe, greet you and turn you? What the hell happened!¡± Tom asked a barrage of questions he had prepared, not being able to contain his excitement.

    ¡°Oh man, now my version sounds so boring inparison. I just got turned by a briefcase.¡± Gary smiley wryly, as he went on to exin the gist of the story. Since the whole werewolf situation was already much to take in, Gary decided to omit the fact that he had been a gang member, and technically was now in another gang, from his exnation. Instead he told Tom that he had taken a part time job delivering items, like a delivery driver.

    Of course, since he was sixteen and still in school, all of this was illegal, hence why he had hid the job from Tom. Technically all of it was true, so Gary¡¯s face didn¡¯t betray him for once. After that he came mostly clean, sharing how he had been sent out, how other people had wanted to steal the package and how the package had suddenly opened, turning him into a werewolf.

    After saying everything he needed to say he waited to see just how Tom would treat him after all of this, would years of friendship be thrown away? This was a worrying thought for Gary.

 Chapter 26: A Bond

    <h4>Chapter 26: A Bond</h4>

    ¡°All this from a simple package? I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing happening before.¡± Tommented as he ced his hand on his chin. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really help that you didn¡¯t even see what was in the package because you said you passed out.¡±

    This bit was partly true, only that Gary had passed out due to being stabbed.

    ¡®I wonder how Tom would react if I told him the real story. I guess I can tell him once everything is cleared up. And I will also have to tell him about Kai eventually¡­¡¯

    ¡°We need to look into where that package actually came from, this could be a big deal! And if it¡¯s a bigpany they might even send people after you to get their little experiment back. It¡¯s best if you keep this a secret.¡± Tom noted.

    Gary gulped, and was surprised at how quickly his friend had grasped the entire situation. What¡¯s more, the case that Tom was worried about was actually urring. Fortunately, that at least meant Gary didn¡¯t have to tell him to keep this whole thing a secret either.

    ¡°Well, from what you told me it really does seem to be the case that your heart rate might be connected to your transformation, so learning how to control it should be the first thing on the agenda. For the next few days we should also observe your behavior. haven¡¯t seen any huge signs yet, but you might start to get a little bit more moody the closer we are to the full moon. I would also advise you to drop out of the rugby team.¡±

    ¡°Drop out of the rugby team? But then how am I meant to impress Xin!¡± Gary blurted out.

    ¡°Really, Gary? Do you think now is the time to be worried about how to impress the new girl?!¡± Tom facepalmed. ¡°Part of you transformed when it was you against ke. What will you do when it actually urs in the middle of a match? You could hurt or even kill others!¡±

    ¡°Come on, I¡¯m not a monster!¡± Gary tried to defend himself. Unfortunately, his first ever transformation was testimony that Tom did have a point. s, the hormones in Gary¡¯s body were unwilling to lose this opportunity. ¡°Besides, don¡¯t you think if I put myself in more situations where I have to control my heart rate, that it would help me get better at it?¡±

    ¡°Aargh, fine. It¡¯s not like I can force you to do it. You know your body better than me, after all.¡± Tom was still worried, but he knew Gary long enough to know how stubborn he could be. ¡°Speaking off, it¡¯s a shame, but it looks like I¡¯m going to have to eat all that chocte I brought myself.¡± Tom joked, and the two of them were soon well on their way to being the same pair they were once again.

    Once the poison effect had worn off, Gary could use his Energy to heal his body once again, but the Energy didn¡¯t seem to recover, and as his Energy went down, he could feel a hunger in his stomach. It was a small pain like a cramp, but he could bear with it for now.

    ¡®I have to keep this Energy bar up, when I¡¯m fighting it doesn¡¯t seem to bother me so much, but when I¡¯m doing nothing it hurts. Hopefully it doesn¡¯t get worse once it falls lower, I can¡¯t exactly bring raw meat to the school.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Since Gary was feeling better, the two of them were walking down the hallway heading to their next ss. They had decided to stay in the nurse¡¯s office until the bell had rang, allowing them to skip the first two periods and now could go out on break with each other.

    The kids filled the hallways, as everyone was excited to get a nice breath of fresh air. Now that Tom and Gary had cleared the air a bit, they were chatting as they did until they banged into what felt like a solid wall in front of them.

    It was so sudden that Tom nearly fell to the floor, but Gary¡¯s quick reflexes allowed him to grab Tom by the hand and pull him back up before he did fall over.

    ¡°Looks like we got a little super hero over here.¡± The student said that was towering over the two of them.

    When Gary looked at the person, he noticed that there were two of them and recognised them straight away, Barry and Gil. Although they didn¡¯t share any sses together they were part of the same club, the rugby club. These two were part of the scrum in rugby, one of the ones that would fight over each other as they locked and pushed forward the other meaty guys.

    They were essentially walls of muscle, exining why it had felt like they had literally run into the wall, but there¡¯s one thing for certain. Tom looked at the hallway, and it was plenty wide enough for them all to walk in and more.

    ¡°Did you bang into us on purpose?¡± Tom questioned, a pissed off look on his face.

    ¡°Watch it, scrub! You were the ones who didn¡¯t pay attention! I still haven¡¯t heard a single sorry from either of you!¡± Barry went and grabbed the scruff of Tom¡¯s neck. ¡°We were just waiting here for a chance to talk to the onion head over there.¡±

    ¡°Look Gary, drop out of the rugby team, we all know what you did against ke was a fluke and if you join us, it means one of us regrs will have to warm the bench and be your substitute.¡± Gil exined, but then noticed that Gary wasn¡¯t looking at him at all. Instead he was clearing towards Will who was holding Tom by his cor.

    Suddenly, Barry felt Gary grab onto his wrist.

    ¡°Let go of him now!¡± Gary demanded. Of course, seeing someone so small act like that Gil wasn¡¯t afraid, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for Barry, as he felt something when looking into his eyes.

    [Blood lust has been detected]

    [A forced bond has been activated]

    ¡®No those eyes, if I don¡¯t do something, Gary might just snap!¡¯ Tom thought.

 Chapter 27: Forced Bond

    <h4>Chapter 27: Forced Bond</h4>

    A notification screen had appeared in front of Gary, one containing new unfamiliar terms, but blinded with rage he ignored it, as he continued to hold onto Barry¡¯s wrist. Slowly his grip was getting tighter and tighter.

    ¡®Sh*t, my wrist is starting to feel a little numb. How much power does that onion head have?¡¯ Barry thought.

    ¡°Hey look, it¡¯s Mr Root!¡± Tom suddenly eximed, making Barry let go of him.

    Both Gil and Barry turned around and in that moment Tom grabbed his friend and quickly pulled Gary away dragging him down the hallway and into one of the other ssrooms. Since it was still break, it is currently empty.

    ¡°Are you alright now?¡± Tom asked, as he could even feel his heart settling. ¡±It looked like you were ready to jump that guy.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. I just got so angry when that guy grabbed you. Who the hell do they think they are? It¡¯s one thing to go after me, but you have nothing to do with it!¡± Gary answered, clenching his fists again.

    Tom knew that Gary had a tendency to be hot headed, but this seemed to be a bit out of character even for him. He was normally the guy who would try to run away from a confrontation, but now he seemed to be actively seeking it, making Tom fear that his werewolf self might have already started to influence Gary.

    ¡®I¡¯ll need to keep an eye on him. This time his aggression might have been triggered because he wanted to protect me, but what if it bes worse? Who knows what he¡¯ll do if there is nobody to stop him?¡¯ Tom worried.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s over. I¡¯m fine, right? We both are. Those guys were just two assholes, heck the world is full of people like that, but we can¡¯t just go around beating them all up. Even if you are stronger than them.¡± Tom stated, before he added jokingly. ¡°I mean if you tried you would be busy 24/7, then you wouldn¡¯t have time to impress a certain someone.¡±

    Hearing this, Gary started to calm down a little, as he realised that Tom was right. The second part especially helped his best friend get into a better mood, although Gary¡¯s heartbeat was now rising slightly for a different reason.

    If word got out about what Gary could actually do, then it wouldn¡¯t just be the Underdogs gang after him, but whoever had asked them to deliver the suitcase in the first ce. Now that he had calmed down a little, Gary went on to check just what that message from before was.

    [Forced Bond has been activated]

    [1/5 Marks have been assigned]

    [A Forced Bond is put on a target when enough bloodlust is dedicated towards a certain person, making them a hunting target.

    Those that are marked are given a unique scent, allowing the user to track them down at any point in time.

    Additional stats will be awarded if one manages to sessfully hunt their target down!]

    [Those marked due to a Forced Bond will be the first people to be targeted during a full moon.]

    Gary¡¯s eyeballs widened as he read the screen and came to a few realisations. The Forced Bond seemed to be a different subtype of his Mark skill. He had already encountered the Bond Mark, which allowed him to mark certain people based on agreements, whereas the Forced Bond seemed to be automatically assigned based on pure bloodlust.

    Both types of bonds seemingly upied one of Gary¡¯s five slots. He was unsure whether there was a maximum of any one type of bond. Although, he felt like it didn¡¯t matter how much he had of one or the other. The major difference seemed to be that a Forced Bond directly designated the other party as a hunting target, whereas the Bond Mark only did so, in case of a broken promise.

    The most worrying thing of all was the fact that the message had warned him that those that had been marked would be his target during a full moon.

    Gary gulped as he thought of what could possibly happen.

    ¡®If I really do turn in twelve days¡¯ time, doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m going to kill Barry if I don¡¯t learn how to control myself?¡¯

    He couldn¡¯t be too sure until it happened, but it was something he didn¡¯t want to risk. ¡®Screw this, if I can assign these Marks, then there has to be a way to get rid of them, right?¡¯

    Exiting the room, the two boys were now ready to head back to ss, and finally participate in their normal school day. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t run into any more trouble along the way. As Gary entered the halls he noticed something. He could see a strange lingering red marking in the air, and it wafted into his nose making a particr smell. It smelled simr to the scent of raw food.

    It was faint, and as he followed it, it took on a stronger shade of red. It looked like a strange floating red fog. He looked at Tom, but the other appeared blissfully unaware of what Gary was perceiving.

    Following the marking quickly, it led to a certain ssroom, and as Gary looked through the window he could see where the red smoke was leading to¡­ right to Barry who was now sitting in his seat.

    ¡®Is this what the marking does? Does it leave a trail so I can find them around the school? Maybe I should try to activate a Bond Mark on Kai after all. It would be handy to be able to find him whenever I need, and I would also instantly know if he broke the promise.¡¯

    ¡®Sh*t, but if he does, then that would make him another hunting target! Or maybe this thing only follows things that are meant to be hunted.¡¯

    Still in 12 days time, if he didn¡¯t find a way to remove the marking Barry might be in trouble.

 Chapter 28: Eton High

    <h4>Chapter 28: Eton High</h4>

    There wasn¡¯t much Gary could do for now in general with his powers. He was only a level 2 after all. Although he may have the power to be superhuman at certain moments, he still wasn¡¯t the best when it came to fighting on top of other things. Not to mention it was a secret in the first ce, so it was best he stayed out of trouble.

    The sses continued as normal, with a few people staying away from Gary. They were a little worried about his red sickness from earlier, but it looked like it had been cleaned while they had been at the nurse. Xin was also in the ssroom, but she was unable to concentrate properly due to Tiffany staring daggers at her.

    When the day had finallye to an end, it was time for everyone to head to their club activities. The members of the club were to appear on the rugby field for training and when they arrived they could see both Barry and Gil staring at the two of them.

    ¡°Damn those guys, it looks like they didn¡¯t quite get the message, huh?¡± Gil said provocatively.

    However, Barry stayed quiet. He looked down at his covered wrist which had been bruised and was slightly red. His better judgement was telling him that it might be better not to get involved with Gary after all.

    The rugby team had been together for a long time now, and it had been a while since anyone new had joined them. That was also the reason why the duo had wanted to scare Gary away. Even if he were to tattle on them, Gary knew they wouldn¡¯t back down, so it was pointless.

    The training had continued like usual, at least at the start it did. It was clear that during the practices the regr members were doing everything they could to target Gary. Covering him even when he didn¡¯t have the ball, even tackling him when he didn¡¯t have the ball, andstly, hitting him in the gut when they were in the middle of a scrum.

    Each time, Tom had to be there to calm him down, but he could tell it was getting worse. Thankfully they had made it through the whole training session without Gary retaliating. At the end of the ss Mr Root had an announcement to make.

    ¡°Alright everyone, our first match is going to be in around a week¡¯s time and we will be going up against Eton High, so you better be on top of your game! As for you Gary, remember you¡¯re part of the team now, so watch yourself!¡± Mr Root shouted at them.

    Among the club members and the actual rugby members they all started to mumble and share odd looks on their faces as they talked about the uing team. Although a newbie, Gary knew why. Eton High¡¯s rugby team wasn¡¯t exactly the strongest, but that also wasn¡¯t Mr Root¡¯s main worry.

    Eton High had a reputation for being one of the roughest schools in the entire town. A ce where gangs frequently recruited their next members upon graduation. There were even a few students that already belonged to different small time gangs, some even from a different city.

    There were rumours going around how often times, certain members of the opposing teams would end up in idents right before big games. This was why Mr Root had cautioned him to be safe.

    Living in this city, everyone knew that the ones actually in charge were the gangs, so the students of Eton High were certainly special.

    ¡°If Mr Root is even telling us to be careful, then it has to be true.¡± One of the members said.

    When the game was over, a certain member had decided to approach Gary and it was one he wasn¡¯t expecting.

    ¡°Hey there Gary, I see your nose is all better sorry about that again.¡± ke said, as he smiled showing his beautiful teeth.

    ¡®Damn it, I can¡¯t stay around this guy. If Xin sees me next to him it¡¯s going to make me look like a frog and him a prince.¡¯

    ¡°Yeah don¡¯t worry about it, it wasn¡¯t as bad as I thought.¡± Gary replied to cut the conversation short.

    ¡°Do you mind if the two of us walk home, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, and I think it might be better for you.¡± ke offered, as his eyes moved to the corner, and the other members including Gil and Barry were looking towards their direction.

    Tom, seeing this, and living in theplete other direction decided to head home.

    ¡°Hey, Gary you go ahead, take your time to think about the stuff we talked about earlier. Just remember to give me a call tonight, okay.¡± Tom said and ran off.

    Tom was still hoping that Gary would quit the rugby team like he had asked. It was the best choice in the end. Gary didn¡¯t really want to walk with ke, but it was obvious that the athlete was offering to shield him from the others. Out of all the members who were on the rugby team ke was the most reasonable and easiest to talk to.

    ¡°Sure we can walk for a bit.¡± Gary answered as he put on a fake smile, and the two of them headed off. As Gary and ke started to walk off, they passed by the front gate where Kai was standing with his eyes half closed. When Gary walked past he opened them, and gave him a little wink, before continuing onward.

    ¡®Who could he be waiting for? A girlfriend perhaps?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    Seeing him and ke walk off, Kai continued to wait at the gate, until a student in a dark blue uniform, different to theirs, had arrived. A boy who had his hands banged up all the way to his knuckles.

    ¡°You wear those things, even in school? That must be ufortable.¡± Kaimented with a smirk.

    ¡°You never know when you¡¯re going to need to fight. Not in this day and age. Anyway, I believe you still owe me the promised sum of money.¡± Innu reminded Kai. As soon as he said it, a bundle of cash flew right towards him.

    ¡°Here you go. I always keep my word.¡± Kai said as Innu happily counted the money.

    ¡°I did a little bit of research on you. Turns out you went to Eton Highst year? Since you agreed to join our little gang, mind telling me what exactly happened that forced you to transfer to another school?¡± Kai questioned, as the two of them began to walk off.

    From the look on Innu¡¯s face it wasn¡¯t a pretty story at all, and it was clear that they were bad news.

 Chapter 29: Surrounded

    <h4>Chapter 29: Surrounded</h4>

    There was a park not far away from Gary¡¯s school. It had a yground with swings, benches, climbing frames and all sorts of other things, making it a popr hangout spot for the younger kids, whereas the older ones usually yed ser once school was out.

    ¡°Ergh, isn¡¯t this a weird ce to discuss things?¡± Innu asked as he looked at all the little kids and mums around. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have your own ce? You know, a regr hideout spot like an abandoned warehouse or something?¡±

    When Innu had followed after Kai he had expected to be led into that type location. Instead they had gone to this park and on their way a girl had started tagging along. The gold and ck outfit made it obvious that she was part of Kai¡¯s group, but so far she hadn¡¯t even said a word. Innu couldn¡¯t help but think she didn¡¯t belong in the underworld, except for a damsel in distress perhaps.

    ¡°Nope, don¡¯t have one of those yet.¡± Kai replied matter of factly. ¡°Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t really have time to fill you inst night. Oh well, no better time than the present. Right now there¡¯s just you, Green Fang who you¡¯ve already met and this here¡¯s Mai, or Marie is a full name.¡±

    For the first time Kai seemed to acknowledge the girl¡¯s existence, who in turn just bowed. Innu wasn¡¯t sure if she was just shy around him or if she might be mute. Innu¡¯s mouth opened wide in disbelief and he pped his forehead.

    ¡®I thought he looked like someone who knew what he was doing. Was I wrong about him? Is he just some rich kid who has too much of daddy¡¯s money and decided to create a gang after all? Heck, can we even be called that? Right now we seem more like a group of friends if anything. And why did he exclude himself?¡¯

    Eventually, he sighed in defeat. Innu had never been the type to go back on his word. He might have been someone whose academic performance would only qualify him for construction based jobs, but at least he had integrity. The best way he knew how to make money was with his hands, knees and elbows, which was why he had chosen to fight in the fighting event in the first ce.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Kai spoke up with a smile on his face. ¡°Every prominent gang started out just like us. I promise you that as long as you stay with us you won¡¯t regret it. Our group will be one that focuses on quantity over quality, so you should be proud that you even qualified.¡±

    Hearing Kai¡¯s arrogant tone wasn¡¯t making Innu feel any better about the decision he had made. Talk was cheap in his opinion, but as long as the money would continue to flow he wouldn¡¯tin.

    ¡°Anyway, I believe you wanted to know about my past with Eton High. What they¡¯re like and why I transferred, correct? Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the rumours. Let me tell you, it¡¯s worse than what they say. All the delinquents the other school deem incorrigible get sent to Eton High and the school wees them happily. Calling it the garbage heap for the scum of society would still be putting it mildly. The only reason it doesn¡¯t get shut down is that this makes it the perfect recruitment ce for gangs. Heck, it wasn¡¯t even rare for some toe from other cities!¡±

    ¡°Other schools might have a top dog, one that at least instills a sort of order, but Eton High is more of awless zone. Not all of them behave like wild animals, but whatever factions there are seem to change on a weekly basis. It¡¯s rathermon for multiple weak factions to gang up on stronger ones just ¡®to put them in their ce¡¯. They are not afraid to use weapons either.¡± Innu¡¯s fists tensed as he exined the situation, thinking about what had happened to him before.

    It wasn¡¯t hard for Kai to puzzle his past together with that much information. Anyone could see from the way he fought that Innu was capable of bing the top dog in most schools. They must have ganged up on him, so badly that he had to transfer.

    ¡°Anyway, why did you want to know about Eton High so much?¡± Innu finally asked.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, Gary and ke were both busy walking down the street heading the same way home. If the high schooler were to use one word to describe the current situation it would be ¡®awkward¡¯.

    ¡®That must have been the tenth time a girl has looked our way!¡¯ Gary thought bitterly. Their faces would turn a shade redder when they peeked at ke, only to turn sour upon seeing the one walking beside him. What hurt Gary even more was they didn¡¯t even try to hide the obvious difference in treatment.

    ¡°I want to apologise, Gary.¡± ke¡¯s opening line surprised him. ¡°I have heard that Barry and Gil have bothered you during the break and I¡¯ve seen how the guys have been hazing you during the training. I¡¯m the captain, so it¡¯s my responsibility to make sure things like that don¡¯t happen.¡±

    Scratching the back of his head Gary didn¡¯t really know what to say. ke was thest person who should have to apologise to him. He seemed to be a person who really cared about the rugby team, making Gary feel bad since his primary reason for joining was to impress Xin.

    Was it really okay for him to take another yer¡¯s position just because of his infatuation?

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, I understand how they feel.¡± Gary replied eventually. ¡°Besides, isn¡¯t that like an initiation ritual between guys?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not right. You¡¯re part of the team now. Instead of messing with you, they should get along with you and help you integrate with the team. Given your talent you will be a great asset. I¡¯m going to have a word with them all tomorrow so they don¡¯t do pull that stupid crap on you again. If they cause you any more trouble, I want you toe to me!¡± ke stopped walking and turned around, staring right at Gary, offering his hand.

    ¡®How can someone be this nice in a Tier-3 city? Who the hell could hate him?¡¯ Gary thought, looking at the hand in front of him. He was reluctant to shake it, since he had already ¡®repaid¡¯ Barry. He only had so much time to find a way to remove the Forced Bond from that poor guy to prevent him from ending up as the secret ingredient in a Barry Burger¡­

    ¡°I¡­¡± Just as Gary was about to make up some excuse, he noticed someoneing up to them. They wereing at the two boys fast and one was holding an object, swinging towards ke.

    ¡°Duck!¡± Gary warned the athlete moving forward. He was about to push ke¡¯s head down, but surprisingly his ssmate had instantly followed the instruction. Not expecting to grab at nothing but air, Gary helplessly watched as the wooden nk connected with his cheek. The attack had enough force behind it, that his body fell to the floor, leaving him with the taste of iron.

    ¡°Gary!¡± ke called out, seeing his ssmate lying on the floor with blood dripping from his mouth. He understood they were in trouble, so ke quickly spun around moving forward slightly. He heard the sound of something hitting the ground where he had just stood.

    In total, there were four guys all wearing the Eton High school uniform. Two of them had wooden nks while the others looked to be unarmed. However, it was just as possible that their weapons were concealed.

    ¡°Hey, looks like one of them is fast.¡± The Eton High student who had just missed chuckled.

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be the ace of their team, if he wasn¡¯t.¡± The other one with the nk, who had just hit Gary joined in theughter.

    Up until now ke had only heard about this type of incident Mr Root had warned them about earlier. Their P.E. teacher had once called him into his office, stressing to ke that he was the most likeliest target. All the opponents Eton High had faced, had their ace involved in some ¡®ident¡¯ right before a match.

    However, ke had never expected them to be so brazen to attack someone in the open like this. They were away from school but the police shouldn¡¯t be too far away. The only reason they could be so confident in attacking them here was if they had the backing of a gang of some sort, then it wouldn¡¯t matter if the police were informed or not.

    ¡®These guys don¡¯t look like pushovers when ites to fighting, either. Who knows when the police wille¡­ or if it even does?¡¯ ke started to worry.

    One of the high school students without any weapons tried to punch ke, but before he could reach ke, the ace of the rugby team quickly kicked the student¡¯s thigh. It caused it to go numb and his punch weakened slightly. Still the punch wasing towards his head as the kid gritted his teeth. Pain alone didn¡¯t seem to stop him, or perhaps he was just pissed off enough to want revenge.

    Whatever the case, it didn¡¯t matter to ke because he just wanted to weaken the punch slightly as he went forward with his forehead. When the punch connected the Eton High¡¯s student¡¯s wrist bent awkwardly and his fingers were in pain.

    When his body with the nk came over, ke made sure to remain calm, pushing his wrist and moving so the student would be off bnce, then kicking him at the back of his leg where the knee would be, allowing him to trip the other.

    ¡°Looks like he can fight.¡± The student with the damaged wristmented. The student with the wooden nk on the ground, dropped his weapon and charged forward in an attempt to tackle ke. Although the other tried to side-step the charge, the Eton High student managed to grab on to him.

    ¡°Now!¡±

    The other three Eton High students surrounded him. The wooden nk had already been picked up and the two with the nks were about to take a swing, while the third one made sure to cut off any way of escape.

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to have to take this hit!¡± ke thought as he had to decide between getting rid of the student holding onto him or protecting himself.

    When the nks came down, they were stopped dead, inches from his face. ke could see the green haired boy who had been injured holding on to both. Blood was still dripping from his mouth, from a cut on the inside of his cheek.

    ¡°That freaking hurt!¡± Gary shouted as his heart rate was starting to increase.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°It never hurts knowing as much as you can about your enemy. From the sounds of it, you won¡¯t have any problem fighting against your former schoolmates. Eton High will be the first opponent in the underground tag team tournament in around a week¡¯s time.¡± Kai answered Innu¡¯s question.

 Chapter 30: Here to Fight!

    <h4>Chapter 30: Here to Fight!</h4>

    The Eton High students who hade to the park were all members of the rugby team, which meant they were used to bashing into walls of muscles. Strength and speed were both key factors in sport to take down an opponent, but looking at Gary he had neither on his side.

    As such it was all the more surprising to see him hold onto both nks with a single hand. The two students from Eton High had struggle written all over their faces as they attempted to yank their makeshift weapons free. The injured teenager merely tightened his grip until a snapping sound was heard.

    The two Eton High boys stumbled a few steps back still holding onto the nks. Looking down they could see why they suddenly felt that much lighter. One end of them had been ripped off.

    ¡®They¡¯re still in his hand! Can a normal human even have such a grip strength?!¡¯

    The next second, another student mmed a wooden nk against the back of Gary¡¯s head, snapping it in ce and causing him to fall back to his knees.

    ¡®These Eton High guys are ruthless. How can they not even hesitate to hit his head? Aren¡¯t they afraid they might identally kill him? All of that for a stupid match?!¡¯ ke thought to himself, as he was ready to help Gary. Yet, before he could even reach their position Gary had already recovered and threw a punch back.

    The student managed to block in time raising his forearms, but the next second he found himself looking at the sky.

    ¡®What the¡­? Is this some sort of joke? Did Gary set this up somehow or how is he able to knock a guy twice his size? Has he been holding back all the time? No, could it be that he is one of us as well?¡¯ Still, the main concern for ke was the blood that was dripping down his ssmate¡¯s head. The athlete was surprised the other was still standing after such a hit.

    He might be okay for now while the adrenaline was pumping in his body but once it was over it would hurt like hell. They had to deal with those guys before that happened. Right now Gary was dealing with the first two that had arrived, leaving ke with the other two.

    This was a number that he could easily deal with. When one of the Eton High students came rushing forward pulling his arm back to throw a fist, ke simply threw out a quick jab hitting the student right in the face, almost lifting his legs off the ground.

    ¡°If you charge forward like that, it¡¯s going to hurt a lot more when someone hits you!¡±

    Now it was time to deal with his buddy, but as ke turned his head around, he only saw the other Eton High student¡¯s back. He had actually run off, abandoning hisrade.

    ¡®Guess they¡¯re not really the loyal bunch.¡¯

    Turning around, he was ready to help Gary. His chin nearly dropped to the ground as he saw the other two already on the ground. Still, his ssmate didn¡¯t look good, he was huffing and panting, with a hunched back, his hands by his side looking like some type of weird beast.

    However, all the other three students had been beaten rolling around the floor in pain.

    ¡®Damn, those guys¡¯ strength were simr to mine, even after I¡¯ve used Charging Heart.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®I guess that shows how weak my original body is. Maybe I should have considered it some before putting my stat point into Energy after that level up. And I¡¯m not the best fighter. It¡¯s one thing knowing what to do, but another knowing how to do it. I was getting hit too much, and now my Energy is low having to heal all these wounds.¡¯

    ¡°Hey Gary, we need to get you checked out at a hospital!¡± ke said, rushing over.

    [Emergency healing in progress]

    [Energy will be consumed]

    [Energy has been used up]

    [Healing unable toplete]

    [Eat more meat to restore Energy points]

    During the fight, Gary had seen this a few times already, and now the system was healing the rest of his wounds until it had stopped. As long as he got some food, he would definitely be fine after this fight, and was worried the hospital could find something out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m tougher than I look.¡± Gary shouted, already running off. ¡°Just look after yourself. You¡¯re the ace of the team, not me!¡±

    ke wanted to give chase, but Gary was faster than he should be, even if this was still the adrenaline. Unsure, where the other teenager actually lived, ke decided to just check up on him tomorrow.

    Looking around him, ke looked at the sorry state of the Eton High students.

    ¡®He was able to take three giants like this down? He¡¯s a bit different.¡¯ ke smiled.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When the healing wasplete, the first thing Gary did was head to a shop to purchase more meat. There were two reasons for this. The first was the fact that whenever he could he wanted his Energy bar to be at a 100 percent.

    He never knew when the Underdogs or something like what had just happened would ur, and he needed to be at full strength if a fight was to break out. The second was because he needed toplete his daily quests.

    ¡®I need to get stronger as quickly as possible, and levelling up seems to be the easiest way. After replenishing his energy, Gary headed to the gym once more.

    Usually, after school Gary would head to the Underdogs toplete his transporter duties. His mother was used to himing home a littlete so it was no problem. During the session at the gym, Gary was able to lift weights easier than the time before, his muscles weren¡¯t sore either.

    What Gary didn¡¯t know was that usually beginners would suffer from extreme muscle soreness the next few days after weight training, but Gary experienced no such thing. The muscle fibres in his body were breaking down and healing at an incredible rate. Far faster than anyone could even if they were to take enhancing supplements.

    [Congrattions! Your body is seeing benefits of working out]

    [Strength +1]

    ¡®So my stats can actually improve without needing me to level up! Looks like using that stat point on Energy might have been the right choice after all. My Strength was only at 4, which I¡¯m guessing is still low. I wonder how long it will take me to gain the next one.¡¯

    The best thing about the skill Charging Heart, was it doubled all of his stats for a certain amount of time period. So increasing his natural stats like so would be extremely beneficial.

    [Strength 5]

    [Dexterity 3]

    [Endurance 8]

    Looking at the stats, Gary wondered what he could do to improve his Dexterity since it was the lowest of the three. Perhaps asking, Professional fighters of sorts, or someone who knew what they were doing would help. As for Endurance, he could only think of one thing for that, getting hit more. Which he wasn¡¯t looking forward to.

    No matter what though, he needed to improve all of these things, through levelling up or his natural strength and he hade up with the best solution to do both at the same time.

    ¡®I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be found by the Underdogs or have to fight in that underground fighting area again, but if I want to live and protect my family then I need to get stronger.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day Gary woke up and was heading to school as he did every day. After going home, he hadn¡¯t received any texts from Kai. On the one hand, he was d not having to fight after his earlier scuffle, on the other hand the upperssman was currently his only way to gain any cash.

    ¡®Hmm, should I just go and approach him instead? I don¡¯t really want toe off as needy¡­ then again, will it make any difference? He already has me by my balls¡­¡¯

    When arriving at school, Tom greeted him as normal and asked him a hundred questions about how he was feeling and more. Of course Gary replied he was feeling fine and told him the events of what happened yesterday.

    ¡°They¡¯re seriously going that far just because of a some stupid high school sports event. I really don¡¯t understand people.¡± Tom said, shaking his head. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s two reasons why you should leave the rugby team now. Let¡¯s tell Mr. Root today during club practice. You can still y rugby just not be part of the team.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be going to rugby practise today.¡± Gary replied. ¡°I need to go to another club instead.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    When school ended, ke was out on the rugby field, looking for Gary, but he never turned up.

    ¡°Where is that damned little broli head?! I¡¯ve already told him that we have a gameing up soon! Does he want to set a record for fastest yer to be kicked off the team?!¡± Mr Root shouted.

    ¡°Coach Root, me and Gary ran into some kids from Eton High yesterday.¡± ke reported. ¡°They wanted to jump me, but he was unlucky enough to get involved. I assume he must still be recovering from that.¡±

    Looking at ke¡¯s knuckles, Mr Root didn¡¯t need any more proof. Despite his rough appearance and his tendency to yell at his students he nevertheless cared about their well-being. Unfortunately, he knew about the special rtionship Eton High enjoyed, which meant that there was nothing he could do about it.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let him off with this once, but make sure to tell him this is an exception. I don¡¯t need him getting a big head and think he¡¯ll get any special treatment. As for the rest of you, let this be a lesson! Although they went for ke yesterday, they might go after one of you as well. Make sure to go home in pairs!¡± Mr Root ordered.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Hang on, so you bailed on rugby practise toe here? Be honest with me, has bing a werewolf made you LOSE YOUR MIND? This might be even worse than rugby!¡± Tom whispered angrily, trying to appeal to his best friend as he followed him to the front of the school gym. The two friends could already hear the sounds of chanting from the outside.

    Inside, there were around a dozen students in white robes all in sync performing a set of moves.

    Off to the side, there were several students that currently sat down, one of them being Xin. When the teacher noticed the neers he asked: ¡°Oh, are you guys interested in the Karate club?¡±

    Gary clenched his fist, and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m here, to fight!¡±

 Chapter 31: Honorable fight!

    <h4>Chapter 31: Honorable fight!</h4>

    At the beginning, Gary¡¯s Daily Quests had rewarded him with 10 Exp each. Unfortunately, now that his system ssified him as Level 2, each Quest was only paying out half that amount. With the requirement to reach the next level having already doubled, it didn¡¯t take a math genius to understand that it would take a long time for him to progress by only relying on this method to rue Exp.

    Nevertheless, this didn¡¯t mean that Gary intended to stop working out anytime soon. After all, right now it was the only reliable method for him to increase his Strength without any of the stat points he appeared to be getting for a Level Up.

    During his brief time with the system, Gary had actually gained the most Exp after fighting against others like the Eton High students. Although he had yet to confirm his suspicion, he strongly believed that it might also be an effective way to gain other stats like Endurance.

    Unwilling to go out and look for trouble in the streets, his conjecture had eventually led Gary to just challenge the martial arts clubs in his own school. The teacher of the Karate club was an aged man, whose arms were folded after hearing Gary¡¯s deration.

    ¡°I like your spirit, kid, but things don¡¯t work like they do in movies. This is a school club. I can¡¯t just let anyone barge in here and allow them to fight my students.¡± The teacher exined in a calm tone.

    Tom was very pleased that this teacher seemed reasonable and hadn¡¯t just outright epted his buddy¡¯s crazy request. Now he would just have to pull Gary out of the gym. Unfortunately, just when he was about to grab his friend by the arm, Tom saw a strange look in Gary¡¯s eyes.

    ¡®W-why does he have that look again?!¡¯ Tom felt himself shaking, everything in his body was telling him that it was a body idea to touch Gary right now. Unsure what it was, he listened to this feeling and took a step back.

    Hearing the teacher¡¯s response, Gary smiled.

    ¡°I just wanted to know if Karate was worth learning these days.¡± Gary said. ¡°These days Altered fights are being shown all over the inte and on TV. Everyone knows that the best fighters are those who don¡¯t just rely on their Altered forms but incorporate martial arts in their fighting style. However, despite being a huge fan, I have never seen a single one of the top Altered fighters use Karate.¡±

    From Gary¡¯s experience, sport teachers, even more sobat teachers, took great pride in the martial arts they had learned for years. The ck belt was proof that his teacher must have spent countless hours honing his skills and Gary couldn¡¯t imagine that he would just let it slide that he had basically called his craft ¡®useless¡¯.

    ¡°And that made you think it might not be worth your time and effort? Very well. Steven, please help our enthusiastic friend find a gi in his size!¡± The teacher instructed.

    Immediately, a student with a green belt stepped forward. Steven had short hair simr to Tom¡¯s and he was a littlerger than Tom and Gary, yet not as big as rugby yers like Gil and Barry.

    While Steven and Gary had disappeared into the changing rooms, the other students had quicklyid out mats on the floor, creating an impromptu arena for the two boys to fight in. Not long after, the twobatants came out.

    Gary was now also in the white uniform just like everyone else. He and Steven both had head gear on as well as shin guards to protect their legs and finally arge cover on the front of their stomach. This entire set of protection gear only made it harder for Gary to move in, but even he understood that there was no way the teacher would let them fight without them.

    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, this isn¡¯t a street fight. Not everyone can heal as fast as me, so it¡¯s natural he wants to keep us safe. I just hope it still counts as a fight like this.¡¯ Gary worried as he took position on his side of the ring.

    Fortunately, the system promptly answered his desire.

    [New quest received]

    [Honorable Fight!]

    [You areplying with your Werewolf instincts and have sought out a mighty opponent!

    You have initiated a fight against a karateka (green belt)! ]

    [Win the Match!]

    [Quest reward: 120 exp]

    ¡®This counts asplying with my Werewolf instincts? When I fought the other guy before I was scared, but this time I feel¡­ a little excited.¡¯ Gary analysed.

    This method appeared to work even better than Gary could have ever hoped for. As long as he managed to win this fight, he would gain exactly enough Exp to reach Level 3, allowing him to improve his stats even further.

    ¡°A hands-on demonstration should be the fastest way for you to get a feel for Karate. Don¡¯t worry, Steven here should be capable enough to teach you a lesson without hurting you too badly.¡±

    ¡°The fight will end when one of you gives up. If either one of you steps off the mats, stop what you¡¯re doing and restart at the centre. Most importantly, this is a friendly spar, so neither one of you is to aim at your opponent¡¯s face or their groin! Do you both understand?¡± The teacher asked.

    The two of them nodded while the other students sat down around the mats, waiting for the match to begin. This was far more interesting than their usual training. As for Tom, he wasn¡¯t sure what to do. It seemed far toote to y everything off as a joke.

    ¡°Say, isn¡¯t your friend part of the Rugby club? What is he doing here?¡± A voice asked.

    When Tom turned around, he recognised the girl as Xin from their ss.

    ¡°Umm¡­ well, let¡¯s just say not everyone was too keen about Mr Root¡¯s decision to let Gary join the Rugby club. He¡¯s been harassed by them, so he nned to get better at fighting.¡± Tom made up an exnation which wasn¡¯t too far off the truth.

    ¡°Okay, but it looks like your friend just exchanged one bully for another. If he had asked normally, I¡¯m sure Mr Fang would have dly taken him in, but now he¡¯s in for a beating. Steven used to be the strongest member in this club.¡± Xin pointed out, just in time for Mr Fang to wave a g, signalling the start of the match.

    ¡°I¡¯m more afraid that Gary might not be able to hold back.¡± Tom muttered to himself.

    As soon as the match began, Gary immediately activated his skill.

    [Charging heart]

    [-10 Energy]

    All of his stats immediately doubled, his Strength rose to 10, while his Endurance was now at a 16, but his Dexterity was still slow even though doubled at 6 making his slow speed regr.

    ¡®Even at this level, he will probably be too fast for me, but he¡¯s a lot smaller than the guy I fought in the underground tournament. With all this gear on, I can probably afford to trade punches.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Once Gary entered into his range, Steven swung using the full strength of his body and hips to connect his roundhouse kick with the arrogant neer. As the bigger and more confident guy he expected Gary to fall, but as his foot connected his opponent remained on the ground.

    Thanks to the armour and the increased Endurance the kick felt like just a light shove to Gary. Aware that he was unlikely to get a second opening, he, as the challenger, made use of his opponent¡¯s momentary confusion and used a punch, imitating his favorite fighter Kirk, he started his motions bending slightly. With all his Strength, he sprung up using the strength of his legs to deliver a heavy punch putting his weight behind the attack, his fist connected with therge cover over his stomach.

    Despite the protection gear, Steven felt the wind get knocked out from him. The force behind the attack was far stronger than someone Gary¡¯s size should have had. Before the green belt could recover, Gary was already holding onto his opponent¡¯s shoulder, imitating Innu¡¯s actions by pulling Steven forward, kneeing him in the stomach.

    As Gary stood above him, it was clear to everyone that Steven had lost the match.

    [Quest reward: 120 Exp]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 3]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    ¡®This guy, he isn¡¯t getting back up. I thought he would be like those Eton High kids. I guess he¡¯s not really used to taking a beating. Still, just because I can beat up someone my age doesn¡¯t mean I would fare well against those gangsters. And I know from watching those underground fights that there are people better than this.¡¯

    Mr Fang quickly rushed over to Steven, even forgetting to dere the fight to be over, too worried about his pupil¡¯s wellbeing. It appeared as if he had misjudged Gary. At first he had believed him to just be a naive kid, but judging from his fighting style, although it was rough, he was someone who had fought before.

    His own student had been at aplete disadvantage. Steven was used to fightingpetitions, as such he had stayed overly cautious about not losing any points, trying his best to show off his skills, while the only thing on Gary¡¯s mind had been winning the fight.

    ¡°He beat Steven, and it was only in two hits.¡±

    ¡°It looked like he got winded from the first punch, even with all the armour, that punch must have been strong.¡±

    ¡°I think Steven was ying it too safe, he should have gone for a kick to the head.¡± The students continued to murmur between themselves.

    ¡®What should I do with him? If that kid leaves now he will look down on Karate, but I can¡¯t just face him myself. An adult beating up a kid would prove nothing to him.¡¯ The Karate teacher thought.

    It was then that another one stood up from the sitting students.

    ¡°Mr Fang, I would like to fight him next.¡± A voice said.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± Tom asked, wondering why Xin, who had been by his side mere seconds ago, had just volunteered to fight.

    ¡°Well, it would be pointless for your friend to fight someone weaker than Steven, wouldn¡¯t it? Who do you think pushed Steven down to being the second strongest in this club?¡± Xin asked Tom with a smirk.

 Chapter 32: Lover boy

    <h4>Chapter 32: Lover boy</h4>

    After defeating Steven, Gary was fully focused on one thing, his system. So much so, that he remained blissfully unaware of what was going around him at the moment, how the other contestants stared at him with a mix of admiration and hostility and the mixed emotion on Mr Fang¡¯s face.

    When reaching Level 2, he had ced the free stat point into his Energy stat, increasing it by ten points. Right now, he was carefully contemting in which category to ce the next point.

    ¡®Putting it into Strength seems like a waste, if I can just increase it by going to the gym. I still have to verify whether getting beat up is a viable method to increase Endurance and I have no idea about how to increase Dexterity manually yet. However, I¡¯m sure there are ways. On the other hand, I doubt I can increase Energy or Health on my own, so which one should I choose?¡¯

    ¡®Getting 10 more points in Health might not be a bad idea. Reaching 0 HP can¡¯t be good, so I should avoid it ever falling that low. Then again, Energy seems overly useful. Not only is it used for healing, but in the future I¡¯ll most likely have ess to more skills like Charging Heart. With a bigger pool, I could use them more often.¡¯

    When Gary returned to the present, he noticed that a girl was standing opposite him wearing the same type of protective gear like Steven and him. He had only taken a nce, before he went back to his Status screen, but he quickly lifted his head to look at the girl again.

    ¡°Wait a second, you¡ªyou¡ªyou¡¯re¡­¡± Gary mumbled like a fool, pointing at her with his finger, yet unable to finish his sentence.

    ¡°You came here looking for a fight, right? Don¡¯t tell me that you already got your fill just from that match. You hardly did anything!¡± Xin spoke as she lifted her hand and gestured for Gary toe at her.

    It was something that the spectators had only ever seen done in the movies. If they were to attempt such a thing, most would probably have died from embarrassment on the inside. However, for some reason, the way Xin spoke, the way she acted, was filled with confidence, giving her actions such a natural feel that nobody dared to point it out.

    Gary started to look towards Mr Fang, hoping he would step in and at least tell her to back down from the fight. After all, he had just defeated Steven so easily, who the teacher had been quite confident in. However, he just stood to the side, taking care of Steven who seemed to have just recovered.

    ¡®Is he really going to allow this fight to happen, but¡­ she¡¯s a girl!¡¯ Gary thought. It wasn¡¯t that he thought girls were weak or anything like that, but despite Gary being on the smaller side, Xin had a more petite frame than him. What¡¯s more, he knew he carried an unfair advantage. When using Charging Heart, he had the strength of a person twice his size.

    Most importantly, thest person Gary wanted to hit¡­ was his crush.

    ¡®Damn it, I can¡¯t allow Gary to continue with this fight. If she gets him in any type of locking position and puts his head closer to her chest¡­ the guy is guaranteed to turn on the spot!¡¯ Tom worried, racking his brain to figure a way out for his friend.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just worried that I might hurt you. I know this might sound a bit old fashioned, but I really don¡¯t think I can hit you.¡± Gary apologised while making sure to bow down. The teenager wasn¡¯t doing this out of respect, he just wanted to cover his face which he feared to be beet red.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Mr Fang let out a loudugh. ¡°Boy, through this thick armour, you won¡¯t be hurting anyone. That¡¯s assuming you¡¯ll actually manage to hit the young Mrs Clove. I can tell that you have fought a few times outside, but in martial arts, you should never discriminate against your opponent. You never know just how deadly someone with a weapon might be, even if that weapon happens to be one¡¯s own body.¡±

    Gary understood what Mr Fang was saying and it was never his intention to discriminate against anyone. Heck, if a girl chased after him with a knife or went after his family members¡¯ lives, he was a firm believer of true gender equality. It was just¡­ every time he looked at this girl in particr, his heart would beat rapidly¡­ which in his case might lead to more severe consequences than him pitching a tent.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way he can fight!¡± Tom announced as he suddenly looked up. Everyone looked over at him, confused why he had gotten involved as well. ¡°Xin, he can¡¯t fight you because¡­be-because.¡­he likes you!¡±

    Tom practically yelled out thest part. The whole hall was dead silent, including Xin herself.

    ¡®Tom, what the hell are you doing? Why are you confessing to her on my behalf?!¡¯ Gary was screaming in his head at this absurdity, while simultaneously wishing for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Just like everyone else, he was speechless, and all he could see was the system disying his heartbeat, which was rising dangerously close to the 150 BPM mark.

    ¡®At this rate, I won¡¯t even need to use Charging Heart.¡¯

    ¡°Oh¡­ so it¡¯s like that?¡± Xin eventually broke the silence as she ced her hand on her chin. ¡°Well, I¡¯m ttered¡­ I guess. I¡¯m not quite sure how to feel right now. I¡¯ve just transferred here, so all I know about you is your performance during rugby practise and when you were fighting Steven. Oh and that little red sea of sick you made¡±

    Clenching his fists, Gary just wanted to run away from this entire situation. If he had known that it would turn into such a giant mess he would have never challenged this stupid club. At least he was slightly happy that she hadn¡¯t outright rejected him¡­ although he hadn¡¯t missed the fact that she hadn¡¯t exactly epted his feelings for her either.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just can¡¯t¡­¡± Gary mumbled, as he began to take off his protective headgear, keeping eye contact to the floor, too embarrassed to look up.

    Seeing this, Xin felt a little annoyed, but not as much as Mr Fang. Gary had been the one who had started this little fighting session, yet now he was going to give up there? While the teacher was still looking for a reason to make him stay, Xin had juste up with a n.

    ¡°Hey, wait!¡± Xin called out. ¡°Is it true what your friend said? About you liking me?¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t quite sure how to answer this. Just as Xin had pointed out, they hadn¡¯t known each other for long¡­ or at all, actually.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Sorry that someone like me likes you.¡± Gary answered eventually, mustering his courage to look up.

    ¡°How about we go on a date?¡± Xin suggested. ¡°I can¡¯t just promise you to be a girlfriend, but if you can beat me in a match, then we can at least go out once. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°Huh!¡± Everyone inside the hall was baffled. Xin was a beautiful girl, so some of the Karate club members had tried to ask her out when she had joined. She had instantly refused all but one of them. When Steven had tried his luck, Xin had told him that she would consider it, before requesting a match against him. Unsurprisingly, that event had cemented his position as second strongest.

    ¡°I¡¯ll only go out with someone stronger than me.¡± Xin proimed with a big smile.

    [New quest received]

    [Win the date!]

    [The girl of your dreams has challenged you to a fight.

    Swoop her off her feet and into your arms, lover boy!]

    [Quest reward: Instant Level Up (+ a date!)]

    ¡®What the hell is wrong with this system?¡¯ Gary thought.

 Chapter 33: Xin skills

    <h4>Chapter 33: Xin skills</h4>

    Gary had been sure that his mind had been made up to get out of the hall as fast as his legs would allow him. Heck, he had even seriously considered using Charging Heart to get out faster and he had been convinced that nothing would be able to change that, yet two things had just made a match against Xin extremely tempting.

    For one, there was the Quest that he had just received. As silly as the Quest description was, the reward was clear enough. If he could beat her, he would benefit from an instant Level Up.

    ¡®This system is full of surprises. The fight against that Steven guy had already granted me far more Exp than any other, but it had still been a t amount, so why is it different now? The system seems to function simr to a game and they usually reward you based on the difficulty of a task, so is it saying that fighting against Xin would really be that much harder? But what about Steven, he was weaker than those other guys?¡¯

    In all honesty, Gary didn¡¯t know if the system really worked like a game, so he could only look at the facts that he had in front of him. Beating Xin would result in him instantly reaching Level 4, meaning he would get yet another free stat point to use as he wished.

    However, the second reason, which if he was being honest, was far more enticing, was that beating her meant she would go out with him. That possibility alone, resulted in his mind going haywire once more.

    ¡®A date¡­ sh*t, I¡¯ve never been on an actual date before! Where would we go? To the movies? Mini-golf? A restaurant? ¡­ but all those things cost money¡­ Maybe I can just take her for a walk in the park. Yeah, that sounds good. There¡¯s a river there as well! If someone attacks us, like when I was with ke, and she gets pushed into the river¡­ and maybe she can¡¯t swim ¡­ then maybe I could, jump in and¡­and¡­¡¯

    ¡°So, are we doing this or not?¡± Xin asked after Gary had stopped walking. He remained standing there, which she took as a good sign. She was sure he just needed a little more push.

    Soon, the hall echoed with a chuckle, and it wasing from none other than Gary.

    ¡°I say, I¡¯m gonna save your life.¡± Gary turned around, madness in his eyes as he pointed towards her. ¡°Let¡¯s fight.¡±

    With so many strange things happening one after the other, the students didn¡¯t even question Gary¡¯s strange response. They were just pleased that they were about to witness another spectacle instead of doing their boring, repetitive drills.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Once again, the only who couldn¡¯t share their enthusiasm was Tom, who was on the sideline biting his fingernails.

    ¡®Calm down, Tom and check where the exits are. You¡¯ll need to grab Gary in case he shows any signs of turning?¡¯ Now that he thought about it, he had never seen Gary do anything werewolf-like? Apart from his wild anger. Thinking about this calmed his heart a little.

    ¡®He might be just an angry wolf on the inside?¡¯

    Mr Fang was ready, Steven was back to his usual self, and both fighters were in their positions.

    ¡°Ready, go!¡±

    The fight had started, and Gary¡¯s heart hadn¡¯t settled yet. His active skill Charging Heart had worn off, but he was wondering with his heart the way it was now. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t need to activate the skill.

    It was then that he strangely saw that Xin was the one that had charged first. She ran in and suddenly jumped in the air, spinning her body. He saw her back and soon after her whole leg. Seeing this at thest second, Gary tilted his head back. His movements were twice as slow without the skill charging heart, allowing him to narrowly miss her foot, and he soon repositioned himself by moving to one of the corners of the mat.

    ¡®How fast was that kick and a spinning kick? If she had hit me with that, I have a feeling my head would have gone flying off. Is she trying to kill me!¡¯ Gary wondered as he felt something tickling from his nose.

    He tried to sniff it up, but it didn¡¯t work, and when looking down, he could see blood on the floor. The back of her heel had lightly grazed the tip of his nose.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re a little slower, and I guess if you don¡¯t get the first hit, you¡¯re useless.¡± Xin shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I expected more from you for some reason.¡±

    ¡°Haha, did you see him running away!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t go in the corner. Come on, why don¡¯t you just use your brute strength like before?¡±

    ¡°Because he knows he¡¯s going to get knocked out.¡±

    The students mocked andughed, wanting one of their own to win.

    ¡®Sh*t! Was I going easy on her because I didn¡¯t want to hurt her, but it looks like I can¡¯t hold back.¡¯ Gary thought.

    [Skill activated Charging heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 energy points]

    cing his hand on his chest, Gary could once again feel his heart thumping so loud it felt like it was going to jump from his throat. Although nothing seemed to change from the outside, Xin, who was in the fight, quickly got into a fighting stance again, feeling a change.

    ¡°This is what I wanted,¡± Xin mumbled.

    Now it was Gary¡¯s turn, and he decided to charge in just as he did against Steven.

    ¡®I¡¯ll just take the hit. I took a hit from thatrge blob guy and was still standing, so taking a hit from someone like this is no problem at all!¡¯ Gary thought as he gritted onto his teeth, expecting what was toe.

    Xin stayed firm, her leg ready and judged the distance. Then when Gary was within her zone, she spun her body once again and let out a kick with the heel of her foot aiming towards the head.

    Gary knew that he was still too slow, even with a charging heart, to react to the kick after seeing the first one, but he was confident in his recovery skills. He could see the kick and attempted to lift his hands up, but even they were too slow, and eventually, the heel had hit him right in the head, underneath the ear.

    An immense pain was felt, and his head flung to the side. The others even looked away. The kick hadnded so solid, but Gary gritted his teeth, carried on moving, pushing through, and moved forward again.

    ¡®I just have to grab her!¡­Huh? Why is she moving away?¡¯ Gary thought as the image of Xin started to spin as if one was dizzy. The next thing Gary knew, he was falling to his side and was running straight forward into the crowd of people who were sitting down.

    Gary had crashed into the other students and had fallen off the mats.

    ¡®It was a perfect strike behind the ear.¡¯ Tom noticed. ¡®His whole head must be spinning at that moment. That¡¯s why he fell over.¡¯

    Years of watching Altered fights, Tom knew quite a bit about fighting.

    As for Xin, the one who had delivered the blow, she was shocked herself.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t think he would take the kick head on like that. I thought he had a better n. I didn¡¯t hold back either. How did he do it? Why is he still standing?¡¯

    She was amazed that Gary was even still able to walk forward and looked his way. She could see him getting up, but soon falling back over. Eventually, after getting up the third time, Gary was up on his feet all okay again.

    It was the quickest she had seen someone recover.

    ¡°Reset!¡± Mr Fang said, with a big grin on his face. He knew as a teacher he shouldn¡¯t be smiling at something like this, but he just couldn¡¯t help himself.

    Gary was ready for round 2, to reset the match and fight again. However, he had received a message from the system at that point.

    [Quest failed]

    [You are no longer able toplete this Quest]

    Since bing a Werewolf and obtaining the system, it was Gary¡¯s first loss and first quest failure.

 Chapter 34: Altered Hunter

    <h4>Chapter 34: Altered Hunter</h4>

    Club activities had ended for the day, and for the first time in a while, Tom and Gary had the chance to walk back together. Thest couple of days, Gary had just rushed home, iming he had something important to do. Tom had known that he had to be hiding something, but only recently did he find out that it was due to his part time job as a delivery person.

    Then the other day, ke had gone home with him for some reason. Now it was just them two, and since they didn¡¯t exactly live in the same area, the time they would walk together would be short.

    Tom was hoping to crack a few jokes about what had just happened, how his best friend had seemingly lost to the girl he had fallen for, but the whole way, since they had left the club room, Gary hadn¡¯t said a word.

    The silence was killing Tom, and he just couldn¡¯t leave his best friend like this. Since they were about to enter one of the rougher areas, where Gary lived, they would part ways soon. If he wanted to say something, he would have to do it now.

    ¡°Hey man, don¡¯t let it get to you. Apparently, she was the strongest person in the whole club. I don¡¯t think losing against her is anything to be ashamed of. Who knows, if you learn to get better and stronger and control your Werewolf powers, maybe you can even beat her next time and get that date!¡± Tom imed enthusiastically, but in his mind, all he could see were images of his friend transforming in the middle of the fight, and he soon shook his head to get rid of that thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that I lost¡­¡± Gary eventually mumbled out but soon went quiet because he knew it was impossible to exin to Tom. Losing to Xin, someone who weighed far less than him, and someone his age, meant that if the Underdogs or anyone else were to ever find out where he or his family lived, they could easily beat him.

    Not just the Underdogs, but other gangs had members that were extremely good at fighting. Different martial arts was just their basis. At the end of the day, the Underdogs also had Kirk. An Altered who had won the Altered rookie championship. If he was ever sent to deal with Gary¡¯s family, could he evenst a few seconds with the way he was at the moment?

    Normally, Tom should have left a while ago to head in the other direction, but he couldn¡¯t leave him like this with the way his friend was. As he looked down the street, he could see a red coloured gang in the area, walking around.

    The second they met eyes, Tom looked away.

    ¡°The red gang are in this area as well now?¡± Tom whispered to Gary. ¡°I guess the Underdogs aren¡¯t inplete control of this area then? This should be a good thing for you for the area.¡±

    ¡°You really think I¡¯ll be happy about the fact that more gangs are roaming around the ce where I live?¡± Gary scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s good because it means the Underdogs have their own problems to deal with, and they won¡¯t ruin this ce further, but the ck coloured gang and the red coloured gang have been fighting in this area more frequently. Thankfully, the main gangs haven¡¯t gotten involved yet, but¡­ let¡¯s just say even walking to school is getting tough.¡±

    Thinking about this, Gary remembered the girl he had seen. He still wondered why the ck coloured gang had attempted to abduct her so openly. Even stranger was that she seemed to be somehow rted to Kai, yet he had never mentioned her to him.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I almost forgot to tell you.¡± Tom facepalmed as he suddenly remembered something in regards to gangs. ¡°You know, the other day, I decided to go out to the shop, it was prettyte, and these guys followed me.¡±

    Suddenly, Gary was deeply concerned about his friend. The story wasn¡¯t starting well, but when looking at Tom, he could see he had no injuries on his body and was relieved. This didn¡¯t go unnoticed, and Tom was happy to see that Gary still cared for him.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright. What I was going to say was this guy came out of nowhere, all dressed in ck and beat them all up. Honestly, it was pretty badass. Hey, maybe if you had a teacher like that guy, something like what happened earlier wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± Tom wanted to tease his friend, but he quickly covered his mouth, realising that he had just poked a ho¡¯s nest.

    ¡°Huh, not a bad idea¡­¡± Gary mumbled. ¡°So who do you think he was, a gangster boss out for a walk or something?¡±

    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t really look like one.¡± Tom looked around at the gang members in the area they were currently in. The man that he met just didn¡¯t seem to fit in with the others. ¡°Come to think of it, he might have been an Altered. That might exin hisrge frame, and usually, they have superhuman bodies even without transforming. Alternatively¡­ he could have been an Altered hunter.¡±

    ¡°Altered hunter, huh? I guess even the Altered have things they need to worry about.¡± Garymented.

    Eventually, Tom couldn¡¯t venture into the other side of town too far. He needed to go home and mentioned this to Gary. Realising how far Tom had apanied him, Gary decided to walk him back until he was in a safer area since he might not be as lucky to meet such a mysterious stranger a second time.

    It was getting prettyte, around 6pm, which was when the sun was starting to set, and more troubled people would roam the streets. Tom was concerned about this, but Gary reminded him that he wasn¡¯t a regr person anymore and reassured him by saying he would be going straight home.

    However, pulling up his hood, Gary got his phone out and sent a text to his mother and sister.

    [I¡¯m at Tom¡¯s and will being homete tonight.]

    Gary had no intention of going home yet, and he was ready to cause a bit of chaos.

 Chapter 35: The new world

    <h4>Chapter 35: The new world</h4>

    When Xin left the Karate club she was showered with praises from the other members. For doing a good job in humiliating Gary. However, for her she felt like the fight wasn¡¯t over yet. Her opponent hadn¡¯t been knocked out, and was still well enough to fight again, yet for some reason, her opponent had just left having received the first blow.

    Before she left to make her way home, Mr Fang had stopped to have a word with her.

    ¡°Xin, I¡¯ll ask you again, are you sure you don¡¯t want to join the winter tournament? If you do well, it¡¯s a good chance for you to get noticed. With your talent and in a world we live in like today you could easily get noticed and¡­¡±

    ¡°Please Mr Fang. I know you mean well, but I really can¡¯t.¡± Xin replied. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not the one with talent in my family.¡±

    With the conversation over, Xin quickly left the club to head home. While Mr Fang was left thinking that a wasted opportunity was slipping right in front of him. He could tell that something was up. He had never seen any student with such a pained look before, turning such an offer down.

    When leaving the club, Xin saw a group of girls looking towards her. They soon looked away and started whispering to each other, still making nces once in a while.

    ¡®Damn it, did I mess with the wrong girl, like dad was worried about. But it was an ident? It might be good if I go and apologise to her tomorrow. Crap, I¡¯m not really good at these things.¡¯ Xin thought.

    Eventually, leaving the school gates, she took a turn, and a ck coloured car was waiting for her. Before Xin could even open the door, the driver had gotten out of the car and opened the door for her.

    ¡°Please miss.¡± The driver said.

    Xin had gotten into the car with tinted ck windows, and had started her drive home. All of this was done. because Xin was The mayor¡¯s daughter. The mayor of a tier three city.

    Usually, such an important figure of a town or city, would send their family for schooling in a higher tier city. The reason, because to get into the position the mayor was in today, it most likely meant that the mayor had a connection to one of the big gangs in the area. Making a mayor¡¯s family an easy target.

    At the same time, this also meant that Xin was protected in more ways than one. However, she was sick and tired of her old life. Not being able to go anywhere freely, having to be careful who she talked to, and always being guarded at all times. It was hard for her to even make friends due to the way she lived.

    However, this year she had managed to get her father to rx a little by making a deal with him.

    ¡®I just have to get through this year and prove to him that everything will be okay. I¡¯ll say sorry to Tiffany tomorrow and I¡¯ll make sure everything is alright. But what about that Gary guy? Will I have to worry about him?¡¯ She thought.

    Thinking about the look on his face. She also found it strange that someone who was inexperienced in fighting would suddenly ask to fight trained fighters like that. She honestly didn¡¯t like people like Gary, Those that had been blessed with a good body and strength, beating on those that had trained for years.

    ¡®Well, his friend did say he liked me, so I don¡¯t think he will be causing any problems.¡¯

    Eventually, the vehicle had arrived in a more private area of the town. It was driving through what looked like woonds, and had reached arge ck gate. Standing outside there were those that looked like guards wearing suits, however if one was to look closer they could see that they weren¡¯t just any guards. They had tattoos running up their necks, and some even had piercings.

    These were gangsters that had been lent to the mayor for protection. In a way they worked as a bigger deterrent than bodyguards for other gangs.

    The house was in sight, it was quite arge six bedroom house with a bathroom in every room. This would be a luxury for anyone living in a tier three city. In the first ce, not even a mayor of a small town like this one would have been able to live in a ce like this, not unless to get into the position they were in and had taken a few bribes here and there, but she knew her dad wasn¡¯t a bad person.

    ¡®It is just how the way the world works.¡¯ Xin repeated in her mind.

    Unfortunately, that was the only way to move up in the current world. Still, because she hadn¡¯t been here long it was hard to call this foreign ce home, that was until she had entered the house and heard a certain voice.

    ¡°Hey, is the troublemaker back!¡± A voice said,ing from the kitchen.

    Xin quickly ran in and went inside, to see her mother, and the one whose voice she had hearding through the doors. Her brother.

    ¡°Jayden you¡¯re here! Didn¡¯t you say, you would be busy shooting at this time?¡± Xin asked.

    Like Xin herself, her brother was quite the pretty boy, having clear skin, and a quite chiselled look yet feminine as well. His eyes were so naturally dark that it looked like he wore eyeliner. However, it was just his dark eyshes. His body was also what bodybuilders would strive for, but that was mostly due to his job.

    ¡°Well, one of my appointments got cancelled, so I decided to head back home early.¡± Jayden answered. He could see a glow in Xin¡¯s eyes, leaving him to let out a big sigh.

    ¡°Sometimes, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re happy to see me because of me. Fine, let me finish here and we can go for a round.¡± Jayden said, getting up from his seat.

    The two of them moved and headed outside. On therge piece ofnd where their housey, there was an annex and inside it was set up with gym equipment, such as punching bags and dolls, and more martial arts equipment.

    ¡°Wow, this ce looks nearly as nice as the gym I train at.¡± Jaydenplimented. He was waiting to hear Xin say something but could just see her already putting on protective gear. Shaking his head, he knew he had already lost to the fighting obsessed maniac.

    The two had gotten into position and it was time. Xin started as she charged forward, leaping up in the air and spun, delivering a kick to the head. She soon saw Jayden lean back and narrowly avoid it.

    ¡®It missed, just like it did against Gary, but this is different.¡¯ Xin thought.

    She was right, the difference was, Jayden had narrowly avoided it on purpose to not use too much energy, and if he wanted to, it would allow him the timing to attack himself.

    The kicks continued with a few punches here and there, and Jayden avoided all of them, once in a while he would throw a kickback, but it would just be a light tap, showing his sister he could have hurt her at any time.

    Eventually, getting frustrated, Xin went to try her strongest attack. She was ready, waited for the perfect time, and spun once again, hoping to hit her brother with the back of her heel, right behind the ear.

    She could feel it connect, but her brother was still standing with his arm covering the area, He then took a step forward throwing her off bnce and causing her to fall to the ground. Throwing out a punch to her face, he stopped an inch from her nose.

    ¡°And that is definitely a defeat.¡± Jayden said with a smile. ¡°You really have improved a lot, and those kicks of yours are hard to deal with, trust me.¡± He said massaging his arm.

    Helping her up off the ground, he could tell Xin wasn¡¯t pleased. Usually hispliments would make her feel better but it didn¡¯t look like it this time.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jayden asked.

    ¡°Are my kicks really that strong? You¡¯re not just saying that to make me feel better, right?¡± Xin asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re upset about? That kick I blocked at the end. First of all, I¡¯m twenty five and your body still has room to grow.¡± Jayden said. ¡°Second of all, your brother is one of the top fifty fighters in the country, and to top that off I am an Altered, so I have an unfair advantage. If you kicked anyone your age be it boy or girl they wouldn¡¯t be able to stand up again.¡±

    Hearing her brother¡¯s words, she found it very hard to believe because that very kick he was talking about, there was a person who had stood up again.

    ¡°Maybe that boy is someone to look out for after all.¡± Xin mumbled.

    Suddenly, she felt a heating from the corner of the room, and as she looked at Jayden, she could see the fire in his eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about a boy! Did he try touching you? You can tell me, right?! You know the rule I and dad set for you. If anyone wants to go out with you they need to at least be strong enough to beat me!¡±

    She knew about this rule, but she knew that was also impossible. There were only a few people in the country strong enough to beat her brother. That¡¯s why she had altered that rule slightly to herself, that they had to at least be stronger than her, hopefully then it would be someone her brother would ept, but whether she would ever find a person or not was a different story altogether.

 Chapter 36: A Leader

    <h4>Chapter 36: A Leader</h4>

    [Will there be one today?]

    The message read on the phone.

    ¡°Oh, he seems to be getting more impatient, I wonder if something happened to him?¡± Kai mused as he read the message on his phone. At the very top the name ¡®Green Fang¡¯ was disyed.

    [There is no need for you to ask me. I will notify you when I need you.]

    Kai texted back and ced the phone back into his pocket as he continued on his way to a particr car park. The car park itself was quiterge, six stories yet it was empty. Although the night sky was out, it wasn¡¯t toote, yet there were no cars present at all.

    The reason why it was empty was because today was due to it being another day like before, it was a fight night, and the multiple gangs in the area had made sure that those that didn¡¯t need to know about it, wouldn¡¯t stumble upon this ce.

    ¡°So tell me again, why didn¡¯t you invite that Green Fang guy? Are you worried he might go crazy again?¡± Innu asked, having caught a glimpse of Gary¡¯s message on Kai¡¯s phone.

    The newest member of their yet to be named gang was wearing the new uniform he had been given. The ck overcoat with a golden trim and his matching trousers suited him surprisingly well.

    ¡°Because it would be a bit much to invite our leader to such a small asion.¡± Kai answered with a smirk, not turning around.

    ¡°Our leader? That green haired guy that could barely fight is supposed to be our leader? Didn¡¯t know you had a sense of humour, but seriously tell me the real reason.¡± Innu insisted.

    However, Kai didn¡¯t say another word, and just continued to move towards the car park. There were two guards up ahead who didn¡¯t look like they quite belonged there. Still, it was a perfect way to stop anyone nosey from snooping around.

    Innu, for a moment entertaining the possibility that Kai wasn¡¯t just pulling his leg, stopped in his tracks, making Marie, or Mai as she liked to be called, nearly walk into him. At thest moment, she gracefully sidestepped him.

    ¡°He really is not joking? I need to know what the hell I signed myself up for!¡± Innu asked the girl, who just shook her head before following behind Kai.

    The two guards appeared to be adults in theirte twenties or early thirties. They checked over Kai and his entourage briefly, yet didn¡¯t say anything else as the trio walked past them. Inside, the three could hear the sounds of several people cheering.

    Innu knew that once they went further in, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ask Kai as many questions, so he had to ask now.

    ¡°Fine, fine, let¡¯s say that kid is our leader, then isn¡¯t that all the more reason to bring him along? Not to belittle him or anything, but he clearly isn¡¯t really used to these kinds of things and some more fighting practice couldn¡¯t hurt either. The way he currently is¡­¡±

    The leader of a gang could be said to be their most important person. In a way, they alone symbolised the prestige of their respective gang, hence why in most cases it was the gang member with the most strength.

    Due to the ¡®No Lethal Weapons Act¡¯, individual strength was important these days. In cases of disagreement when one side needed to ¡®convince¡¯ another, the most forward way was to do it the good old fashioned way.

    However, this wasn¡¯t always the case, especially for established gangs it wasn¡¯t rare to have a wise leader at the top, one who wasn¡¯t just a musclehead. In those cases it would either be their right hand man or those under him with the frightening strength that would ensure that others followed theirmand.

    Usually, those kinds of leaders had something special about them, a type of unique charisma that had allowed them to get trustworthy people to work under them in the first ce.

    Innu had joined in the belief that Kai would be thetter type, which was why he was shocked to learn that Gary was supposed to be their leader. He didn¡¯t even fit the former type, so with him as their gang¡¯s representative it was practically asking for trouble. The fighter could already foresee them getting picked on by other gangs.

    ¡°Alright, seeing that you¡¯re asking out of concern for the new gang you¡¯ve joined, I suppose I shouldn¡¯t keep you out of the loop. You see, in my opinion there are certain qualities that distinguish a great leader from a good one.¡± Kai replied, not slowing his steps.

    ¡°A great leader needs to have a reason to keep growing his territory. Putting it simply, they need ambition and hunger. At the moment, I¡¯m testing that person¡¯s hunger since I want to see just how far he will go. If I¡¯m right, then it¡¯s just a matter of time for Gary to start acting on his own. Once he does, it will be a perfect opportunity to find out just how ambitious he is.¡±

    At this moment, the three could see several cars that had been parked in a way to make an arena. Crowds were cheering from behind them as a fight was already taking ce. The first thing Innu noticed were certain students from Eton High. His fists tensed up as images of what happened before shed through his head.

    ¡®He said that they will be our next opponent, I guess we are here to scout them today then.¡¯ Innu thought.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Mai spoke up. ¡°With the amount of different prospect gangs, sub divisions, and coloured gangs here, no one will be stupid enough to start a fight, so your body can stop shaking.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared, but angry!¡± Innu replied with gritted teeth. ¡°I can take on any one of those backstabbing bastards on their own. They only beat me because they ganged up on me!¡±

    The girl just smiled and lightly patted him on the back before she looked for a good spot to watch the ongoing fight. Meanwhile, Kai had been paying attention to something else. On top of one of the cars, a little behind the arena, there was arge digital board that had the names of today¡¯s fighting roster, as well as the betting odds.

    ¡®Strange, I was sure Billy Buster was meant to be fighting today.¡¯ Kai thought. ¡®Given his fighting record the gangs must have already tried to scout him. Were it not for his loss that day, I¡¯m sure he would have gotten a serious offer.¡¯

    ¡®Was his pride hurt so badly that he wants to wait for people to forget¡­ or did Gary actually manage to hurt him more than I thought?¡¯ Kai wondered.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    At that very moment, Billy opened the fridge in his apartmentplex.

    ¡®I¡¯m so hungry.¡¯ Billy thought as his eyestched onto some rawmb at the bottom of the fridge that had still yet to be cooked. Without even a moment¡¯s hesitation his hand grabbed it and before he knew what he was doing, he had started digging into it with his mouth ripping it apart.

    Eventually, when he was done with his meal, he let out a satisfied burp, scratching his neck, which showed a mark on his neck, where he had been bitten.

 Chapter 37: Turf war

    <h4>Chapter 37: Turf war</h4>

    In the town of Slough there was an unwritten rule concerning the area where Gary lived. When the sun went down, that was when the underworld came out to y. The coloured gangs and more would roam the streets.

    If Gary hadn¡¯t told his mother he would be staying at Tom¡¯s, who lived in a more affluent area, then she would be worried out of her mind. He had also often lied about his parents dropping him off by their apartment as well.

    As a former transporter for the Underdogs, Gary had needed to learn not only where their own territories were, but also what territories belonged to which colour gang as well as which areas were the mostmon fight spots. The knowledge that the entire town, except for a few key areas, had been divided in so many sub areas which the gangs imed for their own, had left quite the bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

    It had been vitaly important to memorise the safest route as it was rarely the most direct one. Gary often would have to go through a bunch of different territories to reach his destination. It was safe to say that he had been quite good at his job, which was why he had never failed a delivery until that day.

    ¡®At least I got this strange system out of this all.¡¯ Gary thought to himself as he quickened his pace. He had his hood up covering his green hair, not that it stood out among all the other punks that were currently out on the streets. After all, he had chosen that hair colour for that reason specifically.

    Still, for what he was about to do, he needed to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t be recognisable.

    Using what money he had left, he bought a few cheap rags from the convenience store that were ck in colour. Leaving the store, he searched for an unupied alley and started to rip them up, then tied them around his arm and legs, covering them fully. Once he was done, Gary headed towards a certain area of town.

    It didn¡¯t take him long to find what he was looking for. The graffiti on the wall that had marked this area as belonging to the ck coloured gang appeared to have just recently been tagged over with red paint. This was the same as iming ownership over this area.

    Gary closed his eyes and concentrated on his ears. All his senses had been sharpened ever since he woke up with the Werewolf System. Listening carefully, he could hear the sounds of some people talking amongst themselves. Although he was unable to hear exactly what they said, he did make out the sound of a spray can. Opening his eyes he walked in the direction the sounds came from.

    ¡®It seems like luck is on my side tonight. But for the red colour gang to have spread this far out into the ck colour gang¡¯s territory and to do it so brazenly¡­ Surely they should know that the ck colour gang works for the Underdogs¡­ are they just brave, stupid¡­ or do they actually have the backing of someone who is willing to go against Damion and his goons?¡¯ Gary thought as he stepped out.

    ¡°Hey, this ain¡¯t your territory! Do you really think you should be doing that?¡± Gary asked, his heart beating louder with every word he spoke. Just as he had heard, there were three of them, all wearing red colours. One of them was clearly holding a spray can in the midst of tagging yet another wall, but as for the others, Gary had no clue what type of weapons they might have on them.

    The three young adults looked at each other for a second and started tough. The one closest to Gary, who also happened to be thergest among the group, therefore most likely designated as the lookout, came at Gary.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get him!¡± The man swung at Gary, sure that the height difference would y out in his favour, but the high schooler was able to duck the first punch.

    ¡®Luckily, I used Charging Heart as soon as I entered the alleyway. Were those gang members always so aggressive? Here I thought I would need to taunt them a bit more.¡¯ Gary saw an opening, a chance to attack, so he quickly kicked the first person right in the stomach, using the tip of his toes to dig in.

    The man hurled over and Gary mused that if he had gone in again he could have finished off the first member, but instead he decided to turn around and run.

    ¡®I can¡¯t underestimate them, and I can¡¯t let them see my face clearly! There¡¯s three of them and only one of me.¡¯ He reminded himself as he widened the distance, but at the same time made sure to allow the gang members to follow after him.

    Running away, the red coloured gang members were soon chasing after Gary. Three members soon became six, then nine. The first three hadn¡¯t exactly kept quiet, making others notice them and join in the chase.

    The sheer number of them which continued to grow, reassured Gary that he had made the right decision in choosing not to fight. If he had been caught up with the first three, then there was a good chance the others would have joined and eventually outnumbered him.

    This morning, with Gary¡¯s brimming overconfidence after bing a type of Altered who had even won a fight in the arena, he would have decided to fight the three of them. After all, there was that one instance when he had managed to defeat five members of a coloured gang, but after losing to Xin, he felt humbled. His crush had reminded him that one shouldn¡¯t judge someone by only their outer appearance.

    ¡°That guy, he¡¯s not fast but he isn¡¯t slowing down!¡± One of the Red gang members huffed as they continued to chase.

    Gary couldn¡¯t deny that fact, not when his system had assigned him a mere 3 points of Dexterity which he figured was linked to his speed. Even after using Charging Heart his running wasn¡¯t much faster than the average person¡¯s. Fortunately, he more than made up for that in the stamina department that he had already confirmed was linked to his Energy bar.

    Eventually, Gary arrived at his destination, a park with an open tform. Using his sensitive ears he could hear what he had been hoping for.

    ¡°I need help! Red colour gang hase to fight us!¡± Gary shouted out loud.

    It was only then, that the dozen or so red coloured gang members noticed that they had been following Gary all the way into an entirely different area, one that was under stricter control of the ck coloured gang. A group of ck coloured gang members that would regrly use the park as their hangout spot was already present and quickly surrounded the trespassers.

    [New quest received]

    [My enemy¡¯s enemy¡­]

    [Using your knowledge you have caused quite the stir]

    [You have instigated a turf war!]

    Choose a side and make sure they win!]

    [Quest reward: 50 Exp per defeated person]

    There were around ten of them in total, making the fight more or less even. The red members, seeing no situation out of this mess, decided to go ahead and fight. The two sides shed bringing out their weapons in the form of bike chains, pocket knives and baseball bats. Some just used their fists and those were the ones who knew how to fight a little better than others.

    As for Gary, he didn¡¯t just stay a bystander in all of this, he was also joining in, mostly because he needed to. For one, he needed not to blow his cover and then there was also his Quest reward.

    Nevertheless, Gary was sneaky enough to wait for the right chance before delivering the knockout blow to the weakened enemy. Were all of this a game, the gang members mightin about him essentially kill stealing, but as it was, the other ck coloured gang members just regarded him as an other member. In this intense moment they didn¡¯t care who got thest punch in, yet for Gary it was vitally important, because the counter that had appeared would only go up when he would knock someone out.

    The fight didn¡¯tst more than a few minutes, and in the end the ck coloured gang had won. Huffing and panting, three of them were still standing, well four if one included Gary, while the rest had lost consciousness. Surprisingly, despite some of them having had pocket knives, nobody was bleeding badly apart from a few scratches.

    [Quest reward: 450 Exp]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 4]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [50/460 exp]

    Seeing this, Gary was pleased that he now had two total stat points to allocate, since he had not yet allocated the previous one. It wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t been able to decide what to use it for, but he hade to the realisation that it was wiser to allow his body to naturally improve until it hit some sort of limit, before he would start using them.

    ¡°Hey you were quite skilled there man, what group are you from?¡± One of the ck coloured gang members approached Gary from behind who still had his face turned away.

    Unfortunately, as a transporter Gary had only needed to know about the coloured gang¡¯s territories, so he didn¡¯t know the ins and outs of the gangs. While he was racking his brain on how to get out of the situation, he heard another sound from the system.

    [Optional quest received]

    [¡­is also my enemy?]

    [The truth is you belong to neither of these gangs and now you cane out on top.]

    [Defeat the remaining gang members!]

    [Quest reward: 50 Exp per defeated person]

    ¡®This system¡­¡¯

 Chapter 38: The power of the moon

    <h4>Chapter 38: The power of the moon</h4>

    Although this new Quest offered him the same rewards for the same type of work, Gary actually felt a bit conflicted. As the description had pointed out, he wasn¡¯t really a member of the ck colour gang, yet these people had helped him out and he had literally fought side by side with them just moments ago. Gary might be unable to lie his way out of the situation, but he could always just flee.

    ¡®I¡­ I can¡¯t backstab them.¡¯ Gary thought, but just as he was ready to get out of the park, someone let out a scream. Turning around, he could see that it had originated not too far from where he was.

    ¡°You should have stayed on your side, bastard!¡± One of the ck colour gang members gleefully eximed as he whacked his baseball bat down on the back of one of the red colour gang members who was unable to do anything about this sort of bullying.

    ¡®If that guy keeps hitting him like that, he¡­ might even kill him.¡¯ Gary realised, clenching his fists.

    It was then that the high schooler recalled how five members of the very same colour gang had tried to abduct that girl not too far away from his home. During his time working for the Underdogs, Gary had seen that not every member was a scrumbag, some still had some humanity left inside of them like Kirk, but watching this group of ruffians, they clearly didn¡¯t belong in that category.

    They robbed people, made it so the streets were unsafe, and didn¡¯t even think twice about hurting others. In a way, the actual big gangs above them were far more resectable as they at least made a real effort not to get regr civilians involved, yet it was different with the colour gangs.

    ¡°Hey didn¡¯t you hear me, I¡¯ve asked what group you¡¯re from?¡± The ck colour gang member repeated his question, but Gary just kept looking at the guy with the baseball bat having fun against his helpless victims. What¡¯s more, the third member of their group picked up one of the dropped pocket knives, and brought it really close to the red colour gang member¡¯s face.

    ¡°Let me give you a little reminder of what happens if you barge into the wrong territory.¡±

    Seeing this, Gary couldn¡¯t take it any more.

    ¡°Screw this, the system¡¯s right.¡± Gary mumbled, the other person had heard what he had said but didn¡¯t quite understand the context. ¡°I don¡¯t belong to any of these gangs!¡±

    The ck colour gang member needed a moment to gleam the meaning behind thest thing the high schooler had said, but by that time a fist was about to connect with him. Gary had also activated his Charging Heart skill once more, making his fist speed up mid swing, as it aimed right at his opponent¡¯s chin, sending him flying to the ground.

    Gary didn¡¯t hesitate as he moved onto the next one. Having watched Gary just knock out his buddy with a single hit, the gang member dropped the pocket knife in a panic, quickly trying to pick it back up. However, that proved to be a big mistake. The moment he looked down, the high schooler took it as his opportunity to kick him square in his face, making him join his buddy in dreand.

    Unfortunately for Gary, thest member of the ck colour gang that was still up, was faster on the uptake. Before he could turn around to deal with him, it was Gary¡¯s turn to take a beating. Moments after his kick to the face, he felt a strong force on his back, stemming from a baseball bat.

    ¡®Damn it! Why do all these goons have to aim at my ribs?!¡¯

    [-10 HP]

    [Congrattions! After repeatedly taking a beating your body has grown stronger. Don¡¯t get used to this though, otherwise people might think you¡¯re a M.]

    [Endurance +1]

    ¡®Is this really the time to congratte me? And what the heck is a M!¡¯ Gary thought, as he could feel the baseball bat continually pound him. He had curled up into a ball, cing his hands above his head to protect it. The only silver lining was that the subsequent hits only took off 5 points of his HP, though he was unsure whether this was because the gang member was exhausted or his boosted Endurance.

    Gritting his teeth, Gary bared through the pain, and let the adrenaline take care of the pain. He decided to go for his legs charging in tackling him. A move he had been practicing in Rugby many times before. Lifting him up with his strength, Gary then soon mmed him down on the concrete floor, knocking him out and causing him to drop the bat.

    [Quest reward: 150 Exp]

    [200/460 Exp]

    [You are a lone wolf that is growing]

    [Would you like to Force bond marking any of those that you have defeated? (1/5)]

    [During the Hunt, you will gain additional Exp for each sessful Mark you have sessfully taken down]

    [1/5]

    Gary had naturally declined the offer to Mark more people. He still didn¡¯t understand what a hunt was, he had an idea, but he wasn¡¯t prepared to kill people, not if it could be avoided.

    ¡®I still need to figure out how to get rid of Barry¡¯s Mark. Should I try to talk to him after Rugby practice?¡¯ Gary contemted.

    It was gettingte and it was time for Gary to head home, otherwise his mother would start to get suspicious. Due to his ¡®little fun¡¯ with the colour gangs, he hadn¡¯t had the time to go to the gym. It looked like he had to give it a miss for today and fail his Daily Quest.

    Still, he had gained way more Exp than he would have in the gym. Nevertheless, he imagined that with what he had just done, tensions between the two colour gangs were guaranteed to rise and they would most likely act more cautious by travelling in bigger groups for the foreseeable future. It was unlikely that he would get another chance to farm so much Exp, but just doing it once had already been worth it.

    Gary might be unable toplete the gym part of his Daily Quests, but nothing was stopping him from stopping by the shop as he had done these past days to purchase some more protein. After finishing the raw steak away from the eyes of others, the high schooler once again had his Energy restored, which helped him heal his injuries, yet there was still one problem.

    ¡®My money is going down a lot faster than I thought it would. I still don¡¯t have a consistent supply. What should I do? I thought Kai would be calling me more often, how long can thisst?¡¯ Gary thought seeing that he had about two hundred dors or so left out of his total five hundred, the money from the initial transportation from the Underdogs he didn;t want to touch, nning to give that to his mother somehow¡­

    On his way home, Gary was surprised by the scent of raw food. He rubbed his eyes, because he could visibly see the scent in the air. It looked like a red mist that led up to a certain apartment.

    ¡®This¡­ looks like the same thing I saw at school. It¡¯s the trail that allows me to follow those that are Marked, so does that mean Barry lives in this area?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    It was only a few streets away from where he lived, and he didn¡¯t like this thought at all. Sure, Barry often used his status to get what he wanted at school, but that still wasn¡¯t enough of a reason to kill him. He might not have been the nicest person, but there were far worse people than him.

    ¡®I can¡¯t just turn up at his door, especially not thiste. I¡¯ll have to try to think of something tomorrow instead. I still have some time before the full moon anyway, and who knows maybe Tom was just making a big deal out of nothing.¡¯

    Getting home, Gary greeted his mother and sister and ate the dinner that she had left for him quite easily, despite already having eaten 2kg of meat. His stomach just seemed endless ever since he had turned.

    When trying to go to sleep that night though, Gary was having trouble. He couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what would happen when the full moon was toe out. It didn¡¯t help that he could see his sister Amy sleeping on the bed next to him.

    Then, when the clock went past midnight over to the next day, the system delivered him a new message.

    [The power of the moon is starting to run through your body. The fuller it gets, the more powerful you¡¯ll be.]

    [Current bonus: All Stats +1]

    Reading the message, Gary could feel that his body felt slightly different. When checking his stats, he could see that each of his three base stats now disyed a (+1) next to them. This was simr to what it looked like when he used Charging Heart, which told him that it was a temporary boost.

    ¡®Wow, I feel so alive right now. Will this seriously continue to happen as we get closer and closer to the full moon?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    However, his happiness soon went away as the next set of messages appeared.

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [11 days until the next full moon]

 Chapter 39: Breaking news

    <h4>Chapter 39: Breaking news</h4>

    It was safe to say that after receiving that message in the middle of the night, Gary didn¡¯t get the best of sleep. Every time he would close his eyes, his brain would y out images of himself turning into a werewolf who would start wing out his sister, since she was in the bed right next to his.

    It wasn¡¯t that his body felt like doing it, in fact, although the system imed that his bloodlust had increased, Gary didn¡¯t feel any differences, least of all a sudden desire to harm anyone. The high schooler still felt like his usual self, apart from all the super strength and speed he felt from the powerful moon, but that was bing more ordinary by the second for Gary.

    [You are exhausted from ack of sleep]

    [Until you get some proper rest, your Energy bar has been lowered to 75%]

    ¡®Well, whose fault is it that I couldn¡¯t sleep, you stupid system?¡¯ Gary thought irritated, as he made his way to school. Still, even with 82,5 Energy he could still use Charging Heart and do plenty of other things. It was also a pleasant surprise, that aside from Energy, all his other stats weren¡¯t negatively affected in any way due to this.

    Entering his ssroom, there was a brief encounter when Gary and Xin locked eyes with each other. The girl had actually been ready to approach Gary as she had developed a slight interest in him. s, unlike yesterday, he didn¡¯t pay her any special attention,pletely ignoring her greeting. Leaving her to just give an awkward wave.

    The boy had headed straight to his desk, put his bag next to him and then immediately put his head down. Now that he was in school, a wave of drowsiness came over him, so he nned to use the time before the teacher would arrive to get a quick nap in.

    ¡®Did something happen to him yesterday? Could he not sleep because he lost that fight to me?¡¯ Xin wondered. Having failed to make up with one person who was supposed to like her, Xin was now very worried about how her conversation would go with the girl who was holding a grudge against her¡­

    By the time Tom finally arrived, he found his desk mate lightly snoring on his desk. Since this wasn¡¯t Gary¡¯s usual behaviour, he decided against waking him up. Be it sheer dumb luck, his teachers not caring or perhaps having some sympathy for Gary, nobody had found a fault with him sleeping through their ss. Eventually, it was break time, giving Tom a chance to talk to his friend.

    ¡°Good morning, sleepy head. Well, technically it¡¯s noon now, so how¡¯re you feeling? Was your impromptu nap some sort of statement about how useless all this stuff is we¡¯re forced to learn or was it because it¡¯s getting closer to a¡­¡± Tom looked left and right to see if anyone else was listening. ¡°Full moon.¡±

    Hearing those words just reminded Gary of what the system had told him.

    ¡°I just couldn¡¯t get any sleep yesterday. It¡¯s nothing to do with that crap.¡± Gary replied groggily after Tom had woken him up. ¡°Come on, why don¡¯t we just talk about something else?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but it¡¯s kinda important, seeing as we only have 11 more days.¡± Tom said. ¡°We have to figure this stuff out, check if there are any changes¡­ Say, are you going to quit the Rugby club? If you don¡¯t someone could seriously get-¡°

    ¡°Enough.¡± Gary was so annoyed that he almost shouted. ¡°You¡¯re nagging me worse than my Mom. Look, I know you mean well and I swear I was thinking about that stuff and also worrying about it. However, I can solve things my own way, and it¡¯s hard to exin this stuff, what¡¯s happening to me.¡±

    It was hard on Tom as well, honestly, he couldn¡¯t remember thest time he and Gary had an argument, buttely it seemed like he was stepping on his nerves a little too much, but Tom had to admit he probably was being a little bit too overbearing.

    Gary was right, he couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like to be in his shoes right now.

    ¡°Right now, Rugby is actually one of the only things going well for me, so I don¡¯t want to give up on something that can keep my mind off of everything else that¡¯s happening.¡± Gary replied.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When sses hade to an end, instead of heading to the next fighting club like Tom thought Gary would do, they found themselves on the Rugby field once again. Due to there being a matching up next week, they had asked the non-regrs to stay on the bench and observe, this included Tom.

    The regrs were split into two groups as they had a practice match against one another. ke and Gary were on one team, while on the opposing team were Gil and Barry, who didn¡¯t exactly have good feelings towards the newest member of their team.

    ¡®This is a good chance for me to test a few things out.¡¯ Gary thought as he looked at his stats.

    [Strength 5 (+1)]

    [Dexterity 3 (+1)]

    [Endurance 9 (+1)]

    The boost from the moon was still present, but what Gary wanted to test was how much these small increments of numbers affected him. The whistle blew and as soon as it did he activated Charging Heart.

    His base stats, but he could see that he was also still receiving the one extra point of boost from the power of the moon. The ball was in a yer¡¯s hands, but running past the others on the line, it looked like Gary hade out of nowhere, as he tackled the yer with the ball, going straight for the legs.

    Therge high school student went down almost instantly, and recovering straight away, Gary was also able to pick up the loose ball that was on the ground. Soon two others went to stop him, and he was able to dodge two of them with his reflexes and their predictable tackle patterns, until he eventually had been hit from the side and piled on by the rest of the team.

    ¡®Has he gotten faster? Heck, even his tackling has gotten better.¡¯ ke noticed.

    ¡°What are you doing, broli head?!¡± Mr Root shouted. ¡°I got you so you could mainly y defence. Did you think your slow self could go for a point all on your own. If you manage to get possession of the ball, I want you to lure them and then pass it!¡±

    Gary admitted that he got a bit carried away, but his body felt great. It felt so light when using ¡®Charging Heart¡¯, it was almost addictive. It was a strange feeling suddenly bing twice the person you once were.

    As the rest of the game went on, Gary showed off his skills and it was noticeable to many of them on the field. Gary was soon bing a prime tackler, and a reliable yer. He had also tackled Barry thinking that with a touch he might be able to get rid of the Marking, but it wasn¡¯t that easy.

    ¡°This is a bunch of crap!¡± Gil said. ¡°Look how much they¡¯re praising that guy just because he¡¯s having a good day today! If this keeps happening, Harvey will never be allowed back on the team. We have to do something.¡±

    Barry looked at Gary, but for some reason, ever since he had stood up to him, a chill ran down his spine whenever he saw the other. He either wanted topletely avoid him, or his instincts were telling him that he needed to do whatever he could to get rid of him, before he disappeared.

    ¡°Yeah, but there¡¯s nothing we can do! ke made it abundantly clear that we¡¯re not to touch Gary. If we do something stupid, we might be the ones to get kicked off the team ourselves.¡± Barry replied.

    Looking over at the benches, Gil¡¯s eyes set on someone else.

    ¡°Fine, we might be unable to touch Gary, but there is someone else that we can go for instead.¡±

    With Rugby not really being interesting to Tom, especially knowing that given his physique he would never amount to anything in that sport, he had decided to y on his phone and keep up to date with whatever he could. That was when he received a notification from the local news channel.

    [Breaking news; Murderer on the loose!]

    [In the small town of Slough in the Montay area a husband and wife were found dead in their apartment block this morning. Police have yet to reveal any information on what exactly had urred but at the moment they are looking for any tips on their missing son, Billy Bruntin.]

    ¡®Whoa, I know the police haven¡¯t said it outright, but if they are looking for the son and he¡¯s missing, doesn¡¯t that just make him the prime suspect? What would make someone go so bad that they would kill their parents though?¡¯ Tom wondered.

    It wasn¡¯t long after that, Gary received a disturbing message from his system, one that he didn¡¯t quite understand.

 Chapter 40: Omega Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 40: Omega Wolf</h4>

    After club activities had ended, the members of the Rugby team were praising Gary for his skills on the field. The majority of them had been worried about Mr Root choosing him. After all, Gary had been a member of the club ever sincest year but he had never shown any real talent.

    Somebody getting better overnight should only be possible in mangas, novels or on TV, but in reality it would take a lot of effort¡­ and yet somehow Gary seemed to have gone through some sort of growth spurt since the start of the week. He hadn¡¯t grown in height, yet he had still vastly improved in terms of speed and strength.

    Receiving so much praise was a new experience for Gary. He hadn¡¯t really been unpopr in ss, in fact there was nobody in his ss who really hated him. If one were to ask his ssmates to describe him, most would have probably used ¡®ss clown¡¯ or ¡®a bit of a weirdo¡¯ ever since he came back with his new hair style. However, his rtionship with anyone but Tom had never really progressed past the level of an acquaintance.

    ¡®This feels amazing.¡¯ Gary thought with a slightly smug smile on his face. Before the system he had never been particrly good at anything except perhaps for Altered trivia, so getting some recognition from his fellow peers, the high schooler discovered that he quite enjoyed the feeling.

    Walking away from his teammates who had patted him, some yfully, others more seriously, Gary checked over his stats, hoping that one of them might have improved. As expected, he had no such luck. The only change was his Energy that was now at 58 points since he had used Charging Heart a couple of times during their practice. Fortunately, his earlier sleep session had been deemed as enough rest for the system to revert his Energy bar back to 100%.

    ¡®Huh, what¡¯s this?¡¯ Gary wondered as he noticed that he had a new notification which hadn¡¯t popped up on its own. ¡®When did I get it? Was it at night when I finally fell asleep, or was it during my nap?¡¯

    Clicking on it, it opened up before him. The notification time indicated that it had appeared at 4 AM in the morning, which was around the time his desire for sleep had overwhelmed him. Unfortunately, even after reading the message, Gary didn¡¯t understand exactly what it was trying to tell him.

    [An Omega has been created]

    ¡°What the hell is an Omega?¡± Mumbling this question, Gary had been hoping for his system to shed some light on that topic. s, it wasn¡¯t that type of system. So far it had only provided him with insight whenever it chose to. Realising that he had slept through something important, he quickly checked the Quest tab and indeed it had the red dot to show that something had been added to it.

    [Optional quest received]

    [Start your own family]

    [You were young, stupid and didn¡¯t use protection, so now you gotta deal with the aftermath!]

    [Turn the Omega into your Pack and turn it into a Beta!]

    [Quest reward: Unlocking of the ¡®Pack¡¯ tab]

    ¡®I¡¯m only 16! What kind of pervert designed this system to ask someone to start a family at my age?! I¡¯m not even able to support my own family, so how could I even afford to start another?! No wonder this quest is optional!¡¯ Gary felt a strong urge to punch the creator.

    Nevertheless, since those strange messages had appeared through the Werewolf System, he was sure that they were important. Gary was sincerely hoping that his best friend might be more familiar with those terms and would be able to make some more sense out of those.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°I believe I did stumble upon those terms when looking into your¡­ ¡®special condition¡¯.¡± Tom said, as he checked their surroundings, making sure nobody paid close attention to them. However, that wasn¡¯t too much of a problem. The yers who had actually been running around, were now in the showers, while those like Tom, who had done nothing but warm the benches, had quickly changed into their normal clothes and already left.

    ¡°However, I don¡¯t know if they really apply to you. Like I said, there is a bunch of different lore for everything and who knows which one¡¯s true. In case you¡¯ve forgotten, the silver pendant that most of those sources had agreed should be your bane, had done nothing at all, whereas chocte nearly became your cause of death.¡±

    ¡°Look, get some good rest today, you still look dead tired. Tomorrow¡¯s Saturday, so if you want we can both head to the library and do some research. ¡­ well knowing you, I¡¯ll probably end up as the one to do all the research to figure out what these things mean most likely. Say, where did you even hear those terms from anyway?¡±

    Gary was trying to figure out how to answer Tom, after all he hadn¡¯t informed him about the system part of his transformation into a werewolf.

    ¡°Well, given my ¡®special condition¡¯, I looked some things up by myself. It¡¯s a bit of the reason why I¡¯m so tired, actually.¡± Gary answered, touching the back of his head. ¡°But like you said, everything is too confusing so I didn¡¯t really get most of it.¡±

    Tom looked at his friend for a few seconds, he still remembered how Gary had told him off just this morning for talking about werewolves too much and now he was asking him for help. Were it not for his earlier outburst, he might have yanked on his best friend¡¯s chains by yfully demanding a date with Amy in return, but in the end Tom just nodded.

    ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s a deal. We¡¯ll meet at the public library at noon. While we¡¯re at it, we could also look up other things about¡­ the moon and stars and such.¡± Although Tom didn¡¯t say it, he was thinking of ways and learning of what exactly happened on a full moon.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Instead of instigating another fight, Gary had once again stopped by the supermarket, before heading to the gym. Following the instructions the system provided, Gary had worked out until the system had rewarded him with 5 Exp. It was a wee surprise, since he had been half expecting it to be cut down to 1 Exp or less, seeing that it had been cut in half once he had hit Level 2.

    Still, he was a bit down that he had not experienced any other physical improvements. He understood that it would take him far less time than normal people, but he still couldn¡¯t help but be a bit impatient, not knowing when he might need to be more powerful.

    For once, Gary was able to head home like a normal high schooler. Kai¡¯s phone was still dead silent, so he decided to spend his evening with his family, something he didn¡¯t get to do often. As it turned out, just because he had time, didn¡¯t mean the rest of the world would ede his desires.

    Shortly after he came home, his mother had rushed out because work had asked her to rece one of her co-workers, leaving the two teenagers on their own. In turn, Amy seemed more interested in spending time with her cellphone than spending precious time with her brother.

    ¡®If only we had more money, Mom wouldn¡¯t have to work so hard.¡¯ Gary thought.

    While enjoying his meal, Gary also paid attention to the TV that had been left on a news channel. The high schooler was very interested in the local part, since it had allowed him to keep up to date with things that were going on in Slough.

    Especially interesting were any updates to the gang situation and Gary was currently even more interested about any new discoveries in the case of the recent killings that Gary himself might have been involved in.

    Today, the channel was reporting on a different story though. The breaking news that was ying all day were about two individuals who had been killed in their own home. Gary had been in the middle of cutting up a piece of steak and eating it like a normal human would, until he saw the image of the deceased couple¡¯s missing son appear on screen.

    ¡°What the hell?! That¡¯s Billy Buster!¡± Gary blurted out.

    ¡°Huh, how do you know that guy? ording to the news he doesn¡¯t go to your school.¡± Amy asked. Despite her appearance, she had actually also been paying attention to the news, but Gary ignored her.

    ¡®I knew he was a scumbag for using those brass knuckles on me, but I never figured him for a murderer. What¡¯s more, to kill his parents¡­¡¯ Gary thought, the steak in front of him, losing some of its taste¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    With Gary having his own ns again, at one point he had parted ways with Tom. Unbeknownst to the both of them, this turned out to be a mistake. Tom had been lost in his own thoughts, walking pretty much on auto pilot, until he hit a meaty wall. Looking up, he saw a familiar face and when he took a few steps back, he bumped into someone else.

    ¡°Gil¡­Barry¡­err how ¡®nice¡¯ to see you. If you don¡¯t mind, I kinda need to get home.¡± Tom said nervously, already aware that that wasn¡¯t happening. Neither one of them should be living in this direction, and judging by the sneaky manner that they had appeared, they weren¡¯t just there to have a friendly chat with him.

 Chapter 41: Omega Beta Alpha

    <h4>Chapter 41: Omega Beta Alpha</h4>

    Perhaps it had been because of how tired Gary had been throughout Friday, or it might have had something to do with him having gone to sleep before midnight when he would get new notification, but this morning he woke up well rested.

    The absence of the annoying rm that usually woke him up, long before his sister Amy, certainly also had a part to y in that. Stretching, Gary checked his status, already expecting to see some changes. Unsurprisingly, his Daily Quests had once again refreshed, but there was also a new notification waiting for him.

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [10 days until the next full moon]

    Unlike yesterday, there were no mentions of any additional stats due to it being closer to the full moon though. After looking at his phone, he realised that it was already 11:00 AM, meaning that he only had one hour before meeting up with Tom.

    ¡°Holy crap I slept in thiste!¡¯ Gary cursed internally, getting dressed as quickly as possible before leaving the apartment. Thirty secondster he returned, making sure to bring along Kai¡¯s phone as well this time.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Heading to the town centre where the library was located, Gary decided to run there. This method didn¡¯t use up any money and he found it to be a good way to check whether he might actually increase his Energy bar this way.

    Energy and Health were both stats under the Werewolf System, so if he could naturally improve Strength and Endurance, why not those two? It was at least worth a shot¡­ although it was mostly about saving money.

    The library was three story building, and had been built at the edge of the shopping street, at the end of all the shops. It was primarily used by university students who actually had a hopeful future ahead of them. It was one of the few safe areas of town where the police regrly patrolled, which was why gangs left it untouched.

    The gangs, In the first ce, during the day didn¡¯t interfere much with the general business that would operate in the high street.

    Gary¡¯s powerful eyesight allowed him to see Tom already waiting for him, but from the distance he could also see that something was wrong with his friend. Slowing down his stride his happy face quickly turned sour.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Gary asked.

    Tom put on a smile and touched his swollen and cut eye.

    ¡°This¡­ah man. I was watching one of Kirk¡¯s Altered fights, and then as I went out of my room I wanted to try out his Tornado Kick. Stupid me, I fell down the stairs and banged up my eye on the banister pretty badly.¡±

    Although a fall down the stairs might exin some of it, Tom also had other markings on his body. Ignoring Tom¡¯s dislike for most physical activities, ¡®falling down the stairs¡¯ was pretty much the textbook answer someone gave when trying to hide something.

    ¡®Could it be trouble at home? No, his parents aren¡¯t like that. They treasure their golden boy too much to hurt him.¡¯ Gary thought. He knew that something was up, but Tom¡¯s behaviour made it clear, he didn¡¯t exactly want to talk about it. Given how many secrets of his own Gary was keeping from his best friend, he didn¡¯t feel it was right for him to push him on the matter.

    ¡°So what move was it again?¡± Gary asked, pretending to ept the exnation he had been presented, as they both entered the library together.

    As with any library it was very quiet, so they kept their mouths shut until reaching the third floor where they could ess the publicputers. Tom searched up all the relevant books in the library that they might need.

    Using the inte, he just looked up the pages and information they actually needed. Tom was reading through them all and writing down notes that Gary didn¡¯t quite understand, so for now he was just being used as a delivery boy.

    Whenever, Tom would find a book they thought that could be of use, Gary would be asked to go get it, constantly going back and forth between, until finally, clicking his fingers and rubbing his good eye, Tom was satisfied with the research he had done.

    ¡°Alright, I believe I have learned everything there is to know about Alpha, Beta and Omega wolves.¡± Tom imed, folding his arms, proud.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start with what applies with actual wolves. ording to the lore I found, it should more or less coincide. Still, take all of this information with a pinch of salt.¡± Tom flipped the notepad he had brought with him, and opened a nk page. He then pulled out a marker pen and wrote the word Alpha.

    While exining, he would write out the points and exin everything to Gary.

    ¡°Wolves are creatures that often hunt in packs, so every pack has their leader. These are the so-called Alphas. A wolf pack usually has an Alpha male and his Alpha partner. These two could be seen as the family leaders.¡¯

    ¡°Beta wolves are pretty much wolves that are under the Alpha. They could be their siblings, their children or even outsiders. However they all belong to a pack, following the Alpha or Alphas. Are you following so far?¡± Tom asked and Gary nodded.

    ¡°Okay, I get those two, but if an Alpha is like the leader of a gang, and the Betas are like his henchman and subordinates, then what exactly is an Omega?¡± Gary asked.

    His Optional Quest told Gary to turn an Omega wolf into a Beta, but this was where his confusion was setting in. Assuming he himself was the Alpha wolf, was it referring to his siblings like Amy, or maybe his mother was the Alpha wolf and he and his sisters were considered Betas.

    ¡°This is where things get a little interesting.¡± Tom answered, flipping his notebook to a nk page once again. ¡°An Omega wolf is usually an outsider to a family or someone belonging to no family. Either way, they¡¯re usually at the bottom of the hierarchy. Essentially, after everyone else has gotten their food, the Omega has to eat whatever is left.¡±

    So far, if Gary was being ssified as werewolf in these terms he wasn¡¯t sure what he was.

    ¡°I know you were talking about wolves, but werewolves are part human right. So how does this work?¡±

    ¡°There are quite a few rules here and it gets a bitplicated, but essentially a werewolf can turn another with a bite. Alpha wolves bite and turn those they wish to work under them, thereby creating Beta wolves. Once turned, the Beta wolves can also turn others making them into other Beta wolves that will have to listen to the Alpha¡­To an extent I should add but let¡¯s keep it simple for now¡±

    Hearing this, a shaking realisation came to Gary¡¯s mind.

    ¡®A bite can turn someone¡­no¡­no when the system message came up saying I made an Omega wolf¡­¡¯

    Images shed in Gary¡¯s head to the time he had lost it slightly. At one point during his fight against Billy Buster, his sanity had left him and he had only wanted to win by all means. As he recalled, he had ended up biting the guy.

    ¡®Yesterday, the news reported Billy was on the run and his parents were dead¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­ was I responsible for this by fighting him? Is he¡­really a werewolf now?¡¯

    ¡°Wait, you said that if an Alpha bites someone they would turn them into a Beta, that they would have to follow them, so what about an Omega?¡± Gary asked, realising that something was strange about the wording of the quest.

    ¡°As for an Omega wolf, in most cases they seem to be wolves who have been kicked out of a pact. However, that doesn¡¯t always have to be the case. For instance, they could also be the only surviving wolf of a group. In a way, you could say that Alpha and Beta wolves are just Omega wolves who belong to a pack and have a hierarchy amongst themselves.¡±

    ¡°If we take you for example, right now you would technically be a lone wolf at the moment, which would make you an Omega wolf. I assume if you were to bite someone it would make another Omega wolf.¡±

    ¡°If there are multiple Omega wolves, I supposed that they would eventually try to form a pack. However, most likely they would battle it out to decide who amongst them would be the Alpha, making the others submit.¡±

    Gary was sure that Tom¡¯s guess was spot on, because judging by the Quest he was right. The system clearly stated that there was an Omega wolf out there and to start his family he would have to make it ept being the Beta wolf to his Alpha.

    Until then, this also meant that at the moment there was another Werewolf in town and in ten days time, there is practically guaranteed to be a bloodbath.

 Chapter 42: An Unusual Gift

    <h4>Chapter 42: An Unusual Gift</h4>

    After Tom was done with his exnation about Alpha, Beta and Omega wolves, he proceeded to go into detail about some other possibilities for what these words could mean. Unfortunately, Gary didn¡¯t really register anything past that point. After learning of what his future could possibly entail things were going in one ear and out of the other as he was too busy to think what he should do about it.

    ¡®I was just starting to appreciate this system for letting me shine during Rugby practice and allowing me to make money with Kai, but now it seems that this really is more of a curse rather than a blessing.¡¯

    Suddenly, the ten days until the next full moon seemed to be a lot shorter than it had appeared this morning. In the first ce they weren¡¯t really sure what would happen, maybe Gary would just get the biggest stat boost of his life on that day, but that was unlikely.

    He had already entertained the thought of either getting Tom to tie him up, so he couldn¡¯t do anyone any harm, or perhaps hiding that day somewhere where there shouldn¡¯t be any other people. However, knowing that there is another werewolf out, he had to do something about it, especially since he was the one at fault for that.

    ¡®So assuming that Omega wolf really is Billy that should mean that just like me he hasn¡¯t turned yet, right?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®But then why did he end up killing his parents? I haven¡¯t hurt anyone¡­ At least, I don¡¯t think I did¡­ apart from those three guys perhaps¡­ Sh*t, do all werewolves have to hurt people?¡¯

    If Billy really was that Omega wolf, the high schooler had a different problem altogether. Billy was on the run, the prime suspect for killing his own parents. With the police not having any clue where he was, how was a sixteen year old supposed to find him?

    He looked through the system, hoping there might be some way to track the guy down, but so far, other than the red mist he could use to follow Barry because of their Forced Bond, if there actually was a way, the system had yet to grant it to him.

    At that moment, Tom had finished exining everything he needed to, unaware that his friend hadn¡¯t been listening at all, just nodding along. He stood up, intending to put some of the books away, when he felt a sharp pain on his side, causing him to almost drop the books.

    ¡°The stairs?¡± Gary asked, taking the books off of him as he went to put them back.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry, I¡¯m not in the best of shape.¡± Tom apologised.

    Being so concerned about his own problem, Gary had almost forgotten that Tom was in some type of tricky situation of his own. Since he hade to help him, despite his own situation, Gary wanted to return the favour. Unfortunately, this was harder than it sounded, since Tom refused to tell him exactly what his problem was.

    ¡®Well, those bruises definitely aren¡¯t self-inflicted. Did he run into another gang, only this time there was no mysterious stranger to help him?¡¯ Gary thought, cing the books back and heading to his friend.

    ¡°Tom, I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯m getting worried about this werewolf stuff. I have no idea what will happen to me when the full moones up, but I¡¯m going to need someone to help me and you¡¯re the only person who is really helping me.¡±

    ¡°So I want you to promise me that the two of us will be friends no matter what happens. I also promise you that I won¡¯t eat you.¡± Gary added, not realising how hard it actually was to say out those words, since the possibility actually existed.

    He held out his hand, ready for a hand shake and although his words were quite cheesy in the sense for two people who were in high school, there was a reason for them.

    ¡°Gary, are you on drugs or something?¡± Tom asked, nevertheless grabbing his hand. ¡°We¡¯ll always be friends. Besides, I don¡¯t think we have to worry about it. Even if you do turn, my scrawny ass won¡¯t even be enough to be an appetizer.¡±

    [A spoken deal has been made, would you like to mark ¡°Tom Green¡±?]

    Once the two of them shook hands, the system gave Gary exactly the notification he had been hoping for. His Bond Mark skill triggered when he made a sincere promise to another party. It would allow him to track Tom at any point in time, which might tell him more about what exactly had happened to his friend.

    However, his skill had a very bad side effect. If Tom ended up breaking that promise, he would be assigned a Broken Mark, which would automatically turn him into a hunting target, so Gary had to make sure that the promise was something that neither one of them would ever break. He was also secretly hoping that it might have the additional effect of making Tom immune from bing a hunting target for as long as he kept his promise.

    [Yes]

    [2/5 Marks have been assigned]

    After mentaly agreeing to activate the skill, Gary saw a mark that looked simr to a M appear over Tom¡¯s head. His friend started giving off a new type of scent, which was simr yet at the same time different to the one Barry had.

    Another thing that was different was the colour of the mist that followed with the scent. Rather than red, this one was green, so unless one of the side effects of bing a werewolf included bted red green blindness, it should be impossible for Gary to get the two of them mixed up.

    After leaving the library the two of them split ways once again. Tom asked if he wanted to meet up tomorrow to do anything, but Gary imed that he already had other ns. The truth was, he didn¡¯t really want to leave the house more than necessary, in case any members of the Underdogs or people who worked for them were looking for him.

    Were it not mandatory, he might have even ditched school all together, until he figured out how to deal with Damion and his thugs. Still, Gary did go to the gym on his way home and the convenience store to continue doing his Daily Quest as these were vital to improving his body and strengthening him.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [Level 4]

    [Exp 225/460]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 110/110]

    [Heart rate 62 BPM]

    [State: Normal]

    Without any underground fights, no challenging school clubs or hunting colour gangs, his leveling had naturally stagnated. School was closed today and going after the gangs again would be suicidal, until they would be less wary again, meaning he would just have to wait until Kai called him for his next fight.

    The rest of his Saturday proceeded as normal, to the point that Gary even went to bed at a reasonable time, simply because there was nothing else to do. Nevertheless, it took him a couple of hours until he finally fell asleep, due to everything on his mind and the decreasing number of days that were left.

    In the middle of the night, Gary woke up in sweat once again, pulling his bed sheets off him. He was covered in sweat and immediately looked to see if his sister was okay. Apparently her sleep was so deep that she hadn¡¯t even noticed her older brother screaming right next to her¡­

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [9 days until the next full moon]

    Because of the messages he had received he knew it was past midnight at least.

    ¡®Damn, I can¡¯t keep having these dreams. All this werewolf stuff is causing me to have the strangest of nightmares.¡¯ Gary thought as he went to answer the call of nature. Before he made it to the toilet, however, he was distracted by a scent in the air.

    It was something he had never smelled before, and naturally he followed where his nose led him.

    ¡®Who could be cooking thiste at night?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    Strangely, the scent was closeby, yet it wasn¡¯ting from inside their apartment, but from their front door. Opening it, Gary could soon see what it was. Right there on the Dem¡¯s doorstep, was what looked like a fresh piece of meat.

    The only thing was it still had blood around it and it was lying there on the ground. Gary had seen quite a lot of raw meat recently but never had he seen something like this before.His natural human brain was making him feel a little sick, but for some reason the smell it gave off made him hungry.

    The question was, why?

    Soon the system had answered that question for him.

    [Human flesh discovered]

    [For a growing young Werewolf such as you, consuming human flesh is the best way to recover your Energy and who knows, it could make you stronger!]

 Chapter 43: Crossed the line!

    <h4>Chapter 43: Crossed the line!</h4>

    If Gary hadn¡¯t felt sick before, he certainly did so now, having gotten confirmation in regards to what exactly that was in front of his door. He quickly turned away, fighting off his body¡¯s reaction to throw up, but he soon enough realised that it wasn¡¯t exactly going to get rid of the problem.

    It was getting hard to think for him, as the smell was so tantalising he could feel the saliva already dripping down his chin. Gary went to pinch his nose, which actually helped him more than he had anticipated.

    ¡®Why the hell is there human flesh in front of my home?! I can¡¯t even tell what part of the body that is.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®No, it might be for the best if I don¡¯t know.¡¯

    It seemed as if Gary had developed a real knack for keeping secrets away from his family, so he quickly closed the door, which further helped him regain sanity. Although not confirmed, all signs pointed that the piece of flesh had something to do with him.

    The good news was, it was pitch ck outside and after midnight, so it was unlikely that anyone would suddenlye out of their apartment door and find that piece of human flesh on their doorstep, which meant Gary had a little time to think about what to do with it.

    He was wondering just who could have done such a thing and after racking his brain he came to three conclusions.

    ¡®There¡¯s a chance that it might have been me¡­ maybe all those nightmares have made me go crazy and just like Billy I ended up killing someone? It would certainly exin those weird dreams¡­¡¯

    Thinking about this more thoroughly, he came to the conclusion that it didn¡¯t seem to make sense. For one, his clothes had no blood on it, and at the same time if he was turning into a werewolf or doing this subconsciously his body would have eaten the flesh by now, not left it outside the door, as if to remind himself.

    The next suspect was the Underdogs gang. Perhaps they had found his address and this was their warning to him, that if he didn¡¯t return the item then they would do this to him.

    He had seen the Underdogs treat humans like dirt before, so he wouldn¡¯t put it past them, but that didn¡¯t really seem to make sense either. If they had already found out where he lived, why not just abduct and interrogate him? If not him, at least his mother or sister? No, this seemed to be too roundabout for them.

    ¡®That only leaves Billy¡­ but why exactly did he leave that here? I thought he was supposed to have be a werewolf, not a housecat. Besides, if we¡¯re both Omega wolves, why would he leave me a present? Then¡­ could this be some sort of war deration?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®Oh sh*t, what if this belongs to his parents?¡¯

    Now that he had a prime suspect, Gary still had to decide what to do with it.

    Of course, there was the method his system had indirectly suggested, but knowing that his was human flesh, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. Even if the system did say there was a chance of making him stronger, this was just inhumane. There were always other ways of improving his strength. On top of this, he was also afraid that it would leave behind blood as evidence. If this really was one of Billy¡¯s parents and the police came over¡­ Gary didn¡¯t want to continue that thought.

    He couldn¡¯t just throw it into the garbage either. If one of the neighbours found it, they might call the police. Thest thing he wanted was to bring attention to himself. Not only because evidence was all over their door step, but also because it might tip off the Underdogs.

    In the end, there was only one person who came to mind who might know how to handle such a delicate situation. Although he still didn¡¯tpletely trust him, for some reason Gary had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t disappoint him.

    Heading back inside quickly, Gary grabbed what he needed and then went outside once again. With the small phone in his hand he had already hit send, pinging a message to the person who he believed could help him right now.

    *Ding*

    ¡®Does that guy never sleep? No, I should thank God or whoever was responsible that he¡¯s still up.¡¯

    [Jesus, what type of mess have you gotten yourself into? I leave you on your own for a couple of days and youe back with this? Alright, we¡¯ll talk more about this on Monday, so here¡¯s what you do. First off, with the Underdogs chasing you, reporting it to the police or trying to get rid of the evidence yourself will only make it worse, so DON¡¯T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!]

    [For the time being, you might want to cover it up with something. I will make some calls and in around fifteen minutes some people shoulde over and make sure that this thing disappears. They¡¯re professionals, so let them do what they need to do. Also, consider this a warning, for YOUR OWN SAKE, DON¡¯T LET THEM SEE WHO YOU ARE! STAY INSIDE AND IGNORE THEM!]

    [Can¡¯t wait to hear your exnation for this one.]

    Holding the phone and reading the messages, a wave of emotions overcame Gary. He couldn¡¯t believe that his problem would actually be solved with one simple text.

    ¡®It can¡¯t be that easy, can it?¡¯ Gary pinched himself to make sure he wasn¡¯t still sleeping.

    Although he had been instructed to keep inside, Gary couldn¡¯t help but be curious as to how this problem would be solved and just what the big deal was. Eventually though, around ten minutester, Gary heard a car pull up outside and the doors m shut.

    As soon as they started running up the stairs, he lost his nerve and shut the door waiting behind it, listening in to see if he could hear anything.

    ¡®Man, what I wouldn¡¯t give if we had a peep hole right now. From the sound of their footsteps there should be three of them.¡¯

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this cleaned up as soon as possible.¡± One of the men whispered in a deep voice that sounded like it belonged to an adult. Gary could hear the sound of the men putting on scrubs, before his nose started to notice the scent of chemicals.

    The high schooler was making sure to breathe as quietly as possible, while the men worked. It didn¡¯t take them long to finish their work and Gary could make out that they were starting to head down again.

    ¡®I might be able to see what they look like from my window. If I climb to the roof, my eyes should be able to still spot them.¡¯ Gary decided, running to his room, but his ns got foiled.

    ¡°Gary, what the hell are you doing at this hour?! Get back to bed, you idiot!¡± His sister angrily snarled at him, as his running had actually managed to wake her.

    ¡°Sorry, Amy.¡± Gary apologised. He couldn¡¯t climb out the window now and by the time his sister would fall asleep, the men would be long gone. Still, it made him wonder¡­just who the hell Kai was?

    How was a kid around his age able to solve a problem this easily? Gary knew that Kai knew people in the Underdogs and that his upperssman should still be a member of the Underdogs, but just what position could he have if he could just call on those ¡®professionals¡¯?

    Perhaps more importantly, how could he not have panicked when Gary had admitted that there was what he ¡®assumed¡¯ to be a piece of human flesh in front of his doorstep?

    ¡®Well, I doubt he¡¯ll tell me anything, even if I do ask him. If only he could solve my werewolf problems just as easily.¡¯ Gary sighed, tensing his fist as he looked over to his little sister who had started to doze off.

    ¡®You damn Omega wolf, you came right to my family¡¯s doorstep! I don¡¯t know how you did it, but that crosses the line! It looks like I¡¯m going to have to deal with you before the full moon!¡¯

 Chapter 44: A.I.F

    <h4>Chapter 44: A.I.F</h4>

    After the types of days Gary was having, one would think that he would be having trouble sleeping, yet for some reason, the closer it got to the full moon, the more his body craved sleep. No matter how much he worried, at some point he would basically just pass out.

    Still, when waking up Sunday noon, he hadn¡¯t forgotten about what had urred in the middle of the night. Although Gary didn¡¯t exactly know what that piece of flesh in front of his house was supposed to mean to him it was tantamount to a war deration.

    The Omega wolf knew where he and his family lived. This time he might have brought him a ¡®present¡¯, but who¡¯s to say that next time he won¡¯t turn Gary¡¯s family members into such a piece of meat. He had to find Billy and deal with him.

    Luckily, it was Sunday, giving Gary the whole day to at least find some clues on the other¡¯s whereabouts. During the week it would be far more difficult.

    ¡®First things first,¡¯ Gary checked every tab the Werewolf System had, in case he might have missed anything.

    ¡®I can¡¯t find anything in this system that would help me. Maybe he unlocked another skill, or he managed to track my scent somehow?¡¯ Gary thought in frustration after going through everything twice. However, the Omega wolf had somehow been able to track where he was, so in theory Gary should be able to do the same.

    ¡°I¡¯m going over to meet Stacy, I¡¯ll be back by dinner!¡± Amy shouted, and the door quickly closed behind her.

    Hearing this, Gary¡¯s heart started to beat faster.

    ¡®Sh*t, Billy was here at night, so could he have picked up Amy¡¯s scent? What if the human flesh was his message to me that he intended to go after my family?! She said she would be back by dinner, and it¡¯s not too far to Stacy¡¯s, she¡¯s also traveling during the day.¡¯

    ¡®Billy hasn¡¯t been caught yet ording to the news so she should be okay. Should I just put a Bond Mark on her just like I did Tom? But what the hell do I get her to promise me?¡¯ Gary thought.

    With the system not helping him, Gary decided to text someone who had been a big help earlier, hoping that he might have any useful information.

    [STOP LOOKING FOR TROUBLE!] Kai replied back almost immediately.

    [You might feel responsible for him since he was Green Fang¡¯s debut opponent, but to Billy Buster it was just another day. Heck, he lost against three other schmooks before you, one of them even beat him three times.]

    [If you go searching after the same guy the police are after, there is a good chance the Underdogs will find you. Remember they have eyes everywhere and that includes in the police force as well!]

    s, Kai proved to be far less helpful than he had been the previous time.

    Now that Gary took a moment to think about it, he realised that if Kai, or the Underdogs for that matter, knew where he was, that Billy would have most likely already been apprehended. For the moment, he was the only one who actually knew that he was an Omega wolf.

    With no better solution, Gary decided to turn on the TV, in hopes there might be an update on the situation. It didn¡¯t take long for his wish to be granted.

    ¡°This just in, this morning yet another murder victim has been found in an apartment in the area of Montay, and Chief of Police, Anton Millstun has shared more information about it. He confirmed that the modus operandi coincides with the murder of the Bruntins. Following the wishes of thete victim¡¯s family, his name will not be shared.¡±

    ¡°So far, police have found no connection between the Bruntins and the dead high schooler. There has also been no news in regards to Billy Bruntin¡¯s whereabouts and ording to Mr Millstun they have to determine whether Billy is the prime suspect or just another victim.¡±

    The news didn¡¯t look hopeful and worse of all Gary was wondering if Billy had killed again.

    ¡®The flesh from yesterday, was that¡­this new person? That would exin why it looked so¡­fresh. Why would he even kill a high schooler? Was it just an easy target¡­ or was there more to it?¡¯

    Thinking about the flesh, Gary was also reminded about his system message that had appeared as he had looked over it. It had told him that there was the possibility he might grow stronger through consuming flesh.

    Since Billy was the first person he had turned, Gary had no idea what the rules were. Was he the only one who could grow stronger by eating others, or was that something all werewolves shared that he himself created? Another reasonable question was whether it was a one-time thing, or if one grew stronger the more one ate of someone.

    Thetter possibility was far scarier. For all he knew, Billy might have eaten nearly three entire human bodies. Billy had already been unnaturally strong for his age. The only reason why Gary had been able to match up to him was due to the Werewolf System.

    Even if he hadn¡¯t gained a system of his own, it was at least safe to assume that he could transform. With that ability, as well as additional stats, would it even be possible for Gary to beat a supernatural Omega wolf?

    Immediately, Gary started to prepare to leave the apartment himself.

    ¡®It¡¯s my fault that Billy keeps killing people. What¡¯s worse he might just get stronger as the days go by. My best chance of stopping him is stopping him now!¡¯

    Quickly leaving the home, the high schooler headed to the address of Billy¡¯s home. It was a little far from Gary¡¯s as it was a different neighborhood, and it also looked like his next victim was in the same area.

    ¡®If only I could get into his room and find something that belonged to him. Given my keen nose, maybe I could just find him like a search dog?¡¯

    Wearing his usual hoodie to cover himself, Gary ended up going over the apartment block where the Bruntins used to live. The neighborhood was quite simr to Gary¡¯s. The streets were also filled with litter and graffiti just in a different area. If Gary had to take a guess, Billy must not have exactly lived the best life either. Then again, if he had, he would have had no reason to fight underground.

    It was easy enough to spot where he lived, even without using his nose, because at the very moment, Gary could see heaps of reporters interviewing those that lived in the apartmentplex.

    He peeked around the corner of the street down the road.

    ¡®Damn, so much for my n. If I so much as try to go up to the apartment, then those reporters will definitely try to question me. I can¡¯t afford to show myself on TV!¡¯ Sniffing the air, Gary tried to pick up any strange scents, but with all the people present, not to mention the sweats and food that was being sold by some ¡®entrepreneurs¡¯, it was impossible to do.

    Gary deemed it too risky to go into the apartment, so he would just have to find Billy another way.

    ¡°Hey there, little buddy, where are you in a rush to?¡± A male voice addressed him from behind.

    Gary looked up to see two adults blocking his way. He hadn¡¯t noticed them, yet now they directly stood in front of him in their white and gold clothing.

    ¡°It looks to me like someone doesn¡¯t want to be seen. What¡¯s that famous saying? ¡®The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime¡¯?¡± The femalemented.

    ¡°Huh, I¡¯m no criminal, I was merely curious.¡± Gary answered in a panic, wondering just who these people were in the first ce. He was getting ready to use Charging Heart and run away, even if it would make him look more suspicious to these strangers.

    ¡°Now hold on.¡± The woman grabbed onto Gary as if she had anticipated his next move. ¡°If you¡¯ve got nothing to hide, then you should have no problem having a little chat with us. You might not be the murderer, but it looks like you might know a few things.¡±

    Both of them pulled out their wallets at the same time, disying a golden badge with the symbol of a white rose, with the acronym A.I.F. on the top.

    Gary gulped. ¡®Oh brother, these guys are even worse than the police. Why didn¡¯t I listen to Kai¡¯s advice? How the hell did I manage to stumble into the Altered Investigation Force?!¡¯

 Chapter 45: Boiling point

    <h4>Chapter 45: Boiling point</h4>

    The Altered Investigation Force, moremonly referred to as White Rose, was one of the most well known police forces. Gary had seen them mentioned multiple times on the news and for more reasons than one, but the main reason why they stood out was due to their force being made up entirely of Altereds.

    ¡®I might outrun a normal human, but I doubt it will work on an Altered. If I try anything that might seem beyond what a human could do, they¡¯ll think I¡¯m an Altered person and will investigate how I became one.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Sadie Nimper and Frank Hue had both been watching the apartment building for a while now. They were currently supposed to be working on a different case. Earlier this week, in what they assumed to be a gang trade gone wrong, three bodies had been uncovered that appear to have been killed by an Altered.

    The reason why they were staking out Billy¡¯s apartment was due to the condition of their respective corpses. They seemed to be killed in a simr way, making them believe that it might also be due to an Altered. They had yet to determine whether it was the same killer as in their case, or another unreported Altered who had gone rogue.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a curious teenager. It¡¯s not everyday that Slough is on the news. I sorta came here to see what all the fuss was about. It just seemed like a cool idea to be where all the action was. Now that I say it out loud, I don¡¯t actually know what I was expecting.¡± Gary tried to exin, praying that they would take him for just a dumb teenager.

    ¡°So what if you¡¯re a teenager. The suspect shouldn¡¯t be that much older than you. Come on, now that you know who we are, just spill the beans and tell us what you know!¡± Sandie aggressively demanded.

    ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re strongly implying something there. Just because both of them are teenagers doesn¡¯t mean they know each other, right?¡± Frank tried to calm his partner down. It was obvious to Gary that the two of them were ying a little game of Good Cop - Bad Cop, not that he would dare to call them out on it.

    ¡°However, if you don¡¯t mind us asking, what¡¯s with the hood? If you really wanted to check things out, why would you try to sneak away after seeing the reporters?¡± Frank asked with a friendly smile, as if to hide the fact that he was calling the high schooler out on his contradiction.

    Since Frank was the Good Cop, Gary quickly grasped that he would be his answer to get out of his mess. His ¡®just a dumb teenager¡¯ act seemed to have failed, but he was sure there was one way to convince them. He looked around left and right, before he slowly then pulled down his hood revealing his bright green hair.

    ¡°I¡­ I had my hair done recently. However, the result turned out far brighter than I wanted. Once I saw the reporters I got scared that I could get interviewed. It¡¯s already bad enough that my friends were teasing me in school about it, but if my current appearance gets shown on TV¡­ yeah, I would never live it down.¡±

    ¡°I swear, I was only her because I was curious. Me and that Billy guy, we don¡¯t even go to the same school. First time I ever heard about him was on TV.¡± Gary imed, making a ¡®Scout¡¯s honor¡¯ sign, even though he had never been part of them.

    It looked like Frank was trying to hold in hisughter after seeing Gary¡¯s hair, with his exnation it certainly sounded like a ¡®tragic tale.¡¯

    ¡°Oh really, what school do you go to and what¡¯s your name?¡± Sandie asked, seemingly not fully convinced yet.

    ¡°Westbridge, Gary Dem, Ma¡¯am.¡± Gary answered immediately. ¡°You can check at the school.¡±

    There was an odd stare that just wouldn¡¯t go away and Sandie was still holding onto Gary¡¯s hand. A few seconds passed, before she finally let go.

    ¡°Get out of here! A stupid kid like you shouldn¡¯t hang around crime scenes. I swear if we ever catch you near another one again, I¡¯ll personally bring you in for questioning!¡± Sandie threatened, and Gary quickly ran off, thanking his lucky stars that he had just escaped a close call.

    ¡°Why did you let him go?¡± Frank asked. ¡°

    ¡°Well you heard him, him and Billy don¡¯t go to the same school, but for someone who¡¯s not involved in the case he sure did know enough about it. Do kids really pay attention to what¡¯s on the news these days?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m just being too cautious, it was a death that happened in the neighbourhood so maybe he did know about it, but just in case take a note of the kid¡¯s name and school. If we find something linking Billy to them, we should pay him another visit at some point.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡®Damn it, what do I do now? That woman made it abundantly clear that if they ever see me anywhere near the spots Billy might have been, it will just make matters worse.¡¯

    In the end, since Gary was unable to locate Billy anyway, he decided to head home after doing his regr Daily Quests. Before he knew it the next day had arrived.

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [8 days until the next full moon]

    ¡®For the love of God! Oi, you stupid system, don¡¯t you have an option to turn this off?! I don¡¯t need a freaking reminder every day. I do have my own calendar, you know?!¡¯ Gary cursed internally.

    With the time until the next full moon approaching, Gary¡¯s temper was rising. He understood that getting frustrated at the situation didn¡¯t help, but cursing did help him calm down.

    The only good news was at least today there was nothing in front of his door.

    ¡ª¡ª

    As always, the weekend was over far too soon. Tom was looking at himself in the mirror. His swollen eye had healed up but the bottom of his eyelid was still a little fat causing him to squint a little. His parents had been very concerned about the wounds, so he had made up a lie that he had helped Gary who had been epted on the Rugby team with some training.

    ¡®If those two bastards would have only listened¡­ There was no goddamn need to beat me into submission when I was already doing my best to make Gary quit the Rugby team on my own! What should I do? Once they see him y again, will theye after me again?¡¯ Tom wondered, still feeling the pain fromst time. ¡®Maybe I can ask Gary to apany me home? Or perhaps I could hide at his for a bit?¡¯

    There was a specific reason why Tom hadn¡¯t told Gary about the incident. He was worried that his best friend might snap and do something stupid to them if he found out. Now that he knew that the other was a werewolf who could transform, getting him angry wasn¡¯t exactly the best idea, especially so close to the full moon.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Arriving at school, Tom eventually saw Gary in the hallway. Coincidentally, he came at the perfect time to see that someone else had blocked Gary¡¯s path, standing in the middle of the hallway. Surprisingly, it was neither Gil nor Barry, instead it was someone that they hade to know recently.

    ¡°Hey Gary I don¡¯t know what was up with youing to the Karate club the other day. That was really not cool what you did back there.¡± Steven said. ¡°You only won because I was off guard! If it had been a real fight, don¡¯t think it would go the same way!¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t even look at Steven as he was talking down on him. He had too much other stuff to worry about and his mind was fully upied with trying to figure out how to get rid of his problems, which already stressed him to the max.

    Steven, noticing that Gary was bluntly ignoring him, naturally took this the wrong way.

    ¡°Hey, man! Do you really think you¡¯re some hot sh*t? I know you man, you did all of that to hit on Xin, but if she isn¡¯t going out with me, then there¡¯s no way in hell she¡¯ll be going out with you!¡±

    ¡°Can you please just let me through?!¡± Gary almost shouted, and barged past him pushing him off to the side. Gary had been so loud that the other students who were conversing in the halls got silenced and turned around to look at themotion.

    Hearing what was going on they started whispering and all these whispers were heard by Steven.

    ¡®They¡¯re talking about me! They must have heard about how I lost to him in a fight! Now he¡¯s even pushing me in the hallway!¡¯ Believing that the other students were talking about him, Steven felt like he had to set the record straight, to prove himself and make up for his loss.

    However, as a karateka, he couldn¡¯t just go around and start swinging fists. He needed Gary to start the fight, so he could im it was self-defense, but not even mentioning Xin had annoyed him.

    ¡°You have a sister, right?¡± Steven asked, and at that moment Gary stopped inches before entering his ssroom. It was obvious that this had gotten his attention. ¡°I heard that she is quite the looker. Tell you what, you can have Xin and in turn I¡¯ll have your sister.¡±

    Gary turned around and started to walk up to Steven, stopping just in front of him.

    ¡°Hey Steven.¡±

    ¡°Wha-¡° Before Steven could finish his sentence, he felt Gary¡¯s hand grab the side of his head, only to m it with great force into the side of the wall. Letting go of his head Steven¡¯s body slid down on the floor.

    ¡°Shut the f*ck up.¡± Gary said.

 Chapter 46: Anger

    <h4>Chapter 46: Anger</h4>

    The corridor was silent, until one of the girls started screaming since Steven continued to lie on the floor unconsciously.

    ¡°He killed him! Gary just killed somebody!¡± Tiffany screamed.

    Although it was unheard of that a scrawny high schooler would have the strength to kill someone with one hit, Gary was far from being an ordinary high schooler. In his rage, he had struck Steven without holding back. Tom ran past the gathering crowd and checked out the situation.

    His best friend was still in disbelief about what he had just done. Gary just stood there, looking from the hand that had mmed Steven into the wall to the body to his feet. Meanwhile, Tom had noticed the specks of red that started to run down the karateka¡¯s head. Examining the carotid artery, he let out a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse.

    ¡°Gary, snap out of it! He¡¯s okay but we need to get him to the nurse ASAP! I mean he¡¯s not okay, but at least he¡¯s alive, now help me carry him.¡± Tom called out to his friend, and quickly Gary went to the other side lifting him off the ground as the two walked to the nurse¡¯s office.

    The crowd just watched them with their mouths wide open, none of them knew what they were supposed to do. Should they go and help the duo? Should they call a teacher? Perhaps an ambnce? In the end the thing those high schoolers chose¡­ was to spread the news about this event to those who had missed it!

    Tom and Gary were lucky enough that no teacher was in the hallways, but they encountered someone else. Xin had juste from the toilet and was surprised to see three faces she recognised.

    ¡°What happened to him?¡± Xin asked when she saw the way Steven was carried by the two.

    Gary would have loved to exin himself to her, but he honestly didn¡¯t know how. The truth was, he had just bashed the skull of his school mate in. Sure, Steven had provoked him, but even Gary saw that he had vastly overreacted. As such, the duo just walked past, leaving Xin to listen to the rumours that had already begun to spread.

    ¡°He mmed him into the wall with just ONE hand!¡±

    ¡°Caspar told me that Josh, who was there, even heard the poor guy¡¯s skull crack. Steven might never be able to be the same again!¡±

    ¡°Does anyone know what he told that Broli head to piss him off to that degree?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I heard the name Xin get mentioned.¡±

    Hearing this, Xin felt a bit guilty. Had she somehow ended up being the cause of this mess?

    ¡®Were those stupid boys seriously fighting over me?¡¯

    Eventually, Tom and Gary brought Steven over to the nurse¡¯s office. After briefly checking his vitals, the nurse immediately decided that this was something above her paygrade, so she called an ambnce. The high schooler was breathing and she did what she could to keep him in a stable condition, but for some reason he wasn¡¯t responding nor did he show any signs of regaining consciousness.

    When asked what had happened, Gary mumbled he had been hit in the head, but there wasn¡¯t much details after that. The nurse had agreed to let them stay and miss the morning lessons, believing that the three of them were friends.

    It didn¡¯t take too long for the ambnce to arrive at school. After getting a brief ount on what had happened they took Steven away, leaving Tom and Gary behind. Once her patient was out, the nurse left to go and make a report.

    ¡°What¡­what happened there, bro?¡± Tom eventually asked, after making sure the nurse wouldn¡¯te back because she might have forgotten something.

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know. Suddenly all this anger, this rage just came over me. The moment he mentioned Amy, images of him hurting my family came flooding into my head. All my senses were telling me that I needed to do everything I could to stop him. Before I even realised what I did, I saw him on the floor.¡± Gary tried to exin as best he could.

    Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t tell Tom everything. If he was honest, he had actually wanted to hurt Steven more. The only reason he had stopped was because panic had begun to set at the sight of the motionless teenager. His rational side returned, stopping him from further worsening the situation.

    Tom didn¡¯t ask him any more questions after that, however he was very d that he had decided to keep the truth about what had really happened to him on Friday hidden from his best friend. If Gary could get this crazy at the mere thought of someone hurting those close to him, the two of them would have most likely ended in a morgue rather than the hospital.

    Eventually, the two of them headed to their ss. All eyes quickly turned to the two who had entered the room.

    ¡°Gary, you are finally here. There¡¯s no need for you to sit down, Headmistress Young wants to see you in her office. I¡¯m sure you know why.¡± Mrs Bedford said, after briefly looking at who had disturbed her closs.

    It didn¡¯t go unnoticed and for some reason, Gary felt pissed off at being ignored like that. Fortunately, his rational side was still in charge, so the high schooler just started walking to the principal¡¯s room, leaving Tom to sit down in ss.

    ¡®What is wrong with me? Howe everything is getting on my nerves today? Are people just arseholes today, or am I being super sensitive?¡¯ Gary wondered, worried that this might be the effect of the ¡®bloodlust¡¯ his system kept mentioning.

    Above the double door, a que read Headmistress Young. He knocked at the door and soon a ¡®Come in¡¯ sounded from the other side. This was the first time he had been called in. Cautiously, Gary opened the door and entered therge office that was big enough to fit even a sofa and coffee machine inside.

    ¡°I would love to say that it¡¯s good to see you, Mr. Dem, but you should already be aware why you¡¯re here.¡± Ironically, Mrs Young¡¯s family name didn¡¯t match her outer appearance. She was an older woman with mostly gray hair. The light in her eyes showed that she was actually younger than she looked and that the graying of her hair was mostly due to the stress that came with her position.

    ¡°We have already gathered the testimony of the students who saw this morning¡¯s event unfold and a few minutes ago, the hospital sent me a report about Mr. Ricahrdson¡¯s condition. You might be ted to know that your school mate is awake and is doing rtively fine. There are no injuries other than some bruising on the outside of his head and a bump. Luckily after some rest he should be good as new.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, this doesn¡¯t change the fact that his mother is out for blood. She wants something done and I¡¯m in no position to deny her request. We can¡¯t exactly allow you to get away scot-free after doing what you did.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, you were never really a troublesome student. While I personally don¡¯t understand why a young man like you would choose to dye his hair in that horrible colour, it doesn¡¯t vite school regtions. It¡¯s also your first offense, so I would have usually just let you off with a warning, but due to how severe this case is, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that.¡±

    Honestly, Gary had expected to be shouted at the moment he came in. He had been prepared to get a good lecture about how dangerous and wrong his actions had been and how easily he could have ruined Steven¡¯s and his own future.

    The way Headmistress Young had chosen to talk with him as her equal had made it so he didn¡¯t find her annoying, yet the tone in her voice made him fear for the worst about what was going to happen next.

    ¡°I expect you to write an apology letter to the Richardson¡¯s family, about how deeply you regret your actions. Now I don¡¯t care if you really do or not, but for your own sake you should make sure that it at least sounds sincere enough so that Mrs Richardson won¡¯t pursue any legal actions against you.¡±

    ¡°Apart from that, effective immediately, you¡¯re excluded from school for the rest of the week.¡±

    ¡°Excluded?!¡± Gary repeated, standing up from his seat. ¡°You mean, I won¡¯t be allowed toe to school for an entire week?!¡±

 Chapter 47: Follow the mist

    <h4>Chapter 47: Follow the mist</h4>

    Most teenagers disliked going to school and only did so because their parents told them to. Every holiday was a joy since it meant one day of not having to go to that dreaded ce, so the concept of ¡®punishing¡¯ someone by making them not go to school, had always seemed rather bizarre.

    For a troublemaker, being excluded essentially meant they got a free week to do whatever they wished. However, now that Gary was suddenly faced with that situation, he began to realise the real horror of it.

    ¡®What the hell do I tell Mum?¡¯

    Their high school had a rtively good reputation in Slough. Getting suspended for a week was rather unheard of. In fact, any more than that and it would have meant expulsion.

    Was this Mrs Young¡¯s way of telling him how close he hade to being¡­expelled?

    Suddenly, Gary started to consider the consequences about what would happen if that had happened. He would have to change schools, probably forcing his family to move apartments to another area. It might mean his mother would have to find new jobs.

    Essentially, it would ruin the lives of the entire Dem family.

    On top of that, with nothing to do but to stay at home on his own, he was worried that he might go mad¡­ or worse, do something extremely stupid like go out and look for Billy.

    ¡°As someone who¡¯s now excluded, you won¡¯t participate in any more lessons. For the time being, you¡¯re to stay here. Feel free to start on that apology letter and I will have my secretary bring you some other school workter.¡± Headmistress Young exined. ¡°Honestly, I would have just sent you home immediately, but there is a reason why I¡¯m keeping you here.¡±

    ¡°By now the whole school is aware about what has ured, including the teachers. One teacher in particr has strongly insisted for you to be let off.¡±

    Gary was baffled to hear this. He wasn¡¯t particrly friendly with any of his teachers, nor did he excel at any subjects. His rtionship with his homeroom teacher wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary either, so it was hard to pinpoint who exactly it could be.

    ¡°Never would have I thought there woulde a day I would see Mr Root begging me to not expel a student like you. Unlike what your stature suggests, he ims that you¡¯re a very gifted Rugby yer, one he simply can¡¯t do without.¡±

    Mr Root would have been thest person Gary would have suspected, even if he had been doing better in their training matches, was it really to the point where they needed him this much?

    ¡°I have therefore agreed to make a special exception for you. Despite being Excluded, you¡¯re allowed to attend the club lesson after school for the whole week, and that will include today. I will look forward to your performance on the weekend.¡±

    For some reason, Gary felt quite happy with the news. At the moment, ying Rugby really was the only distraction he had left. Given his performance, he was very excited to test himself in their first official game.

    After giving him the sheets of work he needed to go through Mrs Young stayed in the room doing her own work.

    ¡®Mom should be at her first job, so I doubt she already knows. Mrs Young¡¯s secretary will probably notify Mom via a letter, so all I gotta do is get to it before she does. I sorta got a week off¡­ maybe I can use this to my advantage. It gives me more time to figure things out.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    ss had continued without Gary, yet Tom was constantly looking over at his friend¡¯s empty seat. He was worried for him in more ways than one. When Mrs Bedford¡¯s ss was over, Gary still hadn¡¯t returned, which told Tom that his best friend must be in some serious trouble. Tom had tried texting Gary during the breaks and at lunch, but he hadn¡¯t answered yet.

    Eventually, it was time for Rugby practice. During his walk to the changing room, he encountered tworge figures. Immediately, Tom put his head down hoping to avoid eye contact, yet it did nothing. A few momentster, two heavy arms were over his shoulders.

    ¡°Hey Tom, old buddy. Why don¡¯t we have a talk before heading to practice today?¡± Gil ¡®suggested¡¯ with a smile as he started to push the smaller boy in a certain direction¡­

    Tom wanted to walk forward, but both of them had gripped him tightly. They were practically forcing him toe with them as they dragged him, lifting him slightly off the ground all the way to the closest toilets.

    As soon as they entered, they shouted to see if anyone else was inside. Once it was clear that it was just the three of them, they locked the door behind them.

    ¡°Sooo, me and Barry went to check out the roster this afternoon and for some reason Gary¡¯s name was still there. Why is that?¡± Gil asked, shoving Tom¡¯s small body to the floor.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t get the chance to talk to him yet! You must have heard what happened this morning!¡± Tom tried to exin, quickly checking the room for any way to escape his captors.

    ¡°Grab him!¡± Gil ordered and Barry picked him off the ground holding his hands up so he couldn¡¯t use them to defend himself. The next second and arge p from Gil¡¯s hand went right across Tom¡¯s face. His cheek turned bright red and he could taste iron, as the inside of his mouth had smashed against his teeth.

    ¡°You could have texted him, or talked to him over the weekend. Aren¡¯t you guys close?! No, it looks to me like you didn¡¯t take what we told you seriously.¡± Gil then grabbed Tom by the back of his head, shoving him into one of the toilet stalls.

    School toilets, although they were being cleaned regrly and this one hadn¡¯t been used today, weren¡¯t exactly the most clean ces.

    ¡°Hey Gil, don¡¯t you think this is taking things a bit too far?¡± Barry asked, but Gil didn¡¯t seem to be listening.

    The next moment, he shoved Tom¡¯s head into the toilet for a few seconds, pushing him down watching him wiggle and struggle. While doing this a smile appeared on his face. The feeling of having total control of another human life was exhrating.

    ¡®Why? Why are they doing this to me?! What did I ever do to you?!¡¯ Tom thought as he was cursing at his life. ¡®I didn¡¯t even tell him what you guys did to me, because I¡¯m trying to protect your sorry miserable lives!¡¯

    Lifting his head out of the water, Tom gasped for air. He couldn¡¯t even say anything because all he was doing was trying to breathe.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t enough.¡± Gil dered after dunking him a couple of times.

    Barry realised that his friend had lost it, yet it seemed toote to stop him and worse of all now he was apart of whatever was about to happen.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Out on the field, Gary had joined the club practice. He noticed that Tom wasn¡¯t out yet, but judging by the green mist he could see that he was still somewhere in school. Tom didn¡¯t care for rugby in the first ce, so it didn¡¯t matter if he was on time to not and it didn¡¯t seem like the teacher did either. Which was why Gary thought it wasn¡¯t so strange.

    Before the lesson started, Mr Root had pulled Gary to the side.

    ¡°Listen here, broli head, I don¡¯t know what exactly made you do what you did this morning, but let me tell you this. I¡¯m used to dealing with kids who have anger problems and who have an aggressive nature. You didn¡¯t really seem the type, but you have proven me wrong more than once already. The good thing is, there is an easy fix. ¡°

    ¡°Use that pent up anger, frustration whatever is inside you, out on the field. Use it to run faster from the others, use it to snatch the ball out of their hands, and use it to tackle them to the ground, because on the field all of that is allowed.¡±

    The practice had started, and the words that Mr Root used had spurted Gary on. In today¡¯s practice he was ying even better than before. He was sharper as if his eyes were glued to the ball. It was strange because his technique and y tactics weren¡¯t as sharp as someone like ke, but he made up for it with his talent.

    Eventually, Gil and Barry also arrived on the field. Naturally, they got a scolding from Mr Root and after running a fewps, they were allowed to join in the practice game.

    Both of them tried to tackle Gary when he was in possession of the ball but they were too slow. Instead a couple of the faster, lighter students managed to get a hold of him. Still, Gary with his power was able to move forward until he passed on the ball to ke, allowing him to score the try that won them the practice game.

    Both ke and Gary were praised as if they had won the world cup, the two of them had proven to be an unexpectedly good match as a team.

    ¡°You two!¡± Mr Root said. ¡°If you can repeat what you did today on the weekend, we are going to destroy Eton High!¡±

    Gary was enjoying the praise just like he had done on Friday, and his mood felt better than before, but he noticed something. Although Rugby practice was nearly over, Tom wasn¡¯t on the bench, his mist was still in the school. Once it was over, Tom never having appeared, instead of heading to the locker room, Gary decided to head indoors and follow the mist to his location.

    ¡®I know I¡¯m not meant to go to school, but lessons are over anyway so it won¡¯t matter, right?¡¯ Gary thought as he was too concerned for his friend to care even if that wasn¡¯t the case.

    He was surprised to find the mist leading him to the toilets, especially since they weren¡¯t too far away from the changing rooms. Just standing outside though, Gary was now even more concerned because his nose picked up a scent he had recently be overly familiar with.

    ¡®Blood!¡¯

    He quickly pushed the door open, and followed the mist to one of the stalls. Opening it, he could see Tom, lying on the ground, his front teeth shattered with blood spilling out on the toilet seat.

 Chapter 48: Dont fight!

    <h4>Chapter 48: Don''t fight!</h4>

    When seeing Tom lying on the floor in the bathroom stall, there was a mix of emotions that came over Gary. Most prominently worry about his best friend¡¯s condition, followed by anger at whoever had done this to him, yet there was one feeling he hadn¡¯t expected.

    Hunger.

    The smell of blooding from Tom¡¯s mouth was strong. While out on the field, Gary hadn¡¯t been hungry at all, but suddenly, being confronted with this tantalizing scent, he felt as if he hadn¡¯t really eaten in days, only to stumble upon a fresh grilled barbecue. Saliva started to escape his mouth.

    Fortunately, Gary¡¯s other feelings quickly snapped him out of his daze. He shook his head to regain his rity and wiped off the drool. The high schooler carefully grabbed Tom by his shoulders and put him into an upright position.

    With his face no longer on the floor, Gary started to inspect the other¡¯s condition. From what he could see, one of his front teeth looked to have beaten out, while the one next to it was slightly chipped. There was also the wound on his head, but Gary had no idea whether he had any inner injuries.

    Looking in the toilet, the bowl of water had turned red. Although his best friend¡¯s wounds didn¡¯t seem fatal he could tell that Tom had been put through a lot of pain. He didn¡¯t even want to imagine how long he had been tortured like this, since he had been missing the entire Rugby practice.

    ¡°Tom, are you okay? Talk to me, please. What should I do?¡± Gary asked, despite realising how dumb the first question was, given the situation.

    Having been lifted from the floor and hearing his name being called out, Tom slowly came to. He hadn¡¯t been knocked out, yet the pain had been too much for him. The experience of getting tortured had been so tiring, that by the time Barry and Gil had left, his body had practically shut down to concentrate on healing.

    ¡°G-gary¡­¡±Tom weakly whispered, yet the pain was still overwhelming him. After looking who it was, Tom had closed his eyes again, wanting nothing more than to return to sleep.

    Seeing his best friend still alive, Gary let out a sigh of relief. He knew that he couldn¡¯t just leave him here, since Tom needed medical help. With no outer wounds, he carefully lifted his friend¡¯s buddy off the ground and ced him on his shoulders while holding him from behind. The high schooler hoped that it wouldn¡¯t worsen his condition, but he started running straight to the nurse¡¯s office.

    She was naturally surprised to see him for the second time today. The nurse wanted to say something to him about this morning¡¯s situation, especially since she had learned the truth of the earlier situation.

    However, Gary didn¡¯t stop. He went right past her and gently ced Tom on one of the beds.

    ¡°Help him!¡± Gary pleaded with tear filled eyes.

    Seeing how much blood was there, the nurse was worried it was a serious wound and went to help him straight away. Once again though, there was only so much she could do, but there was good news.

    After giving Tom some painkillers, since his teeth were the area that had suffered the most damage, there was nothing else. This wasn¡¯t an urgent case, so there was no need for the ambnce to be called, but she did have to make a report, and strongly suggested for Tom to go to the hospital as soon as possible to get his mouth looked at.

    ¡°Are you sure that is how you found him, and it wasn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± Gary replied aggressively, realizing what she was implying. ¡°I admit that Steven was me, but this time I¡¯m innocent. Mr Root and the other students can testify that I was at Rugby practice the whole time! After that I went to the toilet because I had to and that¡¯s where I found him!¡±

    The nurse still gave him a questionable look, but she had to leave. Not only was school over, but now she had to inform someone of what had happened leaving Gary and Tom alone once again. Nevertheless, she was inclined to believe Gary was telling the truth this time. Not only because he imed to have witnesses this time who can prove his innocence, but more so because he had genuinely been concerned for Tom, and had even been tearing up when they came through the door.

    Gary had decided to stay by Tom¡¯s side until he eventually woke up again. This time due to the painkillers, he wasn¡¯t in as much pain as he was before, allowing him to stay awake for longer.

    However, before Tom could even say anything, Gary was there with his own question.

    ¡°Who did this to you?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Why did they do this?¡±

    Tom could see it, that look was in his best friend¡¯s eyes again.

    ¡°Gary, please¡­just¡­just forget about it.¡±

    ¡°Forget about it? Forget about it?! After they did all of this to you?! Do you realize that it was lucky that I even found you? If you let people like that get away without any consequences then what will happen?¡±

    ¡°Next time, you might not get so lucky. What if they do worse things to you? Whatever they did to you, I¡¯ll make sure they experience the same pain as you did!¡± Gary imed, holding onto the side of the bed frame that was made of metal squeezing tightly.

    With Tom not answering, Gary soon let go of the handle to pace up and down, hoping to calm down, and looking at the metal handle by the side of his bed he could see that it had bent slightly.

    ¡®I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t tell Gary who did this, otherwise, those guys¡­¡¯

    ¡°Gary, I¡¯m not denying that you have a point, but think about your circumstances. The whole school knows what happened to you after Steven. You¡¯ve been excluded. If you do anything of that sort again, then that means you will be expelled straight away, no matter how small your transgression is.¡±

    ¡°I know your family situation. Have you thought about what happens with Amy and your mother, if that happens? I appreciate the gesture, but do you really want to do this to them?¡±

    Listening to what Tom was saying, it brought the anger out of Gary slightly, as the images of his family appeared in his head. In the first ce everything he was doing was for them. He wanted to get revenge for Tom and he wanted to help him out but he did realise that his best friend was protecting him in his own way, by not telling him who these people were¡­ even though he already had a slight suspicion. Aside from Tom, there had only been two other students who hadn¡¯t been there the whole time.

    Gary was about to leave it there, but then he remembered that Tom had arrived at the library with a ck eye. Putting these two incidents together, this wasn¡¯t the first time he had been hurt.

    ¡°Do you think they won¡¯t attack you again?¡± Gary asked.

    Tom gulped, because he wasn¡¯t sure of the answer himself. He had expected to be bullied a bit, because of Gary, but something was clearly wrong with Gil. He seemed to have really enjoyed the power he had had over Tom, rather than doing it for his own teammate¡¯s sake.

    It was then that Tom had heard the door to the nurse¡¯s office shut, since Gary had already left. However, Gary hadn¡¯t left without anything in his hand. When the nurse had taken a look at Tom, she had taken his bloody shirt off and changed it for a set of clean robes.

    Right now Gary had it in his hand.

    ¡®Tom was bleeding a lot, so whoever hurt him, their scent should also be here.¡¯

 Chapter 49: Grey Elephants

    <h4>Chapter 49: Grey Elephants</h4>

    As someone who was a normal teenager up untilst week, bing a werewolf and acting like that didn¡¯te naturally to Gary. Unfortunately, his system didn¡¯t help him in any meaningful way to find the culprits.

    While it was easy enough to follow the mist of those he had Marked, it was a different story when he had to try and pick up a scent from the bloody mess that was Tom¡¯s shirt. He would take a few steps and every so often he would take another sniff of the shirt. Being in a school that had a few hundred students didn¡¯t make his task any easier either.

    ¡®It¡¯s somehow easier to focus, when I close my eyes¡­ there, I think it should be in that direction!¡¯ Gary opened his eyes and soon found himself outside on the field. It hadn¡¯t been too long since Rugby practice had finished, so the scents of his teammates were still fresh. Surprisingly, he noticed that the scent that he had picked up had split in different directions.

    ¡®I¡¯m sure of it, there really was more than one person behind it. So much for giving them the benefit of the doubt. Here I even had some sympathy for that stupid bastard!¡¯

    Two members had arrivedte for Rugby practice. Everything was starting to fall into ce. Gary took a big sniff and now he was sure of it. One of the scents was in the same direction as the strange red mist he could see that led him to Barry.

    ¡®Why the hell did they attack Tom?!¡¯ Gary tensed his fist so hard that it felt like his veins were going to pop from his hands. ¡®Is it really just because they don¡¯t want me to be on the team? They couldn¡¯t go for me, so they went for Tom? What bullcrap is that?!¡¯ Gary swung out his hand hitting the school wall.

    Usually, a swing so fast and so hard would have shattered someone¡¯s wrist but not Gary. At the moment he didn¡¯t feel any pain. Fortunately, the high schooler hadn¡¯t directly aimed for the wall, otherwise he might have left his fist print.

    Looking at the mist, it told him that Barry was still in school for whatever reason. Since he had been Marked, Gary didn¡¯t worry about losing him. No, he was far more interested in Gil. His scent had left the school grounds.

    The words of Tom still rang through his head, that if he was to do anything, then he would be expelled especially after the incident today.

    ¡®Whatever I do outside of school shouldn¡¯t be a problem as long as nobody recognises me!¡¯

    Lifting up his hood Gary started to walk out of school. He always walked around in a hoodie, so he could cover up his hair and face. He used to do that as a transporter, but now it proved useful to avoid members of the Underdogs, though today it would have a different use.

    Tom¡¯s shirt had been ced in his bag, and whenever he lost Gil¡¯s scent among the myriad of others, he would take another sniff to catch it. Once he entered more problematic areas, the number of scents decreased sharply.

    On his way, he also did his routine stop at the convenience store eating some meat, restoring his energy from his rugby match just in case he needed it.

    [230/460 experince]

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy points]

    Running through the streets, Gary had started to hurry tracking down the scent, afraid that perhaps Gil might reach home soon.

    Eventually, he noticed that he had entered a certain area in Slough.

    ¡®Doesn¡¯t this area belong to the Grey Elephant gang? They are the second biggest gang after the Underdogs and also the ones controlling the grey colour gang.¡¯ Gary thought to himself, but it still wasn¡¯tpletely dark out. The sun was just starting to set so the gangs usually wouldn¡¯t bother others anyway, not that Gary was particrly worried if they chose to attack him.

    Following Gil¡¯s scent Gary moved away from the residential area and followed him to the industrial one, arriving in front of abandoned warehouses. He had never been here, but he recognised that such a location practically screamed ¡®gang hang out¡¯.

    The high schooler had to be extra cautious, fighting off a group and an entire gang were twopletely different things. Having tracked the scent to one warehouse in particr he could now see that there were members wearing pieces of grey clothing on the outside. He could hear some cheering all the way from his location.

    He sneaked around the outside until found a pipe that led to the roof. Gary wasn¡¯t the best climber, but he had been practicing and with Charging Heart still active, jumping up and grabbing onto the pipe proved to be easy. Using his hands and legs he soon found himself on the metallic roof.

    The high schooler was careful with his footsteps since it would make quite a bit of noise, but luckily there were also plenty of seagulls on the roof. Whenever they would move, they would make the roof ng regardless of how quiet he was, and it seemed like whatever was happening inside they were far too preupied with what was happening.

    Finding a hole in the roof Gary was happy to see that it allowed him to watch what was happening underneath. His enhanced hearing also allowed him to hear what they were saying.

    ¡°Not bad, kid.¡± A male voice praised someone. ¡°Your skill, your strength, and most of all your ruthlessness are the real deal. You¡¯re perfect. There¡¯s just onest thing for you to do before we let you in our gang.¡±

    One person stood there, bloody and battered, yet he was in a far better condition than the other guy around his feet. Gary had only heard about it, but he assumed that he had just walked in on the grey colour gang having held something akin to an ¡®audition¡¯.

    There were a couple of ways to join a colour gang, but the most direct one was the scene Gary had just stumbled upon. Those willing to join could challenge already active members and if they proved themselves, the colour gang would usually offer to recruit them.

    ¡¯That¡¯s him¡­he was the one that hurt TOM!¡¯ Gary could still smell Tom¡¯s blood on his clothes, even though it was now mixed in with the other person¡¯s on the ground.

    ¡°You will join us on our rounds today. After that we¡¯ll discuss your payment and more. I have hope for you. If you do well and rise up, then you might even be epted into the Grey Elephants.¡±

    Gary would love nothing more than to jump down and pay back Gil, but his rational side was still present. His first instinct was nothing but suicidal. There were around thirty members inside, and the person that Gil was speaking to seemed to be their leader.

    No leader of any gang would be an easy person to deal with, especially belonging to the colour gang underneath the Grey Elephants. He could continue to follow Gil and his scent but from the sounds of it, the leader himself might be the one to show Gil the ropes.

    There was no guarantee that Gary would get a chance to get his revenge today and there was also another problem. He still needed to hurry home to intercept the letter about his exclusion from school. His mother should be workingte tonight, so he should still have some time

    It was then that the system answered his prayers, solving his issue once again.

    [You have sessfully tracked down a target using your keen nose!]

    [You are acting more like a werewolf and less than a human by the day!]

    [Bloodlust has been detected]

    [Would you like to activate a Forced Bond?]

    Last time he had Marked Barry by ident, though he had been holding him by the wrist. Now it appeared as if physical touch wasn¡¯t a necessary requirement. Now that he thought about it, Gary realised that back when he had defeated the colour gang members, the system had also offered him to activate a Forced Bond, even though he hadn¡¯t touched them.

    At the time, he had declined, but now that Gary saw the message with his emotions running high, he didn¡¯t hesitate.

    [Yes!]

    [Forced Bond has been activated]

    [3/5 Marks have been assigned]

 Chapter 50: The letter

    <h4>Chapter 50: The letter</h4>

    Gary hadn¡¯t been considering the consequences of Marking Gil. He wasn¡¯t sure what would happen when the full moon came out, and quite frankly, he didn¡¯t care at the moment. Now that he had made sure that he would always be able to find Gil, it was time for him to head home.

    As he left the area, he could see that the Marking worked as intended. A visible red mist trail could be seen in the air leading to him. Now he had two markings, one for Barry and one for Gil, but the way Gary was able to tell the difference between the two of them was due to the different scent each mist would give.

    Quickly, using a Charging Heart for the second time, Gary rushed back skipping his daily gym workout and headed to his apartment block. While doing so, the images of Tom were appearing through his head.

    ¡®Those guys, why¡­why¡­why would they hurt him that badly!¡¯ Gary ran faster and faster, leaping over trash cans in the middle of the street, without slowing down.

    ¡®Tom, why didn¡¯t you say anything? With howte they were, they must have been torturing you all that while. How could you protect that scum? The smile on Gil¡¯s face¡­ that was not the face of a human, he¡¯s a monster worse than me! He will juste back to hurt you again and again, so I need to make sure he doesn¡¯t get the chance!¡¯

    The good news was that the running had quenched Gary¡¯s anger a little and he had made it back to his apartment far quicker than he had anticipated, even with his newfound powers. Opening the door, he quickly looked down to search for the letter that his school surely must have already sent out.

    However, it wasn¡¯t there. More urately speaking, there was nothing there. Usually, there would at least be spam letters advertising something, if not overdue bills that piled up. Unfortunately, someone appeared to have already collected all this.

    ¡°Are you looking for this?¡± Amy asked, holding up a letter in her hand, while standing in the kitchen. The rest of the missing letters were also on the counter top.

    ¡°Amy!¡± Gary rushed over and was far quicker then she had expected, the letter was quickly snatched from her hand, before she had any chance to hide it behind her back. Just as he had expected, the letter was to inform his mother that Gary had been excluded for a week for getting into a fight to the point of sending a schoolmate into the hospital.

    ¡°Hey, you know I¡¯m still going to tell Mum!¡± Amy said, pouting. ¡°Ever since you came back with your green hair, I was worried that one day you would do something stupid, but this? Seriously, I know that you like watching those Altered fights, but you¡¯ve never gotten in a fight before! What was it even about that you sent the other guy into the hospital? A girl, or a boy, or maybe just some stupid boy stuff?¡± Amy couldn¡¯t stop asking her older brother questions driven by a mix of worry and curiosity.

    ¡®There¡¯s no way I can tell Amy that I got into a fight because he threatened to date her! That would just be too¡­too¡­embarrassing.¡¯ Gary¡¯s face was going red just at the thought of it.

    Still, he needed to figure out a way to stop Amy from telling their mother, otherwise not only would he get an earful and worry her to death, she probably wouldn¡¯t let him freely leave the house anymore either. He would be grounded and he just couldn¡¯t afford that in his current situation.

    ¡°Why did you even open the letter in the first ce, it¡¯s not even addressed to you?¡± Gary tried to change the subject, clearly annoyed that his sister wouldn¡¯t back down.

    ¡°Because I saw your school logo on it. Schools only send letters home if it¡¯s good news or bad news, ande on. With your head, what the hell kind of good news would there be? If it was something I wasn¡¯t meant to see I nned to just close the letter and ce it back in as if I never opened it.¡± Amy smugly replied, aware that she had the moral high ground on this one.

    Seeing no way out of the situation, there was really only one thing Gary could do.

    ¡°Please, I beg you, just don¡¯t tell Mum. You should know how much she would worry. It¡¯s just a week, I will manage to somehow keep it hidden from her.¡± Gary pleaded. ¡°I promise to make it worth your while!¡±

    Unexpectedly, his little sister held out her hand, turning her head away.

    ¡°Fine, but you owe me! If you want me to keep it a secret then it¡¯s going to cost you.¡±

    A few secondster, she felt something in her hand. Opening her eyes, she saw a fifty note in her hand. For a moment, Gary could swear that he saw Amy¡¯s eyes turn into gold bars.

    When his little sister had asked for payment, she hadn¡¯t literally meant money. She had intended to ckmail Gary into taking over her chores for this week. Either that, or perhaps make him act like her servant or bodyguard next time she visited Stacy, but this was much better than all of those options.

    ¡°Where¡­ how do you even have this much money?¡± Amy asked. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you robbed the guy on top of sending him to the hospital?!¡±

    The truth was, other than the five hundred he had stashed away in their room, Gary had been now down to thest hundred from the first paycheck he had earned that day fighting against Billy Buster¡­ and now he had given Amy half of that, just so that she would keep quiet.

    ¡°Nothing of that sort! What do you take your brother for?!¡± Gary protested, but Amy pointed to the letter he still held in his hand.

    ¡°You know, how I¡¯ve been iming to visit Tom a lottely? Well, the truth is I¡¯ve been helping out another friend of mine with their family business. They give me money for helping out. At the end of each day, I get paid in cash.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t told Mum because you know what she¡¯s like. She would just feel bad and tell me to stop. Saying it¡¯s an adult¡¯s job to take care of their family, but¡­ you know, I¡¯m also part of this family.¡±

    Hearing this, Amy felt a little bad for taking the money. Gary had worked hard for this money, and he had done so for the sake of everyone.

    ¡°Arghh, here take it back.¡± Amy said, shoving it back in Gary¡¯s hand. ¡°After you tell me all that, what kind of person would I be to take it? You think about others too much.¡± She sighed, making her way back to her room.

    ¡°Wait, are you going to tell, Mum?¡± Gary called out after her.

    ¡°No, just do what you want.¡± Amy turned around and smiled. Although her brother wasn¡¯t the brightest, he really was the best brother she had. ¡°I¡¯ll try to think of a way for Mum to ept the money, if you have more of it.¡±

    Now, knowing that his sister wouldn¡¯t reveal the situation, Gary went out with the letter, destroying it on his way out.

    ¡°Wait, it¡¯s already thiste. Are you going to your work again?¡± Amy asked, worriedly.

    ¡°Nope, I need to return something to someone.¡± Gary replied and shut the door.

    It was time for him to hunt.

 Chapter 51: Perfect time

    <h4>Chapter 51: Perfect time</h4>

    Once outside, Gary found it easier to distinguish between the two different Forced Bond Markings. Although both of them were red in colour, each one gave off a slightly different scent.

    The closer he got to one of those that were marked, the darker the colour of the mist would get. It made Gary wonder if there was a limit to his Marking. Perhaps once he was far enough away the red mist wouldpletely disappear, but even in his own home he could still see all three Marks.

    His dark hood was covering his head, but he had no time to replenish the Energy he had lost so far from using Charging Heart twice and the general Energy he had used up rushing home and trying to catch up to Gil in the first ce.

    [88/110 Energy]

    ¡®The grey colour gang shouldn¡¯t stray too far from their territory, but they¡¯ll probably want to head into a more residential area.¡¯

    Thinking about this, Gary realised that the grey colour gang area also happened to cover where he had been on Sunday, the residential area where Billy¡¯s apartment block was located.

    ¡®One problem at a time.¡¯ Gary thought to himself. ¡®Besides, given how many reporters there were just yesterday, they would be stupid to go anywhere near it.¡¯

    While the Underdogs covered most of the town¡¯s nightclubs and profited from selling drugs among other things, the Grey Elephants specialised in protection of the several factories and warehouses that were located in Slough.

    The organisations needed protection from the other gangs that might look to profit by stealing their equipment, products or might generallye over to harass their employees. It wasn¡¯t exactly umon in the business to hire some gangs to use those kinds of means to make life more difficult for theirpetitors.

    As such, the Grey Elephants would send out their members as bodyguards and would spread the news who was under their protection. They would usually get a percentage of profits, but it was far better to the alternative, making it an arrangement that ultimately profited both sides.

    As forpanies that wanted to rent, or set up a factory without relying on the gang¡­ well, they naturally had their ways of ¡®convincing¡¯ how much their ¡®service¡¯ was needed.

    The air was filled with a grey smoke that covered everything including themp posts that were out, and it was messing with Gary¡¯s nose a little. If it wasn¡¯t for the red mist he had followed on his way here, he would have struggled a lot more to find them.

    ¡®From what I have heard, the Grey Elephants and their colour gang have quite the fighting strength given their job scope. If I see one of their main members, I¡¯m going to have to get out of there. News about my little trick must have already spread in their circles, so I doubt they will follow me, not that there are any nearby areas that I could lead them to¡­¡¯

    Continuing to stalk them, the colour gang eventually stopped in front of a small workshop that looked to be a shoe and key making service. Gil was there with four other members, but there was no sign of any other members in the nearby vicinity.

    The problem was, they were on a pretty open street, so there was a chance that other members coulde along quite easily, so Gary needed to wait for the perfect opportunity.

    ¡°Break it, new boy!¡± A member with a grey bandana tied around the top of his head yelled out the order. The next second, Gil picked up arge brick on the side of the road and hurled it into the window, which immediately bounced off, nearly hitting him in the head.

    The other members seeing thisughed straight away.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s reinforced ss, you idiot. All the shops in this area have it, otherwise they would have to buy a recement every day.¡± The grey colour member that had ordered Gil around, seemed to be the leader of the small group they were in.

    Gil did not look too pleased at this little joke they had set up. A few secondster, an old frail man came running out. He held a broom stick in his hand, and pointed it out towards the gang.

    ¡°What are you hooligans doing? This is my shop! How many times do I have to tell you that I have no money? My shop has been here for over thirty years! I won¡¯t give it to you, you¡¯ll have to take it off my dead body!¡± The old man shouted as he swung the broomstick widely, but all of the members, including Gil, were easily able to evade it. He tried to do it again and again, but he never managed to hit any of them, making themugh at his antics, until he was tired out, huffing and panting loudly.

    ¡°Okay, new boy, here¡¯s your first task of the day. We need new business in this town and this geezer hasn¡¯t been willing to y ball, so it¡¯s time we let someone else in who will be more willing to cooperate. You¡¯ve heard the old coot, apparently we¡¯ll have to get it over his dead body, so let¡¯s put his conviction to the test!¡±

    Gil understood what the leader was implying. When he went up to the old man, a smile appeared on his face. Seeing this, the other members stopped theirughter, interested in whether Gil could actually follow through.

    There were many reasons why people chose to join a gang. Some, like Innu, did it because they were unable to find a ce for themselves in the world, their only talent being that they were decent with their fists. Others, like Gary, did it because in the current times, gangs were one of the easiest ways to earn money.

    However, those like Gil, did it for apletely different reason. His type was the most dangerous. The sadistic smile on his face said it all. He enjoyed the feeling of dominance, making others submit to him by using violence.

    The old man tried to muster all his stealth, grabbing the broom, and swung it towards Gil, but therge high schooler managed to grab it quite easily.

    ¡°Old man, your strength is nothing for a member of the Rugby club.¡± Gil said, pulling on the stick and yanking it out of the old man¡¯s hand, who almost fell over tumbling to the ground.

    ¡°You know, although these things are made from wood, they¡¯re pretty strong. You just tried hitting me with it, so all of this is just self-defense. Let¡¯s see how much it hurts!¡± Gil shouted, as he lifted up the stick, and mmed it against the old man¡¯s side.

    The pain was so great the old man instantly fell to the ground. The others watching could see that Gil showed no hesitation. It was one thing for someone to fight their way into a gang by beating up another gang member, but new members would usually still have some hesitation to fight civilians.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± The old man screamed rolling on the ground. ¡°It hurts! How could you do this? Imagine if I was your Gran-¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gil shouted, whacking the broomstick on the old man¡¯s legs again. ¡°Shut up! Shut up!¡± Each time the high schooler used his full strength and the old man¡¯s moans only got stronger.

    ¡°Hey, shouldn¡¯t we stop him? We were only supposed to scare him, but if he kills the old man, the Grey Elephants might tell us off.¡± One of the members asked their leader.

    ¡°Humans aren¡¯t as weak as you think. He hasn¡¯t even really started to beg us to stop. The old coot still has some fight left in him. Oi, is that all you got, new boy?!¡± The leader shouted, trying to spur on Gil even more. ¡°How long does it take you to convince one frail old man to do the right thing?¡±

    Up until this point, Gil had been holding the broom stick with one hand, worried that if he were to use both hands that it would end up breaking. Getting the OK from the leader, he lifted it above his head and used his full strength and weight to swing it down on the old man.

    Suddenly, a hooded person appeared almost out of nowhere and grabbed the stick, before it could reach its intended victim.

    ¡°Screw waiting for the perfect time! I can¡¯t just watch you torment an innocent old man!¡± Gary yelled out.

    ¡¯System, put both points into Strength!¡¯

    [2 Points have been allocated into Strength]

    [Your base Strength is now at 7]

    [Current Strength: 14 (+1)]

    With Charging Heart and the power of the moon, Gary pulled the stick out of Gil¡¯s hands. While the bully was still confused about the situation, the neer used both his hands to swing it out from the side like a baseball bat, hitting Gil across the face, flinging his head back and causing him to fly through the air for a few meters until he hit the ground¡­

    Looking on the floor, there was a single tooth that had fallen out.

    ¡®That¡¯s a start!¡¯¡± Gary thought about Tom¡¯s missing tooth, but it still wasn¡¯t enough.

 Chapter 52: Illegal weapons

    <h4>Chapter 52: Illegal weapons</h4>

    Although Gary was already Level 4, he had only ever assigned one of the three stat points he had received from his Level Ups. He had considered what stat he might use them for, but had decided that it might make more sense to increase them via his gym trying until he hit some kind of wall.

    However, seeing Gil attack the old man who could hardly defend himself, something snapped in Gary¡¯s head. It was simr to what had happened when Steven had ¡®threatened¡¯ him by telling him he would go out with Amy. The high schooler imagined Tom lying on the ground, getting bullied by Gil.

    Unable to wait for his ¡®perfect opportunity¡¯ the high schooler dived right in, running past the other members, while cing his stat points into Strength. The broom snapped after connecting with Gil¡¯s face and Gary still held one half of it in his hand, his head slightly facing down so the others wouldn¡¯t be able to see his face clearly.

    ¡°What the hell? I thought the new guy had some strength, but it turns out his muscles are all hot air. Oi, aren¡¯t you embarrassed getting taken out by such a scrawny kid? ¡± One of the grey colour gang members turned around to make fun of Gil, not having grasped the seriousness of the situation yet.

    However, the same could not be said about their leader. Unlike the other three, he had watched Gil fight, so he had seen his strength. His body didn¡¯t just look the part, and there weren¡¯t many that could make someone fall easily like that. What¡¯s more, that ¡®scrawny kid¡¯ had managed to make the broom snap with one attack.

    ¡°What are you guys doing? He might just be the new kid, but since when do we allow anyone to just hurt one of our members? Stop gawking and bring him in!¡± The leader shouted.

    Seeing the other three charge in, Gary was thankful for one thing. None of them seemed to be using weapons. One of the traits of the grey colour group was that they relied on brute strength.

    Still, Gary went to the injured Gil and lifted him by the scruff of his uniform.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think this is over, I¡¯m not done with you yet.¡±

    Blood was dripping from the rugby yer¡¯s mouth, and he was possibly in a worse state than Steven, but Gary had no sympathy for him, not after what he had seen him do. Making use of Charging Heart¡¯s duration he lifted Gil above his head with both hands.

    Even with an effective total of 15 points of Strength the weight seemed to be a bit much for Gary but his frustration allowed him to power through. He managed to throw his schoolmate towards the grey colour gang members, crashing into two of them.

    The third one, as the only one unaffected, turned around to check on his teammates, disbelieving what he had seen. This turned out to be a big mistake, as by the time he turned back to Gary, the other was already in the midst of a punch, aimed straight at the gang member¡¯s face.

    ¡°You guys are just as bad!¡± Gary shouted.

    He could only imagine what the grey colour gang members must have been doing in this area for so long. All the chaos and trouble they had caused. The truth was, Gary wasn¡¯t the only one who wanted them gone, yet nobody ever did anything because they were afraid of those behind the colour gangs.

    In the past, if Gary had seen such a scene, would he have been brave enough to help out? The truth was, the answer was no.

    [New quest received]

    [An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth.]

    Your anger has finally led you to this.

    Deal with the one you¡¯re after as well as everyone protecting him!]

    [Quest reward: 50 Exp per defeated person]

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [50 Exp gained]

    [Exp 280/460]

    Receiving this message, it made Gary realise something, that Gil still had some room for a beating. Walking over, the two that were trapped under this heavy body, soon pushed him off, and got up from the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, Bowden, give us a hand!¡± One of the membersined. Since they still had the number advantage he was confident they could win.

    ¡°No real names, you idiot!¡± The leader shouted at him, pping him from behind, while he waited and watched Gary.

    The three of them stayed back, and with the leader taking a step back, so did the other two. That¡¯s when he noticed that their attacker wasn¡¯t looking at them. Instead he only seemed to have eyes for Gil who was on the floor.

    After being hit by the broom, Gil¡¯s head was spinning slightly. He wasn¡¯t knocked out yet and he could hear the chaos around him, though he was unable to react to it. He tried to stand back up, but his legs felt like jelly.

    Recovering a little, he soon felt someone above him, and the next second he experienced a p against his face.

    ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t just get out of the situation by losing consciousness. You still have plenty of teeth left in your mouth.¡± Gary said.

    Gil was still struggling to open his eyes, yet before he could, his head was mmed into the concrete ground once more. It was soon lifted from the ground again. His forehead had been cut, and blood was dripping down from the top now covering his vision even more.

    It was then that the grey leader was sure that his hunch was right.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get out of here boys, that person isn¡¯t here for us.¡±

    The three left Gil behind, including the other member. The leader thought it was safe to leave him behind, since he should wake up soon, and he was more concerned about what would happen if they tried approaching the person in front of them again.

    ¡®That person¡­is another beast, let the two of them deal with each other.¡¯ The leader thought as he left.

    Holding up Gil, Gary could tell he was still conscious. It seemed to have been the right call to cancel Charging Heart, instead of using his full strength.

    ¡°Tell me, how does it feel? Not so great when you¡¯re on the receiving end, now is it? You still like to hurt people? I don¡¯t get how you can enjoy this so much!¡± Gary shouted at him, before getting ready whack his head against the concrete ground once more.

    Gil, in his desperate situation, used his hands to cover his head hitting the ground, but the impact was still strong.

    ¡°Who¡­are you?!¡± Gil blurted out, his mouth filled with blood, while his entire body still hurt from being used as a projectile. He hadn¡¯t even realised yet that the side of his face had swollen up from getting hit with the broomstick.

    Gary, still wasn¡¯t done yet, and he wouldn¡¯t be until the system gave him the exp for knocking Gil out. Grabbing his head once more, he was ready to m it in the ground again, but it was then that he felt someone grab his wrist.

    ¡°Stop! If you keep doing that, you¡¯ll end up killing him.¡± A male voice cautioned him.

    Looking up, at what could possibly have the strength to hold Gary. He could see a man in arge ck trench coat, and a scruffy beard, while also wearing arge hat to cover most of his head.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you. You managed to knock out a gang member all by yourself and you even managed to lift up this kid over your head despite the size difference, are you sure you are human?¡± The man asked, as he reached down his pocket to grab what looked like a baton.

    ¡°You know, there have already been a couple of killings in this area and it seems the wounds inflicted aren¡¯t done by normal humans.¡± The man pressed the button and the baton lit up. Blue sparks started to buzz around the weapon.

    Once upon a time they used to be self-defense weapons, yet under the ¡®No Lethal Weapons Act¡¯ they were still considered taboo. There was only one group who still used them despite this, the Altered Hunters.

 Chapter 53: Survive!

    <h4>Chapter 53: Survive!</h4>

    [New quest received]

    [There¡¯s always a bigger fish]

    [As a Werewolf who hasn¡¯t even experienced his first turning, you¡¯re still too weak.]

    [Survive!]

    [Quest reward: ???]

    Gary was quite surprised that for the first time the Werewolf System didn¡¯t even hint at the type of reward he would receive if he could fulfill the Quest. Did this mean that it hadn¡¯t decided what he would get or did it doubt his capability to actually survive the fight?

    At the same time the conditions forpleting it weren¡¯t really clear. What would happen if he was to run away. If he was knocked out that would clearly count as surviving, right? Or did it mean that the person in front of him wanted to kill him?

    ¡®It¡¯s impossible for the system to know all of that! It¡¯s just a system!¡¯

    Whatever the case, now wasn¡¯t the time to worry about that. Seeing the baton light up, Gary was in no way inclined to allow his opponent to hit him with the weapon. He had experienced being electrocuted when he was younger through an open plug, and this looked far worse.

    As he had discovered during his Rugby training, one of the benefits of cancelling the Charging Heart skill early was that the cooldown between each use would also be shortened. The downside to this was that no matter how long the skillsted, he wouldn¡¯t get back any of his spent Energy points.

    Gary tried to pull away, only to find himself unable to do anything. The high schooler could barely tug his arm before the strange adult had gripped onto it tightly with his giant hands.

    ¡®This is insane! Just how strong is this guy¡¯s grip?!¡¯ Gary thought. With the batoning closer, he had no other choice but to use Charging Heart again.

    [61/110 Energy]

    Thest time Gary had been forced to use up so much Energy was in his fight against Billy. Yanking his hand once more, the sudden spike in strength surprised the Altered Hunter, and his grip weakened for a moment.

    Unfortunately, the high schooler failed topletely pull away. His captor managed to grab onto Gary¡¯s other hand, this time even firmer than before,pletely ignoring the teenager¡¯s boost.

    ¡®Even with Charging Heart, he is still just as strong! No, this guy might even be stronger.¡±

    At the end of the day, these guys hunted Altereds for a living, and they had to have some way tobat them. At this rate Gary was suspecting that the Altered hunters were Alterds themselves, but what kind of hyprocary would that be.

    Using Gary¡¯s struggle, he threw him off bnce and followed up with the electrified baton. The second it touched his stomach, Gary felt his whole body tingle all over. His green hair stood up and all the hair all over his body. No matter how hard he tried to move, while the baton touched his body none of his muscles were responding.

    It was strange that the pain was quite minimal but he was unable to do anything. Although he saw therge fisting towards his face, Gary was unable to block it. The great strength hurled him in the air, skidding him across the ground, and for what felt like the second time his nose was broken.

    [You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

    [-27 HP]

    [68/100 HP]

    [Would you like to activate emergency healing?]

    [If you wish, you can set a limit as to when emergency healing will be activated.]

    The only time he had experienced the emergency healing had been after Billy had broken his ribs by using the metal te in his gloves. It had used Energy allowing him to heal his wounds and continue on fighting like normal. However, in this situation Gary didn¡¯t have a high amount of Energy points to use, at the same time, he didn¡¯t really need his nose to help him fight.

    ¡°You clearly have abnormal strength for your size, so what are you waiting for? Why don¡¯t you transform?¡± The Altered Hunter asked.

    Wiping away the blood trickling down his nose, Gary got up again. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could win this fight or not, but he was pissed. Beyond pissed that this person had interrupted him in the middle of what he had been doing.

    After all, there was still another Quest active that had to do with Gil.

    ¡®Trust me, if I knew how to transform I would have done it by now and ripped your freaking head off!¡¯ Gary charged in with this thought in his mind. He kept his eye on the baton. The second the man pressed the button on the bottom, it electrified up again.

    ¡®It looks like his weapon can only stay on for so long, otherwise he would have just kept the bloody thing electrified.¡¯

    Knowing this, Gary began to run in. The man confidently swung the baton towards Gary¡¯s head, this time perfectly timing his attack, but Gary had dashed forward now running at his full speed that the Charging heart skill gave him. Ducking down at the same time, it allowed the hit to go over his head. He then threw an overhead punch as hard as he could towards the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°Impressive, you fooled me into thinking that you were using your full speed the whole time. It¡¯s just too bad that you weren¡¯t the only one who held back.¡± The man said, as he lifted up his arm blocking the iing punch.

    As it hit, Gary felt something hard, far harder than bone, and his knuckles were sore. The man seemed surprised on his end as well, about how much force the punch had behind it.

    ¡®Damn it, is he wearing armour underneath his clothes or something? Goddamnit, of course he is! How could an Altered Hunter work without that type of stuff?¡¯

    Jumping back, Gary was observing the situation. He was getting low on Energy, yet his opponent still seemed fine, not even hurt. Gil appeared to be barely conscious rolling about on the ground, while the abandoned grey coloured gang member seemed to be regaining consciousness, getting up on his feet.

    Right now, Gary was sure that there was nothing he could do against the Altered Hunter. He didn¡¯t like it, but he had to run. Turning away, Gary started to sprint as fast as he could. Slightly regretting not having put any points into Dexterity, he was praying that the Energy he still had would allow him to escape.

    Turning around though, it looked like the Altered Hunter hadn¡¯t bothered to chase after him. Nevertheless, Gary didn¡¯t stop running, not even after he received a notification that the Quest for catching Gil had failed for getting out of range.

    [Quest failed]

    Eventually, Gary stopped by the convenience store. Although he had alreadypleted his Daily Quest, he was in dire need of replenishing his Energy. He was already feeling hunger pangs the closer he came to reaching 0 Energy.

    After spending thest of his money, Gary practically gobbled up the meat in an alley. He used some of that Energy to restore his broken nose before continuing on his way. Gary made sure to go through some alleys and only returned home, once he was absolutely sure that he wasn¡¯t followed.

    His mother had already arrived but Gary yed everything cool with his family. Judging by the fact, she hadn¡¯t immediately given him a lecture, it appeared that Amy had kept her word. After spending some time with the two of them, Gary headed back to his room, his head and whole body were shaking as he sat down on the bed.

    ¡®That¡­that was so freaking dangerous! If that Altered Hunter had caught me¡­ or if he hade in a bitter when I was weaker from fighting the others¡­ Damn it!¡¯ Gary wanted to punch something in his frustration, but before he did, he recalled what had happened to his school wall.

    Above all, he was most upset that he had been unable to teach Gil more of a lesson. Sure, the 50 Exp he had failed to earn had left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, but he was now worried about what the bully would do. Without knowing why he had been punished, there was an actual risk that he might try and do something to Tom again.

    Gary swore that he wouldn¡¯t let that happen.

    Still, there was at least one piece of good news that came from the unfortunate encounter.

    [Congrattions, you have managed to avoid getting captured by the ¡®Suspected Altered Hunter¡¯!]

    [You¡¯ve learned the importance of a strategic retreat in the face of an opponent who vastly outsses you! Fortunately, as an apex predator, you¡¯ll be able to grow in due time. Here¡¯s something to pay him back, if you ever see him again!]

    [Quest reward: Choose one skill]

 Chapter 54: Targeted

    <h4>Chapter 54: Targeted</h4>

    Tuesday morning alone proved to be a far quieter school day for Xin than Monday. A big reason for this was the absence of Gary and Tom. She didn¡¯t know why, but ever since the two friends had shown up at the Karate club, the transfer girl had started to pay more attention towards them.

    Turning her head, she stared at their two empty seats.

    ¡®I heard that the green haired boy got excluded for fighting with Steven, but what about his friend? Is it just some coincidence that he¡¯s also missing or has he decided to skip sses, so the two of them can hang out?¡¯

    As she wondered about the reason, she felt a certain group of girls whispering things about her, no doubt spreading some nasty rumours, as they were staring daggers at her.

    ¡®Right, I should probably worry about my own problems first. Why is it so hard to find that one opportunity to apologise and clear things up between us? Just when did she convince the entire ss to avoid talking to me as if had the gue?¡¯

    Ever since Xin had identally thrown Tiffany into Gary¡¯s puke, she had tried to apologise. Last week, she had failed to make any progress. The transfer girl had sincerely hoped that after the weekend, the queen bee might have forgiven her or at least shown herself more willing to listen to reason, but she had no such luck.

    Yesterday, Tiffany¡¯s two goons had gotten in the way each and every time, not even letting her speak with their ringleader. It had gotten to the point that the new girl had wanted to just beat them up, to get through them. The only reason she hadn¡¯t done so was because Xin feared that it would only escte her situation.

    When the bell signalled their lunch break, Xin nned to catch Tiffany on the way to the canteen, to finally settle things between them. Following her down the hallway though, she eventually encountered someone else who was walking through the halls with a bandage over his head.

    ¡°Steven?! Is that you?¡± Xin called out to her clubmate. The karateka seemed pretty zoned out, so she wanted to make sure he was okay. ¡°Is your head alright? I heard what happened. What made that guy attack you like that?¡±

    Based on the few interactions she had with Gary, he hadn¡¯t seemed like the type of person to just attack someone for no reason. Then again, she hadn¡¯t exactly expected to find him challenging their Karate club either. Still, unlike Gary, Xin felt like she knew more about Steven and his character.

    It wouldn¡¯t surprise her to learn that he had felt embarrassed about the loss and had decided to fight him again, only this time without any gear on. Of course, the amount of force Gary had used was undoubtedly excessive.

    Steven looked at Xin for a few seconds and just brushed her off, walking past her. Although part of him knew that it wasn¡¯t her fault, another part med her for what he had gone through yesterday.

    ¡°He can have you¡­¡± Steven mumbled as he walked away.

    His words were annoying, and she was about to push Steven for more answers, yet it just so happened that she saw Tiffany enter the toilet¡­ on her own!

    ¡®Wait, are those other two not with her?¡¯ Xin rushed to the toilet, finally getting the chance she had been waiting for!

    Opening the door¡­ a trash cannded on her head.

    Xin didn¡¯t understand what had happened. One moment, she had followed behind her ssmate, the next she was covered from head to toe in banana peels, dirty food and other garbage. The girl immediately took it off, throwing it to the side, only to see Tiffany pointing at her,ughing with her two friends who had already been inside.

    ¡°Hahah, well I can safely say this is far worse than you throwing me in that puke, but it¡¯s not enough. This is just the start. You humiliated me in front of everyone, so you have to pay for this!¡±

    The next second, Xin picked up the trash can from the ground. Walking to one of the two goons, she swung at over her head, causing the girl to fall to the floor idently bite her lip.

    Seeing this, the other goon stepped back, and fell down on her butt. Before Tiffany could react, Xin was already heading straight for her. With her forearm, Xin pushed her back until the queen bee was against the wall, and her forearm pressed against her neck.

    ¡°ENOUGH! I have had it with you. I¡¯ve been barely here for a week and you¡¯ve done nothing but torture me for something I did to you on ident!¡± Xin shouted. ¡°Ever since, I¡¯ve been trying to apologise to you, but you¡¯ve made it abundantly clear that you don¡¯t want me to. What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you on some sort of power trip or something?¡±

    It was then that Xin saw a smile on Tiffany¡¯s face, a reaction she hadn¡¯t expected.

    ¡°You screwed up.¡± Tiffany dered. ¡°As the Mayor¡¯s daughter, I bet you thought you were pretty safe. Truth be told, I actually nned to keep this between the two of us. Pay you back for another week or so, before I would eventually leave you alone, but now youid your hands on me¡­¡±

    With this threat, Xin wanted to finish her off here. She was ready to use one of her powerful kicks, but the words of her father rang through her head, and she decided to let go, leaving the toilet.

    mming the door behind her, it had caught the attention of a few students. Another noticeable thing was the strange smell and some items that were still stuck on her clothing.

    ¡®Things never seem to change around here.¡¯ Kai mused, walking through the hallway, staring at his phone. Frankly, he enjoyed observing his fellow students and their problems, but he had just received a text from an important person.

    [Thank you for helping me out the other day! I seriously don¡¯t know who would do something like this, but I¡¯m just d you knew the right people who could get rid of the problem. Anyway I owe you a big favour.]

    Innu had called him in the middle of the night, to inform Kai that a human limb in the shape of an arm had been left outside his apartment. Panicked and not knowing what to do, he had called Kai to see if he could do anything. To his surprise, his fellow gang member had been easily able to fix his problem with a simple phone call. The fighter hadn¡¯t asked any questions and had simply done as instructed.

    ¡®Just what is going on for both Gary and Innu to receive human flesh in front of their doors? This isn¡¯t something the Underdogs would do. Could it have been a rival gang trying to scare them? ¡­ No, that doesn¡¯t make any sense. We¡¯re barely a gang and even if those guys from Eton High found out that we¡¯ll be fighting them in the tag team tournament, they would simply try and beat them up. Whoever did that must have wanted to leave a message to the two of them. In that case, what exactly do the two of them have inmon to receive such a thing?¡¯ Kai racked his brain.

 Chapter 55: New Skill

    <h4>Chapter 55: New Skill</h4>

    Waking up that Tuesday morning, Gary had expected his body to be sore from yesterday¡¯s fight against the Altered Hunter, but thanks to his now supernatural body he felt good as new. However, he noticed something strange. For some reason he seemed overly hungry and this didn¡¯t seem to be his normal type of hunger that a simple breakfast would solve.

    What¡¯s more, he should be overly full from yesterday. Before heading back home, he had stopped by the convenience store to replenish all the Energy he had used up in his fight. After that, he also had a nice dinner with his mother and sister. If anything, he should still be full, not hungry.

    Wondering what¡¯s wrong with him, he decided to check his system and the first thing he noticed were a few notifications he had missed, since he had gone to bed before midnight.

    [As the date of the full moon approaches, the power of the moon strengthens you further.]

    [Current bonus: All Stats +2]

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [7 days until the next full moon]

    ¡®Whoa, another boost! How many more will I get? Since it¡¯s a bonus my guess would be that after the full moon passes the bonus stats will go away. However, what happens after that? After each full moon, there will be a new moon.¡¯

    ¡®If the moon is like the thing that grants a werewolf his powers, doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯ll have to worry about getting weaker and suffer penalties?¡¯ Gary thought to himself. He chose to ignore the countdown notification as it seemed impossible to turn it off. Instead, he looked over his base stats, all three of which disyed a (+2) next to them.

    [Strength 7 (+2)]

    [Dexterity 3 (+2)]

    [Endurance 9 (+2)]

    It was scary to think how strong he might possibly be in a week, and when he actually transformed. Looking over his Energy and Health, he saw that they still didn¡¯t benefit from any bonuses, but that¡¯s when he noticed something strange.

    [81/110 Energy]

    ¡®What the hell? Why is it lower than before I went to bed? Was I sleepwalking and using Charging Heart or something?¡¯

    Thankfully, the Werewolf System decided to enlighten him this time and offered the following exnation.

    [The more your bloodlust grows in tandem to the state of the moon, the more Energy is required to empower you. It would be advisable to increase your Energy.]

    ¡®Goddamnit, why do you tell this to me now when I no longer have any stat points?! Sh*t, I still haven¡¯t found a method on how to increase that stat naturally! Why doesn¡¯t this stupid thing have a tutorial or some help function? Who the hell designed this junk system?!¡¯

    Gary¡¯s cursing unfortunately didn¡¯t result in anything. He didn¡¯t know whether the system felt insulted and had decided against cooperating or if it was just the way it worked, however he had no way of finding that out. Instead, the high schooler chose to do something about the problems he could fix, albeit temporarily.

    ¡®I should have known that the system doesn¡¯t give me anything for free. Alright, I should be able to fix this by purchasing more food to replenish the Energy that way. I will also have to avoid getting into any fights and probably refrain from using Charging Heart during practice.¡¯

    Quickly getting dressed to keep up the ruse of going to school, Gary headed to the fridge. It seemed like he had only recently filled it uppletely, but as he thought about it, that way one week ago. He wasn¡¯t the only one who had ess to it, so right now it was rather empty. It had an opened milk carton, some juice, eggs, butter and jam, but he craved something else right now.

    ¡°Damn, I already used up the rest of my money yesterday to buy meat, so what the hell am I supposed to do now?¡¯ Gary wondered. He knew that he still had his emergency fund of five hundred, but he was adamant in wanting to use it to help pay off some of their family¡¯s bills. s, if he didn¡¯te up with a solution soon, he might have no other choice but to use it.

    Gary would have toe up with one on the way though. It was already time for him to leave for school. He was thankful that his sister hadn¡¯t told his mother and because of this he was free to do what he wished, which happened to be finding solutions to the ever increasing amount of problems.

    Picking up his feet walking around, after a couple of hours Gary had entered the high street and noticed that his Energy had gone down by a bit.

    [78/100 Energy]

    ¡®I still have a week to go, just how bad will it get in the future? If I get into more fights, or get called by Kai to fight, then this could end very badly. I don¡¯t want to create any more Billys.¡¯ Gary kicked a pebble in his way out of frustration.

    Following its flight path the high schooler noticed a poster in one of the window shops. He had actually been hoping to see if there might be any odd jobs he could do, but this one caught his eye because it had certain words that stuck out to Gary.

    {AFC Academy. Train to be the next big fighter!}

    ¡®An Altered Academy that trains Altered? How great would it be if I could attend something like that? It¡¯s not like I can fake it, Altered are able to transform at will. Too bad, with how much money Kirk makes, I bet I could get rid of nearly all of my problems at once.¡¯ Gary began to daydream.

    Trying to think of something positive was a nice little escape from reality, but eventually he left the high street and started to head to the parks where there was a nice woond area nearby. He had chosen this area for a specific reason.

    After entering the woods, he looked around him to see if he could spot anyone, but it didn¡¯t look like there was anyone nearby. Despite all his setbacks yesterday, his system had surprised him with one good reward at the end of the day.

    [Showing skills that are avable to be unlocked at current level]

    [w Drain]

    [Hardened Will]

    ¡®Don¡¯t you usually get presented with a choice of three? Whatever, I can¡¯t reallyin about getting a free skill. However, this system could have at least given me a slight description. I have only the name to go off of to guess what they do.¡¯ Gary had thought to himself.

    From the notification, he could infer that his skill choice was limited by his current level, so there was a chance that whatever he didn¡¯t choose might be avableter. w Drain sounded like an offensive skill, whereas Hardened Will sounded like a defensive one.

    Seeing as Endurance was still his highest base stat, even without having put any stat points into it, he wasn¡¯t very keen on thetter. Besides, what would be the point of him being able to take a beating for a longer time? It wouldn¡¯t have changed anything in his fight yesterday. No, what he needed was some fire power.

    [Are you sure you would like to select the skill ¡®w Drain?¡¯]

    [Yes / No]

    After selecting [Yes] on the menu that had popped up in front of him, a certain set of information had entered his head. He knew he would just need to think of the skill name and it would allow him to use it, but he needed to know how it worked first.

    [w Drain (Level 1)]

    [Once activated, half of the damage inflicted by the user will be used to recover Health.

    The skill will take 15 points of Energy to use.]

    The skill willst 2 seconds.]

    ¡®This is awesome! Up until now I could only heal passively by converting Energy into Health. It would have been even greater if it had some function to boost my strength like Charging Heart, but that might have been a bit much to ask. Still, now I can actually trade blows with my opponents without having to fear hitting 0 Health.¡¯

    ¡®The only downside seems to be the rather short duration¡­ and the Energy cost. If I use Charging Heart and w Drain together that¡¯s 25 points of Energy, which is nearly a quarter of my overall. Looks like skills, although helpful, really have quite the burden.¡¯

    Gary wanted to test out his new skill, which was why he hade to the woods in the first ce. The only problem was that he was now worried about his Energy bar. He was already losing it passively, so was it really wise to experiment with it? On the other hand, not experiencing the skill seemed dumb as well.

    As he was debating whether he should or shouldn¡¯t test it out, he felt a vibration from his phone. Grabbing it from his pocket, he saw a notification about breaking news.

    ¡®Sh*t, so this time a university student has been killed, and it says their body was mauled.¡¯

    Gary had a bad premonition that it was Billy. Putting his phone away, he was going to try and attempt to solve his Energy problem, but in that moment his secret phone vibrated. There was only one number saved on it, and it was someone he didn¡¯t want to make wait, especially after he had helped him recently.

    [Gary we need to meet up ASAP and discuss something. It¡¯s about Billy!]

 Chapter 56: Billys targets

    <h4>Chapter 56: Billy''s targets</h4>

    After reading the message, Gary had worrying thoughts going through his head. Why would Kai bring up Billy now of all times? Had he somehow discovered that all of those recent murders might have been his doing? Or could he have encountered a hairy creature at night and linked the whole mess back to him?

    ¡®Hang on, if Kai has actually found some lead on Billy, then that would be a great thing! I might finally be able to track him down and stop him before he can do any more harm!¡¯ Gary thought, pacing up and down in the woods.

    He looked at the clock on the phone. It was nearly lunch time and although he was only allowed in school for club practice, which would be at around 3PM, he just couldn¡¯t wait that long. Kai¡¯s message sounded pretty urgent and if he reached out to him about Billy then it was vitally important to hear what his upperssman had to share.

    Gary decided to rush back to school, even running for it. While he was still worrying about his Energy bar, this clearly took precedence though he refrained from using Charging Heart, as he should still make it in time.

    The high schooler managed to arrive quite quickly at school, it was quiet so the lunch bell didn¡¯t seem to have gone off yet. Given his uniform, it was unlikely that someone would report him if they saw him. Even if someone did recognise him, they would likely just think that he had been called in by Headmistress Young.

    After all, who would use the ¡®free holiday¡¯ that was exclusion, to get back to the school ground?

    Rushing through the gates, Gary hurried through the hallways while trying to avoid the few teachers and students who were outside. Everyone was busy with their own thing, but it couldn¡¯t hurt being cautious. Right now he was following Kai¡¯s instructions and was heading to a certain storage room.

    Gary had expected that Kai would call him over to the school¡¯s roof, but with the bell ringing any moment now, there would be students who would go up to the school roof to enjoy their meal up there. Given that his upperssman seemed to care about secrecy in the matter concerning Billy just added to Gary¡¯s worries.

    He texted Kai that he had arrived and was now pacing up and down in the small storage room. Unfortunately, he could only make four steps before having to turn around. This ¡®room¡¯ was basically an oversized supply closet, filled with cleaning supplies and piles of toilet paper. A few pacingster the school bell had rung and students had begun running through the halls, yet Kai had yet to reply.

    There was a sudden knock on the door. Gary panicked, looking left and right, trying to search for a hiding spot, but there was nowhere to hide apart from a mop sticking out from a bucket. For once it didn¡¯t seem like any of his werewolf powers were going to help. As it slowly opened, Gary moved behind the mop and turned around, stopping his breathing.

    ¡°Yeah, you might wanna try that again when you don¡¯t have green hair. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and what was the point of turning around? ¡®If you can¡¯t see me I can¡¯t see you¡¯, what are you five?¡± Kai held back hisughter as he closed the door behind him. ¡°I knocked to let you know that it was me. I mean seriously, who else could it have been? The only ones visiting this room would be either the janitor or some horny teens looking for some quiet time. Do you think either one would have knocked?¡±

    Realising how stupid he had been, Gary felt a little embarassed about what had just happened. Standing up, he brushed off some dust from his clothes.

    ¡°So, howe you have mentioned Billy so suddenly? Have you seen himtely? Did he look any different?¡± Gary asked, wanting to change the subject, hoping that Kai would soon forget his earlier actions. The upperssman thought that it was a pretty strange question to ask off the bat, but decided to tell him the reason why he had called him in so suddenly.

    ¡°No I haven¡¯t, otherwise I would have already reported him to the police. Anyway, just be quiet for a moment and listen to what I have to tell you. Also, try not to panic since it won¡¯t help you and I would like you to help me figure out what to do next.¡± Kai answered, looking into Gary¡¯s eyes.

    The former didn¡¯t miss that thetter was gulping just from his warning, so Kai didn¡¯t have high hopes about Gary not panicking. However, he couldn¡¯t exactly fault him for that. Gary had already tried to reach out to him about Billy, yet Kai had shot him down at the time, believing that his underssman had just been looking for trouble.

    ¡°You know about all those murders that have been happening on the newstely? Well, I¡¯m convinced that this is Billy¡¯s doing. I mean ¡®Son goes missing after his mother and father have been found dead, yet doesn¡¯t show up despite news outlets stating that police are looking for him¡¯, doesn¡¯t really take a genius to figure out that unless he¡¯s dead, he would be the prime suspect. Heck, I think you figured that out when you sent me that text.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯ve watched the reports you should know that the victim of one of the recent murders in our town was a high school student like us, whereas the most recent one was a university student¡­ and wouldn¡¯t you know it, both had connections to our fugitive friend.¡±

    Hearing this, Gary felt relieved. He had strongly suspected that Billy was the murderer, yet learning that his victims were people he knew meant that at least his family members were likely safe.

    ¡°What are the links, and how did you figure all of this stuff out?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°To be honest, that was a bit of a coincidence. I was actually looking for a link between you and Innu. You remember the new guy that recently joined our gang?¡± Kai asked and Gary just nodded. He had only seen their newest gang member once though, so he wasn¡¯t sure what exactly kind of link they could have had. Most importantly, how did Billy fit into all of this? Or the murders for that matter?

    ¡°See, turns out you weren¡¯t the only one who received a nice little gift from a secret admirer in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Innu was just as smart as you and let me take care of that problem. As you can imagine, I have no desire to keep sending over people and taking care of such things.¡±

    ¡°I did a little digging into who exactly would do such a thing. Unlike you, Innu doesn¡¯t really have any connection to the Underdogs nor does he have beef with any of the other gangs. The only thing that I could find that the two of you shared, apart from both being in the same gang now, was that both of you participated in the fighting club.¡±

    ¡°You know who else was participating? That¡¯s right Billy¡­ and so were his twotest victims. Now, here¡¯s where things get interesting. Not only were the deceased high schooler and university student both fighters, both of them fought against Billy Buster!¡±

    Now knowing that Billy was out for revenge, it made Gary wonder a number of things.

    ¡°So does that mean he¡¯s after everyone he ever fought?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Say, how do you know their names? I don¡¯t recall the news mentioning them. Heck, didn¡¯t the family of the high schooler even request for it to be scratched from the records?¡±

    ¡°Does that really matter now? Just be d that I did find out and that I discovered the connection. As for your first question, it¡¯s not as simple as Billy going after those he fought.¡± Kai replied. ¡°In fact, he seems to target those he lost against!¡±

    ¡°I have a feeling that the body parts that the two of you received might havee from his other two victims. I need the both of you to be careful. Heck, it might be for the best if the two of you could start hanging out and look after each other.¡±

    Having Kai figure out all of this, Gary started to wonder. Was there actually a way for Billy to track him down? Gary had never found a way, but Billy had somehow found the houses of all of those he had lost to.

    That information had toe from somewhere!

    Maybe, Billy hadn¡¯t found Gary¡¯s home due to being a werewolf but had seeked him out just due to this revenge. Otherwise how would he have found Innu¡¯s home?

    Now Gary knew that Billy was out for more blood, and it looked as if Innu had made it on the Omega¡¯s hit list. And all of this¡­ was his fault!

    All of the people who had died so far were because he had bitten Billy. On top of that, if Billy could find out where he lived somehow, it certainly meant that the Underdogs could.

    Gary hesitated a little before asking the question that was on his mind: ¡°How many people did Billy lose to?¡±

    ¡°Four, including you. Two of which are already dead and you can pretty much guess who he had lost thrice against, right?¡±

    ¡°Fu*k¡±

 Chapter 57: Get him, before me!

    <h4>Chapter 57: Get him, before me!</h4>

    Learning a bit more from Kai about the other victims, it seemed like Billy had been going through his revenge list by order of those he had lost to. Which in turn meant that Innu was next.

    ¡®From what I remember Innu is quite the strong fighter. He might be able to handle himself in most situations, but that¡¯s with a human as his opponent, not against a werewolf.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®It¡¯s also possible that he¡¯s gotten stronger because of the moon like me, and to top that off, he¡¯s apparently killed at least four people if we include his parents. Yeah, there¡¯s no way Innu will survive that on his own.¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re a more caring person than I thought. While that might not be the best quality for your average gang leader, for our little group it¡¯s not exactly bad.¡± Kai mentioned, making Gary flinch as he hadpletely forgotten about his role in their little gang.

    ¡°Anyway, I think it¡¯s for the best if you two start to hang out together. Although Billy seems to go after his victims in the order he lost against them, we have to ount for the fact that you got your ¡®present¡¯ before Innu. If that¡¯s something like his calling card, then he might being for you first actually. Either way, there¡¯s safety in numbers and at least you know that he¡¯sing after you.¡±

    ¡°After your practice, give Innu a call. Let me add his number to your phone. I was going to get you two to meet up with each other more often anyway. Use that time to learn how to cooperate for the next underground fight.¡±

    Gary was in the middle of giving his small secret phone to Kai when he realised something.

    ¡°Come again? What¡¯s that about an underground fight?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Oh yeah, I never got a chance to tell you since someone managed to get themselves excluded yesterday. This weekend our little gang will have their gang debut and the two of you will be entering in a tag team match against Eton High.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a couple of days after that rugby match of yours. Who knows, maybe you¡¯ll see your opponents out on the field.¡± Kai casually said as he headed for the door.

    ¡®Sh*t, out of all things. I¡¯ve barely had a single match, never mind with someone else. Heck, it was because of that stupid match in the first ce that I ended up turning Billy!¡¯

    ¡°Wait.¡± Gary called out, stopping Kai before he left. ¡°I wanted to ask you about something.¡±

    Kai sighed as if he knew what the question would be.

    ¡°Let me guess, you¡¯re worried that since Billy found out where the two of you lived, then it must mean that he had somehow gotten that information, which means the Underdogs might as well. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s in my own interest to prevent them from finding you. I¡¯ve already begun looking into how he found out about you in the first ce and once I do, I will make sure to make it impossible for them to do the same.¡±

    Although Gary was worried about this, it was more so about something else. At least he knew that Billy was only attacking opponents he had lost to, so maybe his family wasn¡¯t in any danger, but there was another problem.

    ¡°Thank you very much, but I was actually going to ask¡­ if you could spot me some money. I used up everything I¡¯ve earned to help my family pay off some overdue bills, but we got some new onesing in, so I needed some more. It won¡¯t be for long, you can just deduct it from whatever we¡¯ll earn in that tag team match!¡±

    Hearing these words, Kai¡¯s hand left the handle, and a smirk appeared across his face.

    ¡°Borrowing money from a gang, now that would be quite troublesome. wouldn¡¯t it? Although I would like to say yes, you¡¯re not the only one who is a bit short on cash. You see, I never really ounted for having to call for the cleaners, much less having to do it twice in a row. As you can imagine it¡¯s not exactly cheap to get them to work without asking questions and keeping it off the record.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m down to what I¡¯ve earned by betting on you, but those are gang funds. The rest of my cash is tied in with the Underdogs, so there¡¯s no way I can ess it without someone getting suspicious. You wouldn¡¯t want to be borrowing money from an Underdog member, now would you? That could end up being very dangerous.¡±

    ¡°If you need cash that badly, try Innu. Otherwise, you will just have to make do until the tag team match. I promise then you will get a big pay day, as long as you win of course.¡± Kai said, leaving the room before Gary could say anything else.

    Gary didn¡¯t have high hopes for Innu. They didn¡¯t really know each other, so why should he give him his money? Gary was the gang leader in name only and they both knew that. Since there wasn¡¯t much for him to do, the high schooler simply decided to stay in the small storage room with his thoughts until lunch was over so no one could see him.

    In the end, he hadn¡¯t figured out anything at all. He had pondered over going back to the woods, but then he would just have to get back to school, which seemed like a waste of time, and probably Energy. As such, Gary decided to just wait out thest two hours before club practice started.

    The Bond Mark on Tom was barely visible today, indicating that his best friend was far away, most likely still in the hospital. Gary couldn¡¯t imagine how worried his parents must have been after being notified that their boy had been assaulted to that degree.

    Then there was Gil. The Mark from their Forced Bond was also very weak, so it seemed as if he hadn¡¯t attended school as well. If he were to wager a guess, the bully was also in a hospital, though Gary hoped it wasn¡¯t the same one as Tom¡¯s.

    Gary didn¡¯t want to see his face so soon again anyway. The only one whose mist had been very noticeable ever since he had entered the school ground was Barry¡¯s. Gary knew that he had been there when Tom had been bullied, so he intended to pay him back.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Eventually, it was time for rugby practice. Gary turned up and people were actually pleased to see him, most noticeably Mr Root and ke. Thetter came up to Gary and gave him a friendly shake and a pull in. It was something that Gary had only seen people who were very close with each other.

    It wasn¡¯t quite a shake, nor was it a hug at the same time. To say the least Gary found it a little awkward.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°The two of us went through that crap with Eton High together and honestly I¡¯ve been thinking about that day for a while now. Without you, I could have seriously gotten hurt, it might have even ruined my entire rugby career. And I see you¡¯re getting better at rugby by the day. I think it will be good if the two of us stay close together.¡±

    Before, when interacting with ke, Gary had shrugged him off, and he was only starting to realise now it was because he had been¡­ jealous. With how perfect ke was, it had only highlighted how imperfect Gary had been. However, now that those on the rugby team had started to ept him, he was realising that ke was just a nice guy.

    Not everyone was happy to see Gary though. When he saw him and ke exchange their greeting, Barry¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. The strange thing was that Gary seemed to notice it and turned his head around, though Barry looked away, as if avoiding the death stare.

    ¡°Are any of the team members still causing you problems?¡± ke asked, noting the change in Gary¡¯s mood. For a second he considered whether confiding in the helpful athlete, but ultimately decided against it. Even if ke had some power to punish the duo who had done that to Tom, most likely by getting them kicked off the team, that wouldn¡¯t satisfy the anger that was inside of Gary.

    ¡°Thanks for the offer, but it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s nothing that I can¡¯t deal with.¡± Gary shook his head, walking past ke, not even looking at him again, but just staring at one person.

    Rugby practice that day was probably the worst performance Gary had ever put on since he had be a werewolf. The main reason for that was his Energy problem. With no reliable way to replenish it, he hadn¡¯t used Charging Heart even once and he was trying to conserve his Energy as best as he could, which tranted poorly for his team.

    He might have gotten into trouble, but as it turned out he wasn¡¯t the only one who was performing subpar. Barry had messed up catching the ball as it was thrown to him a couple of times in a pass, thumbling and allowing it to fall to the ground.

    After yelling at them all a couple of times, Mr Root decided to call off the practice early today, in hopes that maybe some rest would do them some good. He hoped that by that time Gil might be back as well. As the others left the field, Gary turned around to stare at Barry again, causing him to flinch.

    ¡®Damn it, I can¡¯t concentrate on the practice match at all today, and it¡¯s all because of him! Gil¡­he was in the hospital and he was badly beaten. I can¡¯t prove it, but it just has to have been him! He might not look that part, but after what he did to Steven it¡¯s clear that he¡¯s hiding a few things. I knew we shouldn¡¯t have messed with his friend, and look what¡¯s happened now.¡¯

    ¡®The way he¡¯s looking at me, I just know he¡¯s going toe after me next.¡¯ Barry thought.

    Eventually, everyone ended up going to the locker room, and were happily getting changed, but for Barry, he had yet to open his locker to change out of his rugby uniform. His hand went to open it, but it was visibly shaking.

    ¡®That stare¡­ I can tell, he¡¯s¡­he¡¯s going to kill me! If it wasn¡¯t for the guy saving Gil from his assant, Gary would have surely killed him! I can¡¯t let it end like that!¡¯ Barry thought, as he opened up the locker, and inside there was a four inch kitchen knife he had brought with him from home.

    ¡®He can¡¯t kill me, if he¡¯s dead!¡¯

 Chapter 58: Low on Energy

    <h4>Chapter 58: Low on Energy</h4>

    Gary had left as soon as rugby practice was over, following an unexpected message on his secret phone from an unknown number. Given the content of the message it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out who it was though.

    [Kai gave me this number and told me to text you. He told me that the two of you have already talked about our little Billy situation and our uing tag team match. I¡¯ll be waiting here.] The sender had attached his location on the map, marking his position.

    Honestly, Gary wasn¡¯t looking forward to meeting Innu so soon, mainly because the high schooler figured that the other would want to either have a sparring match or just train together. Until he had a way to solve his Energy problem, neither option seemed like a good idea.

    [52/110 Energy]

    His Energy points were going down far faster than he had expected, even though he hadn¡¯t felt like he had actually done much during rugby practice. It seemed as if just staying awake was taking up Energy today.

    The primary reason why Gary had decided to meet up with Innu was in hopes of solving this very same problem. He intended to follow Kai¡¯s suggestion and ask his fellow gang member to borrow some money.

    Arriving at the location, Gary was surprised to see that it was quite a nice looking park. There was arge open green field where people were ying football, a set of swings and some families. It was half way between Gary¡¯s school and Innu¡¯s school.

    ¡®I don¡¯t even know what gang runs this part of Slough. Although the Underdogs have most of the Slough under their thumb they don¡¯t own all of it, this ce is so¡­peaceful.¡¯ Gary thought, which was why he was wondering why Innu had asked him to meet up in such a ce.

    ¡°Over here!¡± Innu shouted, waving with one hand in his pocket. The first thing Gary noticed was that both of the fighter¡¯s hands were still bandaged up. He looked almost exactly the same as when Gary had first seen him in the arena, the only difference was that he was wearing familiar looking clothes. It took him a moment to recognise them as the gang uniform that Kai had prepared for them.

    ¡°What gives? Here I do my best to make myself presentable by wearing our gang outfit, yet our ¡®mighty leader¡¯ isn¡¯t wearing the clothes himself?¡± Gary wasn¡¯t sure whether Innu sounded more annoyed or embarassed about the fact that he was the only one who seemed to have put some thought into this meeting.

    ¡°Sorry? I didn¡¯t really consider this like a gang meeting and I also just came out of school. Besides, is it really wise to wear our colours so openly? Isn¡¯t this like sending a challenge to all the other gangs?¡± Gary asked.

    At this point, Innu couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer and let out a big sigh. Someone who was in a gang wasn¡¯t supposed to act like that in front of their leader, but the more he interacted with Gary, the more he was convinced that Kai must seriously be pulling his leg about who the actual leader of their gang was.

    ¡°As long as the big gangs don¡¯t know who we are and who is supporting us, they won¡¯t be messing with us. They just don¡¯t roll that way. Why do you think so many colour gangs are able to roam around freely sprouting their colours? Unless it gets pretty serious, those behind them don¡¯t usually get involved.¡±

    ¡°Secondly, brandishing your colours is the whole point. A gang isn¡¯t meant to show any fear, or back down from those around them. If you¡¯re serious about starting this gang stuff then you need to do it right!¡±

    Gary wanted to stop Innu there. This whole creating a gang business had never been his idea in the first ce. However, exining to the other that Kai had practically forced him to act as their leader, didn¡¯t really seem like it would be possible or actually help in this situation.

    Innu had already gotten in a fighting stance, pointing for Gary to go opposite him in therge grass field. They weren¡¯t even too far away from where the kids were so the parents were able to easily see them.

    ¡°Really, here?¡± Gary questioned.

    ¡°Well from what I¡¯ve heard, it¡¯s not like we have a hideout yet, so yes, here. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re shy, Green Fang. When I fight, I always intend to win. You¡¯re my partner so I need to see what you got.¡± Innu exined and straight away threw out a kick.

    Out of reflex Gary tried to evade it, but he was too slow and as such was only able to partially block the attack. As soon as it hit though, he realised how heavy the hit was and just how powerful the strike was.

    [-5 HP]

    ¡®Damn that hurt, and it didn¡¯t feel like he was serious yet. Sh*t, if I keep losing Health then my Energy will be used up to heal me once I¡¯m idle, which will just worsen my situation!¡¯

    Innu didn¡¯t give Gary much time to think and just kept on attacking. His opponent couldn¡¯t do much but try his best to evade and block, but it was near impossible for him to counter given his passive fighting style. Thanks to the buff the moon provided him, Gary¡¯s speed was faster than usual, but it was a far cry from him using Charging Heart.

    After some more of what could only be called a ¡®one-sided bullying¡¯ Innu called off the fight. Gary was very thankful for that since he was left with merely 31 points of Energy and the pangs in his stomach were getting stronger.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You seem distracted and a little¡­ weak?¡± Innu asked. ¡°Are you that worried about that whole Billy situation?¡±

    Gary shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m exhausted. As I told you, I just came from rugby practice, and these days I can¡¯t really afford to eat anything decent. Actually I was hoping you could-¡°

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Innu replied straight away, not even letting Gary finish his sentence. ¡°Finance wise, I¡¯m not exactly in the best situation myself. Otherwise, I would have never ended up joining your gang. If you¡¯re really hungry, you¡¯ll figure something out, I had to do the same. Whether you need to hunt for food yourself, steal or what, a really hungry person will find a way.¡±

    ¡°Alright that might exin theck of energy, but not you being distracted. Look, I know Kai said the two of us should look out for each other, but honestly you just need to look out for yourself. You don¡¯t need to worry about me.I also don¡¯t have time to babysit you either.¡±

    ¡°Heck! I beat the guy three times already and now that I know that he might be after me, I won¡¯t mind beating him a fourth time. Maybe I¡¯ll even get some sort of reward if I can hand him over to the police.¡±

    Gary wanted to say that Billy had changed since then, but there was no way that Innu would believe him if he started talking about werewolves. He would probably consider him to be crazy on top of being an ipetent leader and fighter.

    ¡°Anyway, that was my pep talk. We can meet up and train here before the match. When you have more energy I¡¯ll show you a few things, you might know about fighting, but you don¡¯t know how to fight.¡± Innu said and got ready to leave. ¡°Next time make sure to have more energy! Also,e in uniform, so I won¡¯t look like an idiot!¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gary called out. ¡°If¡­something happens¡­ if you happen to see Billy or if you think he¡¯s somewhere near you, promise you¡¯ll text or call me! I¡¯ll be there straight away!¡±

    ¡°I already told you, there¡¯s no-¡°

    ¡°Please, just tell me!¡± Gary insisted.

    Innu looked into Gary¡¯s eyes. He didn¡¯t know why it was so important for his leader, but there was more fire in his eyes when he made his request than the whole time the two of them had been fighting.

    ¡°Sure, whatever.¡± Innu shrugged and waved him goodbye as he walked off.

    [30/110 Energy]

    [Your Energy is now extremely low]

    [in order to conserve Energy, Marks will no longer be visible]

    ¡®Huh? Wait, that was an option? Couldn¡¯t you have told me about that earlier?!¡¯ Gary felt a migraineing up due to the system¡¯s seeming antics. ¡®Well, it¡¯s as if knowing that would have solved the issue anyway. Looks like I have no choice now, I¡¯m going to have to use the secret stash. I¡¯ve never felt this pain before.¡¯

    The mist from the Marks that would usually hover around in the air had disappeared. The only good thing was that the Energy was now decreasing at a seemingly lower rate. It seemed like nearly everything the Werewolf body did required Energy.

    Gary thought about how much meat he had already eaten since he had be a werewolf and more importantly how much money it had cost him. He shook his head, to think about something else. Gary passed by his school and headed home. The more he thought about food the hungrier he was getting.

    ¡®Is¡­ is this hunger or is my eyesight worsening as well? ¡­ No, my sense of smell is also¡­ could it be that I¡¯m bing more regr?¡¯ Gary realised his situation. He checked his menu. While his Energy points were low, his stats remained unchanged, which was a good thing to find out.

    While walking down the street, Gary was pondering whether he should stop by the gym after replenishing his Energy. He had missed yesterday¡¯s session and now that he had increased his base Strength, he was sure he would have to train even more if he wanted to further raise it.

    Although his hearing had also suffered, he noticed the sound of someoneing up from behind. Gary didn¡¯t think anything of that. It was still the middle of the day and he was on a public street. At most he thought that he might have dallied around too long and someone wanted to pass him. Garry turned around to let whoever it was pass him, but in that moment he recognised the guy behind him.

    ¡°Barry?!¡± He called out in surprise.

    The next second, Barry had closed the distance between the two. Suddenly, Gary felt a familiar type of pain. It was a dull ache that continued to worsen, and a warm liquid trickled down his leg.

    [You have been stabbed!]

 Chapter 59: First kill

    <h4>Chapter 59: First kill</h4>

    [You have been stabbed!]

    [- 30 HP]

    [70/100 HP]

    [While your Energy is extremely low, emergency healing function is unavable!]

    [You are bleeding!]

    [Your Health will decrease by - 4 HP per minute until you¡¯re patched up or healed.]

    Gary didn¡¯t need the system to figure out that he had been stabbed, it was a memory that he would probably never be able to forget. The really worrying part were the messages following it. Unless Gary could somehow replenish his Energy to have his system automatically heal the wound, or at least bandage it, he would bleed out and die.

    ¡®Barry, you damn bastard! Where the hell did youe from and why did you stab me?! First you hurt Tom, and then you do this! I should just¡­just!¡¯ Gritting his teeth, his bloodlust was leading him to only one logical conclusion. ¡®I should just kill you!¡¯

    Barry looked up, yet rather than seeing a scared expression on his victim¡¯s face, Gary was the picture of pure unbridled anger. He had expected him to be either screaming, scared or in shock, but instead his schoolmate seemed ready to take him along to the next world.

    Instinctively, Barry stepped away from him. His hand, which had still been on the knife handle, ended up pulling the weapon out. He had never stabbed anyone before, so he himself was still in shock at what he had done.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Barry cried out, attempting to stab Gary one more time. However, Gary stood there, already waiting for the other¡¯s attack.

    ¡®Screw you!¡¯ He thought as he activated Charging Heart.

    [18/110 Energy]

    Showing no hesitation, he grabbed the knife before it could stab him again. Gary held it in ce with his Strength, even though his hand was now cut.

    [-5 HP]

    [65/100 HP]

    [A deep cut has appeared on your Hand]

    [-5 HP]

    [Your blood loss quickens - 2HP]

    [63/100 HP]

    ¡®What kind of psycho is he? How can someone just grab onto a knife like that?! How isn¡¯t he hurt or scared from all that bleeding?!¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re a monster!¡± Barry eventually blurted out. Not wasting time on talking back to his assant, Gary swung his hand out. It was too fast for Barry to even see as Gary hadn¡¯t held back. His strike connected to the right side of his head, close to his temple.

    His whole body turned and he nearly fell over. Lacking the power, he let go of the knife in his hand and Gary kicked the knife down the alleyway, before kicking the bully in the same direction.

    ¡°Why¡­did I even try¡­why did I even think about getting that marking off!¡± Gary muttered, yet it seemed more as if he was speaking to himself than to him. He knelt down and punched Barry in the head once more, leaving therger teenager dazed. Gary¡¯s punches were harder than anything he had ever received, even though the bully had actually seen and had his fair share of fights.

    Barry soon felt his body being dragged deeper into the alleyway, being pulled by the hoodie he had worn to not get recognised immediately by passerby. He didn¡¯t know why the other was doing that, but whatever his reasoning was, it couldn¡¯t be good for him.

    Desperate to get out of this situation, Barry looked for anything that might help. He managed to find a brick on the ground and quickly picked it up. Gary was still busy dragging him along, so he was surprised when the other suddenly jumped off the ground and smashed him in the head with a brick.

    [-10HP]

    [51/100 HP]

    [Your skull is partially fractured.]

    [Congrattions! After repeatedly taking a beating your body has grown stronger. Don¡¯t get used to this though, you might lose some brain cells.]

    [Endurance +1]

    Unsurprisingly, Gary let go of Barry. For a moment, he even saw ck and by the time he recovered, he only saw the backside of Barry running away. Following an instinct, he immediately started to run after his target. After closing the distance, he leapt up in the air,nding on Barry¡¯s shoulders, causing him to fall to the ground and smash his head on the floor. Quickly turning him over, Barry was now pinned, by the weight of his knees, but was too weak and had no energy to try to lift Gary off him anyway.

    ¡°What the fu*k is wrong with you? Not only did you torture Tom to the point he had to go to the hospital, you freaking stabbed me in broad daylight and tried to bash my head in! All because your stupid friend might have to sit on the bench!¡± Gary shouted at Barry as he had pinned him down. He no longer cared about what would happen to him.

    He wasn¡¯t using fists, instead he was attacking Barry as if his hands were made from ws. His nails had ripped through the other¡¯s school uniform, and were now piercing Barry¡¯s chest. Skin was being ripped off from it, as the poor high schooler continued to scream in pain.

    ¡°HELP ME! A monster¡­ he¡¯s a monster!¡± Barry could only pray that someone would help him, and hear his cries for help.

    ¡°Did you stop when Tom asked? If it¡¯s my life or a scumbag like yours, I¡¯ll easily take yours!¡± Gary thought as he lifted his hand once more.

    ¡°Police, put your hands up and get off him!¡± A man shouted.

    Gary could tell the voice wasing from the front, but instead of listening to the police officer, he decided to pull up his hood, and began to run back into the alleyway.

    The middle-aged policeman came running forward and wanted to chase the culprit, but looking at the state of the person on the ground it was obvious that the high schooler needed an ambnce and first aid straight away, perhaps by the time they arrived it would be toote.

    ¡°This is Chief of Police, Anton Milstun, reporting in. We have a culprit who has attacked what looks like a high schooler, heading down 163 street alleyway. Need an ambnce sent to my location ASAP.¡±

    Anton quickly went down to look at the kid¡¯s chest, and could see that the wounds were deep, and the markings looked as if they were done by ws. It didn¡¯t look like something a normal human would be able to aplish.

    That¡¯s when he noticed that the boy was mumbling something under his breath.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, conserve your energy. The ambnce is on the way.¡± Anton said.

    Listening carefully he could just make out.

    ¡°M-monster ¡­monster¡­¡±Coming out from Barry¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Was it an Altered?¡± Anton wondered.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Running through multiple alleyways as fast as he could, Gary was still bleeding out and to make matters worse his Energy was still incredibly low. His Charging Heart had alsoe to an end and he thought he at least had made it far enough to get away from the policeman.

    ¡®Stupid police! Only there when you don¡¯t freaking want them to be¡­ why don¡¯t they go and stop some real criminals for a change!¡¯ Gary cursed, as he went to lean against a wall and was applying pressure to his wound.

    ¡°Craaap!¡± Gary shouted out in pain. ¡°What do I do now¡­I was going to¡­I was going to - what was I going to do?¡°

    Then it hit him.

    ¡®Was I really just about to eat another person to replenish my Energy? If the police didn¡¯t stop me¡­¡¯

    Gary shuddered to finish that thought. Not being able to move much, and with his Energy about to hit 0, there weren¡¯t many options he had left. He was far away from home, not even sure where exactly he had run off to.

    Suddenly he heard the sound of squeaking. Squinting his eyes, he could make out the shape of several rats who had scurried over to him. Curious as to what was in front of them, and then eventually a few of them hade out.

    ¡°I¡¯m so¡­hungry.¡± Gary mumbled, and as soon as one of the rats got within distance, he immediately grabbed it.

    The rat was struggling and bit down on Gary¡¯s finger.

    ¡°I¡­deserve that for what I¡¯m about to do¡­ I¡¯m sorry little guy, but I need to live.¡± Gary apologised.

    [+10 Energy points gained]

 Chapter 60: The hunting target

    <h4>Chapter 60: The hunting target</h4>

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure how many times he had to close his eyes and just continue chewing, but eventually the message that he had been waiting for finally arrived.

    [Your Energy has been fully restored]

    [110/110 Energy]

    The alleyway had been filled with rats that Gary could use, and after consuming the first one his Energy was being replenished allowing to catch more. Three ratster and his emergency healing finally kicked in, though it meant that he would have to eat even more of the rodents.

    On the plus side, the wounds on his body and hand had started to heal as if it was magic, but what he had done, what he had eaten to get to this point, felt like a distant memory in his mind.

    The taste of the rats themselves had actually been far better than he had anticipated, though he had the feeling that this was thanks to him being part werewolf now. He was sure if he was still aplete human, he would have thought very differently. Nevertheless, they had the same iron-like taste that he had begun to enjoy in the steaks he had been purchasing from the convenience store.

    [Daily quest achieved]

    [Eat 2kg of meat]

    [285/460 exp]

    Walking out of the alleyway, Gary used his enhanced senses to check if anyone was following him, but so far he seemed safe. However, he had to do something about his clothes. They were a blood mess, not least of all because of his impromptu snacks.

    ¡®Blood is so hard to get out of a white shirt¡­ yeah I will have to dump this one. There¡¯s no way in hell I can get the stench of rat entrails out of it. I¡¯m going to have to buy a new one. Here, I tried so hard to save that emergency money and yet I¡¯m still going to have to use it.¡¯ Gary thought.

    For the time being, he kept the uniform with him as he needed to find some way to dispose of it discreetlyter, preferably somewhere far, far away from his fight with barry. He still hadn¡¯t figured out what to do with his other clothes that were covered in blood from the construction site and he had no desire to have a closet full of ¡®evidence¡¯.

    ¡®The taste of those rats¡­they weren¡¯t that bad, and it¡¯s cheaper than buying meat.¡¯ Still, the thought of what he had just done was making him feel quite sick. It was then he heard the sound of some pigeons and could see them flying above.

    ¡®I suppose it doesn¡¯t have to be rats necessarily. It should also work with other things, right? If I can keep up my Energy without having to spend money, and if it stops me from¡­¡¯ Gary didn¡¯t want to finish that thought. He changed into his rugby uniform for now, cing the bloody clothes in his bag, and headed home. The high schooler decided against going to the gym for now and he wasn¡¯t sure he would go there after having dropped off his bag at home.

    The good news was that Gary had not only replenished his Energy, but that he had essentially solved his problem on how to get a free supply. At least for theing days he could test out his new skill and more, but there was still the problem with Barry.

    ¡®Will he tell anything to the cops? I mean he was the one who stabbed me. Everything I did was pretty much just self-defense. If he tells the truth, he will just get in trouble as well.¡¯

    After getting home, speaking to his mother and sister, it was this thought that was making it hard for him to fall asleep. Eventually he saw a familiar message as the clock hit midnight.

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [6 days until the next full moon]

    ¡ª¡ª

    Earlier in the day, Anton Millstun had stayed behind to investigate the crime scene. More police had arrived to help him while the ambnce had given the injured high schooler some treatment, before taking him to the hospital.

    After reporting what he himself had witnessed, the Chief of Police had left his subordinates to gather any clues, while he himself had decided to go to the hospital, hoping to talk to the victim. Despite it being dark outside, he continued to wait for the boy to wake up.

    While in the hallway, a young police officer named Roo Game walked up to Anton with a few files in his hand, but he had a worried look on his face as he approached.

    ¡°Just tell me what it is.¡± Anton sighed and waved to Roo to hurry up.

    ¡°Yes, Sir. Unfortunately, it seems like we will have to hand over the case to White Rose. We tested the weapon that was found at the scene for fingerprints. It appears that the one we have apprehended isn¡¯t the victim, but actually the assant. However, we have also found the blood of what we can only assume to be the actual ¡®victim¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The blood st report states that our injured friend most likely stabbed the one you have scared away. Now here¡¯s where things get interesting. While we don¡¯t have that mysterious person¡¯s identity in the database, we do have this blood on record.¡±

    ¡°You remember the gang members that we found at the construction site. Well the blood matches up. Whoever that person is, he was at the construction site on that day.¡±

    Anton let out an even bigger sigh, because he now understood why White Rose would grab this case. If the blood matched up, it was most likely the same Altered who had killed the gang members that had attacked the high schooler.

    ¡°What about Billy Bruntin? He was a high school student and hisst two victims were teenagers. Is there any possible link to him?¡± Anton asked.

    ¡°Not that we are aware of. We have Billy¡¯s suspected DNA on file that we recovered from his home. White Rose has made a forensics check, but his DNA wasn¡¯t the one found at the construction site nor anyway near the alleyway or the other cases. It seems these are two separate Altered killing cases.¡±

    Shaking his head, Anton was wondering what the world wasing to.

    ¡°Thanks Rookie. Report this to White Rose, and while you¡¯re at it, try to look for some links between the two. I know that there hasn¡¯t been anything so far, but the fact that these are both high school students and have run in with suspected Alterds, I just have a feeling this whole thing is connected.¡±

    It was then that the sound of panic was heard not too far from where they were. The nurse came storming out of the room, and quickly brought a doctor back with her.

    Even more panic started to ensue, and they were wondering just what was going on. Inside the hospital room itself, Barry was shaking. His whole body seemed to be undergoing some type of fit and he had foam in front of his mouth.

    Not too long after, a certain someone received a notification screen.

    ¡ª¡ª

    [Congrattions, you have sessfully hunted your first Marked!]

    [Reward: Additional stat points]

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

 Chapter 61: A deal

    <h4>Chapter 61: A deal</h4>

    Today was the second night that Tom had to stay inside the hospital. Following the advice of their school nurse, Tom had made an appointment and given his situation he didn¡¯t have to wait for long. He had quickly been assigned a private room, though he ended up having to sleep over on Monday since the surgeon didn¡¯t have any gap to get to him.

    Tom didn¡¯t mind that. The hospital staff had given him enough pain killers that he had easily slept until Tuesday morning. When he woke up, he saw that he had seventeen missed calls from his mother alone, and nine more from his father. At some point, his father had notified him via a message that the hospital had already informed them and that the two of them would be with him this evening.

    With a few more hours to go until his dental surgery, Tom had browsed the web via his phone. The first thing he had searched for was any recent news. He half closed his eyes as he read the headlines expecting to see Gary¡¯s name or the headlines reading Werewolf caught, but there was none of that and just news on Billy.

    His surgery was rather uneventful. From what he had been told, imnting a new tooth was a rather routine procedure and they had also taken care of the cuts that had appeared in his mouth.

    ¡®I wonder how Gary is coping. Where did he run off to after leaving me at the nurse¡¯s office? I¡¯m seriously worried. I mean, if he ever found out who did this to me, there¡¯s a good chance he could¡­¡¯ Tom gulped. ¡®Kill those two.¡¯

    At that moment, the two people who were responsible for Tom¡¯s absence from school burst into the room through the door.

    ¡°Tom, how are you feeling? Did the surgery go well? Let¡¯s see that beautiful smile of yours.¡± His mother called out as she rushed over to his bedside. She hugged him to the point that Tom had trouble breathing. He tapped his mother on the shoulder, asking her to release him.

    Noticing this, his mother pulled back and allowed Tom to give her a shy smile. It had been a while since he had seen his parents, so it was a bit saddening that he had to be in a hospital for them to find some time. Both of them were still wearing their whiteb coats, indicating that they had rushed over from work to visit.

    Holly and James Green were like the living embodiments of what one pictured when hearing the word ¡®scientist¡¯, including the thick ck sses on their faces. Tom¡¯s mother was blonde and rather good-looking. Her son sometimesmented that he apparently got more from his father than his mother, including his ck hair, which was hard to see given his hair cut.

    James Green wasn¡¯t bad looking, but he wasn¡¯t exactly someone who would be described as ¡®handsome¡¯ either, which sometimes made Tom wonder how his father had managed to get his mother. His pet theory was that among all the other scientists, he was probably the best looking one.

    ¡®They must have even asked for time off to visit me.¡¯ Tom thought with a guilty conscience. Both of them worked in a Tier-2 city. Due to the long drive they wouldn¡¯t alwayse back every day.

    ¡°Tom, me and your father have been talking about your situation. We¡¯ve decided that it would be for the best if we move you from Slough to the tier 2 city Brocknell.¡±

    It took Tom a second toprehend what his mother had just said. It was one of the many possibilities he had considered his mother would say when she found out. While he wouldn¡¯t mind seeing his parents more often, it wasn¡¯t a given that would actually happen. From what he had heard, theirpany actually had sleeping rooms for their personal.

    ¡°We can sell up the house and all move into a nice apartment in Brocknell. We¡¯re not too far off frompleting our big project. With the bonus we will receive and our contracts being up for renewal soon, we¡¯ll be able to afford a ce that is just as nice as this one to move you to a new school. It will be much safer there.¡± Her approach was gentle, but Tom had already prepared what he would say to that.

    ¡°You know that¡¯s not true, Mum! It¡¯s only safer on the surface.¡± Tom replied looking into her eyes to stress that he wasn¡¯t having that. He understood that at the end of the day his caring parents were just trying to look out for him. ¡°There are even bigger gangs in the upper tier cities, you know that! It¡¯s just more behind the scenes. Besides, Westbridge is plenty safe. Something like this has never happened to me before, it was just a one time incident! I was just at the wrong ce at the wrong time!¡±

    Tom tried his best to downy the part, since he honestly didn¡¯t know what would happen the next time he met the bullying duo. He didn¡¯t want to leave his school and most of all he didn¡¯t want to leave his best friend Gary behind. He had never liked talking to people, but somehow Gary had made it seem less bothersome, making him treasure his friendship with his best friend all the more.

    There was a time in Tom¡¯s life when he had needed someone, yet his parents had been too busy with work, his teachers didn¡¯t seem approachable, so the only one he had been able to rely on had been Gary. Now that his best friend was struggling with a supernatural problem, he couldn¡¯t leave him to his own devices. He somehow had to convince his parents to let him stay in school.

    ¡°Even if it was a one-time thing, the important point is that it DID happen, which means it could very well happen again. We¡¯ve already been notified that you have refused to tell who exactly did that to you, so how can we believe that this was merely a one-time thing?¡±

    ¡°We live in a good part of Slough, so we¡¯re lucky to not be affected by what¡¯s been going on, but at the same time we can¡¯t bear to be away from you and allow such a thing to repeat. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, we¡¯ve heard about the recent high school student killings! That alone would be enough reason for us to pull you out of this ce!¡±

    Listening to his mother, she made good points, better than her son for wanting to stay in this dangerous town. It seemed she had already made up her mind, which meant there was only one person who could help him win over his mother.

    Although he lost more times than not, once in a while his father managed to pull through.

    ¡°Dad, I get good grades, I have good friends and even my teachers somewhat like me. If I get put into a different environment it could really affect me, and this year I¡¯ll have my exams. I can¡¯t afford to fail my GCSE¡¯s! Don¡¯t you two always talk about howpromise is often important for your experiments and research? Isn¡¯t there a way we canpromise?¡± Tom practically pleaded.

    His mother was more than a little annoyed that Tom had decided to ask his father for help. Nevertheless, she also knew that her son only did so when he regarded something as very important. His father, who had been quite calm during their visit so far, ced a hand on his wife¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°We canpromise and allow you to stay until the end of this school year then.¡± His father offered. ¡°By that point we should have finished with our project, so we will be ready to move you out once you get your results. You can¡¯t say we are affecting your studies then, can you?¡±

    It was clear from his mother¡¯s demeanor that she wanted to argue that a school year was too long. Tom knew his parents long enough to recognise that this was the best offer he would get out of them.

    ¡°Deal!¡±

    ¡®I just hope that time will be enough for us to figure out what to do with Gary¡¯s condition. How and when am I supposed to tell him that I will leave though?¡¯

    After this, the Green family ended up talking about a few other things like school, whether Tom had perhaps found ady he fancied and how things were with Gary. Eventually, his mother left the room to talk to the doctor to sort out a few things like the cost for the private room.

    ¡°Dad, say your research is about Altered beings, right. You must have seen a lot of them, but have you ever seen an Altered based on a wolf?¡± Tom asked, when it was just him and his father.

    His father thought about it for a moment.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, I haven¡¯t so far. Many that resemble some type of dog breed but no wolf per se. Still, with how many types there are out there and with new ones getting discovered every so often, I don¡¯t doubt that there is one out there.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not what we think of, since they¡¯re based on animals that don¡¯t even seem toe from our world, but at least something resembling our wolf. Although when I say the word ¡®Wolf¡¯ and ¡®Altered¡¯ together, it just makes me think of ¡®Werewolves¡¯.¡± His father started to chuckle softly.

    Tom joined him, only his was more due to nervousness. He was wondering right now how his friend was exactly coping.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At a certain apartment, Gary had still been unable to get any sleep. Putting his sheets over his head hadn¡¯t really helped. After getting the notification the high schooler hade to a realisation. He pulled off his sheets and looked around. He could see the vague outline of a red mist and a green one, but that was it. The other marking was no longer there, he could no longer see it.

    ¡®I-I¡­ I killed.him¡­¡¯

 Chapter 62: Kill again

    <h4>Chapter 62: Kill again</h4>

    Due to the events that had urred, Gary had trouble sleeping. It was a little past midnight, and he had already received his usual message stating that it would be the full moon in six days.

    ¡®If I can¡¯t find a way to get rid of these markings, in six days time, both Barry and Gil could be in serious trouble.¡¯ was Gary¡¯s thought.

    A few secondster, after having this thought, Gary had received the other message about receiving stat points for sessfully having gotten rid of one of his marks.

    ¡®Whoa, what the hell just happened?¡¯

    At that moment, his body started to feel stronger. His muscles bulged for a few seconds, and his insides started to adjust before rxing again. It was a simr feeling to when Gary distributed his stat points, so he immediately went to look at his system screen.

    Level 4

    [Health 100]

    [Energy 110]

    [Exp 385/460]

    [Strength 7]

    [Dexterity 4]

    [Endurance 10]

    The first thing Gary could see was he had gained 100 exp points. As for his stats, one thing had improved among them all, and that was his Dexterity.

    [After sessfully hunting a target, a single stat point has randomly been allocated]

    Reading the notification, Gary understood what had happened. Still, he wondered if the stat could go into his health or energy. If it couldn¡¯t, then it was better to use his stat points from levelling up and put them towards Health or energy.

    It was then checking out his system that Gary had seen something else and another notification screen.

    [Marked 2/5]

    [Although you had sessfully hunted your first target, you didn¡¯t eat him!]

    [In order to grow stronger, consume your hunting target for additional stat points]

    At first, Gary was just happy about receiving additional strength. His goal was to get stronger so he could help out his family, but then when he realised what had happened, who¡¯s marking had disappeared. Everything was starting to make sense. The system message had exined it to him. There could only have been one person.

    Gary had the sheets covered over his head, and he was shaking at the thought.

    ¡®I was the one that ended his life, his life. He actually won¡¯t live to see tomorrow. He won¡¯t ever think or feel again.¡¯ Shaking his head, he started to try to reason with himself. ¡®But he tried to kill me? It could have easily been me not seeing the next day.

    ¡®He actually stabbed me, that¡­that bastard stabbed me!¡¯ Thinking about this, Gary was tensing his fist. The more he repeated the scene in his head, the angrier he got.

    Images back to when he was in the alleyway appeared, of Gary on top of Barry, having pinned him to the ground. It had continued off, from before the policeman had interrupted him. At that moment, Gary saw images of himself digging into Barry and eating his flesh.

    ¡®If you were going to die anyway, you could have at least let me eat your flesh. What a waste of energy and probably stat points as well.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Apse in thought, Gary didn¡¯t know what it was and soon pulled the bedsheets off his head.

    ¡®What was that thought? Why did I just think like that? I¡­I don¡¯t feel like myself anymore. It¡¯s more like another personality is inside of me, trying to get out!¡¯ Gary¡¯s body was sweating.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Gary moaned, pulling the bed sheets towards him and ripping them slightly with his fingernails. He killed someone, and he didn¡¯t even feel bad about it. He didn¡¯t understand what was going on.

    ¡°Gary¡­is everything okay?¡± His sister asked, rubbing her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re covered in sweat. Did you have a bad dream or something?¡±

    A bad dream. Gary wished it was all a bad dream at this moment, but for some reason, seeing his sister next to him had calmed him down. The strange thoughts he was having were chucked to the back of his mind. He couldn¡¯t let his sister see him like that.

    Amy started to rumble through her drawer by her side until eventually pulling out what looked like a pendant. She then walked over from her bed to Gary¡¯s, who flinched a little. It was a strange reaction, but his sister wasn¡¯t scared and carried on moving forward and then slowly ced the pendant around his neck.

    ¡°I want you to have this. I realised the other day when we were speaking you have a lot on your mind, and for you to act out like that at school and now have trouble sleeping, you must be under a lot of stress.

    ¡°When I have exams and stuff, I just hold onto that and start thinking about dad. It¡¯s the only thing I have left from him. I think you need it more than I do right now.¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure what Amy had done. cing the strange pendant over him, it felt like a magic spell. All his worries were disappearing. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a cebo effect or just because it hade from his sister.

    ¡°This was from Dad. I can¡¯t take this.¡± Gary said, attempting to pull it off, but she soon pushed down on his hand.

    ¡°Please, I need some sleep, so wear the damn thing.¡± Amy turned around, covered herself in sheets, and went back to sleep.

    The small interaction he had with his sister had set his mind clear again, but it didn¡¯t let him escape from the reality of what he had just done. As Gary was going to try and get some shut-eye, his sensitive ears could pick something else up.

    It sounded like someone was sobbing. Looking to his left and seeing that his sister was fast asleep, Gary decided to head towards the noise, and that¡¯s when he could see it. His mother was sitting in the kitchen at the dining table with a bunch of letters in front of her.

    Her hands were constantly rubbing her face as she was highly stressed out.

    ¡®What am I going to do? I can¡¯t dy it any longer, but if we move to a tier four city. Then their life, their future and everything will be ruined for them.¡¯ His mother thought.

    She could see a shadow cast over the papers looking up. It was her son Gary, and in his hand, he had something for her.

    ¡°Take it, mum, it¡¯s money. Money I have been saving up for a long time. I¡¯ve been doing things here and there,ing up with businesses with Tom.¡± Gary answered. He was hoping he could havee up with a better lie, but in the end, he wasn¡¯t able to.

    His mother, looking at the money in Gary¡¯s hand, could tell that there were a lot of bills. It was no small amount for a high schooler. Which meant either he had been saving money for a long time or Gary had done something else to get the money.

    ¡°Gary, we¡¯re okay-¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± Gary replied. ¡°Me and Amy both know we are not okay. We know how hard you work, mum. I always wanted to help. Now¡¯s not the time to be stubborn. If we can¡¯t pay some of these bills, we will have to move. So just take the money.¡± Gary said, leaving it out on the table and walking back to his bed.

    He had learnt something from Amy. If someone refuses to take something, then just give it to them and run away before they can refuse.

    ¡°Gary.¡± His mother called out. ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    Heading back to bed, Gary realised something speaking to his sister and mother. His motivation for doing everything he had done in the first ce. He needed to make money and protect his family from the members of the Underdogs.

    Damion and the others had killed plenty, of course they had. The gangs in the area and others were killed every day. They didn¡¯t hesitate, and these were the type of people he was up against.

    ¡®There¡¯s a good chance that at some point, I may need to kill again and if it¡¯s for the sake of protecting my family. I¡¯ll do it in a heartbeat.¡¯ Gary told himself.

    What Gary didn¡¯t know was that this exact thought that he had woulde far sooner than he thought. Outside his apartment block, a figure could be seen standing through the smog staring at the very top into Gary¡¯s apartment building.

 Chapter 63: Alternative

    <h4>Chapter 63: Alternative</h4>

    Gary still had three days of exclusion left, which meant that today was another day that he was technically free to do as he wished until practice time, while everyones else his age would be stuck in school. Most kids would have enjoyed this time off, yet he couldn¡¯t.

    For one, Gary didn¡¯t want to worry his mother, so he had to keep up the ruse that everything was fine by leaving for school. However, even if that hadn¡¯t been the case, the high schooler had far too much on his agenda to be sitting around watching TV.

    There was still so much for him to figure out about the Werewolf System. Barry¡¯s Mark might be gone, but there was still the one he had left on Gil just two days ago. Judging by the direction of both remaining Marks, it appeared as if he and Tom had already headed to school today.

    Then there was still the rampant Omega wolf on the loose, but with the police looking for him, he would have a hard time finding him. After yesterday¡¯s run-in with the police going after Billy was even riskier. He had been stabbed by the deceased bully so his blood had been left all over the scene. If they hadn¡¯t been looking for him before, they would surely do so now that Barry had died.

    The high schooler was lucky that he had no criminal record, so they didn¡¯t have his DNA on file. However, if he ever did get taken in as a suspect, it would be easy enough to match up his DNA with the other two events.

    If he became a criminal he could help no one. The better option was to look out for Innu and just wait for Billy. Not really knowing much about him though all he could do was hope he texted him if he got in trouble.

    For the first time this week Gary was making his way to the gym. Thest two days he had been unable to go there, Monday he had encountered the Altered Hunter and yesterday he had been stabbed. He was also eager to test how his extra Strength tranted in terms of power.

    Gary noticed the questioning looks he received from the other gym goers. They seemed to wonder why a high schooler was there this early in the morning. Some thought he was skipping school, others gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed his school startedte, yet in the end nobody came over to bother him. All of them seemed to agree that it was better for Gary to be here than to roam the streets.

    The high schooler proceeded to follow the system¡¯s instructions while reminding himself what he had learned today. ¡®I know now that I can gain additional stat points for sessfully hunting a Mark even when it isn¡¯t the full moon. I only got a single point, but I would have gotten more if I had eaten him as well¡­¡¯

    ¡®I have no idea whether Billy also has a system or not, but if he gets stronger the same way I do, then he must have gotten a lot stronger after eating his victims. There¡¯s a good chance that he¡¯ll be as strong if not more so than me under Charging Heart. I have to find a way to close that gap by ying with my system!¡¯

    [Daily questplete]

    [5 Exp received]

    [390/460 Exp]

    Receiving the notification after hisst rep, Gary took a quick shower, before heading to a nearby park. It wasn¡¯t the same one Innu had called him to, but this one was closer to their apartment and most importantly it contained a forest inside.

    Gary waspletely broke after giving his mother his emergency fund, though he would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant that they wouldn¡¯t have to move away.

    ¡®I just hope that winning that tag team match will pay off as well as the fight against Billy. Until then, I have to make sure I don¡¯t go crazy from this continuous loss of Energy. Whether I like it or not, I¡¯ll have to go feral on some animals.¡¯

    His second Daily Quest required him to consume 2kg of meat a day. Thanks to yesterday¡¯s unexpected meal Gary now knew for a fact that the system didn¡¯t care about where it came from or how processed it was. In fact, he even started to suspect that it had been goading him towards going out to hunt all along.

    The thought of eating forest animals was still somewhat gross to the high schooler, but it was far better than the alternative. It also had the benefit of keeping down his bloodlust, so he wouldn¡¯t try going for something ¡®bigger¡¯. He was here today, since rats weren¡¯t exactly on the top of his to eat pile, even if they hadn¡¯t tasted that bad.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Gary to find a squirrel running across the forest ground. His first attempt to get to it, failedpletely. Not used to this sort of thing, he stepped on a branch, rming the critter. Seeing that his stealth approach had failed, he immediately sprinted towards it, but the small creature was faster and closer to a tree which it promptly climbed.

    Climbing a tree would have probably been impossible for the old Gary in the past, but thanks to his stats it was easy enough. Unfortunately, this hadn¡¯t made him an expert tree climber overnight. The teenager had followed after his prey, yet by the time he had climbed to where the squirrel had been, it had already leapt to a nearby tree.

    Gary didn¡¯t want to give up yet. He had memorised the scent of the squirrel and had waited for it to get down again. After widening the distance between the two, the squirrel was on the ground, foraging for food. This time, he made sure not to rm it, but s, when he tried to snatch it at thest second, the squirrel had somehow sensed him and had hopped onto Gary¡¯s arm, jumping onto his shoulder and leaping to a nearby tree for safety.

    That was the second time he had failed.

    Unsure what he could do better, Gary decided to try his luck with another animal. In the forest there were several pigeons that would stay on top of the branches, while others on the ground. Regardless, the same thing would happen to the pigeons on the ground. The second Gary got close his feet would cause the leaves to rustle, scaring them away.

    He knew he had to decide on a different approach. This time, Gary decided to climb up high in one of the trees. He looked for a strong branch and started to walk along it, and stayed there.

    All of the birds that were on the tree he was currently at had already left the same one nearby. That was when he decided to patiently wait¡­wait and wait¡­ until the pigeons had gathered on the trees not too far away.

    ¡®Damn, so I really have to act like one of those animals who are hunting out in those shows, huh?¡¯ Gary thought.

    He crept slowly along the tree branch, It started to bend slightly under his weight which was making him worry. Still, he kept his eyes on the one pigeon that looked at him, moving backwards and forwards with itsrge head.

    ¡®Just stay still, you stupid bird!¡¯ Gary cursed in his head.

    That¡¯s when he could see that the bird was starting to move.

    ¡®No! I waited too long for this to fail!¡¯

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy]

    With all of his stats doubled, he rushed and leapt through the air. The birds scattered flying from the other tree branch. At this moment, Gary was fearless and he just wanted to catch one of these damned flying rats after trying for so long. He reached out his hand for the bird, but it seemed that it was already out of reach.

    Something inside of him was telling him that there was a way. Images he had seen while researching about werewolves came to their mind, about theirrge w-like hands.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    His fingers started to extend slightly and his nails grew and sharpened. With it growing slightlyrger, Gary managed to cut the pigeon¡¯s belly, his finger slicing through it easily, and it tumbled to the ground with the leaves on the floor.

    ¡°Oh, that hurt a bit.¡¯ Gary thought, but at the same time he had done it.

    ¡®Was I¡­imagining things?¡¯ Gary thought, looking at his hand, that it seemed to have gone back to its normal self, but he was sure of it.

    ¡®Well I suppose I should have figured that a skill called CLAW drain would do something like this, but would it have killed you to maybe mention it in the skill description, you stupid system?! Thank God, I didn¡¯t try it out in the middle of a fight. I can¡¯t exactly be using this in public like Charging Heart, now can I?¡¯ Gary directed his anger towards the system.

    There was another problem. Although he had finally managed to kill a pigeon, he had been forced to use both his skills to do it. If even a rat had only been good enough to replenish around 10 Energy points, he doubted the pigeon would be much better.

    ¡®I guess, until I get faster, it¡¯s back to the rats for me¡­ Will it help if I use some condiments or will that just make matters worse?¡¯

    It was then that the phone in Gary¡¯s pocket started to vibrate. He grabbed the phone in his pocket and saw that it was his secret one. To his surprise the sender wasn¡¯t Kai this time and even more baffling was the content of the message.

    [I found him.]

 Chapter 64: Bring it on!

    <h4>Chapter 64: Bring it on!</h4>

    After receiving the text, Gary immediately asked for more information. He needed to know whether Innu had actually run into or simply found Billy. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t get any answers. He wasn¡¯t even left at ¡®read¡¯, making the high schooler start to worry.

    Not knowing anything about his fellow gang member, Gary texted the only person who would be able to know anything about it, Kai. When he asked his upperssmen where Innu would be right now, the answer was so obvious that Gary was ready to facepalm himself. As if anticipating the follow-up question Gary was about to type, he received the location of Innu¡¯s school.

    Gary munched down on the pigeon and was surprised to see a notification about him regaining 10 points of Energy. Running through the forest with the help of Charging Heart he was able to grab an unsuspecting squirrel. Before the critter even had the chance to struggle the high schooler squeezed tightly. A few momentster Gary had gained the knowledge that a squirrel helped him regain around 6 points of Energy.

    [83/110 Energy]

    Gary would have loved to regain even more Energy, but he couldn¡¯t waste anymore time. He knew that this one squirrel was just a fluke and that he couldn¡¯t gamble on being so lucky again. As such, Gary made use of Charging Heart¡¯s duration to get to Innu¡¯s school faster.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if he could afford to use the skill again, since he would need as much Energy as possible to fight Billy, yet at the same time if he waste, the Omega wolf might escape¡­

    ¡®This is it¡­ I¡¯m really going to face Billy¡­ I thought I would be more scared meeting him, but for some reason all I feel is¡­ excitement?¡¯ Gary thought as the Charging Heart skill had run out, and he used it once more.

    [73/110 Energy]

    ¡ª¡ª

    Meanwhile, in the middle of ss, the reason for Innu not answering wasn¡¯t because he had been attacked by Billy. It also wasn¡¯t a case of the high schooler ignoring him, no it was something far more mundane. His teacher had caught him using his phone in the middle of the lesson, so he had confiscated it.

    The teacher didn¡¯t care that Innu, like many other students of his ss, weren¡¯t actually paying any attention to his math lesson, yet he had a zero tolerance policy regarding phones. It was one of the many schools in the area that students who were sent to were deemed as ¡®a lost hope¡¯.

    ¡®I did what I was asked, I sent him a text so he can¡¯t go nagging me, but he¡¯s really here, huh? Looks like Kai is right, he is after me, but why did he seem so different?¡¯ Innu wondered.

    This morning, on his way to school, the high schooler had noticed arge figure by the gate for a brief second, but by the time he had turned around there had been nobody there. The students around hadn¡¯t cared too much, but Innu had found it strange since the figure hadn¡¯t been walking into or out of school, just standing there on the pavement staring ahead.

    It had been too short of a timeframe, but Innu could have sworn that underneath the hood had been none other than Billy. What¡¯s more, that guy seemed to have had a creepy smile on his face.

    ¡®What¡¯s your game, Billy? After yourst stunt, do you want to try to scare me by showing me that you know what school I go to? Or are you going to jump me after? Whatever you bring, I¡¯ll take you on.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    Since Gary¡¯s white school shirt had gotten bloody yesterday, he currently wasn¡¯t wearing his school uniform. There was of course his zer but he hardly ever wore that. In the first ce going near other schools and wearing zers was a sign for trouble.

    A lot of the schools were influenced by the gangs in the area, and eventually even the bad kids in school had started to imitate them, believing that belonging to one school was like belonging to a gang.

    The good thing was that it had practically be second nature for Gary to travel with his trusted hoodie. This time he had opted for one that was even darker in colour than his usual one. Since this time he knew what was nning to go hunting.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Gary to reach Innu¡¯s school and his immediate opinion of it was that it looked more of a dump than his ce.

    ¡®This must be one of the schools Mum kept warning us about, the one we would end up in if we didn¡¯t study.¡¯ Gary thought as he walked right in. There wasn¡¯t even a teacher there to stop him, the only one out on the field appeared to be a janitor, yet he didn¡¯t say anything as the high schooler walked past him.

    ¡®Sh*t, Innu must still be in ss. Kai only sent me the school address, but not what ss he would be in. Seems like he doesn¡¯t know either. Well, I don¡¯t hear any noise, so that should at least mean that Billy still hasn¡¯t done anything outrageous so far¡­¡¯

    Gary tried to sniff the air, hoping he would be able to catch some type of foreign scent, but since he was in a school the area was riddled with unknown scents. It was impossible for him to iste Billy in particr like that.

    ¡®If I knew I would ever have to hunt him down, I would have tried to memorise his stupid scent. He is a frigging werewolf like me now, so why can¡¯t I get some help via the system? Looks like I have no choice but to rely on my eyes instead.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Seeing that the teachers didn¡¯t care, Gary easily entered the school without much worry. While walking past the other ssrooms he could see just how out of hand the school actually was.

    Seeing this, he started to think back to his mother, how much she had pushed for him and Amy to go to a good school in Slough. Although, more so for Amy¡¯s sake, he understood. If Amy went to a school like this, then Gary would probably getting into fights every day.

    Eventually, he had reached his destination, the school roof. He quickly ran up to the fence on the edge looking down to try and spot anything that looked to be out of ce.

    ¡°Who¡¯re you? I haven¡¯t seen you before!¡± A voice said from behind.

    Turning around, Gary could see a smoking student. The guy looked to be slightly older than him and for some reason he was sprouting a pompadour, a hair style which was clearly out of fashion, yet he was quite well built for his age.

    ¡®What the hell is it with high schoolers these days? Has someone been handing out steroid infused candies and I was just absent that day?¡¯ Gary thought, as he continued to survey the area.

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to find someone. Once I do, I¡¯ll be out of your hair.¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s clear you¡¯re not from around here, otherwise you would have known that this is my spot!¡± The guy shouted, and Gary suddenly felt a strong blow to his side.

    [-8 HP]

    ¡°Did that guy just hit me? What is wrong with him?!¡¯

    ¡°This is my ce, bitch!¡± The guy cursed at Gary, yet the werewolf was in no mood for games. This person was not the one he needed to face.

    At that moment, something happened that hadn¡¯t happened in a long time, from anger Gary¡¯s heart rate was rising, so much so that it had crossed the 150BPM mark without the need for him to use his skill charging heart.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Meanwhile, in ss the bell was soon to ring for lunch. When lifting his head, yawning and stretching, Innu could see someone out from the window in the hallway. It was the samerge hooded figure.

    ¡°What the f*ck is he doing in school-¡°

    Before Innu could finish his sentence, Billy came charging in, throwing his fist right at the ss window. Like in a movie, he smashed through it with a single hit, shards flew out everywhere and the students covered their faces while the sound of screaming echoed.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Innu smiled, wiping off some blood from his forehead as a piece of ss had managed to scratch him.

    ¡°Bring it on!¡±

 Chapter 65: Double trouble

    <h4>Chapter 65: Double trouble</h4>

    Perhaps if Gary had been paying more attention he would have never allowed the other student to get a hit in that easily. The most surprising thing to Gary was how much it had hurt.

    Endurance had always been his strongest stat and it had increased twice during his recent fights. On top of that he had the power of the moon helping him, yet that one strike had taken off nearly as much Health as Barry¡¯s brick attack.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised someone like you is still standing after hitting the side like that.¡± The boy scoffed at Gary. ¡°I knew you had to be someone special to just walk into our school like that!¡±

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± The high schooler got ready to show that arrogant guy the real meaning of pain, but just in the moment both of them heard screamsing from inside the school. Concentrating on his hearing, Gary located where it hade from.

    For a second the student was distracted by the screams and when he turned back around to look at the foreign student in front of him, he could see Gary running his way.

    ¡°Get out of my way!¡±

    Austin was a student who was ssified as the top dog at his school. He had been fearless when he hade here, facing every person who was willing to challenge him to a fight, but then there was an incident with a certain transfer student.

    Something had told him that if he was going to have a fight with that said person, that it would be too dangerous, and now for the second time in his life, wishing for a short time frame, he had the same feeling when looking towards Gary.

    ¡°This is impossible!¡± Austin threw out a punch aiming to hit Gary right in the face.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside the ssroom, some of the students had decided to make a run for it via the doors after Billy hade through the window, while the others remained in ss but now stood towards the back of the ssroom.

    ¡®Even the damn teacher ran off, not that I can me them¡­ Did this guy get another growth spurt since thest time I saw him?¡¯ Innu wondered.

    Billy certainly had grown in size. He had always beenrge for his age, but even his 4XL size clothes didn¡¯t seem to be fitting him as parts of his belly were staking out through his shirt and more.

    ¡°What is this pig doing in our ss?!¡± One of the students yelled. He was part of this ss¡¯ delinquent trio. Ever since he had transferred here from Eton High he hadid low. There was no reason for him to waste time fighting against a bunch of delinquents, wannabe gangsters. For him, they just weren¡¯t on his level.

    However, the reason they didn¡¯t cause Innu any trouble was because of one guy, Austin Foster. That guy had taken reign over the whole school. The two of them had only ever met once. They had stared at each other, but eventually Innu had just shrugged and gone past him.

    Austin was the only person that Innu suspected had some type of fighting skill, but challenging and potentially winning against him sounded like too much of a hassle. He had no desire to run this school, not after being betrayed by his ¡®friends¡¯ in Eton High.

    ¡®If only my tag team partner in the match was someone like him, we might actually ce highly in that tournament. Someone like him has the aura of a real leader. No idea what Kai sees in that Green Fang guy¡­¡¯

    While thinking these things, Innu witnessed the trio go in for an attack against Billy. The other students watching were smirking excited that they were about to witness a good beating, thinking that the pig deserved it after scaring them like this.

    However, before the first student could hit him, Billy grabbed onto the iing fist. With his free hand the oversized intruder punched his attacker¡¯s forearm, and a devastating crack resounded throughout the ssroom, followed by a blood-chilling scream.

    It looked so effortless, but it was obvious to everyone that the student¡¯s bones had broken. The other two, who were now close to Billy, had sessfullynded a punch each, but they were unable to reach his head since Billy was too big.

    They had aimed for his stomach instead, expecting to hit roles of fat. Instead it felt like they had just hit a massive rock, their knuckles almost bleeding while their fingers had bent into unnatural directions. Before they could do anything else, both of their heads had been grabbed by Billy. He lifted them off the ground and threw them on the floor, causing their bodies to almost bounce like rag dolls.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± The students started to scream after seeing this, fearing for their lives the students who thought day by day were taking out like that and in such a manner. One of the students, seeing the door to the right, tried to make a break for it. He was a shorter boy, who had been holding his girlfriend¡¯s hand until a second ago. He had forgotten everything about their rtionship and had even pushed her to the side.

    ¡®If I try to take her with me, it will just slow me down.¡¯ The student thought instinctively.

    However, just as some students feared, Billy wasn¡¯t going to let just anyone leave the room and immediately blocked the only door. Standing in front of the student, he soon kicked him in the stomach, sending him to the floor and making him skid across it until hended in the shards of broken ss.

    ¡®What the f*ck is going on? Since when was that blob of fat this fast? What the hell did he take to not only grow bigger, stronger but also faster?¡¯ Innu¡¯s previous confidence started to dwindle, but he still needed to do something, aware that Billy was after him primarily.

    The first thing Innu did was kick the top of a desk that was in front of him, sliding it across to Billy. The top of the wood part hit the other¡¯s knees causing him to flinch slightly. The fighter wasted no time. He had followed straight behind the table and jumped on top of it, then, using the momentum from running in, he followed up with a knee strike.

    All the students had to rub their eyes to make sure they weren¡¯t dreaming. This kind of performance usually only happened in a movie, yet Innu had done it in one smooth motion. Their ssmate¡¯s knee connected with Billy¡¯s face, and the force caused the other¡¯s head to fall back a bit¡­ but only a few inches.

    Billy smiled and swung his arm out, punching Innu from the side, sending him rolling onto the floor. Innu quickly got up, but his hands immediately went to his ribs.

    ¡®It feels like they¡¯re broken¡­ Sh*t, I should have listened to Kai.¡¯ Unfortunately, his regrets came far toote. Even if he could call for help, how long would it take for them to arrive? Then there was also the question if they actually COULD do anything to help or if his gang membersing here would just doom them all.

    Billy spewed out a few teeth and some blood. His nose was also bleeding, yet It didn¡¯t look to be broken. As the blood ran down his face he licked his lips tasting it. He didn¡¯t look to be hurt at all.

    With the table in front of him, he lifted it with both hands, and there was a great big smile on his face. He walked towards Innu, ready to tten him with such a thing.

    ¡°If he hits him with that, he¡¯s going to kill him!¡± One of the students pointed out, too scared to do anything about it.

    ¡°Quick, throw whatever you have!¡± Another suggested.

    The students started to grab their chairs and hurled it towards Billy. They then grabbed their bags, books, whatever they could find in the ssroom, but even though he was a hard target to miss, it didn¡¯t seem to be doing much. His eyes didn¡¯t leave Innu for even a second.

    Despite their good intentions nobody seemed to have realised that throwing things actually made it impossible for Innu to flee, else he would risk getting caught by something. Unlike Billy he didn¡¯t feel confident in being able to ignore those makeshift projectiles.

    ¡°Guys stop! You¡¯re just making it worse!¡± Innu tried to shout out, but the students had fallen into a panic and none of them had registered what he meant. Being the only thing they could do, the frightened teenagers continued throwing stuff.

    Until, someone had entered the ssroom, and immediately started to run towards Billy. A chair came flying his way, but he knocked it out of the way, only to be hit by a book, yet he continued to run.

    ¡®Who is that crazy person?!¡¯ Innu wondered.

    Shortly after there was another student who had entered behind him, but seeing the condition of the room he stopped.

    The table was in mid swing, Innu tried to move but the pain from his broken ribs was slowing him down. He knew he would be a fraction toote.

    That¡¯s when he noticed the student who was running in, wasn¡¯t going for Billy, but instead, ran past him and had pushed Innu to the side. He himself rolled across the floor causing the table to hit the ground and break on impact from the powerful blow.

    The table had only missed him by a few seconds.

    ¡°What are you doing, you could have been hit by that thing and died!¡± Innuined to his saviour. ¡°That bastard is after me, so stay out of it!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that won¡¯t work. He¡¯s after me too.¡± The hooded person replied.

 Chapter 66: Omega vs Omega

    <h4>Chapter 66: Omega vs Omega</h4>

    It took a second for Innu to realise that the hooded person was Gary, until he saw his green hair from the hood. Although he did text him like he requested, he didn¡¯t think that his supposed gang leader would be so desperate to find such a person that he hade all the way to his school. For that matter he didn¡¯t exactly recall telling Gary what school he went to.

    ¡®Wait, does he think he can take on this guy? He wasn¡¯t here when Billy came in and wreaked havoc!¡¯

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be an idiot.¡± Innu warned the other. ¡°I know you might have defeated this guy before, but he¡¯s clearly not the same. You can¡¯t beat him.¡±

    Naturally, Gary could see that Billy had clearly changed. Even a growth spurt wouldn¡¯t exin his sudden increase over such a short period of time. What¡¯s more he could feel a new type of pressure exuding from therge fellow. His system also finally confirmed something he had been wondering for the longest time now.

    [You have finally met with the other Omega Wolf.]

    ¡®Well thank god, he isn¡¯t actually a Werewolf and he¡¯s just like me.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°I want to thank you for what you did to me!¡± Billy spoke up suddenly. No one really knew who this was directed at, apart from Gary of course, but soon after he turned around, as if he was looking for a way out.

    ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± A voice announced. ¡°You don¡¯t get to juste into my school and mess with everyone this badly!¡±

    The person who was now standing behind him was Austin, who had followed after Gary, and he immediately went to throw an uppercut towards the intruder¡¯s stomach. It was a big hit and unlike the delinquent trio, Austin¡¯s hand wasn¡¯t hurt.

    The school¡¯s top dog had a feeling a guy that big wouldn¡¯t have gone down with just one hit, and followed up with a punch to the side. Just like the other¡¯s he was surprised by Billy¡¯s nimbleness, as the other turned around facing and grabbed onto both of Austin¡¯s hands.

    ¡°You¡¯re strong. Stronger than anyone else I fought before, so maybe you deserve this.¡± Billy said, as he opened his mouth wide, revealing a particr set of sharp teeth.

    ¡°Vampire!¡± Someone screamed.

    ¡®Is he going to eat him?¡¯ Innu wondered. At this point, he felt like nothing would surprise him when it concerned Billy. He had seen people bite others before but only when they were in a desperate situation. Green Fang¡¯s debut fight would be an example, though Gary had seemingly done that more because he lost control.

    This was the first time Innu watched someone open their mouth this widely.

    While everyone was frozen in ce doing nothing, only the hooded figure moved, and to the shock of everyone he dived right into the situation.

    ¡®Damn it! If only I didn¡¯t get hit so bad! With the three of us together we might have been able to do something.¡¯ Innu cursed his injury.

    He could only watch and pray that Gary actually knew what he was doing¡­ but then the strangest reaction urred. His gang leader didn¡¯t go in for a punch, or for a hit, instead he got right in-between Austin and Billy and shoved his forearm into the other¡¯s open mouth!

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t! It¡¯s bad enough with just one of you!¡± Gary shouted out as he tried to push forward with his forearm. Billy¡¯s jaw was strong and his teeth had already sunken in. Blood was dripping down his arm.

    They couldn¡¯t understand why a student would allow himself to get bitten instead of someone else, especially since the hooded person didn¡¯t seem to be from their school.

    ¡®Is this why? Is his reckless will to sacrifice the reason Kai wanted him as the leader?¡¯ Innu started to wonder. He started to feel horrible, he was letting his injured side stop him from fighting as an excuse, while this guy who hardly knew anything about fighting at all had just shoved his arm into Billy¡¯s mouth.

    It was then that both Austin and Innu, picked up chairs from the ssroom and mmed it down the intruder¡¯s back at the same time. s, Billy still didn¡¯t let go.

    ¡°F*UUUUCK!¡± Gary screamed. He tried to push back, but Billy¡¯s jaw strength alone turned out to be far above his own. ¡°You bite me, I¡¯m going to bite down on you!¡± Gary opened his own mouth, ready to bite back, yet Billy decided to let go at that moment. He then turned around for a few seconds, and jumped through the broken window.

    For some reason, Billy was now in the middle of running away, and Gary was left there with his arm bleeding.

    ¡°Hey, man you took that bite for me, are you alright!¡± Austin asked, checking up on him. However, for the second time Gary had almostpletely ignored him, and decided to run after Billy himself, jumping through the window.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to chase him in your condition? Just leave it!¡± Innu shouted, yet Gary was already running through the halls.

    ¡®I can¡¯t leave it, just then¡­Billy tried to bite down on that strange guy I met on the roof. I might be overthinking it, but it didn¡¯t seem like he nned to eat him. In that case, he must have wanted to do the same thing that I did to him! He wanted to turn him! I can¡¯t allow him to start his own pack!¡¯

    Gary could see Billy up ahead, but despite hisrge size he was fast. Gary had already activated Charging Heart when the other had bitten down on him, yet despite his boost, his legs still couldn¡¯t keep up.

    ¡®System, use Forced Bond on him, so I¡¯ll be able to track him down!¡¯

    [Error: Your Mark skill only works on human targets!]

    ¡®Unless piece of crap!¡¯ Gary wanted to yell out, and it was then he saw Billy not slowing, jumping and bracing himself as he crashed out of the window. Gary soon caught up and looked out, only to glimpse at how Billy had already left the school ground. They were on the third floor, and Gary wasn¡¯t quite sure if he could survive that and how he would catch up with Billy in the first ce.

    ¡®Crap, crap, crap!¡¯ Gary thought. The sound of the police sirens from cars could be heard from a distance. He took that as his que to get out of the school. It was already bad enough that he had to intervene and reveal himself, but he couldn¡¯t allow himself to be a witness. Heck, he couldn¡¯t even exin any of it anyway.

    While running he texted Innu before he left.

    [If they ask, you don¡¯t know me!]

    Gary was left a little beaten over what to do. Just as he had expected Billy was the other Omega Wolf. He was faster, stronger and better than fighting at him. On top of that, he wasn¡¯t worried about killing or hurting people.

    ¡®So much for the system giving me some sort of edge. How the hell am I supposed to beat him? I¡­ need help¡­¡¯

 Chapter 67: Who is he?

    <h4>Chapter 67: Who is he?</h4>

    The police arrived at the scene and quickly went to work. The teaching faculty provided them with a ssroom so that they could start taking the students¡¯ testimonies about the events that had urred. Although none of them had outright been able to tell that it had been Billy Bruntin, the police were confident that it was him based on the few details they had received.

    The only thing they couldn¡¯t really figure out was who this hooded stranger was that had arrived and apparently saved both Innu and Austin.

    ¡°You should have seen his entrance, it was right out of a movie! He came running in, pushed Innu out of the way and rolled to safety like a millisecond before that monster mmed the table down! He was like a hero who came at just the right moment! I swear if he had been a momentter, Innu would have ended up as a pancake!¡± One of the students reported in excitement.

    ¡°That guy¡¯s crazy I tell you! I mean seriously, who would shove their own hand into the mouth of such a monster? That fat bastard was even worse! It looked like he nned to eat the smaller guy! Blood was spilling everywhere, just like in a stter! We tried helping, everyone did, but we didn¡¯t want to get close after we saw what he did.¡± Another student told his version of things that had happened.

    The two police officers that were talking with the students were none other than Chief of Police Anton Millstun, as well as his younger male assistant Roo Game. As crazy as it sounded, by now both men had epted that the students weren¡¯t pulling their legs. The students had been called in one after the other and unless they all had collectively decided on a story beforehand, their testimonies matched, though some seemed more exaggerated than others.

    Initially they had been far more sceptical. The first person they had interviewed had been Innu, as he had been the one who had fought Billy the longest and also been the one closest to their target. They had hoped that he might be able to tell him why their suspected killer might have so publicly attacked their ss in the first ce, or at least who that other mysterious person was.

    Unfortunately for them, Innu had retrieved his phone from the broken table, read Gary¡¯s message and just to be safe also deleted it afterwards. As such, he had pretended to not know either one of them. The two police officers had noticed his slight change in attitude when asked about Gary, but without any further evidence linking the two they had let him go, questioning the rest of his ss.

    Thest person on their list was Austin Foster, since he was a student from a different ss, yet he had entered after Gary. The high schooler entered the room with his hands in his pocket as calm as ever, and the questioning had begun. They asked whether he knew Billy or had at least seen him before.

    Austin just shrugged telling them that his face seemed familiar and that he might have seen him in passing somewhere. When they held up Billy¡¯s picture, Austin gasped in surprise.

    ¡°That¡¯s him! Only the dude was like a head bigger. Who is he?¡± Austin asked genuinely.

    By this point the two officers weren¡¯t surprised anymore. Barely any of the students had recognised him, but they couldn¡¯t fault them just because none of them had bothered to read or watch the news, making them clueless that they had a run in with a suspected killer. Like the others Roo just told Austin that he was a suspect in another case, without going into further details.

    ¡°Your fellow students reported that they saw youe in shortly after the hooded guy. Do you know him? If not, could you at least make out what he looked like?¡± Roo asked.

    Austin sat there for a while, making it seem like he was trying to remember something. The truth was he had seen what Gary looked like after punching him, quite clearly at that. If he were to tell them about the other¡¯s hair colour it would most likely help them immensely¡­ yet he didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve never seen him before today.¡± He answered truthfully. ¡°That guy came out of nowhere, so I started chasing him thinking he was an intruder in our school. He wore a hood but it was a no brand, so all I can say is that it was dark. Then I saw that Billy guy, so my attention was more on that giant pig bastard than someone who helped me. He was gone before I could even thank him.¡±

    After a few more questions were asked, Austin was free to go, but Anton didn¡¯t feel like he had made much progress at all, until he received a text from his phone.

    ¡°They¡­ match.¡± Anton murmured.

    ¡°What matches, sir?¡± Roo asked.

    ¡°The blood in that ssroom from our mysterious stranger is the same as the blood from the guy who attacked that deceased high schooler and the one that was found at the construction site. They all match! I don¡¯t know how yet, but he seems to be also connected to this Bruntin case!¡± Anton looked to be over the moon, almost jumping out from his seat as he spoke.

    ¡°I knew that these cases had to be linked, but what¡­what is going on? ording to the students he came up, saved some ¡®strangers¡¯ and went to chase after the killer?¡±

    Anton thought back to what he had seen in the alleyway. Could it be that the killer was actually this mysterious person they were chasing after, and Billy was just trying to find out the truth? No, that didn¡¯t seem right to Anton either, especially given that Bruntin had undoubtedly been the aggressor.

    In all of the cases involving Billy, his blood hadn¡¯t been found at the scene. In all the other situations involving this stranger, the circumstances just seemed more life threatening, as if they were fighting for their life. It was hard to make out the full picture without all puzzle pieces, but at least there seemed to be a connection. Catching one of them might allow them to catch the other¡­

    A little down the hallway, Innu was waiting for Austin to get out.

    ¡°Did you say anything?¡± Innu asked in a quiet tone after making sure that nobody was around.

    ¡°I¡¯m no snitch. Since he was running away from them, I¡¯m sure he had his reasons.¡± Austin shrugged it off and continued to walk down the hall.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Innu called out.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you.¡± Austin replied. ¡°I did it because that guy saved me from getting bitten.¡±

    He took a few steps, stopped and turned around. ¡°Hey, he¡¯s your friend, right? Who is he?¡±

    ¡°Why¡­ you want to thank him in person?¡± Innu asked cautiously.

    ¡°Nah, he was just¡­¡±

    Austin thought back to the roof. When he threw his punch out, Gary suddenly did a strange spin avoiding the hit, it seemed slow but the timing was perfect. Austin had been ready to try to kick him, but he could see in that moment that Gary wasn¡¯t aiming at him, his gaze at something else entirely.

    He stopped his leg and saw a punche out from Gary himself, which mmed into the metal door behind them. The door hinge snapped right open and the green haired boy continued running on forward, fixing his hood. Austin wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it, choosing to believe that Gary was just trying to run away, but when he looked at the metal door, it had dented slightly.

    That wasn¡¯t a strength of an ordinary person and he shuddered to think what would have happened if he had fought him seriously.

    ¡°¡­ he was just really strong.¡± Austin finished his sentence.

    This came as a surprise to Innu. Although Gary had undoubtedly saved both of them, he hadn¡¯t exactly fared that much better against Billy. If anything, Innu would have used ¡®brave¡¯ if he wanted topliment Gary, though it was bordering ¡®idiotic¡¯ and ¡®suicidal¡¯. Nevertheless, it was obvious that their school¡¯s official top dog was interested in him.

    ¡®Did something happen between those two or something?¡¯ Innu wondered, especially since they had both entered around the same time.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me, just¡­ if he ever needs some backup, let me know.¡± Austin requested, continuing his walk back to his ssroom.

    It was then that Innu realised that he had already epted Gary for who he was, if he hadn¡¯te today, what would have happened to him? So if someone asked him who he was to him, he shouldn¡¯t shy away and tell the truth.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Innu called out. ¡°About your question¡­ that guy, is my leader!¡±

 Chapter 68: The Kings

    <h4>Chapter 68: The Kings</h4>

    The ¡®Basement¡¯ was a popr nightclub in Slough¡¯s town centre, yet today its front door had a sign that read ¡®Closed¡¯. However, the guards around it were telltale signs that something was going on inside. Unbeknownst to the normal popce, the club was merely a front for the Underdogs, one of the town¡¯s most sessful gangs.

    What¡¯s more the Basement wasn¡¯t the only shop that would remain closed that day. Damion Hawk had used his influence to make all the shops within that block treat today as a sort of impromptu holiday, so that nobody would disturb their special meeting.

    Inside one of the VIP rooms, Damion had been sitting calmly, talking to another on the other end, it looked like the conversation was about toe to an end. The other party stood up to leave, not even bowing but stopped just before leaving.

    ¡°I thought the Underdogs were meant to be the best in slough, which was why I hired you. Believe me when I say that package is important for the both of us. Get it back or it could be the both of us on the chopping block.¡± The man said leaving.

    Damion continued to sit there in his seat, he did so until the people were escorted out and when a certain amount of time had passed. He picked up therge wine bottle in front of him and threw it against the wall smashing it to pieces.

    ¡°It¡¯s been over a week!!! How is it possible for you to not have so much as a SINGLE CLUE about that damn traitor¡¯s whereabouts?!¡± The leader shouted at his subordinate who was in the unfortunate situation of having only bad news to report. The ringing in his eardrums was the least of his worries as he braced himself for what¡¯sing next.

    He had known his boss long enough to anticipate therge fist that hit him across the face, sending him flying down to the dance room floor. Damion wiped his hand with a little cloth he had in his suit pocket and started to walk down the stairs to the injured man.

    ¡°Do I need to remind you just how important that package is?¡± Damion asked.

    The man was in pain. Touching his face he felt an imprint left from one of his boss¡¯s rings. His cheek was bleeding but he knew that unless he replied immediately, the Underdog¡¯s leader would just continue beating him up.

    ¡°No, sir! I understand it perfectly, sir! The problem is that everything that boy has told us was fake. Right now the colour gangs are causing chaos in our territories, so it¡¯s hard for us to gather any reliable information on him, especially since we only have his hair colour to go on! There are so many punks that dye their hair green and he might have even dyed it by now. The red colour gang in particr has been getting more and more brazen, challenging us for multiple areas¡­¡± The man answered truthfully, yet was frightened that he would soon feel another hit on his face¡­ Instead, Damion squatted, grabbed the man by his hair and pulled him up to his eye level.

    ¡°How long have you been in this gang?¡± Damion asked.

    ¡°Around one year, sir! I got recognised for my work and got promoted to the Pitbull Unit!¡± He replied quickly,

    ¡°A hard worker, eh? I can respect that. Fine, I shall let you off with this much. You better show me results or I¡¯ll make it so that you will fit in that package. We still have deliver that f*cking thing to one of the Kings! You know who they are, right?¡± Damion asked, his hand not letting go of the poor man.

    The gangster nodded instantly, even though nodding caused his hair to hurt even more. The ¡®Kings¡¯ were a colloquial term for the top gang leader of their county. They were a term used for those who controlled a tier-1 city, making them the richest and most influential men in the world.

    If one of these Kings ¡®asked¡¯ one of the lower cities for a ¡®favour¡¯, the other party was unable to refuse, no matter how ridiculous that favour might be. Still, it wasn¡¯t all bad. As they say, ¡®noblesse oblige¡¯, making such a thing high risk, high reward, and Damion had no desire to take the fall for this.

    ¡°The reason the red colour gang are kicking up a fuss is because another King must have ordered them to intercept the package. They don¡¯t seem to know that we don¡¯t have it anymore, so they¡¯re trying to get rid of us!¡± Damion shouted in anger, and stood up so quickly that he ripped off a good number of strands of hair from the guy, before heading back upstairs.

    ¡°We¡¯re lucky that it¡¯s just the red colour gang for the time being! Unless we can give that King what he wants and earn his protection, soon the rest of the gangs might attack us to get that package!¡±

    All those that were in the club room wanted to take a step back, for fear that Daimon would take out his anger on him next but they knew that if they did move, they were more likely to be picked.

    ¡°Kirk!¡± Damion called out. Hearing his name, Kirk stepped out, wearing his normal red shy suit.

    ¡°Your schedule has been cleared for the rest of the month. As you can tell, everyone else is pretty much useless. I want you to do me a little factor. Let¡¯s remind Slough, why you¡¯re my right hand man and why the Underdogs shouldn¡¯t be messed with.

    Get rid of the red colour gang for me, and while you do, find out who was backing them.¡°

    ¡°Now that the Cheetah Squad will be dealing with the colour gang, I expect RESULTS AND NOT EXCUSES BY THE END OF THE WEEK!!! FIND THAT DAMN GREENY!!!¡± Damion shouted.

 Chapter 69: Waiting for the day

    <h4>Chapter 69: Waiting for the day</h4>

    It had already been an eventful day for Gary, but there were still many things he needed to do even after facing Billy. First things first, it was time to regain some Energy. To do that the high schooler visited his new favourite alleyway. The number of rats didn¡¯t seem to have reduced, something he was actually thankful for.

    His natural speed was slow, making it hard to catch the critter. Fortunately, Charging Heart allowed him to turn the tables. He could also catch several of them at a time before the effect wore off, making him earn a plus. Gary continued even after his Energy hadpletely filled up, only stopping once he got a notification.

    [Daily questplete]

    [5 Exp received]

    [395/460 Exp]

    ¡®I didn¡¯t get anything for risking my life fighting Billy¡­ I need to figure out how to beat him somehow.¡¯ Gary thought as he made his way to school to not bete for rugby practice.

    On the way he received a text from Innu, who was informing him that Billy might have broken his ribs, so their training would have to be put on hold for a while. He also informed him that he would go to Kai to sort something out.

    Gary had actually been looking forward to their training, hoping Innu might be able to teach him a few things. The fighter had been his best shot at gaining some sort of edge over the Omega wolf. Unfortunately it seemed as if they would have to wait for Innu to get better first. Gary texted back ¡®Another time then.¡¯

    The only question was, how much more time did they exactly have if Billy even attacked his targets out in the open now?

    At school, Gary did his usual practice. At the start of the practice Mr Root went on to mention an important message to them all.

    ¡°I know the school has already had its silence and given their blessings, but Barry was an important part of our team and loved rugby. So if there is anything we could do for him it would be¡­To WIN THIS UPCOMING GAME!¡±

    The students found it a bit awkward that it seemed like Mr Root was trying to encourage them through a death, but the kids weren¡¯t really that affected by it. To them it just felt like Barry had moved or something, it was hard to process a death like that.

    Still, there was a certain person who was affected and had returned to the field. Gil¡­the only thing was, Gil didn¡¯t look to be exactly the same as he once was before.

    He had dark bags under his eyes. There was also good news. Tom was sitting over by the bench watching the game with his typical attitude of not caring in the slightest about it. Seeing this, Gary lifted his arm up after a good 20 minutes of practice and requested he have a break.

    Mr Root, seeing that unlike yesterday Gary was ying well actually agreed to this. He was far more concerned with Gary getting an injury at this point.

    ¡°Hey, so you look a lot better.¡± Gary said, sitting down on the bench next to him.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m all fine now. I think they might have even straightened my teeth even better.¡± Tom said, delivering a smile. ¡°Fortunately, they didn¡¯t make me too handsome to hang out with you.¡±

    Both Tom and Garyughed for a few seconds but then there was this awkward silence between the two of them. It was like they had forgotten how to interact with each other. The truth was, Tom wanted to ask Gary something but was too afraid of the answer.

    He had heard of Barry¡¯s death, and there was something telling him that Gary¡­might have had something to do with it. Of course, it wasn¡¯t like he could outright ask him. If he wasn¡¯t then Tom would have just insinuated that his friend might have killed someone in cold blood.

    And if he was¡­ well then Tom felt like he was also partially responsible for it. If he had confessed to their bullying before it had gotten out of hand, things might have ended very differently¡­

    Neither option had a happy ending, so instead Tom decided to ask something else.

    ¡°I can see that there¡¯s something on your mind. I just want you to know that you don¡¯t have to worry about me anymore. Whatever happened to Barry, it looks like Gil is feeling too down to be targeting me anymore.¡±

    Garry would normally be very ted about Gil no longer bothering his best friend, but Tom was right, his mind was elsewhere and it wasn¡¯t focused on Barry or his involvement in the bully¡¯s death. He had gotten over that far quicker than he believed to be normal, suspecting either his system or his new existence to have some role in that, but right now all he could think about was Billy.

    ¡°Tom, I have to tell you something.¡± Gary began. ¡°I think¡­ no, I was pretty sure there was another one like me out there. I mean another ¡­ you-know-what.¡± Gary finally admitted. This was news to Tom. Out of all the things he had expected Gary to say this wasn¡¯t one of them. He was at a serious loss for words.

    ¡°I could kind of feel it. It¡¯s like, the two of us seem to be fighting over who should be the leader, the Alpha like you said, and today¡­ I ran into him.¡±

    ¡°You ran into another one of your kind? Was he older than you? Was he always a werewolf like you? What did the two of you speak about?¡± Tom suddenly bombarded his best friend with a barrage of questions. However, Gary just shook his head. Looking into his eyes, Tom could tell he was concerned about this, almost frightened.

    ¡°That guy wasn¡¯t like me. He didn¡¯t exactly invite me over for tea and biscuits to talk. No, I found him in the midst of attacking innocent people, hurting others, so I tried to stop him. It was strange. It felt like he was stronger than me, but for some reason he ran away from me. I¡¯ve been thinking about it ever since, and I can¡¯t wrap my head around it. I was hoping you might have an answer.¡±

    Tom thought about it for a while. He had actually done the research in that regard before spoon feeding it to Gary who had tuned out after the first bit. In the end, there was only one thing he could think of.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I only know as much about werewolves as what we¡¯ve learned. Maybe he¡¯s waiting for the uing full moon? I mean ording to lore that¡¯s when you¡¯re both meant to transform and be at your strongest. If he¡¯s an Omega like you, maybe he wants to fight you at your strongest so he can make you submit fully to him.¡± Tom theorised.

    For some reason, some part of Gary agreed that this would be the ¡®honorable¡¯ thing to do. Because whenever he was thinking about time, Gary was always referring to the full moon. It was almost as if that was the date set for when their match would be held. If so, that would mean Gary had until the full moon to get stronger.

    ¡ª¡ª

    It waster that night, that the clock passed midnight and the timer moved forward once again.

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [5 days until the next full moon]

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary was still excluded, so he missed a very big event in their ss.

    ¡°Alright everyone, so today we have a surprise transfer. Honestly even though we weren¡¯t expecting this so much and so soon, but they have their reason. I want you to please wee your new fellow student.¡± The teacher started the day, allowing the neer to say a few words.

    The door slid open and a boy walked through, having both his arms in badges as well as his side.

    ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s nice to meet you. My name¡¯s Innu.¡±

 Chapter 70: A bad liar

    <h4>Chapter 70: A bad liar</h4>

    Waking up the next morning, Gary was still thinking about what he could do to get stronger. He only had five more days left until the full moon and from what he had discovered his ways to get stronger were very limited.

    The high schooler could try and increase his stats naturally in the gym, though there were two problems with that approach. For one, his Strength and Endurance had grown, so he estimated that it would take for them to grow, which was exactly what hecked. Then there was also the issue of him still not having figured out how exactly he was supposed to increase Dexterity.

    Gary knew that it would be possible with the free stat point he would gain for reaching Level 5. He wasn¡¯t that far off, yet at the same time hecked a good source of Exp ie. The high schooler could continuepleting his Daily Quests, though those gave him a pittance in terms of Exp and without any other source it wouldn¡¯t even be enough to reach Level 5 until the full moon.

    The only other way he knew how to receive Exp was by fighting opponents. If he was lucky he might even trigger some sort of Quest that would give him even more. Being excluded from school meant that the high schooler couldn¡¯t really start challenging the other fighting clubs, leaving him with one remaining choice.

    Just as he had made up his mind to go out and look for some trouble, he received a text on his special phone.

    [Heads up, the Underdogs have ordered the ck colour gang to retaliate against the red¡¯s advances into their territory. At the same time, they¡¯ll also be scouting the area for you. I know you¡¯re excluded, so keep your head low and stay off the streets for a while.]

    ¡®Well that¡¯s just great.¡¯ Gary sighed, looking at the message from Kai that had ruined his ns. Nevertheless, he was very thankful for it. It would be a disaster if he would have ended up in the midst of that.

    With nothing better to do, Gary opted toplete his normal routine, which included practicing his skills by gathering up his meat candy before going to the gym. As bleak as the day had started, the high schooler left the gym with a satisfied smile on his face.¡¯

    [Congrattions!Move, move, move and keep moving. Catch everything and be the wind.]

    [Dexterity +1]

    ¡®I guess all that hunting in the forest for squirrels and birds, as well as the sprinting on the treadmill is really helping me out. Since it¡¯s the stat that is the lowest it should also be the easiest to improve, but it¡¯s also the one that I need to work the most in as well. Billy was way faster than I was.¡¯ Gary thought.

    After that, there wasn¡¯t really much for Gary to do, and before he knew it with his time spent almost doing nothing. It was time for him to head to rugby practice. After changing, he saw Tom on the bench outside, yet not too far from him, was someone he had seen quite recently.

    ¡®Am I imagining things?¡¯ Gary wondered, rubbing his eyes.

    Strangely, both of them noticed him at the same time, waving Gary over. Tom and Innu then turned to each other, realising that they were both calling the same person. Before the practice officially started Gary quickly ran off meeting with the other two.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, why are you here?¡± Gary asked Innu.

    ¡°Huh, howe you already know the transfer student?¡± Tom asked in surprised confusion. As his best friend, he was quite sure that Gary had not once mentioned someone like Innu.

    ¡°Oh, me and Green Fa-¡°

    Before Innu could spill the beans that they had met at an underground fighting match, Gary quickly ced his hand over his mouth.

    ¡°He¡¯s the¡­ brother of¡­ of one of my Amy¡¯s friends!¡± Gary made up on the fly. ¡°It¡¯s not often but Amy brings her friends over asionally, and¡­ well you know where we live. And you know, they just bring their brother along for some reason!¡±

    Gary honestly regretted his cover-up story the moment it left his mouth. Everything sounded like a convoluted lie. In hindsight, he should have just said that he had met him at the gym or something.

    The whole charade told Innu that no one around Gary seemed to know what he was doing.

    ¡®If he¡¯s nning to create a gang, then the people around him will naturally get involved. At some point, he¡¯ll either have to sever his ties with them¡­ or bring them into the gang to protect them. I just hope¡­ he¡¯s prepared for one of the options.¡¯

    ¡°Oookay¡­¡± Tom replied, clearly not convinced. ¡°Didn¡¯t you introduce yourself as an only child though?¡±

    ¡°Well, she was my half-sister. You remember what I said about my scumbag dad leaving us? Didn¡¯t really feel the need to go into too much detail about family stuff.¡± Innu added some details, going along with the lie. ¡°As the new guy I was just happy to see a familiar face. I mean look at him, not like you could forget those green hairs. Anyway, I think you should go out to the field. From what I¡¯ve been hearing you¡¯re like a minor celebrity now. I¡¯ve hurt my ribs in an ident recently, so I can¡¯t be taking part.¡±

    Gary was very thankful that Innu had yed along, especially since he seemed to have a far easier time withing up with stuff. While the team started their practice in earnest, Tom and Innu used that time to talk about Gary. The new student learned a lot about Gary, whereas Tom waspletely convinced that the other didn¡¯t know his best friend at all. For some reason, he felt relieved at the fact that he seemed to be the only one who knew about this entire Werewolf situation.

    During a small break, Gary decided that it would be a good time to talk with Innu, if only to clear up the confusion. He excused himself loudly, iming that he would take a quick toilet break, while meeting Innu¡¯s eyes. A few moments after Gary had left, Innu followed after. Of course, the high schooler had waited outside as it felt awkward to talk in that room.

    ¡°What are you doing here? How did you even manage to transfer this quickly?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°As of today, I¡¯m a student of Westbridge, just like you. I have Kai to thank for that one.¡± Innu grinned. ¡°I told you that I would be talking to him yesterday, remember? He asked me to inform him if anything happened in the whole Billy situation, so I told him everything about yesterday, how he attacked me in school and how you were there to rescue us.¡±

    ¡°The next moment, he offered to help me transfer over. Apparently he was going to propose this when we got closer anyway and this ¡®special situation¡¯ was a perfect excuse to speed up the process. Who is Kai anyway, for him to be able to do this sort of stuff? It¡¯s clear that he isn¡¯t exactly your average student¡­ ¡±

    That was actually a question Gary would like to have answered as well. All he knew about Kai was that his upperssman had money, lots of it, and that he wanted to create a gang to get out of the Underdogs, just like him just didn¡¯t know the reason why he wanted to leave. Gary had never asked about the other, despite all the help he had received, but he didn¡¯t really care about Kai since he had a million other problems to solve himself.

    ¡°Yeah¡­he does have his connections, that¡¯s all I know.¡± Gary shrugged and started running back to the rugby field.

    Over the next few days, Gary continued to do what he did everyday, and each night he would get a countdown of the day to the next full moon drawing closer.

    There wasn¡¯t anything Gary could do about it.

    There were no signs of Billy, no news of more dead either. Gary started training with innu after school. Since Innu was still recovering at the moment, he could only instruct Gary on how to fight, and in his spare time Gary practiced these moves again and again.

    Then finally, something strange happened with only two days left until the next full moon. It was also the day before Gary¡¯s rugby match and he was more excited for this than anything. While walking home, he would do so with Tom and Innu, for a short while. A requirement that Kai had set up.

    Then Tom would split off early on to head in a different direction. It was then that Gary found himself in a familiar situation. A group of students had surrounded him, and they all wore the Eton High uniform.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Gary started tough, usually he would be annoyed but today he weed it, for he could do with the extra exp, at the same time Innu couldn¡¯t wait to pay back those that had hurt him before.

    Unbeknownst to Gary simr scenes were ying out elsewhere. He wasn¡¯t the only target of this surprise attack. At that moment, every regr member of the Ruby club that was supposed to y had been targeted.

    In a certain alleyway down the streets of Slough, Eton High had sent out more students to attack a certain individualpared to others. Walking out of the alleyway into the sunlight his hands were bloody.

    ¡®They attacked me again.¡¯ ke thought to himself, spitting blood out from his mouth. ¡®These guys are scum!¡¯

    In the alleyway itself, six students could be seenying down on the floor hurt.

 Chapter 71: A Main Quest

    <h4>Chapter 71: A Main Quest</h4>

    Six guys from Eton High had suddenly surrounded Gary and Innu and it was clear that they hadn¡¯te for a simple talk. However, Gary had instantly noticed that something was different about this attackpared to thest one. These guys were nowhere near as bulky and as it turned out, they were far worse in a fight.

    ¡®They don¡¯t seem to belong to the Rugby club. Were they just regr students at Eton High? Did I mess them up so badly that they¡¯re now scared of me? No, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have attacked me a second time and only sent out these guys.¡¯ Gary wondered as he looked at the students rolling about in pain on the ground.

    After the fight, Gary had realised something, how much he had improved. Innu¡¯s training had paid off, and his improvement in stats although minimal really showed during this fight, he was practically untouchable to anyone who had never fought before.

    ¡°Hey, what was that all about? Why the hell did you get in my way, only to punch those guys out yourself? Were your three too easy?¡± Innuined. ¡°Look I know you¡¯ve been improving and you might want to show off, but there was no need to do that. If this was a game, then what you would have just done was simr to kill stealing¡­¡±

    ¡°My bad, I was just trying to look out for you. I was worried that if you exert yourself it would be bad for your injury. I mean we have that tag team matching up soon, can¡¯t allow my partner to get anymore hurt on my watch, right?¡± Gary apologised with a smile rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Besides, if this was a game, shouldn¡¯t you let me kill thest guys from my Penta?¡±

    ¡®If only you knew.¡¯ Gary thought to himself, as he had gotten in Innu¡¯s way exactly to ¡®kill steal¡¯ his opponents. His system only rewarded him Exp for those he himself knocked out. As this was a rare opportunity, he had to make the most of it, even if it meant that Innu might feel patronised.

    With his increased Strength and Charging Heart it was far easier thanst time. He hadn¡¯t received any Quest for it, yet the six students had still awarded him with 120 Exp. Combined with the Daily Quest he had been doing each day before practice, it was enough for him to finally get the Level Up he had worked towards.

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 5]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [95/628 exp]

    ¡®Hmmm, I had kind of been hoping to get another skill that might help me in my fight against Billy. Oh well, good thing I at least got w Drain recently. System, mind exining why I got 20 Exp for these guys while I got 25 Exp for their friends? Is it because they¡¯re weak, or because my Level increased?¡¯

    As usual, Gary got no response. His Werewolf System truly was a fickle mistress. However after a few steps he did receive a new message.

    [New main quest received]

    [You have grown as a werewolf and you¡¯re still not dead yet. That¡¯s a surprise!]

    [Continue to grow and reach level 10, where a new ss awaits]

    [Objective: reach Level 10]

    [Reward: Select a ss]

    ¡®A ss, now this is really starting to feel like a game. What even is a werewolf ss, that doesn¡¯t even make sense. I already had so much trouble wrapping my head around the Alpha thing.¡¯

    It was something that Gary would just have to worry about when he reached that level, that was if he could survive the night of the full moon. He knew he had no chance of levelling up five levels by then. So, he decided to focus on what he could do.

    He needed to figure out where exactly he would be putting this stat point. Knowing that Billy was out there possibly waiting for him to attack, it didn¡¯t seem wise to save it up. Now that he knew for a fact that each of his three base stats could be increased through training and hunting targets, he decided to ce the point into Energy or Health.

    ¡®I guess Energy is more versatile. 10 more Health won¡¯t really help me, but this way I can use it for Charging Heart or w Drain. Being able to replenish my Health seems better than having a bigger pool and who knows how many more skills I will get in the future. If only I knew if Billy also has skills like me¡­ ¡¯

    [Your Energy has now increased to a maximum of 120]

    There was another reason why Gary had chosen Energy. The closer it got to the full moon, the faster his points were going down, even if he turned off the Marks.

    ¡°Hey, who ordered you to attack us?! Spill it!¡± Innu yelled at one of the students as he grabbed him by the cor. The injured guy was still barely conscious, unable to reply.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave them be. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to say anything and if we stay here we might attract the wrong kind of attention.¡± Gary suggested as he was in a good mood after feeling himself grow a little bit stronger.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, I know these guys because I used to be with them! I know everyone who could put up a fight, but these ones are just mere scrubs. They wouldn¡¯t attack us without a reason. I need to know if Eton High got a new leader after I transferred!¡± Innu kept shaking the guy, but not getting any answer, he took to another. Still no reaction. He gave Gary an annoyed look, to which the high schooler just shrugged.

    Later that night, Gary went to sleep as he did every night but when he woke up he was greeted with the message he had been putting off for a long time.

    [Your bloodlust grows even further]

    [1 day until the next full moon]

 Chapter 72: Replacement

    <h4>Chapter 72: Recement</h4>

    Eton High had clubs just like every other school. There were a couple of students who had entered the Rugby club and had changed everything in the school. Although it was Sunday, they had a ¡®special training¡¯ to get ready for tomorrow¡¯s match against Westbridge.

    Out on the field there were two boys who stood in front of everyone rather than a teacher. They were tall, and had a small frame with both hands in their pockets. One had long red hair that was tied up in a ponytail and by his side was another teenager who looked almost identical to him. The only difference was that this one had short hair.

    The long haired one gave his team instructions like a coach would until some students came running to the field. It was obvious that none of them were part of the Rugby club.

    ¡°Sren, Leng we dealt with those guys just as you asked, only Group 4 and 7 had problems.¡± One of the students reported.

    ¡°That¡¯s good enough.¡± Sren, the short-haired brother replied with a yawn. ¡°Since the rest of the groupspleted this task it will be an easy win for us. Tomorrow¡¯s going to be a cake walk, as usual.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Waking up the next day, Gary had read the dreaded message, the one that he had been putting off for the longest time.

    [The full moon is nearly upon you. Every fiber of your being is waiting in anticipation!]

    [Current bonus: All Stats +3]

    [Your bloodlust grows even further]

    [1 day until the next full moon]

    ¡®Damn it, I was hoping I actually wouldn¡¯t get stronger. The more power I borrow from the moon the quicker my Energy goes down.¡¯

    Gary¡¯s expulsion was finally over and he had prepared the apology letter for Steven and his family. Coincidentally, it was also the day of their big match. This was the reason why he had woken up extra early.

    Gary started to feel the effect of his bloodlust, but fortunately catching a few rats was enough to satisfy his urge and hunger for the next few hours. He estimated that it should be enough to get him by until lunch, though he would most likely go out again instead of eating in.

    In school, Gary and Tom were among the first ones who had arrived and Tom couldn¡¯t help but be worried about his friend.

    ¡°I know I can¡¯t stop you from ying, but I at least want you to promise to meet up with me afterwards, ok? We need to sort out your personal problem. If we can¡¯t stop you from turning, at least we should try and hold you somewhere where you won¡¯t be able to hurt anybody.¡± Tom shared his n. ¡°I¡¯ve done a lot of research and there are quite a few people that you might end up going for.¡±

    ¡°The most likely candidates are me as your best friend, your family members as well as just the first person you might see, so we need to try and stop all of that.¡±

    Gary was pretty sure that there was a good chance that he would go for someone else entirely. Since he hadn¡¯t bothered to try and get rid of the Mark from Gil, he was the only hunting target left. Ever since he had seen what he had done to the old man the other day, Gary wasing more and more around to the idea that if anyone was to die, he wouldn¡¯t feel too horrible if it was scum like him.

    In a way, he wouldn¡¯t be doing it himself either. It was his Werewolf self, so he wouldn¡¯t even feel like he was the one that killed him.

    ¡°Last chance to change your mind. Are you sure you should be ying today, especially with the full moon around the corner?¡± Tom asked, not hoping for much.

    ¡°I keep telling you, I¡¯m fine, man. Have you seen me attack anyone?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t exactly been to school, so who knows what you¡¯ve been up to.¡± Tom argued. ¡°There are plenty of annoying people in school that you might attack and it might be worse when you¡¯re out there on the rugby field. Fine¡­ I¡¯ll stop nagging.¡± Tom could see the look on Gary¡¯s face, he wasn¡¯t going to give up.

    At lunch, the Rugby team was given permission to skip the whole afternoon lessons to go through some ns for this evening¡¯s match. The whole school was also invited to watch, mostly due to Mr Root promising Headmistress Young results.

    When the Rugby club went out on the field there was something quite noticeable straight away. Gary could smell it as soon as he arrived.

    ¡®I¡¯ve smelt this before¡­¡¯

    It was only when he saw the conditions of the others that he realised that everyone was injured in some way.

    Mr Root was pacing backwards and forwards biting his fingernails.

    ¡°How could this happen? You¡¯re telling me that they¡¯ve actually gone so far as to attack all of you?!¡±

    Some students had gotten lucky, running away and making a break for it while their friends had taken a beating, others seemed to have been let off easily. They had still been injured but not to the point that they required medical attention. Still, it would take them a week or so to heal naturally.

    ¡°Hey, do you think what happened to us, happened to all of them as well?¡± Innu asked.

    Mr Root, then let out a big sigh shaking his head.

    ¡°Goddamnit, letting you out on the field will do nothing but add insult to injury. There¡¯s just one choice left. Benchwarmers, I¡¯ll need you all to fill in the positions of the regrs! Get ready everyone because we will be ying tonight!¡±

    Tom was pointing at himself, because it took him a moment to process what this meant.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get killed.¡± Tom gulped.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Gary ced his hand on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you.¡±

    Although they were meant to be words offort, it just made Tom worry even more.

    ¡ª¡ª

    This evening, everyone had gotten into their uniform. It would be an interesting match to say the least. However, one student in particr felt a growing migrainee up.

    [9 hours left until the next full moon]

 Chapter 73: The Big Day

    <h4>Chapter 73: The Big Day</h4>

    Kai was walking up the stairs, looking at the ck face of his golden rim watch. He could see that he still had a few hours until the match. All Westbridge students had been invited to watch their school¡¯s Rugby teampete against Eton High¡¯s and for certain reasons the high schooler wanted to make it back before it would start.

    The reason why Kai had to worry about time was because at this very moment, even though it was a school day, he was at a different school. What¡¯s more, he had just opened the door leading to the rooftop, where he found a lone figure.

    ¡°I was told you would be here.¡± Kai spoke up. ¡°A smoker, eh? If you treasure your body you should drop it. In a couple of years, you¡¯ll start to feel the difference. It¡¯s up to you, the gangs sure as hell will enjoy squeezing the money off of you.¡±

    The student took another puff from his cigarette, before throwing it on the floor stepping on it. He then turned around, looking directly at Kai while making sure his hair was still kept up in the perfect shape.

    ¡°People from other schools usually onlye here because they want a fight.¡± Austin stated. ¡°However, thest person I hit saved my arse, so I¡¯ve decided to take it easy from now on. Since you haven¡¯t outright attacked me or challenged me in a shy manner, I¡¯ll take it, you want something else from me?¡±

    Hearing this Kai smiled and threw out a business card. It cut through the air easily, and Austin was able to catch it.

    ¡°A green little birdy told me about your fight against a certain school invader. Apparently, you actually managed to hurt that oversized pig monster, which means you¡¯re strong.¡± Kai said. ¡°Let me ask you something. What do you n to do once you graduate?¡±

    ¡°You might feel on top of the world right now, being in charge of all these kids, but that will change once you get out. I looked into you and judging from your current grades they¡¯re barely enough to let you pass, meaning you¡¯ll struggle to find a good job, and your so-called ¡®friends¡¯ that might stick with you these days, well, they¡¯ll have no reason to stay by your side.¡±

    ¡°Your fighting skills are good¡­ for the average teenager. If you n to join a gang, you will quickly find out that out there on the streets, where people fight every single day, best case scenario your skills might allow you to be a team leader. You might not be at the bottom of the barrel, but you¡¯ll be far from the top.¡±

    ¡°However, if you want a better future,e to the ce on that card in a couple of days. If nothing else, I can at least guarantee that you will end up seeing something very interesting.¡±

    Austin looked at the card and could see an address written on it. When he looked up he could see Kai was already about to leave.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? You¡¯vee here to give me a lecture and a salesman pitch?!¡± Austin shouted.

    ¡°Yup, but the lecture was on the house. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I got a game to watch.¡± Kai replied without turning around, shutting the door behind him.

    ¡ª¡ª

    It was about time for the match to start.

    All the yers that would be fielded today were currently in the locker room, yet ke, Gary and Gil were the only regrs. The rest were those who had usually done nothing but warmed the bench. All of the benchwarmers were nervous since this was ast minute change due to unforeseen circumstances.

    ¡°My bones are too fragile for this crap! If any of those guys tackle me, I¡¯m going to be killed.¡± Tom whined, his legs actually shaking. ¡°Sh*t, I was just in the hospital. If I go there again, my parents will probably make me drop out and start homeschooling me!¡±

    ¡°Just pass the ball to me every time you get it, alright? You can let me handle all that stuff.¡± Gary tried to encourage his best friend.

    Mr Root looked at the yers at his disposal and couldn¡¯t stop shaking his head. Today would possibly be hisst day as Westbdridge¡¯s coach. Knowing this he ced his hands on the shoulders of his most promising yers.

    ¡°ke, Gary, I¡¯ll be counting on the both of you. Get out there and win this for our school! If you manage to do that, I¡¯ll treat you to an all-you-can-eat buffet!¡± Mr Root promised earnestly.

    ¡°You mean it, Coach? You¡¯ll pay for all of us?¡± Arge but unathletic student asked withrge eyes, suddenly having found some motivation to give it his best.

    ¡®I actually meant just these two, but I guess that would be seen as favoritism. ¡­ Oh what the hell. These kids need some encouragement and if it saves my job, it¡¯s a cheap price to pay!¡¯

    ¡°Sure!¡± Mr Root answered after a slight moment of hesitation, giving them all a thumbs up.

    ¡°NOW GET OUT THERE, AND SCORE SOME POINTS TO EARN YOUR MEAL!¡± Mr Root reverted to his usual tone.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside, the stands were filling up. It was a home match for Westbridge so Eton High was the oneing to their school. Their buses had arrived and the supporters as well as the members started toe out and walked towards the field and stands.

    Nearly all of the supporters were students and the Westbridge students noticed that they all looked a bit rough around the edges. nces from the other side caused the students to quickly look away.

    ¡°Kill them! Make sure you break their legs!¡± Innu screamed from the stands, standing up at the very back. Everyone turned around, yet for some reason, Innu¡¯s words gave them confidence to shout and cheer for their team.

    ¡°Hey, do you mind if I sit here?¡± A voice asked him suddenly. When Innu turned to look at the person, he noticed that a beauty had approached him, someone he recognised from his ss.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Xin, right? You sure you wouldn¡¯t rather sit with the girls from our ss?¡± He asked, getting all red faced. Xin looked at the girls, who were surrounding and praising Tiffany.

    ¡°I¡¯ve actually only transferred here myself, so I¡¯m still a bit of a loner. If it¡¯s a problem or you¡¯re reserving that seat for someone else, I can just look for another.¡±

    Innu quickly shook his head and patted the seat next to him, clearing off the dust and then gestured for the girl to take the seat.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Not far off in the stands, some of the parents had alsoe to watch the match. Today the seats were emptier than usual, after all most of the regrs weren¡¯t going to be ying today. Nevertheless, several mothers had turned up because there was a rumour that a certain someone would arrive.

    As it turned out, that rumour was true. A tall muscr handsome man who looked to be in his early thirties had appeared. He had a clean shaved beard and short hair giving him the appearance of a top ss actor.

    Of course, this person wasn¡¯t oblivious to the stares and gave his fans a friendly wave back to them.

    ¡°He is so dreamy!¡± Tiffany squealed a little bit.

    ¡°It looks like ke gets his good looks from his dad.¡± One of her drones added.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Finally, it was time for the teams to face each other. The ones walking at the front were ke and Gil as they were the most senior members. The captain of the Rugby club walked confidently, yet his partner seemed to be somewhat lost.

    Facing them was the team from Eton High, led by the twins Sren and Leng. As they saw who they would be facing, everyone on their side broke out inughter.

    Although most of the Westbridge team looked scared, there were two members who were more determined than ever. Getting into the centre of the field, the group started to practice a little, and soon the game would start.

    ¡°Gary.¡± Tom whispered to his best friend. ¡°Don¡¯t try¡­ too hard, ok.¡±

    Gary, looked back, and gave a thumbs up, he looked into the crowd and could suddenly see Xin and Innu sitting next to each other and the next moment he could feel something burn inside of him.

    ¡®Sorry, Tom¡­I might have to try a little hard.¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    ¡ª¡ª

    What Gary didn¡¯t know was that not too far away looking at the field from behind some trees, was a singlerge teenage boy.

    ¡®We don¡¯t have long¡­ I¡¯ll be waiting for you¡­¡¯ Billy thought, licking his lips.

 Chapter 74: The rugby match (1)

    <h4>Chapter 74: The rugby match (1)</h4>

    Before the match was about to start, Gary wanted to check on a couple of things. For one his growing headache that just wouldn¡¯t go away. He tried his best to hide it, as he didn¡¯t want Tom to notice, else his best friend would just nag him even more, only worsening his headache.

    [7 hours until the next full moon]

    This was the reason for his headache, and this wasn¡¯t even the first notification either. Around five hours ago a message had popped up informing him that there were 12 hours until the next full moon and it had repeated every hour since. Just like the previous ones he mentally closed it, before he went to check on his Energy bar.

    [100/120 Energy]

    The reason why his Energy levels were still so high was due to him having enjoyed a big lunch. He had eaten a lot, and was even stealing food from the others. At the same time, while walking around school, there was always some type of creature he could find not too far away.

    He hated to admit it, but he was getting used to this scavenger lifestyle. Nevertheless, without really doing anything and even after toggling off his Marks, 20 Energy points had been consumed.

    ¡®It looks like after this game, I¡¯ll have to go hunting again before trying to sort out this Werewolf crap.¡¯

    Gary let out a big sigh as he got into his newly assigned position. Today, he was ced on the right wing, while ke would be on the left wing. Even though he wasn¡¯t left handed, the stat yer could y well in any position.

    ¡®I should probably refrain from using Charging Heart for now. Let¡¯s see how I do with just my basic stats.¡¯

    Initially, one of the benchwarmers had been selected to start the match by kicking the ball. However, he dropped the ball and it hit the ground as he swung his leg and missed the ball. To avoid further embarrassment, Mr Root requested ke to be the kicker. It was a good strong kick that made it to the other side, signalling the start of the game.

    In rugby, the yers naturally ran as a line together, this was the same as the other team. To score a point, one would have to run up to the long white try line to score. The main rules were that you could only throw back the ball, you could use your feet and hands on the ball, but other than that, yers were free to tackle each other as they wished.

    Gary immediately ran towards the yer who caught the ball. The Eton High yers were confident in their strength, especially when they saw a scrawny boye towards them. Even if they got tackled, they intended to pass the ball to the next person before falling.

    However, Gary got close and immediately dived down hitting the ball carrier¡¯s legs. The surprised student fell down like a sack of potatoes. Part of it was due to the unexpectedness of the unconventional method used, but the other half was because of the strength that he felt from Gary.

    When the student fell he dropped the ball, yet a short-haired red haired boy picked it up almost instantly. Sren ran forward, yet Gary quickly recovered and went in for another tackle. As he dived, the new ball carrier quickly spun and thereby evaded the attack.

    ¡°Too slow.¡± Sren sneered running forward. Using his agility and his teammates, he was able to avoid most of the Westbridge team. ke was theirst defense.

    Another yer ran across trading paths with Sren. It only took a split second and the redhead continued to run forward. ke sessfully tackled him to the ground, but that¡¯s when he could see that he no longer had the ball.

    ¡°You might be a good yer but you seem to becking in the brains department.¡± Sren taunted the other.

    The referee blew into his whistle signalling that Eton High had scored the first point of the match. As for the one that had scored, it was none other than Leng.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Gary cursed kicking the ground. He was mostly upset that he had let the other person get away. During thest two weeks rugby had be more than a mere hobby for Gary. Thanks to the system his performance had improved immensely, allowing him to y earnestly. He knew that he was basically cheating, but it just felt good to be recognised for once. Of course, being allowed to work off his frustration was a nice bonus.

    The game restarted with Eton High kicking off. s, now that Westbridge was in possession of the ball things only got worse. The passes were bad as it instantly became obvious that the fielded yerscked any actual practice.

    Gary was having his own problems as if he saw that Gil was open, the only other decent yer on their team he refused to pass to him.

    It didn¡¯t help that they were all scared of getting hit by the other team. They all got rid of the ball so fast that one might mistake them ying ¡®hot potato¡¯ over rugby. Tom was in the unfortunate situation that he got passed the ball, yet Gary had been too far away from him. Having hesitated for too long, the high schooler ended up getting hit before he could pass.

    Eton High ended up scoring a total of four times, before ke managed to finally score one single point, something he had Gary and Gil to thank for. Unlike in professional rugby, the highschool didn¡¯t use multiple points per touchdown, and just counted them as one for simplicity.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Gary yelled. ¡°I can¡¯t catch those two redheads. They¡¯re too fast and nimble. They get away every time, even with my current speed!¡¯

    ¡®I should be okay if I use it until the end of the game, right? I know the half time still hasn¡¯t been called.¡¯ Gary tried to convince himself, unwilling to let his first rugby match end in aplete catastrophe. It would be one thing if the other team was simply better than theirs, but it just didn¡¯t sit well with him that they were sorely losing because of Eton High¡¯s dirty tactics. To be honest, Gary wasn¡¯t sure if they could win even if they had all of their regrs, that was what was more annoying Eton high were good, so why the need to resort to dirty tactics.

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy points]

    [Dexterity 10 (+3)]

 Chapter 75: The rugby match (2)

    <h4>Chapter 75: The rugby match (2)</h4>

    Gary had already been doing well in the game without having to use charging heart. This was mostly due to the power of the moon; otherwise, he would have still fallen slightly behind the athletic students, but now with Charging heart active and the power of the moon Gary was at his strongest.

    Since ke had luckily managed to score a point, it was time for Westbridge to kick off the ball again.

    ¡°Coach Root, let me do it.¡± Gary raised his hand asking for permission.

    With how things were going, Mr Root didn¡¯t really care. It was obvious that Eton High would put more people on ke now, leaving virtually no chance for aeback. ke or Gil didn¡¯t voice any objection so the teacher just allowed the high schooler to do as he wished.

    Getting ready, Gary dropped the ball, and booted it as hard as he could. He had powered all of his frustration into kicking the ball and didn¡¯t hold back. The ball went high in the air, and further than any of ke¡¯s kicks and down so far, it had gone so far some people even thought it was going to hit the try line. In the end, it was a few meters short.

    Sren had run all the way to the back but even with his speed he was unable to get back in time to catch it.

    ¡°Did you see that kick? I don¡¯t even think I¡¯ve seen that in professional Rugby games.¡± One of the parentsmented.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a smaller pitch, but that was definitely an impressive kick.¡± Another added.

    What some of the yers at Eton high noticed and same with ke was the kick Gary had done, had no signs of proper technique, the ball shouldn¡¯t have gone that far. Meaning he had done it all with raw power.

    ¡®Gary¡­I¡¯m thankful that you¡¯re on our team, but the improvement you have had, what happened to you?¡¯ ke thought.

    The game went on and ke surprisingly managed to snatch the ball off of one of their yers, but just as Mr Root feared, after that the team had him surrounded. They knew there was no need to focus on the other yers, and they were blocking his path from passing to Gil. Gary, seeing this had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

    ¡®You can do it, right? Then go show them what you got!¡¯ ke chucked the ball right though the gap towards Gary, and after catching the ball like a rocket, he was off.

    Gary just ran straight. He knew better than to try and use any fancy footwork that he wasn¡¯t used to, to evade the opposition. One of the Eton High yers went for the tackle, but the ball carrier just continued running even when his legs were touched. Gary was like a train on tracks, not stopping in the least. Once he got past the first two it was smooth sailing until he reached the try line to score a point.

    ¡°I did it! I scored a point!¡± Gary yelled out in triumph. He then looked over the stands and enjoyed the feeling of being cheered on, especially since the one person he was looking out for gave him a standing ovation.

    ¡°Did you see that?¡± Leng asked his brother. ¡°Since when did Westbridge have someone like him? Was he holding back on us the entire time?¡±

    ¡°Of course I saw that.¡± Sren answered in frustration. It was one thing to lose a point to the star yer, but this was somethingpletely unexpected and he didn¡¯t like that. ¡°No idea what¡¯s gotten into that guy. ording to our intel, he was supposed to be a benchwarmer, just like the rest of them. Now it seems like he¡¯s their star yer. Let¡¯s just put more people on him!¡±

    The game continued, but that wasn¡¯t the only point Gary ended up scoring. With his sheer power he was able to force his way through nearly each time. At some point some of the yers on ke were also put on him. Using that opportunity, he would pass the ball, allowing the real star yer to score.

    When the referee called for a break, the score was 7 - 4 for the home team. They had managed to nearly double the other¡¯s points, but there was still a problem. Despite his boost, he was unable to catch up to either of the twins. What¡¯s more, his Energy had decreased sharply, which would make it risky to use Charging Heart again.

    During the break, Tom approached Gary. ¡°¡¯m guessing your sudden boost in performance is due to the moon. Do you feel any different? Any sudden¡­ urges?¡± Tom asked carefully.

    Gary smiled back as he went back into position. ¡°Just a healthy desire to win this match!¡±

    Both teams went into position. Gary noticed the twins had an evil smile on their faces. In those few minutes, they had devised a strategy for how to deal with the ¡®annoying green head¡¯.

    After the kick, Gary was in possession of the ball, yet five people had him surrounded. It was the required number of people to stop him without making it too easy for ke to score. Already used to this, Gary had no choice but to pass the ball to the closest person, Tom.

    They had done this a few times already and his best friend would usually just pass it onto the next person, but as soon as the ball left Gary¡¯s finger tips, two redheaded students could be seen running through.

    Before he had any chance to react, they both crushed Tom banging into him from either side, he fell to the ground in seconds, but that wasn¡¯t the end of it. Turning around, both of them with their studded metal boots stepped on Tom¡¯s hand. It had gone right through his palm causing him to bleed.

    ¡°Why the f*ck is it always me?!¡± Tom screamed in pain.

    In almost an instant, Gary leapt from where he was,nding right on top of Sren, pinning him to the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

 Chapter 76: Visions

    <h4>Chapter 76: Visions</h4>

    Moments before the incident, up in the stands, Xin noticed something strange in the stand opposite theirs. One of the Eton High students had a hand-held camera in his hand, and was filming the entire match. Next to him was another student with aptop who seemedpletely focused on it and nothing else around him.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that look a bit strange? They¡¯ve been filming since the start of the match.¡± Xin mentioned, as something was giving her the feeling that things weren¡¯t as they seemed.

    ¡°Is it?¡± Innu just shrugged it off. His attention was on the game, ever since Gary started to just bulldoze his way through the field. There was a certain excitement from everyone watching, each time he got the ball.

    ¡°Don¡¯t a lot of sports teams film their matches? It¡¯s not like anyone else will film such an amateur match. It makes it easy to rey important moments and learn from them so they can improve.¡± Innu added as he looked up.

    ¡°¡­Although now that I say it, that doesn¡¯t sound like them. Come to think of it, if they were that diligent about getting better then they should have had no need to attack all the regrs.

    ¡°They attacked you guys?!¡± Xin yelped out, surprised. ¡°No wonder I barely recognize any of the members.¡±

    If it had only been the camera guy then she wouldn¡¯t have thought much of it, but it was the fact that the student next to them also had theputer when they should have been focusing on the game.

    It was then, though, that a loud shout from a familiar voice was heard grabbing her attentionpletely.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Gary shouted, having pinned down one of the Eton High yers, and it was one of the twins, Sren.

    It was seemingly out of nowhere, and so fast that both teams didn¡¯t know how to act. Looking at Sren, Gary had already pulled back his fist and threw it out. Moving his head to the side just in time, the high schooler ended up hitting nothing but the ground beneath. Making it hard for anyone looking to know just how hard the punch was.

    The first one to act from Eton High was Sren¡¯s brother Leng, but as the two of them met eyes, Sren just shook his head, and his brother backed down. While also looking back at the stands making sure everything was okay.

    ¡°You slimy little snake!¡± Gary cursed, as he pulled back his fist again, ready to aim at the other¡¯s chest. However, by this time his fellow yers from Westbridge had arrived and were trying to stop him from doing something stupid and grabbed onto his arms.

    ¡°Stop it Gary! He wants you to hit him! If you attack him they¡¯ll kick you off the pitch!¡± One of the students tried to reason with him as he held onto Gary¡¯s outstretched arm.

    s, he wasn¡¯t listening and looked at Sren who gave him a satisfied smirk, making him want to punch him even more.

    Four people were pulling Gary back, and yet it looked as if it still wasn¡¯t enough for them to pull him off, until a certain person came and pushed him off the other from the front. Sren didn¡¯t thank him and just tsked as he went away.

    Gary could see ke above him.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing? That guy hurt Tom! If you get in my w-!¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Tom shouted, holding his hand. ¡°I¡¯m okay. They only pierced my skin a little, it just hurt a lot, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Although this might have been the case, that wasn¡¯t why Gary was angry, he could tell that what they had done was intentional.

    They had hurt his friend again after Gary had talked about Tom being safe next to him.

    With this thought in his head, Gary continued to charge forward and the yers were there trying to hold him back again, but with Gary¡¯s strength, he was just skidding them across the grass.

    Still, ke stood firmly in his way. Seeing this, his father stood up from the crowd.

    ¡°He must be worried about his son!¡± One of the mothers said.

    ¡°That boy is so vicious, where is his mother?¡± Another asked.

    In the stand not too far away, Kai was also watching the match with Marie.

    ¡°Is this what you expected?¡± Marie asked.

    Kai smiled looking at the site.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s even better. He is exactly who we need. I¡¯ve never seen someone get so angry over a friend being hurt like that¡­he¡¯s perfect.¡±

    ¡°GARY!¡± Tom shouted, getting in between ke and him. ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡±

    Tom held up his hand showing that his wound wasn¡¯t a big deal, he could even still y. Seeing this, Gary finally seemed to somewhat settle down.

    However, the referee looked to be in a troublesome spot, wondering just what to do. Mr Root, seeing this, quickly went to his side, and ced his hands together as if he was begging.

    ¡°Nowe on, there¡¯s no need to do anything. These are just hot headed teens. Of course they¡¯re going to get aggressive in a fight like this. Besides, in the end, only our yer was the one that actually got hurt.¡± Mr Root argued.

    The referee nced at the teacher, he understood why he was being this way. From watching the match, Westbride¡¯s team were mostly made of amateurs and the one that had gotten involved in a scuffle was one of their star yers.

    If he was taken out of the game, then there would be no hope for Westbridge. He also was aware of Eton High¡¯s reputation, so he was sure their attack wasn¡¯t a coincidence.

    It was only because of this, that the ref at the end of the day, decided to keep the game going on with no consequences on either side.

    Before the match was to resume, Gary went to look at Tom¡¯s hand.

    ¡°You seem to be getting hurt a lot these days. Are you sure you¡¯re okay and it¡¯s not just the adrenaline?¡± Gary asked

    Tom lifted his hand up again, showing his best friend the wound.

    ¡°Look it¡¯s only a flesh wound, it just ripped the skin a little it will be fine-¡°

    Strangely, Gary grabbed onto Tom¡¯s hand and looked at it closely. At first Tom thought it was out of concern and he just wanted a closer look, but then he noticed that the other¡¯s eyes seemed almost obsessed with it.

    ¡°G-gary? Oi, Gary!¡± Tom shouted, yet the other was still holding onto his hand.

    At that moment, Gary was having visions¡­ visions of biting down on Tom¡¯s hand. He soon let go and almost fell back to the ground as he backed up.

    ¡°I¡­I-I got to get out of this game, Tom¡­I have to leave now¡­¡± Gary mumbled, and that¡¯s when Tom noticed that there was a significant change to Gary.

    His eyes, they no longer looked like that of a human, and instead had gone slightly yellow changing shape.

    ¡°Are you¡­changing? Right here, right now?!¡± Tom helplessly looked around for a way for the other to disappear.

 Chapter 77: Wolfâ€™s howl

    <h4>Chapter 77: Wolf¡¯s howl</h4>

    The look in Tom¡¯s eyes said it all. Gary saw the way he had been staring at him. No matter what had happened so far, his best friend had never pulled a face quite like this before.

    ¡®Stop it! Stop it! Why are you looking at me like that!¡¯ Gary thought.

    At the moment, Tom wanted to reach out to Gary but his body froze up. He didn¡¯t know what to do as it was the first time he had actually seen his best friend slightly change. Sure the other had told him what he was, but seeing it happen appeared to have awoken a primal instinct in him that made him want to run away.

    Tom had seen many Altered change into their beast form, but Gary¡¯s case was clearly different. Shaking his head, he managed to get a grip on himself and started to look around to see if anyone else had noticed. It was at that moment, that Gary himself covered up, putting his head into his shirt.

    ¡®Come on, Gary, calm down! Calm down!!! What¡¯s going on, system? I should still have time! Thest notification was about the full moon being 6 hours away, so why am I changing now?¡¯ Gary asked himself in a panic, still covering his head.

    ¡°Gary, it¡¯s going to be okay!¡±

    He could hear Tom¡¯s voice, but he refused to look at him, afraid of what might happen. ¡°If you need to get out of here, then don¡¯t let us stop you. It¡¯s just a stupid high school rugby game anyway. Heck, it¡¯s the first one this season. Look, I want you to head over to the Cipen side of town, to a storage warehouse called Yellow Stack.¡±

    ¡°There is a storage unit in my family¡¯s name. My parents use it to store some items from the experiments they run, but I managed to find out their passcode to it. Just in case, I ced a few things inside that should hopefully help with your¡­ situation. If you feel like you can¡¯t control it, lock the door to stop you from going out. We¡¯ll get through this together¡­ okay?¡±

    Gary had carefully listened to Tom¡¯s entire speech. At the same time he had done his best to breathe in and out deeply, further helping him calm his heart down. His Charging Heart skill had finished. Eventually his heart rate lowered below 150 BPM, and slowly he came out from his shirt.

    ¡°Gary, your¡­¡±

    From the look on Tom¡¯s face Gary could tell that his appearance had gone back to default.

    ¡°Thank you, Tom. I-I f-feel better now. I-I believe I know what was causing the problem. I should be able to stay.¡± Gary said hesitantly before quickly adding. ¡°Just for a short while! I mean Mr Root practically begged the ref to let me stay, so I don¡¯t want to upset everyone now.¡±

    ¡®It had to be Charging Heart. Yeah, that must have been it. With how close it¡¯s to the full moon, my elevated heart rate must be messing with me. Tom¡¯s wound might have just triggered it. I swear, after this game, I¡¯ll head straight to that storage unit!¡¯ Gary tried to convince himself as he inched back to his position.

    The game was about to resume, though Tom wasn¡¯t sure if Gary had made the right decision since he had no idea how the other felt. He just knew that getting close to his best friend wasn¡¯t adviseable right now, not because he was scared of him, but because he was afraid that his wound might be the cause of the other¡¯s change.

    As the game resumed, the two teams continued as normal. Eton had possession of the ball, and Leng was holding onto it tightly. He then looked over his shoulder for a second to see where his brother was, yet in that brief moment, the ball was snatched from his hands, by none other than ke.

    He quickly ran past all the others, proving why he was the team captain and team ace. Sren, who was further back, went in for the tackle, but with a jump, ke narrowly avoided it and went on to score the try. Everyone from Westbridge unanimously started to cheer the star yer¡¯s name. The girls¡¯ screams were especially deafening.

    ¡®If you¡¯re going to stop me from getting the ball from my own teammates, then I¡¯ll just have to steal it from you guys instead.¡¯

    As the game continued, Gary had be far more passive than in the first half, not that it stopped his team from passing him the ball, after all that¡¯s what had gotten them the points so far. However, it quickly became noticeable that Gary¡¯s speed had dropped and something had changed in him ever since the fight.

    ¡°You¡¯re slow, even slower than at the start.¡± Leng alone tackled Gary to the ground. Meanwhile, Sren picked up the loose ball and continued to run forward, but once again ke was ready, as if he had predicted Gary¡¯s fall.

    He stopped their advance, and it was time for another turnaround. s, he alone could only do so much. Fortunately, they had managed to get a good lead in the first half. The game came to an end with a score of 9:9, making it a draw.

    ¡°We drew! We freaking did it!¡± Mr Root cheered. ¡°I get to keep my job and I don¡¯t even need to treat anyone to dinner!¡±

    Of course it was all thanks to ke and the team started to lift him into the air, throwing him celebrating their draw as if they had won. Although Gary had done a lot for the team, it had been limited to the first half.

    It was strange, because the way Sren and Leng were acting, it was as if they had lost.

    ¡°What is wrong with you all?!¡± Sren shouted in anger, punching one of his own teammates, causing them to fall to the ground. The spectators could see this, but now that the game was over they could do nothing about it. Neither Eton High¡¯s teachers nor the other did anything about it, seemingly used to this sort of behaviour.

    ¡°We knew that ke was a good yer. We knew if we yed against them with him it would be risky.¡± Leng argued the oue. ¡°What we didn¡¯t expect was for him to be good as well.¡±

    As for who Leng was referring to, it was naturally Gary. The outlier looked to be staring into space with his head full of his own thoughts. His headache was bing worse, and there was a slight dull ring that had appeared as well.

    The high schooler felt as if all the noises were drowned out from the outside.

    ¡°That stupid git cost us a sh*tton of money!¡± Sren cursed. He picked up the nearby rugby ball and threw it directly towards Gary. Those in the crowd watching gasped but could do nothing as it hit its designated target.

    It was a clean hit, connecting to his head from the side, making Gary fall to the ground.

    ¡°Arghh my head!¡± Gary yelled out, his hands on the grass and closed his hands together grabbing the mud.

    ¡°Is he seriously hurt or something, rugby balls aren¡¯t that hard?¡± Innu asked with worry, looking at his gang leader. He was furious and was ready to give the twin a taste of his own medicine, but he knew it was impossible to get to him. Not with his entire team behind him.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Gary shouted almost, but managed to hold it in so it sounded like a few grunts. The parents couldn¡¯t hear because the students were still celebrating their draw, and Tom didn¡¯t want to get close, afraid that the smell of blood would just worsen the situation even further.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s acting really strange. I don¡¯t think the rugby ball caused that. He looks to be in incredible pain and¡­ it looks like he¡¯s sweating.¡± Xin pointed out. It was hard to see from her position.

    The two of them weren¡¯t the only ones that had noticed this. Kai and Marie had both been keeping an eye on Gary as well. The action of the sore loser was way out of line, but Gary¡¯s reaction was also unnatural.

    ¡°Gary, get out of here!¡± Tom shouted from what he deemed to be a safe distance. ¡°You have to go home early, don¡¯t you? Your mum and sister are waiting for you.¡±

    This was a lie. As far as his family knew, he would be staying at Tom¡¯s tonight after the match. So they wouldn¡¯t get suspicious when they returned, but he was just hoping his words would get through.

    *Ahh-wooo!!!*

    ¡°Was that a¡­wolf howl?¡± Those from the crowd wondered. It sounded so clear and clean, it was a sound they had only heard in movies, and they could tell it hade from the direction of the woods that were near the fields.

    ¡°A wolf? Here in our backwood¡¯s town? That¡¯s crazy.¡± Innu nervouslyughed it off, but nced in the direction of the nearby woods.

    When they turned around to look back on the field though, Gary was no longer there.

 Chapter 78: The full moon

    <h4>Chapter 78: The full moon</h4>

    It was only for a split second that Tom had taken his eyes off of Gary to look into the direction that strange howl hade from. He looked everywhere on the field for his best friend, even asking some of the nearby yers but none of them had seen him disappear. Their focus had been on ke and then on the wolf howl.

    ¡®That definitely sounded like a wolf¡­ Don¡¯t tell me that was the other werewolf? Was that howl meant to be some sort of challenge? ¡­please be safe, Gary!¡¯

    He wasn¡¯t the only one who was confused about the sudden disappearance of a certain high schooler, though. Innu and Xin both had seen him get hit by the rugby ball, as well as the frantic Tom searching for him. They both decided to head down from the stands and ask him what had happened.

    Surprisingly, two more people were heading towards Tom from another stand.

    ¡°Tom, you¡¯re Gary¡¯s friend, right? We saw him get hit by that scumbag, but now he¡¯s gone. Is he ok?¡± Xin was the first to speak. Hearing that the girl¡¯s question was along the lines of what Kai himself had wanted to ask Tom, he decided to just listen. Innu, noticing that Kai hade down, felt a little awkward since he didn¡¯t know how to behave around him.

    ¡°You¡¯re also looking for Gary? Hang on a moment, what do you care anyway? I haven¡¯t heard you asking about him even once during his expulsion, but now you¡¯re worried? You don¡¯t even know him that well, and you¡¯re just the new guy, and you two¡­ holy sh*t, aren¡¯t you Kai Hemper, that rich kid from the year above?!¡± Tom realised as he looked at those surrounding figures.

    ¡°The one and only.¡± Kai let out augh at Tom¡¯s hrious expression. ¡°Would you kindly tell us where that green head is. We¡¯ve be¡­ ¡®acquaintances¡¯ and I have something for him.¡±

    Tom had a bad feeling about that. He had no clue at this moment how Gary hade to know all of these different people, or why they had suddenly cared for him. For as long as Tom could remember it had just been the two of them against the world.

    ¡®I can¡¯t tell them about Gary, at least not today. No one can know about what he¡¯s going through right now. Otherwise they might think he¡¯s the one that killed all of those¡­¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where Gary is, it¡¯ste he probably went home!¡± Tom shouted as he started to run away from the others before turning around for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t go out after midnight tonight, especially you, Xin, just stay at home!¡±

    The other four looked at each other, and they all had the same expression. It was clear that Tom did know something and was trying to hide it, even though they didn¡¯t know why¡­

    ¡°Well, should we follow him?¡± Marie asked the obvious.

    ¡°Depends, does anyone have a better n on how to find Greeny?¡± Kai asked, but none of them spoke up. Innu quickly moved over to Kai and Marie to join them, but noticed that someone else was following them.

    ¡°Hey, It¡¯s prettyte and you know how this town is. I mean I¡¯m happy to protect you and all but I¡¯m sure your parents are worried about you.¡± Innu tried to gently tell Xin to go away without being too patronising, yet still appearing strong.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can handle myself.¡± Xin replied, as she looked into the crowd of parents, and there was a man in a suit standing up. As long as he traveled with her things would be fine. Kai didn¡¯t voice any objections, just shrugged and with that the four of them decided to follow Tom¡¯s trail to see where he would go next, hoping that it would lead them to Gary.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    At the moment, Gary himself was covered in sweat as he sprinted towards the direction Tom had told him. He wasn¡¯t sweating because he was tired, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He was running through streets, staying in crowded areas.

    ¡®That howl, I¡¯m sure that had to be from Billy! Has he somehow already transformed? If that¡¯s the case¡­ he must be after me. Anyone whoes close to me will be in danger, and it¡¯s the same for those close to me.¡±

    ¡®For now¡­ with all these people around I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll attack me¡­ I hope.¡¯ Gary gulped as he recalled how Billy had attacked Innu during the day in school, so who knew what they were nning to do. An hour had passed, yet Gary had neither encountered Billy, nor felt his presence. However, he had finally made it to Yellow Stack.

    ¡®Five hours, five more hours. He isn¡¯t around, is he?¡¯ Gary wondered as he started to sniff the air. He could only smell industry and faded scents. Turning the Marks on, he needed a moment to find them, as they were quite faint.

    Tom had picked a perfect hiding ce for him. This area didn¡¯t seem to have many living ces. Just factories with workers who would have already gone home. Unfortunately Gary was still in his rugby uniform which didn¡¯t have a hood, so he opted to enter from the roof instead of the front entrance, in case anyone was there or the cameras.

    Fortunately, Gary had had a lot of practice sneaking in recently and with his current stats it was quite easy for him to do. There were plenty of ledges and pipes, where he could pull himself up with his own body weight. Something that would have been impossible for the past him.

    One of the windows had been left open in therge storage warehouse from the top, and going through them he found himself on some type of metal railing. He looked to see if there was anyone inside, and even sniffed the air, but it didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    ¡®I guess the storage units themselves are quite secure so there¡¯s no need for a nightguard.¡¯

    Gary looked at his phone, the regr one. Tom had sent him a text, telling him it was storage unit 23, and that the passcode was his best friend¡¯s birthday. Going down, Gary eventually walked past all of them, until he could finally see arge yellow painted ¡®23¡¯ on the outside.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m going to spend the night, or maybe even the whole day in there.¡¯ Gary thought to himself. He walked up to the container and on the side of it, there was a little digital keypad. Inputting the code, the door slowly started to lift open and white lights from the ceiling were turned on.

    ¡®Whoa, what the hell is this ce?! This looks more like an abandonedb than a storage unit.¡¯ Gary thought as he stepped inside. He could see strange machines he didn¡¯t even know what they did, but they looked incredibly expensive.

    There were also books upon books piled up in the room, from what he could see the majority seemed to be some scientific theories and discoveries. He carefully passed it, until he saw that the very back looked different. It was the only ce that had been cleared out. There was a table, and on the table there was a set of chains and a bag.

    Gary made sure to close the door behind him, and locked it.

    ¡®Wait, what even happens if I transform? Will I be in control? If not, won¡¯t my werewolf self know the code on how to get out? ¡­ maybe, I¡¯ll be a primal beast, who can¡¯t think straight? System, mind giving me a sneak peek or something?¡¯

    Gary looked inside the stic bag and he couldn¡¯t help butugh, because at one point, he would have loved to receive such a thing, especially in February, but now it looked very unappealing. After all, it was practically poison to him right now.

    Taking the bag off the floor, Gary then could see a chain on the table. A thick heavy chain, and the table could be raised and had holes in it. They also had cuffs that once shut could only be open by keys.

    ¡®So I guess he wants me to strap myself in this thing, right? Should I do that now? ¡­ but I still have a few hours.¡¯

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure how much leeway he had. As such he already started to familiarise himself with the process of chaining himself.

    ¡®Where did Tom even buy all this stuff? Probably online. Oh god, I don¡¯t even want to think how much all of it cost¡­ Thank you, Tom. I promise, I¡¯ll pay you back in the future. ¡­ just need to literally survive first, though¡­ ¡¯

    Gary was finally set, the only thing left to do would be to clip the chains on his legs and arms. Tom messaged him saying to text him after everything was over and he was back to his regr self. If he didn¡¯t hear from him, he woulde pick him up in 24 hours and unlock it.

    Gary¡¯s two phones were ced on another table on the side. The high schooler waited, until the timer was down to itsst hour. Now knowing that Billy hadn¡¯t appeared he decided to click in both of the cuffs on his legs, and then finally clipped the ones on his hands. He waited, and waited, but time seemed to be moving incredibly slow. His onlypany was the system that was counting down to midnight.

    ¡®Alright, it doesn¡¯t look like Billy followed me, I just hope he can¡¯t sense where I am or something when I change, and I hope this will be able to hold me back.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Finally, the time hade.

    [A full moon has appeared]

    [The power of the moon is at its strongest and empowers you]

    [Transformation has begun]

 Chapter 79: Transform

    <h4>Chapter 79: Transform</h4>

    As soon as Gary saw those messages appear, he started to feel a change in his body. It began with his heart beat. Someone seemed to have put the intensity all the way to the maximum setting. When he checked his status in the system he saw that the BPM was constantly rising, already having surpassed 200 BPM with no signs of stopping.

    It felt like his organ was trying its best to either burst through his chest or jump out of his mouth. The increased oxygen flow inside his body led to Gary experiencing everything more vividly, from his feet all the way to the top of his head. The high schooler immediately pulled on the chains from the pain, yet they did their job perfectly, preventing him from touching his head.

    Unfortunately for Gary though, the strange sensations didn¡¯t stop there. The next thing that he noticed was that his skin started to feel ufortable. He felt constricted, as if he had put on a shirt that was a few sizes too small. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was hallucinating or not, but he believed that he saw it start to fall off of him.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Gary loudly screamed out in pain, his throat on the verge of ripping, but he needed to do something to release this pressure that was piling up. The veins on his arms and neck became visible. They had grown in size looking like faint tubes about to burst due to the pressure they were under. His muscles started to grow, and more skin started to fall off from his body, being reced by dark ck fur.

    ¡®Someone, please make it stop! This pain, I can¡¯t take it anymore!!!¡¯ Gary begged internally as he screamed out all his frustrations, aware that nobody was out there to hear or help him. It was getting too much for him and he was sure that he was losing his mind.

    ¡®I have to stay focused! I have to stay conscious!¡¯ The high schooler thought to himself, concentrating on the ones he tried to protect, his friends and family. Gary feared that something very bad would happen if his transformation overwhelmed him and he wasn¡¯t sure that he would be able to live with himself if he hurt any of them.

    Just when he believed himself able to tolerate that amount of pain, his very bones started stretching. It was a hundred times worse than any growth spurt and it affected all of them at once. At some point they collectively cracked, before they all began to regenerate on the spot, growing longer and more durable.

    Finally, his face was itching all over as if a million tiny invisible bugs were crawling on it. His mouth, jaw and nose seemed to shift around, his eyesight and vision was changing. Gary didn¡¯t even register that his ears had also elongated as his consciousness was slowly fading.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡­¡¯ was thest thing Gary had running through his mind.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The four teenagers had been diligently following Tom around for a while now, ever since he had left the locker room. He had led them to an area of Slough called Cipen side. It was one of the more upmarket sides of the town. As nice as a Tier-3 ce could get at least. It was obvious that a lot of the money had been put into this area, as the teenagers saw a lot of night life despite howte it was being. There were restaurants, bars and even clubs.

    It was an unusual sight in Slough, making Tom¡¯s presence more than strange. So far it had looked like he had been walking around aimlessly. Kai had carefully made sure that they stayed a distance away from him, cautious that Tom wouldn¡¯t spot them, but as time went on they noticed that the one in front of him was oblivious to his own situation. He wasn¡¯t even paying attention to his surroundings, being far more concerned with his phone.

    ¡°Huh, so this is where all the big wigs of slough live? I don¡¯t even see any gangs here, that¡¯s a nice change.¡± Innumented.

    ¡°Of course there are gangs here.¡± Kai sneered at the other¡¯s naivety. ¡°Otherwise this ce wouldn¡¯t be able to operate the way it is. In fact this area is one of the more important ces due to how much money it generates. You not seeing anyone just means that this particr area is protected by some gang nobody dares to mess with.¡±

    They were on a pretty busy main street, and some of the adults were giving them funny looks, wondering what kids were doing here at thiste hour. The only one who didn¡¯t look out of ce among them was Kai. He even walked like the others.

    ¡®He¡¯s right, but who is this guy to know so much?¡¯ Xin thought.

    Continuing to follow Tom, it honestly didn¡¯t feel like he was doing much, and constantly the group would check with each other to see if it was okay for them to be staying out thiste. Since they were all school students, tomorrow would be a school day. Innu had no problem, he was free to do as he wished, simr to Kai and Marie.

    However, for Xin, she just had to check that a certain someone was still following them.

    ¡°Well, you guys surely have nothing better to do. It¡¯s almost midnight and this is what you¡¯re doing?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Well, I guess everyone has their special circumstances.¡±

    No one said anything, so they continued on their wild rabbit chase, until their target decided to eventually head out to the park. It was a shortcut that would allow someone to head to Yellow Stack and the warehouse side of Cipen.

    His n was to stay here, since it should be far enough away for Gary to notice him, yet still close enough that he could get to Yellow Stack if something were to happen. Eventually they all just watched Tom sitting down staring at his phone. The group waited hiding behind trees a distance away.

    They waited and waited until one of them got frustrated.

    ¡°Ah, this is getting annoying!¡± Marie called out, pacing over quickly. ¡°Hey, Tom!¡±

    Immediately, he turned his head, facepalming as he realised that he had been followed. Since Marie had revealed herself, the rest came out as well, heading towards the high schooler together.

    ¡°We all have better things to do. Just tell us where the hell Gary went. Don¡¯t even try to bullsh*t us that you just came here for a walk. Cipen might be considered safe and all but it¡¯s still incredibly dangerous!¡± The girl demanded an answer, impatiently whipping with her foot.

    As the group continued to walk towards Tom, he got off from his seat and started to panic, looking for where to run off to. When he could see they were close he had almost given up, but suddenly all of them stopped in their tracks. Standing behind them, they could see two glowing eyes from the foliage.

    They could hear the nasty sound of someone heavily breathing, letting out a nasty snarling noise.

    ¡°Look out!¡± Kai shouted, as he sprinted to Tom, grabbing his underssman by the wrist, pulling him forward. At that moment, tworge ws swung down and a loud bang was heard. When they looked at what had happened, they could see that something had destroyed the bench Tom had been sitting on just moments ago. Now turning around, Tom could see what Kai had just saved him from. There was a figure that looked to be close to two and a half meters in height.

    It had bulging muscles, ws and was covered in dark fur making it hard to see in the darkness. Its snout wasrge, and it¡¯s razor sharp teeth could be seen sticking out from its mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s a¡­a¡­W-w-w-Werewolf!¡± Tom managed to stutter out, his hands shaking. At that moment, all of them froze in ce, unsure what to do. Its glowing eyes had something hypnotising to them, making them feel like prey in front of arge predator.

    Fortunately someone else ran in front of them all, waking them up from their stupor. It was a man in a suit who had followed behind them.

    ¡°Xin, get away!¡± The man yelled, turning his head. ¡°I will deal with this Altered!¡±

    The professional bodyguard was about to pull something out of his jacket¡­ yet he never got the chance. The mythological creature had swiped once with his mighty arms. Before any of the teenagers could blink, the head of the man who had wanted to save them separated from his shoulders, flying past them into the park.

    The next second the body fell to the ground, releasing a torrent of blood.

    All five of them knew that their lives were in danger¡­ their chances to survive this were slim to none.

 Chapter 80: Nightmare on Cipen Park

    <h4>Chapter 80: Nightmare on Cipen Park</h4>

    There were a lot of dangers that everyone needed to look out for in a Tier-3 town like Slough. The teenagers were being cautious, yet each one of them was quite confident in their own skills, believing that no matter what they would face today, that they would be able to deal with it.

    However, that was limited to their ownmon sense. A werewolf had naturally not been one of the things any one of them had been prepared to ever see in their life, much less tonight. As such, they had all slightly frozen in fear from the mythological beast that had appeared in front of them. Before they could really react, they witnessed how thatrge mass of muscle killed a man in front of their very eyes without any effort whatsoever.

    Tom immediately became watery eyed, and he could feel something warm soaking his trousers. trickling down his leg.

    ¡®Did I just¡­wet myself¡­werewolves have a sensitive nose¡­ let¡¯s hope this will make me unappetising to eat¡­¡¯

    However, the beast didn¡¯t attack them outright, instead it started to dig into the dead person who was on the ground, ripping the corpse to pieces with its sharp teeth.

    ¡°Everyone, we need to get out of here now!¡± Kai instructed and he didn¡¯t need to tell them twice. Xin noticed that Tom was still slightly frozen, so she grabbed him, dragging her ssmate alongside them. Now that he was no longer looking at the beast, he continued to run with the others.

    ¡°What was that? That thing didn¡¯t look like any Altered I ever saw!¡± Innu asked as he ran.

    ¡°Who knows, it might be the thing responsible for all those killings on the news!¡± Marie theorised.

    At the moment the group was following Kai. Unfortunately, the park wasrge with big open fields. The impromptu group leader had a bad feeling that once the beast was done with his meal, that he would follow after them. At thiste hour the chances weren¡¯t great for them to find someone else in the park that might catch the werewolf¡¯s interest.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go through the trees. It will directly take us to the main street, with a lot of people. It seems hungry so hopefully it will be distracted by all the adults that will make more of a meal than us.¡± Kai suggested. The others agreed, if only because they had no better idea and just wanted to get as far away from that thing as possible. Only Tom had a different thought running through his head.

    ¡®That¡­ must have been Gary! I bet he came right for me. One of those books mentioned that a werewolf woulde after those that were closest to him as a human. So he either came for me¡­or Xin¡­or maybe even one of those people I don¡¯t know. This is probably the worst group to be with right now!¡¯ Tom panicked, but he didn¡¯t dare to seperate.

    At the same time, Xin had tried to make a call to a certain someone during their escape. Until today she had thought that her trusted bodyguard would have been able to stop any gangsters that were after their group, but when faced against an Altered, only another Altered stood a chance.

    ¡®Come on, Jayden, why aren¡¯t you picking up?! I really need your help right now!¡¯ Xin prayed sincerely, but there was no answer on the other end. She could only send him a text about her emergency, hoping that he would read it sooner rather thanter.

    The group entered the park¡¯s forest and began running through the trees, but that¡¯s when they noticed something up above. They could hear a being move at a fast speed, breaking downrge branches as it went from one tree to another.

    ¡®Damn it! Why couldn¡¯t there be somerge fat guy in the park today hoping to lose a few pounds, that would have made for a tastier target!¡¯ Kaimented theirck of luck. His n was sound, yet he didn¡¯t know that the werewolf was after one of their group in particr. Before they could get out of the forest, the beast had dropped down, blocking the path of the entire group.

    Now they were practically in the middle of nowhere, with no one around to help them, but Marie had finally gotten through to someone on her phone.

    ¡°999, what¡¯s your emergency?¡± The operator asked.

    ¡°HELP, WE¡¯RE IN CIPEN PARK AND THERE IS AN ALTERED ATTACK-!¡± Marie shouted, but before she could finish, someone grabbed her head from behind and pushed it down into the leaves. It was so sudden and hard that some dirt had flown into her mouth. It was Xin whose quick reflexes had saved the other girl¡¯s life.

    The werewolf had leapt at Marie with the phone, seemingly understanding that it was a bad idea to allow her to finish the call. Luckily for the group, it¡¯s hasty action had not only missed the werewolf¡¯s target, but it had also crashed into one of the trees behind them.

    Unfortunately, they all knew better than to hope that this would be enough to keep such a creature down. The werewolf stood up, and started to look at them all, sniffing the air with its bloody snout.

    ¡°Gary!¡± Tom shouted with tears in his eyes. ¡°Please¡­please don¡¯t attack us! Look at us, we¡¯re your friends! Part of you knows that, right?! Please, you have to recognise my voice!¡±

    The others believed that Tom had lost it and was now talking nonsense. How could this beast be Gary? Was he so far gone that he was hallucinating before his death? However, that name did elicit a reaction in the werewolf and it stopped for a moment.

    ¡°Are you crazy? What part of him looks like that green head? This is a monster!¡± Innu shouted at Tom.

    Hearing the sound of Innu¡¯s voice, the beast turned around facing the high schooler. The teenagers weren¡¯t sure if they were imagining it or not, but it almost looked like the beast was smiling, revealing its sharp teeth that still had parts of flesh stuck between them.

    ¡®It¡¯s¡­going after Innu?¡¯ Kai wondered. It dropped down on all fours, before it charged at Innu. The teenager tried backing up, but found his back against a tree.

    ¡®Oh sh*t!¡¯ Innu was convinced that would be the end of him, regretting having opened his mouth just now. As the beast was moving though, two rocks came flying towards it, hitting it right in its face, with one of them nearly getting its eye, causing it to close it slightly.

    Innu did the only thing he could do, and decided to jump to safety as he saw the beast flinch. He sessfully managed to roll on the ground underneath its side. It caused the werewolf to crash into another tree, breaking part of its lower half, and a few secondster the tree toppled over.

    ¡°Why did you guys stay? You should have run!¡± Innu shouted, confused but thankful as he saw that Xin and Kai were the ones that had thrown the rocks. From the looks of it, they had gathered more and were ready to throw them again.

    ¡°Just look at you. Once that thing would be done with you, it would swallow you whole in one bite. A few seconds won¡¯t do us much good. If that thing is going to kill us all anyway, might as well try and put up a fight!¡± Kai exined his actions, while Xin just nodded along.

    ¡°Fight?! Kyle, have you gonepletely mad? This isn¡¯t your average gang member! That thing killed a bodyguard in one hit! We¡¯ll be done if its ws so much as graze us!¡± Marie shouted.

    ¡°Gary!!!¡± Tom continued to sob. The werewolf, recovering from its daze, turned around, yet once again focused on Innu.

    ¡°What the hell did I ever do to you? Do you have some sort of fetish?!¡± Innu was ready to cry. He had never been a dog person, but was that really a reason to kill him?

    ¡®So it wasn¡¯t a coincidence. This thing really seems to have a grudge with Innu¡­¡¯ Kai realised. Even in a situation like this, Kai¡¯s mind was busy trying to make the optimal decision and right now it was connecting the dots. ¡®Hang on¡­ a grudge against Innu¡­ the news reports¡­ sudden strength¡­ It can¡¯t be, is that thing actually¡­¡¯

    The werewolf ran forward, and the group had to prepare for the worst.

    ¡°GARY!!!¡± Tom shouted once more at the top of his lungs, afraid his friend was going to kill someone in front of him.

    *Ahh-wooo!!!*

    Another howl resounded and Tom felt a gust pass him, before a blur of fur came out from his side. The blurry ck object leapt and mmed into the werewolf¡¯s side, sending the two figures toppling through the woods.

    Soon, both of them stood up, and the group couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    ¡°There are¡­ two of them!¡± Xin cried out in despair.

 Chapter 81: Help the Werewolf

    <h4>Chapter 81: Help the Werewolf</h4>

    The two werewolves were staring at each other, before they both slowly started to move up and down, seemingly waiting for the other to make the first move. As the group of teenagers looked at the two mythological creatures, they started to notice some small differences between the two.

    The most obvious one was their difference in stature. The one that had just arrived was about one head shorter than the first werewolf and while it was also muscr, it seemed to be more leanpared to the other being more buff. The colour of their fur was also different, the bigger one clearly more ck while the newer one was more brownish.

    ¡°Oh God, it¡¯s another one of those monsters!¡± Innu shouted as he looked around at what had saved him from certain death. He was grabbing his chest as his already fast heartbeat became even faster, making him start to worry about suffering a heart attack.

    Therger of the two creatures turned to look at Innu, yet the smaller one used that opportunity to leap in, almost tackling therger one by the waist. It pushed it a small distance away, until therger werewolf dug its ws into the side of the other¡¯s ribs.

    The small werewolf screamed out in pain and let go, though the wounds on its side started healing at a visible speed. s, before the smaller one could fully recover, therger dug its ws into the smaller one¡¯s chest and slightly lifted him up, before he began running until it had banged the other¡¯s body into a tree.

    The brown werewolf screamed out once more in pain, and snarled at therger one, clearly struggling. Desperate, it used the tree to kick off with its powerful back legs, kicking therger one¡¯s chest, making him let go.

    ¡°These two really don¡¯t seem like normal Altered.¡± Kai spoke his mind. ¡°They seem more like two wild beasts who have met each other and are fighting over their territory.¡±

    ¡°Who the f*ck cares what they are?! This is our chance to get out of here! If we stay here, we¡¯ll just end up as the winner¡¯s meal, so let¡¯s go!¡± Marie stated, before she turned around and started to head away from the fight. Innu followed right behind her, the high schooler hade too close to death already and he didn¡¯t feel lucky enough to survive a third near-death experience this evening.

    Xin hesitated, but just when she was about to run off, she noticed that the one person who had been dragging them behind a lottely was still staring at the fight.

    ¡°Tom,e on we gotta get out of here! What are you waiting for?¡± Xin called out, grabbing his hand.

    Meanwhile, Kai had continued paying attention to the fight between the two, making up his mind whether the better choice was to run for it or help the smaller one. Unfortunately, the werewolf whose identity he presumed to know, was not onlyrger, but had also proven to be faster and stronger.

    The smaller werewolf was getting hurt far more often than his opponent. Although all their wounds were healing, with each hit one of the two parties was proving their dominance in this fight.

    Just then, therger werewolf had picked up the other by its legs and swung it into a tree, destroying it and greatly hurting the smaller werewolf.

    Hearing the cries of the werewolf was hurting Tom internally.

    ¡®I¡¯m sure of it, that smaller werewolf¡­the reason why it didn¡¯t attack us and went straight for the others¡­it¡¯s you, right Gary?¡¯ Tom thought. ¡®You heard my cry, and came to save us¡­ and now¡­you¡¯re losing out to the other Omega. This must be the one who you were talking about. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry for thinking that that was you, that you might have attacked us before.¡¯

    At that moment, Tom felt Xin grab him.

    ¡°Look, we might not be friends, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯m leaving my ssmate here to die!¡± Xin insisted, starting to drag Tom behind, yet she felt him resist as he pulled back.

    ¡°We can¡¯t go now! That smaller werewolf saved us! We have to help him! Please, if we don¡¯t do anything he might kill him!¡± Tom begged.

    Seeing the look on the other teenagers¡¯ faces, he could tell that all of them thought he was mad, for nning to help a monster. Even Innu, who had been saved by the smaller one¡¯s action, only thought that it had been a coincidence.

    Still, though, Kai had noticed Tom¡¯s strange actions.

    ¡®He keeps calling them ¡®Werewolves¡¯ instead of ¡®Altered¡¯ as if he¡¯s certain that that¡¯s what they are.

    He also thought the big werewolf to be Gary before¡­ However, If my guess is right, thatrger one should be¡­and now he wants us to save him¡­could it be that he mistook their identities?¡¯

    Of course there was no way for Kai to confirm his thoughts, and as much as this situation fascinated him, he treasured his life far more than to satisfy his curiosity. Marie stopped waiting around and broke out into actual running, Kai soon following, along with Innu, and that¡¯s when Xin started to drag Tom along with them, who couldn¡¯t help but continue to look back.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Tom shouted.

    The group had run forward for a little while further into the trees, yet they could still hear the sounds of fighting going on behind them. It was then though, that they could hear panting, and the sound of growling getting louder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t turn back, don¡¯t turn back!¡¯ Innu conditioned himself.

    ¡°It¡¯s chasing after us!¡± Xin shouted, forced to look back because she kept dragging Tom along, and she could see that therger werewolf was the one behind them.

    ¡®No¡­it¡¯s the other werewolf¡­ does that mean Gary lost?¡¯ Tom worried about his best friend.

    When the werewolf was close enough, it leapt towards the group and its ws were reaching out towards Tom. It looked like it was about to reach him, but a few inches away from the high schooler¡¯s face, he came to an abrupt stop.

    Opening one eye as he noticed that the pain he had expected never came, Tom saw that Gary had returned, just in time to save him from the other werewolf. His best friend was covered in wounds which did not seem to be healing, yet he was still putting up a fight.

    Seeing that therger werewolf was about to attack, Tom decided to pick up a rock, and went ahead to throw it at the werewolf. However, before he could throw it, someone held him by the wrist.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop me, Xin! If you don¡¯t want to help him that¡¯s fine, but I have to help him get rid of that other werewolf!¡± Tom shouted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can leave that to us.¡± An unrecognizable voice said.

    Surprised, Tom looked around to see that instead of the new girl it was actually arge man holding his wrist. He was covered in a trench coat, and not too far away from him was another person in simr getup. The pair of them wore ck masks covering their faces, hiding their identity.

    Pulling off the trench coat, the man revealed a strange jagged ck armour. It looked like the type one would find in a museum, showing off how their ancestors had once fought, yet this one, despite the medieval look, had several weapons strapped on.

    The most noteworthy one, was a strange sword that appeared to have been borately crafted.

    As such, the next action confused Tom, as the man took out what looked to be a baton. He pushed a button, and the weapon began to emit electricity.

    ¡°Are you¡­Altered hunters?¡± Tom asked, unsure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for his friend.

 Chapter 82: The more the merrier?

    <h4>Chapter 82: The more the merrier?</h4>

    The two strange people who Tom suspected to be Altered Hunters charged forward without hesitation. The others couldn¡¯t believe that there were people like this that actually existed.

    They had all heard about the Altered Hunters¡¯ existence through the news every now and then, but the stories about them didn¡¯t really seem realistic. As an organisation that seemed to be against the very existence of Altered, how were they able to match those superhuman people?

    Right now, they were able to witness it for themselves¡­ at least they would have been able to, if it had been safe for them to stay. Altered Hunters were considered to be dangerous criminals on the same level as gangs, if not worse, which was why most of the group was still inclined to get out of there as soon as possible.

    ¡°We won¡¯t get a better chance than this, let¡¯s go!¡± Marie hurried them along, already running ahead, with Kai following closely behind her.

    ¡°Tom!¡± Xin shouted one more time at her ssmate. He looked at her, and for a brief moment, it appeared as if he was going to follow her, only for him to turn around and continue watching the fight. In his mind, Gary wasn¡¯t safe, in fact his situation might have just gotten worse.

    Having had enough of the other¡¯s nonsense, Xin lifted her leg up, and swung it out delivering a roundhouse kick right to Tom¡¯s head. His body fell to the ground, knocking him out cold.

    ¡°What did you do that for?!¡± Innu shouted in confusion, not having expected the girl to be this ruthless. Xin went to pick Tom off the ground, and dragged him over to Innu.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with him. First he calls one of those beasts Gary, then he wants us to help one of those beasts and now it seemed like he wanted to stay behind. He can hate meter if he wants to, right now the important thing is to get to safety. Anyway, you said you were strong, right? Help me carry him, he isn¡¯t that heavy.¡±

    Innu wanted to decline, especially since there were literally monsters chasing them, but in the end, he felt like he couldn¡¯t say no to Xin. Fortunately, from the looks of things, the Altered Hunters seemed to be doing a good job facing the werewolves.

    As Tom was ced on Innu¡¯s back, a loud growl could be heard from behind, and to their surprise, both of the werewolves seemed to be ignoring each other, as well as the Altered Hunters, and were now staring at Innu.

    ¡°Why me again?!¡± The high schooler cried out in despair as he ran as fast as he could with his ssmate on his back. The werewolves leapt in the air, yet the Altered Hunters were ready for them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take on the bigger one, you can handle the small one, right?¡± Therger hunter asked hispanion who nodded. The two of them intercepted the beasts without any signs of fear, using their specially made batons. Each one hit the underside of the werewolves, electrifying them on the spot, causing them both to plummet down.

    As soon as theynded, they both went to swipe at their respective attacker, yet the Altered Hunters proved to be skilled enough to avoid the fast ws. Slowly as they continued to avoid the hits the two werewolves and Altered Hunters were getting further and further apart from each other, though by this time the teenagers had managed to run quite a distance away.

    Therge hunter was only slightly shorter than the ck creature that he was facing. With the armour and weapons on him, it looked as if he would be able to put up a good fight.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to stay in your full form? You¡¯re just making it easier for me to fight you this way.¡± The hunter taunted the beast. The next second, the werewolf got on all fours and leapt towards the hunter. With his electrified baton, he hit the side of the werewolf¡¯s ribs, yet the other seemed to have expected it. Its sheer size, weight and momentum allowed therge creature to push through despite the damage it sustained.

    The ck furred werewolf opened itsrge mouth wide and mped down on the hunter, who shoved his forearm into the beast¡¯s mouth. When the werewolf closed its powerful jaws it was stupefied, surprised that its teeth were unable to break through whatever armour they were wearing.

    ¡°This is no ordinary armour!¡± The man shouted, and realising that the batton did little against his foe, he ced it away, pulling out the sword by his side. He swung it fast, and the werewolf was barely able to get away, but not before the weapon lightly scratched the outside of his chest.

    Blood had been drawn and the creature could smell burnt flesh. Looking at the sword, he realised that it was far from being ordinary, the edge lit up in a scorching red.

    ¡°I saw flesh between your teeth and you have the stench of blood on you.¡± The hunter said. ¡°You Altered make me sick!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Not too far away from where they were, the smaller hunter was facing off against the brown werewolf. Not only was it smaller than its fellow beast, but it seemed slower and less powerful which was why he had been tasked with facing this one. Nevertheless, his training had taught him never to underestimate his enemy. One moment of carelessness could spell his demise.

    The small hunter pulled out a second electrified baron, and held them in both hands. He looked at the werewolf and was carefully watching him. It had gotten on all fours, and pushed off its powerful legs, taking a swipe at the young hunter.

    He leaned back, and narrowly avoided the blow, being faster than what he had imagined, making him nearly lose his bnce. Still, he caught himself with his arms, arching his back, and went to kick the beast who had now jumped over him.

    Seconds before his foot made contact with the beast, a small de could be seen sticking out from the top of his toes, which had pierced the brown werewolf straight in the stomach. The creature howled in pain, and when itnded it rolled about on the ground. Blood was dripping from the werewolf. Unlike the other one, this one¡¯s wounds seemed to be healing at a far slower rate.

    It was then, when the hunter saw the back of the Werewolf, he could see that a tint of its hair on its head was slightly green. He was unsure how he had missed such a striking detail.

    ¡®Reminds me of someone.¡¯ The hunter thought, but as soon as the werewolf turned around and showed its giant teeth, he knew there was no time to think about unnecessary things.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The group had finally made it out of the forest and on to the main street. They all wanted to copse right then and there, exhausted as the adrenaline that had helped them get this far had nearly been exhausted.

    ¡°We¡¯re finally safe.¡± Marie fell to her knees on the pavement, yet two shadows soon cast over her.

    ¡°We received a report that an Altered had appeared in Cipen Park. Are you the ones who made the report?¡± When Marie looked up, she could see two figures disying their golden badges with the symbol of a white rose.

 Chapter 83: A bird?

    <h4>Chapter 83: A bird?</h4>

    As expected, after the Altered Hunter had brought out his sword with the heated edge, therger Werewolf became far more cautious. It leapt up onto one of therge trees and climbed it midway, continuously growling at the hunter, as if trying to intimidate him. However, what it was really trying to do was wait for its wound to heal. It seemed to take longer than other injuries. Even when the Werewolf stopped bleeding there was still a burn mark that remained on its chest.

    ¡®This Altered¡¯s healing speed is faster than anything I have encountered before.¡¯ The Altered Hunter noticed. ¡®Its fighting style resembles that of a wild beast, making him very unpredictable. Still, it¡¯s far weaker and has less tricks up its sleeve than other Altered I had to face.¡¯

    From the belt around his waist that was filled with items the Altered Hunter pulled out a small dagger, throwing it out at the Werewolf. The creature quickly dodged the attack, jumping to another tree, digging its ws in to keep it from falling. The Altered Hunter then pulled on something and the small weapon returned from the tree, a green liquid could be seen on its tip.

    ¡®Should have known this Altered is incredibly agile as well. It seems to be learning as it fights. I only have three more poison daggers. If I can just hit it cleanly once, I should be able to bring it in, without getting hurt. It might be able to tell us if it has anyrades.¡¯ The second the Altered Hunter thought this, he could see the Werewolf doing something strange.

    It started to jump from tree to tree, although the movements weren¡¯t too fast, with the moon being the only source of light, the beast¡¯s dark fur made it hard for the Altered Hunter¡¯s eyes to keep track of it. The forest proved to give the Werewolf a serious advantage in this fight, giving it plenty of trees to use. Springing from one tree to the other the Altered Hunter eventually lost track of it, unsure where it would attack from next, leaving him with only thing to do.

    Wait.

    The Altered Hunter held onto its sword tightly and before he knew it, it had pounced on him just like before. He swung his sword, aiming to inflict the beast with a devastating blow, but instead of flesh, he felt like he had hit solid metal. The Altered Hunter¡¯s arms were shaking from the great impact. When looking up, he saw that his sword connected with the Werewolf¡¯s ws, yet they had extended to the point that they were as long as its hands.

    ¡®Just what are those nails made of?!¡¯ Simr to the baton, the Altered Hunter¡¯s current weapon had a button that would make it sear. However, as if the Werewolf had predicted this move, it had suddenly pulled back one hand to take arge swipe, hitting the Altered Hunter in the chest, and sending him flying a few meters through the air. He remained uninjured thanks to his strong armour, but he had to acknowledge that this fight was going to be way harder than he had initially anticipated.

    ¡®If I had known it would be this tough, I would have notified the others¡­ or at least brought a better weapon along. Who would have thought that the Altered in Slough would be so abnormal.¡¯ Unfortunately, it was toote for regrets.

    The first thing the Altered Hunter had done uponnding was to roll to the side, ready for the creature to follow up his attack, but when he looked up, he saw that the beast¡¯s attention was no longer on his. Its head was looking slightly upward and it clenched itsrge teeth.

    A few secondster, the Werewolf could be seen jumping from tree to tree going higher and higher until it reached the very top of thergest tree in the area. It jumped off, leaping through the air, shining its ws at what was above them¡­ yet itpletely missed the mark, as its intended targets flew to the side, making him fall down.

    Up in the sky were two people, a man and a woman, each one ppingrge feathered wings on their back to stay airborne.

    ¡°Oh great, it¡¯s them.¡± The Altered Hunter mumbled under his breath.

    ¡°It looks like someone managed to arrive before us.¡± Frank spoke to his colleague.

    ¡°Indeed, but I¡¯m more interested in the Altered. It doesn¡¯t look like your usual type. Very aggressive¡­ though apparentlycking in the brains department. We need to bring it in for questioning. I have a feeling that it¡¯s linked with the recent killings, including those at the construction site.¡± Sadie replied.

    The two of them dove down at great speed, and whennding between the two parties, the leaves were chucked up in the air around them. Frank was facing towards the Altered Hunter, whereas Sadie was in front of the Werewolf now.

    ¡°You are always interested in the more dangerous looking ones.¡± Frankmented.

    ¡°White Rose, why do you always have to get in our way?¡± The Altered Hunter asked in a bitter tone.

    ¡°Because not all Altered are bad, yet you Altered Hunters seem to ignore that fact.¡± Frank answered. ¡°This time you might have had a valid reason, but we know that¡¯s not always the case. I¡¯m afraid we will be bringing you in as well. It¡¯s a shame, you would make great members of White Rose, if only you could go of your stupid dogma.¡±

    The White Rose agent pped his wings once more and dashed towards the Altered Hunter who swung his sword. Frank tilted his body to the side so it would hit his powerful wings instead. Then with another p he pushed the Altered Hunter to the ground. The force of the attack was enough to break a normal person¡¯s arm, yet the Altered Hunters weren¡¯t regr people.

    The White Rose agent threw out his fist, one could see that his arm had transformed into a strange talon mid way grabbing the sword. Frank started to p his wings, gripping the sword tightly. No matter how hard the Altered Hunter pulled, he was unable to get his weapon free and soon found himself in the air.

    However, this wasn¡¯t the first time the Altered Hunter had to fight against White Rose. He had many more tricks up its sleeve, and pulled one of the daggers that was coated in a green liquid.

    Meanwhile, the female White Rose agent was in the middle of battle with the suspected Altered killer, and she was having an easier time than she imagined. From her wings, she had pulled out several of her feathers, and threw them at the Werewolf.

    Idiotically, the Werewolf didn¡¯t try to avoid them, and just ran straight towards Sadie. When the feathers hit, the creature soon discovered that they were far more dangerous than he had believed. The feathers were as hard as iron arrows, piercing into the Werewolf¡¯s body, pushing it back slightly.

    The Werewolf quickly pulled them out of its body, allowing them to heal, and out of frustration tried to throw the feather back towards Sadie, but they had flipped to the ground just like a normal feather.

    ¡°This seems like it will be a very easy job.¡± Sadie sneered.

 Chapter 84: Turning back

    <h4>Chapter 84: Turning back</h4>

    When Tom opened his eyes, he found himself looking at a bright white light.

    ¡°What happened? Where are we?¡± Tom asked, looking around to see Kai. ¡°Where is Gary?¡±

    ¡°Who knows?¡± Innu shrugged his shoulders. ¡°We followed you hoping to find him, but instead we nearly lost our lives. Do you have any idea how often I nearly died today?!¡±

    On further inspection, Tom realised that he and his schoolmates were in what looked like a police station. He could see several criminalsing in and out, and people in uniform busy with work, despite thete hour.

    Sitting next to him was Innu, Marie, and Xin. Innu looked quite pissed as he recalled his experience, but he seemed to know that ming Tom wouldn¡¯t do anything. Marie was still recovering from her shock and someone seemed to have given her some hot chocte to calm her nerves. Xin seemed nervous as she looked down and fiddled with her hands, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone.

    A little whileter, Kai came out from one of the offices.

    ¡°Good news, everyone. We¡¯re free to go home, and the police are even nice enough to give us a lift since it¡¯s sote. Probably also to avoid us meeting with whatever was in the park.¡±

    ¡°Wait, so we don¡¯t all have to give reports on what happened?¡± Xin asked, looking relieved.

    ¡°I said I would handle it, didn¡¯t I? Unless you feel it¡¯s your civil duty to tell them another version of the same thing I just did, let¡¯s get going. I don¡¯t know about you, but I could use some rest. If we wake up and still remember what happened today, then we will know it wasn¡¯t a crazy dream.¡± Kai answered.

    The others were thankful they could finally go home, Tom was still worried, but he knew it would be suicide to enter the forest on his own. He didn¡¯t even know if Gary and the other Omega wolf would still be out there.

    ¡®Gary please be safe.¡¯

    ¡°By the way, why was I asleep?¡± Tom asked. ¡°And why does my head hurt?¡±

    The others just looked at Xin, with a grin on their faces, letting her be the one to exin it.

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the forest, a distance away from the four adults, another fight was taking ce. The young Altered Hunter had no idea what was going on, on his partner¡¯s side, yet hecked the time to worry about him, for he needed to concentrate on the opponent in front of him.

    Once again, the brown Werewolf swiped at the young Altered Hunter¡¯s head. He rolled to the side causing the blow to miss and hit the tree instead. Large deep w marks were left behind, shredding a huge chunk of the tree.

    ¡®It has great strength. If that thing hits me in the head I¡¯m done for.¡¯ Still, the young Altered Hunter remained level headed, at every opportunity that presented itself he would hit the Werewolf with his electrified batons, stunning it for a while as the electric power went to work.

    ¡®Just how many hits can this Altered take? That much electricity should have been enough to even knock an elephant out by now. Does it have some special kind of resistance or is it just healing this fast?¡¯ The young Altered Hunter wondered.

    ¡®Whatever the case, I can tell that its movements are slowing down with each hit. If I keep hitting it with the electric batons, then I can change to the sword and finish it off. You will be my first ever Altered kill, allowing me to get on my way to my first star!¡¯

    Nearly all of the Werewolf¡¯s strikes were missing the Altered Hunter by the skin of his teeth, yet once in a while he managed to get one in. Unfortunately for the creature, his attacks weren¡¯t strong enough to pierce through the special Altered Hunter armour.

    Nevertheless, each hit served as a grim reminder of the powerful strength of his foe. The Altered Hunter had no clue how long they had been fighting for, it felt like a long time, and that was when he started to notice something.

    ¡®It¡­ is getting smaller!¡¯ The Altered Hunter realised. Dodging another hit, he used both electrified batons at the same time to shock its back. The beast let out another scream, only this time, rather than a beast¡¯s growl, what came out resembled a normal human voice in agony.

    ¡®I¡¯m right! As the Altered¡¯s getting weaker, it must be reverting back!¡¯

    Seeing how the Werewolf was slowing down, and reverting even, the Altered Hunter believed this to be his chance. He was also worried that his partner had yet to appear. Either he was having a much harder time or something unexpected had happened.

    The movements of the brown Werewolf were sluggish and slow by now, making it easier for the Altered Hunter to avoid its swing. Using both of the batons, he consecutively started to hit the beast, on its arms, on its chest, and legs all over.

    In front of the Altered Hunters¡¯ very eyes, the Werewolf began to shrink to the point that the two of them were on the same eye level. The patch of green fur from the top of its head had also started to spread out until, finally, one could see human skin underneath.

    ¡®I thought this might have been a real monster for a second, but now I know that there really is a human underneath this abomination. I can do this!¡¯ The Altered Hunter steeled his resolve, charging in and swinging out its baton towards the Werewolf¡¯s face.

    One baton hit itsrge snout, and its face flung to the side. Therge teeth started to revert, and the same happened to the snout. The Altered Hunter didn¡¯t stop there, his other baton hit it from the other side as well, making the snout shrink even more.

    ¡®Third time¡¯s the charm!¡¯ The Altered Hunter thought, swinging both batons towards the head again,nding a sessful hit against his target. He was starting to see a human face underneath it all, but at that moment, the Werewolf let out a final desperate attack, his w slicing the mask off of the Altered Hunter.

    With that the creature fell to the groundpletely exhausted, fully reverting to its human form.

    ¡®Sh*t, he broke my mask! ¡­ Well, it won¡¯t matter. He¡¯s going to die anyway, so who cares if he sees my face now.¡¯ The Altered Hunter tried to calm himself down, making a mental note to bring a recement mask on his next hunt.

    It had been a tough fight, and in a way the young Altered Hunter had been lucky that his target had already been injured and hurt from fighting the other Werewolf before. If that wasn¡¯t the case, the Altered Hunter wasn¡¯t sure if the oue of their duel would have been the same.

    cing the baton¡¯s away, he pulled out a short sword holding it in one hand. He carefully used the weapon to turn the human body over, wishing to imprint the face of his first kill into his mind.

    ¡®¡­ G-Gary?!¡¯

 Chapter 85: Friend Or Enemy?

    <h4>Chapter 85: Friend Or Enemy?</h4>

    The young Altered Hunter almost fell over backwards as he recognised the Werewolf¡¯s face. The beast had reverted into human form, revealing a teenage boy¡¯s naked body filled with visible scratch and w marks, injuries sustained from his against the other Werewolf.

    ¡®What do I do now?¡¯ The young Altered Hunter was in a panic. He had never expected to actually know the Altered he had been ready to kill. Just to check whether his mind was ying tricks on him, making him mistake the other¡¯s identity just because of the green hair, he went to turn over his body one more time.

    Due to the darkness, the Altered Hunter got closer to get a better view of the other¡¯s face. However, just then the boy on the ground abruptly opened his eyes, his vision hazy and his body in pain. Everything felt weak and tired, but he suddenly found a familiar face in front of him.

    ¡°B-ke!¡± Gary blurted out, still finding it hard to move. Touching his face, the Altered Hunter remembered that the other had destroyed his mask, the one item that was supposed to hide his identity.

    ¡®He saw who I am! He knows I¡¯m an Altered Hunter! I can¡¯t let him go now! He¡¯s an Altered in the first ce so¡­ I just need to get rid of him.¡¯

    ke looked down to the short sword in his hand, yet he couldn¡¯t find the strength to grip his hand around it. He had been ready to kill the Altered, but now he hesitated. It didn¡¯t help that Gary was no longer attacking him, looking defenseless and confused.

    ¡®I¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ He¡¯s my ssmate. I have no idea how he became such an abomination, but I know that he helped me. He even took a hit for me from those Eton High thugs.¡¯

    ¡°My head hurts like hell!¡± Gary said groggily, as he lifted up his body. Feeling a little chilly Gary soon noticed that he had no clothes on whatsoever, and he was slowly starting to realise that he was in the middle of an unfamiliar forest as well.

    ¡°Why am I here? What the hell happened? And why am I naked!¡± Gary bombarded the hesitating ke with a barrage of questions, as he picked up thergest leaf he could see to hide hisher regions.

    ¡°Huh? You mean, you don¡¯t remember? You don¡¯t remember how you got here or what just happened?¡± ke almost shouted, swinging his short sword about. Looking at the illegal weapon in his hand, Gary finally noticed the strange clothing his ssmate wore, as well as the batons on his waist.

    ¡®He looks pretty much like a younger version of that other guy¡­ wait¡­ no¡­ how can that be?!¡¯

    It was then that Gary was starting to put the pieces together. Thest thing he remembered before he woke up was the system notifying him about his transformation starting and then experiencing a type of torture that he never wanted to relive again. He could guess that his Werewolf self had headed for the woods¡­

    ¡°Wait, ke, I don¡¯t care who you are! What about Tom, is he okay? Did I hurt him? Did I hurt anybody else?¡± Gary asked, grabbing the other by the shoulder, letting the leaf fall down.

    ke could tell that the other was genuinely concerned but he didn¡¯t understand what was happening to Gary. As an Altered, the other should have been in full control of his actions, even if this might have been his first full body transformation. It didn¡¯t make sense for him not to remember anything.

    ¡®That¡¯s right, Tom was with those other guys¡­ I have no clue where he is now, but I still need to decide what I need to do. Gary knows who I am and what I am, but he doesn¡¯t seem to care¡­ but I can really believe his word and let him go.¡¯ The Altered Hunter hesitated.

    ¡°Tom and your other friends are just fine.¡± ke answered. ¡°At least they were when Ist saw them.¡±

    Gary let out a sigh of relief, although he wasn¡¯t sure who ¡®those other guys¡¯ were. However, he had one sure-fire way to check where Tom was. At the moment, he was unable to see any of his Markings, so he needed to make sure and immediately opened up the system screen.

    [10/120 Energy]

    [You are unable to sustain your Werewolf form]

    [While your Energy is extremely low, emergency/passive healing function is unavable!]

    [20/100 HP]

    His stats were at the lowest Gary had ever seen them before, but he found it interesting that the reason for him reverting to a human seemed to have been him running out of Energy. If that was the case, then he might have just found a way to avoid turning during the next full moon. Of course, he would have to find a different way to deal with his bloodlust and it would mean his fighting capabilities would be severely limited.

    [Mark 2/5]

    ¡®Two out of five, that means¡­Tom and Gil are both still alive! I didn¡¯t kill anyone! But why the hell am I here then? And how did I run into ke?¡¯ Now that Gary realised that his best friend was at least still alive, and he had managed to get through a turning, he looked towards ke.

    ¡°Heye on ke. I know we¡¯re not the closest of people, but you have to understand¡­ I¡¯m not an Altered or at least not a regr one, so can you please let me go if I promise not to tell anyone? I mean we¡¯re teammates, right? You remember, me and you did good together on the field today¡­¡±

    The naked teenager was slowly stepping back at this point, trying to figure out where to run or even what direction to run. It was then, ke put the short sword away as well and lifted up both hands.

    ¡°Gary¡­I¡¯m not going to hurt you¡­ I owe you for helping me out. It¡¯s just my family-¡±

    A loud howl interrupted him, and they both looked into the direction of where it hade from.

    ke couldn¡¯t exin anymore, for he knew this wasn¡¯t neither the time nor ce for the two of them to talk.

    ¡°Gary, I don¡¯t have time to exin, but you have to get out of here!¡±

    The high schooler was inclined to agree but he didn¡¯t know where to go. Heck, he still wasn¡¯t sure where exactly he was. Looking around, ke realised the other¡¯s problem.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, just run away from the noise! If the others find you, they won¡¯t let you live!¡± ke pointed in the opposite direction of where the wolf cry hade from.

    Gary started running, picking up the leaf.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Gary said, turning around. ¡°I won¡¯t forget this, ke. Your secret¡¯s safe with me!¡±

    Squeezing his hand tightly, ke held his head down in disappointment. Not only had he failed in killing an Altered, he had even gone so far as to actively help it escape, missing his chance of getting closer to obtaining his first star, and bing an official hunter.

    If this ever got out¡­

 Chapter 86: Escape

    <h4>Chapter 86: Escape</h4>

    The fight in the forest was continuing between Frank and the Altered hunter. It seemed both of them had underestimated their opponent. After the ck furred wolf had been hit by the strange feathers, it didn¡¯t make it easy for Sadie to use them again.

    The beast was now making sure to take cover by running between the trees making it hard for her to hit him. Still, once in a while an attack wouldnd, but it didn¡¯t seem to matter much because the Werewolf would just pull the feathers out, its body healing the damage.

    ¡®That thing¡¯s healing speed is seriously annoying! Argh, why did we have to be near a forest?! Even if I fly up I can¡¯t use my full strength attacks!¡¯ Sadies was frustrated with the situation, and soon felt the Werewolf pounce on top of her. The White Rose agent covered her body wrapping herself in wings.

    The two ws were surprisingly able to grip onto them tightly, and she could feel slight pain, scrunching up her face. Her wings were harder than normal steel, and it had been a while since she had felt pain like this. The woman started to p them, hoping that the beast would let go, but it had already dug its ws into her brown wing, blood dripping from it.

    ¡°Frank, a little help would be nice!¡± Sadie shouted. She didn¡¯t feel like she was in trouble, but she knew that with her partner¡¯s help it would be far easier to deal with this strange Altered.

    ¡°I¡¯m not having it so easy myself, ya know!¡± Frank shouted back. He had already chosen to ce his wings back into his body. During the fight he had been hit by the seared sword a few times, and he still felt the pain. The weapon was a high ss one.

    Right now, Frank was using his hands, which looked like talons. Some of his fingers almost looked like they were glued together with a singlerge thick nail at the end. He and therge Altered Hunter exchanged several shes, as Frank moved out of the way, yet he was the one forced to block more than he had the chance to attack, but at least his ws were able to take the heating from the weapon.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite skilled!¡± Frank praised the other with a smile. ¡°What are you, a three-star hunter? That¡¯s how you guys rank yourselves, right? What is someone like you doing in a ce like Slough?¡±

    However, the other didn¡¯t bother to waste time talking. He merely struck the White Rose agent with the sword, knocking one of the wed hands away and barged into the Altered, his shoulder pushing him down slightly. He was then ready to attack with his sword again, before he had no choice but to jump back.

    Three feathers could be seen on the ground, where he had been only a second ago.

    ¡°You were meant to be helping me, not the other way round!¡± Sadieined, her legs now transformed as well, giving her the look of a bird type Altered. Underneath her wed leg, the ck Werewolf was struggling to get out. Both of its arms were locked in ce by her feet.

    ¡°You Altered can¡¯t even see the foolishness that has been brought on due to your existence. We both know that this beast isn¡¯t the exception but the rule! Can you imagine the future if this spreads? The Altered Hunter shouted. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for us then those kids would have died today!¡±

    The next second, Sadie felt arge paining from her foot, as she realised that the Werewolf hadWerewolf had chosen to use his jaws to take arge bite. It had twisted its head, showing it was far more flexible than she had imagined, and with itsrge snout and powerful jaws, its teeth had pierced her foot.

    On reflex, she had opened it up, allowing the beast to get free at the moment. It let out a howl, before deciding to run off into a different direction in the woods. It was at a great speed, and had nearly gone out of their line of sight.

    ¡°Look at your ipetence! Because of your meddling, you let it get away and now it will just continue to rampage!¡± The Altered Hunter shouted, at the same time, turning away from Frank, he ran in the opposite direction of the Werewolf

    ¡°Who do we go after?¡± Frank asked.

    ¡°Get the damn wolfman!¡± Sadie shouted. ¡°At least the Altered Hunter won¡¯t harm the public, that thing was like a wild beast!¡±

    -

    Eventually, running the way that ke had pointed to, Gary found himself on the open road. He decided to run alongside it, hoping to find his way somewhere, but he was too embarrassed to let anyone see him as he was. As such, he chose not to run in the middle of the road and closer to the edge of the forest.

    While doing so, he couldn¡¯t get the crazy thoughts and events from today so far out of his head.

    ¡®What do I do now? I only have 10 Energy, and with the full moon out, it won¡¯tst me long?¡¯ Gary asked himself, as if hoping his ever silent Werewolf System would choose now to provide some guidance. Of course he wasn¡¯t surprised when it didn¡¯t. ¡®I don¡¯t even know what time it is. How long until the full moon is over? Do I have to wait until the sun is up, or until a full day has passed?

    ¡®That howl from earlier earlier must have been Billy. He¡¯s probably going through the same thing as me, but if he meets me now and I¡¯m in this state, he¡¯ll finish me off in seconds. At the same time, if I eat something¡­ if I recover my Energy will I automatically turn back into a Werewolf?

    ¡®Can I even risk it? ke didn¡¯t seem to be the only one out there. There¡¯s a chance, I won¡¯t remember anything and it will happen again¡­¡¯

    Gary continued along the road, and he was thinking more and more about what happened, and eventually he was getting snippets of his memory, of him fighting against a ck furred Werewolf, and how he hadn¡¯t exactly done well.

    It was then that a little squirrel appeared at the edge of the forest. His stomach growled in response.

    ¡®One squirrel surely won¡¯t hurt¡­ Maybe getting some Energy back will allow me to think more clearly¡­¡¯ Gary tried to convince himself, as the saliva dripped down his mouth. He started chasing after the critter, even as he ran out onto the road.

    Secondster and a bright light could be seen from the corner of his eye. Gary turned around to see how far it was and could see it was soon upon him. He was ready to jump into the forest, but his legs weren¡¯t working as he wanted, still too weak.

    Luckily, inches before it reached him, the car hade to a screeching halt.

    ¡°Do you have a death wish, kid?!¡± An annoyed voice came from inside the vehicle, mming the car door open. Someone had gotten out, but the light was shining too bright for him to make out who it was.

    ¡°What the- Why are you naked?! What¡¯s with all those scratches? Just what the hell happened to you?¡± The person asked, the anger in his voice reced with worry.

 Chapter 87: Kind stranger?

    <h4>Chapter 87: Kind stranger?</h4>

    Seeing the stranger leave his car, the first thing on Gary¡¯s mind was to turn and run away.

    ¡®No, get away from me! It¡¯s dangerous to stay near me! If I¡¯m next to anyone, there¡¯s a chance that I could¡­ that I could¡­¡¯ The teenage boy¡¯s mind was spinning, as he took a careful step back, heading towards the forest.

    ¡°Hey, stop! Where do you think you¡¯re going, kid? You can¡¯t stay out like that!¡± The stranger shouted and was quickly by Gary¡¯s side. It was at that moment, that his Energy bar dropped even lower.

    [8/120 Energy]

    The high schooler almost fell to the ground out of exhaustion, yet the stranger managed to catch him, easily carrying him to his car, where he ced him down in the back seat. Gary¡¯s eyes were closed and he had fallen into a light slumber.

    The stranger continued to drive his car along the street, looking around frantically through the forest for something. Eventually, just when he had been about to head into the forest himself, his phone vibrated and he read the text he had just received.

    ¡°Argh, so you¡¯re telling me I came all the way out here for no reason? No, no, I should just be happy that she¡¯s safe. ¡®Don¡¯t tell Dad¡¯? Does she really believe she can hide that fact from him?¡± The stranger muttered to himself, letting out a big sigh.

    His monologue seemed to awaken Gary a little bit. Opening his eyes, he found himself in the car with that stranger. He wasn¡¯t sure what to think about that. What were the chances that the guy had rescued him from the kindness of his heart?

    Unfortunately, there was little he could do about it. He still suffered from the same problems as before. Top of the list was the immense pain that originated from his stomach. It felt like someone was reaching in pulling his insides.

    However, for some reason, it didn¡¯t feel as bad as thest time he was low on Energy. Gary theorised that it might just be because he now had experienced that painful transformation. Compared to that, this seemed like a walk in the park.

    ¡°You¡¯re in luck, streaker kid, my ns just fell through. So now I can deal with you.¡± The man addressed him, apparently aware that he was conscious again. ¡°What happened to you? Why do you have no clothes on? And what are you doing sote?¡±

    Gary was trying to get a look at his ¡®saviour¡¯ but with the other¡¯s face looking at the road ahead it was hard to make out anything but his eyes from the rear view mirror. Still, he did notice a few things. For one, the car they were in seemed to be an expensive nice one. The quality of the seats, the space, and the brand on the wheel indicated that it was expensive, probably even an import.

    Then, there was the person himself, from the side he could make out defined tricep muscles sticking out from a short sleeve shirt. He wasn¡¯t exactly arge person, seemingly a few inches over Gary, but there was hardly any fat showing on his arm.

    ¡®He¡¯s even more ripped than that coach at the gym. Who is this guy?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    ¡°Come on, streaker boy, I need an answer. Right now, I¡¯m still feeling generous, but if you don¡¯t want to spill the beans, I¡¯ll have to just drop you off at the police station.¡± The stranger rushed him in an annoyed tone. Gary wasn¡¯t sure if he was the reason for his apparent bad mood, or if it had to do with the ns that had fallen through.

    ¡°No please, not the police!¡± The teenager immediately pleaded. He knew that they had his blood in the record now. If he was taken in, they might be able to link him to all the other cases, something he needed to avoid at all costs, but what would he say?

    ¡°This is just¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m being bullied at school. They called me out here today before they took all my clothes. I-I can¡¯t fight back¡­they have connections.¡± Gary lied, trying to cry to add to his story, though nothing but sobs came out.

    He considered this to be quite the feasible story. Of course, that didn¡¯t exin all the scratches all over his body. Gary just hoped that this sob story was enough for the stranger to not bother with those inconsistencies, and ask him anything else. Fortunately for the teenager, the stranger did indeed feel bad to pry into things any further.

    ¡°¡­ my condolences. I guess you¡¯re lucky that I found you then. So where exactly did you intend to go before I picked you up? Shall I drop you off at your house?¡± He asked Gary.

    With the way the high schooler was now, home was thest ce he wanted to be. He honestly wanted nothing more but to be left alone until this torture was over, but he couldn¡¯t just ask the stranger to drop him off at the storage warehous. Come to think of it, he dreaded the thought of what he had done, to get out there in the first ce¡­

    ¡®If I stay with him, there is a chance that I might attack him as well.¡¯ Gary worried.

    ¡°No answer again, huh. Home trouble on top of school trouble? Look, I¡¯ll do you a favour just this once. I¡¯m staying at a hotel at the moment, and the room is way bigger than what a normal person needs. There are plenty of extra beds. I¡¯ll let you stay there for the night if you want. Then in the morning you can leave and do as you like, no questions asked, alright?¡± The stranger offered.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Gary immediately agreed, a huge smile on his face. Perhaps there would be a way for him to leave once he was in the room or the stranger had gone to sleep. It waste after all.

    ¡°Sir? Do I really look that old to you?¡± The strangerined.

    ¡®Damn it, why can¡¯t I help but be nice to people like him. Is it because it reminds me of my own situation.¡¯ The stranger scratched his head.

    ¡ª

    A short whileter, the car stopped before a very nice looking hotel that was located at the far end of Cipen. It was one of the Slough¡¯s posher areas, but the good thing was that it wasn¡¯t too far away from the Yellow Stack.

    Now that they were out of the car, Gary had a better look at the guy in front of him, who was all of a sudden taking off his shirt, revealing his hard abs and everything underneath. The next second he threw the shirt to the kid.

    ¡°Cover yourself with that and stay behind me for now.¡± The stranger ordered as they walked in the hotel. Gary did as he was told. Fortunately, the other was slightlyrger than him, allowing him to stretch his shirt to hide certain exposed parts of his body.

    Now that he got a closer look at his samaritan, he was wondering where he had seen this person before. The guy had a familiar face but Gary just couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint where he had seen him before.

    ¡°Wee back, Mr. Tiger. Would you like us to help with anything in your room?¡± A female voice greeted him with respect.

    ¡®Holy sh*t, that¡¯s it!!! He¡¯s Jayden Tiger! What is one of the top Altereds in our country! What is he doing in a sh*thole like Slough?!¡¯ Gary, being the Altered fighter fanatic that he was, instantly recognised him after hearing thest name.

    Any other day of the week, he might be fanboying over the chance to not only meet but stay with one of his idols, but now he was only worried.

    He was running from one tough situation to the next.

 Chapter 88: Surviving the night

    <h4>Chapter 88: Surviving the night</h4>

    Gary had to stop himself from hyperventting due to excitement. His inner fanboy needed to be contained, yet he couldn¡¯t waste any more Energy than he already had. Still, there was one silver lining to meeting Jayden.

    If Gary was to suddenly turn, he was convinced that the Altered superstar could suppress him in a fight. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know what would happen after that point, so the high schooler made up his mind to never find out.

    The receptionist was baffled at the disheveled sight of Gary, but didn¡¯t say anything as the teenager followed the VVIP to the elevator. Jayden hadn¡¯t lied about his room being more than one person realistically needed, however he had failed to mention one very important detail.

    He was staying in the PENTHOUSE AT THE TOP FLOOR!

    The room alone was around five times the size of the apartment where Gary lived with his mother and sister. Through the ss windows one would be able to see the entire town of Slough. This is exactly the type of life Gary had dreamt about when wishing to be an Altered one day.

    s, he couldn¡¯t really enjoy it right now.

    Leaving behind a still baffled teenager, Jayden had gone to one of the connecting rooms and returned with a new shirt on. The Altered superstar then threw over a pair of briefs, socks, trousers, as well as a jacket.

    ¡°This should let you go around town tomorrow without rming the police. If you go down the hall, the showers are to the right. There¡¯s a toothbrush and everything in each room.

    ¡®It¡¯ste and I have an early start tomorrow. Just keep the clothes, there¡¯s no need to return them. Leave whenever you wish, though don¡¯t be surprised if I¡¯m already gone by the time you wake up.¡± Jayden told him. ¡°Feel free to take a bite out of whatever¡¯s in the fridge.¡±

    Turning around, the Altered superstar was ready to close the door to his room, but stopped a few secondster and opened it again.

    ¡°Look, I know times are tough in the world at the moment, but if you don¡¯t do something about it, then you might be stuck in this situation forever. The biggest influence on your life is you. Don¡¯t wait for something to happen, change and make it happen.¡± Jayden made a fist and swung it out.

    Gary understood the message that the other wanted him to stand up to his ¡®bullies¡¯. The high schooler smiled and nodded, thinking to himself that right now his problem wasn¡¯t fighting off bullies, it was trying to stop himself from killing and eating them.

    With the door closed, this was Gary¡¯s best chance to leave. Quickly putting on the provided clothes, he turned around and was about to head out, yet he suddenly stopped, considering his current situation.

    Right now, he was at a ce where there was nobody else around. The only person that actually WAS around, should be strong enough to contain him. And in case Billy actually tried to attack him again, that person could actually protect him from the other Werewolf.

    His family still believed that he was at Tom¡¯s. The only thing worrying him was that he was unable to contact his best friend. After having saved the other¡¯s contact info on his phone, he had never bothered memorising it. Unfortunately, his phone had been left at the storage warehouse.

    Not to mention, right now he was still a threat to him.

    There was an ornate clock above the TV that told Gary that it was 3 AM. The sun would surely rise in about a couple more hours, so he decided to just wait it out. Sitting on therge sofa, the high schooler waited around, and eventually his system notified him.

    [4/120 Energy]

    ¡®What happens when my energy hits 0, will I even be able to move?¡¯ Before Gary knew it, he found himself walking towards the fridge. Opening it, he was surprised to find it filled with all types of protein.

    Steaks, chicken,mb among other animal meat and from the looks of it, all high-quality products. Saliva immediately started to dribble out from his mouth. He was sure that just half a pound of any of that stuff would cost more than the rent for their small apartment.

    ¡®This is what you would expect from a top ss Altered.¡¯ Gary reached out ready to grab the food, yet stopped inches away.

    ¡®What if I can¡¯t control myself? No! I have to control myself.¡¯ Gary picked up one of the raw steaks, and slowly and carefully started to take a small bite out of it. It was taking all of his willpower to stop himself from just swallowing the whole thing in an instant. He had to grit his teeth and was using his other hands to hold himself back.

    [+2 Energy]

    ¡®I can do this! If I just eat a little at a time, stopping my Energy from going too high it should be okay. When it gets low I¡¯ll just take another bite. Yeah, I just need to hold myself back.¡¯ Gary thought.

    This way he continued battling with himself. More than once he had caught his body moving subconsciously. This was a mental type of torture that Gary had never experinced before, but after what felt like an eternity, Gary could finally see it. There, through therge ss window, he could see the sun was starting to rise, while the moon was starting to disappear.

    Some time after that he received new notifications.

    [You have sessfully survived a full moon!]

    [The blessing of the moon has passed]

    [30 days until the next full moon]

    ¡®I did it! I did it!¡¯ Gary jumped up, and the first thing he did was head straight for the fridge.

    He had held back to prevent his Energy from recovering to the point he would be able to transform against, worried that this transformation mightst until the moon came up again, or worse, a few days, but judging by the system it seemed like that wasn¡¯t going to be the case.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Early in the morning, Jayden¡¯s rm woke him up at 6:30 AM. As he went out, he was surprised to see that the kid he had picked up earlier was nowhere to be seen. He had expected to find him in one of the rooms, still sleeping soundly, but it seemed as if he might have disappeared after he had gone off to sleep.

    However, Jayden¡¯s conscience was appeased. He had done a good deed and could only wish the boy the best from now on. He headed to the fridge to look for a snack, though when he opened it his jaw nearly dropped.

    ¡®What the hell?! I just had it filled yesterday! Did that frigging kid eat all of it? ¡­ no, that should be impossible. There was enough in there tost me a week. Did he steal some of it, to try and make cash or something? Argh, that doesn¡¯t matter, what am I supposed to eat now?!¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A little earlier, both White Rose agents had returned to the police station. They had done so to make a report on the case, and they wanted to confirm something. One of the feathers they had picked up still had the blood of the ck Werewolf that had managed to flee.

    Sadie wanted to make sure that the blood matched up with Billie. This was her hunch and the others as well. After making a report, the two of them left the room, still furious about failing to arrest that dangerous Altered. They had tried their best to find him from the air, but it was as if he had disappeared somewhere.

    They were still in the police station, when another officer came up to them, delivering some good news.

    ¡°We found someone who ims to know Billy.¡± The young officer Roo Game reported. ¡°Since Billy is a dropout it was hard to find anyone who knew the guy, but unexpectedly one of the suspects we brought in imed he had seen him elsewhere!

    ¡°Apparently, thest time he saw him was at one of these underground fights. ording to the guy, they happen quite often in this town.¡±

    A smile appeared on Sadie¡¯s face hearing this news.

    ¡°An underground fighter, huh? There should be a few people that would have seen him and know him then. Frank, looks like we¡¯ll be going undercover!¡±

    Walking away, Frank noticed that Sadie was limping, she had been injured in her Altered form, and thought that a wound like that would have been healed by now.

    ¡®I hope that bite isn¡¯t infectious.¡¯ Frank was worried.

 Chapter 89: Best friends

    <h4>Chapter 89: Best friends</h4>

    After replenishing his Energy by plundering the fridge, Gary decided to take some of the food along with him. With no better alternatives, he ced them in the coat pockets of his new jacket. Right now he was in a rush, and there was a reason why he had left early.

    ¡®He won¡¯t mind right? I mean the guy is an Altered superstar. Someone as rich as him can easily just rece all that food, and it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll see him ever again. Damn, if I had been in my right mind I could have asked him for a signature! I bet that would have sold for a decent sum!¡¯

    Currently, Gary was sprinting towards the Yellow Stack building, it was around 6 AM in the morning. He was hoping that he could grab his phone and check out what state he had left the room in. Perhaps it might give him an idea of what had happened after he had lost consciousness.

    When he finally could see the Yellow Stack though, there were the iconic white and ck cars, which made him do aplete U-turn.

    ¡®Damn the police are here! Did something happen? Sh*t, did I trigger some sort of rm or something yesterday? What do I do now? Both of my phones were in there! And my clothes! I hope I don¡¯t get Tom in any kind of trouble.¡¯ Gary started to panic. ¡®Well I was naked so maybe I ripped all of my clothes off?¡¯

    In the end, the high schooler couldn¡¯t risk staying there. All he could do was head to school without them. As for his school uniform, that had been left at school in the locker. Since he left the rugby match yesterday in a hurry. He could only hope that after yesterday¡¯s match, Mr Root wouldn¡¯t mind giving him some recements.

    Running, running and running non stop, Gary ended up using the Charging Heart skill three times. Once to get Yellow Stack and two more times to reach his school. This was because of how far he was away. Fortunately, with the extra food he had taken, his Energy was almost full again.

    Although the moon seemed to still be full, he had lost his additional stats, though it was a small price to pay for no longer losing his Energy as quickly.

    ¡®My stats are now lower though, and I can really feel it on my body. I need to improve it!¡¯

    Entering school, there was next to no one due to how early it was. It had taken Gary an hour running, which was quite impressive considering the distance. If anyone saw his aplishments they would have tried to recruit him for the track team.

    The first thing Gary did was change into his school uniform from his locker. Anyone could see that his current clothes were too nice for someone like him. After that, all he could do was wait. Surprisingly, the first person who looked to have entered the ssroom was none other than Tom.

    ¡®Yes, he¡¯s here! The one person I could have hoped for, I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s early but thank my lucky stars he¡¯s here!¡¯ Gary thought.

    He could see the Marks again, and knew they were getting closer but he wasn¡¯t going to believe his eyes until he saw them. What was even stranger was the first thing Tom did. He immediately ran up to Gary, giving him a big hug.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡­ YOU¡¯RE OKAY!!! I¡¯m so happy!!! I was so worried!!! I thought that you might have been hurt, or stuck in that form forever!!!¡± Tom was crying, rubbing his head into Gary¡¯s shirt. Covering it with tears and snot.

    He had no clue what had happened. If it was before, he would have pushed his best friend off, but after everything his friend had done to help him, it felt wrong of him to do that. Gary waited for Tom to finish letting his emotions out.

    Still sobbing, the other ced his backpack on the table, and pulled out two phones as well as some ripped rugby clothing, handing them over to Gary.

    ¡°Wait, these are my things, how did you get them?¡± Gary asked, now looking at Tom he noticed that his face looked incredibly tired.

    ¡®What exactly had happened to him?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°I went to Yellow Stack after leaving the police station. I thought that you wouldn¡¯t be there, since you were dealing with other things, I didn¡¯t know how I could help you, but I wanted to make sure that the person I saw was you.

    ¡°When I entered the Yellow Stack, I could see that the steel door had been ripped to shreds, the chains werepletely broken, and there was something on the floor. Anyway, I cleaned most of it up, and grabbed things before calling the police myself. Saying there was a break in, so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem there.¡±

    ¡°Wait what? I understand some of what you were talking about, but the other things make no sense. How did you know where I was, or what I was doing?¡± Gary asked.

    It was then that Tom went into the frightening details ofst night. How he had nned to wait nearby, how they had seen someone killed in front of their eyes, but most importantly, that Gary in his Werewolf form was the one that saved them.

    ¡®All of that happened, yet I wasn¡¯t conscious for any of it¡­ At least it didn¡¯t sound like I attacked the other guys¡­ but why did I save them? Well clearly that other Werewolf had to have been Billy.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Thinking about things a bit more, Gary had some theories and they were all rted to his system. From what it had told him, he should have been hunting those Marked by him with a Forced Bond, yet Gil didn¡¯t seem to have been there.

    Since that didn¡¯t happen, he could only imagine that his Werewolf instincts had been trying toplete another Quest of his. Fighting the other Omega to see who woulde out on top.

    Lastly, there was also the Bond Mark that he had with Tom. Maybe Gary had protected Tom because of his Mark, or there was a part of him that was still in his Werewolf form somewhere, telling his Werewolf self to protect those close to him?

    Thest one he thought was unlikely because Gary couldn¡¯t remember a thing, it was as if someone had taken over his body.

    ¡®It might be if I ce more Bond Marks on people I really care for, like my mother and Amy. However, first I¡¯ll have to deal with a far bigger problem. Billy could still be alive, and if hees out again¡­¡¯

    ¡°Anyway, thanks for helping us out Gary, now we have an entire month to solve this problem to prevent anything from going wrong next time. Just leave the whole mess about the container to me, I¡¯ll find a way to exin things to my parents somehow. Looks like it wasn¡¯t much use anyway.¡± Tom chuckled. ¡°By the way, I was wondering, since when did you have two phones?¡±

 Chapter 90: A gang name

    <h4>Chapter 90: A gang name</h4>

    Gary didn¡¯t want to have secrets from Tom, especially after everything he had done to help him, but at the same time he didn¡¯t want to drag his best friend into an even deeper mess. It wasn¡¯t fair of him, and it was likely that it could endanger his life as well as that of his family, more so than he already had done.

    ¡°Oh this thing? My regr phone has been ying up a bit recently. You know about our financial situation, so I¡¯ve used some of that money I had earned from that part time job to get myself that brick for emergencies. You know how those old phones can never die, and the batterysts on them forever.¡± Gary smiled, still feeling hurt inside.

    As for Tom, he didn¡¯t know how to feel. Gary had shared one of his biggest secrets with him, so why would he need to lie about a second phone.

    ¡°What about the police report? Did you say anything about me?¡± Gary asked, changing the subject.

    ¡°Actually I wanted to ask you about that. The whole thing was strange. You know that rich upperssman Kai Hemper? He went ahead of all of us, but after he talked to them for a while, they all just let us go home. I thought he was just some rich kid, but just being rich shouldn¡¯t get you out of a situation like that. By the way, how do you know him?¡±

    Scratching his head, Gary felt like he couldn¡¯t lie two times in a row, he was a bad liar in the first ce, so he chose to stick to mostly the truth, without revealing anything extra.

    ¡°He was actually the one who introduced me to that part time job.¡±

    Things were starting to add up to Tom, but he still didn¡¯t know why Kai, who couldn¡¯t have known Gary for too long, was so interested in him that his entire group, which seemed to include that sudden transfer Innu, had been willing to look for his best friend in the middle of the night.

    A short whileter and other students started to enter the ssroom, unaware of the horrors Gary and Tom had lived through.

    ¡°Hey Gary, you did a great job in the first half of yesterday¡¯s Rugby match! I never knew you were that strong.¡± One of his ssmates congratted him. ¡°Oh and Tom, how are you? I can¡¯t believe the referee didn¡¯t punish those bastards for clearly stepping onto your hand!¡±

    Tom and Gary recognised him as one of the more popr kids of their year, meaning he was someone who would usually never associate with either one of them.

    ¡°A shame Gary didn¡¯t punch them out. Seriously, when you jumped those Eton High students I was rooting for you, they would have deserved it. I¡¯m still surprised you did that with their bad rep. I thought they were all going to jump you!¡± Another one added.

    Thepliments didn¡¯t seem to stop, and after the day that Gary had, it was a nice change of things. He thanked them all and just smiled back. Thest ones to arrive were a teenage girl and boy, both resembling zombies. They were drained and dragging their feet along the floor.

    ¡®I guess both of them didn¡¯t get a good night¡¯s sleep then.¡¯ Gary gulped, feeling responsible.

    Xin, sat down in her seat and didn¡¯t look towards anyone with her head sunken in. Gary wanted to go talk to her, apologise for getting her into the mess, but it would have felt strange and given things away.

    As for Innu, when he tried to talk to him, the other didn¡¯t even let him utter a single word.

    ¡°You! I really don¡¯t want to talk to you¡­¡± Innu sat down in his chair and ced his backpack in front of him, proceeding to use it as a makeshift pillow. ¡°Do you know what happened to us yesterday? Actually scratch that, do you know what happened to ME?! I almost got killed like five times, and it was all because we went searching for you!

    ¡°Then, I have this psycho here, shouting your name all the time, trying to talk to some possessed Altered. Bad luck! That¡¯s all I have since I started following you!¡±

    With that Innu justy there. The truth was that he knew it wasn¡¯t Gary¡¯s fault that this had happened, but he needed someone to me all his frustrations on.

    Lessons went on as normal, but as was to be expected, Gary couldn¡¯t focus on the sses. Billy was the main worry he had in his head. Even his Werewolf form couldn¡¯t beat the other Werewolf. Gary had no idea how to beat the other, especially since Billy had already killed and consumed humans, making him even stronger. The longer he waited, the worse his chances of dealing with him became.

    ¡®Maybe the best option would be to get him before the full moon. Then I can worry about myself as well¡­but it means I have to be prepared¡­prepared to kill him.¡¯ Gary thought.

    A little whileter, he felt his phone vibrate, and it wasing from his secret phone. Tom, who had been keeping an eye on Gary, took note of this. When it was finally time for lunch, his best friend asked him if they could go and grab a bite to eat together.

    ¡°Sorry, I have to make a report to Mr Root about the game. He said he wanted to talk to me about something.¡± Gary lied again.

    ¡®¡°¡­ Okay, I understand. I might just stay here and catch up on some sleep.¡± Tom replied.

    Watching carefully, Tom soon saw that Innu also looked at his phone, one that looked eerily simr to the brick model his best friend had, and went off in the same direction as Gary.

    ¡®That phone and Kai, something is up with all of them. I wonder if this has something to do with how Gary was making money. Gary¡­I just hope you¡¯re not getting yourself in another mess.¡¯

    Tom¡¯s guess was spot on. The high schooler had headed to the roof, where Kai and Marie were both already waiting for him. A little whileter Innu joined them as well.

    ¡°It looks like everyone is here for our meeting.¡± Kai said after Innu closed the door behind him. ¡°We had quite an eventful evening yesterday, looking out for you, Gary. I¡¯m sure your friend already caught you up on everything that happened.

    Anyway, regardless of this, tomorrow is the big day for you two, it¡¯s your first match, and it¡¯s also our first debut as a gang. The reason why I called you all here today was because I wanted for us all toe up with a name, as members.¡±

    This came as a surprise to Gary. He had seen Marie interact with Kai that one time he had followed after her, yet he had never thought that she would also be involved with this whole gang business.

    ¡°How about, the Unbreakable Iron Group? Or I know, the ck mes!¡± Innu suggested while pretending to wield the power of fire. It was when the group noticed that Innu had quite the childlike side to him¡­ and that his naming sense was horrible, yet Gary didn¡¯t have any better suggestions himself which was why he decided to keep quiet.

    ¡°After what happened yesterday, I actually felt inspired by those creatures. What do you all think about, The Howlers?¡± Kai suggested, looking at Gary in particr.

    ¡°I like it.¡± Marie said, while Innu shivered a little bit thinking about the howls he had heard form the Altered yesterday. However, he had to admit that it was a good name. A gang name should send fear into whoever heard their name, though usually their own members should be exempt.

    ¡°I think¡­it¡¯s good as well.¡± Gary answered, really not having any better ideas.

    After that, Kai reminded the two to keep out of trouble until their fight, before giving them the meeting ce on the day of the match. He also advised them to stay inside as much as possible due to the recent events that happened.

    Since lunch wasing to an end, Gary was heading back to his ssroom, and it was when going through the hallways he stopped dead in his tracks, and so did the other person opposite him.

    ¡°¡­ke¡­¡±

    ¡®Damn it, Ipletely forgot about this¡­¡¯

 Chapter 91: Altered Hunter Ranks

    <h4>Chapter 91: Altered Hunter Ranks</h4>

    Despite surviving the full moon, the amount of things Gary had on his mind hadn¡¯t really reduced. For some reason he had put this one in particr to the back of his mind. Perhaps because it had been the first thing he had been confronted with after reverting back, or maybe it was because ke being an Altered Hunter seemed as unbelievable as him being a Werewolf.

    ¡®Man what is it with this school? Does it have some special attraction to strange people? I¡¯m seriously starting to worry about running into vampires, dragons, demons or the like¡­ Out of everyone, why did HE have to be an Altered Hunter?¡¯

    nning to avoid the confrontation, Gary decided to do the easiest thing. He lifted his hand to wave at the other¡­ and then, tried to promptly walk right past ke. However, as he did, a shadow was cast in front of him. The high schooler quickly moved to the other side, yet the shadow copied him. It was clear that the young Altered Hunter was blocking his way.

    ¡®Come on! You really want to do this, in school of all ces? I can¡¯t get into any more trouble! I just came back after being excluded for an entire week! Look, I¡¯m pretending that I never saw you, that everything was just a bad dream yesterday, so why can¡¯t you do the same?!¡¯ Gary was screaming internally, as he decided to go for a spin, trying to get past his schoolmate.

    Right now, Gary was imagining himself on the field with the rugby ball in his hands, and he was trying to get past one of the defenders. Unfortunately, ke seemed to have predicted this and was already in the right position to catch him.

    ¡®Sh*t. Couldn¡¯t things have gone my way for once?!¡¯

    ke, ced his hand on Gary¡¯s shoulder quite confidently and leaned in so no one else would hear.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not too eager to have ¡®that¡¯ conversation either, but we really need to talk about yesterday. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not nning to do anything else to you. Let¡¯s just head to the bench outside near the art block. I believe it¡¯s in both our interests to decide what to do next.¡± ke whispered, before he patted the other on the back and continued on his way.

    ¡®Well, a talk doesn¡¯t sound too bad, but I haven¡¯t even had time to think about what to say! Damn it, ke is a nice guy, right? I mean, he let me go yesterday in the woods. Surely, he wouldn¡¯t lie to me to try and kill me now. We¡¯re in school with far too many potential witnesses. If he really wanted to, he could have approached me outside of school.¡¯

    Being rtively sure that it was safe, he decided to follow behind the other. Nobody found it too strange that they walked together. Although they hadn¡¯t won the match, everyone in school knew that Eton High had beat up nearly all the regrs. Gary had only recently be one, and their teamwork had secured them a draw, making the two of them the superstars of the Rugby club!

    s, Gary was being reminded just how popr ke actually was. Everyone went out of their way to greet him, a few girls even stopped by to bring him gifts. The high schooler wasn¡¯t too sure, but he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some of those cookies had been baked early in the morning just for ke¡­

    On the other hand, only a few congratted Gary here and there. It was obvious that he was treated mostly as an afterthought, when they noticed that he had been behind the real rugby star

    ¡®Damn it, would they all be thinking the same if they knew he was an Altered Hunter? This lifestyle, everything he¡¯s doing is fake¡­¡¯ It was then that Gary realised the hypocrisy. Was what he was doing really any different?

    Altered Hunters had a bad reputation. After all, bing an Altered was something that everyone aspired to be or wished for. They were superstars and instant celebrities, yet one crazy group of people had chosen to kill them for no apparent reason.

    Or at least not a reason the general public could understand. If anyone did find out ke was an Altered Hunter, he would probably be chased after for the rest of his life.

    Eventually, the two of them reached the bench, and he realised why ke had picked this spot. There was no one else there, other than students far away in their ssrooms practicing art instead of going outside to y.

    The two of them sat together for a while, neither one really sure how to start such a serious conversation.

    ¡®Should I go first? Is he waiting for me to say something? Or should I just wait?¡¯

    Just when Gary was about to speak, ke started instead.

    ¡°My family¡­ They have been Altered Hunters since seemingly forever. ¡®Altered¡¯ have actually existed for much longer than you¡¯re led to believe. Just like us, they used to have a different name, but that¡¯s beside the point. It was only recently that ¡®Altered¡¯ started to be more public about their existence.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how someone like you managed to be an Altered. I actually chose to go to a no-name school in a Tier-3 town because I believed that it would allow me to separate my two lives. I never wanted to run into somebody I knew, but then I met you.¡±

    It made sense, although ke hid the fact that he was an Altered Hunter, in the end he was still a teenager like Gary. Gary knew how hard it was to kill someone that you know, or someone you saw everyday, the connection made it harder.

    Going to a no-name school, it should have been impossible for anyone to afford to be an Altered, or have the potential to be selected as one, apart from ke himself of course.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it started when you got better at rugby. I didn¡¯t think much of it at the time, and I thought that it was actually fun to just forget about everything and try topete for a change. You helped me forget about what I was¡­¡±

    ¡®Damn it, the more I listen to him, the more I realise the two of us are alike. That¡¯s why I started to enjoy rugby a lot as well.¡¯

    ¡°And then you saved me, which is why I decided to do that favour for you the other day but at the same time Gary, this is a warning. There aren¡¯t many Altered in this town, which means that you will be one of our targets.

    ¡°How much do you know about Altered Hunters?¡± ke asked.

    ¡°Not much, just what is on the news. I had no idea that you used that strange armour of yours.¡± Gary replied honestly.

    ¡°We Altered Hunters have ranks.¡± ke exined. ¡°These ranks are tattooed on their shoulders in the form of stars and a lot of hunters are proud of this. The more stars, the stronger the Altered Hunter, and my father, who lives here with me in this town, is a three-star hunter.¡±

    ¡°A three-star hunter? So what are you, and how do hunters even get these stars?¡± Gary asked.

    It was the first question that the other had asked, that made ke pause for a while.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any stars on my shoulder yet. An Altered Hunter will only get a star if he manages to sessfully kill five Altered. Right now, I¡¯m still an apprentice to my father and you were actually meant to be my very first kill.¡±

    Now Gary understood why ke¡¯s father was so dangerous. If he was a three-star Altered Hunter, it meant that the other had already killed Altered in the double digits, beings that were superhuman with all sorts of different forms. He was experienced beyond belief.

    ¡°I guess I was lucky I ran into you then and not him.¡± Gary chuckled nervously.

    ¡°That¡¯s my point and it¡¯s why I came to talk with you. Since I¡¯m in my apprenticeship phase, my father will apany me until I earn my first star. We never expected to find two of you in Slough, making us split up. However, if I was you, I wouldn¡¯t go out anymore.

    ¡°The next time I¡¯m with my father and we spot you again, I won¡¯t be able to stop him. If anything I will have to help him.¡± ke admitted, stood up and got ready to head back to ss.

    ¡°Wait, ke! The other Were- the other Altered, did your father manage to catch him? Do you know where he is?¡± Gary asked.

    ke turned around, his face didn¡¯t look pleased, which was a rare sight. This whole time while they were walking through the hallway, Gary had only seen a smile on the other¡¯s face, though he could tell that it was just for show.

    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t. Some White Rose agent got in his way and ording to him, he used the chance to escape one that other Altered fled. There¡¯s nothing in the news, so I guess they were unable to find that one afterwards.¡± ke shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I thought that the two of us might be good friends, but because of what I am, and what you are, it might be best if we kept our distance outside of rugby.¡±

    Although Gary didn¡¯t know ke too well, for some reason, the words of the other stung. Maybe it was because he learned that the two of them were close, or maybe it was something else, but if Gary did meet ke again, he didn¡¯t want to be his enemy. That was for sure.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t go deciding that crap on your own! I¡¯ll kick your arse at rugby, and I¡¯ll kick your arse in fighting as well, but that¡¯s it! We can still talk in school, we can stillugh and have fun!

    ¡°You¡¯re still you, and I¡¯m still me, nothing has changed! Who cares about who or what we are outside of school?¡±

    Turning back around, ke gave the other high schooler a sad smile, yet didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡®And that is why you¡¯re dangerous, Gary, because of your beliefs. I hope I won¡¯t ever have to pick between you or my father¡­¡¯

 Chapter 92: Shortcut to power

    <h4>Chapter 92: Shortcut to power</h4>

    Back in Gary¡¯s ssroom, there was one student who hadn¡¯t moved at all from her seat, and that was Xin. She had kept her head down, which was still pounding from theck of sleep. After everything she had experienced that night, the most frightening thing for her was waiting for her when she got home, because she had been forced to confront her father.

    As the mayor, it was impossible for her to keep something of that magnitude hidden from him, especially since the bodyguard assigned to her had been killed in active duty, leaving her no other choice but to tell him the truth. Xin had confessed to everything, though she imed that she had wanted to celebrate with some of her friends because of the rugby match, before they had been attacked by an Altered.

    The news reportter revealed this fact and the police report made it so her father believed her. Unlike what she had expected, the mayor had hugged her tightly and had just been thankful that it appeared to have been a random attack rather than someone trying to go after her.

    Of course, that hadn¡¯t been the end of it. This morning, after having thought things over during the night, he had told Xin about the changes that would happen to avoid such a situation. The increase of bodyguards was the least of her troubles.

    ¡®The worst part is, I can¡¯t evenin about him changing the rules of this deal. Still, he could at least have allowed me to go home by myself. How am I supposed to make any friends, if I have to drive to and from school in a car? I guess the only freedom I have left is in school.¡¯ Xin sulked as she could hear the sound of giggling from behind.

    The annoying high pitchedugh had be an annoyance and it was giving the high school girl a bigger headache than usual.

    ¡®How great would school be if Tiffany wasn¡¯t around¡­ She has yet to actually do anything since our talk, but I can¡¯t shake this feeling that she is plotting something big.¡¯

    However, right now Xin was simply too tired to care whatever that banshee was preparing. Herst thought before she fell asleep was where Gary had actually disappeared to yesterday.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When returning to ss, Gary spent some time talking with Tom. During the breaks they were trying toe up with ways of preventing what happened the first time, and on top of that, his best friend was actually trying to figure out ways to deal with the other Omega wolf.

    ¡°The only weakness we know of is chocte. Even that is something we can¡¯t be too sure of. In the worst case scenario it might actually be somethingpletely unique to you, but even in the best case scenario, it¡¯s not like we can get rid of him by throwing a chocte cake in his face. Say, do you think if I smother myself in chocte that it might act as a repellent, so he won¡¯t eat me?¡± Tom questioned him.

    ¡°That is the strangest suggestion I have ever heard.¡± Garymented, as he couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°Do you want me to wear gauntlets or something and smear that in that stuff to deal poison damage to him or something?¡±

    ¡°If it works, why not? Although it might be a bad idea for you to be the one to use them. Double-edged sword and everything. Who cares if it sounds stupid? You have to remember that our freaking lives are on the line here! And for some reason that Werewolf seemed to have taken a particr liking to Innu.¡± Tom whispered.

    Over to their right, Innu was snoring lightly. Gary had a feeling that he already knew why the other Werewolf was after him.

    ¡®I don¡¯t think something like chocte is going to do much. At best it might make him vomit Innu out if he tries to eat him, but it won¡¯t really stop him from killing him. Eating human flesh seems to empower a Werewolf.

    ¡®I can only assume it will either be an increase in stats or more stat points to assign, or maybe a direct increase like it was for hunting down a target. As long as one can actually live like that, the pros seem to outweigh the cons. It really seems to be the easiest and fastest way to get a power boost.¡¯

    Later in the afternoon, it was time for club sses again, and when Gary and ke met they looked at each other, before giving the other a nod. It seemed that their little talk had improved the rtionship between the two of them.

    Instead of their regr training, Mr Root talked about the game, telling everyone what went well and what went wrong, but in the end, how it was ultimately not their fault that they didn¡¯t win. Eton High had used an even dirtier method than usual, so not losing was already a huge achievement. Most surprisingly, he actually thanked all the non-regr yers for taking up their role, calling them out by name instead of just referring to them as ¡®the benchwarmers¡¯.

    All of the regr yers gave them a big round of apuse and Gary was starting to think that Mr Root actually was one of the better adults he had seen in his life. Practice continued on as normal after that but there was one thing that the high schooler had noticed a certain student hadn¡¯t arrived who had done every time since.

    ¡®His Mark is too faint, so he can¡¯t be in school. Just what is he up to? He seemed fine yesterday¡­ Maybe he isn¡¯t over Barry¡¯s death yet?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    Apparently, he wasn¡¯t the only one who had noticed his disappearance. He could overhear some of the students talk to each other.

    ¡°Hey have you noticed that Gil isn¡¯t here?¡± A student asked. ¡°I heard that he went to Headmistress Young this morning to drop out.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? Are you sure he didn¡¯t just n to transfer to another school? You know, he and Barry were inseparable. Maybe he just wants to be elsewhere to not be reminded of his childhood friend.¡±

    ¡°I thought the same, but someone told me that Gil had actually joined a gang. I doubt he has a need to go to school if one of the big gangs epts him.¡±

    The students carried on talking about Gil, and Gary could only think of one gang that he probably had joined. The grey colour gang which was rted to the Grey Elephants.

    ¡®Tomorrow I have that fight with Innu, so we were meant to do some training today, but if we run into Billy again, there isn¡¯t much chance I can beat him.

    ¡®If I meet Gil again, I wonder if that Quest will activate again. I wouldn¡¯t mind farming him for some Exp.¡¯ At that moment he crossed eyes with ke, remembering that there were others out there.

    ¡®It should be okay. As long as I don¡¯t transform, I¡¯m just a normal high schooler. I can¡¯t avoid taking risks. If I just sit around, my friends, and family could all be in danger. I need to get stronger.¡¯

    Thinking about hisst remaining hunting target, Gary thought back to thest time he had seen Gil together with the colour gang, how he had almost killed a defenceless old man. That had just been a test after joining the gang. Now that he had proven that he didn¡¯t shy away from dirty work, he might actually be given worse things to do, and thinking along these thoughts¡­

    ¡®Billy has eaten multiple people already, that¡¯s why he was so much stronger than me. If I were to do the same I might gain the power to rival him. I can¡¯t bring myself to end innocent lives like Billy does, and Barry was just an ident.

    ¡®However, there are some people that don¡¯t deserve to live in this world anymore, and if I have to kill, if I have to get stronger to protect the ones I care about, then I would rather them die over my friends.¡¯

    Thinking about this, without realising it, saliva was dripping out from Gary¡¯s mouth

 Chapter 93: An Important Bond

    <h4>Chapter 93: An Important Bond</h4>

    After training was over, Innu actually came over to Gary to tell him that there would be no practice today. Although Innu had just joined the school, he had been advised to join the Rugby club by someone in particr, and it had been no surprise to him when he had arrived the other day that he could see Gary there. Kai was clearly a person that just loved to pull strings and act as the puppet master behind everything.

    As for Innu¡¯s reasons for canceling practice, for one, the high schooler was still mentally tired from what had ured yesterday. He didn¡¯t want to stay out, and his other reason was that he considered it important to rest before an important match, like the one they would have tomorrow.

    Too much training was just as bad as no training, and he thought that whoever they would face in their match tomorrow he was confident the two of them could deal with it. Before leaving, he informed Gary that he would update him on anything to do with the Billy front, but since he would be staying at home today it was unlikely anything would ur.

    It seemed that Innu hadn¡¯t put together that Billy and the Werewolf were the same person, but Gary couldn¡¯t me him. Were it not for his Werewolf System, even he would find it impossible.

    The fact that training was cancelled was great news for the high schooler, who quickly hit the gym on his way back. There was no need for him to consume extra meat since he had already had his fill thanks to the generous ¡®donation¡¯ of a certain Altered superstar.

    [Exp 105/628]

    ¡®I know that my stats have gone up, but training is starting to seem pointless with how long it takes me to increase any of my stats naturally. With a measly 5 Exp per session it will take me ages to Level Up even once.

    ¡®If I want to get stronger, I need a faster way to earn Exp and for that I¡¯m going to have to take risks. By now, the colour gangs should have calmed down, so perhaps I can incite another turf war. I can¡¯t just sit around and allow Billy to get stronger on his own. But first, I need to do something else.¡¯

    Arriving home, Gary pushed the door open, and was positively surprised to see his mother in her work clothes. She was wearing a in blue top with a badge that had her name along the top. He figured that today might have been one of her very rare free days, or perhaps her shift had been moved toter.

    ¡°What are you doing here, mum? Did they call you for ate shift again?¡± Gary asked, as he popped his head into his room, hoping to find his sister, yet she was nowhere to be found either.

    ¡°Yeah, they have me on thete shift again.¡± His mother replied as she was texting on her phone. The middle-aged woman had a smile on her face as she did this as well. Which worried Gary, if this was the case she was either talking to her friends, or it was with another man, and Gary dreaded the thought of meeting another person from Slough.

    That and he didn¡¯t like the idea of another person being introduced into their family, he was the one that would help their family out of their situation, not a stranger who didn¡¯t know the struggles they had gone through.

    His mother worked as a cashier at a twenty-four hour supermarket. They would call her in for extra work at all sorts of times and she would always ept. Because they knew she always said yes, they always asked her first.

    For Gary though he hated it, theter the shift the more likely there was for trouble to be caused. The only saving grace was that the supermarket was under the Underdog¡¯s territory in Slough, so no one touched it. If they did, they would be facing the biggest gang in Slough.

    Still, that didn¡¯t stop some gangs, or strays from trying to do things once in a while.

    ¡°If you¡¯re looking for Amy, she¡¯s staying over at Stacy¡¯s tonight.¡± His mother shouted, noticing that her son was looking in every room, and even knocked on the toilet.

    ¡®She went out¡­ Well as long as she stays indoors, I guess they¡¯re safe, but I really wanted to do something today.¡¯ The reason Gary was a little bummed was because he had been nning to create a Bond Mark with her.

    Although it was unlikely that Billy would go after his sister, it wasn¡¯t impossible and it was mostly a question of when the Underdogs might unearth his real identity and the people around him. After hearing what Tom said about him protecting him as a full Werewolf, Gary was confident he wouldn¡¯t harm them.

    ¡®Well, I guess I will just have to leave it for next time then.¡¯ Gary thought.

    There was still one other person he could Mark though. Going up to his mother, he pulled a chair and sat down opposite her. She intricately turned her phone over, which made Gary even more suspicious that she was talking to a guy on the phone. However, seeing this gave him an idea.

    ¡°Mum¡­I don¡¯t mind you talking to other people, but¡­ I get kinda jealous sometimes. I know looking after me and Amy can be hard sometimes. It¡¯s just that I get worried that sometimes¡­you might leave us.¡± Gary had his face down and was putting on an Oscar worthy performance.

    His mother immediately raised her arms and gave him a big hug.

    ¡°Gary, you and Amy are the most important people in my life and that won¡¯t change. You even saved up all that money for me. I hate to admit it, but you can¡¯t even imagine how much it has helped our situation. I wouldn¡¯t give you two up for anything in the world! I will never leave you!¡±

    ¡°You promise?¡± Gary asked, holding out his pinky.

    ¡°I promise!¡± His mother replied as her own pinky touched her son¡¯s.

    And at that moment, a notification from the system had appeared.

    [A spoken deal has been made, would you like to Mark ¡°Maya Dem¡±?]

    [Yes]

    [3/5 Marks have been assigned]

    Gary was pleased that the system was pulling through for him for once, but that was when he received another message he never expected.

    [You have sessfully bonded with another person!]

    [The system has decided to reward you for your hard work, keep going!]

    [At the end of each day, you will receive 10 Exp for every active Bond Mark]

    [Protect those promises, and the people you trust.

    Loyalty is the number one priority for every upright Werewolf!]

    ¡®Huh, is the system sick today or is this supposed to be a type of reward for surviving the full moon? Either way, it¡¯s finally actually giving me some good things for once! With this I can easily get 30 Exp every day with the Daily Quests!¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s not all, I still have two free Marks. ¡­Hey, System, what do I have to do to increase the number of Marks?¡¯

 Chapter 94: The Altered Rookie

    <h4>Chapter 94: The Altered Rookie</h4>

    Just when Gary had thought the system might have turned over a new leaf, the system returned to being as unresponsive as ever. Aside from leveling up, the high schooler came to terms that he would have to hope that he might to either luckily unlock a way to increase that number, or the system might decide to drop him some tips.

    Nevertheless, Gary needed to be careful about the promises he made. ording to his system, should the other party end up breaking that, then his Bond Mark would automatically turn into a Broken Mark, making those people into hunting targets. While that might not be bad in his daily lives, it would lead to disastrous consequences during a full moon. It was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

    Fortunately, when seeing his mother on the phone, he hade up with what he deemed to be a perfect n. He had made his mother promise him that she would never leave him. Gary waspletely convinced that she would never do such a thing. If their mother had wanted to, she could have left the two teenagers ages ago, making this an unbreakable Bond Mark.

    ¡°Thanks, Mum.¡± Gary smiled, ted that he would be able to protect mother whenever she would be in danger now. Like Tom, the mark that appeared was green, although the smelling from them was different. It looked like he would have to try his best to use his nose rather than his eyes more.

    ¡®Now I just need to think of a promise that I¡¯ll be able to keep with Amy. It would be best if it could be something as foolproof as Mum¡¯s. Right now, nothinges to mind, at least nothing that she is guaranteed to keep.¡¯

    A little whileter, his mother received a call, and it was time for her to go to work. Gary knew her shifts were long ones, so when leaving the housete today there was no need for him to worry about sneaking out.

    The high schooler waited a little while until the sun set, yet he noticed something odd about Gil¡¯s marking. For some odd reason it was bing clearer, leading him to believe that he wasing in his direction.

    ¡®What is he doing? The guys at school said that he dropped out to join a gang, but the grey colour gang¡¯s territory isn¡¯t anywhere near here. Could he have some sort of personal business in this area?¡¯

    When it was finally dark out, Gary decided to head out. He wore his trusted hood covering up his head, and he had made sure to wear something ck. At first nce, he appeared like just another member of the ck colour gang.

    Curious about Gil¡¯s Mark that had be slightly paler, but seemed to be still around the area, Gary followed it. However, even before he could see the drop-out, he could clearly make out the sound of conflict from a mile away.

    Sneaking through some trees and past the roads he found the source of it. Underneath a bridge, there were members of the red colour gang and members of the grey colour gang fighting against members from the ck colour gang.

    Initially, Gary believed this to be a three-way fight, but after watching for a while it became clear that the the other two had banded together to attack the ck colour gang.

    ¡®What is going on? Did the Grey Elephants take over the gang behind the red colour gang? No, could it be that the two of them entered an alliance? Sh*t, if that¡¯s really the case, this could endanger everyone in Slough!¡¯

    It was then that Gary realised that he could hear the sound of even more fighting going on. This wasn¡¯t just a small scuffle between two gangs, right now he could tell that there was a war going on. The other two colour gangs had clearly invaded the ck colour gangs areas.

    ¡®Crap, why did it have to happen today of all the days?! If they¡¯re pushing the ck colour gang this much, then it will force the Underdogs to act!¡¯ Gary was starting to panic, looking around to check if he could still escape if things went south.

    However, before he left another thought crossed his mind.

    ¡®Wait, there¡¯s chaos, too much for the police to handle. In the past situations like these, they would leave it so the gangs take each other out, onlying at the end to arrest the losing side. If that¡¯s the case, can¡¯t I take advantage of all of this? As long as I avoid the members of the real gangs and just go after the colour gangs, this might be my one chance to earn big time!¡¯

    -

    Just as he had expected, things were about to change. A distance away, walking confidently through the streets was Kirk. Instead of his iconic red suit that he wore whenever he appeared on TV, right now he had a ck suit on with a yellow-spotted tie, representing the Underdog¡¯s Cheetah Squad.

    Following him were five menacing-looking men. They had received reports from the ck colour gang members who had called for backup, and they had arrived just outside what looked like a pub.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t your superiors warn you to only go so far? We don¡¯t usually involve ourselves with the affairs of colour gangs, but you guys have pushed it too far this time. You do know that this pub belongs to the Underdogs, right?¡± Kirk asked with a smile.

    There were several injured ck colour gang members rolling on the ground in front of him, while members of the grey and red gang seemed to have suffered minimal casualties. There were still more than a dozen of them on each side, with the total around thirty. Immediately, the one closest to Kirk ran forward with his baseball bat, and swung it with all his strength over his head.

    Not wasting any time, Kirk took a stance and threw out his fist. The second the bat and his fist collided, the piece of wood snapped in half.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± the grey colour gang member looked at his bat in disbelief. ¡°Is he a robot or something?¡±

    ¡°You idiot, that¡¯s Kirk Summerfield! He¡¯s an Altered who recently won that Rookie Tournament!¡± One of the red colour gang members shouted. Kirk was quite a well known figure in the public, yet not many knew that he was also a member of the Underdogs.

    The gangs were quick to run away. s, they didn¡¯t get far. Kirk had transformed the bottom part of his legs to run past them all. He would have been even faster if he hadn¡¯t taken off his expensive shoes beforehand, to block off the juveniles¡¯ path of escape.

    ¡°Since you guys are already here, I¡¯ll have you answer a few questions. You didn¡¯t think I would let you go this easily after what you did, right? First, who are you working for, second why do your bosses believe that they could just barge into our area and take over andstly¡­ have you seen a kid about this height, around sixteen years old with green hair?¡±

 Chapter 95: The sister of the Dem family

    <h4>Chapter 95: The sister of the Dem family</h4>

    Amy Dem and Stacy Turnhell had been inseparable ever since kindergarten. They had known each other since seemingly forever and both girls had been lucky enough to be able to always go to the same school.

    Unlike Gary, his sister had always received good grades, and had even passed the 11 plus. It was a test one did when reaching the age of 11 to determine whether or not the student could enter a grammar school.

    Those grammar schools were state funded and were exclusive for the best of the best, those that the state believed had the most potential. This came as a blessing to the Dem household as it meant, everything would be paid for. Their mother was very happy when she found out that they would not have to worry about school supplies or lunch or any other things Amy might need for any club she might have chosen to join.

    Gary hadn¡¯t evene close to passing his test, but Amy and Stacy had both managed to ce rtively high, allowing them both to choose which school to attend. Although not the most prestigious one, Amy had chosen to go to Slough¡¯s only all-girls grammar school, so her family wouldn¡¯t have to worry about her.

    Now that she was in high school, she and Stacy were the only ones who had passed the test from her old school, making the two friends naturally grow closer to each other.

    When Amy hade over, Stacy had told her that they would be doing something very special today. After putting on the ck dresses thetter had prepared for the two of them, both went out of the house.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t feelfortable in this. Are you sure this makes me look slimmer?¡± Amyined, as she walked. The dress felt far too tight to her skin, something she just wasn¡¯t used to. Originally, Stacy had also prepared some high heels, but this was as far as Amy would go. She had tried to slip them on and felt like her toes were constantly being squeezed to death. She didn¡¯t understand why other girls put themselves through such torture.

    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s just for today!¡± Stacy encouraged her, pulling out some red lipstick and a mirror, as she masterfully applied a thick coat on her lips, making them seem bigger than they already were.

    Stacy was am unnatural blonde haired girl. In the past she used to be quite shy, but ever since she had entered high school she had begun to be far more outgoing. Amy didn¡¯t know what had caused that seemingly sudden change, her best guess was that Stacy might have just wanted to create apletely new image in a new school.

    At least when it was just the two of them alone, Stacy still acted like always, so Amy hadn¡¯t addressed the change. For all she knew people changed as they got older. Her brother and his green hair were a perfect example of that.

    However,tely Stacy had be far more interested in fashion, make-up and lipstick, and it showed. She had applied it well onto her face, as if she had spent hours upon hours watching video tutorials to learn it. It was scary, how Amy could see her best friend turn a few years older with a couple of steps.

    Both of them were merely fifteen years old, Amy was just one younger than her brother, and usually parents wouldn¡¯t let girls out so young, but for some reason, Stacy¡¯s parents didn¡¯t seem to care as long as her grades weren¡¯t affected. As for Amy¡¯s mother, with how busy she was with work, it had been ages since she hadst seen Stacy, probably still thinking of her as the shy little mouse she used to be.

    ¡°Here, let me help you out a bit.¡± Stacy offered as she came over. With surprising expertise she applied some of her make-up and lipstick onto her best friend. At first Amy had wanted to reject but she found it hard to say no when looking at her happy friend. She didn¡¯t want to ruin the mood between the two of them.

    ¡°Done, you look amazing. You really should start wearing this stuff more. Just say the word. I got Mum to buy me new ones after I aced thatst test, so I will be happy to share my old ones. It really brings out your looks.¡±

    Stacy held out the mirror for her best friend and Amy barely recognised herself. The one who looked back at her appeared to be a young and very pretty university student. It was definitely something she could get used to¡­ though she would still rather wait a few years for such a change to ur naturally.

    The two girls hailed a taxi, something Amy was thankful for. Walking the streets, especially at thiste hour and dressed up like they were, seemed to be a guaranteed recipe for trouble.

    ¡°Why do we have to dress up, anyway? I thought we were just going to karaoke?¡± Amy asked.

    ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯re meeting someone today. Shoot, did I forget to tell you? Oh, I¡¯m so sorry, I was so excited that I thought I told you already. My boyfriend¡¯s going to be there and he also invited some of his friends. Who knows, maybe one of them has green hair like your brother.¡± Stacy teased her best friend.

    Now, Amy wasn¡¯t feeling so great and it wasn¡¯t just because of what Stacy insinuated. She had thought it was just going to be the two of them, like it always had. Stacy had mentioned her ¡®boyfriend¡¯ a few times recently, but Amy had believed it had just been something she had made up to look betterpared to the girls of their ss.

    At their age, their only chance of meeting boys was through school, yet at an all-girls school that was impossible. Most of their male teachers were up there in their years, but even the youngest one was easily more than double their age. She hadn¡¯t seen Stacy hang out with anyone around school, so just where had she met him?

    ¡°I mean¡­at least we¡¯ll be in a public ce, so I guess it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± Amy mumbled, still a little worried.

    Eventually, the taxi pulled up on the main high street of Slough. It looked different at night with all the lights, but it was considered a rtively safe area. The general public believed it was due to the mayor, who had promised that the town centre was the one ce that he would guarantee all of their safety.

    Another reason why Amy thought it was okay to be here, until she got out of the taxi with Stacy. Immediately Stacy ran up, and hugged someone that was more than one head taller than her. The ¡®boy¡¯ wore a grey beanie with his hair sticking through slightly. He also had both his ears pierced and his bottom lip.

    He wasn¡¯t alone either; he had brought along two friends, one of which was currently smoking. Seeing this sight, rm bells were screaming in Amy¡¯s head, but the main reason was due to Stacy¡¯s boyfriend clearly being older than them. The three of them had to be either in theirst year of high school, repeaters or most likely university students¡­ unless they worked somewhere else, of course.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been sooo looking forward to this! I¡¯m d that we finally get to meet!¡± Stacy greeted him.

    Hearing this, Amy just wanted to p her forehead. The two of them hadn¡¯t even met?!

    ¡®Stacy please don¡¯t tell me you actually met him over Binder or some other app! Oh, who am I kidding, given the age difference, where else could they have met? I bet she lied about her actual age and that¡¯s why she was so adamant to put on that make-up.¡¯ Amy believed to have seen through the situation.

    The next second, she saw the two of them holding hands, and Stacy turned around.

    ¡°Come on Amy, you¡¯re a great singer! You¡¯re always hogging the mike when it¡¯s just the two of us, so let¡¯s show them what we got!¡± Stacy invited her best friend.

    Every bone in the high school girl¡¯s body was advising her not to go inside, yet Amy couldn¡¯t leave Stacy alone with those strangers. If she were to suddenly make up some excuse like her stomach hurt, then who knows what might happen to her best friend. Three young adults with one naive little girl¡­

    ¡®What if they do something to her? ¡­ No, I can¡¯t leave her alone. She must have known that it would be dangerous alone, I¡¯ll just have to try to convince her to go home early.

    ¡®Who knows, maybe it¡¯s all just in my head. There¡¯s always the chance that they might be decent guys¡­ but if not, I¡¯ll just have to tell them that I got a sudden stomach ache or something. She shouldn¡¯t mind too much if this is their first meeting.¡¯

    Amy thought about what to do in this situation. The police would be too slow to respond, they had too much to deal with in Slough. Who knows how fast they would react even if it became an emergency.

    Just in case of anything she typed in a text, noting her current location. She didn¡¯t send it out to anyone yet, but it would only require a click to send it to the one person she trusted most.

 Chapter 96: White powder

    <h4>Chapter 96: White powder</h4>

    An opportunity was exactly what Gary needed. Billy was far stronger than him, and if Gary wasn¡¯t willing to eat people like he was, then there was almost no way for him to catch up, so much so that he had even gone through his head a number of times just exactly what he might do to Gil.

    However, the system was a strange thing, and noticing that a gang war had arrived the system had answered him once more.

    [New quest received]

    [When two fight, the third one takes the prize]

    [As an outsider you have been chucked into the midst of a (colour) gang war]

    [Are you following trouble or is trouble following you?]

    [Either way, show them the strength of an Omega wolf that follows no one!]

    [Quest reward: 50 Exp per defeated person]

    The system was still telling him to get his hands dirty but not too dirty. Seeing the fight between the engagements in the bridge continue out in front of him, along with the system screen he couldn¡¯t help himself.

    ¡®Gil, you will just have to wait a little longer.¡¯

    -

    Entering the Karaoke club, the boys rented out the room and were even nice enough to pay for it on their own. At first everything seemed fine, apart from the fact that Amy found herself on the couch surrounded by two guys she had never seen before.

    Meanwhile, Stacy was busy brushing her body against her boyfriend who had introduced himself as ¡®Hawk¡¯, of all things. Amy was convinced that that couldn¡¯t be his real name, no parent would ever subject their kid to that.

    Amy was sipping on her juice, left with the other two boys. The fellow to her right was slightlyrger in his bottom half making him look like a pear, whose name was apparently Pierrece. The one on her left was theplete contrast to his friend, seemingly nothing but bones, who had told her to call him Ben. Given her outer appearance she was easily able to remember their names as well.

    The room was quiterge with a bench around the back, and two microphones. At the moment, Stacy and Hawk were doing a duet, and the two other boys were slowly creeping their way over to Amy.

    ¡°So Amy, I guess you don¡¯t have a boyfriend since you¡¯re here on your own tonight?¡± Ben asked carefully.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t found the right one yet. It would have to be someone my brother approves of.¡± Amy replied truthfully. Just like Gary, she also had a hard time lying to others, but she hoped mentioning him might perhaps make them back off somehow.

    ¡°A brother¡­¡± Pierre murmured. ¡°Who does he wo- I mean, is he still in school? Could he be someone we know perhaps?¡±

    Pierre seemed to have wanted to ask something else at first, but he had quickly corrected. Amy had no clue why though, as he had almost instantly replied with ¡®Westbridge¡¯. The next moment she regretted it. Now that she thought about it, it would have been far better to have named a university, to make it seem that Gary was older.

    Unfortunately, her answer seemed to have calmed the two teenagers, and they continued their questioning, but thankfully it looked like Stacy and Hawk had just ended their duet.

    ¡°Finally, me next!¡± Amy quickly jumped up from her seat and almost snatched the microphone out of Stacy¡¯s hand, as she chose a longer song and began to sing straight away. This was her only saving grace from the other two.

    ¡®It felt like forever but ording to the clock, we¡¯ve only been here for half an hour. I haven¡¯t even had time to speak to Stacy. Why didn¡¯t she pick up on me telling her that I needed to go to the bathroom.¡¯ Amy was trying to figure out a better excuse, but by the time the song had ended she hadn¡¯te up with anything better and decided to sing the next one as well.

    When singing she was in her element, it really was something she truly enjoyed doing, and running up she closed her eyes as she hit a high note, yet suddenly, there was no background music, and therge screen that would show the lyrics had turned off.

    ¡°Hey everyone, so I think that¡¯s enough singing for now, let¡¯s do something more fun!¡± Hawk suggested. It was clear he was the one who had pulled the plug, and he swiftly pulled out a deck of cards which heid down on the table.

    Looking towards her friend, Amy didn¡¯t even try to hide her annoyed face. The guy could have at least waited for her to finish her song before doing this and Stacy could only form the word sorry on her lips, her eyes pleading to not make a big deal out of this.

    Sitting at the table, Hawk dealt out cards while Bones lit up another cigarette. This only further annoyed Amy, as they were all in the same room together. While smoking was allowed, she was of the opinion that he could have at least asked them before forcing them to enjoy his second-hand smoke.

    A short while after, a waiter entered the room and ced some more drinks on the table, which Ben seemed to have ordered when he had left the room previously. Looking at the foam, it was clear to the high school girls that they had just been served alcohol.

    ¡®They can order alcohol, then just how old are these guys? They have to be at least over eighteen¡­ This is worse than I thought. Come on, Stacy, even you should see that is going to end badly?¡¯ Amy cried internally, but her best friend was too busy flirting with Hawk.

    The guys began to drink without any hesitation, and Stacy joined them after her boyfriend talked her into it. Amy had a bottle in front of her, which she would just pick up asionally and pretend to drink from. The smell alone was strong enough to keep her from trying it and she was definitely not going to start drinking around strangers who she knew for less than an hour.

    After a while of ying cards though, Amy was slowly lowering her guard. The guys had talked a bit about themselves and had even managed to make him giggle from telling some jokes.

    ¡®Maybe I was just being too cautious, judging them based on their appearance too quickly. Living in our area for too long does that.¡¯

    s, Amy soon discovered that she had been right all along. As the round finished and it was her turn to shuffle cards, Hawk stopped her and brought out a small bag with white powder. He started to use the cards to spread it out into five lines.

    ¡°Is this¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Hawk answered with a proud tone. ¡°My brother is a high-ranking member in the Grey Elephants. Girls like you might not know them, but they are one of the gangs in Slough who have a say in how things are run. It¡¯s easy for me to get my hands on this type of stuff thanks to him. Come on, try it out. It¡¯s hard to exin just how good this feels!¡±

    A few secondster, all the boys had snorted their lines, before they shook their heads for a few seconds. While Stacy had yed along with the alcohol, hard drugs were something crossing even her line. Amy could see that this was also far beyond what she had been expecting.

    ¡°Thank you very much, but I think I shouldn¡¯t. I haven¡¯t been feeling well for a while. Maybe it¡¯s the alcohol. I think I need to lie down. Stacy, I¡¯m staying at yours tonight, right? Maybe we should go.¡± Amy insisted.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± Stacy instantly agreed, happy that she had dragged Amy along. However, as she tried to stand up, Hawk grabbed her by the wrist.

    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t just leave. We still have so much time left. We paid for this room, paid for your drinks and we haven¡¯t even done anything yet. Don¡¯t you think we deserve something in return?¡± Hawk smiled mischievously.

    Seeing this, Amy immediately stood up and was nning to grab her best friend and make a run for it, but Pierre grabbed the high school girl¡¯s hand. He had a surprisingly tight grip around it.

    ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re hurting my wrist let go!¡± Amy shouted. ¡°I¡¯ll scream if you don¡¯t let you now!¡±

    It was then that Ben had gone over and plugged the karaoke machine back in, before turning it on at full volume. Now even if they did scream, nobody would hear them, or just think it was the music.

    ¡®We¡¯re in real trouble.¡¯

    Using her free hand, Amy ced it into her pocket and hit the send button. She wasn¡¯t sure if he could help, but they just needed someone who could help them out of this situation.

 Chapter 97: Perfect time

    <h4>Chapter 97: Perfect time</h4>

    Gary knew that the smart thing would be to keep on watching, waiting for both sides to weaken each other further, so he could snoop in and finish off the losing side. This way he wouldn¡¯t use a lot of Energy, while still being able to get some Exp.

    However, he had decided to take some risks. Given the content of the Quest, it seemed wiser to get involved in the fight before any surprising backup could arrive. He didn¡¯t know how long this gang war wouldst since it was just a matter of time that the Underdogs would send out their muscle.

    If he waited too long the gang war might escte to the point it would be too dangerous for him to get involved. At the moment, Gary was dressed in all ck, so the only colour gang he could help out and pretend to be a part of was the ck colour gang.

    ¡®It¡¯s two gangs against one, so I have to join in while the ck colour gang still has some members standing.¡¯ Gary thought. He ran across the top of the bridge, and waited for a few moments. Looking below, the group were fighting at an underpass, and the ck colour gang members were slowly being pushed back, making their way out from the tunnel.

    He could see three members still standing. They were hunched up together, obviously hurt but still fighting. It was clear that at this point they were basically running on fumes. Unfortunately, running away wasn¡¯t an option. Turning their back on the other colour gangs would just seal their fate. They wouldn¡¯t get far before the other members caught up to them.

    ¡®Damn, I was hoping they would be in a better fighting condition so they could help me grab somest hits. I know my skills have improved but without the boost from the moon I¡¯m not too sure I can handle all of the others on my own.¡¯

    In his hesitation, he thought back to his fight with Billy, at least what he could remember of it. Fighting a bunch of ¡®humans¡¯ seemed a lot easier. Just then, he could see multiple people run from under the bridge.

    ¡®1¡­2¡­3¡­4¡­5. they just keeping and there could be more.¡¯ Gary counted.

    It wouldn¡¯t stop him, he saw the ck colour gang members had engaged with the others, and this was his chance. Two more people ran from the bridge, and with no fear, Gary leaped from above.

    He was on the path tond directly onto them and that¡¯s exactly what he did, stretching out his legs he made sure his foot hit the back of their heads, causing them to fall over and their heads to m in the concrete ground.

    [Your opponents (2) have been knocked out]

    [100 Exp gained]

    [Exp 205/628]

    Such a move would knock anyone out, yet the high schooler was also a little afraid that he might have hurt them too much. Just as he considered checking their condition, someone swung a bike chain from behind and struck him across the face. Fortunately, it only cut his cheek, around his mouth.

    [- 4 HP]

    ¡°There¡¯s another one of those ck colour f*ckers over here!¡± A young man dressed in red called, who had hit him. ¡°That bastard knocked out Stan and Kenny, get him!¡±

    Behind him, Gary could see seven more people, but on top of that he noticed something else that his nose was able to catch on. There were colour gang members that had been left on the side of the road, some of them bleeding, while others looked to be in much more critical condition.

    If this really was a gang war, then ambnces would be hard toe by today. The police must have already been told about what was happening right now, and they would tell ambnces not to enter the area until things had calmed down. It was very possible that a lot of people would die tonight¡­

    ¡®I almost felt sorry for the two that I hurt¡­but you¡¯re all just the same.¡¯ Gary thought to himself, as the red colour gang member swung the bike chain again.

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy]

    At the right moment, Gary used his bare hands to grab onto the chain, then the next second he pulled on it. The one holding it hadn¡¯t even recovered from the shock that someone had managed to grab his makeshift weapon, yet the next moment, his face connected with the ¡®ck colour gang member¡¯s¡¯ elbow.

    As his head flung back, he let go of the chain. Gary knew he wasn¡¯t done yet, because the system had yet to notify him. Lifting his leg, the high schooler quickly spun and hit the red colour gang member right on the neck, sending him to the ground.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [50 Exp gained]

    [Exp 255/628]

    ¡®Hey. Who is that guy?¡± One of the ck coloured gang members asked hispanion. They were still in the middle of their fight, but had noticed what had happened.

    ¡°No idea. I can only see the back of his hood, but with him here, maybe we can get out of this thing.¡± Another answered, as he barely avoided the strike of the grey colour gang member in front of him.

    After taking on that one member, and seeing the others back off, Gary noticed something. He had been around gangs long enough but the one he had dealt with appeared to have had some authority amongst them, most likely one of the better fighters out of their group. Since Gary had dealt with him so effortlessly, as well as his imposing entrance, they were afraid of him.

    Noticing this, he quickly changed his ns.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gary said, having overheard the earlier conversation. ¡°I¡¯m on no one¡¯s side, I¡¯ll be taking everyone out!¡±

    Gary had been forced to use another Charging Heartter on, but with his power boost, he had managed to defeat them all. Innu¡¯s lesson had proven quite effective, allowing him to have an easier time defeating them. It had been easy to tell which one had trained or not and thankfully all of them had already been tired after fighting beforehand.

    It had be clear to Gary that they all were mostly relying on their makeshift weapon, making themck actual skills. After the first three, he had knocked out all remaining ten, granting him an additional 500 Exp, enough to Level Up.

    ¡®I¡¯ve finally gained another stat point! Argh, but still no new skill. I don¡¯t get it, do I need to fulfill some special conditions or something? Or are you just a miser, system? I know that you at least have that Hardened Will skill saved up!

    ¡®Oh well, I will just have to keep grinding today. It¡¯s not everyday that I get to beat the sh*t out of gang members without having to fear any consequences, so I should make the best out of it.¡¯ Gary thought, as he checked his Status.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [Level 6]

    [Exp 127/765]

    [Health: 68/100]

    [Energy: 92/120]

    ¡®I got hit way more in thatst fight than I needed to, I guess some of my Energy will be used up to heal my wounds while I¡¯m not fighting. Shoot, I should have grabbed something to replenish it. If only I had more money¡­ looks like I might have to grab a bite on the way.¡¯

    Gary¡¯s enhanced hearing allowed him to hear the sounds of fighting in other areas. With how faint it was, he would probably have to run over to get there in time to actually have anyone left to fight though. However, before he could even decide between searching for some food and heading towards the sounds, he felt his phone vibrate.

    He instinctively grabbed his secret phone. At this time, it should be either Kai or Innu who might want something from him, but to his confusion the screen only showed him what time it was. There was no new message or missed call.

    It took the high schooler a moment to put it back into his pocket and grab his regr one. Just as Gary had suspected, he had received a message, but the most surprising thing was the sender. It was from his sister of all people.

    [Me and Stacy are at the main high street at the Kobo Karaoke club. I got dragged along to meet up with her inte boyfriend and he brought two friends along. If you get this message, then we¡¯re in trouble. Please bring help!]

 Chapter 98: No one to rely on

    <h4>Chapter 98: No one to rely on</h4>

    The police station was currently busier than ever, receiving non-stop calls from residents living in a certain part of Slough. All of them reported that they could hear fights, moans and groans, with some even testifying to have seen teenagers in red and grey beat up others dressed in ck on the street.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the police to figure out what was going on, but just like Gary had predicted, due to the scale of the gang war, they couldn¡¯t respond immediately. The police force simplycked the numbers to containrge-scale fighting like this.

    Chief of Police Anton Millstun was in charge of the people¡¯s safety. Right now he was sitting behind his desk, grabbing his head in frustration as he didn¡¯t know how to deal with this situation.

    ¡°Those damn White Rose agents! They¡¯re only interested in their stupid Altered, yet when we have a situation like this on our hands, the only course of action they¡¯re willing to take is to ¡®let things y out¡¯.¡± Antonined, though more to himself than to Roo who was with him in the room. The rookie was nervously standing in the office waiting for his superior to give out orders.

    ¡°How is it possible for such a situation to break out without any prior signs? All our informants have been telling us was that the ck colour gang have been getting into more fights with the red colour gang, but what does that have to do with the grey colour gang?

    ¡°We know the ck colour gang is controlled by the Underdogs and that the Grey Elephants are behind the grey colour gang. We still have no clue who is behind the red colour gang. Could it be that the Grey Elephants found out before us and took over?¡± Anton spoke his thoughts out loud. It was one of his ticks and his subordinates had gotten used to it. They knew why he did so, in case anyone wanted to chime in on his thoughts.

    ¡®¡°I don¡¯t think it has always been the case, sir.¡± Roo spoke up. ¡°I looked into them, just like you¡¯ve asked, but while not as numerous, there have also been many incidents between the red and grey colour gangs, thest one dating only a few days ago.¡±

    Learning this fact, Anton thought it could be one of two things. Either the Grey Elephants had approached the red colour gang¡¯s backers to pull off this stunt to massively piss off the Underdogs, perhaps some retaliation for something yet to be determined¡­ or there was an even bigger figure behind it all. Someone, who the Grey Elephants had no choice but to listen to.

    ¡°I just hope that none of those Kings are involved in any of this. If they are, then this town will be a battlefield before it¡¯s all over.¡± Anton mumbled, before he stood up from his seat, ready to move out.

    ¡°We might not have enough hands to stop the colour gangs from fighting, but we can at least prevent them from going after the other areas. I want every avable officer cing barriers around Chavley.

    ¡°Call in those who might have taken a day off, and maybe even those who have just retired for the day. Make sure that no one enters or gets out for the time being. As soon as things settle down, that¡¯s when we will make our move, understand?¡±

    Although Roo did understand he had a concerned look on his face and he could see it.

    ¡°Sir, does that mean we won¡¯t be acting out on the reports? What about the public ces being attacked? Or the request for ambnces? This is a colour gang war we¡¯re talking about, not the big gangs!¡±

    What Roo meant by this was the difference in crimes. The bigger gangs, such as the Underdogs and Grey Elephants, actually acted more like businesses. Of course they bothundered their illegally obtained money through their businesses, but even if the police knew that, it was impossible to catch them without evidence.

    At some point, a tacit agreement seemed to have urred between the two parties. The gangs tended to stay out of the way of the public, not causing them any trouble and the police didn¡¯t try to make life hard for them.

    However, while the big gangs seemed harmless at first nce, the same could not be said about the colour gangs. Those were filled with young frustrated teens and tweens that found it hard to get jobs, hoping to prove themselves out on the streets to rise in the ranks and get epted into one of the bigger gangs.

    In the past, when situations like this urred, the colour gangs tended to get a bit wild, drunk on power, and would start to rob stores, plunder and steal from the civilians. They all felt like they were unstoppable in those moments.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that will have to be a sacrifice we will have to make. Trying to save a few will just risk us getting dragged into this mess and the colour gangs spreading throughout the whole town.¡± Anton mmed the table. He didn¡¯t like that this was the only choice they had, but with their limited power what else could they do?

    ¡°Roo, believe me, I wish it was different, but I have a feeling that this fight will push the Underdogs to act. If that¡¯s the case this little war will be over far quicker than you might imagine. Let¡¯s just hope they will be the only ones toe out¡­ otherwise, I¡¯m not sure what it would mean for Slough¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Just as Anton had predicted, after the red and grey colour gangs managed to overwhelm the ck colour gang on multiple fronts, they were starting to be a little wild. One group in particr was getting particrly crazy. They were full of mostly new recruits, one of them being none other than Gil.

    The drop-out had just picked up a trash can from the side of the street, which he promptly dunked on a ck colour gang member¡¯s head, before kicking him on the ground. The others were impressed by the new member¡¯s ruthlessness, who seemed to be even better at fighting than before.

    ¡®I was a little worried about him after what happenedst time, but it seems like it just gave him an extra push.¡¯ The group leader thought.

    There were around thirty-ish grey colour gang members causing rampage. They were attacking everyone on sight, no longer differentiating between ck colour gang members and regr civilians and that¡¯s when their group came across a certain twenty-four hour supermarket.

    Its lights were still on, yet it appeared they were in the middle of closing the shutters down for safety. Seeing this, Gil picked up anotherrge trash can and ran towards the supermarket.

    ¡®That guy, he looked at me like I was a loser! I¡¯ll show you who the real loser is!¡¯ Gil thought, reaching the man and swinging the trash can. It reached the man before he couldpletely close the shutters. Gil didn¡¯t stop there, as he lifted the can and began whacking the man again and again.

    ¡°Hey everyone, the store¡¯s up for grabs!¡± Another member shouted, and soon the other members of the grey colour gang started to storm the supermarket store. Once Gil was done, he entered as well, leaving behind a no-longer moving man lying in a red puddle of blood.

    Inside the supermarket, seeing what was going on, the employees were going crazy, and immediately ran towards the supply room to the back. Five of them had saved themselves, yet thest one, a frightenedrge woman, had mmed the door shut behind her, locking out three of her colleagues.

    They banged on the door, again and again.

    ¡°Let us in, please they¡¯ll kill us if you don¡¯t!¡± One of the women begged from the other side.

    ¡°We can¡¯t! They¡¯ll get us too, just hide for now!¡± Therge woman cried out, holding on to the door.

    At the same time, the pet food aisle was emptierpared to the rest of the store. When stealing things pet food was somewhere on the bottom of the priority list for looters. Here, there were two female employees hiding out.

    One looked to be a middle-aged woman, while the other looked to be a young university student. The university student had her head tucked into the middle-aged stomach, both were on the floor shaking, doing their best to be as quiet as possible.

    ¡°Calm down, it¡¯s okay, we will be okay, the police will arrive and get us out of this ce.¡± The older woman whispered to the other to calm her down. Still no matter what she did, the student was still scared, and honestly, she was as well. Based on the situation as an adult, and imagining the girl as her own kid, she knew she had to put on a brave act.

    ¡°They mighte, but they¡¯ll be a bit slow.¡± A male¡¯s voice could be heard from above the two.

    The middle-aged woman looked up at the person who spoke to them. A teenage boy who couldn¡¯t have been much older than her son stood there, covered in blood. He walked forward towards the two females.

    ¡°What a couple of pretty looking girls. I should have joined a gang a long time ago. Out here, there are no rules.¡± Gil spoke, liking his lips, as he considered whether to start with the university student or the older woman, whose tag read ¡®Maya¡¯.

 Chapter 99: 200 BPM

    <h4>Chapter 99: 200 BPM</h4>

    Pierre still hadn¡¯t let go of Amy¡¯s hand, so the high school girl let out a scream. Unfortunately, the loud music from the karaoke was indeed overbearing, drowning out her loud shrieking cry. Even if there had been no music, Amy doubted anyone woulde to help them and not just because the room seemed to be pretty soundproof.

    ¡®This is a public karaoke ce, right? There has to be a camera in here or something!¡¯ The high schooler desperately looked around, and that¡¯s when she noticed that the camera in the corner of the room had at some point been turned around to face the wall.

    ¡®These guys¡­ I should have known when they brought out the drugs. They must be in cahoots with someone from this ce and seem to have nned this from the very beginning. Oh Stacy, what kind of mess did you get us into¡­¡¯

    No matter how much Amy thought about it, she didn¡¯t see any way out of here. It seemed impossible for two normal high school girls to overpower three bigger and older young men. Even now as she tried to wiggle her arm free, she could feel Pierre just tightening his grip to the point she couldn¡¯t move it at all.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Hawk shouted from the other side of the room. He then held up a phone, yet it didn¡¯t look like the one he had been using, instead it was one with a pink case. Now that she took a closer look, she recognised it as Stacy¡¯s.

    Her best friend¡¯s make-up waspletely ruined by now. Tears and snot were all over her face. Stacy felt the worst out of everyone there. Not only had her inte boyfriend turned out to be aplete and total douche, but he had hurt not only her but also Amy. She had never wanted to drag her best friend into any of this.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Stacy cried. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Amy, I¡¯m so sorry!¡± She continued to sob, yet Hawk seemed to have had it with her. At this point, he swung his hand, pping her right across the face. It was clear that he hadn¡¯t held back either as Stacy¡¯s face had gone bright red in a moment, leaving an imprint of the guy¡¯s hand.

    Stacy fell into a silence after this, her eyes wide open. She had gone into shock and didn¡¯t know quite what to do anymore. The high schooler looked at Amy, unsure what to do, but the next moment, her hair got pulled up, making her scream out in pain once more.

    ¡°Shut the f*ck up, will you?!¡± Hawk shouted at her as he pulled her up to his eye level before letting go of her. ¡°You two, make sure to confiscate the other slut¡¯s phone. We don¡¯t want them to call the police on us!¡±

    Following the order, Pierre used one hand to pull Amy¡¯s arm out of her pocket, restraining her while Ben came over, searching for the phone in her pocket. As he did that, he made sure to press his body quite a bit up against hers.

    ¡®This¡­is so disgusting! What are they going to do with us?!¡¯ Amy thought, as hundreds of thoughts were running through her head. She already had a very bad idea about ¡®what¡¯ they were going to do to the two of them, the real question was what would the three do to them, to make sure the girls wouldn¡¯t go to the police right after.

    She had heard cases of where they would be filmed, and the videos would be shared around if they were to tell anyone.

    ¡°Sh*t! The bitch seems to have already messaged someone. Some guy called Gary!¡± Ben reported, after checking the messages. Although the phone was locked, they could see the preview of the reply from Gary, iming he would be there in a second.

    ¡°Who did you message?¡± Hawk asked. ¡°Tell me!¡±

    Amy didn¡¯t answer him, trying to think of the best response in this situation. Hawk took that as a sign of deficiency, so he decided to make her talk. Instead of going after Amy, he grabbed Stacy by the back of her head, pulling at her hair causing her to scream out once again.

    ¡°Ahh it hurts! Please stop, it hurts!!!¡± The high schooler cried out.

    ¡°Did you not hear me? I told you to shut up!¡± Hawk shouted, as he pushed her head, banging it across onto the table. Everyone in the room could hear the teenager¡¯s skull hit the table. Her teeth had pierced her lips causing a small amount of blood to fill the table.

    Pierre and Ben looked at each other, despite being high, even they began to question their actions. Hawk, however, didn¡¯t stop there and continued to apply force, swinging Stacy¡¯s face against the table.

    ¡°I can do this all day! I won¡¯t stop until you tell us who that guy is!¡± Hawk looked at Amy, hitting Stacy once more to stress his point.

    ¡°DON¡¯T! GARY¡¯S MY BROTHER!¡± Amy confessed straight away.

    The two boys, Pierre and Benughed after hearing this. They had already asked her about him, so they knew he was just some random nobody going to a no name high school. Even if he were toe, what was he going to do? Hawk, giving the thumbs up, it looked like they had permission to do as they wished.

    ¡°Feel free guys!¡± Hawk said, as he started to unbuckle his belt, and the two boys next to Amy were about to do the same.

    ¡®No¡­they can¡¯t! I have to get out of here, I have to save myself!¡¯ Amy thought.

    Her arms were still being held up by Pierre. She had considered kicking him between his legs, but the high school girl was afraid he might see iting, so she used the only body part she could at the moment. Opening her mouth, she bit down hard on Pierre¡¯s arm. He immediately let go, and without looking back Amy ran for the door.

    s, before she could get far away enough, Ben, his trousers already dropped, grabbed the back of her hair pulling her back in.

    ¡°It looks like you need to feel some pain as well!¡± Ben shouted as he pushed her up against the table. Her thighs hit the edge, but next she felt arge force hit the back of her head, and she soon could see it being banged against the table.

    She could feel a shooting pain in her face, not quite knowing what happened, her eyesight slightly blurred, but desperate to get out of the situation, she kicked behind her, hoping to hit the shin of Ben.

    ¡°Just stop trying to resist!¡± Ben shouted, and now he held her head as well. He banged it against the table, not once, but twice, and continued to, but Amy didn¡¯t give up struggling, still kicking and moving every part of her body, by the second her eyesight was getting more blurry and she was wondering if she was about to pass out or not.

    ¡°AMYYYYYY!¡± A voice shouted. The three guys could see a green haired boy suddenly enter the room.

    ¡®Gary¡­but why¡­are you alone¡­¡¯ Was Amy¡¯s thought beforepletely passing out.

    Ben lifted her face up, and Gary could see his sister¡¯s face banged up, bloody and bruised. His younger sister, his family that he had promised to protect¡­

    The othersughed, seeing the young teenager enter the room and walk towards them on his own. They could see he was far smaller than them, making them even less afraid of him. Even if he could fight a bit, there were three of them and just one of him.

    Not saying anything, Gary made a fist, and swung it towards Ben¡¯s face. It was too fast for Ben to react and hit him right across the face, causing his teeth to fall out, and for him to let go. In that second he grabbed Amy before she could fall to the ground, and now he could see Amy in his hands.

    His whole body was shaking, Gary¡¯s body was shaking from head to toe.

    ¡°What the f*ck did you do to my sister?!¡± Gary shouted.

    [You are heavily enraged]

    [You have exceeded 200 BPM]

    [Partial transformation has begun]

    His eyes narrowed, his teeth and fingernails started to sharpen, the rage had taken over Garypletely.

 Chapter 100: Judge, Jury & Executioner

    <h4>Chapter 100: Judge, Jury & Executioner</h4>

    When reading his sister¡¯s message on his phone, Gary¡¯s heart went into a panic. Amy wasn¡¯t the type to joke around with him nor was she someone who would usually ask him for help. Since she did, it could only mean that the situation was seriously bad.

    Gary¡¯s heart started to beat faster to the point that there was no need for him to use the Charging Heart skill. Looking at the Status his Heart rate was currently at 169 BPM, making him twice as fast and twice as powerful for no Energy spent.

    The high schooler didn¡¯t think about anything else, and just ran towards the Kobe Karaoke club the two girls were supposed to be at. He no longer cared about the gang war happening at the moment, nor did he care about gaining Exp. His only wish was to get there in time to prevent anything bad happening to his family.

    ¡®Please be safe, Amy! Please be safe, Amy!¡¯ Gary kept repeating it like a prayer in his head as he ran and ran,pletely ignoring all the fights happening around him. Eventually, he found himself in front of the right ce on the main high street.

    The high schooler quickly ran up the stairs until he was in the reception area. It was dark, and he could hear the loud thumping of music behind several of the doors. Originally he had nned to use his enhanced senses to find out where Amy was.

    Unfortunately, his enhanced senses proved to be a detriment for once. It took him a few moments to get used to the - to him - incredibly loud noise. However, in the end he pushed through because of his sister.

    Behind the reception, there was a young man with sunsses standing behind the desk. Gary thought it was a little weird since they were indoors, it was dark and it was alreadyte, yet he would be lying if he imed that it didn¡¯t fit the image of this ce.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Gary called out. ¡°I¡¯m looking for two girls who came in here earlier today apanied by three guys. One girl¡¯s an unnaturally blonde girl, the other has brown hair and looks a bit like me?¡± He pulled his hood down revealing his face.

    Usually, he wouldn¡¯t be revealing his face, but right now he wasn¡¯t thinking things through, too preupied with getting to Amy.

    ¡°Sorry kid, I can¡¯t just tell you what room people are in. Customer privacy and all, I don¡¯t even know who you are.¡± The man replied, shrugging his shoulders.

    Were it not for the severeness of the situation, Gary might have tried again by politely asking the man, or he might have started arguing with him to convince the other how important the matter was. Right now, though, he didn¡¯t have any time whatsoever.

    He noticed that there was a tie around the man¡¯s neck, another item that the man appeared to be wearing as a fashion statement. Dangling in front of Gary¡¯s face, it became the perfect thing to grab. When the high schooler pulled on the front, the neck tightened and the man was pulled down so fast that his sunsses fell off as he reached Gary¡¯s height.

    ¡°Listen here, one of them is my sister and she asked me for help!¡± Gary practically growled at him. ¡°Now tell me where they are!¡±

    ¡°You think threat-¡°

    Gary didn¡¯t let him finish, just pulled harder on the tie, to the point it was starting to suffocate the man. Seeing how determined the green-haired teenager in front of him was, he quickly pointed in one direction of the hallway. Gary immediately let go and followed to where the man had pointed.

    Gary didn¡¯t like what he had just done, it was something more along the lines of a real gangster, using violence to get his way, but this was an emergency case he told himself. Rushing, Gary looked through these small windows in each of the doors, that would show who was inside of the room.

    He looked through each one, until one of them caught his attention, not because he could see his sister but he could make out the smell of blood. Opening the door, he witnessed a strange sight. One guy had his trousers down, and was holding a girl by her head.

    ¡°AMYYYYYY!¡± Gary shouted as he recognised her. That¡¯s when the three guys noticed him entering the room.

    ¡°What the f*ck did you do to my sister?!¡± He shouted as he decided to act, punching Ben in the face, sending him off to the side, as he carefully picked up his sister, holding her in his arms.

    [You are heavily enraged]

    [You have exceeded 200 BPM]

    [Partial transformation has begun]

    [All stats increased to 125%]

    His eyes narrowed, his teeth and fingernails started to sharpen, the rage had taken over Garypletely. The teenager¡¯s body had changed slightly, yet the high schooler had yet to notice since the change wasn¡¯t on the level as it had been during the full moon.

    ¡°Stacy!¡± Gary shouted, as he could see that she was still conscious. ¡°I want you and Amy to get out of here. Grab a taxi and get to the hospital!¡±

    Although Stacy had just seen Gary send one of the boys across the rooms she still felt he was outnumbered. She was afraid to move as Hawk was directly next to her and Ben was already recovering, holding the side of his face.

    Pierre was still pissed from having been bitten by Amy, so he ran over to where Gary was, yet before he could do anything the other had already kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back. His back had hit the table, and he was hit so hard that his body flipped down on top of it. Knocking all of the bottles onto the floor.

    He quickly ced Amy onto the side of the bench, then jumped on the table himself, stepping on top of Pierre ignoring him. He walked across the table, stepping on Pierre¡¯s body along the way, not caring about him one bit. Hawk, seeing that the situation was getting out of hand let go of Stacy, and pulled out a pocket knife.

    He attempted to stab Gary who approached him, but the green-haired high schooler dropped down from the table and just opened up his fist, grabbing onto the other¡¯s hand, allowing the knife to pierce through the palm of his hand. Gary was bleeding, yet the knife was stuck.

    Looking into his eyes, Hawk was seriously scared. No sane person would ever try and stop a knife by sacrificing their own body. Clenching his fist, Gary started to crush the other¡¯s hand, who immediately started to scream in pain. He could feel his fingers breaking.

    ¡°GET GOING STACY!!!¡± Gary shouted once more. The high school girl didn¡¯t need to be told again as she went over to where Amy was and grabbed her best friend. Luckily, Amy had somewhat woken up, yet her vision was still blurry.

    ¡°Come on, Amy, let¡¯s leave it to your brother. I think he¡¯s got this.¡± Stacy spoke as the two of them fumbled out of the room.

    ¡°Do you have any idea who my brother is?! You screwed up big time, Gary!¡± Hawk shouted yet his voice contained a hint of hesitation. ¡°My family are part of the Grey Elephants and we will make sure to hunt you and your sister down! I will return this favour ten times worse.¡±

    It was then that the sound of the door was heard opening behind them again, and the man who had been at the reception came in.

    ¡°Hawk, do you need help, bro?!¡± The man asked. Gary had initially felt bad about his earlier treatment, but now it looked as if he had been in on this all along.

    Hearing these words, hearing what Hawk had said, and remembering this sister¡¯s face. The bruising marks, she was hardly recognisable to him.

    ¡°That girl¡­she is the best sister in the whole goddamn world! She neverins, and she works hard¡­she¡¯s only f*cking 15 years old! What the hell were you nning to do to her?! All of you are guilty!¡± Gary shouted as he looked at Hawk.

    [Bloodlust has been detected]

    [Forced Bond has been activated]

    [4/5 Marks have been assigned]

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    His hand transformed slightly, and Gary swiped with it along Hawk¡¯s chest, causing a deep scar and blood to gush out everywhere. As the blood was felt on his wed hands, he could feel a strange refreshing energy inside him. The effects of the w Drain were working. The next second, the receptionist, Ben and Pierre charged forward.

    As for the events that followed¡­ it all became a blur for Gary. A blur of red.

    When it was over, he stood there in the centre of the room, covered in blood, d that the music from the karaoke machine had been so loud. The entire room was now covered in blood, with the lights from the TV screen shing once in a while revealing the state of the room.

    None of the four men would ever move again.

    ¡®I¡¯ve gone and done it now¡­ only this time it was no ident¡­¡¯

 Chapter 101: For Family

    <h4>Chapter 101: For Family</h4>

    Standing in the middle of the Karaoke room, it took a while for Gary to process what he had just done. The high schooler looked down at his blood covered hands, most of which had gathered on his still sharpened fingertips that currently resembled the ws of a wild beast.

    ¡®I¡¯ve gone and done it now¡­ only this time it was no ident¡­¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®I was just so¡­angry.¡¯

    His view was currently blocked at the moment, and it was by none other than the system screen which had ¡®rewarded¡¯ him for his deeds. Gary wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about it. Usually, one would get punished for what he had done, yet here he was actively encouraged to keep doing it.

    [527/765 Exp]

    Gary was still Level 6, but each person had granted him 100 Exp, which was double the number he would get for just defeating any colour gang member. It was the most Exp he had ever received for beating someone, and yet he instinctively knew why that was the cause. It was because he had gone far beyond knocking them out¡­

    On top of that, while in the middle of his rage, he had created a Forced Bond with Hawk and the receptionist, turning them into hunting targets. He was pretty sure that the other two would have also been Marked, if it had not been for him hitting the limit at 5.

    Gary would have liked to me everything on his rage, yet he knew exactly what he had been doing. He hadn¡¯t even tried to resist, his thoughts being filled with a desire to punish those assholes for what they had done to his sister.

    ¡®My mind was clear enough for me to make that decision¡­which means I could have¡­¡¯

    Gary had been assigned two random stat points for forcefully hunting down both of his targets.

    [Strength 7]

    [Dexterity 6]

    [Endurance 11]

    While checking his stats, he noticed that the additional points had been split between his Dexterity and Endurance. He had somewhat been hoping that it would have gone to Strength, since that one seemed to be more usefulpared to the others. Especially if he was topare his strength to Billy¡¯s

    As for his Health, he noticed that he waspletely healed after using the Draining w skill on those four. Gary had also figured out that due to the transformation that would ur on his hands when using the skill, that the skill turned out to be stronger than when he had tested it out in the past. It was like having his own pair of des, but even better than that.

    However, on the downside his Energy was rather low after all the fighting. Although he hadn¡¯t needed to use Charging Heart, his Heat rate had actually gone up so much that he had been granted additional stats, simr to the moon¡¯s effect, yet it had ended up consuming more Energy in that state.

    [28/120 Energy]

    After standing there for a while, the seriousness of the situation had gotten to him.

    ¡®I have to do something about this¡­I can¡¯t just leave them like this! If I get caught, who is going to look after Mum and Amy? How would they react if they found out I became a murderer? How would everyone react?¡¯ Gary started to worry.

    He looked around the room, and noticed that the camera had been turned away. It was likely due to the sketchy things the trio had nned to do. The only person that had actually seen Gary enter had been the receptionist, who was also dead as well.

    He would have to check if there were cameras in the hallway, but since the receptionist was involved in this mess, it was a safe bet that those cameras might have been tampered with as well. Heck in a scummy ce like this, it wouldn¡¯t surprise him if most of those cameras were just there for show, but Gary couldn¡¯t risk it and would need to check.

    ¡®Amy should be okay, but I need to clean up this room. I need to get rid of the bodies! If I clean up the room a bit, and get rid of the bodies, then it will take them a while before they find out that these guys are dead. They¡¯ll just think they ran away.¡¯

    Thinking about this more, Gary felt like he had to get rid of the bodies, if he just left it in the state it currently was in, it was guaranteed to make the news. Stacy and Amy were smart enough to immediately put two and two together and figure out that Gary must have done it.

    Thest thing he wanted to do was get them two involved. He could perhaps trust his sister to keep a secret but the same couldn¡¯t be said about Stacy.

    ¡®How do I get rid of the bodies without anyone seeing me, though? Should I call Kai again? No, this time I was involved myself, and those guys he might send here will surely ask questions if they have to do so much overtime¡­ ¡¯

    As if answering his question the system popped up.

    [After a sessful hunt, a predator consumes its kill.

    Consume human flesh to gain additional stat points]

    Seeing the message, Gary started to walk up towards the body. He turned it over so he wouldn¡¯t have to look it in the face.

    ¡®Four bodies¡­am I really going to do this? I might have changed but how much might I be able to eat¡­ Even If I did this, would I be able to get rid of the bones?¡¯

    In Gary¡¯s head, he kept repeating certain thoughts to himself, closing his eyes. ¡®The worst part had already been done, they were already dead. They could no longer feel anything.¡¯ So he tried to think of them as just bodies. Rats¡­ only much much bigger.

    On top of that, due to his Energy being low he could feel his stomach growling and before he knew it, he was already digging in.

    [Human flesh of Ben Cuman consumed +50 Exp}

    [Strength +1]

    [Human flesh of Piere Cousant +50 Exp]

    [Endurance +1]

    [Human flesh of Hawk Et Dante +50 Exp]

    [Endurance +1]

    [Human flesh of Warmer Dudefun +50 Exp]

    [Endurance +1]

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [Level 6]

    [Exp 727/765]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 120/120]

    [Strength 8]

    [Dexterity 6]

    [Endurance 14]

    From head to toe, their bodies were gone.

    ¡®I have to remember, I¡¯m doing all of this, for my family.¡¯ Gary told himself.

 Chapter 102: Fading

    <h4>Chapter 102: Fading</h4>

    Gary truly felt like his body had be a bottomless pit as no matter how much he ate, his hunger didn¡¯t seem to get satisfied. On the plus side, he discovered that with his sharp teeth and string jaws there had been no need for him to worry about bones.

    After each bite he could feel the human flesh energise his body in unique ways, and after a while had passed, all the bodies had disappeared. s, his supernatural devouring turned out to be limited to flesh. Once Hawk¡¯s hand had disappeared, Gary had tried to bite down on the cloth, yet to his surprise he had found it hard to swallow, forcing him to strip all of the bodies naked.

    Leaving the karaoke room, the high schooler quickly searched for the cameras. Fortunately, all of them had already been turned around, which was a huge relief since he wasn¡¯t exactly a whiz-kid with technology. The teenager wouldn¡¯t even have known where to start if he might have needed to delete some evidence.

    With that out of the way, Gary headed to the supply closet. It had been locked, though given his strength breaking the door had posed no challenge. Grabbing the strongest chemicals and cleaning supplies he could find, he returned to the room.

    With the help of Charging Heart, the high schooler was able to clean the room in record time. He knew that it wasn¡¯t perfect, heck he was well aware that at least the door, the chemicals and the tools would have his fingerprints now, but since Gary had never been brought in for criminal charges, the police didn¡¯t have his fingerprints or DNA on file to outright identify him.

    As soon as the room stopped looking like a murder had just taken ce, Gary proceeded to put all of their clothes in arge ck bin bag, while putting their personal items like phones, wallets and keys in a seperate smaller bin bag.

    ¡®I guess I should bury their clothes somewhere deep in the woods or something. I can¡¯t just throw them away in a garbage can, or the police will just find them. I can¡¯t bring them back with me either, since I already have enough evidence of other things hidden in my room.¡¯ Gary thought.

    After returning the supplies, Gary had already decided to leave a note. He wrote it out on the reception desk, stating that the sunsses guy quit effective immediately, with a few other words added here and there. This way, for those that would arrive, would assume the receptionist had rage quitted and was closed for the day. To top things off he turned the sign that said open to closed, making it less likely for people to enter. Another reason for doing this, was so the boss of this ce wouldn¡¯t ask any questions. Thinking he just had a bad rude employee.

    Leaving the Kobe Karaoke Club, he was happy to see that Amy and Stacy were nowhere to be seen and he took a deep breath still holding the bin bag.

    ¡®Good, no one saw me enter this ce. That Hawk guy imed he was linked to the Grey Elephant gang. If that¡¯s the case, the police probably won¡¯t take a missing report seriously and if they do find out that they have been killed as long as they don¡¯t link it back to today they¡¯ll just assume it¡¯s another gang. It will be okay, Gary.¡¯ He told himself.

    While he was still worried about Amy, Gary had no way of following her. The high schooler had been unable to Mark his sister today and her phone was currently with him. As such, he chose to trust that Stacy had gotten her out safely and that the two had gotten to a hospital.

    As for him, Gary made his way back to Chavley, where the war was taking ce between the colour gangs. He was shocked to see that the police had barricaded the entire area around it.

    ¡®That wasn¡¯t there when I left! Well, I guess trying to contain it to just one area is the best they can do in this situation.¡¯

    Gary had ced a hand on his chest. For a second, when he had seen them, the teenager had feared that they hade to arrest him, but noticing how many vehicles there were and seeing them just standing there he understood the situation.

    It didn¡¯t matter to Gary though, he just needed to find another way in. Using his newfound talents in jumping and climbing, the high schooler was easily able to use the alleyways between the apartments, to get over a built fence and into the area where their apartment was.

    Once he got in deep enough, that¡¯s when Gary decided to destroy all of the phones he had retrieved from the others. It took him a while, since he first needed to figure out whose phone was whose. Stacy¡¯s was easy enough to identify thanks to the pink case, but for the rest he had to turn them on.

    He didn¡¯t want to destroy the wrong ones by ident. The reason why he hadn¡¯t just destroyed them on site and dumped them somewhere was due to GPS. If the police had a way to track thest known GPS location of those phones it would have taken them to that karaoke club.

    However, if they could figure out that thest time they had been seen would have been today, the day the gang war had happened and tracked it to this area, they should assume they would have gotten involved in the gang war. Gary just hoped that after finding that much out, that the police would be toozy to run a more thorough investigation of all the spots they had been to.

    ¡®I guess being in the Underdogs helped me out quite a bit.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®All that time, I was thinking what would I do if they told me to do something dangerous. What would happen if I needed to avoid being caught, so they taught me a lot.

    ¡®Kirk taught me a lot.¡¯

    After disassembling the phones and spreading them around in different ces, thest thing Gary needed to do was get rid of the clothes, which led him to the trusty forest he had been visiting more often than he ever had thought he would be doing.

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy]

    [98/120 Energy]

    Gary activated once more and with his hands he started digging away. He needed the hole to be deep enough so no animal, and no one else would identally stumble upon the clothes. While doing so, the teenager thought about many things, none of which were the lives he had taken.

    No, he was worried about his sister, and how he could protect the rest of his family, using the powers of the system.

    ¡®If it hadn¡¯t been for this Werewolf System, could I have helped Amy in that situation today? What if it had been the Underdogs that had managed to capture her? My Energy got too low, I need to learn how to control my Heart rate so I don¡¯t need to spend the Energy on activating Charging Heart.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe this thing doesn¡¯t have a reserve! I mean with how much I¡¯ve eaten earlier, I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t increase it naturally. Just where did it all go, if after using Charging Heart my Energy is already down slightly?¡¯

    Eventually, Gary had finished burying the clothes. What felt like a very long night seemed to finally be over. Originally, he had nned to rejoin the fight hoping to gain more Exp, but after what had happened, he just wanted to check if his sister was safe.

    However, that was when he noticed something strange. One of the green Marks he could see was fading in and out. This was the first time something like that had ever happened, so he wasn¡¯t quite sure what it meant. Nevertheless, that wasn¡¯t important, because from the smell of it he knew who it belonged to.

    ¡®Mum!¡¯

 Chapter 103: Donâ€™t give up

    <h4>Chapter 103: Don¡¯t give up</h4>

    The streets of Chavley had be chaotic, and it was getting worse by the second. Multiple shops and businesses that were opente had no choice but to close up. Unfortunately, some had failed to react in due time, causing them to make quite the loss in the process.

    However, this had caused a certain development. The area of Chavley, although not one of the most affluent areas, was nevertheless under the control of the Underdogs. Many of those businesses either directly belonged to the gang or were at least affiliated with them. For thetter group, the owners had no other choice but to pay the Underdogs a percentage of their profits to keep operating.

    Usually this would be a big enough deterrent for anyone else to mess with their businesses, but today that clearly wasn¡¯t the case. The red and grey colour gang hade over to wreak havoc so they naturally didn¡¯t care about any such conventions.

    Of course, this had led to many angry business owners picking up their phones to contact the one group they had never believed they would, asking them for help. For once, they were about to demand for the gang to hold up their end of the deal and deliver on the ¡®protection¡¯ they were forced to pay for.

    One of the businesses that was most affected by this was a local twenty four supermarket. It was medium in size, with several aisles that sold all the necessities. It even had its own bakery section. However, today it looked nothing like it would usually have.

    The aisles with expensive electronics were mostly empty, raided by the members of the colour gang. The same was true for the alcohol aisle, as well as snacks of all things. Although it seemed to be limited to what the looters¡¯ hands could carry as it was clearly something that was done on a whim rather than something that had been nned beforehand.

    Inside the store itself, the employees had followed the protocol of such a situation and had attempted to flee into the supply room. However, one panicked employee had refused to wait for her colleagues and had sealed the reinforced door behind her, leaving the others to fend for their lives.

    Three employees had been left behind the door. One of them was an older gentleman who had speckles of grey in his hair, as well as his beard. When his two female coworkers had still been imploring the others to let them inside, he had run over to the cleaning supplies and grabbed a mop, which he was swinging wildly towards the colour gang members, his back against the freezer section.

    ¡°Stay back, you fiends! I don¡¯t own this store, so take whatever you want, just don¡¯t hurt me!¡± The old man pleaded. s, he could see the look in these eyes, they were looking at him not like a fellow human, but some toy. It was clear to him that they were on some type of adrenaline rush.

    The colour gang members didn¡¯t care about stealing per se, they were just caught up in the chaos, and wanted to do what they knew they were not allowed to do under normal circumstances. The next moment, one of them had thrown over a paint can.

    It had been impossible for the old man to watch them all and he had failed to notice it in time. When it hit the older man on the head, he let go of the mop and fell to the ground. In an instant, three colour gang members were upon him, kicking him while he was on the ground, before proceeding to steal from him.

    At that moment, the two females came running and could see the sight happening in front of them. The young university student was shaking as she saw this.

    ¡°They¡¯re going to kill him! They will do the same thing to us!¡± She mumbled under soft sobbing.

    Maya decided to grab the girl by her hand, and run down a different aisle instead, until they were hidden among the cereal aisle. They couldn¡¯t see any other members here, but turned to look around to see if there was that creepy guy following them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll protect you, Amalee! I promise it will be okay. I won¡¯t let that guy do anything to you.¡± Maya said with a forced smile to calm her colleague, yet it only caused her to be more frightened. The poor girl had started to work part time less than two months ago. Who could have known that she would find herself in such a grim situation?

    The young girl could see the swelling and lump that now adorned the top of the middle aged woman¡¯s head. Just moments ago, the person who they had met down the pet food aisle, had attempted to grab her.

    It had been obvious what the teenage boy had been about to do. Although Maya knew that it might have been her best chance to try and escape, she had been unable to leave the poor girl there. Amalee wasn¡¯t much older than Amy, making her motherly instincts kick in.

    Maya had attempted to fight the person off. s, Gil had proven to be bigger and far stronger than her. The back of his elbow had hit her face, just above her eyebrow. It had been a big blow, causing her to fall into the aisle, knocking over some of the pet food.

    At that point, Amalee had been frozen with fear, frightened that if she fought back that maybe worse things would happen to her. If she had to go through¡­ ¡®that¡¯ and it meant he would let her live, then she would happily do it.

    Seconds, before Gil could do anything else though, he felt something heavy whack the top of his head. The item dropped to the floor and turned out to be a heavy bag of dog food of all things. While he was dazed, Maya rushed over and grabbed her coworker, and started running. That¡¯s when they saw the older man attacked.

    ¡°Amalee, never give up like you did back there, you hear me!¡± Maya berated her, cing her hands on her shoulder. ¡°If that happens again, just run. You can¡¯t give up like that!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± A familiar voice spoke with a pained groan. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be fun if you just let me do what I want.¡±

    Both of the women¡¯s hearts were beating, and they looked left and right to see if they could see where the person was, but neither of them could spot him down the end of the aisle. The next second, a hand came out from one of the serial boxes and reached for the two of them.

    In that quick moment, without even giving it a second though. Maya pulled Amalee away, and instead of grabbing her, therge hand held on to the middle aged woman.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me just now?¡± Maya shouted. ¡°Run!!!¡±

    It seemed like it was a hard choice for the young girl to make, but eventually closing her eyes she ran off to hide somewhere else, leaving Maya in the hands of Gil.

 Chapter 104: Donâ€™t be a Hero

    <h4>Chapter 104: Don¡¯t be a Hero</h4>

    Although Gil had grabbed on to the middle aged woman, due to the metal frame work between the aisles, he was unable to simply walk over to her side. As an employee of the supermarket, Maya was naturally aware of that and she dug her nails into the teenager¡¯s hand that was still holding onto her clothes tightly.

    ¡°You bitch!¡± Gil shouted, as it had pierced his skin, and blood was trickling down it. Unwilling to let go, he pulled on Maya¡¯s shirt, mming her into the metal frame. The woman¡¯s head banged on one of the higher shelves. At that moment, she used all her strength to push away.

    Maya had managed to break free, yet the top part of her uniform had torn slightly, revealing her bra. However, showing a bit of skin was the least of her worries. The middle aged woman just wanted to get out of this hell hole, now that she was free. The next second, she could see a dark shadow looming above her, as several cereal boxes fell on the floor.

    Turning her head around for a second, she could see that the aisle was falling over. Out of anger, Gil had kicked the aisle as hard as he could, toppling it over. Seeing what was happening, Maya flinched, as she braced herself, but then the top of the aisle to her right hit the one to her left.

    The whole supermarket underwent a domino effect, knocking over all the aisles, until it eventually stopped around midway. As for Maya, the woman had been quick enough to drop down, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Once she was sure that she was rtively safe, she crawled toward one end.

    ¡®I¡¯m going to get out of here! I can¡¯t stay in a ce like this. I need to survive¡­ for Gary and Amy. They both still need me to look after them!¡¯ Maya thought, doing her best to drag herself forward.

    Just as she had reached the very end, tworge hands grabbed her by her forearms. The next second, she was dragged out, her eyes meeting Gil¡¯s who had been waiting for her.

    ¡°Look what you did to my hand, you damn hag!¡± The dropout shouted, as he stomped his feet aiming for her head. Thankfully, Maya covered it with her arms just in time, yet it did little to stop the sheer strength behind his kicks. What¡¯s more the angered teenager continued kicking her, treating her like a live stress ball.

    Suddenly, her harsh treatment stopped, yet the middle aged woman was too afraid to look up, worried that this might be a trick and that he was just waiting for her to move her hands out of the way. In reality, the reason why the newest grey colour gang member had stopped, was because he had noticed something far more interesting.

    After kicking the supermarkt¡¯s employee repeatedly, he had finally caught a glimpse of Maya¡¯s top that had been ripped. Now that the teenager had noticed her bra, and how that certain part of her body was bouncing up and down, he could feel something between his pants grow harder by the second.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a closer look at these goods, huh?¡± Gil ced his hand on top of therge breast. He could feel that it was bigger than what could fit in his hand. Instinctively, Maya grabbed his hand, only this time she dug her fingernails into his forearm.

    The horny teenager screamed once more, lifted his arm up, and kicked her in the side of her rib as hard as he could. Gil readied himself for another kick, yet he detected someone running towards him.

    ¡°AHHHH!¡± A female voice screamed, as she ran forward with a knife in her hand. As it turned out, the one trying to rescue Maya was none other than Amalee. Seeing her, though, Gil wasn¡¯t as afraid as she had expected him to be. Instead, therge boy waited for her toe closer, only to sidestep her attack, before grabbing the young university student by the wrist.

    ¡°Nice try, but it¡¯s obvious that you¡¯ve never used a weapon on someone before.¡± Gil harrumphed, twisting her wrist to force it open. With his free hand, he picked up the knife.

    ¡°I bet you¡¯ve never been stabbed. When you tried to do that to me, you should have been prepared that you could get hurt as well, so here, have a taste of your own medicine!¡± Gil showed her a sick smile, as he swung the knife towards Amalee¡¯s arm. However, before it could reach, another arm came between the two of them, Maya¡¯s.

    ¡°I said¡­ that I wouldn¡¯t let you get hurt right! Don¡¯t try to be a hero, just get the hell out of here!¡± Maya shouted at the younger woman.

    The university student was shocked to the point she was unable to do anything. Amalee was ready to get out, but when she watched how that pervert had stepped on her coworker who had always been nice to her, who had just sacrificed herself for her sake, the young woman couldn¡¯t leave her there.

    She had stopped right at the aisle with all the kitchen appliances. Taking it as a sign, she grabbed one of the knives, intending to repay her colleague. Now, it turned out that she had just made the situation a whole lot worse¡­ for the both of them.

    ¡°You deserve this too, bitch!¡± Gil proimed, pulling the knife out from Maya¡¯s arm, blood falling all over the floor, as the middle aged woman felt an even sharper pain. She looked up, just in time to see that the psycho was nning to do something else with the de.

    He thrusted it forward this time, aiming right for her chest. The middle aged woman tried to move out of the way, but before she could, the top of her shoulder got grabbed by him, holding her in ce.

    The knife came forward¡­ yet a foreign hand came out from the sides, stopping it with two fingers.

    ¡°How could you cause such a mess in this area?¡± A male voice asked a question. ¡°Has the name ¡®Underdogs¡¯ suddenly lost all of its meaning? I¡¯ve already had to clean up after a couple of your friends this evening, but your group has somehow managed to stir up the most sh*t.

    ¡°All of this area is our territory, which means your group has no business here whatsoever. The ones who are here, on the other hand, are all people that indirectly work for us. If you mess with them, it¡¯s the same as messing with us. And trust me, you don¡¯t want that¡­ and I will make goddamn sure that it will be a lesson you¡¯ll never forget!¡±

    The next second, by slightly rotating his hand, the stranger managed to bend the knife¡¯s edge as if the knife had been made out of paper rather than stainless steel. The dropout felt a certain kind of pressure emanating from this stranger in a ck suit with his yellow-spotted tie.

    ¡°Now before I deal with you, I¡¯m going to ask you a question. You didn¡¯t happen to see a green haired kid in this area, did you?¡±

 Chapter 105: Real Gangster

    <h4>Chapter 105: Real Gangster</h4>

    To be able to bend a knife so easily, and to do that without a hint of fear, it was clear that the man who had appeared out of nowhere was far from normal. Every fiber of Gil¡¯s being was telling him that the stranger was dangerous. His appearance had been something outside his expectation, so it had taken him a moment to understand what the other wanted from him.

    ¡®Underdogs¡­ sh*t, Bowden warned us that there was a good chance that they mighte! But why would theye out just for a colour gang? And how the hell am I supposed to know who they are looking for? Hell, a good bunch of the guys in our group have green hair!¡¯ Gil thought. The dropout started to seriously get frustrated about how this person had suddenly interrupted his fun.

    Seeing theck of a reaction on the grey colour gang member¡¯s side, Kirk let out a big sigh.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess there are quite a few people who have green hair these days, huh? Since he¡¯s being chased by us, he might have already dyed it to another colour. Or maybe he kept it green, thinking that we would have expected him to change it?¡± Kirk started to go on, clearly not phased at all at the seriousness of the situation.

    For Maya who had just been saved, when Kirk mentioned a ¡®green haired kid¡¯ there was only one boy who instantly came to mind. The mother still vividly remembered the day when her teenage son hade back, insisting on hiding his head under a hoodie. However, since it had been a rare free for the middle aged woman, Maya had decided to have dinner together as a family with her children. Naturally, Gary had not been allowed to eat with his hoodie on¡­

    That day was a day filled with tears of joy andughter all at Gary¡¯s expense.

    ¡®¡­ is he talking about Gary? No, that can¡¯t be it. Surely it must just be a coincidence. This person is an adult, one who belongs to a gang, why would Gary have anything to do with someone like him?¡¯ Maya thought to herself.

    ¡°The kid we¡¯re looking for should be around your age, which is why I¡¯m asking on the off-chance you might know him. He¡¯s a little on the small side, hot headed, energetic. Does any of that ring a bell?¡± Kirk added some details, hoping that they might finally end up with a clue.

    At this point, Gil decided to let go of the knife. His frustration due to not being taken seriously had started to outweigh the fear he had toward this stranger. He might be a member of the Underdogs, but weren¡¯t they part of different gangs in the first ce? Why should he answer him when there was nothing for him to gain by doing so?

    ¡°Maybe I do, maybe I don¡¯t. Why the f*ck should I tell you anything?!¡± Gil shouted as he threw out a fist towards Kirk. The adult man didn¡¯t lose his temper. Just like with the knife, he grabbed the teenage boy¡¯s fist and quickly twisted it.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time he had asked this question, yet somehow all these colour gang members had the same reaction when he did, unable toprehend that they were no longer in control. By now, the Altered was a little tired of the bravado all these teens would disy, forcing him to get rough on them.

    The next second, his nails started to stretch out, getting thicker, longer and sharper. Slight fur was appearing on his forearms, and his teeth started to grow as dark spots began to appear on his body.

    ¡°Answer me!¡± Kirk demanded, screaming at the person.

    At that moment, Gil flinched and went down to the floor. It wasn¡¯t due to Kirk¡¯s actions, but what he looked like now had reminded him of a certain event. Something that had happened not too long ago.

    ¡°You think you can just cower like that?¡± Kirk shouted at the frightened dropout. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you, who I¡¯ve heard spout some bullsh*t about ¡®being prepared to get hurt as well¡¯? After all you did to these poor people, you nearly piss your pants when someone is able to stand up to you?!¡±

    Regardless if Gil wanted to fight or not, Kirk had already been beyond angry with him. He hated these types of people the most, the ones that were happy to torture those weaker than them, but became meek in front of those more powerful than them.

    The Altered threw out his leg, kicking Gil right in the stomach. The kick was so powerful, that it lifted the teenager half a meter off the ground. His eyes were watering, and it took him a few seconds until he could finally manage to breathe again. The first thing he could think of doing was calling for help.

    ¡°Help!¡± Gil whimpered, as he turned around in the direction where the other colour gang members should have been. ¡°Help me!¡±

    At that moment, five adult men who were wearing a simr ck suit to Kirk came out. Each one of them held some unconscious colour gang members by the scruff of their clothes and were dragging them over to Kirk.

    All of the members that had been busy raiding the supermarket had been dealt with. Seeing this, Gil was realising the danger that he had gotten himself into.

    ¡°Do you understand, now?¡± Kirk asked with a dangerous smirk. ¡°Being in a gang is not all fun and games. You might think you¡¯re like family, or that you are untouchable by thew because of people backing you, but this is the reality.

    ¡°All your actions still have consequences. You should remember this scene, because it will be something that you will start to see everyday.¡± Kirk berated him crouching down to his height, he was still transformed, and Gil wanted to look away.

    Kirk¡¯s eyes looked like that of a lion or tiger, and it was striking fear into his body. It was then that the Altered grabbed the teenager by his hair and forced him to turn his head and look at him.

    ¡°Look at me!¡± Kirk demanded as he stared into Gil¡¯s eyes. ¡°Look at what you did!¡± He shifted him towards the two women that were filled with tears behind him.

    ¡°Do you still think this is fun?¡± Kirk asked, yet there was no response.

    ¡°Answer!¡± The Altered shouted and he lifted his hand, pping Gil across the face. It was a heavy p, and not just that, but his fingernails had transformed to ws that had scratched the boy¡¯s cheek, causing blood to fall.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Meanwhile, running as fast as he could, doing his best to avoid all the chaos around him, Gary had run past countless fights, unconscious and bloody bodies of colour gang members lying on the streets and other horrific scenes. Finally, the supermarket was in his view.

    The high schooler had seen the destruction of the other shops and with each one, his worries about the state of his mother had increased. To top things off, his one remaining red Mark was seemingly intertwined with the green Mark of his mother.

    ¡®Mum, please be safe!¡¯

 Chapter 106: Protect her

    <h4>Chapter 106: Protect her</h4>

    Blood was dripping from Gil¡¯s face, yet he garnered no sympathy from those present. After repeated ps from Kirk, the teenager¡¯s face was guaranteed to end up scarred. The Altered had stayed in his partial transformation state, yet the two females could see that he was clearly upset.

    This was the first time either one of them had ever seen this man, so why weren¡¯t quite sure why. Eventually, Kirk let go of Gil who had refused to say anything. The teenager had passed out, be it from pain, exhaustion, shock or something else.

    ¡°Sir, they killed one of the employees before we got here and heavily injured two others. One will likely sumb to her injuries, whereas the other might survive if we get her to a hospital. We have beaten all the grey and red colour members in the area. What would you like us to do with them?¡± One of the members asked.

    Given the amount of respect the gang member had for the helpful stranger, it became obvious that he was the leader of this group. Before Kirk gave his subordinates an answer, he looked at Gil on the ground, then grabbed a phone from his pocket. The disy had multiple messages, which he browsed through.

    ¡°The other groups also seem to have gotten things under control. Looks like this little war is finallying to an end.¡± The Altered let out a big sigh, before he started to give out orders. ¡°If you haven¡¯t already, notify the clean up group to take care of the deceased. We¡¯ll round up some of the guys, to try and get some information out of them back at the base. Hopefully the professionals will get them to sing.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± The men replied in unison, and started to drag the colour gang members away from the sight of the women. A few momentsters, cries resounded throughout the supermarket, as the gang members had woken some of less injured gang members up in a brutal manner, to question them who their superiors were.

    As for Kirk, he decided to take Gil along. Although therge teenager seemed too young to have any important role in the colour gang, the Altered was unwilling to just let him go.

    Seeing that her saviour was just about to leave, Amalee wanted to thank him. To her, Kirk was a knight in shining armour who she would never be able to forget. Not only was he strong and brave but good looking as well, but before she could say any words, Maya was the one to speak up.

    ¡°Wait! Thank you! Thank you so much for saving us!¡± Maya called out, covering her exposed body with one hand while the other grabbed her head. The middle aged woman felt like it was about to explode. Over the evening, she had been hit by Gil¡¯s elbow, banged against one of the shelves andter the teenager had attempted to stomp on it a few times.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank us.¡± Kirk spoke with his back still facing away from the two. ¡°This time we were on your side, but it could have just as easily been us who might have attacked you. Unlike your colleagues, you were lucky that we actually made it in time to save you.¡±

    With that the Altered carried on walking, but there was still one more thing Maya needed to ask.

    ¡°Hang on, you were looking for a green haired teenager, right? There¡¯s a lot of people whoe to shop here everyday! Please, let us return the favour. If you could leave your name and number we can notify you, if someone matching your description everes here. By the way, why exactly are you looking for him?¡±

    Of course, Maya wasn¡¯t nning to tell Kirk anything about Gary at all. She wasn¡¯t even sure whether her savior was looking for her son in the first ce, but if he was, then she needed to know what exactly they wanted from him. She had just seen just how dangerous a man he could be.

    At the same time, Kirk didn¡¯t fail to notice that her offer had been worded in a very weird way.

    ¡®If you just wanted to repay my kindness, then why does it seem that you¡¯re overly concerned about why we¡¯re looking for that kiddo? Could it be that she actually knows him?¡¯

    It was then that Kirk took a closer look at the middle aged woman who he had saved.

    ¡®¡­hmmm, age wise she might be old enough to be his mother if she had him a little young. Should I question her?¡¯ Kirk thought about it for a moment, before he came to a decision.

    ¡°Should you find someone who fits that description, just tell them ¡®teens shouldn¡¯t be in this business, it¡¯s not a life they should want to live¡¯.¡± With that, he walked out the front door.

    ¡°We¡­w-we¡¯re a-alive. W-we s-somehow s-survived.¡± Amalee was so happy that tears of joy came out her eyes. The next second, the two women heard footsteps. For a moment, they thought that the Underdogs¡¯ gang members might have forgotten something, yet it came from behind them.

    Whoever it was, had entered through the supermarket¡¯s side entrance instead of the front entrance. It didn¡¯t take long for them to see a hooded person in ck clothes.

    ¡°A¡­Another one.¡± Amalee was frightened, and her body was shaking again. Now that Kirk and his men had left, who would protect them? However, to her surprise the hooded boy ran right past her, and went straight towards Maya instead.

    ¡°Mum! Mum are you alright?¡± Gary immediately asked as he approached his mother.

    Looking through the hood, Maya could see that it was her own son, making her smile. Gary took a second to look at her condition. The middle aged woman¡¯s head was badly swollen, her clothes had ripped, her lip was busted, and her arms and side were badly bruised.

    ¡°Who did this? Which asshole is responsible for this?!¡± Gary almost shouted.

    However, instead of answering, his mother just opened her arms and gave her son a hug.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d to see you. How did you even know I was here?¡± She asked.

    After realising that this was someone Maya knew, Amalee could finally rx.

    It was then that she could hear the sound of sobbing, which came from her colleague¡¯s son. The high schooler had been through a lot. This one evening could have easily destroyed the entire Dem family. Gary¡¯s entire reason for wanting to get stronger was to protect his mother and his sister.

    All of the emotions that had swelled up inside him as he had hurried to rescue her, wereing out at this moment. Although he was there, he hadn¡¯t managed to get there in time to prevent her from getting harmed. Nevertheless, he was just happy that she was still alive.

    ¡°Please, Gary¡­ don¡¯t cry.¡± His mother eventually pulled away and wiped some tears off his cheek. ¡°Let¡¯s just go home.¡± The middle aged woman said as she touched her still hurting head. ¡°This was the single most stressful eveni-¡±

    Her voice drifted and so did her body, as it swayed. Gary grabbed her before she hit the ground.

    ¡°Mum! Mum! Are you okay? What¡¯s wrong? Please, say something!¡± Gary shook her lightly, afraid to hurt her even more, yet there was no response.

 Chapter 107: Bad news

    <h4>Chapter 107: Bad news</h4>

    A minute had passed, and no matter how much the teenager shook his mother, she refused to wake up. He helplessly looked at her colleague, but the young university student didn¡¯t know what to do either. She helplessly offered to call her an ambnce.

    Gary knew that with the colour gang war still going on neither the police force nor ambnces, taxis or anything else would be able to enter this area. Left with no other choice, the teenager took it upon himself to take her to the hospital.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate to use Charging Heart to get an extra boost. As long as he could get there even a second faster he didn¡¯t care how much Energy he would have to spend. However, there was barely any need for him to use the skill. His hearing allowed him to hear his mother¡¯s heartbeat continuously weakening and slowing down, further increasing his Heart rate to the point he entered his partial transformation state.

    ¡®Mum, please hang in there! You can¡¯t leave us! We still need you!!!¡¯ Gary thought as he ran through the streets. ¡®You made a promise, remember? You promised me that you would never leave us!

    ¡®You have to survive so I can give you and Amy the best life possible! So we can get out of this city, away from all the gangs! You still haven¡¯t even lived your life yet!¡¯

    Eventually, Gary arrived outside Slough¡¯s central hospital. It was quite a distance away from Chavley where the gang war had urred. Fortunately, thanks to his special situation, the teenager took less than twenty minutes to arrive here. Even better, the hospital didn¡¯t look to be overrun with other idents just yet.

    Unwilling to put his mother down, Gary ran through the double doors pushing it open head first. A loud bang was heard as his head mmed the doors open.

    ¡°Anybody, please help! My mother¡¯s been attacked by gang members! She¡¯s not waking up!¡± Gary began shouting the moment he entered the reception area, not caring what type of disturbance he might be causing. His little stunt proved to be immediately effective, leading the security guards as well as the few nurses on duty toe over.

    Initially, the guards had been about to tell Gary off for his entrance, but that¡¯s when they noticed how exhausted the high schooler was. It was obvious that he had carried his mother a great distance toe here. Seeing what the woman looked like on his back and the condition she was in, the guards didn¡¯t know quite what to do, until a nurse pushed the guard out of the way.

    ¡°How long has she been like that?¡± The nurse asked, as she walked forward leading Gary to the emergency room.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, a while. She¡¯s hurt, please save her!¡±

    The nurse gave him a determined look, one that made him believe that she would do everything in her power to help.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After handing his mother over, Gary followed the nurse¡¯s instructions and remained in the waiting area. His mind was racing, imagining what life might be like without his mother. How he would deal with it, and what would happen to him and Amy. Disrupting his wild fantasies, one of the staff members, another female nurse, came over with a clipboard, handing it over.

    ¡°I can see that you¡¯re going through a tough time, but we still need you to fill out what you can at the moment. Is there a father, partner or boyfriend in the picture who we should inform?¡±

    Gary shook his head.

    ¡°Ah, I see¡­ For now, please just fill out what you can, but if possible contact some adult to help you and us with the paperwork. I¡¯ll leave you to it and will inform you as soon as we know more.¡±

    After she left, Gary looked at the form, and it was asking details about health insurance and an emergency contact. The high schooler knew that their family couldn¡¯t afford health insurance. With more and more people going out of work, this privilege had been given up. Nowadays it only existed indirectly for Tier-1 and some Tier-2 cities.

    ¡®An emergency contact, an adult. We don¡¯t have anyone helping us. Who could I contact to even help in this type of situation?¡¯ Gary thought, as he gripped the pen so tightly that it snapped, causing the ink to burst all over the form, making him curse.

    ¡®It¡¯s useless anyway, there¡¯s no information I can fill in. How did this happen? I made the Bond Mark so I could protect her, but I still failed! Was it the gang war? It had to be¡­I saw some of the members as I was walking through.

    ¡®It had to be them! Those damn colour gangs. I¡¯ll find them, I¡¯ll find whoever did this!¡¯ With nothing else to hold onto, Gary was gripping onto the clipboard tightly and it was close to almost snapping.

    ¡°Gary!¡± He heard a familiar voice called out to him. Turning, he saw someone he hadn¡¯t expected but at the same time it made sense for her to be here.

    ¡°Amy, you¡¯re here!¡± Gary said standing up, and once again, tears filled his eyes as he went to hug her. Grabbing hold of her tightly. ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯re okay, I¡¯m so happy that nothing happened to you.¡±

    A bit embarrassed, Amy pushed her brother away.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m not okay, look at my face.¡± She said, covered in partial bandages, and even her nose was encased in something. ¡°What are you doing here? Did Stacy call you? No, we left our phones with those jerks. I¡¯m so happy to see that you made it out. Are you okay? They didn¡¯t do anything to you, did they?¡±

    It was clear Amy had a lot of questions, and it was the same for Gary as well. For one, he wanted to know who had paid for Amy¡¯s treatment, it was horrible that the thought of money had to always be on his mind, yet at the same time, how was he meant to exin what had happened to their mother. Would telling her make the situation worse, causing her to worry for no reason?

    ¡°Sorry, is there a Gary Dem present?¡± A male doctor called out,ing out from the emergency area. Gary raised his hand, knowing that it must have been news about his mother, but as he came out, the look on the doctor¡¯s face didn¡¯t look promising.

    ¡°Gary, I don¡¯t exactly know the best way to say this, but it¡¯s about your mother. Unfortunately, I have some bad news.¡±

 Chapter 108: A friend

    <h4>Chapter 108: A friend</h4>

    Hearing the doctor say those words, for a second it seemed like everything around him had gone quiet. Gary was looking at the adult in front of him, yet at the same time, his eyes weren¡¯t focused. The words ¡®bad news¡¯ just constantly rang in his head again and again, drowning out the noise around him.

    It felt as if someone had submerged him underwater, making him unable to breathe. This was because the thoughts he just had moments ago, could very well be a reality.

    ¡°Gary!¡± His sister called out. ¡°Gary, what¡¯s going on? What is he talking about? What happened to Mum?¡± Amy shouted, panicked as she had no idea that their mother had been brought here as well.

    The doctor had yet to exin things, because he could tell that Gary was still out of it. He had seen many people react like this before, and the young girl by the boy¡¯s side seemed to be some rtive as well, most likely the daughter, who wasn¡¯t dealing with the sudden news any better than her brother.

    ¡®Wait a second, the Mark!¡¯ Gary suddenly thought. ¡®She can¡¯t be dead, if she died, then the system would have informed me, right? She¡¯s not dead, she¡¯s still alive.¡¯ With this thought in his head, he checked the air and saw a faint, but yet still visible green Mark,ing from the emergency room.

    ¡°Please, tell me how my mother is?¡± Gary asked.

    The doctor took a second look at the high schooler, there was a clear change in his eyes. Usually information like this wouldn¡¯t be passed onto a kid, but there was no one else here. He felt sorry that these children had to grow up in a world like this.

    ¡°You seem to be a brave boy, Gary, no matter what happens you should keep that determined look with you.¡± The doctor said. ¡°First, let me alleviate your worst worries, your mother is still with us. Her vitals are fine, and the bruises on the outside of her body will heal given time. The bones also seem to be only bruised, none broken.

    ¡°However, the issue is that your mother isn¡¯t showing any signs of waking up. There seems to have been some sort of head trauma that has caused her to go into a permanent sleep-like state.¡±

    ¡°You mean aa?¡± Amy shouted, holding onto the doctor¡¯s arm. ¡°Our mother is in aa! How did this happen? How long until she will wake up again? She will wake up, right? Right?!?!¡±

    Once again the doctor paused. His profession meant that he had to deliver news like this on multiple asions, but there was hardly any case where he would have to deliver such news to those that were so young.

    ¡°We¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± The doctor answered with a sigh. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, she might wake up as if nothing had happened in a few hours or a few days. However, it might as well take weeks for her to regain consciousness and in very rare cases it might even take years. I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s too early to tell at this point and time.

    ¡°The next step would be to talk to your guardian, so that we can talk about amodations and such. Now we can carry on bills for over a week, but after that if nothing has been paid¡­¡± The doctor didn¡¯t continue there, as the cries of the girl next to Gary started to get louder and louder.

    It was obviously too much for her, yet her brother had stayed strong.

    ¡°If you need any more information, or when your guardian arrives, feel free toe see me. I will try my best to make some time for you.¡± The doctor offered, taking his leave heading back to the emergency department.

    ¡°Gary, what are we going to do? How are we going to pay for her? What if she never wakes up again?!¡± His sister continued to cry, while he left with his thoughts.

    There were more problems then just that, due to Gary¡¯s age, he wasn¡¯t ssified as an adult, and if the hospital learned that their mother was their only guardian, then they would likely inform the authorities about it. That could possibly mean that Gary and Amy would be split up, to be taken care of by foster families or put in orphanages.

    In a Tier-3 town like Slough, that would be a worse way of life than they currently had.

    ¡°Amy, don¡¯t worry, I will get us out of this situation. We won¡¯t be leaving home, and Mum¡¯s going to be okay. You have to trust me, okay!¡± Gary said to her, heading to the waiting area and cing her down in the meantime. He also handed his sister her phone, as well as Stacy¡¯s.

    Hopefully it would be something to distract her from this mess. In the meantime, Gary now had another worry on his mind, what would happen to the two of them.

    ¡®Mum was away most of the time anyway, and if this thing works out with Kai, then I should have some money to cover the expenses as well. The most important thing is to make sure that they don¡¯t find out we don¡¯t have another guardian.

    ¡®Me and Amy can live together until you get better, Mum. I promise you that I will protect her.¡¯

    In this situation, there was only one person he thought might be able to help him, and decided to send out a message. All he could do now though was wait, but even then he was nervous, because he wasn¡¯t sure this person could help them this time.

    While waiting, Gary had decided to head back to where his sister was. She was currently on her phone. Well, ¡®on¡¯ wasn¡¯t the right word, Amy had ced it on herp, and she didn¡¯t seem to have the energy to lift it.

    ¡®I have to stay strong in this situation, for Amy.¡¯ Gary thought as he headed over to her.

    ¡°Amy, I promise I¡¯ll make sure things are okay, but I want you to make a promise with me. When I think about what happened to Mum today, and what happened to you. If I hadn¡¯t arrived in time¡­

    ¡°There is a chance that it could have been you in there with Mum¡­ You know how dangerous Slough is and can be, so I want you to promise me that if you ever feel like you¡¯re in trouble again, just like you did today, that you will contact me immediately, okay?¡±

    If it was before, Gary wouldn¡¯t have made this type of promise, worried that his sister might try to hide something from her. However, since Amy had contacted him today out of her own free volition, especially after what she had experienced and learning what state their mother was in, he was convinced that she would never break that promise.

    Holding out his little pinky finger, Amy soon wrapped hers around it, and nodded. Then using their thumbs they touched it at the same time. This was something that they had done ever since they were little, a pinky promise matched with a stamp of approval. Their mother had taught them how to do it and they had found it cute how their thumbs acted as a little stamp like they were entering some type of contract.

    [A spoken deal has been made, would you like to Mark ¡°Amy Dem¡±?]

    [Yes]

    [4/5 Marks have been assigned]

    Now, Gary was able to keep an eye on Amy whenever he needed to as well. As they waited, Gary was continually looking at the entrance. After a while Stacy came out, wondering where Amy had disappeared to. Initially she had been happy to see Gary, but the teenage girl had trouble looking him in the eye, not that he was in any condition to care about it.

    Her best friend tried to talk with Amy, but it became obvious that Amy was in no mood for idle talk. Eventually she left after thanking Gary for helping out and retrieving her phone. She briefly told him that he doesn¡¯t have to worry about the hospital bill. Stacy said it was the least she could do, since she knew it was all her fault. Fortunately, her parent had agreed to that.

    Finally, Gary¡¯s eyes became more lively when he saw the person he had been waiting fore through the door, Kai. For once the upperssman seemed disheveled and bruised. Behind him, there was an older but beautiful woman, Gary had never seen before.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Amy asked, when her brother had suddenly stood up and was looking over in the direction of the two neers.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± Gary wasn¡¯t sure what to say, because originally he had onlye to Kai out of his own selfish need, but recently he had been forced to ask him for help time and time again. Surprisingly he came through every time, no matter how crazy Gary¡¯s request had been.

    If he could fix their problem once again, the high schooler was ready to earnestly do his best to help this person out, a person like this wasn¡¯t a stranger in Gary¡¯s mind.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ a friend.¡± Gary answered with a smile.

 Chapter 109: Rise to the top

    <h4>Chapter 109: Rise to the top</h4>

    After telling Amy to wait in her seat, Gary quickly headed over to Kai. The teenager hadn¡¯t been sure that the other would actuallye through, since his only reply had been [I¡¯ll see what I can do]. His upperssman wasn¡¯t a magical wish granting genie after all and with what had happened in Slough, it wouldn¡¯t have surprised him if he might have been upied with something else.

    Seeing hime through the door, especially with someone who looked older than them, made Gary feel hopeful. As for the reason he had told Amy to stay behind, it was because he definitely didn¡¯t want her to be involved in any of this mess that he was currently in.

    ¡°Be honest, do you get a kick out of ignoring all my warnings?¡± Kai asked in a slightly annoyed tone as he scratched his head. ¡°I mean seriously, it¡¯s not like I asked you to stay put in a cell or anything. Yet here we are, not only have you gone out but you somehow managed to end up in the hospital, even though you have a match tomorrow.¡±

    Gary had only told Kai what he needed and that he was in the hospital, rather than exining the whole situation. It would have been hard to go over everything via text. On top of that, if only the older teenager knew what his underssman really had been through, perhaps he would give him some ck¡­ or maybe an even bigger ear full.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kai. I just¡­¡± Gary stopped there. It was undeniable that he had initially gone out despite the risk of being caught by the Underdogs. It was onlyter that he had hurried to save his family. ¡°It¡¯s my mother¡­¡±

    The high schooler went on to exin the details further, about how his mother got attacked in the supermarket, what condition he had found her in, how he had carried her over here and about the hospital staff needing an adult to take care of the two siblings, as well as sign off on a few documents here and there.

    After telling him the full story, Gary had been half expecting Kai to make some snide remark, but instead the look on his face had changed to one filled with sympathy. Surprising him even more, Kai ced a hand on Gary¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°My condolences. I would have done the same if it had been my mother.¡± Kai spoke. ¡°You¡¯re the gang leader, so of course I¡¯ll do whatever I can to help you out. Since I¡¯m one year off from being an adult myself, I brought her here to act as your guardian.¡±

    Kai pointed to thedy standing next to him. She was around the same height as Kai himself, which was quite tall for a woman. She wore heavy ck boots and also had red lipstick on, her hair was jet ck and straight, which was beautiful in a way and made her look more confident.

    She didn¡¯t seem to resemble anyone from the Underdogs that Gary knew, and he didn¡¯t think that Kai, after everything that had happened, would bring one of their members here, so he was wondering just what the rtionship between the two was. At least the others could be exined as members of the Underdogs.

    However, Gary chose not to pry. As long as the woman was willing to help them out, that was enough for him. The three of them walked over to the counter where they received another form. Essentially the woman had to agree to act as a guarantor. If payment wasn¡¯t handled in a timely fashion, it gave the hospital permission to go after her and make it so she would have to pay the bill as well.

    It was something people would only do with their most trusted family members or friends. Which begged the question once again, who was she to Kai. She seemed too young to be Kai¡¯s mother, but looks could be deceiving. Still, the two didn¡¯t share many features on the surface, though Gary got a feeling that she seemed somewhat familiar.

    There were a few more details that needed to be filled out, but the woman offered to handle it on her own, allowing Kai and Gary to move to the side. Neither one said anything for a while, yet Kai didn¡¯t miss that Gary was constantly clenching his fist. His face would scrunch up a couple of times as well. It was clear he was thinking about something.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you get the money to pay for the hospital bills.¡± Kai offered. ¡°If need be, we can just reach into those emergency funds for a while.¡±

    It was then that Gary realised that Kai was trying tofort him.

    ¡°Why me?¡± The high schooler asked as he looked up. ¡°Why are you helping me so much? There¡¯s nothing special about me. I¡¯m not as good a fighter as Innu, nor am I as cunning as you. You could have just sold me out to the Underdogs and looked for another teenager if you wanted some puppet for your gang, yet why are you going out of your way to help me with situations like this one?¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you don¡¯t want my help then?¡± Kai questioned. For a moment there was an awkward silence between the two, before the older high schooler let out another sigh. ¡°Let me ask you this, what are you feeling right now? Even a blind person would be able to tell that you¡¯re furious, so what is it you would like to do now?¡±

    It felt out of the blue for Kai to answer his question with a question of his own, but Gary didn¡¯t mind getting it off his chest.

    ¡°I keep imagining those guys, those scumbags who did that to her.¡± Gary answered. ¡°It¡¯s not just her though. My sister, a dead old man, injured and dying people out on the street. Why does everyone have to live in fear?¡±

    ¡°And the answer you came to?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°Gangs.¡± Gary replied. ¡°It¡¯s because of the gangs who rule this ce. They¡¯ve gotten too big. I saw it, the best the police could do was quarantine Chavley off, probably hoping that the damage would be contained. The mayor and his government are unable to handle them. I hate them, I hate them so much. I want to get rid of them all!¡±

    Kai looked at Gary again, and the look in his eyes and the facial expression of all of what he was feeling right now, he too had felt the same thing at one point.

    ¡°There¡¯s your answer, Gary. The more I¡¯m around you the more Ie to realise that we aren¡¯t too different. The sad reality is that it will be impossible to get rid of them in any legal way. The new mayor might be against them, but he will either be bought off by them, or they will just get rid of him if he doesn¡¯t y ball.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just Slough. Every town and city has these kinds of problems, only that some hide it better than others. At the top of all the Tier-1 cities you have the Kings. However, even they have gotten so big that it has be impossible for them to act on their own. They¡¯re too afraid of stepping on each other¡¯s toes, since fighting amongst themselves will just weaken them, giving others the opportunity to potentially take them out.

    ¡°Until this day, there hasn¡¯t been a force that has been able to go to the very top, or be strong enough to get rid of them all. If you want to get rid of the gangs Gary, that¡¯s your answer. Make your own gang, climb to the top with me, and protect the ones you care about.

    ¡°That¡¯s the only way for guys like us to make any change in this godforsaken ce. Nothing will ever change unless we can somehow get rid of them. It¡¯s up to you what you want to do once you¡¯re at the top, but let me warn you. You need to do this before you lose the people you care about, so that today bes the exception and not the rule.¡± Kai exined, holding out his hand.

    ¡°We already made a deal once, but now that we¡¯re both on the same wavelength. Let¡¯s shake on this¡­ leader.¡±

    Just then, Gary could see that the woman at the reception was done with the paperwork, and was walking over. The high schooler somehow felt like he was suddenly under some type of time limit. Something was telling him that if he didn¡¯t take Kai¡¯s hand right now, the two of them would never see eye to eye again.

    At the same time, shaking meant agreeing to create a gang, forcing him to create the one thing he had grown to hate. Was this really the only answer and choice he had?

    In the end, Gary reached out and grabbed Kai¡¯s hand, shaking it on the spot.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    ¡°Help us, you mean.¡± Kai corrected him with a smile.

 Chapter 110: Behind the Attack

    <h4>Chapter 110: Behind the Attack</h4>

    Living in a Tier-3 town, crime was quite rampant and frequent. The police force was limited in these areas, budgets were lowpared to the higher-tier cities, and there was overall less control from the gangs in the first ce.

    However, Slough could still have been considered as a moderate town to live in. The Underdogs had been a threatening force in the area. Because of this, the police would usually just have to deal with small disputes between the colour gangs rather than therger ones.

    That was until tonight. For the police force and the whole town, this had been one of the worst days in its history. Three of the biggest gangs had practically a war in Chavley and it had cursed so much chaos. When it eventually settled down, the police were able to move in as nned by Anton.

    However, the results weren¡¯t pretty at all. Several of the gang members were now in intensive care, or at least had some injury of some sort. Thankfully, not all of them went to the hospitals because they also had their own underground doctors where they could retrieve treatment from.

    Still, the main concern of the police were actually the civilians who had been involved in the mess. At the moment, the police report imed that fourteen suspected gang members¡¯ lives were lost.

    Four members of the public had lost their lives, and two were in intensive care, which included Gary¡¯s mother. Although the numbers might have not seemed high, there was also everything else the police would have to deal with such as tracing back stolen goods, and gathering everyone¡¯s testimonies for the events that had urred.

    To top it off, since the police weren¡¯t able to act at the moment, it would be very hard for them to even prosecute any of these members, and it was a waste of time in the first ce.

    Anton, the chief of the police, knew that if arge attack like this one was to take ce, they would be ready. Someone was backing them and when it came to the proactive and judge phase they always got off.

    It happened so many times that Anton knew there was nothing that they could do. Anton, along with Roo had sessfully made it back to the police force after a tough day.

    His eyes were red and he was busy rubbing his face up and down.

    ¡°Sir, you have worked hard, why don¡¯t you have some rest.¡± Roo questioned.

    ¡°What is the point?¡± Anton replied. ¡°Eighteen lives lost, multiple people missing so there¡¯s probably more? Did I ever tell you that I became a policeman to stop events like today from urring. When I was like you I saw that the chief just sat back and did nothing. So I worked hard and rose to this position.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m here, yet in some ways I feel even more useless than my younger self!¡±

    Roo knew he didn¡¯t mean it that way, but the police force knew they were pretty much useless, especially forrge scale things like this. However, he liked how Anton cared, he knew he was working for a great person.

    ¡°Then change it.¡± Roo said. ¡°You reached this position, right? If the police and government are corrupt, let¡¯s rise to the top, and change it, getting rid of the bad from the inside.¡±

    Anton could just sigh, Roo disyed the same naiveness he had in the best. Did he think people didn¡¯t try to do this before? There was a reason, because anyone who had attempted to clean the ce force or government, would be dealt with. The problem was the gangs were already so involved with the police force, even if the public didn¡¯t know it.

    ¡°I wish I was still like you.¡± Anton mumbled, shaking his head, and picking up another report in front of him. ¡°Huh¡­of all things, we have an ownerining about his employee leaving midway through work! Do they seriously think we have the time to deal with a missing employee when a gang war took ce? This isn¡¯t even a matter for the police to solve!

    ¡ª¡ª

    With the small war ending, eventually, there were members of the grey colour gang and red colour gang that returned. They had been informed of the attack, and the leaders were to report what exactly was going on.

    The leader of the grey colour gang, Buffin, and the red colour gang Riv both were walking together as they headed to an abandoned warehouse. In the past the two of them would have never been seen standing side by side, but they had been called to exin the situation.

    When reaching the warehouse, there were members standing outside wearing grey suits. It was the mark of the Grey Elephants. Both of them were a little nervous and took a deep breath before entering inside.

    The warehouse was full of shipping crates. This used to be the grey colour gang hangout area, but the leader of the Grey Elephants, since they were in charge of the grey colour gang used it as they wished.

    Here, they both could see arge figure standing on top of a great at the very back. He looked like a wall of muscle, built on top of muscle. If one was to see him with his clothes on perhaps they would think of him as fat.

    However, he only wore arge fur overcoat which showed the middle of his stomach revealing a defined six pack. By his side, there were two others as well. The two were smaller in size, and looked small whenpared to the leader but they were by far small people.

    These three were the leaders of the Grey Elephant gang, and the one thing they had inmon was the fact that they all wore some strange looking gloves on their hands. The one in the centre was grey, while the other two had red and blue.

    The two of them stopped walking forward, the room was filled with other a hundred members, and unlike the colour gangs, these were all real gangsters. One wrong word or move, and both Buffin and Riv knew they were done for.

    They were waiting for some type of order or word, and that¡¯s when therge leader in the centre turned to the man on his left with red gloves.

    ¡°Raven, we have guests, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s polite to put your phone away?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Im sorry, I¡¯ve been trying to get a hold of my stupid bother. He said he would be here for this meeting but he¡¯s not answering.¡± Raven replied. ¡°I told him to stay away from the Chavley area and he¡¯s one of those guys that¡¯s a phone addict, so usually he replies to me straight away.

    ¡®Damn you Hawk, what are you doing?¡¯

 Chapter 111: One who needs no Introduction

    <h4>Chapter 111: One who needs no Introduction</h4>

    Raven knew that his brother had a tendency to act reckless and often do stupid things since he wasn¡¯t afraid of any consequences due to his older brother¡¯s position. However, he was also someone who knew the importance of tarnishing the Grey Elephant gang¡¯s name.

    His phone was supposed to be kept on him at all times in case they were to be called for an important matter like right now. What¡¯s more, Raven had informed Hawk beforehand and had even stressed the importance of this meeting, so he had no idea what possible reason the other might have had to go so far to turn his phone off.

    In the end, he had no choice but to leave a voice message and hope for the best. He might be one of the leaders of the Grey Elephants, but that didn¡¯t give him the right to stop the meeting, especially since all three leaders would be present today. The young man just swore to beat some sense into his younger brotherter.

    ¡°We heard the reports, it seems you guys caused quite the stir.¡± The one who was speaking to them all now was a man in his mid thirties. His name was Brandon Trunk and he was one of the three leaders said to have created the Grey Elephants. Their gang quickly rose to prominence due to their strengths in hand to handbat.

    As for who the strongest among the three was, that was a question that didn¡¯t have to be asked. Although all three held the rank of ¡®leader¡¯, everyone knew that the real boss was Brandon. Some even spected that the gang name had been chosen solely by him due to hisst name.

    ¡°However, it looks like you didn¡¯tst as long as you assured us you would be able to. It¡¯s been a couple hours, whereas I recall you promising me it would be easy enough tost until sunrise. I hope you have a good exnation for this?¡± Brandon looked at the two. His tone didn¡¯t have a hint of aggression, yet in a way this scared Buffin and Riv even more.

    The two colour gang leaders gulped down hard as Brandon waited for an exnation. They were clearly nervous for more than one reason. Both of them had been aware how important their task had been and that it would have been the perfect opportunity to allow them to join the ranks of the Grey Elephants as high-ranking members.

    In the first ce, they held a higher position than the average Grey Elephant members. After all, they controlled their respective colour gangs. Although they were filled with teenagers and university students, there were still over a hundred people who listened to them.

    The one controlling a colour gang needed to be strong, and they had to have a good eye. As many of them would also receive those that were known as Loners. On their rmendation it would be easy for someone to then enter the Grey Elephant gang behind them.

    It was an important job that couldn¡¯t just be given to anybody. However, these two had both been leaders of their respective colour gangs for a long time. Completing their task today should have been easy enough, and life as a high-ranking member of arge gang like the Grey Elephants would mean riches beyond their wildest dreams.

    ¡°Working together with the red colour gang, we were easily able to deal with the ck colours like you asked us to.¡± Buffin began to exin. ¡°We outnumbered them, but some of our newer members went a little too wild, which has led to the Underdogs getting involved far quicker than we had anticipated.¡±

    A loud echo bang was heard, as Brandon stomped his foot on the top of the shipping container. The two flinched as soon as they heard the loud sound.

    ¡°Is that so? Then howe the two of you look to be in perfect condition? Many of your subordinates on the other hand appear to have received quite the beating. From the looks of it, the moment you heard that the Underdogs came out, you decided to run. Surely, that is just a misconception on my part¡­ right?!¡±

    Seeing the situation they were in, Riv was worried. He had seen the power the three in front of him held personally. Just like the grey colour gang, the red colour gang used to be under another group like the Grey Elephants.

    However, with just these three alone, they had changed the whole situation and had taken over the group. Riv knew there was no point fighting back, and as someone who was leading a colour gang, he knew the smartest thing he could do was to join the strongest faction.

    ¡°I have reason to believe that the Underdogs were actually already out.¡± Riv spoke up. ¡°They reacted too fast, like they were out before the attack. I¡¯m not saying that there is a leak among us¡­but from what I¡¯ve been told they appeared to have already been out looking for someone! Those who got caught but let go reported that the Underdogs were asking around about someone with green hair, a young adult or teenager.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that this boy must be someone of great importance to them! They sent out the Cheetah Squad, and their leader Kirk Summerfield was there as well! That is the reason why we had toe back earlier than nned.¡±

    ¡°¡­ that¡¯s it? That¡¯s all you can tell me?¡± Brandon jumped down from the container and walked over towards the two of them. They could hear his heavy footsteps and the two braced themselves for a beating.

    ¡°There was a gang war happening, yet those Underdogs were more interested in some random green haired boy? How very peculiar.¡± A voice sounded from the back. A male started to walk in and upon seeing him the other members were ready to attack. That was until they could see a marking on the bag of his giant overcoat.

    In almost an instant all of them stayed in their ce, and kept their arms down. They didn¡¯t bow, as they had no reason to respect this person, but not a single one would dare to attack him. Riv, having turned his head slightly to see who could have stopped Brandon in his tracks, was utterly shocked.

    It was a lean male, who had long red hair, tied up. He had a feminine looking face, yet there wasn¡¯t anyone who would dare to point something like that out. After all, that man had the emblem of a phoenix on his coat ced on his chest.

    Sin Mutav was the leader of one of the top gangs in the entire country, the Phoenix gang. The Kings were well known among the gangs, because they ruled with an iron fist, and Sin was one of the more shy ones.

    ¡®What is he doing here, why¡­would someone like him be in a town like Slough? This doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡¯ Everyone who saw him thought in unison.

    Walking through, the members noticed a burning look in Sin¡¯s eyes. They weren¡¯t sure if they were imagining it or not, but ever since he had entered the room they began to feel as if it was getting hotter. They then realised, with each step, that the heat was actuallying from none other than this neer.

    ¡°Please, give me more time.¡± Brandon stopped what he had been about to do, and immediately got down on his knees to plead.

    It was a strange scene, to see their almighty leader submit to someone else. For the first time in their life they actually witnessed their almighty leader disy fear in front of somebody.

    Just how strong was this guy to make a man like Brandon act in such a manner?

 Chapter 112: A gift

    <h4>Chapter 112: A gift</h4>

    Sin was still standing about a meter and half away from the two colour gang leaders. At first they believed that they were simply sweating due to nerves. Now, though, they could tell that their bodies were actually feeling hot due to the immense heat radiating off from Sin.

    ¡®How can someone produce so much heat? If I look at his feet it looks like the ground is being seared a little¡­ is that smoke?¡¯ Riv noticed. ¡®It must be his Altered powers, but he¡¯s not even in his Altered form yet. Is such a thing even possible?¡¯

    The knowledge about Altered was limited to what the public had seen broadcasted on TV throughpetitions, celebrities and so on. However, those at the very top were wise enough to keep the best DNA of the most powerful ancient beast to themselves.

    Of course, their forms would remain a secret to the general public. If anything one might be privy to some tales of their great feats, but even that would require a certain amount of influence.

    Sin reached into hisrge overcoat that looked to be three sizes too big for him, causing the two colour gang leaders to flinch but they could see that he had merely brought out a cigarette. He ced it in his mouth, and Riv instantly reached into his pocket.

    It was a custom between gang members to always have a lighter on them, purely to light it for members in a higher position. So far Riv had wanted to suck to Brandon, yet right now might be the only opportunity for him to get in the good graces of a dragon,pared to arge fish.

    As he stepped forward and reached out though, Sin ced his palm open, indicating for him to stop. The next second as if watching a magic trick the cigarette lit on its own. The King took onerge puff before proceeding to speak.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m wondering why you still haven¡¯t gotten what I asked you to get. Was the reward not enticing enough?¡± Sin asked, and looked towards the two nervous colour gang leaders.

    ¡°Do you really have to use these scraps to fight your battles for you? Why don¡¯t you just fight them yourself? Don¡¯t tell me I was wrong in asking the Grey Elephants to take up this job, because I hate being wrong!¡±

    ¡°No, of course you were right!¡± Brandon replied, a little flustered. Seeing Brandon nervous was also making the other two leaders by his side nervous as well. ¡°We will get it soon and will deliver it ASAP. It was just that we didn¡¯t expect the Underdogs to get involved so soon.¡±

    ¡°I fail to see where the issue it. The Underdogs should be nothing more than a Tier-3 gang like yours? When I made a request I didn¡¯t expect it to take this long. Do I really need to exin to a gang leader that time is money? It wasn¡¯t exactly easy to appear here without the others noticing, so you better get what I need!¡± Sin said, walking forward, past the colour gang leaders. He looked down at the still kneeling Brandon, then towards Raven,stly at the third leader by his side.

    ¡°Are you saying the Underdogs are stronger than you?¡± Sin asked.

    ¡°Yeah right?¡± The third leader chuckled. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Kirk, we would have just taken them over already. Do you expect most of us to die just because of your request? Then you might as well be the one to -¡°

    Before he could finish his sentence, Sin grabbed him by the mouth, clenching it so hard he could no longer move it. Immediately the leader grabbed on to Sin¡¯s arm, trying to w it off but it wasn¡¯t working.

    ¡° ¡®Then I might as well be the one to kill you?¡¯ Fine, I shall grant your wish, but I assure you it will be far more painful than any death those Underdogs would have given you!¡± Sin spoke, his eyes burning with passion.

    Muffled screams could be heard from the Grey Elephant leader. His legs kicked out, yet eventually the skin on his face appeared to be melting. Boils were appearing on his skin,rge blisters popping by the second and gushing out blood.

    All the Grey Elephant members had seen death before and this held true for most of the colour gang members as well, but none had seen anything as gruesome as the scene in front of them. The worst part of it all was that even now, with the leader¡¯s skin having practically melted, he remained alive, and boils were still appearing on his body all over, literal steaming from his head.

    It looked as if the man had been ced in some type of microwave, and eventually the struggling came to an end. The King just dropped him onto the floor, before pulling out a handkerchief and wiping his hand with it, then throwing it onto the dead body.

    ¡°Now, does someone mind telling me who this Kirk fellow is?¡± Sin asked.

    The others looked at the body on the ground. They couldn¡¯t even imagine the type of pain he must have suffered with this kind of death. The worst part of it all, was the fact that a loyal and important member of their gang had just been killed in front of them, and they could do nothing about it.

    It made them feel small and insignificant inparison to the King.

    ¡°He was talking about the Underdog¡¯s Altered.¡± Brandon answered while watching at the lifeless corpse. ¡°They somehow scrounged enough money to have one of their men receive the Altered treatment. He¡¯s also very proficient and won one of those Rookie tournaments not too long ago.

    ¡°He¡¯s the only real troublesome one of the group. It¡¯s not that we aren¡¯t confident we can¡¯t beat him, but it would cost us too many lives.

    ¡°I apologise, but I have to agree with what Yovan said, I don¡¯t wish to risk my whole gang for this whole mission. Not when we stand no chance of winning against them.¡±

    The other members were now worried for Brandon. After reacting to what the other said they thought Sin would take him out next, but at the same time they respected him for at least saying this much.

    The cigarette in Sin¡¯s mouth was nearly finished, and he spat it out on the floor stomping on it. Reaching into his coat pocket once more. They thought that perhaps he would be pulling out another one, but instead the King pulled out a small box.

    Opening its lid, he took out arge syringe that was filled with a dark colour liquid inside. Strangely there appeared that the liquid was moving about, as if it was alive. Just looking at it, it felt like it was out of this world.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? Your only problem is that youck an Altered? Well, I guess today¡¯s your lucky day then. With this you will be able to match them. Now which one of you always wanted to be an Altered?¡± Sin asked with a sinister smile.

 Chapter 113: Pay day

    <h4>Chapter 113: Pay day</h4>

    Hearing what Sin was currently offering, all of the members couldn¡¯t help but excitedly talk amongst themselves about it. They couldn¡¯t believe that a King was actually offering something so valuable to them. However, the look on Brandon¡¯s face didn¡¯t look to be nearly as pleased as that of his gang members. He looked at the strange syringe and the liquid moving inside.

    ¡®I¡¯ve never heard of someone bing an Altered just through a simple injection. Is this something that the Kings have developed? He must be nning to use us asb rats, but I can¡¯t exactly decline either¡¯

    ¡°Thank you! With this great gift we will definitely give you the answers you are looking for!¡± Brandon promised, as he grabbed the box with both hands, epting it. With that, Sin left, but his short stay would forever be burnt into each one of their heads.

    All of them could now attest that the Kings were dangerous and weren¡¯t beings one could mess with.

    ¡°What are you all waiting for? The meeting is dismissed!¡± Brandon shouted. He waited for the other members to leave. Some headed out back into the night, while others stayed in the warehouse, as they had been sleeping there, though they wouldn¡¯t disturb whatever it was Brandon wanted to do next.

    As for the two colour gang leaders, they were patiently waiting for their next order. They had been hoping for a promotion, but with everything that had happened, it seemed like they might be lucky to not get demoted now.

    Brandon, was crouched down and looked at Yovan¡¯s body that was on the floor. He took a closer look, but there wasn¡¯t much to look at. He no longer looked like his friend who he had started the Grey Elephants with.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my dear friend, but I won¡¯t even be able to get revenge for you. The least I can do is make sure you will receive a proper burial.¡± Brandon said to the corpse.

    ¡°Who would have ever thought that the leader of the Phoenix gang himself woulde all the way to a Tier-3 town, just for a job like this? I mean if he¡¯s here anyway and the Underdog gang has what he wants, why doesn¡¯t he just do it himself?¡± Ravenined. Now that Sin was gone, he could finally get all his frustrations out.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because of the other Kings.¡± Brandon answered. ¡°You heard him say that he came here without the others noticing. Whatever he was doing, he clearly wants it to remain a secret from the others.

    ¡°That¡¯s the entire reason he came to us. I imagine if news spread that a King came down to a Tier-3 town. The others would most likelye to investigate what he was doing here and that seems to be bad news for him.¡±

    Raven scowled at thisment, because he knew it was true.

    ¡°Which means they¡¯re basically just using us in their little game of chess. I hate it! And what do you think of that syringe? I¡¯ve never heard of Altered DNA being injected into someone before.¡±

    ¡°Me neither.¡± Brandon shrugged as he looked at the box. ¡°However, who knows how much things have advanced in those Tier-1 cities. Still, I can¡¯t help but think that it doesn¡¯t make sense. If the stuff inside can really make us into Altered, then we could just sell it off for millions, which is far more than what he was going to pay us.

    ¡°He should know that as well, so I think it might be some new prototype. I don¡¯t know about you but I don¡¯t want to be their guinea pig.¡±

    ¡°But an Altered would help us on our side, and we can¡¯t just give it to someone who isn¡¯t loyal to the gang.¡± Raven said.

    It was then that Brandon walked up to Raven, and handed him the box.

    ¡°You keep it for now, I¡¯m not telling you to use it, but maybe you will find the right person that can. Perhaps that useless brother of yours might be a good shot as well. As for you two¡­¡± Brandon turned around.

    ¡°The colour gangs lost a lot of people tonight. I know one of you was looking to get promoted, and as you can see a very high position has just been opened. We have ack of members, and I¡¯m sure as usual this beating that they received will be a wake up call to a lot of them and they¡¯ll decide to quit.

    ¡°Tomorrow, there¡¯s meant to be an underground fight happening. Both of you head there and look for some recruits, Raven will tag along with you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you boss!¡± The two of them said in sync, and quickly got up to leave the ce. Remembering this day for the rest of their lives.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next morning a certain teenage boy was stretching as he woke up far earlier than usual. Ever since he had gotten the system, Gary¡¯s nights had been very restless, yet now that the full moon had passed, he was finding it far easier to sleep¡­ even despite everything that had happened just hours ago.

    Too many things had happened, but only when he looked at his sister in the bed next to him, did he realise how much would change now. The teenager quickly got out of bed, nning to make her breakfast. Due to her injuries, as well as their area having suffered from the gang war, the school would surely understand the need for them taking a few days off.

    ¡®The fridge is empty¡­ and there are bills to be paid. However, it¡¯s just me and Amy until Mum wakes up. I will have to look after everything now¡­¡¯ Gary realised as he opened the fridge, only to find two measly pieces of bread.

    There wasn¡¯t really much he could make with it, so the high schooler decided to just leave them to his sister, so Amy could enjoy it with some jam. Gary could always go out and find some food that could replenish his Energy. Reaching into his pockets he pulled out a wallet that wasn¡¯t his, and it just reminded him of the events that had happened at the Karaoke ce.

    He pulled out a 20 note, and his hands hesitated. It just felt so wrong, using the money of the dead, like he wasmitting a crime stealing from them. They deserved to die, Gary could put up with that but this just felt criminal to him.

    ¡®Why am I being stupid, amy is the most important right now, and she dosne¡¯t even have food.¡¯ Gary thought, cing it on the table.

    Just as he was about to leave a note, he heard his sleepy sister wake up and head for the toilet.

    ¡°What are you doing up, so early?¡± Amy asked as she let out a yawn.

    ¡°Oh, I nned to make you some breakfast, but there¡¯s only bread and jam left.¡± Gary answered, before he headed towards the door. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I left you some money to order some food and I¡¯ll bring back some food tonight for us to eat, oh and I¡¯ll be back quitete tonight so don¡¯t stay up waiting for me.¡±

    ¡°Huh, what are you doing?¡± Amy asked, now she was a bit more awake. She still hadn¡¯t really worked through what had happened yesterday, and thest thing she wanted was to be alone in the empty apartment.

    ¡°Remember that money from the job I told you about? Mum won¡¯t be here for a while but don¡¯t worry Amy, I got things covered. Just rest for today alright.¡± Gary said, leaving through the door and closing it behind him.

    He stopped for a few seconds as he could suddenly hear Amy¡¯s crying from behind the door.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Amy. I will look after us. I promise I¡¯ll make lots of money today so I won¡¯t have to leave you on your own. I hope that you can forgive me for lying to you.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Today was the big day, the day of his fight with Innu, and the debut of the Howlers.

 Chapter 114: Only worthâ€¦

    <h4>Chapter 114: Only worth¡­</h4>

    Since he had woken up so early, Gary was in no hurry to get to school. In the worst case, he could always use Charging Heart to get there faster, but even at hisckadaisical pace he would arrive there with plenty of time to spare.

    On his way, the high schooler checked out his stats. The first thing that he had noticed was the fact that just like his system had promised him he had gained 10 Exp for every Bond Mark he had ced on a person, for a total of 30 Exp.

    When he had shaken Kai¡¯s hand, the system had asked him if he wanted to Mark his upperssman. However, the ¡®promise¡¯ the two of them had made seemed a bit too weighty. The teenager would have much more preferred something that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about, just like the one he had made with his mother.

    Although Gary had felt that he had gotten closer to Kai, in actuality there was still too much mystery surrounding the older student. Nevertheless, Gary truly did consider him a friend, yet he wasn¡¯t too sure about Kai¡¯s end goal. Aside from that, on the off chance Kai might break the promise, it would turn him into one of his hunting targets¡­

    As such, he had decided against it.

    There were actually more reasons for it, such as the fact that Gary¡¯s Mark skill only had five slots and four of them had already been upied. Making a bond with Kai would have left him with zero. While 10 ¡®free¡¯ Exp each day might seem nice, the teenager had only recently enjoyed the benefits of hunting a target.

    Whoever had done that to his mother, Gary was convinced to hunt them down!

    Unfortunately, he was now missing exactly that one little boost of Exp.

    [Exp 757/765]

    He would have to finish both of his Daily Quests to gain enough for a Level Up. It was seriously bugging Gary, as much as it did when he saw someone leave an unread notification on their phone, one where he could see that they would leave a little red dot indicating that they had read his message.

    ¡®The people that do that are crazy¡­I¡¯ll never understand them. If there was only a way for me to get a few Exp.¡¯

    ¡°What am I meant to do now?! I¡¯m totally ruined! You police arepletely useless!¡± Gary heard an angry man shout at two policemen.

    As usual he was wearing a hoodie, and Gary had it on even tighter than he would do before. This was because of the fighting that had ured yesterday, he was afraid that the Underdogs might have sent out their members to patrol the area, but it seemed like the police were there instead.

    The police were being bombarded by not just one man. The entire area seemed to put the me on them. They needed to shout their frustrations at someone, and some of them were scared while others looked to have been hurt in the chaos yesterday, not just his mother.

    ¡®What is wrong with them¡­I thought this area was okay because it was meant to be protected by the Underdogs. What the hell were they doing yesterday?!¡¯

    ¡°Come on, man, let¡¯s get out of here. The police are down there, if they see you in those colours they¡¯re going to arrest you! Heck, after yesterday you might get attacked on the street!¡±

    The voice was only an angry whisper, but with Gary¡¯s sensitive ears he had picked it up. Heading towards the noise, he was wondering who would just be afraid of the police and he could only guess a few people. It certainly wouldn¡¯t have been the Underdogs.

    Quickly, turning between an alleyway, he could see two teens getting rid of their clothes. One of them midway to pulling off his jumper. It was grey in colour, but not only that, there was blood on it as well.

    ¡°Hey, someone saw us! What do we do!¡± The one who was in the midst of changing asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a high school brat, let¡¯s just get out of here!¡± The other answer.

    Seeing the blood, something clicked in Gary¡¯s head from yesterday.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gary shouted, yet the two teens naturally wouldn¡¯t listen and ran away from him. A few secondster, they heard something strange, one of the teens turned around, and he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. The kid wearing the hood, had somehow gripped onto the wall, and was holding on slightly.

    Before he knew it he had lept in the air, and grabbed the two of them by the back of their heads mming them onto the ground. Their foreheads hit the concrete, bruising and grazing their skin.

    ¡°I told you to wait!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°Why did you attack this ce yesterday?¡±

    Both of them were still dazed by what just happened.

    ¡°Answer me!¡± Gary demanded as he mmed one of them down harder into the ground.

    ¡°Stop, you¡¯ll kill him, you crazy bastard!¡± The grey colour gang member shouted.

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s okay to hurt someone as long as it¡¯s not somebody you know, is that what you¡¯re saying?!¡± Gary shouted again, and mmed the same person¡¯s head into the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you anything you want, just please stop! Our gang¡¯s leader Buffin and the red colour gang¡¯s Riv coordinated that attack. We just followed the orders we got, alright? That¡¯s it, we know nothing else!¡±

    The teen seemed to be telling the truth, but there was one more thing Gary had to ask.

    ¡°That blood on his shirt. Whose is it? And you better don¡¯t lie to me.¡± Gary looked him in the eyes.

    Right now this teen was scared for his life. His friend looked to have been passed out with blood dripping down his face. One wrong word and he would be punished for it. He was unable to make up a lie, too afraid to risk it.

    ¡°It was a¡­one of the shopkeepers.¡±

    Gary looked down for a second.

    ¡°You guys are only worth Exp.¡± He muttered.

 Chapter 115: Slippers

    <h4>Chapter 115: Slippers</h4>

    [Level 7]

    [HP: 100/100]

    [Energy: 120/120]

    [Exp 32/882]

    [Stats]

    [Strength 8]

    [Dexterity 6]

    [Endurance 14]

    Gary¡¯s mood had be a lot better after knocking those two guys out. Not only had he done a good deed, he had even been rewarded with a Level Up. Although it had, once again, only granted him a stat point to allocate without any new skill, it was nevertheless one level closer to Level 10.

    Besides, his stats had upgraded immensely after his little incident, and unless Billy had killed any more victims that the media had not reported anything about, it looked like the teenager had vastly closed the gap between the two.

    ¡®Billy¡¯s stayed quiet for a while, although who knows if he was doing the same thing as I was during that gang war. I still have no clue if he has a system like me or not, but at least I have two unassigned stat points. For now I¡¯ll save them until I need them.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Having consumed the bodies in the Kobe Karaoke Club, Gary didn¡¯t know if the additional stat points it had granted him had been as random as the ones he got for killing his hunting targets, or if it depended on things like their blood type or perhaps his own preposition.

    Unfortunately, his gains had mostlye in the form of an increased Endurance, which would do bupkis against Billy who, at least from what he could remember, had been faster and stronger than him.

    ¡®How¡¯s Endurance going to help me in a fight? Admit it, stupid system, you just wanna watch me get pummeled for longer, don¡¯t you?!¡¯

    s, the only way to figure out how the system worked would be by eating more bodies, and the high schooler didn¡¯t have any ns to do that in the foreseeable future. Seconds ago, he had thought about it again, but it was a dark road that he didn¡¯t want to go down.

    Well, there was one person that he perhaps would consider, but for some reason his Mark wasn¡¯t visible, indicating that he was too far away from him right now.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Eventually Gary had arrived at school, and everything felt strange to him. He saw Innu and Tom sitting at their desks talking peacefully. Although everything that had happened to him just hours ago would be something that would be with him for the rest of his life, for the rest of the world, it had been mostly a normal weekday.

    ¡°Are you okay bro, you look a bit like death?¡± Innu asked, a bit worried. Unlike yesterday he had cooled down a bit, especially since he had enjoyed a good long rest, something that his gang leader didn¡¯t seem to. ¡°You know Kai told you to get some good sleep today, right?¡±

    Judging from the way Innu was speaking, it didn¡¯t seem like Kai had shared anything about his situation with him, something the high schooler was thankful for. After all, it wasn¡¯t their business and it was a problem that he needed to solve himself.

    ¡°Huh, are you guys going somewhere today?¡± Tom asked. Previously he might have perhaps ignored the fact, but it was starting to get on his nerves a little. Ever since the day before yesterday it had be apparent that Gary had some connection to the group around Kai, yet his best friend didn¡¯t admit to it.

    At the same time, after briefly hearign some news about Chavley, he wondered if Gary had done something, after all it would exin his tiredness, but he also didn¡¯t think his best friend was stupid enough to get involved in that.

    They had four more weeks to figure out how to avoid a repeat of the incident from two days ago. Gary didn¡¯t miss Tom staring at him, so he was left trying toe up with a reasonable excuse, but what could he say this time?

    ¡°Gambling.¡± Gary answered in a hushed tone, once he made sure, nobody else paid attention to their trio. ¡°I think you know that money is tight in my home. Kai was actually the one who rmended me to myst job, but¡­

    ¡°Since I still need money, I asked him if he had a way. That was actually the reason they were looking for me after the rugby match. Kai makes most of his money that way. He¡¯s going to be our ¡®in¡¯ person tonight.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tom, I was sure you would want toe along, but I¡¯m telling you now, you can¡¯t. Unlike me, you have good parents and you get good grades. I just don¡¯t want you to risk your future by tagging along.

    ¡°If anyone sees you there from school, you could be in serious trouble, and I¡¯m not talking about your school. Just imagine what your parents would do if they found out their precious son would do something as illegal as that. I mean, you¡¯ve told me about the slippers, but I bet it would be a hundred times worse!¡±

    Before Tom could reply anything, Gary put his head down on the desk, which clearly indicated that he didn¡¯t want any of the others to talk to him.

    ¡®I already nearly lost my sister, and I can¡¯t even speak to my mother anymore. No matter what Tom, I¡¯m not getting you involved in any more of this mess than you already are.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    The rest of the school day was as boring as always, with Gary seemingly ignoring everyone around him, he just wanted to get through the day. Even at lunch he stayed out of sight from the others, though that was mostly because he climbed the school roof, since they had seagulls who had built their nests there. It had allowed him to catch them out of sight from the others.

    It was for his Energy, and he was also getting faster at keeping track of objects, and hunting. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he had be something akin to a wild beast.

    After an uneventful rugby practice it was finally time. Gary left the school gates and headed to the gym. There was some time before he needed to meet up with the others anyway. After his workout, he proceeded to change his clothing, into the ck and gold trim outfit that Kai had gifted him.

    Then running ahead, he eventually came across the park that he would usually practice with Innu and he could see the others were waiting for him. Kai, Marie, and Innu were all dressed in the same colour scheme, only that the high school girl had a skirt on instead.

    ¡°Clothes really do make people. We finally are looking like a proper gang.¡± Kai stated with a satisfied grin and pulled on his jacket a bit, straightening it out.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s ok to be out like this? Won¡¯t the gangs pick a fight with us once they see us?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Aaahhh, I really need Marie to give you a crash course on how to behave as a proper gang leader.¡± Kai let out a sigh as he disheveled his hair. ¡°As of now, nobody even knows who The Howlers are. If anyone sees the five of us in matching clothes they will just think that we¡¯re part of a volleyball team or something. Anyway, this time the ce is a drive away, so¡­¡±

    The older teenager pointed towards the street, where a car could be seen. The window was rolled part way down and inside the women who Gary had met yesterday was currently enjoying a cigarette.

    ¡°She¡¯ll take us there. It will be a bit of a squeeze in the back, but you¡¯ll just have to endure.¡± Kai exined.

    They all eventually got inside, and Gary was pleased that it looked like even Innu didn¡¯t know who this woman was, though he noticed something strange. The ones sitting in the back were all the boys whereas Marie sat at the front.

    ¡®Well I guess, it¡¯s a bit rude to make a girl sit in between two boys. Kai¡¯s quite the gentleman¡­ or is he just that much of ady¡¯s man?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    Theie group started driving and eventually the woman attempted to make some light conversation to clear the awkward air.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you have made so many friends. So how was school, pumpkin?¡±

    It was clearly a nickname for one of those in the car, but Gary thought pumpkin was a little too cute for Kai.

    ¡°The usual, boring and not really worth it. Can we just turn on the radio and drive in silence, Mum?¡± Marie requested, clearly in no mood for conversation.

    ¡°Mother?!¡± Innu shouted out in shock, which was exactly the reaction Gary had, yet he had managed to keep it in. Right now there were countless thoughts going through his head. The teenager had been wondering what the rtionship between Kai and this woman had been, for the two of them to appear thatte at a hospital.

    He would have been far less surprised to learn that it had indeed been Kai¡¯s, but for her to be Marie¡¯s mother?! Well the resemnce was there, but how did she fit into all of this?

    Was she part of a gang? Was she part of the Underdogs?! She clearly seemed to know where they were taking them!

    There was a slight panic setting in as Gary started to suspect that all of this might be a huge trap!

 Chapter 116: A little test

    <h4>Chapter 116: A little test</h4>

    Suddenly, Gary started looking at the doors, trying to see where they were. He looked at how fast the car was moving and whether or not he would survive jumping out of a moving vehicle.

    ¡®Maybe an increased Endurance it good for something after all. If I double it through Charging Heart, it shouldn¡¯t hurt too much¡­ right?¡¯

    ¡®I can¡¯t let them take me to the Underdog gang! Without the package, Damion will make mince meat out of me! This system might make me stronger than an average human, but Kirk is an Altered!¡¯

    It was at that moment that Kai noticed that Gary was acting strangely and looked at him, shaking his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s got your panties in a twist? If you¡¯re worried about the two, there¡¯s no need. Her mother won¡¯t stick around. She is actually a big part of our n going forward, for now just think of her as a sponsor.

    ¡°Now, if you¡¯re starting to get nervous, how about you catch up on some sleep. I can¡¯t me you for not getting enough after what happened, but we¡¯ll need you in tip top shape for your match. As long as everything goes well, this will kickstart our gang.¡± Kai exined, before he leaned in to whisper.

    ¡°I borrowed some money to use for betting on you. As long as you win, you won¡¯t have to worry about your mother¡¯s hospital bill for the next few months.¡±

    After hearing Kai speak, it seemed like Gary was panicking for no reason, but it did beg the question of why exactly Kai, who was only one year older, would know Marie and her mother so well that they were helping him out.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The sun was starting to set, and speeding on the streets on a motorbike with no helmet was a certain high school student who had used far too much gel in his hair. Even with the wind blowing back his hair was practically staying in shape with slight movement.

    ¡®This ce is a little far, and I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m trying so hard to get there but that guy just rubs me the wrong way for some reason.¡¯ Austin thought as he twisted his hand, making the bike go faster and into the distance.

    Of course, Austin was riding illegally, but he didn¡¯t care, it wasn¡¯t as if someone would ask him for a driver¡¯s license at the ce he was going to. Eventually, through following the location on his phone, he had reached his destination.

    It looked like a giant park in the middle of the woods. There was arge sign with the centre¡¯s name where one needed to turn in, and he could seerge fields of open grass. It was clearly a ce where people would usually go camping so he was wondering why he would have been sent here.

    Fortunately, another car was just pulling up, entering the park at this time of night. With nothing better to do, Austin followed along on his bike, until he saw that the car had driven directly on the grass, and it looked like something had been temporarily set up on the field. It resembled a makeshift boxing ring made¡­ from hay bales of all things¡­

    Several cars were also stationed on the outside area, and there looked to be hundreds of people present. Since there were too many people up ahead, Austin had decided to park his bike a little further away and off the green.

    ¡®All this nice grass and they¡¯re ruining it.¡¯ He thought, but the car that was ahead of him, and also stopped in a simr ce. When he saw who actually exited the vehicle, Austin was surprised to actually recognise anybody there.

    It was two fes, one dressed in red while the other was dressed in grey.

    ¡®The colour gang leaders¡­if they¡¯re here, is this one of those ¡®underground¡¯ fights?¡¯ Austin realised. He was busy in thought, when the two figures seemed to be busy arguing with each other.

    In the first ce it was strange to see two leaders of a colour gang together, but Austin being a little in the loop had heard the rumours of what had happened and they seemed to be true.

    In their distraction of arguing though, they didn¡¯t even notice that they were in a head on collision course for Austin himself. The two had walked right into him, yet Autin stayed firm, and had even stopped them from going any further.

    ¡°Hey what the hell?!¡± Rivined looking at the muscr student in front of him. ¡°What are you doing just standing there? Get out of the frigging way!¡±

    The red colour gang leader wasn¡¯t satisfied with a verbal warning alone though, so he threw out a fist, but Austin was able to move his head out of the way avoiding the punch quite easily. However, he didn¡¯t expect the other colour gang leader toe in with an attack as well, though before it could reach Austin, his hand got stopped by someone behind him.

    ¡°What the hell do you two think you¡¯re doing?¡± Raven questioned sternly. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you aren¡¯t aware of the rules at these types of ces! We¡¯vee here with a purpose and I have no desire to babysit the two of you!¡±

    Riv was about toin but looking at Raven¡¯s position he could see that he actually held two fists. One was Buffin¡¯s, whereas the other had been about to connect with the grey colour gang leader¡¯s ribs. It looked like the stranger was just as fast as the colour gang leader.

    ¡°I apologise for these two knuckle-heads, let¡¯s all just enjoy today¡¯s fight.¡± Raven let go of Austin¡¯s hand. The loner decided to let go, though his main reason was that he didn¡¯t think he could take on three people on his own. Not in a ce like this, where he knew hardly anyone.

    What¡¯s more, the oldest of the three had managed to catch his fist. Austin was someone who took pride in his strength, so it hade as a real surprise to him.

    ¡®Most of the guys here are dropouts and there¡¯s not really a lot of adults around here. He must be someone really important if two colour gang leaders are actually listening to him.¡¯ Austin thought.

    At the same time, Raven was impressed by the other¡¯s performance.

    ¡®That kid doesn¡¯t seem to be affiliated with anyone. Not only was he fast, but his punch was quite heavy as well. If only those two idiots hadn¡¯t attacked him. Oh well, it can¡¯t hurt to make him an offerter. Worst case, he refuses.

    ¡®Now, I still need to find someone to use this serum on. Hawk might be a bit of a useless dolt, but he¡¯s still my brother¡­ just where the hell has that bastard disappeared to? I don¡¯t want to use any of our gang members as guinea pigs, so it would be best if I could find someone promising.

    ¡®Should I just make one of these two idiots take it? No, they were there when we had our conversation earlier. ¡­Isn¡¯t there someone strong yet gullible around?¡¯ Raven thought as he looked around, but aside from Austin no one else caught his attention.

    ¡®If only I knew for sure that whatever¡¯s inside those syringes works without any side effects, I would just use it myself¡­ Hmmm, maybe that¡¯s not such a bad idea. But first I will need to test it out. It would certainly cause quite the stir¡­ ¡¯

    ¡®If it can really make anyone into an Altered, then I might actually be able to get revenge on that bastard for what he did to Yoven!¡¯

 Chapter 117: Place your bets

    <h4>Chapter 117: ce your bets</h4>

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the first fight of the evening will soon begin!¡± The host shouted, and tworge speakers echoed the noise out to everyone, allowing them all to easily hear. ¡°If you look at the board to my right, it has all of tonight¡¯s fights and betting odds! You will now have a few more minutes to ce your bets on the first fight! We ept cash and digital currency only!¡±

    The crowd of people started to look intensely at the gang names and started talking with each other. They were seeing if anyone had heard of, or seen them fight before. By gathering information they would then have the best chance of making the winning bet.

    Still, the reason why this was hard, was due to these events in the first ce. A lot of local gangs, or small time gangs would be the ones to join an event like this.

    Austin was a little familiar with how these events worked, even though he himself had never been to one of them. The only thing he really cared about was being the strongest fighter. He had already be top dog at his own school, so he had been nning to challenge those in the surrounding areas.

    Rather than getting involved in real gangs for now, he himself still felt like he was in the middle of a crossroads when it came to that. Looking at the board, he was searching for a name he might be familiar with, but he quickly noticed that it only disyed the group names, not the ones of any individual fighters. He had never heard of any of them, making him believe that they must be either from small-time gangs or those trying to establish one. Nevertheless, there was one name he did recognize.

    ¡®Eton High? Is someone actually crazy enough to use their school name for such an event? ¡­Well if they¡¯re really from that school, perhaps it shouldn¡¯t be surprising. They¡¯ve got an even nastier reputation than my own school. The guys have also run into them a couple of times as well and i remember them saying they were a bunch of tough bastards.¡¯¡¯ Austin thought to himself. ¡®Come to think of it, maybe I should try and participate in one of these as well. Might be a good way to spread the school¡¯s reputation. A short cut to make it to the top and then¡­¡¯

    ¡°Well, well, well, looks like my ¡®salesman pitch¡¯ was enough to get you toe here after all.¡± Austin heard a teasing voice from behind him. Although he had only heard it once, it had been memorable enough to make the teenager clench his teeth almost instantly.

    He turned around to see Kai with his seemingly trademarked grin on his face, though this time he was apanied by a ck haired girl Austin didn¡¯t know. Judging from their matching outfits they were clearly together though.

    ¡®That chick definitely looks out of ce, but him¡­ I still don¡¯t know if he¡¯s one of us, or just some bored rich kid. I mean can he even fight?¡¯ Austin thought as he looked at the older teenager. It was difficult for him to have a grasp on who or what Kai was. He didn¡¯t seem to be yet another delinquent, one whose future seemed predestined to be tied to some gang, yet at the same time, he did have a dangerous aura around him.

    Just what would happen if someone had decided to attack him?

    ¡°Why did you invite me here? I fail to see what part of this whole event is supposed to give me a ¡®better future¡¯, unless you wanted me here to either bet on these oues or turn me into a fighter.¡± Austin pointed out. ¡°But let me make something clear to you, I would never listen to someone I could beat in a fight.¡±

    ¡°Well, I suppose if you bet on the right fighter you could strike it rich today, which would lead to a better future for you, but that¡¯s not why I called you here. If you recall, I promised to show you ¡®something very interesting¡¯,

    ¡°That green haired kid who ¡®saved your arse¡¯ is actually here as well. Right now, he¡¯s cing his own bets, but you¡¯ll see him sooner than you might think. After that, we can still talk about your better future.¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? In essence, you invited me to watch a match? I think that¡¯s kind of stupid.¡± Austin was about to walk away, at least from Kai. He had driven all this way out here, so he would at least stay long enough to watch the fight, yet talking with the bleach blonde teenager just pissed him off. However, Austin knew better than to start a fight at such an event.

    ¡°But you¡¯re interested in him, right? I mean, why else would you havee here? We¡¯ll talk after the fight and if you want to make some cash, ce a bet on The Howlers!¡± Kai shouted after him, yet Austin just carried on walking forward, until he eventually found himself at the front of the crowd, giving him a better view of the fights that were going to take ce.

    ¡®I had a n in mind, to take over all the nearby schools¡­ and from there I would continue on, but for some reason his words that day¡­I can¡¯t get them out of my head! What was I nning to do after?¡¯

    This was the real reason why Austin was so annoyed with Kai. Because deep down the older boy was right.

    Austin didn¡¯t have a n beyond that, and part of him knew that even if he might take over all the schools, once he graduated it would amount to nothing. However, he didn¡¯t want to enter any gangs either.

    Just when he considered whether he should put some money following Kai¡¯s tip, a ringing sound was heard.

    ¡°The betting period has officiallye to a close for the first bout!¡± The announcer stated. He was a bald man with sunsses and a sleeveless shirt. Given the temperature outside at thiste hour, he must have felt cold, yet he looked menacing enough to simply endure it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,dies and gentleman, after the first fight has finished, a new round of betting will continue for the subsequent fights, but let¡¯s not waste anymore time and give you what you¡¯ve alle for!!!!¡±

 Chapter 118: A familiar face

    <h4>Chapter 118: A familiar face</h4>

    The fight was about to begin and the crowd cheered in response, some toasting with the alcohol they had either brought or bought here, while others took harder drugs, despite the majority of them clearly being underage. However, with how illegal all of this was, nobody really cared, the ones selling were just happy to make a profit.

    Nevertheless, there were also those around that looked more serious and refrained from taking any substances. Those were the scouts sent out by bigger gangs, groups looking to recruit some promising new members.

    ¡°Today¡¯s event is a little special as we are going to have several tag team matches. First up we have Team ¡®Eton High¡¯. A school known to have no leaders, with things so bad that even the teachers must have already given up on their students, yet that was all until these two came in and changed EVERYTHING.

    ¡°Please give a big round of apuse for the ¡®Vicious Twins¡¯!¡±

    The announcer really knew how to get the crowd excited, who immediately made room for the two fighters. They ran through and even entered the stage by doing a flip over the hay bales. The two of them were dressed in dark red with straps along their arms, and on their clothes images of two snakes. One of them with short red hair, the other with long red hair.

    ¡°Hey, those guys are¡­ it¡¯s those two from the rugby match!¡± Marie pointed out, having recognised Sren and Leng.

    ¡°I expected something like this to happen when I heard the rumours.¡± Kai seemed far less surprised to see them here. ¡°These guys aren¡¯t just normal students. After hearing about what happened to our Westbride team I decided to look into them more. There aren¡¯t many that can just do what they did to all of our school¡¯s members.¡±

    Marie nodded along clearly wanting to know more.

    ¡°Well it all starts with why they filmed that entire rugby match, even though they usually just defeat their opponents by taking out the other teams¡¯ ace yers?

    ¡°To give credit where credit¡¯s due, you gotta admire them for brazenly setting up a betting gig while livestreaming the entire event. From what I found out they even have quite the following, so they must have made a lot of cash that way.

    ¡°Their scheme seems to revolve around offering arge payout in case the opposing team wins, enticing people to bet on them winning. They give good odds to the other side. Now you understand why whoever they go against finds themselves injured before the big day. That was until a certain pair forced them into a draw.

    ¡°If anyone actually bet on a draw that day, the payout they had to make must have been huge and I¡¯m sure them not winning has majorly pissed off their regrs who would usually bet on them as the safe choice. The things they have been doing, they¡¯re not just regr high school thugs.¡±

    Hearing this, Marie was a bit worried, she had seen how fast and agile the two twins had been during the rugby match, and their shy entrance was further proving that fact. However, Kai seemed to really trust in Gary and Innu as he had bet a lot of money on them winning¡­ money he had ¡®borrowed¡¯ from the Underdogs from what he told her¡­

    ¡®That kid¡­I know his situation and he betted his own money on the fight today, he betted on himself.¡¯ Kai thought. ¡®Someone like him whocks skills and confidence. I want to see today, how you fight Gary. The fight of a desperate person.¡±

    ¡°Next, let¡¯s wee their opponents. For the first time registering, making this the debut of their gang, we have The Hooooowlllleeerrrs!!!¡±

    From the other side, one could see Innu step into the ring. The hay blocks were moved to the side revealing him walking through. His uniform, although ck and gold, was sleeveless, showing off his muscles and the couple of scars on his shoulders. His hands were wrapped up as usual, and since he wasn¡¯t exactly new to fighting in these events, he received quite the reception from people recognising him.

    ¡°That guy¡¯s ¡®Innu the Warrior¡¯! Looks like he finally joined a gang, but with how skilled he was, why do you think he would join such a no name gang? I¡¯m sure he could have gotten into one of the more prominent ones.¡± A teenager asked his buddy.

    ¡°Beats me, I just know he always refused those offers. Maybe none of them were good enough for him, so maybe he became fed up and just created his own gang? Well, let¡¯s just see who his partner is. If those Howlers are powerful it wouldn¡¯t be the worst idea to join. Being a founding member sure beats having to kiss ass to rise up the ranks.¡± His buddy replied with a shrug.

    Following behind Innu in his ck and gold jacket was Gary. However, his entrance was a bit problematic, as he had to push one of Innu¡¯s fans to the side, to be allowed to even get in. The crowd in fact broke out in murmurs as he climbed over the hay bales. They could see his small frame and then eventually his green hair.

    ¡°Hey, I know that guy! He¡¯s that newbie who beat up Billy Buster! Green Mutt! ¡­or was it Green Dog?¡± The first guy mentioned, as he had been there on that day.

    Standing up, Gary¡¯s face could be seen by everyone, and several people were shocked, yet the ones most shocked were two adults who hade here in disguise.

    ¡°Correct me, if I¡¯m wrong, but isn¡¯t that green haired kid the one we spotted snooping around Billy Bruntin¡¯s home that day?¡± Frank whispered to his partner.

    Sadie nodded with a satisfied smile. At the time, they had believed Gary, that he was just a curious kid, but seeing him here, White Rose might have possibly found someone who would be able to help them solve this Altered murder case.

    She didn¡¯t know why, but the wound on her leg felt like it was pulsating. It had taken a little longer to healpared to her other wounds, but she just took it as a sign from above that they were onto something.

 Chapter 119: Donâ€™t be a fool

    <h4>Chapter 119: Don¡¯t be a fool</h4>

    The two White Rose agents were currently undercover. Following a lead to track down the missing student and suscpected Altered murderer, it had brought them here. An ¡®underground¡¯ fighting ring. The police had apprehended someone who had testified that Billy Bruntin had been participating in these events under the stage name of Billy Buster.

    Unfortunately, the venues where these events took ce would constantly change. Even going to the ce where Billy wasst seen had given them no results. It looked like professionals woulde after and clean up the ce pretty good. Whoever was in charge of organising these things knew what they were doing.

    It had taken them quite a while but they had eventually been given a location and were hoping that they would find someone who might know Billy. If possible they hoped to learn what happened to him on the day before his parents had died.

    Of course, the two adults had to stay undercover, because they needed to gather information. Luckily, nobody really cared about who was who at this event, as long as nobody disturbed the rest. Even though the two agents were well aware that everything that was going on was illegal, this wasn¡¯t the time for them to act, nor was it something that was their concern.

    The police would have to take care of this, while they were merely responsible for dealing with Altered. If they were to try to catch every single gang member, their job would never end and they knew they needed to act professional and only concern themselves with Altered cases like the one they were currently on.

    What they had never expected was to see someone that neither one of them would forget. However, after checking Westbridge¡¯s school register and finding a Gary Dem, they no longer bothered with him. It seemed he had told the truth.

    ¡®He said that he didn¡¯t know who Billy was, yet now he not onlyes to this event, but is actively participating in one. If he just so happened to start fighting, this would be the biggest coincidence in the world. Whatever the case, he¡¯ll have some serious exining to do.¡¯ Sadie thought. ¡®He had to have an idea of what happened to Billy.¡¯

    ¡°If we approach him here he might run off and rm any others. Let¡¯s not risk blowing our cover and just continue watching for now. We¡¯ve already checked in with his school, so we can always find himter.¡± Frank suggested and Sadie was inclined to agree.

    Why trouble themselves trying to catch him through this mess, when they knew where he would be five days of the week.

    She was looking forward to finding out why that Gary kid lied to them. Was he covering for Billy, or were the two of them rted in some other way?

    ¡®So that guy didn¡¯t lie about the green kid being here¡­¡¯ Austin smiled as he saw him. ¡®Didn¡¯t think I would see that loner Innu here as well, but those two against those Eton High guys I heard so much about, well this should indeed be interesting. That guy didn¡¯t overpromise in that regard.

    ¡®I never did get to test out how strong either one of them was, so let¡¯s see what they¡¯ve got.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    When Gary stood there looking at who their opponents were, he was very thankful. He wasn¡¯t a big fan of using his strength just to fight for the sake of it. He wanted to believe he was better than the average bully. So far, he had mostly fought against gang members and knowing what they did he had little to no sympathy for them.

    However, just fighting for the sake of fighting, wasn¡¯t something Gary was used to. Even in his official fight against Billy and Steven he had his reasons to fight them. In the former case it had been because he had needed the money, and Kai had sorta forced him into that situation. In thetter case, he had believed that to be a quick way to gain Exp and his system had even sweetened the deal by issuing him a Quest.

    Of course, seeing the smug faces of the twins in front of him, Gary was more than happy to repay them for what they did to Tom.

    ¡°What a nice surprise, not only are our opponents some weaklings, but we¡¯ll even get the chance for some payback on that onion head.¡± Sren sneered as he looked down on the green haired teenager. He was still pissed about how much money they had lost because the game had ended in a draw. He had even been nning perhaps a way to make him and ke pay up the money.

    ¡°If you think I¡¯m the same as in that rugby match, you¡¯re in for a surprise!¡± Gary replied confidently. ¡°This time there won¡¯t be a referee to save you once I have you pinned down. I haven¡¯t forgotten what you bastards did to my best friend!¡±

    As for Innu and Leng, they just looked at each other without saying a word, both aware that their fists could do all the talking for them in a moment. Both teams took their positions, with Innu and Gary standing on one side, while the twins stood opposite them.

    ¡°Alright guys, you know the rules! Let¡¯s get ready to RUUUMMBBLLLEEE!!!¡± The announcer started to match with a gong. It was then, that Gary had seen the familiar system greet him with a message.

    [You have entered an honorable duel]

    [Many people are watching, so don¡¯t make a fool out of yourself.

    Win the match!]

    [Condition: Knock out or kill your opponents]

    [Reward: 500 Exp]

    [Failure: ???]

    Considering how the two colour gang members today had only been worth 20 Exp each, it seemed like the match would be a hard one, but it was exactly the type of thing he needed.

 Chapter 120: An experiment

    <h4>Chapter 120: An experiment</h4>

    Gary had decided that he wouldn¡¯t use Charging Heart right off the bat and keep it as a game changer. His stats had vastly improved since yesterday and his ¡®fight¡¯ this morning had been more of a beat down, so he wanted to use this opportunity to check how much he had grown. It would also be a good opportunity to try and learn how to control his Heart rate without having to spend his Energy.

    Still, there was one thing that he didn¡¯t have that he did have before and that was the power of the moon. Even with Charging Heart he had been having trouble catching up to the twins and had needed to focus on his Strength.

    The two twins immediately started to run towards the two of them and they were just as fast as Gary remembered.

    ¡°Green Fang!¡± Innu shouted, making sure to use his stage name. Quicklying over to his side, Gary ced his back against Innu. To be honest the two hadn¡¯t focused on teamwork during their training session. The time the two had spent training together had been too short to realistically get used to fighting together, especially since both of them fought in different ways.

    As such, the two of them hade to the conclusion that their best shot at winning a tag team match would be to force their opponents into 1v1 fights.

    Sren was the first to attack by stepping to the side and throwing out a kick, yet lifting his arm up Innu was easily able to block it. The attack wasn¡¯t too heavy but it stung a bit as the kick had been fast and sharp. Looking straight ahead though, he had lost sight of the short haired teenager. Or so he thought.

    He then could see that Sren was holding onto his brother¡¯s arm, and was swinging his brother¡¯s body, the kick was simply made more so he could bnce better. There was a reason why it was light, with the momentum, the kick from Leng went around the side of Innu, heading towards Gary¡¯s stomach. It was too quick for the teenager to block, but he was able to tense his stomach before it connected. It didn¡¯t wind him due to this but it still hurt.

    [- 4 HP]

    The kick was strong, and a lot of those in the crowd could see that it should have been quite the heavy blow, not surprised Green Fang fell to the ground at that moment.

    ¡®Hahaha, seems like I was wrong, having a high Endurance stat isn¡¯t that bad!¡¯ Gary thought, as he went to grab Leng¡¯s leg before he could pull it back, but just like in the rugby match, they were far too fast and slippery for him.

    ¡®Yeah, looks like there¡¯s no need to worry about Gary, he can take hits better than a punching bag, so I¡¯ll just focus on doing my part!¡¯ Innu decided, attempting to grab Sren¡¯s head, but he pulled back just in time avoiding the grab, his fingertips had missed Sren¡¯s face by an inch, then quickly leaned forward and ran ahead.

    Innu braced himself again, nning to knee his opponent with good timing but nothing came his way, and that was because Sren had gone behind him and he was aiming once more at his tag team partner. This time, the punch came towards Gary¡¯s face, who he managed to block just in time, but then he could feel another blow hit him in the ribs again.

    [-2 HP]

    He went to block that hit, but then was being hit from the other side. That¡¯s when he noticed he was being pummeled from two sides. Eventually not really knowing what to block Gary was being hit more than he should.

    [-2 HP]

    [-3 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    ¡®Crap even with all this Endurance I

    can¡¯t do anything. Do I really need to use Charging Heart so soon?¡¯

    Whenever Innu would go in to try to help, the others would split up and run away doing the same thing. It was a hit and run tactic, with Gary as their target. If Innu tried to chase after one of them he would just tire himself out running around the ring. He was quite good at trapping people getting them into a corner if it was a one on one, but this wasn¡¯t.

    Unfortunately their tactic was proving quite effective.

    ¡®Come on Gary, I¡¯m going to have to rely on you for this one!¡¯ Innu thought, seeing the two of them.

    Concentrating hard, Gary was focusing on their movements. They were running across each other and had split up the two of them. If Gary tried getting close to Innu they would juste in between and attack them. He knew he was the one that needed to break this cycle.

    ¡®They can¡¯t be that much faster than me right, I know my Dexterity is low, but it shouldn¡¯t be impossible to catch them!¡¯ Gary thought.

    Staring hard, Gary was concentrating. Since the attacks were hurting him little by little he decided to take them head on. No longer was he focusing on blocking them and instead he was concentrating on watching their movements.

    They kicked his thighs, his side, and the only thing Gary had done was turtle up using his arms to block his face while staring through a small gap.

    Seeing this, the crowd started to boo loudly. Since Gary was doing nothing but just standing there.

    ¡®Whatever, do you think I care about you people? The only thing I care about is beating them and earning my rewards!¡¯

    Finally, Gary thought he had somewhat figured it out, and bringing his hands down there was a punch thrown out.

    ¡°You¡¯re just a sitting turtle who will eventually fall!¡± Sren shouted.

    The punch went right to his face hitting Gary¡¯s check and flinging his head slightly.

    [-4 HP]

    ¡°You guys¡­are just like those annoying squirrels.¡± Gary smiled looking at Sren, and for some reason the smile had caused the hairs on his arms to stand up.

    ¡®So they¡¯ve decided to target him.¡¯ Austin concluded. ¡®His punches might be powerful but that doesn¡¯t mean much if he is unable to connect them. On the other hand, it looks like Innu can¡¯t use his techniques due to them running about all over the ce. This seems like a bad match up, good thing I didn¡¯t bet on it.

    ¡®Hmmm, but that guy came looking for me¡­ Did he just overestimate those two? And why does it feel that the green hair is far slower than on the roof?¡¯

    Unbeknown to him, there was another person who was slowly approaching Austin from behind. The teenager was unfortunately so engrossed in the fight, that he was unaware.

    ¡®You look to be the most remarkable around, and we don¡¯t exactly know what this will do, so I¡¯m just going to test a little bit on you and see what happens.¡¯ Raven thought, as he pulled out the syringe.

 Chapter 121: Screw this

    <h4>Chapter 121: Screw this</h4>

    When handing them the box with the syringes, Sin had told them nothing about how to use them, whether one had to inject all of the liquid into one person or if it was supposed to be used multiple times. None of the gang members present had ever heard about a syringe with a liquid being used to turn someone into an Altered.

    As such, the first thing Raven wanted to do was test out how effective just a little bit of that unknown substance was by using a stranger. After the earlier exchange he had a good estimate on Austin¡¯s power, so he considered him to be the perfect test subject. This way, he could gauge for himself how much more powerful the other had gotten after the injection.

    He had pulled out the syringe that was in his hand and slowly crept his way up to Austin. It was pretty crowded but not so packed that moving was impossible. Fortunately, everyone¡¯s attention was still on the first fight.

    ¡®Now!¡¯ Raven thought, thrusting the needle forward¡­ only for someone to grab him by the wrist at the veryst second.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± A voice asked him.

    Hearing someone close behind him, Austin turned around to see that Kai had grabbed someone by the wrist who held arge syringe in his hand¡­ aimed at him. Looking up, he recognised the person holding it.

    ¡°What the F*ck did you just try and do?¡¯ Austin was beyond mad. He had just bumped into Raven¡¯s two goons, but was that really a reason to drug him?!

    Not wanting to lose the precious syringe, Raven threw out a kick towards the teenager holding onto him. Kai jumped back to evade it, but had let go of the other in the process.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let us take a look at what¡¯s in your hands?¡± Kai asked, having noticed that Raven clearly seemed to value the syringe. Whatever was inside looked strange to him and using such a thing in a ce like this, especially at a time like this, clearly wasn¡¯t something good.

    Austin was lucky that Kai had kept an eye out for him, curious to see how he would react to Gary¡¯s fight. That¡¯s when he had spotted Raven getting closer and closer.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to pound your head in!¡± Austin shouted, yet Buffin and Riv hadn¡¯t been too far away and were now standing by the Grey Elephant leader¡¯s side. It looked like a little fight might take ce outside of the ring as well as inside.

    ¡®Damn it, those two are with him. They¡¯re quite strong, and if it¡¯s three against one¡­actually, that guy avoided his kick from earlier. I guess he actually is a fighter after all. Maybe with him-¡®

    ¡°Ohhh!¡± The crowd suddenly cheered loudly as something in the fight had happened. Instinctively the two turned around for a second, yet when they looked back they could only see that the trio had disappeared into the crowd.

    With the small problem dealt with, Kai and Austin prefered to concentrate on the match to see what could have happened, and to their surprise, they could see Gary on the ground with his nose bleeding.

    ¡ª¡ª

    A few moments ago, Gary thought that he had figured it out. The problem with the twins wasn¡¯t just that they were too fast. No, they were behaving like the annoying squirrels that he had tried to catch in the forest. They were agile and nimble, but most of all, they were flexible.

    A few times while getting hit, Gary had tried to throw out a few punches of his own, but both of them had easily avoided them, only to retaliate with more. At the same time, there would be times where a kick or punch seemed like it was going straight ahead, but then it would suddenly change direction.

    This was true even for their running movements. They would constantly be able to change direction so quickly that it was hard to keep track of them. Now, thinking about them as if they were the animals that Gary regrly hunted, he could keep track of them. The next problem was to catch them.

    It was then, Gary had let a punch go right through, hitting him in the face, and he knew what to do next. His Health hadn¡¯t gotten too low yet and with his high Endurance he could afford to get hit. Quickly Sren pulled his arm out, and just like he had been doing this the whole time, moved it left and right, making it hard for one to see exactly where the arm would go.

    At that moment, Gary, for the first time, had managed to grab it with one hand, and he made sure to grip it as hard as possible.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting to do this all day!¡± Gary shouted, throwing out a punch of his own, holding onto the twin so it was impossible for him. Unfortunately, Gary had overlooked the fact that there were more fighters to this match than the two of them.

    Just when he was about to get a good hit in, a leg came towards his face, and it was from the other brother, Leng. With the green haired teenager going forward and the leging towards him, the leg hit twice as hard, and Gary¡¯s head flung ck with blood flying through the air as he fell to the ground.

    [-10 HP]

    [44/100 HP]

    Despite Gary¡¯s strong Endurance with how much he had been hit, his Health had now gone down to half.

    ¡°What are you doing, Innu?!¡± Gary shouted in frustration. ¡°I finally got one of them, and then the other one hits me. Didn¡¯t we agree that each of us would upy one?!¡±

    Innu was standing by the side, and he had been watching the fight like a spectacle. The teenager had been waiting for his time to join in, but just like Sren he hadn¡¯t expected Gary to catch the twin. When the chance had finallye, he had nked out, forgetting that he was actually also a fighter in this match, allowing Leng to save his brother.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop ying around and get rid of this onion head. It looks like we¡¯ve hurt him enough!¡± Leng said as he went to stomp on Gary¡¯s stomach, who managed to roll away, avoiding the hit before quickly jumping to his feet.

    ¡°Screw this!¡± Gary shouted.

    Sren charged forward again, clearly being the more aggressive one out of the two brothers. He went for a kick again. This time his leg dragged across the ground and moved far faster than any of the attacks he had done before.

    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me the two of them seriously have been holding back against Gary?¡¯ Innu thought, surprised. However, this time he was ready to help in the fight. He just hoped it wasn¡¯t toote.

    The kick went towards Gary¡¯s head, and the others watching expected one contestant to be down until¡­Gary had caught it with a single hand. His body didn¡¯t move back, and Sren was standing still like a statue.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a crap about getting better anymore. I¡¯m just going to win this fight!¡±

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy]

    Pulling Sren¡¯s forward by his leg, he threw the twin off bnce. Next, Gary threw out a fist, faster than any he had thrown out before. It was nted right in his opponent¡¯s face, whose body flew back a few metres, until it fell on the ground.

 Chapter 122: An upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 122: An upgrade</h4>

    Unlike a few moments ago when Gary had been hit and had fallen to the ground, this time the crowd went silent for a few seconds. Watching the whole fight, it had been obvious that the Vicious Twins were the ones winning the fight so far.

    The whole fight had been pretty one-sided in favour of Team Eton High. Gary had been too slow to do anything, which made nearly everyone in the crowd believe that it would only be a matter of time before The Howlers lost.

    As such, this sudden turnaround came pretty much out of the blue.

    It was something they had never seen before. Both of the twins had done their best to remain elusive throughout the fight, so how did that green-haired teenager suddenly manage to catch what looked like the fastest kick of the entire match?

    ¡®Goddamn this hurts! What the hell are his fists made off?!¡¯ Sren cursed internally, rubbing his face yet quickly getting up from the ground. ¡®His grip strength is the real thing, I couldn¡¯t move my leg at all.¡¯

    It was then that Sren remembered something. During the rugby match, Gary had simrly shown great feats of strength. Since the fight so far had been going their way, they hadpletely forgotten that this green haired teenager seemed to be far stronger than he looked like.

    Grabbing the rugby ball, Gary had managed to run through a crowd of rugby yers, to the point they had been forced to allocate a good part of the team just to stop him alone.

    ¡°Innu, take out the short-haired one!¡± Gary ordered. ¡°I need to punch the other one as well!¡±

    ¡°What, so now I¡¯m just here to pick up your scraps!¡± Innu shouted, yet he quickly got in front of Sren.

    For the first time, thanks to Gary¡¯s hit, the two brothers were quite far apart, something The Howlers intended to put to good use.

    Finally getting a hit in, just felt good to Gary, especially after the beating the high schooler had suffered by the hands and feet of the twins. He just wanted to win the fight now, getting better would have to wait for another time.

    With Charging Heart active and a lot of Energy to spare, Gary rushed over to the long-haired brother, Leng. His speed was surprising to everyone but him, and by the time Gary threw out a kick, the twin leaned back, avoiding it just by a few inches again.

    Gary¡¯s body overturned, as he had too much strength into his kick, his back was now facing Leng. Seeing this, the fighter went in and quickly punched the green haired teenager, picking a painful spot just under the ribs.

    Before, when making such attacks, he would at least see the other flinch slightly, but this time, no such thing had urred. Gary swung around trying to get Leng with the back of his fist. Unfortunately, the twin ducked and took a few steps back, wondering what was going on.

    [-1 HP]

    ¡®It¡¯s my own fault for taking this whole ¡®honorable fight¡¯ thing so seriously!¡¯ Gary chided himself. ¡®I should have just made use of Charging Heart since the beginning to double my stats. With 28 effective points of Endurance their attacks barely hurt!¡¯

    Now that Gary knew he could take dozens of hits before having to worry, he started to swing quite widely and did the same for his kicks. Without any technique behind it, Leng had a rtively easy time avoiding them and once in a while, he would find the chance to attack Gary.

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    ¡®What¡¯s going on, Gary? Did all that adrenaline rush to your head, making you forget everything I taught you? Why are you swinging like that?¡¯ Innu thought as he noticed his partner¡¯s behaviour from the corner of his eye. Unfortunately, he had his own problem to deal with.

    Innu had sessfully avoided the attacks but had put pressure on Sren to back him up against the corner of the hay bails. Whenever he would try to escape or run to one side or the other, Innu would reposition himself so he wouldn¡¯t get out so freely.

    Once again, Sren tried, and this time Innu did something else. He swept his leg against the ground, kicking up the dirt from the ground. Dust kicked up, and some of it even went into Sren¡¯s eyes. Charging in, Innu found a fisting his way, which connected with his chest, yet he pushed forward, letting Sren¡¯s arm fully extend, weakening its power slightly.

    At that moment, Innu went for the grab and ced his hands behind Sren¡¯s neck, locking his arms in.

    ¡°Now I¡¯ve caught you. This whole thing is done.¡± Innu announced.

    With both fights having entered a critical point, many didn¡¯t know where to look. As for the two White Rose agent, they hadn¡¯t taken their eyes off Gary for even a moment.

    ¡°You noticed it too, right?¡± Frank asked for confirmation.

    ¡°Of course, I noticed it. His speed, the look on his face, everything is different from before.¡± Sadie replied. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. That Gary kid was clearly having a difficult time and if he had been holding back, then he¡¯s the best actor I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    Others might be confused about his sudden change, yet since Frank and Sadie were both Altered, their eyes were more perceptive when it came to these things, and working in the police force, they had to look out for things just like this as well.

    ¡®This fight, just like with the rugby game, I can¡¯t catch them even with Charging Heart. Yeah sure, my Endurance is great, but eventually, even he will beat me.¡¯ Gary thought.

    He was starting to suspect that Leng might actually be the faster one out of the brothers, or that the only reason he had caught Sren might have been due to the surprise effect.

    ¡®Wait a second, by surprise?¡¯ Gary suddenly got an idea.

    He threw out a punch again and could see Leng move to the side, narrowly avoiding it and striking back, hitting him on the shoulder. Gary then swung out a kick, and the twin stepped back, avoiding that as well, retaliating with a kick of his own.

    ¡®I was right, the way these guys attack, they are fighting me at my own speed. So much, that he has been avoiding them just enough to attack back at the perfect time. Otherwise, even he would be too slow to hit me. Damn¡­ I hate to admit it, but these guys are seriously good if he is avoiding me narrowly on purpose.¡¯

    Gary was right about that. The twins could theoretically move faster than they were doing now, yet their style seemed to be to match their opponent¡¯s speed and then win against them by being slightly faster. It was how they had been able to take down most of Eton High with just the two of them.

    However, Gary was about to use their skill against them. Stepping forward, he positioned himself perfectly and was ready to throw out his right arm. It was a finishing move, with all his strength behind it.

    ¡®I can see his arm. I¡¯ll move to the side and counter, giving him a harder hit. I can dodge this one as well!¡¯ Leng thought.

    He was wary of the green haired teenager as he knew that not only did the other have great endurance, but he also had enough power in his punches and kicks to seriously threaten him. He needed toe in at a counter point. When Gary was attacking, Leng needed to attack so he could use the force of Gary moving forward against him.

    With the twin moving forward, he was getting ready to move out of the way at the right time, however¡­

    [1 Stat point has been allocated into Dexterity]

    [Your base Dexterity is now at 7]

    [Current Dexterity: 14]

    Suddenly, Gary¡¯s hand sped up mid-swing, moving faster. With all his strength and Leng running forward the fist connected with the twin¡¯s face, causing his body to flip around before falling on the ground.

    It was obvious to everyone, Leng wouldn¡¯t be getting up on his own.

    Seeing this, the two White Rose members shared the same opinion.

    ¡°Sudden bursts in power and speed like that¡­ it¡¯s the sign of an Altered state.¡± Sadie stated. ¡°Frank, I think we¡¯ll have to reevaluate the importance of this kid in this entire case.¡±

 Chapter 123: A result

    <h4>Chapter 123: A result</h4>

    Garys¡¯s arm was still extended out in a punching position, his head facing the floor. All the training he had done, it was so short that he had almost forgotten it in the fight, but still somehow he was able to pull it off. In a way, Gary was expecting for something to happen, for his opponent to get back up, but before even lifting his head something else happened.

    After hitting Leng, Gary was greeted with a little nice surprise: it was the system message.

    [Quest reward: 500 Exp]

    [Exp 542/882]

    The Quest wasplete, honestly Gary didn¡¯t expect a single hit to end it all, he was also expecting to have to use his little stat boost one more time if necessary, but with the two forces of energy being used the blow was just too much for Leng to handle.

    However, getting the system message meant that Sren must have also been defeated as well. When Gary looked up, he could see Innu¡¯s face. It didn¡¯t look to be in the best of conditions, he was huffing and panting, but Sren was simrly lying on the floor.

    ¡°That damn slimy guy, he was like a snake. I couldn¡¯t hold him down and his body was so damn flexible, but still after a couple of knees to the stomach he sure did slow down a bit.¡± Innu shared, looking up half expecting that he needed to help Gary, but to his surprise his friend had won his fight as well.

    Although, his face didn¡¯t look to be in the best condition either. The two of them smiled at each other as the realisation hit them.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, you¡¯ve all seen it. The winners for tonight¡¯s debut match are The Hoooooowllllleeeeeerrrrrsssss!¡± The announcer shouted.

    There were cheers among the crowd as quite a few had made good money on the odds given, while othersined. Those were the ones who had clearly decided to y it safe and had bet on the twins. Although annoyed about having lost some of their money, all of them could still respect an entertaining fight, so they too joined in on the cheering.

    Surprisingly, in the midst of cheering, there were a few howls that could be heard as well. It sounded like some type of war cry, and clearly people had already had too much to drink trying to imitate a wolf due to the gang¡¯s name. However, the members thought it suited them well, and maybe it would be a tradition of some sort after one of them had been through a tough time.

    For Austin he was still in the middle of his thoughts, trying to make up his mind in regards to Gary.

    ¡®The green kid eventually won, but it just looked a bit sloppy, but the look in his eyes when he threw out that punch, I liked it.¡¯ Austin smiled. It was the first fight of the evening, yet after havinge all the way out here, the loner was debating whether he should stay or just call it the day. After all, he had seen what Kai had wanted to show him.

    ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± The other boy asked by his side. ¡°Can you see a ¡®better future¡¯ for yourself by joining our little gang? ¡±

    Austin continued to look at Gary, as Innu wrapped his arm around Gary¡¯s neck, and started to go through the other¡¯s green hair with his hands. Innu was showboating and enjoying every bit of his hard-earned victory as he bowed down to the crowd.

    Meanwhile, Sren and Leng were recovering and getting up from the fight. They didn¡¯t even shake hands and were already leaving the arena. Not that Gary ever expected them to be respectful in the first ce, but after a fight like that, the anger that Gary had for them seemed to escape from his body.

    ¡°Based on what you asked me before, I¡¯m guessing you want me to join this gang of yours?¡± Austin concluded. It was a good way to introduce The Howlers, especially since Austin already had an interest in Innu.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it will be more interesting than what you had nned before?¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°I told you my answer before. I don¡¯t follow anyone who¡¯s weaker than me, so if you really want me to join your gang, then tell me when you want me and you to throw some hands.¡± Austin was getting excited, especially since he had seen Kai¡¯s form earlier, making him convinced that the other wasn¡¯t the pretty boy he had suspected him to be.

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, but if that¡¯s the case, you should fight the leader, not me.¡± Kai replied with a smile. Hearing this, a memory clicked in for Austin. Back when the police had questioned him about Billy¡¯s sudden appearance, he had asked Innu who the green haired boy and the transfer student had told him that it had been his leader.

    ¡°Very well.¡± Austin nodded.

    ¡°Alright, but you¡¯ll have to do that another time. After this match right now, he¡¯ll need some rest. Tag along with us for a little bit, I have something to show you after this.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The two White Rose agents were in a simr state of mind. They figured that there was a good chance that Gary would be leaving after his fight, so they had a quick discussion whether they should go after him or stay around longer.

    Ultimately, they agreed to treat Gary as a potential lead. Since they knew where he would be tomorrow, they decided the smarter move would be to stay and start questioning people about Billy once the event was over. Since Gary had been in that debut fight, it shouldn¡¯t even be suspicious if they were to ask if someone knew if there was any connection between the two.

    ¡°If not, we¡¯ll just have to pay a visit to his school tomorrow.¡± Saide suggested.

 Chapter 124: Not Enough

    <h4>Chapter 124: Not Enough</h4>

    Leaving the fight, Gary and Innu went to a little area that had been set up a small distance away from where the host was. Here, there were tablesid out, where they had money processing machines,ptops and a little more.

    All of them looked to be older than the fighters and others that turned up, and when Gary saw them he could clearly tell that they were gangsters.

    ¡°They look scary, right.¡± Innu whispered to him. ¡°But you know, someday we might be running something like this as well. Do you know why no one fights at these things? Outside of the ring I mean. It¡¯s because the ones that organise these types of fights in the smaller tired cities and towns like us, don¡¯t belong to the gangs in this area and they themselves they belong to the gangs in the cities above, the higher tiers.

    ¡°If anyone causes a fight, messes with the ones organising this or is crazy enough to go after their money, it would very likely get the entire gang behind it involved.¡± Innu exined.

    Eventually, Gary could see Kai and Marie heading their way, but what came as a big surprise to both him and Innu, was the person who was following behind the two.

    ¡°Austin, what is he doing here?¡± Innu asked, shocked.

    ¡°Say hello to our newest member.¡± Kai answered in a grin.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t agreed to anything!¡± Austin corrected immediately. ¡°It¡¯s just an interest.¡±

    At a closer look, Austin realised that Gary didn¡¯t look as bad as he thought. Although he had been hit a lot, the markings on his face and even the kick to his face hadn¡¯t bruised up.

    This was all due to Gary¡¯s Energy. Now that he was no longer fighting, his Energy was passively being used to heal his wounds. He had plenty of Energy this time, not using a lot of skills, nor breaking his bones due to his strong Endurance.

    Unlike his fight with Billy, the system hadn¡¯t even issued out any emergency healing, which was why the markings were now less visible than before.

    Kai went ahead towards the desk, and after a little bit of talking back and forth, he had returned with four bundled up wads of cash. Gary couldn¡¯t even imagine how much he was carrying right now.

    ¡°Alright I have good news and some bad news.¡± Kai said, approaching the gang. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the good news. You¡¯re now looking at 4k.¡±

    Straight away, money signs were appearing in Gary¡¯s eyes. With this much money, he could pay for his mother¡¯s hospital stay, food, electricity and other bills they were behind!

    However, it did make him wonder just how much money Kai put up in the first ce. Although he had ended up resorting to spending the money from those he had eaten at the Kobe Karaoke Club, their total cash had amounted to around only a few hundred.

    ¡°The bad news, it won¡¯t be as easy to make this much cash from fights like this again. For one, you¡¯ve managed to defeat a quite well-known as well as skillful pair of opponents, so after today our gang¡¯s name will be quite known, so our future odds will be far less ¡®generous¡¯.

    ¡°As for the other reason, after talking to the guys for a bit, I¡¯ve learned that these venues aren¡¯t meant to bring in this much cash in the first ce. There are a few hundred people here, and with how much we bet and won, they won¡¯t be making any money from your fight, and only off the others. We could go to higher events¡­but we¡¯re not ready for that yet. Unless one of you is an Altered, or think you can face one.¡±

    There was silence from Gary on that part.

    ¡°At the end of the day, this event is still like a business. Luckily for you lot, my silver tongue managed to get them to pay our share for today at least.¡± Kai exined.

    It was pretty bad news, but still if he could make a stable ie through these fights then Gary was fine with that, though perhaps Kai had another way to make money. The first thing the upperssman did was keep one of the bundles to himself.

    ¡°This one¡¯s for the gang moving forward. We need the seed money, so we can start investing in ourselves. Besides, all these clothes didn¡¯te for free.¡± Kai exined. He then pulled out some of the cash and handed it over to Marie, and kept the rest for himself out of another bundle.

    ¡°Wait, why did Marie get cash when she didn¡¯t even fight?¡± Gary asked. He felt bad about doing this, but at the end of the day he desperately needed their money while the others looked less needy. Most of all, he felt like he had rightfully earned that money with his sweat and tears.

    ¡°Gary, you¡¯re the gang leader, but as a leader you also have to reward those that follow you. One of your most important duties is to make sure that you keep everyone happy in our group. Everyone in yourpany has helped you out somewhat today.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have known about this ce if it wasn¡¯t for me, if I hadn¡¯t put up the seed money we wouldn¡¯t have won as much as we did. Without Marie and her mother, we wouldn¡¯t have been able toe here without problems. Also Marie has many uses for it. Trust me, you won¡¯t regret paying her her share.¡±

    Gary felt a little guilty after that, he had been thinking only about himself, yet Kai was right. If it wasn¡¯t for Marie¡¯s mother, then he and Amy would have had a lot of problems in the hospital. He might not like it, but he owed them.

    Finally, Kai threw two of the bundles to both him and Innu. After seeing the 4k, it had quickly gone down to one. All of those hopes he just had, paying rent, the apartment and hospital bills¡­ all seemed to be down the drain.

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡± Gary mumbled. He held his head down, and everyone could tell that Gary was somewhat down now,pared to his mood from before. Whatever his situation was, they could tell that he needed the money, the problem was¡­it was the same for them as well.

    ¡°Come on, before I take you guys back, I want to show you guys something. Maybe it will make you all feel better. Austin youe along as well.¡± Kai said.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Sren and Leng feltpletely defeated. Trying to make up the money that they had lost from the betting ring, they had ced a bet on themselves winning tonight¡¯s match, leading them to lose their pride as well as their money.

    This was the second time that the green haired boy had gotten in their way.

    ¡°What should we do, Leng? We could call up everyone from Eton High and raid their school. Or get all the guys to beat every Westbridge student they see!¡± Sren suggested.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Leng questioned back. ¡°He can beat us. If we can get some guys, what¡¯s stopping him from doing the same? The most important bit is that he can just beat us again. Unless we get some extra help on our side, going after him would be useless.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I can be the help you guys need.¡± Raven offered as he approached the twins. ¡°You two seem tock that extra little bit of strength to beat those Howler guys. I just so happen to have something that can provide you that certain boost.¡±

 Chapter 125: A surprise

    <h4>Chapter 125: A surprise</h4>

    Leaving the venue the group returned to the car where Marie¡¯s mother was busy waiting for them. The middle-aged woman had stayed behind the whole time, though it would seriously surprise Gary if she was unaware of what was going on at such a ce.

    To be honest, the teenager felt a little strange seeing her there. He had always pictured that if he were to join a gang for real, not just as a transporter but as a full fledged member, one that would do whatever his superiors told him to do, that it would be something he would do his darndest to keep from his family. Gary had even been prepared to take it to the grave with him, just so that his mother and sister could keep him in their memory, as the good boy and brother they remembered.

    Yet here, Marie¡¯s mother was actively supporting her daughter and her friends by driving them around. It made Gary wonder how his own mother would react? Would it be possible that she too might be this supportive? ¡­ The high schooler seriously doubted it, and if it was up to him he would very much like to never find out her stance on it.

    While the five took their ces in the car, Austin followed after them on his bike. The loner had agreed to apany them for now, since Kai imed he still had a little more to show him before he left for the night.

    ¡°Hey Kai, howe you invited Austin along? I know he¡¯s strong and all, I mean he might be just a tiny bit weaker than me, but I¡¯m like really really strong so that means he¡¯s somewhat strong, but

    If you¡¯re just looking for strong people for our gang, wouldn¡¯t those twins be a better fit?¡± Innu inquired, now that Austin would be unable to hear him. ¡°I mean, they¡¯re already involved in these kinds of activities, so I don¡¯t think they would have refused.¡±

    Everyone in the car had heard the question and all of the teenagers were interested in Kai¡¯s reason for going after Austin, especially since he seemed to have gone the extra mile to invite him.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s ignore for a moment whether they would have actually wanted to join us after the two of you defeated and pretty much humiliated them ¡®in public¡¯, but before I answer, let me ask our leader a quick question here. Gary, how would you feel if those twins joined our gang?¡± Instead of answering, the upperssman asked a question of his own.

    The high schooler didn¡¯t even have to answer, his face said it all. He was obviously against the idea. It wasn¡¯t just the fact that they had hurt Tom, but he was sure that they were also the ones who had sent out their goons to take out the Westbridge rugby yers.

    From what he had seen, the two of them had no shame and would do whatever was needed to achieve their goals, not caring in the slightest who they may end up hurting. In a way, they acted like the colour gang members had during the gang war. Gary had no respect for these types of people at all.

    ¡°Easy there, Green Fang, you¡¯ve already defeated them. It was just a hypothetical question.¡± Kai teased his underssman whose dislike for the idea had been very open. ¡°Now I want you to imagine Austin joining us.¡±

    Thinking about it, Gary hesitated for a bit, but in the end, he realised that he didn¡¯t actually have any problems at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m having a bit of trouble picturing it.¡± The teenager replied eventually. ¡°When we met on the roof, the first thing he did was try to pick a fight with me, but somehow I can¡¯t fault him for that. I have a feeling that that¡¯s just the type of person he is.

    ¡°When Billy attacked Innu in school, he could have easily run away. After all, he had nothing to gain, yet he valiantly stayed and helped us fight him off. Overall, my impression of him is that he isn¡¯t a bad person and that he would be someone I wouldn¡¯t mind hanging out with.¡±

    ¡°Just like with you, I had a feeling about him being¡­ Let¡¯s call it ¡®special¡¯. Since our leader likes him, there should be nothing toin about, right?¡± Kai did his usual smile that would capture girls¡¯ hearts in seconds. ¡°Although there are other reasons, getting him to join will push us into the next step.¡±

    In the middle of Kai¡¯s exnation, an incredibly loud growl could be hearding from one of them in the corner. It caught everyone¡¯s attention as they turned to a red faced Gary holding his stomach.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m really hungry after that fight. Is there any chance that we can stop somewhere to eat first?¡± Gary asked. Using Charging Heart, fighting and then healing the sustained damage, his Energy was slightly above half capacity. The teenager was getting the hunger pangs that he had grown ustomed to, yet that didn¡¯t stop his stomach from reminding him.

    A short whileter and they found dinner that was open at this hour on the side of the road. It seemed like Austin was happy to follow along and when they pulled over they just mentioned they were grabbing something to eat.

    Before they entered through, Gary stopped outside for a few seconds¡­he felt kind of bad. When was thest time he and his family had gone out to eat? It had been a long time since they were able to afford it and here he was about to spend this precious money.

    If they hadn¡¯t been on the road, he would be looking for wild animals, but he couldn¡¯t do that while in thepany of the others. This made him feel incredibly guilty.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, since I wasn¡¯t fighting, I should at least treat our fighters to a meal.¡± Kai patted him on the back as he came over to him, before he ced something into his hand and whispered. ¡°And this here is something you¡¯ve earned.¡±

    Looking in his hand, Gary noticed another set of bills.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you earned from your own bet. I just wanted to give it to you away from the eyes of everyone else. You put in a 100 so you got 250 back and I added another 50 on top since I know it must be hard for you and your sister right now.

    ¡°Use it however you like and Gary¡­ sometimes you¡¯re allowed to be a little selfish and look after yourself before you can look after others. If something happens to you, then who is left to look after your family?¡±

    With this said the group went in to eat, and there were two people who surprised everyone with how much they were able to stuff inside without getting full. It was a cheap ce and Gary had ordered multiple burgers, yet he wasn¡¯t the only one.

    Austin did the same, and the two of them had their trayspletely full.

    ¡°You said you were paying, right?¡± Austin looked at Kai, as he bit into the burger, devouring half of it one bite. While doing so he never took his eyes off Kai, and stared into his eyes intently, eating each one.

    Strangely, Gary was keeping up with him, despite being half the size of the other one. It was a strange group of characters that was for sure, but Gary was enjoying his time with them all.

    ¡°So where are we exactly going?¡± Innu asked with a mouth full.

    ¡°That¡­is a surprise.¡± Kai replied.

 Chapter 126: A home

    <h4>Chapter 126: A home</h4>

    After their impromptu meal, they drove on and soon reached a part of town that wasn¡¯t in the best of shapes. It was between the borders of Chavley and Cipher, two territories belonging to two different gangs, making it a problematic area. Most of the fighting between the two colour gangs would be in this area, meaning any type of night business would struggle.

    The car had eventually stopped outside what looked like a boarded up bar. The windows had hard cardboard covering them up, and spray paint on the outside. It was hard to tell what it was because there were no signs, nor did that establishment have a name or anything. At least the letters that used to be there looked to have been taken off or stolen. The group got out of the car, and were looking left and right to see if there were any signs of trouble and were happy to see that it seemed to be a silent night. Perhaps the gangs were being a bit more cautious due to the rising tensions.

    ¡°So what exactly are we doing here?¡± Innu asked.

    Kai walked forward and stood in front of the bar, turning to all the others.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember asking me about our hideout? At the time, we didn¡¯t have any, but every gang needs a starting ce, a ce that they can call home and regrly meet up. What you see behind me will be our base from today onwards.

    ¡°Right now, it¡¯s all under Mrs DeGrace¡¯s name.¡± Kai looked in the direction of Marie¡¯s mother when saying this. ¡°We¡¯re just renting it, but soon enough we should be able to buy it. This business now belongs to us, making this our territory! It will be from here that we¡¯ll grow, and today is the day the Howlers be a real gang!

    ¡°Wee to the Howlers base!¡±

    Walking up to the door, Mrs DeGrace pulled a key out of her pocket. It looked like everything had been nned beforehand. The door swung open, letting out a musty smell. Gary immediately covered his nose, and started sneezing a few times.

    His nose was far more sensitivepared to the others. Seeing this, the others were even less inclined to go inside, but ignoring everything Kai walked inside. Not wanting to stay out in the cold, the others had no choice but to follow behind.

    When entering, they saw that the ce had beenpletely ruined, there was broken ss on the floor and dust everywhere. It was hard to say when was thest time someone had been inside this ce. However, at least the actual size of the ce was quiterge, and there were some things they could use.

    There was arge bar area that was surprisingly intact, all it needed were some stools, and alcohol or drinks, then there were multiple pool tables all over the ce, eight of them in total.

    ¡°Looks like this used to be a pool club.¡± Innumented. ¡°Pretty neat, if i say so myself.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe in the past, right now I¡¯d say this ce is a dump.¡± Marieined about kicking one of the ss bottles that rolled across the floor. ¡°It will cost a pretty penny to renovate all of it.¡±

    ¡°It might be a dump but you guys need to use your imagination a bit.¡± Kai smiled. ¡°We have some seed money, and we have hands. With a little work we can clean up this ce. Purchase a few things to make it look nice.

    ¡°Mrs DeGrace will be the bartender. She has some experience and is quite the beauty to get the older customers in. The deal is that after rent and all expenses get paid the Howlers will get ten percent of all the profits.¡±

    ¡°What about the area?¡± Gary asked. ¡°You should know that this isn¡¯t exactly the most ideal ce.¡±

    Of course Kai knew that, and it was probably exactly why the rent had been so cheap and why the facility had been abandoned in the first ce. Whoever owned this dump, would need good protection from the other gangs. Looking at the ce there had probably been a few fights, before thest owner gave up.

    ¡°For now, the business will only be open during the day. I think it might be best to just use it as a pool club for young university students, or high school students to go to after school. We all go to schools and know people, just invite them along.

    ¡°Heck, Austin¡¯s the top dog of his school, so he can just pretty much force them toe here, meaning we would have guaranteed customers. Thenter on we can open up the business at night, further expanding our streams of revenue.¡±

    ¡°And when would that be?¡± Innu asked.

    ¡°When, we are confident enough to stop anyone from touching this ce. When the name of the Howlers will not only be known among those who go to underground fighting events, but all the other gangs and I don¡¯t mean colour gangs. It might be shabby right now, but don¡¯t worry, this is just the start!¡± Kai gripped his fist.

    It was the first time the others had seen him so passionate about something. Every word he spoke was filled with excitement. This guy¡¯s dream was to rise to the top, and it looked like he would do anything to get his way.

    ¡°Everyday bit by bit, we wille here. You and Innu can continue training, and it should be a safe ce away from Billy. Marie will be in charge of stocks, handling our money among other things. Think of her like the ountant of our business.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Austin shouted. ¡°I think you¡¯re forgetting something. I haven¡¯t agreed to anything yet. You remember my deal. This is all great and all, but your n doesn¡¯t work if you don¡¯t have the strength to back it up¡­ If you can¡¯t even beat me, how can you beat all those out there?¡±

    It was then that Kai looked over to Gary.

    ¡°Well Gary, you wanted to rise to the top with me. You want to change your situation, right? To do that, we need Austin. So what¡¯s it going to be?¡±

    Following the conversation, Gary pretty much knew what Kai was asking him to do.

    ¡°Austin, don¡¯t you think this is a bit unfair? Gary was in a fight not too long ago, can¡¯t you have your stupid fight tomorrow?¡± Marie asked.

    Looking at him, Gary was debating internally. His Energy was full, his health was full, he was actually in perfect condition to fight austin.

    [New quest received]

    [A person wishes to test your strength]

    [Task: Knock out or make your opponent submit!]

    [Reward: ???]

 Chapter 127: A brick wall

    <h4>Chapter 127: A brick wall</h4>

    After seeing the Quest message, Gary had pretty much made up his mind. He would defeat Austin to make him join the Howlers. So far, listening to Kai had always worked in the green haired teenager¡¯s favour.

    And now, after he had just listened to his upperssman¡¯s speech about this ce, Gary was more convinced than ever that his friend had already nned out the next dozen steps. He was a person who intended to truly change the status quo.

    If Kai imed that they needed Austin in their gang, then Gary was sure that there might be more than just one reason for it. As such, the high schooler would fight like he meant it. The only thing the teenager was partially curious about was the Quest reward. Unlike his fight against the twins the system kept it a secret from him.

    ¡®The only other time this happened was when I fought against that Altered Hunter. It might let me choose another skill or it might be something as good. Who knows, maybe the system hasn¡¯t decided yet and it will depend on my performance? Argh, Tom would be the better person to ask about this type of thing.¡¯ Gary thought, making a mental note to perhaps pretend to have found a game to ask his best friend some questions.

    The teenager went across to stand on one side of the room, standing on top of a few pieces of broken ss and took a stance. Austin understood that this meant the other had epted the fight, so he went to the other side of the room to do the same.

    The others decided to move over to the bar, a thin area that wasn¡¯t as messy as the rest of this ce. Now they were out of the way and could carefully watch the fight. Meanwhile Marie¡¯s mother, Miss Degrace, was standing behind the bar. It looked like she was already filling in her role well as she sorted through whatever alcohol bottles there were left. It was almost as if the fight wasn¡¯t even happening behind her, the middle aged woman was that calm about it.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand you boys, why do you need to solve everything with your fists?¡± Mariemented, leaning on her elbow with her hand pressed against her face, clearly not interested in the fight at all. She was paying more attention to what her mother was doing and was mentally calcting how much money they would have to put into this ce to fix it.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, not everything needs to be solved using your fists.¡± Kai said as he yfully ruffled her hair, earning him an annoyed look. ¡°However, there are certain things that just can¡¯t be solved with words. Besides, we¡¯re in an area where the only universalnguage is violence.

    ¡°Just let them talk it out with their fists today. It¡¯s also important for our gang to know each other¡¯s strength so we can rely on each other.¡±

    On the other hand, Innu was very interested in watching the fight and honestly he was also quite nervous for Gary¡¯s sake. After all, despite their break, it was undeniable that the two of them had just been through a tough fight, and Innu hadn¡¯t forgotten how many punches their leader had taken.

    There were bound to be some bruises and taking too many hits from bare fists wasn¡¯t good in the first ce. Although Gary¡¯s endurance was praiseworthy, unlike the twins, Austin seemed to be a heavy hitter rather than a speedster.

    ¡°Come on then!¡± Austin challenged his opponent with a smile on his face. He walked over, not taking a real fighting stance or anything, yet the amount of pressure and confidence emanating off his body was frightening.

    ¡®I¡¯ve learned from my mistake, so I will meet you with all I¡¯ve got!¡¯ Gary decided.

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy]

    The green haired teenager thought that maybe now Austin would take him more seriously but the thing was, the loner had been taking him seriously from the very beginning.

    Seeing Gary run towards him and throwing a fist, Austin stepped to the side at the right time and readied his fist. He swung it, hitting the other right on the rib. It was a short andpact blow, but twisting his body he had all his weight behind it.

    [-4 HP]

    ¡®What the hell? How strong is he that he can do this much damage against 28 points of Endurance?! F*ck, this seriously hurts and It didn¡¯t even seem like he used his full strength!¡¯ Gary lost a bit of his earlier confidence. The high schooler had been convinced that he would be able to ignore whatever Austin could dish out and subdue him in a dogfight.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re using your full speed against me from the start.¡± Austin¡¯s smile got bigger. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re taking me more seriously than you did those twins. I might not be as fast as them but if you can see your opponent¡¯s attacks and time it correctly, you don¡¯t need to be fast to dodge them and guess what, I can see yours perfectly!¡±

    The way Austin was talking was a little strange, but Gary didn¡¯t have the leisure time to care for that.

    ¡®Hmm, that¡¯s certainly an interesting approach¡­¡¯ Kai thought since he had no such problems.

    There was no need for Austin to exin what he was doing. It was clear that he had spoken out loud on purpose as if he wanted his opponent to hear. It was almost like Austin was trying to teach Gary how to deal with an opponent faster than him, or what he would have done if he had been the one to go up against the twins.

    Regaining hisposure, instead of running in, Gary decided to move in instead, and tried to remember what Innu and him had practised. There weren¡¯t two opponents attacking him this time. It was a one on one.

    ¡®I can do this!¡¯ Gary thought.

 Chapter 128: A heavy fist

    <h4>Chapter 128: A heavy fist</h4>

    Seeing Gary charge in, Austin stretched his arms out wide, and held them by his side, waiting for Gary¡¯s next move, which turned out to be a thigh kick he had practised with Innu countless times. s, once again, at the perfect time, Austin whacked the green haired teenager¡¯s foot away, almost parrying it, and stepped forward, quickly throwing a fist of his own aimed at Gary¡¯s stomach.

    [-4 HP]

    Gary hurled forward from the heavy blow, not moving away from Gary this time, Austin grabbed the back of his opponent¡¯s head, holding onto his hair and pulled him up. The loner held the other¡¯s head in ce and then swung his fist hitting Gary¡¯s face, and sending him down.

    [-6 HP]

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that a bit much grabbing his hair?¡± Marie worriedly asked.

    ¡°Does that matter in a street fight?¡± Innu questioned back.

    The girl had nothing to say to that. She was very well aware that out there people would use weapons and all sorts of dirty methods to win, not caring in the slightest whether something was ¡®fair¡¯ or not.

    Landing on the floor, Garry felt something go through his hand. Lifting it up he could see it was one of the ss shards. It pierced right through his hand, but it was shoved in quite deep, adn blood was already flowing.

    [-1 HP]

    [You are suffering from minor blood loss]

    [Foreign object detected in body]

    [Unable to perform emergency healing.]

    The high schooler quickly stood up. Gritting his teeth, he didn¡¯t hesitate to pull the ss shard out and threw it across the floor. Marie flinched a little bit seeing this, imagining how much pain she would be in if it had been her, but Gary didn¡¯t even flinch, instead he clenched his fist as if there was no pain at all.

    [Emergency healing now in progress]

    ¡°I¡¯ve been through a lot worse!¡± Gary shouted, remembering the two times he had been stabbed by a knife, a ss shard through his hand simply couldn¡¯tpare to that. As for the pain,pared to the emotional pain his family had gone through and the stress he had been through these past few days, this wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning!

    The fight so far had been pretty one sided, Gary hadn¡¯t managed tond a single hit, while he himself had suffered hits several times. It was beginning to look like a repeat of the earlier fight against the Vicious Twins. Only this time, Gary had gone all out using Charging Heart from the beginning meaning he had nothing else to use to gain an advantage over his opponent.

    ¡°This is what I was worried about.¡± Innu sighed. ¡°For someone like Gary this matchup is the worst. Our leader is someone who seems to be blessed with natural speed, strength and endurance that allows him to take quite a beating.

    ¡°He also knows a few basic skills, so he can take down the average thug. Even if they are trained, his endurance and strength can make up for that.

    ¡°But with Austin¡­he¡¯s a natural street fighter. You can tell he doesn¡¯t have any training at all. There¡¯s no pattern that one can follow, and he just does whatever his instincts tell him would be the optimal move.

    ¡°Gary hasn¡¯t fought enough to deal with this type of unorthodox fighter.¡±

    Kai was of the same opinion. It would have been far more favourable if they had sent out someone trained like Innu who could use his skills to support his fighting style to deal with Austin. The thought of watching a fight between these two interested him as well.

    That or it would take someone who would have been a lot faster or a lot stronger than Austin. Unfortunately, Gary was neither of those things.

    ¡®Come on, Gary! I know you have it in you. For the first time, you agreed to a fight yourself. I can feel it, you are also starting to see the goal, aren¡¯t you?

    ¡®In the grand scheme of things, Austin is just a small pebble on our long and thorny road. If you want us to reach the top, you need to take him out!¡¯ Kai thought. Even for him, fighting the loner wouldn¡¯t have been easy and wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure that he would be able to win.

    Gary¡¯s kicks and punches were unable to reach his opponent. Austin¡¯s style wasn¡¯t like the twins who had been dodging narrowly, yet it was as, if not more, effective. The green haired teenager still had one unallocated stat point over, yet he wasn¡¯t sure that a stat boost alone would help him win, no matter which stat he would choose.

    ¡®He¡¯s not countering me because I¡¯m too slow, but because he has keen eyes. Dexterity won¡¯t help me change that and what¡¯s the point of putting it in Strength if I can¡¯t hit him? My Endurance is already stupidly high yet his punches hurt.

    ¡®Come on, Gary, use your brain, there¡¯s gotta be something you can do to beat him!!!¡¯

    Charging forward again Gary let his body do what it had trained to do many times before, Austin had been expecting a lot of desperate measures Gary might resort to at this point, but the other trying to tackle him as they were ying a rugby game wasn¡¯t on that list. Once reaching him, the green haired teenager held onto the loner¡¯s waist, and tightly gripped around it.

    ¡°You got me, but what are you going to do now?!¡± Austin shouted, as he grabbed both of his hands together, and mmed them down on Gary¡¯s back like a hammer.

    [-4 HP]

    Gary held on though, not letting go of Austin¡¯s waist. He gripped tightly, and started to squeeze tightly.

    ¡®I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m doing, but what else can I do?!¡¯ Gary wondered, hoping he could make use of his doubled Strength.

    Meanwhile, Austin continued to m both hands down the other¡¯s back.

    [-4 HP]

    [77/100 HP]

    ¡°Did you guys hear his back click?¡± Innu looked around to the other two, whose faces showed that they were mentall sharing Gary¡¯s pain.

    ¡®What do I do, I can¡¯t just keep holding. Should I use Drain w? No, I can¡¯t. Not with the other three watching¡­¡¯

 Chapter 129: Your body is special

    <h4>Chapter 129: Your body is special</h4>

    Another attack hammered down and it was even harder than thest.

    [-6 HP]

    It was then that Gary attempted to lift Austin at that moment. The loner could feel this, but he could onlyugh at that idea.

    ¡°Do you think that really would work, while you let me continue to m down on your back? If you don¡¯t give up soon, I¡¯ll break it!¡± Austin shouted, swinging his hands down again.

    [-7 HP]

    Gary didn¡¯t know if Austin was getting stronger with each hit, or whether his Endurance was weakening bit by bit as the fight went on. The one thing that was clear was the attacks were hurting and doing a lot more damage than before.

    ¡®When trying to lift him, I can tell that I¡¯m close. I just need to be a little stronger. Should I dump that stat point into Strength now?¡¯ Gary thought.

    With Charging Heart, one stat point would be as effective as two.

    ¡®No that¡¯s still not enough. I need more Strength.¡¯

    Thinking about this, there was one time, when Gary had managed to summon more strength than before. It was when he had seen his sister¡¯s injured face. When he had seen what those people had attempted to do with her. Grabbing on, Gary fought against the pain, as Austin mmed his back, he thought about the people counting on him, his sister and his hospitalised mother.

    ¡®If only I was a bit stronger! Why don¡¯t you help me out for once, you sh*tty system?!!!¡¯

    [BPM is rising rapidly]

    [BPM 160]

    [BPM 170]

    Austin, wasn¡¯t sure if he was imagining it or not, but he believed he could actually feel Gary¡¯s body pulsing at the time, yet it was at an unbelievable speed. If it really was a heart beat then what was going on in this little body of Gary¡¯s?

    [190 BPM]

    [200 BPM]

    [You have exceeded 200 BPM]

    [Partial transformation has begun]

    [All stats increased by 125%]

    Once again, Austin lifted up his fists, and when he swung down this time, Gary knew it was his chance. He quickly moved to the side, making the swing hit nothing but air, and now Gary was directly behind him.

    ¡®System, put one point in Strength!¡¯

    [1 Point has been allocated into Strength]

    [Your base Strength is now at 9]

    [Current Strength: 20.25]

    Thanks to his Partial Transformation state, the teenager¡¯s Strength was now over 20, giving him a 25% increase in power over his previous 16 points he had due to Charging Heart.

    Austin could immediately attest to the difference. His body was being lifted off the floor. It was as amazing as it wasical seeing Gary lift the other, and without thinking about what he was doing. It looked like he was about to do a suplex until he moved to the side and pushed down Austin, the green haired teenager mmed his opponent onto the floor, making the ss shards around that area fly up.

    [44/120 Energy]

    Gary was huffing and panting, and looked at his downed opponent. His Energy was going down a lot faster now his Heart rate was above 200 BPM, and it looked like it was already calming down. At the same time the Charging Heart skill had also deactivated bringing his Strength back down to 9.

    ¡®Don¡¯t get up¡­please, don¡¯t get up¡­¡¯ Gary silently prayed. He didn¡¯t want to go and beat on Austin. After all, they were supposed to recruit him, and after all that beating he also needed a moment to just catch his breath.

    ¡®I guess Energy and Stamina aren¡¯t one and the same after all.¡¯

    However, at that moment, he could see the loner slowly getting up from the floor. He wiped some spit that hade out form his mouth and then stared into Gary¡¯s eyes.

    ¡®This guy is a freaking tank! I can use Charging Heart again, but I might not have the Strength or Energy to beat this guy!¡¯ Gary thought, getting ready, until.

    ¡°I¡­ admit it¡¯s my loss.¡± Austin smiled. ¡°You¡­really are one little warrior, aren¡¯t you¡­ I can see now why you¡¯re the leader. If I have to follow someone, I believe you wouldn¡¯t be my worst choice.¡±

    With that said Austin started to walk towards the door leading outside. Before he went out though, he stopped for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you guys tomorrow.¡± Austin mumbled, closing the door.

    ¡°What¡­ just happened?¡± Gary asked, confused, left standing there.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear him? You, our mighty leader, won.¡± Kai exined, pping him on the back.

    It caused Gary to let out a little yelp.

    ¡°Why¡­of all the ces.¡± Gary whined, feeling the pain run through his body.

    As soon as the older teenager had said those words, the system also confirmed his victory.

    [Quest reward: Instant Level Up]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 8]

    [A new skill has been unlocked]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [Exp 542/1024]

    [Current list of skills]

    [Mark 4/5]

    [Charging Heart]

    [w Drain (Level 1)]

    [Full Transformation] (new)

    From a nce at his previous rewards an Instant Level Up was impressive from one person. It was in a way the hardest Gary had ever had to fight before. Usually beating down random goons on the street only gave him 20 or 25 Exp, or 50 Exp.

    Gary was most happy to see that the Instant Level Up hadn¡¯t just given him 340 Exp which he needed to reach the next level, but seemingly 882, so that he was already halfway to Level 9. He was very much looking forward to reaching Level 10 and fulfilling the only Main Quest the Werewolf System had issued him so far. Hopefully, it would give him the power to beat Billy.

    When he thought about the other Omega wolf, he recalled that not even Austin¡¯s blow had been able to hurt the other, and that was when Billy had still been in human form. Was Billy doing the same right now, was he out there getting stronger just like Gary.

    Perhaps the other Werewolf would always just be a bit ahead of him. Still, there was one thing that possibly might turn the sides if Gary and Billy were to meet again, and that was thest reward forpleting the quest.

    ¡®Full¡­Transformation¡­does this mean what I think it does?¡¯

    Just as Gary was going to check out the description of the message though, he heard someone running over to him. Before he could react the high school girl had already grabbed his arm.

    ¡°Come over here.¡± Marie demanded as he pulled him along. She quickly pulled up one of the fallen bar stools. One of the few that weren¡¯t broken and got Gary to sit down on it. Then in front of him he saw a bottle of alcohol as well as an open first aid kit box.

    ¡°It seems like no one had ever used the one in this ce. The owner must have bought it shortly before going out of business. Now show me your hand, we need to get that cut checked out! Depending on how deep it was we might even have to go to the hospital to get it healed. If we don¡¯t do something it could get infected.¡± Marie berated him as she opened the younger teenager¡¯s hand.

    The boy couldn¡¯t even say anything, Marie turned out to be a force that couldn¡¯t be stopped, and before he realised it was toote.

    Marie had cleaned the wound, but there was no pain after clearing it with alcohol. She had experience with some nasty cuts like this, and the normal reaction would be for the one getting treated to scream like a little girl, yet Gary was as silent as he had been when he had pulled the shard out.

    That¡¯s when she noticed the reason for his behaviour.

    ¡°What the? Did I see wrong? Was it your other hand?¡± Marie asked in confusion, looking over to Gary¡¯s other hand. ¡°No, but all this blood, how can there be no cut?¡±

 Chapter 130: Finding out the truth

    <h4>Chapter 130: Finding out the truth</h4>

    More and more often, Gary found himself being put in situations that forced him to lie because the truth was just too bizarre and there were things he needed to hide no matter what. Making matters even worse, he had more than one secret and all of the people around him only knew certain parts or had been lied to in regards to others.

    His mother was currently in the hospital, yet when she woke up he would someday have to exin where he had managed to acquire the money to help them pay for bills. Gary had told Amy that he had been helping out another friend of his with their family business, yet he had deliberately avoided mentioning that this ¡®family business¡¯ had him work as a Transporter for the Underdogs.

    As for Tom, his best friend still believed that Gary had be a Werewolf due to a strange package, yet he knew nothing about where it hade from. Overall, the green haired teenager had done his best to keep the other away from anything gang rted, be it him having been in one, and naturally him being the active leader of another. Thinking how Tom would react knowing these things shook him at times.

    Then there was Kai who was the only one aware of the situation with the Underdogs and now that he thought about it, his upperssman also knew about the Dem family problems, as well as Billy. He knew pretty much everything except that his underssman wasn¡¯t exactly a hundred percent human anymore.

    There was a worry on Gary¡¯s mind about how the others would react if they found out the truth. It would be one thing if he had been an Altered, yet his situation appeared to be something else entirely. He didn¡¯t want them to know for fear he would lose them. Aside from his family and Tom the Howlers was all he had right now.

    The worst part of it all, was that Gary was a horrible liar. Often he said the first thought that came to his head, which this time was. ¡®Whoh, it really healed I must have superpowers.¡¯ Thankfully he bit his tongue back this time before saying anything.

    When Marie tried to look at his other hand, he had instantly hidden both of them behind his back.

    ¡®What the¡­ am I an idiot? It¡¯s not like if she can¡¯t see my hands she will now believe whatever I say.¡¯ Gary chided himself.

    ¡°You two also saw that ss shard pierce his hand, right?¡± Marie questioned the two high school boys who were still behind the bar. ¡°I¡¯m not going crazy, heck he even took it out and right here I have a rag full of blood!¡± The high school girl lifted it up seemingly to convince herself as much as Innu and Kai. Meanwhile, Gary scooted around to reposition himself so his fellow gang members wouldn¡¯t be able to see his next action.

    While Innu looked on the floor and could see that there was indeed arge shard with blood on it. There was no doubt in his mind that they had all seen the same thing.

    ¡®What do I do? Should I just confess to being an Altered? No, that will just open another can of worms, meaning I would have toe up with more lies to hide it. There¡¯s only one thing I can do.¡¯

    Instead of adding it to the web of lies he had already spun, the green haired teenager decided to do something more drastic.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    His fingers started to grow slightly and so did his sharp and hard nails. It would hurt but Gary had no choice and with his hands behind his back the others wouldn¡¯t be able to see. It was at that moment, that he used the ¡®w¡¯ to dig into his hand, creating arge cut across it.

    [-2 HP]

    [You are suffering from minor blood loss]

    [If too much blood is lost it will continue to lower your HP]

    ¡®Sh*t, this hurts way more than that stupid little piece of ss. The things I do to keep up this lie¡­ maybe it would have been easier to tell them the truth.¡¯

    There was a worry on Gary¡¯s mind though, that since he wasn¡¯t in a fight his passive healing or perhaps even his emergency healing might take effect.

    w Drain onlysted a total of 2 seconds at Level 1 and while that might be detrimental during a fight, for his current purposes it was perfect. By the time everyone looked from the rag back him his hands had already reverted to normal. He lifted up his hand with blood dripping down it.

    ¡°Sorry, I just didn¡¯t want you to put alcohol on the right hand.¡± Gary apologised. ¡°Alcohol on an open wound seriously hurts, but you¡¯re right it needs to get disinfected. I just put some blood on the other hand hoping you wouldn¡¯t find out. The cut is still there, it¡¯s just on the other hand.¡±

    Hearing this, Marie let out a big sigh.

    ¡°Juste over here, you big cry baby.¡± The high school girl shook her head, while Gary willingly went over, and ced his hand out. She could see a big cut, and started to get to work, not even questioning why it looked so ¡®fresh¡¯. The green haired teenager didn¡¯t even have to act to let out a cry when the alcohol came into contact with his wound. He just hoped that the emergency or passive healing wouldn¡¯t kick in so quickly that Marie could see it healing on the spot.

    In the end, Marie bandaged it up, and it looked like she hadn¡¯t noticed anything strange. However, the other two boys in the room weren¡¯t as convinced. The high school girl might not have paid enough attention to the fight, but both Kai and Innu were more than ny percent sure that the shard of ss should have gone through the other hand. To top it off, his strange actions were definitely because he was hiding something.

    ¡®Why the need to cover it up, Gary?¡¯ Kai wondered, as he started to think back to certain events. ¡®Wait, could it be possible¡­ it seemed too crazy to be true, but if I put everything together, your fast improvement and what happened in the park with Tom and that wolf-type Altered, but how¡­ is that it? Was that what was inside the briefcase Damion is so crazy about and why you¡¯re running from the Underdogs?¡¯

    Of course, Kai had no way to test out the conclusion he had reached. Confronting the other directly wouldn¡¯t yield much. He would have to either wait or find a way to make his underssman confess to it himself, though he didn¡¯t know how close his thoughts were to the actual reality. For now, he intended to keep their gang leader¡¯s secret a secret.

    ¡®This is getting exciting. If that¡¯s really the case, we¡¯ll be able to seriously elerate the progress of my ns.¡¯ Arge grin started to appear on the bleach blonde teenager¡¯s face.

 Chapter 131: Full transformation?

    <h4>Chapter 131: Full transformation?</h4>

    Miss Degrace offered to drive everyone home, but Gary declined, iming that just like Marie wanted, he would head straight to the hospital to get himself checked. Of course, there was no way the teenager was actually going there to waste his hard earned money when his body could naturally heal. Heck it would probably get even better than whatever a doctor would do, especially since there would be no wound by the time he would arrive.

    The group had agreed that they would meet up at the pool club tomorrow once sses and club activities were over. They intended to do that everyday to do a bit of spring cleaning and physical work. On the way back home, Gary stopped by a convenience store, making sure he grabbed whatever he needed for himself and many items from the shop.

    ¡®Does Amy even know how to cook? Maybe it¡¯s something I¡¯ll need to learn while Mum is away. Let¡¯s not risk it, better just get some pot noodles and microwave food to be safe. I know it¡¯s not the best but it will be better than me burning the house down.¡¯ Gary decided.

    The high schooler looked at the cash he had earned. He could pay for the hospital bills for a while with this, allowing his mother to stay, and he could perhaps pay rent. Other than that, there was still a mountain of bills that this sum wouldn¡¯t be able to cover.

    Money was still on his mind, and it didn¡¯t seem like these events were a reliable source of ie, nor could they earn as much from it as in the past.

    It reminded him of some of the scenes he would see frequently while walking around the area. Where delinquents students would extort money from other students, but you never wanted to be that type of person.

    ¡®One day I hope I¡¯ll be rich enough to hire a personal chef for each of us. Not having to worry about anything, just doing whatever I want and enjoying the tastiest food.¡¯ Gary day dreamed for a while. ¡®Maybe by then, I can enjoy some normal food, and although I was never a big chocte person now that I can¡¯t have it, I do kinda miss it¡­¡¯

    The streets were mostly empty, with a few strange adult men in ck suits, at a street corner now and then. These were members of the Underdogs and Gary understood that he had to be more careful than ever. He pulled his hood even closer over his head.

    Since the gang war, it looked like a lot of the ck colour gang had been injured, so now the Underdog gang members hade out, looking after the area so a second attack wouldn¡¯t happen¡­ at least not so soon. The good thing was, this led to a significant decrease in the crime rate in the area.

    ¡®Those bastards, if they had just protected this ce from the beginning like this, or if the police could do something like this then my mother wouldn¡¯t have ever been hurt in the first ce!¡¯

    Beforepletely heading back, Gary decided to check out one thing, and that was his newly unlocked skill.

    [Full Transformation]

    [When activated, the user¡¯s body transforms into its Werewolf Form]

    The skill will take 20 points of Energy to use.

    After activation, the skill will consume 10 points of Energy per minute

    Warning; Skill will forcefully be cancelled when Energy reaches less than 10 Energy!]

    Gary had to read through the description a couple of times, just to make sure he was understanding it correctly. When he had seen the name of this new skill he had believed that it would be far more limited, perhaps allowing him to transform an entire part of his body, yet he hadn¡¯t thought it would actually turn him ENTIRELY into a Werewolf.

    ¡®Come on, system, can¡¯t you borate a bit more?¡¯ Gary pleaded to no effect as usual. ¡®I kinda need to know if I will stay conscious or whether this will make me pass out and act on auto-pilot! I have no desire to be a wild and feral beast, especially when ke¡¯s family might have it out for me, you know?!!¡¯

    It was because of this possibility that the teenager wasn¡¯t so keen to simply test out the Full Transformation skill right here, right now, though it did look like it would have some differences to when he had forcefully been changed into a Werewolf due to the full moon.

    For one, he could see that it had a clear time limit, one tied to his Energy. It appeared as if the maximum duration of Full Transformation would be nine minutes, and that was assuming he would activate the skill with a full Energy bar. It would probably end far sooner if he used any skills as a Werewolf or if the Energy he expanded for anything would be separate from the 10 points of Energy it required to uphold the skill.

    ¡®I mean, unless I¡¯m constantly eating while in that state. Because then my energy would be restored at the same time while I¡¯m fighting. But a situation where I would willingly want to eat all those around me¡­is not something I want to think about.¡¯

    Based on the information given to him by Tom, he had been in his Werewolf Form for a very long time. Perhaps he would have stayed until sunrise if it wasn¡¯t for his Energy getting low at an incredible rate. Which he assumed was due to his fighting and healing when fighting Billy. He also still didn¡¯t know if he would have transformed back into a Werewolf if he had eaten his fill during the full moon.

    ¡®If anything, it might be for the best if I consider this ast resort skill but even then¡­ I would have to know If I couldn¡¯t beat my opponent at all. If I fought someone for a while then my Energy would be lower, meaning the time limit would be shorter. That¡¯s not the only problem though, it doesn¡¯t even tell me what type of boost I get for going full Werewolf.

    ¡®Where¡¯s the improved stats? Where¡¯s the exclusive Werewolf skills and all that Shiz!¡¯ Garyined, yet all he got was silence. It was then that Gary saw a member of the Underdogs walk past him on the street.

    His heart was thumping loud, thinking that he might notice him, or ask him a few questions. Gary continued walking and could see an alleway nearby.

    ¡®If I use w drain a few times to lower my energy, and then use Full Transformation it should onlyst a minute at most, right?¡¯ Gary looked at the Underdog member near him.

 Chapter 132: No more Drama

    <h4>Chapter 132: No more Drama</h4>

    In the end, Gary decided against the idea of testing it out, not now and not in this area against a person he didn¡¯t even know. Sure gang members were mostly bad, but he had no right to punish a random person who might have simr circumstances to himself, especially if all he was currently doing was making sure that the neighbourhood was safe.

    s, it appeared as if the high schooler would only find out once he tested it out. Maybe when he transformed it would give him all these benefits, provided of course he stayed conscious. Right now he would have very much prefered a Partial Transformation skill over the full version.

    ¡®Wait¡­can Billy do this too?¡¯ That thought suddenly entered his head. ¡®I got this reward from the system, and maybe he hasn¡¯t done anything that allows him to do this stuff. If that¡¯s the case, isn¡¯t this an easy way to take him out? If I can somehow get me and Billy together in an empty room¡­ he might be strong, but surely my Werewolf Form should be enough to beat Billy in Human form, right?¡¯

    There was no way to confirm if Billy could or couldn¡¯t do this, but the only reason he thought he perhaps couldn¡¯t was because he hadn¡¯t tried to attack Innu or Gary since that day.

    Of course, Gary wouldn¡¯t just gamble everything on that without trying it out first, but now wasn¡¯t the time nor the ce for it. There was someone who had been waiting for him the entire day. Whening in, he could see his sister immediatelye out of her room to check up at who had entered.

    ¡°Gary!¡± Amy ran over, and quickly went over to give her big brother arge hug. He saw that her eyes were puffy.

    ¡®She must have been crying since this morning¡­¡¯

    ¡°Sorry, it took so long. I hope 20 was enough to order something nice. I¡¯ve also brought some food like I said I would.¡± Gary handed over the shopping back, and his sister immediately began to unpack the groceries, helping out as best as she could.

    It was strange how something so ¡®regr and boring¡¯ managed to put a smile on the high schooler¡¯s face, and he went over to do his part. As thankful as she was, Amy did give him an earful about two things, the amount of meat he had purchased as well as the amount of junk food. When shopping his instincts must have taken over for the former, as for thetter, he had just wanted to avoid burning down their apartment, which he confessed to.

    The two of them joked andughed about it, and Gary believed that the two of them would be able to get through this hard time. As long as the two siblings would stay together everything would turn out well

    ¡ª¡ª

    [28 Days till the next full moon]

    [30 Exp received due to active Bond Marks]

    [Exp 572/1024]

    Once again, Gary had woken up before Amy, though there were a few reasons for why he didn¡¯t just go back to sleep. Now that he would be heading to the pool club after school, the high schooler needed to head to the gym in the morning before going to school.

    He still needed to improve his body, and get the Daily Exp, even if it was a pittance, and then he would do his morning routine of hunting in the forest. The teenager was getting better at using his skills. In particr his w Drain had allowed him to catch birds and squirrels thanks to his suddenly longer reach, and it was good for his footwork as well. The fights had also improved his hunting to some degree.

    For once, whening to school. He felt like there were no immediate problems. Of course there were still many problems, but for once it felt like he would have enough time to deal with them all.

    ¡°I feel like I finally got a break.¡± Gary mumbled as he took his seat.

    ¡°Oh, did you overexert yourself? Here I thought you must have been having fun with your ¡®new friends¡¯.¡± Tommented a bit snarky. It was clear his best friend was annoyed at him. To be fair, Gary hadn¡¯t even bothered to talk or text him after simply disappearing once Rugby training was over.

    When was thest time he hade over to Tom¡¯s house or that the two of them had watched an Altered match together? Lately, Gary had been obsessed with Rugby, or going out with the others after school. It was starting to feel as if they were drifting apart, the only glue holding their friendship together being the secret the two of them shared about his sudden chocte ¡®allergy¡¯.

    ¡°Hey, Tom¡­¡± Gary began, unsure about whether inviting him to the pool club would be a good or bad idea. ¡®As long as it¡¯s during the day and it¡¯s just about helping the ce out, it wouldn¡¯t be too dangerous¡­ sh*t, but that would mean that I would have to ask the others to avoid openly talking about any Howlers business¡­¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry man, I¡¯m just really busy these days. I promise everything will be back to normal soon, and I think I might need your help with you know¡­ my ¡®special problem¡¯.¡± Gary leaned in and whispered. Tom wondered what type of questions he could ask him.

    Just as the first period was about to start, a knock could be heard on the ssroom door.

    ¡°Come in!¡± The teacher called.

    At that moment, two people could be seen walking into the ssroom. They had almost barged their way in and the first first thing they did was sh their badges towards the teacher which immediately made him take a step back.

    ¡°We have already gotten permission from your Headmistress, we are here to look for one of your students, a boy by the name of Gary Dem.¡± The female exined as she looked over the ss, stopping when she spotted a certain green head.

    Seeing the two of them, Gary immediately gulped because there was no way he could forget them. Those were the two White Rose agents that had found him snooping around Billy¡¯s ce.

    ¡®Sh*t, did they find out anything?¡¯ Gary wondered,menting his fate of seemingly not even being allowed to get one day off without any drama.

 Chapter 133: Everyoneâ€™s Business

    <h4>Chapter 133: Everyone¡¯s Business</h4>

    When Gary heard his name, his heart immediately started to beat more rapidly. It was making him worry that with all this added pressure that he might suffer from heart problems one day, but perhaps being a Werewolf would make him immune to that.

    It would have been one thing if they had been looking for a ¡®green haired teenager¡¯, but the two White Rose agents had specifically called him out by name, which of course had led to everyone turning around and staring at him. Gary didn¡¯t really know how to handle this kind of unwanted attention.

    ¡°Do you think this has anything to do with Steven? I¡¯ve heard that his mother wanted to sue the school for not expelling Gary. Maybe she called the cops on him? ¡± One of his ssmates whispered to his neighbour.

    ¡°I seriously doubt it. If it was that they should havee ages ago and there would be no need to catch him in school. Doesn¡¯t Gary live somewhere in Chavley? I believe they might want his testimony because of what happened there recently.¡± The other answered.

    ¡°You think so? Didn¡¯t you guys see their badges. They aren¡¯t the regr police, those guys are from White Rose. What rtion could Gary have with Altered?¡± Another joined in their theory crafting.

    Since turning into a Werewolf Gary had gotten used to filtering out all the noises he could hear, but right now he was unable to, be it because he was too flustered in the current situation or his subconscious desire to want to know what his peers thought about him. Either way, it was seriously getting to him.

    ¡®That¡¯s it, they must have somehow found out that I know Billy. They¡¯ve linked me with this, and even if they haven¡¯t I have no idea how I could lie my way out of this one!¡¯ Gary was clearly panicking, until he felt someone touch his back.

    ¡°Dude, it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± Tom whispered. ¡°Just rx, if they had any clear evidence to bring you in, they wouldn¡¯t have had to ask Headmistress Young for permission. Just remember, you have the right to remain silent, although it might cause them to investigate you more, but whatever you do don¡¯t mention anything about what you are to them¡­you need to look after Amy, right¡­and your mother in the hospital.¡±

    Hearing this, Gary looked at Tom and could see a gentle smile on his face. He didn¡¯t remember telling his best friend about his mother¡¯s condition. More so than that, why would he even care. Tom¡¯s words were enough to give Gary a boost of confidence and he stood up and walked over to the two agents, who would take him to another room to start their investigation.

    ¡®Gary¡­ what exactly happened that earned you the attention of White Rose?¡¯ Tom started to wonder. ¡®Was it the fight with Billy? Well, they did arrive that day, but they shouldn¡¯t know that you were there¡­

    ¡®Did they find some of your blood on the scene? They shouldn¡¯t have you on file to link you to the case since you never did anything criminal¡­ at least nothing that you¡¯ve told me¡­ could it be something else? Are they maybe linked to the suitcase that made you into the Werewolf?¡¯

    At the same time, Innu had simrly been worried for Gary. After all he was the Howler¡¯s leader so if he got into some sort of trouble it would be bad for all of them. The high schooler didn¡¯t know what to do in this situation, so he chose to inform the one person that might be able to help out in this situation.

    [Two White Rose agents just came into our ss and they asked for Gary specifically. Thought I should let you know.]

    Kai had been sitting in ss, not in the least looking forward to another boring lesson with Mrs Bedford, when his phone vibrated. This sudden news came as a shock to him, making him abruptly stand up. Although ss hadn¡¯t begun yet, he excused himself by stating he really needed to go to the restroom.

    ¡®Why now of all times? Sh*t, was I right with my assumption yesterday? Is Gary really an Altered¡­ or something else? If so, are they just suspecting him, or did they manage to link him back to the Underdogs? Either way this could be major trouble¡­ I need to do something!¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Walking through the hallways, Sadie and Frank stood on either side of Gary and noticed that he was being awfully quiet. This was quite the norm when they went to capture criminals, though both of them had expected the high school student to be different, especially given how wordy he had been thest time they had met.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous.¡± Frank spoke to break the awkward silence. ¡°We¡¯re not here to arrest you or anything. We¡¯re just going to ask you some questions. We¡¯ve already met you at the apartment blocks where the Bruntins lived, so we¡¯re just going to continue along with that.¡±

    ¡°Okay, yeah that sounds good.¡± Gary stupidly replied, his voice almost cracking when answering. It was clear he was hiding something. However, neither one of them had any idea that this teenager was hiding far more things than they suspected.

    As they walked through the halls, they passed by the windows of the other sses, who all were intrigued why a high school student was escorted by two well dressed adults. Some of them pointed and looked up, and there was another that had spotted Gary.

    ¡®Those guys.¡¯ ke thought, as he recognised the two agents as members of White Rose. ¡®Why would they go after him, did they figure out that he was an Altered? I need to¡­ I¡­no, I shouldn¡¯t get involved.¡¯

    He started to grip his pencil in his hand tightly, while everyone looked outside and talked about Gary. Eventually hearing everything they said, ke¡¯s pencil snapped in his hand.

    ¡®No I need to know¡­ for the sake of the Altered Hunters!¡¯

    While everyone was still distracted, ke snuck out, and was closely following after the trio. Eventually he could see that they had entered the teachers¡¯ lounge, which he guessed would be empty right now. ke walked down the hallway, entering the room next to it, the printer room. He ced his ear up against the door, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation, but the noise was far too muffled.

    ¡®If I stay in here, then I¡¯m bound to get caught as well.¡¯

    That was when ke looked to the window, and slid it open. Looking outside he could see a ledge that went across and attached to the window in the teachers¡¯ lounge as well. That was one option.

    He then looked at the ceiling to see if there was possibly a way he could go from above¡­ no matter what he was going to find out what was going on in that room!

    ¡®It should be okay. As long as I do it for the sake of Ga- the Altered Hunters.¡¯ ke ¡®convinced¡¯ himself.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside the room, there were several desks withputers on and sheets of work, yet nobody was inside. Since it was time for the first period, the teachers were already in the sses and those whose lessons startedter had yet to arrive.

    A table on the right side of the room had been cleared out, and three chairs were set up. Two on one side, while one single one on the other.

    ¡°Please take a seat Gary, we are d that you are cooperating with us.¡± Sadie stated, hoping to make the teenager less nervous. Sitting down, the high schooler ced his hands down by his side. He didn¡¯t want them to see how much they were shaking.

    ¡°Do you mind just cing your hands on the table?¡± Frank requested. ¡°It¡¯s a little nerve wracking not seeing them. While you don¡¯t really see the type, we had some encounters with others who hid something.¡±

    Gary naturallyplied, all he thought about doing was following their orders and listening to what they had to say. He was hoping that everything turned out far less serious than he thought right now. He intended to answer as much as he could, hopefully without sounding suspicious.

    ¡°Alright, just to let you know, our little talk is currently being recorded via the school camera, and we will also be recording it on this device here.¡± Sadie exined, cing a recorder in the middle of the table. ¡°Now before we begin, you¡¯re entitled to know that you have the following rights.¡±

    The investigation was starting and Gary could tell he was in trouble, he wasn¡¯t so sure this time, if he could get through this alone.

 Chapter 134: A suspect

    <h4>Chapter 134: A suspect</h4>

    Having a White Rose agent read him his rights just stressed the fact that Gary was in a very serious situation. He wasn¡¯t sure whether to be happy or not that the two were pursuing things the legal way and that included the recording in front of him. Just as Tom had said, they seemed to be treating him as a suspect¡­ The only question was for what? Was this about Billy¡­ or something else entirely?

    The two White Rose agents sat down, Sadie staring at him far more aggressively now that they had moved on to the ¡®official¡¯ business. The woman seemed to be the type that would have much rather beaten any information out of him than waste her time questioning him. Just likest time, Frank was the one to y the Good Cop part, a friendly smile on his face, yet his body was leaning away from his partner, as if he himself was scared of Sadie.

    ¡®They told me I could call an attorney, but I don¡¯t have any numbers. Do I really need one, though? Sh*t, but what if I say something really bad? Should I ask them to refer me to one, but how would I pay for him? Argh, I spent a good part of the money for groceries yesterday and I need the rest to pay for the hospital!¡¯ The teenager found himself in one of the most stressful situations he had ever encountered and to him it seemed as if the two adults were deliberately stretching time before asking him any questions.

    ¡°Let¡¯s establish some simple facts first. Gary Dem today isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve met me or my partner Agent Nimper, is that correct?¡± Frank broke the silence and the high schooler just nodded. ¡°For the camera, please consent or disagree verbally.¡± The male White Rose agent instructed him before he repeated the question.

    ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± Gary yed along earning him a satisfied nod from Frank.

    ¡°The first time we had the pleasure was when the two of us found you in the vicinity of the apartment block where the Bruntin family used to live. Can you confirm this statement?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I happened to be around that area.¡± Gary admitted as it didn¡¯t seem to be to his detriment.

    ¡°Alright, see it¡¯s not so hard. Now, could you please state your reason for being in that area?¡± Frank asked, his friendly smile suddenly appearing far more sinister.

    ¡°I was just¡­¡± Gary paused for a moment, even though he knew that wasn¡¯t a good sign. Unfortunately, with how much he had been forced to deal with recently he had long since forgotten the lie he had told them that time. This was the problem when lying, one would have to keep track of them and for someone like Gary who wasn¡¯t used to that, that wasn¡¯t easy.

    Nevertheless, this brief moment allowed him to think about why they had wanted to talk to him. There were many things he had been afraid White Rose could ask him about. The gangsters at the construction site, the Underdogs, what he had done recently at the Karaoke ce, but out of all of them it turned out that they hade because of Billy.

    ¡®Did they find out he¡¯s a Werewolf like me? No, if anything they probably treat him as a wolf-type Altered. However, why did theye to me? If I listen to Tom as long as I don¡¯t talk about that I should be okay¡­ I hope.¡¯

    ¡°Can we stop with these stupid games?¡± Sadie interrupted even before the teenager had a chance toe up with an answer, revealing herself to be the impatient type. ¡°You were there to meet Billy, weren¡¯t you? What other reason could you have had to go there knowing that a murder has taken ce?

    ¡°At the time you told us that you didn¡¯t know him, but we now know that to be a lie, so why don¡¯t you just tell us the truth?!¡±

    Hearing these words actually gave Gary an idea. He was terrible at lying anyway, so why not just tell the truth. Of course, he nned to skip out certain hairy details, but apart from that, wasn¡¯t he a victim in all of this? Ultimately, the one thing that would be almost impossible to trace back, unless they found Billy himself, was the fact that Gary was the reason for the other guy¡¯s supernatural powers.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sorry I lied about not knowing who he is, but I swear I barely know him.¡± Gary eventually confessed. ¡°I¡¯ve only met him once before that tragedy happened to his family! And¡­ and I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s after my life now! Because of certain reasons he¡¯s pissed at me and I had been hoping to find him and talk things out!¡±

    The words sounded truthful and unlike before Gary¡¯s voice was less shaky, but Frank didn¡¯t miss that the high schooler had omitted certain details. Was he worried about implicating himself by admitting to having participated in those illegal fighting rings or was there something more to it?

    It would make sense for a teenager to worry about those things, but the White Rose agents didn¡¯t really care about any of that.

    ¡°When you say that you knew Billy¡­was it due to the¡­¡± Frank stopped there as he felt a breeze hitting him. He looked up ahead and noticed that the window was slightly open. The agent hadn¡¯t been paying attention before so he wasn¡¯t quite sure if it was open when they got in or not.

    Regardless, he continued his questioning.

    ¡°Look, if it¡¯s about ¡®Billy Buster¡¯, we already know about his fight against ¡®Green Fang¡¯, so you might as well tell us the whole truth, Gary. Please don¡¯t try to deny it, we saw yesterday¡¯s fight against the ¡®Vicious Twins¡¯ and we questioned the people there. Thest time anyone saw Billy just happened to be during a certain someone¡¯s debut.¡±

    Once again, Gary¡¯s heart felt like it was going to jump out of his throat. This was getting too close to the truth.

    ¡®They know about the underground fights, and they were even there yesterday! If they know I was thest person that saw him, then maybe they will link him back to me.¡¯

    ¡°Look, if you know that much then you should also know that I don¡¯t actually know him!¡± Gary said, trying his best to sound frustrated. ¡°I coincidentally found out about those and I needed the money. That¡¯s it! I wasn¡¯t lying about only ever having met him once!

    ¡°How was I supposed to know that he was a psycho? Not only did he kill his parents, he appears to be after all those he lost to in a fight! I¡¯ve asked around, that university student was one of them and I bet so was the high school student, which means he¡¯s after me as well! Please, you gotta help me!¡±

    It was a panicked answer, but it also was a part of how he truly felt.

    The two White Rose agents looked at each other. The story added up and sounded usible, of course they would have to do their research and dig deeper to see if this was a coincidence or if Gary had actually revealed something they and the police hadn¡¯t known about. If it was true then they might even be able to use the green haired teenager toy a trap for Billy!

    At that moment, Sadie felt a pain in her leg again. The woman started to rub it slightly. It didn¡¯t usually bother her, but as an Altered it was strange for an injury to take so long to heal. Even stranger was that it had acted up right now in front of Gary, just like it had done yesterday during his match.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to investigate to see if what you say is really true. Still, there are a few more things that are¡­ ¡®unclear¡¯. We¡¯ve been originally called here because of another killing which had to have been done by an Altered. However, we suspect that our original killer is not Billy.

    ¡°Either Billy has been going on a rampage, deviating from his ¡®hit list¡¯ as you just revealed or, if my suspicion is correct, the more likely answer is that there are actually two Altered killers in Slough!¡± Sadie stated as she ced the photo of Billy out on the table, and pointed towards Gary.

    The second reason why they hade here, was to find out whether Gary might be that other Altered!

 Chapter 135: A guilty test

    <h4>Chapter 135: A guilty test</h4>

    After ke briefly deliberated whether he should try to use the vents to listen in, an idea which he quickly dropped due to the noise it would create, the young Altered Hunter decided to go with his original idea. He looked outside to make sure there were no students out there, but since the teachers¡¯ lounge, as well as the printer room, were facing away from the main road he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about people mistaking his actions for a suicide attempt, shouting out towards him, creating a scene that would reveal his location.

    ke opened the window and dropped down to the window sill. He held on with his fingers, making use of his strong grip strength.

    ¡®This reminds me of my early childhood training¡­ I still don¡¯t have any idea in what circumstance this would help deal with an Altered, but it¡¯s definitely proving handy right about now.¡¯ ke thought as he started to move along the edge slowly, with his legs hanging.

    He then could see that there was a gap between the window sill he was on, and the one that Gary was patiently in. There was no trouble on ke¡¯s face as he swung his body from side to side, and at the right moment let go of the edge. Reaching out, he quickly grabbed onto it, and held on tightly. His strong fingers that had calluses on top of calluses had done him well and were holding out.

    Now that he was in the right ce, all he needed to do was listen to what they were saying. The problem was, even from his current position he had trouble making out the words clearly, so the only thing he could do was lift one hand up slowly, reaching for the window from the outside. He had to be careful, after all they were on the third floor. Nevertheless, the young Altered Hunter didn¡¯t hesitate, as he managed to hold himself with one hand and quickly pushed the window ever so slightly open, allowing him to finally hear everything that was going on.

    ¡®Billy? That¡¯s that murderer on the news! ording to Dad, he¡¯s most likely one of the Altered we fought in the park and it obviously wasn¡¯t the one I fought. Did they find something linking him to Gary? ¡­Come to think of it, I guess I never did ask him, but the two of them¡­ they were fighting yet both of them were the same type of Altered.

    From what I know only the Kings and big corporations should have a hold on specific types of Altered DNA¡­ Damn it, why didn¡¯t I think of it before? Gary and Billy have to know each other somehow. I should have¡­¡¯ Now that ke thought of it, it made him also wonder why he had refrained from asking Gary anything about how he had be an Altered.

    After all, it was pretty clear that he wasn¡¯t some rich kid, nor did the green haired teenager seem special enough for someone to sponsor him. So what exactly had stopped him from learning more about that side of Gary? If it was only ¡®to protect the Altered Hunters¡¯ would he really be hanging down the side of the school wall?

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Two Altered killers? Are you serious? They didn¡¯t report anything like that on the news.¡± Gary went back to his nervous self after Sadie made it crystal clear that she was suspecting him by pointing at the high schooler.

    ¡°You see, on the night of the full moon we actually had a little run in with Billy Bruntin in his Altered form, and we were able to get some traces of his blood from our fight. ording to the guys in theb it coincided with traces we found in the cases of the Bruntin family, the high school student, and the university student, yet there were a few other deaths that had no traces of him. However, all those other cases had anothermon denominator.¡± Sadie continued to exin.

    The White Rose agent had more photos on her, which she ced out on the table. The first one was what was left of three men at the construction site. From there she showed a picture of Barry out in the alleyway andter in the hospital before she presented Gary with a few more photos.

    Looking at them all, Gary was unable to recognise the others, and he was very happy to see that at least there were no scenes of the karaoke ce. It seemed that they weren¡¯t following his trail, just a trail of murders.

    ¡°At each of these scenes the same blood was found. Now after watching your little performance yesterday, we have reason to believe that just like Billy you¡¯re actually an unregistered Altered. However, fortunately that¡¯s really easy to clear up, all you have to do is agree to a voluntary blood test.¡± Sadie smiled, as if she had caught her suspect right where she wanted him.

    ¡®What do I do? I can¡¯t give them my blood! I have no idea if I will be recognised as an Altered or not, but if they take my blood, then they will be able to link me to Barry, the construction site, as well as the karaoke club! If they¡¯ll lock me up, then Amy will be all alone!¡¯ Gary started to look around to make sure there was nobody else in the room.

    ¡®I¡¯ve already killed before¡­if I use Full Transformation now while they¡¯re still off guard¡­ maybe it will be enough to get rid of them, and then¡­maybe no one will know¡­but¡­but¡­can I kill¡­again? I have to¡­ it¡¯s for my family!¡¯

    At the same time, ke who was still hanging down the window sill had heard everything and was wondering what to do himself. In the end, he came to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing he could do. He had already done more than enough by not revealing Gary¡¯s secret and if the other had failed to hide his tracks that was on him.

    At that moment, the door slid open, and a bleach blond haired teenager confidently walked in.

    ¡°Sorry, but if you¡¯re looking for a teacher, try somewhere else. This room is currently in use.¡± Frank lectured the neer, assuming that he had merely entered by mistake.

    ¡°Oh I know, I¡¯m here for him.¡± Kai imed.

    Seeing his upperssman at this moment gave Gary hope. He was especially thankful that it would save him from having to take a suicidal gamble by fighting against two White Rose agents.

    ¡°I heard what you did.¡± Kai confidently spoke as if he was telling the police off. ¡°Gary, you don¡¯t have to say anything, you know that, right? I guess you agreed to talk just so that these guys would leave you alone.

    ¡°It¡¯s not called a VOLUNTARY blood test for nothing! They can¡¯t force you to take a blood test, for that they would need a warrant from a judge. My guess is, they don¡¯t even have anything that puts you as the suspect, which was why they came here and asked you to ¡®volunteer¡¯ your blood over to them. I bet a judge would never grant their request with what little they have.¡±

    Kai walked over to where Gary was and stayed by his side, assuming a position as if he was his legal guardian. He then looked at the photos on the table. He hadn¡¯t heard the whole conversation, merely just the tail end of it.

    ¡°What the hell are these photos? Are you trying to traumatise my buddy here? Has White Rose stooped so low that they¡¯re trying to create a scapegoat to pin all the me on? Tell me, what grounds do you even have to ask him for a blood test?¡±

    The two looked a bit startled but they soon regained their exposure, as Sadie started tough.

    ¡°You really think you¡¯re so clever, don¡¯t you? I didn¡¯t know that they were teaching Law here at Westbridge, but I have met enough male Karens like you before who thought they knew everything.¡± Sadie stated.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, we aren¡¯t able to force him into a blood test without a warrant from a judge. However, as members of White Rose we enjoy certain privileges. ording to section 5 of the Altered Investigation Force Act, ¡®Agents are permitted to enforce a test in cases they have sufficient reason to believe someone to be an unregistered Altered¡¯. We have a special test to verify whether your friend here is a normal human or not.¡±

    When Gary looked at Kai by his side, it was the first time he saw the other with a worried look on his face.

 Chapter 136: An Altered Test

    <h4>Chapter 136: An Altered Test</h4>

    Kai had gone around the back of Gary and was gripping tightly onto the chair. It was a clear sign that he had been backed into a corner. This was the first time he had ever heard of something like the

    ¡®Altered Investigation Force Act¡¯, so of course he had nothing prepared to counter that. Whening in, he had been hoping that he could use his meagre legal knowledge to get his friend out of this situation.

    Seeing that Kai was speechless, Gary could only assume that what the White Rose agents imed to be the truth. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they had special privileges, but he naturally had no idea that they would be so wide.

    ¡®Sh*t, isn¡¯t there anything I can do to get Gary out of this situation? ¡­If this whole case went to court I could probably help him out then, but there¡¯s even more of a chance for things to get out of hand.¡¯ Kai bit on his right thumb, unsure what to do.

    He only knew the fact that Gary was a suspected Altered, but he had no idea that his underssman wanted to avoid being brought in forpletely different reasons. If they got his blood all the cases he was linked to woulde to light! However, since his friend hade here to stand up for him, Gary didn¡¯t want to give up, so there had to be another way.

    ¡°What exactly is the test?¡± The young high schooler asked confidently.

    The White Rose agents found this a little strange, during the whole interrogation Gary had been pretty much an emotional mess, so why was the boy acting up now? Was it because of his friend? If that was the case, shouldn¡¯t he be more nervous just like his friend clearly was?

    ¡°We test your blood.¡± Sadie began to exin which only put a confused look on Gary¡¯s face. He was sure he had just heard that they were unable to just take his blood and that it would be a special test.

    ¡°I can see your confusion, so let me exin. I¡¯m not sure how familiar you¡¯re with Altered and how they came into existence, but I assume you at least know the part that the procedure uses the fossils of beasts that used to roam our in the past.

    ¡°There is a little known fact about these beasts and that is that unlike us their blood was ck. Now, since Beast DNA runs through the bodies of us Altered, it means that we too no longer have normal blood like the average human.¡±

    Out of the grey and gold coats that the White Rose agents wore, Frank pulled out a small tube. There was a bit of light blue liquid inside. Sadie then opened the lid slightly and one of her fingers had turned into a type of w in front of the eyes of the two teenagers and her partner.

    She pricked a finger on her other hand, allowing for blood to fall into the container. Strangely, the blood from her hand looked to be quite red. At least with the naked eye it was impossible to tell if there was any difference at all to ¡®normal¡¯ blood.

    ¡°There is a reason why the Altered Investigation Force was established, and why White Rose is looking for unregistered Altered. There are things that aren¡¯t publicly told on the news. The colour of one¡¯s blood varies from person to person.

    ¡°In my case you don¡¯t really see it, but in other cases the blood of the Altered has darkened to the point you don¡¯t even need this test. In extreme cases, one¡¯s blood ispletely ck, which indicates that the Beast DNA has mostly repressed the human DNA.

    ¡°In these cases we have found that their human nature starts to change, they start to attack others, exhibit a lust for rage and anger, and worst of all they even might assault even their family and close ones.¡±

    This was the first time Gary had heard anything like this. He knew a little about the blood since some of the Altered fighting matches he would watch but about ck blood being a sign of a dangerous Altered. Now he knew why the White Rose agents were so involved in this case.

    Billy had killed his parents, and his other murders led them to believe that he was on a killing spree. From the sounds of it, those Altered weren¡¯t humans that had just gone angry due to a new power they had obtained, but something inside them had fundamentally changed them.

    Gary gulped, because that sounded very simr to something he had experienced himself. At some point the system had begun warning him that his bloodlust was rising and the closer it had gotten to the full moon, the worse it had be. He now worried whether he might have be thisst type of Altered.

    ¡°Regardless of all that, this test will bring us rity about exactly what you are, Gary.¡± Sadie said, shaking the small tube until the liquid inside the tube slowly turned from red to ck. On a closer inspection, it had actually split the two substances with the ck liquid on the bottom, while the red blood was a bit brighter than before on the top.

    ¡°As you can see with my blood, it looked bright redpletely like you would expect a normal human¡¯s to look like, but this little thing inside lets us break down the blood. If you are an Altered, like us, then the same thing will happen with your blood.

    ¡°You¡¯re clearly unregistered, so if the test works, that will be our grounds to get a warrant from a judge to get our blood sample.¡± The female agent smiled.

    The only thing Kai could think was that they were screwed. There was no way out of the test at all and there didn¡¯t seem to be any way to trick it either. On the other hand, Gary felt like somebody had thrown him a rope.

    ¡®Ever since I got this thing I was wondering whether I would technically count as an Altered. Was there really an ancient beast in the past that was a Werewolf? It¡¯s a risky test, but¡­I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen that my blood was ck. All I can do is take the test. If there¡¯s no way out of it, then there¡¯s no way out of it. There is nothing else I can do, but¡­¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your test.¡± Gary agreed.

    ¡°Good, not that you had a choice anyway.¡± Sadie pointed out.

    ¡°However, as I understand you¡¯re only allowed to do this because you think I¡¯m an Altered, right? I¡¯ll do the test now in front of you, But I will only show you the result. I keep this tube, and I keep it with me.¡±

    The two White Rose agents looked at each other, and while they didn¡¯t like hismanding tone, they didn¡¯t really see a problem with it either. It wasn¡¯t unusual for people to not want to consent to things that had to do with the police force or government.

    Nevertheless, they had done this job long enough to know that people refusing to cooperate wasn¡¯t necessarily because they were guilty, a major part of those they had wrongfully used, simply hadn¡¯t wanted to be on file.

    It was then, after a nod from Sadie, that Frank pulled out one of the tubes and handed it out to Gary who started to open the lid.

 Chapter 137: The result

    <h4>Chapter 137: The result</h4>

    Everything that Gary had done till this point, was riding on this test. So it was safe to say he had a reason for his hands being a little shaky.

    Kai was watching his underssman carefully, assuming that Gary might intend to switch the tube out or something at some point, but seeing him do nothing was causing sweat to run down his face. Seeing the blonde teenager so nervous only strengthened Sadie¡¯s belief that they had caught their suspect.

    Since it needed his blood Gary asked the two White Rose agents if they wanted something for him to prick his finger. When Sadie offered to do it with her w, the green haired teenager naturally pulled back his hands. It was then that Kai pulled out a small pocket knife that he carried around.

    That item was technically something that students weren¡¯t meant to have, but given the situation none of the parties cared about it. However, before Gary could prick his finger, Frank inspected the pocket de carefully, even going so far as to clean it with some disinfectant before handing it to the younger teenager.

    This whole thing seemed absurd. He was only a teenager and yet two adults from the Altered Investigation Force were telling him to cut his hand to prove he wasn¡¯t an Altered. The world had truly gone crazy.

    Why were they here instead of looking for Billy who had tried killing them? Why weren¡¯t they doing something more useful, like handling the gangs who had been responsible that his mother had been injured to the point she was in the hospital.

    Fueled by anger, Gary pricked his finger with the pocket knife with ease and dropped the blood into the tube. He didn¡¯t even attempt to y any tricks as he was sure they would force him to cooperate until he did things ¡®properly¡¯ anyway.

    Once it was inside the tube, he carefully shook it around, slowly, so they could all see everything. With bated breaths all of them were waiting on the result. Even ke, who had overheard everything, had lifted himself to the point where the top of his head peaked over the window sill.

    He had gambled that their attention would bepletely on the tube and he was partly right. Sensing something, Frank soon turned around, but the Altered Hunter dropped down before he got caught. In that second he looked away, he looked back at the tube and he could see Sadie¡¯s reaction as well.

    Eventually, Gary let out a big sigh of relief.

    ¡°It¡­it didn¡¯t change colour¡­ As you can see, I¡¯m just a normal teenager.¡± Gary said softly. ¡°I¡¯m not an Altered, so I didn¡¯t kill those people!¡±

    Stepping in front of him, Kai thought it would be better if he was the one to do the talking from this point out, since he was a little worried that Gary might slip up in these final moments.

    ¡°The evidence is there, you all saw that he didn¡¯t tamper with it. We all saw the results so you no longer have any grounds to question him! If you want to pursue this, then you will have to do it through legal means!¡±

    Sadie looked beyond annoyed, and the frown on her face clearly showed it. Still, it went away, as she epted that they had made an honest mistake. Based on what they had seen so far, their culprit clearly had to have been an Altered, and while Gary¡¯s sudden increase in strength yesterday continued to baffle her, it wasn¡¯t something she could fault him for.

    ¡°I apologise. We thank you for your cooperation, if you have any more news about Billy then please tell us when you can. Perhaps a police officer mighte by and ask you a few questions if you can help us.¡± Sadie bowed her head,pletely changing her tone, and it was the same for Frank as the two of them left.

    When outside the door, Sadie walked up to the window that looked towards the centre of the school. Arge tree was ced in the middle with students sitting on benches.

    ¡°Hey, just because your instincts were wrong this time, doesn¡¯t mean it was all a waste of time. We can still try and use him as bait.¡± Frank said, trying to cheer his partner up. ¡°Besides, if what that kid imed is true, then we may have a lead on where Billy will strike next.¡±

    Saide ced her head down out of the window and lifted it up.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± The woman replied. ¡°That kid¡­ he definitely knows something but if he¡¯s not an Altered¡­ I¡¯m not sure how he is rted to all of this¡­¡±

    ¡°What makes you say that?¡±

    ¡°The photos. When we ced the photos down, I purposely mixed photos from different Altered cases in there that werepletely unrted to cases here in Slough. It was a test to see how he would react. I paid close attention and I could see it in his eyes. His pupils got bigger when he saw the first three photos and after going through the others, he went back to look at them.

    ¡°On top of that, those three photos he looked at were those where the same traces of blood were found¡­so he definitely knows something but I don¡¯t know what.¡±

    ¡°Maybe he just recognised that guy from the second and third picture? I believe he went to this school as well?¡±

    It seemed like Frank still had a lot to learn about his partners tactics. He didn¡¯t even realise that was the reason she had done such a thing. Not all of those in the White Rose were there because of their smarts but more so their strength, yet Sadie was a bit different.

    ¡°So what do you want to do?¡±

    ¡°What can we do? Let¡¯s try and get the judge to give us a warrant with what evidence we have. It¡¯s unlikely, but it¡¯s the only thing we can do while we continue to investigate.¡± Sadie answered, as she walked down the hallway and the two of them were ready to leave the school.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Back in the room itself, Kai and Gary were making sure that his hand was quickly banged up with a ster and none of the blood would spill anywhere. They were worried that they could possibly return, trying to get a sample at another date, but they appeared to have left, and Gary¡¯s nose told him the same thing.

    In the end, Kai picked up the tube, and was staring intensely at it. The blood waspletely red, there was no sign of ck at all.

    ¡°Did you trick them?¡± Kai eventually asked.

    ¡°No¡­ of course not! Do you really think I had any idea they were going toe after me today?¡± Gary questioned the other teenager sitting in his seat, he felt more tired than when he had taken the test. It was something he never wanted to experience again.

    The other teenager still had the tube in his hand and while looking at the blood, there was only one thing on his mind.

    ¡°Gary, if you¡¯re not an Altered, then what exactly are you?¡±

 Chapter 138: Whatâ€™s his story?

    <h4>Chapter 138: What¡¯s his story?</h4>

    Gary¡¯s head was sulking down and for some reason he was finding it incredibly hard to take another step forward. The teenager stood outside the boarded up ce that the group had recently taken ownership of.

    As for why he was unable to walk forward, that was something Gary didn¡¯t know himself. Perhaps it was because he was avoiding seeing a certain someone.

    ¡®Why? ¡­ why do I feel so guilty?¡¯ The green haired teenager wondered, clenching his two fists.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Gary, if you¡¯re not an Altered, then what exactly are you?¡±

    When Kai suddenly asked him that question, Gary responded with what he had considered to be the most natural answer to give in that situation.

    ¡°What do you mean? ¡®What am I?¡¯ I¡¯m human, just like you. That tube in your hand isn¡¯t ck, so doesn¡¯t that prove that I¡¯m not an Altered?¡± The high schooler replied with a nervous smile.

    Kai didn¡¯t say anything, just looked from the tube to Gary, back to the tube, yet his underssman could clearly see the pained look on his face.

    ¡°I see¡­ so that¡¯s your answer¡­ that¡¯s how you still see me.¡± Kai let out a sigh as he left the tube on the table and exited the room.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary still wasn¡¯t sure why, but he felt extremely guilty for having lied to Kai. Perhaps he felt as if he had betrayed his trust somehow. Earlier in the day, when he had so desperately needed someone to help him, his upperssman had appeared.

    What¡¯s more, Kai had helped him time and time again ever since he had be a Werewolf, but how did Gary reward that kindness? By lying straight to his face.

    ¡®He already seems to know that there is something¡­ but Kai, I¡¯m sorry¡­ it just seems that whenever I try to say anything about it, the words just can¡¯t seem to leave my mouth. I¡¯m scared¡­ scared that if I tell you the truth that maybe¡­ maybe, you¡¯ll betray me, and not just me¡­ it could affect everyone around me as well¡­¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    Right after dealing with White Rose, Gary had naturally been hounded by his ssmates about why he had been called out, by agents no less. Since their ssmate had returned to ss, rather than get escorted out in handcuffs, they could only assume that he had been being questioned due to another case.

    Unsurprisingly, Gary had been in no mood to tell them anything. The teenager had decided that he was done with lying at that point¡­ yet then he had been forced to face Tom. During the break, he had ¡®confessed¡¯ to the truth¡­ at least partially. He had told Tom how White Rose had found a connection between him and Billy, but after doing a blood test, they had deemed him not to be the killer.

    Once again, although this hadn¡¯t been aplete lie, he nevertheless had omitted a lot of the truth¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Are you going to walk in, or are you nning to just stand out here all day?¡± A familiar sounding voice asked him from behind.

    Turning around, Gary could see that it was therge student he had fought the previous day, Austin Foster. Apparently, he had been dead serious when he had told them he would join if the green haired teenager managed to defeat him. Now, as the leader of the Howlers, he had no excuse to just continue waiting outside the door any longer.

    The two entered the pool club together and inside they found Innu, Kai, Marie, and Miss Degrace already busy. Each one of them had a bucket of cleaning supplies, and at the back there were also several boxes. It seemed like the boxes were some type of orders that the group had made. Improvements for the bar.

    For a second, Gary and Kai¡¯s eyes met, but the younger teenager immediately looked away. Gary and Innu were in the same ss, so he must have known that Gary had been slightly avoiding him since theirst talk.

    ¡°Looks like you two finally made it.¡± Kai said with the usual grin on his face. ¡°First order of business, we need to clean this ce. Be careful, there are a lot of needles, ss and all sorts of other things here, so make sure you put some gloves on.

    ¡°After we¡¯ve cleaned this ce, we can start getting everything else sorted, then it won¡¯t be long until we¡¯re open for business. So grab a bucket and get to work!¡±

    The two did as Kai ordered. The ce wasrge, and it needed a lot of work, so they estimated that it would take at least a few days just to clean it. Perhaps a couple of weeks before they could officially open, and even then it would require a few more improvements, so the ce could be operating as more than just a bar.

    Both Gary and Austin had picked one of the corners of the room to start from, which just so happened to be at the opposite corner of where Innu and Kai were.

    ¡°You know, when I said I would help out, I thought my muscles would be put to better use than this.¡± Austin grumbled lightly, as he scrubbed a piece of dirt on the wood floor. It didn¡¯t seem to go away, so he just scrubbed and scrubbed harder. At some point, Gary was worried that any moment now a fire might start on the wooden panels.

    ¡°So, tell me a bit about yourself. You don¡¯t exactly strike me as the type who would choose to live the life of a gangster. What made youe up with the idea, starting a gang of your own? And how exactly did you get someone like him on your side?¡± Austin asked. As for who he was referring to, therge teenager didn¡¯t even try to hide it. His sponge was pointed towards Kai, who seemed to currently be texting on his phone.

    ¡°¡­it wasn¡¯t my idea. I-it was his¡­¡± Gary softly spoke.

    For a moment, Austin gave him a funny look, but the next instant he just shrugged it off. Somehow, this situation was a little more sense to Austin than if it had been anything else. Gary didn¡¯t seem like the leader type, and going so far as to rent a ce to make it a hideout, didn¡¯t feel like it was something an ordinary kid coulde up with either.

    ¡°Well, at least he is on our side. I wouldn¡¯t want to know him as an enemy, but let me give you some warning.¡± Austin spoke to Gary as he resumed cleaning. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly like his kind. With sly ones like him, you never know what exactly they¡¯re scheming, making them the hardest ones to trust.¡±

    Hearing Austin speak made Gary think about his earlier interaction. Could therge teenager be right. Did he not want to confess his biggest secret to Kai, because the other teenager was more clever than him?

    ¡°However,¡± Austin continued, ¡°I can see it in his eyes. The two of you seem to be somewhat alike. I feel like he is someone who won¡¯t hesitate to do whatever it costs to achieve his goal¡­ although this could be a good thing or bad thing.

    ¡°Will he drop us all to the curb if we¡¯re no longer useful, or is part of his goal bringing us all out of this sh*thole with him? What can you tell me about him? If he wants you to be the one to lead us, the two of you have to be close, right? What¡¯s his story, we is he doing all of this?¡±

    It suddenly clicked in Gary¡¯s head, THIS was the reason he hesitated to tell Kai more than he already knew. It was because he had no clue what Kai¡¯s story was.

    Sure, the blonde teenager had told him that he wanted to leave the Underdogs as well and that he wanted to change the status quo¡­ but Gary had no idea about Kai¡¯s past. He still had no clue about what his connection to Marie or her mother was.

    Most importantly, he didn¡¯t know how Kai had ended up working with the Underdogs and why he would want to leave the life of a gang so bad, just to create another one¡­

    Looking towards Marie and her mother, the two that were with Kai before even him, he thought he might get his answer.

 Chapter 139: The truth

    <h4>Chapter 139: The truth</h4>

    Right now, Gary couldn¡¯t help but feel a little awkward when trying to approach Kai. As such, he believed his next best bet would be to ask the two women that seemed to always be by his side. In a way, their background was just as mysterious as his.

    Slowly, Gary inched his way over to the bar, cleaning away from where Austin was. Here, Marie had taken a break and was currently sitting on a stool with a notepad out. The high school girl also had her phone out, and from what he could see, she was busy using the calctor function and writing down some things.

    ¡°Hey, Marie-¡°

    ¡°Shhh!¡± The teenage girl didn¡¯t even look up, rather shooing Gary away as if he was some pesky fly. It was clear that she didn¡¯t want to be disturbed right now. His only other choice now was to question Miss Degrace who looked to be sorting through the leftover alcohol bottles.

    ¡®How¡­do I start this one?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    ¡°Is something troubling you, dear?¡± Miss Degrace asked. The middle-aged woman hadn¡¯t even turned around. This action reminded him of his own mother, and it made him question whether having eyes on their back was amon trait shared by all mothers. Still, this was his chance.

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Gary chuckled as he moved closer and started to wipe the shelves where the bottles were. This way, his back was facing away from the others as they talked.

    ¡°You see, I was wondering if you could tell me more about Kai. ¡­we¡¯ve only started getting to know each other better over thesest few days, but I recently realised that I really know nothing about him. On the other hand, it seems like you and Marie are quite close.¡± Gary exined his situation.

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re interested in your friend? Well, I can kinda understand why, he isn¡¯t exactly your typical kid.¡± Miss Degrace replied, opening up one of the whisky bottles that still had a bit of substance on the bottom. She sniffed the air just above a few times and soon closed the cap again.

    ¡°However, if you¡¯re really interested in him, why don¡¯t you simply ask him yourself? I¡¯m sure he would answer you as long as you don¡¯t ask anything overly personal.¡±

    Unfortunately, Gary didn¡¯t think it would be as simple as that. Now that Kai at least suspected that he was hiding something from him, what right did the younger teenager have to learn anything about the other¡¯s secrets?

    ¡°If you want my advice, and I don¡¯t mean to insult you, but in hindsight most of the ¡®problems¡¯ I had as a teenager turned out to be far less problematic than I initially believed. Nevertheless, I too had the tendency to make things harder for myself than needed to be.¡± Miss Degrace sighed as she seemed to be reminiscing about her own youth, but then a certain thought struck her. ¡°To be fair, it doesn¡¯t seem to be exclusive to teenagers. Sometimes, I believe that if people around the world just spoke more to each other, about how they were feeling, or about all their issues, then others around us could help more than we might think.

    ¡°Think about it, if nobody knows what your difficulties are, how can they help? While I could share a few things about him, it¡¯s really not my business to tell. I can tell you about myself, though. Me and Marie, we both owe him a lot. It may be hard to believe, but I owe him my life. For that reason, I¡¯m more than happy to help him when he needs me. If only things wouldn¡¯t have ended as they did, perhaps he could have led a normal life¡­¡± It sounded like she diverted a bit around the end, but Gary hadn¡¯t heard her, as the high schooler had still been busy thinking about herst piece of advice.

    ¡°Let me tell you one thing, Kai is the type of person that as long as you put your trust in him, he will put all of his trust back in you as well. Think about it, why has he been helping you so much? Was it only because you agreed to help him with something in return?¡±

    Multiple images of Gary and his first meetings with Kai shed through his mind. It had started out as a deal, but the green haired teenager felt like he had hardly done anything to repay the other. Still, even despite all of that, his upperssman had helped him on multiple asions without asking too many questions.

    ¡°I think you have your answer, he thought you already trusted him, which is why he was happy to help. Trust me, with the way he¡¯s been talking about you, I can assure you that talking with him will only help.¡±

    The talk with Miss Degrace didn¡¯t reveal a lot about Kai¡¯s past, but it did help Gary get his head straight back on. The next few hours, the group continued to clean up, and they ended up making more progress than any of them had anticipated. What they had estimated to take an entire week, had taken just a single day.

    Most of it was actually due to Gary and Austin. The former had demonstrated seemingly endless stamina, allowing him to work at a steady pace. At the same time, he had been working extra hard, regarding this as a form of penance for having acted so stupid. In the case of Austin, therge teenager had seen Gary put in the work, and he hadn¡¯t wanted to lose out to him. As such, he had given his best to keep up with Gary, and seeded as well.

    ¡°Great job, everyone! With this tempo, it will only be a couple more days until we might be able to open for business! It will take a while for the windows, but we can just make this like a private club of some sort.¡± Kai looked happy and decided to call it a day for the group.

    However, as everyone left, and Miss Degrace was ready to lock up, Gary informed her that there was something he wanted to tell him. The middle-aged woman put on her coat, and gave the teenager a thumbs up and left him the keys.

    With Marie having left before her mother, there were only two people left in the former pool club.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Were the first words out of Gary¡¯s mouth. ¡°I felt crap all day because of what I said earlier. You¡¯ve helped me out so much, so I decided that I want to tell you the truth¡­¡±

    There was a pause between the two. Kai didn¡¯t say anything as he waited for the other high schooler to continue.

    ¡°As you¡¯ve seen, I¡¯m not an Altered, at least I don¡¯t think I am one¡­but I believe I¡¯m not exactlypletely human anymore either¡­ Remember that suitcase that went missing? The one that is the whole reason the Underdogs are after me? I swear to you that I¡¯m not joking, but¡­ whatever was inside, it turned me into a W¡­ W-were¡­ Werewolf!¡± Gary finally blurted out.

    When saying these words, he held his head down, worried about the reaction the other teenager would have. When he heard some chuckle, he looked up, only to see a giant grin on Kai¡¯s face.

    ¡°Gary, I believe you, I believe every word you just said. I¡¯ve already guessed as much after what happened in the park with Billy. However, before the test, and your confession just now, it seemed purely crazy.

    ¡°You actually being a Werewolf, rather than an Altered, is a thousand times better than I thought. Now, because you have told me the truth. I think we are ready to move forward, I have a little gift for you.¡±

 Chapter 140: The new skill

    <h4>Chapter 140: The new skill</h4>

    A week has passed, and eventually the next weekend had arrived. During the week not much had actually happened. The Underdogs seemed to still be in his area, and he was thankful that no new fights were braking out because of it. At the same time Gary was unable to try gain exp because of this.

    Still, there wasn¡¯t as much worry on Gary¡¯s mind as there usually would be. For one, he had around three more weeks until the next full moon, then the condition of his mother had also stabilised, and while it hadn¡¯t improved, at least it hadn¡¯t worsened either.

    Progress on the business that Kai was nning to implement for the Howlers was going smoothly, and it would be ready to open soon. On top of that, the two of them had made up and cleared their ¡®misunderstanding¡¯, bringing them a little closer.

    He also hadn¡¯t had a run in with any more White Rose agents or the police force. His stress levels had pretty much been reduced to the level of a normal teenager. Of course, there was still the constant worry of money on his mind. Nevertheless, after he had paid the hospital bill for his mother, he at least wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it for the time being.

    In that regard, Kai had assured him that once the business was running they wouldn¡¯t have to rely on those underground fights any more.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [Level 8]

    [Exp 847/1024]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 115/120]

    Today was a bright and shiny day, and Gary was waiting on his best friend, who he had neglected quite a bit over thest few days. While waiting, he was checking out his system, to see how close he was to getting stronger.

    Aside from the money issue, there was one major problem that continued to stay on the back of his mind, and that was Billy. There hadn¡¯t been any reports about him on the news for some time, but he had already killed more than once before. While the Omega wolf appeared to have ¡®limited¡¯ himself to only killing people he had a grudge against, there was no telling how long he would stay true to his principles. The more time passed, the higher the chance that more deaths would ur and the stronger he would get.

    ¡°I finally made it, but are you sure all of this is necessary?¡± Tom asked, as he arrived with two shopping bags full of food. At the same time, he had arge backpack on his back as well.

    ¡°Yeah, trust me, we¡¯re going to need all of that.¡± Gary replied, as he picked up his own share of food himself, and his own backpack. The two of them then headed into the forest near the park, yet the green haired teenager had yet to exin what they intended to do today.

    The two boys went deep into the forest, as far as they could go. Seeing the ce, was causing Tom to flinch every time he heard an animal move. Ever since the night of the full moon, he hadn¡¯t been in a forest. Although the one they were currently in wasn¡¯t the same one that they had been attacked in, it still scared him.

    The only reason why he was able to put up with it was because he felt it should be rtively safe during the day.

    ¡°Whoa, thank the heavens you¡¯re not a vampire! Otherwise, I¡¯m pretty sure you would have turned to dust from all this sun.¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t really appreciating his best friend¡¯s jokes right now. He might not be a vampire, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether being a Werewolf was really any better. However, he didn¡¯t say anything. The high schooler knew his best friend long enough, to be aware that this was just his way of coping with things.

    ¡°This tree looks like it will do, and I think we¡¯re far enough away now.¡± Gary said, as he pointed towards one of therge trees with a thick trunk that was nearly the same width as an average person¡¯s height.

    ¡°Are you going to finally tell me what we are doing here?¡± Tom asked, huffing and panting. Unlike Gary, he didn¡¯t exactly have a supply of endless stamina, nor had ¡®physically fit¡¯ ever been something anyone had ever used to describe him.

    The green haired teenager took out a pair of thick chains, the thickest ones he had been able to purchase. Tom had brought along a simrly effective lock following his best friend¡¯s request, one he had borrowed from his parents¡¯ storage unit.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to try turning into my Werewolf Form.¡± Gary finally revealed. ¡°I know it sounds crazy, but I need to learn how to control it, Tom. If I can learn how to control it, then we might not have to worry about the next full moon. It will also allow me to get rid of the other Omega wolf before he attacks again.¡±

    ¡°Get rid? What do you mean ¡®get rid¡¯? Are you saying you n to kill him, Gary?!¡± Tom asked,pletely baffled. His best friend didn¡¯t answer away, yet his silence spoke volumes.

    ¡°Tom¡­ I don¡¯t want to keep lying to you¡­ the truth is I was the one who created him. Outside of school, I got into a fight, and during that fight I bit him. I know that I was the reason that he turned into a Werewolf as well. Do you understand now? ¡­ I¡¯m the one responsible for everything he has done! It¡¯s because of me that you guys were in trouble that day! And it¡¯s because of me that people have already died!

    ¡°So I have to do whatever I can to stop him. Yes, even if it means, I¡¯ll have to kill him!¡±

    While Tom was happy that Gary had finally decided to be a bit more honest with him, he still felt that there were things he was hiding from him. For one, his best friend hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about his mother ending up at the hospital. Tom had only found out after doing his own research.

    Because of this, he had quickly forgiven Gary for doing something so risky like gambling to get money. Fortunately, the other choosing to confide in him, made him hopeful that eventually his best friend would tell him everything.

    ¡®When we¡¯re out of school, Gary, I¡¯ll help you. I¡¯ll create apany of my own, and I¡¯ll use all that money to help you!¡¯ Tom swore to himself.

    Aside from the fact that Garycked the money to buy everything himself, he had called Tom over because he couldn¡¯t tie himself up on his own. He also couldn¡¯t lock himself, and in case they survived, unlock himself, either.

    Having learned fromst time, there were far more chains than on the night of the full moon. Tied around the whole tree, then cuffs around his arms that linked to chains with spikes that were hammered deep into the other tree¡¯s nearby. At the end, Gary¡¯s phone had been set up on a tripod of sorts away from him, so everything would be filmed.

 Chapter 141: A new state

    <h4>Chapter 141: A new state</h4>

    The preparations wereplete and with a few tugs it looked like Gary was secure.

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about this, Gary, you broke out of my parents¡¯ storage unit with ease. I¡¯m worried you might be able to break out of this one as well.¡± Tom shared his concerns.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be likest time.¡± Gary stated confidently. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to exin it, but I feel weaker now that the full moon has passed. I should still be able to use its power to transform me, but it shouldn¡¯tst too long.¡±

    None of that was true. Gary was actually going to test out his newly acquired Full Transformation skill. There was one thing the high schooler had sworn to himself, and that was that he wouldn¡¯t tell Tom anything rted to the Underdogs, which included the system. Who knew if this system was created by them as well. In the worst case scenario, they might kill anyone who knew even the tiniest bit about it.

    Gary¡¯s n was to use his Charging Heart and w Drain skills to lower his Energy down to around 35. Using Full Transformation cost him 20 Energy and since it took 10 Energy for every additional minute in that transformed stage, the teenager was sure his transformation should automatically be cancelled after thirty seconds once his Energy value reached 10, thus reverting him back to his original form.

    ¡®These chains don¡¯t need to hold me for long, they just need to buy me thirty seconds.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Tom then ced the bags of food, which were filled with raw meat, a small distance away from where Gary was. This would be used for after the transformation. The distance set up was based on these thirty seconds. If he was to break out, it was possible he would reach the food, giving him more Energy and lengthening the transformed state, which was why they needed to be set a certain distance away. So he wouldn¡¯t reach them in time.

    ¡°Are youpletely sure about this, Gary?!¡± Tom shouted. ¡°What if you can¡¯t control it? You saidst time that you didn¡¯t know what was happening! That could easily happen again, right?¡±

    Gary looked at Tom, he looked strange tied up, but his eyes were sincere.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I need to find out, whether I can turn and still stay in control.¡± Gary replied. ¡°Just trust me, everything is set up so even if I can¡¯t remember everything or my Werewolf instincts take over, I¡¯ll turn back into a human before anyone gets hurt¡­ I hope.¡±

    Hearing this, Tom started to head in the other direction, and turned on the recording of Gary¡¯s phone. Then Gary waited a good ten minutes for Tom to be far enough away.

    Finally, it was time. Gary had used a Charging Heart on his walk here. He realised that whenever the skill was used, and he wasn¡¯t actually fighting, a rush of adrenaline would enter his body. It was hard for him to even walk. All he wanted to do was run, but he was holding himself back due to Tom.

    Now, with his Energy down to 35 it was time for him to act.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Gritting his teeth, Gary was bracing himself for the unbearable pain that he still vividly remembered. Unfortunately, it hadn¡¯t been a one-time thing and everything was happening all over again. The strong heartbeat, the bulging of his muscles and more.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if it hurt more or less thanst time, but he was determined to stay focused, so he could remember everything.

    ¡®I have to keep conscious! There¡¯s a good chance that if I pass out, my mind gets taken over by my natural instincts¡­ or however it works. I need to learn to resist it.¡¯

    His skin quickly started to fall off his body, as his fur came to grow through his hands, he wanted to w and rip at his body, but the chains seemed to be doing their job. As he pulled forward, they were digging into the tree, pulling it back and forth, ripping off the bark. However, one of the spikes that were digging into the other tree had ripped out from the tree.

    ¡®Stay focused!¡¯ Gary told himself, this time feeling even his face change, and eventually the transformation came to an end.

    Gary felt like he was slightly taller than before. When he looked down, the teenager saw a hairy pair of legs. He also saw the wed hands, unable to recognise any sign of his old body, yet he could tell that it was his by the feel of the wind blowing through his ¡®hair¡¯.

    ¡®It¡­it worked! I¡¯ve transformed and I¡¯m still conscious!¡¯

    ¡°Rawr rawr (it worked)!¡± Gary tried to say it out loud, but only growls came out from his mouth. It didn¡¯t sound even remotely like any human speech. Therge tongue and his vocal cords were all foreign to him.

    In front of him, his system was disying an Energy bar, and he could see it was going down rapidly. It was a good thing and a bad thing, he imagined it would be a distraction, but it also served as a warning of when he would turn back.

    Still, as it was going down, Gary wanted to check one more thing, and that was his Status. He needed to know just how much stronger he was at the moment.

    [State: Werewolf (Omega)]

    [Grade: Pawn]

    [Strength 18 (+5)]

    [Dexterity 14 (+5)]

    [Endurance 28 (+5)]

    The stats disyed corresponded to his own during Charging Heart, yet that much should have been a given. However, he also benefited from an extra five points in all of them while in his Werewolf Form.

    ¡®This looks to be even better than when I got strengthened by the power of the moon. I wonder if those stack. I might actually be even stronger when I turn on a full moon as well. Still, just because I¡¯m still conscious for this, doesn¡¯t mean it will be the same on that day. The turning back then¡­ I don¡¯t think this one¡¯s the same, that day it felt far more aggressive.¡¯

    ¡®And what is this Grade thing?¡¯

    While thinking about this, his time eventually ran out. The high schooler started to transform back to his normal self. His body was shrinking and, thankfully, there seemed to be no pain associated with his reverting to his normal self.

    Unfortunately, the sensation on his skin when he came back was a little weird¡­ what he hadn¡¯t ounted for was that his clothes had stretched to the point where they had ripped off him¡­ leaving him pretty naked once again¡­

    ¡®Screw me, I just hope Tomes back soon. If someone happens to pass by and see me in the woods chained up like this, they¡¯ll think I¡¯m some kind of super pervert!¡¯ Gary would have loved to facepalm himself, yet he was unable to reach.

    Nevertheless, this was definitely a step in the right direction!

    ¡®Now¡­it¡¯s time for me to hunt you, Billy!¡¯.

 Chapter 142: An enemy is a friend

    <h4>Chapter 142: An enemy is a friend</h4>

    Coming back after a short while, Tom was surprised to see that the chains were all still intact and that his best friend stood there butt naked. He deliberately avoided gazing around a certain area of Gary¡¯s, instead hurrying to unlock all the locks.

    ¡°So what happened?¡± Tom asked. ¡°Wait, before you tell me, please change into these!¡±

    Fortunately, one of them had actually prepared a set of extra clothes.

    As soon as he put on the boxers, Gary ran in a certain direction, leaving Tom behind. As for where he was heading towards, it was to the location the bags had been ced. A few minutester, Gary came back, the bags were practically empty. The high schooler wasn¡¯t happy the other hadn¡¯t followed him to see how he had gobbled everything up.

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Gary asked, returning, and heading towards his phone. ¡°About bringing the clothes I mean?¡±

    ¡°Did you forget that I was the one who had to clean up the storage unit after you? Your clothes were ripped to shreds! Given all the food you had me buy and the lock you asked me to bring, I was assuming you would want to do something Werewolf rted, I just didn¡¯t know you could actually change.¡± Tom replied, still a bit speechless.

    ¡°Hang on, since your clothes ripped again, doesn¡¯t that mean¡­ Holy sh*t, it worked, didn¡¯t it?! Did you really do it?!¡±

    There was no need for Gary to say anything, there was a big smile on his face as he turned his phone around for Tom to watch. The screen showed arge brown hairy wolf. Without a doubt, it had worked.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The two of them talked about Gary¡¯s experience and there were a few things that he found out during their talk. For one, Tom was sure that the Werewolf in the recording looked to be the same as the one that he had seen that day.

    He went on to describe what Billy looked and how the two of them had different coloured furs. ording to his best friend, Gary¡¯s Full Transformation form seemed to be a little smallerpared to his natural state, but Tom wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure as he only had the video to go on.

    ¡®I guess what I thought before might be right then. That Werewolf version of me during the full moon should be bigger and stronger.¡¯ Gary concluded. ¡®Still, the only thing I can¡¯t figure out is what that ¡®Pawn¡¯ stage meant. It¡¯s not there at the moment, so it must be something Werewolf form exclusive.¡¯

    ¡°So, what do you n to do now?¡± Tom asked, sitting down on the leaves, Gary was doing the same as the two of them were taking a break. Gary¡¯s Energy was refilled, but he wasn¡¯t going to try that again anytime soon.

    He was happy that it all worked out the first time, otherwise it would have been expensive to keep on purchasing meat.

    ¡°I¡­ I need to find Billy.¡± Gary answered.

    Tom had thought as much, that the other Werewolf was Billy from the news, the suspected murderer. It was all making sense, but what didn¡¯t make sense was how Gary had met with Billy.

    ¡®The two had gotten into a fight but how? I guess I shouldn¡¯t try to pry too much. Gary has been revealing more information to me bit by bit. As long as I¡¯m patient, he might tell me when he¡¯s ready.¡¯

    ¡°That might be a bit of a problem. How do you n to find him, if even the police is unable to? Come to think of it, I wonder how those Altered Hunters knew where he would be? I mean, they were there that day, right? So they must have somehow tracked down one of you. It¡¯s too bad you don¡¯t have their skills.¡° Tom thought out loud.

    Hearing what Tom said gave Gary a brilliant idea. He might not be able to find him, but wasn¡¯t there an Altered Hunter in their very school? The high schooler couldn¡¯t prevent the huge smile from appearing on his face. If he could somehow convince ke¡­ he might get a head start on finding Billy!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The day wasing to an end, yet Slough¡¯s police station was as busy as ever. If one was to stand outside the street, they would be able to hear an intense conversationing from inside. It was clearly a yelling match.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been back here three time already, and each time you tell me the EXACT SAME THING!!!¡± A young man shouted, as he mmed both hands on the desk. ¡°My brother has been missing for over a week now, and it¡¯s not just him! His useless friends that he usually hangs out with have gone missing as well. Admit it, you¡¯re not even trying because of who I am!¡±

    The worker behind the desk had an ufortable face and didn¡¯t know how to handle the situation at all. The one sitting opposite him didn¡¯t have the best temper either. For some, this situation might have been unheard of, but it was actually quite normal for gangsters and the police to deal with each other.

    ¡°How often do we have to tell you the same thing until it gets through your thick skull?¡± Anton questioned as he came out. He had been hiding in his office for a while now, but since the nuisance had shown no signs of disappearing on his own, the Chief of Police felt like he had no other choice but to deal with him.

    ¡°For thest time, it¡¯s nigh impossible to find out ANY information from THAT day. All we know is that your brother and his friend weren¡¯t among the list of dead or injured that night!

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky we even went to look that far for you, when YOUR gang was mostly responsible for that entire sh*t show!¡± Anton poked the young man¡¯s chest with his finger. ¡°If scum like you are off the streets, then that¡¯s fine by me.¡±

    Not willing to discuss matters any further, he returned to his office, making sure to m the door extra hard to send out the intended message, leaving Raven in anger. He knew he was getting nowhere and decided to walk out of the building. Frustrated, he sat down on the front steps with his hands in his hair.

    ¡®Goddamnit, where could you have disappeared to, Hawk?! I¡¯ve tried¡­ I tried looking for you EVERYWHERE! Not only that, but I tried looking for your stupid friends and everything, yet I couldn¡¯t find any clues whatsoever.¡¯

    Raven heard the sound of the door opening again from behind, yet he didn¡¯t bother to turn his head. Eventually, he could feel that someone was standing over his shoulder and that person shoved a paper in front of his face.

    Looking up, he could see that it was a young officer.

    ¡°Chief might not like you, but we¡¯ve really tried finding your brother. I spent some of my free time looking over his case.¡± The young Roo revealed. ¡°Unfortunately, we only managed to get a hold of the cell phone provider. Here is the transcript of some of your brother¡¯sst messages.

    ¡°It looked like he was talking with some girl. It¡¯s the only thing I can do without being put on the investigation myself. I wish you luck in finding your brother and his friends.¡± With that, the young police officer went back inside, leaving Raven with the paper.

    Shuffling through them, Raven could tell that he had possibly found his first clue to finding his brother.

 Chapter 143: The grand day

    <h4>Chapter 143: The grand day</h4>

    Today was Sunday, and in the past, Gary would have slept in until close to noon. However, today he had woken up at 7 AM sharp. The teenager had gotten used to waking up early ever since his mother got hospitalised, so that he could prepare Amy some breakfast¡­ even though it was usually just a sandwich or some cereal.

    As usual, the first thing on his morning ritual¡¯s agenda was to check his Status.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [Level 8]

    [Exp 932/1024]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 120/120]

    [Strength 9]

    [Dexterity 7]

    [Endurance 14]

    The Bond Marks continued providing him 30 Exp a day, and with another 10 Exp from the Daily Quests he had been umting a good amount of Exp each day. With the current tempo, he would reach Level 9 in just three more days, meaning he would be only a single level off from earning himself a ss¡­ even though he had no idea what that would entail as a Werewolf.

    His little n of asking ke to help with locating Billy, that would have to wait until Monday. Gary had no idea where the other high schooler lived. Besides, it wasn¡¯t exactly the best idea to enter the home of Altered Hunters, considering what he himself was and how they would treat him.

    Why should he enter the lion¡¯s den, when he could meet ke on school grounds?

    Picking up his phone, Gary looked at the message from a certain someone.

    [Be there tomorrow morning, 8 AM. Last check before the grand opening]

    This was the main reason for Gary waking up this early. Yesterday, all members of the Howlers had received the text. On Friday, Kai had given them Saturday off, and apparently he had finished thest renovation, allowing the establishment to open today.

    ording to the agreement, Miss Degrace was supposed to take care of things during the week, but Kai had insisted that they would at least help out on the weekends. Once the Howlers would grow as a group, the blonde teenager had shared his ns of having some future members work at the ce. Right now, though, there were just the five teenagers, and one adult. These were the only people they could really trust until they made a name for themselves.

    For the time being, they would only open on weekends, and in the afternoon, a few hours before school started and after school ended. That way once they finished they could help out with extra work, for the time when it would get busy, closing just before it gotte.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary looked at his phone and saw that he was ten minuteste. He had tried to surprise Amy with a self-made omelet, only to discover that watching the Poutube instruction video while he made it, had turned out to be a very bad idea.

    To his surprise, the other five were standing outside the ce, impatiently waiting for him. He had hoped that at least Austin might bete as well, yet nobody said anything. All of them were too excited to get inside. There was a beaming smile on all of their faces as the hard work that they had put in was finally being put to use.

    ¡°What are you doing standing outside?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Waiting for you, of course.¡± Kai rified. ¡°We all worked on this, so it only felt right to enter when we¡¯re all together.¡±

    Looking up, Gary could see a significant difference from thest time he had been there. He had no clue how Kai had managed it, but the building was now decorated with metal or stic grey letters. It was a good touch, making it look a lot more professional.

    ¡°I can see you¡¯ve noticed my finishing touch.¡± Kai chuckled. ¡°Everyone, wee to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s kinda a cool name. I like it, wolves are cool animals.¡± Innu stated, only to suddenly remember a particr creature that had constantly chased after him. ¡°Actually, scratch that, wolves are arseholes! They¡¯re pure arseholes!¡±

    Kai gave Gary a meaningful wink, which made the green haired teenager believe that the name of this establishment had been chosen because of him.

    Entering the ce, they all experienced a drastic difference. For one, there were ambient lights that actually worked. At the same time, there was a green neon light that went around the walls, giving it a nice warm feeling.

    The pool tables had been reclothed, the balls wiped, so they could be used, cue clubs had been reced, and the bar finally had stools for people to sit in. The only thing that seemed missing was an assortment of alcohol behind the bar. Right now it was rather empty, though they did have drinks and snacks ready, and the windows still hadn¡¯t been fitted.

    Gary had to pinch himself, unable to believe his eyes, he never thought such a dump could be turned around, especially in so little time.

    ¡°Man, it¡¯s beautiful right, I think I¡¯m tearing up.¡± Innu spoke for them all. ¡°All that scrubbing, and building all that crap¡­ now I can see it was all worth it. This is ours! I can¡¯t believe this is our ce!¡±

    Gary had the same feeling, he never thought he would feel this way in his life before, but this belonged to all of them, the gang known as the Howlers.

    The club was set to open at 2 PM, just a little after lunch, and then they would stay open until 8 PM, just when the streets started to get dark. Right now, Marie went to the front and was going through the cashier system, checking that the prices of everything had been set up correctly.

    There were so many things the group had to learn, the various membership cards they were offering, monthly payments, snacks, and food. Between them, they thought they would be okay as each person decided to remember one thing, but alone they held no chance.

    ¡°Look, juste to me if you don¡¯t understand anything, I¡¯ve got it all right here.¡± Marie stated as she hit her thick pad of notes on the table, a big grin on her face.

    After doing a few practice runs, Austin made some calls, informing his underlings and friends about the ce. Gary and Innu wanted to do the same, yet they quickly realised that the contact numbers on their phones were next to non-existent.

    ¡®Great¡­ Mum, Amy and Tom¡­ thest two people I don¡¯t want to invite here at all.¡¯ Gary sighed.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Of course, that hadn¡¯t been the only advertisement. Kai had actually paid off some paperboys to distribute their flyers this morning. Eventually the area woulde to learn of their presence so why not sooner rather thanter.

    One of the flyers just so happened to end up in the hands of a grey colour gang member, who had immediately informed his leader, Buffin.

    ¡°What should we do, Boss? It looks like that business will open up today. From the looks of it, they don¡¯t have protection from the Underdogs or any of the other gangs yet. Should we inform the Grey Elephants?¡± The Grey colour member rubbed his hands, imagining that this information might be valuable enough to earn him favour in the gang.

    The first thing Buffin did was to check the location. He noticed it was a troublesome ce. It had a lot of foot traffic during the day, but when night came, there would be a lot of trouble in the area since it was bordering the territory of two gangs. Businesses like that onlysted a few months at most, having to constantly pay for repairs, and or protection.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to bother the Grey Elephants with something like that, go and call on the new guys. Let them check it out!¡± Buffin ordered.

 Chapter 144: A Real Gentleman

    <h4>Chapter 144: A Real Gentleman</h4>

    The Wolf¡¯s Pool Club was finally open for business, yet it was hard to say whether it was a sess. The ce was busy, and Gary was hardly able to catch a break as he was busy serving people and answering their questions. There was a good flow of ieing in at the same time.

    The reason Gary found it difficult to call it a sessful opening or not, was because ny percent of the customers were from Austin¡¯s school. At first, when some of them arrived, they had a worried look on their faces. They had even asked who they were facing and what school they were going up against now.

    It quickly became clear that Austin hadn¡¯t actually exined the situation to them at all. Since their school¡¯s top dog had ordered them to be here, they had naturally expected there to be a fight. Regardless, after they realised that it wasn¡¯t a call for a big fight, the teenagers decide to stay, ying a few games of pool and buying some snacks. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but all the Howlers could do was hope that they liked it enough to decide to return.

    ¡®I guess¡­that¡¯s the power of a real leader right there.¡¯ Gary thought. He looked at the room filled with around twenty high school students who had alle just because of Austin.

    The cash register was constantly going off, and since it was busier than they had expected, even Marie had to help out as a waitress, as she had a couple of cokes and snacks on a tray. She went ahead and ced it down on the table between two sofas. As the high school girl went to bend down, two boys sitting down on either side were eyeing up her legs, and the skirt she was wearing.

    The high schoolers exchanged looks, before one of them imitated hitting her back side, leading the other to giggle at the gesture.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your food, I hope you enjoy it.¡± Marie said with a smile. To those who knew her, Marie seemed like apletely different person. She was all smiles, talked politely and was generally a pleasure to be around. It was theplete opposite of themanding girl who had drilled them what they needed to know like a drill sergeant.

    As soon as Marie turned around, though, she felt some had whacked her on her back. Immediately, the boys behind started tough and whistle. As for Marie herself, she remained slightly frozen, clearly unsure how to react.

    The boys continued tough at each other until one of them felt someone grab them by the wrist, lifting them off the seat to a standing position. It was so forceful that he thought his shoulder was going to be dislocated.

    ¡°What the hell did you just do?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Are you crazy, man? You¡¯re hurting me! Let go! I¡¯m a paying customer, you have no right to treat me like this!¡± The student yelled, and the others turned, looking like they were ready to jump in at any moment.

    ¡°So what? That doesn¡¯t give you the right to do that! What¡­what if that was your sister, or your mother?¡± Gary asked. Just thinking about it made the green haired teenager¡¯s blood start to boil. Marie¡¯s small body frame made her have a simr resemnce to Amy, and it was because of this, he was reminded of an unpleasant scene.

    ¡°Are you her boyfriend or something?! If you want to simp for her, don¡¯t get me involved. It was just a little tap, she wasn¡¯t hurt or anything. She can just ignore it, and I didn¡¯t hear herin either!¡± The harasser didn¡¯t show any signs of remorse.

    However, it was clear from her reaction that she didn¡¯t like it at all, and the student¡¯s tone was just annoying Gary further.

    ¡°GET OUT!¡± A voice from the other side resounded throughout the pool club. As for who it wasing from, it was Austin. The other guests were making way for him to get through.

    Seeing this, the high school student grinned. ¡°You¡¯re dead now.¡±

    Gary was unsure what to do, while he wanted to teach that guy a lesson, Austin was the one who had called them all over. Not to mention, it would cause a big problem if the two of them were to fight.

    When therge high schooler arrived, he grabbed the student that Gary had held up by the cor.

    ¡°Not him, but you, dipsh*t!!¡± Austin rified, pushing his forehead up against his.

    ¡°As for the rest of you, no one is allowed to treat them like this! These guys are a part of my group, you understand?! What he did was no different from harassing my little sister!¡± With that said, thetest member of the Howlers dragged the offender by the scruff of his neck and opened the doors.

    ¡°You cane back once you know what you¡¯ve done wrong! You better have a sincere apology ready for her!¡± Austin pped his hand as he threw him outside, and mmed the doors shut.

    There was silence in the room when Austin turned around. No moreughter and cheer.

    ¡°The show is over, everyone, go back to having fun again. Let¡¯s forget that idiot!¡± Austin shouted.

    It took a while but eventually things returned to normal, only that Kai told Marie to stay behind the counter, as the rest of the boys picked up speed. After everyone got served, things started to quiet down in the ce.

    By the time new customers came in, they had somewhat gotten used to the process, making things quicker and there was no need for them to go back and forth between Marie. The initial impact of a full ce with the students made the ce look popr, attracting even more customers.

    Eventually it allowed Gary to take his first break. He sat down by the bar, where Marie and her mother were working, while watching the rest have fun.

    Kai, Innu, and Austin had started ying against the others, and it looked like the blonde teenager was making some bets ying against the others. To nobody¡¯s surprise, a few minutester, money was being exchanged, all of it going to the Howlers.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± A soft voice eventually said. It was so soft that it was barely audible with all the surrounding noise.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Gary asked, as he hadn¡¯t been sure he had heard correctly. While he was not too far away, it had been hard even with his enhanced hearing. Having already found it hard to muster her courage to say that to him once, Marie¡¯s face was turning red.

    ¡°I said thank you!¡± Marie repeated herself, slightly louder this time, her eyes fixed on the ss she was currently cleaning. ¡°¡­ and I don¡¯t just mean today. I¡¯ve yet to thank you for saving me that time with the ck colour gang. Sorry, it took me so long.¡±

    ¡°Oh that, well, yeah, I mean, those guys deserved it and so did that pervert.¡± Gary said, a little embarrassed himself now. After all, this was the first time he had ever been praised for doing something ¡®heroic¡¯.

    Now that she had reminded him, the first time he had seen Marie had been when those ck colour gang members had been picking on her. Usually, Gary wouldn¡¯t have thought twice about colour gangs picking on anybody, but the strangest thing had been that it had happened during the day.

    ¡®Maybe I should ask?¡¯ Gary thought.

 Chapter 145: A monster

    <h4>Chapter 145: A monster</h4>

    However, before Gary could ask about that day, Marie surprised him with a question of her own.

    ¡°Are you an idiot?¡±

    Now the high schooler was really confused. One moment, Marie had been thanking him, yet the very next she was insulting him?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that came out wrong. I just don¡¯t get how you can not get scared in these situations. Back then, the ck colour gang members seriously outnumbered you. There was also a good chance that everyone could have jumped you earlier as well.¡±

    Now Gary understood a little more what she meant.

    ¡°Well, I guess I am a bit of an idiot, then. I dunno, but it just felt wrong to stand there and watch it happen. In the past, I guess I never acted when I saw it. Now, though, people around me are getting hurt, and no one is acting out about them.

    ¡°So I thought, what would happen if I became that person that instead of just watching, and wishing for help, started acting. Man, when I say this stuff out loud, it seriously soundsme¡­ Like those weird superhero film crap¡­ only I¡¯m far from being a superhero.

    ¡°I mean, for one, I¡¯m not good-looking, scrawny and my personality sucks balls. Well, not actually balls, but you know what I mean¡­¡± Gary said as he was trailing off, and eventually looked towards Kai, Austin and Innu.

    ¡°When I look at them, they fit that role a lot better than me.¡±

    Somehow, Gary¡¯s talk only ended up depressing the teenager. He hadn¡¯t had the time to talk about all the things going through him with anyone. Tom used to be the closest person he had.

    A ck was heard in front of him and when he looked up, he could see a coke in a pint ss in front of him.

    ¡°It¡¯s on the house¡­ huh, I guess since you¡¯re kinda the boss of this whole ce it¡¯s a given¡­ Anyway, you deserve a free drink.¡± Marie said as she handed him the ss.

    ¡°Just remember what I said, you¡¯re the boss, not them. Who¡¯s to say when they look at you, they don¡¯t think the same way? Did anyone elsee forward before you did, Gary? No, they might havee forward, but you were the first one to act and that¡¯s what makes you, you.

    ¡°And besides¡­ you¡¯re not that bad looking. In fact, you¡¯re kinda cute.¡±

    Gary was in the middle of drinking the coke, when Marie said that, and it nearly made him spill it out all over. Before the teenager could react, though, she had already run off to the far end of the bar to serve another customer.

    ¡®I guess¡­she¡¯s kinda cute herself¡­¡¯ Gary thought, yet he wouldn¡¯t dare to say that out loud.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After a sessful ¡®night¡¯, it was time for them to count how much money they had made in a single night. Surprisingly, the ce had managed to earn around three thousand after the cost of paying for the drinks and food had been subtracted. It was far more than any of them would have imagined in a single day.

    It sounded like a huge amount, at least until Gary started to do the calctions.

    ¡®Wait a second, ten percent of that is three hundred, and then that would need to be split between all of us¡­that means I hardly get anything¡­ it¡¯s far from being enough¡­¡¯

    ¡°I can see that look on your face.¡± Kai said as he put a hand around his shoulder. ¡°If it would be so easy to get rich, do you think anyone would remain poor? This was just the first day and the business will grow. We will be able to open for longer and possibly at night as well.

    ¡°Once that happens, we should easily be able to earn double this amount. Besides, this is just the first of many priorities, and most of that money needs to stay with Marie and her mother, so they can deal with all the bureaucratic stuff such an establishment requires.

    ¡°They are working the hardest out of all of us, after all. Eventually, we won¡¯t even have to lift a finger and all of that ie will turn to passive ie.¡±

    In the end, Kai pulled out a hundred and handed it to Gary. Part of it was from his share of the ten percent, the rest was from the bets he had won earlier.

    ¡°Making money can be quite quick, and it will be, but we can¡¯t make it suddenly appear overnight. Trust me, we will get there. For the time being, just be d that I can¡¯t bear the thought of you making your cutie of a sister starve. You earned that, and good job standing up for one of our members back there. You¡¯re bing more of a leader every day.¡±

    Gary instinctively grumbled a bit at the blonde teenager¡¯s teasing, but he still thanked the other for the money, and he also appreciated thepliment at the end. He did trust Kai, so if he imed this was a step in the right direction, he believed him.

    Nevertheless, this meant that for now whenever an underground fight would take ce, they would probably have to join it, unless something drastic were to change.

    ¡ª¡ª

    On Monday, Gary¡¯s attempt at an omelette for Amy turned out far better than yesterday, even though the end result became scrambled eggs. With that done, the green haired teenager hurried to the gym toplete his Daily Quest.

    Unfortunately, even after all that time, he had seen no more improvement to his stats, to the point he began wondering whether those 5 Exp were really worth the effort. The fact, that it would start to cost him money at some point didn¡¯t make it any more appealing. After a quick bite to replenish his Energy, he checked his progress.

    [Exp 982/1024]

    ¡®Damn, I¡¯m so close to Level 9¡­ Argh, I will have to wait until Wednesday for it to naturally ur. System, why do you have to taunt me so much? Can¡¯t you give me 2 extra Exp tomorrow? Please, just once, give me that small extra bit!¡¯ Gary¡¯s begging was met with the usual silence.

    When he arrived at school, there were a few students already inside, one of them being Xin, who seemed to be staring at Tiffany for some reason. Gary wasn¡¯t sure how to interact with the new girl. The teenager still somewhat fancied her, but given theirst interaction, he didn¡¯t know what to do.

    On the other hand, things seemed to be back to normal with Tom after their little experiment. While Gary had been busy helping out at the pool club, his best friend had been busy trying to find out more information about Altered and Werewolves on Sunday.

    When it was time for the lunch break, Gary excused himself by iming he needed to go to the toilet, leaving both Innu and Tom to their own devices. However, the real reason for him being in a hurry was because he saw a certain someone walking through the hallway.

    ¡°ke, wait, do you have a moment? I need to talk to you.¡± Gary said.

    ¡®Oh crap!¡¯ ke thought. ¡®I still haven¡¯t processed everything I heard that day, and now he wants to speak to me? I could live with you being an Altered, Gary¡­ but since the test was negative¡­if you¡¯re not an Altered¡­ are you a monster?¡¯

 Chapter 146: The hunters trouble

    <h4>Chapter 146: The hunters trouble</h4>

    Hanging outside the school window sill wasn¡¯t exactly a normal thing that students did these days, yet ke had done exactly that. The high schooler had done so out of great concern for his fel- ¡­No, he had done so because it was his duty as an Altered Hunter who was worried about an Altered possibly being at his school!

    Seeing White Rose agents at their school meant that there could be even worse things roaming around the school than Gary. Which was why he needed to act fast. However, after listening in to their entire investigation, the only thing the young Altered Hunter had learned was that Gary was not an Altered¡­It was a head scratching moment for ke.

    For the rest of the day, ke had been very absent-minded. Hurrying home after rugby practice, the teenager felt strangely relieved. His heart was no longer beating fast, but he had a lot on his mind.

    ¡®I definitely saw him transform from a dog-like beast back into a human. Human to beast transformation should be something that only Altered can do?¡¯ ke thought to himself.

    ¡®But then why did that test fail? Even if they are faulty, it usuallyes down to human error of not conducting the test properly, otherwise White Rose and us wouldn¡¯t use them for verification. However, it¡¯s impossible for two experienced agents to make such a rookie mistake. But then, how¡¯s that possible?¡¯ It was clear that it was something that was beyond what ke could figure out on his own, so he was hoping that a certain someone might help. Someone that could give him answers.

    Right now, he had finally arrived home. On the side, there was their clinic. It wasn¡¯t arge hospital, just a small ce that treated the locals, typically for small wounds here and there, also selling medicine at their pharmacy and rarely helping out the local hospital.

    The clinic was owned by the Hunt family, but next to it, was where ke and his family lived. There was arge wall that blocked off the outside, so onlookers would be unable to see inside.

    On the wall itself there was a wooden gate that could be slid open, once a passcode was entered, and ke did just that. On the other side, they had a garden, and towards the back of this garden was a traditional Asian style inspired house made out of wood, with only a single floor. It was quite therge house but it was hard to tell whether this family was wealthy or not as the building was a bit rundown.

    Walking up, ke took off his shoes as he slid the door open, and in an instant, he could hear something striking the air. ke immediately jumped to the side, rolling, and here he could see his father holding a baton.

    ¡°Although you avoided the blow, you were slower than usual.¡± The father chastised his son as he stood there in his white robe. It looked like he himself had just gotten off work at the clinic. ¡°If I was an Altered based on some speed type beast, you might have been now. You should always remain vignt and do your best to be active rather than reactive.¡±

    His father walked back in, before pausing just before his whole body was inside. ¡°I¡¯m guessing something¡¯s on your mind, for you to ck off. Come in, let¡¯s talk.¡±

    Heading inside, there was what looked like a normal, standard training room, simr to that of traditional dojos. He and his father would regrly train with special weapons, but of course these special weapons were illegal under the No Lethal Weapons Act, hence why they had made sure that nobody could see inside.

    The adult walked towards one of the walls and on a table at the back there were three monkey statues. The left one was covering its eyes, the middle one was covering its ears and the one to the right was covering its mouth. After touching them in a particr order, a click sound could be heard.

    A mechanism had been activated and the wall to the far right started to spin around, until it stopped halfway, revealing a staircase that led downstairs. The two of them walked down, small lights by the side illuminating their path.

    Eventually, ke and his father reached the bottom of the secret Altered Hunter room. There were shelves filled with old books. ke warily stared at them. He still remembered the countless times that he had been told to read them over and over again as a child.

    They contained a lot of the information regarding their family history, and why they did what they did. Aside from that, they had information of all the different beasts of old their ancestors had hunted, knowledge that proved invaluable when going up against any Altered.

    Then, further along, there was a type of work bench as well as an experimental table next to it. On the other sides there were also the weapons and sets of armour their predecessors had used. Each one was different and unique, and it was the same with the armour sets, there were different ones that looked to have been made centuries ago, although each subsequent generation had improved on them.

    ¡°I thought you might feel morefortable discussing what¡¯s on your mind here.¡± His father began. ¡°Are you still hung up about what happened? You know, if you really want to hurry up and be a one-star Altered Hunter, we could move to one of the higher tier cities once we¡¯ve taken care of Slough¡¯s Altered.

    ¡°After that we¡¯ll be able to meet the others, and you won¡¯t feel so¡­ left out.¡±

    Hearing this, just reminded ke of who he was again. His father, Ozacas Hunt, was a three-star Altered Hunter, which meant he had killed more than fifteen Altered, while he hadn¡¯t even killed a single one yet. In fact, he had actually let, what would have been his first kill, go.

    His father would often talk about meeting others, but so far Ozacas had been the only Altered Hunter he had ever met. The reason for that was that his father didn¡¯t want to introduce him to the others until he had at least earned his first star.

    ke loved his father, but he hated that side about him. He had read that the past generations of the Hunt family had enjoyed a lot of prestige among their own kind, yet Ozacas ¡®hiding¡¯ his son, made ke feel as if his father was ashamed of him.

    ¡°It might be slightly rted to that matter¡­¡± ke confessed. ¡°I was just wondering, the books talk of beasts that used to roam earth long ago¡­ and I know that their fossils are what is being used to create the Altered, but¡­ is it possible that those beasts still exist today?¡±

    ¡°That is actually a popr topic among Altered Hunters.¡± Ozacas replied, scratching his chin. ¡°While there has yet to be a definitive answer to that question, I personally believe there are. Although I have never met one, there are rumours of certain special ¡®Altered¡¯ being out there.

    ¡°Do you remember reading that there were beasts that had attained a humanoid form? These were the most dangerous during their time, since they were said to disy clear signs of intelligence. I suspect that some of those special ¡®Altered¡¯ are exactly that, hiding among us today. ¡±

    Was that the answer? Was Gary actually some type of Humanoid Beast who had taken on the appearance of the naked teenager to invoke some sort of sympathy from ke? However, if that was the case, his blood should have been ck¡­ yet the teenager was certain it had been red. He was quite sure of it, after all, he had been the one who had to wash it off his outfit.

    His father went ahead to ce the baton away. While it was a good tool to prepare his son for surprise attacks, if the police caught him with such a thing, it would lead to a very bad oue.

    ¡°Then¡­ have you ever heard about a beast not bleeding ck blood?¡± ke asked.

    Just as he had reached the top, his father froze when he heard this question. His fingers still clinging onto to the baton.

    ¡°Why does it sound as if this isn¡¯t a hypothetical question?¡± His father questioned him, slowly turning his head around, making ke gulp down hard.

 Chapter 147: Tracking the Omega

    <h4>Chapter 147: Tracking the Omega</h4>

    After Gary had told ke that the two of them needed to talk about something, they had made their way outside to the bench next to the art block. This time, the green haired teenager was the only one to sit down, while the young Altered Hunter insisted on standing.

    ¡°Oi! Earth to ke, are you here with me?¡± Gary waved his hand in front of the other high schooler¡¯s face. ¡°Is everything alright with you? Were you out and about with your Dad yesterday or something? You seem a bit out of it.¡±

    ¡°Huh? My bad, I just got a lot going on, and¡­ honestly I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s a great idea for the two of us to meet outside of Rugby practice.¡± ke replied, and it looked like he was ready to leave again.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gary grabbed ke by the arm. ¡°It¡¯s important, it¡¯s about the other Altered from that day!¡±

    He had deliberated how much he should tell the Altered Hunter. After all, ke had already discovered Gary¡¯s secret, only that he should believe that the green haired teenager was actually an Altered, an honest mistake Gary wasn¡¯t too keen on correcting. However, if it meant gaining his trust and cooperation, the high schooler was somewhat ready to tell him the truth.

    ¡°That Altered¡­ I think I know who it is. I¡¯m sure you heard about White Roseing to Westbridge and asking for me the other day. They came to ask me a few questions about Billy Bruntin, the guy that was on the news a while ago.

    ¡°Anyway,st time you and your dad were there to stop us. Somehow, you were both able to track down the Altered before even White Rose could. Could you tell me how you did that?¡± Gary requested. As long as he had the method, he could do it himself, allowing him to face Billy alone.

    ¡°And what do you n to do when you find the Altered, Gary?¡± ke asked, the teenager had a plethora of other questions in his head, like what exactly was the rtionship between the two. They looked to be the same type of Altered or beast, so surely there had to be something connecting them. However, Gary had indirectly admitted that he was unable to find or contact the other.

    The green haired teenager could see it in ke¡¯s eyes, that he wasn¡¯t going to budge until he heard a satisfying answer. Fortunately, the one person who Gary believed might be alright with the answer to that question, would be the young Altered Hunter.

    ¡°I want to get rid of him!¡± Gary answered with no hesitation. ¡°He¡¯s hurting and killing people. He might be lying low right now, but I know he hasn¡¯t stopped. You know Innu, the guy who transferred here not too long ago? I¡¯m convinced he¡¯s being targeted by Billy.

    ¡°That¡¯s the reason that guy was in the forest that day. I know your situation, which is why I¡¯m not asking you for help, I just need to know how you did it.¡±

    ke wasn¡¯t sure whether the other teenager was telling the truth or not, but he knew he could use the current situation to his advantage. Gary needed something from him, and he had questions only the green haired teenager could answer,

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you how to find him¡­ If you can tell me how you¡¯re rted to Billy. And I want the ACTUAL truth, Gary¡­ I¡¯m aware that you¡¯re not really an Altered, so first I need to tell me WHAT exactly you are then.¡± ke demanded.

    This was not the reaction Gary had expected from ke. How did he even find out that Gary wasn¡¯t an Altered? Was it some sort of sixth sense that Altered Hunters had? Did they perhaps have some type of mole in the police force, updating them?

    Ultimately, it didn¡¯t matter. The important part was finding Billy. The longer he waited, the stronger the other Omega wolf could be, and the bigger the risk would be for everyone around Gary to get hurt.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll tell you¡­¡± Recently, Gary had been telling others the truth a lot more often, and it felt good to get things off his chest. Of course, to ke, there was no need for him to exin how he had be a Werewolf.

    At the same time, he made sure to leave out one critical piece of information, that being that he was actually the one who had turned Billy into a Werewolf. If ke, or the other Altered Hunters, were to learn that all it seemingly took for Gary to turn others was a simple bite, he was sure they would do everything to hunt him down.

    After ¡®confessing¡¯ to everything, ke¡¯s reaction was not what Gary was expecting at all. The young Altered Hunter merely let out a big sigh of relief.

    ¡°Thank goodness, so you¡¯re just a Werewolf.¡± ke smiled, but the smile soon changed as he came closer to Gary and ced a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I lied. There¡¯s really no easy way for us to track down someone like Billy. Altered Hunters use a lot of tools that help us, but we don¡¯t have a guaranteed way.

    ¡°Unfortunately, there isn¡¯t some sort of secret I can just share with you, and those instruments require some in depth knowledge, so I can¡¯t just loan them out. You should understand that, right?¡±

    Gary looked upset, and he had every right to be. Just when he thought there might be a way to get one step closer to get rid of one of the biggest problems in his life, it turned out that his only lead had disappeared. He also didn¡¯t appreciate being lied to like that, even if he hadn¡¯t been totally honest with ke either.

    ¡°However, there is something I can do for you. If anyone ever finds out what I¡¯m about to propose, they¡¯ll probably emunicate me¡­ Why don¡¯t the two of us try to take him down together?

    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m an Altered Hunter, and even if he¡¯s a Werewolf, he¡¯s kinda like an Altered who needs to be taken down, right? No offence, but if I managed to deal with you, you¡¯ll have a hard to impossible time going in by yourself.

    ¡°He¡¯s managed to go up against my three-star Dad and survive, so calling him tough seems to be an understatement. While we might not stand a chance on our own, together we might just be enough to pull it off. What do you say?¡±

 Chapter 148: Better together

    <h4>Chapter 148: Better together</h4>

    Gary was hesitating on whether he should ept ke¡¯s offer. Billy was his responsibility, and he hated the thought that his friends might get involved. The fact that the Omega wolf had attacked them still haunted the teenager, especially since it had boiled down to dumb luck that none of them had gotten killed that night.

    However, ke was different from the rest. In the first ce, he was an Altered Hunter, belonging to a group of people who risked their lives to kill Altered on the daily. Even if he were to refuse, chances were that ke and his father would be looking out for Billy anyway.

    ¡®But is working with an Altered Hunter really the best thing? I can trust ke, can¡¯t I?¡¯ Gary wondered. ¡®He did let me go that night, even though I was too injured and too weak to resist. He could have easily killed me¡­ well, I guess he could always tell his father about me if he wanted to¡­¡¯¡¯

    That was when a certain idea popped in his head. Instead of worrying about things he couldn¡¯t control, why not make use of his system? At least that way, the teenager would get a warning if his trust turned out to have been misced.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, the two of us stand a much better chance to take down Billy together. However, I have one condition. I want you to promise me that you won¡¯t try to kill me.¡± Gary requested as he held out his hand for a handshake.

    Strangely, ke was now the one who hesitated and thought things through. However, in the end, he shook the other teenager¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Seems fair¡­ I promise I won¡¯t try to kill you.¡± ke answered, yet remained careful with his words. Although he might not make an attempt on his life, he couldn¡¯t promise that others wouldn¡¯t.

    [A spoken deal has been made, would you like to Mark ¡°ke Hunt¡±?]

    [Yes]

    [5/5 Marks have been assigned]

    [Please reach a higher level to increase the number of avable Marks]

    ¡®Oh! So that¡¯s how I can get more Marks.¡¯

    Gary was pleased to find out that information. The high schooler had kept one Mark free, just in case he needed to make a bond with anyone else he cared about. Of course, it could have also been used to initiate a Forced Bond with anyone he might have needed to track down in the future.

    Fortunately, he had already created a Bond Mark with those close to him, and this promise with ke also had another nice benefit. With the additional 10 Exp he would gain, it would only require Gary to finish one of his Daily Quests tomorrow to reach Level 9.

    ¡®Maybe then I will finally gain that Iron Body skill I saw a while ago. It might be too much to ask to give me more Marks to assign that early, but possibly Level 10 will do the trick. It seems special enough, seeing as the System called it a Main Quest.¡¯

    ¡°However, do you mind if we start looking for Billy tomorrow?¡± Gary asked ke. ¡°I still need to get some things sorted out today.¡± As much as he wanted to take down the Omega wolf, that extra stat point he would get tomorrow might end up ying a vital role.

    ¡°Not at all.¡± ke shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s going to take me a couple of days before I can gather the things I require anyway. Just to let you know, but we probably only get one shot at this. Honestly, I don¡¯t like doing this stuff behind my Dad¡¯s back. If it doesn¡¯t work out, or it turns out to be too dangerous, we should leave it.

    ¡°Worst case, I can just pretend to have found him on my own, without mentioning you. With all the leads, he will probably be able to take care of it.¡±

    Gary nodded, although he didn¡¯tpletely agree to the deal. He wanted to make sure Billy was truly gone, rather than leaving it in the hands of others. As long as the Quest was still there, he was sure the Omega wolf would be after him.

    The two split their ways, and Gary now had a new contact in his phone, ke, adding it to his small list of numbers. Seeing the number, the green haired teenager considered inviting ke to the pool club. Kai did say that they should invite their ssmates since it was a business after all, and if they were working together, it wouldn¡¯t be bad for their rtionship to be closer.

    ¡®Maybe after all that Billy stuff is taken care of.¡¯ Gary thought, not wanting to stop his friend from making the preparation he had talked about.

    Coming back from that break, sses continued as usual, until it was time for them to go to their club activities. Right now, Gary and even Tom were on the field. Ever since thest match where substitutes had been used, Mr Root had started involving them more in practice, just in case another simr incident was to ur.

    ¡°Say, do you n to do more Werewolf stuffter? Since we know you can control it now, it might not hurt testing out your limits and such.¡± Tom suggested, while pretending to kick a ball.

    ¡°Ah, actually I¡¯m busy¡­ Hey, how about you juste along after club practice instead?¡± Gary had been about to decline his best friend¡¯s suggestion, but then he offered to take him along. ¡°I recently got another part-time job. The atmosphere is rxing, and you actually already know the others. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem, and it will let you see what I¡¯m doing. Stay there for as long as you like, or leave if it¡¯s not your thing.¡±

    Tom couldn¡¯t quite believe his ears, Gary was actually inviting him to his job. Thinking about this he gulped slightly wondering what it could be, but if his best friend was inviting him it had to be safe¡­ right?

    He didn¡¯t want to further distance himself from Tom, who had always been helping him out. After their first day of business, Gary didn¡¯t have to worry about them talking about any gang stuff, simply because they would be far too busy taking care of things in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. As such, it became nothing more than a hang-out ce, so there was no reason to keep that a secret from his best friend.

    ¡°Sure, that would be great!¡± Tom agreed enthusiastically.

    When practice was over, Tom, Gary, and Innu were all waiting outside the school gate. Gary had exined to Tom that all of them worked at the same ce, so they were all currently waiting for Kai, Who from Tom¡¯s knowledge was the one with connections to the ce.

    Tom didn¡¯t really like that Gary was hanging around Kai and the others, especially since he was still under the assumption his best friend had gone gambling with them. He was simply worried that they might influence him to do other, potentially worse things. However, he also hadn¡¯t forgotten that without them, he might have ended up as a snack for the other Werewolf he had initially mistaken to be Gary.

    ¡°Customer or another pair of helping hands?!¡± Kai asked teasingly, as he waved over and joined the three boys.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Marie?¡± Innu asked, noticing that their upperssman was on his own.

    ¡°Ah, she didn¡¯t go to the club. As far as the school knows, she¡¯s gotten injured recently, making her unable to participate in club activities for a while, so she gets to leave earlier than the rest of us. In other words, she should already be there.¡± Kai answered.

    Thinking of Marie, Gary¡¯s face was feeling a little hot as he recalled yesterday¡¯s conversation. Rather than enjoy her free time, she was diligently going to the pool club and working hard. In fact, as he thought about it, Marie had diligently been working while everyone else was cleaning. The high school girl hadn¡¯t even taken a single break herself, working at the cash registry and the bar simultaneously.

    In the end, the group started to walk together, and Tom couldn¡¯t stop asking questions about the ce. Luckily, after Gary had answered the initial questions, Kai had taken over and had answered all concerns that Tom seemed to have had.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re working at a ce called the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, of all things.¡± Tom said while ncing at Gary. This didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Kai, who made a mental note that he might not be the only one to know the green haired teenager¡¯s secret.

    ¡°Rx, man, it¡¯s just a normal pool club!¡± Innu finally said, cing his arm around Tom. The two of them were morefortable with each other since they were in the same ss and seat neighbours. ¡°Your boy is okay, you don¡¯t have to worry, and none of us are going to get in trouble. It¡¯s one of those under the table things. As long as no one reports it, nobody gets hurt and we all profit.¡±

    When they finally arrived at the ce, the door was left wide open, which seemed unusual, and not just because it was supposed to keep the heat in. All the boys hurried their steps and as they entered the pool club they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    ¡°What the f*ck? Who did this?!¡± Innu shouted, as he looked around for a perpetrator.

 Chapter 149: What now?

    <h4>Chapter 149: What now?</h4>

    Innu was clearly letting out his frustration by shouting and yelling at the scene in front of him. The other two boys were left too shocked to even say anything, while Tom remained silent. He had never seen this look on Gary before, who was beyond mad. His hands were clenched so tightly that the veins on the front of his hand were showing.

    ¡°Who did all of this? Screw me, this ce might look even worse than before!¡± Innu continued to yell, and rightly so. The ce had beenpletely wrecked. The pool tables, cues, and even the barstools had been destroyed. ss shards were also everywhere, surrounded by the liquid that was once inside the former bottles. All of their hard work had been ruined just like that.

    ¡°This¡­ has to be intentional.¡± Kai slowly spoke. ¡°Sh*t! They were supposed toe to us to talk first! ¡­ Why didn¡¯t they send out their representatives?! ¡­ I made a mistake¡­ F*ck! I never thought they would act this fast.¡±

    It was clear that Kai wasn¡¯t his usual self, yet all of them turned around as they heard the sound of an iing motorbike. Austin could feel that something was wrong when none of the other boys greeted him and Gary continued to stay in the door. Getting off his bike, he entered the pool club, his reaction being somewhat simr to Innu¡¯s.

    ¡°Who did this? Who dared to touch our ce? Tell me their names, so I can pound their heads in!¡± Austin shouted, punching his fist into his other hand.

    Tom was just left there baffled, and was wondering who this new scary figure was that he hadn¡¯t seen before. He could only assume Austin to be another employee, but now didn¡¯t seem like the best time for an introduction.

    What he also didn¡¯t understand was why everyone was so upset that their ce of work had been destroyed. Their employer should have insurance which would cover all of this damage. Sure, they had every right to be a little upset about being unable to work for a while, but each one of them took this really personally.

    He hadn¡¯t been told that they were actually the ones who ¡®owned¡¯ this ce, nor that they had been the ones who had invested their own time and sweat to transform it into an establishment. It had only been open for a single day, yet someone hade in and destroyed all of their hard work¡­

    While the others were still busying to terms with the grim situation, Gary was still standing by the door.

    ¡°Tom¡­ I smell blood.¡± Gary finally said. ¡°Why do I smell blood?¡±

    Tom suddenly understood why his best friend had been more than just a little angry about his ce of work being destroyed, if he smelt blood, it could only mean one thing.

    ¡°Guys! Where is Marie? Didn¡¯t Kai say she was supposed to be here already?¡± Tom loudly asked, having connected the dots.

    In the room, another one of the group was standing there frozen by the bar area, they were looking down, and Gary noticed that was where the smell of blood hade from and had rushed over. Kai fell to his knees and held Miss Degrace up. The middle-aged woman had been beaten and there was a cut from the top of her head.

    Seeing Miss Degrace in this way, was sending images back to Gary¡¯s head of when he had found his own mother like this.

    ¡°No! No! No! Not again!¡± Kai screamed, holding her. ¡°Wake up! Can you hear me!?¡±

    Soon the others had gathered just behind to see the state she was in, and what state Kai was in. The calm person was startled and clearly was out of it.

    Eventually though, through the shouting, Miss Degrace had opened her eyes and looked like she had regained conciseness.

    ¡°Kai, you¡¯re here¡­¡± She said as her eyes immediately started to well up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I tried to contact you¡­ I tried to stop them.¡± Her voice sounded very weak.

    ¡°They took her¡­they took Marie. I¡¯m sorry¡­ I really did try to stop them.¡±

    ¡°I know you did!¡± Kai held her hand, tears running down his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get her back! Just tell me who did this to you!¡±

    ¡°They were wearing¡­ grey¡­ I think it was the grey colour gang¡­but there were another two with them.¡± Mrs Degrace answered in a weak voice, the act of speaking was clearly exhausting to the current her.

    Kai¡¯s main suspects had naturally been the ck and gray colour gangs who would fight over the area. Normally, they should have sent out their scouts, so the real gangs would visit the business to offer their ¡®services¡¯. However, two things didn¡¯t make sense to him.

    Why did they outright attack them rather than try to force them to pay up? With the pool club in its current state, there was nothing to be gained from it. Nevertheless, the more pressing matter was why did they take Marie with them?

    ¡®I can¡¯t¡­ think straight.¡¯ Kai realised. It was then that an unexpected person, and ced their hand on top of Kai¡¯s shoulder giving him some reassurance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get her to a hospital first. They¡¯ll make sure, she will be okay.¡± Gary said, concerned that her condition might worsen. ¡°Tom, can you take her there? Get a taxi and make sure she¡¯s alright. An ambnce might take too long.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what are you going to do? Aren¡¯t you guys going toe with me?¡± Tom asked, as he had already dialled the number.

    Gary looked at the faces of the other teenagers. Everyone seemed to feel the same, and he couldn¡¯t¡¯ get the image of Marie out of his head yesterday.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go and find Marie. Please, Tom, take care of her for us.¡± Gary requested.

    His best friend had heard who had attacked this ce. It was the grey colour gang, and while they might not be as dangerous as the main gang backing them, he couldn¡¯t imagine what Gary and the other three could do on their own. He wanted to stop them, but Gary¡¯s words seemed firm.

    ¡°Alright, but promise me, Gary, don¡¯t do anything you will regret.¡± Tom said, as Austin helped lift Miss Degrace, and the two of them went out to wait for the cab. When Austin returned, he could see that Kai was standing there in ce, still looking at the spot where the woman had been.

    ¡®He¡¯s too angry, his head isn¡¯t in the right ce, but who can me him. Usually, he would be the one to tell us what to do in this situation, but since he¡¯s out¡­¡¯

    Austin turned to Gary. ¡°So, boss, what are we going to do now?¡±

    It was then, Innu turned to Gary, and even Kai had turned around to look at him. All eyes of the Howlers were on him.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?!¡± Gary asked aggressively. ¡°This is our ce¡­ and Marie is part of the Howlers. They¡¯ve messed with us and our ce, so we¡¯re going to storm their fu*cking ce, get her back and MAKE THEM PAY!!!¡±

 Chapter 150: Kaiâ€™s gift

    <h4>Chapter 150: Kai¡¯s gift</h4>

    Gary had been ready to go on his own in the worst case scenario. He wouldn¡¯t have med any of them, since what they were about to do was crazy for any normal teenager, yet not a single member of the Howlers hesitated. They were all willing to go along with their leader¡¯s decision, and go rescue one of their own.

    In the short amount of time that the group had spent together, they had formed a bond that couldn¡¯t be exined with just words. On top of that, they all seriously wanted to punish those who had destroyed the pool club.

    ¡®If anything, now is the perfect time¡­ I¡¯m sure the grey colour gang should still be suffering from the fight they had with the ck colour gang and Underdogs. There shouldn¡¯t be as many of them active as they were before.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Now knowing who their target was, Kai began making some calls to find out where exactly they needed to go. However, in case he couldn¡¯te through, Gary already had a pretty good idea where the grey colour gang hangout was.

    That time, he had followed Gil¡¯s scent to an abandoned warehouse. There he had watched his former schoolmate go through some type of initiation, and the leader was there as well. He was sure of it, that if they needed answers, that was the ce to go to.

    ¡®Still, it might mean we¡¯ll be going up against the entire grey colour gang if they¡¯re at their hideout, but Marie could be with them¡­ who knows what they¡¯re doing with her? She could end up getting hurt just like Amy¡­ or Mum. ¡­ If ites to it, I¡¯ll have to use everything.¡¯

    ¡°You guys prepare yourselves, I need to get something first.¡± Gary excused himself, as he headed to the back, which had a staircase leading underneath the pool club. The group had used the cer to store supplies and equipment. The high schooler could see that the door had been destroyed, so he wasn¡¯t very surprised to find their supplies stolen and most of the equipment destroyed.

    ¡®How much damage did they cause?¡¯ Gary wondered, yet he was thinking about who had been affected the most by this, and it was clearly Kai, Marie and her mother. Even when typing on his phone, calling whoever he needed to, his upperssman had practically pushed his thumbs into the piece of technology.

    Walking through the cer, Gary eventually found what he was looking for, as it had been left lying on the floor. It was Kai¡¯s gift for telling him the truth. It wasn¡¯t really anything special, which was why the grey colour gang members hadn¡¯t bothered taking it. Bending down, he picked up the item, and he thought back to the conversation with Kai that day.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°As you know, the leader is the most important figure in any gang.¡± Kai said after leading Gary down to the cer. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of the Kings, I assume?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Gary answered. Even before he had done any ¡®research¡¯ into gangs, that had been a name, all of them would know. The Kings were a different thing entirely. They were beyond untouchable by their local government, more so working hand in hand with them.

    ¡°Since you were part of the Underdogs, I¡¯m sure you already know that as grand as they might sound, they are pretty much just the biggest gang leader of the Tier-1 cities. However, how many of them do you actually know by name, and I don¡¯t just mean what gang they belong to?¡± Kai questioned, yet after naming two of them, Gary was already scratching his head.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Kai pointed out with a slight grin. ¡°Aside from those two who act a bit more shy and whose faces are already well known, the others make sure to hide their identities. The ¡®unknown¡¯ is always scarier than anything you can put your finger on.

    ¡°Rumours of their exploits continue to spread, allowing their names to strike even more fear. I thought it wouldn¡¯t hurt if we start doing the same, even if we are only small-time right now. I¡¯ve prepared this for now, and I think it¡¯s important you use it. Now that I know what you are, even more so.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you would like to continue a normal school life, with your family and friends being none the wiser about this part of your life, right? This should make it easier for you to live that double life.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Gary said, yet at the time he had left the gift in the cer, and not just because he was worried Amy might find it and start asking questions. He truly did want to separate the two lives that he had, but perhaps in the future the line between the two woulde closer and closer.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary wiped the dust off the item, before he ced it on top of his face. It fit surprisingly well.

    It was a mask to hide who he was. A hand-crafted essory which covered the top half of his face, from his forehand to the tip of his nose. It had been painted ck, with a few details that were in a golden trim, matching the Howlers¡¯ gang colours. There were stylish w marks on either side,ing towards the face. It was the same on the top of the forehead as well.

    ¡®Kai¡­ this should be the perfect time to use it. You gave this to me¡­ so I didn¡¯t have to hide from others. I will use this well.¡¯ Gary thought as he stood back up.

    He soon changed into his clothing, the ck and gold zer and ck trousers underneath, with a white shirt still from school. Walking up the stairs, he could see the others were ready as well, and even Austin had changed into this uniform.

    The others were surprised at suddenly seeing their leadere out in a mask. It was obvious that Innu was holding it in to ask what was up with that, but due to the tension in the room, none of themmented on it.

    ¡°Did you get the information?¡± Gary asked.

    Kai looked at his phone one more time, shaking his head.

    ¡°I found out that there were a few people that saw the grey colourse to this area, and I know where their hideout is, but we can¡¯t be sure that Marie is there.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go there, anyway.¡± Gary replied. ¡°Even if she won¡¯t be there, we should be able to find someone who might lead us to her.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you want us to take on the whole grey colour gang? With just the five of us? ¡± Innu questioned. He wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone in a one on one fight. The teenager had also seen the strength of his fellow gang members, so he wouldn¡¯t have minded fighting off arger force, but this¡­ this just seemed suicidal.

    Colour gangs had hundreds of members. Their hideouts would naturally have at least a few dozen members, no matter the time. They would practically be walking into the den of the lion.

    ¡°I called for help, but it might take them a while.¡± Austin said as reassurance. ¡°I¡¯ll share my location with them, as soon as we get there.¡±

    ¡°We will go there first.¡± Gary insisted. ¡°We don¡¯t know what they¡¯ve done to her, or what they still n on doing to her. Whatever it is, it can¡¯t be good, and I don¡¯t want her to be scared.¡±

    The others nodded and left the establishment. The sun hadn¡¯t quite gone down yet, and it wasn¡¯t dark enough for the colour gangs to wander the streets, but it didn¡¯t matter. Since the pool club was between the two areas, the grey colour base wasn¡¯t too far away.

    Walking the streets they hardly ran into any trouble due to what time it was, but as they got to the docks where the abandoned warehouse was located, there was a fence that went around the entire ce.

    Standing in front, four grey colour members could be seen acting as some type of guard, and Gary had received a message.

    [New Quest received]

    [When you mess with the bull, you get the horns!]

    [Your enemies have abducted someone close to you.

    Show them the consequences of going against you!]

    [Quest reward: 30 Exp per defeated person]

    ¡°Hey, what the hell are you kids doing here?!¡± A tall, lean man walked towards them. ¡°This is the grey colour gang area, do you guys have some type of meeting?¡± He asked again, frowning at all the kids in front of him.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that stupid mask? Does he think he¡¯s some kind of superhero?¡± Another oneughed as he pointed at Gary.

    ¡°Charging Heart, activate.¡± The high schooler mumbled to himself.

    ¡°Hey, what did you say?!¡± The man leant forward and went to grab the masked teenager by the cor. As he reached out, Gary clenched his fist and threw it out as hard and as fast as he could. Blood gushed out of the man¡¯s nose as his head flew back, his body dropping to the floor.

    ¡°Where is she?!¡± Gary shouted, his fist now covered in blood.

 Chapter 151: Marieâ€™s struggle

    <h4>Chapter 151: Marie¡¯s struggle</h4>

    The building used to be a dock for ships. However, it had been ages since it had been used for that purpose, so these days it was just another abandoned building. The only things reminding anyone of its past function would be the many empty shipping containers that had been left behind.

    Those were one of the reasons why the Grey colour gang had chosen to use it as their base. Many of their members were runaways, homeless, or just had nothing else to do, so they used the shipping containers as their sleeping quarters. They were filled with quilts, sheets, and small cooking units here and there.

    Not only could these containers be found inside the warehouse, but outside as well. In their ones though they were filled with the more high ranking members of the Grey colour gang. The better equipped ones were reserved for those with more say. The most ¡®luxurious one¡¯, the one at the very back, had a steel door so the gang leader could enjoy his privacy.

    However, right now, he had three visitors, two teenage boys, as well as a tied up teenage girl. Her arms were lifted above her tied up to the corners of the room, strapped to somerge iron nails ced in the corner. Her wrists were red, her skin a bit rubbed due to her repeated escape attempts.

    ¡°One of you exin to me how a simple scouting mission, which I assigned you YESTERDAY, resulted in THIS!¡± Buffin pointed at Mary, as he looked at the two red haired twins, Sren and Leng. ¡°Not only that, but somehow you decided that it was a good idea to TRASH the whole ce! How do you suppose we¡¯ll be able to make any ie off of them, huh?! For two newbies, you already have had a bad start.¡±

    The two looked to be holding back their anger. It was the first time they had been in a ¡®Gang¡¯ Other than their own, and they weren¡¯t used to being the ones having to receive orders rather than give them.

    ¡°Sir, the establishment was actually being run by a new up anding gang.¡± Sren answered. ¡°They didn¡¯t ept your offer, and it looked like they weren¡¯t going to ept the other gang¡¯s offer either. Their owner seemed to be away, so to remind them and to let them know that we were serious, we decided to bring one of them here to call out the others.¡±

    Hearing their exnation, Buffin let out a big sigh.

    ¡®These two¡­ they really are great liars. I would be inclined to believe them, if Bowden didn¡¯t tell me what had really happened. They probably ruled their school with their smarts and think they can do something simr here¡­ Sh*t, why couldn¡¯t Raven dump them on Riv? Why do I have to be the one to look after them?¡¯

    ¡°Alright, but once theye to collect her, you¡¯ll have to be the ones to deal with them!¡± Buffin dered. ¡°If ites down to it, you better not hesitate to take those.¡±

    The two twins looked at each other and reached into their pockets. Each one of them had a small container with a special syringe inside. It contained a very small amount of the liquid that had been given to them by Raven.

    Surprisingly, the Grey Elephant leader had been more upfront with them than they had expected, iming that it was a type of drug that was in the experimental phase that could turn them into Altered. They didn¡¯t take it there and then, but he said that if they wanted to beat the green haired teenager who had defeated them, it would be an option.

    The idea was to eventually send the twins into a dangerous situation like scouting out the Underdogs until they were forced to use it. The only thing was he had asked Buffin to keep an eye on them to verify the effects of the medicine.

    ¡®He really must have lost his mind, if he believes I¡¯m going to tail them into the Underdogs¡¯ den and get myself hurt, pfft.¡¯

    ¡°Just get out of my sight. I¡¯ll call on you once you¡¯re needed. Make sure not to create another mess.¡± Buffin said as he heard the door close behind him, and he looked at Marie, who was tied up. She was conscious, and wriggling about, her mouth had been sealed with tape, so she didn¡¯t make too much noise.

    ¡°Hey, you better hope that gang of yours wille over soon.¡± Buffin crouched down and stroked the bottom of her smooth face. ¡°If they don¡¯t, we won¡¯t be able to strike a deal and then¡­ well, I guess we could always send you back as a ¡®warning¡¯ but I guarantee you won¡¯t be in as good of a state as you are in now¡­¡±

    Hearing this Marie struggled towards the man trying to do anything to hit him¡­ Seeing the pathetic act just made Buffin smile. He lent in closer to her to see the look in her eyes. Using this opportunity, MArie swung her body forward and managed to head butt him, hitting him in the nose.

    Wiping his nose to check if there was blood Buffin could see it was okay, but his mood was clearly soured.

    ¡°Let me show you what a headbut is like!¡± Buffin said, grabbing the back of her head and holding onto her hair. He then swung his forehead forward and smashed it against her face, hitting the bottom part of her jaw and lips. They had hit her own teeth causing her lips to swell and bleed.

    ¡°This will be your only warning! I never gave a crap about all that chivalry crap! Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get any special treatment. Right now, you¡¯re nothing but a hostage.¡± Buffin stated.

    Outside, the two twins were making their way to their room, thinking about what they had done. They were the ones that had trashed the ce with some grey colour gang members that had been brought along.

    They had actually scouted out the ce yesterday, at which point they had seen Gary and the others. Seeing that they had a connection to this ce, even though they hadn¡¯t found it belonged to them, they hatched the n to attack it during school hours.

    The two brothers had lost a lot of money, not once but twice, and everything was going downhill for them ever since they had met a certain green haired teenager. As such, they had used today¡¯s opportunity for some payback.

    ¡®Unless we met some type of monster I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll ever use these things.¡¯ Leng thought.

 Chapter 152: The Howlers attack

    <h4>Chapter 152: The Howlers attack</h4>

    ¡°Hey¡­ that guy isn¡¯ting up¡­ I think the masked guy just knocked him out with one punch!¡± One of the grey coloured members reported, as he shook his friend, who was on the ground.

    ¡°Come on, he¡¯s not bald, how is that possible!¡± Another imed looking at the small figure who had hit his friend.

    [You have sessfully knocked out a grey colour gang member]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [Exp 1012/1024]

    ¡®These aren¡¯t the Grey Elephants, they¡¯re not real gangsters, and I¡¯ve gotten stronger.¡¯

    Even if the gym hadn¡¯t given him extra stats, Gary could still tell that his body had improved from the workouts. Perhaps his Strength hadn¡¯t increased enough for the system to grant him another point, but it was as if he was between stages somewhere.

    ¡°Hey¡­ you knocked him out cold, now that is quite the entrance.¡± Austin cheered.

    ¡°That bastard¡¯s trying to start a fight with us, get him!¡± One of them shouted and the other two guards immediately ran forward, charging towards the strange person wearing the mask. Gary was ready to deal with both of them again.

    ¡®I need to conserve my Energy. Who knows how many are inside?¡¯ Gary thought. Before he could act, though, he saw two figures whizz past him, onerge and the other small.

    Arge fist hit one of the grey colour members in the gut. The punch was so strong that spit came out from the member¡¯s mouth, and he fell to the ground. Following up with a strike on the temple, Austin knocked him out.

    As for the other, Innu had jumped with his knee forward. The movement was so fast and sudden that the other member was unable to react, allowing his knees to dig right into the other member¡¯s chest, knocking him down on the floor.

    ¡°What? Did you forget that we were here with you?¡± Kai questioned as he undid his expensive watch and ced it in one of his pockets. It seemed like for the first time he would get involved personally in their matters.

    ¡°Hey, in a gang we need to protect our leader at all costs.¡± Innu said with a thumbs up towards Gary.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Gary said, looking at them all. ¡°But as a leader, I also need to make sure all of you are okay.¡±

    The four of them walked forward and thest guard that was there had picked up a pot and pan that was by the side. He ran back, scared, and started hitting them furiously.

    ¡°Everyone, we¡¯re being attacked! I repeat, we¡¯re being attacked!¡± The man warned hispanions.

    Soon, those who had been sleeping or hanging out in their containers started toe out, as they took a look at who was attacking them.

    ¡°Is it the ck colour gang? Maybe they are here because of what happenedst time?¡±

    ¡°It might be the Underdogs as well.¡±

    Soon, around thirty people came out from their containers and came to meet the intruders. They looked to be younger or a simr age than themselves which ruled out those from the Underdogs, at the same time they could only see a single group.

    ¡°Really? You got us all worked up for this!¡± One of themined. They had been on their toes ever since the attack, afraid that the others mighte at them at any time.

    The member who had run away froze. He didn¡¯t really know what to say that wouldn¡¯t make him seem weak, but these guys weren¡¯t normal kids. They had knocked out the other members so quickly.

    ¡®There¡¯s around thirty of them¡­ everyone here is strong¡­actually, I have no clue about Kai. He must havee here just because he was worried about Marie, but I might need to protect him. If it¡¯s all of us, we can deal with these guys and then head inside.¡¯ Gary was trying toe up with a n.

    He felt a familiar hand that started to find its way more and more frequently on his shoulder these days. As he looked up, he could see Kai shaking his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time on this riff-raff. We might not be able to defeat them all, but we can at least buy you some time. Worst case, we might get beat up, but we¡¯ll live. Just head inside and make sure Marie is okay. There might be even more inside.¡± Kai advised.

    Was it the right thing to do? Was Kai just being brave, or was he cing Marie¡¯s safety above their own?

    The teenager honestly wasn¡¯t too sure, but since none of the members before them hade out from the warehouse, it was very possible that there were even more inside waiting.

    ¡°Gary, I trust you to find Marie and help whoever has her more than anyone. Once you do, concentrate on getting her out. We can always get back at themter, but first we have to save her! Don¡¯t hesitate to go wild, and get them for me, will ya?¡± Kai requested as he patted him on the shoulder.

    If Gary was quick, then he could make it back in time to help them out as well. They knew the risks when agreeing toe here.

    The teenager started to run ahead, and some members looked like they were about to pounce and stop him, but once again both Innu and Austin were there to stop them, showing off their skills.

    Then there was a third, who was running after Gary¡¯s back. Before he could reach out to him, though, a foot could be seen reaching around his neck. The next second he had been pulled back, and a sudden thud could be heard as he fell to the ground.

    The grey colour member looked up and just saw a pretty blonde boy looking over him with his hands in his pockets.

    ¡°No one is disturbing him, he has a job to do.¡± Kai said.

    Seeing this, Austin smiled. ¡®I knew he had some skills.¡¯

    Thanks to the littlemotion the others had made, Gary was easily able to run to the warehouse and open its doors. He closed them behind him, and now that he was inside the building he could see a few people walking around.

    ¡°Huh, who the f*ck is that? Was the boss expecting a visitor?¡± One of them asked as they spotted Gary.

    ¡®Well, they¡¯ve caught me, so no need to try and be sneaky.¡¯

    ¡°MARIE!!!¡± Gary shouted at the top of his lungs. ¡°I¡¯M HERE TO GET YOU!!! JUST WAIT FOR ME!!¡±

 Chapter 153: One at a time

    <h4>Chapter 153: One at a time</h4>

    Gary¡¯s little yell was strong, it was a powerful shout that seemed toe from deep within the belly. So loud that some might have thought that he even had used a microphone to shout that loud. If the high schooler had been in his right mind, he would have also noticed that this yell was incredibly loud, but he only cared about one thing at the moment.

    His little war cry had done exactly what he had expected it to do. Soon he could see several peoplee out from the containers inside the warehouse, and they were now all looking at the intruder.

    ¡°Oi, some of us are trying to sleep! Can somebody please take care of this masked idiot? How the hell did he even manage to get in?¡± One memberined, as he was still groggy from the rough awakening. Those that had just been chilling, hade here expecting to see a good show.

    It was just one person, after all.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take care of them. Can¡¯t wait to see how Buffin will punish all those ckers outside.¡± One grey colour gang member decided toe forward.

    Meanwhile, Gary started to sniff the air. He hadn¡¯t Marked Marie, so there was no scent trail leading him to the high school girl. Fortunately, he had another way of tracking her. Ever since the time he used Tom¡¯s bloody shirt to find whoever had done that to him, he had been training his nose.

    One of the benefits of bing a Werewolf was that all his senses had drastically improved, including his sense of smell. Staying around the others, he had been slowly memorizing their unique scents, just in case of a situation like this one.

    ¡°I can¡¯t smell her on any of you, so where is she?¡± Gary asked, once again.

    The others justughed, and the youngd took a swing towards Gary. The attack wasn¡¯t as fast as Innu¡¯s, and he was sure it wasn¡¯t as strong as Austin¡¯s either. Seeing this, Gary moved his head, avoiding the punch and before he could do anything else, he grabbed the person by the arm.

    ¡®You guys are the ones that attacked Chavley, and now you are hurting me again! I¡¯ll make sure you can never use these hands!¡¯ Gary thought, as he pulled on the arm, straightening it, and lifted his other arm in the air, mming it down on his elbow.

    It felt like there was almost no resistance, as a loud pop could be heard, clearly indicating that the joint had been broken. The youngd screamed in pain, yet the next second a fist hit his head, knocking him out and causing him to fall to the floor.

    ¡°I have no sympathy for you guys, I can¡¯t even feel bad for you any more.¡± Gary stated as he looked at what he had done.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 9]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [18/1228 Exp]

    Taking out the first one like so, the others now no longer saw this person as a joke. They stayed back slightly, wondering who this person was, until they heard the sound of one of their leaders shouting some sense into them.

    ¡°Get him, he must be from one of the other gangs!¡± They shouted.

    Hearing these orders, they had decided to alle at him at once, and this was what Gary wanted. He only had so much Energy he could use, after all, and it didn¡¯t help that Charging Heart had deactivated after that attack.

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy]

    [88/120 Energy]

    The first one hade in with a kick, and Gary moved to the side, nning to hit him again, but before he could, he felt someone kick him right behind in the leg. His Endurance was good, but it had hit him causing him to fall for a second, at the same time, another fist hadnded right in his face.

    ¡®Damn it, fighting multiple opponents is harder than I thought.¡¯

    [-2 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    Now on his knees, Gary could feel a few of them step on his back, but he looked in front of him and reached out, grabbing one of their legs. Using all his strength, he pulled the colour gang member, making them fall on the floor with him, as he immediately climbed on top of him.

    The others tried to pull this masked person off of their friend, some continuing to hit him, but the green haired teenager ignored his dropping Health.

    [-1 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    [-3 HP]

    Still, ignoring all the numbers that were appearing, Gary continued to punch the person who he had taken on the ground until he had received another message.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [48/1228 Exp]

    Standing up quickly, Gary ran forward with his hands covering his head running through the crowd of people attacking him and turned around.

    Now the others could see the state of their member, he had a bloody face and was lying there on the floor.

    ¡°What is it with this guy? He didn¡¯t let go of him, no matter what we did.¡± One of them was starting to be afraid of Gary. He didn¡¯t know if it was the mask or the person¡¯s suicidal actions.

    ¡°Come on, he has to be hurt by now, let¡¯s get him!¡± Another shouted and charged forward.

    ¡®That¡¯s two down. I can still take them down one by one!¡¯ Gary thought,pletely focused on his goal.

    Once again, he charged forward but with so many of them, he had been kicked in the gut, but quickly recovering he threw out a punch as hard as he could hitting his target. The person wasn¡¯t knocked out, but Gary quickly pulled on the cor of his shirt, not letting go. Ignoring all the surrounding attacks.

    [-2 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    [-3 HP]

    Pulling the cor forward, Gary threw his fist once again in another face and due to the system he knew this one wasn¡¯t getting back up.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [78/1228 Exp]

    Then, though, Gary felt a familiar pain hit him in the back. It was the sharp, stinging pain he had felt a few times already.

    [You have been stabbed!]

    [-7 HP]

    [56/100 HP]

    [You are bleeding!]

    [Your Health will decrease by -1 HP per minute until you¡¯re patched up or healed.]

    Gary quickly turned around, and looked at the one who had stabbed him, and it looked like multiple people had now picked up some type of weapon. Wooden nks, bike chains and poket knives.

    ¡°You were the one that used a weapon first, remember that.¡± Gary said, as he took a swipe towards the person.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-15 Energy]

    [73/120 Energy]

    Mid-swing his hand started to transform, as his nails grew and swiped right across the person¡¯s shoulder, and struck them deep and the force was strung pushing them into the side of another, banging his head with another near him.

    [+4 HP regenerated]

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [108/1228 Exp]

    The other gang members stopped what they were doing. They were sure of it, they had seen the hand transform¡­

 Chapter 154: Meet again

    <h4>Chapter 154: Meet again</h4>

    The strange teenager had surprised them since the start of the fight. The thirty or so grey colour gang members had constantly been hitting him, yet he still hadn¡¯t fallen, and his strength seemed to be the same as before.

    Still, in their head they thought that he had to have been hurt, he would eventually fall, just like everyone that they had hit before, right? Yet that never happened, which was why a few of them had gotten fed up.

    The grey colour gang were meant to be members that were proud of the strength in their fists, but since this didn¡¯t work, there were plenty of things they had on them, or that they could use in the warehouse to cause some damage.

    However, they had seen what Gary had done, and unless their eyes were ying tricks on them, they were sure of it, the person in front of them was an Altered.

    ¡°Who is this person, you saw him transform, right?¡± Another asked, just to make sure.

    ¡°Yeah, it like changed into something, only Altered can do that.¡±

    ¡°An Altered, I thought the only gang in Slough that had an Altered was the Underdogs, is this really an attack from them?¡±

    ¡°You idiot, does this person in front of you look like Kirk?¡±

    While the others were arguing, Gary was able to have a look at his stats and there were a few worrying things. For one, he had used his w Drain out of anger after being stabbed. It had healed the wound on his back and given him a bit of health back, but it didn¡¯t seem to be worth the energy that it had used.

    He had been getting constantly hit during the fight as well, and although that was alright at the beginning now that they had weapons they were producing more damage.

    ¡®I have two stat points¡­ I could put them into Energy, and use the w Drain a few times¡­ but when I run out of Energy then what? I could put it in Health and try to fight them off for as long as possible but even then that wouldn¡¯t work¡­ what¡¯s important right now, is to not get hit by those.¡¯

    Gary was unsure if he was making the right decision or not, but it was a gamble in the first ceing into here, as ast resort he could always use that, he was sure that would take care of them.

    [2 Points have been allocated into Dexterity]

    [Your base Dexterity is now at 9]

    [Skill activated Charging Heart]

    [All stats have temporarily been doubled]

    [-10 Energy]

    [63/120 Energy]

    ¡®I can see their movements, I¡¯m just not fast enough.¡¯

    While the fighting, Gary noticed a few things, he could always see what the person was doing. His eyes were no longer that of a human, but what he couldn¡¯t do was avoid them. Right now, he was gambling that the increased speed would be enough, and having one point still unused, Gary had ced them all now in Dexterity.

    The Grey coloured members seemed to be somewhat confused about whether they should attack a suspected Altered, but just like before, he was sure that the others would soon attack him again.

    Taking this chance, he ran forward, and this time, one of the members swung a nk. Gary could see it, and moved to the side, spinning as he down this he readied his elbow and swung it right into the face of another.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [138/1228 Exp]

    Another one tried hitting him, but he was able to kick the person¡¯s knee before they got closer and Gary started to run again, trying to not get hit.

    ¡®I learn a lot from Innu¡­ I don¡¯t know if he knew something like this was going to happen, but if I can¡¯t fight multiple opponents, then I need to try to make it, so I can fight them one on one!¡± Gary thought.

    When chasing him, the speed of the members varied, and it only took a few hits for Gary to deal with them. He quickly turned around, and went for a sweeping kick, kicking the leading person and making him fall t on his face.

    The next second, Gary mmed his foot on top of the fallen one¡¯s head.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [168/1228 Exp]

    ¡°What the hell is going on!¡± A person shouted as the metal door to one of the containers opened up.

    ¡®There¡­ I can smell it! It¡¯s Marie!¡¯ Gary¡¯s eyes were now locked onto Buffin.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside, the grey colour members were struggling just as much with the intruders, if not even more so. The three of them had managed to defeat a couple of members as they made their way to the warehouse.

    Now, with their backs facing the entrance, they were going to make sure no one entered. The three of them were able to cover their front, and not moving, there was no way for others to get behind them either. That was, unless someone hade out of the warehouse.

    Yet, Kai had informed the others to trust Gary, that they wouldn¡¯t being out, the next person that would being out was him and Marie.

    ¡°Who are these teenagers? They took out ten of our guys already¡­and there¡¯s only three of them.¡± One of the members said, acting cautiously.

    At that moment, Innu peaked towards Kai.

    ¡®Who is he¡­his skills aren¡¯t any less than mine or Austin¡¯s, heck¡­ I don¡¯t want to admit it, but they might be even better. So why is he leaving everything to Gary?¡¯ Innu wondered.

    ¡°Oh, what do we have here?¡± A voice said from behind the grey gang colour members. ¡°We didn¡¯t think you would turn up so soon, but where¡¯s the green haired one?¡±

    Two red haired teenagers walked through the colour gang members, as it looked like they hade back from somewhere, they had shopping bags on them, so probably grabbing some food.

    ¡°Turn up so soon?¡± Kai said, clenching his fist. ¡°Now I see, the grey colour gang asked you to join them after this fight¡­you were the ones that did that to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club!¡±

    The others weren¡¯t as quick to catch on, but knowing this, their rage was boiling inside them as well.

    ¡°You guys have some balls!¡± Innu shouted. ¡°We kicked your arse once, and now you decide to mess with us again, well now we¡¯ll just have to do it all over again!¡± Innu shouted.

    It looked like Innu was ready for round two and Austin was willing to go forward as well, but before they could move, Kai went ahead instead.

    ¡°No, please, I want to handle this one.¡± Kai requested.

 Chapter 155: Secret out!

    <h4>Chapter 155: Secret out!</h4>

    Straight away, as soon as the container door at the very back was opened, the smell wafted into Gary¡¯s nose. When he turned his head, he could see a person standing outside with the door open.

    What was worse though, just like in the pool club, Gary could smell blood.

    ¡®No¡­no¡­ not again! Why am I always toote!¡¯ Gary med himself.

    There were still plenty of Grey colour members left standing, but seeing this, Gary¡¯s feet were already moving before his mind had done. He started to run towards the container and at the same time Buffin couldn¡¯t quiteprehend what was happening.

    ¡°What the f*ck is wrong with you guys? You can¡¯t even handle one person! Why is it taking you so long?¡±

    At that moment, one of the members had swung another wooden nk towards Gary in his path. He swung it like a baseball bat, and Gary covered his head with his arms. The nk snapped but didn¡¯t slow him down at all.

    He was like a cannonball, determined with only one thing in his sight. For some reason, this sight, and the person¡¯s eyes in front of him, scared him.

    Once again, Gary was experiencing his Heart rate naturally rise on its own.

    [You have exceeded 200 BPM]

    [Partial transformation has begun]

    [All stats increased by 125%]

    Buffin had attempted to close the door. There was an iron lock on the other side, but as he tried to swing it close, Gary leapt and reached it just in time, holding the handle.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going!¡± Gary said as he used his strength to pull it open and kicked Buffin onto the ground.

    Quickly, seeing that the others were still behind him. Gary closed the door, and moved the iron bolt lock. Secondster and constant banging was heard on the outside. It rang constantly but this was a metal container.

    Perhaps they could get in eventually, but he knew it would take some time. Turning around, that¡¯s when Gary could see Marie.

    She had been held up, and her mouth was swollen, blood still dripping from it. Hearing all the noise, it looked like she had woken up from the pain she was in. Then, lifting her head, she could see a strange masked boy.

    At first, she didn¡¯t know who it was, but that¡¯s when she could see green hair sticking out the top.

    ¡°Yob bifot!¡± Marie smiled and tried to say, but her swollen busted up lip, and her mouth swollen, it was hard to say.

    It looked like after the other two had left, Buffin had been punching Marie even more. The tape had been ripped from her mouth, and he had warned her not to scream or shout, but Marie didn¡¯t listen, and every time she had spoken out, he had pped her across the face once after another, until she had learnt her lesson.

    ¡°Did you F*cking do this!¡± Gary shouted.

    Buffin had already gotten up from the ground, and threw out a kick.

    ¡°I¡¯m not like those losers outside!¡± Buffin said.

    Seeing Marie in the state she was in, even now he could see that her eyes winded. She knew that the grey colour gang leader had to have been strong, they would only be a little less whenpared to some leaders of the Grey Elephants, in terms of ability.

    Seeing the one kick, it seemed like that was the case as well, and Gary knew it.

    ¡®If I fight this guy head on¡­it actually might be a hard fight, so I have one chance¡­and¡­¡¯ Gary stopped clenching his fist and opened up his hand, swinging it again. ¡®I want to hurt this person as much as possible!¡¯

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    [42/120 Energy]

    Instead of using his hand to block the kick, Gary went to swipe and attack it instead. Once again with his hands transforming in the middle. The nails scratched the leg and great pain was felt on Buffin.

    [+ 5HP]

    In that instant, Gary dashed forward, and shed at Buffin¡¯s chest and was now on top of him.

    [+ 5HP]

    ¡°You¡¯re an Altered! I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t-¡° Buffin tried to yell, but before he could finish, a third swipe had quicklye across, hitting his face, slightly slicing his cheek and tongue. At that point, the transformation had ended.

    [You have defeated the grey colour gang leader]

    [200 Exp gained]

    [368/1228 Exp]

    Gary looked at the leader beneath him. The masked teenager was huffing and panting, he wasn¡¯t sure if in his fit of rage he had done it again, but it didn¡¯t look like it. While using his sharp ws, he had been careful and had only cut open part of the cheek and tongue, nothing else.

    Buffin had simply passed out from shock. It was then that Gary looked up, and there he could see Marie in front of him, her eyes widened as much as they could. Even though they were swollen, she had seen everything.

    She had seen Gary transform his hands into ws, even if only briefly.

    ¡°Gawrn you¡¯re an acted?¡± Marie barely managed to blurt out, but honestly she didn¡¯t care about that. She didn¡¯t care about what he was, she was just happy that she saved him at that moment.

    The banging on the container hadn¡¯t stopped, and standing up, Gary turned around.

    ¡°

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Marie, that they did this to you¡­ I¡¯m sorry that I wasn¡¯t here earlier¡­ there¡¯s still a lot of those guys outside, so I¡¯m going to need you to wait just a little longer. I promise you¡¯re going to be okay.¡±

    Hearing these words, she thought that Gary sounded a little cheesy, but she couldn¡¯t quite believe it, for some reason staring at his back right now, it looked sorge, and she thought he looked a little cool.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Outside, Kai had gone out to deal with the twins like he said he would, while both Innu and Austin continued to stop anyone from getting close, and they had done a good job knocking out another five members.

    They had been hit and quite bruised themselves, but they weren¡¯t going to fall, and now the grey colour members had lowered dramatically, but what was even more impressive to them all, was what Kai had done.

    Only a few minutes had passed, yet he made it out victorious. What¡¯s more, there wasn¡¯t a single mark on his face. His hair blowing in the wind, while the two twins were on the ground.

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t see everything properly because I was too busy dealing with the others¡­but he clearly managed to beat both those twins at the same time.¡¯ Austin was wondering if he could do the same, and honestly he wasn¡¯t too sure. He didn¡¯t doubt his ability to defeat them, doing so unharmed, though, was a tall ask.

    ¡®This guy¡­he¡¯s a monster.¡¯ Leng thought as he was struggling to get up. After this short confrontation, they were convinced that they couldn¡¯t beat the person in front of them. They had failed once again, and it was all because of these people.

    It was then that Leng looked at his brother and started to reach into his pocket. Seeing this, the other reciprocated the action.

    Kai became wary, expecting them to take out some type of weapon. However, the brothers did something surprising, distancing themselves from the blonde teenager. While Kai was unable to make up his mind who to attack, both of them pulled out the small box and the syringe inside.

    Without any hesitation, they injected themselves with the strange substance.

 Chapter 156: Incomplete

    <h4>Chapter 156: Iplete</h4>

    The amount of liquid that had been in the syringe that the twins had injected into themselves had been small. Honestly, Raven wasn¡¯t sure what exactly it would do, but as a leader of the Grey Elephant gang, he just knew that testing it out on their loyal followers would be a terrible gamble.

    If those things worked as Sin had alluded to, he could always use the syringe on himself or someone elseter, but first he had to know their effects¡­ especially the side effects.

    The twins showed an immediate reaction. The veins around the puncture site started to bulge. Sren and Leng felt as a foreign organism had entered their body and was now crawling through it, changing them by the second.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Kai wondered as he carefully approached Sren. He had expected them to do something, but both of them just stared at their veins. The blonde teenager carefully approached Sren since he was closer to him.

    ¡°Hey, what did you just take?¡± Kai asked the red haired teenager, but his eyes indicated that he was in a trance or experiencing some kind of psychedelic trip. He was looking up at Kai yet at the same time not registering his presence.

    What¡¯s more, the blonde teenager could see that Sren seemed to be burning up. He could even feel the heating from his body. Since both of his opponents seemed to be out of it, Kai turned his head, looking at the syringe on the ground.

    ¡®¡­didn¡¯t I see something like that before? ¡­ Could it be¡­ was this the same stuff that strange guy tried to inject Austin with during Gary and Innu¡¯s fight?¡¯ Kai figured the situation out.

    ¡°What was in the syringe?!¡± Kai shouted at Sren once more, who still didn¡¯t react. By now, the veins on the side of his forehead were bulging, and his head had turned slightly red. Without any prior warning, Sren grabbed Kai¡¯s wrist.

    The twin was gripping onto it tightly, and the blonde high schooler could feel the other getting stronger by the second. Strangely, Sren still seemed to be out of it, as he titled his head and looked at Kai with erged pupils.

    ¡°Get off!¡± Kai demanded, as he used all his strength to kick his captor in the stomach. Fortunately, it did the trick, Sren let go and fell to the ground on his knees, allowing the other teenager to distance himself to figure out the situation.

    Slowly getting back up, Sren lifted his head, allowing Kai, and everyone else, to get a closer look at what he was changing into. His eyes had sunken in deep and his sclera had changed from white to ck. There was no distinguishing between the pupil and the rest of his eyes.

    Sren¡¯s hair was falling out, leaving only the outline of his scalp. For some reason, Sren¡¯s lips were starting to fuse together. However, it wasn¡¯t one solid piece, one could see small gaps in between, allowing him to open and close it, when he did, the inside resembled melted cheese.

    ¡®What was in that liquid¡­we have to get out of here ASAP! I have an awful feeling.¡¯ Kai worried as he started to back away even more. He turned around, running back to where Innu and Austin were.

    ¡°Hey man, what freaky voodoo sh*t do they have going on over there?¡± Innu asked, though the main thing that scared him was the sudden hair loss. ¡°What if that stuff is infectious? I don¡¯t wanna go bald at my age!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see them use injections? Whatever was in it, must have done ¡®that¡¯ to them. Probably some enhancement drug gone wrong. Maybe something like a souped up steroid usage?¡± Austin theorised.

    Kai was thinking along the same lines, yet they could see the transformation of the two had finished. It was hard to describe their current outer appearance, but it certainly resembled some monsters out of a nightmare, a hell of a lot more than a human.

    The twins¡¯ fingers had slightly elongated, and their nails looked sharp like screws, but were long like pencils, but on their face, and on random parts of their hand there were patches of fur slightly green in colour.

    ¡®Did that injection change them into Altered?¡¯ Kai wondered for a moment, but looking at them, especially at the way they behaved, there had to be something seriously wrong with them. It was almost as if they were iplete.

    ¡°Haha, this is great! Buffin told us that he gave those guys an ace up your sleeve. This must be it!¡± A grey colour member said with confidence as he approached Sren.

    By now, the grey colour gang was down to around a dozen members. Innu and Austin were showing signs of exhaustion, but the remaining colour gang members weren¡¯t too keen on their chances of taking them down. Their best chance was to get the twins to fight them.

    The gang member was a bit scared about their changed appearance, but he knew that the two were on their side. If they were as strong as they were ugly, those three intruders would stand no chance.

    s, the moment he came close enough to the being that used to be the short haired twin, it snapped its head around. The dark, sunken ck eyes frightened the gang member, yet before he could escape he could feel some liquid filling in his throat.

    He himself didn¡¯t even understand what had happened as the life escaped his eyes, but everyone else saw the grotesque scene. Using his monstrous nails, ¡®Sren¡¯ had shoved it into the grey colour gang member¡¯s throat. Blood was dripping down and slowly filling the member¡¯s mouth, and eventually his body was chucked to the side on the floor,ying there dead.

    Unfortunately, Sren wasn¡¯t the only one who had changed. Leng looked identical to his twin. He leapt through the air, covering a distance no normal human would be able to cross, and pierced the throat of a different grey colour gang member.

    ¡°What the f*ck is going on?!¡± Innu asked in a panic. ¡°They¡¯re attacking their own side! Sh*t, what do we do, Kai?¡±

    The blonde teenager looked ahead. He wasn¡¯t liking their chances of getting out alive by trying to flee after seeing their leaping power. At the same time, running into the warehouse wasn¡¯t exactly safe either. There should still be more grey colour gang members inside, and it might endanger Marie further.

    ¡®Gary¡¯s there¡­ and if the colour gang members see those monsters, even they should understand that teaming up might be our only chance to take them down!¡¯ Kai made his decision and went ahead to open the warehouse door.

    ******

    There will be a mass release on the 22nd

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 Chapter 157: Donâ€™t touch my gang!

    <h4>Chapter 157: Don¡¯t touch my gang!</h4>

    ¡®Do I just cover her with my body and charge out? No, they have weapons, so she might get seriously hurt.¡¯ Gary thought what to do, now that he had found Marie.

    [42/120 Energy]

    Being low on Energy meant that the green haired teenager couldn¡¯t afford to waste much time in the container thinking about what to do next. He had untied Marie, allowing the high school girl to move on her own, but since there were still more gang members outside, there was nowhere she could really go.

    ¡®Damn it, if Marie wasn¡¯t here, I could have taken an arm or a leg from the grey colour gang leader to help me out of this situation!¡¯ Gary briefly contemted asking her to turn around. Since she had seen him transform, maybe she wouldn¡¯t mind.

    However, the banging on the other side was getting louder. Looking around the room, there was only one exit, so he would have to try his best. With one hand, Gary lifted Buffin¡¯s body off the ground. The grey colour gang leader wasn¡¯t dead, yet his body sure was acting like dead weight.

    ¡°Marie, please stay back for now. If worsees to worst, I promise I¡¯ll protect you. I¡¯ll open a path for you, and Kai and the others should be waiting outside. There¡¯s no need to worry about me.¡±

    The high school girl nodded, knowing what Gary was, she felt like if anyone could get them out of this situation, it would be him. With his hand on the iron lock, the green haired teenager was ready. He quickly slid it open and yanked the door forward.

    As he did this, a gang member fell through the door. Seeing this, Gary mmed his knee into his face, hitting him right on the chin, which knocked him out in an instant.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [398/1228 Exp]

    Gary let him fall to the floor, so he would act as a hindrance for other ones. When the next one tried to enter, the masked teenager swung the door as hard as he could, mming it into the neer¡¯s face.

    [Your opponent has been knocked out]

    [30 Exp gained]

    [428/1228 Exp]

    Gary¡¯s impressive strength was doing him well, but more than anything, the small opening was perfect to force a one on one situation. The only question was what would run out first, the Werewolf¡¯s Energy reserve or the manpower on the grey colour gang¡¯s side.

    ¡®Maybe if I keep beating these guys I¡¯ll manage to Level Up¡­ I could do something with it, help me fight a bit longer. Worst case scenario, I¡¯ll just have to start eating some fingers!¡¯ Gary decided. As the door was seen opening again, the next thing he did was to lift the body he had been holding with both hands and hurl it at the group on the other side.

    At first, they had no clue who it was, but as the first row of them was knocked over, some of them recognised that it was their leader, Buffin.

    ¡®He beat our leader¡­he beat him¡­but then¡­what do we do?¡¯ Was the thought that was running through their heads.

    Noticing that nobody else came at him, the masked teenager was slightly surprised. He decided to take a quick peek, yet when they saw him, they collectively took a few steps back, a reaction that quite surprised him. Just because he had beaten their leader, the members seemed more hesitant than before.

    ¡®I don¡¯t get it¡­ When they saw my hand transform like an Altered¡¯s, they continued to attack me¡­ When they saw me easily beat up one of their members, they still attacked¡­ but now of all things, they act like this?¡¯

    Seeing the state of their ¡®all powerful¡¯ leader, a person they all looked up to, a figure that they considered to be stronger than them all in such a state, had made most of them lose their remaining will to fight against Gary.

    It was almost as if they knew they had been defeated. The negative energy of some of their members was passing onto the others, and when looking at Gary, they started to share another emotion¡­

    They were afraid of this person who had beaten the one they all considered to have been unbeatable. They had all heard about how powerful Altered could be, but seeing Buffin passed out just proved that none of them would stand a chance against that masked intruder.

    On top of that, they had already lost a number of people due to this single person, and just how strong he was, was starting to set in.

    ¡®Is this what Kai meant¡­ how a leader always had to be strong? If I knew it could be this freaking easy, then I would have just gone for the damn leader at the start.¡¯

    Since Marie could no longer hear the sound of fighting from outside, she decided follow after Gary. The teenage girl could see that the grey colour gang members were just spread out, not really doing anything, just looking at Gary, seemingly waiting for him to do something.

    She quickly went over to his side, and decided to grab his arm. Gary could clearly feel that her whole body was shaking as Marie held onto him tightly. Finding the situation before him, the high schooler decided that he should make use of this opportunity to get out.

    ¡°Listen up!¡± Gary shouted imposingly. ¡°We¡¯re leaving this ce! And no one is going to stop us!¡± He looked at Buffin, and the gang members soon looked at the state he was in as well. Lifting his arm and making a fist, the grey colour gang members flinched, slightly expecting a fight.

    ¡°This is a warning to all of you as well, in the future none of you are to touch any members of the Howlers! You ever hear our name, or anyone mentioning that they are part of our group, if you hurt them in any way, then I will personally hunt you down!¡±

    Although Gary wasn¡¯t sure if his words sounded menacing or not, the others felt its effect, unsure if it was his strange mask, or the bloody mess that Buffin had been left in. Gary started to walk forward, and they stepped out of his way, making a clear path while Marie held onto him until the door was only a few metres away.

    The next second, the door slid open, and immediately both Innu and Austin slid it shut. Kai followed right after, and all three of them shared the look of panic on their faces.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gary asked.

    The others didn¡¯t even know where to begin to exin, but there was no need, because the next second, a bang could be heard. It was followed by another, and by the time the third one sounded out, a strange looking hand had prated the metal door.

 Chapter 158: Black Blood

    <h4>Chapter 158: ck Blood</h4>

    Inside the warehouse, no one couldprehend the situation they were in. People who they had never seen before entered the warehouse and all of them since their leader had been defeated had given up fighting, yet there seemed to be a new problem.

    Looking around, Austin quickly found a metal pipe lying on the floor. Perhaps a weapon from one of the other members. Picking it up, he ced it through the door, and using all his strength the teenager managed to make it bend, which should make it harder for the twins to open it.

    Austin was strong, but he didn¡¯t even know where he had found the strength to bend the pipe. Perhaps it was the fear running through him that his life could be over at any second.

    The next second, and the strange long fingernails pierced right through the metal warehouse door. A screeching noise was heard of what sounded like metal against metal as the long nails scratched down, leaving behindrge w marks.

    Now, through the gap that had been made, for a brief second everyone could see the head of the figure on the other side. All they could see was the ck, sunken in eyes, staring in at them. In a blink, though, the head disappeared.

    ¡°What was that? First an Altered showed up¡­ and now ALIENS?!¡± Someone asked, pinching himself to make sure this wasn¡¯t all a nightmare.

    ¡°It scratched part of the door as well, am I seeing things?¡± Another one replied.

    The three Howlers that had entered ran over to where Gary was, and stood by his side, but soon turned around because they didn¡¯t want their back facing the other direction for long.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s any other exit from this ce!¡± Kai shouted as he looked around, he also briefly looked at Marie who looked to be badly hurt and not in the best shape to exactly start running for their lives.

    ¡°Guys, can you tell me what is going on?¡± What was that?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°You might not believe it, but it¡¯s those two twins!¡± Innu answered, pointing at the door. ¡°Kai defeated them, but then they freaking injected themselves with some sh*t. After that they started going bald and before we knew it they had already turned into freaks.

    ¡°Those guys are out of their mind!!! They didn¡¯t even hesitate to kill their own gang members. If they had concentrated on us first, we would have been dead by now! Crap, isn¡¯t it a fire hazard to just have one fire exit, what era are we living in.¡±

    A loud bang was heard again, and this time the sliding doors had been pushed forward. In doing so a small gap was revealed but luckily the pipe that Austin had put managed to hold them off a bit longer. That was until a hand with its long nails was seening through, and slicing downward, the pipe was split in half.

    The doors were then pushed to the side and the two strange figures could be seen.

    [WARNING!!!]

    [Beasts have been detected in the vicinity]

    [Beasts are natural predators of humans]

    [New Quest received]

    [Predator or Prey?]

    [Although you¡¯re a Werewolf, in their eyes you¡¯re just another feisty treat]

    [Defeat the beasts]

    [Reward: ???]

    [Failure: Death]

    ¡®They¡¯re beasts, as in those things that Altered are based on? ¡­ how is that possible? ¡­ I really don¡¯t like the ¡®Failure¡¯ addition. System, do you n to kill me if I run away? Or are you trying to tell me it¡¯s impossible. Why don¡¯t you upgrade me with some new skills!¡¯

    There were a number of grey colour gang members near them, and rather than looking for a specific target, it seemed like the two twins were just going for whoever was closest to them. They soontched onto those closest to them, digging their long pencil knife hands into their bodies, so they wouldn¡¯t let go.

    In this brief moment, Gary was able to see it all. The beasts started to repeatedly stab the grey colour gang members, one hand after another. It was so fast and each time in the person¡¯s stomach until he had died and fallen to the floor.

    ¡®They are even faster than before¡­ and I don¡¯t have any stat points to increase my Dexterity any further.¡­ ¡¯

    [68/100 HP]

    [40/100 Energy]

    ¡®I¡¯m not at full Health, and I don¡¯t have a lot of Energy left either,but the w drain seemed to stop the bleeding from the stab wound, how am I meant to do this?¡¯

    ¡°Gary, I¡¯m not going to lie to you, I don¡¯t think we can beat those things. I don¡¯t know how strong you are, and I don¡¯t know if putting pressure on you is the right thing to do right now, but If we can¡¯t kill those abominations, we¡¯ll all die. I can¡¯t afford to die yet!¡± Kai stressed.

    ¡°You can say that again! I ain¡¯t dying here in some crappy warehouse!¡± Austin shouted.

    The grey colour gang members had scattered after they had seen those beasts kill their friends, some had run towards the beast in some type of fight or flight mode while others had run away, but it was mostly useless.

    Gary could feel Marie shaking just like she had done before, and he looked towards her.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay! Remember what I said? I will protect you.¡± Gary reminded the high school girl, who just nodded, trying to hold back her tears at their impending doom. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, Kai, I don¡¯t like my chances against the two of them at once. If you can distract one of them, I might be able to take the other on.¡±

    ¡°Look, Gary, it¡¯s great that you take this leader thing this seriously, but I don¡¯t think now is the time to act brave. You¡¯ve seen what they¡¯re capable of, once they get you-¡°

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this.¡± Gary cut Innu off. ¡°Just trust in me. Austin, please take Marie, and I¡¯ll try to deal with them as quickly as possible.¡±

    Austin easily carried the small girl on her back, and the boys looked to be getting ready. Gary, charged forward, running towards one of the beasts on his left. The teenager¡­ was scared. Of course, he was scared, since he had no idea how much his Endurance would do against their nails that seemed to be sharper than knives. However, right now everyone was relying on him, and he couldn¡¯t just stay shaking in his boots.

    ¡°Hey, assholes, look at me! I can¡¯t even tell you apart now that you¡¯ve gone bald! I thought you were supposed to be twins, howe one of you is uglier than the other?!¡± Gary shouted loudly.

    Both of them turned towards him, and it looked like his taunt had been effective enough to get their attention. Meanwhile, on the other side, Kai held something in his hand, and threw it as fast as he could.

    It was the small pocket knife he was usually carrying around. It hit the back of one of the beast¡¯s heads and managed to prate the skin. ck blood could be seen falling from its head.

    ¡®That reminds me about what those damn White Rose agents said¡­ about these beasts. Is that why they¡¯re attacking everyone?¡¯

    Unfortunately, aside from that light injury, it had only served to piss the beast off, making it shift its focus on Kai. It leapt towards the blonde teenager, whereas his brother charged at Gary.

    The two boys ran away, in their heads wishing the other luck.

 Chapter 159: Low Energy

    <h4>Chapter 159: Low Energy</h4>

    The beast who still had the pocket knife stuck in the back of its head went after Kai, who had attacked it. There was currently no one around him but just him, and there were still a few grey colour members. Seeing how the beast had decided to focus on someone else though, they decided to make a run for it, some of them even running out of the door where the others hade in from.

    ¡®Of course that would happen, but the only way for all of us to survive was for someone to have sacrificed themselves or be the bait, and none of them were going to do anything.¡¯ Kai thought, as he eventually decided to turn around and run.

    There was one good thing on their side fighting in the warehouse, and that was the several containers that were spread out everywhere. In some areas they were quite narrow, and they could also be used in other ways¡­

    Up ahead, Kai had gone through between two of them, and then taken a right turn. The beast was quick to follow, and it looked like the small gap had slowed it down somewhat, but it was still incredibly fast. When the beast turned around the corner though, it was in for a surprise as an iron bar was swung right at its head, hitting it and causing it to fall on its back.

    It was a strong hit and some ck blood could be seen on the metal pipe.

    ¡°I don¡¯t usually use weapons, but against a monster like you, I think it¡¯s only fair to make an exception.¡± Austin said, looking down. Marie was standing a little behind him and peaked over his shoulder looking at the beast.

    Behind the beast as well in the other direction was Innu, who equally had a wooden nk on him. He swung it down aiming for the beast¡¯s head, but before it hit, the beast threw out its arm, breaking it with ease.

    ¡°Crap, keep running!¡± Innu shouted, as he quickly jumped from side to side using the containers. He managed to use this to clearly jump over the beast without it hitting him, and continued to run with Austin who had Marie on his back again and the others.

    While making this n, the one thing Kai didn¡¯t want them to do was split up. For if the beast found any of them alone, there was a zero percent chance for any of them to survive¡­ apart from Gary perhaps.

    When the beast got up, it could see the others running through a small gap. It knew with itsrger body that it would slow itself down, so using its ws it dug into the containers, and started to climb up until it was now on top of the containers itself. With the open space, it was now easier for it to run and chase after them.

    It went from container to container and could see them all from above.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Dealing with the other beast, Gary ended up using the same method, running through the containers on the other side.

    ¡®I don¡¯t exactly know how strong it is, and I can¡¯t use my Drain ws much either because I have a low amount of Energy, but I can¡¯t just keep running either.¡¯

    After getting between two containers, rather than continue to run, Gary turned around, to see the beast in front of him. When seeing it up close though, and looking at his fingers, Gary couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. It was a forcedugh to make him feel better about the situation.

    ¡°You call those ws? I¡¯ve seen worse! I¡¯m much more of a monster than you!¡± Gary taunted it. He charged in, and the beast tried swinging its arm towards him. The green haired teenager managed to duck down and avoid the hit and at the same time, its fingers had gone through the containers on the side. It slowed down its swing and it was stuck.

    Gary saw this as his chance, as he swung a punch towards its chest.

    ¡®Do I use w Drain now, try to do the most damage I can¡­ or do I save my Energy, in case I need to do that!¡¯ Gary contemted what the better choice was, but in the end he couldn¡¯t make a decision quick enough, and his punch connected with the beast¡¯s chest.

    Despite him having more than double his Strength, it had nearly done nothing, it looked like it hadn¡¯t even flinched. It soon kicked Gary in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground.

    [-5 HP]

    [53/100 HP]

    Before Gary could get up, he could feel the beast foot was on him. It wasrge and strong. No matter how much he struggled or grabbed onto the beast foot, Gary was unable to break himself free.

    Next, one of the wed hands had reached down for his head, and Gary managed to move it to the side, making it so that it hit the ground and pierced it. With its other hand, though, the beast had aimed at his prey¡¯s ribs, and the teenager was unable to avoid that one while the foot was on top of him.

    He could feel the sharp nails pierce his skin and go through his body, screaming in pain.

    [-15 HP]

    [38/100 HP]

    [You are bleeding!]

    [Your Health will decrease by -2 HP per minute until you¡¯re patched up or healed.]

    ¡®Damn it, I can¡¯t die here! Take this!¡¯ Gary thought.

    Right now, he couldn¡¯t afford to worry about his Energy, he needed to do something to get out. He had to rely on his powers from the system. Lifting his hand, Gary took a swing at the leg on top of him with both hands.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    [25/120 Energy]

    Gary¡¯s hand transformed mid swing and his nails dug into the beast leg.

    [+4 HP]

    [+4 HP]

    [46/100 HP]

    [Your wound is healing]

    Gary had yet to notice that his w Drain skill also helped heal injuries, like the one he had suffered from earlier, even if he didn¡¯t have enough Energy to perform emergency healing, yet now wasn¡¯t the time to appreciate such a ¡®life hack¡¯.

    In order to get its ws out from its legs, the beast took a step back. It looked like it was startled that Gary managed to actually injure him, but the high schooler knew that his transformation was only temporary. While w Drain had certainly done wonders for his Health, the same couldn¡¯t be said for his Energy.

    Getting up, since the beast was only partially injured, Gary decided to run, he ended up heading back to the main area where it was more open and there were fewer crates. He thought he might be able to see the others, but he couldn¡¯t, all he could see were dead bodies on the ground.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± A shout could be heard from elsewhere. Gary could only imagine something was going on with the others.

    ¡®I have to hurry¡­ I have to help them!¡¯ Gary thought as he quickly ran over to one of the already dead colour gang members. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have the luxury to care about the feeling¡¯s of a dead guy, hopefully you¡¯ll approve that your body will be used to get revenge on your killer.¡¯

    With that, Gary pulled up the sleeve of the shirt and bit into the human arm.

 Chapter 160: A sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 160: A sacrifice</h4>

    Gary had never imagined himself willingly chomping down on a person¡¯s body. They might be dead, but it still felt wrong. The fact that he could still feel residual body heat, didn¡¯t help in any way, yet right now his life was literally on the line, as well as that of others.

    If he didn¡¯t defeat those beasts that were chasing after, then who would? Perhaps White Rose or some other Altered might be able to do something about them, but how long would it take for them to arrive and deal with the twins? How many more lives would be lost because of their rampage?

    Most importantly to Gary, if he died here, then who would look after his family? The answer to that question was no one.

    Ever since he had be a Werewolf, it was like his body knew what needed to be done. He himself had never seen it, but his teeth would elongate to canine ones, making it easier to bite into flesh, and the thought of what he was actually doing went to the back of his mind. As such, it was easy, and fast, for him to wolf down his food quickly, allowing him to restore a good chunk of his Energy.

    [50/120 Energy]

    [First time bonus not in effect]

    [You have not consumed enough of the human to obtain a stat point]

    [As a Werewolf you¡¯re supposed to be a Predator, not a Scavenger!]

    [If you wish to grow stronger, hunt down your own targets and feast on them!]

    ¡®Thanks for nothing, system! If you have the time for a stupid lecture, might at least throw me a bone and help out! At least, human flesh seems to do the trick¡­but it¡¯s not like I can sit here for long.¡¯ Gary thought, as he turned around and saw that the beast was now out in the open again.

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the other side, a little before Gary had ¡®enjoyed¡¯ his impromptu snack, Kai and the others were busy trying to shake off their beast that had decided to follow them from above. It was smart enough to realise that it was a lot easier to move from atop the containers, and it looked like it was about to pounce on them any second now.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Innu shouted, from the back of the group. Given his position, he was the most likely target. Up ahead, Kai stopped running straight and took a turn hoping to confuse the beast in some way, but he quickly discovered it was a mistake. A grey colour gang member was blocking their path, the teenager was shaking, too afraid to move with the beasts in the warehouse.

    ¡°Knock him out, we have to keep moving!¡± Austin shouted.

    Kai understood that to be the right choice, even though it would likely doom the poor guy. However, they had to keep moving, so he prepared to kick the other in the head. The blonde teenager didn¡¯t get that chance, though. The beastnded directly on the grey colour member.

    The Howlers looked at the back of the beast¡¯s bald head, as his victim let out a blood-chilling scream, while the ws stabbed through him repeatedly. There was no chance of saving him, and no damage seemed to be able to kill the beast, which was why they decided to turn back and they continued to run forward the direction they were originally heading in.

    s, it looked like they had run into just another problem. Since they had left the area with the containers, they were now in an open space once again.

    ¡°If you have a n, now would be a bloody good time to share it with us!¡± Innu screamed.

    Looking around, Kai could see that the other beast was out in the open as well, but it was more towards the front of the warehouse and Gary was standing there. He still hadn¡¯t defeated the other beast.

    ¡®I¡¯m not even sure if he can defeat these monsters¡­ Gary couldn¡¯t have been a Werewolf for long and how strong even is a Werewolf?.¡¯ Kai thought. ¡®But I promised I would keep them apart.¡¯

    Since that was the case, Kai shared the only type of n he coulde up with in this situation. There was one container at the very back of the warehouse, the container where Marie had been kept. The doors were swung wide open and now Kai was the only one that could be seen standing in front.

    After waiting a few seconds, they expected to see the beast leap off from one of the containers andnd in the open space in front of them all. Kai¡¯s hand was shaking, his legs were as well, but he still took a fighting stance and waited for the beast. It was incredibly fast, especially when running forward in one direction, yet the teenager was counting on that fact.

    Soon the beast with the human-like frame ran forward on its two legs, then to pick up speed it started to use its hands as well as it charged.

    ¡®Not now¡­ just a bit closer¡­¡¯

    The beast continued to run forward, and then it leapt once more with its hands stretched out, aimed at Kai who moved his body to the side at thest second, like a bull handler holding a red piece of cloth.

    One of the ws still managed to scratch Kai¡¯s chest, but he had avoided the brunt of the attack. As the beast continued to go forward, pushed by its own momentum, it soon found itself flying into one of the containers.

    ¡®You might be stronger and faster, but it looks like you lost all of your brain cells in your transformation!¡¯ Kai thought as he shouted. ¡°Now!¡±

    The wide open doors were being closed from both sides. Austin and Marie on one side, while Innu was on the other. They mmed the door shut quickly, and then put whatever they could through the small lock on the outside, trapping the beast within.

    It was then everyone took a step back as they could hear the container being banged into, and dents appearing from the inside.

    ¡°What are we going to do now?¡± Austin asked. ¡°We know that the container isn¡¯t going to keep them in there. They can tear through the metal with their ws.¡±

    As if to stress his point, the beast started to stab the metal container, breaking parts of it here and there. This was it, this was as far as Kai¡¯s n had taken him. He didn¡¯t know what else to do, perhaps the best option from here would be to run.

    ¡°Open the container!¡± A voice shouted towards them. When they turned around they could see Gary, with blood over his mouth running towards them, and shortly behind him was the other beast.

    ¡°What? Are you crazy? What do you n to do?¡± Innu shouted back.

    ¡°JUST DO IT IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!!!¡± Gary practically growled back. ¡°THAT¡¯S AN ORDER!!!¡±

    The first person who decided to listen was Kai, as he removed the things that they had put through the lock to keep the door shut. Then Austin quickly came to help and at the right time, and swung one half of the door open.

    Gary came running into the container, and the beast followed right after.

    ¡°Close it!¡± The green haired teenager yelled from inside. ¡±CLOSE IT!¡± He stressed and for a second, as Kai and Austin were doing as they were told, the blonde teenager was sure that he could see his eyes turn slightly.

    They locked the door, trapping Gary in there, and all they could hear were the sounds and cries of the beasts inside. Marie, dropped to her knees and so did Innu.

    ¡°Why the F*CK did you guys do that? You just trapped him in there with them. How could you let him sacrifice himself? You¡¯re literally responsible for his death!¡± Innu grabbed Kai by the cor, but he didn¡¯t have the energy to exin anything.

    Instead of fleeing, the group stayed at the container, but then they noticed something. The sounds¡­ they had stopped, and then a voice was heard.

    ¡°You can open the door now.¡± It was Gary¡¯s exhausted voice.

    Immediately, Kai and Austin opened the door, and they could see a bloody Gary walk out from the container, his clothes mostly ripped off, covered in ck blood.

 Chapter 161: A bloody mess

    <h4>Chapter 161: A bloody mess</h4>

    The beast in front of Gary was faster than him, and it looked like only his ws could do any real damage to it. Unfortunately, it cost a lot of Energy to use them, and they onlysted 2 seconds right now.

    The only way he could defeat it, would be if he had a way to prolong that time. Fortunately, histest skill would allow him to do just that. With 50 Energy, Gary would be able to stay fully transformed for two entire minutes, yet there was a reason why he hadn¡¯t used the skill yet.

    He was worried it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Since he had never fought in that state before, he had no idea how long it would take him to defeat one of the twins. The time limit was also a burden. If they evaded long enough, he might revert to a human, and that would be it¡­

    As stupid as it sounded, but what he needed to do was to somehow fight both of them at once using his Full Transformation skill. Get them so close together that they couldn¡¯t run away and fight the hardest he possibly could.

    When thinking about this, he noticed Kai and the others on the other side. With his powerful eyesight, he saw how they had sessfully trapped the beast into one of the containers, and then it hit him. THAT was the answer!

    Running forward and getting hurt slightly on the way by the beast¡¯s ws, Gary didn¡¯t care. He picked up one of the bodies on the ground and threw it towards the beast as he continued to dash forward.

    -

    A short whileter, his n had seeded, Gary was in Buffin¡¯s container, together with the two beasts. As soon as the second one had entered, the teenager had activated his skill.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    His body started to change inside the container. His transformation happened a lot faster thanst time, though he wasn¡¯t sure if that was because he had been in his Partial Transformation state, his system actually helping him, or if it was due to something else.

    Whatever the case, given his new-found strength, speed and his deadly ws, Gary was positively surprised to discover how easy it was to deal with the two beats. He grabbed onto the wrist of the first one that jumped at him and crushed it. With his ws he cut and shredded up their bodies, and with his powerful jaws he was able to bite down on their bodies, damaging them in the process.

    During the Full Transformation Gary remained in control. He knew what he was doing, but he felt like some type of battle instinct instructed him on what he should do, because he wasn¡¯t fighting like a human would, more like a wild animal.

    While fighting, there was something else Gary noticed as well, and that was the fact that if he used his mouth and swallowed down on the flesh he bit, he would regain a bit of Energy as well.

    Not that he needed it, two minutes turned out to be plenty of time for him to deal with the twins, in fact he had finished them off in one. Cancelling his transformation after, Gary still had quite the bit of Energy to spare.

    [Error: An anomaly has been detected in the beast flesh!]

    [Consuming the beast¡¯s body will not reward the user with any stats!]

    Back in his human form, the teenager was naked again. This was a serious downside he needed to solve when using the Full Transformation skill. If there was one thing he was thankful for, aside from having survived this whole ordeal, then it would be the fact that the system didn¡¯t require him to eat the twins¡­ or whatever they had be.

    He could have done it for energy but that was no longer needed. Still, he would have most likely done it if it had resulted in stat points, but since they weren¡¯t fully beasts, or fully Altered, he was happy to just leave them. Interestingly, their forms didn¡¯t revert, even after they had clearly died.

    Picking up some clothes in the room that looked to have belonged to Buffin, Gary wore it. and he ced the mask he had chucked into the corner of the room back on his face, covering himself. He took a deep breath.

    ¡°You can open the door now.¡± Gary¡¯s exhausted voice came from inside the container.

    Walking out, he was greeted with the faces of his friends, who disyed a mixture of emotions. One of them was confusion as to why he was the one to make it out covered in blood. How did he defeat the two monsters, and in such a short time to boot? What exactly did he do, for them to end up in that state.

    However, the masked teenager also noticed the tears. Innu, who he had only known for a short amount of time, and Marie had both visibly cried. Both of them had shed tears for him while he had been in that container. They obviously cared for him¡­ and that was enough for him to have done what he had done to save their lives.

    ¡®I killed¡­again.¡¯ Gary realised. The first time that had happened still haunted him every so often. Barry had been an unfortunate ident. Of course, his schoolmate had stabbed him in broad daylight, so he had attacked him in a fit of rage, but he still felt a bit guilty deep inside. On the other hand, this time, there was hardly any guilt.

    ¡®Am I slowly losing myself?¡¯ Gary wondered, as he looked at his hands, tainted in ck blood.

    ¡°Gary, thank you, you saved us all.¡± Kai came forward. Austin also gave him a thumbs up, not asking further what exactly had happened in there. Soon he made a few calls, cancelling the request for backup from his schoolmates.

    This had be a far more serious matter than he had ever thought. Marie, had gone to Gary¡¯s side, and tried to find something to wipe him with, but there was nothing in the room, other than clothes of more dead bodies.

    While the other Howlers members outside were trying to figure out what to do in this situation, Kai had decided to head inside the container. When stepping in, he took a long good look at the mangled bodies of the two twins. There was ck blood everywhere around the room.

    On their bodies, as well as around the container, there were w and bite marks. Stepping carefully around the blood, the blonde teenager headed for one particr corpse, before he reached for the pocket knife that was still stuck in the back of its head, pulling it out.

    He wiped off the ck blood and inspected it carefully. Once he was sure there was nothing wrong with it, he let out a sigh of relief and ced it back in his pocket, observing the scene one final time.

    Eventually he walked out, and all eyes were on him, including Gary¡¯s. They were all waiting for an answer about what exactly they were supposed to do now. None of them had been prepared for things to escte to such a degree.

    ¡°Our leader did his part.¡± Kai said as he came forward and patted Gary on the shoulder. ¡°So now it¡¯s time for me to do mine. I promise that none of you will get in any trouble for this. It¡¯s the least I can do, after you guys came here to save Marie, and Gary saved all our lives.¡±

 Chapter 162: Main Quest Complete

    <h4>Chapter 162: Main Quest Complete</h4>

    At the time, each of them was just worried for their own lives, they honestly would have all done the same since the only way to survive seemed to be to kill the twins. Otherwise, they would have been the ones to be added to the corpse pile. As such, nobody med Gary for what he had done.

    While the teenagers might be okay with it, in the eyes of thew murder was nevertheless a major crime. In fact, the warehouse as a whole would be a major crime scene, since multiple members of the grey colour gang had been killed by the two beasts. The Howlers were all left wondering if they could get out of the ce without any trouble.

    ¡°Say, can you call those guys over?¡± Innu asked, thinking back to when he had been left a special gift by Billy.

    ¡°They won¡¯t be able to cover all of this.¡± Kai shook his head. ¡°There are also too many witnesses. Not sure if they killed all those outside, but at least a good number of those who had been inside that escaped saw us already. We can¡¯t keep them quiet¡­ however, we don¡¯t really have to worry about it.

    ¡°After all, we aren¡¯t the only ones who don¡¯t want everything that happened here to leak to the outside. Those injections that the twins had¡­ I doubt it came from the colour gang, so most likely it was something given to them by the Grey Elephants.

    ¡°By now they might already know that something is happening in here, so they¡¯ll have to have started preparing the cleaners. They wouldn¡¯t want word of what happened here going out to anyone. The police or the other gangs¡­ so for once, we should be thankful that there is a group big enough to clean up this mess. In a way, these twins solved that problem for us.¡±

    ¡°That still leaves one problem.¡± Austin spoke up, his arms folded. ¡°Unlike our leader, the rest of us didn¡¯t have our faces covered. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard for them to find out who caused all of this.¡±

    Kai smiled a bit as he went looking around for something. He had already looked around in Buffin¡¯s home and couldn¡¯t find what he was looking for. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that either. Who would believe that a no name gang like us, the Howlers, would have the power to take out an entire colour gang? Especially if they also had monsters like these?

    ¡°The only logical exnation is that we have someone backing us¡­ and the only gang in all of Slough with that kind of power would be the Underdogs. They won¡¯t attack us anytime soon. I know I was wrong about the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, but if I were to take a guess, that was all due to the personal vendetta of those twins rather than the grey or colour gang¡¯s order.¡±

    Eventually, Kai found what he was looking for. It was a small box that was hidden behind a small crate. Kicking it to the side, he could see what looked like a safe. There wasn¡¯t even a lock on the safe. A method used by some gangs to test their loyalty.

    Of course, if anyone stole from the safe, they probably would never be found again, but this time, everything was there. Opening up the safe, there was cash upon cash. It looked like the grey colour gang had been paid quite well, or at least rather recently, by the Grey Elephants.

    ¡°I think we deserve this after what we went through. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Kai asked, shoving some of it over to Austin since he was unable to hold it all by himself. ¡°We¡¯ll use this money to restore the pool club, pay for our medical fees and of course, you all deserve some for your troubles. I¡¯ll use my cut to try to expand our business a little more as well.¡±

    Eventually, Austin went and found a bag in one of the containers and ced all the money inside.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Kai smiled at them all. ¡°I also want to congratte all of you. In a way, this was the first real fight we had as a gang. Everyone survived and we came out on top. Think of this as a good thing if you can.¡±

    When heading outside, there were a few members of Austin¡¯s friends who had already arrived, with their motorbikes. They had parked just outside the warehouse gate, unable to see the inside. They were a little worried about heading into another gang¡¯s territory.

    There were four of them in total, and one of them had onlye along to bring Austin¡¯s bike for him.

    Since they were already nearby, Austin told them to wait for him a little away from the warehouse which they happilyplied. With the help of Austin¡¯s friends they were all taken back, including Gary, and not once had anyone had asked him what had happened.

    Everyone was dropped off at their home, and they agreed that they would talk about what to do some other time, Kai would contact them all.

    Once at home, Gary headed for his room. He gathered some clothes, since the current ones were what he had borrowed from the grey colour gang members, and took a long and thorough bath. He bought himself some food to eat and helped cook for Amy as if it was a regr, normal day, but it was far from it as he went to his bed andid down.

    His phone went off, and looking at it, he could see there were a couple of messages.

    [A new group has been created]

    [The Howlers]

    [Kai: Wee to The Howlers group chat! Here I will update everyone on events, duties and more. Everyone, you might be happy to learn that so far it looks like we have nothing to worry about. No reports have been made about what had happened today.

    [However, there is news of the grey colour gang having been defeated. For now, I would say keep your mouth shut about what we have done to everyone.

    [In other good news, Miss Degrace is doing well. She was let out of the hospital and her injuries were stitched up. As for Marie, she is already better. She will still be staying in hospital for a couple of days, though.

    [I will handle the repairs of the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club with today¡¯s funds that we gained. Have a rest for the next couple of days, enjoy life and I¡¯ll let you know once the club is ready to be back in action.]

    Seeing the message, it was the first thing that put a smile on Gary¡¯s face.

    ¡®It¡¯s over¡­ right, those twins can¡¯t mess with us any more, but that¡¯s just one problem out of what feels like a hundred.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Before going to sleep, Gary wanted to check one more thing. Because after defeating the twins, he hadpleted two Quests and received great reward, for one he had reached Level 10.

    Levelling up twice from this event meant he had gotten stronger and had two more stat points to use as he wished, but it had alsopleted another quest that Gary had long forgotten about.

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 10]

    [Main Questpleted]

    [Look at you! You are growing into a fine Werewolf and taking on this role well.]

    [Now that you barely know what you¡¯re doing, society demands for you to make yourself useful!

    It¡¯s time for you to choose a path to go down on your Werewolf journey]

    [Please select from one of the following sses!]

    [¡­]

 Chapter 163: Select Your class

    <h4>Chapter 163: Select Your ss</h4>

    There was a lot on Gary¡¯s mind after he had killed the twins to the point he didn¡¯t really have the time to check up on his rewards. However, as the day continued on as normal, and he eventually saw Amy, his heart settled down somewhat from the events of today. After receiving the group message from Kai, he decided that he should continue on with what he needed to do.

    ¡®I remember it saying to select a ss, but what does it exactly do?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    Ever sincepleting the Main Quest, the system kept prompting him to make a choice. Even after he had made the notification go away, every twenty minutes it would pop back up. It was clear that the system would continue to bother him until he made his choice.

    ¡®I guess this is just something I¡¯m going to have to do, huh.¡¯ Gary grumbled, as he looked to his left, seeing his sister lying there on her bed. Getting up, he decided to head to their bathroom and sat on the toilet. It was a strange ce to be, but at least he was safe if any changes suddenly started to ur.

    ¡®Alright, so let¡¯s see what these options are again?¡¯

    [Please select from one of the following sses]

    [Hunter ss]

    [A Werewolf Hunter is fast, agile, and sneaky. He focuses on killing his prey quickly, out of sight and from the shadows. He is able to track his targets from a great distance and has great focus.]

    [ss perks include: More and better Marks, improved tracking.]

    ¡®The first choice certainly is interesting, I could always do with extra Marks. It would be great if I could create Bonds with the others, and it would be a safe way to farm Exp. ¡­if that¡¯s how it still works. ¡­

    ¡®So far the system gave me Quests based on the situation I was in, but what if it starts to give me Quests based on the ss I¡¯ve chosen? If I be a Werewolf Hunter, then the most obvious Quest it would give me would be to hunt more. Why else would it give me more and better Marks? I doubt the better Marks will be like my Bond Marks, more than likely it will be improved Forced Bonds or something.¡¯

    Gary then decided to move onto the next one, which had a little extra text next to the ss.

    [Protector ss] (Rmended)

    [A Werewolf Protector boasts one of the sturdiest bodies of his race. He uses his own body to shield his pack members from any harm, making sure that they will survive.

    [ss perks include: 1 Extra point in Endurance upon each Level Up, faster healing.]

    ¡®I can see why the system rmends this one. My endurance certainly is way above my other stats. However¡­ its strong point seems to be taking a beating though. As useful as it is, I have seen time and time again that it doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t have the strength or speed to defeat my opponents¡­

    ¡®The Underdogs have Kirk¡­ and the gangs in higher tier towns must have Altered as well. They surely are a lot stronger than the fake ones that I went up against today. Sure, I could just stand there and take a beating, but this role only seems to work if I had someone that could help me attack.¡¯

    Keeping it as a maybe, Gary went over hisst option.

    [Warrior ss]

    [A Werewolf Warrior could be considered the vanguard of his pack. He leads his pack into battle with his strength. He has exceptional fighting ability and courage, but it is because of this trait, and his role, that this ss boasts the highest fatality rate.]

    Before reading the additional perks, Gary gulped right there. The description had sounded great at the start¡­ that was until he read the dying part.

    [ss perks include: Wide range of skills to select from,rge Energy pool]

    ¡®Hmm, I guess the problem with these additional perks, although it tells you a few details it doesn¡¯t tell you too much. Like how much is rge¡¯? Will I have 150 Energy, 200 Energy, 500 Energy? Is it the only ss that increases it? Come to think of it, will my stats change depending on which one I choose?

    ¡®Honestly they all seem to have their advantages and disadvantages.¡¯

    His finger hovered over the options, but they hesitated. For a moment the teenager seemed to have made up his mind on one, but it soon changed to another, and then thest.

    ¡®Damn it, this is just so hard. Should I trust in the system¡¯s rmendation?¡¯¡¯

    Since Gary was struggling with what to pick, he actually decided to text Tom. He exined to him, that he was ying a game, and these were the sses to select from. The question proposed was which ss would suit him in real life best.

    He waited and in the end got a reply.

    [To me, Gary, I would say the Warrior ss suits you the best. You always do crazy things that get you in situations that might get you killed. I mean, I don¡¯t even know what happened to you after what happened at the pool club. However, that¡¯s what makes you, you. I always thought you had the courage like a warrior.]

    After getting the text message, Gary replied with a [Thank you], as he had made up his mind. There was something else drawing him to this option, and it was the part where it stated that they lead the pack. He didn¡¯t know if it was influenced by Kai and the others, but he really did feel more like a leader as time went on.

    [Are you certain you wish to select the Warrior ss?]

    [Yes.]

    [ss has been selected]

    [Your Grade has been upgraded from Pawn to Knight]

    [New skills are now avable]

    [Changes to your Status will now be applied]

    [¡­]

    [¡­]

    The messages continued to arrive as Gary became a Werewolf Warrior.

 Chapter 164: An upgrade!

    <h4>Chapter 164: An upgrade!</h4>

    Apparently, selecting a ss was more than just some perks, because Gary could physically feel that his body was changing. It felt somewhat simr to when he would transform.

    ¡®Seriously? Right here, right now? You didn¡¯t tell me something like this was going to happen! What if Amy sees me? This is bad!¡¯ Gary thought as sweat was running down his body and forehead. He quickly got out of his clothes as he had gone through too many recently and he didn¡¯t want to waste money on buying more.

    The teenager¡¯s arms and muscles were bulging, but his skin wasn¡¯t ripping off like it usually would. With each passing second he felt like his bones were growing slightlyrger and then finally it had stopped.

    [Congrattions, your ss has changed to; Werewolf Warrior]

    [ss: Warrior]

    [State: Human (Omega)]

    [Grade: knight]

    After taking a breath or two, Gary decided to check out the system, he had received multiple notifications, but he was unable to focus and tell what they were, so he was just starting to check them all out.

    ¡®¡­ what does Grade: Knight mean? It went from Pawn to Knight, so I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s based on chess, but what exactly does it symbolise? Why is it separate from the ss?¡¯

    s, his system came and went as it pleased. Rather than focus on the things he didn¡¯t understand, he decided to look at the things he did understand.

    [The maximum number of Marks avable has increased]

    [5/8 Marks]

    He had gained three more slots, which made Gary quite happy. He wondered what Level he would have to reach to make them increase again, and he was also curious how many he would have gotten if he had selected the Hunter ss instead.

    [Error; One of your skills is ipatible with your current ss]

    [Charging Heart will be removed]

    ¡®Huh? Wait, what?! I can¡¯t use Charging Heart any more? What crap is that!¡¯ Gary was getting really pissed at the Werewolf system¡¯s shenanigans. It was one thing to not give him a heads-up about his body changing, but his skills being ipatible with any of the sses should have warranted a warning!

    The high schooler quickly went over to the Skills tab and he could see that it had indeed disappeared. Charging Heart was the bread and butter skill that Gary had relied on the most. He could only hope that he could still enjoy the effect of doubling all his stats if his Heart rate increased to or above 150 BPM on its own.

    [New skills are avable, please select ONE skill from the following skills]

    Rather than stay down about it, Gary opted to look at the plus side, perhaps there was apatible skill to his ss that would benefit him even more than Charging Heart.

    The first thing Gary noticed was that Hardened Will wasn¡¯t listed as one of the options.

    ¡®Is this because it¡¯s also ipatible with the Warrior ss? Does that mean if I had selected one of the other sses, I might have kept Charging Heart but lost the w Drain skill?¡¯ He understood that at this point it would all be spection.

    [Berserker]

    [A skill that can only be activated once the user falls below 50% of his Health. The skill does not require any Energy to use, but no other skills can be used while in effect. For one minute, the user¡¯s strength will increase by 25%]

    [Controlled Transformation]

    [This allows the user to transform different bodies to be part wolf as he wishes. The strength gained from this will be dependent on how much the user wishes to transform. While in this state, Energy will be consumed twice as fast as normal. Stats will increase depending on which body parts are transformed.]

    ¡®Out of the two skills, one of them was far more clear on what type of effects it would have. The second one seemed a bit wishy-washy at first, but reading it Gary understood why and he was more inclined to choose that one.

    ¡®When fighting against the twins, it was because of my ws that I managed to hurt them. Also, if I could change just part of my body, I could get away with being an Altered! What¡¯s more I could permanently keep my ws to fight!

    ¡®Full Transformation¡­ just makes it too obvious that I¡¯m not an Altered. However, the Energy consumption will be doubled¡­ How much is my Energy now anyway? One of the ss perks did mention a rge pool.¡¯

    Checking up, Gary bought up his Status and his mouth was left wide open.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [ss: Warrior]

    [State: Human (Omega)]

    [Grade: Knight]

    [Level 10]

    [Exp 220/1456]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 120 ¡ú 300/300]

    [Strength 9 ¡ú 15]

    [Dexterity 9 ¡ú 15]

    [Endurance 14 ¡ú 15]

    ¡®My Energy is now at 300! I might actually be able to transform a lot of my body without having to worry. At the same time, I can use my skills a lot easier now. On top of that, all of my basic stats have improved!

    ¡®Now I don¡¯t feel too bad about Charging Heart. The Energy increase alone would have been the equivalent of 18 Levels!¡¯ Gary thought excitedly. Checking it out as well, it looked like Gary still had one stat point to use as he wished, but as usual for now he decided to keep it.

    Because of this new-found information, Gary decided to select the second skill.

    [Are you sure you would like to select the skill ¡®Controlled Transformation?¡¯]

    [Yes / No]

    [Current list of skills]

    [Mark 5/8]

    [w Drain (Level 1)]

    [Full Transformation]

    [Controlled Transformation] (new)

    Finally, there was thest set of notifications for Gary to look at.

    [Daily Quests are no longer active]

    [Exp gained from Bonds will continue]

    [The Knight Grade can not gain stats from eating humans]

    [The Knight Grade can still gain stats from eating beasts]

    Gary wasn¡¯t too upset. Lately, he had been finding it hard to head to the gym in the morning with how much he had to do throughout the day. The Exp requirement was also increasing with every Level, so the little help he would get frompleting his Daily Quest had be very marginal.

    However, he still intended to keep hunting. Not only did it save him money, but with hisrge Energy pool, he would have to eat more to keep it filled up. As for eating humans, well now he had the perfect excuse not to. However, there was something on his mind as he read thest message.

    ¡®I can gain stats from eating beasts? It mentioned that there was an anomaly with the twins¡­ was it because they weren¡¯t fully Altered? Or is it talking about beasts¡­ because they still exist on Earth?¡¯

 Chapter 165: A change

    <h4>Chapter 165: A change</h4>

    After checking out everything the system had to offer, Gary couldn¡¯t really say he was upset with his choice. For one, he had no way to find out what he would have gained, but the one thing he now did have was the skill called Controlled Transformation. In his mind, this was the biggest win out of them all.

    Honestly, Gary wanted to test everything there and then, but he thought that maybe it wasn¡¯t the best idea for him to do so in the bathroom. What if he was to suddenly go from just controlling the change in one part of his body to then controlling it fully.

    There were also his regr worries that hadn¡¯t gone away, such as the other Omega. If he could transform this drastically, did that mean Billy might have changed as well? Aside from that, there was also the fact that the message about the full moon hadn¡¯t disappeared. Only time could tell how his new ss would affect that.

    ¡®All of these new skills, and powers, I might actually be able to fight Billy on even ground¡­ or even have the advantage.¡¯ Gary thought.

    When putting on his discarded clothes, Gary noticed that the shirt felt a little tight, and his sleeves came up a little short on his forearms. On top of that, his trousers had the same issues. Overall, it felt like the waist of his bedtime clothes stretched a little more.

    ¡°What the?¡± Gary thought, and he finally looked towards the mirror. He was in so much shock that he had dropped his trousers back on the floor, for he had to touch his face to see if something was going wrong.

    ¡®It is me, but what happened to me!¡¯ Gary thought.

    His reflection was staring back at him, he could still recognise his spiked green hair with short sides, his normal eyes and nose¡­ only everything looked a little ¡®different¡¯. His face had grown a little longer and his jawline had be slightly chiselled.

    That¡¯s when he caught on that not only had his appearance changed, but there were physical changes as well. He had grown a bit taller, his limbs were a bit longer, and overall his body was a little bigger. When lifting his shirt, Gary could see well-defined muscles, and it was the same for the rest of his body.

    ¡®Is this all because of the ss change? I guess this is what it meant by changes will be applied¡­ not only did it improve my base stats, it also gave me a body to match it. I have the body of a Warrior.¡¯ Gary thought and at the same time immediately felt embarrassed thinking he had made that thought.

    Then there was onest check he made, looking downward towards a certain area.

    ¡®This is amazing! Only¡­ how do I exin this?¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    [19 Days until the next full moon]

    The notification was too far away for Gary to care at this point, and he had woken up even earlier than he usually would have done. He was slowly getting better at cooking these days, and left some scrambled eggs out for his sister.

    As for why he had chosen to leave early, it was all because he didn¡¯t want to have that conversation with his sister. For one, his school clothes already looked a bit ridiculous on him, and he had to send a message to Kai, asking him to get him a different size for his gang uniform. There wasn¡¯t much to salvage after his transformation yesterday.

    ¡®Man¡­ this is going to be a strange day.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    While Gary headed to school, just as Kai had expected, news had reached the ears of the Grey Elephants. They had received multiple different reports, but because of how drastic their stories were, it was hard for the Grey Elephants to believe what they had heard.

    The two leaders were meeting in an office that was located in a factory which made technical parts. It was one of the main businesses that the Grey Elephants protected from other gangs. At the very top was where the office in the factory was located.

    Raven opened the door for Riv, so he could join him and Brandon. After what had happened yesterday, they needed to speak to the red colour gang leader.

    ¡°Raven, it looks like you did the right thing, after all.¡± Brandon said with a smile. ¡°Judging from the reports, those twins did change, but they acted like wild animals. I guess Sin really was trying to use us as his guinea pigs.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Raven replied, who had a sour face on because he recalled that Brandon had rmended him to use it on his brother as a test subject. ¡°I only gave them a diluted mix, so maybe it was that. There is still plenty of the solution, but we have no clue if more of it is actually better or worse. What should we do with it? We can¡¯t exactly give it back.¡±

    Brandon looked to be thinking for a while and eventually came up with an answer.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s talk about other matters. The remaining grey colour gang members will join the red colour gang. Get them to change their colours and as for those who won¡¯tply, just give them the boot.

    ¡°As for that Howlers group¡­ we should leave them alone. I imagine they¡¯re just bait, even though reports imed that they had an Altered among them. The only Altered that works for a gang is Kirk. They say he covered his face, but it has to be him, which means the Underdogs are involved in all of this.

    ¡°Maybe we can use this to our advantage. Sin is getting impatient, and now we know what the solution does as well. Instead of risking it, we can dilute that solution to create some monsters to take care of them.¡± Brandon smiled at his idea.

    After the meeting was over, Raven looked like he had one more thing on his mind.

    ¡°Brandon, I might be away for a couple of days. It¡¯ll take a few days for you to set up things, so I¡¯ll be by your side by then, but right now I have things to deal with. I hope that¡¯s okay.¡±

    It was clear by Brandon¡¯s look and his hesitation that it wasn¡¯t okay. However, the leaders were supposed to be equal, not one above the others. With Yovan dead, it was only him and Raven, so it felt like Brandon had no choice but to let him go.

    ¡°Alright, I trust you to be back in time. Can you at least tell me what¡¯s so important?¡± The Grey Elephant leader asked as he lit up a cigar.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find out what happened to my brother!¡± Raven replied with conviction.

 Chapter 166: Centre of Attention

    <h4>Chapter 166: Centre of Attention</h4>

    Arriving at School, Gary was happy to see that everyone was okay. He was partially worried that perhaps Innu would have run away after seeing what happened. Sure, they were all somewhat involved in the underworld, but Gary knew exactly what it was like to see a dead body.

    It was a memory that not only wouldn¡¯t, but just couldn¡¯t get out of one¡¯s head, although perhaps Gary had it worse because he had gone through worse things. Which was why, although Innu was in the ss and had his head down on his desk. Gary wasn¡¯t going to disturb him or give him a hard time.

    When Gary came close, Innu did lift his head and took a peak, before cing it back down again.

    ¡°Howe I feel like sh*t, while you look like some type of golden boy¡­ am I that tired?¡± Innu mumbled.

    The thing was, it wasn¡¯t only him that noticed. Soon many of those in the room couldn¡¯t stop staring at Gary. Something seemed celery different about him.

    ¡°Did he get a new haircut or something?¡± One of the students asked.

    ¡°No, he still has that same stupid green hair, but he really looks different, did he get stic surgery maybe?.¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not stic surgery, look at his body, he¡¯s been working out. His clothes are bulging, I think you can see his muscles.¡±

    After hearing what everyone was saying, Innu lifted his head and rubbed his eyes slightly. He wasn¡¯t imagining things, Gary really did look great after everything that had happened.

    ¡®Did that ck blood turn him into some kind of superhero or something?!¡¯ Innu couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡®If I had known, I might have also taken some¡­ although¡­ no, his hair seems to be fine.¡¯

    Gary hadn¡¯t really expected that he would gather this much attention, or for so many people to notice, and he wasn¡¯t used to the stares, he was even avoiding their gaze a bit, but he would be lying if he said he didn¡¯t like all the praises he was getting and because of it, he thought to look in the direction where Xin was.

    For a second, he saw her ncing his way, before quickly turning around.

    ¡®Oh¡­ I didn¡¯t expect that.¡¯

    ¡°Hey, Gary right, the two of us don¡¯t talk much but look at you.¡± A girl came over to talk to him. She stroked her hair putting it behind her shoulder, revealing her ear. It was Tiffany. She had gotten incredibly close to the point where Gary was ufortable.

    ¡°The superstar of the rugby team, and now look at you, it looks like you¡¯ve been working out, but how did you get like that so fast?¡±

    Gary nervously chuckled as she pushed her body up against his and started to feel up his arm. She had felt around his biceps, and even Tiffany seemed surprised by howrge and hard it was.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s just a growth spurt.¡± Gary mumbled.

    The door slid open and Tom could be seen entering. He had entered through the back door rather than the front door, which meant he was near to his seat and could see Gary being red-faced while also being held onto by what Tom would refer to as a leach.

    ¡°Hey Tiffany, do you know my name?¡± Tom asked as he mmed his bag down on the table. It looked like she truly froze for a second as she tried to remember it.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m a bit of a ditz.¡± She excused herself, knocking herself on the head in a cute fashion. ¡°This brain of mine is freezing.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we sit next to each other in geography, and we¡¯ve been in the same ss as each other for four years. Anyway, Gary¡¯s mine.¡± Tom dered, licking his lips.

    It was then that Tiffany let go of Gary¡¯s arm, as she had all sorts of thoughts running through her head.

    ¡°Wait, you mean, he¡¯s¡­¡±

    Tom just folded his arms, nodding his head up and down, and eventually she decided to awkwardly leave. Which immediately made both Tom and Gary burst out inughter.

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t expect you toe up with something like that.¡± Gary wiped a tear from his eye, as he pounded Tom on the shoulder, who flinched at his action.

    ¡°Not my fault if she misunderstands. Anyway, what the hell happened to you? Yesterday you asked me about a game, not telling me anything about what happened, and now you look like a jock who never leaves the gym. Be honest, did you get transported into a game world, and then it spewed you out based on your ss?¡± Tom asked sceptically.

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just a growth spurt.¡± Gary insisted, although it was scary how close to the truth Tom¡¯s joke was. As his best friend, Tom knew Gary for a long time, and in the past he used to be only slightly taller than himself. For him to experience such a growth spurt seemed somewhat ridiculous, and far too coincidental¡­ but he assumed that it might have something to do with him being a Werewolf.

    As lesson¡¯s went on, it was time for the group to have a bit of self study and during this time Innu was fast asleep snoring away. Using this time, Gary believed it was a good chance to ask Tom a few questions.

    ¡°I remember you saying that your parent¡¯s work is rted to Altered. That should mean they know a lot about beasts, right? Like the beasts that Altered DNAes from and so on?¡± Gary asked.

    Tom nodded, but honestly he knew very little more than that about what his parents did.

    ¡°What I wanted to know was¡­ do you know if there are still any beasts out there? I¡¯m not talking about Altered, but real beasts.¡± The reason Gary asked this was due to his current grade.

    To get stat points, there was one way, and that was to kill and eat beasts. To Gary this was more peace of mind for him than humans or Altered. The problem was beasts no longer existed or roamed the Earth so where would he find one? He hoped that Tom might know more, if not there was also ke¡­ but he doubted the Altered Hunter would share that knowledge with him.

    ¡°I have no idea. I mean, I¡¯ve never seen one, have you? Or one on the news, but I¡¯ll ask them. It will be a simple question to ask them and I can tell you tomorrow. Now I want you to tell me something. What happened yesterday? After I took that woman to the hospital, I mean?¡±

    There was a pause before Gary answered, he had somewhat forgotten that Tom had been there yesterday, but if he told Tom everything would he believe him, and wouldn¡¯t that involve him with gang matters.

    ¡°We tried finding out who really did that to the club. In the end¡­we found Marie, but she was badly hurt, so we took her to the hospital after. Anyway, because of the state of the club I have no job for a few days, but I did want to test out a few things with you.¡± Gary ced his hand covering his mouth, and mouthed out the words ¡®Werewolf.¡¯

    This part was true, and since he wouldn¡¯t be going to the club today, he thought he could at least test out his new skills, which conveniently meant they would be spending time together.

    His best friend nodded and got back to studying, but he knew once again that his friend had lied to him. This morning, Tom had decided to surf a certain section of what was known as the Dark Web. It was a special part of the Inte that many criminal organisations used, and there were plenty of forums on there as well.

    The reason he had been sote, today, was because he had found a particrly interesting discussion. It was theories as to what happened that might have led to the apparent annihtion of the grey colour gang in Slough.

    ¡®Gary, was that you?¡¯ Tom wondered.

 Chapter 167: Growth spurt

    <h4>Chapter 167: Growth spurt</h4>

    School had ended, and for once Gary didn¡¯t need to go searching for Kai to inform him about something, or looking for ke. Since both of them had told him they would contact him when they were needed.

    Earlier, Marie had sent them an update in the Howlers group chat saying she would be taking the day off school, and all of them could understand why. Until the swelling went down, she would be harassed with all sorts of questions, especially in a school. Perhaps they would even assume it was her parents, so to avoid questions it was best to just pretend she was sick.

    There was club practice as usual, and just like in ss, his teammates, as well as Mr Root had noticed his ¡®growth spurt¡¯. However, the sportsman had seen radical changes in those around his age before, so they weren¡¯t too surprised. Instead they were proud that one of their star yers seemed to be taking the sport more seriously now by working out.

    After club practice, while the sun was still out, Gary and Tom had decided to head to the park that was closest to the school. It was also one of the safer areas for that reason. It was the same one that he and Tom had gone to before three days ago to experiment with his Full Transformation skill.

    When they finally entered the forest in the park, the two of them sat down and started to drink some water.

    ¡°So, tell me, do you think your changing body is a Werewolf thing?¡± Tom asked, seeing as no one else was around.

    ¡°That does seem to be the most likely exined.¡± Gary nodded, while touching his own hard chest. ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin, but it feels as if my body itself might have evolved. Like it¡¯s grown! That¡¯s why I wanted to invite you out here as well. You¡¯ve understood more about all this Werewolf lore stuff, so I wanted to ask your opinion about it. Did you read anything about such drastic changes?¡±

    Tom honestly had no clue. He had never heard about a Werewolf evolving, and why exactly had that change happened overnight? If anything, the most likely timing for any changes should have been either the moment he became a Werewolf or after his first turning.

    The short haired teenager could only think of a few things that would cause this ¡®evolution¡¯. An increase in strength and power, perhaps due to fighting, or maybe something else¡­

    Gary took off his shirt, followed by his trousers, leaving him only in his underwear. Although he would need to get new clothes soon that fit him, he thought it was a waste to keep ripping clothes. Besides, he still had to go home somehow

    ¡°I wanted you to tell me what I look like, because I think that change allowed me to control my transformation.¡± Gary said as he looked at his arm.

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Using the skill, Gary could tell that the system had split his body into several parts. He could understand it all in his head. It was so detailed that it was unbelievable. Gary could, if he wanted to, change just a single finger to grow out his nail, or change the entire hand.

    It was the same for all the other parts all around his body. It was as if he had a diagram in his head and all he had to do was select the body part that he wanted to transform. From then on, there was like a slider of some sort, which he could move in his head as he wished.

    As a test, Gary had selected his whole arm, from the elbow down to his fingertips. He then visually moved the slider, and he could feel his arm changing by the second. First, put the slider a quarter of the way.

    ¡°Whao, your arm!¡± Tom shouted in surprise. Seeing it live waspletely different from watching a recording. When Gary looked down, he could see his fingernails had grown, and his arm was a little hairier than usual. At the same time, it had grown slightlyrger. It still looked human but didn¡¯t quite suit his body.

    Moving the slider to the halfway mark, some skin had fallen off from his hand, and it was just as painful as before. His arm had also grown bigger and now his arm no longer lookedpletely human. It was covered in a mix of hair and fur, but underneath it, there was still human tissue.

    Finally, Gary turned the slider all the way up, and the transformation had urred on his arm. It waspletely covered in brown fur. It hurt, but not as much as Gary remembered.

    Turning it around, both him and Tom were in amazement.

    ¡°So you can really control it, does this mean you¡¯ll be okay on the full moon?¡± Tom asked.

    Gary shook his head, as he really wasn¡¯t sure. He still received the message this morning, so something was bound to happen. Right now, he didn¡¯t want to stop the testing there. Gary continued to test the other parts of his body, and he noticed a few things.

    Transforming, took up energy, simr to how his Full Transformation used up 20 points of Energy to use it was the same when he used Controlled Transformation on his body parts. Although this energy differed depending on the size of the body part as well as how much he transformed each body part. The other thing was, he could feel that his Energy was zapping away the more parts he turned, just like the system had stated.

    However, what was most impressive was his stats while doing these tests. Changing certain parts of his body would also affect his stats. Changing his arms mainly resulted in extra Strength. Transforming his torso and back gave him extra Endurance, whereas his feet and legs tranted to extra Dexterity, allowing him to run faster than he could originally.

    The bigger an area he turned, the more the slider was on the Werewolf side, the bigger the increase, but also the faster the Energy consumption.

    The stats for each area that was partially transformed was even better than when he had used Charging Heart. It was clear this was a big improvement from before. Especially with the Energy.

    ¡°Gary, do you understand what this means now?!¡± Tom shouted after watching everything. ¡°You might not have to hide this any more! If you can partially transform like this, then you can pass yourself off as an Altered!¡±

    He could see in his friend¡¯s eyes, he was truly happy for him. Happy that he no longer had to hide his secret, but Gary felt like he would still have to hide it, at least for now, and he wasn¡¯t happy for the same reasons as Tom. Instead, he thought these were the perfect tools to use against Bill.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside Bayles High School, Slough¡¯s only all-girls grammar school, girls could be seen walking out in groups as it was the end of the school day. Two girls walked out arm in arm, just like they did every day.

    Stacy and Amy would usually walk to the gate before parting ways to head home. They both had gone through a traumatic event together, yet this event had only brought them closer together, and Stacy had solemnly promised she would never do anything as stupid as that.

    Just as they were about to leave, though, a figure in a ck leather jacket and wearing sun sses stopped in front of the two girls.

    ¡°Hey there, I just wanted to ask you a few things.¡± The man said, as he pulled his sses down, and recognised one of the girls. ¡°You see my brother, Hawk, has been missing for a while now, and I was wondering if you two knew anything.¡±

 Chapter 168: A missing brother

    <h4>Chapter 168: A missing brother</h4>

    Amy and Stacy hadn¡¯t quite been the same ever since they had been to the Kobo Karaoke Club that evening. The two were very thankful that theirs was an all-girls school, and the number of male teachers was only a handful. Otherwise it would have been a lot harder for her to even deal with her day to day life.

    Amy was aware of her own condition. Whenever the high school girl would go to the convenience store, she could feel herself be extra nervous even when just paying for items. This also only ured if there was a man or boy behind the counter. The only person she felt somewhat safe around, that was a man, was her brother.

    After experiencing such a traumatic event, the two girls¡¯ bodies had gone into a shock response as a strange man had approached them out of nowhere. What¡¯s more, he got ufortably close to them, making it seem that he was trying to block their path on purpose. Because of this, Amy¡¯s first instinct was to ce her hand in her pocket, ready to inform Gary of what was happening as soon as possible, just like she had promised him.

    ¡°Hawk¡­ is your brother?¡± Stacy asked with a shaky voice.

    Amy sighed internally. It might have been for the best if the two of them had pretended not to know who Hawk was. Unfortunately, now that Stacy had repeated his name, it was obvious that her best friend was at least acquainted with the guy.

    Seeing the two girls¡¯ reaction, Raven let out a big sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had been hoping for their help, but this might prove to be a lot harder than he had anticipated.

    ¡°It looks like that idiot has mistreated you two girls. I don¡¯t know what exactly he has done, but let me apologise on his behalf.¡± Raven said, bowing his head down. Surprisingly, it looked like he was being quite sincere in his action.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to trouble you any more than I have to. I¡¯m honestly just looking out for him. As I said, he¡¯s been missing for a while and when I looked through his messages, there was a girl that he had been talking to a lot.

    ¡°You two even exchanged photos, so that¡¯s how I found you. I¡¯m sorry¡­ I actually knew who you were before approaching you, I just wanted to confirm.¡±

    Raven was very thankful for the police officer that day, not only had he given him a transcript of his messages, but it had everything. Even information that usually would have been omitted such as photos and more.

    It was obvious that the guy had been a good-natured rookie working at the station. The reason nobody had told Raven any of that information had been, primarily, so he wouldn¡¯t bother the poor girl¡­ just like he was doing right now but it looked like the police hadn¡¯t bothered to look this far either.

    With all that information, it had naturally not taken long for Raven to track Stacy down. The only thing he didn¡¯t expect was for her to be¡­ as startled as she was.

    When speaking, Amy noticed that Raven was just looking at Stacy. Apparently, he actually didn¡¯t know what exactly his brother had tried to do that day. However, looking at the person in front of her, her instincts were telling her that this person was bad news.

    Throughout the whole conversation, he was clenching his fist by his side and unclenching it as if he was angry at something.

    Worried that he mightsh out, Amy grabbed her friend by her arm tighter and pulled her away.

    ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t even know who this stranger is. What is an adult doing waiting outside a girl¡¯s school anyway!¡± Amy eximed as she pulled her friend.

    Luckily, it didn¡¯t seem like her friend was objecting to this. Stacy happily went along, but she soon felt someone grab her by the wrist, stopping her.

    ¡°Please. I¡¯m just looking for my brother.¡± Raven pleaded. ¡°Look, I know he can be an arsehole, but he¡¯s still my brother. Imagine this was your family member who had gone missing. Just tell me what you know, and once I find him, I promise I¡¯ll make him apologise for whatever he did to you!

    ¡°Thest person he wrote to was you, and he¡¯s been missing ever since! If you want, I canpensate you, or make it, so he never bothers you again, alright?¡±

    Stacy looked like she was trying to move her arm to get the man to shake it off, but on his end Raven had a hard grip on her. So much that it was even starting to hurt her. His soft words and hard approach weren¡¯t adding up.

    ¡°HEEELP!¡± Amy screamed. ¡°HE¡¯S ATTACKING US!¡±

    Since it was an all-girls school, immediately there were those who turned to look at the situation. To anyone it looked like danger, as there was a strange man in dark sunsses holding onto two girls who looked unwilling to leave with him.

    The other girls started to pull out their phones, taking videos and taking photos as well. Seeing this, Raven scoffed, and let go.

    ¡°Why is it that every time I try to do things the right way, things don¡¯t turn out?¡± Raven wondered in frustration as he adjusted his jacket. ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s how you want it, then you two better watch your back! I promise I¡¯ll find out what happened to my brother one way or the other!¡±

    The strange man left the school grounds, and a few momentster they could hear him drive off on his motorbike. Some girls ran over, checking up on the two girls who had been attacked. Stacy fell to her knees.

    ¡°Amy¡­what do we do?¡± Stacy asked as tears ran down her face. She looked up at her friend, shocked, scared.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Stacy.¡± Amy replied, putting on a brave face. ¡°We really don¡¯t know why his brother is missing. A scumbag like that probably got what wasing to him, so don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    Despite her tone, she too was frightened. The man had discovered Stacy¡¯s identity from pictures so what else might he know? If the younger brother was involved in things like that, then maybe the brother was involved in bigger things.

    Thinking about brothers and what the strange man had said, her thoughts revolved around her own. The two girls weren¡¯t actually thest ones who had seen Hawk. After the two of them left, Gary had stayed behind, at least that was that Stacy told her. Amy had trouble recollecting too much about it after a certain point.

    ¡®I never asked him what he did that day? I was just so worried about Mum at the time, but Gary didn¡¯t look hurt when he came back¡­ did he? I can¡¯t remember that well. I hope¡­ no, that¡¯s impossible¡­ how would Gary be responsible for this? There were three of them, he probably just mmed the door and ran away.¡¯ Amy hoped.

    ¡®I¡¯ll just ask him once I get home today.¡¯

 Chapter 169: The young hunter

    <h4>Chapter 169: The young hunter</h4>

    After school had ended, ke was walking home following his usual path, but he was busy with his thoughts. For one, he was wondering what was happening to Gary. His body had clearly changed, and the young Altered Hunter had his suspicions as to why.

    ¡®It looks like his body hasn¡¯t finished adjusting to whatever happened to him, so maybe he¡¯s moreplete now. Only¡­ I don¡¯t recall any of the books mentioning such transformations¡­ Is he some new type of Werewolf? Have they evolved since then?

    ¡®¡­ Most importantly, does that mean Billy might also have changed? Will Gary and I really be able to defeat a Werewolf that might even be stronger than when he fought my Dad?¡¯¡¯

    ke hoped that Gary was just the exception, and not the rule, but either way, it would be better if they attempted to deal with the situation sooner rather thanter. If Werewolves were able to naturally get stronger as time went on¡­ the young Altered Hunter didn¡¯t want to finish his thought.

    Although it was true that Altered could also grow stronger, in their case it had to do with the training they underwent, learning how to use their powers and fight with their new bodies. Werewolves, however, were humans who had been born with special gics¡­ at least that was one theory of the many from the information ke had learned with his books. In other words, the difficulty could bepared to learning a newnguagepared to learning how to walk.

    The equipment ke needed to track down Billy was in the secret room at their house. He was considering many options, such as sneaking in, taking the items he needed, thenter returning them before his father would ever notice.

    Even if ke might get caught and exined he was going hunting on his own, he would be cautioned, but his father wouldn¡¯t do anything to him. Still, he would rather avoid giving his parents any reason to distrust him. In the past, he had made up many excuses not to go out on outings, so if he started to show an interest now¡­ He wondered how his father would react.

    ¡®I could wait until he goes on one of his trips, but who knows when that will be? The longer we wait, the worse it bes if they really get stronger over time¡­¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    The heavens seemed to be on the young Altered Hunter¡¯s side today. As soon as ke came home, his father informed him that he had news to share.

    ¡°I have been called.¡± Ozacas told his son. ¡°Not just me, but a few of the Hunters have been called. It seems like it¡¯s something pretty serious this time, so I don¡¯t know how many days I¡¯ll be gone. I¡¯ve left you enough money on the kitchen table tost you for a week, and you know the code, in case you need more.¡±

    Often, when the Hunters felt like they needed help, or had a big operation, they would call the senior members with high stars and experience to help. This happened quite frequently, but ke still thought it would be awhile until he was called on another.

    ¡°Off to another Tier-2 city again?¡± ke asked.

    Ozacas shook his head. ¡°No, this time it¡¯s actually a Tier-4 town.¡±

    This was an unsuspected answer. The lower the town/city tier, the unlikelier it was to run into an Altered. After all, they were only for the privileged, for those who had money or power to afford it, and those would usually be in Tier-2 cities or above.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s strange, apparently something has gone rampant down there. More Altered are being spotted than usual, and not even the police force can handle it. Of course, the White Rose agents are doing nothing. If it doesn¡¯t affect those that fill their pockets, then there is no need for them to get involved.

    ¡°After subduing the Altered, we might stick around to find out the reason for this change, so this one might take a while. I want you to continue your training while I¡¯m away, so you better not be sloppy! Once I¡¯m back, we will take care of the Altered here.¡±

    The father walked past showing no emotion to his son when exiting out the door. He had arge bag with him that ke knew to be filled with all sorts of equipment. Before he could say anything, Ozacas was already off and heading towards his destination.

    ¡®A Tier-4 town, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever even been to one before. I wonder what happened there? I guess after I be a full-fledged Altered Hunter, I will get called to ces like that as well.¡¯ ke thought, as he knew that someday he would have to follow the path of his father.

    He was a bit sad seeing his father go, but this was his opportunity. He and Gary had made a deal, and it looked like it was the perfect time for them to act. After hearing the sound of their car disappear in the distance, ke headed into the training room and moved the statues to open the secret door, heading down he could see a lot of the equipment had been taken.

    Fortunately, there was a double for nearly everything down there, due to ke also getting trained as a Hunter. He looked through the items and picked what they needed to try to track the other Werewolf down and possibly what would help them subdue it.

    After putting everything in a simr ck bag that his father had, he checked through it again. And again, and again, until he stopped noticing he was repeating his actions.

    ¡®I¡­I can do this, right? It will be the first time I go out without my Dad¡­ and I¡¯ll be going with Gary. What if we can¡¯t find the other Werewolf? What if it¡¯s a trap set up by Gary. Maybe they both n to pincer me and get rid of the problem?¡¯ He started to second guess if it was actually a good idea.

    He picked up one of the batons from the back and gripped it tightly, strengthening his resolve.

    ¡®No, I¡¯m just making up excuses. I didn¡¯t realise how much I relied on Dad.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day had arrived, and it was time for Gary to head off to school and do his regr thing. After a stretch he looked towards Amy, once again checking she was there, something had be a habit.

    ¡®She was acting a little strange yesterday like she wanted to ask me something, but she never did¡­ ah, maybe it¡¯s some girl stuff. I guess I can¡¯t rece Mum with everything.¡¯ Gary sighed at that thought. Thanks to yesterday¡¯s cash infusion, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the hospital bills, which was a good thing, since their mother had yet to disy any signs of recovering.

    He checked his phone to see if there were any messages, but naturally the club renovations would take some time. There wasn¡¯t any news from any of the others either. However, that¡¯s when he noticed that there was a text message waiting for him on his regr phone.

    [I hope you¡¯re ready. Tonight, we¡¯ll go hunt down Billy!]

 Chapter 170: Working with an enemy

    <h4>Chapter 170: Working with an enemy</h4>

    When walking to school, there was a hop to Gary¡¯s step. It was a strange feeling, and he didn¡¯t even understand it himself right now. Rather than being scared or worried that he would most likely face Billy today, the high schooler felt excited.

    All this time, everything he had been doing, growing stronger by fighting the colour gang members, had all been, so he could beat Billy, and it was time to see if his hard work had paid off.

    ¡®Is this really me?¡¯ Gary thought as he looked at his fist, still not used to its increased size. ¡®I¡¯ve always enjoyed watching Altered fights¡­ but I never fought one before. Well, even if the old me had had the chance to, I would have been done in before I could even blink. Now, though, I feel confident in defeating Billy!¡¯

    On one hand, the teenager enjoyed this feeling of great strength, but he reminded himself that there were downsides to it. No, not ¡®great responsibility¡¯, but more like ¡®giant headaches¡¯ in the form of White Rose and the Altered Hunter. Hopefully, once Billy would be taken care of, ke could im the credit for it, making both of them disappear from Gary¡¯s life¡­

    School seemed tost forever for him, and while in ss, the teenager sent out a message to the Howlers group chat. He informed his fellow gang members that he had ns today. ording to Kai, fixes were still being done on the club and with it being the middle of the week, nobody needed their leader for anything.

    In other words, there was nothing that would get in his way of what was to happen tonight.

    ¡®Calm down, Gary, there¡¯s no guarantee that we¡¯ll even find him today. It might still be a long time until we do, but it does feel like I¡¯m close to solving one of my biggest problems.¡¯

    ¡°Say, what¡¯s got you so happy? Did you find a secret love letter from Xin or something?¡± Tom asked teasingly, making his best friend blush a bit.

    ¡°Do I require a special reason to be happy? Anyway, tonight, Amy and I nned to watch a film together. With my Mum and everything else, it¡¯s nice to do something normal for a change.¡± Gary lied. He was getting better at it, which wasn¡¯t too surprising with how frequently he did that.

    If it was just him, he might have told his best friend that he would try to hunt Billy, but now ke was involved. It didn¡¯t feel fair to reveal the young Altered Hunter¡¯s secrets, seeing as the other had kept Gary¡¯s secret from his own father.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The school day proceeded as normal, and the Rugby practice was simrly uneventful. Neither ke nor Gary showed any signs that the two of them had very dangerous ns today. They only interacted as was needed during practice ys.

    There was still some time before the two of them would head out. ording to ke, the best time to act would be at night, which Gary was fine with. He believed that Billy wouldn¡¯t be out on the hunt until that time anyway.

    Right now, the green haired teenager was out in town with an empty bag he had brought from home. Using some leftover funds from their haul on Monday, Gary was in possession of more cash than would be normal for a boy his age, at least in Slough. He was heading to the convenience store to buy plenty of raw meat, cing it all in his back and decided to grab some extra clothes this time.

    ¡®Now that I have arger Energy pool, I should theoretically be able to go a few days without having to eat anything. It looks like my Energy still goes down at the same speed as it did before, but it also seems to work the other way round. I need to eat thrice as much to fill it back up.¡¯

    With 300 Energy, he could afford to hunt a few critters asionally, but he didn¡¯t exactly want to be carrying around dead animal carcasses in his bag. Eventually, after he had finished all his shopping, the only thing Gary was left with was to wait for ke to call on him.

    He took a bite out of some meat, just to make sure his Energy was full. One never knew when a couple points of Energy might make the difference. Fortunately, his hunting partner didn¡¯t make him wait too long. A text on his phone instructed the high schooler where to meet the other.

    Gary was actually led to a part of Slough he was slightly unfamiliar with, though he recognised it well. It was because this was the area of Slough where the Bruntin¡¯s apartment was located, and where the White Rose agents had discovered him the first time.

    Enough time had passed without any more news, so there were no police nor any reporters on the scene. They had other work to do, and they couldn¡¯t disturb the lives of everyone in the neighbourhood for too long. Whatever evidence there had been to get from their apartment, the police had retrieved it long ago.

    Just as the teenager had suspected, the ce ke wanted him to be at was Billy¡¯s old home.

    ¡®He doesn¡¯t think Billy is still here, does he? Why start here, of all ces? Well, I guess it¡¯s as good a ce as any¡­ hold on, could it be that Billy might actually be inside?! Surely, ke would have warned me, right? Sh*t, I haven¡¯t prepared myself.¡¯ Gary felt his heart beat faster.

    After a short text, it looked like ke actually wanted him toe to the roof instead, so Gary happily obliged. The high schooler was careful to avoid being spotted by any of the residents. Using his nose, he tried to find any ¡®strange¡¯ scents.

    Unfortunately, Gary couldn¡¯t remember Billy¡¯s scent too well, since thest few times they had met, he hadn¡¯t had the chance to. On the night of the full moon, when Billy had attacked Innu, the green haired teenager had been a Werewolf himself, meaning he had no recollection if the other Werewolf had some sort of unique scent. However, there was nothing that smelt like himself, at least.

    At the top of the stairs, Gary knocked a few times at the door, only for it to get opened and a in ck mask staring him dead in the face. No gap for the mouth, but only two small square slits for eyes.

    ¡°Holy¡­ did you really have to scare the crap out of me?!¡± Garyined, realising that it was ke.

    ¡°Sorry, I need to make sure that it wasn¡¯t one of the residents here to enjoy a smoke or something.¡± ke replied after shutting the door behind, and clipping on what looked like a padlock.

    ¡®Would a resident really have had a reason to knock though?¡¯ Gary argued mentally, but let the matter rest. Instead, he looked behind ke. ¡®Woah, I guess he really is serious about this stuff. Man, I really never thought I would be here working with an Altered Hunter.¡¯

    There was a ck bag andid out, ke had several weapons on a piece of cloth. On top of that, there were even some items Gary couldn¡¯t even realise what they were. Now that the high schooler was closer, he could tell that the young Altered Hunter was wearing thick armour underneath his outfit, like some sort of knight from the past.

    ¡°Is that for protection? from the Altered, I mean?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Kinda.¡± ke replied while he double checked all his items. ¡°It¡¯s more than that, though. The armour is¡­ let¡¯s just say it¡¯s quite ¡®special¡¯.¡±

    Although ke had agreed to work together, he was careful about not divulging too many of their secrets to the Werewolf boy just yet.

    ¡°So how are we going to track down ke? Do you have like an Altered scanner or something, if that would even work?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°I guess you could call it that.¡± ke scratched his head. ¡°There are a lot of tools that need to be used for tracking, not just one. In our case, we don¡¯t even know what to start looking for because Billy is like you.

    ¡°In the case of normal Altered, we can tap into other informationworks, like reports from the police, sensors going off at strange hours and so on. If those get reported, then my father is able to use that information to help us look in the right area.

    ¡°Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have that, so I chose the area that would make the most sense to start with. As you said, we don¡¯t even know if any of this stuff will work on him because he is not an Altered. As such, if you don¡¯t mind, I would like to test some of these things on you first.¡±

    ke picked up an object, and clicked a button on the bottom, shooting out from the top of it was what looked like a bat with spikes.

    Seeing this, Gary gulped.

 Chapter 171: Others like you

    <h4>Chapter 171: Others like you</h4>

    ¡®What kind of tests is he going to do on me?¡¯ Gary felt apprehensive, and backed away, cing his hand in front of him. It was at that moment, he realised that he didn¡¯t really know ke that well. Perhaps this was his trap, then again the system hadn¡¯t popped up with any type of message saying that he had broken his promise, but he was sure there would be loopholes to his system¡¯s bond.

    Pressing the button again, the spikes went away, and the baton-like bat went down to something that ke was able to hold freely in his arm. He then ced it around his belt that had a number of simr devices.

    Touching the side of his mask, for a second Gary could see something light up on the inside, and he could hear a small mechanical hum like if aputer had been turned on.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Gary curiously asked.

    ¡°This mask isn¡¯t for show, it has a lot of built-in features, such as night vision, heat sensors and more.¡± ke exined. ¡°Sorry, but I only have that one.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t mind, he could actually see quite well in the dark thanks to his enhanced eyesight. Still, the mask sounded very impressive, as expected for people who hunted Altered for a living.

    ¡°Altered, even in their human form, give off more heat than a regr human. It¡¯s only ever so slightly, so it¡¯s a rather unreliable way to search for Altered. Otherwise, they would be bringing in every sick person.¡± ke exined. ¡°Still, it¡¯s useful for narrowing down our search, but for one, we need to learn if it¡¯s the same for¡­ your kind.¡±

    Gary understood that ke was referring to him being a Werewolf rather than an Altered, yet for some reason he seemed to avoid using that term. The next thing the young Altered Hunter pulled out was a special tube that was encased with something, with a button in the middle of it. The inside of the liquid was red but also a little dark, making Gary guess its contents, so he simply asked.

    ¡°Altered blood.¡± ke replied. ¡°Most Altered have a sensitive nose, and they can distinguish between human blood and Altered blood. In their curiosity they maye to this area, but it¡¯s not too useful unless we know the general area of a target.¡±

    After a few more tests, the brown haired teenager ced all the items that he needed for quick ess around his belt. He then pressed a button on his bag that almost vacuumed shrunk the entire thing, and swung it over behind him. The straps were ced on well, and it was hard to even see he had brought a bag with him in the first ce.

    Of course, the final touch was arge hoodie that almost looked like a robe, but it was clear that it was used to cover everything on him. If people saw a person walking with all these items they would surely get a few calls.

    ¡°What about you, didn¡¯t you bring-¡°

    Before ke could finish his question, Gary cleared his throat, reminding him that he always had everything he might need on him. The two teenagers walked down together, with ke taking the lead. Gary was following him carefully and from just watching his actions, he felt like he was learning a lot.

    ke was careful on every turn he made, and even used small devices like mirrors to look down hallways he couldn¡¯t see.

    It was quite amazing, and Gary figured if he had picked up on some simr things, then perhaps White Rose would have never found him.

    The two reached outside the apartment, and ke seemed to be looking at the ground for something. Meanwhile, Gary was sniffing the air, hoping to pick up something with his nose.

    ¡°The blood is still left here, but it¡¯s really faint. We could follow it and see where it leads us, but I think the police would have done that already.¡± ke stated.

    ¡°We can follow it anyway. Maybe Billy takes all those that he kills to a certain ce, and I can sniff him out with my nose.¡± Gary suggested.

    The two followed the trails and Gary assumed that ke must have been able to see the blood through the strange mask of his, which certainly seemed handy. In the end, though, the blood trails seemed to somewhat stop, and they only found themselves heading to another local park near the block of apartments.

    Using the mask, ke searched for anyone in the vicinity with a high temperature reading, but there were only a few. Unfortunately, Gary didn¡¯t need any fancy mask to tell that Billy wasn¡¯t among those.

    They continued their search looking around in the forest and since it looked like they couldn¡¯t find anything, Gary had some questions he wanted to ask the other.

    ¡°I was wondering¡­ do you also hunt beasts?¡± Gary asked, still thinking about the system message he had received after reaching Level 10.

    ¡°Why would you think that? They don¡¯t call us ALTERED Hunters for nothing. ¡­when you mean beasts, are you referring to those like yourself¡­ or those creatures Altered are based on?¡± ke questioned Gary in turn.

    The Werewolf teenager thought that there was a difference between the two, because if there wasn¡¯t, then he wouldn¡¯t have ¡®failed¡¯ the Altered test back then, but it made him aware of something else. ke knew about Werewolves too, and the words he used back then when Gary revealed everything to him were certainly strange.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m talking about beasts that the Alterede from. Are there others around?¡±

    ¡°I have never seen one, nor has my father, but some of our logs talk about the hunters in the past having met them. I doubt they were lying, so at one point they certainly must have existed, whether they still do¡­ who knows? However, those books also mentioned not meeting your kind for a very long time.¡±

    Gary suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking towards ke. ¡°You mean there are other Werewolves?¡±

    ¡°You mean, you didn¡¯t know?¡± Now it was the Altered Hunter¡¯s turn to be baffled. ¡°If you exist, then isn¡¯t that already proof that others exist? Besides, you were originally human, right? I mean, the changes happened not too long ago to you. Didn¡¯t you be a Werewolf after having been bitten?

    ¡°If not, how did that exactly happen? And what about Billy? Even if it was a different way that has to make you think, of course there are others out there.¡±

    For some reason, that thought had never crossed Gary¡¯s mind. He had turned out of nowhere, and the main culprit appeared to have been his Werewolf System, which seemed to have been inside that suitcase.

    Even in the absurd scenario of a Werewolf somehow having been inside it, it wouldn¡¯t have exined his system. Come to think of it, why did the Underdogs even have that suitcase in the first ce? Just who was it meant to be delivered to that day?

    ¡­perhaps they had the answers about the Werewolves?

    ¡°I think I found something!¡¯ ke suddenly eximed.

 Chapter 172: A past

    <h4>Chapter 172: A past</h4>

    After ke¡¯s shout it didn¡¯t take long for Gary to zoom to where he was and that¡¯s when he could see that the other teenager was digging through the leaves. They were being hurled, thrown everywhere. Now looking at the spot, although Gary couldn¡¯t see it, he could smell it.

    ¡°There¡¯s blood there, right?¡± Gary asked for confirmation.

    ¡°Yeah, but not just here. A lot of the leaves are covering the area, so I wasn¡¯t so sure, but there¡¯s blood all over in this park and forest.¡± ke said.

    If Gary could smell the blood, and he could do so quite clearly, it meant that it couldn¡¯t have been shed too long ago. This made the high schooler wonder where it hade from. There had been no reports of recent dead, no bodies nor police in this area.

    The two continued looking and ke was uncovering piles of blood in certain ces, and even up particr trees. The problem was they weren¡¯t really leading them anywhere, it was just blood located different areas of the forest, and they were unable to find anything else until Gary had a theory.

    ¡°I think my earlier hunch was right.¡± Gary revealed. ¡°What we have just uncovered must be his hunting ground.¡±

    ¡°Hunting ground?¡± ke repeated confused. ¡°You mean he killed more people and took his victims here? But that doesn¡¯t add up with the news report.¡±

    It was then that Gary ran and leapt up on one of the trees, transforming only his arms, and started to climb it quite quickly. With his extra strength and being able to change parts of his body, it was easy enough.

    The vibrations of the tree caused a bird to scurry away, yet the next second, Gary leapt wing at the creature. When hended, his knees bent before hitting the ground and now blood was dripping from his hand, the blood of the lifeless bird.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see the blood like you, but I know one thing. He and I are alike.¡± Gary stated. ¡°I looked at the trees, and saw his markings. There are ws marks everywhere at the top. What I just did is an example of probably what he was doing as well.

    ¡°Unlike me, Billy is on the run, which means he has no easy way to buy the food he needs. Even if he had the money, it¡¯s not like he could walk into a supermarket and just buy it. Werewolves need a high amount of Energy, but the meat doesn¡¯t necessarily have toe from humans.¡±

    ¡°In other words, he¡¯s switched to hunting animals.¡± ke finished Gary¡¯s sentence, realising what he was saying, and now knowing why there were so many blood marks on the ground. It was most likely where Billy had feasted on the animal.

    Another thing that ke noted was how fast Gary¡¯s movements had been and how easily he had caught the bird as well. It was clear that the Werewolf he had fought in the park and the one in front of him were quite different. He had even slightly transformed in front of him, which was something the Altered Hunter had been unaware the other even could do.

    ¡°Does it mean he will eventually return here? If he¡¯s using the ce as his hunting ground, maybe he¡¯s hiding in the vicinity.¡± ke theorised. ¡°However, if he is, he must be out, right now.¡±

    Gary turned around for a second. He had killed the bird, and he didn¡¯t want to put it to waste, especially since his little show had also used up a bit of Energy. At the same time, he didn¡¯t really want ke to see him eat, so he had the decency to hide it.

    When looking at the trees he saw that there were w markings. Given how high up they were, the teenager was trying topare himself to Billy, trying to gauge how advanced he had be.

    ¡°This ce might not be his only hunting ground. If he¡¯s smart enough to switch to animals, he might also have realised that staying in one ce for too long might be too risky. Let¡¯s keep an eye out, and if we don¡¯t find him, we could always return here the following nights.¡± Gary suggested.

    ke agreed, and he also started to set up little cameras in the forest. This way, he could check up on the area while they were away. He had ced them in the areas where the most amount of blood had been visible.

    While doing so, ke had something on his mind he wanted to ask Gary.

    ¡°You¡¯re different from how you were back then. And I don¡¯t just mean that you transformed like an Altered. Last time, you were attacking me like a feral animal.

    ¡°If you transform again to fight Billy, will I have to worry about that happening again? I¡¯m not exactly looking forward to having to fight for my life against the two of you.¡± ke voiced his concern, as he programmed the cameras to send their footage directly to his phone.

    ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡± Gary stated. ¡°I acted that way because of the full moon. Although we¡¯re stronger during that time, we also get ¡­ ¡®weirder¡¯, more primal. I¡­ I couldn¡¯t control myself back then, probably because it was my first turning.

    ¡°After my recent change, I feel like it might have solved my problem. It¡¯s what allowed me to change only part of my body. Anyway, that¡¯s also why we need to finish Billy off sooner rather thanter. He¡¯ll only get stronger the closer we¡¯ll be to the full moon, and I dunno if he can or will transform like me.¡±

    After the cameras had been set up, ke and Gary headed towards the apartment buildings of those that Billy had killed before. They searched around the block and the area to see if they could find anything.

    Then, when finding trails of blood that were still present, they would follow them to see if they could find any clues, but there were none at all.

    ¡°Well, it looks like we¡¯ve been to every ce so far where Billy has been, but there¡¯s been no luck.¡± ke sighed, ready to call it a night. If it had been that easy, his father would have surely found the Werewolf by now. At least, they had some clues to go on now.

    ¡°Wait a second.¡± Gary stopped him. ¡°Billy hasn¡¯t killed for a while now, but his killing wasn¡¯t random. Not counting his parents, he had only killed those he lost against in a fight. I was just wondering¡­ what if he hasn¡¯t given up going down that list?

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then maybe Billy is just waiting for the right moment¡­ maybe he¡¯s away, because he¡¯s stalking his next target.¡±

    ¡°Do you have an idea who Billy is after, then?¡± ke asked. He had overheard Gary mentioning something of the sort during his interrogation by White Rose, but the young Altered Hunter didn¡¯t want to admit that he had snooped around.

    Of course, one of those people was Gary himself, but perhaps Billy was also a little worried about Gary due to them both being Werewolves. He shouldn¡¯t know that the green haired teenager was only ¡®older¡¯ than the other Omega wolf by a few days. Instead of risking it, there was a far easier target, though.

    If Billy came to them, it would be perfect, but it was important to cover all possibilities. There was only one problem¡­ he had no idea where Innu actually lived. He tried contacting his friend on the phone, but given howte it was, Innu appeared to have gone to bed already.

    As such, Gary contacted someone who seemed to have the answers to everything, and, unsurprisingly, Kai turned out to still have been awake.

    [He¡¯s not at his apartment, but you can find him there. Just remember if you are causing a scene, as leaders of the Howlers it means we¡¯re involved as well. Call us if you need us.]

    ¡°Let¡¯s just check this one ce out before we call it a day.¡± Gary told ke.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Following the attached address, the two teenagers finally arrived at the location, and both of them were surprised at where they were at the moment.

    ¡®The other person is Innu¡­ but why would he be around here?¡¯

    ¡°An orphanage?¡± ke sounded surprised.

 Chapter 173: Black rock

    <h4>Chapter 173: ck rock</h4>

    It had been a while since Innu was able to catch a break. Lately, he felt like he was always so busy. His new school was a little further away than his old one, so it was quite a walk to get to the ce he was heading to at the moment. Holding two heavy carrier bags in his hands that were filled to the top certainly wasn¡¯t helping either.

    ¡®Hahaha, all those suckers will love these.¡¯ Innu smiled to himself. ¡®It¡¯s been a while since I visited them. Before joining the Howlers, I was always busy trying to make money, but it seems like things are looking up these days.¡¯

    Before leaving today, Innu had asked Kai for a favour. He had asked if he could get an advanced payment. Usually in a gang, such a request would be put to the leader. Still, their gang wasn¡¯t your typical gang.

    Right now, Kai was looking after all the money that they had gotten from the Grey Elephants raid.

    This was because Kai didn¡¯t know how much the repairs for the ce were going to cost, and after the spend, whatever was left, he wanted to go down other investment avenues with the money. At least that¡¯s what he said.

    The group had learnt to have some trust in Kai, they had all seen his special and whimsical ways, and none of them thought they could do better with the cash anyway.

    Everyone still had received a cut from that day and some even more behind the scenes. The total amount was really only known to Kai. Before leaving school today, Innu had asked Kai for a favour himself, asking to borrow some of the money. In the end, he had no choice to exin why exactly he needed the money.

    ¡®It seemed Kai was quite happy to give the money. He¡¯s a scary guy to talk to but nice at the same time.

    Standing outside, Innu was at the door. It was a wide single floor building on private grounds with a yground in front. Even before entering, he could hear noise through the door.

    Screams, and cries and loud noises from outside.

    ¡°Ben, will you stop picking on Steward? You know he doesn¡¯t;t like that.¡± A female voice said.

    It was Inuu¡¯s cue to step in as he pushed the door open with his arm, holding carefully onto the bags.

    ¡°Surprise!¡± He yelled with both of the bags held up in his hand.

    ¡°Huh, is that¡­big brother Innu!¡± A high pitched voice said.

    Walking forward, Innu turned around the corner, entering into arge room. There were countless kids of all ages inside. Ages from as young as three, going all the way up to thirteen, were in the room.

    ¡°It is big brother Innu!¡± A cute girl with pigtails and a pink dress said as she ran up to Innu and gave a big hug around his legs. It was so tight he thought he was going to fall over.

    ¡°What¡¯s in the bags? What did you get us! Is it food?¡± Another round cheek kid said who had red sauce all over his face.

    ¡°Ah, maybe you would have preferred food, but no, I got you presents,¡± Innu said as he put the bags down and started to empty them. They were all sorts of different things he had bought toys, books, pencils. Most of the items were either toys or something they needed for school.

    ¡°Wow, Big Brother Innu is the best!¡± They cheered.

    Looking at their smiling faces was making his heart melt, but he couldn¡¯t help but look around and notice the condition of the room.

    ¡®This ce¡­it hasn¡¯t changed since I was here, not one single bit.¡¯ Innu thought, which in reality meant it had gotten worse.

    Part of the wooden flooring was lifted, and panels were missing. Chairs were broken, with pillows and toys with their stuffing falling out. While the older kids were left without much to do but just stare out of the window.

    They didn¡¯t seem as surprised to see Innu as the others had done, but there was one person, a single adult who hadrge round sses who had approached him.

    ¡°Innu, you didn¡¯t have to spend so much money¡­I mean, how did you even afford all this stuff?¡± Suzan asked, but she couldn¡¯t help but smile as she saw the kids excited. Seeing this, Innu thought it was the smile of an angel.

    He remembered many times while staying here how many times that smile had warmed his heart because it was the closest thing he had to a real mother when growing up.

    This was the ck rock orphanage.

    The ce where Innu had grown up before he himself had been adopted only a short while ago, but even then, his current parents weren¡¯t exactly the best. For one, this was a tier-three town. Which meant there weren¡¯t many that could truly afford to adopt, but the government did try to support those that would adopt and once in a while, you would get a certain pair of peoplee by with different interests in mind.

    These were Innu¡¯s adoptive parents. They didn¡¯t care about him, but just the support money adopting him would give them. Truthfully he would have tried to leave his adoptive parents ande back here, the ce he called home¡­but he knew it put a strain on their already struggling finances.

    New kids were being ced into adoption all the time, and there wasn¡¯t enoughing out. The orphanages didn¡¯t receive enough funding to look after them at all. Each year, it seemed like the amount of money Slough was willing to spend on them would lessen, and all of that burden fell on Suzan.

    Being a bit older, Innu knew this. He knew how hard it was for Suzan. Still, instead of leaving them all, she had decided to stay and support the ce. She ran it and put her own money into ce because she was once an orphan.

    ¡°The money she would get for working here would often go back on the kids as if they were her own.¡±

    ¡®I don¡¯t want to ever see that smile go away.¡¯ Innu thought.

 Chapter 174: Save them all!

    <h4>Chapter 174: Save them all!</h4>

    Innu wanted to do whatever he could to help Suzan, and he had a n. Once he got enough money, he would change this ce and hire someone to help her. Right now, he would help them out now and again.

    ¡°You know you didn¡¯t have to do this,¡± Suzan said, smiling at him. ¡°Your visit is honestly enough for the kids, and they love just seeing you.¡±

    ¡°No, I like presents more!¡± One of the kids shouted, who had red rosy cheeks. ¡°Every time Innues, he should bring a present; otherwise, he¡¯s not allowed toe.¡±

    The small girl with the pink dress who had hugged Innu hit the boy on top of the head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say mean things to our big brother.¡±

    The group couldn¡¯t help butugh at the cute scene.

    Aftering back, Innu helped where he could. He tried repairing certain things, but he didn¡¯t have the most delicate hands, and he knew this well, so he avoided doing harder tasks. Still, he could clean up and do the dishes.

    When doing this, Innu looked around to see if Suzan was there, but she was too busy putting some of the kids to sleep. He then started to unwrap the white wraps around his hands, cing them on the side and rolling up his sleeves.

    ¡°They look pretty banged up.¡± A voice said.

    Turning around, Innu could see a young teenage boy with wild red spiked hair. He looked to be around thirteen years old. This was Kevin. Someone who Innu was close with when being at the orphanage and knew about a lot of what he did.

    ¡°Are you still fighting? The bandages are covered in blood and your hands.¡± Kevin pointed to them.

    Innu immediately dipped them in the water so the other couldn¡¯t see clearly, and started to wash up as fast as he could. Worried Suzan coulde back at any moment.

    Kevin gave out a big sigh.

    ¡°You know, if Suzan knows, she would never ept any of the money you give her. She would think she was to me and tell you to stop.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you will keep quiet about it. Besides, I don¡¯t fight as much as I did.¡± Innu replied.

    Kevin couldn¡¯t help butugh at thatment.

    ¡°Really, then how did you manage to get the money to pay for all those toys, books and school supplies you brought today? They couldn¡¯t have been cheap. Stop lying. You don¡¯t have to lie to me, you know that.¡±

    The thing was, Innu wasn¡¯t lying. He hadn¡¯t been to many of those underground fights. It was how he made the bulk of his ie before. Now though, although he used his fists, it was different. The fights he had gotten into recently and the money he had gotten was almost an extra. He did it because¡­he wanted to help them.

    And now that they had the Wolf club, perhaps there would be fewer reasons for him to earn money through his fists.

    ¡®Huh, I¡¯m just lying to myself. Now that I¡¯m in a gang, I properly will have to use my fists more, but¡­it feels different.¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Innu said. ¡°I might still be using my fists and making money, but it feels different somehow.¡±

    After finishing the washing up, Innu ced the bandages back on his hand and said goodnight to the others while heading outside with Kevin.

    Here, Innu would show Kevin a few moves. The reason why they had gotten close was due to them both having a simr interest, fighting.

    As for how Innu knew how to fight, this was a story that no one at the orphanage knew, but when arriving, it was clear he already knew how to quite a bit.

    One day, Kevin had returned, beaten and bruised by kids at his school. Kevin hade up to him with a request to teach him how to fight.

    Innu had taught him how to defend himself. They didn¡¯t go to the same school, so Innu couldn¡¯t give them a beating himself, so he did the next best thing. After that, the two continued to grow closer until he left.

    Right now, Innu was showing moves while Kevin was just watching. After nine minutes of nonstop shadow boxing, he was now breathing quite heavily.

    ¡°Wow, I mean, maybe it¡¯s not my ce to say, but your kicking and punching have gotten stronger. You¡¯ve really improved. I guess all that outside fighting has really helped you.¡± Kevin said as he attempted to imitate what Innu had just done.

    It was then that Innu sat down on the floor and watched, giving pointers whenever he could see mistakes. Still, he was a little distracted and hardly said anything because he thought about what Kevin had just said.

    ¡®I¡¯ve improved¡­I keep thinking back to that day.¡¯ Innu thought. ¡®Those twins, we all could have died, but Gary, he somehow saved us. He went into that container and took care of both of them. No matter how I think about it, no matter how many times I try to envision fighting both of them in my head, I just can¡¯t see how I would win in the state they were in. Gary, how did you do it?¡¯

    This was what had been on his mind. The Gary that had fought against the two twins along his side would have never been able to aplish such a thing, so he thought it was impossible for Gary to beat both of them so quickly.

    ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t know how much I should tell you,¡± Kevin said after he had stopped his training as well. ¡°Lately, there have been a few people that have beening to the orphanage, they¡¯ve been talking to Suzan, and she always seems to be down after that.

    ¡°I tried asking her, and she won¡¯t speak to me about it. Maybe she will speak to you.¡± Kevin said.

    ¡°Hey!¡± A voice shouted from the building. Looking at whom it was, it looked like it was the very person they were talking about.

    ¡°Speak of the devil.¡± Kevin started to run back as he knew it was time for him to get some sleep. At the same time, Innu thought that perhaps he should say goodbye to them all before heading back.

    Kevin had run off into the building, and Innu slowly got up. He thought he would do one more round before saying goodbye to Suzan and started to shadow box once again, but this time on his own.

    He visualised the two twins in their strange forms that day and went for a kick to the head. Trying to go faster, stronger, and throwing one more kick, his body spun, and for a second, he thought his eyes caught somethi Ig.

    Turning his head, he looked towards the gate, but nothingSuzanthere.

    ¡®Am I imagining things? I could have sworn I saw someone standing there, but there¡¯s no one there?¡¯

    Ignoring the images his head was making and the shiver in his body, he decided to head inside.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll stay here for the night.¡± Innu thought. ¡°And I¡¯ll talk to suzan about what Kevin said.¡±

    -

    At that moment, outside of the gate a little further away down the street, Gary had tackled a hooded figure to the ground, and standing behind him with two batons in his hand was ke.

    ¡°Looks like we got you this time before you could do anything, Billy!¡± Gary said with his hands already transformed.

    On the ground under the hood, the person could be seen smiling back.

 Chapter 175: The Bigger Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 175: The Bigger Wolf</h4>

    When Gary and ke had reached the Orphanage, the two of them were debating about what to do. Whether they should head inside the ce and try to find Billy. Although Gary felt like this might cause an awkward situation if Innu was inside, there was also the chance that theming to the scene would scare Billy away.

    However, they thought it was unlikely that he would be inside anyway. The ce looked quiterge, and he was sure there would be multiple people, especially at an orphanage.

    ¡®I wonder, does Innu visit this ce often? Maybe Billy just has never had the chance to attack Innu. Lately, he¡¯s always been around us, and if he visits this ce a lot.¡¯

    With this thought, Gary was thinking about what he would do. What would he have done if he was the one hunting Innu? There were a few things Billy needed to do. To make sure he wasn¡¯t seen by others, and it looked like Billy was straying from killing others during his task.

    At the same time, so far, Billy had been doing well not to be caught with his other killings. Perhaps he needed to follow Innu¡¯s route a few times before he came up with the perfect n.

    In the end, Gary felt like if they followed Innu every day after school, perhaps they would get their answer if he was there or not. Because of this, ke looked for a good spot where they could see the Orphanage well.

    On the street just outside of it, there was a three-story apartment block, on the side adder that would be used as a fire exit. Using this, the two of them climbed up it and continued to watch from afar.

    ¡®I wonder why Innu is visiting an Orphanage. Is he an orphan?¡¯ Wondering about the other¡¯s situation, it was then that Gary realised he didn¡¯t really know much about Innu.

    Honestly, he thought his rtionship with many of those around him would be temporary. As time went on, he realised that perhaps that wouldn¡¯t be the case at all. All of these people were now members of his gang, and they had all risked their lives to save Marie. There was a strong bond between them all.

    Something simr to friendship, but it wasn¡¯t quite the same. Eventually, the two of them could see Innu leaving the ce.

    ¡®Maybe I should also create bond markings with Innu?¡¯ Gary thought.

    Not long after, they could see arge figure walk up to the gate and was staring inside. The figure had stayed just outside for a while, not moving in but just staring.

    ¡°His temperature is high, and he¡¯s wearing a hoodie,¡± ke said. ¡°I think we might have found our guy!¡±

    Knowing this, Gary didn¡¯t take long to get into action. He practically ran from the roof they were on, and beforending, he transformed his legs slightly, allowing him to take the blow his legs would have done.

    This was something that ke didn¡¯t want to risk, so he climbed back down thedder chasing after Gary, not too far behind him.

    When running through the street, Gary could see the hooded figure not even staring away from the inside of the Orphanage. It was almost like they were obsessed with what they were looking at. At the same time, a scent had entered Gary¡¯s nose.

    It was a smell he had smelled before. When it hit his nose, memories started to flood his head.

    ¡®It¡¯s Billy!¡¯ Gary thought.

    Straight away, using the partial transformation, the muscles in his thigh started to bulge, ripping his trousers slightly. He started to transform his arms as well, breaking through his shirt, and his speed drastically increased in seconds. He shot from his position and even leapt in the air, his arms aiming around the figure¡¯s waist.

    ¡®Transforming here, Gary! What if someone sees you? We need to get to another area!¡¯ Balke thought but would continue to follow and support his ally.

    After tackling what Gary thought was Billy to the ground, he was now on top of him, and the person he had been looking for all along was there.

    ¡°Hahaha, have you been tracking me down?!¡± Billy couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°I never thought you would actually be looking for me. You really are brave.¡±

    Looking at his face, Gary was hesitant with his two hands.

    ¡®Why can¡¯t I strike him? I struck the twins¡­is it because he looks human?¡¯

    Trying to forget about this, Gary shook his head and readied his ws, swinging them both towards Billy¡¯s head at the same time, but just before they reached, Billy grabbed them both by the wrist.

    There seemed to be some type of power struggle between the two.

    ¡®He¡¯s holding my hands¡­he has gotten stronger, or maybe he was already this strong, to begin with!¡¯

    It looked like Gary was eventually winning out as he continued to push forward, and his long fingernails were inching closer to Billy¡¯s head.

    ¡°Why can I hear footsteps?¡± Billy struggled to say and looked down, seeing anothering towards him. ¡°It looks like you got help.¡±

    It was then that Billy¡¯s eyes started to change, and his forearms started to getrger. His whole body was changing on the spot. Before Gary could do anything, He lifted up his legs and kicked him in the stomach, causing Gary to fall back and crash into ke.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Gary said, getting up.

    When the two got up, they could see arge ck-furred wolf staring at them. The ws therge snout and worst of all the sharp eyes. It was the first time that Gary had seen something simr to what himself would look like. the sight of it was truly frightening. It was bigger than what Gary remembered seeing in the video of himself, and it was clear now that Billy knew how to transform, even though it wasn¡¯t a full moon.

    However, Billy suddenly turned away in his werewolf form and took a run for it.

    ¡°We have to get him!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°We can¡¯t let him get away.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± ke said as the two began the chase.

 Chapter 176: A monster I created

    <h4>Chapter 176: A monster I created</h4>

    In his full werewolf form, Billy was fast, and for some reason, once again, no matter what Gary tried doing, the marking wouldn¡¯t work on him. He wondered if it could even work on others like him in the first ce. Still, he could smell Billy¡¯s scent and follow that instead.

    This time he made sure to remember what it smelt like. Transformed into a Werewolf, his smell was actually different from when he was a human. The Werewolf smell was a lot stronger and distinctivepared to a human¡¯s, allowing him to easily distinguishpared to the others.

    Before running off, Gary turned around to look at his partner, who was a bit behind him.

    ¡°You go on ahead, I¡¯ll find you, don¡¯t worry!¡± ke said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any gadget to help you run faster or something. How do you usually hunt the altered?¡± Gary couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Usually, we don¡¯t go rugby tackling them in the middle of the street!¡± ke shouted back. ¡°I would have waited for a good ce to trap them, lure them with the blood, and a lot of Altereds are quite arrogant, so they think they can take us on and fight,¡± He added. He was quite annoyed, but he knew they were in the situation they were in now, and with his hand flicking outward, he signalled Gary to go after Billy.

    Gary gave chase by just transforming his legs again, so he wouldn¡¯t look odd if anyone saw him in the night.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gary,¡± ke said as he pulled out his phone and could see a marker moving. ¡°I thought something like this might happen, so I needed a backup.¡±

    During their little visit on the rooftop, Gary had ced a tracking device on his ally, and he had thrown it into the bag he was currently wearing.

    -

    Off in the distance, Gary could still see Billy moving ahead. It seemed like thetter was trying to avoid being noticed by the public as he avoided the moremon streets and the living quarters.

    Which honestly, Gary was pleased about. There was a worry that he might have caused Billy to just go to a public area like a hospital or the street and cause chaos. Getting all sorts of people involved, and he didn¡¯t want White rose to pop up likest time. Not while he looked like this.

    ¡®He¡¯s too fast; If this goes on, he will keep on getting further and further away. Does that mean my stats still don¡¯t match up to his? Even after selecting that ss and reaching level 10?¡¯

    With his legs transformed, Gary¡¯s current stats showed that he had a speed of 22pared to his regr 15. The legs were practically fully transformed; that¡¯s why he was unsure if he went into a full transformation if he would be any faster or not.

    Yet he couldn¡¯t keep up with the other.

    ¡®Higher level, stronger or maybe just because of those he ate. Arghh! I¡¯m justparing him to the system in the first ce. He could just be a regr Werewolf!¡¯ Gary screamed in his head and continued to run.

    Eventually, though, noticing that they had entered a quiet part, especially with it being sote, his sense of smell was much more potent. Finally, Gary stopped, for Billy was standing in front of him.

    The two were in an underpass that was used to bypass the traffic above. It was an empty tunnel filled with lights and graffiti on the wall. The tunnel was wide enough to fit a car and half in.

    Worst of all, seeing Billy in the dim light felt like he was looking at a creature straight out of a horror film.

    ¡°U-aagh gahhy¡­¡± Billy tried to speak, just snarling through his mouth. Using his ears, Gary couldn¡¯t understand what Billy was trying to say, but at the same time, he could understand his snarls.

    ¡®What are you looking at me like that for? You were the one who turned me into this? Damn, and he¡¯s right about that as well.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Gary Shouted. ¡°You¡¯re right, I was the one that turned you into this, but me and you, we both share the same thing, but I haven¡¯t kil-¡­¡± Gary¡¯s words trailed off as he realised what he was about to say.

    Was he better than Billy because he hadn¡¯t killed? That wasn¡¯t true at all. Gary had killed; he had killed more than once. Perhaps those rted to them would be wishing the same thing on him as Gary wished on Billy.

    Those he had killed perhaps had parents, rtives, family, and friends. Everyone had a life. Gary clenched his fist and closed his eyes, trying to toss these thoughts out of his head. He needed to focus on the task that was in front of him.

    However, closing his eyes during a fight with such a thing was a big mistake. The sound of panting was heard, and when Gary opened his eyes, he could feel the hot breath of Billying at him.

    Hisrge, powerful jaws were about to snap his head off in one bite. Quickly transforming his hands, Gary shoved them into Billy¡¯s mouth and used his strength to pull it apart.

    Trying to get a good hold on the teeth, Gary¡¯s hand had pierced right through them, causing him great pain, but he didn¡¯t care. He needed to make sure Billy couldn¡¯t bite down on him.

    Still, Billy¡¯s hands were free, and he had attempted to sh towards Gary¡¯s face. The second it hit his arm, Gary took the blow on his shoulder and rolled on the floor.

    [-12 HP]

    [A deep cut has been made]

    [78/100 HP]

    [-10 Energy]

    [Emergency healing is being used]

    There was arge wound on Gary¡¯s shoulder, and his body was now healing it in seconds. Because of the healing, he wouldn¡¯t suffer from blood loss, but the more he got hurt, the more energy would be utilised to heal his wounds.

    Even though the energy healed his wounds, he wasn¡¯t gaining any HP. On the other hand, Billy, not stopping with the attacks, struck at Gary again.

    Gary jumped out of the way, and the w hit the wall, tearing it to shreds, leaving a giant w mark, and throwing rubble on the floor.

    At the same time, Gary appeared next to Billy¡¯s legs.

    [w drain]

    [-15 energy]

    His hands were already transformed, so there was no need to go through that again. Still, his attack had hit the back of his calf twice. Lifting his leg, Billy didn¡¯t flinch from the attack and proceeded to kick Gary in the stomach, sending him across the floor.

    [+5 HP]

    [+5 HP]

    [- 10 HP]

    ¡®Damn it, the health I gained from the w drain just got taken out with the kick. But still, I managed to hurt him.¡¯ Gary thought, but just like with him, the wound on Billy¡¯s leg began to heal as well.

    ¡°Grrr, Grrr!¡± Billy growled out again.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I fully transform because I have more control than you?¡± Gary understood his words and replied, ¡°I have control over my body? You¡­when I see that, I just see a monster!¡±

    ¡°Rawr!¡± Billy roared again.

    ¡°A monster I created, that¡¯s right, which is why I need to deal with you!¡± Gary yelled, running forward again. For now, he had to use what he had to his advantage: hisrge energy pool. Although Billy could heal, it didn¡¯t look like the two were the same.

    If Billy had a system simr to his, he might have higher base stats than Gary, but Gary was actually at a higher level with more skills. As Gary ran close with both his hands by his side, Billy got ready to attack again.

    Just as he was about to, his whole body shook, and a blue shock was going all around him. He wasn¡¯t stunned for long, even though the blue shock was still affecting his body. Billy was strong enough to fight through it. Still, it had given just enough time for him to be distracted that Gary was able to stab both his hands right into Billy¡¯s stomach, and blood gushed out from it.

    A loud roar was heard as Billy screamed in pain.

    ¡°I told you I would find you!¡± ke appeared from behind and was at the other end of the tunnel. He changed from his regr buttons and dropped a small device he had just used on the floor and instead pulled out two duel swords. ¡°No matter what, you die today!¡±

 Chapter 177: Tag team Werewolf

    <h4>Chapter 177: Tag team Werewolf</h4>

    If someone were to see him, they might call Gary¡¯s fighting reckless, yet the teenager had actually been really careful. He hadn¡¯t used his Full Transformation skill yet because he knew it would be better used at ater time.

    First he wanted to wear Billy down, then fight him once he could even overwhelm him with strength. This was what Gary had nned, as he felt confident that he had more Energy at his disposal than the other Omega wolf thanks to his Warrior ss.

    However, that wasn¡¯t the only thing he was relying on. There was something else that Gary had that Billycked, and that was a partner. If the green haired teenager had been fighting on his own, he honestly wasn¡¯t too confident that he alone might beat Billy, but fortunately there was a strong ally with him today.

    Not only that, but Gary had Marked ke, meaning he could use the mist slowly approaching their location. This neat feature told him that his partner was on his way and would be here soon, So he was just waiting for that perfect moment.

    Seizing this chance, Gary activated another w Drain before stabbing Billy right in the stomach. Billy¡¯s head was a little high, and Gary knew he would try to block it from getting a hit, there were also those deadly jaws that he needed to watch out for. As such, he had gone for the stomach instead.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    [+20 HP]

    [98/100 HP]

    ¡®Yes! Although I don¡¯t know how much I¡¯m damaging Billy because the system is unable to tell me that, I can make a good guess from the skill w Drain. With this healing, I must have dealt a critical hit!¡¯

    Pulling out his hands, Gary was going to attempt to stab him again, but just as he was about to, he could feel Billy grab him by the wrists, holding his hands in ce. The high schooler pulled and pulled, but it was clear who was stronger between the two.

    At the same time, ke charged forward from behind. This time, rather than using the electrified baton, he was holding two short handed swords in his hand. They didn¡¯t look like standard medieval swords from ancient times, though. Instead, the hilt had the design of scales, and feathers running down it. It almost looked like it had been created from some type of giant animal.

    ke felt most confident fighting with the batons, they were perfect to subdue an enemy, hurting it, and slowing it down, but against a Werewolf like Billy, the Altered Hunter could take no such risks. He had switched to his swords because ke nned to kill his target.

    Striking as hard as he could, he hit the top of the Werewolf¡¯s shoulder where he could reach, the sword was sinking through but stopped. It was a shallow hit, and he couldn¡¯t move it any further.

    ¡®What is this skin? It¡¯s incredibly thick, even with all my strength I was only able to cut it so deep.¡¯

    ke shed it again, trying to cut Billy causing a big cut, rather than cut through him. If he created arge flesh wound, it would still hurt and blood should still drop from it. This time, he struck from top to bottom diagonally along the back, but it still ended up being shallow.

    Billy pretty much just ignored the attack from the Altered Hunter. Sure, it hurt, but he wanted to deal with what he believed to be the bigger threat first. Still holding onto Gary¡¯s wrist, the Omega wolf pulled the ws out from his stomach.

    The blood was pouring out, but the wound looked as if it was healing quickly. Then, lifting him by the hand, he twisted his body and lifted Gary¡¯s body whole and mmed him against the side of the tunnel wall.

    An imprint was left behind and blood poured out from the green haired teenager¡¯s mouth as tiles fell to the floor along with him.

    [You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

    [-30 HP]

    [68/100 HP]

    [Parts of your rib cage have been damaged]

    [Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

    [-20 Energy]

    It was a big hit, and Gary could certainly feel it as he slowly was bearing through the pain. It was then he could see that Billy was now focusing on ke. He took a few swipes and ngs were heard as the ws got deflected with hand swipes.

    It was a strange sight to behold, although the Omega wolf was faster and stronger, the way the young Altered Hunter was parrying the hands allowed him to redirect most of the strength in the blows. It was almost as if he was predicting where his opponent would attack next.

    ke was backing up close to the side of the wall, Billy struck again, and his failure to hit ke was starting to make him angry. Thetter used his strength as he held both swords, skimming it just past his ws and pushing his body behind him, causing Billy to crash head first into the side.

    His hands were stuck, and ke didn¡¯t waste this opportunity as he relentlessly began attacking his enemy¡¯s back, making use of both his swords. ke swung, not letting the other catch a break or himself. As soon as one sword hit the Werewolf another would and another.

    ¡®Doesn¡¯t he ever get tired?¡¯ Gary wondered, even with his stamina he couldn¡¯t imagine how hard it would be to do such a thing. It was almost as if ke wasn¡¯t breathing.

    Blood was dripping from Billy¡¯s back, and it looked like his wounds were taking longer to heal now. The damage from the two was piling up.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe it, ke isn¡¯t an Altered, he isn¡¯t like me or Billy, and yet he can still take on a Werewolf?¡¯ Gary thought in amazement. Still, he had yed his part in this all as well and standing up, Gary was ready to help ke out.

    There was one thing that was clear, ke¡¯s swords were unable to properly strike down Billy and deal the critical damage that was needed, which meant that it was all up to Gary.

    However, suddenly Billy¡¯s head turned to one side of the tunnel.

    ¡°AHHH!¡± A female screamed, at the other end.

    Seeing this, Gary turned his head back towards the direction of the scream, and could see that Billy ignored ke¡¯s strikes and ran past the two teenagers. Although the Altered Hunter managed to cut the Omega wolf along his chest, their target headed straight for the woman who had turned around and was running for her life.

    It was up to Gary to stop him. The Werewolf leaped after Billy and could see the back of his leg, he reached out to grab it, but as he closed his w he had missed it by a few millimeters.

    Falling onto the ground, Gary lifted his head and all he could see was that Billy had run off and had already grabbed the girl, digging into her with his powerful jaws.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Gary cursed.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

 Chapter 178: Fighting like a wolf

    <h4>Chapter 178: Fighting like a wolf</h4>

    It was clear to both Gary and ke that the woman was done for. Using hisrge jaws, Billy took a bite out of her neck, leaving her with barely a few seconds to regret her decision of having gone out for a walk that day.

    While ke was staring at what a monster Billy was, who had just snapped her head off, for some reason, Gary was more concerned about the woman¡¯s eyes. Before life left her, a look of absolute, sheer fright had been ingrained in them, and she had helplessly reached out with a hand to the two teenagers, hoping for some sort of help.

    ¡®I was the one that created Billy, and now he¡¯s killed again.¡¯ Gary felt guiltier than before. ¡®He hadn¡¯t killed anyone other than his parents outside his own list! If we hadn¡¯t attacked him today, if we hadn¡¯t chased him down here and trapped him in this desperate situation¡­ then she might have lived today¡­¡¯

    The green haired teenager med himself for this oue. Previously, there had been nothing he could¡¯ve done to stop Billy, simply because he had only heard about this list from Kai. However, right now, the woman had been an innocent bystander, who had just been unlucky enough to be at the wrong ce at the wrong time¡­

    ¡°Get up!¡± ke shouted at Gary. ¡°Get up and let¡¯s kill this guy! We have to stop him from killing anyone else!¡±

    Without waiting for his partner, the young Altered Hunter ran towards the feasting Werewolf as he grabbed a device from his belt. Throwing it as far as he could, a strange circr ball flew over Billy¡¯s head andnded past him. The next second, the device activated and an electric barrier simr to the batons he would use was created.

    It looked like an electrified wall that was now behind Billy, blocking his path of escape, forcing him to deal with the two of them.

    ¡®No, he wasn¡¯t going to run in the first ce¡­¡¯ Gary was sure of that.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Gary¡¯s body started to change at that moment, his clothing began to rip from his body. He barely had enough time to take off the bag, which he now ripped open, revealing the purchased meat as well as a spare change of clothes that he had brought along.

    Fully transformed, Gary immediately grabbed some food as he ran forward on all fours. Although ke had a head start, he managed to go right past him with his increased speed.

    ¡®He¡¯s transformed fully, he looks the same as he did that day I found him.¡¯ ke thought, looking at his partner. ¡®No, that¡¯s not right¡­ he seems a bit taller and leaner. I was right, his body has definitely improved since then.

    I just hope he wasn¡¯t bluffing when he said he could control it now¡­¡¯

    For a second, Gary turned his head around as he went past ke, and snarled at the Altered Hunter.

    ¡°Rargh!¡± Gary shouted as he leapt forward.

    Consuming the body allowed Billy to heal most of the damage the two teenagers had inflicted on him, and eating fresh meat meant he would be able to stay in his Werewolf Form longer. In essence, it was as if the duo would have to fight him from the beginning, while they were now slowly getting exhausted.

    Billy, threw what was left of the body behind him into the electric wall made from ke¡¯s device. It shocked the body for a few seconds before it fell to the ground.

    The Omega wolf then charged to meet Gary¡¯s advance. Thetter might have grown, yet it was obvious which one was therger Werewolf. The two collided and their ws intertwined. As expected, Billy was heavier and was able to push Gary back, but just as the former¡¯s head moved forward to take a bite, thetter lifted his lower body and kneed Billy right in the jaw, causing his mouth to close shut.

    Billy¡¯s head flung back, and Gary backflipped, and the second hended on the ground he charged forward again, shing at the Omega wolf¡¯s chest while he was still dazed. Two shes were all Gary did before he could see a palm aimed at his head. Gary avoided the attack by ducking down at the right time and grabbed the other¡¯s legs, lifting him off the ground and mming him down.

    Gary realised something, while he was in his Full Transformation form, his beast-like fighting urges woulde out more often than not. He noticed it when he fought against the twins, and although that might be helpful in certain situations where Gary didn¡¯t wish to be in control, where he didn¡¯t wish to feel like he was the one actually hurting the others, it wasn¡¯t exactly ideal for fighting.

    He was nothing but a beast withrge tools and a massive body at his disposal. Gary needed to keep a clear head even after being fully transformed. A clear head to fight just like he had been taught by Innu, to tackle properly like he was taught in Rugby, and when it came to it, to let his animal instincts take over.

    ¡®I bit you once, so I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll mind me biting you again!¡¯ Gary opened his jaws and bit Billy right on the neck as hard as he could. He could taste blood entering his mouth, and he hated to admit it, but the taste of Billy wasn¡¯t exactly pleasantpared to others he had eaten before.

    Billy, with his ws, stabbed them in Gary¡¯s side now that he was on top of him, but he refused to let go.

    [-25 HP]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m right here!¡± ke shouted as he had gotten right behind Billy. While the two were fighting, he ran around the side, avoiding the conflict. After seeing the way Gary had fought for the first few seconds, he was convinced that he was in his right mind. With Billy on the ground, the Altered Hunter had one sword, both hands wrapped around the hilt as he thrust it down as hard as he could, aimed at the Werewolf¡¯s eye.

    It was one of the most sophisticated parts of the body, and it was a way to avoid the strong hide Billy had. The sword managed to go through, piercing it and causing the Werewolf to howl at the top of his lungs.

    He quickly pulled his ws out from Gary¡¯s side, and grabbed the sword with his bare hands, stopping them from going further. With his great strength the sword was snapped, and with hisrge legs he kicked Gary off him, once again getting up.

    Billy still had part of the sword stuck in his eye, and blood was dripping down from his neck. On one side of the tunnel was ke, while on the other was Gary.

    There was nowhere for Billy to run, the two had him trapped, but a wild animal was always the most dangerous when it found itself in a desperate situation.

    Aside from the purchased meat and a second set of clothes, Gary had also left his phone in the now ripped bag. The teenager had been aware that there was a chance he might have to fully transform, and that it would rip his clothes, so he had kept his personal items inside for safekeeping.

    Right now, the phone made a sound, as a new message had appeared on it.

    [Gary, I¡¯m keeping my promise, right now, I think me and Stacy might be in trouble. There¡¯s a strange guy asking for his brother. He forced us to go to a coffee shop with him. Please help.]

 Chapter 179: Double trouble

    <h4>Chapter 179: Double trouble</h4>

    When Amy came to school the next day, she couldn¡¯t help but rey yesterday¡¯s incident. She and Stacy had been stopped by a stranger just outside their school, who had asked them about his brother, the scumbag who had invited them to the Kobe Karaoke Club. However, the two girls weren¡¯tpletely unrted to the matter, and they both knew that.

    Amy had asked Stacy for a few details, as her memory of that day was hazy. She could remember up until the point they had taken out the drugs, but her best friend just told her that she didn¡¯t know what happenedter. Gary had appeared when they had hurt Amy, and then Stacy had just followed his instruction and fled, leaving the teenage boy with Hawk and his friends inside.

    No matter how Amy had tried to bring up the topic, though, it just seemed awkward to naturally address that in a conversion. What¡¯s more, she waspletely baffled about Gary¡¯s sudden growth spurt. She knew that boys could have them, and that it would usually urter than girls, but for it to happen overnight and add so much muscle mass¡­

    Amy wanted to address it, but then decided against it. What was her brother supposed to say, it was not like he could control that. She also didn¡¯t want to burden him in any way. He was already doing his best to keep up their household, making her dinner, cleaning her clothes and everything he had done for her was so nice.

    At the end of the day, she just could never imagine her brother doing such a thing, and she decided to ignore the matter

    s, that matter wasn¡¯t about to ignore the teenage girl, though.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Hey, thanks for what you did the other day.¡± Stacy said as she pulled up a seat to sit down next to her best friend. The two friends enjoyed their lunch break with their homemade packed lunch. The truth was, Stacy didn¡¯t need to do this, but she didn¡¯t want Amy to be the odd one out.

    Most of the kids, just ordered the canteen food, but while it wasn¡¯t overly expensive, it wasn¡¯t cheap either. Amy¡¯s education was being paid for, yet that only included her basic necessities like the books and her admission fee. The teenage girl would have to pay for her school meals if she wanted them, as such it was far cheaper to bring her own food.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, and before you ask, no, I didn¡¯t get to ask Gary about what happened that day.¡± Amy replied. ¡°I just can¡¯t imagine him having anything to do with them. I¡¯m not even sure he could beat up one of them, much less three, even though he seems to have really bulged up recently.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get why that guys thinks we might know anything about his brother? Didn¡¯t they say something about being in some type of gang? They weren¡¯t good people in the first ce, so maybe they might have gotten hit by another gang? I mean,st we saw them was the day those gangs attacked the Chavley area¡­¡±

    When speaking about this, Amy could see her friend visibly shaking, there was something that she seemed to be hiding. This was when Amy gave her a look, saying she better talk about it now.

    ¡°The Grey Elephants gang.¡± Stacy whispered after looking left and right. ¡°Hawk¡­ he would boast about it often when we were writing.¡±

    ¡°You knew that, and you STILL decided to meet up with him?!¡± Amy was furious, and her outburst was noticed by their fellow schoolmates. Amy knew her friend to act stupid sometimes, but it was one thing to lie about her age and meet up with her older online boyfriend, but it was an entirely different thing to meet up with a known gangster!

    All of this could have easily been avoided!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t believe him. I just thought he was trying to impress me, but after we saw his brother yesterday and what happened¡­ I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s true. I¡¯m scared, what if theye after us again? Should we go to the police?¡± Stacy asked.

    It was the first time Amy had heard her best friend suggest going to the police, which hade as a surprise. Stacy was terrified of her parents and what they might do if they found out what she had done. She felt that them cutting off her phone or inte ess might be the least of her worries. For all she knew, they might even force her to join a monastery.

    Stacy knew this about her parents better than anyone, so if that was the case, she must have been really scared.

    ¡®I guess, he¡¯s after her ultimately, and not really after me. However, if that guy found out about Stacy, he might have discovered that I was there that night as well. Did Stacy mention me by name in their chats, or did she just call me a friend? Sh*t, either way, it can¡¯t be good. Now that he saw me, I hope he doesn¡¯t dig around¡­¡¯

    Thinking about it all, Amy just let out a big sigh as she remembered something else, a conversation she had with her brother after their mother got hospitalised.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Amy from now on it¡¯s just going to be me and you for a while, until Mum gets better, alright? Now I managed to call a friend who helped me out, and he said he would get us a legal guardian, but they can¡¯t actually look after us.

    ¡°I¡¯m not an adult and neither are you, so if the police find out about us lying, then there is a good chance that social services wille and put us both in orphanages. They might even split us apart if they find out that we have no other parent. So don¡¯t tell anyone about our situation, okay? I promise I¡¯ll look after us both.¡± Gary told her.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    This was why Amy wanted to avoid going to the police. She mighte along if Stacy decided to go that route, but Amy couldn¡¯t afford to get dragged into the mess.

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll do anything to us, okay? Let¡¯s just be careful, and have our phones on us. If you really want to go to the police, it might be better not to tell them about what happened that night or why you¡¯re being followed. Just say it¡¯s a stalker or something.

    ¡°If we tell them about that night, then maybe the real gangsters wille after us.¡± Amy cautioned her best friend, feeling a little bad about what she had just said, but she was convinced that it was for their overall safety.

    When school ended, Stacy was waiting for Amy outside of ss for both of them to walk out of the school together. Honestly, Amy was wondering if it might be safer to distance herself from Stacy for a while. Yes, they were childhood friends, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that due to Stacy¡¯s mistake, her life could get ruined at any moment.

    s, when seeing Stacy¡¯s frightened face, she just couldn¡¯t be that cold-hearted and grabbed her shaking friend by the elbow and walked out together.

    The two looked outside and could see several parents waiting to pick up their kids from school. While others just walked home as they usually would. Both of them were looking out for the man they had seen the other day but couldn¡¯t see him at all.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t wait here too long, we should go while there are a lot of people out, they¡¯re less likely to do anything then.¡± Amy stated.

    Agreeing, Stacy nodded and they both began their walk with hurried steps. It was nerve wracking for the two teenage girls. They constantly turned and twisted their heads and at times thought that they were being followed, only for it to be a student or a parent behind them.

    There were multiple cars parked not too far from the school. They weren¡¯t really allowed to park in front of the school due to the school¡¯s regtions. The two noticed the iing van far toote, as it drove close to the curb, stopping on the pavement.

    What happened next left the two teenage girls with no time to react. A group of masked men rushed out, grabbed the two of them, pulled them into the van, which instantly drove off again. The entire process onlysted a few seconds.

    Inside, Amy and Stacy¡¯s mouths were covered by four men. There were also two drivers at the front, but most importantly, a man with sunsses and a ck leather jacket stood in front of both of them.

    ¡°I told you I woulde back and get what I want from the two of you.¡± Raven said, tilting his sses as he smiled.

 Chapter 180: The meeting (1)

    <h4>Chapter 180: The meeting (1)</h4>

    The vehicle was already on the move and the two of them could tell straight away as they felt the rumbling of the ground through the floor and the sound of the old engine. As for where they were going, it was impossible to tell, but right now, fear was going through both of the girls¡¯ minds as to what might happen to them.

    Amy wanted to reach into her pocket to grab her phone but thought that would be too obvious. She was wearing a skirt in the first ce and too much movement might cause it to drop it.

    ¡®I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t take our phones off us.¡¯

    Thinking this thought their next move made it impossible anyway. Before she could try anything, their hands had strongly been forced behind them and ck zip ties were used to tie them together. Not stopping there, ck tape was also ced over both of their mouths, making it so the two of them couldn¡¯t scream or call for help either.

    ¡°Stop resisting. I know it¡¯s a hard thing to do when you are ced in this type of situation, but trust me, this is also for your sake.¡± Raven said. ¡°We¡¯ll refrain from tying up your legs, but you should just cooperate. I¡¯d prefer not having to get rid of two bodies as young as yours. I already have too much on my record and I don¡¯t want to be adding this.¡±

    Hearing Raven talk and knowing who he was caused both of the girls to gulp. They were suddenly aware how weak they were, how easy it was for a few adult men to restrain them like this. Neither girl thought to have a chance in a fight, and struggling was useless. For now, Amy wanted to hear Raven out, while trying to figure a way out of this situation.

    ¡°Great, as I tried to tell you yesterday, all I want is some information about my brother. It¡¯s obvious that you two seem to know something about it. Just tell me everything that happened the day you met him, because that¡¯s the day he went missing as well. Again, for your own sake, you better not lie to me. I don¡¯t want to hear what you might think I want to hear, I just need the truth.

    ¡°We could have done it the easy way, but you didn¡¯t want to talk, so now we have to do it this way. Rx, I¡¯m not a monster. We won¡¯t torture you, since that will most likely just make you tell me what I want to hear.

    ¡°No, we¡¯re going to head to a coffee shop, and have a nice little chat, alright? A public ce where I can¡¯t do anything to the two of you so you both can feel at ease. If you can help me, all of this can be over soon. However, if you scream or try to escape¡­ well, I don¡¯t think I have to tell you the rest.¡± Raven said as he pulled out a de, and slid it up Stacy thigh.

    Due to the situation and seeing the de, the teenage girl couldn¡¯t help but pee a little. She wasn¡¯t embarrassed, though, as Stacy had far bigger problems than ruining her knickers. She just wanted to make it out alive at the end of all of this. She started to sob, regretting not having told Raven everything yesterday. Maybe then, none of this would have happened.

    Eventually, after driving for a while, the car had stopped. The men cut off the zip ties and one even wiped Stacy¡¯s legs clean. Next, the tape was removed from their mouths, yet Raven made sure to remind them what would happen to them if they were to make any noise.

    The men took off their masks, and Amy tried to remember all of their faces. Each one of them started to leave the van with Raven being thest one. They had positioned themselves in a way around the girls, making sure they wouldn¡¯t even attempt to make a run.

    ¡®Crap these are real gangsters, they¡¯re not even giving us any chances!¡¯ Amy thought. ¡®And I can¡¯t risk calling their bluff. They already resorted to kidnapping, it was a way to show us how serious they are.¡¯

    The next moment she was surprised that they were actually heading towards a normal looking coffee shop. School had only just ended, so it was still sunny outside, yet there were some customers and a couple of people behind the counter, just like any other coffee shop.

    When the girls entered, Raven wasn¡¯t too far behind them, and even more surprisingly, it looked like the men that had kidnapped them would be staying outside.

    ¡°Sit, please.¡± Raven smiled and pulled out two chairs for them as if he was being a gentleman. The table chosen was next to the outside window.

    The three of them sat there for a while, Stacy still shaking. Amy wasn¡¯t as frightened, but she wasn¡¯t saying anything either, and it didn¡¯t look like Raven was going to speak. Eventually, three coffees came over.

    ¡®Should I write a note, pass something onto the staff? But if we get found out, it could put us both at risk.¡¯ Amy contemted her choices.

    Raven just continued to sip his drink looking at the outside and eventually twenty minutes passed with no one saying anything. Stacy seemed to be hanging in there just barely, but Amy knew it was only a matter of time before she would break and say anything.

    ¡®Why am I So worried about the truth anyway?¡¯ Amy thought, her heart thumping loud.

    In the end, Raven broke the silence at the table.

    ¡°You know, I have all the time in the world right now. I can wait here all day if you don¡¯t want to cooperate. However, I¡¯m sure your parents should be very worried about you by now. I gather a report must have been made by the school already, iming they saw you two being kidnapped.

    ¡°What do you think will happen if your parents are unable to reach you? They¡¯ll naturally start to worry about where their daughters are, but you see¡­ I don¡¯t care! I¡¯ve had that feeling ever since that day! It¡¯s up to the two of you how long your parents will have to suffer that feeling with me!¡±

    There was a certain look the two girls could see in Raven¡¯s eyes, he looked crazy, and it looked like they had no choice.

 Chapter 181: The meeting (2)

    <h4>Chapter 181: The meeting (2)</h4>

    Stacy went and held Amy¡¯s hand under the table. To her, it was clear that her best friend was in no condition to handle this entire situation, and although this would reveal that Amy was there that night, she eventually spoke up, afraid to test Raven¡¯s patience any longer. Although the adult man imed he had the time, the aggression at the end made it clear that he was about done ying games.

    ¡°That night, we both went to meet up with her inte boyfriend for the first time. I just came along, because Stacy was afraid he might try to do something to her. Seeing as your brother brought two friends along, she wasn¡¯t wrong.¡± Amy revealed.

    ¡°He took us to a karaoke club, and he and his friends started to offer us¡­ stuff. The two of us just came along to have some fun, but when we refused to take it, he tried to force himself onto my friend. In the end, I screamed, and the receptionist came and saw what was going on. We ran away after that, but we didn¡¯t inform the police¡­ we were too scared and just wanted to forget what happened that day, but that¡¯s when you showed up.¡±

    When speaking, Amy had decided to partly reveal the truth, only omitting that ording to Stacy it had been her brother who had appeared. She just hoped that would be enough for Raven to leave them alone, without getting her brother involved in this mess.

    Stacy nodded her head, confirming her best friend¡¯s recounting of what had happened, but Raven just folded his arms and started shaking his head.

    ¡°You sure it was the receptionist? Why don¡¯t we wait a little longer and see if your story has changed.¡±

    It was then that Amy got the feeling that Raven had caught onto her lie. Unfortunately, the high school girl had no way of knowing that the Grey Elephant leader was aware that the receptionist was a good friend of his brother¡¯s. That wasn¡¯t the end of it, though. That guy was also one of those that had gone missing without anyone having any clue about their whereabouts. ording to the owner of the club, he had suddenly resigned¡­

    Since Raven knew Amy was lying, he felt more confident that he was on the right track. They waited another thirty-ish minutes in silence. Amy eventually drank her coffee, trying to appear rxed as if they had nothing else to hide, but that didn¡¯t seem to be working either.

    ¡°May I go to the toilet? I think it might be this whole situation or the coffee.¡± Amy requested.

    ¡°Can I go, too?¡± Stacy immediately asked.

    ¡°Of course, but you know what will happen if you two try to do something.¡± Raven allowed it, but not before warning them. The two girls quickly got up and headed towards the toilet, while the adult man remained sitting. Once inside, Stacy was waiting on Amy to speak, thinking she had some type of n.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just tell them the truth? I mean, I know you don¡¯t want to get your brother involved, but if he tells me that he doesn¡¯t know where that guy is either, he might let us go, right? Please, can we just tell them the truth!¡± Stacy begged, her hands were still shaking.

    ¡°Do you really think a guy who kidnapped us for simply refusing to speak to him, is going to let us go, just because we don¡¯t have the answer he is searching for? These are gangsters, Stacy!¡± Amy replied, holding onto her best friend¡¯s hands. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the movies, right? Once they have seen our faces, then it means that they will get rid of us. They¡¯re only keeping us alive because we have information that they want. So we have to keep it from them, and call for help!¡±

    Amy only half believed the things she was saying. If one ignored the fact that Raven had abducted them, it really seemed like he was an overprotective brother who just wanted to learn the truth. He might even have been honest about letting them go, but right now she needed Stacy to believe that getting Gary involved was dangerous.

    When they were finally in the toilet stalls, though, she had asked Stacy to try to contact the police and see if they could help in the situation. At the same time, Amy had decided to send a text to her brother.

    However, it looked like there was no signal in the restaurant, or at least not in the bathroom stall. It was a little strange but not impossible. In fact, it might have been a reason why he had picked this ce.

    ¡®The message should be sent once I¡¯m back outside anyway.¡¯ Amy thought.

    The two girls came back, and since they could still see the strange men behind the door, they returned to sit down opposite Raven. He waited for them to sit down before he let out a sigh and started shaking his head.

    ¡°You know, technology truly is an amazing thing. There are many new inventions thate out every day. I¡¯ve really tried being nice to you, you know? I told you to not try anything, didn¡¯t I?¡± Raven smiled, as he received two text messages on his phone.

    Amy wasn¡¯t quite sure how, but he must have realised that the two girls had tried something.

    ¡®Microphones in the toilet, cameras, damn, I should have known they didn¡¯t just take us to a coffee shop. If that¡¯s true then they might have heard everything.¡¯

    Panicking, Amy did the only thing she felt like they could do now that the situation had escted.

    ¡°Help!!! We¡¯ve been kidnapped by this guy!!! He took us from our school and threatened us with those guys outside. Please help us!¡± Amy shouted, dragging Stacy along as they rushed towards the worker behind the reception desk.

    It was thest resort and the only thing they could do. She just had to hope that the strangers would help protect them from these gang members.

    ¡®Huh, why isn¡¯t anyone doing anything?¡¯ Amy thought as she looked around the room. That¡¯s when she noticed that many of them were smiling or outrightughing.

    ¡°You really are kids. Why do you think I brought you here? This entire coffee shop belongs to the Grey Elephants. Everyone in here is one of our members¡­ that naturally includes that worker behind you.¡± Raven exined as he came over.

 Chapter 182: The Pawn Werewolf

    <h4>Chapter 182: The Pawn Werewolf</h4>

    Blood continued to drip, creating a small pool from where Billy stood. The wounds on his body were still healing, though slower than initially, especially the area around his neck that Gary had bitten.

    The Omega wolf was trapped in between Gary and ke, both standing still like statues. The two understood that depending on whoever took the first step now, would be Billy¡¯s next target.

    [43/100 HP]

    [150/300 Energy]

    ¡®Has it been that long already? No¡­ I must have used up more Energy than I realised. Controlled Transformation, Emergency Healing along with the w Drains¡­ Yeah, I guess I need to include the natural Energy expenditure while fighting as well. Which means I can¡¯t waste any more time!¡¯ Gary came to the conclusion that it would have to be now or never.

    Knowing this Gary made the first move. Seeing him break their Mexican stand-off, confirming their assumptions, Billy headed towards Gary. Therge Werewolf ran on all four like a wild beast. Gary wasn¡¯t sure if he was imagining things or not, but even though his opponent was heavily injured, it appeared as if he was still faster.

    While Billy charged in recklessly like a bull, Gary leapt onto the side of the wall. He made sure to extend his nails, so they would pierce into the side holding him in ce, before he quickly pounced right into Billy.

    His action was simr to what he had done with the twins.

    Gary¡¯s tackle was strong, and he pushed the other Werewolf against the wall. Billy was startled, and quickly, not wasting time, Gary ced his hand on the back of Billy¡¯s head and mmed it into the wall. Blood gushed out of Billy¡¯s mouth and from the side of his head.

    A Werewolf¡¯s skull proved to be quite durable, far more than that of a human or a wolf who would have been crushed under Gary¡¯s current Strength. The brown Werewolf also noticed that his fingers felt like they were going through some type of leather armour. They would only go so far through the skin until it stopped, and the bones were so strong even with his ws, it seemed impossible to break them.

    In the first ce, Werewolves could w at their enemies, creating big cuts. However, if he was to punch them with an open hand, the muscles in their fingers didn¡¯t seem strong enough to pierce a skull, so at times, resorting to punching and grabbing was more effective than a swipe.

    Now, holding his head in ce, Gary was hoping he would be able to pierce Billy¡¯s skull and end it once and for all. He threw his fist, with his fingers extending outward, not caring whether he broke them or not.

    Desperate to get out of the situation, it looked like Billy was trying to push off against the wall, but before he could, ke had rolled in between the two Werewolves. They wererge creatures, so there was plenty of space. Getting in, he then threw small daggers right into the back of Billy¡¯s hands.

    They pierced right through, indicating that these small des were sharper than the big de that ke had used earlier, though it still wasn¡¯t enough to kill Billy. Next, with his only intact de left, ke started to sh at the back of Billy¡¯s legs, trying his best to render him immobile.

    Billy had disyed great speed and strength, yet in the Altered Hunter¡¯s mind that speed was far more dangerous and needed to be dealt with first. Because of his cooperation, Gary¡¯s fingers mmed into the back of Billy¡¯s skull. It had initially gone through the hide piercing it, but then he felt his fingers start to bend¡­ and then he got a notification he had been worried about.

    [You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

    [-8 HP]

    [35/100 HP]

    [Fingers on your right hand are broken]

    [Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

    [-10 Energy]

    ¡®I still have another hand!¡¯

    Taking his other hand off while leaving his broken hand to hold Billy¡¯s head. Gary made a fist this time, punching the back of Billy¡¯s head. The resulting sound was simr to a stone being dropped onto another stone.

    Billy was dazed, and his vision was blurring, but Gary didn¡¯t stop there, as he pulled back again, and punched Billy at the back of the head again¡­ and again. Simrly, with his only intact de left, ke started to sh at the back of Billy¡¯s legs, trying his best to register him imbolie.

    The one thing the werewolf seemed to have was great speed with strength. In k¡¯s mind the speed was more dangerous and needed to be dealt with first.

    With each subsequent hitnding on Billy¡¯s head, his body was shrinking. It was getting smaller by the second, and the wounds were now bing clearer. At the same time, Gary heard a message. Because of this, he cancelled his Full Transformation, conserving his Energy.

    The high schooler¡¯s body started to shrink down as well, but Gary quickly made sure that his Controlled Transformation was active on his hands and legs, just in case there were any surprises.

    He had let go of Billy, allowing his body to fall to the floor. Blood was covering his whole head. It was hard to recognise him, and it was covering his eye as well, the other had a gaping hole from the sword.

    It looked like ke was also down on his knees, taking in deep breaths of air.

    ¡®He must be exhausted¡­ I shouldn¡¯t be surprised! He isn¡¯t an Altered, nor a Werewolf like us. He¡¯s just human, and he managed to do all of this?¡¯ Gary¡¯s respect for the Altered Hunter grew at that moment.

    Then, for a split second, he could see his father¡¯s image above his friend¡¯s. ke wasn¡¯t even a one-star Hunter, yet his father was a three-star one. He just couldn¡¯t imagine how strong his father might be.

    Gary¡¯s foot was firmly nted on top of Billy¡¯s chest, giving him no chance to escape. Through his feet, he could feel Billy¡¯s heart beating. He was still alive, but Gary knew he was down for the count because of the system message he had received not too long ago.

    [You have defeated an Omega wolf (Pawn)]

    [2 Instant Level Ups gained]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 12]

    [2 stat point have been granted]

    [Due to sessfully defeating the Omega wolf, you may now decide his fate]

    [Please select one of the following options:]

    [1. Kill the stray Omega wolf]

    [2. Invite the Omega wolf to be a part of your pack.]

 Chapter 183: Defeat

    <h4>Chapter 183: Defeat</h4>

    Gary read over the message a few times because he wasn¡¯t sure if he had read it right. The system was giving him two options. One was to kill Billy, which was their original n, but there was also an option to invite him into his pack. Whatever that meant.

    ¡®Oh yeah, the system did give me an Optional Quest to ept him into my pack, but it never told me what it was for. Is a Werewolf pack the same as a Wolf pack, like Tom told me about? A coboration where they would go hunting together?¡¯

    For once, as Gary thought about this, the system decided to bless him with an answer.

    [The defeated Werewolf was at the Pawn grade. As a Knight grade Werewolf, you¡¯re able to invite lower ranked Werewolves into your pack. By creating a pack, you will automatically be an Alpha wolf and receive certain benefits from the system]

    ¡®An Alpha wolf? So it really is like Tom had exined¡­ but what kind of extra benefits would that be exactly?¡¯ Gary wondered. Unfortunately, the system had seemingly exhausted its helpfulness and remained quiet.

    Nevertheless, it had left the high schooler with some valuable information. It had pretty much confirmed that those chess themed grades were following a hierarchy, and that he was ranked above Billy.

    s, that thought wasn¡¯t exactly calming. He might outrank Billy for now, but the other Werewolf¡¯s overall strength had nevertheless surpassed his. If he was allowed to continue to grow, it would only be a question of time until Billy surpassed and usurped him. Gary felt validated in his choice to fight him now rather thanter.

    ¡®If I remember correctly, at any point and time, any member from the pack could also challenge the leader for their position. If that¡¯s also true for Werewolves, it¡¯s pretty much a given, he¡¯ll try to betray me at some point. No matter the benefits, I don¡¯t want to associate with someone like him.¡¯ Gary made up his mind, but just when he was about to select the first option, the system revealed more information.

    [epting the Omega into your pack will ssify one as a Beta wolf. Beta wolves must do the Alpha¡¯s bidding. A challenge for the Alpha seat can only be initiated once a month. Bing a Beta wolf also prevents other Alphas from inviting him into their packs, and Omega wolves from forming a pack of their own by subduing him.]

    ¡®Do my bidding? Did the system read my thoughts and concerns and try to exin to me? Well, that¡¯s the first time it¡¯s ever done that. So as a Beta Wolf, he¡¯ll have to listen to me¡­ at least as long as I can outgrow him and best him in a fight once a month.

    ¡®Why does the Werewolf System seem so keen on me inviting Billy to join my pack? Is it all because of that Optional Quest¡­ or is there something special about him?¡¯ The whole thing sounded too risky, but there was a reason why Gary was contemting it. It was because he feared that at some point he would have to go against the Underdogs. Gary might not like him, but having Billy¡¯s strength on his side would be needed in such a scenario.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to kill them¡­¡± Billy spoke up, his mouth dripping with blood, yet therge teenager understood that his life was in the hands of Gary and ke. ¡°The hunger¡­ My Mum and Dad got into a fight¡­ he hit her with an ashtray¡­ I just wanted to protect her¡­ and everything went wrong. I attacked him, yet she still defended the scumbag, I don¡¯t know why¡­ before I realised it, I¡¯d killed them both. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. It was as if the hunger and bloodlust took over me!¡±

    Hearing Billy tell his sob story, Gary wasn¡¯t sure how much of it was true, yet it made him hesitate. It might very well have been the truth. His parents had always been the outliers on his personal vendetta list, and they had been the first reported killing.

    Before the green haired teenager could make his decision, though, he saw that ke had recovered and started to walk over to the two of them. Gary was about to ask his schoolmate for his opinion on what to do, but the Altered Hunter hadn¡¯te over to join them in their discussion.

    A stream of blood sttered onto his face. When Gary looked at Billy now, he could see that his human-like head had been sliced off, his blood all over ke¡¯s sword.

    Without a second thought, ke lifted Billy¡¯s head, and checked his mouth. It seemed like Billy¡¯s transformation hadn¡¯tpletely reversed, as the dead Werewolf still had tworge fangs in his mouth.

    ¡°We came here to do a job, Gary, to kill the Werewolf. You saw what he did to that girl. He can¡¯t control himself. He wasn¡¯t like you¡­ at least that¡¯s what I like to think.¡± ke stated.

    [The Omega has perished]

    [Options are no longer avable]

    [Consume Werewolf flesh to gain ¡®One: Pawn point¡¯¡¯]

    Rather than look at the message, Gary couldn¡¯t help but look at Billy¡¯s head. He was the one who had turned therge teenager in his first underground fight. Part of him knew that he was responsible for Billy, for all his actions, as well as today¡¯s oue. Nevertheless, Gary couldn¡¯t help but feel relief at the Omega wolf¡¯s death. It was as if this huge weight had been lifted off from his shoulders, something he no longer would have to worry about.

    ke¡¯s action was justified, Billy was a murderer. Even if he hadn¡¯t been in his right mind when he had killed his parents, what about the next two murders? What about the time he had attacked Innu in the middle of the day in his own school? What about when he had attacked Gary¡¯s friends in the park?

    Most importantly, just minutes ago, he had killed an innocent woman just to survive. However, although Gary had yet to kill anyone innocent to survive, the teenager felt like he was walking on a tightrope.

    ¡°We should leave this ce. I¡¯ll be taking the head with me as proof to show my father that Ipleted the job. I¡¯ve left our calling card for the police to find him. This way, they¡¯ll believe that the Altered Hunters are behind this, and hopefully you won¡¯t get involved any more than that.

    ¡°Our coboration ends here, Gary, and I hope it¡¯s the only time you see me like this.¡± With that, ke ced the gadgets, broken parts of his sword and everything else he needed into his strange advanced backpack and was off. Leaving Gary behind, staring at the body.

    Looking at it, Gary started to think about the message that had arrived not too long ago.

    ¡®I consumed bodies before¡­ and I need to keep getting stronger.¡¯ He thought as he lifted part of the arm and took a bite out of it.

    The high schooler had transformed his head to make it easier, and in case anyone happened to walk down again, but no one did and after a few bites the message had appeared.

    [One Pawn Point has been granted]

    [Pawn Points can upgrade your body into the next Grade.

    Points can also be used to upgrade skills and for stats.

    Warning; Once Pawn Points have been assigned, it¡¯s impossible to revert the change!]

    ¡®Evolve into the next Grade? Does that mean, I¡¯ll have to keep hunting Werewolves if I want to be something like a King or Queen Grade Werewolf? But what¡¯s the point in that if I can just use it to upgrade my stats. Who cares what Grade I am?¡¯ Gary thought, scratching his head.

    The system only borated that little, leaving it to Gary to fill in the nks. With everything over, Gary quickly put on the spare clothes he had brought with him. He was happy that he had been prepared this time.

    Grabbing his personal belongings, Gary eventually picked up his phone, ready to put it into his pocket. Staring at the screen, he nearly dropped it to the ground as he read through Amy¡¯s message.

 Chapter 184: Please reply!

    <h4>Chapter 184: Please reply!</h4>

    For a split second after reading the message, Gary looked at the scene behind him. He had only partially eaten parts of Billy, but it didn¡¯t look like he would gain any more special points or stats from his body.

    At the same time, Billy¡¯s unique body had allowed him to restore his Energy until it was over 200 points, and he had a feeling with the message he read he might just need it.

    ¡®Is it safe to leave the ce just like this? ke already left, and he said that with their calling card, the police would just assume this was the work of the Altered Hunters.¡¯ Gary thought.

    The reason he was hesitating, was just in case anything had been left behind that could be used to identify him. There wasn¡¯t much he could do about his blood, saliva, and other DNA evidence that was all over the scene, which had somehow be the norm.

    It hadn¡¯t mattered before, so the Werewolf didn¡¯t see a reason why it would matter now.

    The problem was there might be other items to worry about, he had picked up what was left of his bag and the packages of food he had bought, the question was if there was anything else. Gary couldn¡¯t think straight because he was just worried about what had happened to his sister. In the end, he decided to just grab his broken bag, and phone. Only the important things and run for it.

    He wanted to follow Amy¡¯s Mark, but he appeared to be too far away from her current position to know where exactly she was. Fortunately, his sister had been smart enough to attach the location from where she had sent the message, which he assumed to be the coffee shop.

    ¡®What happened? Why is Amy in trouble again? What does it have to do with Stacy? Who is she worried about? Is it the Underdogs? Did they finally find me? But then who is asking about their brother? Should I contact Kai?¡¯ Too many thoughts were passing through Gary¡¯s head, yet he just continued to run towards the location.

    On his way, he sent Amy a few texts, hoping that she could update him on her situation. Text, after text, asking her to please answer if she could, yet there was no rey. In the end, Gary tried his luck by calling her phone.

    ¡®It¡¯s ringing¡­ if she was captured, wouldn¡¯t they have destroyed her phone, so she couldn¡¯t call for help?¡¯

    However, after a few rings, just when it seemed as if she wouldn¡¯t pick up: ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m so sorry, Gary! I just saw all your messages. I¡¯m so sorry, I should have told you earlier.¡± Amy answered from her end in an audibly panicked voice.

    Stopping in his tracks, Gary was wondering what was going on.

    ¡°Amy, are you safe? Where are you right now? Tell me, I¡¯lle over straight away!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary eventually found himself in a very familiar ce¡­ in front of their own apartment building. He was d to know that his sister was safe¡­ or at least that¡¯s what she had imed over the phone. Amy had asked him to firste home, so she could tell him everything about what had happened today, in person. Apparently, it would have been too much to exin just over a phone call.

    If that had been her attempt to calming him down, it had only served to worry Gary more. Still, learning that she was supposedly back at their apartment, he took that as a good sign. Nevertheless, Gary couldn¡¯t help but feel like it might be a trap.

    The high schooler started to sniff the door a few times, in case there might be any foreign scents. Unable to find any, he climbed up the side of the apartment and looked through the windows to check inside, but there were no signs of anyone being home.

    ¡®I checked the whole area, it should be safe right, but what if it¡¯s not? Should I call Kai? Do I get him involved in this?¡¯

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure how to deal with this situation. The teenager had his phone by his side, ready to make the call. He unlocked the door with his key and slowly pushed it open. Taking a few more sniffs, all his nose could pick up was Amy¡¯s scent, as well as the smell of roses and coconut.

    ¡®Shampoo?¡¯ Gary realised in surprise.

    ¡°Amy!¡± The teenager shouted as he entered the apartment, carefully looking around every corner. He hid one hand behind his back and used Controlled Transformation on it. It would allow him to deal with any intruder in case there were any, while at the same time hiding it from his sister, in case she was actually alone.

    ¡°I¡¯m in the kitchen!¡± His sister shouted back.

    Gary¡¯s heart was beating fast, worried that perhaps his nose might be lying to him, but when he turned the corner, he could indeed see his sister. The teenage girl was sitting down at the table with a towel wrapped around her head.

    ¡°Amy, you¡¯re really okay.¡± Gary heaved out a heavy sigh of relief, cancelling the transformation. Seeing that his sister was safe, he immediately started to inspect her for any markings or bruises. There was nothing on her at all¡­ She looked fine.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for worrying you. I was in the shower when you called.¡± Amy apologised, her head buried in her hands, unable to believe how stupid she had acted. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry¡­ After everything, I really needed that shower. My mind was at a loss. I couldn¡¯t think properly, I should have exined first.¡±

    When Amy said these words, Gary could hear her heart beating louder. She was clearly scared and worked up about worrying him, and Gary wanted to know what on earth had happened to make her this flustered.

    ¡°What about you? You look a mess.¡± Amy questioned, noticing that his clothes weren¡¯t in the best shape, one of his sleeves had ripped due to his earlier instance of Controlled Transformation. To top it off, he had a broken bag on his back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡± Gary shook his head, pulling up a seat as he sat down opposite her. ¡°I¡¯m fine, so please tell me what exactly happened to you. I know you wouldn¡¯t jokingly send me such a message.

    ¡°Who asked you about their brother? Why did they force you toe along? What did you mean by you needed my help? I need you to tell me everything.¡±

    Amy looked to the side, and tears started falling down her face.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Gary, I-I tried not to g-get you involved. I r-really did! ¡­ however, they k-know about you now a-and¡­ I-I¡¯m worried that they mighte after you next!¡±

 Chapter 185: Is she really safe?

    <h4>Chapter 185: Is she really safe?</h4>

    Amy started over from the beginning, informing Gary how the strange man hade to their school the other day, looking for his brother Hawk. Amy also revealed what Stacy had told her the day after, about how her best friend had known that they were meeting up with a gang member, one iming to be part of the Grey Elephants.

    Amy was talking a lot, exining every little detail, even adding her own opinion as to how Raven might have gotten this information. The teenage girl felt incredibly guilty and wanted Gary to know that every step of the way. His sister had never wanted to reveal anything to the gangsters about who he was, nor the fact that he had been there that day.

    When talking about the kidnapping, she noticed that Gary was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Of course, Amy had expected this kind of reaction, her brother had been very protective of her ever since the day their mother had been hospitalised. However, Gary stayed quiet and waited for Amy to finish her story.

    Eventually, his sister reached the point where she had cried for help in the coffee shop, only for Raven to reveal that everyone inside was a member of the Grey Elephants gang.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see a way out, I really, really didn¡¯t want to tell them anything, hoping to be able to stall for more time so that you mighte to save us. I don¡¯t even know what you could¡¯ve done, but I didn¡¯t want to break my promise to you¡­ but Stacy spilled the beans.¡± Amy admitted.

    ¡°She told them that we weren¡¯t thest people with Hawk¡­ that it was you, Gary. Stacy told them how you barged in, told her to get the two of us out, and that that was thest time we had seen that guy¡¯s brother.¡±

    When saying these words, Amy¡¯s hands were shaking more than before, and Gary instinctively grabbed them, trying tofort his sister.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Amy. There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about. I¡¯m honestly just happy that you made it out safe. You should have just told me everything after he came to your school. I would have told you to just tell him the truth and let me deal with it.¡± Gary gave Amy a weak smile.

    ¡°I know you would say this, Gary, but you can¡¯t just take on everything yourself.¡± Amy stated, wiping her tears away. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you trying to rece Mum, while she¡¯s in the hospital, so I didn¡¯t want to burden you any more than that. It¡¯s all Stacy¡¯s fault anyway.

    ¡°I¡­ I haven¡¯t spoken to her since¡­ I didn¡¯t text her, write to her or anything¡­ Not only that, but I¡¯m not even sure, I¡¯ll ever want to see her again. After she told them everything¡­ Hawk¡¯s brother told her that she was free to go¡­

    ¡°And you know what happened next? ¡­ she left¡­ Stacy didn¡¯t even try to ask them to let me go with her¡­ she didn¡¯t try to convince him to let me go too¡­ she just gave me a brief look before she practically ran out of the shop¡­¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t know what he should say in this situation. He could tell that Amy felt betrayed by her best friend, but during his time with the Underdogs, he had seen this situation happen time and time again.

    Fear was a strong tool to use, and everything that Raven had done so far, had been to instill fear into the girls. Making them feel safe, and then realising that even the ce they thought was safe was not. He had broken Stacy down, Gary was honestly surprised she had stayed quiet for as long as she had done.

    Of course, Stacy¡¯s actions were abhorrent¡­ but they were also the norm. Knowing this didn¡¯t stop Gary from inwardly cursing the teenage girl for leaving his sister, especially since it was Stacy¡¯s fault in the first ce that the Dem family had been dragged into the entire mess. Just when Gary was about to ask his sister how she had escaped, Amy continued:

    ¡°I thought I was done for at that point. That guy told me that they had some type of jammer in the coffee shop. I couldn¡¯t call anyone and my message wasn¡¯t sending¡­ but then he just looked at me andughed. He seemed to have greatly enjoyed seeing me so hopeless and desperate¡­

    ¡°Nobody did anything to me, so I sat back down, afraid what would happen next¡­ I was prepared for him to ask me about you, about what happened that day again, but¡­ for some reason he just sat down opposite of me and continued to drink his coffee.

    ¡°asionally, he seemed to give his men some orders, but otherwise he only looked at me with a smirk on his face. I must have sat there for at least a few hours¡­ I don¡¯t know how long exactly, but eventually he just stood up and left.¡±

    ¡°I was shocked, afraid that this might be another sort of trap. I continued waiting there for a while, but nobody seemed to care about me¡­ eventually, I gathered my courage and slowly headed towards the door¡­ seeing that nobody stopped me, I ran out as fast as I could.

    ¡°I was so stunned by everything that happened, I couldn¡¯t even process it all.¡± Amy finished, putting her legs on the chair and hugging herself. Gary immediately came up and gave her a hug. His sister didn¡¯t push him away, she just started to sob into his chest.

    The two of them stayed in that position for a while, until Amy stopped crying.

    ¡®The Grey Elephants, it looks like that guy I got rid of was really important to someone in their gang. Not just anyone could use an entire ce like that and utilise so many people¡­ so now the two biggest gangs in Slough are after me, huh?

    ¡®This might mean I need to act. I might have to act against the Grey Elephants as well.They know me and they did all this to my fucking sister!¡¯¡¯

    While Gary was lost in his thoughts, Amy patted her brother¡¯s arm, indicating that she was okay. The teenage boy let go of his sister and went to sit back down in his seat. Amy¡¯s eyes looked swollen and puffy. It reminded Gary of the day they had found out what had happened to their mother.

    Amy herself had been through a lot that day, and Gary never wanted for her to have to experience something like that again but because of him¡­

    ¡®Why didn¡¯t I just threaten them¡­ hurt them a little¡­ no, there¡¯s no guarantee it would have ended with that. That Hawk guy threatened me with consequences and based on the way his brother acts, he would have definitelye back for revenge.¡¯

    ¡°Gary.¡± Amy called out to her brother in the midst of his thoughts. ¡°Can you tell me what happened after Stacy and I left the room? I wanted to ask you the other day¡­ but that guy did tell me a bit more. He said that not only his brother had gone missing, but everyone who had been there in that room, except for me and Stacy.¡±

    This was a question Gary had been dreading, but of course it was actually something he had prepared an answer in the past. He just hadn¡¯t had to use his excuse.

    ¡°What do you think I did?¡± Gary sighed as he looked at his sister, trying his best to look innocent. ¡°Honestly, I was in a panic. I mean, I came in and saw what they did to you. So¡­ I shouted at them like a mad man, threatening to kill them if they would ever touch my little sister again.

    ¡°I¡¯ve once heard that acting crazy is the best way to scare people away, since they can¡¯t predict what you might do next. It seems like some of that was true, or perhaps they were just too confused about my sudden appearance.

    ¡°I just wanted to buy you two enough time to get away, and when it seemed like they were about to attack me, I decided to run away. Believe it or not, I¡¯m quite the fast runner now.¡± Gary exined, pointing to his now strong body.

    His sister made a strange face at his exnation. Gary¡¯s suddenly changed body was actually another mystery that Amy was unable toprehend.

    ¡°Those guys must be gangsters like the one who kidnapped you, right? I bet they¡¯re involved in all sorts of stuff. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they were on the run from the police or something, but you don¡¯t have to worry about any of that, okay.¡± Gary tried to persuade Amy.

    With that, the conversation seemed to have somewhate to an end, and that¡¯s when Amy stood up. It looked like the teenage girl was ready to go back to her room, but before she did, she turned around.

    ¡°Gary, you¡¯ve changed a bit these days.¡± Amy stated, and she could see the worried look on her brother¡¯s face, so she quickly smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good thing or bad thing yet, but whatever happens, you¡¯ll always be my big brother!¡±

    When heading back to the room, Amy got in her bed andid down. She was exhausted in more ways than one, not even caring that she had barely eaten anything this entire day. However, she was sure she would have a hard time getting to sleep tonight, especially since she couldn¡¯t stop thinking about one thing.

    Amy sat up right in her bed, and looked towards the wardrobe, but it wasn¡¯t her own wardrobe she was looking at, it was Gary¡¯s.

    ¡®Why are those in there?¡¯ Amy wondered.

 Chapter 186: Calling card

    <h4>Chapter 186: Calling card</h4>

    It didn¡¯t take long for the police to be called to a particr devastating crime scene. Anton, Slough¡¯s Chief of Police, was called due to the certain person who was involved in the matter. Currently, both sides of the tunnel were sealed off with special yellow police tape.

    The area close by was blocked off just in case any evidence might have been left behind, and finally there were only a few police officers at the scene taking photos. A higher tier town might have utilised more, but for the likes of Slough this could already be considered arge force.

    The Detective had been staring at the body for a while and inspecting it, evidence had already been collected as well. Standing up, Anton took off his white gloves, passing them onto one of the other officers, as he began to rub his eyes.

    ¡°You should be careful, what if some blood got on your hands.¡± The young officer Roo cautioned his superior. In his hand he was holding an evidence bag, it was clear and see through allowing one to see inside there was a card.

    ¡°We got a report back from theb. You know who that is, don¡¯t you?¡± Anton asked the young rookie.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it another victim of the Altered murderer? Although this is the first time that they appear to have sliced the head off like that.¡± Roo answered as he quickly turned to look at the scene and away again. This particr body was in a worse state than the others, and it appeared that even arge part of the arm had been eaten.

    ¡°Wow, you really are a rookie, do they let anyone pass these days? Or is it just that the force is desperate for more people?¡± Anton shook his head. ¡°Even before the results came back, it¡¯s obvious that our Altered murderer has been here. The surprising bit, however, is the male victim.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been looking all over for him. This is Billy Bruntin who we had initially suspected to be our Altered murderer. ording to the guy in theb, he¡¯s not an Altered, yet for some reason the Altered Hunters have left their calling card. Still, his blood does match up with all blood found on the other scenes, he is our murderer all right. Have Hunters started bing judges of death now as well.¡±

    Lifting it up, Roo started to spin the clear stic bag, trying to get a better look at the card. He thought it was strange for a card to be left at the scene, and he had initially mistaken it for some business cards¡­ for some restaurant or something.

    ¡°Why would they use a red dragon on their calling card? I thought they hated all types of Altered¡­ although I¡¯ve never heard about a dragon-type of Altered.¡± Roo uttered in confusion.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually ssified information that is prohibited to be revealed to the public, since the government doesn¡¯t want copycats from appearing. You can also tell fakes from clears, using a special method but you will learn that as you go on. By the looks of it, they¡¯ve gotten here way before we did.¡± Anton let out a big sigh.

    ¡°But then what about the arm? It looks like it¡¯s been eaten by a beast!¡± Rooined.

    This was the strangest thing, because they had found DNA that they had on file. In fact, it had appeared in multiple areas, but they had yet to find out more about this mystery Altered.

    ¡®Could it be those two Altered that fought each other? ¡­ I¡¯ve heard of Altered getting in fights with each other over the territory they im, but to actually hunt each other? Or maybe that was just that day. Billy might have been working with an Altered doing his killings and one got away. Another option, could it be that we have an Altered Hunter who is an Altered himself? ¡­ That or a hunter was working together with our mysterious Altered.¡¯ Anton chuckled at this ridiculous thought. ¡®Like that would ever happen. The day I see that, pigs might fly.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside the empty dojo, underground, a young teenage boy was sitting atop his legs, with his back up straight. ke was currently in the secret base that his father had created. One that only Altered Hunter knew how to locate and open.

    On the table, inside a ss like container, was the severed head of Billy Bruntin. His sharp teeth were still showing. More so on one side than the other, and there were also some other non-human details on the head, such as coloured fur, and slightly pointed ears.

    ¡®It was a good thing that I cut the head off when I did. It seems like it was in the middle of reverting.¡¯ ke thought. ¡®We only assumed Billy was the Altered who had been killing those people, but we never confirmed it. ¡­ Well, technically he¡¯s not an Altered but a Werewolf. I wonder if Dad will recognise the difference.¡¯

    Thinking about his father, ke wondered a few more things. When his father would came back, would he be proud that his son had managed to hunt an ¡®Altered¡¯ ¡®on his own¡¯. Would it count towards his first star? Or would he be upset with ke that he had risked his life during his absence.

    Looking to his right, the young Altered Hunter also saw the broken sword and all the gadgets he had used up. Some of them ke could reset or repair, so they could be used again, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for the sword.

    Most of the items Altered Hunters used would be crafted by themselves. This was at least true for the small gadgets, but the swords and armour weren¡¯t things one could easily create.

    ¡®Each hunter has ess to certain items from the Hunter¡¯s Association based on their rank. Once I get my first star, I will be eligible to get better equipment for myself. A better sword would be nice.

    ¡®I wonder what kind of items those five-star top hunters have ess to¡­¡¯

    For a second, ke caught himself daydreaming about the future as one of them. It came as a bit of a shock to the teenager that he had actually enjoyed what he had done today. The thrill of fighting, risking his life, besting a superior enemy.

    In the past, he had hated that his father had forced him into the Altered Hunter¡¯s lifestyle. Ozacas Hunt would often im that it was in their blood¡­ and for the first time, ke felt that he understood what his father had meant.

    So far, he had tried to avoid it, ke had often made excuses when his father had offered to take him out hunting, but killing Billy had felt¡­ satisfying. The teenager felt as if he had actually achieved something.

    ¡®When youe back, Dad, maybe¡­maybe I¡¯ll start to take this hunting thing seriously.¡¯ ke thought as he stood up from his position, and for a second Gary shed in his mind. The two of them working together to take down Billy.

    ¡®¡­ if only you hadn¡¯t be a Werewolf¡­ You would have surely made a great Altered Hunter¡­¡¯

 Chapter 187: To the grave with me

    <h4>Chapter 187: To the grave with me</h4>

    Surprisingly, Gary had enjoyed the best night¡¯s sleep the teenager had had in a long time. One might think that the knowledge that both of Slough¡¯s major gangs were after him, would make him sleepless¡­

    However,pared to Billy, arge Werewolf that had been going around killing people, the Grey Elephants gang seemed like less of a big deal. In a way, it was almost as if he had traded one problem for another. The only unfortunate thing about this entire situation was that it had involved Amy.

    ¡®I wonder why they let her go, though?¡¯ Gary thought as he stretched his body. His sister was still sleeping peacefully. She must have only recently slept, because Gary had been looking over her constantly, and she was still wide awake before he had shut his eyes.

    He knew how she felt, when one¡¯s mind was full of worry it was almost impossible to sleep, but eventually the tiredness would overwhelm you. He had told Amy it was best if she took the day off school today, and she had agreed.

    She would have still entered, but honestly, the main reason why she had agreed was because she didn¡¯t have the energy to deal with Stacy. However, she couldn¡¯t take too many days off. Her attendance was already dropping and if it did any more, parents would be called in, which might open up another can of worms.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [ss: Warrior]

    [State: Human (Omega)]

    [Grade: Knight]

    [Level 12]

    [Exp 340/1890]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 300/300]

    [Strength 15]

    [Dexterity 15]

    [Endurance 15]

    [3 stat points unassigned]

    [1 Pawn Point avable]

    Looking at his Status, Gary was contemting how he should distribute his umted stat points. In the past, he would have increased his Energy, but that didn¡¯t seem to be a problem any more. Despite using a lot of his skills, he still had plenty of them left, not to mention he had found out that he could replenish them ¡®naturally¡¯ during a fight as well.

    No, the area he wascking in were his three natural stats. Choosing the Warrior ss had increased all of his stats until they became bnced. Nevertheless, he had been unable to beat Billy with that alone. There was no way to tell if the deceased Omega wolf had had higher base stats, or if he had gained more from eating meat.

    ¡®Should I keep them bnced¡­ or should I specialise in one direction¡­ I guess I can leave the stat points for now. It¡¯s easy enough to apply them during a fight anyway, but this ¡®Pawn Point¡¯ is another story.

    ¡®ording to the system, I can use it to upgrade my body grade, upgrade my skills, and for stats. The first option seems useless, unless I n to create my own pack. I don¡¯t even know if there really are other Werewolves out there, and after Billy, I don¡¯t actually want to convert anyone.

    ¡®This whole Alpha wolf thing isn¡¯t too different from being a gang leader, so are there any other benefits?¡¯ Gary thought. The teenager was half expecting the system to answer his queries, but it disappointed.

    ¡®w Drain seems to be the only skill that¡¯s upgradable right now. However, I can just use Controlled Transformation to get the ws, so its only benefit is its lifesteal effect. It would also be bad if it turns out that I can increase it naturally through usage.¡¯

    Gary was seriously worried about wasting his Pawn Point, and unlike stat points, which could gain by leveling up, it wasn¡¯t like he came across a Werewolf every day. As such, he decided to leave it be for now.

    Getting ready, it was time for Gary to head to school, and to his surprise he could see Amy standing by the bedroom door, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing up so early? Didn¡¯t we agree that you would stay home today? You must have gotten, what, like two hours of sleep.¡± The teenager talked to his sister in a loving tone.

    ¡°I know¡­ I just smelt the food, and it woke me up. I think my body is just used to waking up at this time and eating.¡± Amy exined, getting hungry as her stomach demanded its fill. ¡°I¡¯ll just eat some food and go back to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Gary held his hand up to his mouth to avoid snickering. ¡°Remember, if anything happens, you see anyone out-¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll call you immediately. Trust me, I have you on speed dial, and I only need one click to send you a prepared message.¡± Amy cut him off, and shooed her brother out with a big smile¡­ which disappeared the second he was out the door.

    She walked into the room, and headed towards the wardrobe, but she didn¡¯t head to hers. Instead, the high school girl headed to Gary¡¯s that was ced opposite his bed. She stood there for a few seconds.

    ¡®Surely, it must have just been a dream¡­¡¯ She tried to convince herself. ¡®Please tell me it was a dream.¡¯

    Pulling the wardrobe open, Amy could see a lot of Gary¡¯s clothes, but stuffed in the corner, underneath arge pile that seemed to not have been washed in ages, was something else. She knew this because she had seen it yesterday.

    Once again, she reached under the pile, pulling out a carrier bag, and in the carrier bag itself, there were clothes. Not just any clothes, either.

    Pulling out the bag, she came across a red tracksuit set that was covered in blood and ripped in certain ces. There was mainly blood in the back, and there was more. Amy gripped onto the clothes tightly. Tears didn¡¯t run down her face, but instead she had another look. She quickly stuffed the clothes in the bag, and ced it back underneath all the clothes.

    After fleeing from the coffee shop, Amy had been worried about Gary. She had no idea what Raven might do to him. Rather than thinking about herself, she had opened Gary¡¯s wardrobe and started to pack his clothes, so that he might run away and hide.

    In the midst of doing all that, she had spotted the carrier bag. She waspletely startled, and didn¡¯t even know if some blood had gotten on her clothes. It was dry, but she wasn¡¯t thinking straight and it felt¡­dirty. As if she had never wanted to see it in the first ce, Amy had ced all the clothes back the way they had been and had decided to take a shower, hoping to clear her head.

    It hadn¡¯t been long, but it had served as the much-needed escape for the girl toe to terms with what had happened to her, and what was likely going to happen next.

    ¡®It wasn¡¯t a dream¡­that means Gary¡­he really must have been the one to make them disappear. ¡­ He killed those guys¡­ all of that for me? You did it to protect me, right? ¡­ Even now¡­ you must be still hiding the truth from me to protect me.

    ¡®Everything you have done is for me and Mum, and yet I can¡¯t do anything for you.¡¯ Amy slumped down, holding her knees as tears ran down her face, cursing herself for being weak and useless.

    ¡®The only thing I can do for you. You want me to not know about this. So I¡¯ll pretend I never saw this. I will never say a word about this to anyone, and I will take this secret to the grave with me, because you are my brother.¡¯ Amy solemnly swore to herself, as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

 Chapter 188: Getting stronger (1)

    <h4>Chapter 188: Getting stronger (1)</h4>

    The sun had barely risen, leaving the town of Slough covered in a grey mist. It was an unusual sight for three students in particr because they had never woken up this early in their lives, much lesse to school at such an hour.

    Innu was groggily walking up the stairs to the Westbridge¡¯s roof and could see the door just a little ahead. The teenager was still in the middle of a stretch, yawning so wide that he could have fit his fist inside his mouth. When opening the door, he was surprised to see that he was apparently thest one to arrive.

    ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± Kai stated, not even turning around as he continued to look out from the roof¡¯s fence. The blonde teenager was staring into the distance. As to where exactly, only he seemed to know, for all Marie and Austin could see was the school field, that was currently empty, as well as the shapes of a few buildings. It was something the others had seen Kai do several times in the short amount of time they knew him.

    ¡°Late?¡± Innu checked his phone, which revealed that it was five past six in the morning. ¡°Ohe on, it¡¯s only by five minutes.¡±

    Under normal circumstances, he would have still been asleep. At this hour, the only person who one might expect to see at school would be its caretaker. However, hecked the energy to argue right now, so he silently moved over to his fellow Howlers members. Marie and Austin looked just as tired as him, their bodies slumped over.

    ¡®How did Austin manage to get here before me? He doesn¡¯t even live in this area or go to the same school?¡¯ Innu worried.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried you might bete for sses?¡± He eventually asked, looking at therge student, who seemed to be fixing his hair.

    ¡°Worried about the sses I never go to? At a school that will never get me anywhere in life? I thought joining this gang made it pretty clear that I have nowhere better to go.¡± Austin gave Innu a look that made him feel like an idiot.

    Just as Innu was about to say something back, Kai stopped staring outside and turned to look at his fellow gang members.

    ¡°Enough with the chit-chat. After our fight with the grey colour gang, each one of you came up to me individually. You all told me how useless you felt when faced against those freakish twins¡­ Well, I felt the same way. Which is why we can¡¯t stay the same. If we do then there is no hope for us.

    ¡°Our gang is small and has only just started, but I hope that soon enough it will be the Howlers instead of the Underdogs that people will associate with the town of Slough. Once we have achieved that, we can go for the county, then the country and finally the whole world.¡±

    It should have sounded crazy, hearing that type of talk from the mouth of a teenager, yet somehow, when Kai told about his ambition, none of the other three felt likeughing, nor that it was unrealistic. They might not yet know how, but he seemed determined enough that he woulde up with a way to achieve that goal.

    ¡°Of course, if it was that easy, anyone could have done that already. Along the way, we will face countless enemies who will make the grey colour gang look like a bunch of clowns inparison. I won¡¯t sugar coat it, we¡¯ll eventually have to deal with Altered, and I mean real ones, not whatever those twins turned into!

    ¡°As such, I want you to never forget the fear that you felt that day. How it was mostly luck that we¡¯ve even made it out alive¡­

    ¡°Now, I¡¯vee up with a strict training regime for all of us. We¡¯ll be practising two hours each day before school starts.¡± Kai exined with a sadistic smile.

    Everyone had their fists clenched tightly, and it looked like they were ready. The little pep talk had almost gotten rid of their tiredness, and everyone was put into action.

    Innu and Austin were told to start with some warm-up activities. The idea was to build up their basic stats. The two of them were talented and although Innu trained he had done so nearly always alone. While Austin was the opposite, never having attempted to push his body to the limit but always getting in fights.

    The two teenage boys began running around the roof a few times, increasing their basic strength with push-ups workouts and more, and eventually would finish up with a few spars here and there. They were learning a lot from each other, and theirpetitive nature made each one try to outdo the other.

    ¡°Forty five!¡± Innu loudly announced how many push-ups he had already made, sweat dripping down his forehead, falling on his chiselling abs, as he had long since taken his shirt off, same as Austin

    ¡°Bullsh*t, you call that a push-up?¡± Austin questioned him, as he demonstrated how to do it ¡®properly¡¯. ¡°If you can¡¯t do it with proper form, then that means you¡¯re done, don¡¯t try to force it!¡±

    ¡°Talk to me about form once your bum isn¡¯t all the way in the air!¡± Innu argued back.

    Next it looked like the two were moving onto squats, however they weren¡¯t regr squats. At least for Innu, who ced one of his legs out straight and was going down using just one of his legs. Seeing this, Austin attempted to do the same, but his bnce was horrible.

    When he got down to the bottom, he attempted to push off but it was something he had never done before, his whole body was shaking and just when he was about to fall over he felt Innu grab him steady.

    ¡°It¡¯s harder than it looks.¡± Innu said. Austin was expecting a smile but Innu didn¡¯t have one on his face as he lifted him up. ¡°You¡¯re a strong hitter, and for you to have punches that strong while having weak legs like yours. If you improve your legs like mine then your punches will have even more power in them.¡±

    When walking back to do his exercises Austin was looking at the sheer size of Innu¡¯s legs. His thighs were thick like tree trunks and it looked like in his trousers there was no space for them to breathe.

    ¡®I thought that guy was just naturally strong like me, but it looks like it was all hard work in the end.¡¯ Austin thought.

 Chapter 189: Getting Stronger (2)

    <h4>Chapter 189: Getting Stronger (2)</h4>

    Kai didn¡¯t care that the two boys were bickering, as long as they were working hard, they could do whatever they wanted. Meanwhile, he hade over to Marie to give her special training. She had never been much of a fighter, so doing the same as the boys wouldn¡¯t help her enough.

    When she hade to him with her request, Kai had been reluctant. In the past, he had always been there to take care of any problems she might have had. However, there hadn¡¯t been much he could argue, once Marie had confessed that she was worried that she might get kidnapped again.

    Coming towards her, Kai opened a small little suitcase and inside there were two small four inch knives.

    ¡°Wait, you want me to use these? How did you even manage to get your hands on weapons?!¡± Marie eximed back, a little shocked, and even pushed the box back. She slightly regretted her actions, because it was obvious that the high schooler must have jumped through some hoops to acquire them.

    ¡°Yes, I want you to use them.¡± Kai answered, his tone revealed that he was slightly annoyed at her action. He was sure that if anyone understood what he was proposing, it should have been her.

    ¡°You want to fight like the others, right? Let¡¯s not kid ourselves, we both know that you¡¯re no fighter, Marie. You neither have the body topete with those around our age, much less adult men, nor do you have the experience or skills to make up for such a deficit.

    ¡°There are only two ways for you to make up for the difference in a short period of time. Either you use weapons¡­ or you be an Altered. Thetter option is pretty much impossible for us, so we can only go with the former. Trust me, there are psychos out there that will use weapons against you without giving it a second thought. We¡¯re talking about your life here. Don¡¯t think about some stupid pride of using wepons is wrong. Don¡¯t die because of that.¡±

    Marie looked at the two weapons again, and this time she took them out from the box and held them in her hands. It felt natural to hold them by the handle, like she had been doing, simr to how one would use them in the kitchen.

    When looking at the weapon she could see it wasn¡¯t like a kitchen knife as there was a guard stopping one¡¯s hands going onto the ded part, but it wasn¡¯t like a dagger as the end was rounded off and not pointed.

    ¡°It¡¯s not pride.¡± Marie finally replied, looking into Kai¡¯s eyes. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to kill anyone. I know what you¡¯re saying, and maybe one day if it¡¯s their life against mine I will fight to the death, but these weapons could kill someone if I used them.¡±

    Kai then went over and grabbed both the knives from Marie and stood a distance away from her, so she wouldn¡¯t get hurt. He then held the two knives in abat potion, so the de part was sticking out from the back of the hand rather than through his thumb like a pair of daggers.

    He looked like one of those secret agents that would fight in the jungle that she had seen on TV.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to use the weapons to kill. You will be using them to cut, not to stab.¡± Kai exined. He started to move about, with the des, spinning his body as if he was going up against an opponent. As Marie carefully watched Kai, it looked like he was shadow fighting against more than just a single opponent.

    Kai¡¯s disy was so impressive that Innu and Austin couldn¡¯t help but stop their warm-up to observe him. He was smooth and quick, most of all, he was confident as well. In the end, the demonstration was over, and the two boys felt motivated to work even harder.

    ¡°Stabbing an opponent, you risk losing your weapon. You might be unable to pull it out from their body, or worse, they might use it against you. Either scenario, it gives them a chance to retaliate. Using it the way I¡¯ve shown is far better for you, especially given your current strength.¡±

    Marie, taking the des back, nodded. Kai went on to slowly show her the movements one by one, making sure to exin in great detail what the best thing to do was. He even had a pair of fake wooden des as well.

    The two of them would go through situations, and he would do his best to exin to her from the beginning. Of course, Marie was finding it difficult, but she had never expected things to be easy, aware that it would take time.

    After an hour and a half passed the group decided to take a break, all but Kai huffing and panting, meeting up in the middle. Marie had prepared some food for them all. Sandwiches she and her mother had made, and the group were happily digging into them.

    It was quite silent between everyone, and all of them had questions they wanted to ask. After seeing what Kai did, the two boys were interested in knowing more about who he was. That wasn¡¯t the only thing. They were also more interested in learning what exactly Gary was since their vice-leader seemed to somewhat know, but due to no one speaking, they just continued to eat until Marie eventually broke the silence.

    ¡°You really like it up here, don¡¯t you, Kai? We could have trained somewhere else, but this is still your favourite spot.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°¡®My¡¯ spot.¡± Kai chuckled at thement. ¡°Well, I guess it is ¡®mine¡¯ now¡­ but I used toe up here in the past and there would always be someone else up here looking out at the field, I wonder where that person is now.¡±

    The others looked at each other strangely as he was reminiscing, but in the end, Austin was the first to speak up, unable to hold it in any more.

    ¡°Kai, I want to know more about who you are. I think after all we¡¯ve been through, we deserve to know!¡±

 Chapter 190: A team upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 190: A team upgrade</h4>

    The group were all currently sitting on the floor, with a basket in the middle filled with the sandwiches Marie had made for them. They were nearly all gone, and Marie thought that training would soon start up again. That was until Austin asked the question that the boys wanted to know the answer to.

    As soon as Austin had finished speaking, Marie gave Kai a certain look. It was clear that she knew something and was wondering what his reply would be, whether or not Kai would tell them.

    ¡°I guess you guys got curious after seeing me fight and use the knifes back there, huh?¡± Kai smiled, unfazed by the question as usual. On the other hand, Innu¡¯s face was a little red, though he wasn¡¯t exactly sure why he felt embarrassed, they had only been caught peeping.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, you do deserve to know more about me. I don¡¯t explicitly want to hide who I am from you guys¡­ but now¡¯s not the time. I promise I will tell you everything once we¡¯ve taken over Slough. Just trust me when I say it would do you more harm than good right now.¡± Kai sighed. ¡°Besides, our great leader isn¡¯t here, and I don¡¯t want to have to repeat it. When I do tell you, I¡¯ll tell all of you at once.¡±

    Of course, Kai¡¯s cryptic answer just made them more curious, but by now he had earned their trust. The bond between all of them had grown greatly after the events at the grey colour gang¡¯s hideout.

    ¡°Speaking of, why didn¡¯t you invite Gary here? As our leader, shouldn¡¯t he like, you know, lead by example?¡± Innu asked. ¡°Also, why did you send me a message telling me not to pry into his matters? I assume you did it to the others as well, but¡­ when he went in there with those twins¡­ you¡¯ve seen what he did with them. How¡¯s that even possible?¡±

    Another fair question, even though half of them knew the answer to this, though Marie hade to the wrong conclusion.

    ¡°If you¡¯re really curious, you can ask him yourself, but he¡¯ll more than likely lie to you.¡± Kai shrugged. ¡°Besides, does it matter? He saved us back there, risking his own life. Just like any of you, he has his own secrets. I feel that it¡¯s for the best to let him choose to tell it to us on his own.

    ¡°As for the reason I didn¡¯t call him¡­ well you¡¯ve seen what he did to those twins. Do you really think the kind of training we do will be effective for him? As such, he doesn¡¯t need to take part in things like this.¡±

    The others certainly agreed, especially if Gary was keeping something from them. Just one of those twins had been too much for all four of them to take down, yet their leader had taken them on both, at the same time no less. What¡¯s more, he had spent suspiciously little time¡­ not to mention the state they had been left in¡­

    ¡°About the things you said to Marie.¡± Austin spoke up. ¡°This training is great and all, and I think we will improve¡­ but I don¡¯t think it will be enough. Sure, we can get stronger, so that we can be on par with those highly skilled real gang members and not those colour ones.

    ¡°Maybe even to the point where even the real gang members will be scared of us, but it¡¯s nothing in front of Altered. From what I¡¯ve been told, only one gang in Slough has one¡­ but if that¡¯s enough to take over this town, what will we do if someone elsees along?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I don¡¯t like just relying on Gary. He might have been able to deal with those twins, but we don¡¯t even know if he can do the same against an actual Altered.¡±

    Austin was looking Kai straight in the eyes as he posed his question. Surely, their vice leader must have realised this problem as well, so therge teenager was hoping Kai had already prepared an answer to this.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, Altered aren¡¯t called ¡®super-humans¡¯ for nothing. While I have a solution¡­ it¡¯s unfortunately not something we¡¯ll be able to get anytime soon.¡± Kai stood up and walked towards the corner of the roof. He opened his school bag and took out aptop beforeing back over.

    ¡°Initially, I had believed that we¡¯ll only have to deal with Kirk when taking over Slough. However, that was before we fought the twins. Now, I¡¯m honestly afraid that the Grey Elephants gang might have more of that strange solution that turned them into those beasts. If they start to target us, we¡¯ll seriously be in trouble¡­

    ¡°Just another reason to take this training seriously. If possible, we should also try to team up so we don¡¯t get attacked when we¡¯re on our own.¡± When Kai said that, he couldn¡¯t help but look at Innu, unaware that the Billy issue had already been solved.

    After typing a few things on hisputer, Kai opened it up and spun theputer around. Here they could see a mostly ck screen but a name at the top with a date underneath it. The name read ¡®Dark Guild Auction House¡¯.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Innu asked. The date was set to be two weeks from now, but there was no other information or anything. ¡°What¡¯s with the name ¡®Dark Guild¡¯, did an eighth gradere up with that?¡±

    Kai closed theptop there, as he got ready to exin.

    ¡°As stupid as the name might sound, those guys are legit. They¡¯re one of the biggest gangs in our country, and what¡¯s more they¡¯re led by one of the Kings. They¡¯re one of, if not THE, richest gang there is. The sums that change hands at their auctions is rumoured to be enough to upgrade all Tier-3 towns and below to Tier-1 cities.

    ¡°Pretty much every major gang in the country knows about these auctions. They all attend it, and from what I heard, it¡¯s not even rare for the Kings toe and bid as well. Those auctions are announced on the website. They don¡¯t have them all the time, but it¡¯s a big deal whenever they do.

    ¡°Unfortunately, with our current fund, we wouldn¡¯t even be able to pay the entrance fee for a single member. Even if we had the funds, they might prevent us ess, simply because we¡¯re too small-time at the moment.

    ¡°I want us to keep this in mind for the future. We will expand our business and bring in more money and when we finally have enough we can head to the auction house. Their sortiment appears to change each time, but¡­ from what I heard they¡¯re most famous for one thing¡­Altered DNA!

    ¡°And I¡¯m not talking about regr Altered, but quite exotic Altered. Ones the public doesn¡¯t even know about. THAT will be our key to rise to the top! With enough money, we could literally buy ourselves the power to rule the current world.¡± Kai exined with grandeur.

 Chapter 191: A Second Chance

    <h4>Chapter 191: A Second Chance</h4>

    A few days had passed with nothing much happening. The news announced the death of Billy Bruntin and had reported that it was due to the Altered Hunters. Nothing big had happened with Gary since then and even when he saw ke the two of them seemed to act normal with each other.

    There was one change though, after Amy had returned to school, Stacy was nowhere to be found. When she had asked their home room teacher about it, the adult woman didn¡¯t know any of the specifics, having been told that the high school girl had transferred somewhere else.

    Whether Stacy had told her parents about everything or insisted on moving, who knew. Perhaps she was even still in Slough, just in a different school. In the end, Gary was happy that at least it was a problem Amy didn¡¯t need to deal with, but now there was no one close to watch her over at school.

    Still, although there were no worries per se with how things were progressing, there was one annoying thing still in front of Gary.

    [You have 16 days until the next full moon]

    Gary was staring at the message as he leaned back on his chair with its two legs, bncing as he went forward and back.

    ¡®This month has gone by quickly. I¡¯ll soon have to start dealing with the ¡®blessing¡¯ of the full moon again, and my bloodlust will increase. However, if my theory is correct, as long as I burn through most of my Energy beforehand, to the point that I won¡¯t have enough to transform, I should be good.

    ¡®I might be irritable the entire day due to hunger, but if it¡¯s just one day, I¡¯ll be able to hold out.¡¯ Gary thought. He suddenly felt a vibration from within his pocket. Pulling out his phone, he read through the message, which put a smile on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s the good news?¡± Tom asked who had been less involved in his friend¡¯s life. For now, Gary had been in a good mood, so he would stay in a good one as well and not put a damper on things.

    ¡°The repairs are done. It looks like I¡¯ll be able to work again starting today.¡± Gary whispered to Tom during ss. ¡°Do you wannae to our grand reopening?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Tom sighed as he stuck his head back in his books. ¡°For once, I¡¯ll be the one who will take the rain check. These days, my dad wants me to brush up and help with some of their research. You know how they want me to follow in their footsteps.

    ¡°I think he ns to bring me along to theirb during the holidays to help out, and I really don¡¯t want to embarrass them. Apparently, he can bring me on as some type of intern. Oh, and don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll ask him that question you want to ask as well, about those beasts.¡±

    Nodding along, Gary was happy that things were getting back to normal. At least, as normal as they could get, anyway.

    ¡°Alright, everyone, I know that you¡¯re all eager to go home today, but I¡¯m reminding you that even though it¡¯s Saturday tomorrow, Westbridge¡¯s talent show is a mandatory event. Now, I don¡¯t want to have to send any of you to detention.¡± Mr Grey said, standing at the front of the ss. ¡°Xin, as the new ss representative, would you kindly pass out the flyers?¡±

    The high school girl went around, passing out the flyers, and nearly all the boys had a huge grin on their face when she came to them. It had only been this morning that she had been announced to be their ss¡¯s representative.

    As the new girl, she hadn¡¯t expected to be elected. It was a mostly unimportant role, and the only reason she had even thrown her name into the ring was following her father¡¯s suggestion. ording to the mayor, it would look good on her future resume, though his daughter suspected he also saw it as a chance to brag about her aplishments to his associates.

    She had run against Tiffany, and the reason she had won was due to the major support she had received from the male half of her ss. Many of the girls had been split between her and the other candidate, Tiffany, who at this moment was biting her nails, as she stared at Xin.

    As pretty as she was, the boys just didn¡¯t like Tiffany¡¯s attitude. On the other hand, the new girl treated them nicely and it was easy enough to talk to her, due to her interest in fighting, especially Altered fights. Unlike the ss diva, Xin didn¡¯t just assume everyone who was talking to her was hitting on her.

    After everyone received a flyer, she began to assign different tasks to her ssmates, as they were also supposed to help out with the event in some way. Either by creating things or setting up the room, among other things.

    ¡®Xin¡­ she still looks gorgeous. I haven¡¯t really talked to her¡­ well, since she kicked my butt.¡¯ Gary realised. He wasn¡¯t really listening to her instructions, just happy to hear her voice after so long. Now that he didn¡¯t have to worry about a bloodthirsty monster, his brain had time to focus on ¡®more important¡¯ things. ¡®Come to think of it, didn¡¯t she say that she would date whoever could beat her? I¡¯ve gotten a lot stronger¡­ should I give it a try?¡¯

    ¡®Although¡­ Would it be fair? Me, a Werewolf, beating her as a human? ¡­ No, the important thing is getting that date! Then we can get to know each other! I¡¯ll finally have the chance to enjoy my life like a normal high school boy! I can¡¯t just think about fighting forever.¡¯ Gary thought as he hyped himself up, ready to ask Xin for a rematch.

    When school ended, due to the talent show that was happening tomorrow, after school club sses had been cancelled for the day. Tom was heading home as he said he would.

    ¡°Are you ready to head to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club?¡± Innu asked, since he too had received the news.

    ¡°Errrr¡­¡± Gary hesitated, as he looked out of the corner of his eye and could see that Xin was already leaving the room.

    ¡°Oh! I see! You horny dog, you!¡± Innu punched him on his shoulder. As he did that, the high schooler realised just how solid Gary¡¯s body was, which honestly surprised him.

    ¡°Alright, go ahead! I¡¯ll tell the others you might bete. Afterwards, I¡¯ll be the one to swoop in after she gets so frightened that a broli asked her out.¡±

    With that said, it was time for Gary to make a move for his love life.

 Chapter 192: Why are they here?

    <h4>Chapter 192: Why are they here?</h4>

    Since Innu had volunteered to inform the others, it was time for Gary to initiate his n. Right now, the high school boy was waiting for the right moment to talk to Xin. First, he had to catch up to her, and she had a bit of a head start.

    While following Xin, he started to find something a little strange. It was the fact that she wasn¡¯t heading out towards the school¡¯s front gate. Instead, she was heading towards the backside of the school. The more he thought about it, the worse the feeling in his stomach was getting.

    Eventually, she went past the school field where they would hold track and do sports, and she headed straight to the back fence. There was a fence that went around the whole school, and in certain areas there would be a door once in a while in the fence.

    Gary had stayed quite far behind, because the two of them were the only ones going towards the back of the school. He felt like it would be strange if she spotted him, worried that she might mistake him for some type of stalker.

    Still, he hade this far, so it seemed stupid to turn around now. He assumed that she might head to some type of main street from the back. In that case, he might still pretend that it was a coincidence that they met. After going through one of the fence doors, Xin carried on and went through some trees on the other side.

    Meanwhile, Gary ran across going through the fence door after her and quickly hid behind one of the trees. His eyesight and sense of smell allowed him to keep an eye on her.

    ¡®Nice going, Gary, hiding behind a tree¡­ why would anyone ever think of you as a stalker?¡¯ The high school boy¡¯s brain chastised himself. Looking ahead, he could see that there was a car park behind the school.

    The area they were in was close to multiple giant trash containers, just one of the ¡®perks¡¯ one had to ept when living in a Tier-3 town, and they had been set up in a very strange way. They had blocked off certain car packing ces, almost as if they were blocking the way to the shops that were ced there.

    ¡®Now what are the chances she¡¯s juste here to enjoy the scenery?¡¯ Gary thought, as he carefully kept watch, curious for her reason to go there.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Come on!¡± Xin shouted frustrated, tapping her foot impatiently as if she was in a rush. ¡°I followed your stupid note. I came here alone, so just tell me what you want. Just give me back my stuff, and I¡¯ll be out of here.¡±

    Earlier in the day, after Xin had been called to the teacher¡¯s lounge to be introduced to her new ¡®job¡¯ as ss representative, she hade back, only to find her school bag missing. It wasn¡¯t just that, someone had cleared out her school locker, including the special kit that she would use for karate as well.

    Although it wasn¡¯t really much trouble for her to just get a new bag and clothes again, it was a pain. At the same time, it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out who was behind all of this, as well as why. Xin found it hard to believe that Tiffany would actually care about such a stupid thing.

    Instead of the ss diva, a total of four young adults came out from around the bins. They didn¡¯t look friendly, and at a nce one could tell exactly who they were. Each of them wore a different item of clothing with one very prominent colour, red.

    Even Xin seemed to be a little taken aback as her calm demeanour was gone.

    ¡®I was expecting her to be with her goons, maybe some people from our school, but other gang members?¡¯

    ¡°Thank you for confirming that you are the one we were looking for.¡± One of the men said he was sleeveless and had tworge caterpir-like eyebrows.

    ¡°Why would you do her bidding? Who cares, if she sent you, then I guess I won¡¯t have to feel so bad about hurting you.¡± Xin was the first one to make a move, as she got in a fighting stance, and hopped forward, so she was within her range.

    Immediately, throwing out her leg, she kicked the bushy eyebrowed gang member in the head. Seeing this, the other colour gang members rushed in, and Xin attempted to kick one charging at her in the stomach as well, sideways with her other foot.

    Unfortunately, the man¡¯s reaction was good, and he was able to catch onto it just in time, but it looked like Xin was expecting this much. Feeling that he held onto her foot, she spun her body around to kick the man in the head once again.

    Before she could deal her kick, a green haired teenager came out of nowhere, and nted a heavy fist right into the person¡¯s head. It was a strong hit that chucked his body quite far to the point he had hit the metal trash container and fallen to the floor.

    When Xin went to look at the others who were with them in the attack, she could see that the other two had been knocked out as well.

    ¡®Did he do all of this, but how? I saw his skill. Sure he was resilient but to take them out so quickly. He must have beaten them all with one hit.¡¯

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get out of here, clearly they don¡¯t have your stuff.¡± Gary hurried her, as he turned around and the two of them headed back towards the school. Eventually they reached the main school building and the two of them took a second to try to figure out what had just happened.

    ¡°Thanks for your help back there.¡± It was the first thing Xin said to Gary to show him that she appreciated his help. ¡°What were you even doing back there? You must have been watching me for a while, if you heard about my missing ¡®stuff¡¯.¡±

    Right now. Xin was suspicious of everyone that was trying to get close to her. Could it be that for once Tiffany was innocent and that this boy had set up everything? Given his green hair, maybe he¡¯s one of their members, and he had asked his buddies to create this scenario, so he could swoop in and y hero? She wouldn¡¯t put it past him since she hardly knew him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to pry.¡± Gary apologised, rubbing the back of his head. He saw no way of lying his way out of this one, at least not without making it sound too weird. As such, he thought the truth would actually be the best option here. ¡°I was actually going to¡­ ermm¡­ ask you about that duel from before.¡±

    ¡°Last time you said that¡­ you would go on a date with me¡­ if I could beat you in a match¡­ and¡­ well, I¡¯ve been kinda working out¡­¡± Gary stammered, his face turning beet red, and judging by Xin¡¯s face, she hadn¡¯t quite expected this type of exnation.

    ¡°Oh, okay. Sure, I¡¯ll go on a date with you.¡± Xin replied.

 Chapter 193: The Culprit

    <h4>Chapter 193: The Culprit</h4>

    For a while, Gary had been ying out scenarios in which he would ask Xin out. How to make it sound casual and cool, and not at all desperate, needy or obsessive. Unable to find a solution, he had beengging behind as he had followed her.

    However, when he saw she was faced with four men belonging to the red colour gang, he just had to act. Afterwards, Xin had demanded an exnation as to why he had been there¡­ so he had admitted to the truth.

    Time seemed to have slowed down, his heart beating faster as he nervously awaited her answer. Still, he had finally done it. He had asked her out¡­ well, technically, he had asked her to fight him again. In his head he had convinced himself he was just asking her to a fight and that¡¯s how he had finally said those words.

    What he didn¡¯t expect, though, was the fast reply.

    ¡°Oh, okay. Sure, I¡¯ll go on a date with you.¡± Xin replied, after only a few moments of thinking things over. Gary¡¯s brain was unable to process the words. If he had been a robot, he would have surely short-circuited. Shaking his head, he just had to ask for rification.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, are you yes to a date? Don¡¯t we have to have a match first?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Given your little performance, I think we can skip the duel. You helped me out back there, and it doesn¡¯t seem like you were lying about the liking me part. Besides, I have taken a bit of an interest in you myself ever since your rugby match performance.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any harm in getting to know each other better. But, errr, let¡¯s schedule things another time, alright?¡± Xin spoke, looking behind Gary, as she could see that those that would usually pick her up were getting a bit restless.

    After what had happened in Cipen Park, her father had sent out more guards to look after her, and with how long she had been gone they might start a manhunt any second now. It looked like Xin was about to set off, but before she did, Gary wanted to know one more thing.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gary called out. ¡°Why were they after you? The red colour gang, I mean!¡±

    That was something she would like to know as well. Unable to answer, she just continued running off towards the ck cars.

    ¡®I guess the life of a mayor¡¯s daughter is tough. Did someone send them after her, but then who took her bag she was talking about?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    In the end, Gary had knocked out the red colour members so fast, he was hoping they hadn¡¯t seen him. After all, he was already having trouble with the Grey Elephants as well as the Underdogs, no reason to add another colour gang on top of that. With them working with the Grey colour gang that night as well he was sure they had some tie in with the Grey Elephants which was why he wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

    ¡®A date¡­I really got a date! This has to be my luckiest day ever! But¡­I don¡¯t have her number? I guess I¡¯ll just get it tomorrow.¡¯ Gary thought, smiling to himself as he headed to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    ¡ª¡ª

    A little whileter and the red colour gang members were getting up after having been embarrassed. Each of them looked at each other and were wondering what had happened. three of them, their jaws hurt like hell and they wouldn¡¯t be surprised if something was broken.

    They had all been so focused on the girl, that they hadn¡¯t even seen the other personsing. Each of them had no memory of what the person looked like.

    ¡°Man, how the hell are we going to exin to Riv that we couldn¡¯t even get one girl?¡± The bushy eye-browed leader wondered, rubbing the side of his head where he had been kicked.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, how are you going to exin this to me?¡±

    They didn¡¯t need to turn around to know who it was. They all recognised the voice of their leader. Straight away, they had gotten on their knees to apologise. Although they were already on the ground.

    ¡°We¡¯re sorry, we came out when she appeared to be alone, but she had some guard in the vicinity.¡± Bushy eyebrows started to exin.

    ¡°I thought you were going to get someone reliable.¡± A female voice could be heard pouting as she appeared behind one of the other trash containers and immediately went to grab onto Riv¡¯s arm. ¡°I took her bag, and we even told you guys to set up this ce. She¡¯s not an idiot, something like this is not going to work again.¡±

    Stomping her foot several times, it was clear she was annoyed.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry Tiffy, we will have plenty of chances, trust me. I¡¯m not just anyone. You¡¯re talking to the leader of the red colour gang as well as the newest senior member of the Grey Elephants gang! A few guards won¡¯t be a problem, we just have to wait.¡± Riv tried to appease her.

    It was a strange sight to behold, the rest of the gang members honestly found it a little disgusting, they had never seen their leader act so lovey dovey. Not only that, but he was being apologetic, and why did it seem like she was actually the one in charge?

    At this moment, all four of the gang members shared onemon thought about their leader¡­ ¡®whipped¡¯.

    ¡°No!¡± Tiffany shouted back like a spoiled princess. ¡°Everyday I have to see her, I want to w that girl¡¯s eyes out. She embarrassed me not once but three times! You keep bragging about how great you are, but I have yet to see any of that! I don¡¯t want to date a loser!¡±

    Once again, Riv started to pull a sad baby face, which churned the other¡¯s stomach. It seemed as if their leader had forgotten that all of them were still present.

    ¡°You have my word that she¡¯ll pay, my little pumpkin. I promise I will do whatever¡¯s necessary.¡± Riv then turned to his subordinates on the ground, his face changing to the cruel one they were more used to.

    ¡°Gather the red colour gang! Tomorrow, we¡¯re going to cause quite a mess. Bring whoever you can, it will be a great opportunity to prove that we¡¯re not the same losers as the grey colour gang¡± Riv smiled.

    ¡°Trust me, Tiffy I will keep my word. If you want her dealt with as soon as possible, then will get her in the one ce she can¡¯t get away from! For you, I¡¯ll take down the whole school if I have to.¡±

 Chapter 194: The Next Step

    <h4>Chapter 194: The Next Step</h4>

    Walking down the streets of Slough, one particr teenage boy was getting strange looks from the passers-by. All because of the look on his face. Right now, Gary was spouting a grin so wide that his eyes were almost closed, and one couldn¡¯t help but look and wonder if the high schooler was actually okay.

    Funnily enough, Gary didn¡¯t notice any of that. Right now, he was in his own world, feeling better than ever before. Entering the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, the first thing Gary did, without evening looking inside, was to announce.

    ¡°Today¡¯s a great day!¡±

    The other Howlers had opened the ce a while ago, and there were already a few customers inside ying pool and eating a few snacks, though the majority were from Austin¡¯s school. As quick as they looked at Gary, they quickly carried on doing what they were doing before.

    One person, though, noticed the smile and almost dropped the tray that was in his hand.

    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be¡­ she actually said yes?¡± Innu¡¯s mouth was left wide open.

    Gary didn¡¯t say anything, he just ced an apron on himself as he went to ask all their customers if they wanted anything, making sure to praise their ce¡¯s membership program, trying to win them over as loyal customers. Unsurprisingly, his attitude didn¡¯t win him any friends, yet, once again, he didn¡¯t seem to care.

    Meanwhile, Innu needed to sit down for a bit, upying a seat on the stool by the counter.

    Although he didn¡¯t know Xin very well, she was a pretty girl, and, as mean as it might sound, he had actually had made a few ns for what would happen after Gary had been rejected. With his head down, thest thing Innu had expected was for him to get pulled by the hem of his shirt, nearly getting dragged across the counter.

    ¡°Would you borate on that bit about someone saying yes?¡± Marie ¡®requested¡¯ with a smile on her face. Innu felt like he was staring death straight in the eyes. Peeking down, he could see two concealed des which she had trained with daily, and he was currently very afraid that she might choose to use them on him.

    ¡°Hey, hey, what¡¯s the big deal? What exactly do you n on doing once I tell you, Marie?¡± Innu asked nervously, unaware where this sudden anger hade from. In the end, she soon let go as Gary walked past, grabbing a drink from the fridge.

    She then smiled at him and gave him a light wave, as he walked back, Gary returning the gesture. For the second time today, Innu was left with his mouth wide open, as his eyes went back and forth between Marie and Gary.

    ¡°Yo-you-yo- you li-¡°

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Marie hissed at him, quickly cing her hand over Innu¡¯s mouth. It was impossible to tell what she nned to do afterward, but luckily for him, a customer came over, saving him from impending doom. He couldn¡¯t believe theplete change in behaviour the high school girl disyed towards the customer as he ced his order.

    ¡®Why the hell are all the cute girls after Gary? And I bet that guy doesn¡¯t even know about Marie¡¯s feelings! Seeing it in person is even more annoying than in those dramas.¡¯ Innu would have loved to cry out his frustration, but now was neither the ce nor the time. ¡®Damn, is it his green hair? Should I dye mine as well?¡¯

    The day continued and as the sky started to turn dark, business hours were over. They weren¡¯t risking another incident like what had happened before. Although they assumed it wouldn¡¯t happen again¡­ not anytime soon at least.

    Today, though, it was a bit more special than usual, as Kai had a serious face on. He informed them all that there was something he wanted to talk about now the ce was open for business again. Currently, the Howlers were all sitting down on the sofa on the other side of the counter behind the pool tables.

    Kai was the only one standing. Due to the tension in the room, even Gary finally snapped out of his earlier daze, focused on what Kai was about to say.

    ¡°First of all, great job everyone. Now that the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club is back in business again, we can finally start making some money as a gang.¡± Kai started. ¡°Thankfully, with the money the grey colour gang ¡®generously donated¡¯ we were able to pay for the repairs. After a few more days like this, profit will be no problem, but there is a reason why businesses don¡¯tst long in Slough, and that¡¯s because what happened to us could happen again.

    ¡°The good news is, now that the grey colour gang is gone, we don¡¯t have to worry about theming after us. In the meantime, the red colour gang are scrapping around doing the Grey Elephant¡¯s bidding, and it looks like a fight between the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants is on the horizon.¡±

    Hearing this news, Innu and Austin were very shocked. The gang war between two colour gangs had caused the police to quarantine the entire Chavley area, simply because they hadcked the manpower to do anything about it. What would happen if two big time gangs would have a go at each other¡­

    ¡°Now I don¡¯t yet know when it will happen, but if I were to make a careful estimate, probably in one week at the earliest, one to two months at thetest. Either way, no matter which gang wins, they¡¯ll have suffered serious losses, to the point they won¡¯t have the manpower to im the territory that they have won.

    ¡°In those times, the smaller gangs wille in and swoop in on the loser¡¯s business. Now here¡¯s where the problems begin, as a small-time gang ourselves, we¡¯ll be dragged into that mess, whether we¡¯ll like it or not. While the rumours about us caused the grey colour gang¡¯s disbandment are great to keeping gangs in line, it will also get us targeted in the uing war.

    ¡°I, for one, don¡¯t want to be caught with my trousers down, which is why I called this meeting. Right now, we need to do a few things. The Howler¡¯s need to grow our gang reputation to protect this ce, strength, and money. Now what if I told you there was a way to get all of that at once?¡± Kai smiled mischievously.

    As expected, the blonde teenager already had a n.

    ¡°Aside from the colour gangs, which are now down to ck and red, there are five small-time gangs that made a bit of a name for themselves. Their territory isn¡¯t really worth mentioning, and the colour gangs have used them as sort of puffer zones.

    ¡°What we¡¯ll do, before everyone starts fighting for scraps, is to go and pay each one of them a visit. While the colour gangs might not have cared about them, for the Howlers, they¡¯ll serve as perfect stepping stones. We¡¯ll take over their territory, and spread our name.

    ¡°If our leader agrees, of course!¡± Kai looked over to Gary. Now the others did so too, waiting for an answer.

    A war between the Underdogs and Grey Elephants. Both gangs had a reason to go after Gary, and if this is what they needed to do to face them head on, if this is what Kai thought was the best for them, then he would dly lead them.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Gary answered.

 Chapter 195: A New Transporter

    <h4>Chapter 195: A New Transporter</h4>

    Inside the ¡®Basement¡¯ night that had yet to open, a muscr teenage boy who had seen better days was busy walking through. He dragged his feet across the floor and had eventually approached one of the workers in the club who wore a suit.

    ¡°I finished my delivery.¡± The teenage boy reported.

    ¡°Good, just sit at the back and wait for the others. When they¡¯re done, you can leave the ce.¡± The man instructed.

    Listening to the orders he had been given. The boy walked through the set of double doors, and took a left turn, entering what looked like a break room for the staff, only that it waspletely empty at the moment.

    In fact, for thest few days the nightclub had been emptier. Fewer people woulde in, and he could only assume it was because something was going on outside. Eventually, sitting down at the sofa, the boy leaned back and suddenly kicked the table.

    ¡°Sh*t! How did I even get myself in this situation! It all happened at that damn supermarket!¡± The frustrated teenage boy cursed his own situation. After a strange turn of events, Gil found himself working as a transporter for the Underdogs.

    As had be the norm for him, he was thinking back to everything that had happened that day. There was one person who had changed everything, Kirk, the Underdog¡¯s Altered. He and his Cheetah Squad had managed topletely overpower the grey colour gang members. They all had been beaten badly, Gil especially, and after he woke up, the teenager had found himself in the nightclub.

    He hadn¡¯t been the only one who had been abducted, though. Most members were from the grey colour gang, though some red colour gang members had been there. Honestly, Gil had believed that to be it, regretting his choice to drop school and join a gang.

    They had been warned that they would be attacking Underdog territory, but the original n had been to get out of there long before they would get to the scene. Unfortunately, nobody had expected the Underdogs to send out their elite forces so quickly, just because the ck colour gang got their butts kicked.

    Around twenty of them had been spread out on the dance floor. They had then been brought in and surrounded in a dance room by the Underdogs members and Kirk watching over them.

    One member had tried to make a run for it, but before he could get far, his face had met the Altered¡¯s sole, hitting him back on the ground and no one else had tried anything after. After a long while, he had finally arrived, the leader of the Underdogs, Damion Hawk.

    He walked in with great confidence and smiled at them all.

    ¡°Wee to our humble home!¡± Damion shouted with his arms open wide. ¡°Get all of these wretched souls a change of clothes and some food. They must be hungry, and make sure their wounds are patched up.¡±

    Everyone at the time had looked at each other in confusion, including Gil, but the members of the Underdogs didn¡¯t need to be told twice. They had immediately started treating them well and bringing them cooked meals.

    Most members had been cautious at first, afraid it might have been poisoned, but Gil had dug straight in. If they were going to kill them, there would be no reason to do it in such a roundabout way. No, this man had something else nned, Gil could tell.

    For one week, they had been trapped there, getting food twice a day, taking bathroom breaks under the supervision of the Underdog gang members. On the eighth day, they had believed the same thing to ur, but this time Damion came in once more.

    ¡°Well, I hope you¡¯ve enjoyed our hospitality for the past week. As you might have noticed, no one hase for you. Not the other grey colour gang members, nor the red colour gang members, and not even the Grey Elephants themselves.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been used, and now that there¡¯s nothing more you can do for them, you¡¯ve been discarded¡­ But you see, here at the Underdogs we¡¯re different! Loyalty is number one! As long as you wag your tail like a good dog, you¡¯ll get rewarded.¡± Damion exined with a grin.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m going to give you all the choice. Most of you are still young. High school and University students with families that have to be sick and worried about you. They might even think you

    are dead after what happened that night.

    ¡°We all make mistakes in our youth, and it¡¯s important we learn from them, which is why I will give you a choice. Those of you who wish to leave this ce, raise your hand, and those of you who wish to join us sit still. Those are your two options, no questions allowed!¡±

    A lot of them looked at each other, obviously wanting to ask some questions, but the crazy look in his eyes made them afraid to do so. They had learned that whatever this man said was thew in this ce, so they would have to give him an answer soon.

    In the end, a few of them raised their hands. This experience had opened their eyes that the life of a gang member wasn¡¯t for them. In the past, colour gangs were experts from real gang warfare. They would just be used as pawns and nobody was really bothered by them.

    However, for Gil, he was wondering, something just didn¡¯t feel right, and in the first ce if he was let go, what would he even do? Go back to the grey colour gang, who had lost in this fight? No, that wasn¡¯t a ce for him. He had dropped out of Westbridge to rise up the ranks, to get somewhere in life.

    In the end, Gil didn¡¯t put his hand up, but around one third of them did. Since the decision had been made, Damion turned around, and it looked like one of those in suits handed him two objects, two small axes.

    Immediately, without hesitating, he leapt forward and struck at the first person he could see who had raised his hand. Of course, quickly seeing this, there was panic and many people tried to flee, a lot lowered their hand, but like some possessed demon Damion cut them down. The gang leader had seemingly remembered each one who had raised their hand, leaving everyone else alone.

    That scene was ingrained in the minds of all the survivors, and they understood why Damion talked about loyalty. They were now part of the Underdogs, whether they liked it or not, and if they even thought about betraying him, they all knew what fate they would suffer now.

    Gil didn¡¯t care, this was life for him¡­ the only thing he didn¡¯t imagine was the next day, he would be told to work as a transporter.

    -

    Eventually, the doors opened, and the other teenagers entered the room. Gil had seen them a few times; they were the other transporters that would be used.

    ¡®Damn it, I have to get out of this job somehow.¡¯ Gil thought.

    It was then that he could hear shouting from one of the other rooms.

    ¡°YOU STILL CAN¡¯T FIND HIM?!¡± A loud crash was heard after.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir, but we really are doing our best! There are thousands of kids in Slough. We have nearly nothing to go by other than his green hair. He must have dyed it a long time ago, maybe he outright cut it off.

    ¡°Even if he hasn¡¯t, there are so countless punks that fit his description! It¡¯s impossible, Sir, we¡¯ve been going around everywhere looking for him!¡± Another voice tried to exin their failure.

    ¡°What¡¯s that all about?¡± Gil asked as they all could clearly overhear the shouting.

    ¡°The Boss is pissed because they can¡¯t find one of the old transporters.¡± One of them exined the situation. ¡°That kid that came before you, and apparently he stole one of the packages he was delivering. It seems pretty important because they¡¯ve been looking for him ever since. He was a strange guy that Greeny G. He would always try to talk to us.¡±

    ¡°Greeny G?¡± Gil replied.

    ¡°Ah, his nickname. You know how no one knows each other¡¯s real name here? He went by G, but because of his green hair, the Boss kept calling him Greeny, so Greeny G.¡±

    Hearing the description of the said person, an image appeared in Gil¡¯s mind. It reminded him of a certain teenage boy that he had gone to school with.

    ¡®G¡­ for Gary? No it couldn¡¯t¡­¡¯ A smile appeared across Gil¡¯s face as he remembered the look Gary had given him down the hallway that one time, it was a stare as if he wanted to hit him. ¡®Hah, does it even matter if it¡¯s really him or not? I think I just found my way out of these stupid deliveries!¡¯

 Chapter 196: Bad News

    <h4>Chapter 196: Bad News</h4>

    The sound of a delightful hum had woken up Amy Dem, and the high school girl was wondering if the next door neighbour might have left the TV on again, as she headed to the toilet. However, to her surprise, she saw that the sound was actuallying from their apartment¡¯s kitchen, more specifically from Gary who was cooking his usual breakfast.

    The high schooler was now able to correctly cook an omelette, flipping it at just the right time, catching it in the pan before cing it cleanly on a te.

    ¡°Who are you? And what did you do with my brother?¡± Amy questioned his behaviour, standing in the hallway, still in her pyjamas.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gary asked, adding a pinch of salt on top, before slicing it in half and grabbing Amy a te as well. ¡°Come on, eat up. Remember, I told you yesterday that I have toe in today, because of that talent show.¡±

    Leaving the food on the kitchen table, Gary headed into the hallway and looked at himself in the mirror. He immediately started to fix the individual spikes in his hair one by one.

    ¡°Iff¡¯s a guurrl!!!¡± Amy shouted with her mouth filled. She had just bitten down on a piece of toast and was now pointing towards her brother like a detective who had unveiled the culprit of a crime. She could practically hear the theme song of saxophones and more ying behind her.

    ¡°What¡­ Can¡¯t I just care about my outer appearance?¡± Gary replied, his face slightly red. ¡°Do I look good¡­ for the talent show I mean?¡±

    Amy¡¯s face was filled with skepticism, and she made it clear that she wouldn¡¯t answer his question, unless Gary came clean.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want a nephew at this age.¡± Amy stated, making Gary nearly trip from the unexpectedness. ¡°Please don¡¯t do something stupid, like you did when you came home with that green hair. Honestly, I¡¯m a bit worried about the girl who is brave enough to walk side by side with someone who¡­ stands out as much as you. And remember there could be others after you¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ don¡¯t you think, you¡¯re pushing things a bit too far? We haven¡¯t even gone on a date yet, no need to imagine our wedding¡­ or bing an aunt¡­¡± Gary sighed as he shook his head. ¡°Anyway, I really gotta go. Text me if you need anything! And don¡¯t worry about them!¡±

    With that, he put his breakfast into a tupperware box and rushed off. As soon as he left their apartment, Gary made sure to cover up his face with the hood, before starting to run towards school.

    This way, even if anyone spotted him, they would be unable to stop him for questions, he could get past them quite easily. Since the little attack on the Chavley area, it had been filled with Underdog members. However, they seemed to be just checking the area.

    Today, though, Gary noticed something different. His route was mostly heading through alleyways, allowing his good hearing to catch bits and pieces here and there.

    ¡°Is it this one? I¡¯m not sure. Take a photo and send it back to the others to see if they recognise him.¡± One voice said.

    Peeking around the corner, Gary could see that the Underdog members looked to be doing something different this time, every student or teen that walked past, they would question them and ask for their photo to be taken.

    In broad daylight and this early as well. It was easy enough to understand why they were doing it¡­

    ¡®Ah,e on, all this for a package. I didn¡¯t even do anything!¡¯ Gary cursed. ¡®I had hoped that they might have let it go by now, but I guess this Werewolf System is really important to them¡­¡¯

    Either way, Gary had his own way to get around, as he used Controlled Transformation to change his nails into ws, and then, like a professional rock climber, gripped tightly onto the wall, window sill and every crack as he climbed up the side and continued making his way to school.

    Seeing the Underdogs members acting, Gary thought back to what Kai had suggested in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club the other day. The Howlers would soon be making a move of their own. Today and tomorrow, the group was going to head into the territories of those small-time gangs.

    They would scout out their businesses, verify their numbers, and then make a n. Apparently it wasn¡¯t as easy as just marching in and taking out their head leader. Although that would increase their reputation, theycked the manpower to take over the businesses on their own.

    This was a major problem for the Howlers, there were only five of them who were loyal and could do the job that was needed. Truthfully, Gary didn¡¯t know how they were going to solve this one.

    ¡®For now, I should just enjoy my day. After all, I get to see Xin again and n that date. The thing is where would we even go? Should I still take her to the park? I mean, I have a bit of money leftover now. Should I take her to the pool club? No, I don¡¯t really want the others to interfere¡­¡¯

    Arriving at school, there was a certain excitement in the air. Maybe it was because not all the students were in their uniform, or they were happy that they wouldn¡¯t be having any real lessons today, due to the talent show.

    Either way, this excitement was also rubbing off on Gary. Walking ahead, he was turning his head, looking for someone. He didn¡¯t want to go to his ss just yet in case he could see someone, and that was when he had spotted the grey coloured hair of Xin¡¯s off in the distance.

    Stepping forward, Gary was hoping to quickly catch up and speak to her, or walk to ss together, but before he could, a certain upperssman blocked his way.

    ¡°Kai.¡± Gary eximed, surprised but also trying to peek over his shoulder to see where Xin was heading to.

    ¡°Gary, we need to talk, NOW.¡± Kai insisted.

    Hearing the tone of voice, Gary was wondering just what it could be, and in his head he was already imagining the worst case scenario. Kai and Gary walked away from the main entrance of the school and instead decided to go around the side of the school building.

    Since it was early morning and everyone was heading to ss, the ce was rtively empty, and the noise of everyone would drown out what he was going to say anyway.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re starting to scare me by not saying anything.¡± Gary looked at Kai struggling to speak, and his face looked pained.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Gary, I really don¡¯t know how, but it looks like the Underdogs found out about you going here.¡± Kai informed the other.

    The next second, Gary felt like his whole head was spinning, but before he could have a breakdown, Kai grabbed him firmly on both shoulders.

    ¡°It¡¯s not all bad, they don¡¯t know where you live, and they don¡¯t know about your family. I made sure to alter all the information. I even changed it on the school records, so there¡¯s no way they can get to Amy or your Mum.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really don¡¯t know how it got to this. You might have seen them outside, you need to be extremely careful. I¡¯ll try my best to keep them off your tail.¡± Kai exined.

    Of course, when things were just starting to look up, the world was kicking Gary back down.

 Chapter 197: The talent show starts!

    <h4>Chapter 197: The talent show starts!</h4>

    Gary had expected to hear these words from Kai every day at one point and time. As each day went by, he imagined this exact scenario, but when nothing had happened, and for so long, Gary had stopped worrying about it. Yet here he was in this situation.

    The two had talked a little further, as Gary wanted to know exact details, but it seemed like Kai actually didn¡¯t know much. Just that they knew that someone who matched his body and hair description went to this school, with the biggest discovery being they had gotten a name as well.

    They were looking for Gary Dem. The silver lining was they only knew what school he went to and nothing about his family.

    ¡°So, what do we do?¡± Gary asked, hoping for an answer.

    It took a while before Kai eventually answered back.

    ¡°We can¡¯t do anything, not so quickly. Transferring you over will only make it suspicious, and if they find you, it might also put me at risk. Maybe try dyeing your hair ck or something. I know before I said it was fine, but now that they have narrowed you down to this school, they might pick you out first, but that won¡¯t stop the other students from knowing who you are¡­ We are just going to have to take this head-on.¡±

    Hearing all of this, the one thing he was happy about was the fact that Kai had not abandoned him. In this situation, it was easy for him to ditch all of his ns because Gary was a big risk. In the end, Kai was also a member of the Underdogs, and the situation with Gary could spell big trouble for him.

    The school bell had rung; it was their signal to get out of there. Gary¡¯s happy mood had wholly gone down, as now there was only one thing he could think about. When entering the ssroomte, the teacher started to give him a few words of warning. But Gary would only reply with a few simple words.

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sir.¡±

    It was clear something was up, so his homeroom teacher decided to let him go. Besides, today was meant to be a joyous and happy event. Still, Gary¡¯s soft footsteps were noticed by many in the room.

    Xin, seeing Gary in this way, thought it might not be the best idea to approach him today. No one knew what other people were dealing with in their lives, and when someone was like this, she doubted she could even help and just wished to give him space.

    ¡°Hey man, is everything okay, is your sister sick or something?¡± Tom asked straight away. He wasn¡¯t shy like the others. If his friend was worried, he would ask straight up.

    ¡°Yeah, Amy¡¯s fine¡­my mum is okay as well. It¡¯s just I¡¯m the one with the problem.¡± Gary replied back.

    With that reply, Tom had decided to push off a little. He knew asking anything now would get him nowhere and would try to open up with him as the day went on. The ss began working. They were cutting out and making little supporting fans and stickers while those that would be taking part in the talent show were practising.

    Of course, no one Gary was close to was taking part in the show, nor was he. He didn¡¯t exactly have a talent to show them. After an hour of what seemed like an arts and crafts lesson. It was finally time for them to all head to the main hall.

    The students lined up and went down the hallways into the gigantic main hall that the school had, entering the room that could hold the six hundred or so students. When having an assembly, usually they would use seats, but due to everyone being invited and every year group, everyone would be required to stand for the event. Then at the end of the room, there was arge stage for events like this and their performances.

    They didn¡¯t have any fancy lighting or many props like other schools had because it was a normal school in a tier-three city, but it would do for the students. Eventually, all the students had entered.

    Tom had stuck by Gary¡¯s side, who still looked unenergetic. He hadn¡¯t said a word, and Innu was staying by his side as well.

    ¡®I got that message from Kai to keep an eye on Gary and report to him. Something is definitely up. I wonder what happened?¡¯ Innu thought.

    Still, he just wasn¡¯t good with this stuff. What to say or what to do, and he knew if it was him in a simr situation. He would eventually sort out the troubles he had himself.

    The show looked like it was about to begin as the teachers entered and shut the four doors into the ce. Two at the back and two at the front close to the stage. Gary and Tom were in the centre, so they could see everything.

    ¡°Hey, it looks like we found you.¡± A voice said,ing out from the side.

    Turning around, they could see that it was Kai, and with him was Marie as well. Before heading over to Gary, Kai looked and stopped in front of Tom instead.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you since that day at the Wolf¡¯s club. Thank you for looking after Marie¡¯s mother the other day.¡± Kai said in a soft voice.

    Quickly, Marie came over and thanked Tom personally as well for the help. She suddenly grabbed his hands and thanked him properly.

    ¡®A¡­a¡­girl is touching my hands.¡¯ Tom thought as it was the first time for him that he had made contact with the opposite sex other than his mother. At the same time, when looking at Marie, he could tell that she resembled someone a little bit. She looked a little like Gary¡¯s sister, only the older version that he had imagined in his head.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee¡­if you need help with sses, please ask me as well!¡± Tom replied. It was a strange and stupid response, but Marie was kind enough to reply with a nod.

    ¡°Gary,¡± Kai shouted quite loudly to get him to snap out of his daze. The students were talking in excitement anyway, so they all needed to speak louder than they usually would.

    ¡°Enjoy today, watch the show. Deal with the situation as ites. We¡¯ve done all the precautions we can, and besides¡­your special, right?

    ¡°If ites to it, just show them all how special you are.¡±

    The lights started to dim down, as it looked like the talent show was about to begin. The lights turned on the stage, and everyone was expecting any second now for one of the host teachers toe out and start speaking.

    Yet there was silence, no sound, nothing. The students were quiet at first, but as time went on, they looked at each other and looked at the teachers standing by the side for some guidance or help, but even they looked confused.

    Until eventually, a person was seen walking on stage. It was a man who had done so confidently, but it was someone the students didn¡¯t recognise.

    However, Kai and his gang noticed a red bandana wrapped around his arm.

    Walking up to the mic, he leaned in and said¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this show started.¡±

    Loud bangs were hearding from all four doors of the room as red colour members stormed into the hall simultaneously.

 Chapter 198: The storm of the Red gang (1)

    <h4>Chapter 198: The storm of the Red gang (1)</h4>

    Simultaneously all the doors were mmed open and storming in from each of them were several red colour gang members. All of them disying the symbol of their gang by having a sort of item or clothing in red.

    As soon as they burst through the doors, thest person to enter carried with them chains and a lock. They began to tie it around the double doors, sealing them in.

    ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re not meant to be in this school!¡± Mr Grey shouted at the intruder, he reached out his hand aiming to grab the lock. The gang member turned around, and without hesitation threw his fist, right into the teacher¡¯s face.

    The middle-aged man fell on his backside, holding his face. It wasn¡¯t enough to knock out the adult teacher, but it certainly had shaken him up a bit. The other teachers, seeing this, came to the conclusion that trying to physically stop them was not the best choice.

    After seeing how they were dressed and the stunts they were pulling with their makeshift weapons, the teachers had some idea of who they were. It was impossible in this day and age to not know about the several gangs who proudly would disy themselves in the streets of Slough.

    Nevertheless, a gang storming into a high school, even though it was ¡®just¡¯ a colour gang, had never happened before in the history of the town.

    In total there seemed to be around sixty or so red colour gang members, and while the students outnumbered them roughly ten to one, they were too scared and frightened to do anything about their situation. Especially since the gang members were carrying around weapons.

    Aware that fighting the red colour gang wasn¡¯t in their best interest, the majority of high schoolers attempted to make a call on their phone. The police were usually useless to respond since they were too busy, but in a situation like this, what else could they do?

    ¡°Huh¡­ that¡¯s strange! I¡¯m sure I had a signal in here earlier!¡± One student muttered, shaking his phone in hopes of getting at least one bar.

    ¡°I can¡¯t connect to the Wi-Fi either!¡± Another shouted in a panic. Not a single person in the room could use their phone and with the Wi-Fi down there was no way for them to contact the outside. The locks had been ced, meaning they were all trapped.

    ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± The man on the stageughed into the microphone, watching all of their reactions. ¡°If you don¡¯t want anything to happen, it would be best if you all went into the centre and sat down. That includes you teachers as well!¡±

    Of course, the one who was on stage was none other than the coloured gang leader himself, Riv.

    With no choice, most of the students followed his instruction, especially since the teachers had been the first to act. They all bundled up and started to head towards the centre of the main hall.

    [New Quest received]

    [You¡¯re locked in here with me!]

    [You might be surrounded, but as an apex predator, they only cut off their own path of escape!]

    [Escape or defeat the red colour gang who have invaded your school!]

    [Quest reward: Will depend on the number of people hurt by the gang beforepletion (3/624)]

    A Quest had appeared now of all times, which just made Gary aware that the situation was worse than he had imagined. When getting in small fights, although he would gain Exp at times, it wouldn¡¯t always give him a Quest.

    This was also the first time the system based his rewards on another condition. It looked like three people had already been hurt. One of them being Mr Grey and the other two students who had tried to make a run for the doors. It appeared that the lower the number would stay, the better the Quest reward would be, but did he really have time to be thinking about these things?

    ¡®Why are they here?¡¯ Gary wondered, as he looked at all of them. ¡®The red colour gang had teamed up with the grey colour gang in that attack on Chavley, which means they should be working for the Grey Elephants.

    ¡®Are these guys here because of me? Is it because of what I did¡­ and since Stacy told them about me? If Hawk¡¯s brother could find out what school she and Amy attended, he definitely could have found mine. It¡¯s¡¯ either that or¡­¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Kai replied when Gary looked over at him. It was the answer to the question he knew his underssman wanted to ask. The blonde teenager didn¡¯t know if this was in any way connected to the Underdogs, or if they had coincidentally decided to act on their own.

    In the first ce, colour gangs were pawns that could easily be influenced by the bigger gangs without them knowing it. At the same time, they could even just be pretending to be part of a gang to cause trouble for others, though the appearance of Riv suggested that this was the real red colour gang.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take out your weapons.¡± Kai whispered over to Marie. ¡°Not unless you¡¯re in serious trouble.¡±

    Even in the situation they were currently in, pulling out two small knives to attack others while in school was a big no.

    ¡°Hey, should we try to fight or get out of this one or something?¡± Innu whispered to the other two.

    At the same time, due to the situation, he could see a startled Marie inching her way forward towards Gary.

    ¡®Of course, she goes towards him.¡¯ Innu inwardly shook his head.

    Tom, who had overheard this, was shaking at the suggestion and had to speak up.

    ¡°Are you guys crazy?!¡± He whispered. ¡°There are dozens of them, and most even have some type of weapon. I don¡¯t care how good you guys might be at fighting, it¡¯s impossible for you to take on that many. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to fight!?¡±

 Chapter 199: The Storm of the Red Gang (2)

    <h4>Chapter 199: The Storm of the Red Gang (2)</h4>

    There was a slight pause before the others answered, until Kai eventually spoke.

    ¡°Tom¡¯s right.¡± Kai agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s just sit back and see what they want to do first. Depending on what it is, it still won¡¯t be toote to try to resist them.¡±

    Although Gary and his gang wereplying with the red colour gang¡¯s orders, the same couldn¡¯t be said for a few of the other students. While backing up, a group of those from the Rugby club, as well as members of the Karate, Boxing, and other fighting clubs had gathered.

    ¡°There¡¯s more of us than them.¡± John whispered.

    The high schooler was arge light heavyweight boxer who was an uing prospect for the school team. There weren¡¯t many talented people in Westbridge so teenagers like him stood out. His confidence though made him shine a bit more and people naturally followed him, like those in his club and others. ¡°We have to act now, and together, while they aren¡¯t suspecting it.¡±

    The group of students around him agreed, as they all nodded, waiting to make their move. The red colour gang members were moving in closer, making the circle smaller and pushing them back. The gang members closest to John and his group consisted of five guys, and one of them held a baseball bat in his hand, constantly hitting into the palm of his other hand.

    ¡°Hey, you, step back! I said, step back!¡± The gang member shouted at one of the students who wasn¡¯t exactlyplying, one of John¡¯s allies in the whole thing. Seeing as the one with the weapon was distracted, the boxer saw this as his opportunity to make his move.

    ¡°Now!¡± He shouted charging forward quickly, holding onto the bat with one hand as he pushed it down, and then threw a right cross punch, hitting the member right in the jaw and knocking him out.

    Soon after, the group of boys behind charged out, trying to bombard and charge at the rest. After knocking out the first person, John was ready to go for the next. He assumed his boxing stance, using his arms to cover his head, and punched another gang member. It was a quick one two, hitting him with both hands, but the gang member didn¡¯t fall.

    ¡®Damn it, these guys¡¯ bodies are quite well-built. Only if I get them by surprise and a clean hit will they fall with one or two hits.¡¯ John realised.

    Carefully, the boxer was trying to see what the rest of his situation was like, worried about how the others were doing. Just as he was about to turn around, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a bat swinging towards him. It wasn¡¯t aimed at his head or body though, no, it was going for his legs.

    It was toote to dodge, and the bat mmed into his legs, causing the boxer¡¯s body to be filled with pain and for him to instantly fall to the ground. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if his shin was broken. On the way down, the member he had tried to deal with punched his face while he was open, and soon he could feel a rush of punches and kicks from other sides as well. The only thing John could do was turtle up on the floor, covering his head.

    ¡®No¡­it hurts¡­it hurts so much¡­ I thought we could do it¡­ I thought maybe more woulde help us once they saw what we were doing¡­where are the others?¡¯ John was peeking through his arms and he wasn¡¯t sure if he was seeing properly, but he could see a few people knocked out on the ground already.

    ¡°Enough!¡± A voice was heard, and the beating outright stopped.

    Finally, John was able to lift his head, but he had done so slowly, scared to get hit again. His body was hurt, but he could still move due to the adrenaline rushing through his body. When looking at the students who were behind him, he could see that a total of eight of them were rolling on the floor in pain.

    Standing above them were the red colour gang members, but the one he had seen on stage seemed to have descended at some point as well.

    ¡°Look at this! This is what happens when you pathetic bunch try to rebel against us! Did you really think none of us knew how to fight or something?¡± Riv asked the lot of them.

    By now, the rest of the students and teachers had huddled towards the centre of the hall and were sitting down quietly, shocked and scared. That¡¯s when John noticed something, why there were only eight of them injured, despite there having been a few dozen who had agreed to chase off the intruders.

    ¡°It would have been a good n if everyone had acted at the same time.¡± Kai whispered. ¡°Too bad, not everyone is as brave as him. In the end, people are scared, and it looks like they backed down at thest second. With how many members there are, it¡¯s still best to sit and wait.¡±

    An attack from a coloured gang on a school just didn¡¯t make sense to Kai. There was nothing to gain from this unless they had done this due to a personal reason. Sure, they might cause some chaos here and there before leaving, after achieving whatever goal they might have, but most of them woulde out of the situation just fine.

    If their goal was Gary, Kai believed that there was a better chance for him to escape at ater time. Perhaps away from the eyes of the others. He was willing to bet that not even Damion knew what had been in the package¡­ otherwise the gang leader would surely have kept it to himself.

    Those that had attacked with John were dragged to the centre stage, disyed for all the others to see the consequences of their foolishness. All the students and teachers were looking at the nine high schoolers whose faces were beaten and bruised, but they were still concussed and groggy.

    Each one of them had two members of the red colour gang behind them. Riv walked to the first person on the very end and squeezed their mouth together, pushing their lips forward.

    ¡°Tell me, who was the one who nned this little stunt of yours!¡± Riv demanded to know.

    It was hard for the student to speak, but his eyes looked towards his left, at another student, which had given it away. Letting him go, Riv stormed to the next person who flinched as he approached them.

    ¡°Was it this one?¡± Riv pointed at the one next in line.

    The student who had been asked shook his head, and Riv continued to go down the line until eventually he pointed towards John and after a brief moment of hesitation the student nodded.

    ¡°Hahaha, this is great. Not a shred of loyalty between you all. I knew who it was anyway, he was the only one who could actually fight a little.¡± Riv started tough. ¡°During my time at school, I met plenty of people like you. It was a different era back then, but now it¡¯s guys like me who reign at the top.¡±

    For a second, when speaking, Riv looked back behind him, as if he was looking for someone among the crowd, before turning back towards John.

    ¡°Pull his hands out.¡± Riv smiled, his eyes filled with some sort of strange anger.

 Chapter 200: The Storm of the Red Gang (3)

    <h4>Chapter 200: The Storm of the Red Gang (3)</h4>

    After Riv¡¯smand, Immediately, the two behind John went to the front and pulled his arms. They held them, so his palms were t on the floor by the wrist.

    ¡°From your form, I can tell that you¡¯re a boxer. You had a good stance and your punches seemed to pack some power. Well, you hit one of my guys, so this is only right. Say goodbye to them.¡± Riv started lifting his foot just above John¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Wait!¡± A deep voice bellowed from the crowd. When the students looked at who it was, they could see it was theirrge teacher, who was as big as a tree in his red tracksuit, Mr. Root, the P.E teacher and Rugby coach.

    ¡°It was me, I was the one who nned that attack. Don¡¯t hurt the students because of me!¡± Mr. Root shouted. Riv¡¯s foot stayed hovering over John¡¯s hands, he looked at the students one more time before making a decision.

    ¡°Fine then. Bring him in!¡±

    The other gang members stepped into the crowd of students and held Mr Root by the arm. Their heads only came midway up to his arms, due to how tall he was. However, the coach willingly came to the front.

    All the students, including those that were beaten, knew that Mr Root had taken no part in the n that Josh had made. He just couldn¡¯t bear to see his students hurt when it was the adults¡¯ jobs to protect them.

    The red colour gang members threw the others that were hurt back into the crowd of those sitting down. Some of them looked at those who hadn¡¯t stuck to the n with disgust, while other students were looking at them, thinking that if they hadn¡¯t attacked, then their teacher wouldn¡¯t be in this situation right now.

    They forced Mr Root to get down on his knees in front of everyone. Four people now held onto Mr Root just in case he tried anything as well. In all honesty, most believed that if Mr Root would defend himself, he might even take on the four holding him down. s, the adult man knew it was useless, as there were far more of the gang members that he could take. Besides, there was also the risk that they would involve the other students if he did anything.

    ¡°You see, we need to teach you all a lesson, so you don¡¯t try to act out just like those idiots did! If you had just all listened, then this would have been a lot easier.¡± Riv smiled, seemingly enjoying the ¡®justification¡¯ to hurt another human being.

    At that moment, the red colour gang members held Mr Root steady so his head and chest were out slightly, and anotherrge member who was as big as Mr Root himself stood in front of him. He kicked Mr Root in the stomach as hard as he could, and a loud grunt resounded throughout the main hall.

    Another punch was delivered right to his face and blood from his mouth fell to the floor.

    ¡°Oh, he looks like a tough guy, it might take a lot to hurt this one.¡± Riv started to smile.

    The punches kept oning, hitting his arms, his body. They had stopped hitting the head, as if they just wanted to do as much damage to Mr Root as possible.

    ¡®No¡­no it¡¯s my fault¡­ this is all my fault but then why¡­¡¯ Josh thought with tears running down his face and gritting his teeth hard. ¡®Why can¡¯t I say anything?¡¯

    ¡°Hey¡­ if they keep hitting him like that, they¡¯re going to kill Mr Root!¡± Tom whispered, unsure what they could do.

    ¡°No.¡± Kai shook his head. ¡°Their hits are just aimed to hurt him. He mighte out with a few broken bones, but since he doesn¡¯t show any signs of resisting, Riv should be bored by it soon. They won¡¯t kill him in front of us all. We can see his face. I hate to say this, but the best thing to do now is just to stand ba-¡°

    As Kai was in the middle of telling Tom how to behave, he could see someone next to him stand up.

    ¡°Hey, you¡­sit back down!¡± One of the members shouted, but he was ignored, as the student walked forward and passed the rest of the students who were sitting down. Each one nced at the one who had decided to walk forward.

    ¡®So you¡¯ve decided to act.¡¯ ke thought, who had been staying at the back of the room, looking at the exits and windows.

    ¡°Do you want to get hit as well? I said stay back!¡± Another member shouted, as the student had finally walked past the rest of the students and was now in front of the whole group. There was only one person who had stood up out of everyone there. One person couldn¡¯t make a difference in a situation like this, so nobody felt hope seeing this person.

    Lifting his head, Mr Root looked at the student who was standing up right now.

    ¡°Gary¡­¡±He muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll be okay¡­ you stay back¡­ you¡¯re our star yer¡­ don¡¯t let these guys hurt you and ruin your future.¡± Mr Root smiled when saying these words, his mouth, and teeth stained red with his own blood.

    Gary clenched his fist.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can.¡± Gary replied. ¡°You see, I kind of like you as a teacher and our coach.¡±

    The red colour gang member had lost his patience. He stepped forward, picking up his bat, and swung it towards Gary from the top downward towards his head.Clenching his fist tight, the high schooler threw his fist right towards the bat. His fist connected with the bat, breaking it in half, and continued forward.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Gary screamed, his fist nted into the attacker¡¯s face. A cracking noise was heard as the gang member¡¯s face was pushed into itself by the fist, a tooth was seen flying through the airnding on the ground.

    ¡°Get the f*ck out of my school!¡± Gary shouted.

 Chapter 201: Blame him!

    <h4>Chapter 201: me him!</h4>

    Gary stood there with his fists down by his side, his knuckles slightly bleeding from hitting the bat. In his current form, his body was still human. He might no longer have the strength and speed of a regr one, but his skin was still just as fragile. He knew it based on the amount of times he had been stabbed.

    The students sat there in disbelief, that out of all people, Gary had been the one to stand up and knock out a gang member. Not counting his own ssmates, hardly anyone had known about him until his contribution at the Rugby match against Eton High. While he had briefly enjoyed some friendly greetings here and there, he had quickly gone back to being ¡®that one kid who had dyed his hair green¡¯.

    At that moment, they all had the same thought, he was brave¡­ or stupid. He had done something that none of them did, but at the same time, this was also an idiotic thing to do. As impressive as it was, he would face the same problem as John, there were more gang members than he alone could ever take.

    The other red colour gang members understood that and wereing to surround him. They were a bit cautious after seeing him smash a wooden bat with brute strength. There were also still plenty of them, between where he was and where Mr Root and Riv were as well.

    ¡°GARY!¡± A female voice shrieked loudly. Everyone turned their heads to see whoever had let out this banshee cry. As it turned out, it was another teacher, Miss Bedford. The pear shaped older woman with sses was huffing and panting.

    ¡°Why did you do that?! Don¡¯t you understand that the rest of us might get punished for what you just did!¡± She continued to shout. ¡°Don¡¯t fight them! Just let them have whatever they want and they will be gone!¡±

    ¡°Please, you¡¯re not going to hurt us because of what he did to you, right?¡± The teacher practically begged Riv. ¡°Just hurt him! Please don¡¯t hurt us!¡± She cried again, looking at the other gang members that were around them.

    Hearing these words, Tom had to hold his tongue from cursing at their teacher. Gary was the only one that had decided to step up and stop them from further hurting Mr Root. He was risking his own hide to protect everyone.

    However, unlike Tom, another voice suddenly sounded out. ¡°She¡¯s right, please don¡¯t hurt us! We aren¡¯t his friends. We don¡¯t even know him that well.¡± Surprisingly, it was Steven. He was one of the students Josh had asked to fight off the invaders, yet he hadn¡¯t joined in at thest moment. ¡°He¡¯s just another one of those troublemakers and delinquents. We are no part, just take them!¡±

    Soon, more students were chiming in out of fear, seeing this scene, Riv couldn¡¯t help butugh deviously once again. The red colour gang leader found it deeply satisfying seeing humans reveal their true nature as beings who cared about nothing else but themselves.

    ¡°Are they all stupid?!¡± Innu whispered in frustration as he clenched his own fists in anger. It was one thing for the other students and teachers to be cowering in fear, hoping to get out of this situation, but actively distancing themselves from Gary¡­

    ¡°What do they think is going to happen? That they just beat some of us up and call it a day? What if they¡¯vee to take all the girls away, or take all of us? Would they still be so willing to sit back and do nothing?

    ¡°I bet if they were the ones getting hit out there, they would be crying and begging for his help as well.¡±

    In reality, there were more than a few students who agreed with Gary¡¯s approach. Unfortunately, just like John, they were too afraid of the consequences to voice their opinion now, much less act.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gary shouted back at Mrs Bedford and his fellow schoolmates. ¡°I¡¯m not fighting them or for any of you. Why the hell should I give two sh*ts about you guys and what you think? I have people I care about, and people I don¡¯t care about, so I¡¯m getting out of here!¡±

    Running forward, Gary was heading straight for Mr Root. Suddenly, one of the red gang members stood in front of him. Not slowing down his momentum, the green haired teenager rugby tackled him, lifting him up into the air, and mmed the person down before the other red colour gang members could do anything.

    The back of their head hit the hall floor, and they were in such great pain that they weren¡¯t going to get up any time soon. Seeing this, though, the other members switched to a more aggressive approach. They intended to hit him from the back with their weapons first, but before they could reach him, another surprising turn of events urred.

    One of them felt their shirt being pulled back, while another received an elbow right into his face. Two others had been kicked in the back of the leg right where their knee was, causing them to fall to the floor. Before they could even turn around to see who had done that, they got finished off with another kick to their head.

    None of the red colour gang members hade close to touching Gary.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. I¡¯m with you!¡± Innu shouted.

    ¡°I hope we¡¯re among those people you care about.¡± Kai smirked.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me tagging along. I think I have better chances with you than all those backstabbers over there.¡± ke stated.

    The three of them couldn¡¯t sit back any longer, and since Gary had decided to act, they couldn¡¯t just stand and do nothing. This was their best chance to get out of the situation.

    ¡°Damn, look at all those guys showing off.¡± Marie sighed.

 Chapter 202: Stampede

    <h4>Chapter 202: Stampede</h4>

    Seeing Marie having a strange look on her face, there was one person who was worried about her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Marie, I know you must be scared, but I¡¯ll figure a way for us to get out of this ce while they are fighting.¡± Tom eximed, trying his best to sound confident as to not let her worry. Marie just gave him a sad smile, because she wasn¡¯t scared. No, the high school girl was just upset because she understood that she wasn¡¯t strong enough to openly join the others, and revealing that she had brought des into school would cause a problem down the line.

    Together with Innu, Kai and ke, Gary was able to form somewhat of a circle to deal with the red colour gang members that were charging towards them. The four teenage boys were skillful enough to deal with them, while also not getting hurt. The students were baffled at the sight they were witnessing, for it looked like a scene out of some movie.

    They couldn¡¯t understand how John and the other members from the fighting clubs had failed so miserably against the gang members, and yet these four made it look easy. At the same time, it appeared as if the gang members were getting concerned about what was happening in front of them to the point that they had kept their eyes off everyone else who was sitting down.

    However, out of all of them, there was one person who stood out. Gary didn¡¯t care if he got hit, he just continued to fight non-stop like a machine. The high schooler even lifted one of the gang members by the neck, throwing him towards another wave of gang members.

    At one point, another baseball bat was heading towards him, yet he grabbed it with his bare hands, swinging it, hitting another remember and breaking it at the same time.

    ¡°Gary, you have to do something. Unlike you, we don¡¯t have unlimited stamina! They don¡¯t care about Mr Root on his own, so let¡¯s cause some chaos. If possible, go and open the door.¡± Kai advised his friend.

    Gary understood his upperssman¡¯s logic. He covered his head with his arms and started to charge forward, running as fast as he could towards the back door, since there were less red colour gang members remaining on that side.

    The others tried to get in his way, but with his speed and strength he was like a bull. The high schooler just rushed into people, knocking them over, but then, just before reaching the double door, arge figure stood in front of it.

    It was the one red colour gang member that was nearly asrge as Mr Root. The giant adult took on a sumo like stance as he got ready to stop Gary from advancing any further.

    ¡®He¡¯s a big guy, and he looks to be tough, but I need to get past him NOW!¡¯

    [3 Points have been allocated into Strength]

    [Your base Strength is now at 18]

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    [Agility 15 (+3)]

    Without hesitation, Gary ced all of his avable stat points into Strength, while also boosting his speed via Controlled Transformation to change the bottom of his legs.

    He had only changed them ever so slightly, in order to give him a boost in speed at thest second. Using his power to springboard himself off the floor, Gary flew up like a rocket, and therge gang member was unprepared for what he was about to face.

    The gang member could hardly hold back the power, and his body was pushed back, mming itself into the metal door. The chains and door began to give way, breaking a gap in them, and the back of the door had dug into the man¡¯s back.

    ¡°Get out of my way!¡± Gary shouted, as he jumped from where he was and threw out a kick, hitting the man on the side of the head, and causing him to be fly to the side and fall to the floor.

    The door had given in, but it wasn¡¯tpletely done yet. Grabbing the chains, Gary pulled on them. Using Controlled Transformation on his arms, his forearms grew slightly bigger, and the chains eventually snapped. Kicking the door open, the escape route was now open to everybody.

    The students and teachers still couldn¡¯t believe it. Therge man who had terrified all of them, had just been defeated and not only that, Gary had secured a way to freedom. Strangely, for some reason he wasn¡¯t going through it, instead he seemed to be making his way back towards the stage.

    ¡°Everyone, what are you waiting for?!¡± John screamed at the top of his lungs. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    After John had screamed those words, it served its purpose to wake everyone up from their stupor. One would think the teachers and students were being chased by a zombie horde, as they all pushed each other to be the first to run through the small exit. The power of more than six hundred people storming in one direction was too much for even the red colour gang members to take.

    None of them could put a stop to it, as they were simply overwhelmed by the suddenness of their action. Therge group that had been so frightened and scared one second had suddenly transformed into something akin to a wildebeest stampede.

    Storming towards the exit, the only thing Gary didn¡¯t expect was for him to be swept up in the crowd of people as well. No one stopped to thank him, and for a moment he was afraid of getting trampled.

    ¡°Gary!¡± He heard a familiar voice. Hearing it, the teenager immediately pushed past the people, shoving them out of the way, and he could see that Tom had fallen down. The others were stepping over him, hurting him while not even caring what they were doing, and he also looked to be covering another one as well.

    Seeing this, Gary quickly pushed past everyone, and went over to his best friend. When picking him up, he could see that he had shielded Marie from the mass of people. He then stood around them, like a solid wall. Making sure that no one else hurt them any more. In the end, everyone had escaped through the door, and the only ones that were left were Gary, Tom, and the three who had decided to stand up with him.

    ¡°Those people¡­what is wrong with them?¡± Gary asked, as he made sure his best friend and Marie were okay. Tom had suffered a few bruises, but he seemed to be mostly fine and okay otherwise. What Gary was most surprised about was how his weak little friend, who had never gotten into a single fight in his life before, had selflessly decided to protect someone.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Kai shouted, trying to grab Gary¡¯s attention.

    Turning around, Gary could see that the others had already made their way to Mr Root, checking up on their teacher. They didn¡¯t want to move him, just in case he was seriously injured, but there was something else that was more shocking.

    ¡®The red colour gang, where are they?¡¯ Gary looked around, only to see the other door had also been unlocked. The dozen or so gang members that they had beaten were still on the floor rolling about in pain, but the rest had seemingly escaped in the panic.

    ¡°I think they used some type of jammer in this hall. When you opened that door, it allowed everyone to escape, so they should be able to use their phones again. They were probably afraid that the police woulde soon. That¡¯s what I was hoping for, but I didn¡¯t expect everyone else to act the way they did.¡± Kai exined, before he let out a sigh.

    Walking over to Mr Root, Gary went over to see his condition for himself. The teacher¡¯s face didn¡¯t look too bad because they mainly focused on other areas, yet he seemed to be hurt everywhere else.

    ¡°Hey, broli head¡­ you were¡­ amazing back there.¡± Mr Root coughed out, and it sounded like he was choking on something. ¡°You know¡­ ever since you joined I was¡­ I was always watching you¡¯¡­ I saw what you did. How you were able to analyse everyone¡¯s movements.¡±

    ¡°Stop.¡± Gary worried that therge adult had to be hurting just from speaking.

    ¡°No¡­ I want you¡­you¡­ to know that you were always special. I was just waiting for you to shine¡­ and I¡¯m so happy that I¡­you¡­you got to¡­¡±

    It was at that moment that Gary realised something.

    ¡°His heart rate is slowing down!¡± The high schooler reported in a panic. ¡°Somebody call an ambnce!!!¡±

 Chapter 203: No more of this!

    <h4>Chapter 203: No more of this!</h4>

    An ambnce left the school a little whileter, yet the only students who seemed to care were those who belonged to the Rugby team, as well as those like John who felt guilty about Mr Root¡¯s sacrifice. Gary, had watched the ambnce drive off into the distance until he couldn¡¯t see it any more, worried about his teacher.

    ¡®Is it my fault that everyone I actually somewhat care about ends up being hurt? Why didn¡¯t I just act sooner? I should have stood up when Mr Root took the me¡­ NOT after they had beaten him up so badly¡­¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± Kai spoke up tofort his friend. Turning his head, Gary could see that the others were there as well. The other members of the Howlers along with Tom.

    ¡°We should have acted from the beginning. I wasn¡¯t much better than the rest of those scared sheeple. I was too worried about that¡­¡± Kai let out a frustrated sigh.

    It seemed like his upperssman understood how the green haired teenager was feeling and med himself for his earlier advice of just observing the situation first. Nevertheless, Gary understood what Kai was really worried about¡­ whether the Underdogs or the Grey Elephant might have been behind that entire attack.

    They still had no idea why the red colour gang would do something so daring in the first ce.

    ¡°Kai¡­ I want to put a stop to all of this mess. I don¡¯t want anything like this to ever ur again, be it in our school, our town¡­ or my home.¡± Gary eventually said.

    ¡°So do I.¡± Innu stepped forward, and the rest did as well, standing by Gary¡¯s side.

    Although Riv had managed to escape with most of his men, the high schooler had not only managed to save his schoolmates, he had alsopleted his Quest.

    [Quest reward: Instant Level Up + Bonus Exp]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 13]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    Aside from the Instant Level Up, which had earned Gary the obligatory stat point, he had further received 2 Exp for each person that had gotten out of the situation unharmed. Unfortunately, the number had dropped a bit, which suggested that Tom wasn¡¯t the only one who had been hurt when people had stormed out of the main hall.

    That, coupled with Gary having defeated a few gang members, meant that he was currently sitting on [Exp 1546/2346].

    Gary had noticed that after getting stronger, especially after he had chosen the Warrior ss, the amount of Exp he would gain for people he could easily defeat had further lessened. As such, he wasn¡¯t too disappointed that his rewards had ¡®only¡¯ been in the form of an Instant Level Up and extra Exp, rather than a new skill.

    Turning around, the group went back to the others. All the students had gathered at the field. Headmistress Young, who hadn¡¯t been at school at the time of the attack, rushed over as soon as she was contacted. Right now, she and the other teachers were busy doing a headcount.

    The police had arrived a few minutes before the ambnce and already started to investigate the scene, while some officers had asked the teachers and students for testimony about what happened. They were confident in their chances to catch the criminals since they were able to apprehend the red colour gang members that Gary and the others had knocked out earlier.

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s them, right? They¡¯re the ones who fought off those gangsters.¡± One of the students whispered while pointing at Gary¡¯s group.

    ¡°Yeah, I mean, we all saw the green haired kid, but I couldn¡¯t see the others well. I¡¯m not surprised ke stood up for us!¡±

    ¡°They were kinda cool when fighting. I didn¡¯t know they were that strong.¡±

    Gary might have enjoyed thepliments from his fellow students if it had been in the past, but not today, especially not after the vocal majority had tried to make him into a straw man. For a second, he caught Mrs Bedford ncing his way, and Gary just stared back at her. The female teacher turned her head, unable to look him in the eyes.

    Eventually, after waiting outside for some time, Gary, and his group had been approached by the two police officers. One of them in a long brown coat while the other looked quite young wearing a blue shirt with straps.

    ¡°Nice to meet you, kids. I¡¯m Chief of Police, Anton Milstun, and here¡¯s my little helper, Roo Game.¡± The older one introduced both of them.

    ¡°We just got the reports from your teachers and students about what had happened. Unless you want to add anything, I believe we have heard enough about your ¡®courageous¡¯ act.¡± Anton sighed, seemingly unwilling to say what came next.

    ¡°What you guys did back there was a very dangerous thing. While it might have worked out in your favour this time, you shouldn¡¯t forget that those were gang members.

    ¡°Most colour gang members might be low on the totem pole and not too different from a regr school delinquent, but you never know what someone might do when pushed into a desperate situation. Of course, none of you will get into trouble for what you did. It was self-defence, after all!¡±

    ¡°Sigh¡­ personally, I think all of you did the right thing. You acted when no one else did, and while it was reckless of you, I¡¯m d that things turned out well. I hope to have more people like you on our police force. Still, the next time you find yourself in a tough situation¡­ Please, just run and call us!¡±

    After saying what he wanted to say, it looked like the police chief was off, but he did have another thought on his mind as he turned around and looked at the kids.

    ¡®This school¡­ it¡¯s the same one that deceased kid went to if I¡¯m not mistaken. We only ever found his fingerprints on the knife, making it clear that he had been the aggressor. ording to the gathered testimonies from her peers andck of any criminal history, it must have been done on emotion¡­

    ¡®Which means most likely it was someone they knew. We checked all those that were close to him, but could it be that maybe the person who did that to him is here? Is the one we are looking for in this school. Come to think of it, isn¡¯t this school also the one White Rose visited because of a suspected unregistered Altered?¡¯

    Anton started to scratch his head, contemting if all of this was coincidence or if there might be some sort of connection. It was a bit of a reach, but he had learned never to put anything off. However, that would have to be done some other time. Right now, the most important thing was to find out just why the red colour gang had gone so far against this school.

    ¡°Sir!¡± One of the other officers came running towards the two of them. They hadn¡¯t moved far from their spot and Gary with his hearing was able to listen in on everything that was being said

    ¡°I have a report to make. All the students have been ounted for, apart from one. The teachers checked and checked again. The one missing is a Xin Clove. She¡¯s the mayor¡¯s daughter!¡±

 Chapter 204: The Lone Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 204: The Lone Wolf</h4>

    After learning this crucial bit of information, everything seemed to have fallen into ce for the Chief of Police. Anton had never thought a colour gang would try to abduct someone in such a crazy manner, but if their target had been the mayor¡¯s daughter, doing so might have been their best shot.

    Aside from a few officers who stayed behind to gather some more evidence, the rest of the police force promptly took action and left the school. One of them had informed Headmistress Young, yet the old woman made no announcement about the missing student.

    Instead, a different announcement was made.

    ¡°All of you must have been looking forward to watching your fellow students disy their talents, but given today¡¯s tragic turn of events, I believe it¡¯s for the best to postpone the talent show. Your parents have already been made aware of the situation and will be here to pick you up. For the rest of you, please stay safe and if possible go home in groups.¡±

    Honestly, Gary thought the whole thing to be a bad joke. Who cared about the stupid talent show? Ifing in hadn¡¯t been mandatory, the teenager was sure, barely anyone would have shown up on a Saturday. However, based on how the teachers had acted in the situation they were in, he wasn¡¯t too surprised that the old woman wanted to just dismiss everyone.

    ¡°It looks like our day ended early, so what do you want to do?¡± Kai asked, turning towards Gary for a decision.

    He wasn¡¯t sure why Kai was asking him, didn¡¯t they already have ns? Or was it because his upperssman was worried whether Gary was in the mood to still continue. In the end, he only had one thought on his mind at the moment, Xin.

    ¡®The police are useless¡­ they won¡¯t be able to find her and even if they do, they will be too scared to retrieve her from wherever the red colour gang might have taken her.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®The red colour gang were here today but were they really here for her? ¡­or were they here for me and decided just to take her for a substitute. Somehow, I have a feeling that what happened to her today is my fault.¡¯ The high schooler clenched his fist as he had made a decision on what to do.

    ¡°Is it okay for me to take a rain check on today¡¯s n? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to work either.¡± Gary finally said.

    While ke had gone his own way, Tom was still with the group. Seeing the look in his best friend¡¯s eyes, he was naturally worried what Gary might have people. Perhaps tomorrow he would find out that another colour gang had gone missing in Slough over the Dark Web. Yet, what could he do to stop his friend? It wasn¡¯t like he could follow him home.

    At that moment, looking at his phone, Tom had received a text. It was from his parents, who must have just received news of what had urred.

    ¡°It looks like my parents are on their way here to pick me up. Gary¡­ whatever you n to do¡­ promise me to stay safe.¡± Tom requested, only to receive a slight nod after some hesitation. He sighed, but understood that to be the best he could have hoped for, so he left the Howlers to discuss things without him.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, we don¡¯t necessarily need you toe in today.¡± Kai patted Gary on the shoulder. ¡°Today was supposed to be a simple scouting job in the first ce. I can head off with the others and bring back the information and fill you inter. Don¡¯t worry about your job, either.

    ¡°Since we were going to be away, I¡¯ve asked Austin to prepare some recement for us this weekend.¡± Kai smiled. ¡°Since they¡¯re Austin¡¯s ¡®friends¡¯, their wage is on the cheap side. He sent over the three he trusts the most. With them and Mrs Degrace they will be able to look after the ce.

    ¡°Honestly, what I¡¯m more concerned about is you. It¡¯s clear you don¡¯t just n to go home¡­ Nobody doubts your strength, but are you sure you want to go at it alone?¡±

    He looked at the faces of the others, and he could see they were all determined. Wherever Gary would go, they would follow. If he asked them, for the first time in his life he felt like there were people who would agree no matter what¡­ at the same time, exactly because they had put their trust into him, he couldn¡¯t ask them toe along.

    Unlike him, they didn¡¯t have a reason to save Xin, except for Innu, perhaps. Besides, if anyone could get her out of that situation unhurt, it would be him. As harsh as it sounded, the rest might actually hold him back, if he were to go wild.

    ¡°Thank you, guys. We all have a job to do, and this gang needs to move fast. If you guys still feel the same way you did when we saw those red colour gang members here today, then we better get a move on. Let¡¯s be big enough that no gang would ever dare to pull off such a stunt in our time!¡± Gary smiled.

    ¡°It looks like someone has gotten into your head!¡± Innumented, as he wrapped his arm around Gary¡¯s head and started to rub his knuckles in his hair.

    ¡°Eww, is this gel? How much did¡­¡± Innu was about to ask when Gary gave him a mean look which shut him up.

    With everyone gone, Gary decided to head back into school for a while. The teachers weren¡¯t meant to let them in, but none of them had the gall to stop Gary after what had happened. The teenager needed something that smelled like Xin, to be able to follow where she was.

    Although, it wasn¡¯t like her scent was all around, it would only help when he was close. After that, Gary would visit the ces where the red colour gang frequently had been seen, and looking at his phone, Kai had already sent him all the information he required for that.

    As Gary entered their ssroom that was empty, he started to think back to something, and that was Mr Root. Back in the main hall, when Mr Root¡¯s heat rate had started dropping, he had been worried he might not make it.

    It was impossible to tell how long the ambnce would take to reach them. For one, it was Slough, and they would be called upon at all times of the day. Seeing someone he cared about close to death, he wanted to save him, and there was something he might actually do.

    ¡®What if I bite him?¡¯ Gary eventually thought.

    If he was to bite Mr Root, he might turn his teacher. Given a Werewolf¡¯s vitality, his teacher would surely recover. Unlike Billy, if he were to turn his teacher into a Beta wolf, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the adult trying to usurp his position.

    However¡­ What kind of life would Mr Root have to lead if he made him into a Werewolf? Would he hate Gary for turning him into a monster? Perhaps he would even be another monster like Billy, forcing Gary to do what ke had done to Billy¡­

    Since he hadn¡¯t been there, there was no telling how long it took for one to be an Omega wolf. Heck, he didn¡¯t even know if there was a guarantee. What if Billy had simply been a unlucky coincidence?

    Even if it would work, what about the bloodlust? He still remembered that the very first thing he had read after bing a Werewolf had been a system message that had stated.

    [Your bloodlust has been lowered]

    Billy too had said something that Gary remembered at that moment. ¡°I¡¯d killed them both. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. It was as if the hunger and bloodlust took over me!¡± What if he hadn¡¯t lied? What if it was a natural instinct of a Werewolf to attack and feast on the first thing they would see¡­

    In the end, while he had been contemting his choice, the sounds of the ambnce car had appeared, making him abandon his idea. Still, it did make Gary wonder¡­ whether he could help others by turning them¡­ After all, everyone wanted to be Altered these days, and with a simple bite he could make them be something that was close enough¡­ maybe even better?

    ¡®That¡¯s a crazy idea.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡¯Or is it?¡¯

 Chapter 205: The wrong girl

    <h4>Chapter 205: The wrong girl</h4>

    Away from the busy parts of Slough, out in the sticks where there were more open fields and greenery, stood arge house ced behind a gated driveway. Inside that luxury home, not too long ago, Mayor Clove had been informed about the sudden absence of his daughter.

    ¡°What the hell do I even pay you for, huh?! You¡¯ve not only failed to properly protect her, NOW YOU¡¯VE ALLOWED HER TO GET ABDUCTED?!¡± The Mayor shouted and banged his hands on the table in front of him like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

    He was breathing heavily due to all the shouting he had done. Ben Clove reached into the side of the suit that he wore that barely fit him these days. The middle-aged man had been gaining a lot of weight ever since he had taken on this job. Bringing out some pills, he took three of them at once and waited for them to do their job.

    ¡°Sir, please understand that we are doing the best we can, you ming us is not helping the situation.¡± The man dressed in ck replied. One would expect some worry when being shouted at by the mayor, but the man with the dragon tattoo crawling up his neck was taking things nonchntly.

    The one sitting opposite the mayor wasn¡¯t just anybody, D was the head of the Rising Dragon gang, one of Slough¡¯s five small-time gangs. Ever since the mayor¡¯s election, they had been cooperating with Ben Clove. In fact, it was mostly due to them that the mayor was able to keep his promise of protecting the high street of Slough, as it was part of their territory.

    ¡°One, it was a school day, we were waiting to pick her up at her usual time, the time that she should have been leaving. In fact, we alwayse an hour early to search the area, and make sure nothing suspicious is seen during that time.

    ¡°Yet, this happened little after lunch, and in school of all things. We aren¡¯t allowed to bring guards inside, and we thought that perhaps the school would be adequate to at least stop gang members from attacking. Not that we ever imagined that somebody would ever do this. I admit this was a fault on my part.¡± D replied, not bowing nor sounding apologetic in his voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to keep hearing your excuses!¡± Ben shouted. ¡°I want solutions to the problem. Why have you not acted yet? It doesn¡¯t take a genius to know that it could only have been the red colour gang who took her, so just get in there and pull her out!¡±

    D simply shook his head there without even giving it a second thought.

    ¡°We would have a hard time against the red colour gang on their own, much less now that they have fused with the remnants of the grey colour gang. Attacking the colour gang is the same as offending the Grey Elephants. As one of the biggest gangs in Slough, they could crush our gang if they wanted to.

    ¡°Please rx, sir, your daughter will be safe. She¡¯s too valuable as a hostage. I¡¯ve already put in a request to the Grey Elephants leader. Once I get a reply, I will let you know.¡±

    Hearing these words, Ben couldn¡¯t take it any more. The mayor leaned over the desk and attempted to pull on D¡¯s shirt, yet the gang leader simply leaned back to avoid the middle-aged man¡¯s grab, until he felt his back hit something solid.

    Turning around, he could see a young man, staring back at him with a sharp stare. He wore a tight sports shirt and his head was towering over him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do it for you, Dad.¡± The young man spoke up. He was none other than Jayden Clove, Ben¡¯s firstborn son and one of this country¡¯s Top 50 Altered fighters. He casually lifted D by the scruff of his shirt with a single hand.

    For the first time, D looked panicked, and grabbed onto Jayden¡¯s hand, trying to push it away, but it wouldn¡¯t budge at all. Eventually, Jayden threw the man against the wall so hard that it left a small dent on the other side.

    ¡°You guys had one job, yet you FAILED to protect my sister. I should wipe out your whole gang for that alone!

    ¡°Dad, let me deal with the situation.¡± Jayden requested with his hand on his chest. ¡°I promise to find Xin. There is not a gang in Slough or anyone that I woulde across that I can¡¯t handle.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The sound of dripping water was the first thing Xin could hear as she slowly regained consciousness. Her body felt slightly sore all over. When trying to move her hands, the high school girl discovered that she was unable to. The same held true for her legs, only her head had been spared, not that she could do much with that alone.

    ¡®They tied me up on a chair. It feels like one of those interrogation scenes in the movies.¡¯ Xin thought to herself, trying her best to keep her mind from the bleakness of her current situation. The teenage girl might be a strong fighter, but that was in a normal situation, not when she had been abducted. Right now, she was beginning to feel very scared.

    Looking around, she could hardly make out anything. There was barely any light, only a little that shone in through the cracks of the roof above her. The flooring was crooked, with wooden panels sticking out and more. Judging by the fact that they didn¡¯t tie up her mouth, she imagined that wherever she was, it would be far enough away from anybody willing to help her.

    ¡°HELP!!!¡± Xin shouted as loud as she could. There wasn¡¯t much else she could do, and it was at least worth the shot. Indeed, it did achieve one thing. Soon, she could hear the sound of footsteps from the dark approaching her¡­ followed by an annoying giggle.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s so nice to see you like this.¡± Stepping into a patch of light, Xin could make out a familiar face, though she had already recognised who it was by the annoying sound. The red colour gang leader Riv was standing by Tiffany¡¯s side, his smile just as big as the high school girl¡¯s.

    ¡°I wish I could say the same.¡± Xin replied sarcastically. ¡°You know, I wasn¡¯t too sure who set things up for me yesterday. For a moment, I even gave you the benefit of the doubt¡­ however now I just gotta ask¡­ Are you really this stupid?¡±

    The taunt might have gotten to Tiffany another time, but seeing Xin unable to do anything but taunt her, made the ss diva cackle.

    ¡°You seem to have yet to realise your own situation. Why don¡¯t you cry for help again, see how that works for you?¡± Tiffany made fun of the abducted girl. ¡°I told you, Xin, you chose the wrong girl to mess with! And today you¡¯re finally going to pay for everything you did to me! Not just you, but your whole family will as well!¡±

    ¡°I wonder how much the mayor will pay for his sweet little daughter. With arge sum, we¡¯ll even be able to get out of this ce.¡± Rivmented. ¡°It will be nice to live with you in a Tier-2 city, Tiffy!¡±

    ¡°Of course, darling, that¡¯s the n!¡± Tiffany held onto the side of Riv¡¯s arm.

    It was then that Xin started tough at herself.

    ¡°Haha, you did all of this for money? No wonder, you never epted my apology. At one point, I actually felt bad for the things I did to you, even though it was an honest mistake. If you just wanted revenge, you could have tried to get me back at school, but you¡¯re asking for money and trying to involve my family.

    ¡°You said I messed with the wrong girl¡­ you have no idea.¡±

 Chapter 206: One of the five

    <h4>Chapter 206: One of the five</h4>

    After Headmistress Young had dismissed everyone, Kai, Marie and Innu were heading to the bus stop. Austin was already waiting there, since he had been informed over the group chat that they had been let out early.

    Right now, the whole gang was riding the bus, heading to an area called Burnham. On the way there, it was obvious that it wasn¡¯t as busy as the rest of Slough, most likely because it wasn¡¯t a residential area. Nevertheless, the area still had someone controlling it, and they made their money off of catering to a certain clientele.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe the red colour gang would not onlye to your doorsteps but try to hold your whole school hostage.¡± Austin stated after getting the full story on the mostly empty bus. The news about the event had spread like wildfire, but with everyone exaggerating, it had been hard to find out how much of it had been true.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing they didn¡¯t enter my school, otherwise there would have been an outright brawl between the students and the red colour gang. We would have pounded them and taught them a lesson.¡±

    ¡°You mean like the time when Billy entered the school?¡± Innu interjected. He was sure that Austin would have acted just like Gary, and he didn¡¯t doubt his fellow gang member¡¯s strength¡­ yet he had a feeling it would have turned out no different from John¡¯s resistance. Austin¡¯s stare made Innu quickly change topic. ¡°Anyway, Kai, you said there were five small-time gangs in Slough, so why did you pick this one? It¡¯s really far away, so are they easy or something?¡±

    The second Innu said those words, it was upperssman¡¯s turn to give him a re, and he instantly understood the mistake he had made. The high schooler couldn¡¯t help it, he was just someone who spoke his mind before thinking. No one should ever call any gang easy, underestimating them would be a big mistake.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about them being an ¡®easy¡¯ target, but them being so far away is actually a good thing.¡± Kai eventually replied after letting out a sigh. ¡°We take over this ce, the chance of anyone interfering will be lower than any other location. At the same time, if we leave it alone for a bit, it will be okay as well.

    ¡°We still really haven¡¯t solved the problem with helping people run the territories we take over. We can¡¯t just ask Austin to send over his guys each and every time. If possible, we¡¯ll have to persuade some members from the gang we have taken over to work for us.

    ¡°Putting them on a payroll isn¡¯t a problem, but we still need trustworthy people at the top keeping them in check. Otherwise, other gangs can always swoop in and convince them to stab us in the back while we¡¯re small.

    ¡°Once we get bigger, and control this cepletely like the Grey Elephants or the Underdogs, we¡¯ll be okay. At that point, the others won¡¯t even try to mess with us.¡±

    ¡°Does this ce have a school?¡± Austin suddenly asked. It seemed to be a weird question, yet Kai didn¡¯t outright dismiss it, seemingly understanding what the tall teenager was referring to.

    ¡°It does, but it¡¯s not a school full of delinquents. It doesn¡¯t look like the gang uses them as a recruitment basis, but I have to admit that I haven¡¯t looked into them too much, so what I have is probably just some surface information. They might have someone like you on the top, since they don¡¯t seem to be as disorganised as Eton High was.¡± Kai answered. ¡°Your guys might actually know more about it.¡±

    Austin¡¯s idea was to pay the school a visit, to challenge its top dog. The delinquents at each school cared about such a hierarchy a lot. In a way, it was a more harmless version of gang wars. If therge teenager could take down the school leaders, then the school delinquents would willingly do the Howler¡¯s bidding.

    As long as they would be put on the payroll, they should stay fairly loyal. Even a little money looked like a gold mine to those types of students. In a way, this made delinquent students far easier to deal with than gang members, simply because the former had yet to experience the real world.

    ¡°Are we really just going to continue ignoring the issue?¡± Marie finally spoke up. ¡°We all saw that look on his face. Gary has clearly gone off to fight the red colour gang. It¡¯s probably for some revenge because of what they did to Mr Root¡­ I know how strong he is, but what if he gets into trouble?

    ¡°He¡¯s our leader, so shouldn¡¯t we help him?¡±

    The groups seemed to be in somewhat of a silence at this question. Surprisingly, Innu was the one to break it.

    ¡°You heard Kai offer him our help. He didn¡¯t want it. While I don¡¯t like him wanting to do things alone, he¡¯s our leader, so we should respect his wishes.¡± Innu stated. ¡°He could take care of those monstrous twins, so he should be fine¡­ as long as they don¡¯t have more of them¡­¡±

    At the end, Innu¡¯s voice started to shake a bit and Marie noticed that he had his knee shaking up and down, and that he was fiddling with his hands. It was clear thinking about Gary made him restless.

    ¡®When the hell did this group get so close with each other?¡¯ She wondered, looking down and smiling at the floor.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The group had finally arrived at the Burnham part of town. There seemed to be fewer people here, but the bus had stopped at the main area. It was a Saturday, so quite a lot of families were in this area.

    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t even know Slough had a ce like this¡­ I think this is better than Cipen.¡± Innumented as they walked down the street, every second shop being a restaurant of some kind.

    ¡°Depends on what you¡¯re looking for. Cipen has the nightlife, whereas this ce is just filled with restaurants.¡± Kai shrugged.

    The group continued walking down, passing various Chinese restaurants, pizza ces, Japanese sushi ces, Korean barbecues. It all looked so delicious and there were multiple families inside, but there was one thing that Innu was noticing more than the others.

    ¡°There are a lot of beautiful girls here, the workers here are stunning, look at her!¡± Innu pointed at a girl wearing a traditional Chinese dress with a slit going up her leg. The red dress showed off her long legs, as they walked past yet another Chinese restaurant.

    ¡°Wait, now that you mention it, there are an awful lot of girls who work here.¡± Marie agreed with the observation. That was a signal for Kai to stop in the middle of the street.

    ¡°Remember, we are here on a scouting mission, but while we are here, why don¡¯t we all grab a bite?¡±

    It took a long time for the group to decide where they wanted to eat. There were far too many choices, and seeing that everyone¡¯s favourite food was something different didn¡¯t make things easier. Ultimately, they agreed to settle for an all-you-can-eat restaurant that had a little of everything.

    Heading inside, Kai paid as they waited for the waiter to bring over their tes and drinks. Even in this ce, all they could see were female workers.

    ¡°So tell me, these ces aren¡¯t really restaurants, right?¡± Austin eventually asked. The other two turned around, wondering what he meant by this, but judging by Kai¡¯s smile, he was right.

    ¡°In some ways, you are right. Of course, restaurants can be a lucrative business, but a gang wouldn¡¯t take control of a whole area just for that.¡± Kai started to exin. ¡°You see at nighttime this ce is somethingpletely different. All the restaurants have a double front. You noticed a lot of girls, right? And all of them being pretty¡­ well, that¡¯s because the gang brings in a lot of trafficking cases and prostitution.

    ¡°The reason this ce is on the edge of Slough is because their clientele don¡¯t choose those from Slough. It¡¯s a crucial point for us if we want to go beyond Slough at some point, and besides all the other reasons.¡±

    Innu couldn¡¯t quite believe it as he looked around, but he started to notice the skimpy dresses they wore, the tired look on their faces and in their eyes¡­ it was starting to make sense.

    There was a look on the other members as Kai casually brought up this topic. This was the real gang life¡­ everything was suddenly bing a little too real for them, and they wondered how Gary would feel about taking over such a ce.

    Innu looked like he was about to say something, when the waitress was seen approaching.

    ¡°Hi there, here are your drinks and the table is for the four of you, correct?¡± The girl smiled at them all.

    Looking at the girl up close, Innu felt like there was something off about her. Sure she was pretty but there seemed to be a lot of makeup on her face. He was starting to feel¡­ bad for her. If they were doing it out of choice then so be it, but the eyes of the one serving them, they didn¡¯t seem that way at all.

    ¡°Do you like working here?¡± Innu suddenly asked the waitress. She was startled by the question as she raised the empty tray over her body. The waitress looked out of the corner of her eye at the one man who was in the room with them, one of the very few.

    ¡°Please ignore our nosy friend here, he just wanted to say that this here¡¯s a great ce¡­ that¡¯s all. Yes, just four of us will be fine.¡± Kai smiled at the girl, who ced the te down, before taking her leave. The blonde teenager had paid close attention to the girl, noticing that her name tag read Stacy.

 Chapter 207: Two the same

    <h4>Chapter 207: Two the same</h4>

    After searching around for a while, the only things Gary found of Xin¡¯s were a few of her school books, as well as her pencil case. He had been hoping for something more tangible like an item of clothing. The teenager felt quite strange sniffing her items, but he was trying to save her life, after all. Luckily, there wasn¡¯t anyone in the ssroom either¡­ However, the smell was too faint.

    ¡®It was easier tracking Tom¡¯s shirt¡­ then again, I was following the smell of his blood. I guess a Werewolf¡¯s nose is just extra sensitive to that.¡¯ Gary assumed.

    For a brief moment, he was contemting trying his luck with her locker, but seeing as someone had just stolen her stuff yesterday, he wasn¡¯t too optimistic. Instead, he checked his phone. Kai had sent him a list of known hangout spots for red colour gang members, as well as some supposed bases of operations.

    The upperssman had even added a suggested order for him to check things out. At the end, he had even attached his personal analysis.

    [I doubt the red colour gang that attacked today have fled far from the school. Riv himself might have returned to one of their bases, but I bet that a good chunk of those involved in the attack live close by.

    [I know you didn¡¯t want us toe along, and knowing your strength I can¡¯t argue, but since you seem to be nning to attack them, you should at least wear the gang uniform. Don¡¯t forget your mask either.]

    Gary couldn¡¯t help but get a smile on his face, when he read how Kai cared and trusted him.

    A short whileter, the high schooler found himself in an alleyway that was wider than most. He stopped just around the corner, as he could hear people talking on the other side. Having taken the advice, he was currently wearing his new ck and gold zer as well as the mask he had been gifted.

    ¡®The red colour gang came to our school just after Kai told me the Underdogs know about me going to school there. The Grey Elephants should also know my real name by now, so they must be looking for me as well. Either way, right now showing my face isn¡¯t the best idea.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    Around the same time, another tall handsome figure in a tight sports shirt was walking around what looked like a fish marketce. There were countless stalls with different types of fish. Most of them were alive in containers, while others were being freshly cut up. The whole ce had a distinctive smell, which was hitting Jayden in the nose.

    Still, he ignored it as he was looking for something in particr. Turning his head countless times, he finally found what he had been looking for. Along one side of the market with stalls, there were also a few storefronts.

    Heading inside a particr one, Jayden triggered the bell atop of the door.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be with you as a second, dear customer.¡± The owner spoke from behind the counter. He looked to be talking to three people in the back of the shop. Jayden could clearly make out the red clothing they all shared. Walking up to them confidently, Jayden stood right behind them and was close to the counter top.

    There were countless fish on ice, and behind the chopping board therge man would do his work.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be with you in just a moment.¡± The owner turned around, assuming the neer wanted to purchase something.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not here for you.¡± Jayden smiled. ¡°I¡¯m here for them.¡±

    Without hesitation, the Altered grabbed one of the gang members by the scruff of his neck, and mmed him right into the pile of fish thatid there in a bed of ice, he twisted and turned his head into the ice creating a few crunching sounds.

    The two other members were too shocked at the sudden brutality, but they at least understood that they were being targeted. The one on the right was ready to make a move, though, Jayden kicked him in the side of his leg. A loud snap was heard in the shop, as the man¡¯s leg was now bent inward.

    The terrifying thing was that it looked as if it had just been a casual kick without much power in it, but it had been enough to cripple the gang member. With his hand still holding onto the back of the first gang member, Jayden lifted his body out of the ice, and mmed it down again. He Lifted it one more time and mmed it into the ice while looking the other person in the eyes.

    Blood was forming in the ice, and it was hard to tell if it was from the red colour gang member, or one of the fish. The owner was shaking behind the counter, and seeing as Jayden wasn¡¯t interested in him, he had decided to run into the freezing cold container and shut the door behind him.

    ¡°Today, your gang attacked Westbridge high school. During the attack, your guys happened to kidnap a girl. Where is she?¡± Jayden asked as he stared down the remaining gang member.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I wasn¡¯t part of the attack!¡± The twenty something year old had peed his pants in fright, hastily trying to back off, only to stumble over the passed out body of the crippled gang member.

    ¡°Well, you seem to at least know about the attack, and something¡¯s telling me, you¡¯re going to ¡®remember¡¯ more about it in a second.¡± Jayden stated, walking towards him as he let go of the first guy¡¯s head. His body just slid down until it eventually fell to the floor.

    Desperate to get out of the situation, the gang member searched for something to throw at Jayden. He found the knife which the owner had dropped during his escape, yet the Altered easily evaded the weapon. Jayden let out a sigh, before grabbing thest member¡¯s head and dragging him behind the counter.

    He then punched the man lightly in the head, before grabbing out his arm and cing it on the table. Next, he picked up the knife that had just been thrown at him.

    ¡°Wait! I¡¯ll tell you!¡± The man cried out in a panic.

    Not reacting in any way, Jayden swung down the knife, hitting it on the board, and slicing the man¡¯s little finger off.

    ¡°Get talking, unless you want to lose them all today.¡± Jayden demanded, lifting the knife up once again. ¡°Don¡¯t try to bullsh*t me, either, or I WILL be back for you! You should know something about me ¡­ I hate gangs!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the alleyway, Gary had found a total of five red colour gang members who seemed to be having a good time together. However, less than a minuteter, only one of them was still left standing.

    The group had made a bomb fire out of some wood and more, and Gary had yet to get an answer from a single one of them. Currently, he had thest one held by the back of his neck, already beaten quite a bit.

    He started to drag his body closer to the fire, making the gang member intensify his struggles.

    ¡°Tell me where she is! Tell me where I can find the girl you abducted!¡± Gary demanded, as he pushed the man¡¯s head closer to the mes, now only inches away.

    ¡°STOP!!! I¡¯LL TELL YOU, I¡¯LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!!!¡± The man pleaded to be let go.

    Once Gary had gotten the information to find Xin, he chucked the man against the wall, knocking him out like the others. As he walked away, he had a single thought in his mind.

    ¡®I hate gangs¡­¡¯

 Chapter 208: Collision

    208 Collision

    Stepping outside from an old, beaten down cabin, Riv raised his arm to shield his eyes. The light was shining quite bright outside since it was still the afternoon. He gave himself a few stretches here and there and made sure that everyone was still waiting outside, in their positions.

    There were around twenty or so members in total. Most of them had been part of the attack on Westbridge high school, following his orders, and now they were standing here on guard in the middle of the woods. Of course, he couldn¡¯t utilise the whole of the red gang for this, otherwise it would catch the eyes of those above him, which was something he didn¡¯t want. Still, he needed a few to be here for safety. Not that he expected there to be any trouble.

    ¡°Looks like everything is going smoothly.¡± Riv smiled, his trouser pocket was vibrating and picking it up, he could see the name Brandon written across his phone. Looking away, he ced it back in his pocket, ignoring the call.

    ¡°With the amount of money we¡¯ll get from this, I won¡¯t need to rely on the Grey Elephants any more. My work has only doubled ever since that idiot Buffin got his arse kicked by some nobodies and I had to take in his stragglers, yet they still treat me like trash!¡± Riv mumbled in frustration.

    One of the members turned around, and the red colour gang leader realised that he needed to keep his lips sealed a while longer.

    ¡®Shit, I have to be careful. The others still think that we¡¯ve kidnapped the mayor¡¯s daughter, following the Grey Elephants¡¯ order. I can¡¯t have any of them inform Brandon now. Once we get the money, Tiffany and I will have to leave Slough ASAP. Then, we can live a happy and long life together. I really do have the best girl.¡¯

    ¡°RIV, GET IN HERE!¡± A voice screamed from inside. Quickly, Riv turned around and headed back into the cabin to see what exactly was going on. The others turned back towards the cabin, and smirked, agreeing that theirnder waspletely whipped.

    ¡°What a simp.¡± One of them mumbled, making those close to him who had heard his remark snicker.

    The area around the cabin was quite open, while the guards were standing around it in all directions, just where the forest trees would start. When one of them turned their head back, they continued to look forward.

    ¡®Man, I wonder how long it''s going to take.¡¯ One of the guards thought as he let out a big yawn. The next thing he saw was a fist directlying towards his face. It was a clean hit that nearly flipped the red colour gang member, and it was safe to say he wouldn¡¯t be getting up anytime soon.

    ¡°Hey, who is that!¡± One of the members shouted, as some of them prepared to pull out their weapons. Small little pocket knives, brass knuckles and more.

    ¡°Get that masked freak!¡± Another shouted.

    Two of them ran quickly towards Gary, throwing out a punch each, but the high schooler was able to avoid it quite easily. Charging in, he grabbed the back of their necks of the red colour gang members and pulled their heads down while lifting his knees and jumping, mming it to their face.

    Another gang member had taken out a chain and, not caring about his fellow gang members, had swung it out using it like some type of whip. One of the men who had just been injured was merely concussed, instinctively grabbed onto his assant¡¯s leg, preventing Gary from going anywhere.

    The chains hit his back, hurting him quite a bit.

    [-6 HP]

    ¡®Something like that, will never kill me.¡¯ Before the chain fell to the ground or the person could use it again, Gary grabbed and pulled on it. The red colour gang member believed that he would win in a tug of war, yet he was unaware that Gary had used Controlled Transformation on his biceps, adding to his already great strength.

    The chain was ripped from his hands in seconds, and with the others getting closer, Gary knew exactly how to use it. He first kicked the member that was holding onto his leg, while swinging the chain at the original user, hitting him in the leg. Given Gary¡¯s speed and strength, the heavy chain caused his leg to snap and made him fall to the ground.

    Jayden shouted.

    *****

    ¡®I have no reason to go easy on any of you!¡¯ Gary thought, as he continued to spin the chain, hitting the others who were getting close. Eventually he swung it around another and the chain snapped in half.

    It seemed to be quite old and rusty, but that didn¡¯t matter, Gary was plenty strong to deal with them all by just using his fists and legs. All the fighting matches he had watched, all the moves he had ingrained in his head from a young age, the teenager was now able to use them thanks to his improved body.

    Another gang member came running towards Gary, yet spinning on one of his legs, he kicked the charging guy with the side of his foot. The gang member fell and slid across the ground, kicking up the leaves on the floor.

    ¡®This new uniform is great. What material is it even made out of? It seems to not rip as easily even if I use Controlled Transformation. Like it can expand with my body as well. Did Kai get this specially made for me?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    Five of the members on one side had already been defeated, and there were still a lot left. Now they were a bit cautious to go at Gary after seeing what he was capable of.

    ¡®This guy is dangerous. We need backup. Why aren¡¯t the other guysing over to help us? What are they doing?¡± One of the members had informed those on the other side about the intruder, though he had yet to receive a reply. It was at that moment that they could see another intrudere in from the side. He was walking calmly, approaching the cabin, and the whole group turned to look at him.

    ¡°Looks like I''m in the right ce.¡± The man in a sport shirt said, cracking his knuckles as he got into a fighting stance, at the same time Gary recognised who the person was. How could he not? Not only had Gary seen him on TV multiple times before, he had even been saved by him.

    It was none other than Jayden Tiger, one of the top 50 Altered fighters of their country.

    ¡®What is he doing here?¡¯ Gary wondered. ¡®It can¡¯t be¡­ is he¡­ working with the red colour gang?! No, that should be impossible. They¡¯re too small for that. ¡­ Shit, could it be that the Grey Elephants are his sponsors like the Underdogs are for Kirk?!¡¯

    The next second, Jayden had run across the area, and threw a fist, but it wasn¡¯t aimed towards the red colour gang members, instead it wasing straight for Gary.

    ¡°I have a good sense for these things. You look like the strongest, so it''s best to deal with you first!¡± Jayden shouted.

    *****

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 Chapter 209: Fighting an Altered

    <h4>Chapter 209: Fighting an Altered</h4>

    The fisting towards Gary was fast, a little too fast, thankfully there was some space between the two of them that allowed him to at least do something. Lifting his arms up in a cross shaped position, the only thing he could do in time was block.

    Jayden threw out the punch a bit widely, there was no technique involved, he had just run and thrown a punch out. Hitting Gary, he skidded along the ground for a bit before stopping. His arms were heavy and sore. They were throbbing like a heartbeat and each time the pain would get worse.

    [You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

    [-15 HP]

    [79/100 HP]

    [Bones in your arms have been broken]

    [Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

    [-10 Energy]

    ¡®Holy f*ck.¡¯ Was Gary¡¯s first thought. A few momentster, he felt a rush of pain in his forearms. ¡®I know he¡¯s one of the top 50 Altered fighters, but my Endurance isn¡¯t a joke¡­ what¡¯s more, he hasn¡¯t even transformed yet! You¡¯re telling me a single punch did that much damage?!¡¯

    [Emergency healing now in progress]

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that guy Jayden Tiger? I swear it looks just like him.¡± One of the gang members eximed.

    ¡°Are you crazy? What would someone like him be doing here? Did someone hire him?¡± Another replied.

    Unlike the high schooler, Jayden wasn¡¯t wearing a mask nor hiding his identity in any other way, simply because he wasn¡¯t worried about some gang members recognising him. He would happily deal with anything that was toe after this event. At the same time, there were plenty of people that would happily stay clear of him as well.

    ¡®Wait a minute, something¡¯s wrong?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®If Jayden was really working for them¡­ then wouldn¡¯t they already know who he is? ¡­ but then why is he here? And why did he decide to beat me into a pulp?!¡¯

    ¡°Hang on, I think there¡¯s a mis-¡± Unfortunately, the teenager didn¡¯t get a chance to exin himself.

    ¡°I told you my instincts were always right.¡± Jayden smiled. ¡°You are the strongest out of them. It looks like your arms are in pretty good condition still, so let¡¯s do this.¡±

    For whatever reason, the Altered started to take off his sports top and threw it down on the ground, revealing his six-pack abs and his chiselled body. This wasn¡¯t simply the body of an athlete, but one of an Altered. It looked like a person¡¯s body which had been enhanced by performance drugs and then further photoshopped, but it was right here in the flesh.

    ¡®What do I do? How do I get myself out of this one? ¡­ and why THE HELL did he take off his shirt?!¡¯ Gary had troubleprehending the absurdity of the situation. He hade here to save Xin, yet he had somehow ended up fighting one of his idols.

    Identifying him as therger threat, the red colour gang members ignored Gary for the time being and charged forward towards Jayden, yet the Altered didn¡¯t even look away from the masked teenager. He was like a beast who had found its prey, and it wasn¡¯t going to let Gary go.

    Once the two members were close enough, the Altered fighter swung his arms, and the next moment the two grown men were already on the ground, knocked out cold. Gary was barely able to see the punches. More so, he had heard the impact on their faces, and he was sure a couple of them had broken noses or missing teeth.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised to find someone like you in a ce like this. Why would you work for a gang?¡± Jayden asked, charging forward again.

    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m n-¡± Once again, the high schooler failed to correct the Altered. It was as if he had already made up his mind about Gary being part of the colour gang, even though his outfit should have been a dead giveaway¡­

    ¡®Damn it, I¡¯ll use Controlled Transformation, buy enough time for him to notice. I can¡¯t leave now, I have to save Xin¡­ even if that means I have to defeat him first!¡¯

    Gary expanded his muscles, and through his shirt he could feel they were now like two small cannonballs. He got into a boxing-like stance and waited for the right time. Instead of joining in the fight, the remaining gang members had decided to run back into the cabin, leaving only the two to duke it out outside.

    ¡°See, some loyal gang members you have there!¡± Jayden shouted to the frustration of the masked high schooler.

    Gary threw out a punch, a perfect jab like Kirk had shown him. It was clean and smooth and most importantly it was fast. Unfortunately, the punch was also telegraphed, allowing Jayden to predict his actions from a mile away.

    He moved his head down slightly and to the right, avoiding the punch. He could hear the sound of the hit, and could tell it was strong.

    ¡°Your body¡­ it¡¯s not normal.¡± Jaydenmented, but surprisingly rather than panic, he could see that the masked guy¡¯s face seemed calm.

    ¡®I never thought my punch was going to hit you in the first ce. Besides, I know more than just boxing.¡¯

    His hand wrapped around Jayden¡¯s neck, and Gary was ready to perform his favourite move. He had clinched him, holding him tightly, ready to knee him. The only thing was, Jayden¡¯s strength was overwhelming.

    Even with a base Strength of 18 as well as the addition from Controlled Transformation, he was finding it hard to hold on to the other¡¯s head. When he lifted his knee up for the attack, instead of aiming at the head, he chose to go for the stomach instead. It was a solid hit, and Gary could feel the impact. With this strength, his opponent should have been down for the count. s¡­

    ¡°A strong blow, but I¡¯ve taken thousands of hits to the stomach stronger than this. You¡¯re not bad¡­ but you can¡¯tpare to an Altered!¡± Jayden shouted, as he lifted his head and broke free from Gary¡¯s grasp, pushing him back. The high schooler lost his bnce, and before he had a chance to regain it, the Altered threw a punch deep and to his side, aiming for his liver.

    [-16 HP]

    ¡®This attack hurts more than thest time he was holding back!¡¯

    Before Gary could recover, a kick was already appearing from the other side. The masked teenager lifted his arm, but it was useless as he was knocked to the side, and now on the ground. The kick was too heavy and strong.

    [-8 HP]

    ¡®I can¡¯t beat him, I can¡¯t beat him with just the Controlled Transformation. I¡¯ll either have to use more of it¡­ or use that again.¡¯ Gary thought, but just as he was about to get up the ground and do just that, he was kicked in the face. Flinging his head back andnding spread eagle.

    ¡°You have a good body, good power, are fast and can somewhat see my moves. All of that potential, yet you WASTE it, by bing some gang¡¯sckey!¡± Jayden sounded really annoyed as he walked over to the body and lifted him by the scruff of his shirt.

    ¡°¡­Streaker boy?!¡± Jayden eximed in surprise as he let go.

 Chapter 210: Beastâ€™s power

    <h4>Chapter 210: Beast¡¯s power</h4>

    With the barrage of attacks, Gary hadn¡¯t even had the chance to register that his mask had flown off from thatst kick. It wasn¡¯t until Jayden had called him ¡®streaker boy¡¯ that he touched his face and noticed that there was nothing hiding his identity.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe a kid like you stimted my Altered instincts!¡± Jayden shook his head in disbelief, yet the young adult also looked somewhat troubled how to deal with him. ¡°If I had known that you were in the red colour gang, then I wou-¡±

    ¡°I¡¯M NOT!¡± Gary quickly interrupted him, finally seeing a chance to clear up the misunderstanding. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to tell you the whole time!¡±

    Based on Jayden¡¯s earlier actions, as well as his apparent dislike for the red colour gang, the Altered fighter was clearly here on his own. Given their brief interaction on the night of the full moon, Gary hoped that the adult man would at least hear him out now. Getting called by that unique nickname proved that he hadn¡¯t forgotten about him¡­ for better or for worse¡­

    ¡°¡­ you honestly want me to believe that?¡± Jayden questioned the teenager as he lifted him up by his shirt, Gary not resisting. ¡°In that case, why would somebody like you be here, huh?!¡±

    ¡°Does my uniform look like I¡¯m part of their gang?¡± The high schooler asked back, while making sure to avoid sounding sarcastic.

    Getting a closer look at Gary, it was true that ¡®streaker boy¡¯s¡¯ uniform, as well as his mask, were ck and golden, rather than red. Holding him up, Jayden faced the forest, and behind Gary there were red colour gang members lying knocked out on the ground or rolling about in pain.

    Turning around, he could see his own path of havoc, meaning that someone else had fought with the colour gang. Slowly, the puzzle pieces fit together to form a clearer picture. Jayden eased the grip on Gary¡¯s shirt and allowed him to speak.

    ¡°It might be hard to believe, but the red colour gang attacked my school earlier today. We resisted, but they managed to kidnap my ssmate. I¡¯m just here¡­ I¡¯m just here to bring them back.¡± Gary exined.

    ¡°So you¡¯re not part of the red colour gang¡­ and you¡¯re here for Xin?¡± Jayden summed it up. For a moment, Gary was shocked that the Altered knew who was inside, yet the teenager quickly nodded. With that, Jayden let go of his shirt, and the teenager quickly headed to pick up his mask.

    ¡®Phew, he finally let go of me. However¡­ how does he know about Xin? ¡­ could it be¡­ is he her¡­¡¯ Gary snapped around and looked at Jayden who still had his top off. He was a good-looking man, and was also young. The age gap isn¡¯t too big between the two and maybe she¡¯s into older guys.

    ¡®If she already had a boyfriend, then why would she have agreed to a date?¡¯

    ¡°What¡¯s with the mask?¡± Jayden asked, now feeling guilty and awkward for wrongfully having attacked Gary. Putting the mask in his inner zer pocket for safe keeping, the high schooler felt a little too embarrassed to put it on again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not like you. I understand that what I¡¯m doing is borderline suicidal. I mean, it¡¯s not like I expected to encounter you here. No matter if I failed or seeded, I didn¡¯t want them to know who I was.¡± Gary answered, earning him an approving nod from Jayden, who could get behind that reasoning.

    ¡°Say, now that we know that we¡¯re on the same side, how about¡­ we cooperate?¡±

    Having been given a break, Gary¡¯s passive healing had kicked into effect, and it was already beginning to heal him, consuming his Energy. The high schooler doubted he would find anyone as strong as Jayden inside. Since he had alreadye all the way out here, he didn¡¯t want his idol to get all the credit¡­ especially if he turned out to be his rival in love.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m going inside and will handle everything. If you want to make yourself useful, feel free to call the police¡­¡± Jayden stated, as Gary was starting to go towards the entrance of the cabin.

    ¡°No¡­ I have to see who did this and why.¡± Gary insisted. ¡°They¡­ they hurt someone I care about!¡±

    Seeing the look in Gary¡¯s eyes, Jayden could tell he was serious. Just having fought him, although only briefly, the kid had at least proven capable enough to not end up as a burden.

    ¡°Fine, but you listen to what I have to say. Also, don¡¯t even think about disappearing afterwards. I still have a bone to pick with you for all the food you stole. Don¡¯t think I forgot. You made me veryte that day for a photo shoot.¡± Jayden said as he walked ahead.

    Ironically, Gary would probably never forget the raided fridge, since it was thanks to Jayden¡¯s endless supply of meat that he managed to survive that horrible night. Besides, it was one of the best meals of his life, something he would forever treasure after being forced to hunt wild creatures and spendrge amounts of money to fill up his Energy reserves.

    When Gary reached the stairs of the cabin, something hit his nose.

    ¡®This smell¡­ that¡¯s blood!¡¯

    The smell of blood from the members outside was consistent but this wasing from another direction, it wasing from inside, but neither of them had gone in the cabin yet. Aware of the implication, the teenager rushed past Jayden.

    ¡°Hey, wait! They¡¯re already aware that we were outside! They¡¯re most likely waiting for us already!¡± Jayden shouted. He had nned to enter the second floor and take them all out from above.

    However, Gary had already barged through the door, breaking them off. It was a weak door, but Gary had used quite some force that would have broken a normal door as well. Quickly catching up, Jayden was now standing next to him and could see Gary frozen in ce.

    That¡¯s when, at the very back of the room, they could see the gang members who had scurried off inside. They all turned to look towards the door and Xin was being held up on her feet out of the seat she was in while Tiffany held a little knife to her neck. Her face was bruised, and blood was dripping slightly from her nose.

    Standing by her side was Riv who nervously smiled at the situation.

    ¡°Sh*t, those reports weren¡¯t exaggerated. Of all people, why is Jayden Tiger here? Tell me, did the mayor hire you to rescue you? How much is he paying you? You know the amount of money that he would pay for his daughter right, I can give you half if you just look the other way.¡± The red colour gang leader tried to bargain with the Altered, aware that their chances to stand up to him were slim to none.

    Looking at who had busted through the door, Xin knew he woulde, but as for the person standing beside her¡­why was he here? Why did someone she barely knewe all the way here for her? It was the first time in her life someone other than her family came looking for her.

    Seeing Xin in the state she was in, Gary was clenching his fists so hard that his nails dug into the palm of his hand. Veins were popping at the top of his head.

    ¡°You¡­you¡­¡± Gary was so angry he was stuttering, and he was a little worried that Jayden might ept the offer.

    Little did he know, Jayden¡¯s blood was boiling even more.

    ¡°GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY SISTER!¡± Jayden demanded as his body started to transform.

 Chapter 211: No Chance

    <h4>Chapter 211: No Chance</h4>

    Being the Altered fight fanatic that he was, Gary knew quite a lot about Altered. After the change, an Altered would first have to get used to their new body, as well as the capabilities it held. One of the most important skills was changing their body from a human to the Altered form.

    ording to some documentaries, that wasn¡¯t an easy thing to do, at all. The first time was apparently the hardest of them all. Some could only fully transform into their beast selves, others would often times mistakenly transform the wrong parts of their body, changing their feet when they wanted to change their hands, for example.

    As such, it was essential for an Altered fighter to master this skill. In their case, theypeted in regard to the time it would take them to transform. This was crucial, since both fighters were required to start out in their human forms.

    Fortunately, Gary didn¡¯t have that problem¡­ at least not any more. Thanks to acquiring the Controlled Transformation skill, the system took care of it for him. The teenager just had to imagine which part of his body he wanted to transform and to what degree. If he wanted to, he could also use Full Transformation to be aplete Werewolf.

    Regardless, he knew that Jayden was a strong Altered, a professional who was on top of his game, and his body was already turning into something in a fraction of a second. The first thing that was noticeable was his skin had started to turn whiter, almost pale, till it looked like snow itself.

    A lightyer of fur was seen across his skin, it wasn¡¯t thick like when Gary would transform. This also was white and looked soft. Still there were some simrities between the two, as his hands had turned into deadly ws, yet the most noticeable change was on his face.

    It now had ck marking patternsing across from his forehead, going down the side of his cheeks. His eyes narrowed like a beast and his ck ashy grey hair started to grow down his back. Soon, that began to turnpletely white as well.

    All of this, had taken less than half of a second, but Gary couldn¡¯t help but be bewitched by this majestic beauty. It certainly was one of the most beautiful Altered the world had ever seen, and it was why Jayden had be popr not just as an Altered fighter but a model and celebrity as well, known as ¡®the ¡®White Tiger¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s¡­so cool.¡¯ Gary couldn¡¯t help but stare. He soon snapped out of it his reverie as he remembered the situation he was in, and what words hade out of Jayden¡¯s mouth a second ago. ¡®Did he just say that Xin¡­ is his sister?! But their names, Xin Clove¡­Jayden Tiger.¡¯

    The next moment, Gary was ready to facepalm. It wasn¡¯t rare for an Altered fighter to use a stage name. There were many reasons why one might want to do it as well. Most did it to pick a more menacing sounding name that would easily catch on. Jayden had naturally chosen Tiger as hisst name due to his Altered form.

    Despite his public appearances, the Altered fighter¡¯s real name had been kept a secret, yet it wasn¡¯t hard for Gary to guess that it had to be Clover. Now, it made sense why Jayden hade all the way out here to Slough, and why he hade to this cabin. He wasn¡¯t here for the pay, but because he genuinely cared for his sister.

    Unfortunately, Gary failed to see how transforming at this point and time would help Xin, who was being held at knife point. If it wasn¡¯t for that, the teenager would have already stormed in.

    ¡®What¡­is she doing here!¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Tiffany screeched while her hands were visibly shaking, leaving a small cut on the hostage¡¯s neck. It was clear she was scared, seeing an Altered in real life, and on TV were two different things.

    They were so rare in the world that to normal people they seemed like something straight out of a fairy tale. Not moving from his spot, it looked like Jayden tilted his head back a bit, and he opened his mouth wide, revealing sharp teeth. The next second, flinging his head forward, a loud roar erupted in the room.

    The whole cabin began shaking, and Gary, who had been standing next to him, suffered the brunt of it due to his sensitive ears. The teenager fell down to his knees, covering his ears as he rolled on the floor with pain, though he wasn¡¯t the only one.

    What Jayden had let out wasn¡¯t a regr roar. Although invisible, a strong force had travelled through the air and hit Riv who had been on the other side of the room. The red colour gang leader was chucked into the wall behind him, some wooden panels on the cabin wall had snapped in half. One secondter, he fell to the floor in pain.

    ¡®What was that? From a roar?¡¯ Gary wondered, as he opened one eye to look up.

    ¡°Riv!¡± Tiffany cried out and looked towards her boyfriend. Seeing her opportunity, Xin opened her mouth and bit down hard on Tiffany¡¯s hand while the teenage girl was distracted. Her arms were tied, but the ropes tied around her legs had broken. It looked like they had been sliced in half by some type of knife.

    Believing that this had to have been her brother¡¯s doing, she kicked her tormentor¡¯s leg, causing Tiffany to fall over.

    ¡°You really had thising!¡± Xin cursed, as she kicked the ss diva in the side of the head knocking her out.

    Riv had gotten off the floor, his body aching, only to see that his dear sweetheart was being hurt.

    ¡°What are you guys doing?! Get him.¡± The red colour gang leader shouted.

    It was then that the others were about to make their move, still standing in the same position by the door. Jayden swung both his hands out fast, a whip-like sound was heard as his fingers cut through the air.

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure if he was imagining things, but it appeared as if giant w marks were flying through the air. Secondster, there was no doubt left that those w marks had been very real. They hit the men who were standing by either side, cutting through their clothes and through their skin. Some of the weapons they held in their hands also were cut in half and had fallen to the floor.

    The cuts weren¡¯t shallow either, going quite deep, and blood was spilling everywhere as they fell to the floor. Those further away might have been lucky, but they were too afraid to get up again.

    Gary was still trying to figure out what had happened. Jayden hadn¡¯t moved from his spot, yet he had somehow hurt Riv, who was on the other side of the room, and also dealt damage to all the others as well who weren¡¯t close either.

    He had seen hundreds of Altered fights, yet not a single one had been this devastating.

    ¡°There are some things that aren¡¯t shown on TV.¡± Jayden said, seemingly aware of Gary¡¯s confusion, while he walked towards his sister.

    Staring at him, Gary could only think one thing.

    ¡®I stood no chance.¡¯

 Chapter 212: The turn

    <h4>Chapter 212: The turn</h4>

    Gary continued to stare at Jayden¡¯s back in disbelief after what he had seen, his transformation had ended but the sight and memory of what he had just done was burned into his mind, possibly forever.

    ¡®No wonder the system didn¡¯t issue a Quest. Even if I used a Full Transformation, it would have been impossible to defeat him. Jayden hasn¡¯t even fully transformed, so this was just a fraction of his power¡­ Do all Altered have these kinds of powers, or is he just special?¡¯ Gary was still shocked.

    Seeing that his sister was okay, and after checking her over, he could tell she just had a small dried blood by her nose from being hit. Her nose wasn¡¯t broken, and the cut on her neck was shallow and small enough that it wouldn¡¯t leave a scar. Jayden would have paid for the best medical care in the world if his sister hade out of this with any permanent damage.

    It was then, at that moment, that Riv saw an opening and started to make a run for it. He fled towards the exit, abandoning Tiffany. With the way Jayden had dealt with his subordinates, he understood that the Altered wouldn¡¯t shy away from killing him.

    ¡°Jayden, he¡¯s getting away!¡± Xin called out. After everything he had done to her, even if it might have been because of his psycho girlfriend, she wanted him to pay for him. ¡°What are you doing? Aren¡¯t you going to go after him?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Streaker boy can handle it.¡± Jayden smiled, to the confusion of Xin.

    Gary stood up from the ground, as Riv ran towards him.

    ¡°Get the f*ck out of my way!¡± Riv shouted, recognising Gary as the guy who had ruined their ns back in Westbridge. He didn¡¯t have time to care what the high schooler was doing here, he just needed to get out of the ce.

    Riv threw a punch, and at the same time Gary stepped forward, moving his hand to the side. He swung his arm out, clenching his fist as he used Controlled Transformation to increase its power, before he whacked Riv right in his face. The teenager made sure to aim right between his upper teeth and nose.

    A loud crack was heard breaking Riv¡¯s nose, and his front teeth had shattered, partly going in his mouth. The red colour gang leader slid across the floor with his head banging onto a wall.

    ¡°Mr Root¡­didn¡¯t deserve that.¡± Gary said. Seeing him on the ground, the high schooler was actually hoping he hadn¡¯t passed out from the single hit, yet he had received a system message informing him that Riv had been defeated. Still, he wanted to hurt him more for all the pain he had inflicted to his coach.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Jayden called out as he saw the unwillingness of Gary to let go. ¡°That was a good hit, but you should stop there. Trust me, it¡¯s taking every cell in my body to not rip all of these guys apart. I can see that it¡¯s the same for you, but don¡¯t be worse than them. Otherwise, one day I might have toe for you.¡±

    Gary took a deep breath, and with Jayden¡¯s words, he tried to calm down. As if on cue, a system screen appeared in front of him, and gave Gary even more to smile about.

    [Secret achievement unlocked: Colour Gang Destroyer II]

    [Two colour gangs down.

    Are you trying to collect a rainbow?

    Something good might happen if you take out all three.]

    [Reward; 25% Level Up]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 14]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [Exp 232/2578]

    From the fighting Gary had done so far, he had been getting Exp for every single member he had beaten, and with this unexpected reward, he had umted enough to reach Level 14. Still, after seeing Jayden in action, he felt like there was a long way ahead of him before he would catch up.

    Jayden was busy untying his sister, and while doing so he leaned in closer.

    ¡°Nice choice for a boyfriend. Setting aside his strange hobbies, I wouldn¡¯t let him go if I was you.¡±

    Immediately, Xin¡¯s face lit up red, and she went for a kick, hitting her brother¡¯s shin.

    ¡°Hey! Is that what I get for saving you?!¡± Jaydenined as he rubbed his leg. The high school girl would feel bad for him¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for the teasing smile on his face.

    The three of them had a lot to talk about. Xin wanted to ask both of them a lot of questions, starting with how Gary had even found her and why he was with her brother, but all of that would have to wait. First, they needed to get out of here. There were quite a few people that were worrying about Xin. Gary was also sure that there were those that were worrying about him as well.

    ¡°Hey, pick that one up. Jayden pointed towards Riv who was still on the floor, while he himself had Tiffany over his shoulder. ¡°These people aren¡¯t going to just get away with this. We¡¯ll take them to the police station ourselves, that way no gang member can get involved.¡±

    Picking up Riv, Gary took pleasure in knowing that for once the judicial system would punish these people, but it was only because the mayor was involved. If it had been a normal family, then it was likely that the red colour gang would have been able to buy their way out of trouble.

    After lifting Riv over his shoulder, and leaving the rest, the three of them walked outside, but they soon stopped just on the decking outside. When looking ahead in the forest area, there were several people standing, around fifty in total. It was clear these weren¡¯t police or normal citizens, and they weren¡¯t members of the red colour gang either.

    Arge man stood in the centre, next to him was one who wore a leather jacket and had shades on his face, then finally there was another with a dragon tattoo up his neck, D.

    ¡®Why are there so many people here? Didn¡¯t the system state that the red colour gang was out? What are they all doing here?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    It was obvious from their clothes that they weren¡¯t with the red colour gang, but bringing this many people here to an area like this, Gary felt like the main battle was still ahead.

    ¡°I see, so you finally managed to call the Grey Elephants over? Well, it was a littlete, don¡¯t you think?¡± Jayden shouted.

    The words were aimed at none other than D. The gang leader was too afraid to do what Jayden had done, but at least it looked like the goons that the mayor had hired hadn¡¯t beenpletely useless. The question remained whether that was a good or a bad thing.

    For Gary, who was standing next to Jayden, his hands were shaking.

    ¡®Did he just say¡­Grey Elephants?!¡¯

    It wasn¡¯t just any ordinary member of the Grey Elephants gang, for standing at the front of all the men was their leader, Brandon Trunk. Standing a bit behind him was D, leader of the Rising Dragons, and finally, to the right of Brandon was Raven, the other leader of the Grey Elephants.

 Chapter 213: 3 vs 50

    <h4>Chapter 213: 3 vs 50</h4>

    Gary had heard quite a lot about the Grey Elephants gang during his time as a transporter. After all, they were the secondrgest gang in Slough, though it wasn¡¯t as if anybody had ever shown him a picture of the leader¡¯s faces. Nevertheless, the presence of these people made it clear that they were at the very least high-ranking members of the gang.

    ¡®These people, they are the ones that captured Amy¡­ who made her go through all that crap.¡¯

    Despite how much Gary wanted to get out of here and deal with them, he knew now was not the time. Not with how many people they were, and not while involving others. Fortunately, the Grey Elephants had yet to make a move.

    ¡®If they¡¯re here now, does that mean they were the ones who had ordered the attack on the school? I still have no clue why Tiffany was with them. Seriously, this whole thing seems to be moreplicated than it looks.¡¯

    Unsure about the full scope of the situation, Gary had decided to keep his mouth shut and just let things y out. The high schooler was also slightly regretting that he hadn¡¯t put on his mask again, though it seemed a bit toote for it now. His best course of action seemed to be to let Jayden do the talking, and try to appear as unimportant as a green haired teenager in the middle of the woods could be.

    ¡°We don¡¯t want to mess with you, Mr Tiger!¡± Brandon shouted out. ¡°That was not why we came. You see, Mr D here informed me that one of my subordinates took matters into his own hands and captured the young miss over there.

    ¡°Once the matter came to my attention, we got to work. As soon as we learned about Riv having fled here, I gathered my men to rescue the young miss. It appears that you¡¯ve managed to locate them before us, though.

    ¡°Let me assure you again that we yed no part in this n, and I apologise for not keeping my people in check. I hope you can hand over the culprits and I promise that we will give them the appropriate punishment.¡±

    Jayden stood there for a while, not saying anything as he thought about what to do. It was clear he wasn¡¯t afraid of the Grey Elephants. At the same time, going against them or getting on their bad side would likely prove to be a major annoyance to his father and sister, who had chosen to live in this town.

    Jayden was smart enough to know that the big gangs would never act this shy, nor would they involve the public to this degree. Besides, they wouldn¡¯t have gone after Xin to ckmail money out of the mayor, instead they would have gone directly after their father, forcing him to submit to them.

    At the end of the day, Xin was now safe. Jayden was also sure that now that they knew that he was associated with the mayor and his daughter, that they wouldn¡¯t dare to act against them anytime soon.

    Walking down the cabins¡¯ old steps, Jayden made the first move, and now they stood fifteen metres away from each other. He looked towards Gary and nodded. Taking this as a sign, Gary quickly walked over, and ced Riv on the ground in front of the Altered.

    He looked Brandon in the eye for a second and Raven who seemed to be staring at him, before quickly going back to Xin¡¯s side. Jayden did the same, cing Tiffany on the ground as well.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this wench?¡± Brandon asked, since this was the first time he had seen the teenage girl. He then kicked Riv on the ground a couple of times, which managed to jolt him awake.

    ¡°Where am I?¡± Riv looked around confused. Getting up fast, the red colour gang leader touched his face that was in pain. When he looked at Gary and Jayden, he was filled with anger.

    ¡°You bastards!¡± Riv shouted, yet before he could do anything, he felt his body getting lifted off the ground. His own shirt was starting to choke him around his neck slightly. Turning around, he saw who it was, and his head started to sweat as he recognised the Grey Elephant leader.

    ¡°Boss!¡± Riv let out a choked gasp.

    ¡°Oh, so suddenly you remember that I¡¯m your boss, hm?¡± Brandon sounded very annoyed. He threw Riv on the ground with such force letting him go. The gang leader¡¯s body hit the ground so hard that he bounced slightly while blood spewed from his mouth. Before Riv could do anything else, Brandon stomped on the back of his head, the sheer weight and strength crushing part of his skull.

    Everything had happened so fast, and although it was clear that Brandon wasn¡¯t stronger than Jayden in any way, his actions, that he had just done, were frightful in its own way. Riv, no longer had a heart beat, Gary could tell he was dead.

    Still, it didn¡¯t look like he was done just yet, he soon picked up Tiffany by the mouth. His hand was so big it was able to grab around her entire head. When she was lifted, she suddenly came to and was hanging onto Brandon¡¯s forearm, kicking and screaming.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Xin shouted. ¡°Please, she¡¯s just a high school student¡­ let her go! She¡¯s not part of the red colour gang.¡±

    Being under their care for a while, she could tell that Tiffany wasn¡¯t really a part of their gang. In fact, she hadined about Riv whenever he had left the room. To Xin it appeared as if Tiffany had begun dating him at the beginning out of fun, but when getting in too deep, there was no way she could leave.

    Riv¡­ had already been a dangerous person, but it looked like the people he had associated with, had been even more dangerous and more scrupulous than him.

    ¡°This little girl could get us in a lot of trouble.¡± Raven eventually spoke up and stepped forward. ¡°It looks like she was part of the ones that kidnapped you, yet you want to save her? We have a rtionship with the Rising Dragons and this could have been ruined. Others might even use this situation against us, we can¡¯t let this get out, not someone who was so close to the matter.¡±

    It looked like Xin¡¯s plea wasn¡¯t going to work, and it was then that the high school girl pulled on Jayden¡¯s arm and looked at him from below. Did Xin hate Tiffany? Of course, she did, but it wasn¡¯t yet to a degree that she wanted her dead. For some reason, she knew that not for a second did Tiffany want to truly hurt her.

    From the things she had overheard, the n to get her family involved, the ransom and taking her away, even the attack on the school had not been something she had ever intended. The n kept getting deeper and Tiffany didn¡¯t know how to deal with it.

    A secondter and a big sigh was heard from his mouth, as he started to walk forward.

    ¡°You heard my sister, let her go.¡± Jayden demanded, looking up at Brandon.

    ¡®Is a fight going to break out? Right now?¡¯ Gary wondered, as he needed to be ready at any second.

 Chapter 214: Break through

    <h4>Chapter 214: Break through</h4>

    Seeing Jayden so close to the Grey Elephant leader was sending shivers down Gary¡¯s spine. After seeing what he had just done, Gary didn¡¯t know how a person could still walk up to someone in the same way, not unless they were nning to do something.

    ¡®If a fight breaks out¡­ I know whose side I¡¯m going to be on¡­the question is, will I have to fully transform if that¡¯s the case?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°I said, let her go.¡± Jayden repeated once more, and as soon as he finished his sentence, Brandon let go of Tiffany, letting her fall to the ground, close to her now deceased boyfriend.

    ¡°As I said, we don¡¯t want to get on your bad side, Mr Tiger. If that is your wish, then so be it. However, we¡¯ll have to ask you to make sure that she doesn¡¯t tell anyone about what happened here.¡± Brandon then stood to the side, with his hand pointed towards the forest, and the rest of the Grey elephant members moved to the side as well.

    Honestly, Gary was at a loss for words, he was wondering what had just happened, and if what he had seen was true. Did one of the biggest gangs in Slough really submit to a single person¡­ simply because he had told them to?

    This wasn¡¯t the ruthless way that Gary knew from being in a gang.

    ¡®Is this what it means to have power? So much power that not even a top gang can mess with him?¡¯

    The simple truth was that the Grey Elephants didn¡¯t dare to go up against Jayden. It was a fight that the gang leader wasn¡¯t sure they would win, nor did they have anything to gain from it either.

    It was better to just let the Altered get his way. Quickly, Xin ran over to Tiffany¡¯s side and gave her a shoulder. She could feel that her former tormentor¡¯s legs were wet. The teenage girl must have peed herself in fear when Brandon had picked her up.

    After being held up like that by a brute and in a brutal way, Xin couldn¡¯t me her. It also looked like Tiffany didn¡¯t mind that her captive was helping her out of this situation, as she willingly took her shoulder and started to walk out of the ce.

    Gary rushed and gave his other shoulder to Tiffany. The two were walking slowly and quite frankly he didn¡¯t want to stay in this ce for long. There was a part of Gary that felt like the gang would turn around in seconds, but, thankfully, they never did.

    ¡°Interesting, huh? Who would have thought that the mayor was keeping someone like that by his side.¡± Brandon said out loud. ¡°Do you remember the reports we got from the colour gang that day, about how the Underdogs had acted quicker than usual, and that they had asked each of the members about a green coloured boy. Do you know who that was?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Mr D shrugged his shoulders. ¡°He seems a little too young to be a friend of Jayden¡¯s. Perhaps, it¡¯s an associate of the young miss. However, I don¡¯t remember ever having seen him in the mayor¡¯s family.¡±

    ¡°Raven, it might be a long shot, but if you have time after dealing with that personal project of yours, maybe you should look into him. See if he has any rtion to the Underdogs or the underworld in general.¡± Brandon ordered as he walked off. ¡°Someone clean up this mess as well!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Eventually, the group hade to a road just outside the forest that led to a more residential area. Looking behind him, Gary couldn¡¯t see any of the Grey Elephants following them.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± The green haired teenager asked. Since he had been following Jayden this whole time, it just felt natural to listen to the Altered?

    ¡°¡®We¡¯?¡± Jayden stopped for a moment, before he turned around. ¡°Since D was here, I¡¯m sure they will be here soon as well. So ¡®we¡¯, as in me and my little sister, will take that girl with us, crack some sense into her and tell her how lucky she was today.¡±

    Tiffany looked like she hadpletely lost it. Her eyelids were open wide like she was awake but not really registering what the others were saying.

    ¡°Gary.¡± Xin eventually said, as she let Tiffany slowly stand on her own two feet. She looked down the road as if she was looking for something and then quickly turned back. ¡°Why are you with my brother?¡±

    Nervous about how to answer this, Gary was scratching the back of his head thinking of a good way to exin himself.

    ¡°Haha, this food thief was already at the cabin before me. Like a knight in shining armour, he seemed to have been looking out for you, Xin. Who knows, if it¡¯s him, maybe you could convince Dad to hire him as your guard.¡± Jayden pped his hands together as he had a light bulb moment.

    ¡°Come to think about it, you shoulde over some time. Not today, that won¡¯t be the best with everything that has happened, but I¡¯m sure our Dad would like to thank you for what you did. If not, I might have something for you.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t know how to reply. Getting invited to the mayor¡¯s house seemed more like a reward for some honour student, not a nobody like him. At the same time, it felt like meeting the parents before a first date was also skipping a few too many steps.

    A luxury ck car was approaching from a distance, slowly starting to pull up. There wasn¡¯t just one, but three of them in total. Xin and the others were heading towards the car, leaving Gary on his own.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gary shouted out to Xin. ¡°Before you go, what about our¡­ you know date?¡± The teenager finally asked. Being honest with his feelings in this way was bing a lot easier after everything he had been through.

    ¡°Ah.¡± Xin turned around and had her hand ced open. It took a second for Gary to figure out she was asking for his phone. A few secondster and it was handed back over. ¡°It¡¯s my number, if you haven¡¯t guessed. I¡¯m sorry, but I have no idea what my Dad will decide to do after everything that has happened today. I know it might be awkward, but I¡¯m afraid my brother¡¯s idea will have to count as our first date.¡±

    The door closed and for a brief second, Gary had seen a face on Xin he had never seen before, it was one of sadness, pure sadness.

    ¡®She looked so happy just a second ago¡­ it was only after she said those words.¡¯ Gary thought as he looked after the disappearing cars. Letting out a sigh, Gary finally had a free moment to check his phone, only to see that Kai had left him a message.

    [Let us know when you¡¯re done on your end. We¡¯ll be staying here untilte in the evening, and we wouldn¡¯t mind having an extra pair of hands.]

    Seeing the text, although Kai and the others were doing scouting work for the gang, for once he just wanted to rx a little with his friends.

    ¡®Before that¡­ I need to do something that was long overdue.

    ¡­ should I go with blue this time?¡¯

 Chapter 215: Sorry means nothing

    <h4>Chapter 215: Sorry means nothing</h4>

    On the road, three ck sedan vehicles could be seen driving, following one after the other. They kept a simr distance apart, and each of them were filled with guards that were from the Rising Dragon gang.

    However, the one who had orchestrated this wasn¡¯t their gang leader, but the mayor. In the centre sedan in the back seat, Xin was sitting in the middle, while Tiffany sat up against the door and her brother Jayden was on the other side as well.

    They had been riding for quite a while. The Clove family lived close to the outskirts, yet before heading there, Jayden told the driver to stop by the hospital. He wanted to drop Tiffany off there, so the girl could get checked up before getting picked up by her guardian.

    For the most part, the ss diva had been out of it, stilling to terms with what had happened today, her role in this entire mess, as well as to how ss she hade to her own death. All the while, she had been holding on to the side of her head where Xin had kicked her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tiffany eventually blurted out as she turned to Xin. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry¡­ for everything.¡±

    The high school girl didn¡¯t break eye contact for even a second, as if waiting for an answer. It made an already awkward situation even more awkward, especially since both girls were only inches apart from each other. However, contrary to what Tiffany might have expected, Xin didn¡¯t ept her apology.

    Grabbing the skirt Xin was wearing, she scrunched it up in her hand, pulling tightly. All the anger inside her, the frustration built up had to be released somehow.

    ¡°You think a simple ¡®sorry¡¯ is going to cut it?¡± Xin questioned Tiffany, her eyes narrowed to slits. ¡°All I ever wanted was the opportunity to enjoy a normal high school life! Was that really too much to ask for?!¡±

    Honestly, although Tiffany was sorry for what Xin had been through, since they had all got out of it rtively okay she thought things would be fine. As long as she didn¡¯t tell anyone what she had seen today, and didn¡¯t get involved with the gang mess again, everything would be okay, which led Tiffany to ask.

    ¡°Why¡­are you so upset? I don¡¯t understand, we are okay right, but please, is there anything I can do to fix it?¡± Tiffany asked, trying to be more sincere this time. She wasn¡¯t used to apologising, usually she just got whatever she wanted. Nevertheless, she knew that she had screwed up royally today.

    ¡°WHY!¡± Xin shouted, raising her voice, and the man behind the wheel nced at the rear mirror looking at her. ¡°Tell me, why did you have to take things this far? Why couldn¡¯t you have just kept it between the two of us?

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried apologising to you for more than a week in which you tortured me, only for your goons to prevent me from so much as talking to you¡­ Why couldn¡¯t you have called it quits after that?

    ¡°All of this¡­ because I identally threw you into a pile of vomit? I apologised to you straight away, didn¡¯t I?! Back then, I really meant it, because I knew what I had done wrong, but do you? Do you even have a whiff of an idea how much could have gone wrong today?!¡±

    ¡°Everyone at school suffered this morning, because of you! Worse, you¡¯ve gotten my entire family involved! ¡± Xin was tearing up, something she rarely did, but she couldn¡¯t hold in her frustration any more.

    ¡°You wanted to make my life miserable, didn¡¯t you? Well, congrattions, you¡¯ve actually managed to do it. You have no idea how long I had to plead and beg my father to give me a chance toe to a normal highschool like Westbridge. After today, it¡¯s safe to say, he¡¯ll have me transfer somewhere else!

    ¡°I want you to know this, and I want you to carry this weight with you for the rest of your life. You¡¯ve ruined my life. My one chance at freedom and a normal school life has vanished.¡± Even though saying the words were so painful, and her throat felt so heavy filled with water when speaking them, when she looked at Tiffany she smiled, her face teary eyed.

    It was something Tiffany didn¡¯t understand, but seeing Xin force a smile like that at her, even though she didn¡¯t know the reason she was sad. It pained her¡­ it hurt her a lot.

    ¡®What¡­ did I do?¡¯ Tiffany thought, reflecting back to when this had all started. It was hard for her to self reflect at this moment, because she really didn¡¯t understand why she had done the things she did. Why did she want to hurt Xin so bad? Was it the environment of the people around her, or did she just want to show what she was capable of because someone hadn¡¯t listened to her¡­Xin was a threat.

    Either way all those reasons seemed stupid now.

    Her only silver lining was that the car was approaching its destination, the hospital. Since Xin was obviously no longer in the mood to talk, Jayden decided to do the talking instead. He informed Tiffany about what she should say to the hospital.

    One of the Rising Dragon gang members would apany her to pay for everything. At the same time, he would be there to make sure she didn¡¯t bber about anything that had happened today, and that included the fact that Jayden Tiger was actually Xin Clove¡¯s brother.

    After exining everything, the door was closed and Tiffany was left with the guard in front of the hospital. She looked up at where the sky would be but could only see the top of the hospital covering for cars.

    ¡°AHHHHHH!¡± Tiffany screamed at the top of her lungs, getting all of her frustration and worry out of her.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Back in the car, the brother, and sister pair were amongst themselves and Jayden was thinking of a way to cheer Xin up. He was smart enough to not even attempt some small talk after her breakdown. However, he got a sudden inspiration when he looked outside and spotted a strange green nt outside that reminded him of a certain someone.

    ¡°Soooo, do you need a new outfit for that uing date?¡± Jayden asked, which worked wonders in catching Xin¡¯s attention, though she was speechless. ¡°Care to tell me, what the hell you did that would make a guy be willing to fight an entire colour gang for you? You¡¯ve been here for barely a month¡­ did you cast some magic spell on him or something?¡±

    Xin¡¯s face was turning a shade of red as usual. However, her brother¡¯s words did make her wonder about how she got Gary to like her. She hadn¡¯t done much, and if it was just a simple physical attraction, she could understand.

    ¡®Was it when I kicked him in the head? And now he¡¯s saved me twice.¡¯ Xin thought.

    Meanwhile, Jayden¡¯s thoughts also revolved around Gary.

    ¡®How could a kid the same age as Xin be so strong? Food thief, what exactly are you hiding? That ¡®date¡¯ is certainly something I¡¯ll be looking forward to¡­¡¯

 Chapter 216: A life worth living

    <h4>Chapter 216: A life worth living</h4>

    Seeing the gates open up to her grand estate, Xin was feeling more nervous than ever before. She didn¡¯t fail to notice that there were more men in suits than usual outside the gated driveway. There were even more standing outside the house itself.

    ¡®Was he worried that they woulde after him as well after finding out about me?¡¯ The high school girl wondered.

    She also thought that having all these guards was useless. In the end, when Xin had been kidnapped, it wasn¡¯t them who hade to rescue her. In her opinion, her father was just wasting his money and time with them.

    Still, she understood a lot of the gang business, businessman, and government politics that went on. How they all needed to work together in nearly every city to do what they needed to do.

    Unfortunately, it had be abundantly clear that although her father had joined hands with the Rising Dragon gang, it meant nothing in the face of one of Slough¡¯s big time gangs. Despite anything Mayor Clove might have promised during his election, the ones really in charge of the town were still the gangs¡­ just like everywhere else.

    Eventually, exiting out of the car, the two siblings walked up a grand staircase that led to theirrge front doors. The closer the high school girl came to those doors, the heavier her legs felt, seemingly about to buckle.

    ¡°Jayden.¡± Xin addressed her brother, stoppingpletely at the stairs now. ¡°You will back me up, right?¡±

    Jayden only nced at her for a second, before letting out a small sigh. With that, he continued to go up the stairs. It wasn¡¯t a good sign, as it indicated that he wouldn¡¯t be able to shield her from what woulde next.

    After walking through the double doors, Xin¡¯s mother could be seen pacing back and forth, biting her fingernails at the entrance way to their home. As soon as she saw who came in, she ran right up to Xin giving her daughter a huge hug.

    ¡°My baby!¡± The mother eximed, holding onto her tightly as if she was unwilling to ever let go again. ¡°I can¡¯t believe those guys did that to you! I knew we shouldn¡¯t have moved to this town. I¡¯ve been worried about you since day one, and now this happened.¡±

    ¡°Mum, you¡¯re starting to hurt me.¡± Xin softly said, leading her mother to let go for a moment. The middle-aged woman stood up and gave Jayden a kiss on the forehead as well. Although she knew that it should be nearly impossible for normal gangsters to hurt her son, a mother would always worry about her children.

    s, there was still someone else Xin had to meet. ¡°Come on, your father is waiting for you. Don¡¯t worry, darling, your father and I have already been making preparations to prevent something like this from ever happening again.¡±

    Xin took a deep breath, and she gulped down hard. It was something that couldn¡¯t be avoided. All three of them soon walked towards arge ck door. Opening the door, an office could be seen on the other side, with bookshelves decorating the side of the walls and arge desk in the centre.

    The person sitting behind the desk was naturally Ben Clove, Slough¡¯s mayor. The middle-aged man even had a little que on his table, to make sure any potential guest would be aware of that fact. Her father was sitting in the chair and didn¡¯t get up to see if she was okay, like her mother had done. He just continued to sit.

    Meanwhile, her mother went to stand behind the mayor¡¯s chair. There was a chair opposite him, and Xin understood that her father wanted her to take the seat. Sitting down, she was just happy that her brother was in the room with her as well.

    ¡°First, I know this whole event must have been scary for you, and it¡¯s my fault. We knew that you might be a target because you are my daughter. I thought that perhaps they would use it to leverage my position and get me to help the other gangs, but I never imagined that the only thing they would want was money.¡± Ben exined.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Xin interrupted. ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t want you to get the wrong idea. They didn¡¯t kidnap me for money. Well, they did, but that was just the secondary reason. All of this was just because I had a falling out with one of the girls at school and-¡°

    A loud bang was heard on the table as her father hit it with the underside of his hand.

    ¡°Xin, whatever reason they might have had, it doesn¡¯t matter. We want to keep you safe. We tried it your way, and it didn¡¯t work out. Furthermore, we even had guards taking you from and to school yet this still happened. Even if their target wasn¡¯t really me, it can still happen, and I just can¡¯t take that risk.

    ¡°I admit that I was selfish when I listened to my advisors. ¡®A mayor who even trusts to send his own daughter to a public school¡¯¡­ it sounded good for my public image, but I should have never risked your well-being. ¡­ I¡¯ve made a mistake, Xin. Your life is far more important than what the voters think of me.

    ¡°That¡¯s why, your mother and I have agreed that we¡¯ll be sending you to a boarding school in a Tier-2 city under a fake name. You cane back to see us on the weekends.¡±

    This was what she was afraid of, when she heard her mother say those few words by the doorway, she had imagined this would be the result.

    ¡®I have¡­ I have to fight back¡­ I don¡¯t want to live like that.¡¯

    ¡°Dad!¡± Xin shouted back. ¡°You just said that my life is more important. This is MY life you are talking about. I might not be an adult yet, but I¡¯m sixteen, so shouldn¡¯t I get some say in it? Come on, Jayden, you didn¡¯t have to go through this stuff. Please!¡±

    Her parents were often stubborn when it came to decisions, having already made up their mind, but they did listen to their firstborn son.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Xin, but I actually kind of agree with them.¡± Jayden looked down. ¡°I know it¡¯s not fair for you to suffer like this when I didn¡¯t have to. However, when I was younger, our parents weren¡¯t important figures yet. Barely anybody cared about our Clove family¡­ but after what happened today¡­

    ¡°Slough isn¡¯t safe right now. I won¡¯t always be there to protect you.¡±

    Immediately, Xin felt defeated, not even her brother was on her side. With her parents like this, they would never trust her, not even when she was an adult. She knew that her father would constantly be putting guards on her. When would it end? She couldn¡¯t see any light in sight.

    ¡°Still, I have to agree that this is your life. That¡¯s why I do have a suggestion. None of us would have to worry if Xin was¡­ like me, right?¡± Jayden asked, and from the reaction of her parents it was clear that this was the first time they had even entertained such a possibility.

    ¡°If she could protect herself, you wouldn¡¯t have to worry. Xin, this ispletely up to you, okay, but what do you think about joining the Altered Fighting Academy like I did?¡±

    Both of her parents looked at each other, they didn¡¯t really know what to say, and it wasn¡¯t really a suggestion they were expecting.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not telling Xin to be a professional fighter or anything like that, but it¡¯s a two-year course, and we do have the money. So why not make her into an Altered that can protect herself? We¡¯ll keep who she is away from the public and change her name. After two years of training, there won¡¯t be any thugs in the street that will be able to take her on.¡±

    It was something Xin had never even considered. She liked fighting because of her brother, but never thought about it as a profession. Even though her brother said she didn¡¯t have to make it a job, going to the AFA meant no longer going to a regr school.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± The teenage girl made up her mind.

    ¡®If that¡¯s what it takes, so I can live the way I want, I¡¯ll dly be an Altered!¡¯

 Chapter 217: A changed person

    <h4>Chapter 217: A changed person</h4>

    Describing the way Gary currently felt as annoyed would be a vast understatement. He was jogging his way back to the parts of Chavley. Fortunately, running wasn¡¯t really a problem for Gary due to his stamina and improved body, and he had a lot of time until it was evening in Burnham, so there were a few things he could do before then.

    He wouldn¡¯t have minded it at all, but after seeing those three nice cars with so many empty seats in them, he thought the others could have at least offered him a lift back home. Of course, there was also the option to get the bus, but that would cost him a bit of money. The bus fares in Slough seemed like a rip-off, no matter how much money he had, so he preferred the free method.

    ¡®I think I might just run to Burnham at this rate. Hmmm, I wonder what that look was on Xin¡¯s face when she got in the car. Maybe she¡¯s still shaken up by everything that happened.¡¯

    Soon enough, the high school boy¡¯s frown turned upside down as he thought about the progress he had made in his rtionship with Xin. A date, a house visit, and he had managed to rescue her, which surely would win him some brownie points.

    On his way back, Gary quickly stopped by the convenience store where he picked up two sets of dye, as well as some food as he was getting ready to head home first. As usual, Gary intended to eat some raw meat in an alleyway to quickly restore his Energy on the way back.

    ¡°Is that everything for you, kid? You sure do eat a lot of meat, but looking at your body, I can see where all that protein is going.¡± The clerk joked behind the counter. His name tag read Tyler. The bespectacled university student was the hard-working type.

    He also seemed to always be on duty whenever Gary woulde in. Ever since he had be a Werewolf the teenager hade here and given how much he would spend, he and Tyler would enjoy the asional small talk, especially when the store was as empty as it was now.

    ¡°Ah yeah, do you have the bag that I gave you from before?¡± Gary asked.

    Going behind the desk, Tyler handed Gary a sports bag, and he quickly changed out from his gang uniform and reced his clothes. There was no one else in the shop, and honestly it was just putting his zer away and putting on a hoodie instead. Due to his home being in Chavley and the area it was in, Gary would always change into a hoodie around his area.

    However, he couldn¡¯t exactly always carry a bag around him while fighting. That would only make things harder. As such, he decided to leave certain clothes and bags at certain spots. Tyler had happily agreed to it, once Gary had offered him twenty notes. As much as Gary needed to save his money, he regarded this as an investment. It pained him to do so and was something that had taken him a long time to decide.

    The school and this convenience store, was one of the many ces that Gary would leave a bag with a change of clothes. However, now that Kai had gotten him clothes that were able to stretch, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t have to go through so many¡­

    ¡®Do I have to worry that once our Howlers gang bes famous, people will start noticing our uniform? Will it be a problem that I go around in these colours? At least, I don¡¯t think Tyler knows I¡¯m in a gang yet.¡¯ Gary suddenly pondered.

    Just then, the electric door made a sound to inform them that a new customer had entered. It was a man in a suit who looked to be¡­ quite drunk, as he could barely keep his bnce.

    ¡®It¡¯s not even 5PM yet¡­ Did he just finish work and start drinking straight away? Or maybe weekend midday drinking.¡¯

    Gary didn¡¯t need Werewolf senses to smell the alcohol off of him. However, having them meant that his poor nose was practically being assaulted by the stench. The high schooler just wanted to get out of the ce as soon as possible. He made sure to get out of the man¡¯s way, he actually managed to make it to the counter.

    Gary was getting ready to leave to enjoy his nice meal. He was getting used to the taste of Raw meat, and was actually looking forward to eating it before heading home.

    ¡°Hey, get me some leaf cks!¡± The drunk man yelled.

    ¡°Here you go sir, that will be 15.20!¡± Tyler smiled politely, cing the cigarette pack on the counter.

    The man then pulled out his card, sticking it into the reader, but he started to p his head all of a sudden.

    ¡°Damn it, what was the pin?¡± The man grumbled loudly, before he proceeded to push some buttons. Unsurprisingly, there appeared an error message on the screen. The man tried this two more times, until the machine informed him that his card was now blocked.

    ¡°SH*T! YOUR DAMN MACHINE IS BROKEN!!!¡± The man used Tyler in his drunken tone and started to almost pull apart the machine. ¡°Just give me my damn leaf cks.¡± The drunk man reached over and looked like he was about to snatch the cigarettes away, when the university student quickly pulled them back and ced them away.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but your card has been declined. If you happen to have some cash, I would be happy to give them to you.¡± Tyler nervously smiled.

    ¡°Why the hell do you care? You¡¯re just a poor sod working for this shop. You don¡¯t own them, so might as well give them to me!¡± The man demanded as he stretched out his arm and opened his palm. However, when he noticed that nothing happened, he became even angrier.

    ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t do anything because this ce is meant to be protected by the Underdogs? You think I¡¯m scared of those guys?!¡±

    The man then leaned over the counter and pulled on Tyler¡¯s shirt. He was pulled over the counter and The university student could smell his alcoholic breathing off from him, and the next second, he spat on his head.

    ¡°Sir, what are you doing!?¡± Tyler shouted as he could feel somethingnd on his head.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m stupid, huh? That I didn¡¯t notice the way you looked at me?! Screw you, and my superiors. All of you look at me like I¡¯m scum. Where are your gang members to help you out now, huh!¡± The man continued to shout, and it looked like he was about to spit on his head once again, but before it reached his head, a hand was shoved in front grabbing the spit.

    ¡°What is wrong with you, old man? How is it his fault that your superiors treat you badly? I¡¯m pretty sure if a gang member was in this shop right now, you would be shaking in your boots.¡± Gary, having heard themotion outside, hade back in.

    Perhaps it was because of the events that had happened today so far, with his teacher being hurt, Xin taken away and more, but today was a day that Gary just couldn¡¯t look the other way at these things.

 Chapter 218: Going down a tier

    <h4>Chapter 218: Going down a tier</h4>

    The drunken man looked the teenager up and down. Given his new appearance, the teenager seemed to be someone who would often visit the local gym, yet it wasn¡¯t to a point the drunk man feared him yet.

    ¡°Haha, this is brilliant now even kids these days are acting like gangsters.¡± The man said as he got a big one ready in his throat and spat it out, hitting Gary right in the cheek. He let it drop on his face for a few seconds, and smiled back at the drunk man.

    ¡°I¡¯m not acting like one.¡± Gary said as he clenched his fist.

    The next second, Gary shoved his hand that was initially soaked in the man¡¯s spit back in his face, rubbing it in. When the man stepped back startled about what happened, Gary whacked him in the face, and he fell to the floor. The teenager¡¯s hotheadedness had taken over from him, and he just couldn¡¯t deal with it any more.

    Tyler was so amazed that he leaned over the counter to look at the old man.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I couldn¡¯t control myself.¡± Gary apologised to the university student.

    ¡°Nah, he definitely deserved it. I would have done the same if I didn¡¯t really need this job.¡± Tyler tensed his bicep, but there was nothing to see there.

    A few secondster, and the man came to, rubbing his face. Gary had held back a little, but the man was clearly startled, and his legs were wobbly as he fell backwards.

    ¡°You¡­you! You will pay for this. I¡¯ll remember you green haired kid!¡± The next second, the man was wobbly rushing out the door.

    Before leaving, still a little annoyed at the man¡¯s attitude, Gary picked up a chocte bar from the counter, and aiming carefully threw it, hitting the man at the back of the head.

    ¡°Have a Bickers! If you¡¯re annoyed!¡± Gary shouted and soon paid for the chocte bar. Although Tyler refused payment, as a way of saying thanks. Perhaps before Gary would have been worried that the man would remember his face and hair colour especially with those looking for him.

    However, Gary couldn¡¯t care less¡­ for after today, he would no longer have green hair.

    Leaving the shop, Tyler had given Gary his thanks and promised him that he wouldn¡¯t mention what had happened to anyone. Given the slip of his tongue in anger, he had actually expected Tyler to ask a few questions, but the university student didn¡¯t mention it. Either he chose to keep it to himself¡­ or he simply mistook the truth for a bluff. Either scenario worked for the teenager.

    With his hood now up, Gary entered the Chavley area, where members of the Underdogs would still be keeping up their patrols. Using his enhanced senses, as well as his personal route, the high schooler sessfully managed to avoid all gang members on the way to his apartment block.

    Now entering the area where his apartment block and others were located, Gary could see that many of the residents had gathered outside, near the bulletin board. However, they didn¡¯t seem interested in the stuff that was posted there, instead they were talking to an old man whose face resembled a nut sack. It was a crude image, sure, but Gary couldn¡¯t deny the resemnce.

    The man himself, was thendlord of the apartment building, Mr Morten. Getting closer, Gary was interested to hear what all themotion was about. He remained at the back of the crowd which was filled with families, students and all sorts.

    ¡°This is crazy, you have to say something to them, Morten!¡± An older woman yelled. ¡°If this continues, then soon we won¡¯t even be able to afford to live here! And then we¡¯ll¡­have to¡­ ¡±

    She didn¡¯t dare to finish the sentence, but everyone was aware that if she couldn¡¯t stay here, her only choice would be to move to a Tier-4 town. Living in a Tier-3 town like Slough was already bad enough, but at least the Underdogs and Grey Elephants ensured a certain level of peace.

    A Tier-4 town, on the other hand, had no such thing. Multiple small-time gangs were constantly vying for a piece of the already small cake. There was next to no order in a ce like that, and no one wanted to end up there.

    At times, progression from a Tier-4 town would spiral down worse than others. In the first ce, there weren¡¯t many jobs in such an area. Moving from a Tier-3 town probably meant you didn¡¯t have sufficient skills in the first ce and in the end, it was a slippery slope that might see one end up moving to a Tier-5 town.

    The crime rate was simr to that of a Tier-4 town, yet the living conditions were far worse. In a way, it was simr to one living in a rubbish tip. A junkyard with scraps here and there. No jobs, just people searching through junk and living in self-made houses. Honestly, all this information though was based on the information Gary had just seen on TV.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t his fault. You really think Old Morten can stand up to them? He¡¯s just one man. A wrinkly old man.¡± Another tried to calm down the bitter woman.

    ¡°Still, he should at least try to talk to them? That¡¯s all we ask¡­ that¡¯s all.¡±

    Eventually, after listening for a while, Gary understood the gist of what had happened. As it turned out everyone¡¯s rent had gone up. The letter didn¡¯t have the concrete reason, but the residents wouldn¡¯t care, in their eyes it was a sudden and quite the sharp increase. All those who lived here were like the Dems, families that barely lived from paycheck to paycheck.

    Honestly, with the way Gary was now, he didn¡¯t think he needed to worry too much about an increase, but he knew how the other people felt, because he had been there not too long ago. Eventually, when everyone left, Morten was left there nearly copsing from tiredness and eventually sat down on a bench that was nearby.

    ¡°Is it the Underdogs?¡± Gary asked as he sat down next to thendlord.

    The old man sighed, which only confirmed Gary¡¯s suspicions.

 Chapter 219: A New Look

    <h4>Chapter 219: A New Look</h4>

    ¡°What happened to this world that even a brat like you can so easily figure out the reason behind the rent increase.¡± Morten shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re correct. After what happened recently, those parasites have been patrolling the area¡­ so now that they¡¯re actually doing the job we¡¯ve already been paying them to do, they suddenly demanded more. It¡¯s not just me either, all thendlords will have to pay higher fees in this area.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not as wealthy as my residents believe me to be. Although I own this ce, I never once made a profit. There are countless repairs that need to be done everywhere, and everything I get is just enough to allow me to live by myself while improving the area and ce. Do you know how many things get broken in an area like this? Especially after what happened with that attack.

    ¡°I wanted to make a change, give people another chance, but because of my already low prices¡­ Since the Underdogs ask for more, I have no choice but to increase rent¡­ it¡¯s the first time in ten years I had to make a decision that I was ufortable with.¡±

    Adam Morten was a good man. Gary knew that his mother had beente paying bills a few times, yet he had never pressured her into paying immediately or anything like that. Now, hearing the regret in the old man¡¯s voice, the high schooler was even more assured that theirndlord was a decent man.

    He couldn¡¯t believe just moments ago he had met a drunk scumbag who would pester a normal worker because he was frustrated with his job, when there were people like Mr Morten in the world.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting old and tired, Gary.¡± Morten sighed. ¡°If things continue like this, I might have to sell this ce. The only thing holding me back are people like you. If I sell this ce¡­ what are the chances that the nextndlord will keep the rent the same?¡±

    The answer to that question was obvious.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gary. I didn¡¯t want to burden you with all of this. Just take it as the ramblings of an old man. Say, now that you¡¯re here, I haven¡¯t seen your mother muchtely. Is everything alright?¡±

    Gary stood up from the bench and looked at his fist, more than ever he felt useless, the question was could he do something to help these people. The fist he was looking at now, it was the only thing he had. He wasn¡¯t good academically at school, nor was he strong before, but he was strong now.

    ¡®Some people say violence isn¡¯t the answer, but in the world we live in at the moment I can¡¯t agree. The Underdogs are the problem, and they are still after me¡­ if only I had power like Jayden. How great would it be, if I could change things around¡­¡¯ Gary thought, before he shook his head to wake himself up from his daydream.

    ¡°Thanks for asking. Mum is doing fine, she¡¯s just a little unwell from all the overtime she put in. You must have just missed her. And Mr Morten, I¡¯m sure things will look up at some point.¡± Gary smiled back, heading to his apartment block.

    Seeing a young teenager like Gary still believe in the good of mankind, Mr Morten stood up from the bench himself.

    ¡°He¡¯s right. It¡¯s too early to give up. Maybe I should have a talk with Damion.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Finally, back home, Gary made sure that Amy was okay. Ironically, it was his sister who had a million questions ready for her brother, about what happened at his school, since it had been all over the news.

    With the whole school having been involved in the red colour gang attack, it had been impossible to cover up the entire incident. Gary didn¡¯t want Amy to worry too much about him, so he lied about how John¡¯s call to arms had been sessful, and that the red colour gang had quickly fled the school soon after.

    The brother made them both a meal for dinner, and then headed to the toilet. He ced both packs of dye he had purchased on the sink. One ck and the other gold.

    ¡®I guess if I¡¯m starting to take this gang stuff seriously, I might as well use our gang colours.¡¯ Gary grinned at the thought.

    Originally, Kai had told him that it would be fine for him to keep his hair green. At the time, the Underdogs hadcked any real information for finding Gary, so doing the ¡®stupid¡¯ thing of not changing his hair colour was supposed to throw them off.

    Unfortunately, they had somehow discovered what school he went to, changing the entire situation. As such, Gary chose to dye his hair ck, which was amon hair colour amongst his ssmates.

    A hairdresser had dyed his hairst time, but he was too paranoid that he might be spotted by a gang member in the middle of changing it, so he had opted for the DIY version. The teenager carefully read the instructions and went through the process step by step. When he was finally done, he washed the dye out a couple of times, and lifted his head looking in the mirror.

    Now staring back at him, he could see a full head of ck coloured hair.

    ¡®¡­ I¡¯ll have to get used to this new look. Hope Xin wasn¡¯t too fond of my green hair.¡¯ Gary thought.

    The high schooler went to pick up the other hair dye. The ¡®gold¡¯, which was technically just a variation of blonde. It was just to add a few nice touches since he was curious how it would look. If he didn¡¯t like it, he nned to change his hair back with ck after¡­

    However, before he had a chance, a system message sprung up.

    [Your hair has been damaged]

    [Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

    [Emergency healing will be used to restore the user to its original self]

    ¡®HUH!¡¯

    It only took a few seconds, but Gary witnessed live how his ck hair was starting to turn back to green. Each string changed until it was back to what it was once before.

    ¡®WHAT THE HELL?!¡¯

 Chapter 220: Pawn point

    <h4>Chapter 220: Pawn point</h4>

    Gary¡¯s hands were tense around the sink top. He looked at the packet of dye as he had tried the process a few times already. It didn¡¯t matter if he used the ck dye or the golden one. The high schooler only got to enjoy his new look for a few seconds.

    Every time, Gary would get the same message from the system. In the end, he gave up. One, because it was consuming Energy in order to restore him to his ¡®original self¡¯ and there just seemed to be no hope past it either.

    ¡®YOU DAMN SYSTEM, THIS ISN¡¯T MY ORIGINAL SELF!!! Have you ever encountered anyone who had green as their natural colour? ¡­should I just go bald? Just get it all off, or will the system just regrow my hair back using Energy bringing back to my natural self again¡¯ Gary started to wonder.

    When thinking about it, it wasn¡¯t the strangest thing. Even Jayden¡¯s hair had grown when transforming, and when he reverted to his human form, his hair did as well.

    ¡®But this¡­ am I really going to have green hair for the rest of my life?¡¯

    The teenager wondered when exactly the system had decided on this being his natural hair colour. Was it back when he had received the system¡­ or did it perhaps temper with his body when his Grade had gone from Pawn to Knight? He had grown taller and his muscle mass had increased, so would it be really unbelievable if it had changed his hair colour?

    Aware that dwelling on this matter wouldn¡¯t help him in any way, Gary decided to leave it for now and started to get ready to head over to Burnham. It was gettingte, and if he didn¡¯t head over soon, the others might just head back.

    In fact, based on the group chat, they all wanted to ask him questions about what happened. News of the red colour gang¡¯s demise hadn¡¯t spread just yet. Today, he wouldn¡¯t be wearing his gang clothes. It would bring too much attention and as Kai had exined today¡¯s job scope was simply scouting.

    So while picking a set of normal clothes, and once again a hoodie. Gary was nearly ready to leave. He had been looking forward to seeing the reaction of the Howlers when he would show up with a brand-new look, but unfortunately it was not to be.

    Before going, though, Gary had made a decision after seeing Jayden.

    ¡®I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just him, or Altered in general, but at least Jayden was clearly stronger than me. If Kirk is also that strong¡­ I¡¯ll have no chance against him. So far, I¡¯ve kept my stat points ready for my opponents, just in case I needed them. However, if all fights will be this hectic, I won¡¯t be able to use that point.¡¯

    Unlike his stat point, the Pawn point he had received after consuming Billy had many uses.

    [Would you like to convert your Pawn point into skill point(s)?]

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure he was doing the right thing. ording to the message he had received when gaining the Pawn point, he could use it to upgrade his body into the next Grade, upgrade skills with it, or stats. So far, the high schooler hadn¡¯t seen the benefit in doing that.

    Stat points he could always gain from Levelling up or consuming people¡­ well as a Knight Grade Werewolf, he would apparently have to eat beasts as the system imed.

    Beasts might no longer exist in the world, but he could still Level up in other ways, as the system had shown him. The most useful thing therefore seemed to be to convert the Pawn point into a skill point, so he could strengthen his w Drain to the next level.

    [Yes]

    [3 skill points have been obtained]

    [Skill points can be used to upgrade certain existing skills or to purchase new ones]

    [New tab has been added; Skill Shop]

    Gary was baffled at this sudden development. He would have already been happy to simply upgrade his w Drain skill to Level 2, but his system had blessed him with a new tab. What¡¯s more, his one Pawn point had been converted into three skill points, instead of one. The teenager was curious if he could change them back, yet he received no option to do so.

    ¡®If this was a game, then I would usually get a worse deal when converting¡­ Does that mean the Pawn point would have been better used to upgrade that Grade thingie?¡¯ Gary wondered, but the Werewolf System simply kept him guessing. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t as if there was another Werewolf around for him to gain another point.

    Curious, Gary checked out the new Skill shop¡­ only to be vastly underwhelmed.

    [w Drain - Forced Level Up - 1 point]

    [Berserker - 1 Skill point]

    [Maic Howl - 2 Skill Points]

    [Last Stand - Cost - 3 Skill Points]

    Seeing that the w Drain imed to be a Forced Level Up, Gary felt reassured that just like games, it should be possible to level it up naturally, most likely by using it more.

    ¡®Seriously? What kind of shop doesn¡¯t say anything about their own skills?¡¯ Gary questioned. ¡®This seems more like a back alley type of deal with some ruff looking tattooed man with a bad attitude who simply tells me ¡®take it, or leave it¡¯.

    s, not even this usation of foul y earned him any reaction from the system. There was no information at all, which made the high schooler think that this system seriously sucked. If it was a game developer, Gary would have already been making aint.

    He might have even understood it for the two new skills, but hadn¡¯t he already been told what Berserker could do? What was the point of ying coy now?

    With three skill points, Gary could theoretically purchase Berserker and Maic Howl. Two skills should be better than one, allowing him to be more flexible¡­ this might have been the logical choice. s, Gary wasn¡¯t the most logical person there was, and something drew him to the third skill.

    Perhaps it was the fact that it cost the most amount of skill points. Surely the higher the cost, the better skill he would get. Maybe it would give him something that would let him deal with an Altered or an Altered Hunter he might run into at some point in the future.

    [Are you sure you would like to select the skill ¡®Last Stand?¡¯]

    [Yes / No]

    ¡®Screw it.¡¯ Gary thought as he selected [Yes] on the menu

 Chapter 221: A red place

    <h4>Chapter 221: A red ce</h4>

    Just like when he had selected w Drain and Controlled Transformation, he felt a flood of information enter his head, and his body¡¯s muscles twitched a few times. It was as if his body was learning how to activate the skill for him. After that, a strange energy entered his body, and it was gone a secondter.

    Gary had done his utmost to pay attention to every little detail this time, since he was still trying to figure out what exactly this system was, and how it worked. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t really amount to much. It was simr to seeing a bullet train pass by for a moment. Just because he had seen it, didn¡¯t give him any expertise on how it worked¡­

    ¡®Let¡¯s see what this skill can do.¡¯ Gary happily smiled to himself, opening up the system and checking his skill list. Though he instinctively knew how it would work, he wasn¡¯t yet too familiar with all the intricacies.

    [Last Stand]

    [When activated, the user¡¯s Health cannot fall below 1 HP.

    The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.

    Warning; While Last Stand is active, you¡¯ll still continue to take damage as normal!]

    [Skill duration: 60 secs.]

    [Skill reset time: This skill can only be used once a day.]

    After reading the skill, Gary immediately gulped. This wasn¡¯t what he had imagined. Sure, it might be useful in a game, allowing him to charge in without worrying while zenly attacking and allowing his teammates to help out. Unfortunately, this was real life, and there was no respawn mechanic.

    If all the Werewolf Warriors skills worked like this, he wasn¡¯t too surprised that the description of the Warrior ss had imed that they boasted the highest fatality rate. If the high schooler was to use this type of skill while fighting, it would have to be in a situation in which he was able to defeat whoever was around him within that minute. If he failed to do so, well 1 HP meant he would be as good as dead.

    The thought itself was scary, if it ever needed toe to that.

    ¡®Come on, Gary, let¡¯s try to find the silver lining. For one, the skill doesn¡¯t consume any Energy. It can also be used as a sort of lifeline in a situation that would have killed me, like a second chance ¡­ Yeah, in a way, this skill gives me a lease on life. If I can¡¯t beat someone, I can at least try to run away in that minute.¡¯

    ¡®Sigh, this skill would have been so cool if it could have made me invulnerable for that one minute¡­ but if I still take damage it¡¯s pretty much just an increased Health pool, isn¡¯t it? I guess I really should have figured out what type of skill it would have been with such a name.

    ¡®Why didn¡¯t I ask Tom before making a choice? I could have just told him that it was part of that game¡­ although if I do that too often, he¡¯ll probably get suspicious¡­ if he hasn¡¯t already¡­ Should I just tell him about the whole Werewolf System thing?¡¯

    Gary ran his fingers through his hair, as he was stressed out. The teenager felt like he had made the wrong decision. He had been hoping for a power up to bridge the gap between him and Jayden, but the skill just made him aware that some situations that he might have to face could end up very deadly¡­

    At the same time, touching his hair, was reminding him of the other stupid things the system had done.

    Wasting no more time on the system, Gary sent a message in the Howlers group chat, informing his friends that he was on his way. However, he naturally didn¡¯t take the bus, and just as nned, he jogged there.

    He ran through the streets, although those who saw him, would describe him as sprinting. If only they knew how long the boy had been running for. Eventually, Gary came across the street that the others had told him to meet them at.

    Looking up, he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. It was dark out, nearly 8 PM. When the sun went down, this ce lookedpletely different. Neon glowing signs were turned on and shing, and the single street was filled with people who were walking up and down exploring the ce.

    Even the people who could see walking on the very street seemed different to those that Gary would normally see in slough. They carried confidence in their steps.

    It looked so pretty, Gary had never seen so many neon light signs in his life, but when looking at the street itself and those on it, he realized the reality of what this ce was. The streets were filled with pretty girls standing outside the restaurants. They were wearing skimpy dresses such as air hostess outfits, red little devils, and all of them had extra short skirts.

    The girls would frequently whistle at those who passed them, holding up signs stating what their rates were. Of course, there were a few restaurants that were still operating as restaurants between these establishments, but the street had undeniably turned into a red-light district.

    Gary was at the entrance of the street, where up above he could see arge sign that showed the entrance called Burnham street.

    ¡°Hey, you made it!¡± Marie shouted, with a big wave and a smile on her face. The rest of the group were soon behind her as well.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Gary said, still taking in what he was seeing. As a sixteen-year-old teenager, he had never quite visited a ce quite like this one.

    ¡°So did everything go okay?¡± Kai asked casually, but Gary wasn¡¯t in the mood to answer because seeing the whole ce, he had a question of his own to ask.

    ¡°Are you¡­ nning for us to take over this ce, Kai?¡± The Howlers gang leader wanted to know. ¡°I mean, if we take out the gang here, it means that we would then run this ce, right? Do you intend for people to still do¡­ all of this?¡±

    The others looked at Kai nervously because based on what they knew about Gary, they had already assumed this to be his reaction. Kai was the Brain, whereas Gary was the Muscle. Without one, the other couldn¡¯t work. For the Howlers to work, they needed both.

    Unfortunately, Kai had already told him his own stance about what he intended to do¡­

 Chapter 222 â€“ Take Over! (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 222 - Take Over! (Part 1)</h4>

    The blonde haired teenager didn¡¯t outright reply, instead he sighed. Not too long ago, the others had asked him the exact same question.

    ¡°Tell me, Gary, do you see yourself as a saviour?¡± Kai asked back, yet his underssman just raised his eyebrows as if he didn¡¯t understand the question. ¡°I selected this ce for several reasons. First, it¡¯s far away from the other gangs. Second, it¡¯s ideal to serve as our link to outside of Slough.

    ¡°Third, a good chunk of the clientele thates here are from bigpanies, which could be the true kickstart that the Howlers need. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it¡¯s making serious cash. Think about how much we grabbed from the grey colour gang. That on a daily basis¡­ for each of us.¡±

    For Gary¡­ although all the things he said were true, it still annoyed him somewhat.

    ¡°I¡­ I need the cash¡­ you know that. Still¡­ to go this far.¡±

    Once again, Kai let out a sigh, this time bigger.

    ¡°I get why you would want to put an end to this. Sure, morally speaking, this ce is a travesty. However¡­ have you taken a moment to consider the consequences of such an action? Let¡¯s say we take over, and you close down this ce¡­ What do you think will happen then?

    ¡°Do you really believe that those guys who havee here for their entertainment will stop? Best case scenario, they migrate to another town, more likely, though, the Grey Elephants or Underdogs will just offer these services in their own areas.

    ¡°Not all the girls have been forced into this. Sure, some were, and if you wish to let them go, I wouldn¡¯t mind agreeing with you there. However, for a lot of these girls, it''s a way for them to earn money to live in a city like this. We might not like it, but to them, it¡¯s just like a real job.

    ¡°You close down this ce, it might make you feel better, but you¡¯ll rob them off their means to make money to support their family. Need me to tell you what happens then? No job means no way to pay their bills. They will be forced down to a Tier-4 town¡­ or worse.

    ¡°Do you think, living like this, is really worse than living like that? As gang members, we will always cross a line with thew, but we can still be a gang with our own ethics. Look, at the end of the day, you¡¯re our gang leader, so I will go with your decision no matter what.

    ¡°However, as a good leader you need to be aware of the consequences. For that, you should also listen to the voices of the people that it will affect before making such a decision.¡±

    The world wasn¡¯t as ck and white as police officers, TV and such liked to make it out to be. Gary, having been in a position that had made him join a gang, understood. Who knows, maybe if his family¡¯s situation had gotten worse, he might have ended up bing a boy toy for some of those older women.

    Thinking about such a thing, Gary¡¯s body shivered, imagining something resembling Jabba the Hutt asking him to do strange deeds.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. ¡­ Let¡¯s talk about it more once we¡¯ve actually taken over.¡± Gary said, with a change in attitude. Meanwhile, Innu was looking around, wondering if that cute waitress was also out on the streets.

    The group was walking down the street, turning their head constantly left and right. For the ones that had been here earlier in the day, it was just as much of a shock to them as it was to Gary. It seemed as if they had stepped through a portal, transporting them to an alternate reality.

    There were a few other things that they were noticing more that hadn¡¯t been there during the day as well. Nearly every establishment had a set of male guards that were standing outside with their arms crossed. They all gave off an intimidating look. A ce like this, serving particr clientele and doing what they were doing, would need the help.

    In fact, walking down this street alone, they had seen the need for them to get involved a few times. However, those ¡®fights¡¯ stopped as soon as one of these men stepped forward. Still, two times they had watched them use stun guns on some drunken men, who didn¡¯t understand that ¡®no¡¯ actually meant ¡®no¡¯.

    It was quick at shocking the persons unexpectedly, while the others gathered around them and brought them inside. For what, the others could only imagine.

    While they were walking through, Kai thought he would exin to the rest a few details about what they were trying to do.

    ¡°As I¡¯ve already told the others, the gang in charge of this area is called the Pincers. They¡¯re one of the five small-time gangs we¡¯ll have to take care of, before the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants fall out.¡± The blonde teenager exined.

    ¡°Every one of those men in suits that you have seen is a part of their gang, and as you can tell, controlling a busy street like this, there are a lot of them. Shouldn¡¯t be too surprising, though, given the type of their business, yet it also means that their gang is heavily concentrated in one ce and reliant on that one ce.

    ¡°There are some unwritten rules for this ce. We¡¯ve already seen the ¡®No pestering the women¡¯ in action. Aside from that, you should keep your phones to yourself. While they won¡¯t stop you from making a call, if they suspect you¡¯re trying to take a picture, or worse, film anything¡­ things will turn out bad.

    ¡°This is a rule that is set up to keep their clientele out of trouble, and most people will follow that rule. Sure, some try to test it, but they¡¯ll all pay the price. Those guys work under the assumption that it¡¯s better to grab one too many than to let one slip.¡±

    There certainly were a lot of people, and even Innu, who was a good fighter, was starting to worry that the Howlers were outmatched by thisrge force. If this could be called small-time, then what were they, mini-time?

    ¡°So, what''s the n? Surely, you don¡¯t expect us to just raid this ce like with the grey colour gang?¡± Innu asked.

 Chapter 223 â€“ Take Over! (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 223 - Take Over! (Part 2)</h4>

    The others were waiting to hear Kai¡¯s n, hoping he wouldn¡¯t send them into the lion¡¯s den.

    ¡°Of course not. Did you already forget that we¡¯re just here to scout out the area today?¡± Kai looked at Innu, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. ¡°The quickest way to take down a gang or to make it copse is to take out the head. Still, that will leave us with the problem I mentioned earlier about running the ce, but we can worry about thatter.

    ¡°The issue is¡­ finding the location of the Pincers¡¯ base. The information I received only helped me narrow it down. It should be located on this street. As to where exactly¡­ well, that¡¯s why we¡¯re here.¡±

    Looking around, the others attempted to look for some clues. Perhaps it was the ce that was busiest, the one with the most workers, or maybe even the one that had the most guards outside. s, it wasn¡¯t like after entering, they would instantly recognise the leader.

    ¡°I can¡¯t sniff him out.¡± Gary eventually mumbled, thinking that Kai was expecting him to do something. The others had heard what their leader said, and were confused, but thement made the upperssman smirk.

    ¡°I never expected you to. Remember what I said about willing workers? It will be impossible to get any information out of anyone who has been working for a while for them. However, there will also be those that have been forced to work here. We¡¯ll focus on those workers that aren¡¯t afraid of the Pincers just yet. Our goal is to try to find one of these workers to¡­ help us out.¡±

    Strange, wild thoughts started to run through everyone¡¯s head as soon as Kai mentioned this. If they needed to talk to the workers, and they were here, did that mean they needed to partake in¡­ that?!

    The blonde teenager walked up to Austin and Gary, handing them both arge pile of cash each.

    ¡°You two look the oldest out of all of us. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s too risky for the rest of us to try our luck. They¡¯ll probably won¡¯t even let us past the door if we requested a worker. You know what to do, try to get the girls to confess something. Oh, and if you want to have some fun¡­ at least give us a heads-up.¡± Kai smirked.

    ¡°Hey, Gary!¡± Marie immediately went up to him. ¡°You''re not actually going to listen to that idiot, right? Just go into the room with them, ask some questions, and head out.¡± Her face was red, aware that she had no right to tell the green haired teenager what to do.

    ¡°Since they think you will be doing-doing¡­doing that. They most likely won¡¯t have cameras or that in the rooms, in order to protect their important clientele.¡±

    Gary just nodded, not saying much, as he was left a bit speechless. Out of everything he had done, maybe this would be the hardest thing after all.

    [Your BPM is rising]

    [BPM 95]

    ¡®Shut up!¡¯

    There was one person that seemed a bit bummed out about the whole thing, though, and that was Innu. He was cursing his somewhat small frame that did make him appear young to others. He could understand Austin, but seeing Gary, who had only recently enjoyed his growth spurt, pass him on their way to adulthood was a nasty pill to swallow.

    After making it clear what they needed to do, the real question was where would they start.

    ¡°I have a suggestion.¡± Innu said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we head to where we had the meal today? It''s as good a starting point as any other, right?¡±

    Still curious about the girl that had acted strangely. Innu wanted to know whether that girl was a willing or a forced worker¡­ he felt a little bad for her. For once, the boy was talking a surprising amount of sense.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Once Gary and Austin entered through the door, they were being led by a businesswoman who had a walkie-talkie attached to her hip.

    She was wearing a business shirt and a tight skirt, and she herself didn¡¯t look bad as she led the two of them to the reception room. The restaurant wasn¡¯t even open for business. The tables had all been cleared, and now they were sitting on one sofa out of several.

    There were other clients in here being led by a server worker as well.

    ¡°Please, what service would you like to select from our menu?¡± The woman asked as she handed them a leaflet.

    Reading the ¡®items¡¯ on the list was just making Gary¡¯s heart beat even faster. Imagining the scene in his head, for a young teenager who had done nothing like this before, he was worried that any second now he might stain the inside of his trousers.

    ¡®What the hell is wrong with me¡­think Jabba the Hutt¡­Jabba the Hutt¡­¡¯

    ¡°Austin, handle this one, please.¡± Gary whispered.

    Since therge teenager seemed less affected, the gang leader left the talking to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to order from the menu¡¯s description alone. Would it be possible to see all the girls here?¡± Austin asked. Gary was quite impressed that he had said those words so calmly, without stuttering. It all felt so¡­ natural. ¡®Could it be this isn¡¯t his first time in such a ce?¡¯

    The businesswoman got on her walkie-talkie, and a few momentster. A number of girls walked out in a row with numbers on arge badge that was ced on the top right of their shirts. They were wearing quite the shy red Chinese style dresses that the others had seen today, only the slit seemed to go up the thigh, revealing more.

    ¡°Please, tell me which number you like the best, and what service you would like to get.¡± The woman told them.

    Fourteen beautiful girls came to stand before the two teenage boys. Having somewhat calmed himself down, Gary lifted his head to take a look at the girls. That''s when his eyes locked onto a certain individual.

    ¡®Stacy! What is she doing here?!¡¯

 Chapter 224 â€“ A Happy Ending

    <h4>Chapter 224 - A Happy Ending</h4>

    Inside the dark venue, some of the girls were doing their best to be chosen by the customers. They were throwing kisses towards the men in the room, lifting their dresses to show off more than just their legs.

    "Sirs, while we do abide by the principal of ¡®the customer is king¡¯, I¡¯ll have to ask you to hurry up your decision. We can''t keep the girls out here forever, especially not when we have other customers they could attend to." The businesswoman had her arms crossed in front of her, her right foot impatiently stepping up and down.

    On another sofa, some older men were already mumbling, and Gary could hear a few of them mentioning numbers here and there. Everyone had a menu, but not everyone had asked to see all the girls as Austin had done.

    Looking at the girls, Gary immediately noticed a few things. While many of them tried to present themselves to the two teenagers, some of them were standing in a defensive position, rubbing their arms and covering themselves from the gazes of others. It was clear that they didn''t want to be there.

    ''I was right, sure there are some who are willing, but not all of them want to be here.'' Gary thought. With this thought in mind, it allowed Gary to calm himself down from the situation a bit. He looked over all the girls before he announced. "Number 13."

    Her head held low, Stacy stepped forward. The businesswoman cleared her throat, making her flinch up, before she looked up, and put on a nervous smile at her suitor. Gary still had his hood up, even in the establishment. The workers didn¡¯t seem to mind, indicating that he wasn¡¯t the only one who hade without wanting anyone to recognise him.

    ''That was the girl that Innu kept trying to talk to as well.'' Austin noticed. ''Man, those two are into the same girl. That''s going to cause a problem, that''s for sure. Should I stir the pot with Innu for a bit?'' Austin smirked as he was finally able to make a decision.

    "Are there any of you with a kid?" Austin loudly questioned with his arms crossed. The atmosphere immediately changed, and Gary almost fell out of his chair. Even the girls who had been vying for attention stopped and looked at each other strangely. It wasn''t a request they often got, that was for sure.

    ''A kid?! Why is he asking if any of the girls have a kid¡­unless he is just here for fun. Does that mean he has a thing for older women? Man, I¡¯m learning too many things about those close to me today, which I don''t want to know. I''m afraid if Innu was here, he would be asking for the girls to show off their feet or something.''

    The truth was that Austin had asked this question not because of some personal preference, but because he believed that those with children might be more willing to talk. Since they had more on the line, they might be more frightened of the Pincers. Potentially, they might agree to share some information in exchange for money¡­

    "Apologies, sir, but that is private information our workers don¡¯t feelfortable revealing. Please just select the one you like. If she feelsfortable, perhaps she will answer your question then." The business was clearly frustrated by now, since the teenage boys had already wasted so much time. She was even second guessing whether she shouldn¡¯t have just thrown them out immediately.

    "Okay, number 8." Austin dered, and a small, young-looking girl stepped forward. If Gary were a betting man, that one would have been thest person he had picked, especially after his question. Honestly, he couldn¡¯tprehend his fellow gang member''s way of thinking.

    The rest of the girls walked away, and the workers led them where to go next. The two pairs entered an elevator together, arriving at the second floor. They could see a long hallway with several rooms on either side.

    Each room had a corresponding number above. Following the girls, it was finally time.

    ''I can''t believe I''m in a ce like this¡­ what the hell happened to my life?'' Gary asked himself, when Stacy opened the door with the number ¡®13¡¯ on it. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Austin casually entered the door with the number ¡®8¡¯ on it.

    "Thank you." Gary said, heading inside. His legs felt like they were going to buckle at any second, and he was wondering just how Austin was dealing so nonchntly with all of it.

    Entering the room, the high schooler didn''t know what he had imagined, but it wasn''t¡­ this. There was arge bed with all kinds of fancy pillows on them. Looking at them alone, he could just imagine how soft they were.

    Then there was a closed-off bath and a separate shower with marble flooring on the toilet. Quickly running into the bathroom, the worker felt like her customer was acting rather strange.

    "Hey, this is like a hotel, right? Meaning all these small Shampoo bottles and stuff are free?" Gary asked.

    "Y-yeah, I guess." Stacy answered in a stutter.

    Shoving them into his pocket, Gary felt ted, believing he had just obtained the perfect gift for Amy¡¯s uing birthday. Hotel shampoo was a luxury¡­ at least from where they were from. The high schooler would just have to keep quiet as to where exactly he had procured it from.

    ''This¡­ is like a dream ce. I''ve never even been in a hotel before.'' He couldn''t stop smiling.

    Running out of the toilet, Gary ran into the main room with the same enthusiasm as a little boy in a candy shop. The first thing the teenager did was jump on the bed and lie on his back. It bounced him a little, yet soon enough his body started to sink in. It was, as expected, the softest sensation he had ever experienced.

    He could only imagine how nice it would be to fall asleep in such a ce. Not just that, but on his own. Without having to share a room. After a few seconds of bliss, he remembered that he was actually here to do a job.

    He wasn''t alone, but he soon got distracted again, seeing something else. A particr set of items on the table wereid out. The toys stood up hard and long and there were all sorts of different colours. Some had unusual designs, rigid, big and small, all shapes and sizes. He had seen these items on specific videos he would watch. It made him gulp.

    Heading to the table, Gary picked up one of the strange objects. He had chosen the one that was pink in colour. He started to shake it about left and right with his hand, and surprisingly it had some give as it flopped about. His thumb rubbed against the bottom and noticed there was a button. Curious, he pressed it, and the object started to shake violently.

    ¡®Whoa, I nearly dropped the thing!¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®That''s really violent. Do they really like these things?¡¯

    As he was about to put the pink object down on the table, he heard the sound of sobbing and realised it wasing from the girl.

    "I can''t do it¡­ please, I don''t want to do it¡­" A cry came from behind, and he could see Stacy was in tears, hardly able to stand up.

    "I''m sorry, sir, but please¡­ it''s my first day, and¡­ I haven¡¯t had time to adjust myself¡­ I-if you could ¡­ just pick someone else." Stacy continued to plead amid her sobs.

    Gary walked over, not realising he still had the object in his hand, which was only frightening Stacy more, wondering what this person nned to do to her until she heard him say. "It''s okay. I''m not going to do anything like that. I¡¯m just here to ask you a few questions."

    Taking down his hood, it was thest person Stacy had ever expected to see in a ce like this. Recognising the green hair, the girl loudly eximed: "Gary!"

 Chapter 225 â€“ The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 225 - The Truth</h4>

    If Stacy hadn¡¯t been so worried about her own situation, then she might have recognised Gary by his facial details. However, the truth was Gary had changed quite some bit since thest time she had seen him.

    Now, seeing his green hair, and his face, Stacy instantly recognised him. After yelling out his name, it seemed like she was about to say something else as well, but the words seemed stuck in her throat. The high schooler quickly ced his finger on his lips, silencing her.

    He also looked behind her, making sure the door was still shut.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not here to do¡­ ¡®that¡¯ with you, I promise. So you will be okay, alright.¡± Gary tried to calm her down by using a gentle voice. However, he soon noticed that her eyes were looking in a particr direction ¡ª the object in his hand.

    ¡®Of course, if I¡¯m holding this thing, she would be scared.¡¯ Gary nervously smiled and put the pink long hard object back down on the table. Showing his open palms, he called Stacy over. His sister¡¯s former best friend still seemed a bit shocked by the whole thing.

    ¡°Gary¡­ why are you in a ce like this? And why did you pick me¡­ Since you knew it was me, you could have picked someone else. I¡­ I¡­ You haven¡¯t always had a thing for me, have you?¡± Stacy asked, as she either hadn¡¯t hurt or didn¡¯t believe the boy¡¯s ims.

    ¡°Please.¡± Gary scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself. Let me make something crystal clear. I¡¯m not here as your friend. Amy told me everything that happened that day. I understand your situation at the time, it must have been scary, especially as a girl, but that doesn¡¯t change that you left Amy behind!

    ¡°I don¡¯t even care that you told them about me¡­ but I¡¯ll never forgive you for what you did to her!¡±

    Looking into Gary¡¯s eyes caused Stacy to gulp down her spit. His tone of voice was severe, and the teenage girl was beginning to believe that if he was in a ce like this, he wasn¡¯t the ordinary boy his sister thought him to be.

    ¡°Now that we have cleared that up, can you tell me how you ended up in a ce like this? I might have understood it if it had been the Grey Elephants, but this area is controlled by the Pincers.¡± Garymented.

    After hearing the two gang names, Stacy¡¯s eyes widened, and it looked like her suspicions were correct.

    ¡®I guess he isn¡¯t here just to see some girls¡­¡¯

    She hesitated, wondering if she should tell Gary or not. Even if he might have some knowledge in that area, what could he even do if she did tell him? Nevertheless, the whole situation was too much for a young girl like her, and it had been eating her up inside. Nearly breaking down again, she sat up straight to stop herself.

    ¡°My situation¡­ has nothing to do with Amy or the Grey Elephants, if that¡¯s what you were worried about. I¡¯ve done enough to Amy, but she¡¯s safe from this life. All of this was because of my parents.¡± Stacy revealed.

    ¡°I bet Amy thinks that I moved school because of what happened, but that¡¯s not true at all. My parents have been having money troubles for a while now. If you didn¡¯t know, they own their own mechanic business. We weren¡¯t wealthy by any means but better off than many people in Slough. Many workers relied on our shop for their ie.

    ¡°However, apparently, one day, my parents had a client who refused to pay up. To make matters worse, it was a big job as well. Usually, they keep the car aspensation, until those people pay up. They did the same in that case, even though the guy imed he was a gang member.

    ¡°Eventually, he came back with others. They beat my parents and all their workers as well. It might have been fine, it had just stopped there, but they kepting back and disrupting the business. From what they told me, some timeter they got approached by someone who had heard about their trouble.

    ¡°My parents took out a loan with them, even though they knew the loan shark belonged to a gang, but with so many people relying on them, what choice did they have? The situation at home was stressful. So¡­ I spent my time on some dubious sites, pretending to be someone I wasn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Coincidentally, I eventually ended up chatting with Hawk. Maybe I just wanted some escape. Whatever¡­ I¡¯m sorry I got dragged you and Amy mixed up in all of it¡­¡±

    Stacy stopped her story there, but Gary had already gotten the gist of it. The loan must havee from the Pincers. They must have charged her parents criminally high-interest rates, the type that would be impossible to pay off.

    Then, in the end, they forced Stacy to do this, move her and her family to this area and the school. The loan was illegal in the first ce, so the police wouldn¡¯t do anything about it, and it¡¯s not like they would act even if her parents would exin the situation.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if Stacy knew already or not¡­ but the reality of the situation was that her family had most likely been targeted from the beginning. Even if the ones harassing them had not been from the Pincers, it wouldn¡¯t surprise Gary to learn that the small-time gang might have paid off another gang to create the ruckus.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t your dad¡¯s business under the Grey Elephants area? Why didn¡¯t they do anything to protect you?¡± Gary asked.

    She shook her head.

    ¡°I have no idea, Gary. I don¡¯t understand most of this stuff, in the first ce. Everything is so scary to me. They told my parents I would just be working off their debt as a waitress for a restaurant. As soon as they had me here, though, they told me that if I don¡¯t do as they tell me, my parents would have their organs sold¡­ these guys are scary¡­ they¡¯re terrifying people, Gary. What do I do?!¡±

    It was clear that Stacy was beginning to panic again. He was wondering if he should help her or not. Hearing her story, as much as he didn¡¯t like her, it wasn¡¯t her fault she had gotten into this situation, and he imagined there were others that were the same.

    ¡°Stacy, I need you to help me. We might be able to get you out of this situation, but to do that, I require some information. Have you met the boss of the Pincers by any chance? If not, do you at least know what he or she looks like and where they are located?¡±

    ording to Kai, Stacy was the perfect target to get information from. She didn¡¯t want to be here, and hadn¡¯t been here long enough to know just how scary the Pincers were.

    Wiping her tears from her face, she looked at Gary once more. Her thick, heavy makeup was halfway down her cheeks.

    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ there¡¯s a rule. When we first came here, they said we¡¯d be done for if anyone speaks about the Pincers. If anyone even tries to talk to us, then we need to get out of there and inform the other immediately.

    ¡°I¡¯ve put you and Amy through too much already, so I won¡¯t do that. Honestly, Gary, I¡¯m just happy to see someone from my normal life. I couldn¡¯t tell anyone about any of this, not even Amy! Thank you¡­ for listening to me.¡±

    Ironically, Gary had drowned out what Stacy was telling after a certain put. As such, he waspletely surprised to feel her hand pressed up against his thigh.

    ¡°Say¡­ if it¡¯s you, Gary¡­ I think, it would be ok¡­ you could be my¡­ first.¡±

    ¡°Austin!¡± Gary shot up like a bamboo shoot. The reason he hadn¡¯t heard thest few words was because he was thinking about what he had just been told, how it could mean trouble for their group.

    ¡°AAHHHHH!¡± A scream was hearding from outside.

    ¡°Someone asked about the Pincers! Help, help!¡± A female voice cried out.

 Chapter 226 â€“ How Strong Are You?

    <h4>Chapter 226 - How Strong Are You?</h4>

    Austin was quiterge for his age, a little over six feet tall, and he had quite a wide body as well. It was a solid natural body that he did little work to maintain. On top of this, his outdated pompadour hairstyle made him seem like he was really older than he was.

    The girl he had selected came just below his chest. She sat down on the bed, swinging her feet, smiling away. Austin walked over, casting a shadow over her face.

    ¡°You seem awfully calm,¡± Austin mentioned.

    ¡°Is there a reason for me to be scared? You know, just because you are big doesn''t exactly mean that ¡®all¡¯ of you is big. You might be surprised how often the package doesn¡¯t match the cover.¡± The girl started to chuckle.

    Austin walked over to sit on the single sofa that was ced next to a table. Kneeling over with his elbows on his knees, he gave her a serious look.

    ¡°What''s your name?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°Nini!¡± The girl answered, still smiling away, as she yed with her hair.

    ¡°Alright, ¡®Nini¡¯, tell me¡­ what school do you go to?¡± For a second, after he had asked this question, her legs stopped swinging. Before she could say anything else, Austin continued.

    ¡°I know you''re not old enough to work in this ce, and you''re not the only one. So, how did they get to you?¡± Austin doubled down.

    For a second, it looked like Nini was worried, but she soon lifted her head.

    ¡°I promise I''m over eighteen, so you have nothing to worry about, old man.¡±

    ¡°Old man?¡± Austin chuckled. ¡°Well, if I''m really an old man, it will be quite the surprise when this old man pays a visit to the school in this area. While I might not find a ¡®Nini¡¯, I bet I¡¯ll be able to find you. Look, if it makes you feel better, I¡¯m underage myself, so if you really are as old as you say you are, we can see who would get in trouble for all this mess.¡±

    Austin thought he had her where he wanted, but she soon started tough.

    ¡°You really think you have everything figured out?¡±

    It was at that moment, Austin pulled out his phone and started to y a recording.

    Shortly after they had gotten off the bus, Austin had messaged the guys from his school to gather some information about the school in the area. It turned out that Kai had indeed just scratched the surface.

    While it didn¡¯t have a big problem with delinquents like Eton High, there was still a small delinquent circle. Sure, they weren''t part of any gangs themselves, but ording to what Austin¡¯s guys found out, they seemed to be working with the Pincers. They apparently targeted some of the pretty high school girls, trying to get them to walk down the wrong path.

    After harassing them for a while, these girls would undergo a drastic change. It wasn¡¯t hard to connect the dots. Many of those ¡®shy¡¯ girls would suddenly appear in school with heavy makeup.

    From what Austin gathered, every girl those delinquents introduced to the Pincers, would earn them amission.

    ying the recording of one of her schoolmates admitting to the delinquent circle¡¯s doing, Nini finally realised that Austin actually wasn¡¯t just making wild guesses.

    ¡°I may be unfamiliar with this gang business, but I happen to run the delinquent circle in my area. Anything that happens at the schools, I will know about it.¡± Austin proudly admitted.

    Since Nini now knew this wasn¡¯t a real customer, she stood up and got off from the bed, heading towards the door.

    ¡°Okay, you''re right, I lied. However, despite how I look, I''m actually seventeen. Now, unless you want me and you to still have a bit of fun, assuming you have the cash for that, I¡¯m afraid I have to try and earn my keep with someone else.¡±

    Austin stood up from his seat and walked over towards her but stopped, not wanting to get too close and scare her. She was already practically out the door, and he didn¡¯t want that.

    ¡°I''m here to find out information about the Pincers. You guys don¡¯t have to lead this life, just tell us where their base is and what their boss looks like.¡± Austin requested.

    Nini let out a big sigh as she pulled down the door handle.

    ¡°It¡¯s cute that you want to be some vignte when you¡¯re just the head of a group of delinquents, but let me tell you, the Pincers don''t y around. They¡¯re actual gangsters and are in apletely different ballpark from what you¡¯re used to.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think telling you will change anything.¡± She replied, pulling out her tongue. ¡°I¡¯ll probably be in some deep trouble if I told you. ¡­well, let''s see how strong you really are.¡± Nini opened the door and quickly rushed out.

    ¡°Someone asked about the Pincers! Help, help!¡± A female voice cried out.

    Immediately, Austin chased after her, but the high school girl was already down the hallway. Unfortunately, some of those countless guards they had seen in the area and around the ce came flooding in. Five of them blocked the hallway at the front, and another five did the same from behind.

    A secondter, Gary opened the door to see nearly a dozen guards, ready to take out Austin.

    ¡°I guess¡­ you didn¡¯t have any luck then?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Nope, but it seems you¡¯ve made a new friend.¡± Austin replied, seeing that Stacy had left the room with him, and was holding onto his arm tightly.

    ¡°Stand down!¡± One of the guards shouted. ¡°This area is under control of the Pincers. Come with us peacefully and there won¡¯t have to be any trouble.¡±

    Despite the man¡¯s promation, the ones behind him had pulled out a few stun guns and knives, it was the same for the ones opposite them.

    ¡°Well, boss, your call?¡± Austin looked at Gary.

    ¡°You see them. Peace was never an option. We need to get out of here ASAP. The others must have already left the area, so it''s just me and you.¡± Gary replied.

    Looking past the guards, Austin could see that Nini was peaking at them, seeing what they could do.

    ¡°Perfect!¡± Austin grinned as he charged in the direction of the girl who had sold him out. Gary was quick to follow his lead, hoping they could take them out quickly and leave this ce, when he felt Stacy grab onto his arm, refusing to let go.

    ¡°Gary, don¡¯t! They¡¯ll kill you¡± Stacy called out.

    Seeing Austin charge forward, the guards trapped them from either side. With his strong fists, Austin had whacked the first one in the face, causing him to fall into the others, but another got through and tased him.

    ¡°Stacy, get off, I have to help him!¡± Gary shouted.

    Trying to pull her off him, he managed to push her away, but he had done so with a little too much strength, causing her to fall the other direction. She soon felt a sharp pain in her stomach. As she moved out, she could see one of the Pincer''s guards with blood all over his arms and a knife in his hands.

 Chapter 227 â€“ 20 Minutes

    <h4>Chapter 227 - 20 Minutes</h4>

    Stacy¡¯s body was slowly staggering back towards Gary. She herself didn''t know what was going on, but seeing the blood and looking down at her stomach, she started to get wobbly on her feet.

    Because her back was turned, Gary couldn''t see anything, but he didn¡¯t need to see because he could already smell the blood that was entering his nose.

    Eventually, she stumbled, falling into Gary¡¯s arms. Looking down, he could see the wound in her stomach, and, though he wasn¡¯t a professional, it looked quite bad.

    ¡®Sh*t¡­ she was stabbed! ¡­ and the knife is in that guy''s hand. You¡¯re not supposed to take it out, right?¡¯ Gary thought as he tried to think back to any form of training or movies he had watched for some knowledge.

    ¡°Stacy!¡± Gary shouted at her. ¡°You need to put pressure on the wound! Hang on, I¡¯ll take you to a hospital. It will all be okay!¡±

    The man, who was responsible for the high school girl¡¯s injury, showed no signs of remorse, instead he charged in again. Quickly, pulling her so she was behind him, Gary kicked the man before he could even reach them. The teenager had aimed at his stomach and he wasn¡¯t holding back, causing the gangster to fly into his colleagues tumbling down.

    Turning around, he ced Stacy over his shoulder and was nning to head out of the ce, but there was a problem. Austin still hadn¡¯t managed to take on his five guys. With the stun guns being used, they were disrupting his flow, and he needed to be careful of the knives, so he didn¡¯t get a serious wound like Stacy¡¯s.

    "Haha even delinquents at school these days use knifes, do you think I don''t have experience fighting against you lot!" Austin taunted.

    There were cuts across his chest and forearms, he was bleeding as well, but there were no serious wounds. Thankfully, he had taken out two people already, but a *ding* was soon heard, and from the front door, reinforcement appeared storming out of one of two of the elevators.

    ¡°Gary¡­ it¡­ really¡­ I don¡¯t even know if it hurts.¡± Stacy whispered, her face being ghostly white.

    [New Quest received]

    [Who wants to live forever?]

    [Should have let her pop your cherry, boy.]

    [A girl is dying in your arms, yet you wish to save her life.

    While the wound isn¡¯t too deep, youck the expertise to treat her.

    If you don¡¯t do something, she¡¯ll die from blood loss (~20 mins)

    Warning; External circumstances can worsen her condition!]

    [Quest reward: ???]

    [Time limit: 20 minutes]

    [Failure: Death of Stacy Turnhell]

    [Optionalplete condition: Bite her]

    When reading thest line, a wave of thoughts came into his head. Mainly when Mr Root had been in his critical condition, he had contemted this way of saving him, and now it looked like his system was subtly pushing him towards it. Turning her would also mean saving her life.

    When Gary read the consequences for failing the Quest, he understood that things were very serious. Personally, the teenager had been stabbed multiple times, but unlike him, Stacy was just a normal high school girl. She didn¡¯t have the same vitality he had.

    ¡®Can I do it, can I get out of this ce in time¡­No¡­ I still have time! I can still consider this possibility if we can¡¯t get out.¡¯ Gary decided as he turned around.

    Multiple people wereing out of there rooms trying to see themotion, but the guards were soon telling them to stay inside.

    ¡°Austin, get back here, I need you to carry her!¡± Gary yelled down the hallway. After delivering a punch and knocking a guy''s shades off, therge teenager went back to where his friend was. Without asking him any questions, he ced Stacy on his back.

    Despite having taken out a few of the gangsters, more hade down. There were more than a dozen in front of them, with around half that number behind them. The men were being a bit cautious after seeing the strength these intruders had disyed. Fortunately, the hallway was narrow, limiting the adults¡¯ movement.

    ¡°I¡¯ll open a path, just stay behind me!¡± Gary ordered, and looked to his left, where the door to the room he had been in was.

    Austin was wondering what Gary''s n was. Honestly, even he couldn¡¯t see a way to get out of this one with how many people there were, it was just endless, but their leader was someone who could save them from those two monsters, so he could do the same again.

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Gary chose to just transform his nails lightly, which he then used to rip into the side of the wall. Once they were in, he transformed his biceps, granting him not just regr super strength, but Werewolf super strength. He could feel the clothes tightening around his bicep.

    Quickly pulling the door, he had managed to pull it off its hinges.

    ¡°Now!¡± Gary shouted, as he charged forward while holding the door as an impromptu shield. Austin immediately followed right behind him, but he quickly noticed something.

    Gary was too fast.

    The teenager had used his skill on his legs to give him an edge as he pushed forward. The gangsters had already seen him do something inhuman, yet he didn¡¯t want to give any other clear indication that he was an Altered. He had transformed just enough to give him the extra strength in stats and speed that he needed without any change in his outward appearance.

    The men tried to move out of the way of what wasing towards them, but theirrge number proved to be a detriment in that regard. The next second, Gary mmed the door into the first man, knocking him back. He continued to run forward, not slowing down, and pushed through like a bulldozer.

    Eventually, they had gotten out of the hallway, and were now in the open area where the two elevators were.

    ¡°Go!¡± Gary shouted.

    Austin went and pushed the elevator button, waiting for it to arrive. Therge teenager suddenly felt something warm around his shoulder and as he touched it, he saw that it was a red liquid. Stacy¡¯s blood was dripping down.

    The men that Gary had knocked down were getting back up, and now that they were out of the hallway, the door was pretty useless. Since it was already falling apart, the high schooler threw it towards those still on the floor, and stood there in the centre while waiting for the *ding* sound.

    That''s when Austin noticed that there was a small girl in the corner, it was Nini. She wasn¡¯t shaking but was clearly trying to avoid trouble by hiding behind arge nt.

    ¡°You see this?¡± Austin questioned her as he pointed at Stacy. ¡°This is how ¡®valuable¡¯ you are to them. Today, it¡¯s the girl on my shoulder, but tomorrow it could easily be you¡­ I¡¯ll be paying you a visit at school soon. You¡¯re scared of the Pincers¡­ but trust me, you should be more scared of us!¡±

    Arge yell and cry of pain was heard. It was then that the two of them turned to Gary, who was in the middle of taking care of all the gangsters. He dodged a punch and threw out an overhand right hand into the face of another. He had been hit with a stun gun just before, but the teenager powered through it.

    Still, after kicking another gangster, he lifted one above his head, and another came and stabbed him right in the stomach, not just once but a few times. Seeing this, Austin was ready to put Stacy down to protect his leader.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Gary screamed, hurling the man towards the others, he then grabbed the one attacking him with the knife with his bare hand, and punched him in the face three times quickly, while kicking him on the ground.

    ¡°You tried to kill me!¡± Gary screamed, as he continued to punch in the unconscious man¡¯s face, until he was eventually rugby tackled to the ground, but secondster the green haired teenager had flung another gangster off. He threw his assant across the room, before getting back up again.

    It was the first time for Austin to witness Gary fight so wildly. Therge teenager understood that it was both of their lives on the line, and he genuinely wanted to help¡­ only, how was he even supposed to get in there, in the middle of all that mess?

    Finally, a *ding* was soon heard, yet there were even more men inside.

 Chapter 228 â€“ 16 Minutes

    <h4>Chapter 228 - 16 Minutes</h4>

    Austin, with one hand, grabbed onto the closest adult¡¯s head and quickly mmed it into the side of the wall before throwing him behind him. Then, he kicked another one right in the balls, no hesitation whatsoever. Now wasn¡¯t the time to fight like gentlemen, not when the gangsters were using weapons.

    A third man was about to hit Austin, but soon a hand had grabbed onto his arm, and pulled him out of the elevator, and therge teenager could see Gary by his side. The group got in and were quickly pressing the button, waiting to go down to the first floor.

    There were no words spoken, and only the green haired high schooler¡¯s frantic breath could be heard. Naturally, Austin couldn''t help but look at his friend¡¯s stomach, where he had received multiple stab wounds. Blood covered his shirt and was dripping onto the elevator floor.

    ¡°Are you-¡±

    ¡°I''m fine.¡± Gary interrupted in a pained voice. ¡°We need to get her to a hospital!¡±

    The elevator opened once again. Unsurprisingly, there were people waiting for the trio.

    [16 minutes remaining]

    [Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

    [-30 Energy]

    [173/300 Energy]

    [64/100 HP]

    [Passive healing will not take effect until you are no longer inbat]

    While the elevator was still on its way down, Gary was checking out his stats. Once he no longer fought for a certain amount of time, his body would consume Energy and naturally start to heal himself.

    Despite its name, Emergency healing was only useful to seal his wounds and mend his bones, yet it didn¡¯t actually bring his Health back up. As such, the green haired teenager was currently in a rough shape, and had used up a lot of Energy healing the cuts on his body.

    ¡®Since bing a Warrior ss Werewolf other than the fight with Billy, it''s the first time that I¡¯ve had to worry about my Energy a bit. I haven¡¯t been using Controlled Transformation a lot but still if ites to it might even have to use the new skill. Yet for some reason¡­ I''m not scared.¡¯ Gary noticed.

    When obtaining Last Stand, the high schooler had imagined that if he would ever have to use it, it would be in a situation where he would be frightened out of his mind, but instead he was filled with anger. He was angry about the way they treated people, angry that they had hurt Stacy, who was just an innocent school girl, and angry at the gang that was doing all of this.

    The elevator door opened, and the area looked to have been cleared, but there were a lot of gang members on the ground floor now, around twenty in total. After the earlier scuffles, Gary was aware that these adults were hard to deal with, and it was quite possible that there were of them as well.

    Gary quickly took Stacy off from Austin''s shoulder.

    ¡°Run!¡± Gary shouted, and took off towards the exit.

    The guards here seemed to be rxed, most likely assuming that those who had been sent down would have dealt with Gary and Austin by now. They were only two people, after all, and they couldn¡¯t imagine how they would beat ten times their number.

    Using the surprise factor to their advantage, the trio was able to make a break for the door. Now that Austin no longer had someone on his shoulder, it was easy for him to catch up with Gary whose legs were still strengthened.

    A single person soon stood in their way, but at the same time, Austin and Gary threw their fists right in his face knocking him out cold, and bursting through the doors they were finally out of the establishment.

    The two high school boys, could see Kai and the others, who hade back to wait for them. They made eye contact for a second. They didn¡¯t have to say anything, Kai understood that something must have gone horribly. Then again, the blood on Austin''s shirt and the girl over Gary''s shoulder would have been a natural giveaway in the first ce.

    ¡°Hey!!! Who are you filming?!!!¡± Kai shouted. ¡°Careful, these guys have been filming you!!!¡±

    Keeping it vague on purpose, the blonde haired teenager had assured that everyone who had something to hide, assumed that the gang members had filmed them. It was perfect to cause amotion in the area, making people disregard Gary and Austin. Thankfully, with the busy street, many people got in the adults¡¯ way and demanded for them to delete their footage.

    [14 minutes]

    ¡®Damn it, I have to get there faster, an ambnce isn¡¯t going to be quick enough.¡¯

    ¡°Look at them, is that blood?¡± A bypassermented, as they had entered another area.

    ¡°Maybe something happened, getting a little too frisky.¡±

    ¡°Just leave it, the Pincers will probably deal with it.¡±

    Hearing thements of the others as Gary went by them, he could tell that to the public who went here, this was quite a normal scene. Nobody was panicking, nor did anyone show signs of wanting to call the police. There were a few frightened voices here and there, but they would quickly be calmed down by others. It was just making Gary think there was something deeply wrong with this ce.

    ¡°Austin.¡± Gary shouted back at his friend, who was struggling to keep up with him. ¡°I''m sorry, but I''m going to have to leave you. Tell the others I¡¯m going to the hospital I saw nearby when I was running here.¡±

    By now therge teenager was so out of breath that he could only give his friend a thumbs up. The next second, and Gary had picked up the pace, almost doubling his speed as he continued running.

    ¡®How can he run that fast while carrying somebody? He even fought more than me¡­ how is that possible?¡¯ Austin wondered, but more than anything he was worried about the wounds on Gary.

    Gary was running as fast as he could, yet the timer was brutally ticking down. The high schooler needed Stacy to a hospital. He had just gotten rid of a huge problem, and he had no desire to trade one Werewolf for another. Sure, she might not be as bad as Billy, but¡­ what if she would be worse?

    ¡°Stacy, you can hear me, right? Answer me!¡± Gary shouted as he rushed along.

    ¡°Amy I mi¡­ss y¡­ou. So¡­rry¡­¡± Stacy mumbled.

 Chapter 229 â€“ 0 Minutes

    <h4>Chapter 229 - 0 Minutes</h4>

    Austin had managed to get away. He was out of breath and badly gasping for air. He couldn''t even remember thest time he had to run that much, his legs were in pain, and his calf muscles were cramping up.

    ''I much prefer using my fists than my legs.'' He thought taking in a big gasp of air and putting himself upright.

    Not long after he had left Burnham street, it looked like the Pincer members had given up their chase.

    ¡®It seems they can¡¯t really afford to leave the area unattended since they need to look after it in case anything elsees up. Smart move, since it would be a good way to distract them and get their leader in the meantime. These guys are definitely not as simple as delinquents, and they don¡¯t even care to use weapons, I think Kai might have chosen the wrong gang.¡¯

    The fact was the gang wasn¡¯t afraid of doing these things so openly, and it made Austin wonder. The police had to be aware of this ce, same with the mayor yet no one was doing anything about it. They were either on a high payroll, or had chosen to look the other way because there was nothing they could do about it.

    At the moment, Austin was waiting at the bus stop they had arrived at, which was a ten-minute walk from the street. Eventually, the rest of the Howlers showed up, just in time for a bus to appear.

    ¡°I know you must have like a million questions you want to ask, but I¡¯ll exin on the way, alright? Right now, we have to get to the hospital and check if Gary is okay.¡± Austin stated.

    With that the group was off, and just as promised therge teenager exined the details of what had urred while the two of them had been inside. Of course, he had no clue what Gary had or hadn¡¯t done with the girl while inside, he just knew that she had gotten seriously hurt afterward.

    After learning all of this, the group had eventually reached a small local hospital nearby. They didn¡¯t usually deal with big emergencies, but given that it was the closest nearby, they were sure Gary had taken Stacy here.

    As they went inside they looked around the small reception that had around ten people in at most and there was one person with green hair who was sticking out like a saw thumb. Austin was the first to spot Gary. He ran over, and could see him staring off into space, blood on his shoulder.

    ¡°Gary, what are you doing here? They couldn¡¯t have seen to you so fast!¡± Austin said, as he went to take a look, but no blood was falling from him. The holes were still in his shirt, and lifting his shirt up out of shock. Austin could see that there was nothing there.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯m fine.¡± Gary insisted as pushed Austin''s hand away.

    Yet, Austin stared at him in pure disbelief. He had seen Gary bleed, he had seen his friend get stabbed multiple times, over and over. How could someone not only survive all those wounds, but heal this fast?

    In his head, there was only one exnation, putting this and the other event with the twins, he could only think one thing¡­ their leader had to be an Altered.

    ¡®Is that why Kai didn¡¯t want to say anything? Did he not want us to snoop around as to how a kid like Gary could have chosen to be an Altered?¡¯

    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we just sit down and rx for a bit? When you¡¯re ready, Gary, you can exin what''s happened on your side. Meanwhile, let''s just pray that the girl will be in good health.¡± Kai suggested in an attempt to calm everyone down.

    Innu, after hearing what girl that Gary had selected, was a little worried as well.

    Meanwhile, Gary was in the middle of his own thoughts.

    ¡®What¡­ have I done?¡¯

    [Congrattions! You have endured a lot and have sessfully brought the girl to the hospital within 20 minutes.]

    [Endurance +1]

    [Your base Endurance is now at 16]

    [Quest reward: Instant Level Up]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 15]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    ¡®Is it my fault Stacy got hurt like that? If we never went there, would she have been fine?¡¯

    As if reading his mind, Kai went to sit next to him in his seat. The situation felt familiar, which wasn¡¯t something Gary really appreciated. If possible, he would like to avoid ever having to be in a hospital again. It was horrible, having to wait for the result of a person''s life.

    ¡°I''m sure you saw it, when you were running through those crowds of people. Their reaction wasn¡¯t what you were expecting because that type of thing happens there frequently.¡± Kai exined. ¡°Like you said, when people are doing things against their will, these types of things are bound to ur. It was unfortunate, but you have done your best by bringing her here.¡±

    ¡°I¡­I know her.¡± Gary finally revealed, which made all the Howlers react. ¡°She¡¯s a friend of my sister''s¡­ well, former friend¡­ not that it matters anyway. You know, for a long time I thought this underworld stuff was only surrounding me, because I was the one who decided to get involved in it.

    ¡°But when I see a regr person that hardly knows me, get involved like that. I realise the truth is quite different. Someone who just goes to school every day, could suddenly get wrapped up in all of this crap.

    ¡°Guys, I want to tell you all something.¡± Gary said, looking at them all. He waited, and the others soon gathered around him. Some were nervous, Marie and Austin, for one, believed that he was going toe clean about his secret.

    ¡°I think if we are going to be serious about this gang stuff, then you guys should know the truth about me. If you don''t want to get involved further, I guess this is your chance to leave.¡± The others said nothing, waiting for Gary to exin.

    ¡°I used to be a Transporter for the Underdogs, but I''m no longer part of them. Because I failed to deliver a very important package, they¡¯re still looking for me. Since I''m the leader of this gang it will get you guys involved, but I promise I don¡¯t n to just sit back and let things happen. I¡¯ll fight them back.¡±

    Before the others could give Gary an answer they were interrupted.

    ¡°Excuse me!¡± A woman in a whiteb coat said as she came over.

    ¡°You are the boy that came in, correct? Do you know her, or do you have her emergency contact information?¡±

    ¡°How is she?¡± Gary replied, ignoring the doctor''s question. There was a strange look on her face, when he asked her that.

    ¡°How is she?¡± The high schooler asked again, and since there was no answer, he decided to push past the doctor. They tried to stop him, but Gary was already running ahead and following the scent of blood that was on his clothes.

    Eventually he was led to an emergency room, pushing the door open¡­he could see Stacy. The heartbeat monitoring equipment was t, and Gary himself could hear no heartbeat.

 Chapter 230 â€“ System Error

    <h4>Chapter 230 - System Error</h4>

    Looking at the t line on the monitor, Stacy unmoving in the bed like so, and the fact that Gary couldn¡¯t hear a heartbeat at all confirmed everything. Gritting his teeth, the high schooler couldn¡¯t believe it, and with the hospital workers rushing to get him out of the room, they started to pull him back.

    Gary didn¡¯t resist though, hecked the energy to do so. Despite the system telling him he had energy, he certainly didn¡¯t feel like it. The iing security guards were able to easily pull him away, but since he didn¡¯t make a scene, they just returned the teenager back to the reception room.

    It was something that they had experienced with others before and at times, Gary wasn¡¯t an exception.

    There, a nurse came to ask Gary questions about the now deceased girl. Since the high schooler had brought her earlier, the hospital didn¡¯t know her name yet. There seemed to be no form of ID on her either, perhaps a condition from the Pincer gang when working in a ce like that. However, seeing the state the green haired teenager was in, Kai voluntarily took over.

    He subtly motioned for the rest of the group to get Gary out of the ce and let him handle things. With Stacy having died due to blood loss from knife injuries, police were bound to get on this case. Whether someone from the Pincers would cover it up or not was another thing.

    Marie and the others were extremely worried about Gary. He had yet to say a single word, simply following behind his friends as if he was on autopilot. All three teenagers tried to reach out to him a couple of times, but there was no response at all.

    In the end, the Howlers ended up returning to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club to discuss what to do next. However, they agreed to wait for Gary to be back to his usual self.

    Sitting down in one of the sofa seats that the pool club had, his head wasing back a bit.

    ¡®When did we get back to the pool club?¡¯ He wondered as he touched his head. The high schooler was so out of it he hadn¡¯t even registered what his body had been doing. His mind wasn¡¯t even thinking straight, but now that he had some time he could think clearly.

    ¡®How could it have happened? I don¡¯t understand¡­ the system gave me a Quest to get her to the hospital within 20 minutes. Why didn¡¯t it work?! I even made it with a few minutes to spare!!!

    ¡®Did the timer include operation time? No, that makes no sense! I brought her back and even got a reward, so then why did Stacy still die?¡¯

    In his head, Gary was angrily waiting for an answer, yet there was nothing. The system kept as eerily silent as always. Looking over the system¡¯s log, he still saw the notification congratting him, which made him think back to the other option the Quest had given him at the time.

    ¡®I guess in the end¡­ the system can¡¯t change what actually happens in real life¡­ this is entirely my fault. I SHOULDN¡¯T HAVE PUT MY TRUST INTO A DAMN GAME SCREEN!!!¡¯ Gary got up from his seat and angrily swiped the screen interface he had opened, yet to the others he seemed like a madman throwing a fit.

    ¡°Gary, are you with us?¡± Kai asked, since he had finally moved and there looked to be life in his eyes for the first time.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah.¡± Gary replied, noticing the strange gazes the others gave him.

    ¡°Good, I was just exining to everyone that for now, if anyonees to you and asks we didn¡¯t have anything to do with that girl at the hospital. We can¡¯t afford to get in trouble with the police, not at this stage. Not that I think it will go that far.

    ¡°Unless you¡¯ve had better luck, we don¡¯t have any information on the Pincers¡¯ base or their boss¡¯s whereabouts. So we will have to try to do some more digging.¡±

    In the middle of Kai summing things up to Gary, the teenager got up and headed to the door.

    ¡°Sorry, Kai. I won¡¯t tell anyone, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the right mindset to talk about taking over their gang right now. Also¡­ she¡¯s not ¡®that girl¡¯. Her name is¡­ was Stacy.¡± Gary said as he closed the door behind him.

    The others looked at each other.

    ¡°Let¡¯s give him some time.¡± Austin finally said. ¡°He said he knew the gi- ¡­ Stacy. I saw how he acted in that ce¡­ he really gave it his all to save her. ¡±

    Although Austin was somewhat right, it was troubling Gary even more because for one, he had trusted the system, and for two if he had chosen differently, he might have saved her. Eventually, Gary ended uping home.

    ¡ª¡ª

    His sister rushed to the door, seeing him, but she could immediately tell something was up. For one, his footsteps had been quite heavy.

    ¡°Gary?¡± Amy called out.

    He continued to walk forward, dragging his feet, until eventually his head was being held up by Amy¡¯s body. The teenage boy felt like he needed to cry, yet for some reason no tears wereing out. Seeing her brother in such a state, Amy ced her hands around him and gave him a big hug.

    ¡°You have a lot on your te, huh?¡± Amy spoke softly. ¡°Whatever¡¯s troubling you, I know you won¡¯t just let it build up. You''ll deal with it. And if you want to talk about it or need me, I¡¯m also here for you.¡±

    Amy patted her brother¡¯s head, leading him to hug her a bit tighter.

    ¡°Remember what Mum used to say. ¡®We can¡¯t keep thinking about the past, it''s already happened. If you think too much about the future, you¡¯ll miss what''s happening now. We need to treasure the present, treasure the now, and that¡¯s why it''s a gift.¡±

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t Mum, I¡¯m pretty sure that was that old turtle from that panda movie? Master Genbu or something?¡± Gary chuckled as he lifted his head.

    He didn¡¯t expect it, but his sister had managed to cheer him up and bring him back down to his senses.

    ¡°I wanted to ask you something¡­do you hate Stacy for what she did that day to you?¡± Gary asked.

    It took a while for Amy to answer, as it seemed like she was really considering the question, and Gary was a little afraid of the answer. He didn¡¯t want his sister to speak ill of the dead.

    ¡°You know, if you had asked me that question the day when she left me on my own in that cafe, I wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to answer that with a yes.¡± Amy replied. ¡°But now¡­ after not saying her for a bit¡­ I actually realised how good of a friend she was, not counting that day¡­ or with Hawk¡­

    ¡°As far as I can remember, Stacy was always a bit of a scaredy-cat and a pushover. Even though she began ying tough after we came to Bayles, her facade would always break at the smallest sign of trouble.

    ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s impressive that she managed to keep everything about you for so long. I didn¡¯t even have to ask her to. She knew I didn¡¯t want her to tell that psycho a word about you and decided to keep it a secret. It wasn¡¯t until the situation had gotten desperate, until she confessed to everything.

    ¡°I often think if the roles were reversed if I would have done the same thing¡­ what if I had a family¡­ or what if you were sick. I dunno¡­ maybe I''m just being stupid and looking for reasons to forgive her. I tried staying mad at her, but after the first day at school without her, I realised that I missed her.

    ¡°It¡¯s lonely not having her greet me in the morning, having her there to talk to during our breaks. I feel like an outcast now, being the only girl to eat my homemade packed lunch. As stupid as she was in recent times, she always did her best to cheer me up, especially after what happened to Mum¡­

    ¡°I even tried to reach out to her, but she never replied. The most frustrating thing is that I never got the chance to tell her off for what she had done back then. Maybe then I could have forgiven her¡­ but now she¡¯s gone.¡±

    Those words at the end pained Gary more than his sister could have realised. Lifting his hand up, he ced it softly on her shoulder.

    ¡°Stacy really was a good friend to you¡­right?¡±

    Amy didn¡¯t know why, but hearing her brother say that made her start to cry. She rubbed her eyes, not quite understanding where these emotions wereing from. Now, it was Gary¡¯s turn to hold her for a bit, before she excused herself and went into their room.

    Still, talking to his sister had allowed him to make up his mind. He took out his phone and entered the Howlers¡¯ group chat, typing away. The others, who were still at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, received the message, and shared a smile as they read it.

    [I¡¯ve decided, I''m going to take out the whole of that damned Pincers gang tomorrow!

    Let me know if you are in or out.]

    In less than half a minute, he got replies from the other four.

    [In!] x4

 Chapter 231 â€“ Bait

    <h4>Chapter 231 - Bait</h4>

    [13 Days till the next full moon.]

    [Your bloodlust is increasing.]

    [40 Exp has been gained from current Bond Marks (4)]

    [Exp 596/2876]

    Waking up that Sunday morning, the weather was quite dull with a grey sky, perfectly matching the mood of a certain green haired teenager. There wasn¡¯t much sunshine to enjoy, not that it often came through the thick smog that seemed to cover Slough somewhat.

    ¡®Maybe I¡¯m feeling this way because it¡¯s getting closer to the full moon.¡¯ Gary thought after seeing the message.¡¯ Either way¡­ the Pincers took something away from me, so it¡¯s time I take something from them.¡¯

    Carrying on his back, Gary had a bag of all the things he would need, and just as he was about to head out of the door, his sister came rushing out of her bedroom, tears rolling down her face.

    ¡°Gary¡­ Gary, did you hear?¡± His sister could barely say the words she wanted. Her throat was too choked up. ¡°I¡­I just got a me-message from Sta-Stacy¡¯s parents¡­ the-they found her in so-some hospital¡­ a-and Stacy di-din¡¯t make it¡­ sh-she¡¯s d-dead¡­ ¡±

    Gary stopped just before opening the door. This morning he had read some news about a local girl who had seemingly overdosed on drugs. As expected, the Pincers had covered up the teenage girl¡¯s death, so it wouldn¡¯t link back to it.

    Everything in that news article had been utterly false, the hospital, the way she had died as well as where she had died. Just thinking about it, Gary¡¯s hand was tensing around the door handle. For a moment, he considered staying andforting his sister through this tough time.

    Unfortunately, staying here with Amy, wouldn¡¯t change things with the Pincers. The longer they were allowed to remain operating, the more the girls working for them would suffer.

    ¡°Amy, I¡¯m so sorry to hear that¡­ she was your best friend¡­ but I¡¯m sure those people that did this to her will receive their karma.¡± After saying these words, Gary opened the door and quickly closed it behind him.

    Letting out a big breath, it was time for him to head to the pool club. On the way there outside his apartment block, he saw Mr Morten outside, sitting on a bench and looking troubled. Still, when he saw Gary, the old man smiled.

    ¡®The people here, they¡¯re struggling as well.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A short whileter, Gary had reached the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. It wasn¡¯t open to the public yet, but everyone was there, including Austin¡¯s three friends who had essentially be employees of the ce. It had been getting a good flow of customerstely, enough to cover the teens¡¯ ie while also making profit for Gary and the others. They took over the duties of the others, giving them more free time.

    Miss Degrace was in charge of them and would inform the three of their duties, as for why they were here now with the others this early, the high schooler didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get straight down to business.¡± Kai stated with a smile, now that they were all here.

    ¡°We had trouble gathering information about the Pincers yesterday, but we still have a lead. Austin¡¯s friends did a good job finding out that those working in the school area are linked to the Pincers.

    ¡°Apparently, they don¡¯t just deal with school kids, but they also scout the streets trying to entice pretty looking girls into an easy way of making a living. Sometimes they even trick them by saying it¡¯s for modelling, and things progressively worsen.

    ¡°Seeing that these guys deliver the girls, they must have some idea who and where the real Pincer leader is. Even if they don¡¯t personally, finding out the contact person, should help us uncover their leader since it all stems from them.

    ¡°We know the general area they work in, and because it¡¯s the weekend, they will be busy on the streets as usual. All of this information was gathered by our three friends here.¡± Kai gave the credit that was due to the three from Austin¡¯s school.

    Innu already knew them, since they were the delinquent trio from his former ss. They were also those that had gone up against Billy when he hade to their school, and they had suffered more than just a few broken bones doing so.

    Honestly, Gary didn¡¯t know how reliable or strong they were because it was hard topare normal humans to the Omega wolf. Still, if the stories he would hear them brag about in the shop were true, they were at least quite the strong fighters when going up against normal delinquent students.

    There was Bo, who had an afro on top of his head, and was rtively thin in his body frame but tall. Then there was Felix, who was the pr opposite, and on the smaller side. He always had a scrunched up look on his face as if he was constantly angry about something. Last, but not least, there was Alfie, who was mostly silent, Alfie¡¯s hair covered his face and he usually went around with his hands in his pockets.

    ording to Austin, they were his trustworthy men who would always help him, no matter what the cause. For example, they didn¡¯t even ask to be paid for working at this ce because Austin had requested them to do it. However, Kai had insisted that they couldn¡¯t have them work for free, even if only to gain their trust and loyalty in the long run.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Bo began, nodding his head. ¡°It¡¯s like hard to exin, but these guys like don¡¯t likee out all the time. Like they sometimes act like pussies, so like, if they see us then, it might like, you know, scare them.¡±

    It was clear to Gary that afro boy wasn¡¯t the best of speakers at times, but there were quite a few people in his own ss that would talk like Bo.

    ¡°What he¡¯s trying to say is, if those guys see us all together approaching them, there is a good chance they¡¯ll go off running.¡± Austin exined. ¡°At the same time, they don¡¯t exactly make it obvious what they¡¯re trying to do. They¡¯ll work in groups but approach girls on their own, so it¡¯s hard to tell who is exactly working for the Pincers and who is just trying to hit on pretty girls.¡±

    ¡°So we need bait?¡± Kai summed it up, nicely.

    The group was thinking about it for a while, until eventually all of their eyes looked towards Marie, the only young girl currently in the room with them.

    ¡°Is she¡­ good enough?¡± Kai asked, raising his eyebrow.

    Hearing this, her whole body was shaking with anger. Her hand was raised and swung out, giving a big p across Kai¡¯s face. It was so loud the others could feel the power behind the strike, and on top of that there now was a big red mark on Kai¡¯s face.

    Innu was just shaking his head at the scene, for as much as Kai seemed like a yboy, he certainly didn¡¯t know how to speak to girls like one.

    It was then that Marie took out the two scrunchies from her hair, she no longer had the tworge pigtails, and her hair went down halfway on her back. She straightened it with her fingers a few times, and the others couldn¡¯t quite believe it.

    Just with the change of hairstyle, Marie looked like apletely different girl. The delinquent trio all gave her a thumbs up, which caused her face to go red.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good start, but if you could put on some more makeup, I think it could work even better.¡± Austin suggested excitedly.

    ¡°I think Marie will make the perfect bait, she is a really pretty girl.¡± Gary agreed,ing over to her. He then noticed something, he could hear her heartbeat thumping louder as he got closer and could tell it was getting faster.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The Howlers'' leader asked her, worried.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I-I¡¯m fine¡­ just a bit nervous.¡± Marie smiled back. ¡°I¡¯ll happily y the bait. Finally, I¡¯ll be able to do more than just watch from the sideline.¡±

    Smiling back, Gary wanted her to know something.

    ¡°Marie¡­ don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be watching you the whole time. I promise you, I won¡¯t let you end up like Stacy.¡±

    The high schooler continued to be blissfully unaware of why her heartbeat had increased once again. However, the teenage girl just nodded, and a small smile appeared on her face.

    ¡®We will take out the Pincers today¡­they will get their karma as promised Amy.¡¯

 Chapter 232 â€“ An Unbreakable Promise

    <h4>Chapter 232 - An Unbreakable Promise</h4>

    Before setting off towards Burnham, all the boys had agreed on wearing their gang clothes. The ck and gold zers. Although it made them stand out, giving them the appearance of a group looking for trouble, that was exactly what they were going to do.

    Still, as long as they split up and looked over Marie when in Burnham, they shouldn¡¯t attract too much attention. ording to Kai, it would help spread awareness for the Howlers, because if everything went right, after today they would be all set for their future operation in Slough.

    Just in case, Gary also brought along his mask. Fortunately, it hadn¡¯t been destroyed in his fight with Jayden, so currently it was just tucked away on the inside of his zer. Wearing that in public, like in the bus, would just attract a lot of unwanted attention, but it might prove usefulter on.

    The group decided to head towards Burnham via bus, refusing to go with their leader¡¯s suggestion of walking over. Instead of the food street, their destination was the school in that area, this time.

    They sat at the back, where there was a row of four seats, yet with Austin¡¯s size he took up two seats which meant, Marie and Gary were sitting next to each other. She looked forward, hardly turning her head.

    ¡°Ah man, this is kindame, don¡¯t you think?¡± Innuined as he looked out of the window. ¡°Aren¡¯t we meant to be some hot shot gang? Why¡¯re we taking the bus? Don¡¯t gangsters usually have those expensive ck cars and crap? Even a taxi would have even been better than this.¡±

    ¡°A taxi is expensive.¡± Gary chimed in immediately. ¡°And with all of us, we would have had to take two taxis. You could buy ten loaves of bread, jam, and ketchup instead.¡±

    With how quick Gary had replied, Innu was a little worried for their leader¡¯s mental being. They had already known that he was someone who was tight on money, even before he had suggested walking over to Burnham, but what was up with the supermarket calctions?

    ¡°Please tell me that¡¯s not all you eat¡­ Seriously, ketchup sandwiches? Remind me to never go to the toilet after you.¡± Innu teased his friend, wafting his hand in front of his face.

    Gary let out an awkwardugh. ¡®If only they knew how much money I actually have to spend to avoid hunting rats and the like¡­¡¯

    ¡°Unless you¡¯ve managed to purchase one of those fancy cars with your cut and are willing to let us use it, that¡¯s not happening. Gary¡¯s right, there¡¯s no need to spend money like that when there are cheaper alternatives.¡± Kai said.

    ¡°That being said, I¡¯m open to revisit this topic at ater time. Hopefully, by then, all of you will be able to drive on your own, because I¡¯m not up for being a chauffeur.¡± He added with his usual smirk. Being seventeen, the blonde teenager had already procured a driver¡¯s license, whereas the rest of the boys would still have to wait until their next birthday.

    The journey to Burnham was long, so the group were spending a lot of time on the bus twiddling their thumbs, just reviewing the n.

    ¡°Marie, are you okay? Your face is a little red, and you look a bit nervous?¡± Gary asked, he could practically feel the heating off the girl¡¯s cheeks. She was that red, even though it was a bit hard to see through the make-up she had applied.

    With her hair down and the right amount of make-up that made her look more ¡®natural¡¯, she certainly did look like a different person. Marie also looked older than her seventeen years, her current appearance being that of a young university student.

    ¡®Make-up is really a dangerous thing.¡¯ Gary thought at that moment.

    ¡°Yeah, the bus is just a bit hot, and I¡¯m a little worried about what will happen if I mess up.¡± Marie replied. ¡°Or that they don¡¯t approach me.¡±

    There was a lot riding on Marie¡¯s shoulders, but Gary wasn¡¯t worrying too much. As long as those delinquents were up and about, he believed he might be able to pick up a few things just from walking the streets and listening in on conversations.

    Still, the best case scenario would be if they were to approach Marie, but after what happened with Stacy, he felt like she had a right to be worried because even he was.

    ¡®The others can handle themselves quite well. I wanted to save the Marks in case I needed them in the future¡­ but I don¡¯t want to have any more regrets. As long as I Mark her, I¡¯ll be able to find her, no matter what happens.¡¯

    ¡°Marie¡­¡± Gary said now hesitating about what promise to exactly make. ¡°Can you promise me not to die?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Marie looked at him strangely, and her face was sunken at this point. ¡°Are you trying to jinx me?! Don¡¯t even mention that possibility after what happened yesterday!¡±

    Seeing the range of emotions on Gary¡¯s face, as the boy searched for the right words to exin that he didn¡¯t mean it like that, Marie scratched the back of her head.

    ¡°Argh, fine¡­ If it makes you feel better, I promise you not to die.¡±

    [Error: Spoken deal is too vague]

    ¡®What the¡­ what do you mean, ¡®too vague¡¯?!¡¯

    cing a Bond Mark on someone was very useful, allowing the Werewolf to find that person, while also granting him 10 Exp each day, yet there was always the risk that they could be a hunting target. As such, Gary had tried toe up with ways to make unbreakable promises.

    Unfortunately, the system didn¡¯t allow him to outsmart it. The high schooler was seriously racking his brain, trying toe up with one that wasn¡¯t too vague before Marie was to go into the Pincers¡¯ territory.

    ¡°Thanks, I¡­ I was just worried about you. I¡¯m not used to you being in on the action yet. Say, do you think you¡¯ll be in this gang forever? Or do you think this gang willst forever.¡± When speaking, Gary honestly didn¡¯t know where these words hade from, but he did notice one thing.

    Before answering, Marie looked over at Kai.

    ¡°As long as it''s still his dream, then of course I will stay with the Howlers. Although I also have my own reasons to stay now.¡± She said, staring back at Gary. ¡°I honestly can¡¯t think of following anyone else, or think of anyone else that is better for this gang.¡±

    ¡°Alright¡­ as long as you''re one of the Howlers, I promise I¡¯ll protect you. So, don¡¯t leave us, ok?¡± Gary asked, as he put out his small finger.

    Hearing these words, Marie thought that Gary perhaps was thinking a bit more of her. As far as she knew, he hadn¡¯t asked any of the other members this question, about staying in the gang forever.

    ¡®Is this his way of saying he wants to be with me forever?¡¯

    ¡°Of course, I promise.¡± Marie smiled, this time not hesitating, and intertwining it with her own finger.

    [A spoken deal has been made, would you like to mark ¡°Marie Degrace¡±?]

    Just in time, as the bus had arrived at their stop, and it was time for them to get to work.

 Chapter 233 â€“ Not Just A Girl

    <h4>Chapter 233 - Not Just A Girl</h4>

    Every area in Slough had its own little shopping street, where there would be retailers selling all sorts of different things. When entering the Burnham high street though, the group realised that this area wasn¡¯t as affluent as the food street they had seen the other day.

    There were a few clothes shops, shoe, and key makers amongst other things, but the shops looked to be a little worn down, and there was graffiti on the walls at parts. Many of the shops were boarded up.

    In the first ce, a Tier-3 town wasn¡¯t exactly a ce where many could afford the luxury of buying things, which was why there were so many factories and manualbour jobs in the area.

    ¡°Now this is more like the Slough I know.¡± Innu sounded happy. It was an awkward reaction to have, but honestly, the others also felt it. Lately they had been visiting areas in Slough that felt foreign to them.

    Areas that they would have never set foot in before. The areas that big gangs owned, it seemed like all the money for the town were being fuelled towards them somehow.

    Off in the distance not too far away, the top of the high school could be seen, which was why they were here in the first ce.

    ¡°Alright, let''s stick to the n. Keep your phones on you at all times.¡± Kai reminded them, the group nodded, and split up.

    Although they hadn¡¯t seen anyone that even vaguely resembled a high school recruiter, they thought that if they did run into them, they might immediately start running. Still, everyone made sure to keep an eye on Marie, while pretending to window-shop.

    Walking down the high street, Marie was wearing ck boots that went up to her thigh, at the same time she was wearing a fitting coat as well, and had part of her hair tucked back revealing a pair of nice earrings.

    None of them had ever seen her dress so girly, the other thing that they noticed was that she stood out a bit in a ce like this. There were other girls, but none of them were dressed in as expensive or good quality clothes as hers.

    ¡®I guess that¡¯s all that blonde boy''s money, huh.¡¯ Innu thought, staring at her. ¡®I''m starting to suspect that he gave her and her mom a bigger cut out from that grey colour gang money than he let on.¡¯

    There was also something else on his mind, and it was about what Gary had said at the hospital. He had mentioned the Underdogs being after him. Unfortunately, a doctor had interrupted them at that moment, leaving them no time to really discuss what he meant by being chased after.

    The Pincers were just a small-time gang, and they were proving to be a hard enough gang to deal with¡­ how the hell were five teenagers supposed to deal with a big gang like the Underdogs? Still, Innu couldn¡¯t help but smile as he imagined what the Howlers could be like if they ever got to that level.

    ¡°Hey, I bet you hear that every day, but you look really stunning. You look familiar, have you done some modelling by any chance?¡± A voice was heard in the middle of the street, and suddenly everyone''s head turned to Marie.

    They could see a young man who was dressed quite hip and had one of those professional cameras on him. It wasn¡¯t something cheap that was for sure and out of everyone on the street he had chosen to approach Marie.

    ¡°Um, no, I¡¯ve never even thought about it.¡± Marie answered, fluttering her eyes at the boy.

    ¡°Well, you really have the right look for it from head to toe, and you obviously have a great fashion sense.¡± The boy praised her, giving Marie a thumbs up. ¡°If you¡¯re free, want to give it a shot? I actually work for a modelling agency, and we¡¯re looking for young university students like you.

    ¡°I feel like you have the perfect look that we¡¯re going for with our next campaign. Of course, you¡¯ll bepensated, and if my boss likes you, your pictures could be in all the Tier-2 cities and Tier-3 towns. Wait¡­¡± The man suddenly paused his excitement and started to look her up and down as if he was judging her.

    ¡°Since you said, you haven¡¯t modelled before¡­ do you mind if I take some practice photos of you? We have a studio that¡¯s not too far away from here.¡±

    Marie made it seem like she was trying to make up her mind for a bit before answering, because she really didn¡¯t know what to do. The n was to try and see if there were others as well. After all, perhaps one person wouldn¡¯t know, and she was surprised to hear they had a physical shop.

    ¡°You know what, that sounds great¡­ Thank you so much for picking me.¡± Marie smiled, not wanting to disappoint the others.

    Marie and the boy started walking together as he took her towards his special shop. It looked like they were no longer walking on the main high street, but were going through an alleyway, to another area that was close by.

    ¡®This is getting too dangerous, I have to stop her.¡¯ Gary thought.

    [Don¡¯t intervene just yet. Let¡¯s first check where he is taking her.] A text message had appeared in the group chat. Surprisingly, it was from Kai.

    However, with what had happened to Stacy still fresh on his mind, it was hard for Gary to just take a back seat.

    [Don''t worry, that guy was just a delinquent. Remember, they¡¯re high school students like us, and they need to present the girls intact. They will take us to the right ce.]

    The following message calmed the green haired teenager down a bit, but he would still try to stick close to her. Unlike the others, Gary was following Marie more directly as he went down the same alleyway as them and was just reacting to their actions from around 30 metres away.

    ¡°How far is your shop?¡± Marie asked.

    The boy had been pretty chatty initially, but for some reason he suddenly stopped, and that¡¯s when Marie could tell that he was ncing behind him. When walking on the street at the next alleyway he saw, he suddenly grabbed Marie''s hand and threw her down it.

    ¡°You¡­ you''re following us! Who are you? One of the girl''s friends to get revenge? Who put you up to this?¡± The boy asked as he walked towards her, trying to intimidate her, but Marie said nothing.

    ¡°Oh well, I''m sure that my other friends will be dealing with yours pretty soon. So why don¡¯t I have some fun with you myself? You will be damaged goods soon anyway!¡± The boy stated, reaching his hand out.

    At that moment, Marie lifted her small coat that covered part of her shorts. Around her side she had a special strap that went around her thigh and in it there were two knives. Pulling them out, she quickly delivered two shes, cutting the boy¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I''m not just some pushover girl! Thanks for not making me feel guilty about hurting you. I wonder how many lives you have ruined by doing this crap of yours!¡± Marie shouted.

 Chapter 234 â€“ Answers

    <h4>Chapter 234 - Answers</h4>

    ¡°You bitch!¡± The teenage boy shouted. Blood was dripping from his hand. The shes weren¡¯t too deep, but seeing his own hand in that state, he could feel the pain quite a bit. ¡°You damn whore, how dare you use weapons like that?!¡±

    Honestly, Marie had dreaded the day when she would have to use her knives on someone. Still, everyday she had woken up early and headed to school to join the training with Kai, Innu and Austin, without Gary knowing anything about it. Not only that, but without the others knowing as well, and any spare time she had after she would also practice.

    It was undeniably that most boys would just be physically stronger than her, hence why Kai had procured weapons to make up for the difference. Marie had ingrained everything she had learned during the blonde teenager¡¯s lessons. One of the most important ones, being that she had to prevent the other person from grabbing her.

    The delinquent was pissed off and decided to go in again, trying to get his revenge, but Marie swiftly avoided the punch, while shing upward with one of the knives, adding another big injury across his forearm.

    She was nimble and flexible, whereas the boy was just someone who relied on raw power. Having been hit twice, the boy was seriously getting angry.

    ¡®Where the hell are the others?! How have they still not dealt with those guys yet?¡¯ The guy wondered, as he turned around the alleyway to see where his reinforcements were. He then spotted a nk of wood with a nail on it. It looked like it was part of some broken chair.

    Picking it up off the ground, the boy smirked again.

    ¡°me yourself for what¡¯s gonna happen next, you bitch!¡±

    Seeing the boy pick up a weapon of his own, Marie recalled what Kai had told her to do when faced with such a situation. A wooden nk or a stick would give the other person the advantage through extra range. However, an inexperienced person tended to ovemit with each hit leaving themselves quite open.

    What she needed to do was to capitalise on those opportunities. Without any sort of technique the delinquent swung wide swings with strong conviction. Marie felt that if she ended up getting hit by the makeshift weapon, she wouldn¡¯t be getting back up.

    This was her first fight, and it was beyond terrifying.

    After avoiding the first couple of swings, the high school girl felt something hit her back, something solid. The next time the delinquent attacked, Marie ducked under, making his nk connect with the wall. It was the break she needed and rushing in, she shed twice along his chest, creating an x mark through his clothes.

    The man screamed as the knife shredded through his clothes and reached his skin, and honestly it waspletely different to how Marie imagined. With these sharp knives, cutting through skin was far easier than she thought, and the feeling was something that was causing her to have goosebumps.

    The boy''s hands were in pain from hitting the wall with the nk, his chest, and arm were bleeding, and it was all because of the girl behind him, but soon he heard footsteps, and they were followed by ps.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done a great job, Marie.¡± The male voice congratted her.

    The delinquent boy had expected to see his friends, but instead he saw four foreign boys standing there. All of them were dressed in ck and gold clothing, yet there was one of them with a wolf mask.

    ¡°Now, we already asked your friends ¡®kindly¡¯ about the Pincers¡¯ base location and their leader, but unfortunately none of them seemed to know the answer. Then again, most of them were unable to answer due to getting knocked out by us. I''m just d our friend here didn¡¯t do the same.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The truth was, when following Marie down the alleyway, Gary had been blocked off by arge guy. It seemed like the delinquents weren¡¯t as stupid as they had thought. He must have deliberately gone through this alleyway, to shake off any would be pursuers.

    It wasn¡¯t just one person that blocked their way either, as others had seemingly been hiding nearby. Unfortunately for them, the Howlers weren¡¯t as weak as the delinquents they were used to dealing with. Against all four boys they never stood a chance.

    As soon as they took care of them, Gary wanted to go help Marie. However, Kai stopped him once again, telling him to let her handle it herself. Honestly, when Kai saw Marie fighting like that, he was wondering how it was possible for her to be this good. It had only been a few days, so she had to be a natural at it¡­

    Still, Gary noticed that the blonde teenager¡¯s heart rate increased when he saw the delinquent grab the nk and not holding back in strength. He wasn¡¯t the only one, though. Gary couldn¡¯t take it any longer and ced his mask on his face while heading forward.

    The boy still had the wooden nk in his hand and seeing the groupe towards him, he panicked and wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do. Slowly he backed away.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± The boy shouted, charging forward but not towards Gary and the others, instead it was towards Marie. She had let her guard down now since the boys had shown themselves, and because of this he had left the delinquent an opening.

    The boy intended to take the girl hostage, but just a few steps in, a hand had gripped round his throat. In mere seconds, Gary was already there and squeezing his throat tightly.

    [3 Points have been allocated into Dexterity]

    [Your base Dexterity is now at 18]

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    [Agility 18 (+3)]

    ¡°What do you think you''re doing? You bastard could have killed her!¡± Gary shouted, as he mmed the boy up against the wall, still holding him with one hand.

    ¡°Let''s see how you like it when someone tries to kill you!¡± Gary shouted as he tightened his grip, holding the delinquent¡¯s body up against the wall and slowly lifting him off his feet and into the air. The boy''s face was turning red, his eyes looked like they were going to pop.

    ¡°Stop!!!¡± Marie shouted, as she held onto his arm.

    ¡°Let him go! We need him alive to find the others!¡± Kai shouted as well.

    Snapping out of his rage, the green haired teenager let go and allowed him to fall to the ground. The boy started coughing and gasped for air, he had already seen his life sh before him.

    Kai turned his attention to the boy and grabbed him by the back of his hair, forcing him to look up.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want my friend over here to finish what he started, you better get talking. Tell us, where¡¯s the Pincers¡¯ main base? Where do you take the girls after introducing them? Who¡¯s their boss!¡±

    The boy was still afraid for his life, so he didn¡¯t put up any struggle. ¡°Burnham food street! I bring them to a ce called ¡®the Kraken¡¯. I¡¯ve never seen the boss, only his right-hand man. They¡¯re definitely in that ce, though!¡±

    ¡°Let''s go.¡± Gary ordered, already walking off and heading towards Burnham food street.

 Chapter 235 â€“ Keeping Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 235 - Keeping Secrets</h4>

    On the weekends, Amy would often find herself doing nothing these days. She was too afraid to go out on her own ever since Raven had abducted her and Stacy. Even if the fifteen-year-old teenager did want to go somewhere¡­ who could she go with? When thinking about this, her heart just sank deeper.

    Today was just one of those days when Amy felt like her life was cursed. Even more than usual. Her eyes were puffy and slightly sore underneath due to how much she had been rubbing them, and she had nearly emptied out the box of tissues on the table.

    ¡®Ah damn¡­ Gary is going to get annoyed at me for wasting this many tissues.¡¯ Amy thought, looking at the box. Imagining his angry reaction, she couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the thought. Thinking about her brother was the only thing that cheered her up these days.

    ¡®Where did Gary even go? Was it just a coincidence that he asked me about Stacy yesterday? Did he somehow already know that she¡¯s¡­ dead.¡¯ Unwilling to keep thinking about her former best friend, who was now deceased, Amy tried to focus on something else.

    Unfortunately, her mind jumped from one bad thing to another, in this case the bloody clothes she had found. As much as she tried not to think about them, throughout the day, whenever the girl would end up using her own wardrobe, she ended up looking at her brother¡¯s where the clothes had been left.

    ¡®Why didn¡¯t he bury them or burn them by now? Did he keep them here because he wanted me to know?¡¯ The high school girl sulked, feeling the heavy burden of having to keep such an important secret. Usually, it was bearable, but with today¡¯s news, it felt far heavier than before.

    At that point, Amy had gotten up and grabbed her phone. Perhaps it was because she was trying to keep her mind off Stacy''s death, but her mind was now filled with Gary. She wanted to know what had happened that day.

    Amy didn¡¯t n to get involved in whatever he was doing, but she at least wanted to learn the truth. No matter what he had done, she knew that her brother must have done it for her, but at least she wanted to share that burden with him¡­ even if he might never learn that she did.

    ¡®Besides, knowing him, he might be out doing something crazy to try to cover this all up¡­ Yeah, if I leave him on his own, he¡¯s just going to get in more trouble. I have to help my brother out!¡¯ The teenage girl tried to justify her behaviour.

    Scrolling through her contacts list, there was one person who Amy believed would have an idea of what Gary had been up to recently. If she was lucky, then he might even know the truth! Someone who was as close to Gary as she was.

    The high school girl wasn¡¯t in a waiting mood, though, so rather than send a text, she had decided to give him a call instead. After a few rings, the other side had picked up.

    ¡°Amy!!! What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen to Gary? Is he okay? Oh no, he didn¡¯t try to hurt you or anything, did he? Amy, talk to me!¡±

    With the storm of questions, Amy was forced to pull the phone away from her ear. She switched over to loudspeaker mode, something that Tom had seemingly already done on his side, judging by the way he had shouted.

    ¡°What are you talking about, Tom?¡± Amy questioned. ¡°Gary came back fine yesterday¡­ And why would he ever hurt me?¡±

    There was silence on the other end, which gave Amy time to think about what Tom just had said. Clearly, he was acting strange and panicked for a reason.

    ¡®It looks like he really does know something.¡¯

    The reason Tom was over the top worried was due to him not having received any news from Gary. After the strange events at school, he had seen the look on Gary¡¯s face. He knew his best friend long enough to understand that he nned to do something crazy, such as raiding the red colour gang.

    Tom already had his suspicions that Gary was behind the attack on the grey colour gang, and with the approaching full moon, he was worried that his best friend might allow a certain side of his to take over again.

    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t want to startle you. I guess you must have heard about it by now. How the red colour gang gathered us all in school. It¡¯s all still fresh in my head, and I was worried about that hot-headed brother of yours.

    Anyway, how are you holding up? I¡¯ve heard about what happened to your mother. My condolences.¡± Tom tried toe up with an exnation for his behaviour. However, suddenly, realisation hit him that he was talking to his best friend''s sister¡­ and SHE had been the one to call HIM!

    ¡®Damn it, he¡¯s changing the subject. How do I get him to talk about Gary again?¡¯

    ¡°Oh, he told you about that? Unfortunately, she¡¯s yet to show any signs of waking up again. Mum¡¯s not doing any worse, though, so I guess there¡¯s that. I¡¯m as okay as I can be, I guess. However, Gary has been acting weird ever since.

    ¡°He¡¯s been going out a lot anding backte. Not sure if it¡¯s connected to that, or if something else has happened. I was wondering¡­ as his best friend, do you know anything about it? Something that he might be hiding, perhaps?¡± Amy asked, but when she said thest few words, her tone of voice indicated that she already knew what he was hiding.

    ¡®How much does she know? ¡­ She clearly knows at least ¡®something¡¯ ¡­ could Gary have told her about him being a Werewolf?¡¯ Tom panicked and didn¡¯t say anything. Of course, this just made him all the more suspicious on Amy¡¯s end.

    ¡°So it looks like you do know.¡± Amy finally said. ¡°Look, Tom, I found¡­ ¡®some things¡¯¡­ and I really don¡¯t know how to deal with it. Gary doesn¡¯t know that I know¡­ but I just don¡¯t know what to do about it¡­¡±

    Suddenly, the teenage girl started sobbing on the other end of the phone, and Tom couldn¡¯t help but do something to make her stop. He knew that Amy was a pure person, someone who always helped Gary no matter what. As his best friend, Tom knew that the Dem family lived a troubled life, and now carried the secret that her brother was a Werewolf¡­ it must be crushing her inside. As such, Tom came to one conclusion to help her get over this problem.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go see Gary and ask him?¡± Tom suggested. ¡°If you already know about it, then there is no need for him to hide from you, right? He should be the one to tell you. It¡¯s best if you both get all those things sorted, it will probably make you both feel a lot better. Besides, hearing it from him, there won¡¯t be a chance for any misunderstandings.¡±

    The truth was, Tom also wanted to ask Gary some questions. Whether he was the one behind the attack on the grey colour gang, and what exactly he had done after school yesterday. Unfortunately, ever since he had be a Werewolf, Gary could be scary at times. Tom hoped that with his little sister present, she could serve as the backup that he would need.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Amy sniffled. ¡°But Gary isn¡¯t even here, and I don¡¯t know when he will be back.¡±

    ¡°I have a good idea where he might be. He¡¯s been working at a ce called the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. Even if he¡¯s not there, his co-workers should know where we might be able to find him. How about I pick you up and we go there together?¡±

    With a n agreed between the two of them, the call ended there. Tom held his phone for a second in his hand, as his face started to feel a little hot. Looking in the mirror, he could see his cheeks blushing.

    ¡®I¡¯m going out, with just me and Amy¡­ I mean she¡¯s only one year younger than me, no problem there, right? But then again, her brother is Gary¡­ if I did something to upset her¡­¡¯

    An image appeared in Tom¡¯s head of Gary transforming and almost biting his head off there and then¡­ Shaking that thought, he reminded himself that it wasn''t a date, just two teenagers of the opposite sex looking for Gary.

    ¡®Right¡­ just because it¡¯s ¡®not a date¡¯, it can¡¯t hurt if I wear my best clothes, right?¡¯

    Eventually, Tom turned up at Amy¡¯s house, and looking through the peephole she confirmed it was him.

    ¡°What are you wearing?¡± Was Amy¡¯s first question as opened the door. Tom wore something that resembled a suit and even had a tie on. ¡°You look like you''re going for a job interview.¡±

    Embarrassed, Tom quickly undid his tie and ced it in his pocket. ¡°Ah, my bad. Actually, I just came from an intern interview at my dad¡¯s ce¡­ Eh, since you sounded so serious, I kinda hurried here, without a chance.¡± Tom exined, scratching his head in embarrassment.

    Closing the door behind her, the two of them set off, and after walking for a while, it wasn¡¯t long until they both eventually stood in front of the ce known as the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    ¡°So this is the ce where Gary has been working and earning money?¡± Amy asked.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Let¡¯s go find out what secrets your brother has been keeping.¡± Tom answered, walking forward.

 Chapter 236 â€“ The Kraken

    <h4>Chapter 236 - The Kraken</h4>

    The Kraken was ced on the far end of the Burnham food street, right on the corner. The establishment was ck in colour from the outside and had been made to look like an old ship, with fake broken wooden panels. On top of the building, just by its name, they had what looked like a giant octopus intertwined with the letters.

    It wasn''t only unique on the outside, though. Inside the restaurant, there wererge wooden panels on the floor to walk on. Besides the wooden flooring, the ground was covered in shallow water. Then on these bodies of water, the wooden flooring would branch off to little boats. This was where the customers would enjoy their meal, giving them the feeling like they were on a boat.

    This unique setting ensured that it was quite the popr restaurant. In fact, it was one of the few ces in Burnham that would remain working as a restaurant even when nighttime came, instead of indulging in the other side of business. Only a few people knew that all of it was just a front for the gang known as the Pincers.

    There was a grand office on the third floor, a ce where no customer was allowed to enter. That room itself was as big as a dining hall below.

    It went on and on, and at the very end was arge table where the leader of the Pincers would be present. The room was currently filled with men on either side lined up still like statues. Then, in the centre of the room, not too far from the desk, there were more men in suits standing by the side of a few women.

    "Boss!" One of the men in the centre of the room shouted at the top of his lungs. "Let me show you our newest products. We defer to your judgement as to which ce we should send them to!"

    A chair slowly turned around, revealing a long ck haired woman wearing a tight-fitting leopard print dress. The centre part of the dress opened up in arge V shape, revealing arge cleavage. If it wasn''t for therge fur piece she had over her shoulders, one might even be able to see more.

    This person, who they referred to as boss, was in charge of the trafficking and Slough''s red-light district area. The middle-aged woman was called Olivia Pearl. Standing up, her height reached nearly six feet.

    She was a tall woman, and when walking towards the others, some of the men couldn''t help but stare at her long legs and nice figure. However, there was one ce that nobody dared to look at for too long¡­ and that was Olivia''s face.

    Not because therge woman was ugly, in fact the opposite was true, but even without her height, she had a menacing aura and her eyes seemed to have the ability to pierce right through whoever they were looking at.

    Not to mention, she had quite the temperament. If she caught someone staring at her, she would snap at them¡­ however, this treatment was only given to a particr type of person.

    Olivia stood in front of the row girls and inspected the four of them. However, she didn¡¯t seem to regard them as fellow humans, and more like livestock.

    "Hmm, you look a little young. Let¡¯s send you to the Yangs for the time being." Going down the line, she then looked at the next girl and after a few moments she dered. "Birchwood House."

    She continued to look at the girls saying the name of the restaurants in Burnham food street. Once their future workce was decided, one of the men would take them away. There, they would get introduced to the full scope of their duties.

    Finally, she stopped at thest girl left and looked at her for longer than the others. Out of all the ones so far, this one was a snow-white beauty. The girl had clear skin, and there wasn''t a mark on her, but she was also the only one visibly shaking. Scared as if she knew what was going to happen to her.

    "As for you¡­ you¡¯ll stay at the Kraken." For the first time Olivia showed a change of emotion, as a small smile appeared on her face. "For now, juste and stand by my desk over there."

    The girl looked a little reluctant to move, so the man by her side gave her a little nudge. Immediately, Olivia looked his way, and the man turned his head, making sure not to make eye contact.

    "I apologise¡­ please, young miss, listen to the Lady Boss¡¯s orders. It will be the best for us all." The man pleaded.

    Hearing this, the young snow-white beauty walked over to the desk and waited patiently there.

    "I heard there was a disturbance yesterday. Someone asking about the Pincers¡­and one of our girls died?" Olivia asked as she returned to her seat.

    "Yes, Boss." The man replied, who had been doing all the speaking so far. "They were two young men who pretended to be clients. One of the girls ran out and informed the guards. Unfortunately, while we were trying to capture the duo, one of the workers got injured.

    ¡°The intruders managed to flee with that girl, however, you don¡¯t have to worry, Boss. They tried saving her by bringing her to the nearby hospital. We¡¯ve had one of the nurses ensure that she wouldn¡¯t be talking to anyone.¡±

    Olivia lit up her pipe, then inhaled, before letting out some smoke.

    "In other words, you not only failed to apprehend two intruders, but you¡¯ve also had one of our girls killed¡­ to silence her before she could reveal any of our secrets? Who was it? Any of our top-earners?¡±

    The man quickly shook his head. ¡°No, Boss, she just had her first day. She¡¯s one of the girls whose parents borrowed money from us.¡±

    ¡°You really are lucky that you managed to procure such a good one today. Otherwise, I would have been in a terrible mood." Olivia smiled as she looked at the girl who had stayed behind.

    The man let out a sigh of relief. He hadn¡¯t told her everything yet. If the woman knew just how many of the Pincer gang members had been injured during their escape, there would be no helping them. The man was just hoping that they would never see those two ever again.

    It was unlikely that any gang would try to start trouble so openly in their area, not so soon after what had happened yesterday anyway.

    "Alright, everyone out!" Olivia shouted. The men in the room immediately started to leave, and as the door was closing, turning back, they could see their Lady Boss, licking her lips as she instructed the girl with her finger toe to her.

    She opened her mouth and slowly forced her tongue into the younger girl¡¯s mouth.

    "Rx and enjoy this moment," Olivia said as she caressed the girl¡¯s face. "I will make you experience things you¡¯ve never experienced before."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A group of people dressed in ck and gold zers were currently walking down Burham high street at a fast pace. What stood out the most was the one in the centre, who had a ck wolf mask covering the top of his head to his nose.

    It was the middle of the day, so there weren''t as many people as there usually would be, or those at night. Still, it certainly caught the guards¡¯ attention, who were standing by each ce.

    Standing up against the window and looking at themotion, Nini looked out and recognised therge man with them.

    ¡®They came back¡­ after what they did yesterday? Are these guys suicidal?¡¯

    Nini had heard the news of what had happened to Stacy. The workers often talked to each other, and before Stacy had arrived, Nini had been the newest girl that had worked at the ce. Coincidentally, she had been the one to show Stacy the ropes and how things worked here.

    Hearing of her death had affected her more than she cared to admit.

    ¡®Please¡­just leave this ce¡­ you''re only going to make it worse for yourselves.¡¯ Nini thought to herself as she continued to watch them head through the streets.

    Eventually, they stopped outside the ¡®Kraken¡¯. Gary walked forward, and the group pushed past the two outside workers.

    "Get out of the way." Gary demanded before they even tried to stop them. They eventually entered the establishment, and were now in the main hall. Some customers enjoyed their food, eating peacefully away, but a few stopped as they noticed the strange group.

    "Everyone!" Gary shouted. "The Howlers gang will be taking over this ce! You have two minutes to leave now. Anyone who will still be here after two minutes will be considered an enemy!"

    Most of the customers seemed a little shocked by this surprise promation. A gang daring enough to attack this establishment in broad daylight? However, those who were part of the Underworld had never heard of such a gang. In the end, they just waited for the guards to kick them out.

    A few momentster, a group of four guards started to walk towards them.

    "Hey, if you know what this ce is, then you need to get out of here!" One of them said and went to grab Gary.

    Before he could, Gary grabbed onto his wrist and twisted it with his full strength, not holding back. A click sound was heard. Pulling his arm forward, the masked teenager mmed his fist into the man¡¯s face, causing him to fall back and fall to the ground.

    "One minute!" Gary shouted.

 Chapter 237 â€“ The Howlers Take Over

    <h4>Chapter 237 - The Howlers Take Over</h4>

    The strange person wearing the wolf mask no longer looked like a nobody to them. The fact that this group of people knew where they were and who they were dealing with, meant that it was serious business.

    On top of that, there was something intimidating about them, the fact that the group decided to stay a little ahead of the entrance and still weren¡¯t moving. It gave a sense that these people could do what they wanted, even in enemy territory.

    At the same time, the others could see that the one that Gary had initially hit, not only was his wrist broken, but it didn¡¯t look like he was going to be getting up any time soon. The man just heid t, with his mouth full of blood.

    ¡°Hey, we better get out of here, it looks like a real gang fight is about to start.¡± One of the customers hurried his partner, who immediately stood up to leave. However, they hesitated for a bit, worried that the sudden intruders might attack them as well.

    ¡°You guys better hurry and get out of here, you only got thirty seconds left.¡± Kai addressed the duo, who had been the first pair to make a run for it. When he brought out his phone as if he was timing the whole thing, the two ran straight past the Howlers.

    The other customers, seeing that the group hadn¡¯t attacked them, quickly followed suit. There were some that still didn¡¯t want to move, thinking that maybe the matter could still be dealt with. They soon changed their mind when what looked like the leader of the current group of the Pincers, who had arge scar on his chin, gave an order.

    ¡°You heard them, everyone get out. We¡¯re closed for business for now, but don¡¯t worry,e back in a couple of hours and everything will be sorted out.¡± He smirked, and those who had not been able to make up their mind, also left.

    After thest customer was out the door, Gary heard it close behind them, but not only that, it sounded as if they had been locked in as well.

    ¡°They¡¯re locking us in?¡± Innu noted, looking back. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good in a way, I guess. At least, we won¡¯t have to worry about one of theming back and stabbing us in the back. Besides, it wasn''t like we were nning to run away anyway.¡±

    ¡°Time.¡± Kai announced cing his phone away and at the same time, rushing from the stairs at the very back of the establishment were several gang members. The sound of their shoes cking on every step could be heard, and they didn¡¯t seem to stop. They were pouring down the stairs like ants.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting a little nervous with just how many people there are.¡± Marie confessed in a low voice, staying close to Kai. Eventually the cking stopped and the men smiled. There were around thirty of them in total.

    ¡°This is why I decided to go straight for their base rather than take out the whole street.¡± Kai exined to his fellow gang members. ¡°They may just be a small-time gang,pared to the Underdogs and Grey Elephants, but they have many people working for them.

    ¡°Someone like us, who is just a group, it would have been impossible to fight off all of them. This is the easier option¡­ but we still will have to deal with at least this many.¡±

    ¡°This is the easy option?¡± Marie gulped.

    ¡°We saw how well you did against that boy, Marie. Come on, this is not that much different. Besides, this time, all of us are with you. Each one of us just has to take care of like six of them.¡± Innu smiled as he encouraged the girl.

    The next second, many of them started to pull out the same weapons they had done before. Primarily, they used stun guns and knives.

    ¡°Put that sh*t away!¡± Gary shouted as he continued to walk towards the entire group that came towards him. Seeing this, one of the men started to charge forward, thrusting his knife at the masked teenager. Once again though, Gary moved out of the way of the knife and grabbed onto his arm just like he did with thest person.

    ¡°Using a weapon like this can kill someone.¡± Gary pointed out as he started to push the man¡¯s arm back. He had used Controlled Transformation to further boost his Strength, and eventually it was pushed back in an odd angle, an unnatural way for the arm to go. So much force had been used that the elbow joint was heard popping.

    The man screamed in pain, but Gary didn¡¯t care and continued to move the arm in the other direction now with it bent like a V towards him, the knife pointing at the one holding it.

    ¡°If you sh*ts use weapons like this, then you have to be prepared to die yourself!¡±

    The man wasn¡¯t so sure if he was seeing correctly or not, but through the mask he believed to see strange glowing yellow eyes, ones that weren¡¯t shaped like a human¡¯s¡­ those were the eyes of a beast. His human instincts were telling him that he really was going to die.

    ¡°Get them!¡± The leader shouted.

    Gary kicked the man in the stomach, causing him to lean forward and the top of his shoulder now fell into his own de. Next, he threw him to the side into the pool of water. Running forward, Gary didn¡¯t hesitate, yet neither did the Pincers as they all rushed towards the masked intruder.

    Joining in, Innu was the fastest out of the group. He leapt on top of one of the gang members and continually elbowed down on the top of his head. Innu didn¡¯t let up until the man fell back and sshed into the water.

    Another one came swinging a bat down towards him, and he barely rolled away, avoiding the strike. It ended up hitting nothing but water, causing it to rise up. Quickly, getting up, Innu kneed the man in the face, knocking him back, but that¡¯s when the first man who Innu had attacked came back and punched him in his side just underneath the ribs.

    The blow was surprisingly heavy, but Innu stayed firm and continued to fight back.

    ¡°For an adult, your punches sure are weaker than a high school student¡¯s.¡±

    The man didn¡¯t understand what Innu was saying, but before he could attack again, arge fist hit him right in the side of his face, knocking him out cold.

    ¡°I¡¯ve warned you, these guys are more resilient than the guys you¡¯re used to fighting!¡± Austin stated. ¡°You''re a small guy in the first ce, so they''re going to take a few more hits than usual.¡±

    After saying this, Innu soon saw the second guy he had kneed in the face getting up. With him only being sixteen years old and a weight disadvantage, Austin was right. This wasn¡¯t the typical fights Innu was used to, and not just because this wasn¡¯t really one on one.

    ¡°Still, I don¡¯t think there is anyone that can beat us two. Not unless they have some type of Altered.¡± Austin let out a grin.

    Not too far from where they were, Marie had her two knives out. She was a bit worried because these men were clearly more used to fighting than that delinquent. So far, though, the teenage girl was doing well, following Kai''s advice who stayed next to her.

    He had instructed her to not go in for the attack, and to only defend. So when one of the gang members hade in, she just watched carefully, avoiding the punches and knife attacks, and using her own knives to sh away. In the meantime, the blonde teenager would be the one to finish them off.

    One person had gone to attack Marie, and turning to avoid the strike, she had shed, cutting his arm a little. The man looked like he was about to do more, but before he could, Kai spun around and delivered a spinning side quick right into his stomach. Such a powerful kick had somewhat sent the man flying back.

    Lifting his leg up again, the water was kicked up into the air, blinding the person who was charging forward. It looked like a rising water fall, but what came up was soon toe down, and hammering his leg down like an axe, Kai smashed the bottom of his heel into another member. The sound of the gang member¡¯s shattering cor bone resonated throughout the building.

    ¡°Leader!¡± Kai shouted. ¡°Your job isn''t here. These guys aren¡¯t worth your time. Leave this to us, we can handle it, I promise you that.¡±

    Most of the men were targeting Gary at the moment, because it looked like he was heading towards the staircase. If the masked teenager were to leave this ce, then it meant the others would have to deal with more, yet they couldn¡¯t just let him pass, either.

    ¡°Trust me¡­ I know whether we can handle it or not, and we can definitely handle this!¡± Kai shouted, before switching to a normal voice, so that only Marie could hear it, and hopefully Gary.

    ¡°Once they find out that we¡¯re strong enough to take all these guys down, their leader might make a run for it. You¡¯ll have to stop them! Just go straight for the Pincers¡¯ leader. That¡¯s your job!¡±

    Turning around to look at them, Gary could see that the others had confident smiles on their faces.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Gary replied, looking towards the staircase. ¡°You heard him, move!¡±

 Chapter 238 â€“ Blackmail

    <h4>Chapter 238 - ckmail</h4>

    Regardless of how strong Gary was, it didn¡¯t seem like the Pincer gang members were going to jump out of his way willingly. Although he could attempt to take them out, it would take up too much time and maybe too much energy.

    ¡®This might not be the whole gang. There could be more on the upper floors. I can¡¯t use all my energy here, not unless I n to eat some of them on the way.¡¯

    Thinking about this, seeing the staircase in sight, Gary ran backwards a bit, giving him more room before quickly turning around and sprinting forward. He had never attempted this before, but going at full speed as fast as possible, there was a good chance that he could make it.

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    [Transformation has begun]

    His calf muscles expanded in size, and so did his thighs. Because he was wearing his gang uniform, specially made and given by Kai. The material was able to withstand the stretching and would revert to normal. He didn¡¯t have to worry about suddenly showing his hairy legs. Not that mattered much anyway when he wore the mask.

    Before he reached the first person¡¯s position, Gary pushed off his legs and leapt up in the air. With his speed, the height he was at was something he had never achieved before and something that seemed impossible for a human to do. His feet were a good few heads over all the gang members. Eventually, hended on the other side, clearing them all.

    ¡®If you keep doing crazy crap like that, how am I meant to keep your secret from everyone.¡¯ Kai thought, smiling. ¡°Head towards the stairs, let''s make sure they can¡¯t follow him!¡± Kai shouted.

    Before running up the stairs, as soon as Gary had arrived at the first break of t surface, he turned around to look at all the others. Seeing the one in front, Gary immediately grabbed him, lifting him over his head and chucked him towards the others like a barrel.

    An ordinary man falling down the stairs and knocking into the others would have been painful enough, but there was the added speed and weight with Gary¡¯s strength. When the man crashed into the group, it looked like a bowling ball hitting a set of pins.

    ¡®Well¡­I guess you just made our job that much easier for us. Good luck, Gary.¡¯ Kai said, reaching the staircase and seeing the injured Pincer Gang members.

    [215/300 Energy]

    [92/100 HP]

    ¡®Am I getting stronger? I¡¯ve used up a lot of Energy due to Controlled Transformation, but I was hardly hit in those scuffles back there. I even have a lot of health as well.¡¯

    With the increased stats, without a doubt, Gary was getting stronger, and he was able to just think about the amount of controlled transformation he wanted to use. No longer did he have to adjust the slider because he had been using it so much that Gary could control how much he wanted to transform one part of the body with just a thought.

    While thinking of all this, Gary had eventually reached the second floor. He looked to his left, and he could hear the sound of tes crashing and so on. It sounded like the kitchen area was on the second floor based on the sounds.

    ¡®There are more stairs. The leader wouldn¡¯t be here, would they?¡¯ Gary thought.

    As he took the first step up the staircase, his sensitive ears allowed him to hear a scream.

    ¡°Stop¡­ please stop! I don''t want to do this!¡±

    Gripping his hand, Gary didn¡¯t hesitate to run towards the sound. It was clearly a girl''s voice, and remembering the pain his sister had gone through, and the trouble that Stacy had gone through as well, he rushed to the door.

    ¡°You wanted to leave this work right, well this is all you have to do. You¡¯ve done it a hundred times before so what¡¯s the problem?¡± A man¡¯s voice said.

    It was locked, but kicking it open, Gary didn¡¯t care. What he was now looking at though was a little worse than he had expected. In front of him stood a naked man, and a girl spread out on the bed, but what they had also set up was a camera in the room.

    The girl was crying full of tears and in the room at the back there looked to be more girls as well.

    Judging from what Gary could hear, the girls seemed like they wanted to leave, and in order to leave the condition was to be filmed having sex with one of the gang members. A way to ckmail them if they ever needed something from them again or to keep secrets.

    ¡°Who the f*ck are you?!¡± The man shouted and ran towards Gary, throwing out a fist. Quickly, the teenager kicked him on his knee strongly, causing him to fall to the ground and grabbed his head just before it touched the floor. Lifting him up, the man was now at head height.

    ¡°The more I¡¯m learning about this damned Pincers gang, the more I¡¯m really starting to hate you lot!¡± Gary shouted.

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    Gary¡¯s hand turned into a w with his long sharp fingernails. The next second, he swiped his hand down below on the naked man, a small thud was heard as it dropped on the floor and blood had sttered from that part of the body.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be needing that anymore,¡± Gary said as he let go of the man. ¡°If you want to live, go to the hospital. Everyone else, you are free to go! Get out of this ce. The Howlers are taking over.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t stay to see if the women were okay. He also didn¡¯t care to watch what the women might do to the man after he had left. Whatever it was, he felt like the man had iting to him. There seemed to be no more distractions, as the Werewolf started to ascend the final staircase.

    He entered arge wide hallway, and up ahead there was arge double ck door, with a picture of a crab with its two pincers on the door. If Gary needed a sign telling him that he was in the right ce and the right spot, that certainly was it.

    There looked to be no one guarding the door, but Gary could hear talking and sound from the other side. As he went forward, he shed at the handle locks and pushed the heavy doors open. Finally, he had entered the main office.

    Here on each side stood ten guards that all looked his way as soon as he entered, and at the very end was the Pincers'' gang leader, Olivia.

    ¡°Oh¡­ we have an unsuspected guest, I see.¡± Olivia said, smiling from where she was standing on her two feet. Gary didn¡¯t know what he had expected to see, but it certainly wasn¡¯t this Lady Boss. After all, her business involved mainly forcing women to do such things, but all gangsters came in all different shapes and sizes.

    ¡°I guess our invader isn¡¯t really a smart one. I had heard someone had asked about us, so I was expecting an attack from one of the others, but I¡¯ve never seen you before, and you enter this room all on your own. In front of all these people?¡± Olivia asked. Truly thinking, of course, there was no way that a single person could survive what was about to happen.

    At that moment, all the men in the room pulled out knives. None of them had the stun guns as the others did either. Every single one of them had a weapon that would easily be able to cause death.

    Looking up, Gary noticed something else, there was another woman by her side shivering and frightened in the room. Her skin was snow-white, at least from what could be seen. For there were bruises all over her body and cuts on her hand.

    ¡°I think for the first time in a while¡­ I¡¯ve met someone who doesn¡¯t deserve to live.¡±

    [Bloodlust has been detected]

    [Forced Bond has been activated]

    [7/8 Marks have been assigned]

    The red mist started to form in front of Gary¡¯s face, and it was leading straight to the Pincer¡¯s leader. She had be a hunting target, and there was only one way to remove the Mark¡­

 Chapter 239 â€“ Pool Of Blood

    <h4>Chapter 239 - Pool Of Blood</h4>

    It was rare for Burnham high street to havemotions during the day. After all, most of the visitors were just there to enjoy some yummy food. A big percentage consisted of families who would visit the ce unaware of what it really was¡­ or at least turned a blind eye to the street''s alternative business during the night.

    However, today was a little different. Outside one of the most popr establishments, the Kraken, a crowd had formed consisting of visitors, curious passers-by, as well as nearby guards. They seemed to be guarding the front entrance, while the customers who had just had their meals interrupted exined the situation inside.

    Nini had asked to take a break, and given that there was barely anything happening, even less so with themotion nearby, the shop allowed it. There was news that was starting to spread through the whole street. Some shops were even closing as the guards continued to flood towards one ce. She ran down in her Chinese dress and could see the crowd outside the Kraken.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe it. They really went into that ce? Are they just trying to get themselves killed? They barely made it out yesterday, so I thought that they would have learned their lesson, but they really went in there.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t hard to guess who was inside, especially since she had recognised Austin earlier.

    He, as well as Gary, had left quite an impression on her, yet she couldn¡¯t help but feel like it was impossible to do anything with so few people. Even if they had just been the first group, all of them seemed young, giving her the impression that they were all just delinquent teenagers who were ying with fire.

    Still, she joined the crowd, who were all waiting for something to happen, curious who woulde out¡­ and in what state.

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the main office, Gary had just sessfully ced a Forced Bond on Olivia, and he had his eyes clearly set on the target. The only problem was she wasn¡¯t on her own. Around her were twenty-two of her goons, all who had knives on them.

    ¡°Screw all of you!¡±

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    [Strength 18 (+6)]

    Gary''s hands started to change in front of their very eyes. He didn''t just go halfway with his arms but all the way. His hand changed to ws and visible fur could be seen on the outside of them. Seeing this, some guards were cautious and stepped back a bit.

    ¡°He¡¯s an Altered! Be careful!¡±

    ¡°Another gang has an Altered in Slough? When did that happen? Did the Grey Elephants finally manage to gather enough to pay for the operation to have someone against Kirk?¡±

    Seeing this, Olivia smiled.

    ¡°Now I see why you¡¯re so confident in yourself, but do you think I would be worried about something like that?¡± Olivia reached for something underneath her office table, and the next moment, she had some type of whip in her hands.

    [New Quest received]

    [Into the Pincers¡¯ den]

    [You have entered the Pincers den, and you are trapped]

    [Survive!]

    [Quest reward: ???]

    ¡®Are you joking, system? You should be saying that to her!¡¯

    Gary charged forward and swiped towards the man closest to him. He moved back slightly and his nails cut the adult¡¯s chest, causing them to bleed. Still, the Werewolf was quite surprised that the gang member was somewhat able to avoid him.

    With another oneing towards him, Gary went to swipe him as well, but before his ws were about to reach the man¡¯s chest, the whip quicklyshed out and wrapped onto his arm. It immediately pulled him down, and the knife went right into his side.

    [-8 HP]

    [84/100 HP]

    Gary tried to move his hand, but the whip stayed firmly on him. He didn¡¯t understand how it hadn''t snapped and how a woman like Olivia could have enough strength to contend with him. Since one method didn¡¯t work, he tried to w the whip with his free hand¡­ to no avail.

    ¡®That''s clearly no ordinary whip.¡¯

    Using Controlled Transformation on his legs, Gary kicked the next man with a knife away, but the weapon of the first one was still left in his body. With one of his hands upied, the teenager decided to use his legs instead. As soon as the next goon came within range, he was ready to kick him, but before he could the whip was undone andshed around his leg, stopping him.

    The man with the knife sessfully stabbed him right through his calf.

    [-7 HP]

    [77/100 HP]

    ¡®Damn it, that whip is ruining my fighting flow! I can¡¯t allow them to keep hurting me like this!¡¯

    Gary continued, as he tried to ignore the whip, he punched one of the members in the face, and before he could w at another the whip stopped him again. The men soon came in and managed to stab him in his chest this time.

    The pain was immense and blood was dripping from Gary¡¯s body.

    [-10 HP]

    [67/100 HP]

    ¡°Haha, you seem to have only recently be an Altered. I bet you thought that bing one would make you some ¡®King of the world¡¯, but you¡¯re just a frog in a well! You think I wouldn¡¯t have prepared something for the likes of you?

    ¡°We might be smaller than the big-time gangs, but we are still one of the wealthiest gangs in Slough. This little whip cost me a small fortune at the auction, but it¡¯s perfect to deal with things like you.¡± Olivia exined, as she now started to go on a rampage with the whip.

    Gary had only knocked out around four of the men and there were still plenty more, but they stood to the side as they let Olivia¡¯s whip do its work. It snapped, each time striking at a fast speed, and ripped across the Werewolf¡¯s chest.

    [-4 HP]

    The whip was even faster than what he was used to, and he had attempted to grab it but failed as it only cut his hand.

    [-3 HP]

    Repeatedshes started toe out one after another, and stepping forward, trying to bear through the pain, was all that Gary could do.

    [-4 HP]

    [-5 HP]

    ¡®Why¡­ why the hell do people like her get away with this crap?! Where the fuck is the police?! Where were they when Stacy died!¡¯ Gary wondered, in the middle of baring through this pain. Why was it up to him to deal with this mess?

    A pool of blood was forming underneath the high schooler''s feet as his Health dropped lower and lower from the shes. Theshes soon stopped and the next second, all the men who had been patiently waiting charged forward in all directions with their knives forward and stabbed Gary directly.

    [-8 HP]

    [-5 HP]

    [-10 HP]

    [-6 HP]

    [-8 HP]

    [-4 HP]

    ¡­

    Gary had been stabbed from multiple directions in multiple areas, and blood was pouring out from each of his wounds. It was hard to imagine how he was still standing as blood filled his mouth.

    ¡°Ah, it''s such a shame. Here I thought an Altered would have put up more of a fight. You should have waited a couple of years before trying to challenge us. The men in here aren¡¯t like your regr guards that you fought on your way up here. Of course, the most skilled are here to protect me.

    ¡°Back in the day they were all the best fighters from their respective schools and now after joining a gang and participating in fight after fight, well you know the rest. Too bad, you never stood a chance.¡±

    Gary thought during the fight that the men seemed more skilled. His speed usually would have been enough, it had certainly been the case for those below. However, at least this meant that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Kai and the others.

    Olivia smiled in satisfaction, as she walked forward towards the injured ¡®Altered¡¯. She looked at the silly mask on his face, and all the other men soon pulled their knives out, leaving Gary standing there.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what''s under that mask.¡± Olivia took it off, revealing Gary''s face, his bright green hair, as well as his glowing yellow eyes underneath.

    ¡°It''s a shame you were born a boy. If you had been a girl, I might have even considered sparing you.¡± Olivia patted the side of his face.

    What she didn¡¯t expect, though, was for Gary to look up and smile. Seeing this, Olivia leapt back, dropping the mask, aware that something was wrong.

    [1/100 HP]

    [Last Stand is activated (43 seconds remaining)]

    Seeing all the knivese towards him, Gary hadn¡¯t hesitated using his newly acquired skill.

    [140/300 Energy]

    ¡®I guess they hurt me so fast that my body didn¡¯t even have time to use my energy for Emergency healing, especially with the knives still inside me, but it left me with plenty.¡¯

    ¡°Looks like picking it over the other two was the right choice after all.¡± Gary muttered to himself, his eyes still on the woman, while the smile never left his face.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Gary''s body started to change, and within seconds he had assumed his full-fledged Werewolf form. The edges of his clothes still ripped a little as they couldn¡¯t handle theplete change.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Olivia shouted, as she tried tosh her whip out, and it hit Gary''s body, causing him to bleed.

    [-5 HP]

    [1/100 HP]

    [Last stand is still active (39 seconds remaining)]

    s, it had done nothing.

 Chapter 240 â€“ An Experiment

    <h4>Chapter 240 - An Experiment</h4>

    Although Gary was able to use Controlled Transformation to just change parts of his body, so they were fully transformed like that in his Werewolf form, there was arge difference in power between the two skills. His status also clearly showed that the stats gained overall were just different.

    Perhaps it was because the Full Transformation changed his whole body, including his organs, rather than just parts of his body. Unfortunately, this skill not only cost a good bit of Energy for the transformation to ur, but it was also costly to upkeep, making it less than ideal for prolonged fights.

    While Gary had changed, the guards had positioned themselves to protect Olivia, but he wasn¡¯t aiming at her anyway. From his position, he quickly leapt on one of the gang members of the side and pinned him to the ground.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    In quick session, Gary started to rip at the man''s chest as quickly as possible. w Drain onlysted two seconds, but the more damage he did, the more Health he would recover. The Werewolf had made the most of his time, managing to w the man on the ground a total of six times.

    [+8 HP]

    [+4 HP]

    [+5 HP]

    [+6 HP]

    [+3 HP]

    [+6 HP]

    [33/100 HP]

    [Last Stand is activated (25 seconds remaining)]

    While attacking, he felt another member try to stab their knife through his back, but his thick hide had only allowed it to shallowly pierce him, causing a small nick. A regr knife wasn¡¯t going to do much, unlike an Altered Hunter¡¯s weapons.

    [-2 HP]

    Turning around, Gary whacked the man and sent him flying off easily in the other direction through the air. He quickly started to run through and overpowered the guards. Single hits of hisrge arm, and kicks from his big feet, were enough to knock them out in one or two blows.

    Gary had even activated his w Drain for a second time, restoring his Health nearly to the half point mark.

    [44/100 HP]

    [70/300 Energy]

    The onught continued. As Gary took out the gang members, they tried to stab him, but as there were less of them, and the Werewolf was faster, he was no longer getting hit.

    Charging towards one of the few guards left, Gary leapt up in the air, and had his knee facing forward. While mid-air, his body was reverting to what it once was.

    [Full Transformation cancelled]

    Still, the speed he had gained while in his full form for a fraction of a second had helped him, as his knee smashed into the man''s face, knocking him out.

    Now in the room, there were only two guards left and Olivia. The whole room was aplete mess, filled with blood. Seeing what happened, the Boss Lady was frozen for the first time. She had been shaking and hadn¡¯t used the whip during the massacre.

    ¡°How?¡± Olivia screamed. ¡°How can you still be alive? They¡¯ve stabbed you over and over again! You were on yourst leg!¡±

    The reason for her fear wasn''t just because of what she had seen, but it was the fact that this person in front of her, who should have been dead, was still alive and very much kicking. Not only that, he was moving perfectly fine, to the point that he looked somewhat better than he was before.

    The wounds of his body were even healing in front of her. She had never heard of this before. It should be impossible for an Altered of this level to appear in a town like Slough.

    One of the men dropped his knife out of fear, but Gary didn''t let him off. He kneed him in the stomach, and when he knelt over, Gary kneed him in the face, making sure he got the punishment he deserved.

    ¡°You''re a lot easier to deal with one on one. All of you are guilty¡­ You tried to kill me just now, and you didn¡¯t even hesitate.¡± Gary growled. ¡°Not just that, but the workers on this street, and you even killed Stacy!¡±

    ¡°Is that what this is all about?¡± Olivia let out a madugh. ¡°You came here because a whore died? Which one was it? I can give you plenty of other whores! Just take your pick! I can even send them all to you in our best suite!¡±

    Thest remaining guard soon felt his back being pushed, Olivia was the only one standing behind him, so it was clear what had happened. Gary whacked his hand, hitting the knife out of it, and grabbed him by the neck. The next second, he started running forward towards the woman.

    Out of fear she swung the whip, but Gary held up the body as a shield, and continued to run forward, until he barged the body into her. Olivia fell over backwards, falling just a little away from her own office table.

    Quickly, Gary stepped on her wrist and started to twist and turn, until she finally let go of the whip as well.

    ¡°Do you have anything to say?¡± Gary asked, looking at her.

    Olivia looked back at Gary''s face and that¡¯s when she finally noticed, looking at his human form he seemed quite young. He couldn''t have been older than twenty.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t believe it, my life ending like this because of one of those damned whores. Come on, kill me, get revenge for you damn whore. ¡­ I used to be one of them, but I¡¯ve managed to turn things around. You will learn that after getting rid of me, your life won¡¯t be the same as it was before!¡±

    Looking at her face, there was no guilt for what she had done, there was no fear in her death like she had been just a second ago. Olivia seemed to have epted it, and seeing this, was just causing Gary''s blood to boil more. He wanted her to suffer for the death she had caused, as well as for what she had done to the girls like Stacy.

    ¡°Fine, I was going to kill you anyway.¡±

    Just as Gary was about to, he could hear the sound of chattering teeth, he then could see the snow-white girl up against the wall, shaking with her eyes closed. Her back facing towards him. When seeing her back, he could see several whip marks on her back.

    It was easy to put the two and two together, Gary could tell the person that had caused all of this.

    ¡°No, just killing you would be giving you an easy way out.¡± Gary decided. ¡°I doubt she was the only one you treated like this. Do you even think of them as human beings at this point? Using them as you wish¡­ Were you really one of them?

    ¡°¡­ Whatever, it just means you only deserve whates next. I''m going to use you to make up for it!¡±

    Olivia started tough like a madwoman.

    ¡°So what, you¡¯re going to **** me?! Go ahead! It''s not like it hasn¡¯t happened before!¡±

    ¡°****? No, I have no interest in doing something like that with you.¡±

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    For the first time, Gary had activated the Controlled Transformation in ce he hadn¡¯t done before, and his mouth started to change slightly, his teeth began to grow.

    ¡°You treated the others with no respect, so you''re going to be my little experiment!¡±

    Gary lifted her off the ground, and before she realised it, he bit right into the back of her neck.

 Chapter 241 â€“ An Alpha Wolf Is Born

    <h4>Chapter 241 - An Alpha Wolf Is Born</h4>

    Recently there had been a few times where Gary had thought about turning others. There was perhaps a chance when Mr Root was in critical condition, turning him would have saved his life. In the end, Mr Root''s condition stabilised and he seemed to be recovering at the hospital.

    Perhaps it was because of what had happened with Mr Root he thought the same oue would have happened with Stacy. Now he felt like he had made the wrong decision. Turning her to save her might have been the right choice.

    At the same time, being in this business, they were bound to run into more Alterds or things like the red-haired twins. Gary wasn¡¯t the only one in the gang and already the others had put their lives on the line.

    Which meant more strength for everyone was a plus, Gary could see it every time he talked to Kai, it was at the tip of his tongue he wanted to ask him, why not turn him?

    A Werewolf and an Altered were different, and from fantasy books and more, there were many that knew a difference between the two. Gary was in fact a Werewolf not an Altered, the test by the White Rose agents proved that. Unlike the Altered this power that Gary had could be passed on to others as well.

    When thinking about why Gary had hesitated in the past, the main reason would have been Billy, but Billy was the first and unstable. He didn¡¯t even know he was a werewolf untilter on the line.

    The real reason why Gary had yet to consider turning others was because he had no information.

    Knowledge, he had no knowledge what would happen to others that he turned, what it meant to ept them into his Pack, and whether or not he could control them during a full moon. The one thing he didn¡¯t want to do, was test this on those he wanted to save. This was why at this point and time, Gary hade up with an idea.

    A person whose life he didn¡¯t care about had fallen right onto hisp, and she was the perfect test subject to see just what it actually meant to turn someone.

    His teeth sunk down into the back of Olivia¡¯s neck and she started to scream in pain. The sound travelled far and wide that the bottom floor might have heard her yell, but it soon stopped. It took Gary everything to stop himself from continuing to bite on her body due to the energy he had lost before, but he held out and pulled his mouth away.

    The second he let go of Olivia her body started shaking on the floor. Her veins were popping all over her neck as something inside felt like it was ripping her apart.

    ¡®If she proves to be too much trouble, I¡¯ll kill her and get the Pawn point anyway. I¡¯ll give her until the next full moon which is in two weeks. That¡¯s if she survives this.¡¯

    Judging by how much she was wriggling about and in pain, how blood shot her eyes were, Gary wasn¡¯t too sure if every single person could survive such a thing, but eventually the system screen had appeared.

    [You have sessfully created a Beta Werewolf]

    [Grade: Pawn]

    ¡®A beta wolf, not an Omega wolf? So it¡¯s different from Billy?¡¯

    [ Werewolves created by the user can only be at the same Grade or Below as the creator. Werewolf created that are Grade lower will automatically join the Pack. Werewolves created at the same Grade will turn into Omega wolves.]

    When Gary first bit Billy, he himself was only a Pawn Grade Werewolf. Which meant no matter who he turned they would always be an Omega wolf, but this time it was different since now Gary was a knight.

    [An Omega wolf must be submit or be defeated before joining the Pack]

    Gary knew this was true because the option to invite Billy into his Pack had appeared after defeating him.

    [Congrattions, your state has now changed]

    [Omega Werewolf - Alpha Werewolf]

    [Alpha Werewolf title will now be applied]

    [Please select a name for your Pack]

    It looked like Gary couldn¡¯t do anything else until he picked a name, nor see information from the system. He wanted to know what benefits this title had, as he was sure there were some as stated the time before.

    Looking through the screen he could see that Olivia seemed to be somewhat passed out on the ground, but she was clearly alive as he could hear a heartbeat. Which meant he had time to mess around with the system for a little while longer.

    [The Howlers]

    Gary chose this name since it was already the name of their current gang, he thought it was fine to call his Pack the same as well. Having two names would just confuse him anyway.

    [The Howlers Pack has sessfully been created]

    [Current members]

    [Alpha Werewolf - Gary Dem]

    [Grade: Knight]

    [Beta Werewolf - Olivia Pearl]

    [Grade: Pawn]

    [The Luna position is currently empty]

    [A Luna wolf holds the same position as the Alpha wolf but the position can only be filled by a female. Having a Luna in the Pack will create more benefits for the entire Pack.]

    [There is currently no one suitable for the Luna position. The Luna wolf must be at the same grade as the Alpha wolf]

    So much information about this Pack stuff wasing to Gary at once, as it seemed like what he thought he knew about the system was only the tip of the whole thing.

    ¡®So that means that Olivia can also increase her grade somehow and then fulfil this Lunar position. But if I¡¯m reading this correctly it would mean she held a position simr to that of an Alpha, kind of like a sub captain on a team. That I definitely don¡¯t want.¡¯

    For a split second, the image of another girl appeared in his head who he thought might do well to fit the position.

    [Werewolves can increase their Grades but are unable to grow to a grade beyond that of their Alpha.]

    Only now Gary was starting to understand how important the Pawn point was. If he was able to upgrade himself, then all those under him could grow as well. He still was unsure if there were other benefits though to going up a grade.

    ¡®System since you seem to be awfully chatty today. I was wondering, does this mean that they can create other Werewolves as well?¡¯

    [Werewolves can create other Werewolves, but they will only produce Werewolves a grade lower than themselves. Pawn Grade Werewolves are not able to create other Werewolves. All Werewolves created by them will automatically enter the Pack.]

    ¡®Huh, but then what about me?¡¯ At least it looked like Olivia wouldn¡¯t be able to turn people for now, but what the system stated then made no sense to him.

    Gary waited for an answer but no such thing had urred. He wondered if increasing the Grade did anything else. For now, it looked like it was just a way to control other Werewolves and to get strong Omega Werewolves to join his Pack.

    What was the benefit of that though, unless Gary was to create his own Werewolf army unless that¡¯s exactly what the system wanted him to do?

    ¡®I¡¯m starting to worry a little bit¡­is there someone else with the same system as me? I did get it from that suitcase after all. Or if there are other Werewolves they probably already have people under them growing their forces.

    ¡®It¡¯s a little scary to think that way. It¡¯s almost as if a Werewolf belongs to another Pack, then that immediately makes you their enemy. Is that why the system is focusing on this aspect so much?¡¯

    In the middle of his thoughts. The system came up with one more notification.

    [The Beta Werewolves will always follow the Order of the Alpha Werewolf]

    [Once in a Pack, one can not leave without the permission of the Alpha Werewolf]

    [Werewolves are able to challenge for the position of the Alpha once a month regardless of their rank]

    [There is an exception to all rules, and that is on the day which the moon is at its strongest]

    Thest line worried Gary quite a bit. Was it saying on the day of the full moon, Werewolves were just wild beasts? Even if he ordered them to do nothing they would still hunt anyway?

    ¡®I guess I really might have to get rid of her before then¡­or lock her up or something?¡¯ Gary thought.

    [Please state the five absolute rules for the Pack, that all Werewolves must follow.]

    [Even when the Alpha is not present, all Wolves in the Howlers all be forced to obey these rules.]

    [The rules do not apply to the Alpha.]

    [The rules may be adjusted whenever the Alpha wishes through the system.]

    A big smile appeared on Gary¡¯s face as he thought of this, this was the safety that Gary needed. When defeating Billy, he read that the beta Wolf had to do the Alpha wolf''s bidding, but he was worried.

    What if he wasn¡¯t there, did this mean he would have to keep an eye on Olivia at all times? If that was the case she could try to stab him in the back in other ways, even though she was a beta wolf.

    He still needed to know just how absolute these rules were, but he could test that. After all, she was his experiment for all of this.

    ¡®The question is, what should I have as the rules?¡¯

 Chapter 242 â€“ Pack Rules

    <h4>Chapter 242 - Pack Rules</h4>

    The system had opened up a special screen for Gary. At the top of that screen it read ¡®Howler¡¯s Pack Rules¡¯ and underneath it were the numbers one to five, waiting to be filled in. The now Alpha Werewolf was happy to see that he just had to think of a rule, before it was automatically added to the list. It was just as easy to change their order, though he wasn¡¯t yet sure if it made any difference.

    Depending on the rule he chose, the system would either disy it in a red, yellow or green text. Fortunately, the system was still being helpful, so it exined the colours. Red meant that what the teenager proposed could not be made into a rule, yellow meant it was too vague, andstly green meant it was eptable as a rule.

    As such, Gary spent a bit of time testing the boundaries, before deciding on them. ording to the system, he could adjust them as he wished at any point of time, as long as he stayed the Alpha Werewolf of the Pack, at least. In the end, those were the five rules he came up with.

    . No member of the Pack is allowed to hurt the members of the Howlers gang, their rtives, or their friends!

    The teenager had decided to make this the first rule, in case the order actually mattered. This way, he didn''t need to worry about Kai and the others getting hurt or his own family getting in trouble. If Olivia was unable to take revenge on him, he was sure they would have be her next target.

    . No member of the Pack is to kill another human without the Alpha Werewolf¡¯s permission, unless they end up in a life or death situation!

    Gary felt a bit proud that he hade up with the idea of adjusting the second half of this rule and that the system has allowed it. For one, being a Werewolf meant that there would be others after their life. As if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, but as gang members, it wouldn¡¯t be rare for them to go out and fight.

    For this reason, the high schooler had chosen ¡®kill¡¯ rather than ¡®hurt¡¯, but this way it would stop Olivia from going out hunting random people or those she had some type of grudge against without permission, like Billy.

    . No member of the Pack is to betray the Howlers gang in any way, shape, or form!

    This third rule was essential, and to be honest, Gary was quite surprised that the Werewolf System had actually allowed it to pass. The Alpha Werewolf was hoping, although unsure, that this rule would cover a lot of bases. In the first ce, he was unsure how these rules would be enforced. He could only imagine it as a sort of spell making his members behave a certain way.

    If Olivia felt like her actions were betraying the Howlers gang, then she shouldn¡¯t be able to do it. That¡¯s how he hoped it would work, anyway. Otherwise, after leaving her, although she might be unable to do anything herself, she could easily have gone to the Underdogs or other gangs and informed them about what had happened here.

    . No member of the Pack is to create other Werewolves without the Alpha Werewolf¡¯s permission!

    This rule seemed like a no-brainer. There was still so much for Gary to figure out about his system, and there was no reason to add more problems on his shoulders.

    . Every member of the Pack must kneel in the Alpha Werewolf¡¯s presence.

    Thest one wasn¡¯t a real rule he intended to keep. It was simply a precaution to allow him to check if those rules truly worked. Once he confirmed that, he was nning to change it into ¡®No member of the Pack is to tell anyone about what they really are, nor to spread word about the existence of Werewolves!¡¯.

    Looking around the room, Gary noticed that Olivia still hadn¡¯t woken up yet. The teenager went to pick up his mask to cover his face with it. Even though they had already seen him without it, for some reason, Gary felt morefortable when he had it on. He noticed that some unconscious guards were twitching in pain, while others had outright been killed, not that he had much sympathy for them.

    Heading back to where the desk was, he approached the snow-white girl, who was still faced the other way. She had covered her eyes, not wishing to see the bloodbath¡­ which was probably the best choice she could have made.

    ¡°Hey, do you mind stepping outside for a moment? I should have taken care of all those outside, but just scream if anything bad happens. I just need some time alone with the one responsible for all of it.¡±

    The girl was still startled, and the mask didn¡¯t really help her calm down. Still, the tone of this stranger was far more inviting than staying here with the Pincers. As she started to walk over, her arms around herself, Gary sighed and took off his zer, putting it around her. She flinched at first, but then dly epted the zer.

    ¡°I''m sorry it''s a little ripped, but it will do for now. I¡¯ll try not to be too long.¡±

    With that, the girl finally left the room, and it was just in time, as Olivia seemed to be getting up from her daze. Her head was banging, and she felt way worse than thest time she had an extreme hangover.

    For a second, she wondered if everything that had happened had just been a dream, a nightmare. Unfortunately, when looking around her work area, she could see the masked boy standing there, in a bloody room, all her guards lying on the floor.

    ¡°You!¡± Were Olivia¡¯s first words as she pointed towards the masked intruder. However, unaware of what came over her, the next moment she found herself on her knees in front of him. It felt like amand had been issued to her head and she was unable to stand up.

    There was another thing that she noticed. The burning anger she had been experiencing just seconds ago felt like it was somewhat fading. Still, when she looked around the room, it added fuel to the fire.

    ¡°Your eyes¡­ they''re glowing.¡± Gary noted as he approached her.

    ¡°So are yours.¡± Olivia replied, staring at him angrily.

    Gary touched his mask, unaware that at times when he would transform, his eyes would glow yellow. However, now that he was an Alpha the colour of his eyes had changed to red, whereas Olivia¡¯s eyes had changed to blue, indicating she was a Beta in a pack.

    The teenager was happy to see her kneeling, especially that she seemed unable to stand up on her own. It made him believe that the rules were really working as intended. He couldn¡¯t imagine that Olivia would be doing that willingly, not after everything that had transpired.

    Seeing how this had worked, he opened the system and went into the new Pack tab to change the fifth rule to what he was originally going to put. As soon as he had saved the change, Olivia could stand once again. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the whip, and she immediately made a run for it.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Gary shouted and mid-sprint the woman halted.

 Chapter 243 â€“ A Challange To The Alpha

    <h4>Chapter 243 - A Change To The Alpha</h4>

    ¡°What have you done to me? What are you?!¡± Olivia questioned, noticing that her body refused to listen to her. She had been confused as to why she had knelt in front of Gary, but this time there was no doubt in her mind that he must have done something to her to make her listen. And whatever it was¡­ it seemed to have done a lot more than just make her obedient.

    The teenager noticed that while the Lady Boss remained in position, her eyes darted around the surrounding bodies. He also didn¡¯t miss her licking her lips as she looked over them. However, she couldn¡¯t approach them and do the one thing she obviously wished to do.

    ¡°I see¡­ you must be weak, tired¡­ and hungry, right? I guess I can¡¯t me you when you wake up surrounded by¡­ such a sight. Alright, go ahead. Eat your own people.¡±

    After saying these words, she didn¡¯t know what came over her, but Olivia went towards her closest guard who had already passed and began to chomp down on his arm. She had only hesitated for a brief second, but those thoughts all soon left her head as the taste filled her mouth and desire.

    Right now, Gary theorised that Olivia must be low on Energy, meaning she desperately needed food. Due to the Pack rules, she was unable to kill unless he gave his permission, so this might be the only chance she would get to do such a thing since they were already dead. Allowing her to follow her instincts was also the perfect way to make it clear that she was no longerpletely human.

    Seeing her in this state, further strengthened Gary¡¯s theory that a newly turned Werewolf was no different from him, who had starved himself at the night of the full moon. He also remembered that after he had first turned, the Werewolf System had greeted him with a message that his bloodlust had been lowered.

    Although Gary had avoided thinking about it, he was sure of it now. The men that had stabbed him when he had the package, the ones who had ended up dead the next day¡­ the Underdogs weren¡¯t the ones who had killed them¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re now like me.¡± Gary exined as he moved in closer and whispered in her ear. ¡°You are a Werewolf, and you''re under my control. I''m sure you can already tell and feel it.¡± The teenager walked away afterwards, allowing that information to settle in. After satisfying her hunger, Olivia stopped. She had regained her Energy and was only now realising what exactly she had just done.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking when I said you would be my little experiment. However, we¡¯re not done yet. I still have other tests I need to do.¡± Gary told her. ¡°Now tell me, do you have a system of some sort? Are you able to change or use any skills?¡±

    Since ke had killed Billy before the green haired teenager could ask him any questions, he had lost his chance to learn more about other Werewolves. It remained a mystery if the Werewolf System was something exclusive to him, or if all those he had turned might gain something simr to it.

    Turning around, though, Olivia stood up and looked at him, her eyes glowing blue, filled with anger.

    [The Beta Werewolf (Olivia Pearl) has initiated a challenge for your position as Alpha Werewolf]

    ¡®Oh, I didn¡¯t think it would happen this soon.¡¯

    Gary wasn¡¯t surprised at this turn of event, after all he had turned the Pincers¡¯ gang leader against her will. He had expected that this challenge woulde sooner thanter, but all of it was still within his calctions.

    As a newly turned Werewolf, Olivia had only just gotten her first taste of human flesh. The high schooler wasn¡¯t even sure if it had been enough to fill up her Energy and even if she did gain a stat point because of it, there was no way she would be as strong as Billy. It would be informative to learn if she even had any clues about the powers of her changed body, or if he would have to teach her.

    ¡®Let''s get this challenge over and done with, shall we?!¡¯

    The next second, Gary ran across from the room, he could see Olivia¡¯s hands going for him, but they were only a little faster than she had been before. Without her annoying whip, she didn¡¯t pose any challenge whatsoever, and on top of everything, it looked like she was unable to change into her Werewolf form.

    On the other hand, Gary had used Controlled Transformation on his arms, just in case. He knocked hers out of the way, and punched her in her gut. Still, he refrained from using his ws because he didn''t want to risk leaving a fatal wound on her¡­ not yet anyway.

    As she leaned over from the strong, powerful blow, Gary grabbed her head and mmed it into the floor, leaving a dent in it as he covered her mouth.

    ¡°Just because you¡¯re now like me, doesn¡¯t mean you stand a chance against. Now, you should be aware that I can still beat you anytime I want. I hope we have our positions clear with each other.¡± Gary smiled.

    [Congrattions, you have retained your seat as Alpha]

    [Beta Werewolf (Olivia Pearl) will be unable to initiate another challenge until the next month]

    Letting go of her mouth, Olivia stood up from the floor, her head hurting, yet not as much as she had imagined. Since it was clear she didn¡¯t quite understand the situation, Gary decided to fill her in. He didn¡¯t go into too much detail, though, refraining from telling her how he himself had be a Werewolf. The teenager focused on just exining what a Werewolf was, and what would change now that she was one as well, such as her having to follow a certain set of rules.

    He listed all the rules he had inputted into the system not that long ago, and Olivia just nodded along. She had already experienced that something seemed to be controlling her mind, and her body was telling her that these were indeed the rules the Beta Werewolf now had to live by.

    Gary felt like it was easier this way, if she at least knew what she was now and what rules not to cross. When he repeated the question about the system, she wasn¡¯t aware what he meant, so he described it as a message that would just float in mid-air, simr to aputer program. Olivia found this to be quite a strange question, but she just shook her head.

    There were a lot of questions these two wanted to ask each other, but Gary decided they would save that for a bitter. The teenager hadn¡¯t forgotten that he hadn¡¯te alone, and was worried about the others.

    ¡°Follow me¡­ I need you to stop your men downstairs.¡± Gary instructed her, and Olivia started walking behind him like a loyal dog, her head held down. The Lady Boss felt humiliated, defeated, and worst of all, she didn¡¯t know if this was because of her having seemingly be a ¡®Beta Werewolf¡¯ or if those were her true feelings. Either way, Olivia felt like she had be Gary¡¯s ve.

    Exiting the door, Gary saw that the snow-white girl was waiting for him just outside. It didn¡¯t seem like anybody else hade in, which he took as a good sign.

    At the same time, a message had appeared, informing him that he hadpleted the Quest, but he just closed it and nned to check out the rewards a bitter.

    ¡°Come on, we¡¯re getting out of this ce.¡± Gary told the girl, who hesitated when she saw Oliviae out. However, since the middle-aged woman ignored her, and the girl was scared of being left alone, she followed behind the duo, though with some distance.

    Gary couldn¡¯t imagine what the girl had been through. If he hadn¡¯te in, he was sure she might have ended up like Stacy¡­ but how many had he failed to save? Thinking about the women he had met on the lower floor, he was getting angrier by the second.

    Honestly, he didn''t know how much longer he could allow Olivia to stay alive.

 Chapter 244 â€“ Spreading The Name

    <h4>Chapter 244 - Spreading The Name</h4>

    ¡°You know¡­ it wasn¡¯t always like thi-¡°

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gary grabbed Olivia¡¯s mouth, before she could say anything else. ¡°I don¡¯t care what your reason for joining a gang was. I don¡¯t want to know what possible justification you might havee up with. At the end of the day, you¡¯re involved in this sh*tty business!

    ¡°You hurt this poor girl behind you, as well as countless others! Because of your scummy ways, Stacy ended up here, died and someone I truly care about is devastated at her loss! So don¡¯t you dare to make any excuses for yourself! If I hear so much as a peep from you without my permission, I¡¯ll rip out your tongue and check if it regrows!!!¡±

    Hearing himsh out at her, Olivia nodded. She wasn¡¯t going to say anything else. At first, she had believed that the teenage boy might be naive based on his actions. The woman had taken him for someone who just didn¡¯t know how the gang world worked, but he surely was acting like a gangster right now. Worst of all, she was convinced that his threat wasn¡¯t empty.

    Heading down the stairs, Gary saw that at least Marie had to have been safe, her Mark was still fully visible, yet when he came down he was surprised at the scene below. Everyone was knocked out¡­ including the rest of the Howlers.

    ¡°Guys!¡± Gary shouted, nearly jumping down, yet, as if answering his call, the four of them shot up from the water.

    ¡°Ah, Gary!¡± Kai waved at him. ¡°We were just taking a break. The water is nice and cool.¡±

    The boys had sustained a few injuries here and there, but apart from some cuts, all of them seemed to be in a good enough condition. None of them had been seriously hurt and seeing this, Gary couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    ¡°Hey, weren''t you meant to defeat the leader? Why have you brought two pretty girls down with you?¡± Innuined, as he pointed to Olivia and the girl behind her.

    ¡°What do you mean? She IS the leader.¡± Gary stated with a grin.

    The four shared a look of confusion on their faces until Olivia went to the closed door and ordered the men behind it to stand down for the time being. Still confused, the Howlers were led to a different office that was ced on the second floor, away from the unconscious men who might wake up.

    Gary didn¡¯t exin a lot to Kai and the others, just that Olivia and the gang known as the Pincers were no longer. She would now be part of the Howlers instead. Of course the question came up about how they could trust her and so on, but Kai already had an idea.

    Like a devout servant the former Lady Boss, simply led them to another office, one that was hidden behind a contraption. Located in a small room, the gang leader pulled out a few books from a shelf, making a safe appear.

    ¡°Open it.¡± Gary ordered, and of course Olivia did as she had been told without any resistance. The others couldn¡¯t believe it. Just what could their leader have done in such a short amount of time, to make Olivia obey his every word? Still, it was the best result that they could hope for out of this whole event.

    When opening the safe, Innu and Austin were expecting a bunch of cash, but instead it was just a bunch of papers, and by the look on their faces they were clearly disappointed.

    ¡°O ye of little faith, this is a lot better than cash. This here is everything that the Pincer owned! We will be taking all of this, and Olivia here will sign it all over to the newpany known as the Howlers LTD.¡± Kai exined with a giant grin on his face.

    ¡°You see, gangs have to operate between the fine line of being legal and illegal, and with several signatures¡­ we will legally gain ownership of all the restaurants in Burnham food street!¡±

    Hearing these words, dor signs were shining on each of the members¡¯ eyes. This wasn¡¯t just protection money for small businesses like the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. Based on what they could see, the actual shop space was owned by the Pincers. Not only would they make a hefty profit through a percentage of the restaurant''s earnings, but also from the real estate and rent!

    The process would take a few days, but Olivia had agreed to hand everything over.

    ¡°The ce will still be run by Olivia.¡± Gary pointed out, which shocked a lot of them, but he wasn¡¯t finished there. ¡°However, we''re going to make a few things clear. After today, the Pincers will no longer exist. This entire street belongs to the Howlers, and we are at the top of the gang. The members from before can decide to stay or not, but Olivia will make it clear she is no longer the leader.¡±

    The others gulped when Gary said this.

    ¡°If anyone asks who owns this street, it''s now the Howlers. If someone attacks this ce, then it¡¯s them making an attack on us! However, we are going to change a few things here. The red-light district can continue running, but I have conditions.

    ¡°Anyone who wants to leave is free to leave, they will not be forced to work here. That includes all those whose parents you have tricked into debt! Under no conditions is anyone underage allowed to work here, even if they want to, and we will be breaking all contact with anyone that is looking to traffic girls to this ce! I don¡¯t want to be involved with them.¡±

    ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± Olivia finally spoke up for the first time. ¡°If you do all that, then we¡¯re lucky if we can retain even half our current earnings!!! Are you really a gangster? Don¡¯t you understand any of this?! What about paying all the guards? Half of them will leave if you pay them peanuts!¡±

    Giving her a look, Olivia soon sat back down in the seat by the chair.

    ¡°People like you really make me sick. So what if profits drop? Doesn¡¯t that mean, we¡¯ll still end up with gain? You know what, just hand everything over to Kai, so he can deal with the paperwork. If I contact you or Kai does, you have to answer. You better start making the changes to the ce, and make sure everyone knows about it!¡±

    s, there was nothing she could do, Olivia had to listen since it was an order from the Alpha Werewolf. By now, she knew she couldn''t fight against it, her body was already rushing her to do the job.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The news that the Pincers gang was no longer quickly spread throughout Slough. Naturally, it had reached all the gangs that there was a new group in town known as the Howlers.

    Now, everyone was looking forward to how the big-time gangs would react to that¡­

 Chapter 245 â€“ Rewards For The Alpha

    <h4>Chapter 245 - Rewards For The Alpha</h4>

    The crowd around the Kraken had yet to disperse. The people were still curious about what was taking ce, and at the same time, the guards were starting to get concerned themselves. They wondered if they should just barge in, especially since there had been no noise for a while. All fighting had stopped. They had been told that only a handful of teenagers had entered. Those inside should have long since dealt with the troublemakers and resumed business, so what was taking so long?

    That was when, eventually, the doors to the establishment opened, and standing in front of them all was Olivia Pearl.

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t expect there to be such arge crowd of people here? Are all the other restaurants filled to the brim?¡± Olivia questioned with a smirk. She was wearing the same outfit she had done, and also cleared up whatever markings there were on her body. There was initially a lump on the back of her head, but the swelling on it soon seemed to go away, when it normally wouldn¡¯t have done so quickly.

    So those that were seeing her believed that she was the same as she had always been.

    Seeing who hade out, though, Nini, felt herself sulking.

    ¡®I knew it¡­ those guys couldn¡¯t do anything, That damned big guy was just all talk¡­ I just hope they didn''t, they didn¡¯t¡­ ¡¯

    In the middle of her thoughts, the teenage girl saw the group that had entered with the gold and ck zers leave the establishment. They walked straight past Olivia, and the guards looked at them with menacing nces, confused at what was happening. A group of them looked like they were ready to move and jump them.

    ¡°Let them go!¡± Olivia snapped before anyone could move. ¡°Everyone, the show is over. The Kraken will reopen this evening, until then please enjoy your meal elsewhere. Guards tell the managers that all of them are to gather at the Kraken in thirty minutes. Spread the news, and apologise to our dear customers.¡±

    The guards didn¡¯t move at first, until Olivia stomped her foot on the ground.

    ¡°Are you deaf? What do I pay you for? Get back to your workce and do as you¡¯ve been told!¡± She shouted, and soon everyone got a move on.

    There was blood covering the clothes of those that had left the ce. It was hard to imagine what had urred inside, and it left many confused. In the meantime, Olivia had a lot of work to do. There was a lot to clean up, and she had to spread the news that the Pincers had been taken over by the Howlers.

    The current workers of the establishment were left in the dark, but they too would soon be informed of the changes, especially to their night time activities.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The group had finally reached the bus stop, Gary had removed the mask from his face and ced it into his side again, and sat at the bus stop, slumping his body, while the others did the same.

    ¡°Did all of that just really happen? ¡­ Did we actually just manage to take over a gang?¡± Marie asked.

    Each one of them was looking through the ss above and at the clouds floating by. It had been an hour or so since they had entered the establishment, and then another hour to clear things up, so it still wasn¡¯t evening outside, and the sky was blue today.

    ¡°We did.¡± Kai answered, lifting his hand up. ¡°It looks like I created a lot of work for myself, but I thought this would happen, and after today, you might start to hear our name being spread around a lot more.¡±

    ¡°Does this mean my money problems are finally over?¡± Gary asked.

    Everyone chuckled, as that seemed to be the only thing on the mind of their leader.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to look at our finances after this, but I can safely say you won¡¯t have to worry about your personal expenses at least. However, remember as the gang gets bigger there are more costs, more people to pay, and this is just a Tier-3 town We are still ways off from being anywhere near the top of the food chain.¡±

    Gary knew that the ones in control of Slough were the Underdogs and Grey Elephants, and both of them had their reasons to hunt him. Although he couldn¡¯t bring Stacy back from the dead, he could focus on protecting others from this mess from now on.

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t have done it without you, system.¡¯ Gary smiled as he decided to look at his Quest reward.

    [Congrattions! You have set a new world record for surviving stab wounds.

    Keep it up, and you¡¯ll be able to hug a cactus without a second thought.]

    [Endurance +2]

    [Quest reward: Instant Level Up]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 16]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [Optional Quest (Start your own family)plete]

    [Quest reward: 1 Pawn Point]

    [Depending on the Grade of the Werewolf added to the family, more Pawn Points will be given]

    During the constant notifications, Gary had somehow managed to miss that he hadpleted a Quest that was given to him when he first had realised he had turned Billy. It was a new way to gain Pawn Points that seemed to be the most precious of them all.

    Still, it wasn¡¯t an easy way, but at least easier than killing other Werewolves. Still, Gary focused on the other things as well.

    ¡®¡­ figures, just when Ipliment you, you try to put me down. Alright, if you really want to keep up this strange rtionship with me, that¡¯s fine with me¡­¡¯ Gary thought as he inwardly rolled his eyes. ¡®It''s a shame that I didn¡¯t get the extra stat point for making Olivia a hunting target, but it looks like I got better things.¡¯

    Reading the message from the system, it did put things into perspective. Fighting against a gang, even if it was just small-time, there was a far bigger risk than Gary had initially thought. The teenager had believed that with his Werewolf form and current skill set, they should have been able to take on the Pincers, but the truth was without the Last Stand skill, he might have died today.

    Fortunately, everything had turned out well and he had received good rewards from the system. His stats had even bnced out once again.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [ss: Warrior]

    [State: Human (Alpha)]

    [Grade: Knight]

    [Level 16]

    [Exp 796/3002]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 42/300]

    [Strength 18]

    [Dexterity 18]

    [Endurance 18]

    [1 stat point unassigned]

    [1 Pawn Point avable]

    ¡®Stats, Skills, Health, Energy, I really need to improve them all¡­ and then I also might have to look into getting my Grade up as well. I have a feeling the system didn¡¯t exin all the benefits of going up a grade.I could use some of those from the Pincers that tried to stab me¡­ but it still feels wrong to me. For now, let¡¯s see what exactly those title benefits include.¡¯

    [Title: Alpha Werewolf of the Howlers Pack]

    [¡­]

 Chapter 246 â€“ The Alpha Title

    <h4>Chapter 246 - The Alpha Title</h4>

    [Title: Alpha Werewolf of the Howlers Pack]

    [Howling Force (Alpha skill - Level 1)]

    [When activated, the Alpha lets out a howl to energise nearby members of his Pack

    Level 1: 10% overall stat boost)

    The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.

    [Skill duration: 15 minutes]

    [Skill reset time: 1 hour]

    [Alpha Bite (Alpha skill)]

    [When activated, the Alpha uses a special bite to attempt to turn a target.

    An Alpha¡¯s bite has a higher chance of sessfully turning a person into a Werewolf]

    The higher the Alpha¡¯s Grade, the higher the chance of creating a higher Grade Werewolf.

    The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.

    [Skill reset time: 1 week]

    ¡®Wait, ¡®attempt¡¯? HIGHER ¡®chance¡¯? Do you want to tell me that just biting them isn¡¯t guaranteed to sessfully turn someone? So what happens if a bite doesn¡¯t turn them into a Werewolf?¡¯

    Although the system didn¡¯t answer, based on what he had seen Olivia go through, the teenager could predict the answer.

    [Pack ruler (Alpha passive skill)]

    [The Alpha will gain 10% of the experience his Beta Werewolves earn during their hunts and kills]

    [Should a Beta Werewolf kill a hunting target Marked by the Alpha, both Werewolves will enjoy the benefits]

    The skills and effects earned from bing an Alpha seemed promising, but it only seemed useful if Gary was to create more Beta Werewolves. In a way, the more Betas he gained, the quicker for him to get stronger. It seemed simr to a pyramid scheme, with Gary at the top leaching off all the others below him.

    Once again, it looked like the system was incentivising him to turn as many people as possible into Werewolves. However, after finding out that there was no actual guarantee that it would work, Gary was a lot more hesitant to do that.

    ¡®Given Pack Rule #4, I don¡¯t have to worry about Olivia trying to turn anyone, and maybe now that it''s an actual skill I can use my teeth inbat without having to worry too much about the potential consequences.¡¯

    There were times when the Werewolf had wished to use hisrge mouth. After all, it was yet another natural weapon of his, yet he had suppressed that desire for fear of creating more Billys.

    ¡°Hey, Gary.¡± Innu addressed his friend, as they all observed the scene below. ¡°What shall we do about your girlfriend over there?¡±

    ¡°Girlfriend?¡± Gary turned around in confusion, wondering how and when Xin had appeared. Although they weren''t officially a couple yet, since he had yet to set up a date or anything, he didn''t know who else Innu could be referring to¡­

    However, when he turned around, the only one there apart from the Howlers was the woman with the snow-white skin. She had changed clothes after Olivia had given her something, and Gary had gotten back his zer.

    ¡°Hey, what are you still doing here? You can go home now, there''s no need for you to stay in the streets.¡± The teenager spoke to her in a gentle voice. The young woman looked fragile and pale, even though he suspected that she must be older than him. Still, after seeing what she had endured, he didn¡¯t want to be harsh to the frightened woman.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anywhere to go.¡± She revealed. ¡°My parents are dead¡­ they killed themselves, because they were unable to pay off arge debt they had rued. One of those guys came to collect, but since there was nothing of value, they took me here¡­ I have nowhere else to go.¡±

    The others looked at each other awkwardly, and at the same time, Gary didn¡¯t really know what to do. Was she expecting him to help her out? Wasn¡¯t this a situation that the police would usually deal with?

    Just then, though, Marie had received a text on her phone.

    ¡°Erghh, Gary, I think we might have a small issue on our hands. My Mum just informed me that your bald headed friend and your sister are at the pool club.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The bus driver had hesitated a bit before he allowed the Howlers to hop in, since their clothes were stained with blood. Only after Kai exined that they had been filming a film project, did the adult man allow them on. However, Gary suspected that the extra 20 Kai had ¡®tipped¡¯ the man, might have yed a major part in convincing him.

    Unlike before, this time there were six of them on the bus. A small, frail woman was currently sitting next to Gary. She had refused to sit next to anybody else, and Marie felt a little annoyed at her behaviour, though ultimately she had given up her seat as she looked into the other¡¯s pleading eyes.

    Since the two were sitting next to each other, and the ride from Burnham back to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club wasn¡¯t a short ride by any means, Gary had asked her a few questions. The rescued woman introduced herself simply as White, which might just have been her nickname, but it was quite fitting.

    The teenager also found out that White had only turned twenty a few months ago. She had only recently started to attend university to be a teacher, which coincidentally seemed to have been the reason her parents had loaned money from the Pincer¡¯s gang.

    ¡°I have answered all your questions. So I think it''s fair to answer one of mine.¡± White replied after a while, as she stared directly into Gary¡¯s eyes. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill her?¡±

    Luckily, the group were at the back of the bus, and it was rtively empty apart from a granny who had entered the bus at some point and was staying at the front. However, the rest of the Howlers certainly heard the question, and were just as interested to know what had happened.

    ¡®Wait a minute? Did White see me bite her? She should have been too scared to look and turned around, right?¡¯ Gary tried to recall the events. ¡®Yeah, that has to be the case, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t have asked why I didn¡¯t kill her.¡¯

    ¡°I heard you say you were going to experiment on her.¡± White continued.

    Innu immediately started coughing as soon as he heard these words. He remembered seeing the leader''s proactive dress, and someone saying they would experiment on her, his mind was going to dirty ces.

    ¡°White¡­ it seems that you have heard a lot, but let me exin. We¡¯re just a small-time gang. In fact, everyone you see here is the entire gang. We might have taken out the ones inside the Kraken, but you¡¯ve seen how many guards there were just outside the other restaurants.

    ¡°Without her telling them off, those other members of the Pincers gang would have surelye after our lives. I needed to¡­ get her on our side.¡± Gary exined and thought that would be the end of it.

    The look on White''s face showed that she wasn¡¯t pleased with the answer that had been given.

    ¡°If it was me¡­ I would have killed her in a second.¡± White mumbled looking out the window, but honestly, Gary couldn¡¯t me her for having chosen that course of action¡­ especially since part of him still wanted Olivia dead. s, right now, it was more beneficial to keep her alive.

    ¡®Why are there so many troublesome girls¡­and now I have to deal with my sister as well.¡¯

 Chapter 247 â€“ A Worse Secret

    <h4>Chapter 247 - A Worse Secret</h4>

    Eventually, the group had arrived at the Wolf''s Pool club. Their clothes were still covered in blood, since none of them had brought along a change of clothes, which worried Gary¡­ nearly as much as what he was supposed to do with White.

    Taking a deep breath, Gary mentally prepared what he should say as he entered the ce. Opening the doors, he saw Amy and Tom at the bar talking to Miss Degrace. They immediately turned their heads.

    Hopping down from the bar stool, Amy ran over to her brother, yet before giving him a big hug, she stopped. His little sister checked him from top to bottom, before asking the obvious.

    ¡°Gary¡­ is that blood?!¡±

    Too many thoughts were going through her head, and it was the same for Tom. Still, his heart settled down somewhat when he saw the rest also had bloody clothes. Whatever might have happened, at least they made it out alive.

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about this.¡± Kai exined with a smile. ¡°We were just making a promo shoot for this ce. I know it''s a bit early for Halloween, but we¡¯ll need time to edit things before we upload it. Hopefully, it will get us more customers.¡±

    Tom was quite satisfied with the exnation, yet Gary was happy that Kai had taken over exining. He seemed to be better at lying than the green haired teenager, that was for sure.

    However, Amy didn¡¯t quite buy it, and seeing the blood on Gary¡¯s clothes, reminded her of the blood she had already seen in his closet. The shady ce, what happened to those people and now this, especially after hearing Miss Degrace talk, she really didn¡¯t know what to think anymore. Which made her look Gary up and down in a suspicious way, and she soon looked at the rest of them with a wrinkle in forehead.

    ¡°Looks like you guys need some catching up to do.¡± Kai said, patting his friend on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll be down stairs looking over a few things. If you need anything you can call me.¡±

    ¡°I need to get out of these clothes before the police are called or something.¡± Innu said, making a swift exit.

    ¡°What''s that mum, you need help with counting the stock!¡± Marie randomly shouted and walked off.

    While, Austin just walked past the two without saying anything.

    ¡®I see now, you¡¯ve all left me, the only one that''s stayed by my side is White, and it would be better if she left.¡¯ Gary was inwardly pping his forehead now in his head space.

    ¡°Amy, what are you doing here?¡± Gary asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

    Both her and Tom looked at each other before answering. They were nning to learn a bit more about what the teenager was doing. For one, Tom wanted his best friend toe clean to his sister about his Werewolf tendencies, he thought she already knew about them and had questions. For Tom though, there was also something else he wanted to ask him.

    However, their earlier curiosity had diminished after their talk with Miss Degrace.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Earlier in the day, they both had sat down towards the bar since the ce wasn¡¯t as busy yet. Tom was expecting to see the others or maybe even Gary himself, but he was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Oh, you''re that boy who took me to the hospital before. It was Tom, right? I¡¯m afraid I didn¡¯t yet have time to properly thank you. Can I make it up to you by offering you and your date free drinks during your stay?¡± Miss Degrace suggested with a friendly smile.

    The middle-aged woman seemed to have mistaken the rtionship between the two teenagers, not that Tom was going to correct her¡­ ¡­ Not that he needed to anyway, because Amy did just that the next moment herself.

    ¡°I¡¯m not his girlfriend, I only came here because I wanted to talk to my brother.¡± Amy rified, sitting down on the stool. She showed no fear even in front of this person who was practically a stranger to her. ¡°You know my brother is only sixteen, right? So why do you have him working in a ce like this? I know it''s legal, but this ce serves alcohol, right? And he¡¯s not allowed to handle cash.

    ¡°Do you have him doing other things for you as well?¡± She might not have stated it clearly, but Miss Degrace understood that the teenage girl used her of. Given the location of the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, Amy felt like it was only a question of time until her brother would get into trouble.

    Tom wanted to calm Amy down, but thankfully it didn''t seem like the bar maid was upset, instead she let out a chuckle. ¡°You know, I haven¡¯t known Gary for as long as you, but the way you''re acting right now, it''s almost as if you''re the older sister looking out for him. Your brother is really lucky to have such an overprotective sister.¡±

    Thesements, of course, just made Amy even more angry, but before saying anything else, she poured out a pint of coke and ced it on the table in front of her.

    ¡°There you go, as the Boss¡¯s sister you deserve a free drink, right?¡± Miss Degrace winked.

    The two looked at each other, wondering if they had misheard what the woman in front of them had just said.

    ¡°Boss?! What do you mean ¡®boss¡¯? Is he the manager here, but how¡¯s that possible?¡± Amy questioned¡­

    Originally, she had juste to find her brother, maybe learn a bit more what he had been doing to earn the money to pay their mother¡¯s hospital bills. Of course, if possible, she had liked to discover the truth behind the bloody clothes, but learning that he was living a type of second life, a life that she wasn¡¯t involved in, was worrying her.

    ¡°Look, I''m a bit older than all you kids and have learnt a few things during my time. I can understand why he might want to keep secrets from you two, but as I¡¯ve grown older I¡¯ve also learned how much problems secrets can cause.

    ¡°It¡¯s only human to want to know the truth about everything, and it would certainly mean troubling situations like this one could be avoided, but you should ask yourself something first. Are you really ready to learn the truth? Why do you think a person would want to keep something a secret from you in the first ce?

    ¡°To me, you look like someone who has drawn her own conclusion to what¡¯s been happening and are hoping to get a different answer. Anyway, I decided to give you a hint into his world, but do you really want to know everything about Gary?¡± She asked.

    This also wasn¡¯t what Tom was expecting either. He knew Gary was spending more time with the people that worked here, but what was she saying about this world? Right now, Tom felt like he was in a red pill, blue pill situation. Learning the truth about Gary, would it affect both of their lives forever.

    ¡®I already know about him being a Werewolf, and I''m sure Gary hasn¡¯t told others about that? He would be insane if he did. So just what could be a worse secret than that?¡¯ Tom wondered.

 Chapter 248 â€“ We Need A Lawyer

    <h4>Chapter 248 - We Need A Lawyer</h4>

    Amy was just staring at her big brother, while Gary¡¯s eyes were desperately darting around the room for any way out of the situation he was currently in. The two people he had wanted to keep away from all the gang stuff had voluntarilye to seek him out.

    Part of him knew that even if he might avoid talking about things today, if they had taken this much initiative they woulde and ask him again. However, what was the right thing to do? What was the correct thing. These questions were often on Gary¡¯s minds these days. His usual gut instinct approach just wasn¡¯t working. As such, the high schooler just sighed, and met his little sister¡¯s eyes.

    Happy to see that Gary stopped flinching around, Amy finally told him the reason she hade here today.

    ¡°Gary, what exactly happened to those guys at the Kobe Karaoke Club, after Stacy and I left. What exactly are you doing at this ce¡­ and what were you doing today that you ignored all my calls?¡±

    The teenage girl was straightforward and direct with her question, even though it took a lot of her to ask him these things after everything Gary had done for them. The questions themselves, though, made Tom gasp for air. It was at that moment that he realised that Amy didn¡¯t seem to know anything about Gary being a Werewolf¡­ fortunately, he hadn¡¯t revealed anything about that to her.

    As his best friend, Tom was now also very curious to learn the answers to thest two questions. Perhaps learning more about this ce, and the people Gary had started to associate with would answer his own questions.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After talking to Miss Degrace, Tom and Amy had to make a decision. In the end, the two of them refrained questioning her any further about Gary. Instead, the teenage girl told Tom about Stacy having been found dead, and how much of a strange coincidence all of this was. It reminded Tom of how he felt when he found out that the grey colour gang no longer existed,

    Having done some slight research of his own, Tom had a slight guess. He suspected his best friend to be gathering Westbridge¡¯s delinquents and those from other schools to deal with the other troublemaker groups. As a Werewolf, Gary would naturally make an excellent fighter.

    While Tom hadn¡¯t been wrong, he had been thinking too small scale, something that wasn¡¯t surprising given hisck of awareness about Slough¡¯s gang structure. The short-haired teenager had no clue that the grey colour gang were connected to a bigger gang who controlled the whole town.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you already?¡± Gary scratched the head of his back. ¡°After I saw you made it out, I just ran out of that ce and mmed the door. As you have probably seen, this is just a normal pool club, and I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t check my ph-.¡± Gary started to trail off, as he could see Amy walk past him. Tom soon followed to the door, opening it for her, and Amy looked back at her brother.

    ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s what you want me to believe, then I won¡¯t bother you any more about it. ¡­ I just want you to know that whatever you do, you¡¯ll always be my brother. If you need help, or it gets too much, I¡¯ll be there to help you.¡±

    With the door shut, Tom soon went to follow after her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Gary, I''ll make sure she gets home safe.¡±

    Gary didn''t quite get what had just happened, but at least it didn''t seem like Amy was angry or upset with him. He would havepletely understood if she was, but even while seemingly knowing that he had not been honest with her, the overall result didn¡¯t turn out as bad as he had feared.

    Heading down to the basement of the pool¡¯s ce, Gary went to change his clothes. It was one of the ces where he would keep a spare change of clothes. He was more than happy to change into his trusty hoodie. However, before he went down he noticed that White was still following him.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll take care of her for you Gary. Come here sweaty, why don¡¯t you follow me.¡±

    Gary thought that maybe White wouldn¡¯t listen to the girl, but in the end, she decided to head on over.

    Finally out of his bloody clothes, he noticed that Kai was busy in a sort of makeshift office. He had no idea when exactly his upperssman had managed to find the time to set it up. On top of that, it looked like there was also an adult man by his side, one that was wearing a fancy blue suit, with a briefcase next to him.

    He was quite well-built, though in the wrong areas. His dirty blonde hair was neat and kept up, giving him a professional look. However, when looking at this man, something was telling Gary to run a mile away, yet not because he feared the adult¡¯s fighting abilities. No, he had another dangerous air around him.

    ¡®Is he a member of the Underdogs? No, Kai wouldn''t bring them here.¡¯ Gary wondered what was giving off that bad feeling.

    Seeing that his friend had survived his ¡®ordeal¡¯, Kai gave him a smile and waved him over.

    ¡°Gary, let me introduce you to Mr Volkun V,wyer for the Pincers, though he¡¯ll now help us out. Olivia had already sent him my details, and he''s going to help us go through all the paperwork.¡± The blonde teenager exined.

    Volkun looked at Gary and gave him a wink.

    ¡°Not just that, kiddo, if you ever need anything, and I mean ANYTHING, I¡¯ll deal with it. You get in trouble, need someone to clean up your mess for you, no problem, just give your boss a call, and I¡¯ll deal with it.¡±

    After this introduction, Gary understood his apprehension towards Volkun. The guy was an underworldwyer. One that was not only familiar with the loopholes in the legal system, but also the type to know the right people to pay before a case would ever go to court, or if needed bribe the jury.

    The underworld didn''t just work with a few corrupt people, which was what was wrong. Money could truly solve anyone''s problems.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Kai interrupted Volkun. ¡°You should be a bit more polite, the person you are talking to right now IS the leader of the Howlers.¡±

    Hearing this, the adult started to chuckle, thinking it was some type of joke, but seeing the look on Kai''s face, he cleared his throat. These days thewyer was rarely surprised, but right now, he just didn''t understand, how a bunch of teenagers could bring down Olivia Pearl¡¯s gang and make her hand everything over.

    ¡°Hey, I''m going to call it a night¡­ I think I need some rest. Also, I might need another uniform. If possible, a little bigger.¡± Gary told Kai, while ignoring the adult looking over him.

    ¡°Don''t worry. ¡° Kai smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be ordering a lot of them. Soon Burnham street will be full of our gang colours, and I¡¯ll order plenty of spares, so you don''t have to worry too much. After all, we should have the funds for that. You let me deal with the paperwork, Olivia''s ountant will being over soon as well.¡±

    It was a good thing that the Howlers had taken over a well established gang rather than having to build up everything on their own. That hadn¡¯t originally been part of Kai''s n. In fact, thanks to Gary being more than he had ever anticipated, they were actually years ahead of his initial n.

    Now, they could use all the assets and everything the Pincers already had in ce. On top of that, Olivia, who had set up everything before, was happy to do it all.

    ¡®I have a feeling this is something to do with your powers, Gary¡­ I¡¯m dying to know more about that¡­ but I can¡¯t exactly ask you to reveal all your secrets while I still keep my own¡­ Anyway, I should just finish everything here first.¡¯ Kai thought.

    Sitting back down, the teenager continued to go through the papers together with thewyer. He realised that among them, there weren¡¯t just deeds to the establishments, shops, and the gang ounts, but there was also a special type of list in that vault.

    ¡®The Pincers had a lot of spare cash lying around and were making some big profits. If we go through with what Gary had nned, we will still be able to make money and have a good bit to spare. Gary was right, these people are sick¡­ they were just obsessed with making more. It''s hard to believe that this still is not enough for the auction, though.

    ¡®Still, the best thing is this.¡¯

    On a separate piece of paper, there was a list of VIP customers that they served quite frequently at night. Some of them were those from the higher tier cities. However, there was a big surprise there, some clients were members from the Rising Dragon.

    ¡®Why did she keep such a list? Was it some type of ckmail on the others, or perhaps the Pincers had bigger ns in the future to use this information. If they spread anything about the Tier-2 cities, the whole of Slough would probably end up annihted. ¡­ why am I overthinking things? I can just ask Olivia herselfter.¡¯

    Kai continued to go through the papers, just in case there were other things he would ask the Lady Boss. Maybe there was something that they could use to help their current position. He had already found those that could help him in the future but not right now until.

    ¡°Clove? Isn¡¯t that¡­ ho, seems like things are getting very interesting.¡¯

 Chapter 249 â€“ Beta Training

    <h4>Chapter 249 - Beta Training</h4>

    Aftering up again, Gary was ready to leave the pool club, but what he didn''t expect to see was that White had changed into a work uniform and was already busy serving customers. For one, Gary didn''t even know the ce had a work uniform, but it was a clear dress shirt that was ck in colour while an apron at the bottom was made of gold.

    ¡®That Kai really likes those two colours, but how long was I down there for? They already have her working?¡¯

    ¡°I can see the look on your face.¡± Miss Degrace said across the room.

    ¡°She said she needed a job, and we are going to need some night staff soon, so I intend to hire her.¡± Miss Degrace exined.

    ¡°Night staff?¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t he inform you that this ce would soon be open as a bar at night as well?¡±

    Thinking about this, Gary remembered that was part of the initial n, and judging by the uniform, it looked like Kai was going to make it clear that this ce was owned by the Howlers. Still, Gary was worried that perhaps stating that they were from the Howlers would cause trouble down the line.

    ¡®Would it though? Kai said that the Pincers were one of the five small-time gangs in the area. At the moment, they don''t really know our strength, which hase out of nowhere. For them, it would be a risky move.¡¯

    While thinking about this, Gary looked over at White, who looked to be happy doing her job. He also thought now was his chance to break out of the pce, before anyone else wanted to talk to him. With nobody else stopping him, he sessfully left the ce.

    After checking his phone, skimming over his sister¡¯s prior messages, he was happy to read that Amy had gotten home safely. As such, he was checking for another text, since he had another destination in mind before returning home.

    The night sky was starting toe out, which was perfect, and the high schooler was heading to the nearby wooded area that wasn''t too far from his school. It was the ce where he and Innu used to train in the past. Eventually he could see someone in the distance despite it being dark, and she could see him clearly as well.

    ¡°Well, as you can see, I came here as I asked, oh great leader!¡± Olivia curtsied, clearly upset about having been called to a forest of all ces in the middle of the night.

    ¡°You should have an idea of why we are here. Have you had time to get familiar with the differences in your body yet? Tell me, did you already try telling someone about those changes?¡± When asking this, Gary wasn''t sure, but Olivia freezing up made it obvious that she had tried.

    The rules seemed to be working, which was good news for the Alpha Werewolf.

    ¡°Now that it¡¯s just us, can you exin what you did to me? When my men were clearing up my office. I¡­ I was unable to stay in the room. When I saw those dead bodies¡­ the smell that would enter my nose¡­¡±

    Gary understood what she was trying to say, since the two were the same now. Such bloody scenes that should have made anyone want to throw up, for Werewolves it was as appetising as seeing an all-you-can-eat buffet.

    As long as the teenager had ample Energy, it was easy to resist the urge, but it was something he had to remind himself was actually ¡®abnormal¡¯ behaviour.

    ¡°Oh, ¡®your¡¯ men? Funny, here I thought that changed. Anyway, I¡¯ve called you today to help both of us.¡± Gary exined.

    ¡°Argh, fine¡­ in that case, you should be aware that a good portion of ¡®your¡¯ men have left. Not all of them, but we¡¯re down to less than half of what we had after I spread the that the Howlers have taken over.

    ¡°People don''t just follow a new gang that came out of nowhere. We had to get rid of all those that were no longer needed that had specific jobs that are no longer there and even those who have stayed out of loyalty are now afraid of another attack. Since everyone will know that we have just lost a fight, it¡¯s just a question of when the other will try to im a piece of us.¡± Oliviained.

    Of course, Gary had thought about this as well. Now that the ce belonged to him, he needed to look after it.

    ¡°Well then, we just need to protect the ce, don¡¯t we? Lots of genuine workers in that area as well, so if anything was to happen there, it would just make their lives moreplicated. Just another good reason for you to take what I have nned seriously.

    ¡°I''m going to teach you a few new things. What I am¡­ well what WE are. At first, I thought that it might have been a curse of some kind, but the more I''m thinking about it, the more I¡¯m grateful to have that power.

    ¡°Technically, me and you are Werewolves, but I think it will make things easier if you just consider us ¡®special Altered¡¯. I¡¯m not sure who would be more powerful, between us or actual Altered, but I can at least promise you that we¡¯re far more powerful than a normal human.¡±

    Gary had thought a lot before he had made the decision to train Olivia. After all, helping the woman control her powers meant that there was a good chance that she might grow powerful enough to take him on.

    However, based on the rules and everything so far, the teenager felt like the way the system was currently set up, it would be impossible for her to grow stronger than him unless he started toze around. Fortunately, he nned to train against her, so he should always be aware roughly how strong she would be.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Olivia said, still sulking. ¡°I''m in this situation and I don¡¯t seem to be able to get out of it, anyway. If you can help me, then I might as well do that.¡±

    Seeing what type of person Olivia seemed to be, if anyone tried to attack the Kraken or the street again, Gary doubted she would just sit there and let it go. He expected her to put up a fight. In a way, for Olivia based on how Gary was running things, not much had changed, except that she had gained a boss who she had to answer to.

    Apart from the fact that they were taking all her money and assets gained over the years, she was still able to live avish life. If Burnham food street was attacked, Gary also hoped that the Pack¡¯s rule to not betray the Howlers would kick in.

    ¡°As we get closer to the full moon. Your bloodlust will grow. Although the rules state you can''t hunt humans, you can hunt animals and such to try to get rid of it. Usually raw meat and such is able to satisfy your hunger, but as it gets closer it feels like our body has to kill instead.

    ¡°If you can''t control it, or something feels seriously wrong, call me.¡±

    Gary, then, pulled something from behind his trousers and threw it towards her. It was Olivia''s special whip. He had inspected it for a while, trying to use all his strength to break it and more. It was definitely not a normal whip.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ just giving this back to me?¡± Olivia sounded surprised.

    ¡°I can¡¯t afford to have you die on me anytime soon. That would justplicate everything. You seemed proficient with the whip, so it¡¯s better to return it than just to sell it off. As long as you continue being useful to me, you get to live.

    ¡°You should keep that in mind. Since I created you, I can easily rece you. If you start bing a pain in my backside¡­¡± Gary left the threat unspoken, his eyes glowing red, and he still had lingering thoughts of what had happened to Stacy.

    ¡°Now tell me, what sort of whip is that? It was even able to hurt me.¡±

    Olivia was stretching out the whip a few times, checking that it was still in good condition and working. She then flung it out once and a smile appeared on her face.

    ¡°This was from the auction house, the special auction house run by the Dark Guild. Although even with my funds I was only able to get this, they sell all sorts of things there. Altered DNA is rare.

    ¡°Even if you are rich, sometimes that isn''t enough to get your hands on Altered DNA. Imagine a stronger gang bidding on the DNA. No smaller gang will even try to make a higher bid. Anyway, they needed to create something to deal with the Altered and this is one of them. ¡°

    ¡°Auction house¡­ sounds interesting.¡± Gary thought, but there was one thing that was putting him off more than anything. It was the fact that she said it was extremely expensive. If that was the case Gary didn''t want to go there any time soon. Still¡­

    ¡®Maybe if I went there¡­ I could find out something to do with that suitcase.¡¯ Gary thought as he got into a fighting stance.

    ¡°Come on, attack me at full strength with everything you''ve got, don''t hold back!¡± Gary shouted.

    With her new body, and the whip in her hand, Olivia should be even more dangerous than she was before, but that was exactly what Gary wanted. If he wanted to beat people like Jayden Tiger, then he needed to push himself further.

 Chapter 250 â€“ A Mess

    <h4>Chapter 250 - A Mess</h4>

    The Pincers gang always had a ce and unique position in Slough. There was a reason as to why the other gangs hadn¡¯t wanted to touch their toes, and it was because of their special rtionships they had. Not just with those within Slough but also those outside of it.

    Which is why, even though it had only been a few hours, one afternoon and evening, since their demise, the news had spread like wildfire. It didn''t help with the drastic actions the Howlers gang had taken, and those who had decided to leave the Pincers had made sure to let everyone know why they were disappointed with Olivia Pearl.

    The Pincers also told their contacts and their workers involved in trafficking that they would no longer be needed and involved in such a thing. The whole reason for this¡­ was the gang known as the Howlers.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Brandon couldn¡¯t help butugh. The two leaders of the Grey Elephants were once again in the warehouse, in a special office ced in the top corner just for them. The matter they had just been discussing were all the rumours that had gone on about this new gang.

    ¡°Have you heard the ridiculous ims that have beening out from their mouths? They say that it was only five teenagers who hade to take over the entire ce. If they want to make it sound believable, they should at least say that Jayden Tiger was with them.¡±

    The event that happened not too long ago was still fresh in Brandon¡¯s mind. In fact, Raven had been forced to listen to his old friend talk about it non-stop since they came back, whether they should have attempted to take out the Altered there and then. However, they both seemed aware of what the result would have been if they had attempted that.

    ¡°However, we don¡¯t have the time to care about them.¡± Brandon continued. ¡°That bastard from the Phoenix gang contacted me yesterday. He told me that he woulde over in a week or so, and if we couldn¡¯t show him any results, he would just get rid of the Grey Elephants and Underdogs altogether.

    ¡°While I doubt that he can do that without any repercussions from the other Kings, I¡¯m afraid nothing good wille out of antagonising him.¡± Taking a puff of hisrge cigar, it was clear that Brandon was quite worried. ¡°So, any bright ideas?¡±

    ¡°Only a skeleton crew is left after the stunt Riv has pulled, and the grey colour gang isn¡¯t faring much better. While we put Buffin in charge of what¡¯s left of both gangs, they¡¯re just a shadow of their former self. The only silver lining is that the ck colour gang is in a simr situation, still recovering from the attack that day.

    ¡°In other words, it¡¯s basically us against the Underdogs¡­ who still outnumber us, mind you. Not to mention they have that Altered on their side.¡± Raven let out a deep sigh. ¡°In summary, if we dere war on them on our own, the best we can hope for is to inflict as much damage as possible. That also seems to be the only reason why Damion hasn¡¯te out to attack us himself.

    ¡°Our only choice seems to be to get one of the smaller gangs on our side for support. The problem is, they¡¯re all on the fence about joining either side¡­ and you don¡¯t need me to tell you that they just use that as an excuse to gobble up the loser''s territory.¡±

    ¡°So what? You are suggesting we approach these Howlers to help us?¡± Brandon scoffed at the idea.

    ¡°Rumours or not, Olivia Pearl has started spreading the news that they¡¯ve been taken over. That woman might be ambitious, but she¡¯s also someone who understands the pecking order. I can¡¯t really imagine that to be some ploy of hers. Anyway, unless you have a better idea, we should at least make sure that they won¡¯t end up helping the Underdogs.¡± Raven folded his arms as he leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest.

    ¡°You seem overly interested in those Howlers. Tell me, is that because you think it¡¯s the best for the Grey Elephants¡­ or is this somehow rted to your personal matter? I thought you would have dealt with it by now¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Raven replied immediately, clearly annoyed. The Howlers were a mysterious gang that seemed to havee out of nowhere, so he knew as little about them as everyone else. ¡°I have a lead, and I''m just biding my time till the lead feels safe, and eventually I will use her again. I only have a name and a school to go on, and after what those red idiots did, it¡¯s not like I can juste barging in, now can I?

    ¡°All of my actions have reasons behind them, even if others think they are a bit over the top, but at least I got good results because of it. This time, I need to make sure I have the right person, and when I do, I¡¯ll crush him slowly.¡±

    The smile on Raven''s face reminded Brandon why he had teamed up with him and Yovan when creating the Grey Elephants in the first ce. The two of them knew that many of them felt like Brandon was the real leader of the Grey Elephants, even though the three of them were supposed to be equal heads of the gang.

    However, all gangs started from somewhere, and so Brandon was acting as the brawn to Raven¡¯s brain. Unfortunately, Yovan was no longer with them. He had been the glue that held both sides together, acting as the middleman when the two of them would butt heads, which wasn¡¯t exactly a rare urrence. They had to use their smarts to rise to the position they were in, and Brandon could tell he had a n set up for whoever had messed with him.

    ¡°Well, since you seem to have put your personal life on hold, I actually have a n on how we can utilise the resources that Phoenix bastard gave us without losing more of our own men in the process. That little experiment of yours worked out in our favour. Let''s just say it''s a good thing we still have plenty of that liquid left.¡±

 Chapter 251 â€“ A Better Life

    <h4>Chapter 251 - A Better Life</h4>

    It was Sunday evening and the night sky was out. Inside ck Rock orphanage, Kevin was helping Suzan tuck in the other kids since it was bedtime and Innu was tucking in one of the little girls that was rubbing her eyes.

    ¡°Is¡­ Big Brother Innu still noting today?¡± A small girl yawned, as she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Usually she would have been asleep by now, and Kevin knew she had stayed up just to see him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Innu seems to be busy this weekend, but I¡¯m sure he will visit us soon. Don''t worry, you have a lot of time to see him.¡± Kevin smiled and waited until she fell asleep.

    It wasn¡¯t something he had to do, but since he was a bit older than rest, he had volunteered to help out, just like every other night. They all knew that Suzan had a lot on her te, so the teenager wanted to help her at least a little.

    Kevin let out a little sigh.

    ¡°Innu asked me to apologise to you that he was unable toe yesterday and today. He also wants us to tell the other kids that he promises to make up for it next weekend.¡± Kevin informed the woman, as they had just left one of therge rooms where the young kids were left sleeping on just a mattress.

    ¡°Innu really has grown up, hasn''t he? I can tell he¡¯s working hard and really cares for us.¡± Suzan sighed. ¡°As happy as that makes me¡­ sometimes I would prefer that he would concentrate on himself and his own life rather than looking after us.¡±

    Just then, they heard a soft knock on the door. Kevin was a bit surprised who it could be at such ate hour, but Suzan told him to go to his own bed. As he watched the woman run off with her hair in a mess, he could only wryly smile.

    ¡®Innu and us other kids want the same for you, Suzan, that''s why he¡¯s trying so hard¡­¡¯

    Out of curiosity, the teenage boy decided to take a look at who it was. The orphanage didn¡¯t get many visitors, and at this time of night it couldn¡¯t have been someone looking to adopt a kid. Hidden behind the corner, he peeked and recognised the men at the door. They hade over a few times already, and he wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

    After they had been let in, Kevin waited by the side, and could see that there were three of them, who followed the woman to the kitchen. Sneaking his way through, he waited by the door, so he could listen in to what the conversation was about.

    ¡°Have you considered our offer? You won''t be able to survive much longer on your own.¡± He overheard a gruff man¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I have¡­ I assure you, I have been thinking about it a lot. It''s just this ce is like a home for everyone If they were to move out of this ce¡­¡±

    ¡°Forgive me for saying this, Ma''am.¡± Another voice interrupted. ¡°But I think your refusal is quite selfish.¡±

    Hearing a strange man call Suzan, the most selfless person Kevin had ever met, his fists tensed up, but if he tried anything then he knew he would get the woman in trouble.

    ¡®What would Innu do?¡¯ Kevin wondered, since his best friend was a person he looked up to. However, he could only imagine Innu head into the kitchen and tell those men to shove something up their backside and get out of here. Shaking his head, the teenager knew that to be a very bad approach.

    ¡°With all due respect, but it¡¯s obvious that you¡¯recking the proper funds. Just on the way here, I saw multiple areas where this ce is falling apart. The new location would be ten times better for them.

    ¡°If it¡¯s a question of money then I can reassure you, you have nothing to worry about. Our boss even allocated some extra funds today. We told you, he is a generous man who was in the same situation as them. That¡¯s also why he wants to help them out.

    ¡°Unfortunately, it just doesn¡¯t make any financial sense to give this ce aplete overhaul. It would be cheaper to demolish it and rebuild it up from scratch. Please, think about the kids and their future.¡±

    It was then that Kevin rxed the tension in his fists. What the man said was true, the government¡¯s help hadn¡¯t increased in over a decade and with intion doing its thing, Suzan had been forced to spend her own money topensate, making next to nothing from the ce.

    The number of orphans was also steadily increasing, and each new mouth just put additional strain on the funds. Simply put, they werecking money, yet now a private organisation was willing to take over.

    ¡°Suzan.¡± Kevin said,ing out from the hallway and into the kitchen. When seeing the teenager, she was surprised and about to tell him to go to his room.

    ¡°You should ept the deal. You have already done so much for us. We all know that, so don¡¯t worry. It''s not like they are going to put us in the worst ce, right? If you¡¯re worried, I bet you cane and visit us. Nobody will me you if you decide to rest, and it would stop idiots like Innu from having to worry about you as well.¡±

    Suzan was in two minds with what to do. For some reason, it just felt wrong for her to no longer be involved in these kids'' lives and just hand them over to someone else, especially a stranger she had never met. However, hearing these words from one of the oldest and smartest kids she had looked after, she was finally willing to agree. Suzan picked up the pen, and signed on the dotted line. The deal was done.

    ¡°Thank you for being so cooperative. It will be a few days until we can move them, but we will inform you about everything that needs to be done in due time.¡± The man with the gruff voice said, and with that they were on their way.

    The moment they walked out the door, that man immediately picked up the phone to make a call.

    ¡°Boss¡­ it''s done.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the other side, Brandon ced the phone down, and smiled at Raven.

 Chapter 252 â€“ Pawn Upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 252 - Pawn Upgrade</h4>

    Waking up, it felt like Gary had possibly gone through one of the longest weeks of his life. So much had happened on the weekend, it was quite unbelievable. The red colour gang had attacked the school.

    Gary had saved Xin¡¯s life and fought against Jayden Tiger, who turned out to be her brother, and the Howlers had taken over the Pincer gang. To top it all off, Gary had actually even created something called a beta wolf and turned himself into an Alpha.

    [12 Days until the next full moon.]

    [Your bloodlust is increasing.]

    [50 Exp has been gained from current Bond Marks (5)]

    [Exp 846/3002]

    Seeing this message, Gary wasn''t too concerned about himself, instead he was more concerned for Olivia. He started to think back to what happenedst night in their little training session.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Without her little guards around, Gary had found it a lot easier to deal with the Lady Boss during their little fight. It was apparent that she was a lot faster at using the whip than at attacking him head on, and even she knew that as well.

    However, it didn''t look like Olivia was too used to fighting herself, even though she did seem experienced with the whip, though Gary had started to suspect that to stem from non-fighting rted reasons.

    The Alpha Werewolf had used this chance to vary his speed during a fight. Using Controlled Transformation, he benefited from small bursts here and there, making sudden movements, so he could reach his opponent easier, helping him disarm her.

    Avoiding her whip made for good practice. It was a fast and painful weapon, despite his high Endurance. Despite his advantage in speed, Olivia managed to surprise him a few times, allowing her to get a hit in.

    Pain was a good way to make someone not make the same mistake twice.

    After that, Gary had attempted to train Olivia herself, since he wanted to know what exactly she could do. Her natural strength and such had improved, but she was nowhere near the level that the teenager was at. He estimated her to be around the same level as he had been, after he had just been turned, making him think that Billy might have been a special case.

    ¡®Maybe¡­ it''s due to the person themselves before they were turned. Billy was already strong, after all. I already struggled to beat him when he was fully human, so no wonder he was such a monster. I should note this down as well somewhere.¡¯

    However, he was afraid that if he were to write it down, someone might stumble upon those notes. As such, Gary decided to just leave it as a mental note in his head. Unfortunately, all their attempts to have Olivia transform failed.

    It was already a hard thing to exin, especially since the high schooler realised that it was actually something his system took care of for him, but even showing it did nothing for the woman. She was unable to do it, be it partially or fully. The only thing that did ur was that her eyes changed colour briefly, glowing in a slight blue when trying to activate that power.

    They would fade soon after, though. Gary half expected this, since he had been unable to control his turning initially, and he guessed that Billy had also only seeded after the first night of the full moon.

    Still, they did make some progress. For one, they verified that Olivia still benefited from fast healing. After scratching her skin with his w, they waited for a while, only to see it heal on its own. Naturally, this consumed Olivia¡¯s Energy, making her hungry, but without a system to tell her exactly how hungry she was, she would have to rely on her stomach.

    In the end, trying to figure out a few more things, Gary decided to open the system and see if he could spot anything. Underneath the Pack tab, he could see Olivia¡¯s name.

    Here he also saw that she had no ss and was only at the Pawn Grade.

    ¡®If she has all this information as well, then it should mean she can evolve, right? If she gets stronger, she might also be able to choose a ss as well. Or maybe I''m the one who gets to pick the ss? It could also just be automatically assigned, depending on what suits her the most?¡¯

    There was another issue, which was how to level her up? This was something the system didn¡¯t have a stat for. Did she have to just keep fighting, go to the gym like he did? These were the only things he could guess.

    ¡®Olivia¡­ I want you to start going to the gym¡­ also you should be eating 2kg of meat every day.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Recalling given her that order, his face went bright red. The woman had looked at him like he was some type of freak. He had done his best to keep hisposure, recalling that she was just his experiment. Now that he had her as a guinea pig, this really seemed like a game. If only this was some type of VR situation and not real life, he would be quite pleased.

    After all the tests, Gary hade to one decision, while he was putting on his school uniform he had decided what to do with the Pawn Point. As tempted as the high schooler was to convert it into Stat Points or more Skill Points, he wanted to find out more about those Grades.

    Since those points were so rare, and putting them into his Grade appeared to be the ¡®natural¡¯ way to use them, he decided to see what happens. If all went well with Olivia after the full moon, then he might consider turning the others as well.

    Hopefully, a higher Grade would also increase his chances for sessfully creating another Beta Werewolf. He didn¡¯t want to gamble on what happens if it fails.

    [1 Pawn Point has been assigned to increase your Grade]

    [¡­]

    ¡°What the f*ck?!¡± Gary cursed out loud.

 Chapter 253 â€“ A Bad Day

    <h4>Chapter 253 - A Bad Day</h4>

    ¡°Gary, why are you swearing so early in the morning?¡± Amy questioned, as she was rubbing her eyes. She didn''t usually sleep inte, it was just her brother who had developed a tendency to start the day incredibly early, so he could wake up to prepare breakfast for the two of them.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that my uniform is really tight. It seems like I can¡¯t dy buying a new one.¡± Gary replied as he flexed his muscles, almost ripping his shirt and popping one of the buttons off, which he didn¡¯t expect to happen. It had revealed a couple of his abs that his sister was surprised to see. The shirt was indeed too tight for him. Ever since his body had changed, he had yet to order a new set of school clothes, something which cost money.

    ¡¯System, don''t you think you should have warned me that I needed more to upgrade myself?¡¯ Gary was fuming as he looked at the message. He could practically see a mischievous grin from whoever had designed it.

    [1 Pawn Point has been assigned to increase your Grade]

    [You need a total of 5 Pawn Points to upgrade your body to the next Grade Werewolf]

    [1/5 Points]

    If he knew it was going to more than one Pawn Point, he would have rather saved up to use them all at once. After all, what use were there when assigned like this? At least, he could have converted it, in case a situation arose where he might need it.

    With how useful Last Stand had proven to be, more skills wouldn¡¯t have hurt, either, and possibly there would be more to chose from.

    ¡®Be honest, system, did you choose 5 Pawn Points as the requirement on purpose? Is this your way of making me try to turn Kai and the others? ¡®Cause I doubt you expect me to hunt down four more Werewolves.

    ¡®Argh, whatever. If it costs so much, then it better be quite the good upgrade once I get it! ¡­ and you better let me change my frigging hair back to normal as well!¡¯ Gary smiled bitterly, however the next moment he thought about the potential boost in strength.

    Reaching the next Grade, maybe he could ask Jayden for a rematch. However, he had no reason to just outright challenge the Altered fighter. Who knew, perhaps one day the two of them could meet in the ring.

    ¡®Should I try making extra money as an AFC fighter?¡¯

    Thinking about another certain individual, Gary¡¯s mood became quite pleasant as he headed out. There was even a hop to his steps as he rushed to school. He hadn¡¯t bothered texting Xin, there had been too much going on since her rescue. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to appear as a needy person.

    Gary needed to get everything perfect. Too many times he had read in Webtoons how the guy put in too much effort, and only ended up creeping the girl out. That was thest thing he wanted to do.

    Walking around, Gary waved over to old man Morten, who was the head of the apartment blocks, as well as Tyler who was working at the convenience store again, yet there was something he noticed. The Underdog gang members that had roamed all over the Chavley area had disappeared.

    ¡®Does that mean they''re finally doing something else?¡¯ Gary wondered. ¡®That guy from the Grey Elephants should know my name and what school I go to, and the same goes for the Underdogs. After the red colour gang incident, the school must have at least increased their security, so they shouldn''t attack any time soon.

    ¡®In a way, their stupid stunt actually helped me get the big gangs off my case for a while. Still, Hawk¡¯s brother already knows about Amy¡¯s school. I¡¯m a bit worried that he¡¯lle after her again.¡¯

    Thinking about this, Gary decided to text Kai, asking him if they could set up some protection for his little sister. Now that they had Olivia¡¯s people to utilise, it should hopefully be possible.

    [Yeah, no problem. I¡¯ll pick out someone reliable. BTW I won''t be at school today. If you need anything else, just send me a message] was the reply he got from Kai a few momentster.

    ¡®Won¡¯t be in school¡­well, I guess there¡¯s not much point in us being in school if this is going to be our lives from now on¡­ but we only have two more years, right? No, wait, Kai should only have one more year ahead of him.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he worried about this whole gang stuff not working out? What is so important that he''s skipping school for? ¡­ Must be something to do with thatwyer and the Pincers. Yeah, I should probably thank him for taking care of those things¡­¡®

    Thinking about this, led Gary to start thinking about money once again. He could only imagine the things he could afford to buy. Perhaps he could get that new phone for his sister after all, and it might relieve his conscience for lying to Amy.

    ¡®Shouldn¡¯t I start to think bigger? If it really is a lot more money, wouldn¡¯t it be great to move out of that crumpy apartment and move to a nice ce like Cipen?¡¯ Gary smiled. ¡®Yeah, I can''t exactly invite the Mayor¡¯s daughter to our current apartment. Shoot, but how will I exin it to Mum and Amy? There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll believe me I got enough cash from a measly part-time job as a waiter¡­ ¡¯

    Eventually whening to school, he saw Tom and Innu who waved back at him. Innu had his head down on his desk as usual, while Tom seemed as happy as him for some reason.

    ¡°What''s up with you?¡± Gary asked, not used to seeing his best friend in such a good mood.

    ¡°It''s nothing, I just think I''m in love.¡± Tom replied, which was thest thing Gary had been expecting to hear. And for some reason, seeing the dumb grin on the other teenager¡¯s face, part of him felt the urge to hit it.

    ¡°Well, as long as it''s not Xin, then I¡¯m happy for you. Not that she would go after you anyway¡­ she¡¯s already got a date.¡± Gary couldn''t help but brag as his thumb pointed on his own chest. On top of that, saving her life, he was sure she had fallen for him already.

    At that moment, Mr Gray entered the room, he had a bandage around his head from being hit by one of the Red Gang members, but the wound didn''t seem to be too bad. If anything, the bandage seemed to be a bit excessive.

    ¡°Alright, settle down, everyone. Unfortunately, we¡¯ll have to start off the week with some disappointing news.¡± Mr Grey announced, holding the desk in front of him with his two hands. ¡°Although she hasn¡¯t been with us for long, I¡¯m sorry to inform you that your fellow student, Xin Clove, will no longer attend Westbridge. I¡¯ve been informed earlier that her father has chosen to transfer her out of school.¡±

    Gary was in the middle of getting his bag out at that moment, and dropped it straight on the floor.

 Chapter 254 â€“ Nothing To Lose

    <h4>Chapter 254 - Nothing To Lose</h4>

    Gary hadn¡¯t known Xin for long. In fact, he had only been able to talk to her asionally. Whenever he did, though, everything always seemed to feel so natural to him. Although his heart was beating at a rapid pace when he would approach her, she had never been afraid even with his awkward actions and stupid face. Despite all his ws that others had said to him, she had even agreed to go on a date with him.

    ¡®My wonderful future days at Westbridge are over?¡¯

    ¡°Hey, what should we do, bro? He hasn¡¯t moved since this morning?¡± Innu asked, as he waved his hand in front of Gary¡¯s eyes, who still hadn¡¯t snapped out of it.

    ¡°It¡¯s heartbreak. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything we can do.¡± Tom shrugged helplessly. ¡°Gary always had a fragile heart. I remember when he confessed to Lily when we were in grade three, and Betty in grade five. Whenever he got rejected, he would be like this for a while. Last year, he even confessed to Yon Lee, but she said she wasn''t into nice guys¡­ wait a minute, Gary is that why you came back with green hair?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not alone, Gary, I understand your pain!¡± Innu put his hand on his friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Even if they say that ¡®you''re too much of a nice guy¡¯, ¡®you''re not my type¡¯, ¡®I see you more as a brother¡¯ or ¡®I''m not looking for someone right now¡¯, no matter which words they use, they were never going to go out with you. Those are all just excuses and lies!¡±

    Judging by Innu''s reaction, Tom guessed that the transfer student had also experienced his fair share of rejections.

    ¡°It''s different this time.¡± Gary finally spoke up, yet his eyes continued to be lifeless. ¡°This time I wasn¡¯t rejected. Xin actually even agreed to a date¡­ however, before we had a chance to go on one¡­ she¡¯s moved away.¡±

    After all those years of rejection from countless girls, this hurt even more than that. He felt like fate was telling him that he was destined to end up alone.

    It was currently lunch break, yet the green haired teenagercked any appetite for once. Instead, he stared down at his phone, and hovered over Xin¡¯s number. She had left him with it, so they could organise something, but he hadn¡¯t received a text¡­ the high schooler thought they might just talk about it in person.

    ¡®Why am I still hesitating? It¡¯s not like I have anything to lose, anyway. If she agrees, then I might at least have the chance to see her off.¡±

    Tom noticed the change in Gary¡¯s face as his best friend held the phone firmly in his hand.

    [Mr Grey told us that you¡¯re transferring. It''s a real shame, I was actually looking forward to that date and getting to know you more. I guess your father didn¡¯t want you in Westbridge after what happened. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re even still in Slough, but if you are, do you think we could meet up?]

    He had typed the message in one go, not really thinking too much about it. The high schooler didn''t want to worry over making it perfect, or trying to write it again, otherwise he felt like he was just going to chicken out, yet his thumb soon hovered over the send button, hesitating to press it.

    ¡®I¡­¡¯

    In the middle of his thoughts, Gary could feel heat creeping in on either side of his cheeks, and slowly a ck nose and a white nose came into view.

    ¡°Just hit send, bro!¡± Innu encouraged him, snatching the phone out of his hand. ¡°And let me adjust this a bit for you.¡± The teenager quickly added something before he hit the send button.

    Immediately, Gary snatched it out of Innu¡¯s hand. He didn''t hold back with his speed, and his friend was quite surprised.

    ¡°Ahh! What the F*? Why would you add that?!¡± Gary shouted as he read Innu''s little adjustment.

    [From your Romeo, Gary.]

    ¡°She''s going to think I''m so cringy!¡± Garyined, yet while holding the phone in his hand, almost crushing it, all three heard a ding.

    Looking down at the phone, the other two peeked over and all three of them read the message together.

    [Sorry Gary, I¡¯m stilling to terms with transferring myself. Thanks to Tiffany, I wasn''t really able to get close to anyone at Westbridge, so apart from you, there wasn¡¯t really anyone to tell that I would move. Honestly, it''s pretty sad to admit, but you¡¯re probably the only person I will miss. I''m still in Slough at the moment. Depending on how my new school life will be, I mighte back some weekends, but I¡¯ll probably be in another city most of the time.

    [Anyway, a promise is a promise. While I would have loved to have a ssical first date with you, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not really possible, but do you want toe over to my house for a meal today? It''s the only way I think you¡¯ll be able to see me. I would like to see you again, so I can exin everything to you in person. Oh, and it will be a meal with my parents, so if you want to make a good impression now would be the time.

    From your potential Juliet:P]

    ¡°Whoa, that text actually worked, and you¡¯re skipping right to meeting her parents? I don''t know, man, aren''t you crapping your pants right now?¡± Innu asked teasingly, turning to look at Gary¡¯s face, but instead of worry, he was all smiles.

    ¡°Hey Gary, just to make things clear, you do remember that her father is Slough¡¯s mayor, right?¡± Tom reminded his best friend. ¡°You''re going to have to put on a suit or something, and I know you ain''t got one. I would have let you borrow mine¡­ but I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t fit you anymore. ¡­ also, you might change something else about your appearance.¡±

    His sudden happiness started to disappear when he saw Tom point at his green hair, which thanks to the system might stay this way until the end of his days. There was nothing he could do about that, but getting a suit should be easy enough. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know anything about them, but there was one person who he felt like would know where to get a suit from, and a good one at that.

    Getting back on his phone, he sent two texts out, one epting the ¡®date¡¯ as he asked Xin what time he should be over, and another asking his go-to person to get him a nice suit. The rest of the day couldn''t move fast enough for Gary, and the good news was Rugby practice was cancelled until Mr Root was better and out of the hospital.

    This meant he had even more time to prepare himself before the date. While walking out the school with Tom and Innu they could hear a bunch of the other students talking about something.

    ¡°Hey, did you see that car that''s waiting outside the school gate?!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I saw it from the window. Other than Xin¡¯s bodyguards, I¡¯ve never seen such a nice car in front of this school. Do you think there¡¯s a celebrity waiting to pick someone up?¡±

    ¡°Dunno, but I¡¯m pretty sure that was a Bersedez Menz, and those easily cost over a 100K!¡±

    ¡°What, that¡¯s easily more than what our house is worth!.¡±

    The three of them could clearly hear the excitement of the students, and it was spreading around quickly.

    ¡°Huh, who the hell would be stupid enough to buy such an expensive car? If it was me, I would save that money.¡± Gary scoffed as he heard it.

    ¡°I wonder who is here, though? Xin is no longer in the school, so they must be here to see someone, right?¡± Innumented.

    As the three of them continued to walk out of the school gate, they could see that students were crowded around the car. So much that the others couldn''t even see it. Which was why the other three thought to continue on walking. That was until someone called out their name.

    ¡°Hey, Gary, where are you going?!¡± A familiar voice shouted. Turning around, Gary could tell it wasing from the direction of the crowd.

    ¡°Hey guys, would you mind moving out of the way?¡± A charismatic voice asked the students, and they quicklyplied since there was a scary looking man in a suit standing right next to the teenager.

    ¡°Kai!¡± Gary shouted out of surprise, having recognised the voice. Judging by how close they were to the car, and the fact that he had imed he wouldn¡¯t be at school today, it was clearly his. He knew Kai was a rich kid, but to be this rich?!

    ¡°What the?! If you had such a nice car from the beginning, why didn¡¯t you tell us about it?!¡± Innuined. As he got closer, he noticed that the car wasn¡¯tpletely ck. The chrome details on the windows, as well as the grill at the front, had a golden colour to it. Gary also saw this, which was giving him a weird feeling.

    At that moment, Kai chucked over the keys, and his underssman caught them mid-air.

    ¡°What are you on about? The car isn¡¯t mine, it''s Gary¡¯s.¡±

    All the students'' heads turned to look towards the green haired teenager, even Tom. How could a normal school kid, like Gary, ever afford something like this?!

 Chapter 255 â€“ Small Time Is Over

    <h4>Chapter 255 - Small Time Is Over</h4>

    Gary looked down at the keys, and then up at the car again. He repeated this process two more times. The teenager was searching for the right words to say in this situation, but it was as if they had gotten stuck in his throat. He had heard what Kai had said, yet none of it made any sense to him.

    ¡°Hey, were Kai and Gary always this close?¡± One of the students asked curiously.

    ¡°What''s with the fancy car? Did he win the lottery or something?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Wouldn¡¯t they have announced such a thing in the local news? Maybe one of those Nigerian prince scams turned out to be actually true?¡±

    ¡®Why¡­ why would you do this in front of everyone?¡¯ Was Gary''s only thought, as he clenched the keys and walked forward.

    ¡°Kai, you¡¯re really a jokester.¡± Gary said as he returned the keys. ¡°I haven¡¯t even had driving lessons, so how and earth could this be my car? Does your Dad even know that you took out his car?¡±

    The teenager had made sure to be extra loud, so those around them would hear him. Gary''s schoolmates felt like it belonging to Kai¡¯s father was the only logical exnation. The blonde teenager was often walking around with his expensive watch, so for his father to have such a car wasn¡¯t much of a stretch.

    Of course, Tom wasn''t buying it, it was clear his best friend was just trying to deflect the situation.

    ¡®These people, that business and now this expensive car¡­ that isn''t simple money, Gary. Was all of this made when you were gambling¡­ or did they pull off something even shadier?¡¯ Tom worried, still unaware that Gary was the leader of the whole suspected gang.

    Before anyone could ask him any questions, Gary quickly got into the car, followed by Innu. They would usually go to the Wolf''s Pool Club anyway. Kai got in the passenger seat while the man in the suit returned inside and was ready to drive off.

    Rolling down the window, Gary didn¡¯t forget his best friend. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, Tom. Depending on how it goes, I might text youter.¡±

    With that the car was on its way. Gary was going to stop by for a couple of hours before heading off on his date, as that was what they would typically do, and his sister thought of it as his part-time job.

    While in the car, Gary had a lot of questions on his mind, but he honestly couldn¡¯t stop looking all over the car. There was a screen in the back of the seat. Cup holders down the middle, a digital screen to control the air condition. The stitching was nice, and even the back seats were being heated.

    It was a luxurious life he could quickly get used to.

    ¡°Judging by the smile on your face, you seem to approve of the car. That''s nice.¡± Kaimented with a smirk.

    Immediately after hearing those words, the smile on his underssman¡¯s face dropped.

    ¡°Why did you do that, Kai?¡± Gary asked in a serious tone. ¡°Why did you buy this car,e to our school and tell everyone that it was mine? Are you trying to change my life?¡±

    Unwilling to get in between the two, Innu decided to look outside the window, while enjoying the seats.

    ¡°Because the car is yours¡­ Well, it''s ours.¡± Kai rified. ¡°Innu keptining about how we as a proper gang didn''t have a nice vehicle and I actually agree with him. Besides, we¡¯ll need it for when we¡¯ll set our sights outside of Slough.

    ¡°And what do you mean by ¡®am I trying to change your life¡¯, Gary? I don¡¯t want to tell you any of that ¡®once you¡¯re in, you¡¯re in for life¡¯ bullsh*t, but after everything you''ve been through, but how exactly do you picture returning to your ¡®normal¡¯ life?¡±

    Was it true? Was Gary really thinking that way? He realised today, when trying to meet up with Xin or ying Rugby, he enjoyed these things because it reminded him of his ordinary life¡­ but could he really go back to that? Quitting the Howlers would be one thing, but how would he quit being a Werewolf? ¡­ and did he even want to do one or the other?

    ¡°Nowe on, don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t at least entertained the possibilities about what you could do with the extra ie we¡¯ll generate from the Pincers gang. It would be weird if you and the others hadn¡¯t been daydreaming at least a little. It''s not wrong¡­ but if you are going to use that money, then you have already stepped to this side, Gary.

    ¡°Knowing you, I bet you want to move somewhere nice. However, you¡¯ll need to exin to your sister and mother how you were able to obtain all this money. What are you doing to tell them? Right now, after having taken over the Pincers, we are a gang that no longer needs to hide.

    ¡°Us Howlers should not shy away from spreading our name, otherwise it might actually be dangerous for us. Right now, the other gangs are all desperately trying to find any information about us, but our mystery factor will quickly cool off, if we don¡¯t do anything. The other gangs will believe that what we did was just a fluke, so we have to make them afraid of us.

    ¡°We want to create the image that saying that you are under the Howlers, will offer more protection than saying you are not. We aren¡¯t any small-time colour gang any more, Gary. We are the damn Howlers.¡± Kai stated with pride in his voice.

    Listening to the blonde teenager speak, whenever Kai talked, he was always looking into the future. Every decision he made was one step closer to his grand ambition. Perhaps the reason he had note to school today was also because purchasing the car was just another step needed in that n.

    ¡°In the future, the Howlers will have to deal with corporations, among other things. We are going to be a business, Gary. We have to make a good impression and show that we can look after ourselves, otherwise why would anyone believe in us? This car was one of the first steps towards that. Also, I have not forgotten that you can''t drive, which is why we have our own driver.

    ¡°What I want from you all, is to be proud that you are in the Howlers gang, this isn''t any kiddie crap any more¡­ only our leader needs to stay secret from the others. It starts off with one car today but a fleet soon.¡±

    Gary was taking in everything that Kai had said, and it made him think a lot. He was right about it all. He had been thinking about using the money for his own benefit, yet as a sixteen-year-old teenager, he couldn¡¯t help wishing to lead a normal life¡­ even though he knew that as someone who had already killed, it would be impossible.

    Just then, the car had driven past the convenience store, where Tyler would work at. For a brief moment, Gary could see the university student through the window staring at their car. Then again, nearly everyone on the street was doing the same. All pedestrians stopped for a moment, not used to such a sight.

    The windows were tinted so no one could see who was inside. This feeling was strange, and off in the distance Gary could see the area where his apartment block was, and it made him think of his oldndlord.

    ¡°Kai¡­ since we have enough money to buy this car¡­ can we buy the apartment blocks where I live? Also the shops we just went by.¡± Gary asked with some hesitation.

    Hearing this request, Innu was also thinking about using the money to help out the orphanage. Perhaps they could purchase it and then upgrade it, so that Susan would no longer have to worry.

    There was a silence before Kai answered with a surprising no.

    ¡°Gary, we might have a lot of cash on our hands, but at the same time we don¡¯t have an unlimited amount. We aren¡¯t a charity, either. Do you really think those ces make that much profit? They would be more trouble than what they¡¯re worth.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re the boss, and I know you well enough to know you wouldn¡¯t just ask if you didn¡¯t have your reasons, there is one major problem that I think you''re overlooking. That shop and those apartments are in the Underdogs territory. To put it simply, they''re not for sale.

    ¡°We should also not try to expand outwards just yet. That''s just asking for a war that we''re not ready for.¡±

    The answer somewhat upset Gary, but it reaffirmed his goal of wanting to get rid of the Underdogs.

    ¡°By the way, your suit is in the boot. I chose you the best of the best, and Gio here is going to give you a lift to your girlfriend''s ce. Make a good impression and woo her off her feet.¡± Kai grinned as he threw over a box. ¡°Also, I wasn¡¯t sure you had protection, so I picked you some up.¡±

    ¡°How do you¡­¡± Gary looked to his right, and Innu was trying to look away even harder. ¡°You told him!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, on the other side, Xin had just told her family about a guest that was soon to arrive.

    ¡®Hopefully, you picked something fancy, streaker boy.¡¯ Jayden smiled, as he was actually looking forward to today¡¯s dinner.

 Chapter 256 â€“ Clack Clack

    <h4>Chapter 256 - ck ck</h4>

    Ever since Stacy had stoppeding to school, it had been impossible for Amy to enjoy her school life. To keep her mind upied, the teenage girl had focused even more on her studies, which was seemingly the only good thing toe out of it.

    During the lunch break, when Amy was eating her homemade meals, it always hit the hardest. Just a few days ago, she had still med Stacy for transferring away, believing that her best friend had done so to avoid her. However, after learning that she had died, the teenage girl couldn¡¯t help but be depressed that theirst shared memory had been of Stacy walking out on her.

    Seeing her alone, some girls from her ss did invite her over toe eat with them. In fact, even though he had still prepared her a homemade lunch, seeing as it was cheaper, today Gary had left her money on the table, so she could go to the canteen.

    Amy understood that to be his attempt to cheer her up, yet she declined. Although she did seek somepanionship in such a hard time, she also felt guilty about epting an invitation out of pity.

    ¡®It''s time like these, that I wish I went to the same school as Gary¡­ at least then I would have someone I know, and I could talk to. Should I go and visit Mum again, after school?¡¯

    Thinking about this, she thought back to Gary¡¯s smile in the pool club. Her brother seemed to be unaware of it, but he smiled so wide when he was lying that his eyes would be upside down crescent moons. Amy was sure he was only trying to look out for her, but it still hurt knowing that he wanted to do everything on his own.

    ¡®If only I hadn¡¯t apanied Stacy that day, then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about a gang being after Gary now¡­ no, who knows what would have happened to her if she had gone on her own¡­ Oh, just why did you have to agree to that day in the first ce, Stacy?

    ¡®Gary doesn¡¯t seem to be too worried about it, though. Did he meet all those people, so they could protect him? Did he have some type of deal with them? But then I can''t figure it out¡­ why did she call him Boss.¡¯ Currently, Amy was writing in a notebook.

    She had written down all the clues she had gathered so far and was making a spider diagram connecting all the points she had in her head. Of course, she didn''t write down exactly what they meant, in case anyone ever found her notebook.

    Amy used acronyms and doodles so that it looked like nothing in particr. BC, which stood for ¡®bloody clothes¡¯ was connected to a doodle of a bird, representing Hawk, apanied by a question mark. That one was also linked to a doodle of a music note, which symbolised the karaoke club, as well as GE, for the Grey Elephants.

    She wasn¡¯t sure about it, but then there was Stacy''s death as well, shortly after they had confessed. ¡®Was this perhaps the Grey Elephants doing? If so, then could they be after me next? But why would they go so far? They already have Gary''s information, and they know what school he''s going to? Do they know what he looks like? They never asked me anything like that.

    ¡®But then¡­what did Gary do that day, after he found out about Stacy,ing back with his clothes full of blood again¡­ is it all linked? Maybe I should pay a visit to Stacy¡¯s new school and find an answer there.¡¯ Any thought.

    Since her brother wasn''t going to give her a clear answer, then she was going to track all the steps and clear it up. Amy was worried that if she could figure everything out, there was a good chance that the police might be able to as well.

    It was the end of the school day, and Amy stood there just by the school exit. Up ahead around 40 metres away she could see the gate where all the students would exit from. She just stood there in ce, frozen. For some reason, it felt like her body wasn¡¯t listening to her and was refusing to move forward.

    ¡®What is happening to me? I know I had trouble after the attack, but I was able to walk home on my own plenty of times even after Stacy had transferred. Why can''t I move now?¡¯

    After thinking about it, she came to the conclusion that there was one major change. Stacy had died, and it didn¡¯t seem to be a coincidence. The longer the teenage girl waited, the more students would leave the school, meaning she would be on her own if she continued to hesitate.

    Soon she realised that her breathing was getting deeper. Her surroundings were darling. Lifting her hands, she started to hold her shoulders, rubbing them.

    ¡®I don''t understand what''s happening to me right now? Should I call Gary, ask him to pick me up?¡¯ She thought, but instead started taking deep breaths one after the other, she knelt down getting lower, and eventually she started to feel better. She didn''t want to bother him with something like this.

    When looking up, though, there were only a few students left.

    ¡®How long¡­was I like that for?¡¯

    Amy¡¯s sense of time was off, even after thirty minutes there would be students hanging around the front gates. Still, she couldn''t stay here forever and eventually started walking. Taking a taxi wasn''t an option for two reasons.

    One of them being that taxis weren''t exactly safe in the first ce. More and more horror stories wereing out, and Amy believed that was an easy way for her to get captured again. They didn''t have a car, and no one that could even drive it to pick them up.

    Finally, making it out of the gates, the high school girl felt somewhat relieved. It might have been a small thing for most of the girls at school, but for some reason for her today it felt like she had just climbed a mountain.

    Still, she continued to walk and looked around constantly. Amy walked close to the wall, and away from the curb. Unfortunately, every time she heard the sound of a car driving past, she would freeze up, stopping in her tracks. Her heart would thump, and Amy was prepared to run at any second.

    ¡®Come on¡­e on, I¡¯m not that far away from home.¡¯ The teenage girl encouraged herself. She continued and now was on a more pedestrian street. There were fewer cars here, so she was a little less panicked, but possibly even then a car hade down this street and Amy still stopped, but there was something else she noticed.

    *ck*, *ck*

    Amy looked around, but she was unable to see where it hade from. Thinking it must have just been her imagination, she started to walk forward again. At a traffic light, she stopped to tie her shoes, but then she suddenly heard it again.

    *ck*, *ck*

    This time Amy was sure that her ears weren¡¯t ying a trick on her. Worst of all, it seemed to be nearby.

 Chapter 257 â€“ Protecters

    <h4>Chapter 257 - Protecters</h4>

    Without a doubt, Amy could tell that she was being followed.

    ¡®If I turn around now, they will know that I know that I''m being followed. ¡­ please just let me be overly paranoid, but I need to make sure.¡¯ The high school girl thought to herself.

    At the moment, she was on a quiet street. A residential area rather than the main street, but she could see that there was a family at a crossing not too far away. Hurrying herself but not making it too obvious, she eventually found herself waiting at the crossing with them.

    When the man turned green, she crossed the road, and while looking left and right for a second, she could see a glimpse of someone that wasn''t too far behind her.

    ¡®This is too much of a coincidence to cross with us at the same time? They have to be following me, but why? Don¡¯t they already know where I live? Do they n to kidnap me again, to get Gary toe to them?¡¯

    At the moment she was staying close to the family as she walked, and perhaps because of her panicked state she didn''t realise it, but the family she was following was one that lived in the same apartment block area, she had seen them before. Normally this would have been a good thing, but with the situation Amy was in, she would be leading them right to where they wanted.

    Looking around, she wanted to see if there were others, but there weren''t any.

    ¡®Sh*t¡­ if I keep following them, then they will follow me until I''m home¡­ so what do I do?¡¯

    It was then that Amy decided to try and shake them off. Maybe she was being paranoid, and went to the next crossing and waited.

    ¡®We''re still on the same street, so if I cross from one side of the road to another, and they do the same, then they¡¯re definitely following me¡­¡¯

    The thing was in the middle of her walk across the street, she could hear the cking behind her, and the fear had gotten to the young girl. She could no longer keep it in, her legs started to move before she knew it.

    She was sprinting across the street, and when making it to the other side, and looking behind, she could see a man in a suit running as well.

    ¡®No, no, no!¡¯

    Amy ran for her life, ran as fast as she could, not worrying if she would tire out or not. She wanted to get her phone out, but not being the best runner, she was afraid taking it out would only slow her down.

    ¡®Run, I have to run, my legs need to move faster!¡¯ These thoughts were just repeating in her head and she couldn''t think straight. However, her mind was clear enough to think one thing, to not run towards her home.

    Still, as she continued to run straight not knowing where she was going, and refusing to go down an alleyway to make it easier for her to attack her to get her in a secret ce, she eventually was slowing down.

    ¡®I have to call someone¡­the police, but they won;t know where I am¡­Gary¡­I promised him I would let him know whenever I was in trouble!¡¯

    Her legs were hurting and so was her side, and finally he hade to a stop. Taking arge gasp of air, she took out her phone and looked behind her¡­ but there was no one.

    ¡®What the¡­ was I imagining things?¡¯ Amy thought.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Not too far from where Amy''s position was, down one of the many allies she had run past, there was a man in a suit on the ground. His lip was busted, bleeding, and there was fear in his eyes as two of them approached him.

    ¡°You know, when I was given this job, I was sure it would just be a waste of time. ¡®Who would be interested in such an innocent looking girl? Surely nothing will happen.¡¯ However, I¡¯m not exactly in a position where I can just let things y out¡­¡± A woman spoke as she dug her high heel into the chest of the man on the ground.

    The poor man started screaming in pain, as the woman started twisting and turning it, but the next second, he was gagged by two other men, while a third one was blocking the hallway.

    ¡°I thought about it¡­ if they asked me to look after that girl, then she must be important and unfortunately for you, I decided toe myself. So now tell me two things, what gang do you belong to¡­ and why were you following her? It¡¯s your choice if you want to make this nice and easy¡­ or if you want us to ¡®convince¡¯ you to talk. Feel free to choose thetter, but I guarantee you, thetter option will make death seem like your only escape.¡± Olivia said, with a big smile.

    Still worried about his sister, Gary had asked Kai to make sure she would be protected, just in case. Since the upperssman had been busy today, he had naturally delegated this task to their newly recruited reinforcement. However, even he hadn¡¯t expected for the Lady Boss to go out personally.

    They had been staying away from her, thinking nothing would happen. After all, they didn''t know who this girl was, or what her rtion to the Howlers gang, yet Olivia had been told that this was an ¡®order¡¯ from Gary. As such, part of her told her that she had to give it her best.

    Muffled grunts and screams filled the alleyway as Olivia and her men did their work, and eventually she had gotten every single bit of information she could from the man. Unfortunately, it turned out that he was as clueless as they were. Cleaning the blood from her hands, the woman looked off into the distance, down the street.

    ¡®So the Grey Elephants were the ones who hired this guy, the question is why would a big time gang be after a girl like her? And what rtion does this all have to do with the Howlers?¡¯

    ¡®On top of that, if they wanted to do something, they could have done it themselves. They have gone to a lot of trouble to hire someone else to do their dirty work¡­ You Howlers seem to already have your share of trouble with you. I guess this might be exciting after all.¡¯

    Walking through the street where the others were, there was a man with a leather jacket and sunsses. Smiling away and looking ahead.

    ¡®So they have protection on the girl, and if my eyes aren''t deceiving me, that woman was Olivia Pearl, the leader of the Pincers. ¡­ although ording to the rumours it would be the former leader. Seeing how she hase out personally, it seems there has to be some truth behind it all.

    ¡®Now, why have the Howlers gone through all this trouble to hire guards to protect this girl? That is interesting. Very interesting.¡¯ Raven smiled.

 Chapter 258 â€“ Meeting The Parents

    <h4>Chapter 258 - Meeting The Parents</h4>

    The meeting time was upon them, and it was finally time for Gary to leave the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. As he walked up the stairs from the basement wearing his new suit, he started to adjust his cuffs a bit.

    ¡°So¡­ how do I look?¡± Gary asked, looking for the opinions of his fellow gang members.

    Each of them couldn''t help but stare at Gary, the suit was almost a perfect fit, as if it had been tailor-made. It was a standard suit, ck with a white shirt and a ck tie, and they had never seen Gary look more presentable than at this moment.

    ¡°You look like a damn mob boss!¡± Innu blurted out excitedly.

    Hearing this, the high schooler didn¡¯t know whether to take that as apliment or not. After all, he was trying to make a good impression on Xin¡¯s parents, not other gangsters.

    ¡®I knew it, it''s the hair, but I can¡¯t change anything about the damn colour.¡¯ Gary thought, but with nothing else to do, he walked outside where the car was waiting for him. Along with his driver, and interestingly Kai hade along as well, stating that he had some things to talk with him about.

    ¡°So why is he all dressed up, does he have a date or something?¡± Marie asked.

    Innu, who was the closest to her, just gave Marie a look, but didn''t say a word otherwise. He still remembered what had happenedst time. The teenage boy had no desire to end up as the punching bag. Unfortunately, Innu''s silence was just as telling¡­

    ¡°Who is she?!¡± Marie demanded to know.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside, Kai held the car¡¯s door for Gary as he sheepishly made a grand bow, making him look like a butler. The green haired teenager didn¡¯t know how to react to this, but with bigger problems to worry about, he just ignored his friend¡¯s behaviour. His upperssman followed right after, and pressed a button to lift the divider between the teenagers and the driver, ensuring their privacy.

    ¡°I can see you''re nervous about this whole thing, and I don''t want to add to your worries, but there is something you should know.¡± Kai revealed. ¡°It''s about Xin''s father, I need you to be careful about what exactly you tell him, today. And I don''t mean that just because he¡¯s the mayor.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Gary let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m already aware that her father seems to have rtions to one of the gangs to run the street properly, so I won¡¯t say anything about the Howlers. Anyway, I¡¯m just going there today as the potential boyfriend of his daughter.¡±

    Kai gave Gary a wry smile, contemting whether he should tell him that he had found documents with Ben Clove¡¯s name on them or not. Ultimately, he decided against it. It seemed better to let his friend continue to believe that the mayor¡¯s involvement with the Underworld was limited to just that.

    ¡°You still have my gift?¡± Kai asked. Immediately, Gary went to pat his inner pocket. He could feel the ring of the outer packaging.

    ¡®Sometimes I don''t know if you''re brave or stupid.¡¯ Kai shook his head but didn¡¯t say anything. In the first ce, it was meant to just be a little joke. ¡®It''s your first date with the girl, and you''re going to her parent''s house, yet you actually bring them along.¡¯

    It was then that the two felt the caring to a halt. The divider was rolled down and so was the window. The driver and what looked like a guard talked for a while, before the gates were eventually being opened for them.

    A short whileter, they approached the house, and standing at the top of the steps, Gary could see both Xin and Jayden hade out and were waiting for him.

    ¡°Oh, that''s quite the nice car. I guess he''s really pulling out all the stops. Do you know what his parents do to be able to afford a car like that?¡± Jayden asked his sister, who had not been paying attention.

    The teenage girl was too excited for someone to being over to their home for the first time, especially in such a grand manner. Initially, her parents had refused her suggestion, one because Gary was a boy and two because they knew nothing about him.

    Fortunately, Jayden had been there to convince their parents, stating that the boy had really helped out looking for Xin. Hearing that, their mother¡¯s opinion towards Gary had instantly improved, believing him to be someone who truly cared about her daughter. While Ben Clove had remained somewhat reluctant, the trio had managed to make him agree eventually.

    Repeating his question, Xin realised that she didn¡¯t have an answer for Jayden. What did she even know about Gary? What did his parents do, who was he, and why was he riding in a car like that? When exiting from the car, they could see Gary leaving all dressed up in the suit, clearly nervous, as he walked up the stairs and thanked his friend before leaving.

    ¡°Just give me a call when you need to be picked up again. I wish you good luck, Gary.¡± Kai gave him a thumbs up. As the car was ready to drive away, for a second, both Jayden and Kai¡¯s eyes met each other. Neither broke contact.

    ¡°Gary, I¡¯m d you made it, and you look great. I¡¯m sorry for the short notice, but thank you so much foring today.¡± Xin greeted him with a smile. It was the first time Gary had seen her in something other than her school uniform, not counting the time at the Karate club. She was wearing a blue long dress, and he could hear her heart beat as fast as his. It seemed like she didn''t know whether to hug him, shake his hand, or just let him in.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Gary said. ¡°And Xin you look¡­even better than I imagined.¡±

    The words were hard to leave his mouth, and both teenagers became red-faced.

    ¡°Ah jeez, am I a ghost or something?¡± Jayden asked, scratching the back of his head. ¡°Food thief, please remember that this is a family dinner, not a real dinner date. Still, I''m also happy to meet you again. I hope you don¡¯t have any ns afterward, since I have a lot of questions that I wanted to ask you, and I''m sure Xin has a lot to tell you as well.¡±

    ¡®Questions?¡¯ Gary wondered what type of questions the Altered might have for him. Would he question him about the red colour gang that day? Why the two of them fought or something else that was even more worrying? Suddenly it felt as if meeting the parents would be the easy part of this evening, yet he had his own agenda for being here.

    Whether it was the right thing to do on their first meeting or not, Gary had made his decision. Seeing Xin here in front of him, he was going to at least try to convince them to keep her in school. He wasn¡¯t the type of person to run away from things.

    ¡°Come on, let us show you to the living room. Dinner will be ready in a bit.¡± Jayden said as he walked inside. Gary couldn''t help but admire therge house, imagining how much it must have cost. The teenager didn¡¯t know the exact numbers, but he didn¡¯t believe that mayors would receive such a generous wage to be able to afford such a luxury home, not in a Tier-3 town like Slough at least. It was clear that the level of wealth was influenced by something else, which made him think about Kai¡¯s words.

    ¡®It looked like he wanted to say something else back there.¡¯ Gary thought.

    He suddenly felt a hand ced on his chest. He had only taken one step into the house.

    ¡°I''m sorry, but we need to frisk every person who enters the house, even if you¡¯re today¡¯s guest of honour.¡± One of the guards exined, and without being able to say a word, another had already started to pat him down from head to toe¡­ Until the man, eventually, started to pat his breast pocket, and a crumpling sound was heard.

    ¡®Huh¡­ oh sh*t, Ipletely forgot about it!¡¯

    The next second the man reached into the pocket and pulled out a square packet.

 Chapter 259 â€“ The Clove Family

    <h4>Chapter 259 - The Clove Family</h4>

    ¡®What the f*ck is that guard doing holding that thing like he¡¯s at a show and tell?!¡¯ Was Gary''s first thought, as he saw him hold it in his hand. The teenager could tell by the look of shock on Xin¡¯s and Jayden¡¯s face that they had clearly recognised the item for what it was.

    ¡°Er¡­er¡­¡± Xin was fuming, unable to find the right words, while Gary had yet to make up his mind on whether he should just snatch it out of the man¡¯s hand or pretend like it wasn¡¯t his.

    ¡°Hey, calm down, it''s not like a condom is going to be used as a weapon.¡± Jayden said as he walked forward. ¡°Actually, on second thought, you could probably suffocate someone with one of these things.¡±

    The Altered snatched it out of the guard¡¯s hand before he could even react. Then, he turned to Gary, staring right in the eyes, an evil smile on his face.

    ¡°While I¡¯m happy to see that you care for protection, I really hope you weren''t thinking of using this anytime soon, Gary. Otherwise, I might have you assist me in testing out my theory of how lethal a weapon such a thing would make.¡±

    All Gary could do was gulp and shake his head, as he quickly opted to use his n B.

    ¡°That¡¯s not mine! ¡­ yeah, you¡¯ve seen my friend in the car earlier, right? It¡¯s his suit! He must have left it inside as a prank! I''m sorry, I would never think of doing something like ¡®that¡¯ with your sister.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Jayden gasped theatrically. ¡°So you¡¯re saying my sister isn''t pretty enough for you now?¡±

    Gary was aware that this was one of those situations where no matter what he said, it was going to be taken the wrong way. Unfortunately, understanding his own situation, didn¡¯t help him get out of it. Right now, he wanted to kill Kai for his ¡®gift¡¯¡­ even though he knew it was his own fault.

    Since a suit didn¡¯t have the pocket space, it would have been impossible to take along the whole box in the first ce. Still, after he had changed, Gary had taken out a single one. The teenager had little hope that anything would happen tonight, yet as the saying went ¡®better safe than sorry¡¯¡­ yet now he felt like any second he might see his life sh before his eyes.

    Thankfully, Xin was also there and came to his rescue by pulling on her brother¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Stop acting this way towards Gary, you dolt. He just said that it was a prank, so why are you still teasing him about it? Besides, I don''t need you deciding things for me!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A little whileter, Gary was escorted to the living room, where Xin had sat down on a single sofa on her own. Meanwhile, her guest was sitting on a sofa next to Jayden, and he was still unable to look either one in the eyes. Since the condom incident, the atmosphere was a little awkward to say the least.

    ¡°So Gary, why don''t we use this time to learn a bit more about you? Maybe something that only we would be interested in. Apart from you being a horn dog, I mean.¡± Jayden broke the silence. ¡°Not just anyone can take one my punches. You¡¯re clearly more durable than those other guys that day, so I¡¯ve been wondering where you learned to fight like that? What style are you training in?¡±

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s not often Jayden praises anyone. That sounds like you were a lot better than when you came to the Karate club. Be honest, did you hold back in your fight against me that day? Since you''re in the Rugby club that means you must have learnt outside school, no?¡± Xin added, and Jayden was making sure to pay close attention to the green haired teenager¡¯s answers.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I''m not in a club or anything like that.¡± Gary replied nervously, still keeping his head down. ¡°I¡¯ve had an interest in fighting ever since I was young. My Dad was actually the one who introduced it to me. Now I watch the Altered Fighting Championship all the time. Those guys are athletes that are meant to be the best of the best.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even remember when, but at some point I started watching the most skilful fighters who have

    practised nothing but punching and kicking, ways to beat their opponent. Those fights always got me heated up, so I¡¯ve been studying them a lot¡­¡±

    Gary started to trail off there. In the world of fighting, just hard work wasn¡¯t enough. Everyone worked hard. Unfortunately, the cold hard truth was that while reflexes, flexibility, and strength could be improved on, there were things like talent that one couldn¡¯t change. And on the world stage, where the best fought against the best, those people had often been born with a natural advantage.

    Of course, bing Altered changed everything even further. He himself knew that best. While bing a Werewolf was surely different, even a fraction of what he was doing these days would have been impossible with his old body.

    ¡°Anyway, recently I found someone else who is really interested in it as well. He does a lot of Muay Thai fighting, and ever since the two of us have been practising quite a lot.¡± Gary answered.

    He had learned that the best way for him to tell a lie, was to mix it in with part of the truth. That way, the teenager didn''t really have to make up a lot of stuff. As long as he avoided telling certain bits, the other person would just fill in the nks.

    ¡°I see, so you must be quite the fan of mine, huh? Is that the reason you chose to get close to Xin? To get to me?¡± Jayden asked, ncing over to the teenager who was finally looking up. Just as Gary was about to exin that it wasn''t the case, the Altered just waved it off.

    ¡°I''m just kidding, I already know that you had no idea. Still, that is actually one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. Me and Xin''s rtionship, the fact that she is my little sister, is supposed to stay a secret.

    ¡°There''s more than one reason for it, but I won¡¯t bore you with any of the details. If you want what¡¯s best for Xin, I ask you to keep it to yourself. Right now, it''s even more important than before.¡±

    Gary nodded away, immediately agreeing, he didn''t want to make her life any harder than it was.

    ¡°Say, Xin, now that we have time, mind exining to me what¡¯s going to happen to you?¡± Gary eventually asked. ¡°Why will you no longer be going to the Westbridge? Is it because of what happened? And where will you go, since you said you might onlye back on the weekends?¡±

    To try to convince her parents, he needed to know the reason they wanted her gone in the first ce.

    ¡°Actually it''s-¡°

    ¡°Dinner is ready.¡± A beautiful woman who was nearly as bright as Xin opened the door. Her hair was in curls rather than straightened like Xin¡¯s, but it was undeniably the same ashen colour. To put it simply, Gary could clearly see who the teenage girl had gotten her good looks from.

    ¡°Oh!¡± The middle-aged woman said, as she noticed the boy in the room and ced her hands together, smiling at him. ¡°And this young man must be the one joining us today. Sorry I didn''t introduce myself. My name is Natalia Clove, but no need to introduce yourself now, you can do that at the dinner table.¡±

    After saying these words, Gary noticed something, and it was the fact that Natalia was staring at his face. No, looking more closely, it seemed to be slightly above that¡­ the hair on the top of his head.

    ¡°Ah¡­it''s my natural colour¡­ I can''t change it?¡± Gary blurted out, since this was somewhat the truth now, at least ording to the system.

    Unsurprisingly, his response earned him a chuckle from everyone in the room. Gary was embarrassed, but he thought that making themugh might have been a good thing. Following the mother along, the three of them finally entered the dining room.

    There was arge rectangle table, with seats already sorted out, and each one had a name te ced on the table. Gary saw that he had been given a seat right next to where the mayor was, at the head of the table. The high schooler gulped down hard once again, but sat down, next to the corpulent man.

    Seeing the mayor in person was different from seeing him on TV. There was a certain aura around him, an aura of confidence that Gary had felt around certain people before, Damion, Brandon¡­and Kai. The aura of a leader.

    ¡®I feel like this dinner is going to be a battle itself.¡¯

    ¡°Wee to our humble home, Gary Dem.¡± Ben greeted him by offering him a handshake.

 Chapter 260 â€“ The Meal (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 260 - The Meal (Part 1)</h4>

    Gary had noticed that the mayor had slightly flinched once he had seen hime in. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess what had elicited this type of reaction. Right now, the teenage boy didn¡¯t feel like he had green hair, but a giant glowing beacon growing on the top of his head.

    ¡®Should I have tried to just shave it off beforeing here, or would it have simply grown back?¡¯

    Since the first impression was already negative, Gary decided to be on his best behaviour, and so he naturally epted the handshake. However, for some reason, it felt as if the mayor was trying to crush his hand. The high schooler wasn¡¯t sure if the adult man simply had a strong grip, or if this was supposed to be some sort of test.

    ¡®What the hell is thisrd doing?¡¯ Gary thought to himself as he kept up a friendly smile, mimicking Xin¡¯s father. Not wanting toe off as weak, the Alpha Werewolf increased his grip, though he made sure not to injure the man.

    ¡°It looks like you''re quite the strong one.¡± Ben praised him, seemingly impressed by Gary¡¯s strength. He then looked his body up and down as if he was inspecting him. ¡°You know, I would often tell Xin that she should look for a boy who is at least as strong as her brother here, if she wanted to date anybody, and you¡¯re the first guy who at least seems decent.¡±

    The mayor patted Gary¡¯s arm, who allowed him to do so. Ever since his body had changed, the teenager had gained the body of an athlete. Although he knew that this was something his system was responsible for, and not his own hard work, he didn¡¯t mind taking the credit.

    ¡®Another benefit of bing a Werewolf, I guess.¡¯ Gary thought to himself, while Xin turned a few shades redder at her father¡¯sment.

    Strangely, the mayor continued to stand there opposite him. Gary looked around, and saw that the others were also still standing, so he felt it would be rude if he sat down before the patriarch of the family. Honestly, he just wanted to start with the meal, but the adult man continued to stand waiting for something. In the end, Gary just nervouslyughed, which seemed to change the mood of Ben Clove in an instant, his smile disappearing from his face.

    ¡°I thought you might have known better after seeing the way you were dressed.¡± Ben sighed. ¡°I''m guessing you brought no gift?¡±

    ¡®What?! Was I meant to bring a gift in this type of situation? I thought this was just supposed to be dinner? But I''ve never gone to anyone''s house before other than Tom''s. I never knew that¡­ and it''s not like I ever had the money to buy a gift for someone else before. Is this something rich people do or something?¡¯

    ¡°I''m sorry, I didn''t realise¡­ I''ll be happy to buy you something next time¡­ to make up for it.¡± Gary managed to stutter out in a mix of confusion and panic.

    ¡°Brave of you to assume there will be a next time.¡± Ben stated as he sat down in his seat. With that, everyone else sat down as well. Still, there was one girl that wasn''t pleased by her father''s antics at all.

    ¡°Dad, why are you hassling Gary about a gift?¡± Xin asked. ¡°He¡¯s not one of your guests, but my ssmate. Why would he have to bring you a gift, especially since all of this was on such a short notice?¡±

    ¡°I know, I know, darling.¡± Ben started tough it off. ¡°I was just teasing the young man. He should be able to take this much at least, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    There were a few chuckles around the table, and Gary nervously joined in, but he had a feeling the mayor hadn¡¯t been joking. The teenager was also starting to rethink his choice of trying to convince the man.

    Fortunately, the food was served that moment, giving Gary a much needed reprieve. As much as he wanted to dig in, he waited for Xin¡¯s father to take the first bite. Unfortunately, that¡¯s where his manners ended. The others couldn''t help but stare at his eating etiquette, as he quickly tookrge bites, seemingly afraid someone might take away his food.

    ¡°Whoa, you''re eating like you haven¡¯t eaten in weeks, slow down there, buddy.¡± Jaydenmented. ¡°You seem to be a big eater, like me, no wonder you stole all my food back then.¡±

    ¡°He did WHAT??¡± Xin¡¯s mother gasped in shock.

    ¡°Ah, my bad, I guess ¡®stole¡¯ is the wrong word. The first time I met Gary, I invited him back to my hotel. I told him he could take whatever he wanted, though I didn''t expect him to raid my entire fridge.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you two already met? When was that?¡± Xin asked, suddenly very curious. She had never heard her brother mention Gary before.

    ¡°Ah, it was when I went to pick you up that one time. However, you texted me that you already had a lift.¡± Jayden exined, knowing he couldn¡¯t reveal the full details. ¡°Actually, it''s quite the funny story. While I was ready to turn around, my light started to beam on this pale white a-¡°

    A certain heat could be felting from across the table and a pair of dagger eyes were staring at him. Jayden could see that Gary was shaking his head, using his eyes to tell him not to continue that story.

    ¡°Never mind, now that I think about it, it¡¯s more one of those things that are funnier at the moment.¡±

    The room went silent once again. After thement about his eating behaviour, Gary slowed down, making sure to eat at the same pace as the Altered. It was a tall task, especially since most of the food was a lot yummier than what he would usually eat. He was even tempted to ask them for some seconds to bring home, so he could share with Amy, yet he decided against it, afraid that their opinion of him might decrease further.

    ¡®Is my brother talking about the night we were attacked by those monsters¡­ is that the day the two of them met for the first time? Wasn''t Tom looking for Gary that day as well? What was he doing in that area then?¡¯ Xin wondered.

    She wanted to ask Jayden more about that night.

 Chapter 261 â€“ The Meal (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 261 - The Meal (Part 2)</h4>

    Eventually, everyone had finished their meal. Xin¡¯s parents had asked Gary a few more questions in between. Fortunately, it was just normal small talk, about his family and how he was doing in school in general. The teenager was more than happy to tell them about it, especially about being one of the Rugby stars of Westbridge, something which apparently gained him a bit more favour with the mayor.

    ¡°Speaking of school, the reason I''m here is that I heard that you wanted to transfer Xin somewhere.¡± Gary began to address the difficult topic. ¡°If you don''t mind, Xin, I wanted to ask you if you could tell me the reason, or at least where you''ll be going.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think the reason for it is pretty clear?¡± Xin¡¯s father raised an eyebrow. ¡°Your school was attacked by a gang, and my daughter got kidnapped in the aftermath. We were lucky that Jayden happened to be in town, but things could have easily ended up a lot worse.

    ¡°If we allow Xin to stay in Westbridge she would just be targeted again sooner orter. I¡¯m happy that you care for my daughter, Gary, but even as its mayor, I have to admit that Slough is not the safest ce. That''s why we have decided to transfer her to another school in a Tier-2 city.¡±

    It was just as Gary had expected, so he knew it was going to be hard to convince them. Still, it was at least worth a try.

    ¡°But is a Tier-2 city really that much safer? I heard that they have even bigger gangs in the Tier-2 and Tier-1 cities. Aren¡¯t you afraid that the same thing might happen again? At least here, she would be with her family, not to mention there¡¯s Jayden and your guards. I can''t imagine you can be in two ces at once.¡± The teenager questioned their decision.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have selected a special boarding academy for her. Her protection is our top priority, so trust me when I say that with how much the tuition costs, their security is top-notch. Also, although they have gangs up there, it''s not the same as it¡¯s here in Slough.

    ¡°As your mayor, I am painfully aware about my own town¡¯s gang situation. You see, in the bigger cities, the status quo rarely changes. Developments don¡¯t just happen suddenly, so even if something were to happen, we could always pull Xin out before chaos breaks out.

    ¡°Slough is different. How much do you know about the gang situation in our city?¡± Ben questioned Gary.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard some bits and pieces.¡± The high schooler answered, doing his best not to grin.

    ¡°Sigh, I suppose in this day and age it¡¯s nothing but wishful thinking on my part to hope that you hadn¡¯t. Anyway, you see, Slough isn¡¯t safe these days. Even before those ingrates tried to hold your school hostage, there¡¯s been a wide attack from the colour gangs not too long ago.

    ¡°That¡¯s because the two big time gangs have seemingly tried to start something. What¡¯s more, there is a new gang that has recently risen. As if the situation wasn¡¯t bad enough already, I suspect those Howlers might make everything even moreplicated and dangerous for the average citizen.¡±

    Hearing their gang name caused Gary to start coughing. It had been thest thing he had expected to hear at this dinner. Nevertheless, for argument¡¯s sake, he had to push further.

    ¡°But¡­ are all gangs bad?¡± Gary asked.

    Saying something like that had naturally earned him strange nces from the Clove family. After all, it was a very strange statement for a person to make. Everyone knew about gangs, and somebody Gary¡¯s age usually wouldn''t say such a thing¡­ unless of course they would be delinquents that might intend to join a gang in the future.

    ¡°That''s¡­ quite the ¡®interesting¡¯ statement for you to make. Care to borate?¡± Ben Clove ced his chin on his arm.

    Unfortunately, Gary hadn¡¯t really thought things through. After hearing the Howlers¡¯ name get mentioned, his statement had mostly been referring to his own gang. When looking around the room, it didn''t seem like Xin or Jayden were going to save him from this one.

    ¡°Well, I mean¡­¡± Gary nced at the guards that were in the room with them. ¡°What about your guards? Aren¡¯t they from the Rising Dragon gang? Don¡¯t you use them to protect yourself and your family? I would say that is a good thing that they''re doing.

    ¡°I used to hate gangs a lot, but the more I thought about it, the more I started to just see them like any business. In the world that we live in¡­ they are like a necessary evil. They might have a different name, but aren¡¯t corporations acting simr to gangs?

    ¡°They¡¯re telling smallerpanies to do their bidding, and if those don¡¯t oblige, they get bought out or just bullied out of the market. And who''s to say that this new gang that hase and taken over isn¡¯t better than the old one? Maybe they want to change the status quo for the better?¡±

    After saying all of that, Gary realised that he had gone on a bit of a tangent, and perhaps he had even gone one step too far. As such, he stopped there and waited for a response.

    ¡°For a child, your world view is quite peculiar.¡± Xin¡¯s father finally broke the silence. ¡°Still, I can agree with you that in a way they seem to be a ¡®necessary evil¡¯. Corporations, even political parties and campaigns do act like gangs in the ways you¡¯ve described. I won¡¯t deny that some things they use might be hical.

    ¡°However, I think you''re missing a key difference between the two there. Gangs kill, steal, rob, and force others to do things, in short pretty much everything they do is illegal. Take that new gang as an example. They came in, and beat another gang into submission, thereby acquiring their assets. Does that sound fair or legal to you?¡±

    ¡®Damn, he¡¯s talking about the Howlers and the Pincers, even the mayor even knows about that already. That only happened yesterday. How did the news travel so fast? Was it someone from the Rising Dragon that told him?¡¯

    For some reason, the conversation that Kai had with Gary in the car had appeared in his head.

    ¡®There¡¯s something Kai didn¡¯t tell me. There¡¯s a reason why he told me to be careful.¡¯

 Chapter 262 â€“ The Meal (Part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 262 - The Meal (Part 3)</h4>

    Ben Clove continued speaking about the topic, it seemed like he had switched to his job mode, making Gary realise that arguing with the mayor on a certain topic wasn¡¯t the best idea. This was more a situation for someone like Tom or his sister to deal with.

    ¡°As bad as gangs might be, at least there is a certain status quo between them which the others respect.¡± Xin¡¯s father continued. ¡°No matter how noble of an intention a new ganging in might have, their appearance makes everything worse. The whole bnce of power gets shifted. I can guarantee you that soon another gang wille in and try to get a piece of the pie.

    ¡°But fine, I¡¯ll humour you in that these Howlers actually just want the best for themon man, but then why did they choose to go about it this way? They could have joined the police force or be a judge, or a politician like me, something that can benefit our society as a whole while still adhering to its rules.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t like the way the mayor had seemingly simplified things. If it was so simple, wouldn¡¯t people have done it by now? The high schooler was sure that many had tried and many had failed in changing things the legal way. Heck, wasn¡¯t thewyer he had met yesterday the best example of how easy it was to y the system?

    And yet this conversation allowed Gary to see his own feelings towards this topic. When exactly had hee around to the idea of gangs? At least the Howlers¡¯ way of doing things seemed to be just¡­

    ¡®Maybe I¡¯ve been hanging around Kai too much.¡¯ Gary smiled at this thought, which didn''t go unnoticed by Ben.

    ¡°Say, Gary, you seem to know a lot about gangs for someone your age. I doubt many would know that these guards of mine are part of the Rising Dragon gang. Don''t tell me you''re nning to join one in the future?¡±

    ¡°No, no, not at all.¡± Gary shook his hands to deny it vehemently. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ when I was with Jayden I heard that name mentioned. Based on the tattoos your guards have on their necks, I assumed they were gang members. As for what I n to do in the future¡­ I honestly don''t know yet. As long, it allows me to look after my family, I¡¯ll be happy with pretty much anything, I guess.¡±

    When saying these words, the image that appeared in Gary''s head wasn''t just of his mother and Amy, but also of all his friends at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, as well as Tom.

    The intense conversation about gangs hade to an end, just in time for dessert to be brought out. Chocte cake. Gary looked at it with mixed feelings. He could only imagine how great it would taste, judging by the quality of food he had enjoyed so far. Ultimately, he ced the fork down, though.

    ¡°What''s wrong, don''t you like chocte cake?¡± Xin¡¯s mother asked.

    ¡°No¡­ it''s not that¡­ unfortunately, I¡¯m allergic to chocte.¡± Gary answered, letting out a heavy sigh.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Jaydenmented. ¡°If I was allergic to chocte¡­ I don''t even know what I would do.¡±

    Xin started to remember the time Gary got sick. It was a very distinctive memory, since that was what had started her troubles with Tiffany. There was that piece of chocte bar as well as Tom¡¯s bag out on the table, which had been seemingly filled with more chocte at the time.

    ¡®That exins why he was sick¡­ but why would Tom give him any? Didn¡¯t they know he was allergic until a few weeks ago? That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡¯

    Fortunately, it was not much of an issue. Instead of chocte cake, Gary¡¯s dessert became a bowl of vani ice cream and afterwards, he realised that it was already prettyte.

    ¡°I was thinking, does Xin really have to go to another school?¡± Gary finally asked. ¡°I mean, aren¡¯t you afraid that moving all the time will affect her studies? I understand that you''re worried about the gangs, but I don''t think anything like that will happen again.

    ¡°Security has been improved, and there¡¯s people who can look out for her like me. Also, now that the gangs know that there is someone like Jayden behind her, I doubt they would try anything. On the other hand, if something like this happens with a gang in a Tier-2 city¡­ I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, but I¡¯ve heard someone say that those gangs have their own Altered.¡±

    It was the only thing Gary coulde up with to try to make them change their mind. When saying these words, he could see Xin''s face, it looked as if she was in pain. It reassured him that she didn¡¯t want to move either.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s very sweet of you, Gary. I¡¯m very happy that my dear Xin managed to make a friend that cares so much about her.¡± Natalia said with her hands together. ¡°However, we have already been over this a few times. Whatever you might say, we have already thought of everything. If you really want to see Xin, she will be able toe back on weekends, so not all will be lost.¡±

    ¡°Actually, Mum, I decided I won''t being back. I¡¯ll stay at the academy, I mean.¡± Xin rified. ¡°Gary, I was going to tell you when we were on our own, but this will probably be thest time we see each other for a while.

    ¡°I¡¯m not just moving to any boarding school, but I¡¯ll be joining the Altered Fighting Academy. I also want to be serious about this, so I n to stay in their boarding programme and continue their training even on weekends. That''s why I invited you over and wanted to speak to you today.¡±

    Hearing those words from Xin rather than from her father or mother, it struck Gary that it was something Xin had actually decided on her own. After the meal had finished up, the conversation seemed to lead elsewhere and Gary didn''t really know what to do or what to say.

    Given thete hour, he eventually bid his goodbyes to the adults, and it was time for him to say goodbye to Xin. They stood by the door, her parents already gone and just her brother by her side.

    ¡°I''m sorry Gary, I didn''t realise it would upset you so much¡­and sorry for giving you such a crappy first date.¡± Xin apologised, as she held Gary¡¯s hand. The next second she leaned in, and before the high schooler could react, she already had pressed her soft lips on his cheek.

    ¡°This is my thank-you present for saving me.¡± She leant back, her face red, before she suddenly ran off.

    Leaving Gary to stroke the side of his face.

    ¡°That girl, always trying to do what she wants but never being able to.¡± Jayden sighed. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s head outside. You¡¯re notpletely off the hook yet, streaker boy. It''s time for our conversation.¡±

 Chapter 263 â€“ The AFA

    <h4>Chapter 263 - The AFA</h4>

    Gary hadn¡¯t had the chance to call or text Kai toe and pick him up. Honestly, his mind was still trying toprehend everything that had happened with Xin, especially the sudden kiss on his cheek at the very end. He was still rubbing his face to the point that the side had be redder than before.

    It would definitely be a memory he would never be able to forget. Unfortunately, it seemed destined to be a mncholic one, since he had no idea when he would even be able to see her the next time. Were they even allowed to keep their phones in the AFC? Were the two of them actually even a couple, or was it best for him to just forget about her and try to move on?

    What¡¯s worse, Jayden seemed to insist for the two of them to have their conversation.

    ¡°What exactly do you want to talk about?¡± Gary asked since he had no idea. There were so many topics the Altered might have in mind, none of them good¡­

    Instead of answering, Jayden walked off to an annex that was on the property. Another building not too far away. ¡°Come on, you''ll find out inside, why don''t we finish off what we started.¡±

    Hearing this, the teenager was a little worried what those words exactly meant. Was the Altered challenging him to another fight? If that was the case, Gary didn''t mind too much. There weren''t many chances where one was able to fight with someone as great as Jayden.

    However, based on the day before yesterday when he had seen Jayden¡¯s anger take hold of him, he was worried that the Altered might just want to get rid of him, especially after the little show of affection from Xin and what had been found in his pocket.

    ¡®Hang on, Jayden still has that, right?¡¯

    ¡°Come on!¡± Jayden rushed him. ¡°I''m not going to kill you, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about.¡±

    Gary gulped, but he sighed the next moment. Xin¡¯s brother was right, if he wanted to kill the teenager, he could probably do it. He also would likely avoid doing so on his parent¡¯s property.

    ¡®Besides, Jayden isn''t a gangster in the first ce. I guess I¡¯ve just been hanging around dangerous people for too long.¡¯ Gary shook his head.

    Following after Jayden, the high schooler found himself in what could only be described as a training room. There were mats on the floors, bags on the side and even a ring on one side of the room. It was the setup which any Altered fighter would have dreamed to have in their own home.

    While Gary was still being amazed by all the training equipment, Jayden threw him a pair of red gloves. ¡°Put them on, and we¡¯ll go for a round or two, alright?¡± Despite his tone, it didn¡¯t seem like the Werewolf was actually given much of a choice. The Altered was already wearing a pair of white gloves.

    ¡°Wait, are you serious? But we already fought before, and you''re¡­ well, Jayden Tiger. What chance do I stand against one of our country''s top 50 Altered fighters? Fighting you is just asking for a beating.¡± Gary argued. He wanted to fight, but not if Jayden was to go full Altered on him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,st time I attacked you because I mistook you for one of those goons. It¡¯s just a friendly spar, so I won''t go all out on you. Since you managed to take on a few of my hits, I¡¯m curious to see how good you truly are. You said you like fighting, right? Why not take this as an opportunity to learn. And if you need extra incentive, how about I give you my autograph if you manage to win?¡±

    Hearing this from one of his idols, Gary started to put on the gloves. Since this was just going to be a friendly spar, and he didn''t think Jayden would be going on him as aggressively as before, he agreed. The autograph reward was also enticing. He was sure it would be worth a lot of money if he were to sell it. Maybe he could use that as an excuse for them moving into a different apartment even.

    ¡®I fought the Pincers and my stats have improved since thest time the two fought. It might also be a good chance to see whether that one Pawn Point towards my next Grade gave me any benefits I¡¯m not aware of. Let¡¯s see the gap between the two of us.¡¯ Gary thought, as he got into a fighting stance.

    Meanwhile, Jayden was standing there rxed, with no type of form or anything. The young adult was jumping up and down on his toes, seemingly he was warming up. However, seeing this sent shivers down Gary¡¯s spine.

    ¡®I thought he was going to take it easy on me, so why the hell is he doing what he does in all of his official matches?¡¯

    Before Jayden was fully warmed up, the teenager decided to interrupt him. He moved forward, and then, once he thought he was close enough, he sprinted ahead at full speed. The burst of sudden movement caught Jayden by surprise, which was what Gary had been going for as he threw out his fist.

    ¡°Clever, but you should take into ount our ranges before throwing out a punch.¡± Jayden lectured the teenager, as he lifted his leg up and made use of the Werewolf¡¯s momentum, to kick him in the chin. It was a strong hit, the system had told him so.

    [-14 HP]

    ¡®My Endurance has increased, and he''s not even using his Altered body¡­ I can''t tell how strong this guy is!¡¯ Gary thought.

    Recovering, the teenager tried to throw out a punch again. He covered himself in case Jayden would retaliate further. Gary was able to bear the pain, but for some reason when he did throw a punch it was a little off target and missed his opponent¡¯s headpletely.

    ¡°You should take the time to recover.¡± Jayden advised. ¡°Your sense of bnce has shifted. I¡¯m impressed you weren''t knocked out by that counter. Even if you can stand up again, it will take a few moments before you¡¯re back to normal.¡±

    Rather than use the opportunity to punch Gary, Jayden grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. Immediately, Gary grabbed his arm, and used all his strength to rip it off, tearing part of the suit away.

    ¡®Sh*t¡­ that thing must have been expensive! Let''s hope it¡¯s possible to mend it.¡¯ Gary thought, as he quickly went to deliver a kick, swinging his leg outward.

    It was strange because based on the movements from Jayden so far, Gary had expected for Jayden to avoid the kick. Instead, his arm was already raised, seemingly expecting the Werewolf¡¯s action, and it looked like he was going to block it instead.

    ¡®So you think I''m that weak, huh? Well, you''re in for a surprise!¡¯ Gary thought as he put all of his speed and power into the kick.

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    His leg mmed into the side of Jayden¡¯s arm, and it caused his feet to skid a little. The Altered¡¯s arm was throbbing, but before the high schooler could react, Jayden grabbed onto the leg that had kicked him, and used his strength to push Gary to the point where he was off bnce.

    The teenager was hopping on one leg for a second before a kick suddenly swept it away, causing him to fall on his back. Closing his eyes, he winced in pain, and the next moment, he could see Jayden¡¯s fisting towards his face.

    ¡®This is going to hurt.¡¯ Gary thought as he braced himself¡­ but the punch never connected. Opening his eyes, he could see the fist inches from his face.

    ¡°Well, it looks like it¡¯s my win. If you feel like you can do better, we can go for another round, but I already got what I wanted.¡± Jayden stated as he offered the teenager a hand.

    ¡°Oh I see, so you were just using me, telling me I could learn something from this. All I learned was you can easily kick my arse.¡± Gary replied in a snarky manner, a little upset that he didn''t fare better in the fight. That was the second time he had lost to Jayden now, and he wasn¡¯t even sure just how wide the gap between them was.

    ¡°So, what exactly did you get out of this? Revenge from me having raided your fridge?¡±

    Jayden turned around and grinned. ¡°Well, there¡¯s that too, I suppose, though after all my teasing during dinner I¡¯d say you¡¯re already off the hook. There¡¯s no shame in having lost, especially since you lost to one of the best fighters out there.

    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s hardly a fair fight seeing as I¡¯m older than you and have a lot more experience. Still, for someone your age, you really are a skilled fighter, though I can tell that your fighting style is not exactly orthodox. With more training, I¡¯m sure you could grow up to be an excellent fighter, which brings me to what I wanted to talk with you about.

    ¡°You really like my sister, don''t you? I mean, not just anyone would have gone up against a colour gang to get her back. If you want to chase after Xin¡­ how about joining the AFA as well? Like I said, you''re talented, and it would be a shame to waste all of that potential.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that would be the perfect ce for an Altered like yourself?¡±

 Chapter 264 â€“ A Special Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 264 - A Special Meeting</h4>

    Gary didn¡¯t know what to say after Jayden¡¯s usation. As such, he opted to stay quiet, which in itself was pretty telling to the Altered. Since they seemed to be done with their conversation, Gary quickly texted Kai, who told him that he would pick him up in around ten minutes.

    It felt like a small eternity as Gary and Jayden were waiting together in an awkward silence.

    ¡®How did he find out? The first time we met, I was buck naked¡­ and I didn¡¯t do anything serious during our fight two days ago, did I?¡¯ The Werewolf was racking his brain as to how he was discovered. The two of them had only fought for a brief moment until today. ¡®Was it the kick on the arm? He could have avoided that blow¡­ but he took it straight on. Was that the whole reason he wanted to fight? To test me?¡¯

    For once, the high schooler was right on the money with his guess. Jayden had had his suspicions after fighting the masked high schooler two days ago. It just seemed strange for the teenager to be able to perform that well. After all, the Altered had seen that Gary, just like himself, had fought his way through to the cabin, yet he hadn¡¯t looked exhausted.

    This meant that the green haired teenager either had the stamina of a top athlete¡­ or that of an Altered. He might have believed the former, but streaker boy had lookedpletely different to when Jayden had first met him. Unless Gary had started to use performance enhancing drugs ever since the time he had picked him up, something that shouldn¡¯t be able to change someone this drastically in such a short amount of time, the only other exnation would be that he had be an Altered.

    The final nail in the coffin was the kick. Jayden had decided to take the full strength of his attack head on, and that was what had convinced him that Gary wasn¡¯tpletely human any more. The real question was, how had the food thief been able to pay for it?

    A kid being sponsored who wasn¡¯t in the AFA was practically unheard of. It wasn''t that no one his age was selected, but whoever would have sponsored him, would have also paid for his tuition at the AFA, and of course they would have registered him. Since he wasn¡¯t on the register for Altered, it would mean that it would have had to be an illegal procedure, which would cost even more¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re not in any trouble. Your secret is safe with me.¡± Jayden spoke up as they saw the car arrive. ¡°I won¡¯t pry into your circumstances, but I highly rmend you think my idea over. Even if it wasn''t for chasing after my little sis, I would still tell you to go to the AFA. It willpletely change your life. You¡¯ll be able to move to a high tier city, and you¡¯ll also be able to look after your family.¡±

    With that, Jayden headed back inside, while Gary approached the Bersedez Menz. Before entering, though, Gary looked towards the house and could see a curtain drawn and Xin looking out of it.

    He gave her a wave, which she returned, before heading inside, and he was off. Perhaps nevering back to this ce ever again. During the car ride, Kai looked at Gary expectantly, waiting for his friend to share him the details. Unfortunately, the green haired teenager was just staring out of the window, seemingly in a world of his own.

    ¡°Shall I take it that the date didn¡¯t go as well as you would have liked? Is that what¡¯s on your mind?¡± The upperssman asked eventually.

    ¡°No¡­ I''m just thinking about everyone and everything.¡± Gary answered, shifting his gaze to Kai. ¡°Do you think¡­ we could ever move to a Tier-2 city¡­ I mean all of us. Changing schools and everything?¡±

    Pondering over Jayden¡¯s suggestion, there were a few big problems. Gary didn''t have a sponsor, so he would have toe up with the funds to join the AFA in the first ce. Then there was the fact that it was located in a Tier-2 city.

    Joining them would mean leaving everything behind, unless he could take all of it with him. Sure, if they had enough money he could take Amy and his mother when she got better but what about the gang? On top of that, the money that they had earned wasn''t his money. Leader or not, it was primarily the Howlers¡¯ money, which was why he asked his upperssman.

    ¡°It should be possible¡­ if we¡¯re talking down the line.¡± Kai answered after taking some time to think about it. ¡°However, if you mean right now, then I¡¯ll have to ask you to forget about it. It¡¯s already toote. Since we¡¯ve taken over the Pincers area, we¡¯re officially one of Slough¡¯s small-time gangs.

    ¡°At the moment, we are at a crucial phase for the Howlers as a gang. Taking over was just the very first step, and we¡¯ll definitely have to prepare for the others trying to challenge us for our territory now. Then, there are other things we have to do in Slough.

    ¡°Still, once we¡¯ve taken over the town and can guarantee that nobody will try to pry it from our hands, we could talk about it. After all, I have my sights on the higher tier cities anyway. So if there is something that you want in those higher tier cities, then go for it. Use it as a goal to push you forward even more.¡±

    The answer at least gave Gary some hope that maybe one day he would see Xin again, though for now he would have to concentrate on the things inside Slough. They needed to deal with everything here, including the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants.

    The two started to talk about what went on, and Gary had talked about the unfortunate events, such as the condom incident and the dinner table problems. He even admitted that he was worried that he might never see Xin again. Kai responded in turn by trying to hold back his smirk, some concern andstly by pretending to wipe away a tear, much to the annoyance of Gary.

    ¡°Well, it sounds like it''s a good thing that I didn¡¯t go in detail about the mayor after all. Otherwise, you might have really said some rude remark to him in that little heated conversation of yours.¡± Kai mentioned as if to change the topic.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You already know that the mayor is involved with the gangs in this area. In particr the Rising Dragon, but there is a lot more to that than meets the eye. Tomorrow there will be a meeting between all five of the gangs.

    ¡°The invitation was originally sent out to Olivia, but of course with us having taken over the Pincers, we got one addressed to us personally. That means you, as our leader, will have to attend this little meeting and as for the one that called it in the first ce¡­ well I think you can guess where I''m going with this.¡±

 Chapter 265 - The Past Resurfaces

    <h4>Chapter 265 - The Past Resurfaces</h4>

    Inside a dark room where there was very little light, a young teenager was sitting down on his own in a chair. Across from him, there was a floating head in a ss container filled with a green liquid.

    ¡®Originally I thought that maybe you would only be gone for a day or two, but you still haven''t gotten back.¡¯ ke thought. The head that he was looking at in front of him was none other than Billy¡¯s. ¡®At least the liquid will be able to keep it from rotting for now.¡¯

    Lately, ke had beening down into the Hunter''s base a lot. Usually he would only havee down with his father, practising what he needed in the dojo above. However, as the days went past it became apparent that his father wasn''t going toe back anytime soon, so he decided to make the most of his time.

    At first, he had tried a variation of different weapons that were avable. Technically, some of them belonged to his father and were things he shouldn''t have used, but since hisst sword had broken, he required recements.

    Still, despite him training it wasn''t like ke had been rushing out to go hunting, at least not on his own. Today was one of those days when he just didn''t feel like training and instead couldn''t keep his eyes off Billy''s head in front of him.

    ¡®Something¡­ has changed in me ever since that day.¡¯ ke thought. ¡®I¡¯ve always wanted to live an ordinary life, but now¡­ things that I used to enjoy, like rugby, just seem so boring inparison.¡¯

    Another thought had entered ke''s mind, and it was when he had helped Gary fight against those red colour gang members. A certain rush hade over him, he didn''t just help Gary because he needed to, ke realised he enjoyed using his skills.

    The skills he had practised over and over for years, were finally being able to be put to use, but now he was at a standstill once again. Unable to move forward.

    ¡®Maybe I could ask Gary to go hunting with me again? See if we can find any Altered? No, that wouldn''t work, Gary only hunted Billy because he was dangerous to others. He doesn¡¯t have the same view on Altered as us, and besides I don''t think getting close to him is a good idea.¡¯ No,

    Thinking of this, ke decided to get up and instead of heading to the wall where the weapons were, he decided to head over to the bookshelf. The shelf contained countless books and journals from his ancestors, as well as other prominent hunters in the past.

    Looking at the journals there were many that had been gathered from the different families, not just his, but most of them told the same history. How their group was created to y the beasts that would take over thend.

    The beasts carried with them something inside called the shadow. They were able to infect humans with the shadow as well, making them slowly decay into chaos. It was a bad time for humanity until those that bore the symbol of the red dragon had gathered to smite the beasts, ridding thend of the shadow¡¯s presence.

    Reading one of the journals again, it made ke chuckle. The stories that were told in them really did sound like fairy tales, yet there should be some truth to them. After all, fossils of the beast those hunters used to hunt resurfaced from time to time, and that''s how they created Altered in the first ce.

    The hunters had continued to do the same as those of red dragon¡¯s bidding, getting rid of those that had been infected with the beast''s power. Although the world might hate them in this era, theirs was a noble quest to make sure the world didn''t fall into what it once was again.

    ¡®But I guess Gary is different, he''s not a beast, the test said so. We say that Altered are able to go mad as their blood starts to darken, but Gary isn''t the same. I wonder if there is anything more I can find out about Werewolves in these journals? He admitted that he couldn''t control himself during the full moon, and it''s not that far off until the next one.

    ¡®Maybe one of these books has something that might help him.¡®Otherwise, when my fatheres back, we might end up having to hunt him again, which would break my promise. Something is telling me that it would be best if I keep it if possible.¡¯

    Looking through the journals, ke skimmed through a lot of information, trying to see if he could find anything with the word Werewolf in them. Just like before, though, most of them just told tales of the old from different views.

    What he did notice reading them, though, was that even their stories didn''t exactly add up into a single truth, there were only a few things that were coherent between them all. However, there was one thing that a lot of the journals mentioned, and that was one of the strongest hunters in existence that many of them looked up to.

    There was a passage about him that caught ke''s eye. This man that they spoke of was praised by many of the hunters and was seen as an idol of some sort. That man was hailed by all the sources as a once in a generation genius with the sword.

    Many of those tried to replicate his mastery in the sword, and it was said that he had the ability to know where to strike. The journals imed that he attributed his gift to a seemingly innate ability to see white lines, which told him the optimal ce to strike or cut. It seemed like an exaggeration, but apparently that man hadn¡¯t been the only one among the hunters with such ability.

    It was impossible to confirm or deny it. ke only knew that he wasn¡¯t one of those people. Still, the reason he was focusing on this person was because there were many names for him, but one of the sources had marked it as Gary.

    When ke read that passage he had to blink twice to make sure his eyes weren¡¯t ying tricks on him. It was amusing, seeing that his schoolmate had the same name. Turning the page over though, that was where he spotted something, there was something about this Gary that spoke about Werewolves.

    {The tension between the two Alphas had been rising. We had been informed that this would happen. Gary was told to make a decision of what to do next, whether he would be involved in this war and choose to help his friend}

    {After all, we and everyone knew there was a saying between all the Werewolves. Two Alphas could never coexist.}

    Reading it again, ke was trying to get his head around what it meant. It didn''t really shine any light on the situation with Gary, and since he knew nothing about Werewolves, the words didn''t make sense.

    Unfortunately, the other pages were too worn and damaged to make out anything coherent. It was a real disappointment, as he had been hoping to learn what happened next.

    ¡®I wonder¡­ if I should tell Gary about this¡­ I guess I should see if there are more first.¡¯ ke thought as he continued to dig in to find out what happened in the past, to know what could possibly happen in the future.

 Chapter 266 - A Special Mission

    <h4>Chapter 266 - A Special Mission</h4>

    Tier-4 was the second-lowest tier ranking a ce town or city could get. Nearly all jobs in such a ce involved some type of manualbour. If one couldn''t work that way, there were other means of making a living, including another type of manualbour.

    The jobs in Tier-4 towns were often dangerous, yet they produced items and more for the higher ranking towns and cities. They were essentially factories for their respective countries and the whole world. As such, there was always a dark, thick smog over those towns.

    The air was polluted, making the people suffer and it was unfriendly to their bodies just like the people. Just like in all the other cities, there were gangs in this one as well. However, there were more gangs than one could count their hands on. On top of that, if you weren''t in a gang for protection, you would soon find yourself in a bloody mess.

    Unlike in Tier-3 town like Slough, where the gangs were working behind the scenes and skimming money off otherpanies, here they didn¡¯t shy away from doing things out in the open. Being in no gang was risky since it meant gang members could attack you without fearing any consequences. If you were asked to fight for the gang even if you weren''t a fighter you had better be there.

    Of course, there were those that managed to survive without a gang. They were either too weak to join any gangs, addicted to drugs or reliant on something else such as alcohol to escape the current reality they were in. It was rare for these types of people to afford to live in a Tier-4 town for long, and usually just a matter of time until they eventually ended up having to move down to a Tier-5 town.

    Then there were those that were just a little too crazy, those that needed to be avoided at all costs.

    When Ozacas first entered the town of Dreadix, he thought that his stay there would be a short one. Any Altered that woulde down to a Tier-4 town would only do so to run away from something. Most likely having offended someone they couldn¡¯t afford to, on the run from the White Rose agents or some other messed up reason.

    Whatever the case, the fact that he, a three-star hunter, had been called to assist two others of that rank, meant that this mission would be a tough one. Still, the experienced Altered Hunter wasn¡¯t really afraid. In fact, if he could be the one to bring down this Altered, he would only be one kill away from ranking up into a four-star hunter.

    Until he realised that this job was slightly differentpared to the ones he was used to.

    Walking down a smoggy street, he met up with the other Altered Hunters. The two of them were covered in hoods, since this was a bad part of town, even for a Tier-4 town. As they walked down the road, they could see men and women who were all skinnier than should be healthy. They were most likely barely able to afford food, making them resemble zombies as they dragged their feet along on their way home.

    ¡°Have you considered my offer, Ozacas?¡± The hunter with orange spiky hair sticking out from his mask asked. His body was slightlyrger than the others, but it was top heavy and didn''t make him look fat, just muscle.

    ¡°I''m still in the middle of training my son.¡± The three-star hunter replied. ¡°However, once he¡¯s ready, I¡¯ll happily take him along to that Tier-2 city. Unfortunately, he still has a lot to learn until that timees.

    ¡°As a matter of fact, I hope that we can deal with this matter quickly. I¡¯ve been here longer than I had anticipated, and as you might know, Slough has had its fair share of problems recently.¡±

    Eventually, their group arrived in front of a crummy looking apartment building. Still, it seemed in a better condition than the surrounding buildings, seeing as all its floors were somewhat intact.

    ¡°This should be the right ce¡­ we just need to find out what is happening here and report back to the association. We need to be quick and not hesitate likest time.¡± The orange haired man said, since he was the leader of this group.

    Rather than entering through the front door, which was currently shut, they went around the side looking for an opening. Jumping off the side of the other building, the leader used the momentum to grab onto the ledge of the window that was on the second floor.

    Fortunately, it was already smashed. Pulling himself in, the others followed his example. Once inside, each of them pulled out their concealed weapons. For Ozacas, it was a single longsword, though It wasn¡¯t the same one that he had used when fighting against Billy.

    This one was a little more special in design. On its hilt, there were green coloured roots growing from the bottom. His colleagues had simr special weapons. The orange haired leader had two small axes in his hands, while the third member had some type of chain.

    Walking through the hallway, the group had already put on their masks and made use of its special function. In this case, the special heat searching mechanism that was built in, it was easy to find. They could see a group of several people that were above them.

    However, their heat signals were a little higher than usual, this was true for all of them.

    ¡°It''s the same asst time, the reading isn''t too high, but it¡¯s still above the norm.¡± The leader mentioned. ¡°Remember, they¡¯re not regr humans, so don''t hesitate this time.¡±

    It wasn''t the first raid they had been on. After all, they had been in this city a while, but they had a special mission to aplish, and they wouldn¡¯t return home, until it wasplete.

    The leader ced a special device under the door, allowing him to look inside. He could see that there were four inside standing around, and with the mask that there was one more further in the room. The orange haired man pointed at Ozacas and his colleague, assigning them their roles.

    A hand count down was made, counting down from three¡­ two¡­ one¡­ the leader immediately burst through the room, rolling on the floor, and he had soon reached one of them. The next second, he swung his axe, cleanly chopping off one of the legs of the closest human, causing his top half to fall down.

    But when its top half could be seen, one could see it clearly wasn''t the face of a human at all. It had what looked likerge warts on its body and tusks like a walrus on its face. Immediately it seemed like the rest were alerted by the situation.

    Still, before they could act, a set of chains had wrapped around another one and pulled towards them. A kick in the beast¡¯s face was quickly delivered. It had hit one of therge tusks to break and caused it to bleed. The blooding out from the human, or the suspected Altered mouth was a little darker than it should have been.

    As for Ozacas himself, he had another task to deal with while the others were fighting the four in the room. He continued to charge forward and burst through another set of doors in the room. Inside there were already countless dead bodies, but there was still one person inside that was alive.

    He looked just like the others with therge tusks and warts on its face, but more importantly was what was in the creature¡¯s hand. Stabbing his sword in the ground, the sword started to glow, and strange roots appeared.

    They instantly travelled and grabbed the man, wrapping around him and holding him in ce. He tried to resist and break through, yet the roots proved too durable. Not hesitating, Ozacas swung his sword, cutting off the man''s hand, and grabbing exactly what he needed.

    The Altered weren''t this easy to deal with, and that was because the creatures they were fighting weren''t really Altered. None of the kills they made today would go towards their stars they would carry. It was why they hesitated in thest raid but something was up with these people.

    ¡®So this is what caused all this trouble.¡¯ Ozacas thought, as he lifted the syringe that was filled with a strange ck liquid like substance.

 Chapter 267 - An Annoying Return (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 267 - An Annoying Return (Part 1)</h4>

    School these days seemed pretty pointless to Gary. He was listening to teachers¡¯ lectures, but all of it seemed to be going in one ear and out the other. The green haired teenager couldn¡¯t help but ask himself what the point of all of this was.

    He still had two more years to go until graduation, but could he really continue to live a normal life until then? Or at least keep up this facade? Would his grades now even matter at all, if he were to really transfer to the AFA?

    Truth be told, the main reason that was keeping the high schooler in Westbridge was that Gary was afraid social services mighte to investigate if he would stoping in. Since not going to school was illegal, it would warrant an investigation.

    Gary was afraid that not even Kai would be able to do anything about the siblings not having an actual guardian with their mother in hospital. Still, there was another reason why Gary couldn''t quite concentrate, and it wasn''t because of the full moon that would arrive in twelve days, it was the report he had gotten yesterday. Just thinking about it, made him clench his fists and wish to just head over to the Grey Elephant gang now and deal with them.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe those guys are still going after Amy? Is this their way ofing after me? Is this supposed to be just a warning or something? I¡¯m just d that Olivia was there personally. It seems like the system''s rules are really keeping her in ce¡­ but I can''t let this continue.¡¯

    The Grey Elephants had gone one step too far. In order to stop them from further pursuing his family, the teenager hade to the decision that it would be best to get rid of them. Whether it would be via turning their leaders to force them to follow his rules, as he had done to Olivia or kill them, he didn''t care any more.

    ¡®These guys are sick in the head¡­ how could they go after a school girl like that?¡¯ Gary thought. However, the next moment he caught himself. Lately he was thinking about killing far too easy, and he noticed that these thoughts tended to pop up more easily when it was close to the full moon. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself.

    Besides, he had something else he needed to worry about today, and that was the special meeting between the small-time gangs in Slough. After what felt like an eternity, the school bell finally rung, signalling the end of the school day.

    ¡°Hey, so Gary, my Dad told me this morning that I got epted as an intern at thepany he¡¯s working at.¡± Tom told his best friend as they were walking out the school building. ¡°My Mom apparently handled Headmistress Young, and she just texted me that I¡¯ll be excused. My parents wille pick me up this evening, and I¡¯ll only be back at some point next week.¡¯¡±

    At first nce, It seemed preposterous to give any student time off in the middle of a school year, however, there were always exceptions. Unlike Gary, Tom was actually one of Westbridge¡¯s smartest students, so he enjoyed certain perks. Besides, in their current year, the school even encouraged the students to pick a couple of weeks to gain work experience, though normally it was meant to happen in the second half of the school year at a specially designated time.

    Hearing that, Gary contemted whether he should ask the school to sign off on him working at one of the restaurants in Burnham street for a couple of weeks as well. It would be easy enough to have Olivia write a report about what a great worker Gary been, and it would give him days of school then. Then again, it might be wiser to use that at ater time¡­

    ¡°Anyway, you know my parents work in Brocknell, so I won¡¯t be able toe back before the internship ends. However, I promise you, I¡¯ll ask my Dad your question about the beasts and see if I can find out anything about Werewolves as well. I just wanted to let you know that I will be back before the next full moon, and while I''m away, I just hope¡­that no more troublees your way.¡± Tom smiled.

    Smiling back, Gary was reminded that he was really lucky to have one of the most supportive friends. Every time he thought of Tom this way, the Werewolf felt like he was a little brother that needed protecting just as much as his sister.

    ¡®One day, Tom, when I don''t have to lie to you any more. When the Underdogs are dealt with¡­ I¡¯ll tell you the truth.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡ª¡ª

    With school over, Gary was happy to see that there was no crowd in front of the school this time. He had strictly warned Kai not to pull such a stunt again, and apparently it had worked. There was no longer any reason for him to head to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, since they had plenty of workers, including White, so he decided to head home.

    Since Amy had nearly been attacked yesterday, Gary wanted to reassure her that everything was alright. The only way he could do that was by spending time with her. Afterwards, he would meet Kai in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, and they could drive to the meeting with the small-time gangs.

    On his way home, though, the teenager decided to stop at his go-to convenience store, grabbing his daily food to replenish his Energy. When entering, Gary was expecting to see Tyler there like he did every day, and the cashier was there, only his attention wasn''t focused on him.

    Instead, it turned out that the drunken man who had thrown a tantrumst Saturday had returned. Only this time he wasn''t so drunk. Gary quickly and silently hid between the aisles, wishing to avoid any unnecessary attention. He also didn''t want Tyler to get in trouble, but from listening to what was going on, it seemed like it was little toote anyway.

    ¡°Tyler, you need to apologise to this man immediately. The customer is ALWAYS right! You¡¯ve disrespected this hard-working man, and you''re lucky that he hasn¡¯t decided to press charges. Really, I can¡¯t believe you would do that, but then again, maybe I shouldn¡¯t be surpriseding from someone who is treating the store like a storage unit, and taking expired food from it! You''re on yourst straw, young man!¡±

 Chapter 268 - An Annoying Return (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 268 - An Annoying Return (Part 2)</h4>

    Gary didn¡¯t recognise the other man¡¯s voice. From the sound of it, it seemed like it was Tyler¡¯s boss, or perhaps his manager. As he peeked around the corner, he saw a fat and sweaty man who he had never seen here before. Were it not for him wearing the uniform and talking down to Tyler the high schooler would have thought of him as just another customer.

    ¡°But, Sir, I was only handling the situation ording to protocol since his card got declined! Should I have just given him the product?¡± Tyler argued, while his hands trembled from trying to stay polite. ¡°How can you make me apologise when he nearly assaulted me and even spat in my hair?¡±

    ¡°I had cash on me!¡± The rude customer insisted. ¡°You youngsters are so rude that you wouldn''t even give me the time of day! Don¡¯t pretend that you were the victim in all of this! What about your friend, huh? He¡¯s the one who ASSAULTED ME!!! Yet here you are refusing to give out information on him! If he can¡¯t pay me back, then you¡¯re leaving me no choice but to ask you topensate me! As an employee of this shop, they¡¯ll be the ones who will have to pay for it!¡±

    Now that Gary looked closer, he could see the man had some covering on his nose. The teenager couldn¡¯t recall if he had hit the man so hard that it would break it, but even if that was the case, the drunkard deserved everything that had happened to him that day.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, ¡®Sir¡¯, I don''t know his name. And even if I did,pany policy forbids me from divulging our other customer¡¯s personal data! I really don''t agree to your actions that day.¡± Tyler was unwilling to bow down before the troublemaker.

    ¡°Fine, then, I guess you don''t mind me talking to my friends in the Underdogs about this. If you don¡¯t want topensate me directly, I¡¯m sure they can just do that after increasing your protection fees!¡± The drunken man pointed at him, before he turned around, with an evil smile.

    To Gary, it was obvious that this man had no rtions to the Underdogs whatsoever. Having worked as their Transporter for as long as he had, the green haired teenager knew how Damion¡¯s group operated. They wouldn''t ask, they would force.

    If that drunk guy really knew someone from the Underdogs, they would havee to the shop on the very same day, teaching Tyler and everyone else involved a lesson. There would be no need for him to make such a show in front of Tyler¡¯s superiors. Unfortunately, the fat guy seemed to fallpletely for the little trick.

    ¡°Hang on! I¡¯m sure we cane to an understanding. There¡¯s no need to go that far. Our store will happily pay for your medical bills.¡± The manager stopped the man in a suit before he could leave. Then he turned around to his employee. ¡°Naturally, all of it will be deducted from your wages, Tyler!¡±

    ¡°You can''t do that! How am I meant to pay my rent? Or for my food? That has to be ille-¡°

    In the middle of his sentence, the manager raised his hand and pped Tyler across the face.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already done enough. I will not allow you to put this shop into further jeopardy because of your actions. You will receive no pay this month.¡±

    It was clear that Tyler was stunned by the manager''s action, while the old man wasn¡¯t even trying to hide his enjoyment about the university student¡¯s treatment. His shoulders moving up and down.

    ¡°Sir, I havee on time every day! I have worked overtime whenever you have asked me, and this is how you repay me? You choose to trust this stranger¡¯s word over me? You think just because I need this job, you can treat me like a dog?¡± Tyler raised his hand, about to p the manager back, only to hesitate at thest moment.

    The university student was furious, but he was also aware of the harsh reality. If he were to hit his manager, he would never get his money and lose his job. It was hard for one to even get a job these days, and if the fatso spread rumours about him it might be impossible to find another one.

    While thinking of a way out, Tyler suddenly heard arge whack sound. The p sound vibrated throughout the whole shop as his manager flew head first into the cigarettes.

    ¡°How the f*ck can you hit your employees like that?¡± Gary asked, still shaking with anger.

    ¡®Damn it¡­ I let my anger take over again. I only put Tyler in an even worse situation.¡¯ Gary realised, but when looking at Tyler he didn¡¯t look sad, instead he looked happy.

    ¡°You¡­ i-it¡¯s you!¡± The old man pointed with his finger shaking.

    Gary took a step forward, but the old man immediately ran out of the shop, afraid for his life. By then, as well, it looked like the manager wasing too. Standing up, the side of his cheek looked like a giant balloon.

    ¡°Y-YOU! YOU¡¯RE FIRED, TYLER! AS FOR YOU, YOU GREEN HAIRED PUNK, YOU¡¯RE BANNED FROM THIS SHOP!!!!¡± The manager shouted in fury.

    Leaving it there, the two decided to head out. A little down the street they sat on the edge of the pavement. Tyler had a couple of cans of pop in his bag and offered Gary one.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about making you lose your job¡­ and causing you so much trouble back there. You¡¯re only in trouble because of me.¡± Gary sighed, taking a sip of the drink.

    ¡°Nahh, it''s not your fault. Honestly, I never liked that Fatso. He was a sh*tty manager, and only came to bitch about everything. Besides, after what he did, I don¡¯t think I could work there again. Also, the boss might fire him if I told him that he banned our most loyal customer. Without you, they¡¯ll lose like half of their profits. It might go under without your help.¡±

    The two of themughed, but Gary still felt bad about what had happened, and he was wondering if there was a way he could fix things. When he saw a car drive by, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

    ¡°Say, Tyler, can you drive?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I mean, I don''t have a car, but I got a licence.¡± Tyler replied, wondering why the teenager had asked him that out of nowhere.

    Hearing this, Gary decided to make a quick call. The former cashier was still confused about what was going one, but judging by the high schooler¡¯s grin, it seemed to be something good.

    ¡°How would you like to work as a driver?¡±

 Chapter 269 - The Meeting (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 269 - The Meeting (Part 1)</h4>

    Tyler dly epted Gary''s offer to be a driver. The teenager didn¡¯t even have the chance to go into detail before the university student had already epted. Whether it was because he trusted Gary or really needed a job, the high schooler wasn¡¯t sure.

    During the call, Gary had asked Kai about their financial details and if doing something like this was okay. When his upperssman had asked why he wanted to know, the Werewolf had given him a short version of events. He had heard a sigh, but it was followed by a ¡®fine, we can put him on the payroll¡¯.

    When Tyler asked about the pay, Gary told him that they would pay him the same amount that he had received at the convenience store. All the university student had to do was to be ready for a call whenever they required him. The car would be kept at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club anyway, so Tyler would just have to be present in that area during his on duty hours.

    Since it would be his first day as a driver, Tyler excused himself, stating the need toe to work in something more presentable. Gary bid him farewell after giving him the address. After all, he needed to do things himself before the big meeting today as well.

    He ended up spending some time with Amy, eating together and watching aedy show. For a brief moment, it had felt as if things had gone back to normal. Gary was even a bit sad, when he had told his sister that he had to go. Amy hadn¡¯t said anything, but he had noticed that she was sad about it.

    -

    ¡°Hey, nice suit, but you don''t have to dress that formally.¡± Gary greeted Tyler, surprised to see him at the club already. There was more than half an hour until the agreed upon time, and the university student looked like he had been waiting for a while already.

    ¡°Hey, I got in because of your rmendation, so I don''t want to let you down. I need to make a good impression.¡± Tyler insisted.

    Gary felt a bit awkward inside, because he had yet to tell his driver about their new rtionship and that he was actually the one who had hired him. Still, it was good to do something that made him feel nice. For the first time, the teenager was able to help someone due to the new situation he had found himself in.

    Walking ahead, Gary entered, and the others waved him hello. Business was as usual, but now rather than just teens they also had a few adults in the ce having an early drink and ying pool as well. However, most of the eyes in the room seemed to be attracted to a certain someone.

    One of the older men seemed so distracted that he even managed to miss the ballpletely.

    ¡°Is that girl the boss of this ce?¡± Tyler whispered.

    As for the person he was talking about, it was none other than Olivia Pearl, who was sitting on her own in the back. Her presence was making it so no one wished to sit next to her. Gary didn''t me Tyler for thinking she was the boss. Her clothes screamed wealth, and she just had this air around her.

    The reason she was here today was because the Lady Boss would be apanying them to the meeting. As the ex-leader of one of these small-time gangs, Kai had stated that it would make quite the impression if she was by their side this evening.

    ¡°Just wait here and enjoy yourself. Your work will start soon.¡± Gary said as he walked over to Olivia because there was something that he needed to solve. The others were nervous seeing this, and the new customers who had never entered the Wolf''s Pool Club before were amazed that someone had the balls to walk up to her.

    ¡°I want to make something clear. I don¡¯t like you.¡± Gary didn¡¯t mince his words.

    ¡°Well, please tell me something I didn''t know.¡± Olivia rolled her eyes.

    ¡°However¡­ I¡¯m still thankful that you helped out my little sister. Even if you did it only because you were ordered to¡­ you did a good job.¡± Gary thanked her.

    ¡°No problem, Boss.¡± Olivia replied, and carried on as she had been before.

    Gary still hadn''t forgotten everything Olivia had done, and he probably never would. Working for him was just a minor punishment and although she was being obedient for now, if there wasn''t a solution or things started to change closer to the full moon, he didn¡¯t feel like he would hesitate to get rid of her.

    Kai hade up from the downstairs basement, and was happy to see that the two of them were there. He then called them down because he had prepared something for the two of them. Gary received his recement uniform, and Olivia also got one of her own.

    She looked at it for a while, and for the first time Kai thought he had seen a smile on her face. The Lady Boss¡¯s outfit was all one piece. There was just a zip that would go from the belly button all the way up to the neck. It was tight-fitting and of course in the Howlers¡¯ gang colours.

    Gary''s had no change, but before handing it over.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t ruin this one.¡± Kai smiled. ¡°The material for it isn¡¯t cheap nor is it easy to procure.¡±

    As it turned out, Olivia wasn¡¯t exactly shy in getting naked, causing the two teenage boys to awkwardly look away. Once all of them were dressed, it was time for them to leave, but before they did, Gary ced his ck wolf mask on his face. Surprisingly, Kai also had a special mask on his face, only his was a golden fox mask, though with ck highlights.

    ¡°Well, I can''t exactly wear the same mask as our boss, now can I? Besides, all three of us will be at this meeting. They know Olivia''s face but not ours, and I would like to keep it that way.¡± Kai exined, noticing the underssman¡¯s confusion.

    At this meeting, each gang leader would be present, and they were only allowed to bring two guards with them. So the others wouldn''t being with them this time. If any gang didn''t follow this rule, the meeting would be called off, and rescheduled.

    However, ording to Kai it would be bad for them if that happened. Although the gangs weren''t working together, this meeting did bring some unison between them. It was also how they were able to survive even though there were big gangs around. And with a blooming war on the horizon, it was important to know about what the other¡¯s nned to do.

    Walking out of the Wolf''s Pool Club, they exited it from the back and headed down the alleyway. This way, the customers wouldn''t see them leaving in their uniforms. Gary texted Tyler to head out front as he waited, and they eventually saw the car pull up.

    However, when he saw the car, Tyler thought nothing of it and continued to tap his feet waiting for Gary to introduce him. Getting out of the driver''s seat was Kai.

    ¡°You must be our new driver, right? It''s nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Tyler was speechless, but all the masked stranger did was hand him the keys, and get into the back of the car. The only thing the university student could think of, however, was that he probably should have asked for more money. Once he was in the car, he saw a second masked figure in the back, as well as the woman from before.

    This just strengthened his earlier assumption of her being the owner and leader was correct. Looking through the back mirror, Tyler could also see a bit of green hair sticking out from one of the passengers.

    ¡®Is that? ¡­ no, it couldn''t be¡­ if it is¡­ just who the hell are you, Gary?¡¯ Tyler thought, but not wanting to ruin his first day on the job, he kept quiet and followed the instructions to their already programmed destination.

    After a few minutes they had arrived. It was time for them to attend the meeting.

 Chapter 270 - The Meeting (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 270 - The Meeting (Part 2)</h4>

    The drive to the meeting ce had taken a while, Gary noticed, which indicated that it was quite a bit out of town. There didn¡¯t look to be any way to get to the location other than by car. No train, no bus went to the area and the teenager could count the amount of cars he had seen go by on both his hands.

    Their destination was essentially what one would call a country house, only that it really was in the middle of nowhere. It seemed as if someone had randomly decided to plot down the house there.

    It made Gary wonder when the world had be like this. People lived stacked up on top of each other in apartment buildings. The only jobs avable were in the city or towns, and here there were just fields of emptynd where no one lived.

    The car pulled up into arge gravel driveway that looked like it could fit fifteen cars or so. There were already three parked them, all of them from brands that were just as expensive, if not more so, than the one they were currently in. Then there was the house itself, which was evenrger than the mayor¡¯s house.

    While the Clove family¡¯s had already been a big house, what they were looking at now was a true manor. He wouldn''t even be able to guess how many rooms were in such a ce. This made it even stranger that something like that would be in the middle of nowhere¡­

    ¡°Whoa, what are you guys even doing here, and this ce is huge¡­ I guess you must be some pretty important people or something.¡± Tyler couldn''t help but say as he stared at the manor in amazement.

    ¡°Of course you can build things like this in the middle of nowhere, thend here is worthless.¡± Olivia replied, as she raised herself to get out of the car.

    It was then that Tyler felt that he should be doing his job properly and rushed out of the car to open the door for her. When each of them left, they were looking around, trying to see who else had already arrived, yet those other cars looked empty. It was impossible to see if someone was inside since the windows were tinted far too dark, simr to their own.

    Just before leaving to head inside, though, Kai had a few words for their new driver.

    ¡°Your name¡¯s Tyler, right?¡± Kai asked, to which Tyler nodded. ¡°Well, I''m going to be straight with you. For your own sake, cut the small talk. The less you know the better, so don¡¯t ask us who we are, what we''re doing, or anything about this ce.

    ¡°In fact, just stay in the car, and don''te out unless we¡¯re back and tell you to. Your only job is to be ready to drive us wherever we tell you to. Do that, and everything will be okay.¡±

    For some reason, Tyler felt like these words were quite heavy, and he couldn''t help but wonder what these people were doing here, but he decided to just nod along anyway. When the university student got back in the seat, the group started to walk towards the entrance, their leader naturally in the middle.

    ¡®Damn this is nerve wracking as hell, there''s going to be four other gangs the same size as the Pincers here¡­ and what will even happen at these meetings anyway?¡¯ Gary couldn''t help but think.

    For once even Kai hadn¡¯t been too sure about what happened in those types of meetings. ording to Olivia, they were rare and usually only held to discuss certain agendas. If she were to harbour a guess, it would be due to the Howlers taking over the Pincers in the first ce. However, the meeting had actually been called for, even before that, so there should be more than that being discussed today.

    Before they entered, they heard another car pulling up from behind. The group stopped for a second as they turned their heads. When the car eventually parked they could see four figures including the driver leaving the vehicle.

    Out of those that left the vehicle, there was one that stood out morepared to the others. He had quite the square looking nose that stuck out that matched his face, but he also had a confidence that was being carried around him that the others just didn¡¯t seem to have.

    ¡°Tony freaking Lock. Leader of the Lock gang.¡± Olivia folded her arms as she introduced the man to the masked teenagers next to her.

    ¡°Is he trouble?¡± Kai asked, as it looked like Tony had spotted the three of them. The gang leader smiled as he came their way.

    ¡°Trouble? Not really, it¡¯s more like he¡¯s seriously annoying. Tony and his gang used to visit the Burnham food street quite often, and it wasn''t because he enjoyed the food there.¡± Olivia exined. ¡°Every chance this guy got he would try to talk our two sides into working together, but I think rather than getting our two gangs to join up, he was just trying to court me.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think that?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°He proposed to me.¡± Olivia replied matter-of-factly.

    Judging by the fact that the Lady Boss didn''t have a ring on her finger and the two gangs had never joined up, Gary and Kai could only imagine how it must have gone after turning him down. For gangsters who were pretty petty people, Tony might just have a grudge against the Pincers.

    ¡°Well, well, well.¡± Tony smiled. ¡°If it isn¡¯t Olivia Pearl, alive and well. Here I heard that your gang got taken over. I cried my heart out yesterday, thinking I would never see you again. It made me realise that my feelings for you may not be gone after all.

    ¡°It¡¯s a real pleasure to see you again today. I guess those rumours were all just false.¡±

    ¡°All of it is true.¡± Olivia replied immediately. ¡° This guy here is the new boss.¡±

    Tony pulled a face that clearly showed that he wasn''t impressed.

    ¡°The masked clown? I seriously don''t know if you''re pulling my leg or what. Either way, Wolfie, don''t you think it''s rude to not show your face? Trying to keep the Howlers a secret when there''s a meeting full of leaders isn''t exactly polite.¡±

    Tony raised his hand, and it looked like he was going for the Werewolf¡¯s mask. It was slow and seeing this, the teenager was hesitating on what he should do. If he stepped back would it be offensive? Should he grab his hand, but while thinking about what to do, there was another who had already acted.

    From his side, a swift kick was made, knocking Tony''s arm away, before he could reach the mask. As for who the kick hade from, it was Kai, whose hands were in his pockets.

    The two guards by Tony''s side rushed forward, looking to cause trouble.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Tony shouted. ¡°Not here. Now''s not the time. Look, I don''t know what type of trick you used to pull Olivia to your side, but just see what happens if you pull this crap in there. Once this meeting is over, it''s all fair game out there.¡±

    Walking past the three of them, they continued inside and entered the manor, and the doors quickly closed behind them.

    ¡°Word of advice.¡± Kai told Gary once the Lock gang was out of earshot. ¡°Don''t take crap from any of them. Don''t let them push you around. Think of them as nothing but adult bullies.

    ¡°As the new gang they will see us as pushovers in this whole thing, but since we¡¯ve taken over the Pincers you earned a ce at their table. Heck, since you took over the Pincers, a gang at the same level as them, it means we are above them.

    ¡°We have a goal, and this ce is nothing but a stepping stone. Heading inside, I want you to think exactly that. We are not at the same level. THEY are the ones BELOW US!¡±

    ¡°Strong words.¡± Oliviamented after hearing everything. ¡°I didn''t realise that your ns were so high, but if they really are set high, then he¡¯s right. You''re no weak sh*t, so don¡¯t let them treat you like it.¡±

    Straightening out his clothes, and letting out a deep breath, Gary pushed the doors open and the two by his side followed. There was no one inside to greet them. The entrance of the ce looked empty, but there was a noisy chattering from further inside.

    The sound of two people shouting at the top of their lungs. Othersughed. Following this, Gary soon found himself in a type of living room. It was arge room with several sofas that had been set up.

    Each gang had taken a sofa as their territory. Looking at them, Gary was trying to see if there was anyone he recognised. Of course, other than the fellow Tony, and the Rising Dragon gang leader he had met before, none of them really had a familiar face.

    Seeing as to who they were, the others looked their way, and it was clear they were trying to judge and gauge the new leader. It looked like they wanted to say something, but keeping Kai¡¯s words in mind, the masked teenager just walked across the room without sparing them so much as another nce.

    It was silent in the room, as if they were expecting Gary or someone to say something. Until¡­

    ¡°It looks like you all made it here and well. I guess we should get to starting this meeting straight away.¡±

    A voice from where Gary had just entered was heard, and it was a new person. However, it was a voice he recognised and someone he didn''t expect to see at the meeting at all.

    ¡®What is Xin¡¯s father doing here?!!¡¯

 Chapter 271 - The Meeting (Part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 271 - The Meeting (Part 3)</h4>

    After speaking to Kai and how Ben Clove was involved in all of this, Gary had expected his involvement to be loosely connected. Perhaps in the same way as he was connected to the Rising Dragon gang. The mayor did seem to have a heavy interest in gangs, and it was the first time he had seen one publicly use one for his bodyguards, but there were stranger things that happened in the world.

    Now, the fact that he was at this meeting itself meant there was probably more, and at the same time, Gary carefully watched him walk across the room. Therge man was confident in his steps, not even caring or worried in front of all these gang leaders. Even if the Rising Dragon gang was on his side, they couldn¡¯t stop all the gangs that were there, telling the teenager that something was definitely up.

    ¡®Does Xin know anything about this? I doubt It, If I were to guess correctly. I don''t even think the Underdogs or the Grey Elephants know about this, either. Otherwise, the red colour gang would have never even tried to target Xin.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®If it was a meeting between all significant gangs in Slough, then they would certainly be here. It probably means that the mayor is scared of them. That or the reason for this meeting is something that he doesn¡¯t want them to know about.¡¯

    ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, I''m d that all of you were able to make it.¡± Ben started the meeting off and looked around the room at each of them. While stopping and looking at the Howlers for a few more seconds before continuing. ¡°All of us are busy people, so I won''t waste your precious time. There are two agendas for this meeting, so let''s get the first one out of the way.

    ¡°Thest time we met, all five gangs agreed to an alliance. It allowed you to continue your work as you wished without disturbing others, while at the same time serving as a guarantee to protect you all, while also protecting me. I''m d that you took the time to listen to me. We had a deal that not only benefited me, but benefited you as well.

    ¡°If one of you were to get attacked by the Grey Elephants or the Underdogs, then we agreed to help out each other. Which brings up a problem. Unfortunately, the Pincers have been taken over, and reced in a single day.¡± Ben then looked over to Gary¡¯s sofa. ¡°It was too quick for our alliance to even act.¡±

    It was then that thoughts started to go through Gary¡¯s head. What if all of this was a trap? Have the Howlers been invited over to try to take revenge? Kai did mention that possibility to him, which was another reason they had brought Olivia over. Seeing her should cause them to back off a little, but this wasn¡¯t why he was worried.

    The masked teenager¡¯s heart was beating loudly, not because of his words, but Gary was worried that his mask wouldn''t be enough to disguise him. It had stopped others from recognising him so far, but this wasn''t one of those dumb superheroics where people seemed blind and couldn''t tell the difference between someone with sses and without.

    ¡°The new gang called the Howlers, if I am not mistaken?¡± There was a pause as if he was waiting for them to say something, but since Kai stayed silent, Gary did the same. ¡°I see that you have brought along Miss Olivia Pearl. Since she is here, can I take it that what happened was more of an agreement rather than a forceful takeover?¡±

    Once again, the question was met with silence from the trio. Olivia¡¯sck of expression didn¡¯t make it any easier for any of the others to figure anything out. They only had the rumours to go by.

    ¡°Are the Howlers willing to work with the rest of us? The fact that you guys decided toe here, rather than outright refuse this meeting, must mean you have some interest, no? So what do you say?¡± The mayor asked with a smile, not letting the silence disturb him.

    Seeing the smile on the face of Xin¡¯s father and this side of him, made Gary want to run a mile. In a way, gang members were more predictable than this politician who was in front of him. Who knew what he had nned? Who knew what he had done to get to the position he was in now?

    The only thing he was hoping for, was that the mayor wasn¡¯t as bad as the other gangs, himself. Otherwise, he didn¡¯t know how he would face Xin next time. Would he be able to keep his lips sealed if her father would say something that annoyed him again? If he spoke ill of gangs when he was doing this? The man was a hypocrite and a liar!

    ¡°You said there were two agendas.¡± Kai mentioned without really answering any of the earlier questions.¡± Not only was his voice a little muffled through the mask he was wearing, but Gary felt like his upperssman was trying to slightly change it as well. It made the teenager wonder if he should have been doing the same thing all along as well.

    ¡°From what we¡¯ve been told, this meeting had already been nned before we made the Pincers submit to us. So before we decide anything, we would like to know what the real agenda of this meeting is.¡±

    ¡°If you want to be part of our meeting, then take your mask off!¡± Tony stood up and pointed at the masked teenager. ¡°You think hiding your identity is going to save you after this meeting is over? We know your territory, and we will be happy to force you toply, just like you did with the Pincers.¡±

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    ¡°Is that supposed to be a threat?¡± Gary spoke up for the first time, as he looked towards the gang leader. When speaking, the Werewolf had tried to lower his voice, but to make sure he wouldn¡¯t get recognised he had also used Controlled Transformation on the area around his throat.

    Since Gary hadn''t said anything, now that he had revealed such a deep and menacing voice, the other gang members were really taken aback. The unknown was scaring the other leaders. It was clear by Kai''s words earlier that they had beaten the Pincers, just like the rumours had imed.

    The real reason Gary had been unable to hold back his tongue any longer was due to Tony announcing he woulde to attack those that worked in Burnham food street. He knew during a gang war that there would be other victims, not just gang members.

    ¡°Everyone, may I remind you that we¡¯ve gathered here simply for a talk?¡± Ben cleared his throat in an attempt to restore order and cool everyone¡¯s head. ¡°Fine, I see no problem with letting you know the details of this meeting as it is something that concerns everyone, no matter if you wish to join us or not. We can decide that afterwards, though it is something that you probably will want toply with anyway.

    ¡°Based on all the information I have gathered, the war between the Grey Elephants and the Underdogs could start any day now. The Grey Elephants look to be making their move, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will be worse than what happened to Chavley during the colour gang war.¡±

    Gary knew that the tensions had to be high between the Grey Elephants and the Underdogs after the attack that day, but he thought it would still be awhile before an attack had urred. Was something pushing one side to act faster than the other?

    ¡®This war¡­ it could be my chance to get rid of the Grey Elephants while they are distracted or weak.¡¯ Gary thought. He had already nned to get rid of them anyway due to what they had done to his sister, and this might be the perfect opportunity.

    ¡°Because of this, they will very likely approach you in theing days, but if our n is to seed, I ask you all to refuse to make an alliance with them. One will take out the other, at which point we will strike together as a group. Then we will be the ones that take over this town!¡±

    ¡°The agenda of this meeting was to remind all of you to not get blinded by greed. No matter what either side might offer you, if we don¡¯t use the chance to get rid of both gangs once and for all, it will be just a question of time until the winning side will recover and take over Slough as a whole.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t have an agreement, then we¡¯ll ALL have a problem. And that includes you, Howlers!¡±

    Kai had informed Gary that this was what the other gangs might do, but the blonde teenager had originally predicted there would be a second war after the first. One between the five small gangs, yet he had clearly been unaware that those five were already in some type of secret alliance, seemingly organised by the mayor.

    His upperssman might have an answer, yet since he didn¡¯t speak up, Gary chose to do so. Thinking back to what Kai had told him earlier, this was what the Werewolf had to say:

    ¡°No! We are going to do what we want and I¡¯m telling you not to get involved.¡±

 Chapter 272 â€“ The Meeting (Part 4)

    <h4>Chapter 272 - The Meeting (Part 4)</h4>

    The few words that Gary had spoken were once again said in his deep sounding voice. He hadn¡¯t cancelled the Controlled Transformation. Since only a small part of his body was changed, it barely consumed any Energy.

    However, unlike before where Gary¡¯s words sounded quite intimidating, although they continued to sound intimidating in the situation they were in right now, it only caused the tensions to rise within the room.

    ¡°You no name piece of sh*t!¡± A bald headed man cursed as he jumped from his sofa, and two more bald headed men jumped from the chair next to them. The three looked simr, and it was hard to know whether they were triplets or just looked the same. Regardless, each of them were the heads of the Blood Triangles.

    ¡°Youe in here, invited when we didn''t have to, and you tell us to not get involved?¡± The triplet in the centre spoke. ¡°Do you think everyone in here is a weak piece of crap or something? That you can just spew your mouth, and we can listen to you because you took over one of the Pincers! Those damned masks should have been the first sign that you guys were up to no good.¡±

    No one was sticking up for the Howlers, and it was safe to say that most of them were on the side of the Blood Triangles. Feeling the same way towards the new gang.

    ¡°Now let''s settle down and give our guests a chance to speak. It''s always best to try to settle things with words first.¡± Ben stated, looking his way. For some reason, the three seemed to listen and got back in their seats. But it was clear that the Mayor was on their side as well. After all his choice of words, basically said that if they can¡¯t solve it with words then they would take action instead.

    Gary thought for a second worrying if it was the right thing to do, perhaps backing down was correct but then what about his sister, and what about the future of slough. The ns and the future of the Howlers had been set, sooner orter they would be doing this anyway.

    ¡°As I said.¡± Gary was adamant. ¡°We will be doing what we want.¡±

    Kai also added to his leader¡¯s decision: ¡°After having listened to your ns, it seems like yours might just mess with ours a little. So take this as our warning- to not get in our way.¡±

    Some gritted their teeth, others clenched their fists, but most of their eyes looked towards Ben, as if he was the deciding one in all of this.

    ¡°Fine, I did my best to stop you from getting hurt.¡± Ben sighed as he shrugged his shoulders and walked to the other side of the room.

    It was the signal for everything to start off, as the Blood Triangle trio stood up and the one in front almost dashed across the room, jumping on the table in the centre and leaping towards them. The first one to act as if he was expecting it was Kai.

    He quickly got up from his seat and kicked the bald headed man in the centre of the stomach, using his own momentum against him, he fell back and crashed into one of the others.

    ¡°That fox masked freak is fast.¡± The Triplet said, holding onto his stomach.

    Everyone had gotten up from their seats now.

    ¡°You attacked us, so all is fair game now.¡±

    The one who was closest to the Howlers were the Lock gang.

    Immediately, Tony had jumped up from his seat, and it looked like he was ready to tackle Gary to the ground. Gary was ready and unafraid, of course, but there was no need for him to do anything. Stepping in between the two of them was Olivia.

    She spun on her back foot, lifting her leg in the air, the heel of her footnded and met Tony''s square nose. A crunching sound resounded. Blood started to pour out of it instantly. Gary knew it was broken, as he had managed to break his nose during their rugby training against ke not too long ago.

    While Tony was busy checking his nose, Olivia took out her whip and swung it, wrapping it around Tony''s leg and pulling on it, quickly caused him to fall on his back and hit the ground. Tony was arge man, and even with the whip''s extra properties it was something that should have been hard for Olivia to do, yet the Lady Boss made it look easy.

    ¡®She¡¯s more useful than I thought.¡¯ Kai praised her in his mind.

    Seeing this, and seeing the whip in her hand, the others were a little hesitant to charge in for a second, yet they were aware that the number¡¯s advantage was on their side. However, Gary wanted to stop this quickly, as he didn''t want to go to war with all these small gangs.

    These gangs, for the longest time, had never gone against the Underdogs or the Grey Elephants, even with their alliance. In fact, they were still waiting to go after the other one only after they had their war. Which meant as long as they knew there was someone stronger than them, they wouldn''t dare to touch them.

    A small smirk appeared on Gary¡¯s face, peaking just under his mask.

    ¡°Stop now, or I¡¯ll get rid of you all.¡± Gary growled as he lifted his hand. The teenager had made it transformpletely, fur on the outside, and his nails elongated to ws. He had only used the Controlled Transformation on his hand, but it was enough to cause everyone to freeze in ce.

    Looking at this, the puzzle pieces were starting toe together for the gang leaders.

    The Howlers had a frigging Altered as their leader.

    That was how they were able to get the Pincers. Why they were confident. It was no wonder, Olivia had quickly submitted to them despite the rumours iming that theirs had been a small force. Seeing this, they could only think that the gang must have had someone big backing them. Since the Howlers had seemingly out of nowhere and now seeing this, they likely had somerge corporation or another gangpletely backing them.

    ¡°We gave you a warning, yet you chose to ignore it¡­¡± Kai scoffed, probing them for a reaction. ¡°This will be your second warning, and I guarantee you, you won¡¯t get a third. As you can see with the Pincers, we¡¯re not interested in eliminating you and Olivia has been able to see the light and join us. As long as you don¡¯t get in our way, we won¡¯t get in yours either¡­¡±

    None of the gang members moved, and even the mayor seemed to be worried now. All the gang leaders were in one ce, none of their guards or members were with them. They all knew the power of an Altered and if Gary wished to do so, he could kill all of them. Doing so would outright solve a lot of the Howlers¡¯ issues upfront¡­

    It was something none of them had expected.

    ¡°We don¡¯t want any trouble, we agree to your terms.¡± One of the men said standing up and was already leaving. Soon after, other gangs who had yet to make their move had also left. Leaving only the Blood Triangle gang, Lock gang and the Rising Dragon gang.

    The others helped pick up their injured brethren, but eventually they left as well, leaving only the Rising dragons, Tony looked back at Olivia for a second before continuing to head out.

    ¡°Well it looks like we have finally reached an understanding. Mr Mayor, I want you to remember our name. I¡¯m sure you will hear it a lot more often in the future.¡± Kai smiled and started to walk ahead as they were getting ready to leave the ce as well. However, before going, Gray stopped and looked at Ben Clove.

    ¡°Does your family know your involvement in all of this?¡± Gary asked. ¡°How do you think they would react if they were to learn of this alliance? If you as the Mayr who promised to protect the people were just turning a blind eye to their doings?¡±

    ¡°They know nothing!¡± Ben replied, for the first time his face changed into something other than that politician¡¯s smile. ¡°Leave them out of this, and if you don¡¯t and you touch them, I assure you that you will regret it as well.¡±

    When Ben spoke, it was a bit of confidence while also shying away. He was frightened, so it sounded like it was the truth, but perhaps his other words were true as well. Especially if they had someone like Jayden Tiger in their family, but the Mayor wouldn''t have to have done all this if he could utilise him like so.

    Having heard his answer, Gary had decided to leave, but there was a thought in his head¡­ Was a war really starting soon¡­and just how would it start.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, two adults were leading a group of kids, while Kevin walked in front, and they had eventually arrived outside what looked like arge warehouse. It looked ufortable as Kevin looked at the area they were in. It wasn''t in the nicest of ces, but then again, it was the same for the ck Rock Orphanage before.

    ¡°I assure you the inside has been renovated to meet your needs.¡± The man smiled. ¡°Once you head in there, your lives will change forever.¡±

 Chapter 273 â€“ Becoming An Altered (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 273 - Bing An Altered (Part 1)</h4>

    Inside a big white house in a certain room, constant banging was heard one after another. In between there would be grunts and yells that could be heard even with the doors closed, and after a while it had stopped.

    Inside the office itself, Slough¡¯s mayor was standing in the centre huffing and panting, his fists bloody. He was out of breath and the room itself had been turned upside down like there had been a robbery.

    Papers were strewn all across the floor, broken chairs, smashed paintings, ripped books and more.

    ¡®Those damned Howlers¡­ why did they have to appear NOW?! They could ruin EVERYTHING!!! Everything I¡¯ve painstakingly built up! I chose this town carefully. I carefully made all my connections¡­ I was so close, and now they¡¯re about to ruin it ALL!!!¡¯ Ben clenched his fist, and it looked like he was about to attempt to smash his desk as well, until a knock just outside his door was heard.

    Putting it down, and now noticing the mess he had caused, Ben straightened out his clothes while heading towards the door, opening it himself. At the door itself was D, leader of the Rising Dragon gang, who seemed to be spending most of his time at the mayor¡¯s.

    ¡°The NIRV corp respective is here.¡± D exined.

    Arriving home after the dreaded meeting he had, Ben hadpletely forgotten about his appointment today. On top of that, it was quite the important one that he couldn¡¯t miss.

    ¡°Tell him I will be with him in just a minute, and let''s move the meeting to the living room, make sure the doors are locked after me as well.¡± Ben ordered.

    After a few minutes, Ben Clove had gone down to the living room, where his daughter and wife were already present. The two of them were sitting down peacefully chatting to the guest that would be there today. The guest himself was an older looking gentleman with grey hair and sses, on top of that he wore ab coat.

    ¡®These figures from NIRV seem to never leave without their coats.¡¯ Ben thought as he put on a smile and went for a handshake. The representative stood up and shook the mayor¡¯s hand, while noticing his hands were bandaged up.

    ¡°I didn''t expect your profession to cause you to use your hands in such ways.¡± The representative sounded surprised, as he pushed sses back up onto the top of his face. Noticing that both of them were bandaged up, he assumed it hade from hitting something.

    Once again, Ben smiled, but it was a forced smile. NIRV was one of the, if not THE biggest corporation in the world. They were the first ones that were able to sessfully create an Altered. Ever since they have been leading the way, alwaysing up with better technologies, making the process safer and on top of that, finding a vast amount of ancient beast fossils to be used as Altered.

    Of course, this was why Ben had called them, because they were the best of the best, and his daughter only deserved the best in his eyes. However, as the market leader, NIRV¡¯s headquarters was naturally located in a Tier-1 city. This house visit alone had cost the Clove family a small fortune.

    Not everyone, but there were people in Tier-1 Cities that tended to look down on those living in lower tiers. Which made Ben have a disliking for most of those in the Tier-1 cities, even though he wished to be one of those people one day.

    ¡°I just needed to release some anger, it''s a stressful job, after all.¡± Ben exined.

    The NIRV employee didn¡¯tment any further. Instead, he turned on therge TV while in the room. What followed was a presentation of sorts, the employee went through all the benefits and the risks that one had to be aware of when undergoing the Altered process.

    In the past, there was a high risk of the person dying, but nowadays NIRV had managed to decrease the fatality chance to around one in a million. However, there were some clear points to take away from the presentation.

    Once a person selected a specific type of Altered, there was no way to change into another Altered. On top of that, there was also no way for them to reverse the process once it had beenpleted. Learning to control the Altered form would differ from person to person.

    Interestingly, there was the possibility to upgrade one¡¯s Altered form though. At times NIRV had managed to find simr beasts. When the procedure was performed on an Altered, it was possible that they could be strengthened if the fossil turned out to be stronger than the original. If this was the case they would be happy to upgrade the Altered free of charge.

    ¡°Now, as you have wished, I¡¯ve brought along a selection for you to choose from. All this Altered DNA has yet to appear on the market and not a single person has had ess to. In other words, it will be unique to her¡­ unless of course someone manages to find more of that type of fossil.¡± The representative exined.

    There was a reason why Ben had asked for this. It would have been a lot cheaper if they had asked for a moremon Altered form. Although some of them could climb thedder of fame with their strength, if they didn''t, they would be left as guards to corporations or amount to very little in the world.

    On the other hand, a unique Altered would be able to garner a lot of attention from corporations and more. If Xin didn''t make it as an Altered fighter like she wished, then her father still wanted his only daughter to have an easy and good life. Even if it was costly, the mayor was sure that it would be worth every penny.

    ¡®I want my family to be safe¡­ even after I leave.¡¯ Ben thought.

    ¡°Since you don¡¯t seem to have any questions, shall we proceed?¡± The employee lifted a small metal briefcase and ced it out on the table in front of him. ¡°At NIRV, we strive to perfect the Alterification process. Since you¡¯ve chosen our top option, we¡¯ve prepared something special for you. It will be announced at our next press conference, but there¡¯s no longer even a need to go to ab.¡±

    As the man exined everything, he opened up the metal briefcase and inside there were three syringes with liquid inside. ¡°Now all that is needed is just a simple injection.¡± He smiled.

 Chapter 274 â€“ Becoming An Altered (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 274 - Bing An Altered (Part 2)</h4>

    The syringes in the special metallic suitcase were quiterge. The needle itself was a good three inches long, which didn''t exactly make Xin jump for joy when she saw them. However, she had heard that the Altered process in the past was quite the painful one.

    So perhaps this was an easier alternativepared to before, which she was pleased about. When looking at them closely she could see that the liquid that was filled inside each one of them was a different colour, one green, one blue and finally thest one was a yellow colour.

    ¡°Of course, there is only so much data that we can gather based on the fossils of the beast we dig up.¡± The NIRV employee continued. ¡°Still, I will try to do my best to describe the type of beast that each syringe contains to make your choice easier.¡±

    The TV screen behind the man changed once again, bringing up a 3D render of the beast. The graphics made it look so real and alive, but the man assured them that it was all simted byputer graphics.

    On screen, there was what looked like a giant serpent-like creature. It had long hard green scales with no pattern on its body. However, its tail had two spikes sticking out from the end, making it appear like a hammer. Other than it moving around in an empty room, there was nothing else shown on screen.

    ¡°Please bear in mind that we can only help portray the appearance of the beast. We are unsure what traits will be passed on from the beast to the Altered. Perhaps they will be minimal, or there might be even something that we¡¯ve unable to uncover.¡± The man exined.

    Xin knew that based on her brother''s experience. In Jayden¡¯s case, his sponsor had believed that he was just consuming a normal beast that looked like a tiger. It came as a shock to everyone and the whole world when it turned out that the fossil had seemingly belonged to a special type, a white tiger. There were even more special things that the public didn¡¯t know much about.

    The video screen changed and moved onto the next beast. The scenery changed, and it looked like now there was a body of water. Xin could see a creature swimming through it. It was hard to tell the size of the creature from the scale, but to her, it looked very elegant.

    Simr to the creature before, it had one long body. There were tworge fins that were t and wide on the side of its body, as well as a single long fin that allowed it to cut through the water. Aside from that, it also had a sharp horn on the top of its head.

    Then there was the final one, though before they could see anything the screen went dark. At first, Xin thought that the video might have been broken, but a few secondster she could see an outline of something. Glowing light in and out, in the shape of arge bird.

    The shape of the bird was not regr, though. Its wings looked to be jagged as if it was made from pointy rocks, and it was the same for its head as well. The longer Xin stared at the beast, the more she could make out what it was, which was sending shivers running through her whole body.

    With that, the presentation was over.

    ¡°What was with thest one?¡± Natalia Clove asked.

    ¡°Ah, that video? Well, I believe the CGI team must have gotten quite creative with that one. After all, it''s quite boring just seeing the beasts in the same room all the time.¡± The man replied with a nervous chuckle.

    It was time for Xin to pick, and she intensely looked at all three syringes, thinking back to the videos. The employee of NIRV thought he had a pretty good idea which one thedy would pick. Young girls like hers usually picked those that would be the most elegant, and he had seen the teenage girl¡¯s eyes light up when she looked at the water type beast. After all, the appearance of the Altered forms were important to a lot of people.

    ¡°I want to go for the one that made the most impact on me. For some reason, I just can''t keep forgetting about It. This one.¡± Xin said as she picked up the yellow syringe. ¡°I''m serious about doing well in the AFC, so It has to be this one.¡±

    It was safe to say that the man was shocked, but he was also happy with her choice. The man handed her a little pamphlet that exined what they were about to do. How to administer the injection, along with details of whom to contact if she were to experience any side effects.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you administer the injection now for us?¡± Natalia asked.

    ¡°Sure, I was going to suggest staying a couple of days to see how she was doing anyway. It would be great to gather some data as well. Why don''t you head to your room, Young Miss Clove, and get ready? I¡¯ll be with you in a second.¡± The man agreed.

    Xin and her mother quickly headed upstairs excited, while waiting for the man. As he packed up his suitcase, though, Ben grabbed the man¡¯s hand before it was closed.

    ¡°Wait, since you¡¯re already here, and you¡¯ve brought those syringes with you, how about parting with one more?¡± Ben asked.

    After seeing those beasts on screen, and after what had transpired at the meeting, the middle-aged man couldn¡¯t resist this change to be an Altered himself. As the mayor, Ben Clove never wanted to go through a simr situation again. He hated having to rely on others like D for the protection of himself and his family, and these syringes could spell the end to that¡­

    ¡°ording to your finances, you do have enough money for one syringe, but a second one would bring you close to bankruptcy. NIRV would need some type of coteral if you wish to purchase another one. With all due respect, Mr Clove, are you sure you wish to do that?¡± The man in a coat questioned him.

    Ben Clover was a little scared about when and how thatpany had looked into his finances, but what he was saying was unfortunately the truth. The Clove family could afford one, but that was only because Jayden had given his father a ratherrge cheque, so they could afford the best treatment for Xin.

    Their own funds would not suffice to pay for a second syringe¡­ unless he used ¡®other¡¯ funds.

    ¡°There are always other ways to make money, especially as an Altered in a city like this.¡± Ben said.

    ¡°Very well, then. NIRV happens to have a contract for such a situation, which I will need you to sign. But for now, please choose whichever one you would like.¡± The man said with a slight smile, opening up the suitcase once again.

 Chapter 275 â€“ Prime Suspect

    <h4>Chapter 275 - Prime Suspect</h4>

    Lately, Anton Millstun had been spending more time inside his office rather than out on the field. Not because there weren''t many crimes going on in Slough, it was quite the opposite. It was becausetely, a certain case of his had be an obsession. In his office he had made a board, with photos of different cases and linking them all together with names written underneath.

    ¡°There really haven¡¯t been any more killings done by a crazed Altered ever since Billy has been dealt with.¡± The Chief of Police talked out loud, as he often did, since it helped him think more clearly.

    ¡°All the deaths can be added up to him, but there are still things that don¡¯t make sense. The main one being the blood that was found at the alleyway and the death of Barry. Altered Hunters don''t go after anyone other than Altered.

    ¡°The theory that an Altered Hunter is also an Altered himself doesn''t make sense in the case of Barry¡¯s death, and what reason would Billy have had to go after him? There was zero rtion between the two. Yet with all Billy''s other victims, we were able to pinpoint them to those underground fights he had.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure of it, although maybe not a mass murderer, there is another Altered that is involved in all of this. One that isn¡¯t Billy, but there hasn''t been any matches for their blood that was found on the scene. On top of that, the case that started this all. The first kill of Billy would have had to have been his parents. Which means the first case at the building site is unrted at all.¡±

    Heading over to his desk, Anton grabbed another picture and pinned it up onto his board. It was a school student and a fairlyrge one as well, with the name Gil written underneath it.

    ¡°ording to the teachers at Westbridge, Gil was undoubtedly Barry¡¯s closest friend. However, not long after his death, the teenager has dropped out of school and no one has been able to get in contact with him. ording to his ssmates he did sometimes im that he would just join the grey colour gang. However, after an attack they have seemingly disbanded, and gotten absorbed by the red colour gang, which means they''re no help any more either.

    ¡°Could he be the Altered I¡¯m looking for? Regardless, even if he isn''t, he might be able to provide me another perspective. Something, that I might not be aware of.¡±

    Finally, heading back to the table once more, the officer picked up another picture and put a pin in the centre. On it, there was a green haired boy which he put next to the picture of a ck boy with blonde hair.

    ¡°Both of them fought against Billy in those underground matches, and on top of that they go to the same school as Barry and Gil. Somehow, this whole school just seems to be a beacon for trouble. That green haired kid, in particr¡­ I remember him, he was the one that rebelled against the red colour gang members.¡±

    Taking out a big red marker, right by Gary¡¯s picture, Anton wrote Altered with a question mark.

    ¡®The picture I have of him at the moment, he looks different than when I saw him.¡¯

    He had found the next person to interrogate, just then there was a knock on the door. Before Anton could even answer, the door was opened from the other side.

    ¡°Now, who¡¯s the lucky guy who just volunteered to clean the toilets for the next two weeks?¡± Anton asked, turning around, but when he saw who it was, he wasn¡¯t so surprised any more.

    ¡°We just came to inform you that we will be leaving Slough tomorrow.¡± Sadie dered, looking around at the mess inside of the room. If she didn¡¯t know any better, the woman would have thought to have stumbled into their of a psychopath.

    ¡°What about the second Altered Killer and what about the Altered Hunters?¡± Anton raised his eyebrow.

    ¡°You mean the ones who dealt with Billy for us? If there had been any news, I¡¯m sure you would have heard about it. Anyway, our superiors have deemed the case to have been closed.¡± Sadie answered. ¡°Of course, we initially came here because of the three gang members deaths and although Billy¡¯s blood wasn¡¯t found at the scene, the markings on their bodies do fit the other deaths.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s bull crap, and you know it!¡± Anton mmed his hands on the desk. ¡°Altered or not, an attack with bare hands should leave DNA! And what about the one that attacked the high school student? There is still a lot to do.¡±

    Sadie folded her arms like she knew that something like this was going to happen, but she couldn''t be bothered to exin. Her partner Frank knew that as well. Slough¡¯s Chief of Police wouldn¡¯t give up so easily.

    ¡°Sorry, Anton, but you know that the power of us White Rose agents is limited. Even if we suspect that another Altered Killer might be out there, for all we know he might have fled somewhere else. If there is another death then we wille back as soon as possible, but for now with no leads, there isn''t much we can do.¡±

    ¡°No leads?¡± Anton then revealed the board he had been working on as he stepped to the side and ced his hand towards the two students. ¡°Here¡¯s your lead!¡±

    Seeing this, Sadie couldn''t help but scoff.

    ¡°Well, that just proves you have nothing but assumptions at best, and not even good ones. We already went to the school and tested him. Don¡¯t bother reading the report, there was nothing. That kid¡¯s blood was as red as can be. Misguided as he might be, we know for sure that he isn¡¯t an Altered. Anyway, we have said what we needed to say.¡±

    Before Anton could say anything else, Sadie left the room. Frank gave him an apologetic look before closing the door. It was clear Anton was frustrated, but turning around, he grabbed his pen and drew a big red X on Gary¡¯s picture.

    ¡®If they say he¡¯s not an Altered then they must have tested him, I guess he really isn''t one.¡¯

    Taking the picture off the wall, Anton paused for a second.

    ¡°What made them think that he was an Altered in the first ce? The two of us came to the same conclusion but¡­ why?¡±

    Maybe there was still some hope in this case after all.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After leaving the police station, the two White Rose agents had hailed down a cab and were heading to their hotel room. Sadie was celery annoyed and Frank was trying to figure out what to say.

    ¡°You know, he''s a good police officer. He''s working hard, you shouldn''t give him such a hard time.¡± Frank said. Letting out a big sigh, Sadie finally unfolded her arms. She then paused for a second before proceeding to rub the area around her ankle.

    ¡°I know¡­ I''m just frustrated. The wound still hasn¡¯t healed from that day, and for some reason it''s been starting to itch more and more. On top of that¡­ well¡­ you know the rest already.¡±

    Lately, Sadie had been experiencing some side effects and from the sounds of it, they were getting worse.

    ¡°Don''t worry, that''s why we are heading back to the White Rose base. The guy from theb will take a look at you and find out what¡¯s wrong with it. You will be okay in no time, don''t worry.¡± Frank patted his partner on her shoulder.

 Chapter 276 â€“ The Start Of Altered (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 276 - The Start Of Altered (Part 1)</h4>

    When school came to an end, Tom picked up his speed to get home, unable to contain his excitement any longer. Today he would be leaving Slough. Not forever, of course, but he would spend the next week or so gaining valuable work experience. The best thing about it, he would be doing so under his parents¡¯ supervision.

    Honestly, Tom had always been interested in what exactly his parents were doing. When asked about it, they would exin a few details here and there, but they seemed to avoid that particr question, always stating that they would tell him once he was older.

    This curiosity drove Tom mad and in the end, it hadrgely contributed to his desire to want to follow in his parent''s footsteps. It seemed like a silly reason, to follow in his parent''s footsteps just so he could find out what their work actually was. Nevertheless, it was a goal that allowed him to focus on school and not so much on his other passion, ying video games.

    epting Tom to now finally go to his parents'' workce, meant he was a step closer to his goal.

    Outside his house, he could see his parents already waiting, and it looked like they had already packed his bags for him as well. The Green couple were always the type to be in a rush and were rarely home as well. Another reason why Tom desired to be in the same field as them, just so he could spend more time with them, and not feel so¡­ distant.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be out of town for a full week.¡± James Green said as he was ready to start the car. ¡°You made sure to tell all your friends and teacher, right?¡±

    ¡°Sure did. Mom also had a talk with Headmistress Young, so I¡¯m all good to go.¡± Tom replied, bouncing up and down in his seat. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go. No time to waste.¡±

    The car went out of slough and onto the highway, and for the first time, Tom could see the sign to Brocknell. During the drive, Tom couldn¡¯t help but think about his best friend. Were it not for Gary having turned into a Werewolf, he would probably just miss him slightly, but now? Who knew what could happen in the span of a single week?

    When entering the Tier-2 city Tom couldn''t help but stare out the window, admiring all the sights. Technically this wasn¡¯t the first time he had been here, but thest time had been then, he had been a lot younger. His memory of that time was naturally a little fuzzy.

    Still, it was just as impressive as he remembered it to be. There were more skyscraper buildings out here. Used forrge corporations with offices, or for the rich that like to live at the top and stare out at the city.

    Another prominent thing were the advertisements. Digital screens all over the different buildings were advertising for clothes, restaurants and other things, mostly luxury items that might cost more than one month¡¯s paycheck from his parentsbined.

    The people on the street themselves were walking in nice clothes, and each of them looked clean cut and presentable. The biggest difference of them, however, was the fact that nowhere in the city, not even in the different areas, did there seem to be any sign of poverty.

    There was no graffiti, no litter on the street, nor any signs of gangs just walking around at a certain time of day. Tom was witnessing the difference between a single rank in Tiers.

    However, seeing all of this just made Tom wonder how great a Tier-1 city would look like. That was something he had never experienced before. Those cities were simr to gatedmunities, and they didn¡¯t just allow tourism. Those that worked or lived there would be given special passes to enter and leave the city.

    It truly was a ce that was only for the select few¡­ in other words the rich and mighty.

    Eventually, the car came to a stop, and Tom¡¯s eyes were lighting up. They hadn''t gone to the apartment that his parents would usually use. Instead, they had gone straight to theb itself.

    ¡°Sorry about this Tom, I know you must be tired after school, but there are just a few things that we need to finish up. I hope you don''t mind?¡± His father asked.

    ¡°Of course, I don''t mind. I wouldn''t have been able to sleep today thinking about this anyway. This is much better!¡± Tom shook his head, quickly getting out of the car, leaving his mother to park it some ce else.

    Theb was quiterge in size, it was ced on its own square of space. There was an open area for employees and the public to walk on. While the road continued in a square on the side. So there were no other buildings next to it.

    The shape of the building itself was quite strange. It was like a tear drop on its side. The higher tier cities did tend to have more impractical architectural designs, but still. Theb wasrge and impressive nheless.

    Eventually, father and son reached the front of the building, and Tom stopped right outside for a second. He couldn''t move any further as he stared at the letters that were ced above the building.

    ¡°What is this, Dad?!¡± Tom asked. ¡°I had no idea they had a building in this city? Why did you keep this a secret from me? How could you and Mom never mention this to me?!¡±

    Scratching the back of his head, Tom¡¯s father was a bit nervous at his son¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°There are quite a few reasons I didn''t tell you, and I never knew it was such a big deal, honestly. It''s just our job and what we love to do.¡± His dad smiled.

    Rushing in after his dad, the two headed into the building, with the letters, NIRV written above.

 Chapter 277 â€“ The Start Of Altered (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 277 - The Start Of Altered (Part 2)</h4>

    Even at thiste hour, inside the reception hall, Tom could see countless workers in their whiteb coats all around the ce. It seemed like a building that never went to sleep. Regardless, this was just the reception hall and there was not really anything to see here, the real interesting stuff was inside.

    Walking up to the desk, it looked like his father was speaking to the receptionist for a while, and eventually, they handed over a digital tablet to him.

    ¡°You need to read this and sign here before we can give you a temporary pass for your internship.¡± His father exined as he handed over the tablet.

    ¡°This¡­ it''s a contract? An NDA contract? So I can''t talk about anything that I see inside with anyone else outside, is that right?'''' Tom asked after quickly skimming over the pages. There were a lot of technical terms, and Tom felt like he would be here for half an hour if he was to read them all.

    ¡°You need to actually read everything written in there, Tom. Don''t just click agree like you would on aputer. It¡¯s important you understand what you are signing.¡± His father insisted. ¡°I had to really pull some strings to get you in here.

    ¡°A temp intern position didn¡¯t even existst week, but hey, your old man knows a few people.¡± James said, cracking his knuckles, which just embarrassed his son.

    Sitting down at the few seats at the side, Tom decided to read them all, and his mother soon came to join them. The terms essentially were very strict. It felt like he was about to learn the secrets of the world, and that this legal mumbo jumbo was there for him to prepare for the repercussions.

    Now he was starting to understand why his mother and father had only been able to tell him so much. They were just following the rules that had been set out. In the end, Tom signed it. After all, if anything, this level of secrecy only got him more excited about what was hidden inside.

    After returning the tablet, Tom was given a pass but nob coat, which made him feel a little disheartened, but he understood. Walking through, Tom was expecting to see some big secrets, but instead what followed were just¡­ hallways.

    There were countless hallways of people walking past heading to where they needed to be.

    ¡°You look disappointed.¡± His father chuckled. ¡°Unfortunately, we are only allowed to see what we are working on. So our projects remains a secret from each other.¡±

    Walking through the hallways, for the first time, Tom also noticed a group of people that weren''t wearingb coats at all. In fact, the way they walked around the ce, their clothing and strange hairstyle, they seemed very out of ce. They looked more like gangsters he would expect to find in Slough.

    ¡®No, that''s impossible, there can''t be gangsters in a ce like this. Even if they owned the ce, they would be in Tier-1 city, not thisb.¡¯ Tom thought as they took a turn away from them.

    Eventually, the three of them stopped outside arge oval door. His father used his pass and the door opened, allowing for Tom''s eyes toy on a magnificent, gigantic fossil in front of him. The room opened up and was ced in giant ss containers containing not just one fossil, but countless different fossils all over the ce, with numerous workers around each one.

    ¡°Remember when you asked me about beasts before? You can¡¯t imagine how nervous I got, afraid that someone had leaked some intel or spread rumour.¡± James exined while walking to the fossil of the beast they were working on.

    It was a small one, the bones looked like that of a dog, and his mother was typing away on theputer that was ced just underneath it.

    ¡°So, is this where they make the Altered DNA? Form the beast fossils? That''s so cool!¡± Tommented.

    ¡°Actually, it''s a little moreplicated than that, Tom. You see, what I''m about to tell you is something that the public has no idea about with regard to Altered. Of course, I don¡¯t have to tell you that all of this information ispletely ssified.¡±

    His father waited until Tom nodded, and then continued with his exnation.

    ¡°You see, we can¡¯t actually extract much at all from these Fossils. It''s impossible to make Altered from the fossils. Now I know you''re going to be confused for a second, so I need to hear me out.

    ¡°There is a reason why only one fossil can create one Altered, and that''s because what we need to do with this fossil is bring it back to life. Now our job is to extract the bones and as much of the original beast as we can from here.

    ¡°Then, it goes onto another section of theb. I¡¯ve never seen it myself, but there they have something they call a ¡®Nest Crystal¡¯. From what I gather, it¡¯s quite the special energy generator, though they make it sound like stuff out of fairy tales. I mean, can you imagine a single crystal being able to supply enough energy to run the whole world?

    ¡°Anyway, they somehow use their Nest Crystal on the fossil and as long as we have done our job properly. It brings the fossil back to life.¡±

    It took a second for Tom to take everything in there. It sounded like some type of rumour he would have heard from the inte and if anyone else, but his father was saying these things. Were it someone else, he would have called them out for being a liar.

    ¡°So are you saying that there are still beats, there are real beasts in this world?¡± Tom asked.

    ¡°Well, not any natural beasts anyway. However, NIRV seems able to bring back the beast to life, though they don¡¯t live for long. After a few tests, they should be sent to a special team. The group we¡¯ve passed on the way here, the ones without theb coats, are part of that.

    ¡°They then have to kill the beast, and once the beast is dead inside they seemingly have their own special crystals. Those crystals from the dead beast is what is used to gather the Altered DNA. That is how the world came to create the Altered we know today.¡±

    Listening to everything, it seemed like Gary was onto something when he had asked his best friend if beasts still existed.

    The only question now was what had prompted the green haired teenager to ask that very bizzare question in the first ce?

 Chapter 278 â€“ Underdogs Give Up?

    <h4>Chapter 278 - Underdogs Give Up?</h4>

    After the trio returned to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, Tyler was told to go home. He was given the same type of burner phone like all the other Howlers and was instructed to answer it as soon as he got called. The job seemed quite easy for the university student, and he was pleased with what he needed to do.

    Of course, he wanted to ask questions after seeing a group of scary people leaving the ce, but he remembered the warning from the blonde guy in the fox mask. Surprised that Kai had decided to pay him for the rest of the month up front, he took the hint and left.

    ¡®I¡¯ll just ask Gary about it when I see him.¡¯ Tyler thought, unaware that the high schooler was with him the whole time. In fact, Tyler actually had suspected him to be under the wolf mask, after all, the green hair seemed like a dead giveaway.

    However, during the car ride back, he had heard him speak a few times. The voice was far too deep and different from Gary¡¯s to be him, so all of his suspicions were cleared. In fact, Tyler now believed that the green haired teenager must have dyed his hair to mimic the gangster boss.

    Once again, the masked teenagers chose to enter through the back entrance, as to not disturb anyone. While Kai went inside where he was promptly asked to share the details about what had happened during the meeting, Gary stayed outside for a minute. Olivia intended to return to Burnham food street, so before that, the Alpha Werewolf had a question he hadn¡¯t feltfortable asking her in the car.

    ¡°Do you think there will be any problems, because of what happened at today¡¯s meeting?¡±

    ¡°It depends on what you would consider a problem.¡± Olivia shrugged. ¡°Whatever they might do, it won¡¯t be anything I can¡¯t handle on my own. However, after your little disy, I would be surprised if any of them tried anything. You just worry about what you need to do next.¡± With that, the Lady Boss went into her own car and drove off.

    Joining the others, he came just in time to see how Kai mimicked his earlier speech about the Howlers doing what they wanted and for the other gangs not to get involved. Unfortunately, all he could think about were Olivia''s words.

    What should he do next? In his head, since the small gangs were no longer going to pose a problem, then it would mean getting rid of the Grey Elephants and the Underdogs was all that was left.

    ¡®Before there is a big war to happen, I have to get stronger¡­ and I have to level up this system as much as I can. Maybe this is the break period I need. With a war brewing, the Underdogs might have stopped looking for me for now.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡ª¡ª

    That same night, a peculiar trio was walking around Slough. Tworge men in suits were apanied by a teenager whose most prominent feature was therge ck hoodie over his head. They were all standing outside an apartment room.

    ¡°Are you sure this is the right ce?¡± One of the men asked.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sure. Heck, it was easy enough to get the information. I didn¡¯t have to do much other than a simple phone call, but without a doubt, this should be his home address.¡± The other replied confidently.

    They moved their young hoodedpanion to the side and knocked at the door.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from the other side. She looked through the peephole and could see two figures she didn¡¯t recognise at all.

    ¡°We are from Westbridge, Ma¡¯am. Your son Gary has caused some trouble at school. Do you mind if wee inside to talk about it?¡± The man asked.

    ¡°Gary? I¡¯m sorry, but there is no Gary here, you must have gotten the wrong number.¡± The woman replied, and quickly went away from the door.

    The two men sighed, looking at each other, before they lifted their legs and used all their strength to kick in the door. It was a bad neighbourhood and the doors weren¡¯t exactly strong, making it easy to break into.

    The woman was seen shaking, a phone in her hand. Quickly running up to the woman, they pped the phone out of her hand while the door was shut behind them. They had quickly gagged her mouth up, and finally, the young hooded man took off his hood, revealing who it was.

    Gil looked around the house to see if there were any photos or anything like that, and eventually, he found some of a male student. However, it didn¡¯t look like Gary at all.

    ¡°You sure this is the right person?¡± One of the men asked, no longer so sure.

    Gil studied at the photo for a while, even though he knew straight away that it wasn¡¯t the right person.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. This photo might have been taken a while ago, and since he dyed his hair, it¡¯s hard to tell.¡± Gil replied, looking away but smiling as he did so. ¡°I think it could be him.¡±

    Turning around, the dropout ran over and immediately threw his arm out, punching the woman on the right side of the face.

    ¡°You know a boy called Gary Dem, don¡¯t you?¡± Gil asked.

    ¡°What the f*ck do you think you''re doing, kid? You don¡¯t have to hit her!¡± One of the menined.

    ¡°Damion told us to get the information no matter what. She already lied to us¡­ so now it''s time to get her to tell the truth.¡± Gil countered, not once looking at the other two, but only staring at the poor helpless woman in front of him.

    ¡ª¡ª

    A short whileter, thedy was a bloody mess, lying barely conscious on the floor. Gil¡¯s knuckles were sore after how much he had used them.

    ¡°I found a birth certificate. The names of her and her son don¡¯t match up with the one we are looking for.¡± The first man stated. ¡°It looks like it must have been a fake address given by the school. Either our transporter is smarter than what we gave him credit for¡­ or somebody is looking out for him.¡±

    The other man looked at the woman, thinking about what to do with her. He reached into his coat pocket and ced a thick pile of cash on the floor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid. If we hear so much as a rumour about youining to the police, or telling anyone else that we were here, we¡¯ll have to pay you another visit. This is for your troubles. It should cover any medical expenses and then some.¡±

    With that, the three left, without getting any closer to their suspect.

    ¡°We can¡¯t catch them at school or his home address. Damion is going to burst. We have toe up with something else.¡± His partner sighed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Gil turned around, a part of the woman¡¯s blood still on his face. He looked like a frightening figure in the darkness that startled even the two Underdog members for a second.

    ¡°I have a n¡­¡± Gil smiled.

    A little whileter the two men left, and Gil was free to do as he wished, but he quickly turned around, and headed back. Standing there, the teenager was back at the same apartment they had left only moments ago.

 Chapter 279 â€“ The Worst Night

    <h4>Chapter 279 - The Worst Night</h4>

    Not counting the meeting, it was a rather normal day for the Howlers. Since there was school the next day, the teenagers didn¡¯t stay too long in the pool club, either. Each of them went back home, continuing their ordinary lives. Right now, the gang was on a reaction basis. They would wait to see the moves of the others first before they themselves acted.

    However, what none of them could have known was just how special tonight actually was going to be. It certainly wasn¡¯t a night where they could have afforded to rx.

    What used to be one of the grey colour gang bases was currently being used by the Grey Elephants. It had been empty for a while and not even grey colour gang members were allowed to return to the ce until now. The reason for that had been kept a secret, though.

    Outside, next to the warehouse around the back, there were threerge delivery trucks. They were stationary, but there were several members inside, all ready to move.

    The orphans from the ck Rock Orphanage had just arrived at what was supposed to be their new home. Kevin, as the oldest kid from the orphanage. He was surveying the area, since it didn¡¯t exactly look like your typical orphanage.

    ¡®I can''t look worried in front of everyone. I was the one that convinced Suzan to ept this deal. If this ce actually ends up being worse than the orphanage, then it would be my fault, not hers.¡¯ Was the thought running through the head of Innu¡¯s best friend.

    All the other kids turned to look at him for guidance. After Innu he had been with the ck Rock Orphanage the longest, so he knew them all and could see the worried, cute look on their faces.

    ¡°It will be okay.¡± Kevin reassured them with a smile on his face. The men slid the door open. As soon as the orphans saw the inside, the faces of all the kids turned into big smiles.

    The warehouse had beenpletely converted. There were now nice warm yellow lights illuminating the inside. There were many coloured matts on the floor, y houses, climbing frames and even charming beds for all of them.

    Surprisingly, there were already some other kids present, ones that looked to be around their age.

    ¡°Please, make yourself feel wee.¡± The man gestured with his arms open. ¡°Just like all of you, these kids are from some other orphanages. Given theck of funding for orphanages in Slough¡¯s area, our boss had us gather all of them here in an attempt to create a safe haven for them.¡±

    However, the smaller children didn¡¯t listen. They were already over the moon, and had run inside to y with the other kids. Unsurprisingly, they were quickly making new friends, all of them enjoying the new shiny toys that would have been a pipe dream in the old orphanage.

    From what Kevin could see, including them, there had to be around fifty children or so. Regardless, the ce didn''t feel cramped at all since it was arge warehouse.

    ¡°There are plenty of staff to cater to all your needs. Just go ahead and have fun.¡± The man prompted those hesitating once again.

    Looking around, Kevin found a few older looking kids, but just like him, they didn¡¯t seem too excited to be here. They seemed to just sit on their beds, being antisocial, while the smaller ones yed around.

    Truth be told, Kevin wanted to do the same, but he was finding the whole situation weird.

    ¡®There are so many people looking after us? Why would a private corporation invest so much money into multiple orphanages? Could it be true that the owner really just used to be an orphan himself?¡¯ Kevin started to scratch his head as he thought about it more.

    ¡®Ah, am I just overthinking the situation? No, I am the responsible one now. I should try to talk with the others and find out if they noticed anything strange first.¡¯

    Walking over to the beds that were stacked on the side, the young teenager greeted the ones on the bed with a hesitant wave. A friendly girl with short cute bangs and short blonde hair actually waved back. Noticing her actions, an afro haired kid gave Kevin a sign to sit next to them. Seeing their reaction, Kevin felt like they were more approachablepared to the rest.

    ¡°Hi there, my name¡¯s Kevin.¡± The thirteen-year-old introduced himself. ¡°I don¡¯t want to bother you, it¡¯s just¡­ you know¡­ at my orphanage there isn''t really anyone my age. It''s kinda nice to see others that kinda understand my situation for a change.¡±

    The two smiled and weed Kevin, understanding what he meant. Sure, Kevin went to school, but he didn¡¯t really associate too much with the others, too afraid of his secret getting out. If anything, he would more likely get bullied for being differentpared to the others.

    The three of them got talking as Kevin asked them multiple questions, mainly about how long they had been there. Apparently it hadn¡¯t been long at all. The girl had been there for two weeks, whereas the kid with an afro hade in one week after her from a different orphanage.

    From the sounds of things the people treated them nicely, they were given good food and an allowance when they went out, but there were some strange conditions that Kevin didn''t know how to feel about.

    For one, all the kids were now being homeschooled. It did exin the school looking equipment towards the back of the warehouse. The schools were informed of the decision that had been made. Honestly, Kevin didn''t know if this was a good thing or bad thing for him, since school wasn¡¯t the best of ces.

    ¡®I guess this ce might be alright, but I still can¡¯t shake that something feels off.¡¯ Kevin thought.

    ¡°Don''t look too worried.¡± The blonde haired girl whose name was Birdie replied. ¡°This ce is fun, even though this area kinda sucks. Honestly, they won''t let us go out on our own. A group of us have to head somewhere apanied by one of those adults, which I guess is a good thing with this sketchy area.

    ¡°Still, if you''re lucky, you might get adopted quite quickly. I don''t know how they do it, but they seem to have some list of people wishing to adopt us. Not counting your group, we were down to half the initial number from when I came here. Sometimes even a bulk of us get adopted at once. It¡¯s crazy. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before.¡±

    Birdie seemed like a nice kid who was all smiles, which was why Kevin didn''t want to say anything negative, but thest fact that she had just told him was like the final nail in the coffin for him. There was definitely something up with the ce, and the young boy needed to find out what it was.

    It just wasn¡¯t normal. Where were these adopters before? A simple google search would have shown them all the orphanages they could have gone to. Even if they did have a lost mass marketing for so many people to get picked up and so quickly?

    ¡®I¡¯m really hoping that I¡¯m wrong about all of this. Otherwise, I might have convinced Suzan to do something terrible and put us all in danger. First¡­ let''s make sure my imagination is not running wild and find out what exactly is going on here.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, driving in a fancy car was a fairlyrge man. Next to him was his long time friend, still wearing his sunsses, despite it already beingte.

    Up ahead, they could see the warehouse.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Brandon asked Raven. ¡°Today is the day this whole city falls and breaks into chaos. We both agreed that there is no better time than now¡­ don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re starting to feel guilty now?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Raven shook his head. ¡°The way I see it, it''s either the lives of some orphans or ours, and I can¡¯t exactly afford to die yet. Not until I find out what happened to my brother.¡±

    ¡°Good, then we will get the show on the road. Thest orphanage has arrived. The war will begin tonight.¡±

 Chapter 280 â€“ What Would Innu Do?

    <h4>Chapter 280 - What Would Innu Do?</h4>

    Although it waste and already dark out, there was one brave woman wrapped up in a coat traversing through the dark streets on her own. The area she was currently in wasn¡¯t the safest, and a woman shouldn¡¯t be out and about on her own at thiste hour. She knew all of this herself when deciding to walk through here. However, she just had to.

    ¡®For some reason, I just can¡¯t feel happy about my decision? I miss the kids too much.¡¯ Suzan thought. ¡®What''s the point of having all of this money¡­ if I don¡¯t feel happy?¡¯

    The reason she was out and about thiste was because she was heading to the location of where the kids had moved to. Suzan had promised herself that she wouldn¡¯t. The caretaker knew that it would only make it harder on them and herself. Nevertheless, she decided that there was something that she could do, something that would fill the hole in her heart.

    With all the money, it was now possible for her to adopt at least one of the children she had grown to love. It would allow her to have a final goodbye with all the kids. Honestly, if she could and the system allowed it, she would have most likely taken them all home. Suzan hated to y favourites, but it was thest good thing she could do for them.

    Hoping to catch them just before they headed to sleep, the woman started to pick up her pace and finally arrived at the address. Surprisingly, the streets were quiet on the way there.

    ¡°No one is allowed to enter this area, it has been boarded off to the public, go home.¡± A man standing outside told her in a gruff voice. There was a metal fence covering the whole area of warehouses, and it looked like this was one of the few entrances.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯vee here unannounced. My kids¡­ the ones from the ck Rock Orphanage should have arrived here today. I used to work there and just wanted to see them one more time. I was nning on adopting one of them. I''m here for business, I promise.¡± Suzan spoke, her voice feeling a little shaky. Maybe it was because she had been dealing with kids a lot, but she was finding it hard to talk to the two men in front of her.

    With therge bodies and arms folded, it wasn''t giving off the impression of a weing ce.

    ¡°That so? Too bad, we¡¯re closed already. Now leave, or we¡¯re going to have to force you to leave. We already said this ce is off limits!¡± The man threatened her.

    Thinking that these two men might have not understood, she decided to try to walk past them and would go see someone else, but they immediately stood in her way, and pushed her with such force that she tripped over and fell to the ground.

    ¡°We¡¯re not joking around! This is yourst warning!¡± The other man shouted at her.

    Understanding that there was next to no chance that she would be able to get out of such a ce, Suzan left, but not without looking for another way to get in. At the same time, she attempted to make a call to those business partners of hers toin about their workers.

    [The number you have dialled is no longer in service.] Was all she heard on the other end, though.

    ¡°What the- Not in service? That can¡¯t be! I just talked with them yesterday.¡± She thought.

    Worrying that something was seriously wrong, the caretaker did the only thing that could possibly help the situation, and that was to call the police. Whether they would help or not was another thing altogether.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ever since the White Rose agents had informed Anton that they would be leaving, he had been working through the night to find some type of lead in the case. Something that would make them stay. If they stayed, the case would be reopened, but without them, not even he could give a good enough reason to his higher ups to keep it under investigation.

    ¡°Roo!¡± Anton shouted, and immediately rushing into the room was the young officer, who gave his superior a salute.

    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±

    ¡°I keep looking through everything and I feel like I¡¯m just one puzzle piece away from solving everything. I¡¯ve looked at all the deaths reported starting from the construction site that day. Seeing if there was anything close to those that would match an Altered killer, but there isn¡¯t one.¡± Anton ruffled his hair in frustration.

    Looking at him, Roo could see the bags under the Chief of Police¡¯s eyes and felt like this case was driving him mad.

    ¡°Sir, I hate to say it, but maybe that''s because there wasn¡¯t another killing by that Altered? I¡¯m not saying you''re wrong about there being another Altered killer, but perhaps your approach is wrong in looking for that Altered¡¯s other victims?¡±

    However, it felt like Roo¡¯s words weren''t having any effect on his superior, making him let out a big sigh.

    ¡°Have you looked into missing people?¡± The young officer specified.

    ¡°Missing people?¡±

    ¡°Right, I mean, people go missing all the time in general. Trying to run away from crimes or possibly something else. Who is to say that we found whoever that other Altered has killed? How about we look at all the people that have been reported missing, ever since the construction site incident? We can probably limit the search even further to the time Billy was killed.¡±

    Hearing these words, it looked like a light had lit up in Anton. It was something that they should have done, but his mind had been so busytely with all the things happening around him.

    ¡°Sir, there has been a report from a woman.¡± Another officer said as she rushed in. ¡°The woman sounds panicked on the other end and is in what used to be the grey colour gang area. We need your opinion on how to handle this situation!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Inside the warehouse, after learning of the strange events, Kevin had been looking around the ce, trying to see if he could find anything else strange. He spoke to a few kids as well, but they had said only simr things as the ones before.

    ¡®There is one thing that I¡¯ve noticed, everything feels temporary and rushed.¡¯ Kevin thought to himself. ¡®These coloured matts are great, but they''re really easy to buy and use, and the warehouse itself. They say it''s been renovated, but there was no instion on the walls. It still has its metal exterior.

    ¡®Instead, they''re using a lot of electricity and have spent a fortune on portable heaters. Even if they have a lot of money at their disposal, it should take time for them to renovate the orphanages¡­ It¡¯s as if they¡¯re certain we won¡¯t be here for too long.

    Eventually, Kevin had found something while searching the ce. The side of the metal walls looked to be quite damaged, a few dents here and there, and there were temporarily boarded up panels. However, right at the bottom there was arger panel.

    It looked crudely made, merely together by someone with some nails here and there. The young teenager figured that with a few pulls he might be able to get it undone. Before he attempted to do so, though, he made sure that nobody was paying attention to him. Luckily, the adults seemed topletely ignore the ying children.

    Pulling on the wood a few times, the nails came undone on one side. He lifted it up, so it slid upwards, at which point he noticed that it was just arge hole that had been made to the outside.

    ¡®Maybe knowing this wille in handyter. Birdie said that they wouldn''t let us out on our own, which is a little strange.¡¯ Kevin thought.

    ¡°Alright, everyone!¡± One of the men shouted. ¡°Orphans from the ck Rock Orphanage, since this is your first day, we¡¯ll need to take a photo of each one of you. These will be your profile photos for our clie-... your future parents. Everyone, make sure to look your best.¡±

    The other kids started following the men outside. Looking at the hole he had just found, Kevin was wondering if he should use this opportunity to leave. Something was telling him that if he did go with the others¡­ there was a big chance that he wouldn¡¯te back.

    In the end, Kevin made his choice¡­ and joined up with the other orphans.

    ¡®Innu would never leave others alone!¡¯

    *****

 Chapter 281 â€“ No Escape!

    <h4>Chapter 281 - No Escape!</h4>

    If the strange men working at the warehouse were doing something strange, then Kevin had to find out what it was before he could tell anyone about it. The young teenager understood that the police wouldn¡¯t exactly act just because an orphan told them that he was scared in his new surroundings. The police in a Tier-3 town like Slough was usually busy, so they couldn¡¯t just answer any call, especially a kid¡¯s.

    The good news was, that at least they were seemingly taking out a few orphans at a time, for whatever purposes they had. This made Kevin believe that time was on his side. Time to figure out what was going on¡­ or if all of it was just his imagination running wild.

    Thinking about this, Kevin went ahead with the rest of the kids from his orphanage. There were twenty-three children in total who came from the ck Rock Orphanage.

    Leaving the warehouse, they found themselves in what looked like arge white tent which was split off into different sections. Following the instructions, the orphans lined up, patiently waiting in one section, until they would be called forward into the next tent.

    ¡°Next!¡± One of the men called out.

    Once the group went in, One of the kids went into the other section of the tent. Kevin managed to briefly make out a photographer with the standard equipment used in a photo shoot. However, none of them returned after taking their photo, at least not into the line with the others.

    Noticing the unrest of the waiting orphans, one of the men exined that after taking the photo they would be asked some questions. That way, they could match up the kids¡¯ personalities and wishes to their future foster parents.

    ¡®Since when did orphans like us get the luxury to be picky and choose who we want to be with?¡¯ Kevin didn¡¯t trust that exnation one bit.

    ¡°Next!¡± The same man called out after a few minutes.

    Finally, it was Kevin¡¯s turn. He went ahead, sat down on the chair and the camera went off as normal. Still, the orphan was looking around to see if there was anything strange he could spot. Perhaps a hint at what they might be doing.

    After the photo was done, it was time for Kevin to walk into the next tent. As he did, he noticed that there was arge table in front of him, but there was nothing on it. No papers or anything, just a man sitting down on the other side of the tent.

    ¡®Maybe it''s like an interview rather than a questionnaire?¡¯

    Hearing footsteps and sensing someone behind him, the first thing Kevin did was turn around, where he could see a man behind him holding onto what looked like a needle. His instinct kicked in, and he immediately kicked the man as hard as he could in the family jewels.

    The man knelt over from the pain, letting the needle fall on the ground, as he covered hisher regions. Hearing the soul-crushing scream that turned into a whimper, the other man was about to get up from the table, but the boy was faster. Kevin kicked the side of the table, causing it to bang into the man before he could get up.

    ¡®I knew something like this was too good to be true. If I wasn''t so suspicious of something going on, that guy would have pricked me with that needle!¡¯ Kevin thought as he rushed out of the tent to find himself outside, yet he wasn¡¯t safe yet.

    Just as he made it outside, he could see several men standing next torge trucks that were mostly blocking the way for him to run anywhere else. What was the most shocking thing, though, wasn¡¯t the number of people, but in their arms was one of the kids from ck Rock Orphanage. The one that had gone just before Kevin.

    His body was shaking, but they were able to hold onto it strongly with their grip and the next second, they threw the kid into the back of therge truck, treating him no better than a sack of potatoes.

    ¡®What the f*ck is going on, what are they doing¡­ are they kidnapping them¡­ did they do all of this to sell our organs!?¡¯ Kevin thought.

    All he knew was that these men were clearly up to no good, and he assumed it had something to do with whatever they had intended to inject him with.

    ¡°Hey, what''s that kid doing?!¡± One of the men shouted as he spotted Kevin. There seemed to be more people outside than inside, and because the young teenager knew that he had better chances heading back from where he came from.

    Entering the tent again, he could see that the second man had gotten up, while his partner was still recovering. Rushing forward, Kevin quickly went to grab the dropped syringe and put it into his pocket, and as he got back up, he could see the man¡¯s face in the perfect position, allowing him to throw his leg forward and kick him with the heel of his foot perfectly, making him lie t on the ground once more.

    Not slowing down, Kevin ran into the photography room he was in just seconds ago, and could see the photographer taking a photo of what would have been the next victim.

    ¡°It''s a trap! All of it! They¡¯re trying to kidnap us! We need to get out of here, quickly! Let''s head to the police station!¡± Kevin was clearly panicked and frazzled and although the kids didn¡¯t understand what was going on,ing from the same orphanage they trusted him, especially since they saw his tears running down his face as he informed them.

    The kids got into action as they began to scream and run right back into the warehouse. The adults and workers themselves took a moment to understand the situation. Kevin quickly ran inside with the others as well, and the panic from those in the ck Rock Orphanage spread to the others.

    ¡°Kevin!¡± Birdie called out, as she ran up to him. ¡°What''s going on? Is everything alright?¡±

    ¡°No, these guys... I don''t know what they''re doing, but they were trying to inject us with some shit! I saw them throwing one of my friends into a van! We have to get out of here!¡±

    Just as he said those words, the workers had blocked off the exit of the warehouse and had closed the doors firmly shut. One of the kids tried to push the adult, but the next second a fist hit the kid right in the face, knocking him on the back and blood poured from his mouth.

    It made the situation that they were all in very clear.

    ¡°You little brats, we tried to do this in a peaceful and most convenient way! You just had to mess things up, didn¡¯t you?!¡± A man shouted from behind, and Kevin could see that one of the kids had been grabbed and was being held from the back of his shirt. More men were seen behind him as well.

    ¡°How... how do we get out of this situation?!¡± Birdie asked.

    Looking at how the kids were being treated, Kevin wanted to go over there and fight. Attempt to knock the person out and free the kids. Innu had taught him a few things, but he didn¡¯t feel confident in his ability to take out adults. Not to mention, a lot of them looked to be well-built. At the same time, there was only one of him and many of them.

    ¡®I have to get out of here! I still have the syringe! The police will have to do something if I show it to them!¡¯ Kevin clenched his fist, and ran to the side of the wall that he had seen from before. He bolted as fast as he could, and Birdie was following right behind him.

    One of the men saw him running and attempted to grab him, but sliding across on the floor, Kevin slid down as if he was going for the home te, and managed to just avoid the man''s fingers. Unfortunately, Birdie wasn¡¯t as lucky.

    ¡°KEVIN!!!¡± She screamed, as the man put her over his shoulder, and it looked like the adults were gathering all the children and tying them up.

    ¡°I¡¯lle back, I¡¯ll get help, I promise!¡± Kevin shouted back, taking all his will to turn around. He hurried to the panel he had seen earlier. Lifting it up he quickly crawled and was out of the warehouse.

    The orphan knew he couldn''t stop there, so he continued to run further and further. Kevin didn''t have any phone with him, so he needed to find someone who did before the men could get to him. Fortunately, it didn''t look like there was anyone following him just yet. They were far too busy dealing with all the orphans inside the warehouse.

    Eventually, Kevin reached the metal fence. Not seeing any easy way, he climbed it up, sticking his hands and legs in whatever gap there was. Reaching the top, he jumped down, and continued to run forward.

    ¡®How could this happen? ¡­we were all happy and then... and then I told Suzan... I told her to sell the ce. Everything that''s happening... it''s all because of me!¡¯

    Running out of breath, he put his hands on his knees and was panting hard, wiping the tears away until.

    ¡°Kevin, is that you?¡±

    Looking up, the young teenager couldn''t help but break out in a sobbing mess as he recognised the voice.

    ¡°Suzan... ¡±

 Chapter 282 â€“ Someone Help

    <h4>Chapter 282 - Someone Help</h4>

    Before Kevin had a chance to exin the full extent of what had happened to him and the other orphans, he decided to move away from the warehouse. Suzan seemed to understand that something was wrong, and noticing that he seemed exhausted from running, the woman took off her coat and handed it over to the young teenager. She led him to the main street and they hid between a few shops that were closed at this time.

    Kevin found it very hard to confess to Suzan what had happened inside the warehouse. After all, he med himself. Nevertheless, under some sobs he retold everything that he had seen, and immediately Suzan fell on her knees, banging against the concrete, not caring about the pain.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Suzan. I¡¯m so, so sorry. This is all my fault!¡± Kevin cried out, as he knelt down next to her and started to pour his eyes out once again. Seeing the young boy in that condition, Suzan hugged him tightly, bringing his head close to her chest.

    ¡°Shhh, it''s not your fault, Kevin. You''re just a kid. I¡¯m the adult who signed those papers after they were the ones who pressured me. They are the ones that are doing all those bad things¡­ None of it is your fault.¡± Suzan tried to calm him down. ¡°I''m just happy that you are safe. I''m happy that you made it out. And all we can do now is try to help them.¡±

    The two of them understood the seriousness of the situation. Based on what they had heard and experienced, it was too dangerous for them to go in by themselves. There were multiple people involved, and the group had money. It was easy for them to guess that these people were professional gangsters.

    Suzan clicked on redial, and shared the news with the police. The person on the other end had some good news, telling her that they had already sent someone out. The woman was then asked where she was and what she was wearing. A bit confused, she did answer the question though.

    A few minutester, they saw a ck SUV pull up next to them. Opening the door, they could see a young man in a police uniform had arrived.

    ¡°Both of you get in, and we can talk inside.¡± Roo instructed.

    The two of them looked at each other and thought it was a bit strange for the police to be acting this way. When they had been told that someone was on the way, they had expected multiple cars, not a lone officer. Seeing their hesitation, Roo showed them his badge, proving he was a real officer.

    ¡°Look, this area is not safe. Please get inside first, and then we can talk.¡± Roo prompted them, looking around, as if he was wondering if someone followed him. Unable to trust him, Suzan called a third time, and they confirmed that the officer in front of her really was with the police.

    After all, thest thing she wanted to do was head back with those dangerous people they were with before. Once inside, Roo immediately started to drive, and they could see that they were heading out of the area, and away from the warehouse.

    ¡°Wait, Officer!¡± Kevin shouted. ¡°You¡¯re driving the wrong way! We have to help the others! They are still in there!¡±

    However, the boy¡¯s pleas fell on deaf ears, as Roo continued to drive. Only once they were out of the area and on the road, did he pull over to the side and parked the car.

    ¡°You guys really don''t understand where you were.¡± Roo sighed, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you guys must have been scared. We got your report, and they sent me to pick you guys up and get you out of there. I can take you to the police station, or back home, it''s up to you.¡±

    The two sitting in the back seat of the police car couldn''t believe It.

    ¡°Is that it? That¡¯s the only thing the police will do? We told you that they are kidnapping children there! They''re using them for something sinister and cing them in trucks. How can the police ignore such a matter?!¡± Suzan used the young officer.

    Looking at the ground for a second, it was hard for Roo to even meet the caretaker¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll give you an exnation, but you''re not going to like it. This whole area is owned by the Grey Elephants gang. The police force aren''t exactly heavy-handed with people. There isn''t much we can do.

    ¡°If we want to send a full force in on them, and enter private property, we would need a warrant. Sure we can use what you said, but it would still take time for a judge to clear it and by then¡­well. The Grey Elephants gang are great at slowing us down whenever we have made requests in the past.

    ¡°I''m d that you have managed to escape from the ce, but by now they must be cleaning things up. Worst thing is, their victims this time are all orphans. There isn''t really anyone that would report them missing either.¡±

    Quickly going into his pocket, Kevin pulled out the syringe he had picked up, filled with the strange coloured liquid.

    ¡°What about this? They tried to inject me with this. I''m sure it''s some type of illegal substance, can''t you use this to go after them?¡± Kevin asked.

    Roo looked at it for a while, he wasn''t sure what it was.

    ¡°Alright, I can take it back to the station and have it inspected. I promise you, I''m just as worried about them as you are. However, there are rules we have to abide by. The best thing we can do now, is if you can give me a description of those trucks you saw earlier. Did you happen to see the licence tes or any other defining features?

    ¡°We will have patrol cars on the lookout for them. Once they spot the trucks, we¡¯ll attempt to pull them over. We¡¯ll just make up some reason to search their vehicle, and if we find the kids you''re looking for, that''s when we can act¡­ That''s all I can do for now.¡± Roo exined.

    While Roo headed back to the police station, Kevin exined what the trucks looked like. The orphan told him everything he could remember, but he honestly wasn''t sure how much help it would be. There was no telling if the trucks would move today, or if there might be others.

    And honestly, the more he thought about it, the more Kevin believed that Roo was just saying things to him to get him off his back. Could the police force really afford to utilise so many vehicles to search for the trucks?

    The honest truth was, perhaps they would just send out a memo to their current officers to see if they spotted any trucks, but that was it.

    Leaving the SUV, Suzan and Kevin were just left there.

    ¡° If the police don¡¯t act, all of them might get hurt. What do we do now?¡± Kevin asked.

    Suzan looked like her mind was about to copse in on her. She had the same fears as Kevin. The way the police talked, it was clear that the Grey elephants were just too big of a problem, especially when they were in their territory, whatever that meant.

    ¡°I-I¡­ I don''t know.¡± Suzan mumbled, defeated.

    Finding himself in a tough situation, Kevin did what he would always do, which often helped hime up with a solution¡­ even though it would usually end up being the opposite.

    ¡°Why don''t we contact Innu? You can call him, right? You have his number. Tell him what happened!¡± Kevin asked.

    ¡°Innu? Are you sure? He''s just a kid. It might be better not to drag him into any of this.¡± Suzan was hesitant.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a child any more!¡± Kevin shot back immediately. ¡°He looks after us all just as much as you do, Suzan. I know¡­ I know he might not be able to help, and it''s a long shot¡­but I think we should tell him. ¡°Who knows¡­ what if he has an idea? Please¡­ he looked after all of us at that orphanage every day, even after he left!¡±

    Thinking about what Kevin was saying, Suzan started to think back to thest time she had seen Innu. He certainly did seem more dependable. In the end, in the desperate situation that she was in, she decided to give Innu a call. The woman didn''t know what exactly she was expecting, but she decided to trust Kevin¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Hello, Suzan, I''m surprised you called me sote.¡± Innu''s voice was heard on the other end of the phone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was unable to make ittely. I¡¯ll be sure to visit you soon.¡±

    Suzan was finding it hard to tell him what had happened. Taking a long deep breath, she finally did, though.

    ¡°The kids at the ck Rock Orphanage, they''re in trouble.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Sitting in his bedroom, in the crummy apartment where his foster parents were, Innu had just finished getting off the phone. He ced it down slowly, and thought about what to do.

    ¡°The Grey Elephants¡­and trucks. I don''t have a clue what they are up to, but it will be hard to find them. I need all the help I can get if I want to find them.¡± Innu said as he lifted his phone and looked again.

    He was hesitant as he was about to make the call.

    ¡®No, I have to ask, they are like family to me. They¡¯re the only ones who might be able to help now!¡¯

    Eventually, after a few rings, the person on the other end had picked up.

    ¡°Gary, I need your help¡­ I need the Howlers¡¯ help.¡±

    There was only a slight pause, before his friend answered.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll help!¡±

 Chapter 283 â€“ The Start Of It All

    <h4>Chapter 283 - The Start Of It All</h4>

    Honestly, when Innu had joined the Howlers, he had done so mostly on a whim. Kai¡¯s approach to recruiting him had intrigued the teenager and unlike the other recruiters, the blond teenager had exuded a very confident aura. On top of that, they had made a deal, and Innu wasn¡¯t one to break his own word.

    Still, he could leave at any point he wished if need be. It wasn''t like they were forcing him to stay, nor did he owe any of them a debt. However, for some reason, he had chosen to stay.

    His partner, Green Fang¡¯s performance, had also done its job to intrigue him. As long as he could make money, then he would have been happy. Originally he had nned to join one of the other smaller gangs to earn some money while using his fists, legs, knees, and elbows. It was the only thing he was good at.

    At the same time, he wasn¡¯t really old enough to earn money legally, yet he required the money to help those he cared about now. Perhaps the reason was due to the amount of money he could earnpared to others that he stayed, but when he thought about it more, that wasn¡¯t the reason.

    What he had never expected, was to feel so closely connected to his fellow gang members. Gary hade to his old school and fought off Billy, which was the point in time he had really earned his respect. From that day onwards, events had kept happening around the gang leader that had only elevated his position in Innu''s head.

    He didn''t know what had happened, but Innu had decided that not only was Gary the right leader for him to follow, but he was truly part of the gang and loyal. This was also the reason he had called him first, over Kai.

    Gary was a person who he could trust, and who would return him the same level of trust.

    When in trouble, the first person he thought about was not only Gary as his leader, but more so his friend. However, he was in for another surprise, the green haired teenager didn¡¯t even need to hear what exactly he needed help with, already agreeing.

    ¡®I knew¡­ Gary, and this whole gang was the right gang to follow.¡¯ Innu thought.

    He quickly gave him a brief summary over the phone, everything that Innu himself had been told from Kevin. Gary hung up the call, even more determined than before to help his friend out.

    It was also the first time Innu had told Gary that he used to be an orphan. Innu felt like he needed to give a reason why he wanted to help them so much, so he couldn''t be shy about his background or past. Now it made sense why he and ke had seen him in front of the orphanage that day.

    Fortunately for him, the duo had been there and defeated the Omega Werewolf, otherwise¡­ Gary didn¡¯t even want to finish that thought.

    ¡®Those Grey Elephant gang members are scum¡­they were the ones that were part of that colour gang attack that put Mum in the hospital. They kidnapped Amy, and won¡¯t stop harassing her, and now they are even doing things like this¡­ hurting those that are close to Innu.

    ¡®Maybe this is a sign¡­ that they need to be dealt with.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Heading into his wardrobe, Gary grabbed a bag and started unpacking. It was the new uniform he had received from Kai. It looked simr to his old one, nearly identical, but there was one drastic change.

    Where the sleeves of the zer would be, they were stretched more and had a slit going down to one''s elbows. It wasn''t the best for keeping one warm because of this design, but Gary figured out why Kai had done this.

    ¡®Probably doesn''t want me breaking any more of the gang''s clothes.¡¯ Gary chuckled to himself.

    Getting on his phone, Gary had asked everyone to meet at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club and to do so quickly. Meanwhile, Innu would update everyone on the way there of what was going on. The message was also sent out to Olivia as well.

    The main aim was to get the kids back from Innu¡¯s orphanage, but doing so would mean they were going up against the Grey Elephants. If this was an important operation for the gang, then they would do anything to stop others from intervening, meaning they needed all the help they could get.

    ¡°Amy!¡± Gary shouted as he was about to open the door. ¡°I''m going out, one of my friends¡­they require some help. Can you do me a favour? ¡­ make sure to stay inside today, no matter what.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t stay to listen to Amy¡¯s answer and had closed the door, before she could ask any more questions. His sister hardly ever went out on her own at night, especially after what had happened to her so far.

    She hadn''t talked about the mysterious man who had been following her, for some reason she had kept that a secret from Gary, even though he knew who it was. Perhaps she thought it was all in her head, but Gary knew that it wasn¡¯t. For now, though, he would keep it to himself; there was no need for him to worry his sister.

    ¡ª¡ª

    A short while altar and the car had picked up Gary with Tyler inside, it had made a round trip and also picked up a few of the others while the rest had made their way to the pool club, but in the end, currently all main members of the Howlers, Olivia, along with Suzan and Kevin were in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club that now had a closed for business sign. What Gary also noticed was that White was also present. From what he had heard, Marie and her mother had somewhat taken her in and were looking after her for the time being.

    ¡°Innu, who are all these people?¡± Kevin whispered. Who was sitting next to Suzan, but they were close to Innu who was standing.

    Looking at the others talking with concerned looks on their faces, taking the issue seriously, Innu couldn''t help but smile. He was so happy that he had people that he could rely on and would go this far for him.

    ¡°They''re my friends, and people who are going to help us in all of this.¡± Innu replied.

    ¡°What could the Grey Elephants want with a bunch of orphans?¡± Marie asked, as she couldn''t quite believe that even a gang would go that low.

    ¡°There are plenty of reasons. Harvesting them for organs, trafficking, making certain types of videos. The world isn''t as sweet as you think it is. As long as their people need and want certain things, there will be those that deliver.¡± Olivia casually answered, which just reminded all of them that while they had just dipped their toes into the underworld. She was one who was fully in it.

    ¡°Alright, at the moment, we have Austin and his followers on their motorbikes searching around town looking to see if they can spot any of those trucks.¡± Kai started to exin. ¡°Olivia, you have your people also searching around the ce, seeing if they can spot any of the vehicles anywhere. Once we get information, we will move out and try to stop them.¡±

    ¡°Stop them?!¡± Suzan eximed, jumping out of her seat. ¡°Don''t you mean to call the police? How will you stop them? Kevin said there were multiplerge men, who weren''t scared to use their fists, and not even the police sounded like they wanted to deal with them!¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Kai scoffed. ¡°The police don''t want to get involved in any of this, so what would calling them aplish? We just have to take matters into our own hands.¡±

    Suzan and Kevin didn''t understand. Where was the group¡¯s confidenceing from? Neither one of them had heard Innu mention anything about them, so why were they so willing to help him? Looking at Innu as well, it looked like he was doing up the wraps that would cover his hands, he also looked like he was ready to personally get involved.

    While waiting, Austin was the first to get a call from his side. It sounded like one of his follower¡¯s spotted one of the trucks and was following it.

    ¡°How many trucks are there?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°We spotted two, but they split up, and now we''re following both of them!¡± The boy shouted on the other side, since the sound of his motorbike was heard through the phone.

    ¡°Ask him what area they are heading to?¡± Kai asked, as he had a bad feeling about this.

    At the same time, it looked like Olivia got a call as well, stating that they too had found two trucks that had matched the description, yet they were both going in different areas, yet the same area.

    ¡°Gary, did you hear?¡± Kai asked.

    Gary nodded, he had heard the names of the four areas but was wondering why Kai looked so panicked, but then it hit him.

    ¡°All the areas¡­are owned by the Underdogs.¡± Gary gulped down hard.

    It was then that a smile appeared on Olivia¡¯s face.

    ¡°I don''t know what they''re going to use those orphans for, but whatever it is, this has to be their way of dering the start of the war¡­¡±

 Chapter 284 â€“ Everyone Involved

    <h4>Chapter 284 - Everyone Involved</h4>

    The Pincers gang members, as well as Austin¡¯s schoolmates, were told to follow the trucks for now. They had spotted four of them in total so far. However, since all four of the trucks were heading to different locations, the Howlers had to make a decision on what to do as well.

    In the first ce, they were unsure what happened to the rest of the children, perhaps they were even still some at the warehouse but it was unlikely.

    ¡®Chavley is my home area, while Cipen is the main area where the Underdogs¡¯ businesses are. If this is an attack, thergest attack force will be in that area.¡¯ Gary concluded. ¡®I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ but I don''t think splitting up will be our best choice. For one I can¡¯t protect everyone else if they''re not close to me, and two I think this war is going to be tough on all of us.¡¯

    ¡°Olivia, head out and check up on your two groups. We¡¯ll trust your judgement, but please keep us updated on what you n on doing.¡± Kai ordered. With that, the Lady Boss was ready to leave, but before she left, Gary had one more thing to say to her.

    ¡°Olivia¡­ if it¡¯s possible, prioritise saving¡­ but if you have to engage the Grey Elephant members, don¡¯t hold back. Do whatever you need to take them out.¡± Gary ordered as he clenched his fists. The Alpha Werewolf was beyond annoyed at the predicament that the Grey Elephants had put him in. These people would continue to act this way unless they were dead.

    The colour gang war had already devastated a single area, but this attack could very well implicate the whole town. He could only ce his trust in the Beta Werewolf and pray that she would keep the Bronton and Kidminstin area safe.

    ¡°Gary, it''s your call about where we will go next. I think you know it''s best if we stay together. The Grey Elephants are a big gang, after all, so chose one ce.¡± Kai let him have thest say.

    ¡®Amy should be safe, and I have a Mark on her to know how she is doing. The apartment is locked up, and she should stay in doors. Mum got hurtst time because she was working. They should have no interest in the residents of the area¡­ right?¡¯

    ¡°We need to finish this once and for all, we will finish it today. We¡¯ll head to Cipen.¡± Gary decided.

    The reason for his choice was because Cipen was also where the nightclub where Damion and the Underdogs base were to be. If things went well, then Gary could get rid of both threats of his back today.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The two groups continued to follow therge trucks. Knowing what territory they were headed in, one would think that they would stop outside some of the establishments they owned. However, this wasn''t the case at all.

    Instead, they had surprisingly stopped at the busiest ces of each location, the end of the high streets where shops of food, drinks, bars, and others would be located. They stopped dead in the middle.

    ¡°Hey, report this to Austin.¡± One of the high schoolers Bo said.

    The next second, they could see the driver leaving the vehicle, and strangely it looked as if he was fleeing. He didn¡¯t look left or right, instead he only looked at the parked truck, before he increased his speed.

    ¡°Hey¡­ you don''t think they nted a bomb in that thing, did they?¡±Felix suggested, judging by the way the man escaping the area. However, since they were on motorbikes, they believed themselves to be rtively safe.

    Once the man was far enough away from the vehicle, he pressed a particr device and the back slowly started to open.

    ¡°Arghh! Arghh!¡±

    ¡°Can you hear that?¡± Alfie asked¡­

    Carefully listening, they could make out growls and snarls. It also seemed to catch the attention of one of those on the main street. It looked like a drunken man who had a bit too much. He was wobbling over to the vehicle. Eventually, the door fully opened, and what looked like a small person had leapt out of it, pinning the drunkard to the ground.

    ¡°ARGH! Someone help me! It¡¯s a monster! A monster is trying to eat me!¡± The man began to shout in his panic.

    The group of boys started tough at the sight. They didn¡¯t take him seriously, believing him to just be delusional, but eventually his cries for help stopped. Standing up, they could see that the small kid had let him go, and the man on the ground, wasn''t moving at all.

    One of the boys noticed that the kids nails looked simr to pencils. They were looking sharp and something was dripping off them. Too far for them to see. However, the next second, more kids left the vehicle, and they immediately started to run on the street. Jumping on whoever they could see wing at them all.

    The first one who had finally got out, turned around and looked at the teenagers, smiling at them with a face full of blood. What they were looking at now really was a monster.

    The same scene was happening in all the different areas. Each truck would open, and about a dozen little monsters would file out, killing whoever happened to be unlucky enough to be out on the street. Each one looked slightly different, but all of them shared traits that no normal human would possess, teeth sharp enough to crush bones, melted mouths, elongated nails and so on.

    The whole town fell into chaos. Panic quickly spread, with murders happening left and right.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A few minutester, the reports wereing out to everyone in Slough. It was no longer just an issue for the Howlers, but for everyone.

    ¡°There have been reports of mass killings going on in at least four areas of Slough. The attackers seem to be modified in some way¡­ looking simr to Altered. Yet it is clear that their minds are not there. When asked forments, the police advised everyone to stay indoors.

    ¡°I repeat, everyone who might be out should head home, and stay indoors until the matter is resolved.¡±

    Watching everything happening on Tv was Amy, who was now worried for her brother.

    ¡®Wait, didn¡¯t Gary tell me to stay in doors as well, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s involved in this.¡¯

    -

    Underneath his house, ke looked at the set of weapons on the wall. He quickly picked a de from them, while packing his things and getting dressed.

    ¡®I don''t know what''s going on, but the report said it themselves. Those things aren''t human, which means I have a job to do. It''s what Dad would do.¡¯ The young Altered Hunter thought to himself.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Rushing out from their hotel room, wearing their grey uniforms, were a couple that didn¡¯t look pleased at all.

    ¡°Get in contact with Anton, tell him to update us on everything that is happening.¡± Sadie ordered an assistant that was following them by their side. It was themunicator that would be used to talk to the police forces and the White Rose base for them.

    ¡°Get Anton to barricade the entirety of Slough! Not a single person is to leave this town. We can''t let those crazed Altered out of here.¡±

    ¡°This is unheard of! Do you not think we should make a personal report to White Rose HQ ourselves to call for more backup?¡± Frank asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point? We both know back up won''t arrive in time. We''re the only Altered here, so we have to act now! The only thing we can do is put some trust in this town¡¯s people.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡®People are dying left and right? This world really has gone crazy. I¡¯m happy that my little sis is going to be leaving this ce, but if I have the power to help, I should.¡¯ Jayden thought to himself while he looked through his cupboard to see if there was any sort of disguise he could use to hide himself.

    After all, a superstar like him getting involved like this would be big news, which he would rather avoid. Eventually, he pulled out a scarf and a wig that was inside for some of his photoshoots that he would take.

    ¡®Well, it¡¯s not as fancy as streaker boy¡¯s, but it will have to do.¡¯

 Chapter 285 â€“ You Canâ€™t Die

    <h4>Chapter 285 - You Can¡¯t Die</h4>

    Of course, the news spread around the area of Slough, and the public were quick to rush into their homes. Some took the news seriously, while others thought that perhaps the police were exaggerating or that this was just a made up story to have the people off the streets.

    Whatever the case, the Grey Elephants didn''t care because in the first ce, their aim was to get another group''s attention, and that they certainly did.

    ¡°Boss!¡± One of the men in suits came running into his office, only to see that Damion was already standing, surrounded by some of his most trusted men.

    ¡°Speak!¡± Damion shouted at the man who had just entered.

    ¡°We keep getting calls from all our businesses from each of the areas! It''s definitely a targeted attack!¡± The man exined. Turning around, Damion picked something off the desk and the next second as he spun, he threw out a knife, hitting the man straight in the forehead and killing him on the spot.

    ¡°That''s wasting my time with information I already know!¡± Damion scoffed. ¡°We knew the Grey Elephants were going to attack us, but those weasels can¡¯t even bother to do it themselves. For now, forget about all the other areas. We will protect Cipen and get rid of all those that are here.

    ¡°After today businesses will have no other choice anyway. Once we¡¯re the only ones in town, they wille and go when this all blows over, and we will just take them back. You, tell me, have we heard any news from Kirk and the Cheetah Squad?¡± Damion asked.

    One of the men gulped before answering.

    ¡°Yes, one of his men reported that he has almost annihted the entirety of the Grey Elephant gang that was at their warehouse. However, none of their leaders were present when they arrived.¡±

    Hearing this news, the Underdog gang leader smiled.

    ¡°Good, that means that their leaders are somewhere else, and will be personallying over. The only question is who the f*ck is pulling their strings? ¡­ Ah, it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll find out soon enough, once I skin all their members alive. Tell Kirk to head to the other areas to clear them out as he makes his way back here.¡±

    Going up to the wall at the back of the room, he looked up to a pair of red coloured small axes. His men thought of them as nothing but simple decorations and were wondering why their boss would grab them now of all times. They didn''t exactly look regr, as their handles were covered in scales and the head itself was white, as if it was made from a type of bone.

    Damion''s weapon of choice had always been a pair of small axes. Perhaps because whenever he ended up using them, there would always be a mess, instilling fear in those who followed him, making them think twice about ever crossing him. And this pair was certainly quite special.

    ¡°I was hoping to solve the damned package situation before this, but these Grey Elephants just couldn¡¯t cherish theirst days on Earth. Pulling this stunt could get us all killed. Well, I¡¯ll at least make sure they¡¯ll die before us!¡± Damion murmured, as he walked out the door.

    The man kicked the door open from his office and entered the nightclub floor, which had been open for a couple of hours. The customers inside were frightened and shaking. It looked like they had run inside away from the monsters.

    Walking through, he had his men behind him, using more conventional and regr weapons, while some of them had none. Walking up the stairs to the high street, Damion kicked the door open as well, seeing the chaos unfold.

    There were people screaming and running all sorts of directions. However, there didn¡¯t seem to be any gang members out and about on the streets, at least not yet.

    ¡°Send out the small timers to the end of the streets. Tell them to stay there and kill them, anything that isn¡¯t a panicked civilian. I doubt this will be the full attack, so if I were them, I would be waiting for us to get tired.¡±

    In doing so, the newbies along with some younger members started to run out either side. One of those ¡®lucky¡¯ enough to help protect Cipen was Gil. However, he and his group didn¡¯t get fair, until they encountered the beings the people were running from.

    They looked like kids, only clearly deformed, their bodies resembling strange beasts more than human. The main thing, though, was how they were covered in blood and the street behind them had bodies as well.

    One of the Underdog gang members pulled out his knife and one of the creatures ran towards him at a fast speed. The man shed his knife cutting deep into the beast''s hand, however, with its other hand, and its pencil-like nails that were simr to long mini drills, it repeatedly stabbed the adult in the side of the neck, making him drop dead on the ground.

    Watching this, Gil panicked. He had been handed a baseball bat, so putting all his strength he swung from below, hitting the creature right in the rib, sending him off in the other direction. However, the gang member was clearly on hisst legs and bleeding out.

    The other gang members, despite having more than three times the number, were having trouble dealing with the creatures, and soon Gil heard growls near him. Looking up, he could see that the creature he had swatted away, was up again. The teenager was sure he had broken its ribs, yet the only sign of damage was ck blood seeping out from its mouth as it was staring at him.

    ¡®Sh*t I''m going to die here!¡¯ Gil thought, as he ced his bat behind his head and was ready to swing it once again.

    The small creature ran quickly, and the dropout swung the bat aiming for its head, yet it was prepared for him. At thest moment it stepped back, making him misspletely, leaving him open for its attack. The beast was ready to pierce both its ws right through the teenager¡¯s soft body.

    Having over swung the bat, there was no getting out of this one for Gil¡­

    When he closed his eyes, ready to feel pain, he heard a scream in front of him. Opening his eyes again, he saw a red axe having cut right through the beast''s arms, chopping them off. The next second, Damion used the other axe, slicing the beast¡¯s head off, killing it on the spot.

    ¡°You¡­ you''re the one who imed to know where Greeny was, right?¡± Damion asked. ¡°I¡¯ll have you apany me. It¡¯s too early for you to die.¡±

 Chapter 286 â€“ The Underdogs Strongest Squad

    <h4>Chapter 286 - The Underdogs Strongest Squad</h4>

    The Underdogs had known that the Grey Elephants gang had been nning something. In fact, they had been tipped off that it was to start today. However, Brandon had been smart enough to keep the ns of what exactly would happen to himself and Raven.

    With both gangs being as big as they were, it was impossible to guarantee that there were no moles. In fact, Raven had gone one step further and had advised his old time friend to tell the different teams, only the area they would have to drive to. That way the Underdogs would be in for a surprise.

    Nevertheless, armed with the knowledge that ¡®something¡¯ would go down, Damion had sent out Kirk along with the Cheetah Squad that consisted of five members to the Grey Elephant¡¯s factory ahead of the attack. These were his number one squad force and his most trusted as well.

    The factory wasn¡¯t just any regr factory, it was the ce where the Grey Elephants¡¯ main ie came from, and it was rumoured to be where the leaders would often be at as well.

    The Cheetah Squad were considered the strongest group in the Underdogs. They had never failed a job before, and that was mainly due to the leader of the Cheetah Squad being an Altered. Today was no different.

    Kirk stood there in the centre of the factory that manufactured particr parts for cars, but right now it was no longer operating. The machines had stopped, and it was a bloody mess. A worker''s face had been shoved into the assembly line and was bleeding.

    The group didn¡¯t care if they were part of the Grey Elephants or not, all of them were to be punished and dealt with. It was the risk one took when deciding who they would be paying to protect them.

    What looked like countless gang members had been defeated all around, and the clothes of the Cheetah Squad themselves were no longer ck, but stained red. cing his phone back in his pocket, Kirk took in a big breath.

    ¡°Alright, everyone, it looks like we had a busy day today. We were a little toote, and the Grey Elephants seem to have already started attacking all over the ce.¡± Kirk sighed. ¡°We need to get moving, but before we go, we have one more order. To make sure, this ce won¡¯t be in operating condition for a while. If we can¡¯t beat them head on in this war, or they continue to run away from us, that''s fine. We¡¯ll just hit them with their finances. Forcing them toe out eventually.¡±

    A few minutester the group were seen leaving the ce with a few explosions going off and being heard in the background. The whole factory would have to be rebuilt, and as for the people inside, they probably would never be able to walk another day in their life.

    Outside, there were two vehicles waiting for them, getting in. They were on their way to the area closest where the attacks were taking ce. While in the car, though, Kirk leaned forward, resting his head against the seat in front of him.

    ¡°How many were in that factory?¡± Kirk asked.

    ¡°About twenty, Sir.¡± The man next to him answered.

    ¡°Add that to my list, make sure it''s updated.¡± Kirk ordered while clenching his fist. The others in the car stayed silent, not saying a thing.

    ¡®How long will I have to keep doing this for, and¡­ will all my bad sins be forgiven?¡¯ Kirk started to wonder. ¡®The only way I can stay sane, is to make up for all those I have hurt, and use my strength to save others.¡¯

    The car stayed silent until they reached the next area and the sound of screams could be heard.

    ¡°We are finally here, Sir, from the news we have received, they seem to be crazed Altered that have been taken over by their other side.¡± The man said as he got out of the car, opening the door for Kirk.

    They group had stopped on the other side of a bridge that would lead to a small little local bar area that the Underdogs owned. It was quite the popr area for night drinking on the outside for people. Often there would be those that would go on what was known as a pub crawl. Hitting all the bars in the area before they arrived at home. It was why the Underdogs had made it their ce of business due to the nice profits they all owned.

    Not only did they help deal with other gang members, but also the drunken customers that would like to cause trouble as well. It was one of the few ces that actually weed the Underdogs and their business, as it allowed them to run more smoothly.

    Today, though, there weren¡¯t any happy customers, instead there was fear in their eyes.

    While running over the bridge, Kirk could see what looked like a couple that were at the very back. It was a young man along with a woman. However, the woman was struggling to run as she had high heels. In the end, one of her shoes eventually snapped.

    The man quickly turned around to help his partner, but could see that the creatures that had been chasing behind them weren''t too far behind.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry!¡± The man shouted as he turned around and ran, abandoning her.

    ¡°You bastard!¡± The woman cursed as she threw her high heels away, and attempted to get up, but looking behind, she could see the creature was close to her. The next second though, she could feel the wind on her face, and when she looked up, instead of the creature there was a man with yellow coloured skin and spots over his body.

    The creature was seen off in the distance, its face bloody. At the same time, the man that stood by her side had a bloody fist.

 Chapter 287 â€“ Clash Of The Beasts

    <h4>Chapter 287 - sh Of The Beasts</h4>

    ¡°Hey folks, I¡¯m here right in Kidminstin! Did you guys all see that just now?!¡± A young man who was wearing a puffy oversized coat and had chains all around his neck was currently filming the event on his phone.

    He wasn''t just any regr university student, though. Scotty was a popr live streamer who happened to be in the area, rating different bars and their best drinks. Ever since the attack had started, he had continued to film the whole thing, and the reason for that was simple.

    The amount of his viewers had skyrocketed!

    Rather than overwhelmed with fear like others, Scotty had seen this as an opportunity for himself. He had managed to gather over two hundred people after livestreaming for a couple months, but right now, his viewership was in the thousands! People not only from Slough were watching what was going on, but from other cities as well, as they had never seen such Altered before.

    [Is this real, or are they promoting some type of movie?]

    [Yeah, I¡¯ve never even heard or seen this many crazy Altered in the same ce before.]

    [I heard some rumours, on the dark web. They say that there arerge numbers of Altered in the lower tier towns that had gone crazy.]

    [But that doesn''t make any sense. I thought there weren¡¯t any Altered in the lower tier towns?]

    [Which is why it doesn''t make any sense and this person is just talking out of his arse.

    Don¡¯t believe everything you see on the inte.]

    ¡°Did you all see that just now!? The man suddenly transformed his arms and legs, and burst across to save that woman right now, yo!¡± Scottymentated. ¡°It''s an Altered. I can''t believe there is an Altered in Slough, here to help the people!¡±

    Soon, though, one of his viewers recognised him as Kirk Summerfield.

    [Hey, that''s not just any Altered, that''s Kirk Summerfield! The Rookie AFC guy, the Cheetah Altered.]

    [Yeah, it is him! I guess he couldn''t just stand back and watch what was happening in his town, so he had to get involved.]

    [Whoa, does that mean this whole thing is real!]

    [I dunno. Might just be some promo for the AFC. Maybe they will reveal this as some new type of match style?]

    ¡°It''s not a set-up guys.¡± Scotty said after checking in with his livefeed. He wasn¡¯t happy that his viewers were doubting the seriousness of this situation. ¡°I didn¡¯t get to get a good shot because I wasn¡¯t ready for what happened, but when I was leaving the ce I saw real blood. I saw the look in the girl''s eyes before she¡­s he died.¡±

    [Have you ever heard of paid actors before, Scotty, or are you really that naive?]

    [F in the chat for the poor woman, people.]

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Remember, to add her to the list.¡± Kirk shouted, as he continued to move forward. There was only one creature that had followed this group, but Kirk was sure that there would be more around the area.

    While walking forward, though, Kirk noticed that he had merely injured the beast. It stood up from the ground. Opening its mouth, the skin stretched until it bled from the sides and let out a nasty sounding growl.

    ¡®It''s so small, is it really an Altered? ¡­ guess it has to be. There¡¯s no way a normal human could have survived my hit when I didn''t hold back.¡¯ Kirk thought. ¡®Does that mean, the Grey Elephants have turned kids into Altered? Just how did they get their hands on so much Altered DNA? There''s something else going on here. That thing seems to have gone berserk with the rest of them. Damion could be in more trouble if I don¡¯t hurry up.¡¯

    This time, instead of using his fists, Kirk grew out his sharp nails, and dashed forward again. The creature was fast, but Kirk was simply just too fast for it, his nails piercing right through the kid''s head.

    ¡°I''m sorry, once turning into a crazed Alter there is no way ofing back from it. I''m sorry for what they have done to you.¡± Kirk apologised as he let go of the corpse.

    Quickly, leaving the body on the ground, the Cheetah Altered continued to where he could hear the screams. He entered the main road where cars would normally be at this time of day. Some had been flipped and others destroyed.

    While walking towards the area, he also saw countless dead bodies on the ground. Those of the Underdog members. He was a little proud that the gang members at least stayed to try to fight, rather than run away.

    There were those inside their establishments with the doors locked, staring outside, but it was quite calm, because standing in the middle of the street was a lone man, who was facing all the creatures on his own.

    Scotty had followed Kirk and the others, and zoomed in on the lone man fighting.

    ¡°Look at this, it looks like a regr person is taking on the monsters.¡± Scottymented.

    On the camera, one could see a man, who had a scarf wrapped around his neck, and a cap on the top of his head. Wearing a standard sports shirt, even in the middle of the night. He dodged two of the creatures'' attacks, and grabbed the back of their heads, mming them into the ground.

    ¡®Damn¡­this is harder than I thought without transforming any of my body.¡¯ Jayden thought.

    While he was catching his breath, another beast that he thought he had dealt with, had gotten back up, thrusting its hand forward. Still, Jayden was ready and was waiting for the right time to kick it in its head.

    When he lifted his foot off the ground, though, he could sense that something else from the front came forward and had punched it in the side of its face instead.

    ¡°These guys are tougher than you think.¡± Kirk said towards the apparent stranger.

 Chapter 288 â€“ Anti Hero

    <h4>Chapter 288 - Anti Hero</h4>

    The police had been somewhat quick to respond, which was a little strange even for them. However, they had managed to go to most of the areas where the current troubles were urring. Still, their tactics were questioned by many of the people who had been walking by.

    For one of the areas, the police had surrounded the high street with cars, on all exits around in a circle. Simply put, they weren''t letting these creatures get out from the areas. Hoping to minimise the damage to the outside, yet not a single one of them had entered the ce themselves.

    On the edge of the road, where the police cars had blocked the road, arge van had pulled up and on the side, it had the words channel five TV crew filmed. Immediately,ing out of the car quickly, was a cameraman, and a female presenter dressed in a suit. It was light blue in colour. She had short hair that was tied back, and a stunning earring made of diamonds.

    Of course, like with most presenters for a TV channel, they were quite the looker. It always seemed to earn them more ratings, especially when Miss Kate Dar was on the scene. Immediately, she didn''t shy away as the camera was seen rolling with the red dot, and got out her microphone, pointing it towards the officers.

    ¡°Officer, I¡¯m Kate Dar from Channel Five News. I¡¯vee here hoping that you would be able to answer some of the public''s questions.¡± Kate stated her reason for being here, and straight away the police officer looked nervous and the others standing around were wondering what to do.

    The problem was they were already having trouble trying to stop the general public from entering. There were many still inside establishments and buildings held up, and their family members had appeared, hoping to get them out of such a dangerous ce.

    ¡°Many videos of the strange creatures that are assumed to be crazed Altered have appeared online, but what the people want to know is what is your n to get the civilians out of these areas.¡± The reporter pushed on. ¡°As far as we know, none of the police have acted, and seeing what the situation is like it seems to be true. What do you have to say to that?¡±

    As they were asking the questions, screams were still being heard from behind. Zooming in on the camera, they could see countless dead bodies, mainly men in suits who looked to have been protecting the people so far.

    However, they were unable to put up much of a fight against the creatures, and now it looked like the crazed Altered were going for their next target. They were bashing against the door, trying to break the ss windows of the shops and more.

    ¡°HELP THEM PLEASE!¡± The group of people watching were shouting.

    Once again, Kate shoved the microphone up to the officer''s face.

    ¡°Look, we are here to contain the area of damage.¡± The officer replied. ¡°And stop people like you from getting inside. This is the best option, if we go in and end up losing our lives, then these creatures will kill all of you as well!¡±

    Some officers shook her head at thement. They had been trained how to deal with press in certain situations, but they understood. The pressure was getting to them. They had been watching the creatures fight against what they assumed were gangsters.

    They had the same set of weapons as the police officers, but they actually had more members and were quite skillful using their tools, yet they were still killed. Furthermore, they could see that the creatures seemed to be attracted to whatever human was closest to them. If they went in, they would just be sacrificing themselves for no reason.

    At least they could get in their cars and create a barrier of some sort until a solution came to them.

    ¡°Are you saying that the police are ipetent to solve this situation? If the police can''t solve it, then who can?¡± Kate asked.

    At that moment, a hooded figure was slowly pushing people out of the way as they walked through the crowd of people. His head was held down, and he was dressed in all ck. Eventually, he had got to the front and was just a little away from where the reporter and police officer were.

    ¡°Step back, this is a restricted area, no one is allowed past this point!¡± The police officer shouted, but it didn¡¯t seem to slow down the stranger''s pace.

    Seeing what was going on right now, Kate pointed at her camera man towards themotion, she had a feeling that something was about to happen.

    ¡°Let me through.¡± The voice said. It was slightly altered and when the hooded man lifted his head, the police officer could see who it was straight away. It looked like he was ready to yell, but before he could, his mouth was grabbed by a hand, and the next second he was kneed in the stomach and thrown behind him.

    Two more officers stood in the robbed man''s way, pulling out their batons. A swing was made, but it was easily avoided, and the hooded man quickly kicked the back of his leg making him fall, before spinning and hitting the back of his head.

    The other officer went to swing as well, but the man was able to grab the person''s wrist before he could swing it and twisted it on the ground. Before kicking him hard in the stomach as well.

    ¡°Get out of my way, you guys aren¡¯t the ones that I¡¯m here for.¡± The man stated, walking forward.

    Quickly, seeing an opportunity due to the injured police officers, Kate, and her cameraman ran off through the gap, continuing to film the stranger. The rest of the police quickly regrouped, stopping the rest from charging in.

    The next second, though, the hooded man pulled out two swords from his side as he was ready to charge in.

    ¡°It''s an Altered Hunter.¡± Kate gasped.

 Chapter 289 â€“ Anti Hero (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 289 - Anti Hero (Part 2)</h4>

    When ke first heard the news of the crazed Altered attacking the people in Slough, his first instinct was to go out to help. After all, despite being shunned by the public, the reason Altered Hunters operated was to save people from a situation just like this one.

    However, part of ke knew that he didn¡¯t go out just to help the people. Part of him relished this situation, as it would justify him to do what he wanted to do ever since killing Billy. Right now, he was excited to be fighting Altered, however there was one thing that he noticed when appearing.

    ¡®These Altered are so small¡­ and the clothes they are wearing look so shabby. Are they¡­ homeless kids? Did someone turn kids into Altered?¡¯ ke wondered.

    It was impossible that someone would use the conventional way to turn so many kids. After all, those that were turned into Altered were meant to be humans in peak condition, usually people between sixteen and twenty-five years old to ensure the best effects.

    Then again, that only applied for those who needed to get sponsored. With enough money, one could be as old as one wanted¡­

    As ke started to walk forward, the attention of some of the crazed Altered that had been stabbing holes through doors and windows just seconds ago, shifted towards him. Two in particr looked his way.

    They screeched and growled, it was a strange sound as the noise they made was in between a growl and a scream, but that didn''t matter, ke had to make sure he had the resolve to kill these Altered.

    Looking on the ground, he looked at the corpses. Not only were there those who looked like gang members, but there were also civilians among them as well. Regr people who seemed to have simply been at the wrong ce at the wrong time.

    ¡®They seem to attack humans on sight. They seem no different from the beasts the books described. If these Altered are allowed to live, they will continue to cause more chaos.¡¯ ke reasoned.

    Both of the creatures leapt towards him at the same time, and seeing this, he moved his father¡¯s swords in a half arc motion, a sh was heard as the sword bashed against the hard pencil ws of both the Altered. The swords weren¡¯t light by any means, and with the armour ke wore he could feel a boost in strength whenever he used it to attack.

    Suddenly, there was a third one that came towards ke, and as it thrust its hands forward, ke rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack. When he lifted his head, though, he saw a fourth one and quickly raised his sword to hit the w of that away as well. Getting up on the ground, he continued to swing his swords at the ws towards him.

    shing and dodging the attacks from all over. Those watching felt like they were witnessing a scene out of an action movie being recorded. The people hiding inside the cars, were amazed at the skill the young Altered Hunter was disying, rooting for him as he might be their only chance to get out of this alive.

    The public knew how strong the Altered monsters were, whentched on no matter how much strength they used to throw them off it was impossible for them. How sharp their ws were and how fast their reflex were as well. Still, this lone person was able to block and avoid and match up to their strength.

    However, they noticed that the beasts were starting to overwhelm him. The lone figure had quickly turned from a hero to someone who was barely surviving. ke was able to block the attacks, yet hecked the opportunity to deal any of the creatures a devastating blow.

    ¡®This is why Altered Hunters are meant to go in pairs!¡¯ ke thought. ¡®Since they were smaller than regr Altered, I thought I might fare better, but this is proving difficult. The moment I find the opening to attack one of them, the otherse in at the right time.¡¯

    The young Altered Hunter felt his stamina disappearing. If he didn¡¯t do something soon, there would be serious trouble. Finally, his movements were a little too slow as one of the creatures got behind him and stabbed multiple times one after another towards ke''s back.

    Those seeing this thought it was the end of the brave warrior that hade for their help, but just like with the sword, several shes were heard. Turning around, spinning and using his full strength, ke managed to slice right at the neck of the creature, cutting its head off and killing it.

    Looking at his armour, he could see there were a few scratches on it, but it was able to withstand most of the attack.

    ¡®Looks like that answers my question of whether they can get through this armour or not. I guess they''re not as scary as a Werewolf. Although I didn''t want to test if they could pierce through my armour or not.¡¯ ke thought, now a little more confident.

    More help had arrived, as two figuresnded right into the centre of the street. The duo pped theirrge, powerful wings, which knocked some creatures away. Then with the ones closest, the female that had arrivedtched her hand, digging her w into the creature in front of them. One had grabbed the shoulder of the creature so deep its blood was seen soaking down its shoulder.

    The next second, it was thrown strongly against the floor.

    ¡°It looks like we hit the jackpot.¡± Sadie said with a smile. ¡°Who would have thought that we would be getting all of these Altered and an Altered Hunter right here in front of us.

    Everyone recognised the new arrivals as White Rose agents.

    ¡°Frank, take care of these little ones, I¡¯ll go after this one!¡± Sadie ordered, as she dashed forward and went to strike with her w hand. ke lifted his sword to counter the w, but unlike when fighting the other creatures he was being pushed back, losing out in strength.

    The next attack, he rolled to the side, instead of meeting it head on.

    ¡°What is White Rose doing?!¡± Some of those watching shouted. ¡°Why are they attacking him when he was trying to kill the beasts?!¡±

    ¡°I heard them call him an Altered Hunter.¡±

    ¡°Who cares about that? They were the ones that were too slow to respond! If it weren¡¯t for him, we might have been dead.¡±

    Those watching started toin and physically boo the White Rose agents. Frank also wasn''t having an easy time, facing off against nine crazed Altered, who proved to be quite resilient.

    ¡°Ah, Sadie, maybe we should have a truce or something for a second.¡± Frank suggested.

    However, the look on Sadie''s face was a clear no. She never cared about public opinion. They had PR teams for that sort of nonsense. Just as she was ready to charge forward again, though, the pain on the back of her foot started to throb. The next second something had wrapped around her arm, and she was pulled back.

    Whatever had wrapped around her arm, quickly unwrapped and a loud bang was heard. The weapon had cut the White Rose agent''s forearm. Looking at who it was, Sadie saw a woman dressed in ck and gold, holding a whip in her hand.

    ¡°I really never liked your police in the first ce.¡± Olivia stated.

 Chapter 290 â€“ A Truce?

    <h4>Chapter 290 - A Truce?</h4>

    The reporter Kate Dar was continuing to film the events of what was unfolding. In order to get in a safe spot, her and her cameraman quickly moved to one of the shops that were on the side. There were many held up watching what was going on.

    However, they didn''t go in the shops off to the side, instead they just continued to film from this position hoping to catch everything, and that they did.

    ¡®The White Rose agents being here will be a huge scoop.¡¯ Kate thought. ¡®This might be one of the biggest events to happen this year. Who would have thought this small town to have an Altered Hunter as well.¡¯

    It was a question on a lot of people''s minds, what was going on right now with Slough? Ever since the brutal death of some gangsters on the construction site around a month ago, this Tier-3 town had managed to make the news rather frequently.

    Altered killings even managed to reach a nation wide broadcast level, and it was the same with Billy. His face was stered all over the country. Yet this story right in front of them now, would be something that would be broadcasted for months.

    The camera zoomed in on one of the crazed beasts. It looked like an Altered, but it was too small to be an adult. What¡¯s more, when had anyone ever seen so many of them in one ce? A group of vicious crazed Altred was sure to get the Anti Altered movement going. A group that seemed to be growing by the day as more cases like this popped up.

    ¡°Is a corporation secretly using Slough as a testing base?¡± Kate whispered as she continued to report, not wanting to catch the attention of any of the Altered.

    It was then that the battle had started between the Altered Hunter and the White Rose agents. The people that had held them up in the shops were clearly frustrated at what White Rose were doing. As many of them saw them on the same side as the police force. Then finally, a new individual had entered the fray, using her whip.

    It was a strange stand-off, as there were two White Rose agents, and now seemingly another.

    ¡°Is it another Altered Hunter? No, that makes no sense, she¡¯s not bothering to cover up her face.¡± Kate spoke her mind for the sake of the viewers¡­ ¡°Just who is this stunning person?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Sadie was looking at her now bleeding forearm. A whip was a fast weapon, but as an Altered she should have been able to avoid it. This whip was far faster than a regr one, and the pain in her arm was also greater than it should have been.

    ¡®That weapon¡­ I don''t think it''s an ordinary whip. Is it a Anti-Altered weapon?¡¯ Sadie thought.

    The Anti-Altered weapons or Anti weapons for short were something that had been discovered rather recently. Buried deep in mountains, under the sea, caves and more not only had there been fossils of ancient creatures found, which were used for the Alterification process, but every so often humanity would uncover some special weapons. Hardly having deteriorated.

    They seemed to have been made from the ancient beasts themselves, which was why they were so special in the first ce. It was something that the public wasn¡¯t privy to, mostly because they were a rarity. Sometimes rich folk would buy them to use as a status symbol, believing that they were nothing but relics of the past, unaware of how much power they actually held.

    However, there was another group of people besides the Altered hunters that seemed to be using more of these weapons ofte, and that was powerful gangs. It was an alternative to increasing one''s strength, which was quite a bit cheaper than bing an Altered.

    Because of this information, Sadie had an idea about what type of person this woman in front of her was.

    ¡®I don''t know who this woman is, but as long as she''s not trying to fight me and is keeping that crazy woman off my back, I should be good.¡¯ ke thought, wondering if he should make a run for it. However, if he did, who would take care of the crazed Altered? ¡®She might keep up with one White Rose agent, but she will have no chance if I don¡¯t engage the guy. They''re strong¡­ perhaps too strong even for me to handle.¡¯

    Being the decision maker in tough situations like this was something that ke wasn¡¯t used to, having relied on his father.

    It was then that one of the little Altered creatures leapt towards Olivia. Quickly moving out of the way and spinning her body, she wrapped the whip around its arms, tying it up, and then lifted it in the air, mming it into the ground.

    Her reflexes and actions were fast, at the same time her strength was greater than before. Even Olivia herself was quite surprised at how well her body was reacting.

    ¡®That kid¡­ has given me quite a gift.¡¯ Olivia smiled to herself.

    ¡°My Boss has given me permission to go all out. It was meant to be against the Grey Elephants, but I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind if I include you in that list as well.¡± Olivia spoke, as she swung her whip again, striking the ground, just a little away from another crazed Altereding towards her.

    The whip crashed into the ground and caused some of the stone flooring to break. It became clear that either the weapon she was using was quite the good one, or that she had abnormal strength. While Sadie was staring down the Lady Boss, she was wondering what to do.

    Frank had leapt back with his wingsing in between the two groups. He had hit another of the Altered creatures, his arm bloody and his wings scratched up with a few puncture wounds in them. He had been dealing with most of the crazed Altered while his partner was having a field day.

    ¡°Ahh, I can''t take it any more!¡± Frank shouted. ¡°That''s it, I''m calling a truce, I don''t care what you say, Sadie. Hey, you, Altered Hunter guy, Whip Lady, how about it? You won¡¯t attack us, we won¡¯t attack you. Let''s just get rid of these crazed Altered.¡±

    Seeing how much trouble her partner was in, and how difficult these two people in front of her would be, the female White Rose agent had to bite her tongue and take it in.

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    Immediately, turning towards the others, Sadie threw out one of her feathers, hitting one of the crazed Altered in the forehead, knocking its head back. It was bleeding, but the projectile hadn¡¯t quite managed to pierce through to kill it yet.

    ¡®Damn it, either these little guys are tough or I¡¯m still having problems.¡¯ Saide thought as the back of her leg throbbed.

    The fighting continued, and the people''s hopes had now risen, seeing that all four of them had started to fight off the group of crazed Altered together.

    ke was more than happy to agree to this truce, as he could finally focus on taking on these creatures. Meanwhile, Olivia was testing the limits of her new body against some worthy foes. The Lady Boss felt as if she could also draw more power from the weapon now than when she had been a human.

    In the first ce, there were a little more than ten of those creatures, yet after a short while of ¡®cooperating¡¯ they managed to beat them all. Sadie had simply destroyed the arms and legs of thest one, rather than outright killing. She was sure White Rose would be interested in having a live sample to find out what exactly these guys were.

    Perhaps it was because they had turned Altered into children or weak beings, but none of them were as strong as real Altered, even if the person turned had been inexperienced.

    The people inside the shops waited for a while, unsure if everything was over. Nobody would risk going out, in case there might be more of those creatures around. However, while they didn''t see or hear the sound of creatures, there was the sound of several footsteps heard.

    When they saw who they were and what they looked like, they decided to remain indoors, because carrying weapons on them, and walking down the street, were a menacing group, or groups of people.

    Around fifteen hade from each side of the street and had surrounded them.

    ¡°These aren''t Altered.¡± ke stated he could tell straight away from the energy readings. Their temperatures were all normal.

    ¡°Nope, they¡¯re not.¡± Olivia smiled. ¡°They¡¯re gangsters, but they are scum nheless.¡±

 Chapter 291 â€“ A Truce (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 291 - A Truce (Part 2)</h4>

    Olivia recognised them as members of the Grey Elephants. Perhaps the little monsters they had created were just the initial attack. If they couldn''t solve or deal with the Underdog members, then they woulde in next. Either destroying their businesses, or getting rid of every Underdog member.

    In a gang war between tworge gangs, one would either have to take the leader submit, which was nearly impossible orpletely wipe them out, and it looked like the Grey Elephants were now going for thetter.

    ¡°It''s okay, though, I have my own help for this.¡± Olivia said.

    Behind them, running not shortly after, another group of people charged at the gangsters, attacking them immediately. Olivia didn''t hold back in helping them, because after all, she didn¡¯t want to lose any of her own men.

    ¡®I don¡¯t usually fight humans, but I guess I owe her a favour.¡¯ ke thought as he charged in as well. Still, young Altered Hunter had put away his weapons, opting to incapacitate them with his fists.

    The two White Rose agents, as well, were just annoyed that these random people had tried to attack them, so another fight had broken out. The Grey Elephant members must have believed that their opponents would have been tired after seeing them fighting just moments ago.

    However, even if they were, their strength was enough to deal with normal humans, especially with the help of the former Pincer members. The Grey Elephants were taken care of rather quickly and were passed out on the ground.

    ¡°What are you waiting for, arrest these idiots!¡± Sadie shouted at the police men, who had yet toe forward from behind their barricade of cars.

    ¡°I hope you are not including my people in this?¡± Olivia looked the White Rose agent in the eyes before turning to the police. ¡°After all, these guys are just concerned citizens who were protecting themselves. They did nothing wrong. However, if you feel differently, we are going to have some serious trouble between us!¡±

    The gang members that now technically belonged to the Howlers certainly didn''t look like regr citizens. Starting from the clothes they were wearing, to the weapons they had brought along, and especially the familiarity with which they used them.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s best we just leave it for now.¡± Frank whispered to his partner. ¡°There¡¯s something going on, the police did report that the same thing is happening in other areas. We don¡¯t have time to deal with them, and besides, we really don¡¯t have much on them apart from them using weapons, but who could argue that it was self-defence and if they''re connected to some big names you know it will be a tough battle with so little to bring them in on.¡±

    Looking out of the corner of his eye, Frank also spotted the camera and the woman who looked to already be running towards them for a few words.

    ¡°Besides, we have a lot of eyes on us at the moment.¡± Knowing full well how big of a story this would be and perhaps the whole country would be watching.

    It was true, not only the camera, but a lot of the public were watching, and although Sadie didn¡¯t care for what the people thought, she couldn''t deny that because of Olivia¡¯s men, that lives might have been saved today.

    What¡¯s more, neither the woman, her men, nor the Altered Hunter had done much more than incapacitate the Grey Elephant members. It was as if they already knew that they could have been taken in for excessive force, otherwise. They really had little to bring them in on.

    ¡°Patch yourself up, and once you''re healed and back at a hundred percent, we¡¯ll move to the next area where reports areing in. I don¡¯t want you to die from this mess in this no name town.¡± Sadie sighed.

    As she walked away, the female White Rose agent touched her foot a couple of times and looked at the strange woman. For some reason, the wound on her leg had been hurting ever since she had arrived.

    ¡®This can''t be a coincidence¡­ Am I really doing the right thing, in letting her get away?¡¯ Sadie wondered.

    Just then, the sound of a telephone was heard going off. Not just one, but quite a few. They noticed that it wasing from some dead bodies. Not the dead bodies of the public or that of the Grey Elephants.

    No, this wasing from the other gang members. The ones who lived had perished before any of the others could arrive. The Underdogs. Usually such calls wouldn''t be answered, but they hadn''t stoppeding. Something was clearly up.

    After wearing a set of gloves, Sadie swiped the phone and answered the call.

    ¡°This is an emergency!¡± The man shouted on the other end of the phone. ¡°The Cipen area is under attack. We are in serious trouble! We need help from all areas immediately. Head to Cipen, that''s an order now!¡±

    The man didn''t even care to confirm who had answered the phone, clearly in distress and worried.

    ¡°Well, it looks like we know what area we need to head to next.¡± Sadie stated.

    At the same time, the reporter had also caught wind of the phone call, and she wasn''t the only one.

    ¡®¡­ are there even more of those crazed Altered there? Maybe even stronger ones?¡¯ ke thought. ¡®But is it really wise to test my luck if the White Rose agents are heading there as well? ¡­ they will need to prepare before they head off, so maybe I can get a head start.¡¯

    With that, ke was already on his way but not before taking a second look at the girl who had helped him. There were at times during the fight where he noticed her temperature rise, but just like with anyone that would be the case. Still he chose to ignore it as he was in a rush.

    ¡®Cipen? I should report to that brat just in case he went to that area.¡¯ Olivia thought.

 Chapter 292 â€“ The Red Blood Street

    <h4>Chapter 292 - The Red Blood Street</h4>

    Everyone knew who the Underdog¡¯s leader was, Damion Hawk, who would always go walking around in a purple suit and spent most of his time in the nightclub called the Basement. They were such arge gang and a prominent force that they didn¡¯t worry about this fact.

    The fact that their leader was known to all in slough. Making them possibly an easy target.

    They were also known to be the only gang in Slough that had an Altered. How someone like Kirk was working for Damion was anyone¡¯s best guess and kept a secret even to those in the Underdogs. All they knew was that he was loyal till the very end.

    Regardless, because of this, it made it; everyone believed that Daimon, the leader himself, wasn¡¯t the strongest or best when it came to fighting. After all, they never saw him in action or taking the helm in a fight. They knew and had heard of his cruel nature but a fighter? Unlike those of the Grey Elephants that were known for using their fists. Because of this, although their leader wasn¡¯t seen a lot, they felt like if anyone were to control them, the leader of the Grey Elephants would have to be a good and strong fighter to control and earn the respect of the others. This was the difference between the two gangs and why people believed that Damion was a leader because of his decision-making.

    However, as his men watched him fight, Gil stayed by his side through this mess. They immediately knew that all those rumours were false; they were utterly wrong.

    To allow ease of movement, Damion had taken off his purple suit.

    Or more acutely, he had timed it as one of the crazed Altered came towards him; he threw the suit covering its face and then threw one of the unique axes he had been using, hitting it. The twonded on the floor, and dark blood could be seen soaking through the purple suit before Damion went to pick it up from the ground.

    The buttons on his shirt were ripped, revealing his dark tan skin and his well-developed muscles underneath. On top of that, his white shirt would soon be soaked in dark blood.

    It was safe to say that the ordinary gang members could not take on the Crazed Altered even though skilled in fighting. A few were skilful, but no matter how much they would hit, sh, or whack the crazed Altered with their weapons. They would get back up again.

    Just then, one of the gang members side-kicked one of the crazed away, hitting him, making it fall to the floor, but the ws had stabbed his leg in the process. The gang member was worried that it would soon get back up, but before it did, Damion was there swinging down both of his axes right towards its head.

    He had a smile on his face as the curve of the axe plunged into the skull, and the creature was no longer moving.

    ¡°You guys keep doing what you''re doing. I¡¯ll finish them off.¡± Daimon smiled.

    Not too far from where they stood opposite where the nightclub would be; on top of the restaurants, there was a block of apartments. Then at the very top of this on the rooftop, Brandon and Raven were standing there watching the scene unfold in front of them.

    ¡°He¡¯s quite the monster, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Ravenmented. ¡°Some people forget that the Underdogs rose to their position before the famous Kirk had joined them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and that only increased the gang position in this town. I tried to convince Kirk toe to our site many times, but he would never budge or take the bite. I wonder how he managed to wrap someone like that so tight around his finger.¡± Branson let out a big sigh. He could now see that, primarily due to Damion, the crazed Altereds were at their end.

    ¡°They did their job well, didn¡¯t they?¡± Brandon asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is what Sin wanted us to use his solution for, but if we can get rid of all the Underdogs, then that will be perfect.¡±

    ¡°The reports we have gotten back have been good,¡± Raven replied. ¡°In each area, all of the Underdogs have been dealt with. Although it¡¯s the same for our crazed Altered, not that we intended on keeping them after this anyway.¡±

    Just then, an axe was swung, and the final one had been hit, sending thest crazed to the gound no longer moving. Many of the Underdog¡¯s men had died, and there were around only ten of them left, huffing and panting.

    Damion and Gil made it, so their numbers were now twelve. Honestly, seeing them like this, Brandon thought he could have gone down there with the rest of the Grey Elephant members and take them out himself.

    However, to be sure, they would stick to the n. A phone call was made, and momentster, two more trucks had appeared from both sides of the streets. It wasn¡¯t the end of it at all for Damion and the others.

    The back doors of the trucks opened, and storming in now wasn¡¯t just ten crazed Altered like before, but ten from each side, doubling their strength. After a tough battle, they would have to go through it again. Only this time, it would be more problematic.

    ¡°It was a good thing we did all that testing.¡± Bradon smiled.

    They had only been given one syringe of liquid, but using small parts of it and realising they could dte the substance, they found many effects of it. How much liquid was required to turn someone?

    If diluted, how long it would take for one to turn, and so on. All of these tests were what allowed them to n this out, to time everything perfectly¡ªthe mastermind behind all of this, Raven.

    It was in his scope of possibility that Damion and some outside help would arrive dealing with the crazed in other areas, but they were just sent there to dy and stop back up froming back here in the first ce.

    ¡°Boss, what do we do?¡± One of the men asked.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? Fight for your lives so we can get out of this situation!¡± He shouted back.

    When the crazed Altered changed in, they ran past many shops and other clubs that seemed to have people inside them¡ªscared toe out. They were heading towards the centre as if they were attracted by something. Like a shark in the sea, the scent of blood.

    However, a few got a whiff and a scent of something else, some of those that were bleeding inside the shops. They turned their heads and started to w and hit the shop doors and windows attempting to get inside.

    A little away, the channel five van had arrived. They had spotted one of the trucks on their way here and noticed that there was the same abandoned truck where they were just moments ago. Kate had a hunch that it was important.

    She just didn¡¯t realise how important it was when several of the creatures hade out from the back of the trucks. Leaving the van, she needed to continue to film, and she did so with her trusty cameraman.

    Only this time, she wasn¡¯t so quick to storm the busy street.

    ¡°Did the police not reach this area yet? Is there not enough of them? This area has more of those monsters than thest area. If White Rose doesn¡¯t get here soon¡­¡¯ Kate thought. Still, it was strange because, unlike the ce they were just at. There wasn¡¯t a single police officer in this area.

    No patrol cars, no nothing. This was why Kate wasn¡¯t so quick to enter the street, even though most of it was clear. Still, she could see a few stray Altered attacking the windows, and she sure didn¡¯t want to grab their attention.

    The camera zoomed in on the worried people¡¯s faces, and eventually, one of the Altered smashed through the strong ss. Immediately it pulled out one of the people from the shop. It dragged the person to the street¡¯s centre and dug its mouth into its body.

    With the Altered busy eating one of its victims and the shop no longer safe, the door was opened, and crowds started to run towards where Katie was. Around thirty of them stormed through. They had knocked her and nearly her cameraman over.

    It was like a small stampede of people, but she couldn¡¯t me them, and honestly, she felt like perhaps this was a situation she should run away from as well.

    When the cameraman regained his footing with Katie, they looked back on the street. They thought they would see the dead or the creature chasing after the group of people, but instead, they saw a man standing there in a ck and gold zer.

    His hand, lifting the creature by its throat, its arms no longer on its body having fallen to the floor and around him, others wearing the same ck and gold uniform.

    ¡°Who are these people that have just arrived, and how were they able to take down that crazed Altered!¡± Kate reported. ¡°The Uniform, their colours are the same as the woman who helped that Altered hunter! Are they part of the same group?¡±

    Zooming into the Altered holding up, the camera could see a ck and gold wolf mask and red glowing eyes underneath.

 Chapter 293 â€“ Two Altered Clash

    <h4>Chapter 293 - Two Altered sh</h4>

    Although many traditionalists were busy watching the news report by Kate, there were some youngsters who were getting updated about the situation in Slough through other sources. One of those being Scotty, a live streamer, who was bing more famous by the second.

    ¡®This is it, I''ve found my calling, people are eating this crap up. All I need to do is keep searching for big events like this, follow them, and people will keep following me.¡¯ Scotty was already picturing the good life as he held his phone as still as possible for the others to see what was going on right now.

    Kirk and his Cheetah Squad hade into the middle of the road which naturally wasn''t being used right now, since many cars had been toppled over and were broken. Although, the Altered was impressive as he continued to fight off the crazed beasts one by one, mainly using his speed and forward punches.

    There was actually someone else that was catching the eyes of the others more, the stranger whose face was unable to clearly be seen. The cap on his head was kept quite low, while the scarf covered everything below his eyes.

    [Who is that guy? I mean, Kirk is an Altered and transformed, but this guy looks and acts like a ninja!]

    [He has to be an Altered as well! There''s no way someone a non-Altered can do that much!]

    Just as the viewers were talking about Jayden, he jumped on one of the creature¡¯s shoulders, pushing them back, and kicking another one in the face. When a third went to swipe towards him, he backflipped while kicking another right on the chin.

    ¡®Damn, I haven¡¯t fought like this in a long time. It''s reminding me of the past.¡¯ Jayden grinned underneath his disguise. ¡®But, it''s also nice to just outright use my strength to beat them sometimes.¡¯

    Given his unique Altered form, he couldn¡¯t afford to transform, otherwise it would be a dead giveaway to who he was. He needed to be more creative with the way he fought, bringing him back to his school days. This fighting style was what was getting the attention of all the others.

    Soon, with the two of them on the job, the crazed Altered in the area had been defeated. It was nice, quick, and easy. Slowly, the people who were in the restaurants and bars at the corners of the road came out, and so did the few that stayed in their cars.

    Immediately, they started pping for their two saviours.

    ¡°Thank you! Thank you for saving us!¡± They all cheered. Some of them got closer as they wanted to personally thank the ones. Meanwhile, the shop owners mainly stayed back.

    They knew that the ones that had protected them were gang members due to the clothing they were wearing, and they often had to deal with the Underdogs in this ce. They were grateful now, but many struggled to even keep open due to the high prices they had to pay towards the Underdogs.

    Not only that, but they felt like they had just done what they were obligated to do.

    With those dangerous creatures defeated, Scotty felt like he should take this chance to interview the two of them. His viewers certainly demanded it, and if he managed to do that he could upload the interview to PouTube, increasing his own fame even more!

    He immediately ran out and joined the crowd, but before any of them could approach the two, Kirk had twisted his foot, and pounced on the strange masked man. It looked like he hadn¡¯t aimed to injure him, merely going for his hat, yet before the Cheetah Altered could reach, his hand got knocked away by the man.

    The next second, Jayden jumped back a few steps.

    ¡°Hey man, what was that for? We helped each other, and now you just attack me?¡± Jayden asked, surprised by Kirk, and he wasn''t the only one. The crowd no longer was moving closer towards the two as they were left confused.

    [I thought the two were on the same side and knew each other. Why are they fighting?]

    [Actually, I think he went for his hat. Maybe he¡¯s as curious as we are about the identity of whoever is is under that disguise.]

    [I wish he would have seeded. I¡¯ll bet whoever it is, is really handsome!]

    [More like hideous! Why else would someone who''s going to save people cover up what they would look like? Probably doesn''t want anyone hating on him.]

    ¡°There is only one Altered in this town, and that''s me¡­ so who are you and who are you working for?¡± Kirk asked the stranger.

    He went in again, running at a fast speed straight ahead. This time it seemed faster than before, but Jayden was still able to avoid it, moving his head to the side. At that moment, he grabbed Kirk¡¯s body and with the momentum of his own strike threw him forward past him, while tripping him up with his legs and throwing him to the ground.

    ¡°Hey, I really don''t want to fight, and besides aren¡¯t you supposed to buy me dinner before you start asking me all those questions?¡± Jayden asked teasingly, making sure to change his voice.

    The Underdog members wouldn''t believe what they were seeing. Kirk was faster than any of them, he was also a rookie champion in the AFC. Yet, what looked like a regr human had just thrown him on the floor.

    [Am I dreaming? Did he really just do that to Kirk Summerfield?]

    [Only if we¡¯re dreaming the same thing. That guy is seriously skilled. He has to be a professionally trained fighter!]

    [There¡¯s no way that guy isn¡¯t an Altered! Just how strong is he, if he¡¯s managing that much before even transforming?!]

    As Kirk quickly got himself up from the ground, he was having simr thoughts, the movements were clearly not that of an amateur. Now taking this a bit more seriously, Kirk¡¯s body started to change more, his teeth started to elongate, giving himrger canines, while his eyes narrowed.

    ¡®Damn, this is bad.¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®If I transform, everyone will know who I am, and that I''m staying in this town. Reporters will be all over me, and I just don¡¯t want to deal with this crap. This guy clearly is misunderstanding something.¡¯

    ¡°Hey, cheetah dude, we¡¯ll meet again some other day. There are other areas in this city that need help-¡° Just as Jayden was about to finish his sentence. Kirk¡¯s trouser leg had expanded in size.

    Hisrge leg muscles came into view, and he leapt straight across, trying to swipe a w towards Jayden¡¯s face. As his w was swung down for a brief second, Kirk saw it.

    ¡®His eyes¡­ so he really is an Altered.¡¯ Kirk realised, as a white outline was being seen. The top of his hands, where then hit away, parried to the side at the right moment.

    ¡°That crap will only get you so far.¡± Jayden lectured him. ¡°Your fighting is no better than a kid¡¯s. I can clearly see where you¡¯re aiming. You''re still an amateur to me.¡±

    With that he threw a fist of his own stopping just short of hitting kirk, yet the Cheetah Altered could feel that something had hit him, even though he could see the fist had yet to touch his body.

    Although, the force wasn''t strong, it had done enough to convey the message to Kirk, that whoever was in that disguise was above him and could beat him anytime he wanted.

    ¡°I already said I don''t want to fight. I just happened to be in this town at this time, so I decided to help the people.¡± With that exnation, Jayden moved his hand away.

    The fighting seemed to be over between the two, and Kirk had even cancelled his partial transformation he had done on his body. The others watching were satisfied by this oue. They were thankful for both of them for saving their lives, and thest thing they wanted was for either one of them to hurt each other.

    ¡°Sir!¡± One of the Underdogs members shouted, having just gotten off the phone. ¡°The boss seems to be in trouble. We¡¯re to head to Cipen straight away!¡±

    Overhearing this, Jayden thought that was good.

    ¡®If that guy heads to Cipen, the people there should be okay. I heard one of the reported areas was Chavley, so I¡¯ll head over there then, and make sure all the creatures there are dealt with as well.¡¯

    ¡°Hey, good luck.¡± Jayden called after Kirk as he left. ¡°Also, if you think you¡¯re the only Altered in town, you¡¯re in for a big surprise. Maybe don¡¯t go all crazy on them from the get go like you did me!¡±

    ¡®Other Altered?¡¯ Kirk wondered.

 Chapter 294 â€“ We Canâ€™t Help

    <h4>Chapter 294 - We Can¡¯t Help</h4>

    The event in Slough had been going on for a little over an hour or so now, and it was enough time for the channel five news station to attract attention not just around Slough but around the whole country.

    The video was being viewed live by all, with a bit of a dy, allowing for some gruesome scenes to be blurred here and there. The plus side was that it waste anyway, so the news channels were able to show more.

    Still, right now, many eyes could see the mystery man in a ck and gold outfit holding up one of the Altered like it was nothing but a child. Its small figure made it even more so, but there weren¡¯t many that felt sorry when looking at the scene in front of them.

    Even now, they could see that the Altered was trying to bite at the man holding it up with its deformed mouth. Swingin its legs as it wished to do whatever it could to kill the person in front of it.

    -

    Somewhere in a dark room, in the Lock gang''s base, arge man was sittingfortably drinking a dark coloured liquid by his side.

    ¡°That darned wolfman!¡± Tony shouted at his TV screen. ¡°They are getting involved in this war, aren''t they!¡±

    ¡°Well, they could just be concerned citizens.¡± His right-hand man replied by his side.

    Tony just scoffed at thisment, and proceeded to finish his drink in one gulp.

    They weren¡¯t the only gang watching the oue of what would ur today. Many of the other gangs were also carefully watching them. It was a chance to see if they had done the right thing at the meeting or perhaps made a mistake and would allow them to decide their next move.

    Inside his repaired office, the mayor watched the TV along with the Rising Dragon leader, D.

    ¡°It looks like they weren¡¯t lying when they said they would get involved in this war,¡± Dmented.

    ¡°It¡¯s surprising how much power the Grey Elephants have. I was certain that the Underdogs woulde out the winner in this war, but now with this third intervention, depending on what happens today, we will have to change our ns.¡± Ben Clove stated as he looked at his hands, closing it and opening it slowly, smiling to himself.

    At the same time, two people, in particr, were watching what had happened live.

    ¡°Who are they!¡± Brandon shouted.

    The two of them had seen it, while the crowd was running, they could see that these members, were walking through the crowd calmy passing everyone. One of the Altered had leapt towards a civilian with its hand¡¯s seconds away from digging into a female.

    It was at that moment that Gary had transformed his hands, and sliced right through the small tiny limbs of the Crazed Altered, then lifting it in the air.

    ¡°He¡­has to be an Altered. To be able to deal with someone like that so quickly.¡± Raven answered. ¡°It¡¯s the only thing that makes sense. Their arrival could ruin everything!¡±

    ¡°You believe that?¡± Brandon said. ¡°We still have our gang members; it just means we might have to make our move sooner.¡±

    Brandon then started to walk off from the rooftop while leaving Raven on his own to watch how things would y out.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Back on the ground floor, not only had all of the regr Howler members appeared, but along with Innu, there was Suzan and Kevin with him as well. They were seeing the kid held in Gary¡¯s hands and those taking the Underdog members behind him.

    They fell to their knees, their limbs numb.

    ¡°That was Tommy¡¯s favourite clothes!¡± Suzan said with a mouth full of tears.

    ¡°And, there is little Bobo!¡± Kevin cried, holding onto Suzan as well; the two of them had gone intoplete shock.

    ¡°GARY!¡± Innu shouted. ¡°PUT HIM DOWN!¡±

    Gary then turned his head towards Innu, who was shouting at him; although he didn¡¯t fall to his knees and hadn¡¯t turned around to look at the others, Innu was sniffling. Not just because of the ones from his orphanage, but he could even see the others. The ones he had promised to go back to had already been turned and were dead lying on the ground.

    ¡°Innu,¡± Gary replied. ¡°Are these¡­the orphans that you were looking for?¡±

    Innu nodded in response. Gary looked behind him, seeing if any Crazed Altered were nearby, but the others seemed to be still fighting the Underdog members.

    Gary ced the crazed altered on the ground but kept a firm grip with one hand on its head and had kicked its legs, so it was down on its knees. Allowing everyone to get a clear look at what he was holding onto.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Innu, I know you knew them¡­but what do you want me to do?¡± Gary asked. ¡°I want to help, but the guys are like the twins before. I know it, and you know it. If I didn¡¯t stop him, he would have killed the woman running away. If I let him go now, everyone in this town will be in danger.

    ¡°I can tell right now that if I let this fake Altered go, he would run right to where you three are and rip out your throats without a second thought.¡±

    It was true that these were Gary¡¯s thoughts, but there was more than just what he believed to be the case; it was because the system had also told him it would be the case.

    [Save the town of Slough]

    [Someone has created fake Altered and the whole town is under attack.]

    [Quest: Save the town by defeating the Altered]

    [30/64 Infected Altered have been killed]

    [Quest rewards will be based on contribution to ridding of the Infected Altered]

    The four areas of Slough that the underdogs owned had ten crazed Altered each attacking them, and now Cipen was under a second wave more significant than the other attacks. It was clear now, after seeing Innu like he was, every single Orphan had already been turned into these Crazed Altereds.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, Innu,¡± Marie said as she approached him and ced her hand on his shoulder. ¡°You remember those twins? These guys look simr to them. The best thing we can do is put them out of their misery. Do you think your friends and the orphans would have liked to hurt people like this?¡±

    Innu didn¡¯t know how to answer, and he didn¡¯t turn around either, still worried to see what type of faces the others would show. He felt like he had given them false hope.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± Innu sniffled. ¡°I joined this gang; I got into underground fighting all because of them. I did everything I could to save them¡­so what do I do now!¡±

    ¡°Innu!¡± Suzan shouted, after sadness, now knowing the situation, another emotion soon followed. ¡°Your friend, I can tell he¡¯s special, right¡­you knew he could help us because he¡¯s unique! You asked what to do now; then I¡¯ll tell you what to do.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, help them, free them from this pain, and then after that¡­ make sure the people that put you through this suffer even worse than they did!!!¡±

    Kevin was surprised by Suzan¡¯s words; she had never asked Innu to do anything, and she never had condoned violence but seeing the kids she raised like so in this state must have snapped something inside of her.

    ¡°I¡­I want them all to pay!¡± Suzan screamed.

    It was an emotional scene that yed out on the camera, so much that Kate hadn¡¯t even said a word while she filmed everything. The sudden group that appeared seemed to have answers that they were missing.

    Innu was wiping his tears away with his sleeve and nodded towards Gary.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this, and I promise if you help me get what I want, if you help me get revenge against the people that did this to my family! I will follow you forever!¡± Innu shouted at the top of his lungs.

    Looking down at the crazed Altered, Gary braced himself. The killing was something that wasing up more often, and killing things that didn¡¯t; didn¡¯t seem human felt simr to how one could hurt an animal, but Gary knew who these were, so the question he was asking himself right now, as he used controlled transformation on his fingernails and stabbed right through the crazed Altered¡¯s chest killing it on the spot.

    ¡®Why is it so easy to do now?¡¯ Gary thought as he let go of the body, allowing it to fall to the ground, and turned towards the rest and the Underdog gang in front of him.

 Chapter 295 â€“ The Final Mark

    <h4>Chapter 295 - The Final Mark</h4>

    With everything going on, and since there was nothing they could do to help out, Suzan decided to take Kevin back to the car that was parked at the end of the high street. The group had split up between cars, one with Marie''s mother driving, and the other with the gang¡¯s newest employee, Tyler.

    He couldn¡¯t believe what was going on, everything that was happening, and was starting to wonder what type of group he and Gary were involved in. However, while in the car, since he was told to be on standby, he had decided to tune into the news channel on his phone, and he was able to hear what was being said.

    Gary had his voice altered, and the teenager was trying to make it a habit whenever he donned that mask. Given his hair colour, it was the least he could do to make people doubt him being the same guy who was the leader of the Howlers. Simrly, Kai, had also decided to wear his fox mask to cover his face, while the others were clear with their faces showing.

    Based on the situation that was on hand, Tyler felt like at least he was with what he believed the good guys after hearing everything out. After hearing the dreaded tale of what these Altered really were. Already on the phone screen where he was watching a red banner pop up showed underneath.

    [Could the Crazed Altered really be orphans that have been experimented on?]

    ¡®Man¡­how many times have I been called on today already? First I thought driving a car like this was a dreame true, but now. If I knew my job was going to be this hard, I should have asked for more cash.¡¯ Tyler thought.

    Opening the car door, Kevin and Suzan felt a bit safer from all the chaos, but couldn''t help but notice that Tyler was watching what was going on, over his phone.

    ¡°Can you please turn the video up?¡± Suzan politely requested, and Tyler quicklyplied and tilted the phone, making sure they would be able to watch with him.

    ¡°Do you think Innu will be okay?¡± Kevin asked, as they listened to the reporter.

    ¡°Of course. Didn¡¯t you say it yourself, he''s an adult now, someone that we can rely on. He will be okay.¡± She said, rubbing the top of the young teenager¡¯s head, as all three continued to watch the news channel to find out just how this chaos would unfold and end.

    ¡®When this is over¡­ I¡¯ll take you both in myself.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    With no more distractions, it was time for the Howlers to make their move, but they were concerned about one thing. They could see the Underdogs fighting against the crazed Altered, but the Grey Elephant members were nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°They should be somewhere nearby. If the Underdogs manage to survive this, they surely will try to finish them off.¡± Kai spoke out as if he could read Gary¡¯s mind. ¡°If we get involved now, we¡¯ll just be helping the Underdogs. That being said, this could also be our perfect chance to attack.¡±

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s Damion!¡±

    Gary had noticed that Kai¡¯s heartbeat had increased dramatically when mentioning the leader. He also hadn¡¯t missed how much spite he had when uttering his name.

    ¡® I don''t know why, but he seems to hate Damion as much as I do¡­ No, that''s not right. To me, he¡¯s just someone I have to get rid of in order to protect my family, but there seems to be something personal going on between them. Was that also the reason he founded the Howlers?¡¯

    ¡°Gary, make sure to kill him. Don¡¯t do whatever you did to Olivia. It¡¯s too dangerous to keep him alive, he would just find a way to backstab us. We have to take him out here and now!¡±

    While thinking about what to do, or how to tackle the situation. The sound of screaming from the people was heard.

    ¡°What are you doing?! Get away from the door!¡± A woman shouted from one of the shops. However, it wasn''t just one of the shops, it was multiple. As they looked at what was urring,rge groups of people were forcing their way out from the current establishments.

    Dressed in all sorts of different types of clothing. They started to fill up the street bit by bit, and had now blocked the way of entrance from both high streets.

    ¡°These guys are trouble.¡± Austinmented, as he noticed one of them pulling a small de from the side of his pocket.

    ¡°You''re saying they¡¯re gangsters, right?¡± Marie asked. ¡°If that''s the case, then why didn''t theye to help out before.¡±

    ¡°You seem to be misunderstanding something, Marie, they¡¯re not part of the Underdogs. Those should be the Grey Elephant members who have been here in in sight from the beginning, watching everything carefully.¡± Kai answered her.

    Seeing the ted look on their faces about the sorry state of the Underdogs, it looked like Kai''s exnation was spot on. Their numbers wererge, Cipen was full ofrge fancy restaurant bars and clubs and hotels. There was already arge poption on this one street. It was easy for them to hide among the people, and that''s exactly what they had done.

    Now, Gary and the others were surrounded by a hundred or so gang members. They had not charged in where the Underdogs were just yet, and they even took a step back as if they knew how far or close they could get to the crazed Altered before they would be attacked.

    One of the Grey Elephant members looked towards the Howlers group.

    ¡°We have orders to get rid of the new troublemakers that have decided to get in-¡° Midway, while he was speaking, a ck boy came running out towards him. Seeing the ones responsible, Innu jumped up and kneed the man right in the face, knocking him down on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill every one of you bastards!¡± Innu shouted, as he quickly went to kick another gangster, right on the side of his arm. However, at the same time, a third one was getting ready to punch Innu to get him off his colleague.

    Just before he could, though, a fist came down hitting knuckle on knuckle, but one was clearly stronger as the fist was pushed back, and a crack sound was heard.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t hog them all to yourself. Let us take some of them out as well.¡± Austin dered.

    ¡°Gary, you take care of the Altered and Damion, find an opening, this might be your only chance.¡± Kai instructed him. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I said.¡±

    The next second, the fox masked teenager joined the others, making sure that Marie stayed close by his side. The group were fighting in a circle, trying their best against the gang members who had the advantage in numbers.

    Gary was hesitating, since there were far more of the Grey Elephant members than had been the case with the Pincers. Even if this might have been his only chance to go after Damion, he didn¡¯t want to sacrifice any of his friends.

    ¡®I can''t leave them, I need to help as well. Getting rid of the Grey Elephants is just as important.¡± Gary thought as he was ready to run forward. He could see someone approaching Marie from behind, sneaking up on her.

    A secondter, though, and the man''s body started to shake violently, as if he was being electrocuted. When he fell to the ground, he could see a man standing there in ck robe and wearing a ck mask.

    ¡°Bl-¡°

    ¡°No!¡± The Altered Hunter shouted back. ¡°I am here to deal with the people that caused all of this mess, and I will try my best to make sure no one gets hurt because of these guys.¡±

    Gary was wondering how ke knew it was him, but it must have been his special mask, or perhaps because Gary''s hand was still transformed like it was before. At the same time, Gary had worn those clothes before. He also understood that this was his way of saying he would protect them without actually saying that.

    On top of that, Gary could tell that there was another person close by, one that soon would be able to provide support as well.

    ¡®I never thought I would be relying on her so much, but if they are here, then the Howlers can deal with this!¡¯ Gary thought.

    He broke off from the rest, and the first thing he did was get behind one of the crazed Altered and pulled their arms, breaking one apart. The next moment, he stabbed his w in the back of its neck.

    [+400 Exp]

    There was another thing Gary realised from before, as the amount of Exp he would get for each kill wasrge during this quest. It was his chance to level up. Jumping into the frey, Gary also saw the hunting target he had made a long time ago among the Underdog members.

    However, right now, Damion was the biggest priority. Swinging his axes like a madman, a lot of the crazed Altered were being defeated. Unfortunately, his gang members were unable to keep up, and from the dozen that had survived the first wave, there were less than half alive.

    Seeing this, one of Grey Elephants members tried to charge in, yet one of the crazed Altered quickly turned around and leapt towards the said person, killing him instantly.

    This caused the other Grey Elephant members to pile on and attempt to take out the Crazed as quickly as possible. They had eventually killed it, but their buddy had long since been killed.

    ¡®They really can''t control it.¡¯ Gary thought, looking at this.

    In the end, the second wave of crazed Altered had ended. All twenty had been killed, and Gary joining in had finished off five of them. They were far easier to deal with than the twins. Whether it was because he had gotten stronger or they had gotten weaker, he was unsure. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 17]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [Exp 452/3245]

    Still, the fight wasn''t over, as it now allowed the other Grey Elephant gang members to get involved. Before that, though, Gary turned around and looked at Damion, who was huffing and panting. The gang leader looked quite strong with the two axes, though he had still taken a few scratches here and there.

    ¡®He doesn''t look so scary any more¡­if I get rid of him¡­half of my problems will be over.¡¯ Gary thought, and with this thought, and seeing Gil who was by his side, he had made a decision.

    [Bloodlust has been detected]

    [Forced Bond has been activated]

    [7/8 Marks have been assigned]

 Chapter 296 â€“ Underdogs Vs The Howlers

    <h4>Chapter 296 - Underdogs Vs The Howlers</h4>

    With all the Crazed altered dead and out of the fight altogether, it allowed Gary and Damion a second to catch their breath with the other Underdog members. The Grey Elephants didn¡¯t quite charge in just yet because they were a little in disbelief.

    Seeing what was a human chopping the monsters down limb from limb using his two axes, and on the other side, what was clearly an Altered in front of them.

    [Questplete]

    [The infected Altered have been dealt with, and you have yed your part in saving the town]

    [Quest reward: Due to your contribution, you have received a pawn point!]

    Although Gary was happy and the quest reward was unexpected, he had to quickly wipe the screens away because he had something else he needed to deal with. Soon, his eyes and Damion¡¯s eyes met with each other.

    Damion could see the narrow red eyes staring at him.

    ¡°Oh, and here I thought that I was going to thank you for helping me out, but it looks like that''s not the case after all.¡± Damion smiled. ¡°Tell me what I did? Did I get rid of your gang, kill someone dear to you?¡±

    Saying these words were just making Gary angrier, Damion had never done that to him, but during his time at the Underdogs, he had undoubtedly seen him do or order these types of things with others. This was why Gary had to do all of this in the first ce.

    ¡°Get them both!¡± One of the senior Grey Elephant members ordered, and they soon charged in from both sides. Almost immediately, Damion had swung his axes, hitting the first one right in the head, finishing him straight away, and was continuing for the next one.

    There were also a few that had gone towards Gary; he dodged a baseball bat that was swung down and hit the floor, then threw a fist out of his own, hitting the man right in the face. The next second and what looked like a chain was wrapped around his arm.

    [Controlled transformation]

    Gary activated his skill, bulging his muscles and pulling on the chain, causing a man to fall on the floor and be dragged the next second. With the next oneing towards him, Gary pulled down his neck, as his movements were faster than the one attacking him, and he started to knee him in the stomach before throwing the man towards the ones trying to approach him from behind.

    While doing all of this, Gary never looked away from Damion and continued to deal with thoseing towards him. Heading step by step to the position of the other, he had his eyes on.

    ¡°Wait!¡± the senior Grey Elephant member shouted as he felt like he had noticed something. ¡°Pull back.¡±

    Giving the order, the others pulled back, and some even dragged their injured ones on the floor away from the fighting that was taking ce.

    ¡°You, you''re not after us, are you? You''re here for him?¡± the senior member said.

    However, this wasn¡¯t true; Gary was there for both of them. He just never expected Damion to be in such a vulnerable situation, but perhaps he could use it to his advantage.

    ¡°Go ahead then; if you manage to beat him, it will only help us. We¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t run away.¡± The senior member said, putting his hand up, indicating the others to stay where they were.

    Of course, fighting between the other members seemed to be still taking ce. It was clear that the Grey Elephants were not going to let them go but just wanted Gary and Damion to fight each other.

    ¡°Are you going to listen to what these guys have to say?¡± Damion shouted. ¡°Haha, look at you all, look at how weak you all are. Rather than just face me head-on, you all nned to attack with these monsters, and now, you havee out, only when another attacks us, and you Grey Elephants are standing back and allowing this to happen! Fine, whatever it takes, make sure you really kill me because I will make sure that each one of you pay for this tenfold!¡±

    ¡°Damion.¡± Gary finally said. ¡°Whether it''s now orter¡­you were going to die anyway.¡±

    The senior elephant member started to smile, as it seemed like his guest had agreed to the condition.

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the outer edge of the high street, where Tyler and the others were waiting as they watched the fight, they finally could see the police force arriving at the scene. Several cars had pulled up. Anton, along with his partner Roo, came out from one of the vehicles.

    ¡®I knew I was right. There is more than just Billy and Kirk in this town that are Altered. It looks like one of these guys here is our suspect.¡¯ Anton thought.

    Yet, at the same time, the two White Rose agents came out from one of the other vehicles. The injuries that Frank had sustained had healed. Thanks to his unique body and some treatment here and there.

    It was the reason why they werete after all.

    ¡°Well would you look at that, our little Altered hunter arrived here before us, and now he¡¯s hurting civilians,¡± Saidie mentioned.

    ¡°Well, perhaps he¡¯s trapped. All of the Crazed Altered have been dealt with.¡± Frank replied. ¡°What should we do? Should we go in?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Sadie replied, and Anton turned his head, overhearing this as well. ¡°You should understand right, chief.¡± She smiled. ¡°We came here because of an Altered problem. That problem no longer exists. What we are witnessing right now is just a gang war.

    ¡°Just patiently wait for all of them to take out each other, and then we wille in and pick up all the scraps.¡±

    Although the method seemed underhanded, Anton agreed and radioed in to the police force on the other side, giving them the order not to engage. To not even let civilians out. This was because the Grey Elephants had dressed simr to the civilians, so for now, they would just capture everyone they could.

    After making the call, Anton started to watch what was going on.

    ¡°That looks like Damon, so the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants have finally had a go at each other, but who are the ones in the ck and gold?¡±

    It was clear that the ck and gold members were a separate group because most of them were busy fighting off the Grey Elephant members, yet, the one with the strange mask was going up against the leader of the Underdogs.

    ¡®I have a feeling this whole thing is going to be troublesome.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    Kate, along with her cameraman, had entered one of the buildings to the side. Convincing to let her in, she was now on the rooftop after climbing up a few stairs. Allowing them to film everything from above at a slight angle so everyone could have a look,

    Gary and Damion were about to engage inbat and were seen in the middle, but the Grey Elephant members that had surrounded them started to move out of the way as they let someone through. Walking until the very edge, arge man could be seen.

    ¡°Well, now this is certainly interesting, isn''t it,¡± Brandon said with a smile.

 Chapter 297 â€“ Three Way Gang War

    <h4>Chapter 297 - Three Way Gang War</h4>

    Seeing therge man at the side, Gary recognised him immediately. How could he forget him, when only a few days ago that person had nonchntly killed Riv in front of his eyes?

    ¡®I won¡¯t let you get away, either.¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    [Bloodlust has been detected]

    [Forced Bond has been activated]

    [8/8 Marks have been assigned]

    With that, all three of Gary¡¯s hunting targets were in the same area. While his system had told him he wouldn¡¯t get any more stat points for eating people, he wasn¡¯t sure if he might get still some from hunting down his targets.

    However, even if that turned out not to be the case, he had to get rid of them. With Damion and Brandon gone, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about his and his family¡¯s safety. As for Gil, Gary had special ns for him. The Mark of his former schoolmate had been close to where his mother had gotten hurt, so there were some questions that he needed to ask.

    ¡®Is that big guy going to join in the fight, or is he just here to watch?¡¯ Gary remained cautious. Werewolf or not, he wasn¡¯t keen on turning his back to an enemy.

    Brandon smiled at the wolf masked teenager, seemingly understanding his dilemma.

    ¡°Please go ahead, I don''t want to interrupt, do what you have to.¡± The Grey Elephant leader said, putting his hands up and even backing off a few steps. ¡°None of you are to interfere in that guy¡¯s fight!¡±

    Hearing him shout those instructions at his men, Gary charged in again. Damion tsked, having hoped to be able to y those two against each other. Unfortunately, the other gang leader proved to be more than just a muscle head. Having no other choice, Damion widely swung his axe. Leaning back, Gary avoided the first one, but only just.

    ¡®He''s faster than I was expecting. Could he be an Altered who was hiding that fact?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    The next axe was already swinging from above, and the masked teenager stepped to the side, and kicked the head of the axe into the ground. The pavement was rather solid, but it stood no chance against the curve of the axe, which cut deep easily.

    Seeing this as an opportunity, Gary went in and took a swipe towards Damion''s side. His nails dug into him and blood was falling to the ground. Quickly, Damion grabbed onto Gary¡¯s arm, and with the other axe swung it towards him.

    The Werewolf tried to pull and break free, but he was surprised to find himself unable to. Damion had an unnaturally tight grip around him.

    ¡®Altered or not, that guy isn¡¯t normal!¡¯ The teenager thought in a slight panic.

    [2 Points have been allocated into Strength]

    [Your base Strength is now at 20]

    Increasing his Strength, Gary was finally able to pull his ws out from Damion. Still, the axe looked like it would reach him, so he lifted his forearm and transformed it fully. The weapon went deep into his skin, stopping short of his bone.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Gary screamed in agony.

    [You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

    [-16 HP]

    [84/100 HP]

    [You are heavily bleeding, -4HP for every minute that has passed]

    During the whole fight, the Werewolf had managed to avoid getting hit. It was the first time in a while, but even with his Endurance this was a deadly weapon, and with Damion¡¯s strength he could understand why it would cause so much damage.

    Gary was the one that had to pull his arm out and quickly retreat a good distance. He waited for his emergency healing to do its job. However, if his energy was to get too low then Emergency healing would be unable to do its job. If that was to happen, then Gary had a glimpse of how quick he could survive. Since 4Hp per minute was deadly.

    ¡°Pah, here I was worried about you, but you seem to be just a new Altered who¡¯s grown too big for your breeches! Just because you gained a new power and managed to overtake the Pincers you must have thought you could rule this town.¡± Damion ridiculed him. ¡°Are you some type of child? And as for you f*ckers!¡± Damion pointed his axe towards Brandon. ¡°Once I''m done with him, I¡¯ll hunt every single one of you down!¡±

    The reason that weapon proved so effective was that the gang leader had bought it at one of the Dark Guild¡¯s auctions. They were made from the very beasts that Altered hade from, making them the perfect anti-Altered weapons. It was also the crux of his power and why Gary felt that Damion was currently way stronger than the average person.

    The masked teenager was happy for Damion¡¯s little speech, since it bought his arm enough time to fully heal. Seeing this, Damion''s eyes widened. He knew that many Altered healed faster than usual, but this speed was just nonsensical.

    ¡®I can take his hits as long as he doesn¡¯t strike anything vital. I have to beat him here!¡¯ Gary encouraged himself as he charged in again, still having plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Meanwhile, the other Howlers were continually fighting those around them. Their formation of protecting each other¡¯s backs had been working to a degree.

    Marie, with her two des, proved skilful enough to not allow them to get close. Innu, filled with rage, was kicking and punching harder than he usually would have done, and Austin was the strong wall of muscle as always.

    However, there was one in the group that was oddly enough slowing them down this time around.

    One of the Grey Elephants charged in and Kai went for a kick¡­pletely missing. The man then rugby tackled him to the ground, pinning him down. Before he could do anything else, though, the ck masked helper kicked the man in his ribs, pushing him off the fox masked teenager.

    ¡°Stay focused!¡± ke shouted.

    Luckily, they had an extra helper that was covering for the mistakes Kai had been making.

    ¡°This guy is good, maybe we should invite him into the Howlers?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°You do know what that ck mask is right, and the weapons he¡¯s using, which means he''s probably a¡­¡± Marie didn¡¯t finish her sentence there, releasing the others would then no, but she thought inviting an Altered hunter into their group would be impossible, since Gary was their leader.

    Meanwhile, Austin was worried.

    ¡®What''s wrong with him?¡¯ Austin wondered, as he looked at the corner of his eye. ¡®These guys might be stronger than the Pincers, but Kai¡¯s performance is horrible today. He¡¯s talented, maybe more so than the rest of us, so why does he seem so distracted? Is he worried about Gary? He keeps staring off into his direction, but he''s never been worried about him before.¡¯ Something was clearly up.

    It was then that arge bat came crashing against Austin''s forearms that were raised in front of his face. He had blocked it, but it naturally still hurt, his forearms were now throbbing with pain. The others looked to be getting hurt as well over time.

    ¡°There''s just too many of them this time, we need to do something else!¡± Austin shouted. ¡®If only we weren''t so weak. It¡¯s starting to feel like we¡¯re always dragging Gary down!¡¯

    At that moment though, the sound of groans from the crowds of Grey Elephants could be heard through the crowd. A few secondster they could hear several bangs as well.

    Up above, Kate had heard the noise and moved her camera to where the noise wasing from for a second.

    ¡®I knew she must have been involved with them somehow.¡¯ Kate smiled.

    ¡°It appears that the mysterious woman has now arrived in Cipen. From the looks of it, she appears to belong to the third group that arrived earlier today!¡± She reported.

    It was then that they could see Olivia there, huffing and panting.

    ¡°You guys are useless.¡±

    At the same time, she had brought back up along with her. With more men on their side, a true gang war was taking ce.

    ¡°Go help the boss.¡± Kai told her as he applied pressure on the wound on his arm, a small cut that had happened during the fight when he hadn¡¯t been paying attention.

    ¡°Don''t worry, I was already nning to. I feel this need to help him.¡± Olivia said, and she wasn''t lying.

    Kate quickly moved the camera back to the others as she knew that seeing an Altered fight was guaranteed to get more attention for the news channel. Just in time as well, as she could see the Altered furiously attacking the axeman.

    Gary, had charged in bravely, grabbing the axes by the wood part just before the curved head. He then kicked Damion hard in the stomach with his strength, and quickly kicked him again in the ribs, hurting his wounds.

    During the fight, Damion had gotten a few good hits in, but Gary started to feel the difference between the two. Unlike his opponent, the Werewolf was able to heal his wounds, and his stamina was abnormal, giving him the advantage, especially since the Underdogs¡¯ leader was exhausted from prior fighting.

    Charging in again Gary lifted his w ready to swipe it towards his neck, yet at the moment, like a bullet someone bulldozed right through the crowd, hitting Gary right on the side of his ribs sending him falling and sliding across the ground.

    ¡°I''m sorry, I''mte Boss.¡± Kirk apologised.

 Chapter 298 â€“ Big Cat Fight

    <h4>Chapter 298 - Big Cat Fight</h4>

    The first thing that Gary did, before even lifting his head off the ground, was to check whether his mask was still firmly on his face. Fortunately, everything seemed to be still in order in that department. At the same time, he noticed that none of the Grey Elephant members had attacked him, even though he was only a foot away from them.

    ¡®They must really be loyal to their leader, huh.¡¯ Gary thought.

    It was then that he heard the voice speak.

    ¡°I''m sorry, I''mte, Boss.¡±

    Gary did wonder who could have possiblye out of nowhere and attack him from behind. He might have been too focused on attacking Damion, but still, the high schooler was sure he should have been able to notice if anyone came to interfere.

    ¡®Damn it!¡¯ Gary thought, clenching his fist. ¡®I should have known that he woulde as well.¡¯

    Turning his head and looking up through the mask, he could see Kirk. Not only that, but his skin was yellow with ck spots showing that he had somewhat transformed already. Now it all made sense.

    One of the reportedly fastest Altered was looking right at the Werewolf, yet it was obvious that he didn''t recognise thetter.

    ¡®You were the only one from the Underdogs I didn¡¯t want to fight, Kirk. Why did you have toe now¡­why is someone like you protecting that bastard?¡¯

    Memories of his time as a Transporter started shing in front of the teenager¡¯s eyes. When he had first joined, he had naturally been frightened and felt lost, yet Kirk had seemingly noticed it. The adult hade over and just pped him on the back, telling him he had to do a good job.

    It had been a rather strange encounter, especially since Gary had stuttered out Kirk¡¯s name when he had recognised one of his idols. The teenager never knew why, but for whatever reason the Altered hadn¡¯t seemed to mind spending some of his free time talking to him, something the high schooler had never seen him do with other Transporters.

    The two of them had been able to build up quite a bond because of it. Even before meeting him, Gary had watched some of his fights, and his admiration for Kirk as a supporter as well as a friend had just grown more from there.

    Thest time he had seen him, Kirk had taught Gary how to throw a punch, something which might have very well saved his life from the gangsters that fateful day.

    Getting himself up from the ground, Gary looked towards Damion. Right now Kirk was standing in front of him and the rest of the Cheetah Squad had also caught up. Their bodynguage was telling him that if he wanted to get to their boss, he would have to get through them first.

    ¡®Sh*t. I¡­ I need to finish him off here. They already know what school I go to, and I know they will do whatever it takes to find that package. I''m sorry Kirk, but if you stand in the way¡­ then I will have to deal with you as well. You were someone I looked up to, someone I looked forward to getting every day and talking to, you were like a¡­ to me¡­ but I have a real family I need to protect.¡¯

    Gary clenched his fist. The Howlers might have started out as a way for Kai and Gary to cut ties with the Underdogs, but part of him had always known that in the Underworld it would be impossible to have a peaceful separation.

    The Werewolf had been hoping to take care of Damion without Kirk around. That might have been the only way to avoid that confrontation. s, it was toote now.

    The masked teenager sprinted back to Damion, though three of the Cheetah Squads attempted to intercept him with a kick, two of them up high. Immediately, Gary covered his head and blocked the two kicks.

    However, the third one had gotten through, hitting him right in the stomach, and it wasn¡¯t a soft blow either.

    [-4 HP]

    [48/100 HP]

    Getting hit by Damion¡¯s axe attacks, as well as suffering Kirk¡¯s surprise attack, Gary was now down to less than half his Health. What¡¯s more, the kicks of the Underdog elite group were as strong as they were fast.

    ¡®They might not be Altered, but each one of them is strong. Figures, since their job is to support Kirk without slowing him down. How am I supposed to get to Damion? Should I just grab a bite and recover my Health? ¡­ maybe I should keep that a secret unless necessary and use w Drain instead?¡¯

    While thinking about what to do, it looked like the Cheetah Squad wasn¡¯t going to mess around, surrounding the masked foe, ready to attack. However, Kirk himself had yet to move, perhaps because of all the Grey Elephant members around that could go for their boss at any second.

    When the first one got close, though, a strong force whacked him in the stomach, sending one of the elite gang members hurling towards the ground.

    ¡°And here I thought you were some type of invincible monster.¡± A voice came from behind him. At the same time, the Grey Elephant members were being roughed up and beaten. No longer were they just patiently waiting off to the side as they turned to see what was happening. The next second they were fighting once again, defending themselves.

    Kate, seeing the chaos from above, understood everything clearly. Everything had changed when that woman had arrived. She along with her people were changing the bnce, and along with the other ck and gold members, they were able to push through bing a strong force to deal with the other Grey Elephant members.

    The whip in her hands was a force to be reckoned with, just as much as Damion with his axes.

    Now,ing through the fallen, seemingly untouched and unhurt, was Olivia Pearl.

    ¡°Why don''t you just pull the same crap as you did with me?¡± She asked the Alpha Werewolf with a smile.

    It hadn¡¯t been long since her arrival, yet all the Grey Elephant members on one side of the streets had been defeated by the Pincers, the Howlers, and the help they had received from the Altered Hunter. Given their reinforcement, ke was starting to wonder whether his involvement now was too much. It had been necessary when Gary¡¯s friends had been on their own, but now he was wondering whether he should stay any longer.

    ¡®I wish it was that easy. She really has no idea how close I came to death with Last Stand.¡¯ Gary thought, not giving her an answer.

    Seeing what was happening, Damion had a smile on his face, and immediately turned the other way, throwing his axe down at the Grey Elephant member, killing him on the spot.

    ¡°Haha, Kirk, you take care of these guys, I''m going after that big fat lump!¡± Damion ordered.

    The next second, and the chaos shifted.

    Those of the Pincer gang had already shed with the remaining Grey Elephant members. Gary was losing sight of Damion, who seemed to be running somewhere. Fortunately, he had Marked him earlier, allowing him to see that he was heading towards another Mark.

    ¡®Is Damion chasing after the Grey Elephant leader?¡¯ Gary wondered. ¡®Does he want to fight him, or is he going to flee? I can''t tell.¡¯

    Either way, Kirk was standing between them.

    ¡°You''re not going to let me pass unless I beat you, are you?¡± Gary asked, while Olivia had already started dealing with five from the Cheetah Squad.

    ¡°Seeing that you want my boss dead, no way.¡± Kirk replied, transforming further.

    ¡®It looks like that man from before was right¡­ there really are others in Slough.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, that very man that Kirk was thinking about, had cleared all the Altered in the Chavley area. Just in case there was more to deal with, he decided to check the news over his phone.

    That was when his eyesid on the fight that was about to take ce.

    ¡®Kudos to you, streaker boy, protecting the neighbourhood¡­ but is it really wise for you to do it so publicly?¡¯ Jayden immediately recognised the mask from the day the two of them fought. It was without a doubt, Gary.

    However, there was also another familiar face on screen.

    ¡®Dammit, just what did you do to provoke that cat dude?¡¯

 Chapter 299 â€“ King Of The Jungle

    <h4>Chapter 299 - King Of The Jungle</h4>

    Although somewhere deep down, Gary knew this fight would perhapse one day, he could never visualise it in his head. Fighting against Kirk of all things, of course, he would never be able to win against the Rookie champion.

    However, right now he had no choice.

    [New Quest received]

    [King of the Jungle]

    [Defeat the Altered in front of you]

    [Quest reward: ???]

    [Optional Quest received]

    [Waste not want not]

    [Consume the Altered]

    [Quest reward: Additional stat points]

    Whenever he ended up in a tough situation, the Werewolf System would encourage his user to find a way out of his situation by granting him a Quest. In this case, it seemed to be confident enough in the teenager that it even gave him two.

    ¡®I have been conserving my Energy in the fight so far, because of how many of them are around me, but I can¡¯t afford to go easy on him.¡¯ Gary thought, as he used his Controlled Transformation on his legs, making sure he transformed them fully to benefit from the increased power.

    However, he made sure to avoid changing his feet for fear that his toenails would end up going through his shoes. He also used the skill on his arms, hands, and chest area without holding back.

    Right now Gary¡¯s body was close to being fully transformed, but not quite. Even if Gary used Controlled Transformation on most of his body, it stillcked out,pared to his Full Transformation. The form would use up a lot of energy, but it was better than losing, since losing would most likely mean death and not just for him either.

    ¡°A wolf type altered, I guess it makes sense with the mask!¡± Kirk shouted, as he had gotten in a type of sprinter''s stance. He hunched his back, and his arms were out in front of him.

    ¡®I¡¯ve seen this before, in some of his Altered fights!¡¯ The Werewolf thought, but before he could fully act, the Cheetah Altered had used his fast legs to cross the distance between the two in an instant. Gary reached out and had grabbed the initial fisting towards him.

    His feet were skidding across the ground, being pushed back.

    ¡®I just increased my Strength stat going up against Damion, and it''s still not enough!¡¯

    While being pushed back, Gary started to move his feet as well, hoping to get any friction to help him push forward, and that''s when he noticed that Kirk was bearing his teeth. The muscles on his neck and muscles were tight as he pushed forward.

    ¡®He¡¯s really going all out against me¡­ I''m not just a kid¡­ I have people relying on me. I can do this. No, I HAVE to do this!¡¯ The high schooler thought. It was then that he managed to readjust his hands, so they were positioned better around Kirk¡¯s fist.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    [180/300]

    After activating the skill, Gary dug his nails into Kirk.

    [+2HP]

    [+2HP]

    [52/100 HP]

    It wasn¡¯t a big boost to his Health, since the damage dealt to the Altered was minimal, but it was at least something. Somewhat in pain, Kirk gritted his teeth, and held on tightly to his opponent¡¯s arms, before lifting the teenager¡¯s body off the ground, and aiming for a kick right towards Gary¡¯s face.

    It hit his chin, causing him to let go, and strangely Kirk quickly took off his ck shoes, and transformed his feet. His toes appeared more like that of a cheetah, allowing him to get more surface area.

    From his position, he pounced off the ground side to side, while going towards Gary.

    Now, Kirk also had his wed hands, and swiped them at Gary from one side. Lifting his arms, Gary blocked, but the ws of an altered man managed to pierce his skin somewhat.

    [-3 HP]

    Still, that wasn''t the need of it, as soon as Kirknded on the ground, he would jump up again and swing his arm, going for another swipe.

    [-3 HP]

    He continued to do this side, to side. It was so fast that Gary didn¡¯t know what to do. All he could do was keep his arms up, preventing the other from dealing him a potentially fatal blow.

    ¡®Having watched all of his fights, I was sure to have an advantage over him, but his current fighting style is nothing like what he uses in the ring! I have to do something, I can''t just stand here and turtle up. My Energy will drain up way faster than his stamina will.¡¯ It was at that moment, after Gary saw that his HP had fallen below one third, that he decided to take a wild swing.

    s, his desperate attempt ended up hitting nothing but the air, yet his opponent used the chance to w his chest.

    [-6 HP]

    [27/100 HP]

    ¡®My Health is getting lower by the second! If this continues, Kirk really is going to kill me!¡¯

    It was then for the first time in the fight that Gary had stopped being attacked. He could no longer see the system notification screens that would show his HP lowering.

    ¡®Did he run out of steam?¡¯ Gary wondered and opened his arms, ready to attack Kirk. To unleash his own power he had yet to use so far.

    He could only think that he had tired, there was no pause in Kirk¡¯s attacks. After all, Gary stats were even better than some Altered and he couldn¡¯t imagine himself attacking for that long one after another.

    ¡°Thanks, I was waiting for you to do this.¡± Kirk said, as a fist came right from underneath hitting Gary in the chin as hard as possible. Kirk had pounced off the ground from underneath using the power of his strong legs, to deliver one of his strongest hits.

    Gary was airborne for a few seconds before he eventually plummeted. Now taking a breath, Kirk was trying to get his wind back.

    ¡®His Endurance is crazy, after all those attacks and still not falling down, there are those in the AFC that couldn''t take that much.¡¯ Kirk thought as he did his best to control his breathing.

    [-10 HP]

    [17/100 HP]

    Seeing how low his Health was, Gary knew he had to change tactics, but first he went to feel his injured jaw, and that''s when he realised something.

    ¡®My mask, It must have been knocked off during the hit.¡¯ When Gary went to look up, he could see his mask up ahead. Quickly, he crawled towards it, but a person had picked it up before he could reach it.

    ¡°Gary¡­¡± The person uttered in disbelief.

    When looking at who it was, he could see that of all people, it just had to be Gil who was holding onto his wolf mask. Now that his hunting target had seen his face, revealing that he was a member of the Howlers. The person that the Underdogs had been looking for, was right here in front of them.

    ¡®Screw this.¡¯ Gary decided to go all out since his identity was alreadypromised.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

 Chapter 300 â€“ The Alpha Howl

    <h4>Chapter 300 - The Alpha Howl</h4>

    For most of the fight, Gil had been out of his depth. This was nothing like the colour gang war he had participated in. The gang members here were using deadly weapons, and Gil had seen several people get chopped down in front of him by the Underdog leader.

    The dropout had thought he was tough enough to handle it, especially after Damion had killed off those who had refused to swear their allegiance to him, he thought he would never see a day bloodier than that, yet it turned out that it might just have been wishful thinking on his part. Gil realised that today when he saw how easily the adults by his sides were losing their lives against the crazed Altered.

    ¡®I don''t really care who wins this stupid war. If the Grey Elephants win, I¡¯m just gonna tell them that I was captured during the colour war and was forced to join the Underdogs. If they should somehow win this, nothing changes much. So it''s better if I just do nothing anyway.¡¯ Gil thought, happy that the Underdogs¡¯ leader had told him to stay out of the fights, something he had intended to do since the beginning.

    The fight between the two apparent Altered was catching the attention of everyone who wasn¡¯t busy fighting, and even some who were. While the two of them seemed somewhat evenly matched, the fight between the two gangs seemed to be lessening as more and more gang members became unable to continue to fight on.

    One could only take so much betaings.

    In some ways it felt like a type of truce had reached between the lower ranked gang members. They had exchanged fists, exchanged wounds and blood, but all of them understood that their fighting was pointless in the grand scheme of things.

    Whichever¡¯s side Altered won, would have the power to punish the weaker side.

    Still there were those that were fighting hard, those that knew they could make a difference such as the newly arrived chatah squad and Olivia Pearl.

    As for the rest, even if they were lying on the ground, hurt, they were looking towards the direction of the Altered fight, and that''s when the mask had dropped right in front of Gil¡¯s feet. He didn'' think much of it, but when he picked it up, he looked towards the Wolf type Altered, though it was thest person he would have suspected to see here.

    ¡®Gary? ¡­ What is that dweeb doing in a ce like this? Why is he in the middle of a gang war, and since when was he an Altered?¡¯ Gil¡¯s mouth was left wide open, as nothing seemed to make sense any more.

    However, the next moment things were starting to click in his head. Gil had no idea that the Transporter the Underdogs had been looking for had been Gary. He had just bluffed that to be the case, seeing it as nothing but a means to get some revenge against the guy. After all, their descriptions did match.

    There was no way someone like Gary would get sponsored by a corporation and turned into Altered DNA. However, what if whatever was inside that package had turned Gary into what he was seeing right now? What if his shot in the dark actually hit the bullseye?

    A smile appeared on Gil''s face, but that smile just as quickly disappeared. The next second, and Gary''s face started to change before anyone else could see it. Fur started to grow out from his face, his nose elongated, while parts of his skin started to peel off, getting reced with hard hide.

    The Werewolf¡¯s skin became thicker, his teeth became sharper, and his whole body becamerger. The ends of his zer didn''t rip this time, thanks to the adjustments that Kai had made, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for the bottom of his trouser legs. The same could not be said about his shoes as well.

    Now everyone could see Gary having fully transformed into a full wolf like Altered and his darting red eyes staring at them all.

    For a second, Gary¡¯s eyes met with Gil¡¯s and shbacks started to appear in his head.

    ¡¯No¡­ no¡­ it can¡¯t be! I remember, that day. The day I got attacked on my first gang run with the grey colour gang¡­it was him. It was this piece of sh*t! He was the one who attacked me!¡¯

    Gil had never understood why he had been attacked that day. The best exnation he coulde up with was that it had been some vignte who had seen one too many super hero movie. However, now that he knew who it was, he understood why Gary hade after him.

    He remembered what he had done. Gil had attacked Gary¡¯s scrawny little boyfriend. Of course, with this new-found power it was only natural that he woulde after him for revenge.

    It was at that moment, that everything told Gil to run, and that''s exactly what he did as he headed back into the Basement¡¯s nightclub.

    At the same time, Gil wasn¡¯t the only one that could see what Gary had be. No one else had seen his face without the mask. However, due to the uniform on his body and the only person in that direction even the most ignorant of the Howlers now knew for certain that Gary was an Altered.

    Looking at Gary¡¯s full form, something that Marie hadn''t even seen before, a memory hade in each of their heads and one for Innu that he would never forget.

    ¡°Was he the one that was trying to kill us that time?!¡± Innu blurted out. ¡°We were in the woods looking for him!¡±

    The others understood Innu¡¯s concern, and it also answered a lot of the questions they had, how Gary was able to do such things and on top of that how he was able to defeat the twins fromst time. He wasn''t just an Altered, he was a menacing, vicious one.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡± Kai corrected him. ¡°Look at him. There were two of them that day. We were attacked by a ck one, while a brown one saved us.¡± Although Kai spoke these words, this was merely his own conclusion on that matter. Gary had admitted being one, but Kai hadn¡¯t asked him too much about it. However, given his fur colour it was a good bet, and it would coincide with Tom¡¯s actions.

    Seeing this newrger form, Kirk had to still be fearless, he knew that if he hesitated just because of this that it would only hamper him and his skills. Once again, he got into a sprinting stance, his hands touching the ground.

    ¡°A full transformation isn''t necessarily a good thing. I¡¯ve taken down those that are bigger than you!¡± Kirk shouted as he sprung off the ground. He seemed to be even slightly faster thanst time, seemingly pushing himself further.

    Aware that Gary would expect him to do the same thing again, the Cheetah Altered ran across the ground, and at thest second he started spinning his body to add extra power to his a fist. With his whole body¡¯s weight and momentum, Kirk crashed into Gary¡¯s stomach, pushing the Werewolf away¡­ but merely by a few inches.

    Gary''s toes had dug into the solid ground, breaking it open, while the solid wall of muscle and weight was able to withstand the blow a lot more this time. The next second, Gary lifted Kirk by his arms and mmed his body into the concrete ground.

    The next moment, Gary looked up at the moon and felt an instinct inside him take over. Following it, he let out a loud howl.

    *Ahh-wooo!!!*

    The Alpha Werewolf felt it reverberate at the top of his lungs. It didn''t sound like a normal wolf''s howl, this one was far deeper, and those around him could feel the vibrations in their body.

    At the same time, not too far away, Olivia could feel it as well, getting a slight desire to join in.

    The Beta Werewolf¡¯s eyes started to glow blue as she felt her strength rising.

    ¡®I''m really starting to like this feeling.¡¯ She smiled, getting her whip ready for more action.

 Chapter 301 â€“ Weapon Duel

    <h4>Chapter 301 - Weapon Duel</h4>

    A little before, Gary had gone into his Full Transformation, the rest of the Howlers were now dealing with another problem. Despite them having therger force, the Grey Elephant members were losing out, now that Olivia had arrived with her Pincer gang members.

    If it was just the Pincers on their own against those Grey Elephant members, then the small-time gang would have lost out. Fortunately, the Howlers had quality members to help out, and then there was Olivia herself. If she was someone to be feared before, there was even more reason now.

    On top of that, the Cheetah Squad who were a part of the Underdogs were also dealing with the Grey Elephants. In the end, it was almost as if the Grey Elephants were the ones that were being pressured by two strong forces, and with their leader having run off somewhere, the morale of the group wasn''t particrly high.

    This had led most of the Grey Elephant members to admit defeat, knowing full what the oue would be like at the other end. Now, though, the Cheetah Squad were facing off against Olivia and the rest of the Howlers.

    ¡°We have to be careful!¡± Kai shouted towards the others. ¡°Those guys are skilled enough to not drag down an Altered, so don''t think of them as just another one of those regr Joes!¡±

    With Kai, Innu, Austin, Marie and Olivia, there were five of them to go up against the five elite gang members, and running towards each other, it looked like everyone was ready for a sh.

    ¡°Hey, you seriously want me to take out one of them on my own?!¡± Marie shouted, but the others seemed too preupied to reply. All of them were engaged in their ownbat, one of the cheetah squad members, a bald man with scars all over his face, looked towards Marie.

    Her hands were shaking a little as she held onto her des. She had been doing okay so far, and the real life situations had allowed her to improve quickly. Still, there was a vast difference to what she was about to do and what she had been doing so far.

    During the fight, she had simply been trying to survive. Hurting those close to her, stalling until someone else to deal with the person, but now with a one on one situation. It wasn''t possible for her to do things this way.

    ¡®Damn it, how could the others forget about me?¡¯ Marie thought, almost welling up, feeling as if she was on the verge of tears. ¡®Damn you, Kyle, ever since you saw that bastard, it¡¯s like your mind is too busy to notice the things right in front of you!¡¯

    ¡°I see you are a person who uses weapons as well.¡± The bald man said with a smile. Flicking his arms out, two small pocket des appeared. They were smaller than what Marie used, but the man''s confidence was making her even more afraid, and it was the first time that she would be going up against someone else who was using a simr set of weapons as hers.

    The bald man didn''t hesitate as he thrust the de towards her. Quickly, Marie stepped back avoiding the first attack. However, her opponent didn¡¯t stop there. Having noticed theck of confidence in the teenage girl, he went after Marie, trying to stab her once more. She continued to back away, not seeing any chance to retaliate.

    ¡®He''s slower than Kyle¡¯s kicks, maybe I can do something.¡¯ She thought as she went in to sh towards the arm that tried to attack her, but as she did, she pulled back and moved away once again from another strike.

    ¡®What¡­what is wrong with me¡­ I hesitated.¡¯ Her hands were still shaking holding the weapon, and it was then that she realised why she was so frightened. There was one important lesson that had been ingrained into her. It had done her well so far but now going up against another person who was using a de and didn''t care about killing her, it was causing her legs to go weak.

    The best time to attack was when someone was attacking, and that was including herself. The timing was perfect, but she was off by a little. The next second, an image of the de piercing her stomach and her life shing before her eyes appeared in her head.

    Once again, being distracted, the bald man thrust the two little pocket knives one after another. There was no longer any opening as Marie avoided each strike, one after the other. It was all she was able to do.

    ¡®Am I imagining things, or is he getting faster?¡¯ Marie thought in a panic.

    Unfortunately, it was not just in her head. The man was indeed getting faster, having treated the earlier attacks as warm up. It was then, while avoiding the hits, that Marie felt something on her back leg, yet it was toote. The teenage girl tripped over one of the many dead bodies that were around.

    Now with nowhere else to run, it looked like the images in her head from before were going toe true. Swinging her de out now with no other choice, she was hoping that it would either hit the de or hit the man first, but he hadpletely avoided the sh, pulling back at the right time, and continued to go forward.

    ¡°Don''t worry, I won''t make it painful!¡± The man promised her. The next second though, and his whole body seemed to light up slightly, it shook out of control and the weapons dropped from his hand. After that, two more whacks were heard, hitting the man on the back of the head, causing him to copse on the ground.

    When looking up, Marie thought that maybe Kai hade to his senses and had helped her out, but instead she saw the stranger in his full ck mask.

    ¡®The Altered Hunter! Didn¡¯t he leave?¡¯ Marie realised, but soon felt like she should say something.

    ¡°T-thank you for saving me.¡±

    The truth was, ke had indeed decided to leave the fight. It wasn''t his fight to get involved in, and even though there was at least one Altered present with Kirk, it wasn''t the right time to hunt him with so many people. It wasn¡¯t how Altered Hunters were trained to do things.

    Regardless, ke did want to stay and watch how everything would y out, and in doing so, he could see Marie, a school girl that he recognised as someone who went to the same school as him, was in trouble. In the end, he couldn''t help himself but to quickly get involved once again.

    Seeing that she was fine, the Altered Hunter had run off again. Marie took the time to see how the others were doing. Looking at her fellow Howler members, they were pretty banged up. Austin, was bleeding from the top of his head, sitting on the ground huffing and panting, but he had no opponent in front of him.

    Innu looked to be in slightly better condition, but when trying to walk forward he seemingly copsed on the ground. The adrenaline that had kept him in the fight so far had escaped his body.

    Then there was Kai. He was standing, but it looked like he could barely hold on. Even from behind, she could tell that his body was badly hurt. He resembled a boxer on wobbly legs. Taking a step forward, he was wobbling, even swaying. The fox mask was still on his face, but part of it had cracked.

    ¡®Is Kyle losing? I have to help!¡¯ Marie thought, since she saw that the others were in no condition to.

    Just as she had got up off the ground, though, Gary let out his loud howl. That''s when everyone looked over in the direction of the fight, to see therge brown furred wolf.

    Olivia, who had been fighting with her opponent so far, who was a little better than the others, smiled.

    ¡®This strength¡­ I¡¯ve never felt like this before.¡¯ Throwing out her whip, it had wrapped around the man¡¯s leg. She pulled on it, trying to cause the man to fall, but instead he had let the momentum take him in, and he had jumped trying to spin himself while delivering a kick. It was then that Olivia knew that she had gotten stronger.

    Grabbing onto his leg, she started squeezing onto it hard, making the Cheetah Squad member scream in pain. The Lady Boss then threw him to the ground, and stepped right on his chest. Swinging her whip constantly hitting the person as much as she could.

    Seeing his friend getting beaten, the one that was dealing with Kai, had decided to help. Olivia stopped her attack, charged forward, and avoided the punch, before grabbing the other gang member¡¯s face and mming it onto the ground as well.

    She had the power of the Anti-Altered weapon, on top of her natural increased strength from being a Werewolf, and now she was receiving another boost, and it was thanks to Gary.

    As she looked up, she looked towards Kai and gave him a condescending smile.

    ¡®She¡¯s¡­be so strong¡­ Gary, what did you do to her? Did you turn her, like in those books? If that''s the case¡­ can you do the same to me?¡¯ Kai thought as he looked at Gary''s full Werewolf form.

 Chapter 302 â€“ One Down

    <h4>Chapter 302 - One Down</h4>

    The second Kirk and his Cheetah Squad had arrived, there was a strange new confidence that had risen in Damion. It was as if they fully believed that now they were here, there was no chance for the group to lose this war.

    It was because of it, the first thing he did, rather than concentrate on the Altered that was in front of him. He chose to hit the closest Grey Elephant member. Damion somewhat knew what this would do, it would ignite the fighting between everyone once again.

    No longer was it a safe duel that everyone could just watch and the sense of danger would kick into them all. Seeing this, and leaving the Altered to Kirk, Damion continued to swing his axes towards the direction of where Brandon and the rest of the Grey elephants were.

    His movements were faster, and his strength was beyond what the others could handle. Each swing would hit the members before they could touch him, killing them or chopping off their limbs in one go. It looked like a robot that was possessed.

    That was when Brandon, therge titan of a force that the Grey Elephants knew him as, did something that they never expected him to do¡­ He ran away.

    Therge man made a beeline through the crowd of his own people, roughly shoving them out of the way, without so much as looking back.

    ¡°What''s this?!¡± Damion almost let out a loudughter. ¡°The mighty Grey Elephant leader is running away, despite being surrounded by all of his men? Have you dropped your balls that you don¡¯t dare to fight me after all you¡¯ve done? If I had known your muscles were just for show, I would have gotten rid of you a long time ago!¡±

    Damion threw one of his axes forward trying to aim for him, but another soon got in the way, being hit. The Underdogs¡¯ leader continued to run forward and lifted the axe from the body, not slowing down his momentum.

    Due to the countless members of the Grey Elephants getting in his way, Damion was slowed down a little, allowing Brandon to further the distance. For arge person, he was surprisingly fast.

    Kicking the man in front of him, causing him to slide across the ground, Damion continued to chase after, leaving the Grey Elephants wondering what to do. In the end, they didn''t chase, because they had their own problem to solve.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''m sure Brandon has a n.¡± One of the members spoke up.

    Running down the street, there was what looked like police who had boarded up the area. If Brandon continued to run ahead, then he would be easily stopped, and it was the same for the person who was following him.

    Turning quickly right, he went through a narrow alleyway. Here there were a couple of policemen on guard at the other end. However, when he approached them, the two of them stepped to the side, allowing him to get through with no harm.

    They continued to stay towards the side even as Damion went through.

    ¡®Strange, I¡¯m sure one of the others was supposed to be the brains behind it all. I guess that guy isn¡¯t all muscles.¡¯ Damion thought. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around, and headed towards the two police men, throwing his axe right towards one of their necks. It sliced halfway through before stopping.

    ¡°You scum who have been paid off, you should just do your jobs. At least I know what I am.¡± Damion cursed, as he kicked the other to the ground. He pulled the axe out from the deceased man¡¯s neck before mming it down on the other officer.

    Following the trails from Brandon, Damion soon found himself in an underground car parking lot. It was dark inside, with a few lights here and there. It looked like it was going under a refurb.

    ¡°Come on! You took me down here for a reason, right?!¡± Damion shouted. Saying these words, he held on to his side which still hurt from being attacked by Gary.

    ¡®I hope Kirk brings him back alive, that way I can really bring him pain when he needs it.¡¯

    An object was thrown out towards Damion, but he soon shed it in half. Quickly after that, a kick was made right to his side, hitting him in the ribs, aimed right at his wound. Bearing through the pain and gritting his teeth, though, he quickly swung his axe to the side and found it hit against something solid, and a man screamed.

    ¡°One down¡­no matter how many you have brought with you, they will all fall!¡± Damion stated.

    Looking around, the gang leader could see five more guys, as well as Brandon who now had arge smile on his face.

    ¡°You know, they say I''m the strongest of the Grey Elephants, but that''s just because whoever I fight, I make sure they never live to tell the tale.¡± Brandon admitted while holding a riot shield in his hand, having the words police force on it.

    As Damion had suspected from the earlier interaction the Grey Elephants had bought off some people in the police force, which was what had allowed them to get away with so many things. Immediately, all of them charged in, but gripping his hands tightly around the axes, Damion was ready to give it his all.

    He ran forward and ignored the rest that were charging towards him, he didn''t swing at them this time, and just leapt in the air with the two axes behind his head. He swung them to give himself the most momentum.

    Seeing this, Brandon was confident as he lifted the right shield to block the attack.

    ¡®Haha, what an idiot, now we''ll all be able to get him at once after this attack.¡¯ The Grey Elephant leader thought.

    When the axes mmed down, they tore right through the riot shield, and did the same to Brandon¡¯s head, causing him to fall to the ground, dead in an instant. Secondster, the others charged in kicking and hitting Damion as much as he could, but eventually, just as he had imed, he had managed to take them out one by one.

    Now standing on his legs, he started to walk out of the ce.

    ¡®Tsk, that bastard practically made this too easy. What was he thinking, trying to use a normal shield to block these two demons? They really were worth every single penny.¡¯

    Damion continued to slowly walk out of the car park in his injured state. Half a minuteter, a man in a ck leather jacket walked out from a corner. He walked over to Brandon''s dead body and stared at it in silence.

    ¡®That¡¯s why I told you to just lure him in, but no, you just had to try to take him out yourself.¡¯ Raven thought to himself. ¡®I¡¯ve warned you repeatedly that Damion Hawk is a dangerous man. I have no idea how he does it, whether it¡¯s sheer luck, perseverance, or something else, but somehow he always manages to catch a second wind when he¡¯s on hisst legs.

    ¡®First Yoven, now you, Brandon. I guess that¡¯s it for the Grey Elephants then. Well, I¡¯ll just have to see the upside in all of this. I won¡¯t have to worry about Sin, and now I have all the time I need to finish off my personal vendettas.¡¯

    A ng was heard, and still on edge, Raven turned his head, afraid that Damion had returned. Fortunately, he could see that it was only a young student. Seeing him, he let out a big sigh.

    ¡®Too bad, kiddo, but I can¡¯t afford any witnesses.¡¯ Thest remaining Grey Elephant leader pulled out a knife, and immediately ran towards the student that had stumbled in. Hearing footsteps, he quickly held up his hands.

    ¡°Wait, I can help you!¡± He spoke quickly, as he backed off. ¡°I was part of the grey colour gang and I got kidnapped by the Underdogs! I can help you get what they want! They''re looking for a boy¡­ a boy who stole a package from them¡­ his name is Gary¡­ Gary Dem!¡±

    Raven stopped immediately, because he had heard that name once before, but he had never expected to hear it here, of all ces.

 Chapter 303 â€“ A True Last Stand

    <h4>Chapter 303 - A True Last Stand</h4>

    When Gary had evolved and chosen the Warrior ss, the main advantage that had been given to him, was the fact that his Energy Pool had tripled. He thought at first that this was best because when unlocking more skills he would be able to use them more.

    However, recently he hadn¡¯t been able to ess as many skills as he had initially thought. Still, it was more so due to all these crazy situations happening so soon and one after another.

    The idea of using more skills was to allow him to be more versatile when fighting. However, there was one more thing that it had improved. With over 110 Energy left to spare, Gary wouldn¡¯t have to worry about running out during Full Transformation for a while, which was a great thing, seeing as it was his strongest form.

    Nevertheless, he also couldn¡¯t afford to drag things out, but it would hopefully be enough for him to do what needed to be done. Gary looked at Kirk, who was on the ground, and immediately went to slice down at him with his ws, which were slightlyrger in this form.

    Seeing this, Kirk rolled out of the way and stood up. He used his strong feet to leap back in the air, but one arm was over his ribs. One could tell he had been badly injured from just a single throw and where he was, pieces of the ground itself had been partly destroyed, indicating the power which he had endured.

    Gary''s ws hit the ground. They scratched the surface of the stone pavement, leaving deep w marks. Looking up towards Kirk and seeing him injured, he decided to continue the chase.

    ¡®Damn it, what is up with that guy? He was already strong, but now he¡¯ll be even stronger. And what happened to his injuries from before? It¡¯s as if I never hit him in the first ce.¡¯ Kirk worried.

    He continued to pounce back, watching the Werewolf run towards him. Those that were on the ground, or close to the fight, made sure to get out of the way. Although many had seen Altered on TV, Gary¡¯s current appearance was terrifying to them all.

    The second the Werewolf had gotten close enough, though, Kirk jumped back, his two feet pressing on a building¡¯s window. Pushing off them, the ss broke behind him, but it had been enough to propel him forward like a spear. Holding his hands out, that''s exactly what he was going for.

    Kirk''s nails managed to pierce deep into Gary¡¯s chest. Nevertheless, the hide proved too thick for the Cheetah Altered to reach his opponent¡¯s organs. Still, when Kirk''s feet touched the ground, he dragged his hand as hard as he could, allowing for his nails to rip through the hide, creating arge w-like mark directly across his chest.

    [-6 HP]

    [11/100 HP]

    ¡®In this form my Endurance is even higher, so the attacks might look bad, but they don''t do as much damage. Still with this low Health I have to be careful¡¯ Gary thought.

    The Werewolf went to swipe towards Kirk again, but he hadpletely missed him. Next Gary tried to kick, instead of swinging wildly he was resorting to the moves he had practised. Kirk had somewhat seen this and lifted the arm by his head, in doing so, his whole body shifted to the side, and he almost fell over.

    His arm felt like it might break at any second.

    ¡®That power is crazy¡­even if I can see the attacking my way¡­I have to avoid it.¡¯ Kirk thought.

    Seeing another punch instead of a w, Kirk realised that the Altered was fighting rather than giving in to his inner beast, but Kirk had experience in how tobat using both. epting one''s beast side was part of bing an Altered andbining the two was how one should fight.

    Using one or the other wasn''t going to cut it. Kirk, pounced back, avoiding the hit, and quickly used his powerful legs toe in again. He gave two quick swipes that had hit the Werewolf¡¯s upper arms, scratching them and causing them to bleed.

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    [9/100 HP]

    The damage wasn''t great, but Gary wasn¡¯t in the best of condition either.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    ¡®I need to get some of my Health back!¡¯ Gary thought.

    Pushing off with his muscr legs, Gary boosted himself forward as fast as he could, as long as he hit Kirk, he would get his Health back. However, there was no such luck, as Kirk moved to the side, continuing to evade him.

    Unfortunately, w Drain onlysted two seconds at its current level. Trying desperately to get to Kirk, left Gary open, an opportunity that the Cheetah Altered quickly used to swipe at him another two times.

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    [7/100 HP]

    ¡®I¡­ I¡­I can''t catch him¡­if I can''t catch him, I can¡¯t heal¡­fighting a trained Altered like him seems to be too much for the current me, even fully transformed.¡¯

    Gary was starting to panic. He spun around, but the more erratic his movements became, the easier it was for his opponent to see where the attack was being aimed at. Once again, Kirk leapt towards his back, this time wrapping his legs around the Werewolf''s waist. Quickly, he dug both his hands into the top of his neck, before leaping off again.

    [-3 HP]

    [-3 HP]

    [1/100 HP]

    ¡®Holy sh*t, this is getting too close! My eyesight is getting blurry¡­ If I get hit again.¡¯

    Turning around, Gary could see the two ws near him, leaving him with no other choice.

    [Skill activated Last Stand]

    As the two ws scratched his face, one of them went through his eye, but the other slightly missed, hitting his cheek. The pain was really going through Gary¡¯s body.

    [-4 HP]

    [1/100 HP]

    [Last Stand is activated (59 seconds remaining)]

    He saw the number, but he knew that he would be safe, no matter how much damage he would take for the next minute.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost a lot of blood, and you''re still standing, I admire your will to keep fighting!¡± Kirk praised the other, surprised he hadn¡¯t reacted despite losing an eye. Since his technique was working by jumping in and out, he wasn''t going to change it.

    However, Gary¡¯s mind was at a loss. Using Full Transformation had already been a desperate move on his part, yet Kirk had forced him to activate his secret trump card Last Stand as well. That skill didn¡¯t make him invincible, only temporarily unkible, yet what use was it when he couldn¡¯t hit the other, much less finish him off?

    The pouncing in and out continued, and Gary continued to swing wildly, but nothing was working. More blood, more wounds appeared on his body, more pain that Gary had to suffer through.

    ¡°DON''T GIVE UP!¡± Kai shouted at the top of his lungs. The side of his head was bleeding from his earlier fight, and it was starting to taint his mask red. Yet he still stood as confident as possible while yelling outward. ¡°You need to keep living!¡±

    Hearing this, he knew that Kai was right. Although Gary still hadn''t figured out what to do, all he could do was try his best. In doing so, Gary looked at Kirk¡¯s bodying towards him, ready for another attack.

    He twisted his body, and threw his hand out from underneath. It was simr to an uppercut, but instead of going for his head, the teenager was aiming for his stomach. All Gary could hope was his fist would be able to hit in time.

    He could see that Kirk¡¯s ws were about to reach him, but it looked like Gary would be able to hit him as well, just before he could jump away. He could deal a significant blow.

    [Last Stand duration has psed]

    ¡®No¡­ if I get hit by this¡­ I''ll die!¡¯

    The two hands from both of them continued, but just then, something wrapped around Kirk''s leg, and pulled him back ever so slightly. His body had been moved and slipped down.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Gary screamed.

    His fist smashed into the stomach. Allowing for Gary¡¯s full powered fist to connect to his idol, but it hadn''t just hit Kirk. The punch pierced through his stomach, and Gary could see his bestial hand in front of him.

 Chapter 304 â€“ The Winners

    <h4>Chapter 304 - The Winners</h4>

    Gary was unsure what would happen once his HP reached 0, whether he would just faint and lose consciousness or if his System would really kill him off, but he sure as hell wasn¡¯t willing to find out. It was a test that he might not exactlye back from. The high schooler was certain that no matter the consequence, if it wasn''t for his Last Stand skill, he would have surely died to Kirk¡¯s attacks. Driven by his fear of death, the Werewolf had put his all into thatst punch.

    His survival instinct had kicked into him, making him use every ounce of strength that had been in his body. The teenager hadpletely ignored who his opponent was and his personal rtionship to him, it had merely be a fight to the death, the only options were either to kill or be killed.

    His foot twisted the right way allowing for the power to be used from his whole body, the twist in his hips were perfect. Unbeknown to Gary, he was delivering a textbook blow. It was a solid hit, a perfect punch he had never done before.

    Looking at his furry hand, he could see it was covered in blood. At the end of it, he saw that Kirk¡¯s body was limp. Even through his hand, he could feel his heartbeat. It was slowly swallowing down, and the look in Kirk¡¯s eyes was starting to hollow out. Blood continued to drip from the open wound, painting Gary¡¯s hand and the ground red.

    ¡°Did Kirk actually lose to the Wolf Altered¡­but how?¡± The Underdog members that had survived, couldn¡¯t believe what had happened. It was the same for the Cheetah Squad. Although the Howlers had beaten them, the teenagers weren¡¯t murderers, and they didn¡¯t n to change that if it could be helped.

    Surprisingly, even Olivia had been somewhat tame with her opponents, even though the pain of being whipped with her special weapon had made some of them think they might have been better off dead.

    ¡°He¡­he actually managed to beat Kirk, the rookie champion.¡± Kai uttered in disbelief at his own words. It was then that Olivia snapped the whip back to herself and wrapped it around her arm.

    ¡®That boy¡­ I could tell he was on hisst legs.'' She thought to herself. ¡®It was almost as if my body chose to do whatever it could to save him. Was that because he turned me into a Werewolf? Would I have been free if I hadn¡¯t intervened and Kirk would have finished him off? ¡­ Either way, this result should be more beneficial to me.

    ¡®I thought this group of kids would stay back, and onlye in, after the fight between the two, like the other smaller gangs had nned, but that''s not the case at all. It¡¯s only a matter of time until news spreads that there is a new Altered in town that''s stronger than Kirk. They shouldn''t be nning to make their move any time soon.¡¯

    Thinking about all of this, a wide smile appeared on Olivia¡¯s face. She had grand aspirations to move up, but she had always been careful. It was hard for any gang to rise up since those in power would do everything to keep the status quo.

    The Lady Boss had been biding her time, hoping to gather support from her clients until everything was perfect, yet the Howlers hade and taken over. However, given today¡¯s performance, she felt like they would amount to great things in the end. It was possible this gang would achieve what she always wanted, and if she stayed by the Alpha Werewolf¡¯s side she would reap the benefits as well.

    Clenching her hand, she was starting to wonder what she was starting to be as well.

    ¡ª¡ª

    [You have defeated your first Altered]

    [Quest reward: 2 Pawn points have been granted due to the difficulty of the quest]

    [Additional rewards: Instant Level Up]

    [Skill selection]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 18]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [Optional Quest (Waste not want not) is still in progress]

    [Consume the body of the Altered for additional stat points]

    Right now, Gary didn''t care what the system was showing him

    ¡°Kirk!¡± The Alpha Werewolf growled out through hisrge snout. ¡°Kirk!¡±

    It was clear that Gary was trying tomunicate with his defeated opponent, but the onlookers wondered why. Getting no response, and seeing that he couldn¡¯t keep up his form for much longer, the teenager did something surprising.

    Pulling out his hand, Gary caught Kirk before he fell to the ground, and leapt to the side of the building, digging his ws into the walls. He leapt up again, digging his hand in. The Werewolf was jumping up the wall while carrying Kirk away. After reaching the very rooftop, he continued to run off in the distance.

    The others just watched in amazement, not quite sure what to do now. All the gangs¡¯ leaders were now gone, with only the Howlers really having someone else who could take charge. Kate who was on the rooftop had lost sight of the two Altered and had no way to follow them.

    However, there were still those who were on the ground. Hearing the voice of someone, Kate asked her cameraman to swiftly zoom in on the speaker.

    ¡°Listen up!¡± Kai shouted, as he confidently walked into the centre where Gary and Kirk had been fighting just seconds ago. Pools of blood all around.

    ¡°This war is over!¡± Kai dered. ¡°Everyone, remember our name! We Howlers are the ones who punished the Grey Elephants who created and unleashed these monsters in the town of Slough, and our leader was the one who defeated the Underdogs¡¯ Altered. From this day on, you all better be careful because we will take over everything the Grey Elephant and the Underdog own! Should any of you try to stop us¡­ then I wee it!¡±

    The words of Kai were loud and clear for everyone to hear, and all the members on the ground had no case to argue. Where were their strong leaders and such? They were nowhere to be seen.

    However, the Howlers wouldn''t be able to take over things today, not yet and Kai knew that, this deration was mainly aimed at the other small-time gangs, because he was sure that there was a group of people waiting to make their move, and he was right.

    At either end of the streets, the police forces hade out from their cars. They had their megaphones ready.

    ¡°Everyone, please stay indoors for a little while longer. It is still not safe toe out. I repeat, please stay indoors for a little longer. It is not safe toe out.¡± Anton announced over the megaphone.

    ¡°Erghh what does he mean it''s not safe toe out?¡± Marie asked, worried this could mean something else was about to happen.

    ¡°No, they can''t be. We freaking defeated those monsters, and fought off all these gang members!¡± Innu shouted. ¡°They can''t be thinking of¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, everyone!¡¯ Sadie the White Rose agent shouted out. ¡°Go and bring them all in!¡±

    s, Innu¡¯s guess was spot on.

 Chapter 305 â€“ Escape

    <h4>Chapter 305 - Escape</h4>

    The police force were already on the move once they saw that the fighting had started to settle down. They had been waiting for the moment when either of the Altered would finish the other off.

    Altered, no matter what state they were in, were dangerous. There was no point losing police force¡¯s lives over the current incident, and as for Sadie, she was being cautious for other reasons.

    ¡®When that Wolf Altered howled, my foot started to hurt again. Was he the one that bit me? But ording to the gathered DNA it should have been the deceased Billy Bruntin¡­ not to mention his fur colour was different.¡¯

    ¡®Since when were there so many Altered in this sh*tty Tier-3 town? We will have to make a report to stay here longer after this.¡¯ Sadie thought.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± Anton asked one more time before giving the order to his men. ¡°You know that reporter from Channel Five is filming everything, right? If we do this, we will look like the bad guys.¡±

    Sadieughed at hisment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the public¡¯s opinion.¡± She replied. ¡°Whether we are the bad guys or not, we are simply doing our job. Besides, do you really think these people came here to protect the innocent?¡±

    ¡°No, this whole war certainly started because of the gangs in the first ce. Those Howlers must have just seen the opportunity and decided to take advantage of it. No one cares for the people but us. They seem to forget because your men wear uniforms, but they have lives as well. They have families they need to go home to.¡±

    It was then that the unexpected had urred, the fight was over, but the Wolf Altered had taken both of them out of the area. That guy was most likely the gang leader, so Sadie had been sure he would stay back and protect his fellow gang members.

    However, Gary had not simply left the scene, but he had taken Kirk¡¯s body with him. Because of this, she needed to act fast. With her Altered form, she should be able to catch up to them and arrest them while they were weak.

    The next second, a single wing sprouted from her back.

    ¡®What the-?! What is wrong with me!¡¯ Sadie was confused at her body not listening to her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them, let''s just deal with those in front of us. Let''s protect the people like you said.¡± Frank attempted to cheer his partner up.

    The single wing retracted back into her body, to the dismay of the woman.

    The police started to charge in from both sides, and the Howler members were injured. If they were to fight their way out of this, it certainly would be difficult for them.

    ¡°Come on! We won¡¯t be able to convince them to get you out of this one, we have to go!¡± Olivia shouted. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was her own desire, or her just adhering to the Pack Rules, but she feltpelled to help the little rascals.

    In her own group, they wouldn''t get punished too much, not unless they had proof that they had murdered some of those that were dead, but most of that had been done by Damion.

    The others got up, and stayed closely behind her. They ran forward and could see that police forces were down even the narrow streets to the other side. So instead, she decided to throw her whip out towards one of the shop¡¯s doors.

    It wrapped around the handle, and the next thing with her strength she pulled itpletely off, and flung it to the side, throwing it in the distance towards the police.

    ¡°She''s really good with that whip, huh? I mean she''s doing things that are impossible, right?¡± Marie asked.

    The others didn''t really think about it much, but Marie was right. A special trait of the whip was that as long as Olivia could picture what she wanted to do with it, the whip would do exactly that. It would follow the image in her mind, giving her perfect control.

    With her added strength and speed, it had made her a lot stronger than before. The group thought that they might have to barge through the crowd of people inside, but as they entered everyone stepped out of their way.

    ¡°There''s a door in the back!¡±

    ¡°Come this way, we¡¯ll try to hold off the police for you.¡±

    It looked like they had gained the public''s trust for getting involved and dealing with those creatures, more so than the police. Immediately, after the Howlers had entered, they stood in front of the door, trying to slow down the police in whatever way they could.

    They followed what looked like the owner to the back door, who was drastically trying to find the key, on the chain of multiple.

    ¡°It''s okay, old man, thanks for the help so far!¡± Olivia shouted as she booted the door open. They were now clearly on the other side of the street.

    She ran out, and the others quickly followed behind her.

    ¡°We¡¯ll send someone to pay for the door, I promise.¡± Kai said as he ran past with the rest.

    They were finally on the other side, but still running, they thought soon the others would catch up with them. If the police force was to send a car after them, or someone spotted them, they would be in trouble. That was when a car was heard screeching around the corner.

    It quickly reached the gang members and stopped. The door was immediately opened by Kevin from the inside.

    ¡°Get in quickly!¡±

    Immediately, all of them jumped into the car, squashing into the back, while Olivia calmly opened the door to the front and got in. There were a lot of them, so it was a bit of a squeeze, but that didn''t matter right now.

    The next second, the car was driving off away from the scene.

    ¡°Whoa¡­man, my hands are shaking.¡± Tyler confessed behind the wheel.

    ¡°You¡¯ve certainly earned your keep. Remind me to give you a bonus once we make it out safely.¡± Kaiplemented the other.

    ¡°How, did you know¡­ how?¡± Innu asked.

    ¡°You guys were all over the news. We were watching what was going on, and when we saw the police making their move, we knew we had to do something.¡± Suzan exined.

    ¡°But what about the wolf mask boy, should we drive around and try to find him?'''' Tyler asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s okay.¡± Olivia answered. ¡°Trust me.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    At that moment, Gary didn''t know where he was, but he had been leaping across shops or apartment rooftops, getting away from the area as much as he could. Eventually, when he could no longer hear the sound of fighting or other things.

    He stayed where he was, an empty rooftop with hardly anything there, just a few lines of clothing that people had put out and not put away even though it was now nighttime. Gary carefully ced Kirk on the floor and could see the wound in his body.

    His eyes were still working as it looked towards him.

    ¡°What¡­are you doing?¡± Kirk finally managed to utter out.

    Right now, Gary was still in his werewolf form unrecognisable, but cancelling his Full Transformation, his face started to revert, tears flowing down his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    As the fur started to disappear and the face went back to normal, Kirk could see who it was.

    ¡°Greeny?¡±

 Chapter 306 â€“ Stay With Me

    <h4>Chapter 306 - Stay With Me</h4>

    At this point and time, Gary was just far too upset to care about whether Kirk recognised him. In fact, in some way the teenager felt that he needed the Altered to be aware of it, to see who had been the one to fight and defeat him, and how much Gary regretted it.

    The high schooler had decided to agree to Kai''s n, yet when he had killed all those orphans, it had felt like the only way to save them, but this¡­ this seemed liked aplete waste, a misunderstanding that could have somehow been avoided¡­

    Aware of the kind of injury he had dealt the Altered, Gary had felt as if someone as if someone had plunged a knife into his heart before, but now, seeing the way Kirk looked at him, with just a tiny smirk on his face, yet without any me in his eyes, it felt like someone had twisted it.

    ¡°I-I didn''t mean to, Kirk¡­ I didn''t mean for a-any of this to happen!¡± Gary sniffled between his words, tears rolling down the face on to the Altered. ¡°E-everything started going wrong that d-day when I was supposed to d-deliver that package. I-I didn''t steal it, I swear!

    ¡°Instead of the c-client, there were those gangsters who attacked me¡­ and I-I somehow turned into this. W-whatever was in the package did t-this to me, but it was impossible to exin. D-damion would have killed me for sure! T-there was nothing left in the suitcase and the g-gangsters they were¡­ they were¡­ so I went into hiding¡­¡± After telling his part of the tale, Gary started to trail off.

    He didn¡¯t know why, but the Werewolf feltpelled to exin to the Altered how everything came to be, and how they ended up in this situation. Gary felt extremely guilty of how things had turned out. When speaking though, he realised it meant nothing. All of those things that happened to him, why did it mean Kirk had to end up this way.

    ¡°I understand, Greeny.¡± Kirk eventually spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve seen people change after bing an Altered, but you never seemed the type to hurt anyone because you wanted to. I¡¯ve also heard rumours about how the Pincers let go half of their working staff, and I bet that you had a hand in that now I know who you are. Even I thought those rumours had to be false.

    ¡°I could feel your desperate punch at the end, everything you have done so far seems to have been for the sake of survival.¡± After finishing his sentence, Kirk coughed, and a little blood escaped from his mouth.

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°I¡¯m going to save you!¡±

    Checking through the system, Gary looked through the skills he had. There was the Alpha Bite, if he attempted to bite Kirk now, then he could turn him into a Werewolf. If that was the case, then perhaps eating some flesh would allow him to heal just like him.

    Although Kirk was the enemy, he would be able to follow Gary.

    [Skill activated Alpha Bite]

    At that moment, Gary''s eyes started to glow red, his canines lengthened, and he looked at Kirk¡¯s arm that was mostly intact, and lifted it up. Without hesitation, this time, he bit right into it.

    ¡°Argh! You''re trying to kill me quicker!¡± Kirk let out a dry joke. ¡°I''m kidding, I barely even feel it any more.¡±

    [Error: Alpha Bite is unable to be used]

    ¡®What do you mean Error, you sh*tty system? Exin to me! Don''t give me a skill and then tell me that there is an Error in the skill!¡¯ Gary lifted Kirk''s arm, and bit into it again in another spot.

    [Error: Alpha Bite only works on human targets!]

    Seeing the message twice, Gary let go of the arm and allowed it to drop to the ground. He was at a loss of what to do, and the second time he had bit into Kirk, the Altered didn''t even make a noise. The Werewolf looked over to his idol, seeing that his eyes had blurred even more.

    ¡°Gary, are you still there?¡± Kirk asked, even though the teenager¡¯s face was sticking out right in front of him. ¡°I want to tell you something¡­ I never wanted to do this. You know¡­ I''m d that I am the one that ended up like this and not you.

    ¡°I had always nned to let you go. The only reason why I was looking for you, was so I could hide you from Damion. You are a good kid, who was just unlucky to get born into this kind of world. You know¡­ I saw you one day¡­ when you left the hospital¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t arrive earlier¡­ hope your mother recovers¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop speaking, Kirk, you have to survive! I''ll take you to a hospital, I can run really fast, and they can save you!¡± Gary shouted back.

    The truth was Gary was low on Energy, and on top of that, even if there were hospitals that could treat a wound like Kirk¡¯s, it would be in one of the high tier cities, not Slough. The Altered was lucky that he had managed to survive until now, able to still speak.

    ¡°I wish¡­ never became¡­ Altered¡­ too much¡­¡± Kirk spoke, yet his voice became weaker until it drifted offpletely.

    Gary hadn''t even heard the reason he had decided to follow a scumbag like Damion, why he had worked so hard for that bastard, and now he had no breath at all. His heartbeat had already stoppedpletely.

    ¡°No Kirk, no!¡± Gary shouted again, as he started to push on his chest up and down. Honestly, Gary didn''t know what he was doing, he was just trying to get his heart to beat back again. As he was pushing, he started to think back to all his interactions he had with Kirk, why was he so close to the man, a man that was mostly a stranger to him.

    However, eventually Gary stopped because he knew it was useless. He knew that Kirk was dead.

    [Optional Quest (Waste not want not) is still in progress]

    The Quest screen came up as he looked over his idol¡¯s body. Could he really eat someone he cared so much about?

    ¡®If I leave his body here, what will happen, who will it go to? Although I¡¯ve seen him fighting so many times, I¡¯ve never heard him say anything about his family¡­¡¯

    There was something in his head, something prompting him to eat the body. When Gary thought about it more, he thought back to some of his lessons. How animals would eat their prey fully, as a sign of respect after fighting. Although he wasn¡¯t the brightest person so maybe he had this confused with something else. Still, when those that would go hunting, it was rude to leave the dead bodies after killing them.

    ¡®Kirk, I''m going to take a part of you, I''m going to take your body to make me stronger. That way, wherever I go, part of you will be with me. I promise I¡¯ll use the strength your body gives me, to kill the person that was the cause of all of this!¡¯ Gary silently swore, as he went and took his first bite of Kirk.

 Chapter 307 â€“ Body Of An Altered

    <h4>Chapter 307 - Body Of An Altered</h4>

    The Channel Five broadcast had somewhate to an end, at least the filming of the fight between Gary and Kirk couldn¡¯t be continued any more. Kate would have loved to follow behind the duo, but trying to find the Altered that had disappeared into the distance seemed like it would be nothing but a lost cause. Instead, the reporter went down and attempted to interview the police force, yet every single one of them refused toment on the matter.

    ¡®Damn, it was clear they were instructed to say this. They must be aware how bad this whole thing is going to make them look. An entire gang war happened right under their noses, despite agents from White Rose having been present. It seems like they might have had some idea of these strange Altered in the first ce.¡¯

    Kate changed her target and attempted to talk to the people who had been in the area, who proved to be far more talkative. She asked them about how frightened they were, when the strange creatures had started to appear, and whether they had heard anything said from below. After all, the cameraman¡¯s microphone could only pick up so much from the rooftop.

    The only thing that was clearly heard and repeated by the public was the name of the mysterious group that had been dressed in ck and gold. The Howlers. This was a name that was repeated several times, and it was obvious that the public was on their side.

    Themon consensus was that the Grey Elephants must have been the ones who had something to do with the strange creatures¡¯ appearance, most guessing that it was a ploy to be used against the Underdogs, who were a group that weren''t well respected even on this street.

    Normally, people would hide their disliking for them, but they freely spoke about them today. Mainly the shopkeepers and such.

    ¡ª¡ª

    One person who had finished watching the video couldn''t believe it.

    ¡®Cat dude¡­ I¡¯m not even sure I would be able toe back from that one¡­¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®That was a strong blow¡­ but what is streaker boy doing caught up in all of this? ¡­ It seems for the best that Xin is leaving Slough, after all¡­¡¯

    Now it started to make sense how Gary had been able to locate his sister. Typically, Jayden would have an immediate dislike for anyone remotely connected to any gang, but somehow he still had a soft spot for the Werewolf, perhaps due to him trying to save his sister in the first ce.

    ¡®It¡¯s a relief that Dominatrix got involved, if she hadn¡¯t¡­ streaker boy would have undoubtedly been the one to die.¡¯ Jayden concluded. ¡®Before I leave Slough, I should pay him one more visit, and let him exin himself, and find out what''s his n in all of this.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    When Gary had eaten Hawk and friends or Billy, fear, anger, worry, regret, all sorts of emotions hade over the Werewolf as he got on with the gruelling task. Eventually, it would reach the point where some type of instinct, something deep within him, would take over.

    The first few bites were always the hardest to swallow, and he needed to convince himself to think of them as oversized critters, until this other part of him came over him. However, for the first time, Gary remained fully conscious throughout the process.

    Eating into Kirk, he had done so in tears. The Werewolf somehow managed to suppress his instinct, going through this as a way not to hide from anything, to remember every bit of what he did, to remember everything that he was doing.

    It was tough, but he considered this his own punishment.

    Another reason for him not allowing his instinct to take over was so that there would be some parts of Kirk left. He avoided eating the Altered¡¯s bones for one, at least as best he could, but most importantly, he left his head intact.

    Most of the flesh of him was gone, and his clothes wereid out on top of his bones somewhat covering him. But there was no need to do anything else, ording to the system at least.

    [Optional Quest has beenpleted]

    [The following stats have been awarded]

    [+3 Strength]

    [+6 Dexterity]

    [+2 Endurance]

    If it was any other time, then perhaps Gary would have been amazed at how many stat points he had gained. Each level up only granted him a single one after all, yet now he was gaining several. On top of that, the Dexterity stat, something that in the past he had been severelycking in, had increased the most.

    It made sense, seeing as Kirk had been an Altered who had heavily relied on his speed, but right now, Gary wasn''t in the mood to be thinking about these types of things. He didn''t want to think about eating other Altered, or beasts as the system imed he would need to level up.

    [Congrattions, you have gained 1 Knight point]

    [1 Knight Point = 5 Pawn Points]

    At the moment, for the Quests Gary hadpleted he had three Pawn Points saved up, and he had already used one to try to upgrade himself to the next Grade. With this he would have surpassed it, before he would try to mess around with the system though he needed to do something with the body.

    Looking around, he went to one of the washing lines that were nearby, there was arge bed sheet that had been hung out.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Gary said as he pulled it off the line, and started to put the rest of Kirk''s body on the sheet. After eating the Altered, Gary had regained nearly all of his Energy; he was just 20 points shy, and he had regained hisplete health back as well with the passive healing. It was clear there were many benefits to consuming an Altered.

    It seemed like Altered did indeed count as beasts to the system, but those beings like the twins, or the orphans, didn¡¯t.

    Bringing the sheet together, Gary tied it up at the end, and chucked it around his back. He knew it was somewhat disrespectful but he wasn¡¯t in a situation where he could afford to consider alternatives.

    ¡®There''s a lot of blood still on the rooftop, but I guess there really isn''t much I can do about it, but what do I do with the bones.¡¯

    It was at that point that Gary looked at the markings in the air, his hunting targets. He could see that two of them were active, as for the third it had disappeared.

    ¡®So it looks like the Grey Elephant leader kicked the bucket in the end.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®But that means that Damion, as well as Gil, are still alive.¡¯

    Not knowing quite what to do, he did what he usually did in this situation, making a call to a certain person. Only now, that he had time to think about it, did he realise in what sort of situation he had left them, making him wonder if they were okay. He could tell that Olivia was fine, and his current Bond Marks, were active so he at least knew that most of them weren¡¯t dead.

    Unfortunately, he was unable to connect. Kai had immediately hung up, not allowing the call to go through. Just in case, Gary tried again, but this time¡­

    [The person you have dialled is currently not avable]

    Rather than going through a ring, it hung up immediately, either Kai had switched off his phone or it was something else.

    ¡®What is going on?¡¯ Gary wondered.

 Chapter 308 â€“ The Whole World Knows

    <h4>Chapter 308 - The Whole World Knows</h4>

    The Channel Five team was a news team that was local to Slough. Due to the sudden emergence of the crazed Altered, the broadcast studio had sent an emergency broadcast to all the town¡¯s citizens, informing them about what was happening over their phones.

    Of course, with the amount of areas that had been attacked at once, and with how many had died it was something that they had to do, otherwise more lives would have been lost.

    However, now that their questioning was done, it was time for her higher ups to decide what to do with her footage that had been passed on. Whether it would stay local news or be shared with the world. Kate Dar didn¡¯t have much hope originally, feeling that whoever was behind this type of experiment surely would have arge enough backing to shut it down.

    There had been small articles published by indie news reporters and journalists that weren¡¯t too ttering for those in the higher tier cities. As a consequence, they had straight up been told to delete the whole thing off the face of the earth, often times followed by a ¡®correction¡¯ article or other news outlets would start to suppress them to the point they became forgotten. It wasn¡¯t rare for those journalists to stop their line of work altogether, after realising that their dream work wasn¡¯t as rosey as they hade to believe.

    The only silver lining about this event was that she had heard that a local live streamer by the name of Scotty had recorded the events and that his channel had exploded. His live stream had been essed by many outside of Slough. What¡¯s more, some citizens of Slough had also made videos and taken pictures, which they had started sharing online.

    As quick as one video could be taken down, more were uploaded, and theizens who saw it made sure to make copies. This event started to grow into a matter that the whole world was going to see. Kate¡¯s higher ups seemed to havee to the same conclusion, that it would be impossible to suppress it, so the broadcast opted to capitalise on it by sending their footage to broadcast stations in all the different tier cities.

    Footage spread across the country not only of the strange crazed Altered but also the fight between Kirk, an up-anding star in the AFC, with a Wolf Altered.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Currently sitting in a sauna room that was far too hot for a regr human to handle was a red haired man. He had no clothes on and just continued to stare at the ceiling. his body wasn¡¯t sweating one bit despite the extreme heat. The water vapour in the air was sizzling the moment it touched him, as if his body was made out of hot coals.

    ¡®Well, I never expected them to use the test syringe in such a manner.¡¯ Sin thought to himself. ¡®They should have just used the entire thing on one person. Honestly, I don''t know whether to call this development a good or bad thing.

    ¡®At least I won''t have to go to that sh*thole again, but who knows what development this might bring¡­ Will the status finally shift?¡¯ Sin smiled.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Sin wasn¡¯t the only King in charge of a Tier-1 city that had seen the video. Inside a whiteb, where several workers were pacing up and down, there was one female that was standing on top of a balcony staring down and looking at all her workers.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe our package never made it out of that ce.¡¯ The woman thought. ¡®Worse yet, it looks like someone has already got their hands on it as well. How did they know? ¡­ No, that doesn¡¯t matter now, the problem is that they all know now! It looks like we might have a little rat in our group.

    ¡®Before we continue on with the development, we have to find out who it was!¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The situation attracted some attention from outside the country as well. However, the public wasn¡¯t too invested in the news. The majority didn¡¯t care about what was happening in a foreignnd, and thought of it as nothing but an experiment that had perhaps gone too far in the race to create superior Altered. Simr things had urred in their countries before, leading to far deadlier oues.

    After all, each country had their own backed government funded institutions as well as private ones working around the clock to be the one to deliver the next generation of Altered. Since the No Lethal Weapons Act agreed upon by the world, the Altered were now the way of showing off their country¡¯s strength.

    The amount of Altered a country had was important, but their individual strength even more so. If anything, the only debate other countries had surrounding that event was just how strong was this Wolf Altered that they had seen.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    And yet, there was one person, or more specifically one group of people, who had been watching the news, having seen something they had never expected to see. Their hands clenched around the armrest in the chair they were sitting in, so tightly that the wood fibres inside started to snap.

    ¡°What on earth is happening? What the hell are these people doing?!¡± The man screamed at the top of his voice, his eyes glowing red in the darkness, and standing next to him, there was one with blue eyes.

    ¡°There must have been another bloodline still alive, it''s the only thing that makes sense based on what we are seeing right now.¡± The blue-eyed man answered.

    ¡°Another Bloodline should be impossible!¡± The red eyed yelled so loud that the TV screen they had watched the report on had vibrated and fell over backwards from the stand it was on. Falling over and breaking.

    ¡°If there is another one, you know what this means and has always meant.¡± The man said.

    ¡°We¡¯ll start searching for him. I can only hope we¡¯ll find him before it''s toote.¡±

 Chapter 309 â€“ The Start Of The End

    <h4>Chapter 309 - The Start Of The End</h4>

    It had been a tough night for the Howlers gang, and more than that, it was anotherrge turning point for them. Who would have thought that a group of teenagers could impact their small town so much?

    After driving a short distance, Olivia left the car, it had thankfully allowed for more space for the others that they desperately needed. Marie was sure she had been touched in strange ces multiple times and couldn''t even yell at one of the boys because she had no clue who had been the one responsible for it, not that she believed they were doing it on purpose in the first ce.

    Olivia had called one of her men to pick her up, and said she would be waiting for what they were to do next. At the same time, the Lady Boss knew she would be busy, trying to get her boys that might have been arrested tonight out of a cell.

    Still, she knew that this period of time was crucial. If they wanted to take advantage of the situation that had been created between the two biggest gangs, they would have to act soon. However, Kai had only given her acklustre response, telling her he would inform her soon.

    Tyler continued to drive around, listening in on his passengers¡¯ talk about what had happened. He honestly couldn¡¯t believe it, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine something like this would happen in Slough, much less his involvement in it, albeit passively.

    There were times he was thinking about quitting his new job. Thinking it was far too dangerous, but today he felt like he had done some good, and he was getting addicted to this feeling, addicted to the excitement.

    Marie talked about how she had been saved by the Altered Hunter, wondering what the man looked like underneath his mask. Austin noted that his fists and punches were getting stronger. None of them seemed willing to address the topic of Gary being a confirmed Altered, but perhaps they wanted to hear an exnation from their boss himself.

    As for Innu, Kevin and Suzan, none of them were in any mood to talk, despite how excited the others were, but no one could me them.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe they were all turned by the Grey Elephants.¡± Innu eventually spoke up.

    ¡°I got an update from that young police officer from before. They managed to get a warrant and search the warehouse, but as expected they found nothing.¡± Suzan informed him, but the truth was they already knew what happened with those orphans. The fact that they found nothing in the ce that was meant to be the new orphanage said a lot in itself.

    In the end, Suzan and Kevin couldn''t hold back their sadness anymore, as they sobbed as the car continued on to its destination. That was when Innu asked Tyler to drop them off at a certain destination.

    ¡°Kai, we are going to find who was responsible for all of this, right? We''re going to take down the Grey Elephants and find out who is the one behind them! It can''t just be some small-time gang in Slough!¡± Innu addressed the fox-masked teenager.

    ¡°Huh, what? Erghh, yeah, sure¡­¡± Kai replied, once again, not saying much else, not even caring that Innu had blown his cover by calling out his name.

    Austin looked at the blonde teenager, wondering if he had been hit too hard on the head or something, but it was clear that anything they talked about with him today wouldn''t quite go through.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Tyler noted.

    The ce they had stopped at, was none other than the ck Rock Orphanage. The trio stepped out of the car and said their goodbyes. A few minutester, the vehicle stopped once more, letting Austin get out, leaving only Marie, Kai, and Tyler inside.

    However, Kai continued being aloof, just nkly looking on his phone every once in a while.

    ¡°You know, you''re close, so you don''t have to go, right?¡± Marie finally said.

    ¡°No.¡± Kai replied instantly. ¡°I have to go because we are so close. I can¡¯t afford to mess anything up at this point.¡±

    The car had stopped at the location Kai had asked. Opening the boot, there was a bag in there, one that he had prepared from the beginning. Taking off his mask and changing his clothes into something more casual, he closed the boot and signalled for Tyler to take Marie home.

    It was quite the walk, and during it Kai tried to fix himself up as much as he could, but there were bruises on his face that made it clear he had been fighting. Eventually, the high schooler found himself at a quiet little stream of river.

    It wasn¡¯t wide, and there was a downward hill on both sides that would create a pathway where many would cycle or run across. Kai felt the sound of his trouser''s vibration, and looking at who it was, he pressed the red end call button.

    ¡®I should switch off my phone for now.¡¯ Kai thought, and did just that.

    Walking down the hill, now on the pathway, he soon found himself walking towards the underside of a bridge. Up ahead, he could see several men in suits. All looked to be injured, having just gotten out of a fight, while others lookedpletely fine.

    There were even a few members of the Cheetah Squad that had apparently made it out without arrest. However, Kai wasn''t scared, because this meeting was a meeting for those in the Underdogs, and since he was technically a member he had been called in as well.

    There was a sofa up against the wall that would link to the bridge above, and next to it, two barrels of fire, filled with paper and wood.

    ¡°This should be everyone!¡± A loud voice came from the person sitting in the seat. Damion sat there rxed, seemingly in a good mood. ¡°I called you all here because I got rid of that damned Grey Elephant''s leader, and we need to n what to do next. ¡­ Hang on, where¡¯s Kirk?!¡±

    Of course, Damion couldn¡¯t have bothered to watch any of the news channels, having just made it out and nobody wanted to be the bearer of bad news. However, one person had chosen to answer as they stepped forward through the crowd.

    ¡°Kirk is dead¡­ or at least I think he''s dead. His loss was broadcast all over the news.¡± Kai informed the Underdogs¡¯ leader.

    ¡°Dead?! Did that damn wolf masked freak really kill him?!¡± Damion stood up and kicked one of the me barrels that were right by his side. ¡°How? How is that possible?! Kirk wasn¡¯t just anyone, he was the goddamn Rookie Champion!

    ¡°Do you know what favour I had to call in, to get someone of his calibre to work for me?!¡±

    It was then that Damion could be seen walking over towards Kai, the axe still being held in his hands. Knowing their leader¡¯s temper, the others stepped back, but the blonde teenager didn¡¯t flinch, because he knew he would be safe.

    ¡°It''s the truth, and we need to know what to do next.¡± Kai answered, as Damion stopped right in front of him.

    It was then that Damion lifted his hair and looked at the bruise on his head.

    ¡°While the rest of us were fighting, you were having scraps with other kids, how cute.¡± Damionmented, dropping one of the axes on the ground,nding right between the two of them. He then ruffled his hair, and pushed his head to the side.

    ¡°Take it, that''s yours now. With the situation we are in now, we are going to need every bit of help we can get, even from someone like you. Use it well, otherwise I¡¯ll use it on you.¡± Damion threatened, sitting back down in his seat.

    Kai looked at the axe for a short while, before picking it up off the ground, holding it firmly in his hand. He inspected it carefully, having expected something like a surge of power in his body, but there was nothing. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he would think this was just a sharp, ornate axe.

    ¡°It¡¯s not every day that I give out a present, how about some f*cking gratitude?!¡± Damion shouted at him.

    Feeling that the tensions were settled, the others started to walk back in, closer to Kai. Gripping the handle tightly, he started to think of all the others, so he put on a fake smile and bowed.

    ¡°Thank you. I will make sure to put it to good use, father.¡±

 Chapter 310 â€“ No Longer A Knight

    <h4>Chapter 310 - No Longer A Knight</h4>

    After his meal, Gary didn¡¯t feel like he had been the one in control of his own body, yet somehow he had ended up at home. No longer in his gang clothes, not having met up with any of the others after the great attack that had happened, and no longer having the bag of strangers'' bedsheets.

    There were a few people that Gary would often go to for help in times like these, but not a single one of them seemed avable. He couldn''t tell the truth to Tom, and Kai hadn¡¯t picked up his phone, leaving him to once again deal with matters himself.

    Entering his room, he could see that Amy was safe, in fact the entirety of Chavley he had traversed had shown no signs of damage. Who or how Gary didn''t know, nor did he ask questions. It was as if he didn¡¯t even care about that right now. In fact, he didn¡¯t utter a single word as he proceeded into their room.

    Amy had entered the hallway, seeing her brother, she greeted him, but he didn¡¯t seem to have registered it. Seeing him in his current state, the teenage girl knew that she would be unable to get through to him. Letting him rest on his own in their shared room.

    ¡®Maybe it''s best if I sleep in Mom¡¯s room for today?¡¯ Amy considered the possibility. ¡®Gary, were you really involved in what happened on the news today? You told me to stay in, so maybe you were just concerned for me, or it was all a coincidence, but¡­ all of those ¡®coincidences¡¯ are starting to pile up.¡¯

    The next day, Amy was sure that Gary must have somehow been involved in what had urred yesterday. Although her brother hadn¡¯t openly appeared in the broadcast, Amy had recognised the other members of the gang called the Howlers, after all she had seen them briefly when she had entered the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    Part of her suspected the green haired leader to be her brother, but a bigger part of her was unable to ept this possibility. Being in a gang was one thing, being an Altered was apletely different one. Ultimately, she came to the same conclusion as Tyler, that Gary must have simply dyed his hair to resemble that person.

    As curious as Amy was, she had promised her brother she wasn¡¯t going to ask again, and she intended to keep her word. Fortunately, she had never said anything about trying to find things out herself¡­

    It was a normal school day, yet she had woken up before him and there was no food out on the kitchen table like she had grown used to. The door to their room was still closed, and she hadn¡¯t heard it open at all during the night.

    ¡®He hasn¡¯t done this before, but I''m not sure if I can make things better.¡¯ Amy worried. In the end, pulling up her sleeves, she did what she could to help out Gary. The high schooler made a simple meal for herself and left a good portion for her big brother out on the table, with a small note underneath, before heading out to school.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    It was the middle of the next day when Gary realised that he had just been staring at his ceiling. It was hard to say whether he got even a wink of sleep.

    ¡®Sh*t, I''m going to bete for¡­ ah screw it, after yesterday I doubt anyone will care about me having missed one school day.¡¯ Gary decided. He stretched his body and looked around. ¡®Hang on, what did I do with the bedsheet? ¡­ I can¡¯t remember. Howe I can''t remember?¡¯

    The green haired teenager had beenpletely on autopilot to the point that he couldn¡¯t recall where he had put the loose bag filled with bones. He was mildly sure that he must have brought it home, but that might just be wishful thinking on his part. However, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to worry about it for the time being.

    Since Amy hadn¡¯t cried out, she must not have found it, and judging by the time of day his sister should be at school, leaving him with ample time to find it. Checking his phone, he wondered if there were any messages from the others.

    Unsurprisingly, none of them had written something in the chat. However, there was one personal message from Kai.

    [Continue today as normal, will let you know moreter.]

    Gary somewhat thought that maybe they would continue their attack on the Grey Elephants or the Underdogs, whatever was left of those former big time gangs, anyway. With their leader gone, someone had to take over, and it was clear they would be scattered.

    However, he would leave this stuff to Kai, since he was the one that should know best in the first ce. There had to be a reason why they wouldn''t move out yet, so the Werewolf opted to wait until evening to get an update.

    Getting up, Gary walked into their kitchen and on the table he could see some food that had been cooked. It had already gone cold, but there was a small note underneath.

    [Big Bro, take the day off. Once I¡¯m back, I¡¯ll give you a massage to get your sore muscles out. You always look after me, so let me look after you for once.] Next to the message, there was a little doodle of what he could only guess to be his sister pumping her fist.

    That note put a smile on his face, the first expression he showed that day, but not only that, it reminded him why he ended up in this crappy situation. He had done some crazy things, but he was doing all of it to make sure his family would stay safe.

    Since he wasn''t going to go to school in the middle of the day anyway and didn''t really feel like doing anything else, he decided to check out his system.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [ss: Warrior]

    [State: Human (Alpha)]

    [Grade: Knight]

    [Level 18]

    [Exp 502/3445]

    [Health: 100/100]

    [Energy: 300/300]

    [Strength 23 (+1)]

    [Dexterity 24 (+1)]

    [Endurance 20 (+1)]

    His stats had gained arge boostpared tost time, mostly due to the gained stats. Currently, he had one extra stat point at his disposal, but rather than using it as a way to improve his body, he thought of something else.

    [1 stat point has been allocated to Health]

    [Your base Health has increased to 110]

    During the fight with Kirk, he realised the drawback of overly relying on w Drain to refill his Health. It was only useful if he could actually connect his attack, but otherwise it was just a drain on his Energy. His Energy was able to heal his injuries, yet the lost Health would only be replenished once he was outside a fight.

    The Werewolf had the skill Last Stand, but that''s exactly what it was, something that should only be used at thest moment. Gary was pretty sure if he hadn''t chosen that skill, then he would have died twice already. He had selected to increase his Health in the hopes of never ending up in those types of situations in the future.

    One of his rewards for defeating the Altered was the option to learn one more skill. However, Gary was aware that he wasn''t in the right mind for that right now, so he decided to leave that tillter to select a good one.

    Instead, he did something that he was sure about doing from the beginning.

    ¡®I have three Pawn Points and a Knight Point at the moment. Using thetter, I should be able to directly upgrade my body to the next Grade, here it goes.¡¯

    [1 Knight Point has been assigned to increase your Grade]

    [6/5 Pawn Points have been collected]

    [You now have enough points to reach the next Grade]

    [Upgrade is now proceeding]

    [¡­]

 Chapter 311 â€“ A Special Upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 311 - A Special Upgrade</h4>

    This was the first time Gary had consciously done something to increase his Grade. Last time, he had simply selected his ss, and it had surprisingly upgraded him to a Knight Grade Werewolf as well. Since the change in appearance was mostly due to choosing the Warrior ss, Gary hoped that he would be able to gain the system benefits without any pain.

    He wasn¡¯tpletely wrong. His body didn¡¯t change much, the teenager only experienced a weird feeling, yet he had gotten somewhat used to it given his frequent transformation. However, what he was unprepared for was the experience of what could only be described as his brain melting, being constantly poked from the inside with a hot rod.

    It was far more painful than when he had learned new skills, even worse, itsted longer. The Werewolf immediately copsed onto the ground. He grabbed his head, and instinctively wed at it, having to stop himself, as he realised before he knew it, that his hands had already transformed.

    ¡®Why does everything have to hurt with this damn system?!¡¯ Gary screamed as he gritted his now sharp canines in order to try to halt the transformation. To alleviate even a little of the pain, he couldn¡¯t help but scream at the top of his lungs.

    ¡°Arghhhh!¡±

    How much time had passed, he was unsure, but as soon as the pain started to reside he knew it was over. As if to stress the fact the Werewolf System sent him a new notification.

    [Your Grade has been upgraded from Knight to Bishop]

    [1/15 Pawn Points to upgrade to the next Grade]

    The first good thing that Gary could see was that it had worked, on top of that it appeared that the extra point had been carried over. However, he was still clueless just what going up a Grade did for him. After all, Pawn Points could be used to exchange them for Skill and Stat points and a Knight Point was worth five of them¡­

    Gary knew that ording to Alpha Bite¡¯s description, there should now be a chance of creating Werewolves at the Knight Grade. Simrly, he should now be able to invite Omega Werewolves at this Grade to join his pack, since he now outranked them. Of course, he would have to find one of those for that to happen¡­

    Regardless, these features didn''t seem overly useful, at least not yet, so he hoped the system would share some insight that made his investment worth it. He didn¡¯t n on turning any of the others, not until he knew what would happen to Olivia on the night of the full moon. He wasn¡¯t going to subject the others to what he had been through.

    Checking out his current Rank, Gary could indeed see this information was already present, but there was now additional information below.

    [An Alpha at the Bishop Grade can select a ss for all his Knight Grade Werewolves.]

    [Extra ss choices may be avable based on the Werewolves or their current Grade. Meeting certain conditions will allow Werewolves to ess Special sses]

    Seeing this, Gary thought this was quite the upgrade indeed. He knew that he himself had most improved after selecting the Warrior ss. Essentially, it was a way to increase his pack''s strength. Looking at the tab, Gary noted that Olivia¡¯s Grade had changed from thest time he had looked at it.

    [Howlers Pack]

    [Alpha Werewolf - Gary Dem]

    [Grade: Bishop (1/15)]

    [Beta Werewolf - Olivia Pearl]

    [Grade: Pawn (0/1)]

    ¡®System, are you saying that I need to pay one Pawn Point to upgrade her to the Knight Grade? Well, I do have the points, and I¡¯m curious if she will have an extra option.¡¯

    Although Gary was excited about this at first, he paused and thought things over. He still was unsure about what to do with Olivia. Sure she had helped him out, in fact he was certain that without her whip pulling Kirk¡¯s leg in that final attack, he would have been the one to have lost his life.

    The Lady Boss had also helped the group and saved his sister. Whether she did that because she was simply following his established Pack rules or not was another matter, but at least he knew she was somewhat loyal.

    ¡®If I upgrade Olivia to Knight Grade, she will surely get stronger. Even if her increase is as big as mine, I should still be leaps above her. After all, I got a big upgrade myself after yesterday.¡¯ Gary reasoned. ¡®And if I do have to end up killing her, she will then be a Knight Grade Werewolf, which will probably end up giving me another Knight Point. That would be exchanging one point for five, it''s a win-win situation.¡¯

    In the end, Gary managed to convince himself it was fine to do, though much of it might have been to satisfy his own curiosity. Pressing her name, his point soon had gone towards her.

    [Congrattions, one of your Beta Werewolves (Olivia Pearl) has been upgraded to Knight Grade]

    [You may now select her ss]

    [Hunter ss] (Rmended)

    [A Werewolf Hunter is fast, agile, and sneaky. He focuses on killing his prey quickly, out of sight and from the shadows. He is able to track his targets from a great distance and has great focus.]

    [ss perks include: More and better Marks, improved tracking.]

    [Protector ss]

    [A Werewolf Protector boasts one of the sturdiest bodies of his race. He uses his own body to shield his pack members from any harm, making sure that they will survive.

    [ss perks include: 1 Extra point in Endurance upon each Level Up, faster healing.]

    [Warrior ss]

    [A Werewolf Warrior could be considered the vanguard of his pack. He leads his pack into battle with his strength. He has exceptional fighting ability and courage, but it is because of this trait, and his role, that this ss boasts the highest fatality rate.]

    [ss perks include: Wide range of skills to select from,rge Energy pool]

    Gary was a bit disappointed to see her choices were the same ones as his. He had hoped for some variety, if only to learn more about Werewolf sses. After all, the system had intrigued him with the possibility of those Special sses.

    Looking under Olivia''s name, it now stated [Grade: Knight (0/5)]. He was tempted to upgrade her further, but that wouldn¡¯t be wise. Not to mention, hecked the necessary Pawn Points.

    ¡®The system rmends the Hunter ss, and I can¡¯t really picture her as a Protector or Warrior ss.¡¯ Gary thought as he selected it. It was then that the high schooler realised that perhaps he should have texted Olivia beforehand, but it was a little toote, as her body was already starting to change. Where she was or what she was doing, Gary could only hope she would be safe.

    [Your Beta Wolf (Olivia Pearl) has sessfully be a Hunter ss Werewolf]

    ¡®Since Kai seems to be busy, I should meet Olivia and find out for myself how her Hunter ss works. Maybe now she will have something like a system, or maybe bing a Bishop Grade has some other benefits I was unaware of.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Then,stly, there was one more notification that he had received after bing a Bishop Grade Werewolf.

    [New Quest received]

    [Going up in the world]

    [Reach Level 25]

    [Reward: 1st ss Promotion]

 Chapter 312 â€“ The Next Level

    <h4>Chapter 312 - The Next Level</h4>

    Once again, it looked like the system had given Gary ample incentive to concentrate on levelling up. Seeing how much he had benefited from bing a Warrior ss Werewolf, a ss Promotion, which should allow him to choose a higher-tier version of that ss, would surely make him even more powerful.

    ¡®I wonder how strong I can get?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®So far, each of the Grades have corresponded with chess pieces, so the Queen or King should probably be the highest I can reach. If each new Grade allows me to go up a ss, just how many ss Promotions will I need to reach or even surpass someone like Jayden?¡¯

    Thinking about this, the teenager¡¯s excitement quickly faded. From what he had seen from the White Tiger Altered, Gary had a hard time imagining himself beating Xin¡¯s brother, even if he became twice as strong as he currently was. The Werewolf had already had a hard time against Kirk, and he was sure that Jayden had yet to show everything he was capable of.

    ¡®The real question is how do I even Level Up to that point? The 50 Exp per day from the Bond Marks are nice and all, but it would simply take a lifetime, especially since the Exp requirement increases with each level. The only other way I have gained Exp so far is from starting fights, or running into tough situations.¡¯

    Thinking about this, Gary didn''t think he would be doing any of those things soon. After the Underdogs and Grey Elephants were dealt with, Slough would be a pretty safe ce for his family. He had already solved the money issue, and this would solve it even more after sessfully taking over both of the big gangs. Of course, there was still the issue of how exactly he would exin the whole thing to sister, as well as his mother once she woke up.

    ¡®Wait, there is still the matter of whom this Werewolf System actually belongs to. If we take over the Underdogs, then whoever the owner should have been, mighte to us. ¡­ I¡¯ll just have to be strong enough to protect everyone when the timees, and there might be these smaller gangs that chose to move in and make their move. Like those that were at the meeting with Ben Clove.¡¯

    With this said, Gary decided that it was best to use his extra Pawn Points. At the moment, he only had two more left. This wasn¡¯t enough to allow Olivia to reach the Bishop Grade, much less for himself to reach his next Grade. Since it was so far away, and he believed that more fighting would being his way soon, he decided to use them on himself.

    [Would you like to convert 1 Pawn Point into Stat Point(s)?]

    [Yes]

    [3 Stat Points have been obtained]

    Gary was happy to see that the conversion granted him more than one Stat Point. However, now that he seemed to have figured out the importance of his Grade, he understood how precious those Pawn Points were, making him question why he got rtively few of them. What¡¯s more, thest time he had converted a Pawn Point, he had received three Skill Points, which he would have assumed to be more than Stat Points.

    s, as the saying went, beggars can¡¯t be choosers, so he proceeded to convert hisst remaining Pawn Point as well.

    [Would you like to convert 1 Pawn Point into Stat Point(s)?]

    [Yes]

    [2 Stat Points have been obtained]

    The teenager was slightly surprised that he ended up receiving less of them this time. Either each Pawn Point wasn¡¯t worth the same amount, or more likely, the conversion might not be fixed but have a random element to it. He would have to further test it to find out, yet Pawn Points weren¡¯t exactly a resource he could freely acquire.

    Nevertheless, he had a n, what he wished to do with his five Stat Points.

    [5 stat points have been allocated to Health]

    [Your base Health has increased to 160]

    Just like the one Stat Point he had received for reaching Level 18, he had put all the others into Health. So far he had yet to find a reliable way to increase his Energy or Health, whereas the other stats could be obtained organically or through eating Beasts and apparently Altered as well.

    Now with everything done with his system, apart from selecting a new skill which he postponed to another time, the high schooler was at the strongest he had ever been. Standing up, he headed to the kitchen, which had the most open space.

    He jumped up and down on his toes, just like a certain someone used to do before they started their Altered matches. Once Gary had warmed up enough for his body to feel loose, he threw a couple of punches as fast as possible.

    He continued this in session one after another, and eventually stopped with his fist out. The sound of the air could be heard cutting through cleanly, and he hadn¡¯t even used Controlled Transformation on himself.

    ¡®This body is amazing¡­ If I were to use my full strength at school, everyone would definitely assume me to be an Altered. I better start holding back during rugby practice and PE lessons.¡¯

    Continuing his little exercise, Gary started to do more, swinging his legs and doing a routine drill that he would often do when training with Innu. Once again he was surprised at what his body could do now.

    His speed had drastically improved, but with speed it also gave more power to his punches and hits. The fight against Kirk had opened his eyes to the importance of speed, and how frustrating it could be to be unable to touch your opponent.

    However, thinking about it, he realised why he was able to do such things in the first ce. His Dexterity had improved leaps and bounds, and it was all because he had eaten his idol, the reality hit him once again.

    ¡®That''s right, the bones!¡¯ Gary remembered.

 Chapter 313 â€“ No Longer There

    <h4>Chapter 313 - No Longer There</h4>

    Quickly, Gary began searching through his room, thest thing he wanted was for Amy toe across an assortment of bones, especially since Kirk¡¯s head was also in there. The former would already be hard to exin, but thetter would make it impossible.

    Gary spent an entire hour looking through every nook and cranny of the apartment, yet it was nowhere to be found. The Werewolf had even used his nose to look for signs of blood, yet he was unable to pick up anything.

    ¡®Why can''t I remember where I put it¡­ it''s like on the night of the full moon. I can''t remember anything for some reason. Did I just ck out?¡¯

    Gary was trying hard to rey the events after Kirk¡¯s head in his head, but there was no such luck. Since it definitely wasn¡¯t in their apartment, the only thing he could do was head outside. Before he did, he was about to reach for his hoodie, but soon ced it back, realising that it probably wasn''t needed any more, not after yesterday¡¯s events.

    It was the middle of the day, and roaming around in the streets, Gary was following any scent of blood he picked up on, searching for any clues to what he could have done with the bones, yet he only managed to find some roadkill, as well as a man who seemed to have cut himself shaving.

    The teenager increased his search radius, taking the route between his home and the fighting that had taken ce yesterday. Unfortunately, he was unable to carry out his n, because there were several policemen that seemed to be conducting an investigation. They had blocked off the areas that had been attacked yesterday.

    Still, the biggest change he noticed was the absence of the Underdogs. There were no members in the area. Walking without the need to hide his face, having to check behind his back, or putting his hood up was something he had never treasured before.

    Now, it was a freedom he had regained. Gary was finally able to walk around his own home area, without worry. What this also meant was he could continue his search, albeit outside the closed off areas.

    s, the next few hours were uneventful. Not even a hint, even after retracing hisst steps that he could remember on the top of his head.

    ¡®Well, I guess if even I can''t find it with my nose and knowing where I should have passed by yesterday, then it hopefully means no one else will find him.¡¯ Gary reasoned.

    Since it was gettingte, he decided to head home. Just in time as well, as Amy entered their apartment a few minutes after him. Gary weed her back and tried his best to act normal. Stating that he had a falling out with one of his friends the other day.

    Which was why he wasn''t in the best of moods. Of course, Amy had seen right through his lie, but decided to take it head one, just like she had all the others. She was just happy that her brother was somewhat back to his usual self.

    Before going to sleep, there were a few things that the high schooler had done. For one, he had messaged Olivia. He had initially wanted to check up on the Beta Wolf after assigning her the Hunter ss to test a few things out, but due to his impromptu scavenger hunt it had gotten toote. The Lady Boss had received the message, but she had left it on read without further reply. Gary could feel that she must be pissed at him for not giving him any prior warning.

    Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to be ignoring him. The teenager had constantly checked his phone waiting for Kai¡¯s supposed message, but neither he, nor any of the others, had sent anything.

    Still, Gary took it as a good sign, believing that everyone had used this day to recuperate. He would just ask him personally what had happened. For the first time in a long time he was able to get a good night''s sleep.

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [10 days until the next full moon]

    [50 Exp has been gained from current Bond Marks (5)]

    [Exp 552/3445]

    In a way, Gary was hoping that the matters with the Underdog and the Grey Elephants could be solved before the full moon. That way, he would be able to fully focus on himself and Olivia during that period of time. Unlikest time, when it had annoyed him greatly, he decided to use the notifications as a type of calendar.

    Following his usual routine, Gary was the first to leave the apartment, excited to meet up with the rest. He wanted to learn about what had happened to them after he had left. What the news was like in their areas, and most importantly, talk to Kai about their next move.

    Maybe it was something that he wished to do in person rather than over the phone in the first ce, which was why he hadn''t given the others an update. Either way, he wanted to meet them.

    Tom was still away on his special internship course, so they were really the only ones he would be able to talk to. When entering his ssroom, he of course saw that Tom¡¯s seat was empty. However, next to it, Innu''s seat was empty as well. At first he thought he was just there early, but even when the lessons were about to begin, that fact didn¡¯t change.

    ¡®Did he take the day off? I guess it would make sense for him to take a few days off. After all, he knew those orphans personally. Damn, I''ve been thinking about my own situation all this time, without even stopping to think about him.¡¯ Gary realised. Pulling out his phone, he thought it was best he sent him a message to at least try to cheer him up while he was away. However, before he could, the teacher entered the room.

    ¡°Okay, listen up, everyone. I have some news to share with all of you.¡± Mr Grey announced. ¡°Our recent transfer student, Innu has decided to transfer out. I''m afraid he will no longer be with us any more. Let''s all wish him the best at his next school¡­ or whatever he wishes to do in the future.¡±

    Gary had stopped in the middle of his message. He couldn''t believe it, why would Innu leave school because of what happened.

    ¡°Hey, do you think he really transferred to another school?¡±

    ¡°I doubt it. He was definitely the one on the news the other day! Even Mr Grey seems to think that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he was with that gang, the ck and gold one. What were they called again, the Howlers?¡±

    ¡°I can''t believe we had a gangster in our ssroom all this time. We should have known due to him having those weird bandages all the time.¡±

    Gary was able to hear everyone talk about Innu, and he hadn''t even realised what had urred. Focusing on his own set of troubles, he had beenpletely unaware that the whole event had been broadcast that day.

    However, it was clear from listening to his ssmates that must have been what had urred.

    ¡®Crap, this is a big deal, isn''t it? Neither Innu, Marie, nor Austin had masks covering their faces! Everyone knows that they would have been involved in that fight. Crap, did the camera manage to capture my face when the mask fell off as well?¡¯

    Thinking about this incident, reminded Gary that there was at least one person, who certainly had seen his face that he would need to deal with. However, the fact that none of the students were talking about him, meant it was unlikely that his identity had been revealed.

    As the lesson went on, the bell went off signalling it was time for lunch rather than eat though, Gary had sent a message to the group, asking what exactly was going on, why Innu dropped out of school. Heading to the upper floor, the teenager decided to head to Kai''s ssroom.

    When looking at where he would usually sit staring out the window, there was no such person there.

    ¡°Sorry, but have you seen Kai or Marie anywhere?¡± Gary asked one of his upperssmen.

    ¡°Kai¡­ oh, we just got told today. Those two will no longer be attending Westbridge, apparently.¡±

    It was then that Gary was sure that something was seriously up.

    *****

 Chapter 314 â€“ Howlers No More

    <h4>Chapter 314 - Howlers No More</h4>

    The fact that every Howlers member aside from him had resigned from Westbridge was no joke. Gary was now worried that something very bad must have happened to his friends. After all, he had only received a personal message from Kai yesterday, and he had never contacted him.

    If it had just been Innu who had decided to leave the school, he might have understood it. After all, he had apparently been filmed, yet for all three to disappear without any prior notice, something was definitely up.

    Immediately, Gary pulled out his phone and started writing in the group chat.

    [I just found out that everyone but me has to decided to drop out or transfer.]

    [Why didn''t anyone tell me?]

    [Are you guys okay? Did any of you get hurt from the fight?]

    The Werewolf was undergoing a mix of emotions. Worry, mixed with anger, as well as sting of abandonment. Lately, he had gone through so much with them, so he was prepared to go through thick and thin with them. Seemingly getting ghosted by all of them was making him fear for the worst.

    ¡®I don''t understand, aren¡¯t I part of the Howlers as well, aren''t I meant to be your friend?¡¯

    Just when he was about to message each one of them individually, his phone vibrated, and he could see that he finally got a reply in the group chat.

    [My bad, Gary, I was so busy yesterday that I didn¡¯t get the chance to write to you. This is something that we all agreed on without you. Don¡¯t worry, everyone is fine and well. Just enjoy your day at school ande to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club afterwards.]

    The green haired teenager didn''t know how to feel about it. The pumped up adrenaline in his body had faded, yet one of his worst thoughts had turned out to be true. The group, that he had always felt like he had belonged to, since he had founded it together with Kai, had done something without him.

    ¡®Why would they do that?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Eventually, the school day was over, yet the high schooler had barely paid attention to any of his lessons. His mind was too busy deciding how to react to his situation. Should he go in and use them all for abandoning him? Should he pretend as if everything was normal?

    Ultimately, the teenager was aware that worrying about it was just making matters worse, especially since he couldn¡¯t fix something that had already happened. He just hoped that there was some reasonable exnation for their behaviour.

    ¡®If only Tom was here, then I would at least have someone to talk to about this stuff. ¡­ stupid no phones rules. At least he said he would be back before the full moon¡­¡¯ Gary thought to himself as he walked up to the door and pushed it open.

    Entering the establishment, the pool club seemed to be as busy as usual. There were plenty of customers who had be regrs, and Austin''s friends were doing a great job waiting on everyone.

    However, all the attention was on thetest addition of the team. White had quickly be the store¡¯s idol, which most likely also tranted to extra sales. Even now, as Gary had entered, nobody was paying him any heed, yet he could see a group of boys staring at the waitress.

    Other than Miss Degrace, the teenager didn''t see any of the others, so he could only assume they were downstairs. He went into the storage room that had doubled as Kai¡¯s office. Walking down the stairs, he could already hear the voices of the other gang members.

    He was a bit surprised when his nose could pick up another presence, that of his Beta Werewolf, Olivia Pearl. Kai, Marie, Austin, Innu and Olivia turned around and they all gave him a smile. Marie had the awkwardest look on her face, seemingly feeling guilty.

    ¡°Guys¡­ So do you mind exining to me what is going on now? ¡­ Please don''t lie to me. I thought everything was going our way for once, but should I take it that Howlers are no longer a thing any more?¡± Gary decided to be frank. Throughout the day, that was the worst possible oue that he could think of.

    Although it had never been the high schooler¡¯s idea to create this gang, it had be something like a second family to him, so he didn''t want this to be the end of them.

    ¡°What? No, of course not!¡± Marie vehemently denied that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we kept you out of the loop. Let me exin, so these guys don''t mess it up, alright? I don¡¯t know if you know or not, but it turned out that the gang fight had been filmed.

    ¡°While they mainly focused on you against Kirk, all of us were shown. I was even recorded using knives. Admittedly it was in self defence, so ording to Mr V I shouldn¡¯t get in trouble with the police, but there were consequences we had to deal with yesterday.

    ¡°Although we didn¡¯t appear too clearly, those who know us, should be able to recognise us. It was kinda impossible to get back to school, you know.¡±

    Hearing this, Gary understood where Marie wasing from. After all, he had heard all his ssmates talk about Innu, and none of it had been ttering.

    ¡°On top of that, with the Underdogs and Grey Elephants in shambles we are the only big time gang in Slough, which no one can deny any more. This means that even if we wanted to, we wouldn¡¯t actually be safe at school. In fact, we would probably endanger everyone near us just by attending.¡±

    ¡°That''s not the only reason.¡± Innu chimed in, stepping forward. ¡°All of us have already decided, Gary. There is no real point in us going to school any more, it would just be a waste of everyone¡¯s time. This is the life that we intend to live from now on.

    ¡°I have people that rely on me now, so I need to bring in the money. Not in the future when I grow older and get a degree, but I need to look after them now. Surely you understand, right?¡±

    Indeed, as someone who had been in Innu¡¯s situation not too long ago, how could he not sympathise. In fact, it was something he had been considering himself as well.

    ¡°Then I will-¡°

    ¡°No.¡± Kai immediately interrupted him. ¡°Gary, there is a reason why we decided to do all of this without informing you, and that''s because, if anything, you have done far too much for us already. The others might not know the entire story about why you helped me create the Howlers, but I do¡­ you agreed to my ns because you didn¡¯t really have another choice if you wanted to continue your normal life.

    ¡°Part of the reason I gifted you that mask was, so you had the chance to live that ordinary life, even if it¡¯s just a lie. Gary, I asked everyone to keep quiet about it because I knew you would stop going out of solidarity, that¡¯s just the type of person you are, but right now, the thing that is keeping you going, is the fact that you could end up with a normal life at the end of this.¡±

    Gary opened his mouth to give a reply, but in the end no words came out, because the words were true. The Werewolf still wasn''t able to fullymit himself to this lifestyle. On top of that, if he did, it meant it would be dragging his family and close friends like Tom into this, maybe he would even have to cut ties.

    Marie¡¯s mother was already involved in this, then there was Austin, who they knew little about but seemed to have already considered this lifestyle. Innu had already stated why he needed to do this, then there was Kai, who he actually knew little reason about why he was doing this in the first ce. Either way, they had more reason to do this than him.

    ¡°I understand¡­ I''m just d that I will still see all of you still.¡± Gary let out a sigh. To which the others all smile.

    After that little talk, it was time the group went into business. Kai gave everyone an update about the current situation. It turns out that the Grey Elephants are practically no more, and that includes their territories they used to run.

    The few members that they had were disbanded, and without a leader, there wasn''t much they could do. On top of that, those that had tried to rally up the members had been attacked by an unknown force.

    However, no one had taken over their territory, and no one dared to. Kai had assumed that was because of the Howlers. So it looked like their n was working so far.

    ¡°Which means that the Underdogs are the only ones that we have to focus on, right?¡± Gary summed it up. ¡°So when do we take them out?¡±

    ¡°There are a few things that I need to sort out before then. We need to get everything perfect, so we can get to Damion. If we don''t get him, then it means that the Underdogs will always be able to reform. Right now, our best approach is to let some time pass and wait for the other gangs to choose a side.¡± Kai answered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t be long. At most two weeks. That timeframe should allow Damion to call in every favour he might have, so that we canpletely crush him.¡±

    The others nodded, but Gary was a little worried. Two weeks'' time meant after the full moon. If Olivia turned out to be uncontroble on the full moon, there was a good chance that he would have to kill her to protect the others.

    Without the Beta Werewolf, he doubted the members of the Pincers would be so courteous like they had been so far. Right now, while they had Olivia, especially after her upgrade, they needed to attack now.

    ¡®Attacking the Underdogs will be dangerous, but there shouldn¡¯t be too many members left. I¡¯ve also ced a Mark on Damion, as well as Gil, so we could simply ambush them if the opportunity arises. With my upgrade in strength, maybe there is no need to put them in harm¡¯s way. If we do it close to the full moon, Olivia and I should be strong enough to handle them on our own.

    ¡®You guys decided this all on your own without me, so I guess it''s time I start acting on my own as well.¡¯

 Chapter 315 â€“ The Hunter Class

    <h4>Chapter 315 - The Hunter ss</h4>

    ¡°Is it your hobby to take adult women to the woods in the middle of the night?¡± Olivia asked.

    Right now, she had met Gary in the woods, just where he had told her about her now being a Werewolf. The night sky was out and part of the moon was shining brightly, allowing the two of them to see, not that they needed it anyway.

    She was currently in a new set of clothes that sprouted in the Howlers¡¯ colour scheme. Due to their position, she wasn''t afraid to be recognised. Heck, if others would dare to attack her, she would look forward to showing off her strength.

    Still, the teenager couldn¡¯t help but notice that the clothing didn''t exactly look the warmest, not that Olivia looked to be cold at all, yet the same could be said for Gary. One of the hidden benefits of bing a Werewolf was that their bodies were able to adapt to the weather conditions.

    ¡°No, not really, but I somehow feel quitefortable here.¡± The Alpha Werewolf shrugged. ¡°Also, I¡¯ve called you over to talk to you about some Werewolf stuff, and this seems to be the perfect ce for that.¡±

    Hearing Gary say this, after their little conversation she had heard earlier, she couldn''t help but grin.

    ¡°Because it''s your big secret?¡± Olivia asked in a mocking tone. ¡°You should be aware that after what you did, all of them know, right? After all, they know who was hiding under that wolf mask. They all saw you fight that Cheetah Altered.

    ¡°The only reason your little buddies didn¡¯t mention anything to you was because they¡¯re waiting for you to be the one that brings it up to them first. Although, considering your fallout, earlier didn¡¯t seem like the perfect time to ask you any questions anyway.¡±

    Hearing this saddened Gary a little. Truth be told, he had avoided thinking about that matter, having been d that nobody had recognised him at school. However, Olivia waspletely right, of course the Howlers knew now.

    Most of them had already put two and two together, but now that they had seen it live, there was no denying it. Ironically, Gary wasn''t an Altered. No, he was something a lot more menacing and if the others found that they had almost died because he had been the one to create Billy, he wasn¡¯t sure how they would feel.

    Sure, Kai had seemingly forgiven him, but would Innu do the same?

    Shaking this thought off, Gary decided to concentrate on the reason he had messaged Olivia after their small meeting.

    ¡°Tell me, have you felt an urge that has been growing? A craving for blood or killing in thest couple of days and I need you to be honest.¡± Gary asked.

    For a second, Olivia didn''t answer, she was thinking about whether to lie or not, but due to it being such a specific question she thought that the teenager already knew the answer.

    ¡°Yes, but I haven¡¯t really acted on it, unless you count the fact that I¡¯ve been eating my steaks a lot bloodier than usual. In fact, it''s almost as if my mind is in two states. Every time I consider acting upon it, I start to get a headache, forcing me to stop. ¡±

    Gary could only surmise that this should be Olivia¡¯s natural instincts as a Werewolf colliding with the Pact Rules he had set up. It was good to know they were still in effect, but on the full moon he doubted that it would be strong enough.

    There was a theory that Gary had, and he was sure it was right. When the system stated that his bloodlust was increasing, it wasn''t his lust for blood itself. It wasn''t as if, drinking blood, or eating a human would calm one down.

    No, what it meant, was the act of killing itself. On the night of a full moon all a Werewolf wanted to do was hunt and kill anything it saw in its sight.

    ¡°Alright, another question yesterday, was there anything weird that happened to you? Anything strange during the day at all.¡± When asking this question, Gary was a little more quiet in his voice.

    This had not gone unnoticed at all.

    ¡°You son of a b*tch! I should have known that it was YOU who did that sh*t to me!!! YOU¡¯VE MADE ME COLLAPSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEPARTMENT STORE!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HUMILIATED I FELT FROM ALL THOSE EYES STARING AT ME AS IF I WAS A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS?!!!!¡±

    She had shouted so loud, that Gary was sure even those on the street outside the woods should have heard her. Fortunately, he had brought her to this rather secluded ce.

    ¡°Look, I''m sorry, I didn¡¯t consider your circumstances, but I promise it was in your best interest!¡± Gary apologised, unable to look her in the eyes for a moment. Instead, he looked over the Lady Boss¡¯ body. Not because he was interested in her or anything, but because he had expected some change in her appearance.

    When the high schooler had selected the Warrior ss, his body had changed drastically. As such, he had expected something simr to happen to the Beta Werewolf, but at least outwards there was nothing different about her.

    ¡®Could it be that she didn¡¯t change because I went with the rmended ss? Did my body change, because I chose something that I wasn¡¯t suited for before that?¡¯ Gary theorised.

    ¡°Tell me, have you noticed anything peculiar about yourself afterwards? Any messages in your eyes, perhaps?¡± He asked her, to stop ogling the middle-aged woman, who looked in top shape.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, I did encounter some strange red smoke that day. It was very faint, though, and it smelt like raw food. I can still see it now, and it hasn¡¯t disappeared since that day. Not sure if anything else is new.¡± Olivia replied, before giving the teenager another angry stare. ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly have the mind to find out after copsing out of nowhere, you know?!¡±

    ¡®So she still doesn¡¯t seem to have a system but can see them? Did she somehow set targets without realising it or¡­¡¯ Then a thought came into Gary¡¯s head.

    ¡°Can you still see it? If so, can you point me in the direction of where it¡¯sing from?¡±

    Olivia was still unsure what was up with it, but she humoured the Alpha Werewolf, and showed in a certain direction.

    ¡®It must be because she is a Beta Werewolf in the same pact. Now that she is a Hunter ss she can see my markings as well. However, it seems to be only my Forced Bonds and not the Bond Marks I have made. Not sure if I should be happy about it or not.¡¯

    ¡°Okay, let''s see how much stronger you¡¯ve gotten then.¡± Gary suggested with a smile on his face.

    There were two reasons he wanted to do this, to test out his own capabilities, as well Olivia¡¯s. It was important to know the gap in strength between the two, that way he could continue being the Alpha Werewolf.

    Olivia wasn''t shy, getting into a fighting stance and holding her whip in her hand. She, too, wanted to know what these changes were that Gary seems to have noticed and done for some reason. It was at that moment, her eyes lit up blue.

    [Beta Werewolf (Hunter ss) is within range of the pact leader and has entered into battle.]

    [0/15 Marks avable]

    [The Alpha is able to designate Hunting Marks for the Hunter ss]

    [Those with marks the Hunter will prioritise first]

    [Extra Exp will be gained for marked targets hunted by the hunter]

    [The Hunter ss¡¯s strength will increase when fighting against those that are marked]

    It was unexpected for Gary to get multiple notifications suddenly like this, but it looked like he had gotten some of his answers about what a Hunter ss could do exactly. It was just a shame that he couldn''t see Olivia''s stats, or if she benefited from hunting these targets.

    Either way, he could find that out through a fight.

    While a little distracted, the whip was thrown out towards Gary, and he had grabbed it catching it with his arm transformed.

    ¡°You''re faster than before.¡± Gary noted.

    ¡°And it looks like you¡¯ve gotten faster as well!¡± Olivia shouted, as she charged forward.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The two of them were huffing and panting as their training session hade to an end. Gary had learned a lot through their small spars. For one, although his speed had increased greatly, with more speed it also meant that he used more stamina during a fight.

    Which meant that if he wanted to be a Werewolf that focused on speed, it wasn¡¯t wise to just increase his Dexterity. Because without increasing his Stamina, he could onlyst a few seconds at full capacity.

    However, there was one thing that was clear during the fight, although Olivia had improved after gaining her ss, Gary was leaps and bounds stronger than herpared to before. He was growing at a much faster rate.

    Nevertheless, the Lady Boss had improved in more ways than one as well. Gary had pushed her significantly in the fight, and in the end, a rage had ovee her, causing her arm to transform slightly. Her nails grew and fur appeared on the top of her forearm. It looked simr to his Controlled Transformation, yet the Beta Werewolf seemed unable to control it, at least for now.

    Without a doubt, though, these two were a force to be reckoned with, which strengthened Gary¡¯s resolve about his next course of action.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided, Olivia, tomorrow me and you will pay the Underdogs a visit and wipe them out.¡±

 Chapter 316 Getting a Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 316 Getting a Crystal</h4>

    It hadn''t even been that long that Tom had begun his internship, yet all the things he was discovering at NIRV were unbelievable. He was tempted to share his new findings with the whole world, but he understood that it would lead to enormous trouble if he were to do something like that.

    Still, he couldn¡¯t help but search the web about how much of it might be out there. Unsurprisingly, there were only a few rumours here and there that had a hint of truth to what Tom had witnessed. A lot of it was off the mark, and he even imagined himself believing some of these things before he hade here. It appeared that there were no whistleblowers telling the truth, not even on the Dark Web.

    Either everyone was taking their NDA contract very seriously after signing it, or, and the teenager was leaning more towards the second possibility, those that had tried to reveal any information could have been suppressed, never to be given a voice again. You wouldn¡¯t stay the market leader without dirtying your own hands, at least the short haired teenager wouldn¡¯t be surprised to learn of any such news, not that he had found any.

    Right now, Tom was looking into what looked mostly like an empty room. The ss window went all around the room above looking down at the arena floor. It was filled with several people looking inward waiting for something. However, if one took a closer look, they would be able to see that there was something very peculiar about this normal looking room. There were numerous scratch marks on the metal walls, and most of them seemed to be quite deep.

    ¡®Lucky me, from what Dad told me, I was sure it would be impossible to gain permission to watch this.¡¯ Tom thought with his eyes peeled open, not even wanting to blink. On one side of therge room, the doors slowly opened. One could imagine how thick and reinforced they were, based on their slow movement.

    Five people entered, yet there was nothing uniform about them, instead they looked like someone had picked out random people off the street. The only thing that all of them had inmon was a strange sense of confidence surrounding them.

    ¡®These are the Recoveres¡­and¡­and I''m going to see a real beast. Not just a fossil, but a real beast in front of my very eyes!¡¯

    When walking around theb, Tom would often encounter them. Many of them looked like gangsters, though he had also encountered those who he would simply overlook if he were to meet them out on the street. ording to his father, they had their own separate lives outside that NIRV didn¡¯t really get involved with.

    They could be gangsters, they could even be homeless. Regardless, when they were here, they were what were known as ¡®Recoveres¡¯. His father had stated that they were Altered who had received NIRV¡¯s services, on the condition that they would agree toe over and help out on retrieving those beast crystals.

    There were many Altered that his father had seen, that were beyond the strength of those at the AFC, which surprised Tom, yet at the same time it also didn¡¯t, not after everything else he hade to learn.

    From the other side of the room, the door opened as well, and a team of people in hazmat suits came out pushing arge fossil on a type of vehicle. It was then shoved off into the centre of the room. Quickly, the group was seen leaving the room, and it was time for the final part of the process.

    From above, the ceiling partially opened, and attached to a specially made and designed w like object. Now descending was what Tom had only seen on video so far.

    ¡®That¡­ that should be that Nest Crystal!¡¯

    Seeing it in person waspletely different to the video itself. There was a certain mystical pattern inside the crystal that was hard to describe. It was as if part of space had been captured and ced there.

    ¡°The information that we extract from the fossil gets inputted into the Nest Crystal.¡± His father had exined. ¡°I know it''s hard to believe, but the crystal is actually able to read the data. Sometimes it makes me feel that it has learned ournguage. So after inputting the data they extract from the fossil, the crystal is then able to do what it''s about to do next. As I said before though, that''s not my department, so I don¡¯t know how it exactly works.¡±

    The w that was holding onto the crystal started to turn red at its tips, and the next second it started to glow. At the same time, Tom could see that the Recoverers were getting ready. They had already begun to transform.

    One grew to nearly four times the size of his regr self, with a thick grey skin and arge horn on his head. Another had grown wings like an insect pping about at a great speed, while having hands of what looked like a stinger. The rest had turned into even more dangerous looking creatures, though none of them resembled any creature on Earth that Tom had ever seen, resembling something out of someone¡¯s nightmare.

    A beam of energy shot from the Nest Crystal hitting the fossil, and in front of his every eye he could see that flesh and matter was appearing out of thin air, as if someone was 3D printing it. They were forming on top of the bones. Some of the bone structure that had been missing, was starting to form as well, and soon enough that fossil was no more.

    In its ce stood what one could only describe as a primordial beast. Honestly, seeing the beast in its full form made Tom instinctively wish to run away. He didn''t know if it was just this beast in particr or if the others were like this, but it looked beyond horrifying.

    It wasrge in size, as big as a three-story building. It had the body of a centipede and the legs to go with it, but its upper half of its body was lifted in the air like that of a cobra, while on each side it had what looked like the wings of the bat. Its head was mostly golden triangle shape, but as it opened its maw it revealed rows of razor sharp teeth.

    The Hunters got to quick work, with therge horned Altered charging in front. Considering his size, he was quicker than Tom had given him credit for, and he bashed into the beast before it could react. Its horn pierced through its body and ck blood came chugging out from it.

    Letting out a strange shriek from its mouth, the beast stopped the other Hunters from charging in. At that moment, it used itsrge maw to bite down into therge Altered, before it started to p its wings, ready to fly up.

    However, before it could, the bug-like altered had flown right through its wings, piercing it with its stingers. It then quickly flew to the back of the beast¡¯s head and hit it a few times. Soon, with the othersing in as well, the monstrous beast was getting overwhelmed. These Altered were indeed strong, since they were able to take out the beast fairly quickly. After that, the crystal from the beast was extracted and presented to all the onlookers.

    With that, the fight was over.

    Looking around, Tom thought that it was a good result, but the scientist for some reason looked disappointed.

    ¡°Did something go wrong?¡± Tom asked his father.

    ¡°Nothing went wrong, per se.¡± His father answered. ¡°In fact, I would see this as a good day. No Recoverers died today, but others might think this is a bad result. After all, this team wasn¡¯t even that proficient, meaning that the beast today was too weak and likely didn¡¯t have a strong crystal.¡±

    Hearing his father exin this type of logic scared Tom a little. Though he might not have said it outright, but it showed how little NIRV seemed to value the lives of those Altered. Of course, they were the ones who could always create more, but to treat them as an expandable resource¡­

    It was then that Tom had felt something vibrate from his phone, and looking at it, he could see that it was news, and it was pertaining to Slough.

    ¡°Dad, you have to see this!¡± Tom rushed his father, shoving the phone in his face.

    At first, his Dad didn''t seem too bothered. He had a bit of sympathy for his hometown, but with his son being in front of him, the news might have as well been about any other location. However, he started to pay more attention when he looked at the images taken

    The middle-aged man soon snatched the phone from his son.

    ¡°Howe there are so many crazed Altered there¡­no this can¡¯t be.¡± His father mumbled.

    ******

    Current GT rank: 9

    Top 10 in golden tickets = 5 chapter mass release

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 Chapter 317 Infected Altered

    <h4>Chapter 317 Infected Altered</h4>

    After James Green had read the news about what had urred in Slough, he mumbled some seemingly incoherent things to himself, before heading straight towards hisb,pletely ignoring his own son.

    ¡®What the¡­ I know it''s shocking news but aren¡¯t you overreacting, Dad?¡¯ Tom wondered.

    He had just read the headline, so he was now curious about what the article was about. That''s when he learned everything he had missed, about the crazed Altered that were seemingly orphans, the new gang named the Howlers, and on top of that, the fact that there was a ¡®Wolf Altered¡¯ in Slough.

    ¡®I knew it!¡¯ Tom inwardly shouted. ¡®I knew that Gary was hiding something! ¡­ so he really did decide to join a gang! That''s who all those other people were. Then they must have also been the ones responsible for what happened to the Grey colour gang, that means it was really him¡­ but why?

    ¡®Was it because he got the Werewolf powers? Did he think to himself that with great poweres great responsibility? But Gary¡­you don''t seem like that type of person. I know you aren''t. Otherwise, why would you choose to hide this secret from me?¡¯

    Tom was trying to put himself in Gary''s shoes, doing his best to understand why he had not shared everything with him. After all, he had already figured out his Werewolf identity, so surely he should have been someone his best friend could trust.

    ¡®Wait his story about how he became a Werewolf? His part time job, was he already involved in all of that?¡¯

    Ultimately, the only reason Tom coulde up with, was that Gary must have stayed silent to protect him. Coming to this conclusion, a wide grin appeared on his face, and he almost got a tear in his eye.

    ¡®Ah man, why am I welling up because he hid a secret from me? and joined a gang¡­I''m really strange.¡¯ Tom chuckled at himself.

    Of course, after reading the news, the high schooler was curious if he could find out more information. Using a search engine he quickly stumbled upon more devastating news, namely that Gary had not only faced Kirk, but had delivered arge blow to him.

    Connecting articles had headlines such as ¡®AFC rookie champion still missing!¡¯, ¡®Did the Wolf Altered kill Kirk Summerfield?¡¯, ¡®Kirk¡¯s Summerfield¡¯s double live as a GANG MEMBER?!¡¯

    There were too many news articles and headlines about the whole event.

    ¡®Damn I need to text Gary¡­ Argh, but I can¡¯t¡­ that NDA mentioned that they check our messages and phone conversation from all calls made here to prevent us from leaking information. They probably have some sort of device that picks up all ourmunications outside as well. Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think our apartment here is safe either. I should stop going on the Darkweb incase they keep track of all employees it could get my dad in trouble. I¡¯ll have to wait until I¡¯m back at Slough to talk with him. I just have to hope that he is alright until then.¡¯ Tom thought.

    A short whileter, and his father had eventually returned. He looked windeed, seemingly having run back fast and he certainly wasn¡¯t the athletic type, somewhat like his son.

    ¡°Wanna share what got you so panicked that you left your only son behind, Dad?¡± The short haired teenager smirked as he asked the question.

    James Green needed a moment to catch his breath, but Tom noticed that his father didn''t seem to be as nervous any more. It appeared that whatever the emergency matter had been, it was seemingly dealt with.

    ¡°I apologise, your news just came out of nowhere, and given the things it pertained I just had to make a report to the higher-ups about it. I needed to find out if they were already aware of it, since I was worried that it might havee from ourb.¡± James nervously answered, still panting, but then immediately covered up his mouth, earning him a strange look from his son.

    ¡°Shoot, that wasn¡¯t meant for your ears¡­ well, I guess since you¡¯re our intern, you might as well learn a bit. Besides, you¡¯re family, so surely you would not want your old man in trouble, right? As in, don''t tell anyone what I¡¯m about to tell you.¡± He chuckled nervously, hitting Tom on the shoulder as if the two of them were the closest friends.

    In fact, the two Green men got along very well, yet the unfortunate reality was that ever since his parents had started working for NIRV, Tom hardly got to spend time together with them.

    ¡°You see, when researching fossils, we are unaware of what state they wille back in once hit with the Nest Crystals that you saw earlier, and at times, there have been a few¡­ strange ones.

    ¡°The resulting Beasts came out looking a bit sick, covered in strange purple fur and sometimes with a bit of a dark shadow surrounding them. The shadow itself looked almost as if it was alive. Any crystals obtained from them are ssified as ¡®infected¡¯. We don''t use those batches of crystal for making Altered, because in nine out of ten cases they end up as crazed Altered..¡±

    His father didn''t have to say more, Tom had already figured it out. His father was saying somehow this special batch must have gotten out, either stolen, sold off or maybe it was thepany itself, Either way he had to inform them about what he knew so far.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, a NIRV employee was standing in front of the police station. They were exining the exact same thing to Slough¡¯s Chief of Police, as well as the presiding White Rose agents.

    ¡°This is the information you are to tell the press. A gang has managed to get their hands on a corrupted batch of Altered DNA that was scheduled to be disposed of. NIRV has started an investigation to find out how that has happened, and will share details once it gets resolved.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Simrly, in the Mayor''s office, an employee of NIRV had arrived, though it wasn¡¯t the same one as the one who had brought over the syringes.

    ¡°Are you kidding me?! The public won¡¯t be contended with that! They will ask questions and me ME for failing to protect Slough¡¯s people! Do you have any idea how it makes me look that some gangs were the ones to take care of that problem? UTTERLY INCOMPETENT!!!

    ¡°The fact that you¡¯vee all the way here pretty much proves that yourpany is connected to ALL OF THIS!¡± Ben Clove shouted.

    ¡°Mayor Clove, how are your finances looking after you¡¯ve purchased that second syringe of Altered DNA? Isn¡¯t it true that the acquisition has put your family into financial burden? Sure, you might be able to keep up appearances, but how long will you be able to continue with your current lifestyle?

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it help you immensely if we were to refund you the payment for that second dosage, and even scratch it off the records?¡± The man questioned, and saw the corpulent man quickly calm down. ¡°Please just read out the statement our PR team has prepared, and make sure that the matter doesn¡¯t get brought up by anyone other than us in the future.¡±

    Although Ben Clove didn''t say anything else, he was furiou internally. Sure, the freebie was nice, but he hated having to dance to someone else¡¯s tune. Fortunately, it was only a matter of time until he was finally free to do as he wished¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    After his training session with the Beta Werewolf, Gary had decided to walk home. The teenager had a lot to think about and with his head now clearer he considered this to be a good time to at least look at the new skills he could learn.

    The Last Stand skill had saved him more than once already, and since he nned to attack the Underdogs tomorrow, he needed every advantage he could get. Holding back now would be stupid, if not suicidal.

    Walking along the road, Gary soon heard the sound of an approaching car, but he ignored it as many cars had already passed him by. However, this car seemed to slow down, before it came to a halt, only a few metres from him.

    Turning around, the bright lights from the car blinded the Werewolf, making it hard for him to see who had just got out.

    ¡°Honestly, what are the chances?¡± The voice sounded surprised. ¡°Here I just decided to give it a shot, and yet I actually found you streaker boy. This must be some red string of fate between us, and not just as a brother inw. You seem to have a tendency to appear near the woods, but perhaps, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised about that at this time.

    ¡°This makes things easier. Come with me for a ride, there are some things we need to talk about, wolfie.¡±

    *****

    Current GT rank: 9

    Top 10 in golden tickets = 5 chapter mass release

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 Chapter 318 The Future of Slough

    <h4>Chapter 318 The Future of Slough</h4>

    Walking down the edge of the forest, along the road, Gary was making mental preparations for what he would exactly do tomorrow. The Underdogs had practically gone into hiding, yet since their leader had survived, it was clear that they would gather their strength and try toe back from this. That was just the type of person Damion Hawk was.

    The Werewolf¡¯s opinion was that Kai seemed to be overly cautious about the Underdog¡¯s resurgence. Gary was sure that with Kirk now gone, as long as they could get rid of Damion, it would naturally spell the end of the Underdogs.

    And to that end, there was one thing Kai didn¡¯t know. Gary knew EXACTLY where Damion was!

    What¡¯s more, due to the Forced Bond he had ced on him, he would be able to find him, most likely until the end of his life.

    ¡®There¡¯s nowhere you can hide from me, Damion. I don¡¯t want to be afraid of you any longer. From now on, I''m the one that will be your hunter.¡¯ The high schooler thought to himself in satisfaction,

    before he heard the sound of an approaching car. He ignored it as many cars had already passed him by. However, this car seemed to slow down, before it came to a halt, only a few metres from him.

    ¡°Come with me for a ride, there are some things we need to talk about, wolfie.¡± Jayden suggested with a friendly smile.

    Although the White Tiger Altered wasn''t his enemy, Gary couldn''t exactly call him an ally either. Nevertheless, he was one of the people that the green haired teenager respected wholeheartedly, and not only due to his career as an Altered fighter.

    He had seen Jayden get his way when demanding things from the Grey Elephants. A single person had made an entire gang cower in front of him. If that wasn¡¯t badass, the high schooler didn¡¯t know what was.

    ¡®Now that I have improved stats, just how far behind do Igpared to him?¡¯ Gary wondered. Ultimately, he decided to enter the car. For one, Gary didn¡¯t want to cause trouble, and he also wanted to maintain a good rtionship with Xin¡¯s brother.

    Inside the car, the two of them drove for a while, Gary had taken the passenger seat as requested by Jayden, as to where they were going he wasn''t quite sure.

    ¡°Let me be frank, it wasn¡¯tpletely a coincidence that I found you here today. Xin didn¡¯t want to hand over your number, and I didn¡¯t want to drag her into this mess, so I¡¯ve already been driving up and down yesterday evening. I¡¯m actually d that I¡¯ve found you today.¡± Jayden revealed. ¡°With that out of the way, I wanted to talk to you since I saw you on that news channel. You really gave it your all against the cat dude.¡±

    Suddenly, Gary¡¯s eyes widened. Using the wolf mask, he was sure that his real identity would be safe, because no one but the Howlers should be aware who was underneath the mask. Unfortunately, he hadpletely forgotten that that wasn¡¯t true at all. The person right next to him had seen him use that same mask when he hade to rescue Xin.

    ¡°I have to tell you something, Gary.¡± Jayden said, as he parked the car in a supermarket car park. They were at the very back towards a hill. ¡°I hate gangs.¡±

    Saying these words, there was a fierce change in his voice. Gary immediately opened the door on his side, afraid he was going to be attacked, and rolled out from the car. He soon stood up in a fighting stance and looked towards the car, but Jayden was no longer in it.

    ¡°What exactly do you think you''re doing? You¡¯re aware that we¡¯re not in an action movie, right?¡± Jayden asked from behind, as he walked over towards the hill and sat down on the grass.

    ¡°I told you that there are things we need to talk about, and I meant using our words, not fists. Gary, I know that you must feel powerful given what you are, but you''re just a teenager, practically still a kid. I know that Slough isn¡¯t the safest, but did you really have to join a gang? I decided to at least hear you out, since I owe you at least that much for trying to save Xin.¡°

    Hearing this, it made Gary think that Jayden had chosen his words carefully. After all, he had merely promised to give him a chance to exin himself, but what if he didn¡¯t like the answer? Would he outright attack him? Unfortunately, now seemed like a bad time to ask the adult his reason for hating gangs.

    ¡®It¡­ it should be okay¡­ I have an ace up my sleeve. If ites down to it, I''m sure Jayden doesn''t know about his father¡¯s involvement with those small-time gangs.¡¯ Gary calmed himself down. He cautiously came over and sat down, though he did so a good two metres away, just in case anything happened.

    Seeing this, Jayden couldn''t help but let out augh at the high schooler¡¯s antics, but he understood why Gary had decided to do something like this.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m all ears. How exactly did you get caught up in all this mess? How did someone like you be an Altered, and just what was that attack on Slough?¡± Jayden asked.

    Before answering, Gary let out a big sigh, wondering how much he should tell the Altered. Just enough to make sense, or the whole truth involving Kai and the others?

    In the end, the Werewolf opted to concentrate mostly on his own situation. However, for once, rather than covering up a bunch of lies like he would do with others, he confessed almost everything. Perhaps it was easier with Jayden, since he still felt a bit like a stranger.

    Gary began by sharing his family''s financial situation, which had led to him joining the Underdogs in the first ce. Then he proceeded how he had be ¡®an Altered¡¯ and his journey from then on to protect his family from the gang, leaving him no choice but to create his own.

    ¡°I see, so I guess what happened the other day was just between the Grey Elephants and the Underdogs. You just saw it as an opportunity to get rid of the Underdogs?¡± Jayden repeated, making sure he got everything correct.

    Gary nodded, though he didn¡¯t share the part that they had gotten involved through Innu¡¯s request to save the orphans.

    Finally, Jayden was the one that let out a big sigh of relief now.

    ¡°You know, I was worried about Slough, seeing as my old man has no intentions of moving out. Then again, he is the mayor of this town, so I do understand how it would be the end of his career if he did something like that.¡± Jayden revealed. ¡°I went to Chavley and got rid of the Crazed Altered there, and it just made me worry whether everyone will be okay. You see, I¡¯m leaving this town soon. I need to get back to the AFC, and without me, I was worried what this ce might be.

    ¡°However, wolfie, there was someone who has managed to change so much already. I believe what you''ve told me, but I do have to warn you. If you do change your ways, or be just as bad as the guys that were running the ce before your Howlers, I might have to get involved and teach you another lesson.¡± Jayden smiled and made a fist.

    Although it sounded like he was saying these words in a joking manner, Gary was sure that he meant exactly what he said. Thankfully, though, it looked like Jayden wouldn''t be an enemy.

    Since things had turned out well, Gary decided to keep his little meeting with the Mayor a secret for now. In the end, they had never made a move during the fight like they had nned anyway. So there was no need to stir up the pot.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything, so I hope you can answer a question of mine now.¡± Gary finally said. ¡°Unlike me, you¡¯ve had your powers for far longer, and I¡¯m sure what you showed me that day was just a glimpse of it.

    ¡°Your presence alone was enough to stop the Grey Elephants from attacking us, so with all your strength, howe you don¡¯t stop those gangs. Why not just get rid of the Underdogs altogether?¡±

    It was a question that had been on Gary¡¯s mind for a long time. Since Jayden talked about getting rid of his gang if they were to be bullies, why not the current group? He was stronger than Kirk and Damion.

    ¡°I¡­ Am not a leader.¡± Jayden answered. ¡°I''m a single individual. I can''t rally people around me, or ask people to fight me. Simply put, I''m more of a loner. On top of that, there are a few other reasons.

    ¡°Even if I take down the heads of this ce, then there will just be someone else to rece them. Unless I decided to stay in charge or run the ce, things just wouldn''t work out. I''m kinda¡­ what do they call it, a free bird.¡±

    There was a smile on his face as he spoke about this, but the smile soon faded.

    ¡°Actually, I''m probably not as free of a bird as I would like to think. In fact, just like you Gary, my hands are also tied, but by a far bigger force than just the Underdogs. Remember, I wasn''t born into this world with a golden spoon, nor as an Altered.

    ¡°Even then I got lucky in the end and have identally be a significant someone. Unfortunately, there is a limit to what I can do. I just took an interest in this town because of my family.¡±

    Gary understood, because even the AFC was under arge, powerful organisation and possibly behind them was another. The set-up and structure in the higher tier cities Gary could only guess, as it felt like different worlds to his and those around them.

    Finally, Jayden stood up from the ground and wiped the back of his trousers. Instead of walking towards his car, he headed towards the woods.

    ¡°Why don''t we have one final fight before I leave?¡± Jayden asked. ¡°If you win, you¡¯ll still get my autograph, or if you prefer, you can raid my fridge once more? Only this time I would like both of us to go all out, fully use our Altered forms. ¡±

    ******

    Current GT rank: 9

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 Chapter 319 Tiger Vs Wolf (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 319 Tiger Vs Wolf (Part 1)</h4>

    From a young age, Gary had always been interested in fighting, though up until recently, he had to be content with just watching others fights. However, nowadays, the thought alone was enough to make him feel a rush. The teenager wasn¡¯t sure if it was from his own personal desire that had manifested, now that he had the capabilities, or if it was yet another side effect of bing a Werewolf. Especially since it was getting close to the full moon.

    Whatever the case, Gary was naturally curious about how much he had improved since hisst fight against Jayden, yet this wouldn¡¯t be the same type of sparring match that they had before. No, this time it would be the two of them duking it out in their full Altered forms.

    Looking around, Gary was making sure that the area was even safe. Jayden¡¯s car was the only one in the whole car park. When he checked the supermarket, he could see that it was actually boarded up, seemingly abandoned. Looking at the street lights next, he found cameras. Maybe in an area like this they would no longer be working but all of them had been destroyed, curshed. They were ced quite high up so it was clear that the act was intentional.

    ¡°Don''t tell me¡­ did you drive us here just so we could fight?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°I told you that I was looking for you since yesterday.¡± Jayden shrugged. ¡°This location also seemed perfect in case things would have turned out differently.¡±

    Gary gulped down hard. It was terrifying to think that if his answer hadn¡¯t satisfied Xin¡¯s brother, the Altered had seemingly been ready to kill the high schooler in the middle of nowhere. Even scarier was the possibility that there might not even have been anything he could have done against it. Hopefully, that would turn out to be a meaningless worry in a moment

    Either way, maybe a death like that was deserving of Gary, after what he had done to others.

    ¡°Alright, let''s do this.¡± Gary agreed.

    ¡®I have the system to check up on my Health. If I get too injured, I can stop the fight at any time. The only thing I have to be careful about is not inflicting a dangerous wound on Jayden like I did Kirk.¡¯ The Werewolf tried to hype himself up, as he watched the Altered¡¯s face and body structure change in front of him.

    There were two ways Gary could use fighting against Jayden.

    One option was to use his Controlled Transformation on all parts of his body to the maximum. It would increase his stats by arge margin, while also allowing him to conserve his Energy. This would allow him to drag the fight out, and try to oust his opponent.

    The other option was to outright use his Full Transformation. This would take up more Energy, though, it would also result in a bigger boost as every single part of him would be fully Werewolf. However, it would also mean that their fight would have a time limit.

    ¡®I ate just after my training with Olivia, so my body is in top shape and I have no excuses.¡¯

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Jayden had stated that this fight was supposed to be one where both should go full out. Since that was the case, the teenager opted to go for the second option, even though the Altered¡¯s body didn¡¯t seem to have changed as drastically, as when Kirk had gone all out.

    Jayden¡¯s arms had be likerge paws with ws at the end, and his face was now covered in white fur, but other than that his body had hardly changed apart from his shoulders bing a little wider.

    Still, as soon as his body had finished transforming, a slight wind was felt on Gary¡¯s body, causing his fur to ruffle slightly.

    As for Gary, his whole body hadpletely changed. However, due to the adjustments that had pretty much been perfected on his clothes, they hadn''t broken for the first time. However he still had to slip his shoes off. The teenager was the first one to run in, trying to get the jump on his opponent.

    With his increased speed, courtesy of Kirk, his Full Transformation, as well as the buff of the full moon, he was faster than Jayden had expected him to be. Against the swipe of the Werewolf¡¯s hand, the White Tiger Altered was forced to bend over backwards.

    His body proved to be flexible, yet Gary had somewhat predicted this, swinging his other arm downward. Still, Jayden swiftly moved out of the way of that move as well, almost touching the ground with his entire body, somehow managing to support it on a single leg. Using it, he pushed off and moved directly into Gary. It was a dangerous position to be in, because the Werewolf had another weapon that he didn''t use much, and that was his maw.

    ¡®I want to win, so I''m going to use everything I''ve got!¡¯ Gary thought as he opened wide. Before his teeth couldtch on, though, Jayden''s paw had already been ced on the Werewolf¡¯s body.

    He thought that he could take whatever wasing his way, and do more damage to his opponent, but that¡¯s when something strange happened. The strength of the paw itself wasn''t strong. In fact, it looked as if it only lightly touched the transformed teenager¡¯s chest, yet the next second, the ¡®light tap¡¯ might as well have been a cannonball shot from point nk distance.

    It lifted Gary off his feet and sent him flying through the air and the car park.

    [-50 HP]

    [110/160 HP]

    Blood poured from Gary¡¯s mouth, and it took him a few seconds before he eventually stuck his wed feet into the ground and his hands piercing the w. They scraped until he was able to stop himself.

    ¡®Why¡­ was that blow so strong¡­ is it that strange power he used like he did before?¡¯ Gary asked himself, thinking back to Jayden fighting against the red colour gang members who had captured Xin. It was at that moment, he had attacked all of them from the position he was in.

    ¡°You''re faster than before, Gary. I¡¯m impressed how much you seem to have improved in such a short amount of time. ¡­ seriously, how are you even still standing right now? I used enough power to have knocked you out for a good while, but here you are still standing.¡± Jayden admitted, not hiding his surprise.

    Honestly, this was the strongest blow he had ever taken to his HP. It would have taken down half his Health before his upgrade, and probably even more if he had used Controlled Transformation.

    Still, thanks to him being at his strongest currently, the Werewolf knew that he could still take one or two more hits. He didn¡¯t want to give up now. If Jayden really was to leave soon, he wanted to find out his own limits beforehand.

    ¡°This fight has only just started!¡± Gary shouted.

    *****

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 Chapter 320 Tiger vs Wolf (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 320 Tiger vs Wolf (Part 2)</h4>

    Learning how an Altered fighter moved, attacked, what their special traits were, all of those factors were important in an Altered fight. Gary had seen Jayden Tiger multiple times on TV, not to mention the countless times he had seen the highlights of the White Tiger Altered¡¯s fight on PouTube.

    s, just like with his fight against Kirk, this supposed advantage turned out to only exist in theory. An Altered fighting in the ring on screen, and them fighting in real life, proved to bepletely different from one another. So much that had been disyed on TV seemed to be far from the actual limit of the White Tiger Altered.

    The simple punch alone had packed enough power that it would at least severely cripple a normal human for the rest of their lives. Gary didn¡¯t know if this was the full extent of his power, but he was far deadlier than in his normal human form.

    ¡°I see you have the spirit, but are you sure you can continue to fight in your condition?¡± Jayden asked, not moving from his position.

    Gary let the blood dribble out of his mouth, shaking his head a little.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He answered, although it wasn''t exactly clear what he was saying through hisrge snout and teeth. The noise was ruffled, but his actions were understandable enough. Gary wasn''t sure if he was imagining it or not, but with a single step, Jayden had managed to cross arge distance. It looked like he was almost gliding across the air, but not only that he was incredibly fast, even faster than Kirk.

    ¡®How the hell is a White Tiger faster than a Cheetah?! That should be impossible.¡¯ Gary was bbergasted, covering his face with his arms in a type of boxing stance, bracing himself for the attack. However, he only felt a gust of wind, as quick as Jayden was able to move forward he was seemingly able to stop and slow down as well. Unable to react, the Altered had moved to his side and kicked him in the ribs.

    [-8 HP]

    ¡®The blow isn''t as heavy as the punch. Is he taking it easy on me because he thinks I¡¯m still hurt ? ¡­ or could he be unable to continuously use such a heavy hit?¡¯

    Enduring the pain, Gary went to swing his own leg out, he did his best not to flinch and delivered everything he could into the attack. That''s when he could see that Jayden had dug his ws into the concrete ground, his muscles were tense, and the next second arge piece of the ground was lifted and thrown in the air. The Werewolf¡¯s leg smashed into the piece of concrete, destroying it, but hurting himself in the process as well.

    [-2 HP]

    The pain wasn''t great, but the main thing was it had slowed him down and caused several pieces of debris to mess with his line of sight. The next second, although Gary couldn''t see anything, his ears picked something up.

    Aware that something wasing his way, he lifted hisrge foreforms to block it and tried to move from the area. Before he could, though, he felt something deep cutting through his strong hide and his warm blood started trickling on the ground.

    [-8 HP]

    [-8 HP]

    The attack was strange, and just before Gary could hear something silencing the wind, when looking around he noticed that Jayden wasn''t close to him at all. He was a good five metres away.

    ¡®I thought it was strange, I could tell that he wasn''t close to me, so how did he hurt me?¡¯ An image appeared in Gary of the ranged attack he had performed against red colour gang members. Jayden must have used it on him now.

    ¡®I need to stop thinking of him as just a ¡®white tiger¡¯. In the first ce, Altered are based on beasts, that are different from the animals we have today. On top of that, he seems to be a different type of Altered altogether.¡¯ Gary reprimanded himself. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t be surprised that he is faster than Kirk, nor about all the strange things he can apparently do.¡¯

    Not wasting any time. Jayden continued his barrage of attacks, now Gary could see it clearly. Jayden was somehow able to create an attack that would work from a distance. shes broke through the wind and wereing right towards him.

    Lifting his already injured forearm, he suffered another attack, slicing through, sharper than any knife. The Werewolf''s hide was strong, but it was strong and sharp enough to hurt immensely. No wonder, it had been enough to bisect those gang members.

    [-8 HP]

    Gary attempted to run away from the wind strikes, because the worst thing about them was the fact that they were nearly impossible to see. They distorted the airspace a little as they went through. When Gary was running around, he avoided the attacks, and bravely decided to charge forward towards Jayden once again.

    ¡®Oh, I have to ask him how he¡¯s able to avoid my shes if he can''t see them.¡¯ Jayden noted. ¡®Xin, your little boyfriend just continues to be full of surprises.¡¯

    If Gary had been the same as before the gang war, then his old speed would not have allowed him to keep up with the Altered¡¯s attacks. Once again, the teenager was inwardly thanking Kirk.

    The other reason for him being able to evade, were his ears. When the wind strikes left Jayden''s hand, he was able to perceive the noise it made going through the air, telling him where not to go if he wanted to avoid the hit.

    ¡®Faster, I have to move faster¡­ I still have yet to use this speed to its full potential!¡¯ Gary thought, as he pushed his legs off the ground the second they touched it. He focused on drawing strength from every inch of his body including his toes.

    Rolling, dodging the strange attacks, moving from side to side, Gary had the image of Kirk in his head from before. Now at the perfect ce, the Werewolf leapt from one side with a w out, aiming for Jayden.

    At that moment, though, as it looked like Gary''s ws were about to reach Jayden''s face, his arm suddenly moved on its own. Another strong gust of wind lifted it upwards, and before Gary knew it, another powerful blow, this time a kick, connected with his stomach and sent him flying across the supermarket car park.

    [-60 HP]

    [16/160 Health]

    Lying there on the ground, Gary had cancelled his transformation. As stubborn as he was, he understood that if he were to continue, he would just be risking losing all of his Health. Using Last Stand seemed like a waste, since he didn¡¯t feel confident in being able to hit Jayden in that one minute.

    Seeing that the teenager had reverted to his normal self, the young adult did the same. He picked up Gary¡¯s shoes and brought them over.

    ¡°You did way better than I thought. I know you might be sad or disappointed but trust me don''t be¡­ but I do have one message for you. As long as you are still in this gang business, I can''t entrust Xin to you. I want my little sister to be safe and protected.

    ¡°Buuuutttt, seeing as you¡¯re a dumb young teenager, and believe it or not, I used to be one myself, I can¡¯t really expect you to just listen to me acting as the voice of reason. I¡¯m sure that you want to have both, right? Here¡¯s the deal, the day you can actually beat me, you¡¯ll have my blessing.¡± Jayden smiled as he offered Gary his hand.

    *****

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 Chapter 321 A common Altered

    <h4>Chapter 321 Amon Altered</h4>

    In the current world, it was rare for people to live outside the cities and towns, since those were the only ces one could get work. The higher tier the city or town, the higher the average pay would be. If they could afford it, people would live in the cities, yet it wasn¡¯t rare for the majority of the workforce tomute to work from a nearby town due to the high rent cost inside the city.

    Of course, the Tier-5 ¡®towns¡¯ barely deserved such a name. They were essentially just giant dumps that housed people who had nothing and lived off of the scraps of the other cities. It was to the point that their ¡®houses¡¯ consisted of whatever materials the other cities had discarded, and they could p together.

    These cities were why the AFC Academy, moremonly known as the AFA, was a unique ce.

    It was a school that was the most prominent gathering ce for Altered all over the country, and it was the only ce of its kind in the current region. Of course, there were academies abroad that trained special Altered, but this academy was more unique since, as the name suggested, it was an official part of the AFC.

    It was generally considered the best ce for any Altered''s future, be it as an Altered fighter, or in another profession. There were many events for the students to show off to sponsors of the worldwide most watched televised sport!

    The academy itself was located in a tier two city but wasn¡¯t a part of the city itself. It was out in the countryside. It was arge building that was home to around two thousand different Altered. It might seem like arge amount, yet it was minusculepared to the world''s current poption.

    Despite its location, the academy boasted great wealth thanks to the students that attended it. This ce was meant to be an independently run facility, away from the Tier-1 cities, although whether people believed that or not, was another thing.

    Currently, five new potential students were standing inside what looked like an empty white room. Each of them was wearing a in white uniform, and in front of them were three older gentlemen. They, too, were wearing white uniforms simr to the students, although their styling was a little different.

    "Every year, facilities around the whole world seed in making breakthrough after breakthrough." A man in the centre with giant round sses and a tall body began to speak while pacing back and forth in front of the five teenagers.

    "This has led to an increase in the appearance of Altered in general¡­ making them moremon."

    Although what the professor of the academy was saying was true, mon'' seemed to be a horrible word to use in this context. After all, the statement was merely true among the upper ss, and even then, less than one percent of people could afford to get their hands on Altered DNA.

    "Should this trend continue, there maye a day that everyone in the world will have be an Altered. Be that as it may, our Academy HAS always and WILL always pride ourselves in one thing! We are THE ce to cultivate the most elite generation of Altered!

    "Naturally, that means that we don¡¯t ept anyone. Money can¡¯t buy everything, and it won¡¯t buy you the right to stay here. You still have to earn that!"

    Looking at the five students, they all stood up straight and tall, strong and confident, among them was Xin Clove, though she attended under a fake name. Today was supposed to be her first day at the AFA, yet from the professor''s words, she understood that if she didn''t show the potential, then this might also be herst.

    ''I''m not going back! Jayden went through all the trouble to allow me to get a chance to be free, so I need to at least be able to go through all of this!!''

    The bespectacled man stepped back, allowing a bulky professor to step forward. His colleague looked a little strange, given that he had arge and round belly, yet his arms appeared to be that of a muscle builder, with next to no fat visible on them at all.

    "The five of you shall now undergo a trial, which will determine your positions in the next room." The second man stated. "There are only two rules to it. Don''t get hit, and remain in your human form."

    "What?!" A boy shouted in frustration, his blonde spiky hair moving about due to his anger. "Some of us might have really rare Altered forms or are better at utilising it than others! If you test us without letting us go all out, how is that fair?"

    "Simple." The original professor with the sses replied. "We have done extensive research on Altered. If your Altered form is based on a genuinely strong beast, then it means your body would have changed in ordance to house it, meaning that even in your human form you will be able to disy inhumane feats.

    "Should that not be the case, then it simply means that the beast inside you is weak. If you dislike it, you are free to leave and apply to another academy. I can guarantee you that there won¡¯t be a shortage of students who wish to apply, and these harsh criteria have allowed us to ensure that only the best of the best get through."

    Hearing this, Xin felt confident because she trusted in her own skills even before she became an Altered. However, there was a problem. This supposed change of her body was not something she had experienced for herself.

    ''Maybe we shouldn''t have trusted that NIRV guy. After that injection, he had assured me that everything had gone perfectly fine, but I still struggle to keep up my Altered form¡­'' Xin thought. Fortunately, it had been enough to let her pass the Altered test they had to partake in before even getting to this stage, which proved that she was no longer human.

    "Well, what do we do now?" A tired-looking kid asked, once the three professors had left the room. He hadrge ck eyes that made him resemble a panda.

    Just then, they heard a clicking sound, and in the next instant, arge ck ball came hurling out from the side of the wall and struck one of the students. The ball wasn''t heavy, so it didn''t hurt at all, but as the student tried to pull it off from himself, the sticky substance just went onto his hand instead,

    He then used his foot, but it still stuck it onto his body.

    "Rick Toenail, you have been eliminated! Please stand to the side and do not interfere with the test!" A mechanical voice sounded in the room.

    "That was your name?" The spiky-haired kid from before couldn''t help butugh, hearing the announcement. The next second, the one with the panda eyes jumped from his position and had nearly cleared two metres quickly.

    Arge ck ball went straight past him, forcing the other three students to evade. Noticing the ball, Xin dodged to the left, while the loudmouth moved in the opposite direction. Soon, more and more of these ck balls starteding from the walls on the side, then from above and below as well, until they were being sted from all over the room.

    The professors were watching everything through the screen. It had been a minute since the test had begun, and they were getting a clear grasp on the students'' abilities.

    "Looks like we have a couple of good ones with us." One of the professors noted with a smile.

    "Indeed, the Panda boy has the best reflexes out of the lot. It looks like he is using next to no effort to dodge everything that ising his way. As for Ryan, although his attitude is quite bad, he appears to have the best physical capabilities of this batch. He can outrun and see all the objectsing towards them."

    "What about the other two?" Another professor asked.

    "The other two¡­ are nothing special. They appear to struggle, so it¡¯s doubtful they willst until the end."

    Xin was trying her best to avoid all the ck balls. She was imagining them as fists and kicks hurling towards her,pletely focusing on them. The teenager girl needed to see the balls as soon as possible to give her the most time to react, but it was proving a great struggle with the number of ck ballsing towards her.

    As the test continued, not only had the number of balls increased, their speed had as well. On the other hand, Xin was getting tired, mentally as well as physically.

    ''Panda Eyes, and Spiky Hair, are still doing fine. It was as if the first few minutes were just a warm-up for them.'' Xin noticed and nced at the tall,nky boy close to her. ''If this goes on, the two of us aren¡¯t going to pass this test.¡¯

    It was at that moment that three ck balls came towards her. With the trajectory of the other balls, she knew that she wasn''t fast enough to avoid them. There were only a few ways to get out of the current situation.

    One of them was being hit by the balls in front of her, so the ones at the side wouldn''t hit her, but that''s when she came up with another n, as she looked at the struggling boy to her side. Lifting her leg, shended a blow to his temple, knocking him out cold.

    Before he fell to the floor, she grabbed his body and ced it in front of her. Using her fellow candidate as a literal human shield, Xin started running forward, blocking the ck balls in front of her. Eventually letting go, she was ready to dodge more, but the balls had already stopped.

    The test was over. However, her actions didn''t go unnoticed by the others in the room, as well as the professors who had watched everything over the cameras and were now discussing her strategy.

    "The rules just stated that we had to avoid touching the balls while staying in our human forms. I didn¡¯t break any rules, right?" Xin asked, huffing and panting.

    No matter what, she was going to get epted!

    *****

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 Chapter 322 The Next Stage

    <h4>Chapter 322 The Next Stage</h4>

    On average, there would only be one person for every fifteen batches that would pass this first trial. The three professors had already been happy to see that the current batch had two promising youths¡­ and yet, despite having watched dozens of would-be students try to pass their trial, they were nevertheless surprised at Xin¡¯s ruthlessness and willingness to pass.

    The teenage girl had already let go of the student she had used as a meat shield. He was only waking up now, still dazed and confused about what had happened to him in his final moments. It took him a few moments to understand what had happened, and he was currently staring at the one responsible for his elimination.

    ¡°Diego Nascimento, you have been eliminated. Please leave the room together with Rick Toenail!¡± The mechanical voice sounded as a door opened up. ¡°The rest of you, please be patient for a moment, as we still need to discuss amongst each other about the results.¡±

    ¡°Haha, are you worried that they''re not going to let you pass?¡± The spiky blonde haired kid from before asked, looking at Xin. Although the professors had yet to enter the room again, the reason for their discussion was clear to the teenagers.

    ¡°Why should I? As I said, I never broke any of their rules, after all. Besides, if they really don''t let me pass¡­¡± Xin stopped there. She had just been about to say that she would tell the three who her brother was, but when entering the academy, she had done so under a fake name. It wouldn¡¯t exactly look good if she were to reveal herself, only to make use of Jayden¡¯s name.

    ¡°... I¡¯ll just have to argue my own case.¡± She eventually finished.

    ------

    Indeed, the three professors were currently discussing whether to let Xin pass or not. Technically speaking, she had adhered to the rules, yet the entire purpose of this trial had been to weed out those that wouldn''t be worth their time, and from what they had seen so far she would have certainly failed.

    ¡°Why are we still discussing this? It should be clear that if she were to take this trial again, or do so on her own, there is no way she would pass!¡± Professor Hai, who was the man with therge belly and muscr arms, was the most vocal about not letting the teenage girl proceed any further.

    ¡°I suppose we could make her retake the test.¡± His colleague, Professor Wood, suggested. ¡±However, the element of surprise would be gone, so it wouldn''t be exactly fair to the others that have taken the trial. Coming up with a new one just for her alone seems too troublesome, though.¡±

    Giving out a big huff, Professor Humfree who wore sses, let out a sigh. ¡°I agree, the trouble does not seem worth it. Perhaps we should adjust the rules in the future if we wish to prevent such a scenario. Either way, this was only a trial to see if they are worthy to get into the next room.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just allow her to move onto the assessment stage. It will be obvious enough, if she¡¯s someone worth our time or not.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hai questioned with a worried look on his face. ¡°Those inside are able to stay for as long as they wish. They only leave when they have to leave, which also means, if we put someone weak like her there¡­ there¡¯s a good chance she won¡¯te out alive.¡±

    ¡°A risk that I''m sure she will be aware of quite quickly.¡± Mr Humfree replied, and with that he pressed a button.

    ¡°Congrattions, all three of you have passed this trial.¡± The mechanical voice resounded, once more. ¡°However, as you might imagine, this was merely a pre-assessment to see if you have earned the right to stay with us a while longer. I look forward to hopefully greeting you at the academy itself.¡±

    ¡°For now, please head through the door. My colleague, Professor Hai will lead you to the next trial stage and exin the details.¡±

    ¡°Next trial stage?¡± The Panda boy¡¯s voice was energetic, yet his face disyed the same type of energy as it had the entire time. However, he was the first one to head through the door that had newly opened up, the man with therge belly already waiting for them.

    ¡°Follow me.¡± The professor stated as soon as they all were before him.

    ¡®I did it, Jayden! I passed the first hurdle. It wasn''t exactly the way I nned, but I still did it.¡¯ Xin thought, as she followed the other two. While walking, though, the adult would turn around from time to time, yet she was the only one who was being stared at, making her feel as if she had done something wrong.

    ¡®He doesn¡¯t seem happy that I passed¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter, I will show everyone that this is the ce that I was meant to be at, and that no one has the right to argue that.¡¯ Xin solemnly swore to do everything by the book at the next trial stage.

    Eventually, the three of them had entered anotherrge building. It was separate from the one they hade from, and from the outside it looked like a stadium. It was certainlyrge enough to be ssified as one, albeit the indoor type.

    Through the doors, the students now entered a gigantic room that had several floors, different areas, libraries and more.

    ¡°As you might have already guessed, this isn''t the main academy. There are no teachers here, nor are there any lessons.¡± Professor Hai started to exin while walking around. Immediately, the students inside the ce turned to look at those who had entered. Some just smirked before going back to what they had been doing, others didn¡¯t seem interested to even look up, while the rest stared long and hard at the neers.

    ¡°In fact, this is just arge trial stage set up for all the candidates who have shown promise.¡± The man continued. ¡°Nevertheless, you¡¯ll be provided with everything you would need to train yourself. No matter your number, you¡¯ll have ess to the most basic training rooms, weight lifting equipment, cardio, a gym, library and more.

    ¡°Each one of you will have a personal room assigned to them. How long you stay here is up to you. You are free to leave at any time, though be aware that if you choose to do so, you won¡¯t get a second chance to join the AFA again.

    ¡°You may be wondering, ¡®how do I join the real academy¡¯? Well here.¡± Professor Hai then handed out badges that he instructed them to be ced on the corner of each of their white shirts. The students noticed that all of those in the room had those numbered badges on their shirts as well.

    The spiky blonde haired boy had been handed 112, the panda boy 113 and finally Xin had been given a 114.

    ¡°Those numbers indicate what room you sleep in. You will quickly notice that there are some differences in your rooms, and the same will be true for your provided meals. If you don¡¯t like it, then I suggest you do your best to try to get a higher number as soon as possible.

    ¡°Only the students numbered 1 to 10 are eligible to join the AFA. To do that, you have to keep your badge for a week. After a week has passed, you''re permitted and out of here. Do take note that the higher your number is when you leave, the more benefits you will enjoy at the academy, so you might think twice about leaving as number 10.¡±

    Listening in, the students understood that this was an environment created to force them to improve. They wished to see how much they wanted to be better and stronger. Without the teachers to guide them, they were the ones that needed to motivate themselves.

    At the same time, the ones higher up would be treated better.

    ¡°How do we go about getting a higher numbered badge?¡± Xin asked, getting straight to the point.

    ¡°There are two ways.¡± The adult answered. ¡°One of them is through assessments. Every week, there will be assessments and trials like the ones that you had gone through just a few moments ago. The better your result, the higher you ce.

    ¡°The second option is through a match. People are able to challenge anyone they wish once a day. If that person has already been challenged, you are unable to challenge them again.¡±

    He continued to exin a few more things to the group, and showed them around more areas. Finally, he had taken them to their rooms, and just as he stated, the rooms were horrible. They were cold, and Xin''s didn''t even have a bed. It was just that, a small room.

    On the other hand, opposite hers on the second floor, she could see room number 1. It was designed like that of a pce. They couldn''t see the inside, but if the extravagant door and pirs were anything to judge by, it might look like the inside of a pce.

    ¡°Alright, with that you should be aware of everything. Good luck, and remember what I said.¡± Professor Hai looked towards Xin. ¡°You can leave whenever you wish. No one is forcing you to stay here.¡±

    As he left, the three of them were looking towards each other, unsure what to do. They weren''t friends, they were practically strangers who had only just met, but it was usual for them to feel the need to stick together, due to them being the new strangers at this ce.

    However, one of them chose to move, heading for the first floor.

    ¡°What is she doing?¡± The spiky blonde haired boy asked the panda boy.

    Heading down, Xin walked over to a group of boys that were talking away, chatting and sitting on arge circle marbled area next to a few nts. No one seemed to dare toe too close to them.

    ¡°Hey, you, number 1!¡± Xin called out. ¡°Fight me!¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 323 Catch The Rat!

    <h4>Chapter 323 Catch The Rat!</h4>

    Since the main bulk of the Howlers were no longer going to school, they had decided to regrly meet at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. Technically, the Howlers owned multiple establishments that were in Burnham food street. They wererger and perhaps better used, especially since the members were coordinating more with the old Members of the Pincer gang.

    However, this ce seemed more like home for them, it was the ce they started, so it was the main base for the Howlers. At the same time, they felt like it was somewhere that other gang members would never suspect that the leaders of the Howlers would currently be.

    Currently, Austin, along with Innu were walking down the street. They were a little sweaty since they had continued the morning training sessions. Instead of doing so early in the morning at school, they now did it in the basement of the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    ¡°Am I the only one who feels put off by this? Do we really have to do this?¡± Innu asked, as they approached the door of an establishment nearby, It looked to be a shoe shop of some kind. Innu peeked through the window to see if there was anyone inside and could see an old man.

    ¡°This was a job given to us by Kai. We have to expand the business that the Howlers own, and that naturally includes what is near the Wolf''s Pool Club. We need to increase our presence now that the other big gangs are gone.¡± Austin reminded him.

    Although he didn''t go to the same school as the others, Austin too had finally decided to drop out. He had chosen the path he was going to take, and with everything that''s happening, he knew that this was his future.

    ¡°But that''s the thing, why send us out? Just the two of us. I mean, he decided to no longer go to school anymore either, right? Isn¡¯t he also suited better for this stuff? And what even is he doing.¡± Innu had stopped hisining there, even though there was more on his mind.

    Because, the truth was, Kai was actually helping them out quite a bit. The fancy newwyer was trying to find some way, so Innu could get out of his current foster parents. Kevin and him could live together and look after Suzan.

    When speaking to Kai, he had given him great confidence. Stating that if they couldn''t find out how to do it the legal way, then they would do it the ''illegal'' way, only that would cost money and take some time.

    Eventually, after having no choice and needing to ept what was going to happen to both of them, Innu pushed the door open.

    ¡°Oh, it''s rare to see two young students at this time of day, and in a shoe shop no less, how can I help?¡± The old man greeted them with a smile, which was just making Innu feel a little guilty with what he was about to do.

    ¡®Just think, you are just doing them a favour. These shops are okay now, but sooner orter they need someone like us.¡¯ With this resolve, he clenched his fist, and replied.

    ¡°The two of us are from the Howlers gang, and we were looking into expanding, we thought that maybe that the two of us could coborate on doing some business together.¡± Innu stated.

    Hearing these words, the smile from the man¡¯s face dropped instantly.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    As for the reason Kai was unable to do this task himself, it was because he had other important matters to attend to. Currently, the blonde teenager was walking towards what looked like an apartment building. It was extremely run down, as if no one looked after the ce at all.

    Some would even think no one lived in such an area, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all. On the very top floor, there were several doors leading to other rooms, just like on an apartment block. Turning towards the first door, Kai entered by turning a key. And inside was not what one would expect, because it wasn''t a normal apartment at all.

    The single door led to arge room that took up the entire floor of the apartment block. The door outside was just for appearances for the rest of them. Walking forward many of those that were inside gave a nod towards Kai, not saying much.

    They were other members of the Underdog¡¯s gang. The whole apartment block was actually owned by the Underdogs, and it was one of their many secret hideout ces they had, just in case things like this happened.

    Many of the members were practising fighting. Working out with weights, hitting bags, training with weapons and more. Then at the very back of the room, out on arge table that had been set up. Standing there with a few other members was the one and only Damion Hawk.

    ¡°Will you look at that, now that you''re no longer going to school, you''re actually starting to resemble an adult.¡± Damion said with a smile. Looking around, Kai noticed that there were a few crates that he didn¡¯t see before. None of them had been opened yet.

    ¡°What''s with the crates and what¡¯s the meeting about today?¡± Kai asked, getting straight down to business. It looked like one of the men was about to go over to the crates and open them, but Damion quickly shook his head.

    ¡°Now, just because you are starting to get more involved in the gang business doesn¡¯t mean you''re the head of it just yet. If you want to act like the leader of the Underdogs, you would have to be it, and to be it, you would have to take me out¡­¡±

    This was the way Damion always talked, there was no special treatment for his son that was for sure, and the next second, pulling out a small de from his back pocket he mmed it onto the table.

    ¡°Let''s get this meeting started, shall we, after all, we need to figure out who the rat in the group is!¡±

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 Chapter 324 The Underdogs bite!

    <h4>Chapter 324 The Underdogs bite!</h4>

    For a second, Kai¡¯s heart thudded loudly, hearing those words. Looking at Damion, he could tell that the gang leader was carefully staring at the remaining members of the Underdogs. His eyes looked as if he was staring right through everyone that was there at the meeting, and finally his eyesnded upon Kai, his very own son.

    ¡®It can¡¯t be that he suspects me, right?¡¯ Kai started to worry. ¡®He should have no way to prove I have done anything against him unless someone can link me to being part of the Howlers, and I did everything necessary to guarantee that there are no connections!¡¯ The blonde teenager clenched his fists, forcing himself to not gulp down the saliva that was gathering in his mouth. He understood that to be the type of weakness, Damion was searching for among those present. If he really was found to be the person who had betrayed the Underdogs, he could see his life shing before his eyes.

    Although there had only been a few days between the Underdogs¡¯ battle with the Grey Elephants, Kai had been working diligently with the Pincer gang.

    At first, the members of the Pincer gang had naturally been upset when Olivia had informed them that they would be working for the Howlers. That might not have been all that bad, but once the Lady Boss had informed them about the changes the new leadership wanted to implement for the Burnham high street, many had left the small-time gang, not least because of the pay cuts all around.

    It was pretty much a given considering the loss of their extra source of revenue. Nevertheless, there were enough who had chosen to stay, mostly due to their unwavering loyalty for Olivia. Seeing her somewhat trust the Howlers for whatever reason reassured them.

    Since the Howlers had proven to be a considerable force, they too could see it, they could see a future in which the Howlers would take over the entire town. Once that happened, the gang members would no longer have to rely on those extra streams of revenue, as their wallets would practically fatten themselves!

    Now, believing in the Howlers more, the Pincers followed not just Olivia''s orders, and she herself seemed fine with this slight change.

    The day under the bridge, after Kai had been given one of the red axes that Damion had used, the gang leader shared his ns for a future counterattack, how they would grow their business and expand it back to what it once was. He had done it once, so Damion knew he could do it again. Armed with that knowledge, Kai had ordered the Pincers to stop all those ns in their infancy.

    ¡®I knew hitting all of those spots would cause him to be suspicious of someone in the Howlers, but thest person he would suspect to do something like that to him should be me.¡¯ Kai reasoned.

    The blonde teenager could have chosen to be cautious, ordering the members of the Pincers to slowly attack the Underdog forces and only stop a few of their ns to rebuild, yet there was a reason why he had them take down all possibilities of the Underdogs expanding again even from day one.

    He wanted Damion to feel hopeless, defenceless, until he was backed into a corner, and he felt like there was nothing else he could do.

    ¡®I want you to feel the same pain¡­ no, I want you to feel true despair of losing EVERYTHING you worked so hard for!¡¯

    ¡°Boss, ording to what we found out, the men who have been disrupting our ns are all members of the original Pincers!¡± One of the other men in suits started to speak up, he was bruised all over and was one of the members of the Cheetah Squad. Kai recognised him since they had gone toe to toe with each other for a bit, but thanks to his mask, the same didn¡¯t apply vice versa.

    ¡°From what we have found out, they are now under the new gang that appeared that day, the Howlers. However, the Pincers are the only ones on their side, the other small-time gangs haven''t stepped in or imed to be part of their side.

    ¡°We could try to bring them over and ask them to help us, offer them more territory in return for helping us through these tough times.¡±

    ¡®What territory are you going to offer them?¡¯ Kai thought after hearing this, making sure to hide the schadenfreude he was feeling. ¡®As long as everything goes well, in a few days time, all of what was once yours will belong to the Howlers. The two big gangs who had been fighting for Slough for over a decade fell that day.

    ¡®I¡¯ve already told Olivia to leave the Grey Elephants area. Seeing that we have no interest in it, but only stopping the Underdogs from iming it, the small-time gangs should move in and im that territory for themselves.

    ¡®With us just focusing on what the Underdogs used to own, there will be nothing you can use to bargain, and once they are under the Howlers¡¯ territory, why would they go back to the Underdogs? We won''t be as harsh with requests for protection money, and with Kirk gone and our very own Altered, only suicidal idiots would offer their help!

    ¡®The gangs you treated poorly, the people you stumped for every penny, and even your own people you treated like trash¡­ all of them will turn against you¡­ time is on our side.¡¯

    Ultimately, Damion stopped looking over Kai and the others, and decided to continue on with the meeting. His attempt to flush out the rat had seemingly failed.

    ¡°Continue onward with the expansion. If we can''t get our old territories, then go ahead and look for new ones. Step on the toes of the Lock gang, the Blood Triangle gang, whoever. We can¡¯t afford to appear weak in front of them! We will hold out our hand for a coboration if they refuse, then chop it off.¡±

    Damion smiled, as he kicked one of therge crates and therge wooden panel fell down to the floor, revealing what was inside. Kai''s eyes couldn''t stop looking at what he was seeing, he then realised that there were countless crates all over therge apartment building. Most likely filled with the same thing.

    ¡®How can this be¡­did he spend every single penny of the Underdogs¡¯ money to get these?¡¯ The teenager thought.

    ¡°Find out every little thing you can about the Howlers gang! As for that giant mutt Altered who did Kirk in, do whatever it takes to bring him in front of me!¡± Damion ordered coldly, murder in his eyes.

    ******

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 Chapter 325 Two minds

    <h4>Chapter 325 Two minds</h4>

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [9 days until the next full moon]

    [50 Exp has been gained from current Bond Marks (5)]

    [Exp 602/3445]

    Gary had already made the decision that tonight would be the time for him and Olivia to act. When the day came to an end, he would meet up with Olivia around nightfall, and they would ambush the Underdogs, to finish the gang once and for all.

    ¡®If I wait any longer, there is a good chance that the moon will influence Olivia to the point where she is no longer following the Pack Rules or listening to me. At the same time, we now have the boost that the moons give us to increase our strength further in an attack.¡¯

    In preparation of what they were about to do today, Gary had used his Quest reward to select a new skill and he was hoping that it would give them the edge they might need tonight.

    ¡®I understand that you don''t want me to act, Kai, but things are getting too dangerous for you guys. We are not the same, and I can¡¯t let the Underdogse back again.¡¯

    Before meeting the Beta Werewolf, the green haired teenager headed to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club to make sure everything seemed to be running smoothly and there wasn¡¯t any other troubles that he would need to deal with first. There, the others filled him in about how they had been going around, signing up the Underdogs¡¯ former businesses, as well as those around the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    Gary was a little worried when he heard this, thinking that perhaps they would cause a stir between other gangs or the public, but at least for now, no such thing had happened. At the mere mention of the name Howlers, the business owners were instantly ready to sign over.

    There was still a small standard t fee, yet the percentage of profits taken was far lowerpared to the Underdogs. ording to Austin, all the owners instantly became ted once they noticed these new rates. It was all thanks to Kai, who knew exactly how much the gang had extorted from those businesses.

    In fact, the blonde teenager exined that their new contract was even nice enough to only take money from profit. In other words, if the businesses were making a loss for whatever reason, there would be no pressure for them to be paid. Of course, that might lead to people trying to swindle them down the line, but those could be addressed should they ur.

    ¡®We''re still asking them for protection money which isn''t right in itself, but as I probably would say, at the moment with the other gangs out there, and the police doing nothing we''re a necessary evil.¡¯ Gary thought, aware that he had no right toin seeing that the money the Pincers were earning, which ended up with him, was being earned the same way.

    Eventually, Olivia arrived in the usual training spot between her and Gary in the woods, she was wearing the Howlers¡¯ gang uniform and had her whip ready.

    ¡°You sure you have eaten enough to do everything that''s needed?¡± Gary asked.

    She paused for a second before answering, but eventually spoke.

    ¡°I have, but seeing how you seem to worry so much about my meals, I should probably let you know that I¡¯ve been eating a lot moretely¡­ especially, raw meat and although it is sating my hunger, it still feels that there is an itch that has yet to be scratched, no matter how much I eat.¡±

    ¡®That must be the bloodlust, it''s a good thing we''re doing this now, I¡¯ll sort this out first and then her next.¡¯ Gary noted, as he took out his mask to ce it on his face.

    ¡°Are you absolutely sure about this?¡± Olivia spoke, clearly having more on her mind other than just food.

    ¡°I''m not backing out of what you want to do. In fact, I have found myself quite enjoying your hot headedness and goals to charge in first. I can see why you do it when you have this power in you.¡± She said as she stared at her own hands, transforming her fingernails on the spot.

    ¡®Has she been practising the Controlled Transformation in her own time?¡¯ Gary wondered.

    Not only that, but her transformation looked slightly different to his. She was somehow able to use it on her fingers alone, yet they were far longer than the Alpha Werewolf¡¯s. He estimated them to be around twice his maximum length.

    ¡®Is it perhaps some skill simr to my w Drain she might have gained after bing a Hunter ss?¡¯

    ¡°I haven¡¯t known you kids for long, but from what I¡¯ve seen Kai appears to be a capable right-hand man. Using members of the Pincers, he has been stomping members of the Underdogs, stopping their growth.¡±

    Hearing this, Gary was quite amazed, he somewhat thought Kai was doing nothing just waiting for some opportunity, and it was starting to make him think. If he had given them a reason to wait, then it was probably a good one.

    ¡°However, until recently, he asked the members of the Pincers to fall back. It was an urgent response that I got today to clear out all our members from the Underdog areas.

    ¡°I asked him what he had found, but he wouldn''t tell me anything¡­ what¡¯s more he seemed to be afraid of something. Now don''t get me wrong, at the end of the day, I still follow you¡­ not like I have much of a choice in that matter thanks to that annoying feeling inside me, but I thought it would be best to let you know.¡±

    Gary was in two minds about what to do, originally he was so determined to finish things off today. Of course, he had thought about not going, it took a lot to finally make the decision to go, and now this¡­.

    ¡°About what you said earlier.¡± Gary finally spoke up. ¡°About following me because you had to. If you weren¡¯t part of the Pack, and I asked you to do this¡­ would you still havee along? ¡­ do you think I''m doing the right thing? ¡­ if you had the choice, would you listen to me or Kai?¡±

    ¡°I would not attack, and listen to Kai,¡± Olivia answered, not even hesitating to think about it.

    Gary didn''t know why, but something came over him at that moment, and his blood was boiling a little as well.

    ¡°Fine, then you stay here, and I¡¯ll go on my own!¡± Gary growled, and was already off, running through the woods.

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 Chapter 326 A Change of mind

    <h4>Chapter 326 A Change of mind</h4>

    Although Gary had already experienced his first turning, he wasn¡¯t immune to the effect of the full moon approaching. The feelings that he had tried to keep in, came out more drastically than he had expected, which had led him to his earlier emotional outburst.

    His blood was still slightly boiling, and the problem was¡­ yet he didn''t really know why.

    ¡®I''ve fought so hard, I''ve trained, and I haven''t even had time to rx for a second. Always worried about others. I might have not made the best decisions, they might have not even been the best oues, but every time I¡¯ve got us through it all!¡¯

    While thinking of these things, Gary hadn''t even activated the system, but his right arm was already turning into that of a Werewolf¡¯s. Fur covered his hand and his muscles bulged as he made a fist.

    ¡°This time, I can do the same!¡± Gary shouted, seemingly to convince himself, as he mmed the fist right into the trunk of a tree. With a single hit, part of the tree got indented, but it still stood strong, not toppling as the teenager had expected it to. Swinging his other arm out this time he went to take a swipe with his ws taking out a good chunk.

    ¡°What the hell is this tree made out of!¡± Gary cursed when there was still no result. He swung his right arm once again, taking most of the trunk out, and finally a cracking noise could be heard as the poor tree started to stumble.

    For a second, Gary was proud of himself and let out a smile, but the next moment the shadow cast over his head, making him realise what exactly he had just done.

    ¡®Crap! That''s going to make a lot of noise, as well as the markings on the tree!¡¯ The Werewolf thought as the tree was already upon him. He activated Controlled Transformation, focusing on his legs to be able to stop the iing tree.

    He grabbed it and bent his knees as the weight ended up being far more than what he had expected. Then, when he bent down, to lower the tree just enough, Gary rolled out of the way, allowing it to hit the ground.

    ¡®Shit¡­ I can¡¯t just leave it there like this. I need to clean this up somehow.¡¯

    After spending some time, the teenager did his best to make sure the scene did not look like some type of wild beast or Altered had destroyed the tree. This was one of his training spots, and he didn''t want to draw attention to the area.

    Fortunately, cleaning up his self-created mess had allowed the Alpha Werewolf to calm down somewhat. Taking in the scene, Gary let out a big sigh.

    ¡®Olivia is right¡­ Kai got us this far already, he really knows what he''s doing, so I should trust him¡­ maybe my problem is that I just don''t know what he''s thinking¡­ but at the same time he doesn''t know about my situation either.

    ¡®If I were to tell him about the full mooning out, and my worries, if he had all the information, perhaps he¡¯ll make a different decision. And maybe if I knew everything about him and his reason for doing things, I wouldn''t have to worry so much either.¡¯

    With these thoughts in his head, Gary had made the decision to just ask Kai about his reason for wanting to take down the Underdogs, and ask him about what he was doing.

    At the same time, Gary would talk about his concers as well. The answer was so obvious to the situation they were in, the two just needed to talk to each other about their concerns and worries, but something was just holding one back from the other.

    Sorting out his thoughts, Gary came to the conclusion to drop his ns of attacking Damion, especially without the help of Olivia.

    ¡®I¡¯ll just spend the night with Amy instead. It''s been a while since the two of us had a normal rxing night.¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    When heading home, the high schooler eventually reached the area where his apartment block building was, but that''s when he noticed something strange. In front of the bulletin board, many of the residents were gathered outside it. Usually it wouldn''t be something that concerned Gary, but thiste at night he thought something had to be up and worse, yet he could smell something¡­blood.

    Piquing his interest, Gary walked over, wondering what it was about, and that''s when he could see an injured old man lying there on the floor. His hand had been removed and the end of it had been somewhat stitched up, bleeding. On top of that, he had wounds all over himself. It wasn''t just any old man, though, it was Old Morten, thendlord of the ce.

    ¡°What are you idiots gawking at him? Did anyone call the ambnce already?!¡± Gary shouted as he knelt down, checking if the old man was okay. He was hurt, but the teenager was still able to hear him breathing, albeit faint. However, given his age, who knew how long he couldst without medical help¡­

    Although many of the residents were concerned, there was a reason none of them called an ambnce. In the state the old man was in, it looked like he couldn''t speak, and someone would have to cover the bills for him, if he himself couldn''t.

    ¡°Just call an ambnce, I''ll cover it!¡± Gary shouted, once he understood the reason for everyone avoiding his gaze. The residents were wondering how he could afford it, but one of his neighbours took out the phone to call.

    ¡°Does anyone know what happened?¡± The green haired teenager asked, since Old Morten was obviously in no condition to speak.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but the old man stumbled here.¡± One of the younger residents, who had already been kneeling by thendlord''s side, answered the question. ¡°I asked him who did this, but at that time he was unable to speak coherently. He mumbled something about the Underdogs, and some fee. ¡­ From the looks of it, they must have done that to him.¡±

    Following what details he had learnt from the other resident, Gary could guess what had urred. Technically, this apartment block was still owned by thendlord. Given Kai''s movements, the Underdogs must feel cornered and were trying to apply their pressure to get them some type of money fast to expand and make a move, but the old man must have refused.

    ¡®No, that''s it¡­ the Underdogs have to go¡­today!¡¯

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 Chapter 327 A Junk heap

    <h4>Chapter 327 A Junk heap</h4>

    In the past, Gary was often called hot headed by his family, friends, and ssmates who all thought that he did many things on impulse rather than thinking them through, most prominently his choice to dye his hair green. Once the blood rushed to one part of his body, perhaps another part as ofte, he acted based on the first thing that came to mind.

    It was the same now.

    Gary could have easily gone over to Olivia first, or at least called her, or he could have talked about his next course of action with Kai. Any of the other Howlers would have also been fine, all of whom would have surely offered him their help, but instead the teenager had decided to follow after the one Mark that would lead him to Damion.

    ¡®None of those monsters deserve to live! How could they be so cruel to someone like Old Morten?! He¡¯s one of the kindest people in this shitty world! I can¡¯t let them get away with this, otherwise they won''t hesitate to do even worse things to others.¡¯

    Pushing them into the corner no longer seemed like it had been the correct move, seeing the consequences of their desperate actions. Gary didn''t know if this was also part of Kai¡¯s n, but he was worried that they mighte back and try to get the money from the residents soon.

    Then more innocent people would get hurt. The teenager couldn¡¯t just wait around and watch that happen¡­ not when he could do something about it!

    ¡®I don''t want the others to see me like this, I don''t want them to see the bloodbath that I''m going to create.¡¯

    On the way to his target, Gary had texted Marie. Initially, he had nned to contact Kai, but things were still weird between them. What¡¯s more, he was afraid that the blonde teenager might somehow figure out what he was about to do.

    As such, Marie seemed like the more reasonable person to contact. He had informed her to head to the hospital to make sure Morten was treated, and all the bills would be paid.

    The reply came within a few seconds. The teenage girl told him that she would take care of the old man and all the procedures, but also asked why he couldn¡¯t do it. The Werewolf didn¡¯t reply to that.

    Following the mark, honestly, Gary was unexpectedly going to a part of Slough that he hadn''t really visited. It wasn''t part of the Underdogs establishments or areas he had been to before.

    When he could finally see it up ahead, he realised that it was simply a junkyard.

    ¡®What on earth is Damion doing here?¡¯ Gary wondered. ¡®Nevermind¡­ the most important question is whether he is on his own? If so, this would be a lot easier. There shouldn''t be people around him all the time, right?¡¯

    Rather than going through the front entrance, Gary quickly used his powerful legs to leap halfway up therge surrounding gate, then once more straight over the barbed wire that was ced around it. Not that the workers would be concerned if someone was going into a junkyard, but who knew who was and wasn''t working for the Underdogs.

    When entering, Gary could hear many heartbeats in the area. In fact, he could even see scavengers at this time, picking through the trash.

    They had perhaps paid the security guards and asked if they could take whatever looked to be off interest. It was making it hard to tell if there were other members of the Underdogs there or not, since there were quite a lot of people searching through the heaps of trash.

    There was one thing the Werewolf had not ounted for¡­ smell.

    The ce was filled with expired food, carcasses of dead animals, and other types of wastes that he didn¡¯t even want to recognise. He never realised how much smell could disorient him. It was to the point that he could no longer see the surrounding Mark.

    ¡®Are my senses being overloaded at the moment? Well, Damion is definitely in this ce.¡¯ Currently, Gary was wearing his gang uniform and his mask, because of course if something went wrong he still needed to be careful just in case.

    ¡®If I remember correctly, the Mark pointed in this direction.¡¯

    Gary was wondering if he was heading in the right ce or not, but soon he hade up with an idea.

    ¡®Wait, I can use Controlled Transformation to the point where it only works with my throat, so I should be able to do the same with my ears, right?¡¯

    Fur started to grow from his ears as he activated the skill and it worked just the way he had hoped. His already sharp hearing improved another notch. Instead of relying on his sense of smell that was still being bombarded, he could hear numerous heartbeats close together, as well as the sound ofughter.

    ¡®It has to be in this direction.¡¯

    Gary ran forward, expecting to get the jump on Damion. He knew the gang leader was strong based on what he had seen, but if he could ambush him when he least expected him, it might all be over with one attack.

    Running through the piles of garbage, there was strangely a cleared area that Gary had spotted, he could see that there were several barrels with hot fires burning inside them. There were also cars that looked to have been destroyed and brought over to the area.

    Gang members were sitting down and drinking away, and the sight would remind one more of a colour gang than a regr gang. It really seemed like the Underdogs had fallenpared to what they were at before.

    Still, Gary didn''t care as he ran straight into the centre.

    ¡°Everyone!¡± A man shouted immediately, as he stood up, recognising the mask in an instant, as the orange mes reflected underneath from the two barrels by the entrance of the ce.

    ¡°It''s the Howlers¡¯ Altered!¡±

    Gary continued to run forward. Originally, he had nned to do this stealthily, taking out every member he chanced upon, but he had changed his mind once he spotted Damion. The gang leader was on his own, far away from the rest, sitting on an old sofa, drinking away with his top off.

    Hearing the news, the man threw the beer bottle ss on the ground, and lifted the red axe that was by his side.

    ¡°With everything happening, we decided to change tactics, and I had a feeling that perhaps you woulde to us. You¡¯vee at the perfect time!¡± Damionughed.

    After hearing these words, Gary knew something was up but he still chose to run towards Damion, yet the next second something strange happened as his whole body lit up blue. The Werewolf started to shake uncontrobly as he was suffering from thousands of volts.

    ¡®What is this¡­.is this¡­the Altered Hunter''s equipment?¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 328 Shutdown

    <h4>Chapter 328 Shutdown</h4>

    It was an all too familiar sensation for Gary who had been on the receiving end of those electrified batons. However, the pain wasn¡¯t quite as bad as he remembered, which he took as a good sign of him having improved. Nevertheless, the electricity running through his body caused his movement to be sluggish.

    Gritting his teeth, he wanted tosh out at whoever had attacked him, though before he got the chance, the Werewolf felt multiple sharp objects attempt to pierce his back. Fortunately, he had been smart enough to use Controlled Transformation on his back the moment he had been attacked, though he still suffered the after effect of the shock.

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    The amount of damage this attack did was negligible, especially since he had increased his Health pool recently. However, there was one thing worrying him. Though he did not receive a system notification, the Werewolf noticed that his Energy was dropping as well, which was a first for him.

    Gary swung his arm as he nned to hit the gang member with the baton¡­ yet there was nobody behind him.

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

    That''s when he noticed that the attack didn¡¯te from his immediate vicinity, instead there were numerous gang members atop the piles of garbage, holding crossbows. Gary had no idea where they had procured those weapons from, but it didn¡¯t matter. The problematic thing was that he could clearly see that the bolts had a slightly blue glow to them.

    ¡®Why are those guys seemingly better armed than the Altered Hunters?!¡¯

    While the teenager was making up his mind whether he should take those guys out first, or continue going for Damion, he happened to see that more gang members were pulling out weapons. Some were holding the strange batons, but others had swords, spears and axes, none of which had sharp edges, but all of which were producing sparks.

    Worst of all, he was in the very middle of an area that had been cleared. He felt like a diator in the middle of an arena, with no clear way out, other than fighting.

    ¡®All of them are using Altered hunting weapons¡­¡¯ Gary realised, aware that the one who had ended up trapped turned out to be him, rather than Damion. Eventually, reaching behind him, Gary pulled out a round object with four sharp prodding ends that had a small part of blood on them. The blue light was starting to fade.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether to call you brave¡­ or simply stupid? I knew that you Howlers would try to take me out, so naturally I would prepare something for you, yet you still chose toe by yourself?!¡± Damion shouted, shaking his head in disappointment. ¡°Seriously, has that Alterification process fried your brain?¡±

    The man with therge poles started to run in, thrusting them like spears at Gary. He hadn''t removed all the strange bolts in his back, but their usefulness seemed to have faded already.

    Immediately, those with the crossbows started to fire, and using Controlled Transformation on his legs, Gary ran around the ce avoiding all the bolts.

    However, he soon noticed the problem with fighting in the junkyard, there was little to no room for him to run or hide as he had already been surrounded by the pole users. They all thrust towards him, and the only thing he could do was whack the pole away. Unfortunately, the moment he touched them, he felt the shock course through his body again.

    ¡®Those things are worse than the batons! With how long they are, I can¡¯t reach them either!¡¯

    Trying to change tactic, Gary wanted to charge forward and ignore the pain, at least taking one of them out, but he soon felt that his back had been hit by three more of the electrical sparks, zapping his body even more.

    Since they weren''t sharp objects, Gary wasn''t losing a lot of Health, but the worrisome part was the Energy. He was down to less than half.

    [122/300 Energy]

    ¡®This is the first fight where I''m losing more Energy than actual Health! I don¡¯t have any meat on me¡­ should I try to bite down on one of them? No, what if I create another Billy¡­¡¯

    Now that his movements had been slowed as well, finally the crossbow users were able to shoot even more of the special bolts into him. Gary wasn''t sure if he was imagining it or not, but the shocks he was receiving from these weapons seemed to be more powerful than the Altered hunters¡¯ batons.

    ¡®They must have spent so much money on these things¡­and to not get weapons that actually do damage¡­what is he..¡¯

    ¡°You bastard took away one of my most prized possession! Don''t you think you should give me something in return? There is bringing back Kirk, but you might prove to be a useful recement. There are rumours that there is a way to extract the Altered DNA from an Altered and ce it into someone else. Of course, it kills them in the process, but that would just be a win-win for me.¡± Damion exined with a sinister smile on his face.

    Now it made sense. So that was why he had decided to purchase such weapons. His n had always been to capture Gary alive.

    ¡®Too bad for you that I''m not really an Altered.¡¯ Gary thought to himself as he activated the one thing he believed might get him out of this situation.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    The Werewolf¡¯s Energy had fallen to below 100, so he had to use the skill now while he still could. With his body at its strongest he held on to the poles. He was sure that they couldn¡¯t stay electrified the whole time, there would have to be a resting period for them to charge up again. It seemed like they were acting in groups to cover up that weakness.

    It was in that brief second when the groups were changing that Gary held onto two of the poles. He was still being electrocuted, but bearing through the pain, he gripped do to the poles so tightly and used all his strength until they snapped in half.

    ¡®I¡¯ll kill you!¡¯ Gary thought looking at Damon, and prepared to charge forward, chucking the two pole users off to the side. The others couldn''t keep up with the transformer teenager¡¯s speed.

    However, Damion still looked unafraid, still not moving away from the coach that was behind him. It was then that ten more gang members appeared from behind the heaps of trash. Each of them holding those special crossbows.

    They fired straight ahead and perfectly hit Gary, with each hit his movements slowed, but the Werewolf continued to head forward, by now the others were also able to reload their weapons. They, too, continued to fire now.

    Slowly, the teenager¡¯s steps lessened and something dangerous had happened. His mask had fallen off during his transformation and he was looking at an terrible system notification.

    [Your Energy is now extremely low]

    [Full Transformation cancelled]

    [Please replenish your Energy by consuming meat]

    Gary was turning back to a human, and he didn''t have the mask on his face. His body was still receiving shock after shock, until eventually.

    [Your Energy has been depleted!]

    [Body entering conservation mode]

    His vision started to fade, as he reached out his hand, towards Damion, with a surprised look on his face that soon turned into arge grin.

    ¡°It looks like today is a great day, after all. ¡­ who would have thought you woulde to me on your own, Greeny?¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 329 A long time ago

    <h4>Chapter 329 A long time ago</h4>

    Although Kai was now part of the main operations of the Underdogs, he had managed to convince his father that his uses in the gang would be better used elsewhere.

    Which was why he was ced in the unit that was in charge of finding out information about the Howlers, the new gang that was there that day. The gang that had gotten rid of Kirk.

    However, despite being the leader''s son, the other members didn''t really pay any attention to the teenager, and seemingly were doing their own thing, as they roamed the streets and began to speak to the other gang members and the public, it was meant to be a safer roadpared to the other groups.

    Because the Underdogs didn''t care for Kai, they weren''t really keeping track of him either, and he was currently downstairs in his office space trying to gather all the information he could.

    ¡®Damien has so many hideouts not just for the Underdogs members but for himself as well. I doubt I even know them all, but the crucial information will be kept at one of these ces. I still don''t know why Kirk was so loyal to him, other than being a gift from someone else, and for someone to be able to give away an Altered as good as Kirk, they have to belong to a Tier-1 city.

    ¡®If the rtionship is a really close one, then we could be in trouble, we need to make this look a bit natural. The fall of the Underdogs, or it would be even best to pin it on the other gangs if possible. Then we might also be able to figure out just what Gary was meant to deliver that turned him into that.¡¯

    At that moment, on therge map of slough, Kai started to circle several points on the map. He knew there were more members of the Underdogs, that acted more like bodyguards for the safe houses, and the more he thought about it, even with all the Underdogs finances, from their years of running Slough, they would have never been able to purchase so many Anti-Altered weapons.

    Someone was clearly sponsoring them or working alongside.

    ¡®Who should I get to act? I could use the Pincers, or Olivia herself¡­ actually it might be the best idea to get Gary in on this. He seems to still hold a grudge for us not informing him about quitting school, and I¡¯m afraid he might do something stupid soon.

    ¡®His face said it all, he clearly was unhappy about my decision to leave the Underdogs alone. Still, I need the time to make sure that we¡¯ll be able to handle the aftermath once that bastard is six feet under.¡¯ Kai thought.

    At that moment, footsteps could be hearding down to the basement. When looking up, he was surprised to see Olivia. It was the first time she had actuallye here out of her own volition, and usually she would call or text him.

    A wittyment was on the tip of Kai¡¯s tongue, yet when he saw the concerned look on the Lady Boss¡¯s face, he swallowed it down.

    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Kai asked directly, now wasting any time on small talk.

    ¡°I¡­ We are¡­ He went¡­¡± Olivia stuttered, unable to continue her sentence. Getting frustrated, she touched her own head. Unsure what else to do, the blonde teenager offered her a ss of water, which Olivia gulped down in one shot.

    ¡°How much do you know about Gary?¡±

    This was an unexpected question, but he understood what she wanted to know.

    ¡°... he told me what he really is.¡± Kai replied somewhat cryptically. He had his suspicions that Werewolf Gary had done something to Olivia which made her this loyal, but since he had no idea what it was, he didn¡¯t want toprise his secret.

    Hearing this, the tension in Olivia''s face lightened a bit. ¡°So if I tell you that I can ¡®feel¡¯ that he is big trouble, then would you believe me? And no, I¡¯m not talking about some woman¡¯s instinct, I physically feel that something is very wrong with him. A big part of me wants to go to his side this instant, but I¡¯m afraid I need help.¡±

    Kai stayed quiet, digesting this information. It was hard to believe, but how much did he really know about Werewolves? After Gary had revealed his secret, his upperssman had naturally read up on them, but he had no idea how much truth there was in those fairy tales. Having seen what the green haired teenager could do, and the fact that he had subdued Olivia, a strange connection between the two might not be the most impossible thing in the world.

    ¡°Does that mean you actually know where he is? Is he hurt, injured?¡± Kai asked, based on the look her face was showing, it seemed like she knew more but either didn¡¯t or couldn¡¯t share. He wasn¡¯t wrong with that assumption. Olivia was battling with her own internal struggle.

    In a way, the Howlers, were the ones that had taken everything away from her. Everything she had built up, chief of all Gary. At the same time, though, that brat was also the one who had blessed her with this great power, and what would happen next?

    Somehow, the one that had bested her, had now been bested himself. Could the Pincers really do anything against the Underdogs in the current situation. At the end of the day, the Howlers were not just one person, they were a group, which is why she had decided to head down here.

    ¡°Roughly two hours ago, I met him in the woods, because he wanted the two of us to attack the Underdogs together.¡± Olivia finally revealed. ¡°However, he seemed to be unsure of his own decision and when he asked me for my input, I tried to convince him to stick to your n. Unfortunately, I seem to have said something wrong, because he ran away from me in anger.

    ¡°I was hoping that he wouldn''t attack them without me. Honestly, part of me thought that he would be fine even if I wasn''t with him. After all, the Underdogs should be on theirst legs¡­ however, about twenty minutes ago I felt something has changed. I KNOW something has happened to him, and there is only one thing thates to m-¡±

    Kai mmed both fists on the table as he got up. ¡°That colossal idiot!¡± The teenager cursed, sweeping everything off his table out of frustration. ¡°ARGH!!!¡±

    Olivia just stared at Kai, not stopping his tantrum, just making sure not to get in his way. It didn¡¯tst long, but it was quite a sight to see some who was usually so collected let his emotions get the better of him.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m also to me.¡± Kai mumbled when he eventually picked up his chair and slumped into it. ¡°I should have exined to him why we had to wait¡­ especially after keeping him out of the loop. Dammit, I just never thought that he would act on his own.¡±

    ¡°He¡­didn''t want any of you guys to get hurt, he wanted to bear the weight of this task on himself, that''s what I think anyway.¡± Olivia exined. ¡°So what are you going to do? I have already told the Pincers to gather nearby. Shall we have the Howlers join us and raid the Underdogs together?¡±

    In her mind, it was the only viable option, and ever since her change, she could see the Forced Bonds that Gary had created. She was sure that finding Damion would also lead them to Gary.

    Thinking about it for a moment, while biting down on his thumb, Kai finally had an answer for her.

    ¡°No, I will solve this on my own. I might be away for a few days. In the meantime, tell Miss Degrace and Marie that they¡¯re in charge.¡±

    With a scorned look on his face, the teenager walked out.

    ¡®I should have done this a long time ago.¡¯

    ******

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 Chapter 330 Locked up

    <h4>Chapter 330 Locked up</h4>

    Ever since he had gotten the Werewolf System, Gary had wondered what would happen if his HP reached 0. After all, they represented his Health, so in a way it was the most important stat that he needed to keep track of. Given that his system had a lot of game-like features, such as his need to gather EXP to Level Up to allocate stat points, he theorised that if he lost them all it would be ¡®Game Over¡¯, and he very much doubted, he would get a chance to have a ¡®Continue¡¯.

    Some time ago, he had still considered the possibility of merely fainting, but ever since he had seen the description of the Last Stand skill, he was sure that it was the worst case scenario, something he had to avoid at all costs.

    One thing that he hadn¡¯t thought of too much, though, was his Energy. His Werewolf body somehow used it to passive heal him when he was out of a fight, emergency heal his broken bones during a fight, and was also the fuel for a variety of his skills.

    Of course, he was aware that it was of great importance to him, and when his Energy went down to extremely low levels, Gary would experience one of two things, sluggishness and extreme hunger. He had never questioned it, since eating meat would restore it, which in turn allowed him to heal. Now, he felt like he had somewhat figured it out.

    When the Underdogs had used their Anti-Altered weapons against him, they had drained his Energy to the point of depleting it, and when the electric charge had been used once again, although it hadn¡¯t killed the Werewolf, it had made him pass out.

    Waking up, he felt a cold chill on his face, and his body seemed to be sore all over. For a moment, he was reminded of the time he woke up in the forest after that fateful night at the construction site. Slowly opening his eyes, the teenager managed to make out a dark surface in front of him. He tried moving his hands to touch his head, when he heard the sound of chains rattling against the floor, and worst of all his arms felt incredibly heavy.

    [Warning, warning]

    [Energy has been depleted]

    [Please replenish your Energy by consuming meat]

    [1/300 Energy]

    [Health reserves will now be used to keep the user awake.

    -1 HP every thirty minutes]

    [56/160HP]

    ¡®Those aren''t the best messages to wake up to.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®How long does that even mean I have¡­my mind is all cloudy, I can''t even think properly to work that out¡­either way¡­where am I?¡¯

    Finally opening his eyes fully, Gary could see a single light in the ceiling but more importantly, he could see metal bars in front of him. The room he was in was rtively small and had nothing inside, and as he thought, his hands and legs had been cuffed.

    On top of that, they had been chained down to the floor as well, attached deep into the ground. Gary could only see through the bars into the sky as well as the hallway in front of him, there was no one there, nor was there anyone else in the cell with him. It reminded Gary somewhat of when he had attempted to tie up himself. Only back then it hadn¡¯t really worked.

    Gary tried to tug on them, but the chains were thick and with his strength, he was practically weaker than he was when he was a human.

    ¡®The Underdogs, Damion, now that I''m no longer transformed it means they saw my face. They must now know who I am¡­ is that why they¡¯ve kept me alive?

    ¡®Well, at least that''s good news, I think. Are they going to ask me about the package? What do I do? Should I keep quiet, so they keep me alive as long as possible? ¡­ but then what? Shit, what the F*ck situation did you get yourself into Gary.¡¯

    Thinking about this, Gary felt guilty, extremely guilty because right now he was hoping that Olivia, or maybe someone from the Underdogs woulde and save him, yet at the same time he felt like he didn''t deserve their help. It was solely due to his stupid pride that he ended up in this mess. If he had only asked for help, or listened to Kai, all of this could have surely been avoided¡­

    ¡°Hey!¡± Gary shouted, hoping to get the attention of whoever might be nearby. He had gotten himself into this situation, so he needed to figure out a way out, and time wasn¡¯t exactly on his side.

    The teenager¡¯s call seemed to do its job, as a man smoking a cigarette walked past. Seeing the gang member in front of him made Gary realise how much his senses had dulledpared to his usual state. He waspletely unable to hear the adult¡¯s heartbeat, nor the man¡¯s scent. Even the waft of the cigarette had only entered the nose once he had been close enough.

    ¡°Please bring me some food, I''m starving!¡± Gary pleaded. ¡°You don''t want me to die down here, do you? You kept me alive for a reason, you want information, right?¡±

    In this type of situation, one would give food to the prisoner at least to show that they weren''tpletely bad. This actually wasn''t something that Gary had picked up from movies, but what he had seen Damion do. The gang leader would always treat his captives nicely before either ripping their hearts out or extending a hand out to them.

    Although the Werewolf doubted Damion would work with him, as long as he got a meal, it might allow him to regain enough Energy to break out of these chains and escape. Unfortunately for him, the manpletely ignored his pleas and went off.

    Some time had passed, although it was hard how much exactly, because Gary could hardly think on his empty stomach. Going hungry was nothing new to the teenager. He still recalled how bad things had been after his father had disappeared. It had taken his mother some time to find a stable job to provide for her family on her own, especially since it had happened without prior warning.

    Those days, they had barely had enough food for two meals a day. As the man of the house, he had often only taken a few bites and insisted that his mother should take the rest, believing that to be the proper thing to do as ¡®the man of the house¡¯.

    However, this hunger now felt far worse than those times. It was if a hand was reaching into his stomach, and pulling parts of his inside out of him bit by bit. The worst part was that there was nothing he could do about it.

    Eventually, though, the man returned and in his hand was a tray with food, nothing too fancy but Gary nearly started salivating when he looked at a small piece of meat. His warden ced it on the floor, and the teenager was ready to plunge towards it. Unfortunately, it appeared that it was slightly outside his reach.

    Gary thought that this was done on purpose, some sick way to torture him, yet he was willing to endure it, as long as he got to eat it eventually. Unfortunately, his hopes got crushed before he could put them into action, as the sounds of another person echoed through the room. A few secondster the one person he wanted to avoid seeing at all costs had a wide grin on his face.

    ¡°Well Greeny, I heard you were hungry, but too bad for you this is a prison and not a resort.¡± Damion said, stepping on the food before his foot really hard, then kicking it away from the teenager. ¡°You know, I used to believe that you were one of the more promising Transports. I could have even pictured you joining the Cheetah Squad in your future. However¡­ You single-handedly caused me more trouble in the span of a month than the Grey Elephants managed to do since their inception.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get the privilege of an easy death, and I¡¯ll make sure that you suffer until the extraction!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 331 Weak

    Chapter 331 Weak

    Every time Damion was showing off that he was the one in control of a situation and that your life was in his hands, he would do so with a happy face¡­ yet the initial grin had quickly disappeared, making ce for a deep frown. It was clear that the gang leader was beyond annoyed at his prisoner, and that his threat was anything but empty.

    This was bad for the teenager, very bad. There was no doubt in his mind that Damion would give the Underdogs the order to starve him out and while a normal human mightst for more than a week without food, and an Altered probably even longer than that, Gary¡¯s time was far more limited due to his system.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t take anything from the package!¡± The high schooler cried, although it wasn''t very loud due tock of power in his voice. ¡°There was another gang, someone who knew about the package. They attacked me, and they took whatever was inside! Someone else betrayed you!¡±

    As usual, Gary tried to hide his lie by mixing it with part of the truth. At least the first part was all true. He didn¡¯t know who they belonged to, but it didn¡¯t exactly matter now anyway.

    ¡°You really don''t want to live any longer, do you?¡± Damion asked as he ced one hand on the metal bar and gripped it tightly. ¡°Do you seriously want me to believe that a lowly Transporter like you just happened to turn into Altered out of nowhere? There¡¯s nobody in the world who would have sponsored a scrawny high schooler like you, who was a dime a dozen! Do you think I was born under a rock?!¡± Damion screamed as he pulled at the bars.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that you opened the package which must have contained that new type of Altered DNA, which turned you into this! You had your chance, Greeny, if you hade forward and admitted your mistake, I might have even made you my second Kirk, but what did you do instead?!

    ¡°You created your own gang, made trouble throughout Slough, subdued the Pincers to gather men in an attempt to take me out when the Grey Elephants attacked us! If anything, I have to hand it to you, Greeny, I never believed you would have had the balls, much less the power, to kill Kirk!

    ¡°However, that wasn¡¯t enough for you, no, you still needed to take me down to get rid of the Underdogs! Unfortunately for you, we were prepared! Your actions have caused far worse consequences than you can imagine, and you will pay the price for it!¡±

    Clenching his teeth, Gary was thinking about how toe back from that one. He knew that he wasn''t an Altered, but anything he said right now would just be treated as a lie he made up to save his butt. It looked like even the Underdogs didn¡¯t really know about what was in that package.

    ¡°Kirk¡­ he should never have worked for the likes of you.¡± Gary mumbled under his breath, but it was too quiet for Damion to hear. ¡®It should have been you who died that night, not him.¡¯

    ¡°Why are you keeping me alive, then? Since you clearly believe that I took your precious package?¡± Gary asked, loud enough so that the gang leader could hear him. If Damion wasn¡¯t there to find out information about what had happened that day, was his only reason to gloat at the teenager?

    Damion''s shoulders started to move up and down as he chuckled to himself.

    ¡°You got rid of Kirk, an Altered who happened to be one of my most trusted men. What would I gain from simply killing you? No, you¡¯ll have to rece him. Of course, after everything you did there is no way to trust you, and since the Altered DNA is already in your body we have to get it out first.

    ¡°I¡¯ve called in a favour, so once those guys are here, the fun can begin. I don''t care what we have to do to make it happen, whether it be to take out your brain and rece it with another, stitch two bodies together, drain you of your blood, or ce your organs into another!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ve assured me that even in the case of a failure, they¡¯ll reimburse me with another Altered. Those guys seem to be overly happy to experiment with your body and get the rights to your corpse! No matter the oue, I¡¯ll be the one to have thatstugh.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­there was more in that package, there is another item that I hid!¡± Gary shouted, as he watched Damion leave with his warden in tow. ¡°I''m not an Altered, I swear! You saw it yourself, I¡¯m a Werewolf! Whatever you''re nning on doing won''t work!¡± Gary insisted, trying to buy himself some more time to figure a way out of here. Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears.

    ¡ª¡ª

    For some reason, talking to Gary had gotten Damion really riled up. So much so that his hands were shaking with anger, few of the gang members had ever seen him in such a state.

    Currently, the group seemed to be in what looked like an abandoned police station. There were no police whatsoever inside. Eventually, getting to a desk, Damion lit up a cigar and started to smoke it, allowing him to calm down a little, even if it was by a tiny fraction.

    s, it wasn''t long until he heard a knock at the door. ¡°If youe in, I swear on my life, you better have a good reason to, otherwise I¡¯ll let you keep that traitorpany!¡±

    The man on the other side of the door didn''t dare toe in, so instead he decided to talk from the other side. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m terribly sorry, but it''s your son. He has arrived, and asked to talk to you, iming that it was very urgent.¡±

    ¡°Tell that damn brat to screw off!¡± Damion instructed.

    Surprisingly, the doorknob could be seen twisting, before the door eventually opened. The adult man immediately got up from his seat ready to pound the man before throwing him into a cell, yet he held back when he saw that the one that had entered the room was Kai.

    ¡°What is it with this sted night?! Does EVERYONE want to get a rise out of me? How is it not clear that I¡¯m not in the mood for any of your damn issues?!¡± Damion screeched, and the door was immediately shut behind by the Underdog member.

    ¡°I heard¡­ I heard that you managed to capture the Wolf Altered, the one that was working with the Howlers.¡± Kai spoke. Damion just puffed out of his nose. Before saying anything on the matter, he went back to his seat, opened the desk drawer and pulled out an old bottle of liquor, hoping it would allow him to avoid another outburst.

    ¡°What you heard is correct, but I don¡¯t see how this concerns you in any way. Unless you want to help me find the rat that ambushed him in the first ce! It didn''t seem like he was lying about that one.¡± Damion said, pouring himself a shot and downing it at once.

    Standing in front of his father, who returned to his cigar, Kai''s heart was thumping incredibly loud. He put his hand in his pocket, grabbing his trusty knife. In his head, he had gone through the worst scenarios he had ounted for, Gary getting captured was among the top of the list. The problem was, with Gary being captured there were only a few ways he could see himself getting out of it, and in the end this was the best one.

    ¡°I... I am the one that created the Howlers, to get rid of the Underdogs, and get rid of you!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 332 Rot

    <h4>Chapter 332 Rot</h4>

    After Kai had spoken those words, Damion grabbed onto his whisky ss tightly. He didn''t move an inch or blink. For most of his life, the blonde teenager had been looking forward to this one moment of revtion, to admit that he was the one to have ruined everything his father had worked for during his lifetime.

    Of course, in his ideal scenario, it would have been under far different circumstances, but even now, in the current situation he found himself in, seeing the cold fury in those eyes nearly made it worth it to have lived in his father¡¯s shadow for all these years.

    ¡°Didn''t you hear me?¡± Kai questioned as he walked forward with confidence. The man, who he had been afraid of for years, suddenly seemed to have grown a little smaller in the room. ¡°I was the one who created the Howlers.

    ¡°Me and that Transporter of yours, we¡¯ve been working together to crush and break down everything you¡¯ve built up.¡± Kai spoke slowly, making sure to emphasise each and every single word. ¡°And we¡¯re not done yet. It will only be over once I manage to take every single little thing you own.¡±

    After finishing his narration, Damion gripped the ss so hard that it smashed right there and then. His eyes had gone bloodshot from not blinking. Getting up from his seat, he leaned across the table and stared his son right in the eyes. He expected the teenager to flinch, perhaps try to talk his way out by iming all of this was some sick joke, instead, the two of them stood there silently.

    ¡°YOU¡­ You!¡­ You!!!¡± Not being able to articte his frustration, Damion decided to act upon his feelings. The gang leader threw out his bloodied fist straight towards Kai. It made contact and pushed the teenager back a few feet. However, it hadn''t connected with his son¡¯s face, for Kai had managed to block the attack, lifting both of his forearms up in a cross position. Still, his arms were throbbing. The hit was heavy.

    Even though Damion wasn''t a particrlyrge man, he was well-built, had developed muscles, and was just a natural heavy hitter. Someone who could draw out more power than others. A wisdom amongst boxers was that even at the same weight, the punch strength could vary wildly, and Kai certainly felt the weight behind his father¡¯s attack.

    ¡°I knew you would try to punch me in the face.¡± His son admitted with a grin on his face. ¡°Over the years, I¡¯ve paid close enough attention to your behaviour, to the point that I might even know you better than you know yourself! All for this moment!¡±

    Slowly, Damion was climbing over the desk, and at the same time he was taking off his suit jacket, revealing his tight white shirt underneath. ¡°You ungrateful brat! I raised you to take over the Underdogs when I was gone, not burn it down to the ground!¡± With how frustrated the father was, he punched the desk, breaking off an edge piece of it.

    His knuckles were a little red, but it looked like his hand was just fine. Damion hadrge knuckles due to repeatedly breaking them in the past, and they were now solid weapons. Seeing this, Kai got ready, getting into a fighting stance, which made Damion chuckle.

    ¡°What is this? Have you been practising how to fight? And here I thought you were just a useless brat? No, don''t tell me, you''ve been practising how to fight, all so you could beat me?!¡± Damion ridiculed the other, as he charged in and threw out a fist.

    Knowing that he probably couldn''t take another hit, Kai decided to avoid this one, by going low and on one hand. He then lifted his leg and kicked Damion¡¯s side. It was a solid hit, but it felt as if he had kicked arge tree. It was at that moment that the gang leader pinned the leg under his arm with his elbow, holding on tightly, and turned around.

    He could see that Kai had thrown out another fist towards his face, which he grabbed. Now with two points of his body to hold onto, Damion lifted Kai''s body, and ran forward as fast as he could, heading straight for the door. Just as they were about to reach, Damion jumped up and mmed Kai right through the door. It came flying off its hinge andnding on the floor was not only the door but the teenager as well.

    It was a heavy and strong blow that had knocked the windpletely out of Kai. Furthermore, it was safe to say he wasn''t going to get up any time soon, and even if he had tried, there were now several gang members around the ce that had him surrounded.

    ¡°I was wondering what the hell would have made you do this, but now I¡¯m sure of it, it was that bitch, wasn¡¯t it? Have you been plotting it ever since back then? I guess I always saw you as just a brat, and that was my mistake.¡± Damion admitted. ¡°I can see that you¡¯re a man now¡­ so it¡¯s only fair for you to suffer the consequences like one!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside the cell, Gary was still waiting for someone toe in. Judging by his Health, he could tell that it had been two hours. He had thought about what to say to convince them to let him out, or at least feed him. However, the onesing towards the cell wasn''t Damion, instead there were two other members of the Underdogs. They weren¡¯t alone either, they were dragging someone by their feet.

    ¡°The two of you can rot together!¡± One of the Underdogs members said as the cell door opened, and they threw a person inside. When Gary went to look at who the person was, he was surprised to see an unconscious Kai who appeared to be badly beaten up and bruised.

    ******

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 Chapter 333 Butting heads

    <h4>Chapter 333 Butting heads</h4>

    Gary questioned whether his eyes were ying tricks on him. Could it be that the hunger had made him start hallucinating? Was he just imprinting the image of the one person that he believed could bail him out of this situation onto his fellow prisoner?

    However, even after a few minutes, that teenager continued to look exactly like his upperssman. It took some time, but he eventually started to wake up.

    ¡°Gary¡­'''' Kai mumbled, seeing his friend in the cell. Trying to stand up, he flinched since his entire body was still hurting, especially his chest.

    ¡°How long have I been out for?¡± The blonde teenager asked weakly, slowly looking around the cell. The two gang members who had dragged him in had already left, so only the two teenagers were present.

    ¡°Not too long, less than half an hour.¡± Gary answered. On one hand, he was happy to no longer be alone in his cell, on the other hand, he was now worried about Kai. Unlike him, his upperssman was a normal human, meaning it would take him some time to heal from a beating that had left him unconscious.

    Nevertheless, even in his injured state, Kai started checking out the room, seemingly looking for some way out. He was pulling on the bars, inspecting the lock, checking his pockets for something useful, examining the bricks for any loose ones.

    ¡°Please don''te too close to me!¡± Gary immediately backed off when the blonde teenager came in his direction, some slight fear in his voice. ¡°I¡­ I haven''t eaten in a while.¡±

    Fortunately, despite his hunger pains, he could still think rationally. If it had been another member of the Underdogs, he might have lunged at him and taken a bite, but at least for now, Gary was managing to keep himself in check. Still, he had no idea how long that would be the case, and it should be safer if his upperssman didn¡¯t tempt him, especially in his current state.

    The high schooler was hoping that given Kai¡¯s intellect, he would understand why he wanted to keep a certain distance without having to go too much into detail. Kai just nodded, took one step back and with a big sigh, he sat down on the floor¡­ where he fell into deep contemtion.

    ¡®What the f*ck, Kai, do you have nerves of steel?!¡¯ Gary was left speechless. ¡®Shouldn¡¯t you at least exin why you were beaten up? Why did they throw you in here? Did they find out that you¡¯re a Howlers member as well? Is all of this part of some n to get me out?¡¯

    The Werewolf stared at his new inmate, but all he could see was Kai biting on his nail, looking around asionally, all while continuing to stay silent. Unable to take it any longer, Gary straight up asked him the obvious: ¡°What happened to you, Kai? How did you know that I was here? What about the others?¡±

    For a moment, Kai stopped what he was doing and turned to Gary. For the first time, he saw him with a very deep frown on his face, and even more surprising was that the blonde teenager directed some animosity at him. ¡°I came here, because a certain someone seems to be dead set on proving that he¡¯s incapable of sitting still and apparently gets a kick out of ignoring the most basic orders!¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gary stuttered, clearly not prepared to be the target of this kind of aggression. ¡°I know it was stupid of me, b-but I didn''t want any of you to get hurt.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but I had a n! We were so close to getting rid of the Underdogs once and for all, while reducing the risk to ourselves to a minimum! All I asked for was some time to make sure everything would be perfect! Honestly, I¡¯m not sure whether bing what you are has made you think of yourself as invincible, or you just had a death wishing after him on your own.¡±

    Kai''s words hurt Gary, because he had already med himself every which way ever since he had woken up, cursing himself for his impulsiveness. Getting chided further by his friend, especially when both of them were in this cell, didn¡¯t sit well with him, especially since he felt that he wasn¡¯t the only one to me.

    ¡°I''m not a freaking mind reader, ok?!¡± Gary snapped back. ¡°How was I supposed to know what your ¡®brilliant¡¯ n was if you never told me anything concrete?! I thought that we were supposed to be in this whole thing together, buttely I feel like I¡¯m just your discarded pawn who you have no use for right now!

    ¡°I¡¯m not some dog who waits for you to order me to jump and just do it! I know that might have been how our rtionship had started, but I believed that we had actually be friends over time. ¡­ that''s why I didn''t want you guys to do dangerous things any more.¡±

    Now, Kai was silent for another reason. He knew that there was some truth to Gary¡¯s usation. He had been afraid that the Howlers¡¯ leader might do something irrational due to being left out after the night of the gang war, yet he had vastly underestimated just how crazy Gary was willing to act in regard to fighting the Underdogs.

    Furthermore, Kai also couldn¡¯t refute that at times he did treat others like pawns, yet unlike what his underssman seemed to believe, the blonde teenager wasn¡¯t willing to sacrifice any of his pieces¡­ which was also the reason he hade here on his own.

    ¡°Look, you know my reason for wanting to get rid of the Underdogs. You know I''mmitted to this entire thing, but what about the other way around?¡± Gary continued. ¡°I practically know nothing about you. I was worried that you might hesitate too long or think that we had achieved enough already. What if Damion had escaped while you were still nning things and waiting for the ¡®perfect¡¯ moment?¡±

    ¡°As I said, I''m sorry for ruining your ns. You should know that I''m not exactly the best when ites to using my head¡­ which is why I usually do what I feel is right. I¡¯ve seen how much harm the Underdogs do, especially now that they feel threatened, so I wanted to stop them before it got even worse. I knew it was risky, which is why I didn¡¯t want to get you guys involved.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never regarded you as a dog nor some pawn.¡± Kai spoke up after having let out a deep sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone helping me to feel like that. I don¡¯t want to be anything like him, so if I ever give you that feeling in the future, I want you to tell me immediately, ok? Can you promise me to do that, instead of running head-first into a certain death trap?¡±

    Gary kept silent, continuing to listen to Kai, who, judging by his change in tone, was being sincere. He didn¡¯t know how serious he was when asking him to make this kind of promise, but the Werewolf had a premonition that it wouldn¡¯t be something he could abide by.

    ¡°I hope I haven¡¯t given the others the same feeling. Speaking of them, they have no idea about this ce. I only knew of it, since I am¡­ well, I guess WAS an Underdogs member. Knowing those fools, once they find out what happened to us, they would just end up risking their lives to bail us out¡­ and probably end up in the same state as me, if not worse.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, our entire groups seem to consist of suicidal teenagers,¡± Kai mentioned with a chuckle, and Gary joined in, since he couldn¡¯t really refute that possibility.

    ¡°Olivia is the only one who¡¯s aware of it all, since she was the one to inform me, but I told her to let me deal with things on my own. That¡¯s right, sometimes I can be just as much of a fool like my dear leader.

    ¡°However, I want you to know that I haven''te here to fetch you as if you were my dog, Gary. Our rtionship might have certainly started off a little strange, but I truly see you as someone who would get my back, and in turn I will always have your back as well.

    ¡°I wanted to tell all of you once this was over, but you¡¯re right, I should have probably informed all of you earlier. You deserve to know the entire truth of why I hate the Underdogs so much, and why I¡¯ve spent years making ns to do everything in my power to take down Damion Hawk, the bastard who calls himself my father.¡±

    ****

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 Chapter 334 Four years ago

    <h4>Chapter 334 Four years ago</h4>

    Four years ago, in a luxury hotel that had a nice view over the town of Slough, a blonde-haired teenage boy was holding a game controller in his hands. He was sitting on the floor, staring at a 70-inch TV, courtesy of the hotel, and ying a fighting game.

    Next to him sat a teenage girl with ck hair who was around the same age as the boy. Just like him, she was holding a game controller in her hands, yet her face was filled with visible frustration.

    ¡°Kyle, stop it!¡± Marieined, looking at him. ¡°You can''t just keep using the same move over and over again! That''s cheating!¡±

    ¡°If it was cheating, then why would they put it in the game?¡± Kyle argued cheekily. ¡°Besides, since you know what I''m doing next, you should be able to stop it!¡±

    Out of sheer frustration, Marie began to mash all the buttons she could, hoping for it to do something, but in the end, the low kick that Kyle¡¯s character would repeatedly use, continued to decrease her fighter¡¯s health until arge K.O. appeared on the screen.

    ¡°Hahaha, I win again!¡± Kyle jumped up and cheered. When the match came to an end, Marie scoffed at his cheap tactics, yet she was ready for a rematch. She had always been quite thepetitive person, but the two teenagers stopped what they were doing when they suddenly heard the sound of the door opening.

    Someone had entered the hotel room, and without saying a word they had headed towards the main bedroom, which they locked behind themselves.

    Using the remote, Kyle quickly turned up the sound of the game, while sneakily moving over to the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. Marie, seeing this, shook her head, but in the end she was just as curious, so she decided to do the same. The two of them stood next door, eavesdropping on the ensuing conversation.

    Inside the other room, a ck haired woman in her early thirties was pacing up and down. She looked to be quite panicked, and at the same time she was holding a cold pack to the side of her face.

    ¡°Kiki, will you calm down, he won¡¯t be able to find you here. I¡¯ve made the reservation under a fake name, so nobody should know that you¡¯re here apart from me.¡± The voice of a second woman tried to calm down the first.

    The one sitting on the bed was a blonde haired woman who, despite being a few years older than her friend, still looked to be in her twenties. She had been blessed with good genes, which made her quite an eye turner, even though her years as a model were long since over.

    She exuded a presence of kindness, like a real life angel. People would often describe her as someone who would instantly lighten up the room just by being there. Her voice alone was usually enough to calm anyone down, and in this instance, once again, it managed to work its magic.

    Eventually, the woman called Kiki stopped pacing up and down, and put down the ice pack, revealing arge ck eye. Unfortunately, that wasn''t the only bruise guing her body, merely the most recent one.

    ¡°It will be okay. I promised I would look after you¡­you know that. I''m so sorry, for bringing you into all of this, this is all my fault.¡± The blonde haired woman apologised as she stood up and gave her childhood friend a giant hug, which just caused a waterfall of tears to run down her face.

    The sobbing continued for a while, and it was then that Kyle started to feel bad for listening in. When he turned around, he saw that Marie had teared up as well. The teenage girl was clenching her fists, trying to stay strong.

    Not saying enough, Kyle gently took Marie by the hand, and guided her back to the TV. Both of them sat down, neither one in the mood to continue their game. Marie wiped away her tears with some kitchen paper, the teenage boy had grabbed, forck of a better alternative.

    ¡°This isn''t the first time this has happened, is it?¡± He asked in a low voice, as he slightly turned up the volume so that their mothers wouldn¡¯t suspect them of having eavesdropped. ¡°Is it getting worse¡­ the hitting, I mean?¡±

    Kyle understood what had been happening, and why Marie and her mother had moved to this hotel. Even though he was young, he wasn¡¯tpletely oblivious to these things.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ and I¡¯m afraid that it''s only getting worse with each passing day. The hitting has be harder. I hate that I can''t do anything about it¡­¡± When Marie said these words, she started to curl up into a ball and covered herself. She ced her head into her knees as there was more to what she wanted to say.

    ¡°It''s not just that, Kyle¡­ I''m scared, I¡¯m really scared. Recently, he¡¯s been staring at me in a really disturbing way¡­ Whenever he grabbed me, my mum ran up to him and dragged his arms away. However, that only makes him furious, and so she ends up getting hurt even more¡­ I''m scared what happens if Mum dies and not just that¡­ if that does happen¡­ then what happens to me¡­¡±

    A recurring pattern.

    Meanwhile, Kiki Degrace was beingforted by Kyle¡¯s mother. Her childhood friend was the only person she could rely on during these hard times. She had paid for the hotel room and without asking for anything in return, the adult woman had simply handed over the keys, allowing the Degraces to stay in a safe environment. She had promised Kiki to do everything she could to help her, but it wasn¡¯t that easy.

    In doing so, Marie and Kyle had be close friends. They had known each other before that and had often yed together, but not to this degree. After having spent so much time together, they practically felt like siblings and looked out for each other.

    The rtionship outside of school then grew to one in school as well, but what Marie had just said now, it was the first time she had spoken these words. It was the first time she had told him how scared she was.

    ¡°Marie, I promise I will do everything in my power, to make sure that never happens.¡± Kyle said as he gave her a big hug, making her cry fully.

    -----

    Gary gulped hard, because it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that this story wouldn¡¯t have a happy ending¡­

    ******

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 Chapter 335 A Cycle

    <h4>Chapter 335 A Cycle</h4>

    That night, neither Marie, Kyle nor their mothers left the hotel. The following days, the four of them continued living together. The two women would rotate as for who would apany the kids to school. This was how the rtionship between all of them grew.

    However, the teenage boy was no fool, he understood that their happy family life was bound toe to an end eventually. After all, this wasn¡¯t the first time something like this had urred. Nevertheless, he was happy while itsted, and he knew that he would always find Marie at school, even if things returned to normal.

    One day, when Kyle and Marie came back from school together, they found Marie¡¯s mother with arge smile on her face, currently talking with Kai¡¯s mother.

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± The blonde woman Eleanor asked. It was a name that suited Kyle;s mother well. Still, at the moment she had a concerned look on her face. Just like her son, Eleanor Hamper had been dreading this day, afraid that her childhood friend might get fooled by that bastard once more.

    ¡°You saw his message, Ellie! He told me how he''s been going to Anger Management Therapy. ording to his therapist he¡¯s already doing much better, and he promised me the second he raises his voice, that I will be free to leave him be.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t believe him at first either, but he showed me the appointments and everything. This time really will be different. He was even crying on the phone. Thank you for always helping out, seriously. I promise we¡¯ll pay you back for your help. Let¡¯s have brunch over the weekend, and then, once you¡¯ll see I¡¯m all okay, you will have some peace of mind.¡±

    One could tell that Eleanor¡¯s face was still filled with doubt, but in the end she gave her friend a smile. She had tried convincing Kiki in the past not to fall for it, yet it had proven to be an impossible task.

    ¡°Make sure to keep your phone on you at all times, and promise to contact me at the first sign that he¡¯s up to no good. I don¡¯t care what time of day it might be, if he so much as just flinches at you, call me, text me or simplye to me, okay?¡± Saying this, she grabbed Kiki¡¯s hand and looked her straight in her eyes. Marie¡¯s mother nodded, and grabbed the few bags filled with her belongings, as well as those of her daughter.

    Before leaving, she looked at Kyle.

    ¡°Thank you, for being such a good friend to my Marie. During these difficult times, it¡¯s good to know that there is someone else who is looking out for her just as much as I am.¡± Mrs Degrace praised him, making him blush slightly.

    When walking out the door, Kyle managed to catch a glimpse of Marie¡¯s face. Unlike her mother who was all smiles, her daughter¡¯s eyes were wide, and she looked a little shaken. Clearly, she didn''t want to leave this ce to return to her father¡¯s side, not believing in his ability to change.

    ¡°Mum, we have lots of money, don¡¯t we? Then why can''t we help them? You¡¯ve already been paying for a ce for the two of them to live, so why can¡¯t we just continue living like this?¡± Kyle asked dejectedly.

    ¡°Oh, Kai, if only it was that easy.¡± Eleanor sighed as she ruffled her son¡¯s hair using the name she had wanted to give him, rather than the one his father had insisted on. ¡°Even if Kiki would finally decide to break up with that bastard, he isn¡¯t someone who would just let her go. He would make her life here in Slough even more of a living hell.

    ¡°Her best option might be topletely leave the town and run to the other side of the world to escape him, and that requires a lot of money. Even then, I¡¯m afraid that man would just hunt her down. His reputation and ego wouldn¡¯t allow him to be someone who was left by a woman.

    ¡°Believe me, I¡¯ve thought long and hard how to help the two of them, but this simply is a problem that money can¡¯t solve. Besides, the money I used to house them¡­ it¡¯s not really ours to use.¡±

    Hearing these words, Kyle understood. Although he might not know all the details, his mother had told him about how his father was involved with the underworld. Part of him used to believe that this might have been the reason Damion had barely ever interacted with him. Then again, that might just be wishful thinking on his part, who had desired a fatherly figure in his life¡­

    Thest few times he remembered seeing his father, had been during his previous birthdays, and even that had been for only around an hour, before his father had left to take care of ¡®business¡¯. Eventually, he had grown used to being treated like a ¡®chore¡¯ rather than a priority in Damion¡¯s life.

    Kyle also remembered seeing Marie¡¯s father on hisst birthday, a burly fellow who might as well have been the picture of the word ¡®brute¡¯. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t just an ordinary Underdogs member, but someone in the inner circle.

    As for the reason his mother felt guilty, well that was because she was the one that identally introduced Kiki into the Underdog world. She had never expected that the two would fall in love, and have a child together, and although they weren''t married, the man truly seemed to be obsessed with her childhood friend.

    Regardless of his mother¡¯s stance, Kyle still started to think if there was a way for them to get out of the whole mess, and he believed to havee up with a couple of possible solutions.

    ¡°Don''t even think about getting involved, young man!¡± Eleanor chided her son, recognising his slight smirk as a sign that he just came up with an idea. ¡°This is adult business, and you shouldn¡¯t meddle with it. It¡¯s far more dangerous than you seem to believe!¡±

    Heeding his mother¡¯s stern warning, especially since it was a rarity for her to raise her voice at him, Kyle decided to disregard his ideas. He trusted that she knew best. After all, while he might think himself clever, he knew exactly who he got his intelligence from.

    Nothing unusual happened during the next week. He naturally spent time with Marie at school, and she recounted what was happening at her home. The teenage girl still had trouble believing it, but there was at least less anger in her father¡¯s voice.

    Marie had even been dragged into one of those Anger Management Therapy sessions, where her father had apologised to his daughter, as well as Miss Degrace. From what Marie had been told, her mother had apanied him a few more times.

    Then, on the tenth day, something strange happened.

    When Kyle took his seat, Marie wasn¡¯t there. He didn¡¯t think much of it at first, until ss started, and she was still nowhere to be seen. The teenager texted her whether she might have fallen ill, yet he got no reply. After the first period, he went to ask a teacher if they knew anything, only to be told that they were just as clueless as him. There had been no sick note, no call from her parents or anything.

    Immediately, Kyle called up his mother, who informed him that she was looking after them, that they had booked the hotel once again. Hearing this, he was slightly ted, though at the same time a bit worried. It appeared that the cycle had just started over again, yet this time it had happened far sooner than before.

    Last time, they had been at his side for a couple of months, yet this time barely any time had passed. Kyle wrote Marie another text about how he would excuse her and bring over their homeworkter.

    After school was over, he reached the hotel room¡­ where he immediately dropped his bag the moment he saw Marie.

    The teenage girl had a bloody nose and a swollen eye.

    ****

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 Chapter 336 The abusive man

    <h4>Chapter 336 The abusive man</h4>

    ¡®This¡­ why would he do this?! Anger Management Therapy, my ass!! How dare that scumy a hand on his own daughter?!?!¡¯ Were the wild thoughts going through Kyle¡¯s head when he looked at the state Marie was in, and those were just some of the more tame ones.

    The teenage boy was aware that Miss Degrace¡¯s rtionship with Marie¡¯s father could only be described as a one-sided, abusive rtionship filled with domestic violence. Kyle had already grown used to the cycle of the Degraces falling out with the guy, his own mother securing them housing in a hotel like this, the two of them moving in as well, only for Marie¡¯s mother to eventually forgive the bastard who was responsible for all of it, and getting back together.

    The only thing that had ever changed in this cycle was the time between each new rotation¡­ yet this time he had done something even more outrageous than the previous times¡­

    Seeing Marie''s eye, and nose in pain, and watching his own mother bandaging her up, something was boiling inside Kyle. He had never been a violent child. Despite being Damion¡¯s son, Eleanor had done her best to raise him up to be a sensible child, one that wouldn¡¯t resort to violence, even in the kind of world they happened to live in.

    Not wanting to disappoint his mother, Kyle had never gotten into fights, never wished pain on other people, but after seeing the state of the girl who he thought of as a sister, for the first time ever, the teenager didn¡¯t just wish him bodily harm. No, he wanted for him to die in the most brutal way possible.

    The blood inside him was boiling, so much that he didn''t even know what to say to Marie as he helplessly looked at her. His heart only hurt all the more, when she looked back at him, forcing herself to give him a battered smile, wheezing slightly from the pain in her eye.

    ¡°Ellie, you were right¡­ I should have listened to you a long time ago¡­ maybe if I had left him after the first time this happened, all of this could have been avoided...¡± Kiki Degrace was sobbing on the couch, a bottle of wine in her shaky hands. Kyle had never seen the woman so broken before. No matter what had been done to her, she had always managed to keep up a strong facade, though Kyle believed she had done that more for her daughter¡¯s sake than her own, but not this time.

    This time, he had crossed thest line. Marie¡¯s mother seemedpletely broken, even ignoring her own injuries that were worse than ever before. So far, it had been ¡®just¡¯ a ck eye or a bruise, yet judging by the swelling on her arm, this time he had broken a bone.

    ¡°Kiki, let¡¯s talk about thister. First, let¡¯s get both of you treated at the hospital. Don¡¯t worry, I''ll pay for everything, and you can stay here for as long as you like.¡± Eleanor replied, seemingly in her usual voice, yet as her son, Kyle didn¡¯t miss the higher pitch in her voice. Even she seemed taken aback with the level of violence disyed.

    ¡°And then what?!¡± Kiki shouted as she smashed the wine bottle on the floor. ¡°I¡¯ll have to go back to him eventually anyway! It¡¯s impossible for us to escape that bastard! If we stay here too long, he¡¯ll juste looking for us. Even if we run away, the Underdogs wille after us, we will just be forced to be on the run for the rest of our lives! Tell me, Ellie, how am I meant to protect my daughter in front of that monster?!¡±

    Unlike what Kyle might have thought, Kiki Degrace was neither stupid, nor naive. Perhaps she might have fallen for the sugary thoughts of Marie¡¯s father the first time, but certainly not the ones after. No, her choice to get back with him was one out of desperation. The woman knew perfectly well that she was trapped in that rtionship, and the consequences if she truly dared to break it off. Her only hope so far had been that something might happen for him to truly change, her sole sce that he had at least never harmed his own daughter¡­ at least until today.

    ¡°I have to get out of this, I have to protect Marie, please help me¡­please¡­¡± Kiki was begging her oldest friend. Unfortunately, Eleanor couldn¡¯t bring herself to lie. If she had a way, she would have long since suggested it, so saying anything at this moment would just give the two false hope.

    Finishing with Marie¡¯s treatment, his mother¡¯s eyes gestured for Kyle to take the girl elsewhere, while she tried to calm down her friend. Not saying anything, he carefully helped Marie to another room, where she broke out in tears, just like her mother.

    ¡®If only that man would no longer be there¡­¡¯ Kyle thought as he did his best to console Marie.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A few days passed.

    After the visit to the hospital, Mrs Degrace had been kept there overnight before being discharged. By now, the swelling had gone down on both of their faces, and neither Marie nor Kyle had talked about that event. Things were pretty self-exnatory, so he just kept herpany, doing what he could to keep her from having to remember that day.

    s, their somewhat idyllic life suddenly got interrupted.

    When Mrs Degrace had received a certain message, she had broken out in tears again. Looking at the message, Eleanor had checked her own phone, and to her dismay, she had received the same text. As his motherforted her friend, once again, Kyle looked over at the content.

    The message was from the Underdogs, informing them that there would be a funeral soon. For it to be something so formal, it would mean that either multiple members of the family had died at once, or someone quite important had died. In those cases, attendance was mandatory. This included the entire family.

    Kyle would be attending with Eleanor and for Kiki and Marie they would have toe as well. If they didn¡¯t, then the other members would be sure to ask questions, putting him on the spot. If that were to happen, there was no telling how he would react. Right now, it was most likely that Marie¡¯s father was thinking that the same as usual would ur, as it always had done.

    With Marie and Kiki going back to him in due time, yet if they didn''t turn up, it would only make matters worse.

    ¡°What am I meant to do? Do I go back with him on that day¡­ maybe you could take Marie, at least I can make up some type of excuse.¡± Kiki suggested.

    Eleanor didn''t like the sound of that, although she never wanted Marie to get hurt and felt like she should never step foot in that house or near that man again, she was also worried that her daughter was the only thing keeping Kiki alive. Who knows how far things might go if the two of them were left on their own¡­

    In the end, they had no choice, and the day of the funeral had arrived. It was done in arge rented out hall. Everyone was wearing ck suits, including Kyle, who was scanning the room.

    Part of him was hoping to speak to his father and perhaps say a few words, but he was constantly surrounded by other people. Right now, he was next to several caskets with pictures of the deceased. It seemed like something had gone very wrong, as quite a few people had died, leaving his father in a horrible mood. Kyle understood that today wouldn''t be a good time to talk to him now.

    As for Eleanor and Kiki, they too had attended, with thetter wearing a veil and heavy makeup to cover up the marking. They were staying in the corner to avoid garnering attention, asionally exchanging some words with some women, though only ever so briefly.

    Meanwhile, the children had been left on their own in a different room. That was until Marie informed Kyle that really needed to go to the restroom. Naturally, he apanied her there, and waited outside until she was done.

    At that moment, Kyle locked eyes with the man he had been thinking about all too much these past few days. The teenager seemed unaware, but his hatred was written all over his face, causing him to pull a certain look. Eventually, noticing the stare, the man started to walk over.

    The young man in his twenties had light brown hair, but wasn''t overly muscr or anything like that. Still, he had enough strength to overpower a woman and a young teenage girl. Clenching his fist, Kyle started to straighten the look on his face.

    ¡°You got anything to say to me, bastard?¡± The man taunted him. Of course, Kyle said nothing, but as the man turned around and left, he had a fewst words. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have a brother like you.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 337 A Bad Plan

    <h4>Chapter 337 A Bad n</h4>

    ¡°Did you just say brother?!¡± For a second, Gary seemed to havepletely forgotten about his own fatigue due to the shocking revtion. Until today, he hadn¡¯t known Damion to have any children at all, yet suddenly he was told that he, at the very least, had two sons.

    Were it not for their current situation, the green haired teenager would have never believed Kai to have had any rtions to the Underdogs¡¯ leader whatsoever. His upperssman appeared to have gotten most of his looks from his mother. Perhaps there was some streak of madness he might have gotten from his old man, but if so, he was able to hide it surprisingly well.

    ¡°Hang on, so if Marie¡¯s father is actually your brother, then doesn''t that make the two of you are¡­ uncle and niece? Isn¡¯t that super weird for the two of you?¡±

    ¡°The first time we met, I just thought of her as the daughter of my Mom¡¯s best friend, and to her, I must have just been the son of her mother¡¯s best friend. Since we were kids, we simply started ying together without a care in the world.

    ¡°Over the years, we¡¯ve grown closer together, and I naturally started treating Marie like she was family before eventually finding out that she actually was. Sure, it was weird finding that out, but ultimately, nothing changed about our rtionship after we discovered the truth.

    ¡°However, as for your other question, Simon isn¡¯t exactly my biological brother, at least not fully. We only share the same father. Damion had him when he was young, and I believe Simon¡¯s mother died giving birth to him. As his firstborn son, he was brought up to take over the mantle in the future.

    ¡°Due to her work as a model, my mother managed to catch Damion¡¯s eye. Since she was friends with Mrs Degrace, it was inevitable that her two lives intertwined and from what I¡¯ve been told my half-brother apparently fell in love at first sight. I don''t know how, but the two of them ended up together, and she was dragged into this whole life.¡±

    Hearing about this, Gary felt a little sad for Marie. Just because of her father, she had been dragged into the underworld. When he thought about it, the green haired teenager suddenly realised that it was the same for Kai. Neither one of them really had a say in the matter.

    Still, since he knew that Marie and Mrs Degrace were doing okay, the story¡¯s resolution shouldn¡¯t be too bad¡­

    ¡°Simon¡­ I don¡¯t recall ever having heard such a name during my time at the Underdogs.¡± Gary muttered to himself. However, it wasn''t impossible for him to have never encountered the guy. After all, he had merely been a Transporter.

    ¡°As I was saying¡­¡± With a pained look, Kai continued his story.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Watching his half-brother walk off, Kyle continued to curse under his breath. The two of them didn''t have the best rtionship to start with. Given therge age-gap, they had nothing to talk about with each other, and the teenager also suspected his half-sibling hated him.

    He wasn¡¯t sure whether Simon hated him for the fact that Damion had remarried his mother, or if he perhaps felt threatened that Kyle might have any ambitions regarding the leadership for the Underdogs.

    ¡°Hey, Kyle, are you okay? You look a bit flustered.¡± Marie asked, as she came out of the restroom.

    ¡°Hmm? My bad, I was lost in thoughts, Marie.¡± Kyle replied. He was happy to see the teenage girl. He felt far closer to her than to that scum who had dared hurt her recently.

    The funeral continued without any incidents. After a few of the high-ranking people gave their condolences and the friends and family members of the deceased did the same, the rest of the evening pretty much turned into a meeting between the Underdogs¡¯ gang members.

    Damion and the rest of the leaders were talking about ns for expansion, and how to avoid the troubles they were facing. They couldn¡¯t afford for losses like this one to ur more than once. For a second, Kyle spotted Simon talking with Kiki, their exchange seemed short and in the end the man walked away heading towards the other leaders.

    ¡®I wonder¡­what''s going on.¡¯ Kyle thought.

    Sneaking around, the teenager walked closer towards the others. He didn''t quite understand what they were talking about since a lot of it was business talk, but he got the gist of it. Simon seemed to have been given quite an important task to head, and it was one of his first. Damion was all smiles as he patted his favourite son on the back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t f*ck this up for us, alright!¡± Damion warned him.

    Later that night, Kyle thought that Kiki and Marie would be going back to his half-brother, so he was positively surprised when all of them returned to the hotel room together. While in therge taxi together, it seemed like Kiki couldn¡¯t believe it either.

    ¡°So what happened, Mommy?¡± Marie eventually asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure.¡± Kiki replied. ¡°He said that for now it would be best if we stayed wherever we were hiding. He even warned me not toe back to the apartment for a while. It looks like we¡¯re okay.¡±

    Although that seemed to be true, Kyle knew that it would just be temporary. Perhaps the reason for him not wanting them to return was so that he could concentrate on the big task that had been given to him. Once it was over, Simon would surely be obsessing over Kiki again.

    ¡®I can''t..I can''t let Marie go back to that damn demon..I can''t see her like that again.¡¯ Kyle thought.

    With the next day being a weekend day, Kyle and Marie were just spending their morning ying games. Her eye was doing a lot better which was causing the teenage girl to y better and for the first time in a while she ended up winning.

    ¡°Hey¡­ what is up with you?¡± Marie asked, putting the controller down. ¡°I never win this easily, so something¡¯s clearly on your mind. Just look at your fingers, they¡¯re moving in slow motion.¡±

    Of course, it was because Kyle had been thinking every day about what he could do to help Marie and her mother. For that, he had been doing a bit of research on his father¡¯s gang. He had found out that the Underdogs didn''t take to betrayal or failure nicely.

    In some cases, there had been members kicked out of the gang, never to be seen again. There were also some shocking stories about what happened to those guys. Some of this he had learned through his mother, and other things he had picked up just by being around his father and his men.

    After yesterday¡¯s news, he hade up with an idea.

    ¡°Marie¡­I think I know of a way to get that demon off your back.¡±

    ¡°Demon?¡± Marie asked, not sure who Kyle was referring to.

    ¡°Simon.¡± Kyle answered, not wanting to admit to either one of the two having any rtions with him. ¡°I¡¯ve overheard that he¡¯s responsible for a massive task at the moment. If he messes this up, there is a good chance that my father might kick him out of the gang entirely.

    ¡°It might not work the first time, but if he keeps messing up, or maybe even if I can set it up to look like he stole money from the gang, he might lose all of his backing!¡±

    Hearing Kyle talk this way was somewhat frightening for Marie. He had a dangerous glint in his eyes, seemingly obsessed with the idea. She wasn¡¯t wrong with her assumption. The teenage boy had spent more time than he would like to admit thinking how to sabotage Simon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s too dangerous? Kyle, this isn¡¯t like in the movies! What if you get caught? Listen to yourself, you¡¯re trying to sabotage your own brother! What do you think he will do if he finds out?¡± Marie cautioned him.

    ¡°Do we have a choice? Do you have a choice?¡¯ Kyle countered. ¡°What if he went further that day? I ¡­ I ¡­might have never seen you again! You or your mother! Your mother told me to look after you, Marie, and this is my chance to!¡±

    Marie wasn¡¯t convinced. In the end they were only young teenagers, what would they even do?

    ¡°I won¡¯t involve you directly. I¡¯m not asking you to do anything for me, I just need you to tell me one thing. Can you tell me the address¡­the address of where you were staying with him.¡±

    Thinking about it, the fact that Simon didn''t want them to return to the house, most likely meant there was something he didn''t want them to see or be involved in. If Kyle could sneak in, and find something to use against his brother, mess up his work or frame him for something in the Underdogs, all of this could be over.

    Unsure of what to say, and seeing the intensity in Kyle''s eyes, not quite knowing what he was going to do, Marie decided to give him the address.

    ******

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 Chapter 338 A Mistake

    Chapter 338 A Mistake¡¡¡¡Throughout his school life Kyle had been called many things by his schoolmates and teachers ranging from harmless descriptions such as ¡®a smart child¡¯, to more outrageousbels such as ¡®a genius in the making¡¯. Eleanor Hamper herself had never belittled her son¡¯s intelligence, after all she had been the one to personally teach him outside of school, though she had also never called him something as ludicrous as a ¡®talent that only appears once every hundred years¡¯.

    The only thing she cared about was that her son would grow up and use his gift to do something that would make him happy, not caring about the opinion of others. This was just one of the reasons why Kyle had loved his mother wholeheartedly.

    Because of all the praise he had got, he had strived to stay being the best at everything, to live up to the expectations that everyone had put on for him from the beginning. As such, knowing that his mother, the one person that Kyle cared about the most, was already pleased with him, had done a lot to alleviate that underlying pressure.

    At one point, around the time he had met Marie, Kyle had started following his mother''s advice and concentrated more on finding a bnce in his life, ying games and doing sports now and then. Nevertheless, thanks to his sharp mind, he had managed to stay top of the ss, though whenever teachers would volunteer him to participate in special programs, he would decline, treasuring his free time more.

    In a manner of speaking, despite having been born as the son of a gang leader, young Kyle had lived the life of a goody-two-shoes so far. As such, he had never imagined that he would ever take the initiative to skip school and do something that was extremely dangerous, if not suicidal.

    ¡®Marie and Aunt Kiki are happy staying with us, yet you¡¯re the one who¡¯s ruining it all!¡¯ Kyle thought as he walked straight past his school and continued forward.

    As he continued to walk, Marie watched him with a worried look, wondering what to do, in the end, she still had to go to school.

    ¡®We won''t do anything, right? ¡­I mean what can he do?¡¯ Marie wondered as part of her hoped that Kyle would back out of doing whatever he nned to do at thest second.

    Of course, Kyle was heading to his half-brother''s address. With it being the middle of the day, he was pretty sure that Simon wouldn¡¯t be home, but even if he was he had a n for that as well. Either way, whatever the case he needed to avoid running into him.

    The address wasn''t too far from the school, in the first ce Slough was only a Tier-3 town. It was far smaller than a city. In about 2 hours, one could walk the entire length and see most of the main part of the town, so it only took Kyle 30 minutes to get there. He stopped in front of an apartment block, it wasn''t the worst of areas nor was it the best.

    Damion could have easily paid for Simon and the Degraces to live in the best area, yet he didn''t. Since Simon was supposed to take over the gang one day, his father wanted to train him from the bottom up. To do that, he should live the same life as his old man had, with no extra privileges, so that he could earn the position as leader of the Underdogs.

    Of course, Kyle had experienced apletely different life with his mother. They had luxury apartments, an unlimited spending budget and other benefits. Eleanor hadn¡¯t asked much of her husband, yet there had been one thing she had been adamant about. Kyle was not to get involved in the gang business and since Damion already had a sessor he had agreed to that.

    As Kyle thought about it, he realised that this could be another reason his brother seemed to dislike him so much, because the two of them werepletely different. Of course, that in no way excused his behaviour towards his family. Even his father didn''ty hands on his mother, and he was the leader of the gang,

    ¡®Marie said that he leaves for work every day at 10 AM and then doesn''t get back tillte. Usually around 10 PM and more often than not drunk as well. That''s when she hears her mother and him arguing.¡¯ Kyle recalled.

    Looking at his phone, he could see it was fifteen minutes until 10 AM. It made sense, since gang members had their usual daily runs they needed to do, unless it was a special day. Either way, Kyle was going to wait patiently.

    Not long after, the door opened up and looking at his phone, Kyle saw that his half-brother was leaving right on the dot. Hiding around one of the hallway corners, he was down the further end of the staircase. He was certain that Simon would use the upper exit, since he had noted that his car was parked at that side.

    He waited a few minutes to make sure his half-brother didn¡¯t return to pick up anything he might have forgotten, before he dialled a number on his mobile phone. It was the apartment¡¯s home phone. He didn¡¯t expect anyone to pick up the phone, it was just to check whether someone else might have been inside, but after a few rings no one picked up.

    Quickly heading to the door, Kyle pressed his hand against the handle. It was one of the newer types of handles that worked via a fingerprint that could be inputted or a PIN like on one''s phone. Of course, Marie had already given him this information, so after putting the sequence of numbers in he went inside.

    The door closed behind him, and for the first time he saw the apartment where Marie and her mother would asionally live with his piece of shit half-brother.

    The first thing Kyle did was head to the kitchen and look for a spoon in the drawer, which he then ced on the door handle. This way he would get an early warning if anyone were toe home. Of course, the spoon would be a giveaway that someone was inside, but it was better than him getting caught red-handed, and with a bit of luck his half-brother would choose to ignore it.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°That apartment.¡± Kai spoke weakly, sitting down on the hard ground, with Gary not too far away. ¡°If only I had listened to my mother and not stuck my nose where it didn¡¯t belong, perhaps I could have continued to live a normal life.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 339 Decision made

    Chapter 339 Decision made¡¡¡¡The main room of the apartment was an open n kitchen/living room all ced into onerge area. Honestly, Kyle decided to give the area a quick skim over but he didn''t look for long as he didn''t expect to find anything in this ce anyway.

    ¡®I have to give him some credit, he¡¯s not so stupid to just leave things out in the open.¡¯ Kyle thought as he closed one of the drawers just under the TV cab.

    To the right, there was a hallway that branched off into several other different rooms, such as the bathroom, their other bedrooms and most importantly the office. Since thest was the most likely ce to find out information, the young teenager went ahead and checked there first.

    ¡®I have to be careful, but also hurry in case he ns to work from home andes back early.¡¯

    Entering the office, Kyle saw that the room was aplete mess. There were things scattered everywhere, and even the papers, notes, and more on the desk weren''t ced away properly. It was nothing like how he would have kept things, showing how different the two half-brothers really were.

    ¡®Crap, this is going to make it harder.¡¯ Kyle thought. ¡®If it was all neat and tidy I could have ced it back perfectly in its ce, but from what I can see he seems to be the type of person who even though it looks messy, still follows its own system. If I move something, there is a good chance he''s going to know someone was here.¡¯

    In the end, he would have to just make do with whatever he could find on the surface. After looking around for a little while, and reading over some of those documents, Kyle managed to find more information than he had initially imagined.

    For one, there were several sticky notes posted all over the front of hisptop, with different dates, gang member names and times. Seeing them, and matching it up with other things he had seen on those documents, Kyle was sure that he had hit a gold mine.

    ¡®Does he not know that he can keep just track of his notes on theptop? ¡­ hmmm, maybe he¡¯s worried someone might hack it. Oh well, this way made things easy for me.¡¯ Kyle smiled as he used his phone to write down his own notes after taking some photos of the important things he had found in the office.

    As Simon was already in a somewhat high position he had detailed information on nned attacks with the dates, safe house areas for the Underdogs, establishments the gang was nning on taking over or attack in case of them not cooperating.

    ¡®The easiest way is probably if I can sabotage his missions. I just have to find a way to inform the other gangs of what they''re nning to do. There even looks to be a whole list of drops that those types of Transporters are meant to do.¡¯

    On a particr note Kyle could see the word NIRV written out on the top, though he had no idea whether the scribbled ¡®parcel¡¯ was meant as something to be delivered or get delivered.

    There were also a lot of other things Kylecked the context topletely grasp. Nevertheless, with just the few things that were clear enough, he was sure he could sabotage him enough to cause a few missions to fail. Then, the Underdogs would undoubtedly start wondering about having a rat among them, at which point he would just have to frame Simon¡­

    Exposing that it was all him, though it might even be a thing that they would figure out on their own. After all, who would suspect that all of it was a thirteen year old boy¡¯s doing?.

    ¡®The only thing I don''t understand is what the big deal was about? Why would he not want Kiki and Marie back for this?¡¯ Kyle wondered. ¡®From what I saw, this just seems like normal everyday business for the Underdogs, it doesn''t even look like something that would be a shock to anyone.¡¯

    Perhaps the big news was hiding somewhere on hisptop or under the big piles of paper, but in order not to risk himself, he decided to leave everything in ce.

    Leaving the room carefully Kyle closed the door behind him, using the pair of gloves he had worn. He was smart enough not to leave any fingerprints, though he doubted the police would get involved in this. Sure, it wasn''t something the Underdogs should do, but it was best to stay cautious.

    As soon as he left the room with the information, Kyle started to question whether this was the right thing to do.

    ¡®Can I really do this¡­ if I provide the information to the other gangs¡­ Simon won¡¯t be the only one I¡¯m putting at risk. I have no idea how bad things can go¡­ what if they kill him¡­ what if other members die trying to protect him?¡¯

    His mind was going back and forth. The people he was caring about were gangsters, who perhaps would have killed other gang members from the other side already, but he didn¡¯t know that for a fact. Not everyone had already dirtied their hands¡­

    While deep in his thoughts, Kyle found himself standing in front of a door that had a little sign out front stating that it was Marie''s room. Before even thinking about it his body was moving on its own and opened the door to what looked like a bright pink paradise.

    ¡°Whoa, what is all this?¡± Kyle was greeted by countless plushies that were all pink, pink bedsheets and pink curtains. It took a bit of time for the teenager to process this. He couldn¡¯t remember a single time having seen Marie wear anything close to pink. The way she behaved around him, ying games and sports with him, gave him a more tomboyish impression of her.

    ¡®Is she only that way around me or something?¡¯ Kyle wondered.

    With his curiosity getting the better of him, the teenager started to look around the room. The bed hadn''t been made, it was crumpled a bit and that''s when he noticed something else as well. Behind the door there was arge hole. It didn''t go right through the door, but it was indented as if someone punched it.

    It made Kyle remember why he hade here in the first ce, looking back at the bed, he noticed something by the pillow. A corner of what looked like a notebook stuck out. Pulling it out, he could see that to be exactly what it was.

    Opening the pages, not caring for whether Marie wanted him to read it or not, Kyle soon found out that it was a diary of some sorts. There were some banal things written in there about how her day was, and it looked like it had been used a lot in the beginning, but less and less as time went on.

    ¡®Seems like Marie is also one of those people who try to do this diary stuff, only to give up after a month or so.¡¯ Kyle had a slight smirk on his face.

    However, it didn¡¯t remain for long, as he soon discovered arge shift in tone. After arge gap of nk pages, the next one had countless scribbles all over it, as if someone was writing in anger. The words didn''t fit in the guidelines, but based on the words that were being used Kyle could see why.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­I don''t understand¡­why does he get so angry, why does he keep hitting her!¡±

    A few pagester:

    ¡°I wish the man was dead! I wish he was out of our lives¡­why do we keeping back to this god-forsaken ce?!¡±

    The pages looked to be a little wet, and Kyle could imagine they were because of the one writing having cried. The next entry, if one could even call it that, was just the word ¡®die¡¯ filling up the entire page, seemingly traced over enough times to damage the paper. There was pure anger and he knew who it was directed towards.

    s, the next page was the worst one by far.

    ¡°I can''t take it anymore¡­ I don''t know what to do. This pain in my heart hurts so much¡­ I don''t want him to hurt Mommy, and I¡¯m scared. I''m so scared. I feel like I can''t breathe when he gets like that¡­

    I don''t know what to do¡­ maybe it''s easier¡­ if I weren¡¯t there. Without me, Mommy could finally leave him.¡±

    After reading the page, Kyle instinctively scrunched it up as he had made up his mind.

    ¡®He has to go.¡¯

    When leaving the room, Kyle did his best to put it back to how it was and closed the door. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed a faint muffle. Stopping for a second, Kyle wondered if it was the sound of his feet pressing against the floorboards, but as the teenager stood still, he could soon hear it again.

    It was faint, but it was also constant, and it seemed to go in and out. Walking further forward, Kyle could hear it even more now. He stopped in front of where the noise seemed to originate from¡­the bathroom.

    *****

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 Chapter 340 In the bath

    Chapter 340 In the bath¡¡¡¡ With the line of work his family was in and especially his half-brother, Kyle could guess what was on the other side of the bathroom door. He could already imagine that the muffled screams meant they belonged to someone trapped inside. That being the case, it now made perfect sense why Simon had told the Degraces to stay away until he called for them.

    ¡®I should just leave, I have enough to get Simon into trouble¡­¡¯ Kyle told himself, already heading to the door, but rather than exiting, now that he was in the main kitchen. He had decided to grab a knife instead.

    ¡®No, Dad really cares for Simon¡­ he really does, maybe just a few failed tasks here and there won¡¯t be enough to just get him kicked out of the Underdogs. They said that there was something big, and this could be it.¡¯

    Heading back to the bathroom door, Kyle stood outside it, he had tiptoed back and could no longer hear the muffled noises. Whoever was inside must have thought that he had left.

    ¡®If the person was just locked in there, then there would be banging on the room. I''m ny percent sure that Simon must have tied them up, but just in case¡­ I also have this.¡¯ Kyle thought, looking at the knife.

    He had never used such a thing, although he was quite athletic and good at sports, he didn''t willingly participate in sports, or any form ofbat. If he was to be a gang member he imagined that he would be one of the worst.

    Looking down the hallway, Kyle looked at Marie''s door again and remembered the dairy, this allowed him to push forward, twisting the door handle and pushing it in. ncing a peak, Kyle could see what looked like a male figure in the bath.

    At first he could just see his knees, so he knew that he was right, that someone was inside. They were close together and in the bathtub. Kyle couldn''t see any rope of any kind but this was pretty much the confirmation he needed that they were tied up.

    Now, a little braver, he pushed the door further and could finally see the state of the whole bathroom. Stunned by the sight in front of him, Kyle almost dropped the knife, but managed to control himself just in time, gripping it a little tighter.

    It turned out that the person was a badly injured man in the bathtub. There were heavy bruises, eyes swollen. On top of that, on the back of the bathroom wall there was blood all over it. That also wasn''t the only ce there was blood, some of it was sttered on the walls as well. One couldn''t imagine what had happened here, or how much pain the man was in front of him.

    It smelt slightly metallic inside, as well a little like rotten eggs. Everything was overwhelming for Kyle, and he felt his inside trying toe out from within.

    ¡®Calm down¡­ I can''t afford to throw up¡­ It''s just a game ¡­you''ve seen plenty of bloody scenes in games and movies! It''s just one of those. You''re just an actor of some sort.¡¯ Kyle was trying to convince himself.

    However, the man who was in the tub, of course noticed that someone he had never seen before had entered. Seeing that it wasn¡¯t Kyle, his eyes opened up, having seen a ray of hope. The muffling noises came out again, as the man tried his best to speak but of course none of it was audible.

    There were several pieces of tape wrapped around his mouth, merely allowing him to breathe through his nose. The fact the man wasn¡¯t using his hands meant they were tied up as well.

    Kyle remained frozen at the doorstep.

    ¡®What exactly did I think I was going to do? I knew someone was in here but then what? If I free the man, Simon will immediately know that I was here¡­ shit, I can¡¯t just turn back now either, the guy has already seen me¡­ what if he tells Simon about it?! What exactly was I expecting to find here? I can''t cut the tape from his mouth either.¡¯

    Although saying that, Kyle could see that a lot of the tools that were used to injure and tie up the man were still left in the bathroom including the tape. Perhaps he could just untape his mouth, in order to find out why he was here.

    At the same time, leaving this person, Kyle felt like if he did his life would be lost.

    ¡®He won''t be back for a long time¡­this man shouldn''t know me..I can just undo his mouth for now.¡¯ Kyle thought.

    ¡°Hey, I just wandered in here by ident.¡± Kyle eventually said out loud as he slowly approached the person. ¡°I¡¯m going to cut open your mouth and let you speak. I¡¯m the only one here, so please don¡¯t do anything stupid like scream for help, okay? I¡¯m not meant to be in here in the first ce.¡±

    Understanding what Kyle was saying, the man quickly nodded. Using the knife, Kyle carefully cut off the tape, and then started to pull. It was far more difficult than he thought and seeing the man up close was making everything he was doing a little harder as reality was starting to hit him.

    Eventually though, Kyle got the tape off, but not without a little bit of blood getting on his hands.

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± The man spoke with a weak voice. ¡°If you could free my arms and legs, we can get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Ahm¡­ I don''t exactly know who you are, mister.¡± Kyle replied, half acting, half serious. ¡°Like I said, I''m not meant to be here in the first ce. Maybe I should call the police and they wille here before hees back.¡±

    ¡°No..no¡­please.¡± The man started to beg with tears falling down his eyes. Just in case the man was ready to scream at any second, Kyle picked up the tape from the ground again, making sure that he would use it if he made any noise.

    However, that''s when the man realised something. ¡°Wait, I know you! I''ve seen you before! Your Damion¡¯s other son, aren¡¯t you?! Your name¡¯s Ken¡­ no, was it Kevin¡­ AH! It was Kai, right? I¡¯m a member of the Underdogs! Please, just call your Dad and tell him that Tim Curdy is still alive and that I¡¯m here, alright?!¡±

    Hearing these words caused great confusion for Kyle, but then something hit him. Given Tim¡¯s current appearance it was hard to tell, but the teenager could recall seeing someone with his frame being around Damion in the past. However, he had seen him even more recently, at the funeral. However¡­ it had been in the form of arge picture as one of the deceased.

    ¡®What¡­ is going on.¡¯ Kyle wondered, needing some time to sort through that information.

    s, before he could make heads or tails out of it, a metal nking sound came from the main room.

    *****

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 Chapter 341 From The Same Tree

    Chapter 341 From The Same Tree¡¡¡¡ At the moment, Eleanor was in a ce that she rather wouldn¡¯t have been in. She hade to the ¡®Basement¡¯, a nightclub that was owned by the Underdogs. Ever since she had gotten pregnant with her son, Eleanor had refrained from getting involved with any gang business, a choice Damion had fully supported.

    Nevertheless, everyone in the Underdogs knew about Damion¡¯s second family, since he couldn¡¯t help but show them off at certain events. It was to ensure unity and strength among the Underdog gang, to demonstrate that he was unafraid of those that woulde after their family, that''s how confident they were,

    As a familiar face, nobody had stopped Eleanor from heading inside the main office of the Underdogs, even though Damion only allowed others in under his strict supervision. With nobody bothering her, the woman had gone through countless files, business ounts and more in the hopes of finding something to help out her childhood friend.

    Of course, she didn''t want to hurt Simon. She knew perfectly well how much his firstborn son meant to Damion, yet she cared about her friend more.

    ¡®This¡­ all of this is important information¡­ but what exactly am I supposed to do with all of it?¡¯ Eleanor wondered, sitting down in the seat and staring at all the information as if they would offer some sort of guidance.

    ¡®Should I perhaps do what Kyle nned on doing? I have some of the shellpanies the Underdogs use to clean their money. There are even cards here, and I know their PIN and more. I could just withdraw most of the money and hand it over to Kiki.

    ¡®The two of them can run away to another country for a while. If Simon catches his big break, maybe he will be too busy to do anything about them.¡¯

    Eleanor took a long while to consider her next course of action. If she was caught, it would definitely cause problems. No matter his personal feelings, once everything came to light Damion would be forced to act, even if she was his lover. It was impossible for him to simply overlook such a treasonous act, as it would cause him to lose too much face.

    ¡®I¡­ should I just do it ande clean to him after? So far, he has never done anything bad to me or Kyle¡­ and if I exin the situation¡­ I¡¯m sure he will understand.¡¯

    nor was aware that she had no guarantee that things would turn out that way, and that this was mostly her hoping it would be ok. Still, she had already spent too much time here, and people might start to get suspicious. As such she decided to get to work, transferring the money into her ount, so there would be no way to link it to Kiki. After that she could give her friend the card.

    Eleanor regretted that it hade to this. In the past, she had tried to talk to Damion about this situation. Unfortunately, Simon had a way with words towards his father. He knew exactly what to say to convince him. Ultimately, the only thing that came out of it was a sort of unspokenpromise that Kiki was allowed to leave for a period of time whenever Simon ¡®misbehaved¡¯.

    Everyone involved must have hoped that it would be a one-time thing, yet it had turned into a vicious cycle¡­

    ¡®And that''s all done.¡¯ Eleanor thought to herself, mentally exhausted. Everything she was doing was nerve wracking, and she knew that she would eventually be caught. There was noing back from this.

    Her only hope was that it would give Kiki enough time to leave the country first. Ideally, Damion even help her keep it a secret¡­ or at least go easy on her once she confessed.

    Interrupting her idle things, the woman saw that her phone started to vibrate on the table. When looking at the number, it was one that she didn''t recognize well, yet she decided to answer it.

    ¡°Hello, is this Mrs Eleanor Hamper?¡± The voice on the other end questioned.

    ¡°Indeed. Who exactly am I speaking to?¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, this is Miss Buckle calling from Westbridge. I¡¯m just calling to check if everything is okay with Kai at home. He hasn¡¯te in today, and it is school policy to notify the school beforehand. We know you are usually on top of things and since this is the first time something like this has ever happened, we decided to give you a call.¡±

    It was safe to say that Eleanor was confused. She had seen her son leave for school in the morning, and he wasn''t the troublemaker type to just skip. The mother didn''t know why, but her stomach was feeling even worse than it was before.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Eleanor replied and hung up the phone, rushing out of the office.

    ¡ª¡ª

    A short whileter, Eleanor arrived at the school herself. She had attempted to call Kyle on his phone multiple times to no avail. Normally, this wouldn¡¯t be surprising, after all they were to concentrate on the lesson. However, she knew for a fact he wasn¡¯t at school. What¡¯s more, it had gone straight to voicemail meaning it was turned off, which was just worrying her even more.

    Eleanor headed straight to the teacher¡¯s lounge, where she got told the same story as on the phone.

    ¡°Please, would you call Marie Degrace. She should be in the same ss as him. The two of them walk to school every day, and they even left today together. I just wish to ask her some questions to see what is going on.¡±

    The teacher was a bit weary, but nor had been polite in asking, and there was something about her voice that made it hard for them to refuse. A few minutester the young teenage girl was brought in, and straight away it felt like she knew what was going on, as she avoided eye contact with Eleanor.

    ¡°Marie¡­please tell me where Kyle is.¡± Eleanor requested as she got eye level with her and held her hand. ¡°You know how much I care about you and your mother. You¡¯re both like family to me¡­ but so is Kyle. If anything were to happen to my son¡­¡±

    nor gulped as she didn¡¯t dare to finish that thought. Of course, Marie found it hard to deny the request of the woman who treated her like her own daughter. A bit shy, she leaned in and whispered a confession about Kyle¡¯s n to Eleanor, making the mother nearly suffer a heart attack.

    *****

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 Chapter 342 Stranger danger

    Chapter 342 Stranger danger¡¡¡¡¡®Hmm, that''s a little strange.¡¯ Simon noted as he looked down on the spoon that had fallen on the floor. However, he had more important things to worry about, so he didn¡¯t think too much into it, yfully kicking the spoon across the floor, before he proceeded to ce his bag on the counter of his kitchen table.

    ¡®Now¡­ let¡¯s see how much longer he¡¯ll manage to stay obstinate.¡¯ Simon grinned as looked forward to what he was about to do, as he emptied the bag, revealing arge set of pliers, metal stakes used for cooking, as well as a drill among other tools.

    The man was hovering over each item, pondering over which one he should use first. Eventually, his hands stopped on the pliers. As he walked down the hallway, he passed the spoon, making him halt for a moment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ SHIT!!!¡± Cursing, Simon switched from his casual walk into rushing towards the bathroom door, opening it as fast as he could. Once he had confirmed that his prisoner hadn¡¯t gone missing, he let out a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Phew, for a moment I was worried you might have escaped.¡± Simon admitted with a smile as he held up the pliers. His prisoner was in the same position the gang member remembered having left him in, tape still covering the former¡¯s mouth, still alive and stuck in the bathtub.

    ¡°Now, Tim¡­ ourst talk didn''t prove too fruitful, and since I have a job to do, we''re going to make you speak.¡± Simon revealed, as he walked up to the bathtub.

    ¡°First, I''m just going to pull off one of your nails, after which I¡¯m going to take the tape off your mouth. Now, if the first thing out of your mouth isn¡¯t what I need to know, we¡¯ll continue the process all over again. Don¡¯t worry, if you should run out of nails, I have plenty of other tools left in the kitchen.¡± Simon was exining things so casually, that one wouldn¡¯t believe he was talking about torturing a fellow human being.

    Usually, even a gangster would find it hard to resort to these types of things, especially on someone that would be in the same gang as them, but Simon didn¡¯t look to mind. In fact, the smile on his face was testimony to the fact that he was certainly nning on enjoying it. This could be seen on the captive''s face, and an instinct took over him, a sense of panic.

    He began to shake his body like crazy, doing his best to scream. s, barely any noise made it out, as the tape caused all of it to be muffled. It was then that Tim Curdle continued to look in Simon¡¯s direction¡­ but not exactly at him.

    Noticing this odd behaviour, his captor got up to the prisoner, pulled on the man''s hair to lift his head up and shouted at him. ¡°What the f*ck do you keep looking at?!¡±

    At first, the man couldn¡¯t help staring at the one grabbing him, but eventually, his pupils started to move, looking directly behind him once again, which eventually caused his torturer to turn his head.

    ¡°There''s nothing there¡­¡± Simon uttered, still holding the man¡¯s head. All he could see was the door swung wide open, and the rest of the bathroom. Simon was about to turn around until he had an epiphany.

    ¡®The SPOON! If he¡¯s still here, and I didn¡¯t leave it out¡­¡¯ Simon let go of his captive and walked over to the bathroom door. He grabbed onto the end and pulled it quickly in one swoop, revealing a shaking small boy¡­ one he despised for multiple reasons.

    ¡°Well, well, well, if it isn¡¯t my ¡®dearest¡¯ brother? To what do I owe the ¡®pleasure¡¯ of your visit?¡± Simon didn¡¯t even try to hide the pure unbridled sarcasm in his question.

    Kyle was opening and closing his mouth, trying toe up with an excuse. Never before had hee over, and to do so now, in the middle of his half-brother being busy with a job¡­ There was nothing he could say, so his only choice was to hope that Simon wouldn¡¯t hurt him too badly. Surely being half-brothers meant something¡­ right?

    ¡°I¡¯ve always known you to be a bastard, but to think you would be a goddamn rat on top of that. Thanks for making this easy for me. After sneaking in here, even Dad won¡¯t be able toin that I finally got rid of you.¡± Simon stated with a sadistic smile as he reached out to grab the teenager by his throat.

    After hearing this unveiled threat, Kyle reacted out of instinct, his grip on the knife strengthened, and he immediately shed it through the air, cutting Simon¡¯s hand. His half-brother had clearly not expected any resistance from the boy, and the striking pain from the attack was the price he was paying for that.

    ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this!¡± Simon shouted in fury, as he looked at the cut. ¡°I was gonna make it quick, but you''re more than dead now! I''m going to make sure to drain everyst drop of your tainted blood!¡±

    Kyle knew he stood no chance against his half-brother. He wasn¡¯t strong, nor did he have any experience as a fighter in any way. Heck, his body hadn¡¯t even fully developed yet, so it was impossible for him to deal with this bona fide gangster.

    Seeing Simon charge in, Kyle did the only thing he could think of that might get him out of this situation. With how enraged thetter was, even an amateur like him was able to predict the adult¡¯s next move, and using his smaller body frame to his advantage, he slid on the floor, right through his half-brother¡¯s open legs.

    Without any hesitation, the teenager mmed the door the other way, attempting to hit or stumble Simon in any way. He didn''t waste any time to look back to check whether it had worked, rather he headed straight for the guy in the bathroom.

    ¡°Please do something about him!¡± Kyle pleaded as he leaned into the bathtub and used the knife to free the man¡¯s arms. Before he could do the same for the legs, though, a grunt and scream came from behind him. As the teenager turned around, he saw the giant fiste straight towards his head. The next moment, he felt the impact on the side of his jaw, and the taste of metal was filling his mouth.

    ¡®It hurts¡­ it f*cking hurts so much!!!¡¯ Kyley nearly copsed on the floor. Looking up with tears in his eyes, he could see that Simon was ready for the next strike, this time using the pliers held in his hand. Without a doubt, it was going to hurt a lot more and do a lot more damage than his ¡®mere¡¯ fist.

    Midswing, another fist came from behind Kyle, and hit Simon¡¯s jaw, sending him back.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for outing you.¡± Tim apologised, of his eyes still heavily bruised, but the other one could see just fine. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure¡­ to get us out of here alive and tell Damion everything his rotten son has been doing!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 343 The Final struggle

    Chapter 343 The Final struggle¡¡¡¡ Before entering the apartment, Kyle had considered many ways things could go south, ranging from Simoning home early, to him leaving some sort of incriminating evidence behind. The moment he heard the spoon fall down, the teenage boy practically felt his heart drop to his feet. Without hesitation, he used the tape in his hands to cover the gangster¡¯s mouth to recreate the scene exactly as he had found it in.

    He knew that it was toote to leave the room. Simon would either hear or see him long before he could make it into another one, so Kyle quickly hid in the one ce most people would normally ignore, behind the door they would open.

    As he listened to his half-brother''s stepsing closer, he was racking his brain for a way that would allow him to make it out alive. He had always known his half-brother to be a brute, but the state Tim¡¯s body was currently in, only proved that he had vastly underestimated him. He was a lot more menacing than he had ever imagined, a true monster that Marie and his Aunt Kiki had been forced to live with for far too long.

    Kyle¡¯s only saving grace was that he wasn¡¯t the only one in the room who needed to fight to survive, and unlike him, Tim quickly demonstrated that he wasn¡¯t someone who would shy away from using violence. After he had delivered a punch, he started to get out of the bathtub, cing one foot over, but in doing so he slipped on a bit of his own blood, his other leg still trapped.

    From the looks of it, that one punch had taken a lot of energy out of him, not too surprising considering how much he had been tortured already. He barely had the strength to put his hand out, to cushion his falling body.

    Looking up, he continued to take his other leg out of the bathtub, yet Simon had already recovered. Not only that, but his leg was lifted and there wasn''t much that Tim could do as he saw a foot getting closer and closer to his face. Just before it hit, though, a flying shampoo bottle hit the assant right on the nose.

    s, despite the teenager using all of his strength, the damage was negligible, yet it was enough to make Simon¡¯s aim slightly off. Without this intervention, Tim¡¯s skull might have fractured from the kick. Still hurt, this amount was something he could bear through. Not losing any time, he tackled his torturer. After grabbing Simon around the waist, he pushed off both his legs to slightly lift him off the ground and mmed him onto the floor, positioning himself on top.

    ¡®I guess that guy had a lot more strength than I thought. Gangsters are used to being in these types of situations, fighting for their lives, but¡­what do I do now?¡¯ Kyle wondered, his inexperience clearly showing.

    He still had the knife in his hand, yet he hesitated to use it. shing and stabbing someone were two different things, especially since he had only done the former earlier by following his self-preservation instinct. The idea that he could be the one to end someone''s life, even if they were a monster like his half-brother¡­

    Squinting his eyes, Kyle was ready to make a break for it. Right now, Tim was in an advantageous situation, so now was his best chance to get to safety. Although Simon would know what he had done, he would just have to take the punishment head on.

    ¡®What if he tells Damion about this, though¡­ or what if Simon dies¡­ will Mum get punished instead of me? Will Dad get revenge on Marie and Aunt Kiki?¡¯

    ¡°Hey!¡± Tim shouted out, noticing that the teenager was making a run for it. ¡°If you don''t want to get involved, then call Damion. Tell him toe here to deal with a traitor!'''' The gangster continued to punch Simon, who kept both hands up, guarded and covering his head.

    ¡®That''s right!!! He¡¯s a traitor!!! Simon had captured and tortured another member of the Underdogs here!!! With this being the case, Dad won¡¯t punish me, but he might even reward me! That will solve all my problems! He won''t be able to tell him anything, and all of us will be able to live in peace without him!¡¯

    Taking the phone out of his pocket, he took it off aerone mode. A number of messages came through, including that of missed calls, but he didn''t have time to look at them. He pressed the one speed dial button he had never used before.

    ¡®Of course, he won''t answer a call from me during working time. I¡¯ll just have to send him a message.¡¯

    [Come to Simon¡¯s apartment now! I need help!]

    With the message sent, Kyle could only hope his father would rush over, but looking ahead, something had happened. Tim had stopped punching. His body was as still as a statue, and the next second, as Simon tried to get up, the gangster¡¯s body fell to the slide mming against the floor.

    Now that he had a better view, Kyle saw that his would be saviour was dead. Sticking out from his temple was the set of pliers his half-brother had brought in with him to the bathroom. During the struggle, using them, he had mmed them right into the side of Tim¡¯s head. They were shoved with extreme force and depth.

    Standing up, Simon looked to be a bit sore himself. His body hurt, but that didn''t stop him as he walked past the corpse in anger, mming his foot right into the pliers, sending them deeper into the man¡¯s skull.

    ¡°Shit, I didn''t want to kill him.¡± Simon gruffed as he approached Kyle. ¡°I still needed the intel he had! This is all your fault!! You should have never been born in the first ce!!!¡±

    The teenager cursed himself for having texted in the bathroom. He rushed towards the door, attempting to get out, but his half-brother¡¯s steps were bigger than his. Just as Kyle opened the door slightly, he received a kick to his side, and fell to the floor on his back.

    Instinctively, he put up his arms, as he had seen Simon do earlier, though it had little to no effect. His half-brother kicked him once, destroying his feeble resistance, and the second kick made him lose consciousness, thest thing he saw was the sadistic smile on the adult¡¯s face.

    He had no idea how long he had been out, but as he woke up, it felt like all the pain in his body wasing to him at once. His whole body was throbbing with each beat of his heart, and when opening his eyes, he was surprised to see someone standing there.

    ¡°M-mum¡­ i-is that y-you?!¡± Kyle mumbled, unable toprehend what he was seeing.

    As he tried to stand up, he felt his hand touch a liquid, and from what he saw, he appeared to be still in the same bathroom. This made it even more bizarre that he saw his mother there. Was it all a dream? When looking closer at his mother, he saw that she held a pocket knife in her hands¡­ next to her was Simon, lying motionlessly in a pool of blood.

    Before he couldprehend the situation, there were knocks on the door.

    ¡°Simon, are you in there?!¡± A deep and familiar voice resounded.

    *****

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 Chapter 344 The Bite

    Chapter 344 The Bite¡¡¡¡ ¡°... and then¡­ he¡­ my mother¡­¡± Kai¡¯s voice was shaking, and it was obvious that he was struggling with finding the right words about how to continue with thest part. Eventually, the blonde teenager let out a frustrated sigh which resounded throughout the cell and echoed off the walls.

    Gary could tell that the conclusion of the story was something difficult for Kai to speak about. The next part was surely thest piece of the puzzle that would exin how the goody-two-shoes Kyle became his upperssman Kai who he had always known him as. Still, he felt that he mustn''t rush his friend, waiting for him to continue once he was ready.

    ¡°You know, it¡¯s funny, I was kinda mad at you earlier because you ended up in this situation because you can often be hot-headed and rush into situations. However, after telling you about my past, I realise that I had pretty much done the exact same thing.¡± Kai let out a dryugh, as he pulled out a small de with a red handle. ¡°This little de is the only thing I have left of my mother. It¡¯s the one she had used to kill my half-brother Simon, saving my life but dooming her own¡­¡±

    Once more, there was a silence between the two.

    ¡°I¡­ I never found out how long I was out for¡­ just as I never found out what Simon had attempted to do to me.¡± Kai continued. ¡°All I know is that shortly after I woke up, I saw my mother having rescued me, by doing what I failed to do. Everything after that happened too fast for any of us to do anything about it. Since none of us answered him, Damion broke the door and rushed in.

    ¡°Well¡­ things couldn¡¯t have looked any worse. He came in, saw his beloved son on the floor and kneeled down. Unable to find a pulse, he turned around to my mother, who still held the de in her hand. He asked only a single question about who had done that to his son.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why he even bothered to do it given the situation, but at that moment I couldn¡¯t understand why my mother told him the truth ¡­ that she had killed Simon to save me¡­ it was the first time I had ever seen him hit her, and¡­ he just didn¡¯t stop¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve watched him let out all the anger and frustration on her defenceless body. It was as if he had turned into aplete monster, who continued even long after she had already stopped moving. At the time, I was so hurt I couldn''t do anything¡­ at least that¡¯s what I would love to believe.¡± Kai corrected himself, looking at his own hands as if they were the ones stained with the blood of his mother.

    ¡°The truth is that I was too afraid of him. I had escaped death far too many times in one day, that I didn¡¯t dare to risk my life even one more time¡­ even if only to call out to the bastard to stop hitting my mother¡­ so I witnessed everything¡­ including herst breath¡­ and beyond¡­¡±

    As tragic as it was, Gary felt ted that he finally had learned about Kai''s past, even though the circumstances might have been better. Still, it definitely brought the two of them closer. He now knew for certain that Kai¡¯s hatred for the Underdogs was in no way smaller than his own, and the fact that he happened to be Damion¡¯s son only made him resent the leader more.

    Holding onto the de tightly, Kai didn''t notice how his hand had gone a little past the handle, causing a small cut. His palm started bleeding, but his mind was still somewhere else, yet somebody immediately noticed the scent of fresh blood.

    It was as if something possessed the green haired teenager, receiving a second wind as his body practically lunged towards his cellmate. The chains pulled till they were taut, his mouth opened wide and saliva dripped down in front of Kai, waking him up from his reverie.

    The two teenagers were only inches away, and his upperssman could see the sharp teeth in Gary¡¯s mouth that didn¡¯t belong to a human. Nevertheless, he remained there standing fearless, only now noticing the state of his hand.

    ¡°You''re showing this much of a reaction to blood? I thought that only vampires would do that, so that''s surprising.¡± Kai muttered.

    It took a few seconds, but Gary eventually was able to control himself, forcing himself to go back as he was internally fighting his instincts to try his luck once more. Aware that it would be a problem, Kai cut off part of his shirt out and tied it around his wound.

    ¡°I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to do that.¡± The blonde teenager apologised. ¡°Where was I¡­ Oh, right. After my mother was killed, Damion never bothered talking with me about what happened that day, why I was there or how things turned out. Instead, he made one thing clear to me, and that was that I was to be a recement for Simon.

    ¡°I was told that I would be the sessor of the Underdogs. I was told to train every day, to learn the ways, the ins and outs of the business¡­ and I hated every second of it. However, I decided tomit myself to the training, to chuck myself in because I had promised myself that I would get vengeance for my mother.

    ¡°As for Marie and Kiki, he seemed to havepletely forgotten about them¡­ or perhaps he didn¡¯t want them around since they would be a constant reminder of Simon, either way, they were no longer involved with the Underdogs. However, Aunt Kiki felt extremely guilty about everything that happened and the two of them had been by my side ever since.¡±

    Kai didn''t say any other words, and instead he walked up to the bars again.

    ¡°I''m sorry for what happened.¡± Gary finally spoke, huffing and panting still. ¡°I''m sorry for rushing in here without really thinking about what to do. I understand now¡­ I understand why you hate the Underdogs.¡±

    The high schooler stopped there,cking the right words to console his friend given his personal situation. The two of them had the same goal, though for different reasons. Gary was fighting to protect his family, while Kai was fighting to avenge his family.

    ¡°¡­ you mentioned something about Damion waiting for someone to take care of me, so we should probably focus on getting out of here now. Since you came here as soon as you knew I was here, I assume you have a n, right?¡±

    Kai turned around, and rather than his usual confident smile, now there was a look of uncertainty stered on his face. ¡°I do, but I have a feeling you might not like it very much. After what I told you, I think you can sympathise why I want to get revenge on Damion with my own hands¡­

    ¡°A small part of me had hoped I would be able to do him in, or at least injure him in my fight with him, but I have unfortunatelye to realise that he is far stronger than I¡¯ve ever anticipated. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, the Underdogs have somehow managed to acquire a shitton of Anti-Altered weapons, far more than you yourself can handle¡­ but if you turn me, we should be able to overwhelm them.¡±

    Gary''s eyes widened hearing these words. ¡°T-turn you?! I-I can¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Kai asked, the unhappiness visible on his face now. ¡°You turned Billy, and Olivia, basically admitted that you turned her as well. What¡¯s stopping you from doing the same to me? Don''t you trust me?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand, it has got nothing to do with trust¡­ it¡¯s not as easy or as simple as you think! You could die!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°You were there, Billy was pretty much an ident and Olivia just got lucky! I didn¡¯t care whether she lived or died, but I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself if I caused your death.¡±

    Walking towards Gary, Kai stopped just short of where he could be reached.

    ¡°... yeah, I had a feeling you wouldn¡¯t like this n. You''re a nice guy, Gary¡­ but in this world, nice guys don''tst a long time.¡± Without giving the other teenager any time to react, he took off the wrap around his wound, and ran forward, shoving his hand right into the starving Werewolf¡¯s mouth.

    *****

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 Chapter 345 Alpha Bite

    Chapter 345 Alpha Bite¡¡¡¡When Kai started to move forward, time started to slow down from Gary¡¯s perspective. Even though he saw the blonde teenager rush forward, he still couldn¡¯t believe it. s, the Werewolf was unable to stop his instincts. Since the nice and juicy piece of meat was taking the initiative to deliver itself upon him, he opened his mouth, his teeth extended and sharpened further, cutting through the flesh.

    ¡®What¡­ why is Kai doing that? Has he gone mad? I have to stop¡­ but this taste!¡¯ Gary thought to himself as the blood filled his mouth. Rather than iron, it tasted like the most divine sauce. It was hard to say whether this was due to his palette having changed, or if this was simply the case because he had never been on the verge of death through hunger. No matter how hard he was trying to stop himself, his jaw was crushing down harder.

    ¡°Arghhh!!! ¡­ shit, how long do I have to endure this?! ¡­ Come on, Gary, turn me! That¡¯s the only way we can get out of here! ¡­¡± Kai was cursing as he could feel the bones in his hand breaking.

    Gary tried to unclench his jaw, but it seemed impossible at this point. Aside from the possibility of turning Kai, there was another reason why he was getting worried. He stepped back, but in doing so he dragged his cellmate whose weight seemed inconsequential right now.

    As for the reason, he had stepped back, it was because the chains that were holding him had started to loosen. Gary started to wrap them around his arms again until he felt the chain bing tight again. His hands were trying to reach for Kai''s body, but they couldn''t anymore, falling just short.

    ¡°G-gary, you''re still there¡­ right? You just need to let go. If you let go, I can break us out of here and help you!¡± Kai tried to reason with the Werewolf as he unsessfully tried to free his hand. Unfortunately, it just wasn''t possible and as soon as he tugged on it, the other teenager¡¯s mouth opened slightly, only to chomp down even further on Kai¡¯s arm. The upperssman had been aware that his approach would put him at risk, but he was starting to realise just how much of a gamble this situation really was turning out to be.

    ¡°F*ck!!!!¡± Kai screamed at the top of his lungs. ¡°Are you trying to kill me?!¡±

    Of course, Gary wasn''t trying to kill him. If he wanted to, he could have done that in seconds. In fact, he was doing his darndest to prevent his instincts from doing anything but take a bite to replenish his depleted Energy.

    He was fighting even now, and finally the sound of metal bending could be heard. Looking past Gary where the sun hade from, Kai could see that where the chains had been pinned down, they were slightly breaking from the ground, even the links themselves looked like they couldn''t hold out much longer.

    ¡°Gary!!!¡± Kai shouted even louder into his head, getting close, trying to make him hear. He was aware that it was risky, his face could be bitten off at any second, yet if he didn¡¯t do anything he would probably get eaten alive here.

    ¡®I..I can''t fight much longer, and if these chains break free, then there is nothing stopping me from going after Kai. He will be killed in an instant¡­ I don¡¯t know if just biting him will turn him now that I have a skill¡­ but I don''t want to kill him¡­ but if I don¡¯t do anything, he will die either way. ¡­ Please be lucky, Kai!¡¯

    Forced by the circumstance, Gary decided to risk it.

    [Skill activated, Alpha''s Bite]

    Using the system seemed to be easier than holding back the urge that was growing within him, and he could instantly tell that it worked. Kai''s veins started to bulge in front of him, showing through as a bluish green, and soon it spread to his neck. It looked like the teenager wanted to scream, but other than shallow gasps of air, no noise wasing out.

    Still, there was one problem that had yet to be resolved, and that''s the fact that Kai''s hand was still trapped in Gary¡¯s mouth. At the same time, the hungry Werewolf¡¯s fingernails were starting to grow, and they were inching further and further towards Kai¡¯s sides.

    ¡°Stwb fme!¡± Gary grunted. Hardly able to articte due to the hand in the mouth, Kai nevertheless managed to somewhat understand the order. Using thest bit of control he had left, he grabbed and held onto his mother''s pocket knife with his other hand, and swung it towards the top of Gary''s mouth.

    It pierced through his skin, though it was harder to pierce than Kai had anticipated. Either way, he continued to push and finally Gary had let go. With his hand free, Kai fell to the ground, as the pain took over, and managed to roll away a few times, so the Werewolf couldn''t reach him. He did so until he hit the back of the bars, stopping himself.

    Now with his meal out of the way, Gary could feel his body weakening again, and him falling down to the ground, his eyes fading away as he was growing tired.

    Was it the wound on his face? With the knife inside him, he had no way to heal, he was bleeding out and had no strength. Perhaps this was the end for the two of them.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Slowly, Gary started to open his eyes. It didn¡¯t take him long to register that he was still in the very same cell as before. However, things had drastically changed from thest time he had woken up. For one, the room was now stenched with the smell of blood, his own as well as Kai¡¯s.

    As he went to touch his face, he noticed neither the de nor the wound. That''s when he felt something else as well. His Energy was back to normal, and there were no more chains on him.

    Turning, he could see the chains had been ripped out of the ground.

    ¡®Did I do that? No, that can''t be possible¡­ and how did I heal? Was the blood enough for that?¡¯

    The worst started toe over Gary as he recalled thest thing that had urred. Looking in front of him, he could see the bars were bent, his cellmate was missing, and he could barely make out the sound of fighting in the distance.

    ******

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 Chapter 346: Another to the pack

    <h4>Chapter 346: Another to the pack</h4>

    Trying to gather what had happened, Gary was looking around the cell and noticed the chains on the floor. At the same time, the cuffs were no longer around his wrists, but they didn''t look to be destroyed. Instead, the cuffs were open.

    ¡®The chains are not ripped off either, it looks like someone went and got the key, and all this blood on the floor¡­ there¡¯s too much of it to be mine and Kai¡¯s alone¡­ did I sleepwalk and eat someone?¡¯ Gary started to wonder.

    Even if he had eaten up his upperssman¡¯s entire hand, something he was sure he would have remembered, it shouldn¡¯t have possibly been enough to heal him up, leading to more and more confusion in the awakened Werewolf¡¯s mind. That was when Gary decided to open up the system screen and assess the Pack tab.

    [Howlers Pack]

    [Alpha Werewolf - Gary Dem]

    [Grade: Bishop (1/15)]

    [Beta Werewolf - Olivia Pearl]

    [Grade: Knight (0/5)]

    [Beta Werewolf - Kyle Hamper]

    [Grade: Pawn (0/1)]

    ¡®Phew, I¡¯m d Kai sessfully turned into a Werewolf¡­ however, should I be happy or sad that he didn¡¯t be a Knight Grade Werewolf? ording to the system I received a Pawn Point, so I could upgrade him to assign him a ss, but ording to Olivia¡¯s ount it takes some time, and assuming he fighting right now it could be a death sentence. At least, I hope he is the one fighting. I don¡¯t see the Bond Mark I have ced on him¡­¡¯

    Checking on his Mark skill, he saw that the number had gone down by one. Fortunately, Gary had seen Kai''s name appear in the Pack tab, so he knew him to at least be safe. Still, finding him might prove troublesome. He had already tried picking up his scent to find Kai¡¯s location, but it was hard to make out, especially since it had somewhat changed, most likely due to him turning.

    ¡®... well, after hearing his story, and judging from where we currently should be, he has to have gone after Damion. I have yet to receive the daily notification about how much I have left until the full moon, so I can¡¯t have been out for too long, but I can hear some struggling sounds, so I should better check up.¡¯

    Stepping out of the cell, Gary abruptly stopped as he discovered a dead person. A gang member who looked to have been brutally shed across the chest multiple times. On closer inspection, Gary could soon see that his limbs had been removed and only the torso of his body was present.

    ¡®Shit!¡¯ Gary took a few steps back. ¡®Was it this guy? ¡­ it has to be. He smells the same as what was in the cell. Did Kai kill him and bring him to me? But how¡¯s that possible? The Pack Rules should have prevented him from taking someone¡¯s life unless in a life or death situation.¡¯

    Thinking about this more, Gary realised that the rule might be a bit more open for interpretation than he had initially believed. He didn¡¯t know whether it had been a life and death situation for Kai himself, but the life of him as the pack leader had certainly been in danger. The Werewolf made a mental note to experiment in the future whether Pack Rules could be overridden in cases where his own safety depended on it, or if they were enforceable as long as he made them more specific.

    Either way, it appeared as if he would have to thank the blonde teenager for filling up his Energy and Health. He gave the corpse a silent thank you for bing his food as he went past it. He was a little worried about what else he might see, his hand was hesitating on turning the handle.

    ¡®At least I know that Kai is still alive out there¡­ wait a second, the Pack Rules!!! How much can he actually do against Damion? It might have been one thing to kill someone to ensure my safety, but how much is he allowed to do once I was fine again?¡¯

    It was then that Gary swung the door open and discovered that he was in arge building that was scattered with blood. There were two guards by the door, both had been severely hurt, but Gary could hear a faint breath from one of them. He quickly knelt down to check on the gangster.

    ¡°Tell me what happened to you¡­ was it a blond haired boy? Was it Kai?! If you tell me, I can save you.¡± Gary bombarded the dying man with questions. His eyes looked weak, still bleeding from the wounds on his body, and unsure whether he could talk or not, Gary went and looked at the other person. Unfortunately, he was already dead.

    ¡°...mon¡­ster~¡± The first man eventually revealed with hisst breath. Seeing this, and the wounds, the circumstances spoke for themselves. Although Kai should be bound by the Pack Rules, from the looks of it injuring a person to the point that they were close to death wasn''t out of the question, and letting them bleed out didn¡¯t seem to be a problem either.

    ¡®Damn it. It looks like the Pack Rules are a far cry from being as loophole free as I had hoped¡­ what have I done? With as much anger as he has¡­ What happens if he bes another Bill? Shit, I don¡¯t want to have to kill him¡­¡¯ Gary thought, and decided on running through the building towards the noise.

    Running through, Gary soon realised that he was in some type of abandoned building, that used to be a police station, though in hindsight the cell room should have already been a big hint. There didn''t seem to be many guards, which seemed a little strange. The Werewolf had expected Damion to have brought the remaining members of the Underdogs to this ce, if only to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t escape.

    Soon, though, Gary could hear the sound of groaning and a few loud bangs here and there.

    ¡®Please, let me not be toote¡­¡¯ He silently prayed.

    When turning the corner, he could see a female standing in therge reception hall, just by the double door entrance. She was surrounded by four people, each one armed with Anti-Altered weapons, with two more lying on the ground, seemingly knocked out.

    ¡°Screw it, even more of yo~ oh, it¡¯s you. That saves me having to look for you.¡± Olivia smiled. ¡°Well, don¡¯t just stand there, help me out here!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 347: A Trained Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 347: A Trained Wolf</h4>

    A group of more than a dozen people had appeared in a dimly lit underground car park that was filled with ck vehicles, all with tinted out windows. As if that alone wasn¡¯t shady enough, each one of them had arge ck sports in their hand or strapped on their back,rge enough to hold a pair of skis inside.

    Of course, these men weren¡¯t just a normal group of enthusiastic ski goers, but the inner circle of the Underdogs. The content of their bags was priceless for any normal sry worker, which was just more of a reason to keep it hidden from public eyes. Right now, these men were following behind Damion, who angrily paced towards the cars.

    ¡®Why does it seem that all my problems started after I agreed to smuggle that damn package? Ever since it went missing, I have been haunted by problems everywhere. Since Greeny took out Kirk, I couldn¡¯t even be happy about doing in Brandon. I just hope that NIRV guy really makes it worth our while for capturing that traitor and takes his sweet time extracting his Altered DNA.

    ¡®And now we have more problems. I can¡¯t believe it at a time like this. Someone has attacked every single one of the Underdog hideouts. Some of those ces were being used to store other Anti-Altered equipment as well.

    ¡®Who leaked the information?¡¯

    Thinking about his prisoner, Damion suddenly stopped, reminded of the other traitor. He had always been wary of a rat appearing in their midst, but learning that it was his own flesh and blood had stung more than he had ever been prepared for. Part of him didn¡¯t want to believe it, but in hindsight it made sense, especially how those Pincers had managed to pinpoint every single operation of his after that night.

    ¡®Well, with this group and our weapons, we should be able to take on any of them thate our way. Then I''ll bring back everyone one of those damn Howlers that he thought were his allies, and force them to fight to the death for their freedom, including that damned brat of mine!¡¯

    When Damion finally reached his car, he let out a blood-curdling scream. This safehouse was something only those in his inner circle were privy to, yet someone had managed to sneak in and sh all the tires.

    ¡®This is a privateplex, no one should be in he-¡¯

    Damion¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by something crashing down on top of the car. Quickly one of his trusted men pushed him to the side, just in time for the next second he suffered arge impact to the side of the head. It was a foot but not just a simple kick, it was a strong one, sending the man falling into the car parked next to it.

    His head had hit the windscreen and had smashed the ss to pieces before falling to the floor. He wasn''t going to be getting up any time soon to fight, yet his shallow breathing was a sign that he had at least survived.

    Two more quickly went towards their leader, with one of them pulling him back and out of the way, as the other tried to intercept this enemy. They soon found themselves being hit by a strange circr device. It looked like a ball, but once touching their skin, a sharp pain was felt as it opened up and hooked four points into the person''s skin.

    Shortly after, a sharp electric current like a stun gun went through their whole body, only stronger, shocking them to the point where they had copsed onto the floor.

    ¡®It was worth waiting in that ceiling for the perfect time.¡¯ Kai thought while he stayed crouched down on the bo of the car, using his new-found strength and ws to stay up above on some metal work.

    Unfortunately, he had ended up unable to make use of the element of surprise. Both times Damion had been protected by his men. It was as if there was some force field, or maic pulse around him, that didn''t allow him to be hit.

    Either way, Kai thought fast and changed his targets to those next to him, taking them out one by one, using the Anti-Altered equipment he had obtained and beaten.

    The sound of something swinging through the air had caught Kai¡¯s attention, and quickly he rolled away from the strike, allowing for a bat-like weapon to smash the bo. Looking at what had almost hit Kai, he could see that it had gone right through the metal of the car, causing arge dent.

    ¡®That''s not an ordinary weapon. It must have given him some super strength or something, or it has some strange technology I don¡¯t understand.¡¯ Kai analysed. Either way, he quickly climbed back onto the bo of the car using one hand, and leapt with both his legs forward in the air, kicking the man right in the face, hitting him a great distance like before.

    Looking towards the others, he could see one person had a type of crossbow in his hand, as he fired out a bolt, the teenager quickly rolled back allowing three arrows to miss him, and he was now on the roof of the car itself.

    Kai had trained non-stop since that day he had lost his mother, and he was thankful for that. He had then used his experience putting himself in real fighting situations since making the Howlers with Gary. Now with his new body, he had reached a potential he had never thought he could.

    However, he was currently looking at slightly less than a dozen remaining gang members, all with Anti-Altered weapons having been brought out. Sure they couldn''t utilise the weapons properly like the Altered Hunters or his own father with his axes, drawing the special energy from them, but they were still strong weapons, nheless. Strong enough to have captured Gary.

    ¡°It appears that there is actually more of me in you than I ever thought.¡± Damion stated with a smile as he took out his axes. ¡°You were born to rise to the top and take whatever you want for yourself¡­ even if you have to take out your old man!¡±

    ¡°Thest part is the only thing you got right!¡± Kai shouted, his heart rate increased. He had expected his father to have any number of emotions, be it scared, worried, or angry, yet for him to feel pleased about the teenager trying to take revenge just made Kai boil with anger.

    Soon his forearms started to grow slightly as they bulged. So wide that it ripped his clothing. Now, wed hands covered in grey fur could be seen, along with his fierce blue glowing eyes.

    ******

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 Chapter 348: Clever Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 348: Clever Wolf</h4>

    If Kai had known beforehand how much the process of being turned into a Werewolf would hurt, the teenager might have been far less eager to go through with it. He was no stranger to pain, but even if he were to add up every single painful experience throughout his life, it would still pale inparison to the change that had started after Gary¡¯s Alpha Bite.

    After what felt like multiple lifetimes, the pain had eventually subsided, only to be reced by an overwhelming sense of hunger. His stomach was growling in protest, demanding to be filled as it started to emanate an entirely different kind of pain. Fortunately, his nose informed him that a source of food was already nearby.

    Without losing a moment to think about it, Kai bent the metal bars of the cell that had held the two teenagers and followed the scent. Behind the door, one lone Underdogs member was busy staring at his phone. The moment he looked up, Kai was already in front of him, using one hand to w at his chest, while holding his mouth shut with the other. The man died without being able to let out more than a whimper.

    Then he feasted. Before the teenager had even realised what he had done, his meal had lost both its arms. Now satisfied, he feltpelled to make sure that Gary was taken care off, yet he could feel that this was more than just his own thoughts. Nevertheless, he did what he felt was right and fed the green-haired teenager with the corpse¡¯s extremities.

    Part of him was surprised to see that Gary managed to eat it in his clearly unconscious state. The moment Kai had held a leg in front of the other teenager¡¯s mouth, he chomped down on it, and it disappeared as if the Alpha Werewolf¡¯s mouth had been a ck hole.

    Kai briefly wondered whether this was a normal reaction, or if this was a conditioned response due to the bloody smell, which he himself found appetising now. Still, he knew that he should not waste time here. He made sure to free his friend from the chains, not forgetting to pick up his mother¡¯s knife.

    On his way out of the abandoned police station, the Underdogs member that tried to stop him, became Kai''s unwilling test subjects, allowing him to get more used to his new body. Things that had taken Gary weeks to learn, Kai had picked up on in around an hour.

    Kai had to admit, this kind of body was amazing. Were it not for the gruesome torture-like transformation that had really made him wish for death more than once, he might even be mad at Gary for not having turned all the Howlers ages ago. Ever since the day his mother and Simon had died, Kaihad trained his body to the best of its capabilities, yet¡­ he was now easily able to surpass his former limit without even trying.

    Unfortunately, not everything was great. For one, he found out that part of him prevented him from using outright lethal attacks against the gang members¡­ though it didn¡¯t take him long to find a way around it.

    Kai also quickly discovered that the more enraged he became, the more his body would change in turn. There was an easy trigger for Damion¡¯s son, something that would always get him angry, and that was remembering the scene that was haunting his nightmares¡­ thest moments of Eleanor Hamper¡¯s life.

    ---------

    ¡°Use your weapons against Altered!¡± One of the men in the back shouted, as he fired the bolts from his crossbow. With his enhanced vision, Kai was able to avoid both bolts as he darted from right to left.

    ¡®The other crossbows were firing three bolts. That number seems to be the limit to the weapon, so there should be at least one more before I will have a break.¡¯ Kai analysed the situation.

    The next second, he could see the third oneing towards him, while at the same time, the one who had used the weapon had started reloading the weapon. Seeing this as an opportunity, Kai focused on his legs, and suddenly his shoes ripped apart as long nails appeared.

    Spinning his body, the Werewolf hit the long body part of the bolt, kicking it off course and right onto another person that was approaching him with a strange orb looking weapon with a rounded end. It looked a bit like a spear, but Kai wasn¡¯t willing to find out what would happen if he touched it.

    The man was electrified by the bolt that pierced his chest, falling to the ground.

    ¡®Seriously, Gary, it feels unfair that you kept this to yourself all this time.¡¯ Kai thought, happy to be able to aplish things with his body he would only have been able to dream about.

    ¡°Were you just ying with me, so that I would throw you in with your buddy?¡± Damion asked, now holding both axes in his hands, the smile on his face gone. ¡°I don''t know how you did it, unless¡­ could it be¡­? Were you behind this whole thing in the first ce? Did you pay off Greeny to bring you the package? Shit, if I had known that there was enough stuff in it to turn more than one person, I would have used it on myself!¡±

    This was normal to think, as an Altered turning others into Altered was never heard of before.

    ¡°You know, when I gave you one of these axes, I did it because I considered you to havee one step closer to seeding me as the leader of the Underdogs. I didn¡¯t think I would have to use them to take you out with them. Oh well¡­ I bet if I hand two of you over to them, my reward will be even greater.¡±

    While his father was rambling, the other gang members managed to get in some type of formation to surround Kai. At the front of the circle, they held out theirrge Anti-Altered weapons that had the sparks at the end.

    A couple of the crossbow users were now standing on top of cars, pointing their weapons towards him, then in between, there were those that had the most lethal weapons, swords, clubs, and spiked weapons.

    Nevertheless, the one he was most looking out for was none other than Damion himself.

    ¡®Did I grow overconfident after learning of my powers¡­ no, I can still do this.¡¯ Kai thought, as he saw one of the inner circle members thrust his spears forward.

    Moving his leg as fast as he could, Kai kicked the head of the spear through the round part. The weight and power of the kick caused it to crash into the others, but the second the Werewolf¡¯s foot had touched the end, the teenager¡¯s whole body experienced an electric shock going through it.

    ¡®Damn it, these Anti-Altered weapons are proving to be perfect to handle Werewolves as well¡¯

    Soon, he felt another prod him in the back, with the spark travelling throughout his body. In anger, Kai grabbed the spear end behind him, and lifted it up with all his strength, in doing so the man was also lifted into the air, before being swung at the end and crashing into the others.

    Now Kai had one of the Anti-Altered weapons in his hand, he was nning to use it against the others, that was until he felt himself being hit in the side by three bolts at once. The shock wasrger this time, and the fur on his arms was reverting slightly, as he was losing strength.

    ¡®Damn it, just who gave them ess to so many of these nasty weapons?!¡¯

    ¡°Stop hiding behind your men! Why don''t you fight me on your own, you coward?!¡± Kai shouted towards his father, who had yet to do anything.

    ¡°Do you think it''s fair for a normal human like me to go up against an Altered like you?¡± Damion questioned Kai, shaking his head. In the meantime, a few more bolts were shot towards Kai, yet mid-air, something wrapped around them, before retracting back like a toad''s tongue.

    A few ngs were heard as they fell on the ground. Turning their heads, the Underdogs members could see two figures run towards them. Leaping up in the air, theynded right in front of Kai.

    ¡°Gary¡­ Olivia.¡± Kai said, unsure what else to say. He was curious to find out how they had found him, since he had only told Olivia the address of the abandoned police station, but that question would have to wait forter.

    Gary pulled out the bolts from Kai¡¯s body, allowing him to heal a bit. ¡°Looks like I''m not the only one who rushes head on into things without asking for backup.¡±

    Smiling, Gary stood up and looked at Damion, who seemed to be thrown in with anger.

    ¡°I don''t think, this many against one person is fair, either.¡± Gary stated. ¡°You know, Damion, I don''t think you¡¯re fully aware of what you''re dealing with.¡±

    Hearing this, Damion couldn''t help but let out a scoffugh. ¡°Do you really think it makes a difference how many of you losers show up? Even if all three of you were Altered, it wouldn''t make a difference.¡±

    Now, it was Gary''s turn to smirk. ¡°You might be right¡­ if we were your everyday Altered that is. There is something you should know about us wolves, we always hunt in packs!¡±

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    *****

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 Chapter 349: Howling Force

    <h4>Chapter 349: Howling Force</h4>

    The three of them stood side by side, tall and strong, their presence making all the Underdogs members unconsciously take a step back to adjust themselves. After all, what they were staring at weren''t three humans, but three literal beasts.

    Now that Kai was no longer being attacked, he was able to focus his anger once again, allowing his arms and legs to be covered in fur once more. Strangely, this time even the side of his face was turning hairy, going down towards his chin.

    Then there was Olivia. Only part of her body had changed to show off her ck fur, and her forearms were smallerpared to Kai¡¯s, yet her fingernails seemed longer, and were sticking out more. Gary, who saw both of them, was unsure whether this difference was due to the former being a female Werewolf, or if this had to do with her being a Hunter ss Werewolf.

    Meanwhile, he himself was undoubtedly the biggest threat to the gang members. While the other two had only partially transformed, he had used Full Transformation topletely turn into a Werewolf.

    ¡°Three Altered, all the same type. What is going on?!¡± One of the men cried out in panic.

    ¡°Who cares!¡± Damion shouted to keep up the morale. ¡°We have the weapons to fight them! Just think of the rewards we will get once we hand over all three of them!¡±

    The first one to make a move amidst all the chaos wasn''t Damion, nor any of his remaining men, it was none other than Gary who was proving that although big in size, his movement speed was faster than any of them.

    The Alpha Werewolf ran straight towards one of the members wielding an Anti-Altered spear. Before the Underdogs member could use his weapon like intended, he briefly felt a stinging pain from his neck area, then a warm liquid dripping down, before he fell to the ground dead.

    Following an instinct, Gary licked off the blood from his w while looking at the gang members. Ironically, the Underdogs weren¡¯t the only ones whose fear this type of action had invoked. Kai had never thought to see such a side of the teenager¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Not too long ago, Gary had chanced upon Olivia in the abandoned police station. With the two of them working together, it had proven rtively easy to defeat the remaining guards. The Lady Boss had then proceeded to inform him about what had happened while he had been out.

    A team of Pincers, along with the other Howler members, had raided the few hideouts the Underdogs had left. At each ce a token force of members had been left, and they were getting rid of them one by one.

    Kai knew this would catch the personal attention of his father, so he had asked Olivia in person toe at the right time and break them out, unless he were to contact her. This had been Kai''s n B in case n A of being turned would have proven not to be feasible.

    ¡°Then we have to go and save Kai! He will definitely be after Damion now!¡± Gary insisted once Olivia was done. ¡°Kai is one of us now, but he won''t be able to take them on his own! We can¡¯t let himmit the same mistake as I did.¡±

    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that? Seriously, both of you need to sit down and talk this shit out once all of this is over. I¡¯m aware that each of us is stronger than the average man, but neither one of you was thinking straight when deciding to take on an entire gang by yourselves.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll have to follow whatever you say anyway since you¡¯re the boss, but let me give you a word of warning. If you want us to save your buddy, you¡¯ll have to fight to the death. Remember when you went into the Pincers gang? Everyone there was ready to kill you, including me, only problem was we just couldn''t.

    ¡°It''s going to be the same this time, only they seem to have the means wecked. You were lucky enough that Kai¡¯s suicidal n actually worked somehow, but don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get a third chance if we lose.

    ¡°This fight will be an all or nothing situation, so you¡¯ll need to fight without holding anything back, and allow me to do the same. If you don''t then there is a good chance that all three of us will end up dead. Do you understand what I''m saying? You have to be prepared to kill everyone!¡±

    Gary gritted his teeth, he hadn''t killed any of the Underdogs members they had run into so far, and neither had Olivia, though in her case it was more than likely due to the Pack Rules. The teenager would like to avoid going on a killing spree, but it didn¡¯t really seem like he had much of a choice.

    Unfortunately, he recognised the truth in her words. The Alpha Werewolf would have to steel his resolve. Whether he could or not, Gary was hoping that by the time they reached the end of Damion¡¯s Mark he would be ready to do what needed to be done.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The moment of fear from seeing their fellow member having been killed soon made ce for the realisation that if they did nothing they would end up as a corpse as well. As such, they sprinted into action and thrust their long spears forward towards Gary. Once again, a quick, fast object wrapped around the pole part of the spear.

    They were yanked onto the ground, and Olivia kicked one of the men right in the face.

    ¡°It looks like you made your decision. You''re bing more of a person who I can follow.¡± Olivia stated with a wicked smile on her face.

    Not answering her, the Alpha Werewolf picked up the dead body, and hurled it towards the gang members, before running back towards Kai and Olivia, repositioning themselves. He had easily grabbed the other two, and leapt over the group of people.

    Gary had more strength and speed than the two of them, because he was a werewolf that was in another Gradepared to them.

    ¡°Gary, what are you doing? We can¡¯t risk letting him get away! We need to finish him off here and now!¡± Kai protested.

    ¡°I know.¡± Gary growled as a response, putting him down and turning around. Now, the three were no longer surrounded. They stood on one side of the car park, blocking the exit, while Damion and the others stood next to the vehicles in the centre.

    ¡°We will finish it here.¡±

    His words were not understood by the gang members, since it was full of growls and only the sounds of vowels could be made out, but both Olivia and Kai could understand Gary. Immediately, he opened up the system, as it was time for him to use everything he had.

    First, Gary selected the Pack tab where Olivia''s name could be seen. As a Hunter ss Werewolf she had 15 Marks avable, and as the Alpha Werewolf he was able to assign them as well. He used this ability to Mark every still living member of the Underdogs.

    The second this was done, Olivia felt an energy rise inside. Seeing the targets in front of her, the scents in the air could be seen in all of them and the blue colour in her eyes was shining stronger than before.

    It was the effect of the Hunter ss and on top of that, Gary would gain additional Exp for every one of the targets that Olivia sessfully hunted.

    Then, there was one more thing, Gary needed to change.

    [The Pack Rules have been amended.]

    ¡°Kai, go take care of Damion while Olivia and I take care of the others. If you need help, don¡¯t hesitate. After today, there won¡¯t be any Underdogs left!¡±

    Opening his maw wide, arge, piercing howl escaped.

    [Skill activated Howling Force]

    ****

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 Chapter 350: Three bad wolves

    <h4>Chapter 350: Three bad wolves</h4>

    Immediately, the Underdogs had gotten into position, once again using the cars as a higher vantage point and firing out towards the three. However, Olivia¡¯s presence made it so that their resistance became futile. The female Werewolf swung her whip, snapping those bolts in two thanks to her speed.

    ¡°Just take them out, while I make sure none of those things pierce your ass!¡± Olivia instructed Gary.

    Hearing this, the Alpha Werewolf dly epted her support. He charged forward and grabbed the ends of two of the Anti-Altered spears. He held on tight and pulled the men forward, causing them to fall on the ground, giving Olivia the chance to just run straight past them.

    Several bolts shot towards her, but she would evade by running from side to side. Those that got close, she used her whip to intercept.

    ¡®This is amazing, my body is even faster than it was just moments ago, and there¡¯s this new energy inside me. Every time I''m around that brat, he pulls out something that defiesmon logic. Who would have ever thought a howl would be able to increase not only my strength but also my speed¡­ this power is really addicting.¡±

    Throwing out her whip, she wrapped it around the Anti-Altered crossbow of one of the men, stopping it from firing another bolt. The gangster held on tight, aware that the weapon was his only safety. If he let go, he was sure that it would be the end of him.

    The other member, who was on the hood of another car, aimed carefully, and attempted to fire towards Olivia, but that''s when she used her great strength to pull the first man towards her, and quickly stabbed him in his gut with her free hand. As he was bleeding out, the female Werewolf was holding him in ce to act as her human shield.

    Unfortunately for him, the bolts had already been fired out, hitting the injured gangster, and sending electricity throughout his body. Before it could reach Olivia, she quickly let go of him, making him fall to the ground and spasming.

    ¡°That was cute, you trying to hit me with those bolts and all.¡± The Lady Boss stated with an evil smile on her face, as he lunged towards her next victim.

    Meanwhile, on the ground, Gary was causing havoc as well. He was hitting the spears away at the right time, and his ws weren''t afraid of shing against the Anti-Altered swords that were being used.

    When the two shed, Gary''s strength proved clearly superior to theirs, their swords lifted upward, with them being unable to do anything about it. s, the Werewolf wasn''t able to go in to finish them off, as there would always be someone that would cover for the other before he could finish them,

    ¡®I''m being more careful because of what happenedst time, and thanks to Olivia I don''t need to deal with those annoying ranged users. Argh, I can''t believe I let these guys capture me. They''re a far cry from what ke can do! If only I hadn¡¯t gone in alone earlier.¡¯ Gary thought, as he quickly ducked underneath another sword strike and went down on all fours.

    Pouncing with all his strength forward, his legs acted like a spring, hitting the man right in the chest, and sending him flying back into another.

    ¡°Do your part, Kai!¡± Gary shouted towards thest member of their group. He himself only cared about Damion being taken care of so that he could no longer pose any danger to himself or his family. After his upperssman had shared his story about why he hated the gang leader, the green-haired teenager didn¡¯t think it would be fair to rob him of the opportunity to get revenge.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Just what went wrong in your upbringing for you to defy your own father to this degree?¡± Damion questioned as he took a look at the situation unfolding behind the teenager.

    ¡°You mean the upbringing you were never there for? We both know that I¡¯ve always just been your recement son. If he hadn¡¯t died, you would never have even given me the time of the day. Even then, all you¡¯ve taught me ever since then was how to take care of the gang business and fighting!¡± Kai shouted as he ran forward.

    Damion stayed still, and at the right time, he swung one of the red axes straight towards Kai¡¯s head. Seeing this, the Werewolf was barely able to react and leaned back slightly, but also fell off bnce. He could see another axe up in the air, so he quickly rolled to the side, before it hit the ground, creating a huge crack.

    ¡®His strength and speed with those axes is no joke, even in my Werewolf form.¡¯ Kai thought, taking a few steps back to reposition himself.

    ¡°You''re a monster, you didn''t even hesitate in either of those attacks!¡± Kai shouted.

    ¡°Are you really calling ME a monster right now? Have you even taken a look at yourself in the mirror?!¡± Damion sneered at the usation. ¡°Did you expect me to just stand still and let you finish me off? When your life''s on the line, nothing matters, not even family rtionships. The moment you¡¯ve decided to try and take my life, you became just another guy who I will happily skin with my axes!¡±

    Unexpectedly, during his speech, Damion threw out one of his axes with all his strength. Spinning through the air, it was approaching Kai at a speed he felt unable to dodge. Left with no other choice, he crossed his arms in front of his chest to avoid a fatal injury.

    The Beta Werewolf had a strong hide, yet the axe managed to pierce deeply into one of his arms. As he looked up, he saw that his father had moved. While he had been focused on the flying weapon, the gang leader had closed the distance between the two and was just in front of him, ready to chop down the other axe on the teenager¡¯s head.

    ¡®I can''t keep running away¡­ that won''t work!¡¯ Kai realised, as he readied his leg twisting it, and threw it out as hard as he could. His foot hit the handle part of the axe, stopping the ded part from reaching his body.

    The foot and axe were seemingly locked in a battle of strength in the air, yet the gang leader surprised the Werewolf once more by unceremoniously letting go of the axe. Damion delivered a punch to Kai¡¯s guts. Fortunately, his Werewolf body had strengthened his overall constitution, allowing him to avoid falling over, yet it still hurt greatly.

    Although he had hoped for his attack to be more effective, the Underdogs¡¯ leader quickly switched strategies once more, pulling out the axe that had been embedded in his son¡¯s arm. Kai threw out a kick, to which Damion mmed his axe right into the teenager¡¯s shin, making him howl in pain, feeling that the head of the axe had not just gone through his hide, but had also hurt the bone as well.

    This time rather than leaving it in, Damion pulled it out, and jumped back picking his other axe off the ground.

    ¡°For a second there, you almost scared me with this new form of yours, but you are still just a brat!¡± Damion stated, charging in, swinging his axes at a great speed.

    Kai was left on the defensive, unable to find any opportunity to retaliate. Worst of all, he could tell that his situation was getting progressively worse. ¡®Are his attacks getting faster with each swing?¡¯

    s, this wasn''t just his imagination. His father was getting a thrill, a boost, out of the fight in front of him, which was allowing him to draw out more power from the weapons. Soon Kai couldn''t avoid the hits from the weapons at all, and the cuts were stering his body. Blood was falling to the ground, and the more Kai was getting hit, the weaker he was starting to feel.

    ¡®Think¡­ there has to be some way for me to turn this around. I trained for years just to take revenge, and I''m even a fricking Werewolf right now! How is it possible that I STILL can''t beat him?! This isn¡¯t fair¡­ no, I WILL MAKE SURE YOU DIE TONIGHT, EVEN IF I HAVE TO ACCOMPANY YOU!!!¡¯ Kai thought in frustration, looking for the chance to use all his remaining power to make sure he wouldn¡¯t be the only one to die today.

    ¡°Is this really the power of an Altered? I could beat you even without my weapons!¡± Damion taunted, having noticed the change in Kai¡¯s eyes. He had been doing his job long enough to recognise the kind of stare he was getting. A cornered rat would always try its hardest to at least get one final bite in, trying to inflict the most amount of damage against his attacker, even if they knew that the attempt would be pointless and feeble.

    Since it was clear that his son was about to throw out all caution, he feigned an obvious opening, so he himself could exploit the senseless charge that was sure to follow. Raising both his axes in the air, he was about to deliver a fatal blow.

    As they reached the top, and Damion went to swing down, he felt his weapon stuck in ce.

    Slightly turning his head, he could see arge Werewolf holding onto both axes, and behind him, all the Underdog members had been defeated.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find out if you really are so great without those.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 351: Hollow

    <h4>Chapter 351: Hollow</h4>

    ¡®I¡¯m d she¡¯s on our side. It¡¯s seriously frightening how effective Olivia¡¯s Hunter ss is when fighting Marked enemies.¡¯ Gary thought as he watched the female Werewolf take care of yet another member of the Underdogs.

    The teenager would have liked to take credit for defeating the group, if only to repay them for capturing him earlier, but with the power boost Olivia had received from the Marks and his Howling Force, she was making short work of them. Well, he didn¡¯t mind, especially since he had discovered that it was smarter to let her do the dirty work, as it gave him more EXP this way.

    What¡¯s more, all of them had already given him ample EXP, though he wasn¡¯t sure if that was due to the Marks or them being considered as something akin to ¡®elite¡¯ enemies, seeing as they were in possession of Anti-Altered weapons. Whatever the case, with thest one down, Gary was greeted with another notification.

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 20]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    The Alpha Werewolf would be lying if he imed not to be at least slightly disappointed by Level 20 being thiscklustre. Granted, the green-haired teenager already knew that Level 25 had a juicy reward waiting for him, one that was a lot more substantial, but if he ever got the chance to talk to whoever had designed this Werewolf System, he would make sure toin about these milestones not being epic enough.

    After his Level Up, he noticed that Kai was visibly struggling against Damion, so he hurried over.

    His extra speed boost since defeating and consuming Kirk gave him a great edge, and since then he thought it was best if his stat points were used elsewhere, such as on Energy and Health. However, due to the situation, and worried that his Strength might not be enough, Gary ced both stats into Strength.

    [2 Points have been allocated into Strength]

    [Your base Strength is now at 25]

    Reaching out, Gary grabbed onto the axes, and his grip now was to the point where no matter how much Damion tried to pull, he wouldn''t budge.

    ¡®How¡­ how could my men lose against just two of them with all of those Anti-Altered weapons?¡¯ Damion wondered at that moment. ¡®I¡¯ve heard that Greeny defeated Kirk, but it should have only been by a small margin¡­ just what kind of special Altered DNA was in that package that could have allowed him to have gotten even stronger in such a short amount of time?¡¯

    Damion was ready to let go of the two axes, but just as he did in his attempt to turn around, his legs had been wrapped up by Olivia''s whip. The next second he felt a heavy foot on his chest kick him and now both of the axes were in Gary¡¯s hand.

    [Full Transformation cancelled]

    Slowly, Gary started to shrink in size as his shape reverted to what it once was. The clothes he wore had ripped, though by sheer wonder his lower body was covering enough to not show off his manhood.

    ¡°Don''t transform so much, it takes up too much Energy.¡± Gary advised, looking towards Kai.

    Hearing this, Kai decided to cancel the transformation in his arms. The Beta Werewolf had to focus for a bit, but he was able to keep it at bay. Gary was bbergasted at how fast Kai was adapting to his new body, which made him feel like an idiot for taking much longer inparison. With Olivia getting stronger as well, the Alpha Werewolf knew that he would have to work twice as hard to make sure he could continue being the Alpha with pride.

    Damion, was getting up off the ground, and immediately went towards Gary, he threw out a kick, which the Alpha Werewolf evaded by moving to the side.

    ¡°Your fight is not with me!¡± Gary shouted.

    It was then that Damion could see a leg heading straight for his face, lifting both his forearms he blocked the attack, but slid across the ground somewhat.

    ¡°Now, don''t you think this is unfair, three against one?¡± Damion argued.

    ¡°Since when was any of this fair?¡± Gary stated. ¡°Besides, I don''t need to get involved.¡±

    Due to being injured before, Kai was a little drained as his body healed up the injuries, he had lost blood as well, but he was determined, gritting his teeth, and still with his eyes like that of a wolf, he was determined to finish this man off.

    Running forward, Kai went for another kick. Even without his weapons, Damion was still able to lean back and avoid it, deciding to run in at the right moment. However, the first kick was never intended to hit Damion in the first ce, it was just to help build up momentum.

    The second itnded, Kai spun his body, throwing out his other leg into a spinning back kick, and the heel of hisrge foot hit Damion right in the jaw. A cracking sound was heard and the gang leader¡¯s face was swung to the side.

    ¡°I''m not done!!¡± Kai shouted, running forward with transformed hands, which he swung at his father. Once again, he lifted his hands to protect himself, but the ws managed to rip through his skin, causing blood to fall from the floor.

    ¡°Why¡­ why did you have to do that to Mom?!¡± Kai screamed at the man underneath him as the grey Werewolf continued cutting skin and flesh away like a grater.

    ¡°What are you on about?!¡± Damion shouted back, letting down his hands in anger and frustration about being unable to fight back. Just like Kai had done earlier, he switched to a more suicidal approach and tried to headbutt his son.

    ¡°You were the one who called me over in the first ce! If she could kill Simon, then that means she could have killed you t-¡°

    Damion didn''t get to finish hisst words, as Kai had met him head on. A Werewolf¡¯s skull proved to be far more durable than a human one, and while he was still disoriented, the teenager slit his throat.

    ¡°You''re a foolish idiot who let him do whatever he wanted! If you had only reigned him in earlier, none of us would have been there that day! The only reason she killed him was to protect me¡­you could never see what that man was, he was even betraying the Underdogs right in front of you, and you still never saw it.¡±

    Damion had copsed on the ground secondster, with Kai stepping out of the way, allowing him to fall there in ce. His father had finally died, his ambition, his long awaited revenge wasplete¡­ Yet as he looked at the lifeless body, the sense of aplishment he had been hoping for did note.

    ¡°Why does it still feel so heavy?¡± Kai asked, touching his chest, looking at the corpse, which could not give him an answer to that question. Unfortunately, neither could Gary, nor could Olivia who didn¡¯t feel like it was her ce to meddle in thatplicated rtionship.

    ¡°Don''t worry, you have a new family now.¡± Gary said, as he put his hand on the other teenager¡¯s shoulder. Soon hearing a ping after, a ping from his system.

    *****

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 Chapter 352: Flawless Hunt

    <h4>Chapter 352: wless Hunt</h4>

    In the middle of all this chaotic mess, Gary¡¯s system still managed to surprise him.

    [Secret achievement unlocked: wless Hunt]

    [Whether through luck or strategy, but your Pack managed to pull through and sessfully finish its first hunt without suffering any casualties!]

    [Reward: 10 Pawn Points (Use at your own discretion)]

    The green haired teenager only knew of a few ways to receive Pawn Points, the most reliable one being to either turn someone into a Werewolf, or kill them after they had be one. So far, certain Quests had also rewarded him with Pawn Points, but the most he had ever gotten was the one Knight Point he had received for consuming Kirk. With this generous reward, Gary had effectively doubled his total overall count.

    ¡® ¡®Secret achievement¡¯, huh? I got one a while ago for defeating that colour gang, butst time the reward was merely EXP, so why is the system being so generous now¡­ and what does it mean by ¡®use at your own discretion¡¯ ?

    ¡®It¡¯s not enough for me to increase my Grade once more, so should I convert it to Stat or Skill Points? Or does the system want me to turn and evolve the others?¡¯

    Looking through the system screen, Gary could see that Kai was still standing there looking down at Damion, seemingly in a trance.

    ¡®Now is not the time to be worrying about system things.¡¯

    ¡°You did it, Kai, you defeated your father! With him gone, Slough will no longer be under the thumb of the Underdogs!¡± Gary tried to cheer up his friend. ¡°Finally I won''t have to worry about my family¡­ so thank you, Kai.¡±

    The words ¡®thank you¡¯ somewhat managed to snap Kai out of his deep thoughts, and he was going over the words that Gary had spoken. He let out a sigh, aware of how he would have fared without the intervention of his fellow Werewolves.

    ¡°Please, we both know that he was kicking my ass while he was holding on to his axes. This wasn¡¯t how I imagined things going down, especially after I forced you to turn me¡­ sorry for that. Anyway, you shouldn¡¯t thank me, I should be the one thanking you foring here in time and saving me, not once but twice¡­ and also for letting me be the one to end that piece of shit.

    ¡°Olivia, I also want to thank you for keeping those guys busy in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure, not like I had much of a choice in the first ce. Speaking of them, what are we going to do? I can sense that a few of them are just pretending to be down, or are unconscious. Do you want me to finish these other guys off?¡± Olivia asked, since some of them were still breathing, but had been cut severely on the legs to the point where they could no longer move.

    ¡°We¡¯ll call the police and let them deal with the rest, without Damion the gang has already fallen apart, there isn''t much for us to do in terms of the Underdogs. However, Slough is a different story.¡± Kai replied lifelessly. Usually he might have advocated for a more secure ending for them all, but he felt like too much blood had already been shed today.

    ¡°Your family might be safe, Gary, but Slough isn''t. The Underdogs, they were doing someone else''s bidding, that''s how you became a Werewolf, and that''s how someone like Kirk was even with the Underdogs in the first ce.

    ¡°Right now, we have to focus on getting control of Slough before anyone else swoops in and takes the glory for all of our hard work. Damion was trying to meet someone, probably whoever was the one to give him all those Anti-Altered weapons.

    ¡°I think it''s best if we don''t risk them seeing our faces. We have to force them, make them have no choice but toe to the next leader of the Slough if they want anything done in our town.¡± Kai said, clenching his fist.

    Kai¡¯s journey felt far from over. The teenager could only hope that his father¡¯s death might bring him the result he wanted, which was why he was using his energy to focus on something else. Whether that was the case or not, Kai was right about all these things.

    ¡°I know it doesn''t end here.¡± Gary said. ¡°That''s why we made a promise to go to the top. We''re in too deep now.¡±

    The two smiled at each other once again, but their touching moment was interrupted by the mming of a car door, just outside the car park.

    ¡°That can''t be the police, there¡¯s no way they got wind of this, and I only just sent them a tip off now, that''s too fast.¡± Kai stated, worried that it would be those that the Underdogs were nning to meet up with.

    ¡°Damion told me that he would have someone extract the Altered DNA from my body, so it¡¯s probably them.¡± Gary guessed.

    ¡°Or the gang in charge of the Underdogs, either way, I¡¯ve had enough killing and risking my life for you brats today.¡± Oliviained. The Lady Boss then used her whip to pick up a couple of the Anti-Altered weapons as spoils of war before making a run for it, and the two teenagers quickly followed.

    Kai looked at Damion''s lifeless body a final time as if he expected his father to rise once more, but naturally nothing happened.

    ¡®I hope you rot in Hell with Simon.¡¯ Kai thought.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A few momentster, a new group of people entered the car park. Three among them wore whiteb coats, the rest were wearing strange armour on their body, while also wielding weapons simr to the Anti-Altered weapons still lying around. Not all of them had armour or weapons, as somewhere dressed up in nice suits, sunsses and more.

    They were an odd match for people, that was because these people were the Recoverer.

    ¡°Gather information from those that are alive, let''s try to find out what went on here.¡± The man with a white robe at the front ordered.

    He eventually walked over to Damion, and looked at therge wound on his neck.

    ¡°It looks like the very reason you called us here was the death of you. I bet you started to think you were invincible. It''s a shame really, I would have loved to see what you could have be.¡± The man spoke seemingly to himself.

    A short whileter, and the rest gave their reports about what the survivors had to say, that being that they had been attacked by three Altered, all of them disying wolf-like features.

    ¡°I see.¡± The leader noted, before addressing the one in charge of the Recoverer. ¡°Well, make sure no one else learns of this, and it looks like we might be meeting some new business partners soon. Send someone to link up with this city''s gang once they''re ready.¡±

    ¡°Sir, what if they don''t wish to do business with us?¡± The man asked. ¡°After all, if they have three Altered in their midst, they might already have someone else backing them.¡±

    ¡°In that case, you¡¯re to follow the protocol. If they don¡¯t need us, we don''t need them either.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 353: Howlers Rule

    <h4>Chapter 353: Howlers Rule</h4>

    To most students, today was just a regr day, with only a handful actually looking forward to attending. Among them was Tom Green, though just like the majority of those type of students not cursing whoever hade up with the idea of school as an institution, his reasons had nothing to do with the sses being taught. No, he was just happy to finally be back in Slough.

    His internship at NIRV hade to an end, and he had learned far more than he had ever thought possible, yet all of it was protected under a very restrictive NDA. Keeping all of those secrets was killing him inside, and so he was looking forward to sharing some of them with the one person he knew would never let anything slip. The fact that they both now had such big secrets made Tom feel as if they would finally be on equal footing again.

    As soon as his father had driven him back to Slough yesterday, his best friend had been the first person he had contacted, inquiring whether everything was alright in his hometown. However, Gary¡¯s reply had beencklustre to say the least, as if Slough hadn¡¯t been attacked by crazed Altered, an event which had made it on more than just the local news.

    Before first ss began, each of them gave the other a giant grin, but both understood that what they had to say wasn¡¯t something either one could risk being overheard, so both agreed to have their lunch on the rooftop.

    The first one to speak was Gary. He had decided toe clean and tell Tom everything about the gang business now that the Underdogs were no longer a thing. After what had happened between him and Kai, Gary no longer wanted to keep any more secrets from his oldest friend.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me?! I¡¯ve been gone for a week, yet you¡¯ve basically saved the whole town from those crazed Altered, defeated THE top gang, created two more Billies, both who are working under you, and one of them being THAT Kai?! You¡¯ve pretty much gone from local gang leader to head honcho?¡± Tom¡¯s eyes were basically popping out of his sockets. The teenager had to pinch himself multiple times to make sure this wasn¡¯t just a dream.

    ¡°Man, with this kind of news, you should¡¯ve let me go first. Inparison, the things I have to say barely holds up to anyone of those things.¡± Tom sulked, but he decided to spew his guts out anyway, and ultimately told Gary everything he had seen, even the minor things he hadn¡¯t nned on revealing initially. Just to be safe, he had intentionally left his phone in ss, on the off-chance NIRV might have nted a bug in it.

    ¡°So that''s how they are able to make Altered? They seriously have a crystal that can bring beasts back to life? Hang on, with how many Altered there are, and with other organisations, does that mean everyone has ess to such technology? How is that possible that people can create monsters, but nobody knows anything about it? You think there would be videos or something.¡± Gary wondered out loud.

    This train of thought made him curious if Jayden knew about that as well. The AFC was known to work quite closely with the NIRV who sponsored them after all.

    ¡°I know, but if you had been there, you would have seen how serious they are about secrecy.¡± Tom agreed. ¡°Their NDA alone forbids anyone from talking about any kind of stuff. The scientists themselves are not supposed to talk with each other about their respective projects, and I only found out about this because my Dad used up a few favours. Heck, the entire internship I got was actually some sort of exception they made because of him knowing the right people. Honestly, if you weren¡¯t you, I would have probably taken all of it into my grave.¡±

    It was quite amazing the two of them having their own journeys, and the more they thought about what the other was doing, the more happy they felt about the other.

    ¡°You know, I n to go and work at NIRV.¡± Tom eventually said. ¡°I bet the things I saw were just the tip of the iceberg, and I want to know more about this world. At the same time, I want to help you, Gary. They should know more about what was inside the package that you had to deliver. Perhaps there¡¯s even a way to change you back.¡±

    ¡°Change me back¡­¡± Gary repeated. It was a thought that had popped in his head a couple of times, but nowadays, he was content being what he was. The only downside so far was the full moon, but he had a n for that, and he believed there was a good chance it would work. Well, he would find out in a couple of days¡­

    ¡°Anyway, what is the next step for the ¡®Big Bad Wolf of Slough¡¯?¡± Tom asked jokingly.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that.¡± Gary shook his head and hands vehemently. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m about as useful as a CEO who just signs up on everything, Kai and Olivia are the ones who take care of those things. ording to him, we took over ny percent of what the Underdogs used to own.

    ¡°However, unlike them, we¡¯re not extorting businesses. In fact, both of them keepining that we are far too nice, to the point where it majorly eats into our profits. Still, for the shop owners it means that rent is low, and we¡¯ve even given them back theirnd deeds.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the Underdogs seem to have used up most of their money to purchase those Anti-Altered weapons, so there aren''t many funds left to do the changes that I wanted in this city, to really make it a safe ce.

    ¡°At the same time, we have to try to protect it from outsiders getting involved. We''re going to have to try to get new business to move to this city somehow, at least with a promise that we can protect them or give them something in return. With how much stuff there is to do, I¡¯m really happy I have the two of them to help me out.¡±

    Hearing all of these words, Tom couldn''t help but pat his friend on the back.

    ¡°Gary, I¡¯ve heard that people can change in the face of responsibility, but your change is a bit too drastic, don¡¯t you think? You who had average grades, were average at sports, yet now here you are, pretty much doing the mayor¡¯s job for him. I was gone for such a short time, yet you¡¯re all grown up.¡±

    Gary yfully punched Tom¡¯s arm, though he made sure to hold back. After such a serious talk, the two of them spent the rest of the break actually eating something, before they returned to the ssroom.

    During one of the lessons, Gary received a text on his phone from Kai. The others hadn¡¯te back to school after the infected Altered incident, and the Howlers¡¯ leader was also considering just dropping out. As Tom had put it, with his newfound responsibilities, school did not really fit into his schedule.

    [Meeting at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. Everyone will be there, important youe today, Gary]

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, a vehicle was leaving the town of Slough. A bulky student was looking back, aware that he would not return here anytime soon¡­ if at all.

    ¡°You really think that guy will help us?¡± Gil asked Raven who was driving the car.

    ¡°He¡¯s our best shot. Even if the Grey Elephants had not been dissolved, we would not have stood a chance against Damion¡¯s crew, yet those Howlers have defeated them. There¡¯s nothing for us to do. My stupid brother had a tendency to piss off the wrong people, but it¡¯s just my luck that thest person to have seen him alive happens to be a freaking Altered who even defeated Kirk Summerfield.¡±

    ¡°What are you nning to do now?¡± The dropout asked. ¡°I mean in case he won¡¯t help us?¡±

    ¡°We wille back, don''t worry about that. That information should be worth something to that Sin, but even if he won¡¯t interfere, we¡¯ll just have to make our name somewhere else¡­ and when we return there will be hell to pay.¡± Raven answered, throwing his cigarette out the window, as he drove off to start a new life in a Tier-2 city.

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 Chapter 354: A second chance

    <h4>Chapter 354: A second chance</h4>

    It had only been a few days since Gary hadst visited the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, but so much had changed since then that it felt surreal. Slough¡¯s underground world had already been pretty shaken up with the Grey Elephants gone, but now the Underdogs had also been taken care of, the Howlers had effectively be the top-gang in town.

    Truth be told, the green haired teenager had expected Kai to contact him far sooner, most likely to send him out on some sort of special assignment to force the small-time gangs to ept the new status quo. However, as it turned out, there had been no need for that. The rumours about Damion¡¯s defeat at their hands had proven effective enough for the other gangs to keep to themselves so far.

    The only thing left to do had been to take care of legal things, and Gary had been well-aware that he would have been of no help with that, so he had wisely left all of it to Kai.

    As the teenager approached the door, he noticed that there was a sign on the front of the door which showed that the establishment was closed for today. ¡®Is this because of the meeting? I guess with how much we own now, it doesn''t matter if the pool club is closed for a few days or not.¡¯ Gary thought.

    It was a very strange feeling for him. For most of his life, the Dems had lived close to the poverty line, at least after his father had disappeared. Now, he indirectly owned multiple establishments. Even with just the bits and pieces Kai had scrounged up from his father¡¯s old gang, it had been more than enough for Gary to pay off all their debts, including the one for his mother¡¯s stay in the hospital.

    It made him wonder, just how many families were out there, stricken with poverty, unable to get a good night''s sleep like he had in the past, while gangs were seemingly throwing around the type of cash that could solve all of their problems?

    Most importantly, what was that money being used on? Purchasing weapons, so they could kill each other, take over the territory of the loser, enrich themselves and start that process all over again? It just didn''t make any sense, and it was one of the main things that Gary wanted to change.

    ¡®I still need toe up with something that I can tell Amy at some point. She already knows something is up, and even if she really doesn¡¯t ask about it, Mum will surely start questioning how we can afford to suddenly move into a nicer apartment. Where should we move, though? Burnham Food Street maybe, or perhaps somewhere more central, so she can be protected just in case?¡¯ Gary worried.

    It was unlikely that somebody would try to harm his sister, but he didn¡¯t want to take any chances. After all, people like Gil were out there. Unfortunately, it had proven impossible to find his former bully¡¯s Mark. He had moved somewhere far enough that Gary couldn¡¯t see the red scent. However, the fact that he was listed in his Marks was proof enough that he was still alive somewhere¡­

    The high schooler shook his head as he entered the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. He was happy to find Miss Degrace and White behind the bar. The younger woman certainly looked a lot happier now that she had settled in. Both appeared to be doing some refurbishments to add more things to the bar.

    ¡°The others are waiting for you downstairs.¡± Miss Degrace informed Gary once she noticed his arrival with a smile on her face. White also shyly waved at him, before resuming the work.

    Having learned the tragic past of Marie¡¯s mother made Gary want to help them out even more, but he was sure that Kai had everything under control. After all, the upperssman was the one in charge of the gang¡¯s finances, so Gary was sure that Kai would make sure that the two would be provided with everything to lead a decent life.

    Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Gary stopped abruptly, his mouth opened wide at the drastic change that had taken ce. The storage room with a desk in the corner had turned into a full-fledged office. There were bookshelves at the very back, with arge wooden desk in front. Tworge three seater sofas, with a table in the middle, added to the picture. What¡¯s more, the room was filled with little trinkets, most of them in the shape of wolves.

    It looked like the office of some entric fellow with a wolf fetish, rather than a gang office. The only clues that this was actually thetter were the Howlers sitting on the sofas. Only Olivia was standing next to Kai who was sitting behind the wooden desk, looking over some paperwork.

    ¡°Holy shit, when did you manage to redecorate this whole ce?¡± Gary couldn¡¯t help but ask out loud.

    ¡°We told you we dropped out of school, remember? What did you think we¡¯ve been doing all that time?¡± Innu replied with a satisfied grin on his face.

    ¡°Yes, and all of you did a great job, but that¡¯s not why we¡¯ve called Gary over, now is it? Let¡¯s go over the official business first, and then you can go toot your own horn, alright?¡± Kai interrupted, which rained a bit on Innu¡¯s parade, who had obviously been about to list all their aplishments.

    Truth be told, seeing their interaction made Gary feel a bit left out. He hadn''t seen the others much due to his school life, and when he had wanted to drop by after that, all of them had been busy with other tasks. Funnily, this just strengthened his resolve to drop out of school and focus on the gang business.

    ¡°We Howlers might be a big gang now, but that only holds true within Slough. Once news about Damion¡¯s defeat at our hands spread, it will just be a matter of time until other gangs appear and try their luck to get a piece of the pie or the whole thing. There are also the small-time gangs we have to worry about. As such, it is best to keep the main base of operations as our little secret¡­ and what better ce than the one that started it all.¡± Kai exined.

    Although the big threat was seemingly over, the blonde haired was already thinking several steps ahead. It brought a smile to Gary''s face, as his friend looked better than he had done on that day.

    ¡°It''s good to see everyone again, and I''m d that no one is hurt.¡± Gary said, smiling. ¡°In fact, since you¡¯re all here, there¡¯s something I wanted to share with you. I have made the decision to quit school, so I can spend more time helping out with the gang.¡±

    The teenager didn¡¯t know what he was expecting, but a room filled with silence certainly wasn¡¯t it. The look on his friends¡¯ faces were a mix of concern and worry.

    ¡°What is it? Why does it feel like I said something terrible and wrong.¡± He asked in confusion.

    Innu and Austin were both looking in the air, seemingly wishing they could be somewhere else. Kai just let out a deep sigh, while Olivia shook her head. Ultimately, Marie was the one who after fiddling with her hair decided to answer his question.

    ¡°Well¡­ you see, that¡¯s actually part of the reason we wanted you toe over to talk with you. Please don¡¯t be angry about this, and just listen to us before you react, alright? We¡¯ve been talking thest few days¡­ and we all agreed that it might be for the best if you don¡¯t stay in the gang.¡±

    Gary took a step back out of pure shock. Sure, in the past he would have hated the idea of being in a gang, and he had never nned to be in one forever, but with everything that had happened it didn¡¯t seem as if he had much of a choice. What¡¯s more, this gang was something he and Kai had created together and they both had agreed to do their best to make it rise to the top, to improve people''s lives.

    The Howlers could be a gang that would be different from the others, one that could act as a modern day Robin Hood. In the middle of his daze, Gary saw something from the corner of his eye fly towards it, and he instinctively caught it.

    ¡°Stop freaking out and just read it.¡± Kai instructed him. ¡°Hear us out, so that you don¡¯t get the wrong idea this time.¡±

    Looking at the card that he had just caught, there was a logo that Gary recognised well, consisting of the initial AFA.

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 Chapter 355: Hidden system

    <h4>Chapter 355: Hidden system</h4>

    The Altered Fighting Academy was a ce where the most talented Altered trained in order to join the AFC, the Altered Fighting Championship. The first thing that came to mind when he saw that card was Xin¡¯s image. That school was the reason why she had left Westbridge. Shaking his head, though, he had to deal with the matter at hand.

    ¡°What do you mean? You want me to quit the gang and join the AFA instead?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°That pretty much sums it up.¡± Austin nodded.

    ¡°We all talked about this, and you¡¯ve already done so much for the gang. Without you, we wouldn¡¯t have made it this far, but we should be fine for now. All of us want you to be happy and do your own thing.¡± Marie added, though Gary sensed a hint of sadness when she said it.

    ¡°So we thought of a way you could enjoy your life, while also still helping out the Howlers. Tom told me all about how the two of you have been obsessed with the AFC since you were little. Joining it should be a dreame true for you, right? And it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have the ¡®skills¡¯.¡± Innu gave him a wink and a thumbs up.

    ¡°Think about it, once you be a star in the AFC, you¡¯ll have a believable story to tell your family how you earn all your money without dragging them into any kind of gang business. There is also a lot of information that you can find out that might help the Howlers continue to grow, like most of your peers will probably be secretly rted to the gangs from the other towns and cities.

    ¡°And now that we¡¯re the local powerhouse, the Howlers can even act as your sponsors and support you. That way, all of us will benefit. Bing a sessful Altered fighter is the perfect way for you to solve your personal problems while helping the gang.¡± Kai exined.

    Gary fell silent as he considered the option his friends presented him with. He had alreadyposed himself to leave Westbridge, and attending the AFA wasn¡¯t a bad thing, especially since there was one person he was dying to see. He would just have to inform Tom about it, yet he had a feeling his best friend would most likely also support the idea.

    Still, there were a few problems, and Gary clenched his fists as he considered.

    ¡°You know Kai, I''m not exactly a¡­ you know, how can I join the AFA?¡± Gary asked. He remembered when the White Rose had called him out to test his blood, confirming he wasn''t an Altered, at least in themon sense.

    Kai smiled. ¡°You¡¯re worrying about the wrong things. Most Altered your age can''t even control their transformations until they get properly trained. Those are the ones who need to get their blood tested to prove their Altered status. You, on the other hand, can just transform. Do you seriously think anybody will bother with any other test once they see it?¡±

    Now, Gary was picturing himself. Since he knew that he was actually a Werewolf, he had only briefly thought about bing an Altered fighter. Not that he had much of a chance to entertain that idea, until recently he had other problems in his life, yet the most problematic ones had already been taken care of.

    ¡°Wait, there are still other things. What are you gonna do about those other small-time gangs, Slough¡¯s mayor, my sister, and don¡¯t forget that there¡¯s that thing I need you and Olivia¡¯s help with in a few days.¡± Gary argued, looking towards the Beta Werewolves because it was nearly time for the full mooon.

    ¡°You should let us worry about those things.¡± Innu imed. ¡°We aren''tpletely useless without you, Gary. We can handle ourselves. In fact, Olivia brought over some Anti-Altered weapons, and Kai also stated he had something to show us.

    ¡°The mayor will be no problem, and honestly I want to say something. You will and always will be the leader of the Howlers in my eyes. Nothing will change that, and if we really need your help, it''s not like we can''t send someone over toe pick you up.¡±

    ¡°Innu¡¯s correct.¡± Austin added. ¡°We just want you to enjoy your life. Unlike us, you weren''t involved in this gang business before. We were already nning to live this type of life, but the same isn''t true for you. However, you¡¯re the Howlers¡¯ leader, if you need help and were to call on us, no matter how big or small we have gotten, you can be sure that we¡¯lle over to help you.¡±

    The atmosphere seemed to be the same around the room, even for Marie who had been close to Kai. Gary had saved her when she had been kidnapped, though he had in fact ended up saving all their lives after the twins had transformed into those abominations.

    ¡°We will look after your sister. We did a good job so far, and I''m sure she will understand as well. We can get her a new ce, and have her under watch.¡± Kai revealed. ¡°I have a n what to do with her so she won¡¯t snoop around on her own, and as for the other stuff, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be gone tomorrow. We still have some time for you to show us the ways before you go off.¡±

    Gary could tell how much thought they had put into this decision, and he could feel his eyes tearing up. The people in front of him were some of the most selfless people he had ever met. The teenager was aware that they must have all known his secret by now, at least they thought they knew everything and yet none of them was asking him questions about it, not even about his past with the Underdogs¡­ or how he had be what he was.

    No, they were all just nning to move forward, and all of them wanted him to do it in a way that would make him happy first, and put the gang second.

    ¡°Thank you everyone, if everyone really thinks this way, then how could I say no? I''ll make sure to join the AFA and be a champion of the AFC in record time!¡± Gary imed to be pumping his fist. ¡°If you guys don''t mind, I¡¯d like to talk with Kai and Olivia about ¡®that thing¡¯. We¡¯ll join you guys for a couple of pool games in a bit.¡±

    The others didn''t ask any questions and simply left the room, leaving the three Werewolves to themselves.

    ¡°While I''m away, I guess it will be your job to look after them.¡± Gary stated as he approached Kai. ¡°I would hate for something to happen to any of you, when I¡¯m gone, so I should do everything in my power to at least give you the strength to help them. Head¡¯s up, ording to Olivia, this might hurt like hell.¡±

    Opening the system, Gary selected the Beta Werewolf and assigned him the Pawn Points he needed to advance.

    [Congrattions, one of your Beta Werewolves (Kyle Hamper) has been upgraded to Knight Grade]

    [You may now select his ss]

    [Hidden conditions have been fulfilled, Special ss avable]

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 Chapter 356: A Unique Class

    <h4>Chapter 356: A Unique ss</h4>

    [Hunter ss]

    [A Werewolf Hunter is fast, agile, and sneaky. He focuses on killing his prey quickly, out of sight and from the shadows. He is able to track his targets from a great distance and has great focus.]

    [ss perks include: More and better Marks, improved tracking.]

    [Protector ss]

    [A Werewolf Protector boasts one of the sturdiest bodies of his race. He uses his own body to shield his pack members from any harm, making sure that they will survive.]

    [ss perks include: 1 Extra point in Endurance upon each Level Up, faster healing.]

    [Warrior ss]

    [A Werewolf Warrior could be considered the vanguard of his pack. He leads his pack into battle with his strength. He has exceptional fighting ability and courage, but it is because of this trait, and his role, that this ss boasts the highest fatality rate.]

    [ss perks include: Wide range of skills to select from,rge Energy pool]

    [Shapeshifter ss] (Optimal)

    [This Special ss of Werewolf is a master of disguise, capable of transforming into various animals, blessed with an innate understanding of his form. His versatility is unmatched, though limited by his Energy.]

    [ss perks include: Various Transformations, big Energy pool]

    [Shapeshifter ss has been deemed (Optimal)]

    [Based on the Werewolf¡¯s traits and special characteristics, Unique ss will be assigned]

    Gary was unable to even read through the choices properly, when a new notification popped up that the ss was already being automatically assigned. In the same moment, Kai began screaming in pain, falling out of his seat onto the ground.

    The veins around his neck area began to visibly bulge, before the teenager felt the muscles in his body contract and rx over and over again. They were tensing up incredibly hard, worse than any cramp he had ever suffered, and not just in one particr area but all over his body, yet the worst thing was that this excruciating process was elerating.

    ¡®Holy shit, Olivia wasn¡¯t kidding when she told me it hurt like hell. Should I¡¯ve given him more of a warning? No, I don¡¯t think anything can prepare you for this type of agony. Perhaps I should¡¯ve prepared something to bite down on?¡¯ Gary awkwardly watched Kai suffer, unable to help him in any way. Fortunately, it only took a couple of minutes until he received a new message.

    [Your Beta Werewolf (Kyle Hamper) has sessfully be a Grey Werewolf Shapeshifter]

    The Alpha Werewolf was quite surprised that the Unique ss was still a Werewolf Shapeshifter, merely with the prefix ¡®Grey¡¯, which coincided with Kai¡¯s fur colour. This, in turn, begged the question whether it had some other effect he wasn¡¯t aware of, and if so, what did it mean for him, who was a brown Werewolf, or Olivia, who was a ck Werewolf.

    ¡°What¡­ what the hell did you do?¡± Kai asked, his eyes scornful, yet his voice was too weak to convey his anger properly at the moment. He had a hand on the table, but hecked the energy to stand up. The blonde teenager was looking at his body, and as the pain started to reside he noticed the change in his body, almost as if it had gotten lighter somehow.

    ¡°Hah, you can consider yourself lucky.¡± Olivia stated with a certain amount of schadenfreude in her voice. ¡°At least you got a warning, and besides him and me, nobody saw your sorry state. In my case, I just thought I was gonna die in the middle of the street¡­ and once I got better, my embarrassment made me wish I had died.¡±

    [Grey Werewolves are a rare breed who gain extra strength whilst in thepany of their kin, even if they¡¯re not part of their Pack. Due to this, Grey Werewolves are often feared by their own kind, as they tend toe out on top when fighting their own.]

    ¡®Thanks, System. So that should mean the colour of the fur is not just a coincidence after all. I guess Kai just was always meant to be a Werewolf, he learned everything at a quicker rate as well, and now he even has a Unique ss. Oh well¡­ I trust Kai, so it should be okay.¡¯

    From what he had been able to read from the description, Gary guessed that Kai should be able to change into an actual wolf, and probably even other animals. However, just like with Olivia, although the system gave a lot of information about the ss, individual things such as Skills and Stats were not something he had a way of seeing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know it would be this bad. However, I promise you that you didn¡¯t suffer for nothing. Like I said, I need the two of you to be at the top of your game when I¡¯m gone. I would hate it if you or the others got hurt in my absence.¡± Gary apologised. ¡°It''s hard to exin what I did, but let''s just say as the original Werewolf there are some things that I can do that you guys can¡¯t.¡±

    Kai was obviously curious to press for more, but he decided not to press Gary. If anything, he was more excited to find out what the changes were in his body and what he could do now.

    ¡°Tonight.¡± Gary said, having noticed the eager look in his friend¡¯s eyes. Perhaps due to the time the two of them had spent in the cell together, the green haired teenager was able to see and read more of what Kai was thinking.

    ¡°We will meet up in the forest tonight, and we can test out some of the new tricks you¡¯ll have up your sleeve, alright? On top of that, we also need to talk about what we¡¯re going to do on the day after tomorrow, so that there won¡¯t be three blood-crazed Werewolves running around Slough.¡±

    ¡°We need to see if we can get through it, and if we can, we need to make a n for the future. Hopefully, the two of you will be able to replicate what I¡¯ve nned, and ideally it will work even if we aren¡¯t together.¡±

    Remembering what had urred on the night they had met Werewolf Billy, Kai knew the dangers of what could happen. For now, the three of them started to head upstairs. Olivia was nning to go her own way and would meet them up in the forestter, while Gary and Kai would have a rxing time ying a couple of games.

    After all, he wouldn''t be seeing them as much nowpared to before. When they reached the top of the stairs, the others were waiting, ying, joking and having augh with each other. In fact, Gary even noticed that Tyler was present in the room, the former cashier turned driver who was pretty much a member of the Howlers now.

    ¡®I guess these are the people that have decided to stay around me. I should be fair to them, right?¡¯ Gary thought, clenching his fist.

    ¡°Guys!¡± Gary eximed, and everyone in the room turned to look at him. ¡°There¡¯s something important I need to tell you all. I¡¯m aware that all of you already know my secret¡­ and I¡¯m thankful that none of you have asked me about it. Before I go, I want to set the record straight. I¡¯m not an Altered¡­ I¡¯m actually a Werewolf¡­¡±

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 Chapter 357: A Star promotion

    <h4>Chapter 357: A Star promotion</h4>

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe I''m actually here.¡¯ ke thought to himself as he took in the sight of the few hundred Altered Hunter who had gathered in this secret base today. Up until now, his father had been the only other Altered Hunter he had evere in contact with.

    It hadn¡¯t been easy getting here. His father had taken him across the country into some seemingly random no-name Tier-4 town, where they had been picked up by a guide who had then dropped them off in a car park. Before leaving, the woman had pressed a certain buttonbination, which had made it so that the elevator had let them out below the supposed basement that went deep underground.

    Unsurprisingly, there was barely any light down there. Fortunately, that wasn¡¯t really an issue for ke or the others. All those who were in attendance were dressed in the full set of an Altered Hunter, including masks capable of night vision.

    After a quick verification of their identities, father and son had both been separated, led to their respective rows to be amongst their peers. In ke¡¯s case, this meant being led to the seemingly biggest faction of other unranked Altered Hunters, most of whom were around the teenager¡¯s age.

    ¡°I''m sorry to have kept all of you waiting for this long.¡± A middle-aged man with curly hair suddenly said as he came on to the stage. He was the only one that wasn¡¯t wearing a mask, though the pair of ck sunsses on his face appeared to allow him the same night vision as the rest of them enjoyed.

    Nobody addressed the oddity of those sunsses while being underground, especially given their own attire, but also because nobody dared to disrespect that man. Edvard Heimdallr was in his early forties, yet not only did he hold the title of ¡®youngest five-star Hunter¡¯ in their organisation, his Altered kill count was in the triple digits, making him a prime candidate to be the sessor of the current leader.

    ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, I won¡¯t bore you with some long-winded speech. After all, today is not about me, but all about you! Let us honour those amongst you who have earned their promotion!!!¡± Edvard lifted his hands out and was met by the loud cheers of the audience.

    ke was surprised to actually see his usually calm and rational father join in the cheering. This was a first for him, and far more emotion than he had ever witnessed from him, in any of his rugby matches.

    ¡°As is tradition, I shall start from the highest promotion. Although we don¡¯t have any new five-star Hunters joining us today, there are a healthy number of you who will walk away with their fourth star today. I have high hopes for all of you!¡± Edvard revealed as he began calling out names, including Ozacas Hunt.

    Nearly a dozen of them climbed on the stage front. They all undressed everything above their waist, revealing their shoulders with the three stars. This was a moment of pure joy for them, each one of them looking forward to what was toe.

    From the side, arge man walked in, holding on to a glowing ck stick with a star at the end. The room becamepletely quiet, only the sounds of the man¡¯s footsteps resounded, until he reached the leftmost Altered Hunter.

    Without any warning, he pressed the hot metal to their skin, leaving it there for a few seconds, before moving on. The sound of searing flesh filled the room, but nothing else. Each one of those Hunters endured the pain with a stoic face, rather portraying extreme joy at bing four-star Hunters.

    It might seem like a mere branding, but every star was testimony to their capabilities, and proof of their sess. In a way, it was everything to them.

    Next came the two-star Hunters who had earned their third star, the one-star Hunters who had earned their second star¡­ until it was finally time for the youngsters who would receive their very first star today.

    ¡°Ah, it is always a pleasure to see our promising youth receive their first branding. It¡¯s a rite of passage that all of us have gone through, one that marks that you¡¯ve joined our ranks as fully fledged Altered Hunters. Your generation will be the one to seed us, and I¡¯m looking forward to your future! First up, ke Hunt!¡±

    Walking up, ke proudly took off his robe and mask cing them on a table to the side, he looked at the metal pole, and then turned to the crowd. Here he could see his father with his arms crossed. Although ke couldn''t see his facial expression, he was certain that his father was proud of him.

    ¡®My first star¡­¡¯ The teenager wondered whether he truly deserved it. After all, the first Altered he had actually killed was Billy, and he had only managed to do so by teaming up with Gary. Just as nned, the police had found the clues that pointed to the Altered Hunters, allowing ke to take credit for the kill.

    Then, the news channel had recorded him having killed a few of the infected Altered who had attacked Slough, so upon his return Ozacas Hunt had shared the good news with his son that he had earned his first star. While the Altered Hunters didn¡¯t exactly approve of ke acting in such a public manner, there was undeniable proof that he had taken out those Altered, and taken on Billy had also done its part to convince the leaders that ke was worthy of promotion.

    ke had little time to overthink the situation. He was forced to grit his teeth, unwilling to be the first one to cry out, even though the smell of his sizzling flesh made him want to throw up.

    Once everyone had received their branding, all those who had gone up on the stage had been told to follow behind Edvard. The man pushed in a few bricks, which opened up a secret entrance, and the group entered what appeared to be a giant warehouse. It was so enormous that ke couldn''t see the end of the walls.

    ¡°For those who are new, I shall exin,¡± Edvard spoke. ¡°Everything the Altered Hunters have been able to gather over the years has been brought here today. Depending on your star ranking, different sections are avable to you. Our best weapons and armours are naturally reserved for our best, so take that as a motivation to improve.

    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to outfit all of us to the teeth, we don¡¯t have an unlimited supply, and despite our technological advancement, we¡¯re unable to forge weapons that are as effective as those of our predecessors. Not to mention, it wouldn''t fare well if they got into the hands of the wrong people. Anyway, forgive me ramblings, please enjoy and pick out your new weapons.¡±

    ke was extremely excited to look at what he could get. Thanks to his father¡¯s influence, he had actually used far more advanced weapons than his peers, he was perfectly aware that it was more of a loan from his father, while these weapons would actually be his.

    Just as he started to walk to the one-star section, ke spotted something at the very back. Even beyond the five-star section, there was something held inside a ss case.

    ¡°What¡­is that¡­I can feel its energy.¡± ke wondered out loud.

    ¡°That, my young friend, is the most ancient, but also the most powerful piece of equipment we own.¡± Edvard put his hand on the teenager¡¯s shoulder. ¡°ording to records, this Red Dragon armour has been a gift from the best friend of our founder.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 358: A danger to all

    <h4>Chapter 358: A danger to all</h4>

    Throughout their long history that dated back for more than a millennium, their secret society had had a lot of different names, ¡®Altered Hunters¡¯ was merely thetest one on that list. One of the downsides of modern technology was that it had be impossible for their activities to remain secret, especially since their targets had the status of modern day celebrities. Thanks to various news channels, in the eyes of the public they were nothing more than modern day terrorists.

    Despite the public outcry, they nevertheless continued their noble mission for the sake of humanity. While times had changed, the Altered Hunters still used the swords, axes, and shields of their predecessors. ording to the history books that the Altered hunters kept, beasts used to roam the world. And to defeat them, they did so using special weapons made from the beast themselves. In the past these were called beast weapons but were now called the Anti-Altered weapons.

    Thanks to the recorded techniques of their predecessors, the Altered Hunters were trained in the ways to channel the most power out of those ancient weapons. Being able to focus on one¡¯s own energy and passing it through the weapon would bring extra benefits to the wielder, usually granting them extra power, beyond that of a professional athlete, which was what allowed them to have even ground with the Altered in the first ce.

    The better the weapon, the stronger the buff its wielder would receive. From what ke had read, some weapons were even imbued with special traits, such as igniting the weapon without any source of fire being present¡­ and he was dying to earn one of those in the future.

    The armour at the very back, though, ke could instinctively tell that it was a step above everything else lying here. It wasplete and there was a dark deep red colour to it, with a dragon scale like pattern on different parts of the armour pieces. Just looking at it made him feel invigorated.

    ¡°Why is it locked away?¡± ke asked. ¡°How many stars would I have to reach to try it on?¡± There weren''t any visible star requirements attached to it, so the teenager decided to ask, already prepared that the answer would be a humiliating one.

    Edvard chuckled a little at ke¡¯s eagerness, reminded of the time he himself had firstid eyes on it. Amused, he strongly patted ke¡¯s back. This simple action made a deep sound, but unwilling to yield in front of the five-star Hunter, the teenager stopped himself from stumbling, keeping his two feet hard on the ground.

    ¡°That is our trump card.¡± Edvard started to exin. ¡°Although this ce is a well-kept secret, and we do our best to make sure there are no spies, we can¡¯t rule out the possibility that one day our enemies might find it.

    ¡°If ites to that, White Rose would send all of its forces over, and should they do that¡­ I honestly doubt our ability to deal with them. That¡¯s why it is of utmost importance that you do your best to make sure to choose your targets carefully, pick the right weapons and n thoroughly before taking on the Altered of your choice. The less attention you garner, the better it will be for your safety, as well as all of ours.¡±

    ¡°Still, some things are inevitable, and in the worst case that armour will be our saving grace. Believe me, I understand your desire perfectly, it has a very alluring ¡®call¡¯ to it¡­ but the rules are clear, it is only to be used in such an emergency when our very existence is at risk. As such, I can¡¯t just give it to you.

    ¡°Nevertheless, the rules also state that the strongest fighter should be the one to wear it. If you work hard for the group, gain more stars, then you might one day be an existence worthy of protecting us all.¡±

    ke felt a little down by the answer, but he hadn¡¯t expected too much in the first ce. He let out a sigh, before he opted to make use of his limited time here to search for a decent weapon and armour.

    There were many, and ck was a predominant colour choice amongst the armour. ke had upgraded his set, picking out a few items that matched him most. His fighting style was one that focused on speed, agility and dexterity, so he needed to be light and not too heavy.

    Luckily, everything had already been neatly organised into sections for them to easily pick what suited them.

    After that, ke headed to the weapon section, where he already knew what he wanted, a pair of dual short swords. They had done him well, though there was another reason for his choice. A pair of dark red des had managed to catch his eye.

    Usually, he wouldn''t have picked red since the colour was easier to see in the dark, but these were quite the dark tone, and after seeing the dragon armour they fascinated him a little. When looking at the hilt of the sword, ke noticed an emblem on the guard.

    ¡®I¡¯ve never seen this marking before?¡¯

    Usually, the cksmiths in the past would put a special marking on all the weapons they created. That way, they could make a name for themselves if a famous warrior used their weapons. Many of the items had one, but a shield with two spears going in a cross shape behind it, was something he had never seen before.

    ¡®It''s a bit weird on a pair of swords, but I like the weight of them.¡¯ ke gave them a couple of swings before putting them away, happy to keep them.

    ¡®When fighting Billy, I managed to see those white lines mentioned in our books¡­ if I can just manage to find out how I did it, I should rise quickly.¡¯ ke thought.

    Roughly thirty minutes after they had been let in, everyone was equipped with new gear. While the one-star and two-star Hunters were free to leave, Edvard instructed the three-star Hunters and above to stay, for he had something important to discuss with them.

    Inside the base meeting hall, there was arge round table, but there were no seats. Edvard himself stood with his hands on the table, while the others stood there patiently.

    ¡°I trust in the judgement of each one of you, and while working on your own has worked so far, I¡¯m afraid that we have a very serious situation on our hands. There have been multiple reports of something quite concerning as ofte.¡± The Altered Hunter leader exined as he pulled out a syringe and ced it on the table.

    ¡°I assume some of you have perhaps seen or heard about this ¡®ck liquid¡¯. As of now, it is predominantly being passed around in the lower tier towns. It appears to be either a failed experiment or an early prototype for a new Alterification method. Whoever uses it turns into a type of crazed Altered.¡±

    ¡°Their usage so far appears to be limited, but unless we do something about it, incidents like the one in Slough might very well start appearing all over the country. The reason for calling you here is that I need you all to make this our number one priority. We need to find out more about this ck liquid, preferably its origin. To do that, we¡¯re going to have to start being more active in the higher tier cities, which means your jobs will also be more dangerous.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 359: The AFA

    <h4>Chapter 359: The AFA</h4>

    ¡°Thanks for the ride!¡± The cheery voice of a teenager sounded as he jumped out of the taxi cab, taking in his surroundings. The building in front of him was farrger than anything he had ever seen in his life, and this was just a tiny part of the campus.

    ¡°Are you serious? Have you ever heard about tipping? Come on, I drove you for three hours!¡± His driverined. The request from the teenager had sounded absurd, but since he had paid in advance, Jared had agreed to drive the teenager all the way here. Still, part of him had done so in the hopes of a nice tip for this inconvenience, especially given their destination was catered to a special type of people, Altered.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I paid you all I had on me. Is it okay if I tip you next time?!¡± The male teenager cheekily scratched the back of his head. The taxi driver had trouble believing it, but there was not much he could do. Letting out a few profanities, he drove off.

    This little scene had caught the attention of the passers-by, who couldn¡¯t help butment on the absurdity of the situation. ¡°Have you ever heard of someoneing to this academy who couldn¡¯t afford to tip? That makes no sense, he must just be really stingy.¡±

    ¡°Maybe that''s why he dyed his hair green, thinking that it might bring him the green.¡± Anothermented with a smirk on his face, seemingly proud of his use of words.

    Gary had no problem hearing them, even if they were some distance away, but theirments did little to spoil the mood. Once more, he gazed at therge campus building, a ce he had never dreamt of seeing in real life. Truth be told, the teenager still had cash on him, and not exactly a small amount. Kai had given him enough tost a year in Slough, but since he had been warned that his stay here might be expensive, he had lied to his driver.

    ¡®This is it! This is all me from here on out. I don''t have anyone to help me, or get me out of any trouble I might cause.¡¯ Gary thought, as he took in a deep breath and took his first steps forward on to the soil of the academy.

    His heart rate was higher than usual, though fortunately not at a level that he showed any signs of transforming, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Unlike everyone else who hade here today, he wasn¡¯t exactly an Altered, and if that came out, he shuddered to consider the consequences.

    ¡®Kai said it would be okay, and he¡¯s smarter than me, so he should be right.¡¯ Gary told himself.

    The academy wasrge, and rather than walking straight ahead through the first main building where students would usually go, instead the group of students was following the signs to some other ce.

    While following the signs, Gary closely observed the group he was now part of. A quick headcount put them at close to a hundred.

    ¡®Man, with all these fancy clothes and jewellery, they even make Kai look humble inparison. Did theye here to attend the AFA or some nightclub to whoo some girls?¡¯ Gary thought to himself, as he internally rolled his eyes.

    Speaking of girls, the group he was in consisted of around a third of them, all of them beauties who could easily be models, though perhaps some of them actually were. Gary wondered how ¡®natural¡¯ their appearances actually were. No matter their gics, money could certainly buy them the best skincare routines, the best nutritions growing up, and if all of that didn¡¯t work, then there was always stic surgery.

    ¡®Most of them should either be the children of someone rich and powerful, or be so talented that they were sponsored by a big and powerful organisation. I might be the sole exception to that.¡¯

    Thinking about this, Gary remembered Kai¡¯s words how if anyone was to ask about his backing, he was to say the Howlers. Apparently that was what was filled out on the application form as well.

    Eventually, the Werewolf¡¯s eyes rested on a teenager with ck hair that was split down the middle. Heightwise, he was about the same height as him, and he estimated that age-wise there shouldn¡¯t be much of a difference either. He was dressed in a normal blue shirt and an inconspicuous ck hoodie, though, ironically, that made the guy stand out even more in the current crowd.

    Eventually the signs stopped when all the students were out on arge open field. There were a few campuses that could be seen in different directions, but they were far away. Still, they knew they were at the right ce because three professors were sitting down in their seats, apparently having waited for them.

    The oldest one of the lot that had an extremely long beard, and he was the only one to stand up. ¡°As you all should be perfectly aware, the AFA is apetitive ce to get in, and we pride ourselves in only epting the best of the best¡­ Unfortunately for you, we don¡¯t consider you as such. You were not invited here by our scouts, nor did any of your families or other backing have a big enough influence for us to trail you separately to let you in.¡±

    Gary had to suppress himself from grinning when the faces of his peers dropped. This statement had obviously insulted their egos. For people, who must have been pampered since birth, it was not easy to swallow being told that they were simply leftovers instead of someone truly special.

    The Werewolf was perfectly fine with being called as such, he knew that it was the truth of the matter, which was why he hade here in the first ce, to the AFA trials. The professor held up his hand, spreading all his fingers out, slowly moving it from the left to the right side, as if to make sure that everyone could get a good look.

    ¡°Five. Do you know what that number represents? That''s how many open ces we have this year. Now, don¡¯t be too happy about it. There¡¯s no guarantee that all of them will be filled by you. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t be too surprising if all of you fail and get sent back home today.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, we didn¡¯t invite you, so you¡¯ll have to prove to us that we were wrong!¡±

    ¡°Of course!!!¡± Gary shouted back.

    Unsurprisingly, all the other teenagers gave him strange looks. The professor wasn''t really asking them a question. Still, Gary didn¡¯t care because he was just too excited to be here.

    Surprisingly, the old professor didn¡¯t chide him. No, he actually smiled at his antics. ¡°I like your spirit. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll stay this chipper after the test. The first one starts now. Show us what type of Altered you are! If you can¡¯t even do that, then there¡¯s no reason for us to waste any more time with you!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 360: Troubled Talent

    <h4>Chapter 360: Troubled Talent</h4>

    Gary watched the participants get called out one by one to show off their Altered forms in front of the three men. He was feeling anxious, though less due to the test and more because the teenager was currently realising hisck of knowledge with regard to the academy itself.

    Gary had only known about the AFA¡¯s existence in general, but he had never looked into its inner workings. After all, the base requirement for attending had always been to be an Altered, something which should have been impossible for the old him. s, even after he had turned Werewolf, he had been too preupied with other things to fill that gap in knowledge.

    As such, the only thing he knew about the three judges were their names because they had name tes in front of them. Unfortunately, none of those rang any bells for him. Aside from them not being some Altered fighters, he wasn¡¯t sure whether they were merely helpers, or perhaps some renowned professors who hade today to test them.

    Every teenager was told to demonstrate their transformation in front of everybody. They were to show off the extent to which they could transform into, and how much control they had. All of it was being recorded, and once they were done, they were told to head further down, where the man with therge belly and muscr arms would ask them questions about what type of Altered they were, if they had any special traits, and what their speciality was.

    ¡®I''m actually quite surprised¡­ that most of the people here kinda suck.¡¯ Gary thought, scratching his head because so far they had collectively witnessed seven teenagerse up, all unable to transform. The eighth one was the first who show some potential, though it was just one hand that could transform.

    Still, despite the bespectacled man¡¯s earlier im of making them fail outright, all those that had been unable to transform, had been told to take a blood test before getting a chance to talk about their Altered.

    ¡®I guess they must also be looking at potential. There is a good chance that some of them actually have quite a rare and powerful Altered which will grow in the future. At the same time, it''s not like they are testing our physical capabilities with this test either.¡¯ Gary thought, as he noticed that the third judge had yet to say anything, seemingly juggling his attention between his notes and the teenagers eager to prove themselves.

    Fortunately, not all of them were duds. Eventually, those appeared who were able to turn their hands into deadly ws, whose eyes changed into that of reptiles, wings sprouted from their back and other abilities which were clearly inhuman.

    ¡®Some of these Altered forms look really fascinating and powerful¡­ but if that¡¯s really as far as they can change, I understand why they didn¡¯t get scouted. Still, they were at least lucky enough to get sponsored by somepany. I bet those unable to transform are mostly the kids of rich families from Tier-2 cities or above.

    ¡® What about Xin¡­ I wonder how far she managed to get? With her skills, she might even be joining the AFC for her debut match soon.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Numba Coal, next!¡± The man in the middle shouted out the name.

    The teenager who came forward was the one Gary had noticed earlier, for he was the one looking out of ce due to theck of brand clothes. As he walked up, the ones waiting were whispering snidements about his clothing, the way he walked and his posture.

    Honestly, Gary would have loved to p all their faces. After all, he didn''t have the same upbringing as the people around him. The rtively nice clothes on him were mostly because Kai had picked out his wardrobe for today and even then, he had turned down quite a few items, solely he had felt those wouldn¡¯t suit him.

    Standing in position, Numba clenched his hands and soon a change appeared on his body. It wasn''t on his hands, legs, back or face like the others, instead it was on top of his head. Tworge, white horns had grown out.

    ¡°Hahah, what is he, some type of Goat Altered!¡± One of the students pointed andughed, with a few others joining him.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gary couldn¡¯t take it any more. He turned around to face the one who had started all of it. ¡°You guys have yet to go forward and demonstrate that you¡¯re any better than all those who couldn¡¯t even transform part of your bodies! He¡¯s better than all of those, so how can you make fun of him?!¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure with what kind of expectation he hading here, but watching a group of rich teenagers make fun of somebody certainly wasn¡¯t part of it. After experiencing all kinds of things while he had been part of the Underdogs, and even more after he and Kai had created the Howlers, their behaviour just seemed¡­ so childish. No one around scared him, and because of that, Gary wasn¡¯t afraid to speak up when someone annoyed him.

    ¡°The boy is right.¡± Professor Humfree who had been speaking so far chimed in. ¡°None of you have earned the right to look down on your peers. You are simply here thanks to your parents or your sponsors, but the ce you will be going to next, assuming you will actually be among the lucky few, none of those will be able to help you.

    ¡°You should be very careful in how you act before you have earned your ce in this academy.¡±

    After hearing these words, everyone settled down a little, and Numba was told to go on and answer the same questions as his predecessors.

    ¡°Well then, young man, let¡¯s see whether you have the qualifications!¡± The man pointed at him, seemingly skipping over others, though Gary didn¡¯t mind. Of course, the teenagers that he had told off just moments ago were scowling and staring at him. Unaware that he could hear them, they were whispering about him.

    ¡°I tell you right now, I''m going tough my head off, if he can¡¯t transform after all his grandstanding. ¡­ better yet, I hope he¡¯s also some type ofme Herbivore looking Altered.¡±

    Ignoring those hatefulments, Gary casually pulled his sleeves back, unwilling to ruin his clothes. In an instant, he had transformed both his arms. The brown fur could be seening through his skin, with little parts of it falling off, almost shedding as a stronger hide appeared. At the same time, his hands becamerger, with his fingernails extending into ws.

    For a moment, Gary looked at the three men. Noticing that he had their full attention, he continued by making his teeth transform next, revealing fourrge canines, before his eyes narrowed, though without changing their colour. He had made sure to step just before that point.

    ¡°Impressive, very impressive, is that the limit of your transformation, or are you able to do more?¡± Humfree asked.

    Gary looked at the other students who seemed to be taken aback, surprised at what had happened so far, but opening his mouth, he told a lie.

    ¡°That''s my limit.¡± Gary answered, while walking off to the next man to answer his question.

    Humfree locked eyes with his colleague and nodded, which prompted Professor Wood to look up Gary¡¯s information and mark him as an interesting specimen.

    ¡®Figures he isn¡¯t one of those fancy pants whoe here right after mommy and daddy sponsor them their Altered. So you¡¯re sponsored by¡­ the Howlers group? Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever he- no wait¡­ wasn''t there a report a while ago about the Howlers.¡¯

    Doing a quick search, Mr Wood, brought up information about Slough, and he started to find out a few things. For one, how the town was now under the control of those Howlers, a gang that hade out of seemingly nowhere. Nevertheless, that wasn¡¯t a problem as far as that AFA was concerned. As long as those kids were powerful enough, they didn¡¯t care who was behind them..

    ¡®A new rising Gang, and one from a Tier-3 town. He has a lot of talent, that''s for sure, and his Altered form looked vicious to say the least, but I fear that he might run into a lot of trouble if the others were to find out about this background. Those like him struggle the most in the AFA, especially if they are truly talented.¡¯

    Still, when looking through the article, there was something else that Mr Wood spotted, a certain video, about an Altered facing the Rookie champion of the AFC. Clicking on the video, there were clips of the fight online being shown.

    Seeing this, and looking at Gary, a smile crept on the professor¡¯s face.

    *****

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 Chapter 361: A second chance

    <h4>Chapter 361: A second chance</h4>

    After Gary¡¯s little disy the testing proceeded without a hitch. Showing off his transformation had been enough to convince the three men about him being an Altered. He wondered what excuse he would have to make if they were to suddenly ask him for a blood test but in the end, he was fine. at least for the next couple of weeks.

    [25 days until the next full moon]

    At the moment the teenager just had a loose n of iming that he was sick on that day, which would hopefully be enough to allow him to skip sses on that day. Gary intended to put some more thought into it, but first, he would have to make sure that he actually got in, though judging by the minute reaction of the three men he was at least sure to have passed this test.

    Gary wasn¡¯t big-headed but he believed that his transformation out of all of them was the most impressive.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve collected all your data now. I will now read out the names of those that are eligible for the next test!¡± Professor Humfree began, only to be interrupted by one of the teenagers.

    ¡°Hang on a moment! This can¡¯t be it, right? All you did was find out whether we could transform and what type of Altered we are! Shouldn¡¯t there at least be an assessment of our fighting ability? You can¡¯t tell me just because I¡¯m not that great at transforming, that I¡¯m necessarily weaker than all those who could!¡±

    The professor raised an eyebrow at the student, and strange energy began radiating off him. Behind Humfree there was almost a ck fog of darkness and it was rising by the second. If one was to take a deep look, there was almost a pair of eyes as well. Honestly, Gary didn¡¯t know if he was just seeing things or not but judging from the looks on the other''s faces they could at least feel it.

    Following an instinct inside of them, many of the students took a step back, with only a dozen remaining where they were. This included both Gary, as well as Numba who the Werewolf had been keeping an eye on.

    ¡°Do you really think that you¡¯re in a position to argue about OUR rules after we already graciously allowed you to even show up today? If you don¡¯t like it, then you¡¯re free to join one of the other academies.¡± After saying this, Humfree cleared his throat and began reading out the names on the list one by one, a total of twelve names.

    There were groans, tears, sobbing and anger from the students, some even going so far as to stomp on the ground in frustration. Meanwhile, those whose names had been called were also showing a wide mix of emotions, ranging from some who had a smile covering their whole face, to those who were shedding tears of joy. For a second, both Gary and Numba made eye contact, both of them smiling at each other.

    ¡®All of us are those who didn¡¯t get intimidated by the professor just now¡­ they seem to really know what they are doing.¡¯ Gary realised.

    ¡°This makes no sense!¡± The student from before protested once more. He was better dressed than the majority, though with his hair gelled back andbed over, Gary felt like he was more suited to take part in a film rather than the assessment for an Altered Academy.

    ¡°With all due respect, Professor Humfree, I can understand your decision to pick those among them who could transform, but what about those who couldn¡¯t?! How is it fair for you to pick them but deny those among us who at least were able to transform part of our body into our Altered form?! You have to at least exin why you picked them over us!¡±

    It was true, three out of the twelve students hadn¡¯t been able to transform at all, and them being Altered was only confirmed due to the blood test. Gary hated to admit it, but the loud mouth had a point.

    ¡°Here I thought that FOR ONCE we would go through this assessment without one of you popping up to cause a scene. So, do you believe that you¡¯re wiser than us, who have been doing this job for more years than you¡¯re alive?¡± Professor Hai questioned as he stood up. Given his mean looking face, many of the teenagers took a step back when he suddenly got involved.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired of exining those things to brats like you, so as the saying goes ¡®seeing is believing¡¯. Whoever thinks that they deserve this chance more than the ones we¡¯ve selected, I¡¯m willing to give you that opportunity. All you need to do, is beat one of them in a fight.¡±

    The students looked at each other, they had never expected to fight each other this early on, at least not until they had been fully admitted into the academy. What¡¯s more those among them who should have passed felt nervous, now that they would have to protect their ce, while those who had been denied started to be confident.

    ¡°Fine!¡± The gelled back hair kid stepped forward throwing his zer onto the ground, He kicked off his nicely polished shoes, and unbuttoned a few of the buttons on his white shirt.

    ¡°I want to fight that guy!¡± Pointing out his finger, he pointed to a calm-looking short brown-haired student, one of the three who hadn¡¯t been able to transform. For a second, the student looked toward professor Hai who just smiled and nodded.

    ¡°You want to keep your ce, don¡¯t you? There¡¯s no need for you to hold back, whatever happens in this fight, the academy will make sure that all of it will be taken care of.¡±

    The others made some distance for them. Honestly, the sadness and anger from before had turned into excitement for all those that had failed. Seeing how this would go, some of them thought that they might still have a chance to prove themselves.

    ¡°Let''s do this!¡± The ck-haired student shouted, and immediately his hands started to transform, growing to twice their size and forming into pincers.

    Watching this, Gary started to think.

    ¡®If that kid wins, then there is a good chance all of us will have to fight for our positions.¡¯ Gary thought.

    *****

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 Chapter 362: A Different Level

    <h4>Chapter 362: A Different Level</h4>

    Running forward the Crab Altered student swung his arm, but the other was able to duck down underneath. At the same time, he had used his leg to kick the other from underneath, causing his opponent to fall to the ground.

    The Crab Altered could see a fiste towards him and moved hisrger w directly in front to block the attack. As the fistsnded on the w many of the onlookers winced in pain, imagining how much it had to hurt.

    Rolling to the side and getting up, the Crab Altered looked at his opponent, expecting him to be in some type of pain, but he wasn¡¯t where he had left him. Instead, before the challenger realised that his opponent had jumped up, a kick came down, aimed straight at the side of his head.

    ¡°Damn it, that was cheap!¡± The Crab Alteredined, his head was hurting, but thanks to his Altered physique he was at least still conscious. Unfortunately for him, starting with that moment he was forced to defend himself from the flurry of punchesing his way. Loud bangs were heard each time the knuckles of the student would hit the hard casing of his pincers.

    ¡®What the hell?! How is this possible?! Are this guy¡¯s hands made of metal or something? They should be broken by now¡­ or at least injured, so why am I the one suffering all the damage?!¡¯ The teenager thought in frustration.

    Eventually, a cracking sound could be heard¡­ the Crab Altered¡¯s pincer. A shooting pain ran through his body and dropping his guard at that moment, a fist connected with his face, this time actually knocking him out.

    ¡®Wow¡­ I wasn''t expecting that at all.¡¯ Gary thought in amazement. ¡®Still, this makes one thing clear, we weren¡¯t just selected through a fluke. He might not be able to transform, but his body is already above that of a normal person. Just how strong will he be, when he learns to transform?¡¯

    ¡°Well, after seeing this fight, does anyone else wish to challenge those we¡¯ve passed?¡± Professor Hai asked with arge grin on his face. Around a dozen hesitantly raised their hand. ¡°In case any of you wanted to be a smart-ass, you¡¯re not allowed to challenge someone who has just fought.¡±

    After that statement, those hands came down. The majority was now disheartened once again. They tried to put themselves in the Crab Altered¡¯s shoes, but they couldn¡¯t imagine beating the person who had just fought. They could see clearly how strong, and how fast his movements were.

    Eventually, shortly before they dispersed, one person raised their hand and walked forward. They had short spiky hair and Gary recognised this person immediately. He was the one the Werewolf had shut up because he had made fun of Numba.

    ¡®I bet he¡¯s going to pick a fight with that Numba guy. Well, out of all those that could transform those horns looked the least impressive, and after seeing what one of those that couldn''t transform could do¡­¡¯ Gary wouldn''t me him if the guy challenged Numba.

    ¡°If only I could fight in his stead, I would love to shut him up without suffering any consequences.¡± The teenager mumbled to himself.

    ¡°I pick the green-haired one.¡± The spiky fellow pointed.

    Hearing this, the onlookers were whispering amongst themselves, obviously as confused as Gary himself was. Out of all of those that had passed, his transformation had been undoubtedly the most vicious and deadly-looking Altered forms they had ever seen. Not to mention Gary had been able to transform at the snap of a finger, something only two others had been able to, yet his had been far more smooth.

    ¡®The ones that can¡¯t transform seem to have something special about them, which should be the reason why the professors picked them. They might actually be the strongest among them, and even if that guy was the strongest among the three, there¡¯s no need to test out the other two. They could tell the difference between the talented ones that couldn''t transform and the ones that couldn''t. which means they are deemed better than any of us that could.

    ¡®So if that''s the case, then I just need to pick the one that stood out the most, since he should be the weakest!¡¯ That was the student¡¯s train of thought, but he also had another, more personal reason to pick Gary.

    ¡®Besides, I have a trump card that suits this type of fight very well. Given their image, they shouldn¡¯t go back on their word, and as long as I win, it doesn''t matter how I beat my opponent. You dared to talk crap to me, so suffer the consequences.¡¯ The student smirked.

    In the end, Gary didn¡¯tin as he walked forward and stood where the other fighting teenager had stood.

    ¡°Now, since you are both able to transform, we¡¯ll tweak the rules slightly.¡± Professor Hai announced. ¡°Once I shout ¡®start¡¯, you¡¯ll begin your fight, and only then are you allowed to transform, got it?¡±

    The two nodded in agreement and at the same time, a notification appeared with a ding before the Werewolf.

    [New Quest received]

    [Honorable Fight 0.5!]

    [Many people are watching, so don¡¯t make a fool out of yourself.

    Win the match!]

    [Condition: Knock out or kill your opponents]

    [Quest reward: 50 Exp]

    [Failure: ???]

    [Optional Quest received]

    [Waste not want not]

    [Consume the Altered]

    [Quest reward: Additional stat points]

    Subconsciously Gary licked his lips as he read over the message, yet he snapped out of it as soon as Hai shouted ¡®start!¡¯.

    Immediately, the challenger¡¯s feet started to transform, growing green in colour, making them look like that of an insect. Less than a secondter, he pushed off, shooting from his position like a spring. The ground was kicked up and the dirt had hit one of the students behind.

    ¡®Haha, I bet you never expected this, my one-shot-kill. I¡¯ll take you out in a single hit and take your ce!¡¯

    Even the three adults were surprised by this, since it had taken him a few seconds to transform his feet and hands previously. For a moment, Hai began to worry, for even a student in a stronger Altered form might have trouble dealing with such a surprise attack.

    It was one of the reasons the three didn¡¯t simply host a battle royale. Sure, the challenger might win, but it was a cheap victory and not one that had to do with their potential. Nevertheless, since it was the potential admission to the AFA on the line, they couldn¡¯t me him for using a cheap trick.

    ¡®Honorable Fight 0.5¡­ only 50 EXP¡­ it means I don¡¯t really have to worry about you.¡¯ Gary sighed internally, as he shifted his front foot, taking a fighting stance. He lifted his heel off the ground slightly and was on his toes, before getting his fist ready.

    ¡®You might think you¡¯re fast¡­ but you¡¯re nothing but a snailpared to Kirk!¡¯

    Bouncing off his toes without transforming, Gary threw out his fist,nding right in his opponent¡¯s face. A loud crack resounded as the Insect Altered¡¯s jaw, and nose were shattered. Blood spilt backwards through the air, as he fell to the ground.

    Gary just stood there looking down at his opponent with a bloody fist, happy to receive a free 50 EXP without the need to so much as transform and having defeated them with a single punch.

    ¡®He¡¯s on a different level.¡¯ Mr Wood thought.

    *****

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 Chapter 363: The final five

    <h4>Chapter 363: The final five</h4>

    ¡®The guy might have been an idiot, but that doesn¡¯t give me the right to kill him¡­¡¯ Gary thought to himself as he looked down on the unconscious body of the Insect Altered, who clearly wouldn¡¯t be getting up anytime soon. As if taunting him to do it, the Optional Quest shed before him, yet the Werewolf ignored it, shook the blood off his hand, and stepped back in line.

    On some level, the teenager understood that the fastest way for him to grow in power through the Werewolf System would be by consuming beasts. However, since those were technically extinct, other than what NIRV was doing, he would have to eat Altered if he wanted the benefit, and that just wasn¡¯t something socially eptable, nor was it something he really wanted to do.

    Fortunately, that wasn¡¯t his only way to grow in power. Aside from levelling up, a task which became progressively more annoying due to the increased in EXP requirement each time, he could strengthen himself, or his Pack, through the use of Pawn Points.

    Using one of them, he had evolved Kai into a Knight Grade Beta Werewolf. Gary still had no idea whether his upperssman had simply been predestined to be a Werewolf, or whether his Alpha Bite had been the trigger, but the assigned Unique ss was something that had made even him jealous.

    It was a good thing that Kai was on his side, and given his power boost, the green-haired teenager felt confident in using the ten Pawn Points he had earned as a bonus for sessfully hunting the Underdogs on himself.

    There were three things he could do with them. He could invest them towards reaching the next Grade, evolve his Pack members so that they would reach the Bishop Grade like him, or convert them into either Stat or Skill Points.

    The first option seemed wasteful. Gary simplycked the necessary Pawn Points to go up a Grade in one go. He needed to invest 14 more Pawn Points to do that, and no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn¡¯t imagine that it made any difference whether he was 1/15 on the way, or 11/15.

    The second option, while arguably more useful, also had its problem. Unlike him, neither Olivia nor Kai had any levels or stats. Even if they did, the Alpha Werewolf had yet to find a way to see them, so he would have no clue how much of an effect evolving them would have.

    After the full moon, he knew for a fact that they were weaker than him, but Gary preferred not to take a risk in that regard. He didn¡¯t need either one challenging him for his position, as unlikely as that might be.

    That only left thest option, the one that would strengthen him directly. After nearly dying to the Underdogs the teenager had grown aware that even as a Werewolf he had been far from invincible. He was sure that he could have beaten each member individually, but why would his enemies do him that favour when there was strength in numbers?

    Of course, the same was true for him, and the Werewolf System had tempted him more than once to increase his Pack size, but he wasn''t willing to turn his friends, at least not until he found a way to remove or at least severely decrease the risk of them dying.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [ss: Warrior]

    [State: Human (Alpha)]

    [Grade: Bishop]

    [Level 20]

    [Exp 478/5302]

    [Health: 160 >>> 200]

    [Energy: 278/300]

    [Strength 25 >>> 27]

    [Dexterity 24 >>> 26]

    [Endurance 20 >>> 25]

    Beforeing here today, he had made sure to strengthen himself, maximising his chances to be a student at the AFA. s, ultimately, Gary ended up with a mere 13 Stat Points after the conversion. After half an hour of cursing the system with everything he could think of, the Alpha Werewolf had assigned his points.

    ¡®If I had known that mypetition was just at this level, I should have saved up those Pawn Points. Hopefully, the real students of the AFA have more to offer, though I suppose being able to climb to the AFC in record time should also have its perk.¡¯

    Honestly, the significant boost Gary had received after consuming Kirk had been enough to put him above his opponent. With his Dexterity even higher, the Werewolf was now at a levelparable to the Cheetah Altered. Of course, that was only true with regard to speed alone, skills wise was apletely different story.

    Without Olivia¡¯s interference, the fight would have ended differently, and since it had been televised, Gary intended to refrain from transformingpletely while in the AFA, and perhaps even in the AFC, if he could help him. Although the Werewolf felt in control when transforming, there was something about that form that forced out his wild side.

    ¡®Once I¡¯m done with the assessments, it appears that I will need to have a word with the scout leader. His men have really failed us this year.¡¯ Professor Humfree thought, looking at Gary. ¡®Someone of his talent should have been brought before us with the scouted group, especially since he should ce highly even among them.

    ¡®Not only is he great at controlling his transformation, but he was also able to precisely track a surprise attack, and used his opponent¡¯s own force against him. A shame the fight ended so abruptly, I would have loved seeing his abilities more in depth, but the next test will be perfect for that.¡¯

    After two fights, none of the failed teenagers dared to challenge those who had passed, epting their fate of having to apply to a different academy.

    The twelve students that had passed followed the three professors into one of the academy buildings. Strangely, it was an empty hall, which lead to a long hallway, which eventually led to an evenrger white empty room that had nothing inside.

    ¡°This is where the second test will take ce.¡± Professor Humfree began to exin. ¡°While it is remarkable that so many of you have met our standards, the AFA can only admit five of you. In a while, balls will start shooting toward you, you¡¯re free to dodge or catch, however, the moment one of youes into contact with a ball, we will enter the next phase.

    ¡°A 60-second timer will appear, and once it reaches zero, you will hear this sound.¡±

    *BZZZZ*

    ¡°Thest person who came into contact with that ball gets eliminated, starting a new round without that person. Any questions? No? Great! You have five minutes to talk amongst yourselves before the first round starts!¡±

    With that, the three adults left the room. Gary was wondering why they would be given five minutes. The teenager was eager to y straight away and get it over with. However, once the timer started to count down, the Werewolf saw why they had been granted that time.

    ¡°Hey, do you want to team up with us? If there are five of us, and we agree not to hit the ball at each other, it means we will have a higher chance of passing on. We can work together to get the others out!¡± One of the teenagers suggested as he came up to him. It was one of the three who had been unable to transform.

    As he was contemting this offer, Gary noticed that once again, there was one individual who was being ignored by the others.

    ¡°Thanks for the offer, but I already have a team member, and I think just the two of us will do fine.¡± Gary apologised, as he headed towards Numba.

    ¡°How about we work together?¡± Gary smiled as he offered him his hand.

    ¡°No.¡± Came the abrupt answer, without even the hint of hesitation.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, le- ¡­ hang on, what did you just say?¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 364: Going solo

    <h4>Chapter 364: Going solo</h4>

    ¡°I said that I¡¯m not interested.¡± Numba stated without much emotion, and as if to stress his point, the lone Altered moved away from Gary.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t we have a bro moment earlier? The two of us even smiled at each other¡­ was that just me misinterpreting stuff?¡¯ Gary thought as his cheeks were turning red in embarrassment.

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t you agree that with everyone else teaming up, we would be better off doing the same?¡± The Werewolf argued,pletely aware how pathetic he must appear at that moment. Less than a minute ago, the green haired teenager had confidently refused an offer to join someone else¡¯s group, and now he was practically begging for a cooperation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to say that I think you need any help necessarily, but working together would increase both our chances of passing the assessment and stuff.¡±

    Numba let out a sigh, before turning back to Gary. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re a good guy or bad guy, but that¡¯s kinda my point.

    ¡°All I know about you is that your Altered form looks impressive, and that you punched someone¡¯s face in a while ago. While it would be great to have that kind of power on my side, what exactly is stopping you from betraying me during this assessment? This is my only chance to get into the AFA, so I¡¯m not going to take any chances.

    ¡°One thing I learned growing up is that you can rely on the fact that people will always do things for their own personal gain and benefit. Frankly, I don¡¯t see what you could possibly get out of working with me.¡±

    Gary wished to argue, but while his mouth remained open, no words wereing out. After all, what else could he say to Numba other than he should trust him? If their positions were reversed, would he be willing topletely trust the word of what amounted to basically aplete stranger?

    Left with no other option, the Werewolf epted his defeat and turned around. From the looks of it, he was one step toote. The other two teens who had been unable to transform had been more sessful in securing teammates, making them a group of five. Additionally, four Altered capable of transforming were also staying grouped together.

    ¡®Screw me, I guess. That¡¯s what I get for trying to be nice. I should have just agreed to the guy¡¯s offer. Oh well, no other choice but to do this whole thing on my own.¡¯ Garymented.

    ¡°Erghh, excuse me, I couldn¡¯t help but overhear what you were talking about with that guy, and I totally agree. Since he doesn¡¯t wish to team up¡­ would you mind if I take his ce? I really want to get in the AFA, and you were super impressive.¡± A nasal voice interrupted Gary¡¯s thoughts.

    Before him stood a teenager with straight, t hair that was cut on the level of his eyebrows, giving him the appearance of a bowl. Then there were his eyes that looked like upside down moons as he smiled.

    ¡°You¡­ were the guy that could, like grow out his hair out, right? Turning into like a Hair Altered?¡± Gary questioned, as he tried to recall the teenager¡¯s name. The next moment, he covered his mouth, realising how incredibly rude his description might have been. Fortunately, the teenager¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change in the least, rather nodding along.

    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s me. You don¡¯t seem to remember my name, but I don¡¯t me you, I¡¯m as surprised as you¡¯re that I actually passed. I¡¯m Vik, and it would be my pleasure to work alongside you.¡±

    Truth be told, Gary couldn¡¯t join his enthusiasm, from what he barely recalled, he couldn¡¯t imagine the guy bing anything but a burden, but after getting rejected he also felt bad for him. ¡°Are you sure you wouldn¡¯t rather join up with the group of four? Together, you might have a far better chance.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point? I¡¯m convinced you¡¯ll end up as one of thest five. But even if they change their mind and allow me to join, if ites down to it, I¡¯ll be the one they¡¯ll abandon in thest round. My gut is telling me that my best chance is sticking with you.¡± The teenagers admitted with a smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to pity, or him appreciating Vik¡¯s honesty, but with barely any time left on the timer he agreed. The lights near the ceiling of the room turned on as soon as the buzzer sounded. Behind the ss, they could see the three silhouettes.

    ¡°Time¡¯s up. We hope you¡¯ve agreed on your tactics to pass the assessment. Heads up, the first ball will shoot out momentarily.¡±

    *BEEP*

    Like a silent agreement, the room had been split up into four parts, each one belonging to one of the groups. The side of the white room door opened up, and what looked like a slick cannon had shot out a football sized ck ball towards them.

    The panel that had opened was right behind Gary, and since he had heard the sound of the panel opening, he had instantly moved away from his position. s, from the corner of his eye, he could see that his new teammate would be hit unless he moved. A loud bang went off, and the Werewolf was barely able to pull Vik by his shirt, saving him from the impact.

    The ball passed them by at incredible speed, faster than a pitcher¡¯s. It looked to be going around 100 miles per hour. The next second, it had hit one of the teenagers that were in the group of five, bouncing off his body.

    ¡°Alright, the count-down will now begin!¡± A voice was heard over the megaphone.

    ¡°Hey I was hit, I was hit, what are we going to do!¡± The teenager panicked as he looked for help from his teammates.

    ¡°There are no rules about what we can do, so let''s grab one of the others, and hold them down!¡± The leader from the group of five suggested.

    Immediately, one of the teenagers who had fought before who didn¡¯t have the ability to transform, ran over to the others and grabbed a teenager before they could react. His teammates were a little scared to attack him, as they had seen what he had done in the fight outside as well.

    Kicking the other teenager in the head, he quickly dazed him and grabbed the back of his arms.

    ¡°Throw the ball!¡± The teenager demanded.

    He didn¡¯t need to be asked twice, and the ball was thrown, hitting the teenager right in the stomach. Underneath therge timer that was in the room, a photo could be seen of the person who hadste into contact with the ball.

    Now the timer was at forty seconds.

    The group of five split up now as they tried to get away from the other group of four and seeing as it would be difficult to help out their fires, their eyes had now turned to the one who was on his own.

    ¡®I see how it is, well just try it.¡¯ Numba thought as he started to transform.

    ******

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 Chapter 365: Explosive power

    <h4>Chapter 365: Explosive power</h4>

    Unlike during the initial assessment, when Numba had been struggling to transform, his horns were now growing at a fast speed, swirling backwards just past his entire head before they curved up. The pointed bits stuck out around fifteen centimetres in front of him. The ball was heading his way, yet when he kicked the floor, a loud bang resounded throughout the room.

    The teenager only moved a short distance, less than two metres, but his speed was incredibly fast, powerful, not to mention timed perfectly. The Goat Altered¡¯s horns connected with the ball, which flew back as fast as a bullet, right past the closest two teenagers from the group of four, until it finally collided with its target.

    It was surprising that the ball itself didn¡¯t break, indicating that the material wasn¡¯t normal rubber. It was far more durable, yet it also kept a solid state when being hit, allowing it to retain an optimal speed and weight behind it.

    Numba, aware that his chances of fighting off four Altered weren¡¯t good, had wisely decided to make a fight amongst themselves pointless by forcing the group of five to act. What¡¯s more, his target had been caught off guard against this sudden ambush. With the ball hitting him right in his stomach, the teenager was currently down on his knees. It felt like no matter how hard he tried to breathe, he just couldn¡¯t, to the point that tears wereing out of his eyes.

    ¡°Grab the ball, we have to make sure that Tick isn¡¯t the one to get eliminated this round! With him gone, we won¡¯t have the numbers advantage any more!¡± A sixteen-year-old girl by the name of Izzy was shouting that. Just like Tick, she was one of the three Altered unable to transform.

    Immediately, the short brown haired student who had disyed his skills in the fight against the Crab Altered ran towards Numba. His goal was to knock out the Goat Altered. After all, the only rule was that thest one toe into contact with the ball would be eliminated, and an unconscious person would be unable to do anything after being tagged.

    Five minutes had been more than enough time to form teams, so the two groups had used the remaining time to coordinate how they could bestpliment each other given their respective Altered forms and skills.

    ¡®If it¡¯s just him, I might be able to defend myself until the timer reaches zero.¡¯ Numba thought, ready to fight since the group of four had already escaped from the vicinity.

    ¡°You can do it, Ian!¡± Izzy shouted from behind. All three of them had attended the same school, and Ian was undoubtedly the strongest amongst them. Fortunately for the trio, the Crab Altered had challenged Ian, rather than Izzy or Tick, which had led to the misconception that all three of the Altered unable to transform had to be some sort of powerhouse. s, with Numba hitting Tick, their friend was on the verge of losing his chance to attend the AFA, especially with only ten seconds left this round.

    Just as Numba was about to prepare his legs to push off again, he saw that another figure was running towards Ian. It looked like a blur, but the figure met the brown haired Altered who had been mid-kick in the air.

    ¡°What the hell?! This fight should have nothing to do with you! Fine, if this is how you want to y it, then let¡¯s go!¡± Ian cried out as Gary caught his foot.

    ¡°Numba might have rejected my offer, but I¡¯m not going to just stand there and watch when all of you are ganging up on him.¡± Gary exined with a confident smile. He clenched his right hand, holding onto the leg harder. Then, seeing how Ian was about to kick him with his free leg, the Werewolf prepared to meet the iing kick with one of his own.

    s, that kick never came. Instead, a cracking sound could be heard, and the next moment, a terrifying scream filled the floor. The scene looked gruesome. Not only was Ian¡¯s leg twisted into an unnatural position, but a small part of his bone was sticking out of the body.

    ¡°SHIT! I''m so sorry.¡± Gary apologised the moment he saw the damage he had caused. He had intended to merely use a simple kick, but having seen how Ian had fared against the Crab Altered, Gary had opted to use a bit more strength and speed to overwhelm the other teenager¡¯s defence. He had seeded¡­ a little too well.

    -----

    ¡°Hmm, I didn¡¯t think that they would go at it with such enthusiasm from the get-go. Should I call in the medics, so that they can collect him?¡± Professor Hai asked his colleagues.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. He¡¯s an Altered, and ording to his blood test a very powerful one at that. This type of injury is not enough to kill him, so we should let him decide whether he wishes to forfeit or continue.¡± Professor Humfree replied.

    -----

    None of the teenagers knew what to do at that moment. Their reverie was broken by the buzzer that had gone off. The image of thest student who had been hit was now shing under the timer.

    ¡°Tick Mybal has been thest person toe in contact with the ball and is thereby eliminated from this assessment. Please leave the area.¡± The voice of Professor Humfree stated over the speaker.

    In the room, another panel opened up, revealing a door. The teenager walked towards it, his head held down. He hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, but enough to be able to walk on his own. The boy could do nothing but me himself for not having been more cautious. Still, as someone whose Altered form had been deemed interesting enough to allow him to pass the AFA¡¯s first assessment, the silver lining for Tick was that other academies would be happy to take him in.

    As soon as the teenage boy had left the room, another beep was heard. Everyone had expected new balls toe flying, yet nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the sixty-second timer had started counting down, showing a picture of Numba underneath.

    Immediately, a feeling of relief overcame the others. All they had to do now was make sure not to get hit, and after having seen what Numba was capable of, they were very wary of him. Meanwhile, the Goat Altered ran towards the ball and lifted it off the floor, he then threw it slightly up in the air, as if he was going to do a tennis serve.

    While the ball was dropping down, Numba readied his legs and, once again, explosively charged forward, hitting the ball with his head. It flew across again, this time hitting one of the group of four Altered on the shoulder.

    ¡°Crap, let''s just go for others, our numbers are the same now, so we should be able to get one of them!¡± One among the group suggested.

    For Gary, and his teammate, the second round became calm and peaceful. The two teams of four were fighting against each other, the image under the timer changing every other second. The timer continued to go down, and in the end, there were only ten seconds left until the next person would be eliminated.

    Currently, Izzy was the one holding the ball. The teenage girl was bruised and tired, yet her face showed conviction as she changed her approach, running towards Gary.

    ¡®Why me? Do you want to take revenge for your boyfriend or something?¡¯ Gary wondered, as he just watched her. The green haired teenager was ready to dodge. He had contemted hitting the ball to return it, yet he had decided against it, fearing that she too might turn out even more fragile than Ian.

    The countdown continued and now a few metres away, Izzy hurled the ball. It was fast, faster than what a human could do, but nowhere near fast enough to hit Gary and in fact he could tell that the trajectory of the ball was off, to the point that he didn¡¯t even have to move.

    ¡®I can see that this is a desperate attempt, but you still have to at least aim properly.¡¯ Gary thought, a small grin on his face. Just in case, it turned out to be a curveball, he stepped to the side, making the ball miss himpletely.

    Keeping his eye on the screen, Gary saw something strange. The image had changed, now disying Vik.

    ¡®Crap, Ipletely forgot about him!¡¯

    Turning his head behind him, Gary was going to try to help his teammate in some way.

    ''I don''t really care about this guy, but he came to me and trusted me, and If I was to fail here, I might fail elsewhere as well!'' Images on the Howlers members appeared in Gary''s head.

    But when turning around, all he could see was the ball bounce off his chest and fall to the floor.

    Off in the distance, he could see Vik, his moon shaped eyes smiling at the Werewolf¡¯s visible confusion.

    *****

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 Chapter 366: Three Seconds

    <h4>Chapter 366: Three Seconds</h4>

    There were only three seconds left in this round, and currently, Gary¡¯s image was being disyed underneath the timer.

    ¡®Who would have thought that the most talented kid from this batch would lose due to trickery.¡¯ Professor Humfree thought as he was scratching his beard. ¡®It¡¯s truly a shame, but this should serve as a lesson for him. No matter how strong you might be, you can always lose your life if you put your trust in the wrong person.¡¯

    Tests like this one were designed with treachery in mind. Just like in the real world, each trial taker could merely control their own actions. As such, they would either have to make sure to put their trust in the right person, convince the others to work together with them or try to do everything on their own. After all, life in the AFA would be brutal. If you couldn¡¯t make it past this stage, then only a life of hardships would await you.

    Gary¡¯s eyes turned red as he continued to stare at Vik. The teenager with the bowl cut had seemed so innocent when he had asked the Werewolf to help him out. Gary had actually been willing to help him pass this assessment since Vik had been so upfront with his request, but after this betrayal, he understood the situation for what it really was.

    ¡®... this BASTARD came over to me, just so he could stab me in the back!!! I should have realised that something was up when the others didn¡¯t let him join their teams. Numba was right¡­¡¯

    Unfortunately, the Werewolf¡¯s realisation came a bit toote. Although Gary was faster than Vik, with the Altered already being a distance away and with just three seconds on the clock, it wasn¡¯t enough time to change the situation.

    ¡°Wolfboy, kick the ball!!!¡± A voice shouted.

    Numba was closing the distance between him and Vik and grabbed him by the arms, holding him in ce. The traitor had been unable to react as his attention had been fully focused on Gary, afraid that the Werewolf had some more tricks up his sleeve.

    Looking down, the ball was right in front of Gary. Two seconds were left, so the green haired teenager did the only thing he could do to close this distance in this short time period. Without caring for his clothes, he activated Controlled Transformation on his legs. The muscles on his calves grew in size, and he even left an indenture on the floor as he kicked himself off.

    With one step, Gary was next to the ball. Now one second was left on the timer. The Werewolf had focused most of his transformation on the foot he would use to kick. His brand-new shoe exploded asrge and long toenails stuck out, revealing the fur growing up.

    ¡®I¡¯m getting into the academy no matter what!¡¯ Gary thought to himself, disregarding the damage he might cause to Vik.

    His foot made contact with the ball, and it looked as if it was being pushed into itself for a second before it sted through the air. A ck blur was seen and the next second a loud p could be heard.

    Numba flinched as the impact made him slide a few meters back. However, Vik was far worse off. The teenager had been mid-transformation, attempting to use his hair to block, or at least partially deflect, the iing projectile, yet he had been unsessful.

    The Goat Altered, noticing that Vik had gone limp in his arms, let go of him. The Hair Altered dropped head first to the floor, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. Arge imprint of the ball was left on his face.

    ¡®Holy shit¡­ just how much power did that kick pack?¡¯ Numba wondered. ¡®... the speed of that kick was even faster than my headbutt¡­ has Wolfboy been holding back this entire time?¡¯

    *Beep*

    The buzzer went off. Quickly turning his head, Gary needed to find out whether his desperate attempt had made it in time. An image appeared on the screen and an announcement was made.

    ¡°Vik Scissor has been thest person toe in contact with the ball and is thereby eliminated from this assessment. Since he is unable to move on his own, someone wille to collect him in a moment. The assessment will continue after that.¡±

    This was music to Gary¡¯s ears. He had been confident in his ability to pass this assessment without struggling against anyone in the room. After all, these were just applicants, and they weren''t even the ones that were scouted.

    Since this was a bit of a break, the Werewolf headed over to the Goat Altered. ¡°Thank you¡­ thank you very much for helping me out. If it weren¡¯t for you, then I would have been eliminated. I really, really owe you one.¡±

    Numba looked at Gary¡¯s face, then down to his feet that looked human again.

    ¡°I told you that you shouldn''t trust just anyone, especially those that you have just met, but you didn¡¯t listen.¡± The teenager sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I was just repaying you for taking out the other guy. Let''s just say we''re even.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Gary replied straight away. ¡°I just helped them not gang up on you, but you seriously saved me out there. I would have been eliminated without your intervention. Not just beaten up or kicked to the head, and besides, someone with your skills should have been able to at least evade the guy until the timer went down.

    ¡°So yeah, I owe you. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t really have something I can give you right now, so how about you get a, ummm¡­ let¡¯s call it Gary token. Yeah! Whatever you need, whenever you need it, I¡¯ll help you out, no questions asked, alright?¡±

    Numba didn''t know what to do. He wasn''t used to being around such an upbeat person, though truth be told, Gary wasn''t normally this hyped either, but something about the whole atmosphere of the AFA had led to his current mood.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Numba shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know when I would use it. Let¡¯s make sure that we both pass first, and maybe after we¡¯re both official AFA students, I will get back to you about that favour.¡±

    The panel to the door eventually opened up, and a person they hadn''t seen before entered. It was a middle-aged man, wearing a tight fit shirt that showed off his muscles. His piercing gaze checked over each of the teenagers before he found Vik lying on the floor. With a straight gait, he came over to pick up the unconscious Altered, lifting him up with a single arm.

    ¡°That was a nice kick.¡± The man said on the way back, as he passed Gary. ¡°I look forward to seeing you inside the academy. Make sure to learn from this opportunity.¡± And with that, he left the room.

    ¡®The feeling he gave off¡­he was someone who was more suited for me to go up against than the ones here.¡¯ Gary smiled, his blood pumping. He didn¡¯t know what position that man held inside the AFA, but he was looking forward to meeting him again.

    In the past, Gary¡¯s mind had been filled with all kinds of thoughts concerning his family, his school life, or the Underdogs among other things. Before he got turned into a Werewolf he had never realised how much he truly enjoyed fighting. Sure, part of him had watched those Altered fights with a dream of bing as rich as them, yet now part of him wanted to prove that he was better than any of them.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°You look relieved.¡± Professor Hai noted with a chuckle, his belly moving up and down.

    ¡°Of course. If he had lost, I had even contemted asking the director to make an exception for the kid.¡± Professor Wood replied honestly. ¡°There is a lot more to him than meets the eye. I believe that we may have the next Kirk Summerfield on our hands, perhaps even better.¡±

    He started to chuckle to himself, which made his colleague wonder if he was all there in the head.

    ¡°Really? You rate him that highly?¡± Professor Humfree asked, now intrigued. ¡°It appears you know something that we don¡¯t. I would ask you to borate, but it should be more interesting to watch him prove himself even more. Hopefully, he has learned from his mistake.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    *BEEP*

    ¡°The next round has begun.¡± The speaker announced, and the picture that appeared was Gary¡¯s once more. The ball was right next to his feet, a circumstance that made everyone else nervous.

    ¡°It looks like your n failed, eh? Were you also the one toe up with this n?¡± Gary asked, looking at Izzy.

    Turning to her left and right, the teenage girl found herself isted from the rest.

    ¡°Hey¡­ hey, what happened to us being a team? Didn¡¯t we agree to work together!¡± Izzy shouted at her former teammates.

    ¡°I think you have other things to worry about.¡± Gary smiled, cracking his knuckles. ¡°You see, my n was actually to remain on the sideline and let you sort it out amongst yourselves who deserved a ce in the AFA. I thought it would be fairer for everyone that way. However, what you just did REALLY pissed me off!¡±

    Pulling up his sleeves, Gary used Controlled Transformation on his arm. His forearms grewrger, his nails gripped tightly around the ball, and his brown fur could be seen all over.

    ¡°Now, let me personally take you and your whole group out!¡± Gary said as he sprinted across the floor.

    ¡®This seems like the perfect opportunity to test out that new skill I got a while ago. Let¡¯s see if I can end this whole assessment in this round!¡¯

    ****

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 Chapter 367: A special Howl

    <h4>Chapter 367: A special Howl</h4>

    Unlike a few moments ago, Gary kept his legs normal and only transformed his hand. Still, even without transforming, Gary was much faster than those taking the assessment, at least before they had transformed into their Altered forms.

    Before Izzy could make up her mind about what to do, Gary was in front of her. He raised his fur hand above her, holding the ball.

    "Catch." Gary dropped the ball, and Izzy held onto it as she was told. The image on the screen had now changed to hers, but she didn''t care about that.

    Looking at Ian lying on the ground with his broken legs, she could only imagine what would happen to her. But, on the other hand, Gary hadn''t even transformed back then, nor was he angry.

    "For the next few seconds, just hold the ball for me, or you know what, hold it as long as you can."

    Then raising his head, Gary stared at her teammates. He suspected they were all in on the n together, and there wasn''t just one person to me for all of this.

    Noticing his gaze, the teammates started running away, acting as if Gary was the ball himself.

    ''Let''s see how this thing works.''

    [You have used Maic Howl.]

    It was the first time Gary had used this skill, at least in a fighting situation like this. Before, he had used this skill in his regr practices, but it didn''t seem quite spectacr. However, he believed that things might change for him this time.

    In the next moment, Gary suddenly felt like he was choking, and it was as if something was happening to his throat as if it was changing. Soon, hisrynx was no longer like a normal human. Once the skillpleted the transformation, he looked up at the sky and then when he opened his mouth, a loud howl resounded throughout the area.

    "AWHOOO!"

    It wasn''t short either. Instead, it was a loud one that seemed to bounce off the walls and create echoes, amplifying the howl. It wasn''t the strangest thing for the others to see, especially since Gary had revealed himself to be a Wolf Altered.

    After hearing this howl, the students running in the opposite direction turned around and started to head straight towards Gary. It was as if they couldn''t control their body and were naturally moving toward him.

    "What is going on?!" Most students panicked. Their bodies couldn''t stop themselves from running at Gary.

    "It looks like it worked." Gary smiled.

    He had already taken a fighting stance, ready to kick with his legs.

    As soon as the first student got close to him, he threw it out fast, kicking thetter right in the side, and possibly breaking a rib. Then, he threw a fist at another student near him, hitting the him right on the face and sending him stumbling back.

    By now, the other students who realised they had no control over what they wanted to do, had decided to try their best to at least attack. They couldn''t entirely control where they were going but could control their body to some degree.

    However, they had failed to note Gary''s transformed hands, which had ws on them.

    "This might sting a little bit, but I''m sure you bastards have experienced a bit of pain before!" Gary enunciated.

    Seeing the ws made the iing students¡¯ fists freeze, and they instead focused on doing anything they could to avoid the iing attack. However, Gary never nned to hurt them seriously to begin with, so instead, he just used this opportunity to take advantage of their stupor to send them flying with his kicks or punch and p across their face, before turning his hands back to normal.

    The one-sided beating didn''t take long before he had knocked out four more students. As for the others, they no longer felt like they were being pulled toward Gary, but they didn¡¯t want toe any closer.

    ''That skill was quite useful for a situation like this, but if I was going up against the Underdogs, I can see how I wouldn''t want to use it.''

    The System unlocked the Maic Howl Skill as a reward after defeating Kirk. However, based on the description, he knew he wouldn''t be able to use it for most of his battles because this skill was an agro type.

    ording to the description, it made the enemies around him focus their attack on him. No matter who they were fighting against or what they were doing, they would choose toe toward him and attack him. However, the skill stated that it would work longer on particr types of individuals and less on others.

    This skill was also why Gary wanted to continue raising his Health and Energy. Because he wanted to be a tank character who could take on all his own gang¡¯s enemies, and at the same time, in a desperate situation, this skillbined with Last stand could work well.

    The only drawback here was the skill had a ten-minute cooldown and took up to 25 points of energy which was quite arge amount. Of course, Gary would not be a pure tank, but there were other ways for him to improve his stats.

    [Exp 2788/5302]

    ''I got quite a bit of exp for beating those guys, even though the Underdogs seemed like a harder lot to deal with. Is it because they''re Altered? And that damned notification kept telling me to devour them for extra stat points.'' Gary thought before turning his attention towards Izzy.

    "Thank you for holding the ball all this time." Gary smiled at her, whose legs were practically shaking. There was no doubt in her mind that if she threw the ball, she would pay for it dearly, and by then, the buzzer had gone off.

    Looking at the timer, Gary found it strange. It had stopped with five seconds to spare. In fact, it was as if someone paused the machine to halt the timer.

    "Due to an unexpected turn of events, we have had to pause the assessment. So, Can all the able students head towards the exit that will soon open up in the room?"

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the top floor, where the three professors were watching the whole thing, Humfree shook his head.

    "Well, this has be quite a headache!"

    ¡ª¡ª

    Soon, all of the students had gathered in a single waiting room. It looked like it was a practice room for fighters of some sort. The room was quite old, and there were even spots on the walls which were used as punching targets by the fighters.

    Meanwhile, the professors were in a meeting room, although it wasn''t just three of them. There was a room full of around ten other teachers there as well, and they were all here to assess the situation and make a decision on the next step.

    Just then, Humfrey pressed a button and turned off the TV.

    "As you can see, that is how the assessment has gone so far, which is why it hase to this," Humfree exined. "Usually, this assessment has worked out for us, and it has done for years, but if we had let things continue, then those who passed and failed would have been dictated by a single person.

    "A few talented students would have failed this assessment before we even went through the rounds, which is why I have called all of you to decide who will go through to the next assessment."

    Mr Wood handed out papers from a file he had created for all teachers to see. This way, they could fully assess who would be best. They were also to consider the video they had seen, so they weren''t just basing their judgement on paper.

    "I''m sorry I can''t really focus." Miss White, a teacher who had her hair tied up in a bun and sses on her face. She was one of the teachers who focused on more of the theory lessons in the ss. "I just keep thinking, how was a student like that not scouted by our academy?

    "Don''t we have scouts in every city to keep an eye out for such talents so a situation like this doesn''t happen?"

    A lot of the teachers there thought the same thing. It was clear Gary was just as good as their scouted students this year.

    "I''ll answer that," Someone spoke up instead of the Professors. He was Gabe, a teacher dressed in a military-style uniform with arge cut over one of his eyes. He was also older than the other teachers but not as much as the professors. "The boy hails from a tier-three city. Although we kept track of all Alterds in each city, this one didn¡¯t get on our radar.

    "It seems like he is being backed by a group that suddenly rose in his city. This rarely happens, which is why we missed this one."

    It was a simple exnation but a rare one. An uprising in power hardly happened. A change in management from a city gang taking over another wasmon, but not a single person had heard of the Howlers group before.

    After Teacher Gabe cleared that up, the teachers and the professors spent the next few minutes deciding who would pass the test.

    "Well, there is only one thing left to do before we end this meeting. Professor Humfrey sighed, "We need to decide what we should do with Gary Dem."

    *****

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 Chapter 368: The Final five?

    <h4>Chapter 368: The Final five?</h4>

    While the professors were busy discussing what to do, a few helpers hade in, and had brought in a few benches for the waiting teenagers to sit on, while they moved the injured to another room. After receiving treatment, they returned and joined the others.

    Right now, the Werewolf was sitting on a bench of his own, since the other teenagers had all chosen to distance themselves from him. Ironically, some had taken the initiative to go and talk to Numba, pretending as if they hadn¡¯t treated the Goat Altered like an outcast. Of course, he hadn¡¯t forgotten, nor forgiven them for the fact that they had tried to gang up on him in the first round, so with his arms folded he was simply ignoring them.

    At one point, Gary stood up to stretch, which made everyone else immediately flinch, clearly afraid of him. ¡°I only attacked you due to the assessment. I¡¯m not normally that aggressive.¡± The green haired teenager mumbled as he looked away from them awkwardly.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t exactlye here to make friends, but they could at least try and hide their disdain towards me.¡¯ Gary thought as he let out a small sigh. ¡®I admit that I might have gone a little too far back there, but I only overreacted because their n to eliminate me nearly worked.¡¯

    This awkward atmosphere continued until the three professors eventually entered the room.

    ¡°We won¡¯t waste your time any longer, so I shall proceed by reading out the list of students that have sessfully passed. Please note that due to the ¡®unforeseen circumstances¡¯ we¡¯vee to the decision by taking into ount everything you¡¯ve shown so far in this assessment and the previous one.¡±

    Everyone became nervous and tense, as they had no clue who had passed and failed. Chances were that the ones that had been knocked out before Gary had gone on his small rampage were non-contestants, but as for the rest, it was anyone¡¯s guess.

    ¡°In no particr order, Gary Dem.¡±

    The first name came as no surprise, as all of them agreed that the Werewolf had proven himself vastly superior to the rest in every way. The real question was who the other four lucky teenagers were.

    ¡°Numba Cardenez!¡±

    Another one who had shown great skill during the ball game. Many expected this as well, though all but him and Gary had secretly hoped that the professors might not see his potential.

    ¡°Ian Noblitt!¡±

    There were gasps from the students as they heard this name. After all, not only was he one of the Altered unable to transform, but his confrontation with Gary had led to him having arge cast over his leg that would likely take a long while to heal.

    Some students looked like they were about to argue, yet Professor Hai gave them a stern look, shutting them down instantly. In the end, they had no choice but to ept the fact that his potential had to be high enough to warrant this decision, especially if one took into ount his disy of strength against the Crab Altered.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Gary, then he might have had a great chance to pass this and any future assessment. It was at this point that the other students were starting to lose hope. They now felt like everything would be based on their file, what background they perhaps had, and they all knew that their backgrounds werecking, or else they would have been invited.

    ¡°Izzy Shamone!¡± Professor Humfree called out.

    ¡°Wait¡­ me?!¡± Izzy stood up, pointing to herself. The teenage girl was in disbelief, she hadn¡¯t done much in the ball game, her background wasn¡¯t the best, so why had she been picked? Overjoyed with the decision, she didn¡¯t even notice that tears were rolling down her face.

    ¡°That is the result of our decision. These four students have passed and will be moving on from here. Everyone else, we thank you for your interest in applying to the AFA, and we hope you¡¯ll have a bright future elsewhere.¡±

    It was then that all the students stood up, from where they were. They wanted toin, but before they could the three professors were heading out of the room, telling those that had passed to follow them.

    ¡°That¡¯s just four! What about the fifth student?!¡± One of the students shouted.

    Without turning around, Professor Humfree reminded him. ¡°I did indeed state that we have five ces, but I¡¯ve also been upfront about the fact that I did not believe that five people would pass. It¡¯s already quite surprising that four ces have been filled, and as for the rest of you, me yourself forcking the necessary talent to impress us.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary and the other three felt a little bad, yet this feeling paled inparison to their joy of getting to be students of the AFA. Out of around one hundred teenagers, only four of them had seeded.

    However, rather than walk over to the main building, the three adults were leading them off campus. They were quite surprised when they saw a bus, which they boarded, but since they had been told to follow, all of them did so silently.

    Fortunately, their destination wasn¡¯t too far from the academy buildings. There was an air around the professors that just told the group of teenagers that it was best to not question them. Eventually, they reached anotherrge building. There was no ss on the outside, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.

    One thing was clear though, it was huge and looked almost like another academy, just here on its own. While standing outside, the students were told to line up and each one of them was handed a badge.

    ¡°Some of you might have thought that you already made it, but those two assessments have merely proven that you deserve to havee here.¡± Professor Hai exined. ¡°This is the first step into entering the REAL academy.¡±

    At that moment, numbers appeared on each of their badges. Gary¡¯s showed the number 120, Numba¡¯s 121, Ian¡¯s 122 and Izzy¡¯s 123.

    ¡°Inside that building, the number on your badges will dictate how pleasant your stay will be. It decides many things such as what room you¡¯ll sleep in, what meals you will receive, though most importantly, only those who manage to retain their ce in the top 10 for at least one week may join the AFA.¡±

    Although it wasn¡¯t quite what Gary was expecting, for the first time he felt like he was actually going to be part of the AFA, and with his badge it made him realise that he might be one step closer to meeting Xin again.

    *****

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 Chapter 369: A situation

    <h4>Chapter 369: A situation</h4>

    Professor Hai went on to exin what their life would be like, and how they could rise through the ranks, be it in the form of passing the assessments, challenges, or through fighting against other students. He also exined how there would be teachers inside but no lessons, since those were there just to observe and nothing else. Still, they would have the facility to train as they wished, and higher numbers meant ess to better facilities to train in order to encourage students to improve.

    ¡°You will be able to leave whenever you wish, but if you do choose to leave as someone outside the top 10, then that means you will forfeit your only chance to join the AFA. It¡¯s in your own interest to do whatever it takes to reach the top positions, and hopefully, I will see you all at the real academy again. Once you enter, that will be the start of your next step.¡±

    Before the adults left, Professor Humfree looked at Gary, and he had a few more words that were mainly directed at him.

    ¡°Although you¡¯ve disrupted our assessment, your talent is undeniable. It¡¯s hard to say how much you¡¯ve yet to show us, but from what we¡¯ve seen, we have a good idea of what you can do.

    ¡°Honestly, some teachers even suggested that it might be best if you just went and joined the academy immediately. Ultimately, however, we all agreed that this next part is also something that is akin to a rite of passive that everyone had to go through.

    ¡°That building is filled with students who have been scouted. Students that are just as talented as you, yet for one reason or another, they never got to rise to the top ten. There will be things you have never experienced, and because of your position, it might even affect matters in the outside world.

    ¡°Gary Dem, stay strong, and I hope you make it through this.¡±

    With that said, the professors got on the bus, leaving the four students in front of the stadium-like building.

    ¡®What did he mean by that? ¡°The actions in here could affect outside¡±¡­¡¯ Gary didn''t know what to expect, but he did have one thought. Xin had only recently be an Altered, and ording to Professor Hai, it wasn¡¯t umon for the ones inside to stay there for months, if not years. As such, there was a very good chance he would meet her inside.

    Looking forward to the possible reunion, Gary was the first to take a step forward, heading towards the door. The others, not wanting to be left behind, followed after him. Although they were still worried about the harshness of what awaited them, they knew that there was no way back now.

    ¡®There might be groups, factions that have agreed to work together inside this ce, so they can get into the top ten.¡¯ Izzy realised. ¡®And what the professor said. Are students using their connections on the outside to secure their positions inside this ce? If that''s the case, us non-scouted students might have the toughest time in securing higher positions.¡¯

    As soon as the four of them entered, everyone turned their heads their way. The students inside had already been informed that today would be the day that neers might arrive, so now was the time to size up their newpetition.

    Looking around therge room, Gary was unable to find Xin.

    ¡®Is she perhaps training right now? I doubt it¡­ I¡¯m certain that Xin wouldn¡¯t just give up, so it should mean that she has already passed on from this ce. So much for surprising her¡­ oh well, I bet she will be even more surprised once we meet inside the AFA.¡¯ The Werewolf let out a depressed sigh.

    Walking together as a group, the others continued to stare at them. None of them looked too friendly at the neers, and nobody introduced themselves either. Unsure what to do, Gary followed a sign which pointed to the personal rooms, until he arrived in front of his.

    ¡°They expect us to stay in this!¡± Izzy couldn''t help butin. ¡°This is supposed to be one of the top academies in the world. They have moneying out of their backside, yet they expect some of the richest, most powerful people to stay in this type of shithole?! I¡¯ve seen closet rooms with more ss!!!¡±

    Ian too was displeased about it, as he covered his nose with his shirt. There was a certain smell that seemed to emanate from the rooms. However, neither Gary nor Numba said a word about it. They simply put the belongings they brought inside, such as some change of clothes and a few personal items, down in their room. With no bed or drawers, they could only ce it on the floor.

    After everyone settled into their rooms a little, Izzy knocked on the boys¡¯ doors, asking them to meet outside. They stood by the handrail, looking down at all the students.

    ¡°First, I just want to say that I''m sorry for what happened during the assessment. I¡¯m not as good as any of you three, so I did whatever I had to do to make sure I might be able to get this spot.¡± Izzy began with an apology, looking straight at Gary since she had done him over the worst.

    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to forgive me outright, but I hope you can at least listen to what I have to say. cing in the top 10 is the only way for us to move on to the real AFA, and from what we¡¯ve been told, it seems nearly impossible to do that on our own. As such, I propose that we stick together as a group.

    ¡°We¡¯re the new guys here, so there is a good chance there will be some people that will take advantage of that. Everyone else should already know that we¡¯re the ones who weren¡¯t scouted. They most likely see us as easy targets, the bottom of the barrel. So for now, why don¡¯t we have a truce and try to help each other out in this ce?¡±

    Hearing this, almost immediately, Numba decided to walk away. ¡°That¡¯s a great speech and all, but this guy already knows that I don¡¯t trust people.¡±

    Ian just nodded. Unlike the others, he was already friends with Izzy, so he instantly agreed with her. Gary was still hesitating. Part of him was still pissed at her for what she had done, but another part also understood her reasoning, and now that they were all here together, it might not be the worst idea, but¡­

    ¡°I think it might be a better idea if you don¡¯t team up with me. There is a good chance that I could cause some trouble here.¡± Gary smiled.

    A buzzer went off while the group were in the middle of their discussion, and an announcement was made.

    ¡°Everyone, please head to the canteen for lunch. Neers, make sure to sit down ording to the numbered seats!¡±

    Over a hundred teenagers moved in one direction, so the four neers just followed behind them. Inside the canteen, Gary tried once more to find Xin, but once again she was nowhere to be found.

    A delicious smell wafted into his nose, and his stomach let out a grumble. He could see that one of the tables was far more luxuriouspared to the others. It was the one reserved for the top students, who were being served first. They had actual waiters dining them and the students were able to select whatever food they wished, which was cooked and delivered to them, most likely by professional chefs.

    ¡°Well, at least the food is good at this ce,¡± Garymented, though he soon realised that he had spoken too soon.

    Just like other areas, the canteen had separate sections depending on one¡¯s rank. The table for Gary and his group was all the way in the back, pretty much an old pic table. Sitting down, the green haired teenager picked up the bowl of lukewarm chicken soup and took a sip.

    [2 points of Energy have been restored]

    [208/300 Energy]

    ¡®This isn''t good¡­ if I don''t get a decent meal, I won¡¯t be able to fill up my Energy. The more I fight, the less Energy I will have at my disposal.¡¯ Gary realised.

    *****

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 Chapter 370: Your Background (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 370: Your Background (part 1)</h4>

    With all the food being controlled by the facility, money was practically worthless inside this part of the academy. From what Gary could see, the only way to get ess to better things was to increase one¡¯s rank.

    ¡®If this is the level of food we receive for each meal, I¡¯m going to lose Energy throughout my stay!¡¯ Gary thought, cursing the high metabolism rate of his Werewolf body. ¡®Should I try and fight off one of the high-ranking guys straight away while my Energy is at its highest?

    Looking around, Gary¡¯s table wasn¡¯t the only one with only chicken soup. The same held true all the way to the table with rank 101 sitting on it. Still, the treatment for those ranked 100-76 wasn¡¯t that much better. Those students were sitting at a normal table, on actual chairs, with their meal consisting of a bigger portion of the soup, with a few simple side dishes added to them.

    Rank 50 was the point when the meal started to look decent, with a big serving of curry with various side dishes, though there was a significant improvement from 25 upwards. Just looking at the food at those tables, the green haired teenager felt his mouth start to salivate.

    ¡®I should probably avoid making a ruckus on the first day. My gut is telling me that Professor didn¡¯t warn me just for fun. Unlike me, these guys must be the ones who had been scouted, and I have no idea how long they¡¯ve already been here. If I pick the wrong target, I might just waste my Energy, which will just further decrease my chances of improving my current situation.

    ¡®Alright, I guess I should try to get a feeling as to how strong those ranked higher than me are, and just rank up to the point where the food is more adequate before I try something more crazy.¡¯

    With the next full moon weeks away, and him still having over 200 Energy, he felt confident that he had at least two to three days of leeway. That should be more than enough time to find a good target to challenge. Of course, if somebody were to challenge him before that, he would defend himself.

    ¡°Bleargh, this tastes horrible.¡± Ian spat the soup out the moment he tasted it. Izzy too showed an appalling reaction to its taste. Gary and Numba were the only ones at their table that had finished it without a singleint.

    ¡®I nearly forgot, everyone, is a rich kid here. I might be sitting next to the poorest rich kids, but those two are spoiled.¡¯

    Seeing the leftover food, Gary licked his lips, desperate times called for desperate measures.

    ¡°Hey, if you guys aren¡¯t going to eat that, do you mind if I have it?¡± The Werewolf asked.

    ¡°Ermm, are you sure you want the food even after I spat it back out?¡± Ian asked cautiously, thinking the act was a bit disgusting. However, Gary didn¡¯t care, he just casually slurped up Ian¡¯s bowl, as well as Izzy¡¯s who had shoved her portion over to him.

    [2 points of Energy have been restored] x2

    [212/300 Energy]

    ¡°Say, do we get any other food, or is this all we get for breakfast, lunch and dinner?¡± Ian asked the table in front of theirs. Since they were ranked at the bottom, he wasn¡¯t too afraid of them. The one he asked looked a little hurt and bruised up, as if he had just gotten out of a fight.

    ¡°This is all we get.¡± The student replied, pointing at the empty bowl of soup. ¡°If you want my advice, you should just get used to it. Trust me, soon enough you will be enjoying everyst drop of it. If you want to get better food, you¡¯ll need to either beat someone higher ranked than you, or you need to show off in the weekly challenge. Neither option is really feasible on an empty stomach.

    ¡°Alternatively, if you have something substantial to offer, you can always try to strike a deal with someone.¡±

    The student pointed to one of the other tables. A teenage boy with 86 on his badge walked over to one of the tables in the 26-50 range. The others could only see what they were doing, but with a small usage of Controlled Transformation on his ears, Gary was able to eavesdrop on their conversation.

    ¡°Alright, you win, if you agree, I¡¯ll tell the Moro Family to lower the percentage of protection money from your family by ten percent. Deal?¡±

    The other student nodded, before the two of them swapped food. The others on that table weren¡¯t in the least bit surprised, indicating that this wasn¡¯t anything unusual in there.

    ¡®The Moro Family¡­ sounds like they¡¯re a gang. Is this what Professor Humfree meant? So much for all of us being equal in this ce¡­¡¯

    Lunch hade to an end, and most of the students returned to the main room, which was apparently the ce the Altered used to socialise. There were also several doors, which was where others slept as well.

    Either way, it was arge ce that had seats, ces for people to read and just rx. While in the centre, it looked just like an ordinary circle, though people seemed to stay clear of it for some reason.

    ¡®That kinda looks like an arena now that I look at it?¡¯ Gary discerned.

    Just then, the two students they had seen from before had entered the centre ring.

    ¡°I challenge you to a fight!¡± The lower rank student stated, while the other one just nodded. Once epted, both of their badges lit up, and immediately the lower-ranked student¡¯s arm transformed into one made of rock.

    He leapt up, and swung his fist right towards the other''s face. His opponent lifted his hands to block, and was hit with a heavy blow. For some reason, he had not transformed, and now he was lying on the ground. He remained there, and ten secondster the number on their badges changed.

    The next moment, the student who had been ranked 47 before brushed himself off and walked away.

    ¡°I''m a bit confused as to what just happened?¡± Ian confessed.

    Something strange was certainly going on in this facility, and it wasn¡¯t as straightforward as the others imagined.

    *****

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 Chapter 371: Your Background (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 371: Your Background (part 2)</h4>

    Having overheard the conversation from before, Gary was about to exin what he had just seen, but someone else was one step ahead of him.

    ¡°It was a trade,¡± Izzy answered. ¡°What we saw earlier at the canteen must have been them agreeing to the terms, and this was the transaction itself. I thought it was strange what the professor said, but now it''s clear. People inside here are definitely using their position and connection on the outside to get certain benefits. It''s not just a question of who is the strongest.

    ¡°Thinking one step further, this means that if you cross the wrong person in here, or get on their bad side, you might not end up as the only one suffering. Worst case scenario, it might be your whole family.¡± Izzy gulped.

    If that was true, this begged the question, what position those in the top ten held for them to be treated like some type of gods. Others would constantly approach them, seemingly trying to curry favour. For the one that had just traded away his position, he probably thought it was better to help out his family than himself.

    On closer inspection, it didn''t seem as bad as Gary had anticipated either, since the losing student''s badge had gone from 47 to 48. Meanwhile, the winner¡¯s badge was now showing 47, indicating that all those whose rank had been in between the one had theirs adjusted by one.

    Eventually, Izzy asked for another meeting, inviting the others. Ian and Gary agreed immediately, while Numba just followed behind and leaned up against the wall, not saying anything.

    ¡°After that little demonstration, it should be safe to say that this ce here is moreplicated than what we were told by the professors. It¡¯s in our best interest to find out more information about who is who, like who is from what city and what their backing is! It might be for the better to avoid fighting those from the same city or town as you, or those in your surrounding.

    ¡°As a start, how about we properly introduce ourselves. I¡¯m from Pompano, a Tier-3 town. My family owns a few restaurants, and we¡¯ve also branched out to the surrounding towns in recent years.¡±

    Ian was the next one to introduce himself. ¡°I alsoe from Pompano. Izzy and I are childhood friends. My family operates an IT servicingpany there and is helping out some prominentpanies from Tier-2 and Tier 1 cities.¡±

    ¡°Both our families are doing quite well financially, but in terms of influence, it¡¯s not really worth mentioning. They pretty much invested into us bing Altered to help with that, but first, we¡¯ll need to get into the AFA of course.¡± Izzy exined. ¡°No doubt there will be someone from Pompano that has a connection to the gangs, or the mayor or something.

    ¡°If wee across them, it would be hard for us to touch them. However, if we work together then someone like you from another town or city, can!¡± Izzy seemed excited about this idea and n she had.

    Thinking about what Izzy had said, Gary realised that there shouldn''t be anyone in here he needed to really worry about then. The Howlers were now the biggest gang in Slough. At the same time, he couldn''t think of anyone other than Xin that was an Altered there.

    ¡°And what if they¡¯re from a Tier-1 city?¡± Numba asked. ¡°Now I¡¯m not saying that those guys will bother with someone whoes from a lower-tier town or city, but in the off chance they do, and they''re close with their parents or something, it could be the end of our families.¡±

    Gritting her teeth, Izzy felt a little embarrassed, but she did have an answer for this situation.

    ¡°In that case, the best approach would be to wait. I''m sure that there are people who are too big that no one wants to touch them. However, if that''s the case, they should easily get a top ten position, and after a week they can leave. There will always be an opportunity at some point.

    ¡°There are only so many cities, and so many Altered out there. My guess is that those types should have already gone through. This system creates a stalemate in the top ten, as you are allowed to challenge them. Remember, you have to keep your position for a whole week.

    ¡°This gets rid of all of those that everyone is afraid to touch, and leaves the ones constantly challenging them. We can get through this, we just need to know more about everyone and each other.¡±

    Izzy seemed to be a scheming type of person. Alwaysing up with ideas and ways to push herself to the top. Numba agreed with her rationale, and he even suspected that her being the one who had nned Gary¡¯s downfall might have yed into her getting the invitation with the rest of them. Although the Goat Altered didn''t trust her, he also wasn¡¯t sure how far he could get with his own backing.

    ¡°I was adopted.¡± Numba eventually revealed. ¡°I was adopted by a Tier-3 electronicspany due to my potential. My position is pretty much the same as the two of you, thepany is currently looking to expand, preferably into a Tier-2 city, and they want me to be their public face.¡±

    Finally, Gary had been given an answer to why Numba had felt different from the rest and it was because, like him, he hadn¡¯t been born into this position.

    ¡°Why are you smiling at me?¡± Numba asked, taking a step back. ¡°Man, you¡¯re seriously weird.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just happy to find someone in a simr position as me, you know?¡± Gary admitted, though his sheepish smile remained on his face.

    ¡°Does that mean you were picked up by someone as well?¡± Ian asked.

    To be honest, Izzy and Ian were holding out for Gary¡¯s answer. With how strong the Werewolf had proven and with the type of talent that had made the professors consider admitting him straight into the AFA, they were hoping that he was at least from a Tier-2 city. If he was, surely he would form a family with a strong backing.

    Most likely, he was just someone who the scouts happened to miss. Which seemed like a probable thing.

    ¡°Ummm, I mean I guess you could say I was picked up,¡± Gary replied, scratching the back of his head. ¡°I''m from a Tier-3 town called Slough, not sure if you¡¯ve heard of it.¡±

    There was an instant disappointment on all of their faces because given their backing it meant that none of them had the power to bully themselves into a better position like they had just seen. As for Slough, other than Kirk and a few news reports that hade out from it recently, it was pretty much an unknown ce. Even then, Kirk had only been the Rookie champion, so only people who really followed the AFC would know of him.

    ¡®I guess I shouldn''t tell them the whole truth. Otherwise, it would be a bit weird.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°In my case, I¡¯m being sponsored by a gang called the Howlers.¡± Immediately, everyone''s eyes opened wide when they heard that they were next to a gang member.

    ****

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 Chapter 372: Crazy

    <h4>Chapter 372: Crazy</h4>

    Gary had already received this type of reaction before from others, but at least he understood why the others were doing that, but now he felt like it made no sense. The only reason he could think of for them to act like this was because of the words that had juste out of his mouth.

    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Gary eventually asked, a little puzzled by the situation. ¡°Is it really that surprising to hear that I¡¯m being sponsored by my gang? I thought it would be fine to mention that in a ce like this. I mean, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m the only one, nor are the Howlers active in any of your towns.¡±

    None of the three really answered his question, so the green haired teenager looked towards Izzy who had been the most talkative up until now. This awkward silence continued for a few moments, but Gary¡¯s gaze alone continued to put pressure on the teenage girl until she eventually said something.

    ¡°Look, it''s nothing against you personally, but¡­ well, you should understand that the rtionship between gangs and businesses is¡­ plicated¡¯ to say the least. They pretty much control everything nowadays

    ¡°What businesses are allowed to operate in their ¡®area¡¯, how high the ¡®protection fee¡¯ is, and other things that only ever really benefits one side. I''m sure you understand why we feel like we have to be wary of gang members, since one wrong action could spell disaster for us and our families. The sad reality is that all they¡¯ve built up until now could crumble at the word of a gang member.¡±

    Gary stayed silent since he agreed with what Izzy was saying. In fact, it was a major part of the reason why he disliked gangs so much, and why he had made sure that the Howlers would do things differently from Olivia or Damion.

    Admittedly, they weren¡¯tpletely in the right, either. The property which used to belong to the Underdogs was now in Kai¡¯s possession, though following Gary¡¯s will, they had leased those ces back to the original owners as far as it was possible.

    The Howlers also charged protection fees, yet their rate was far more reasonable than that of the other gangs, and the contracts even included uses that would allow business owners to postpone payments in case business had been bad in a given month.

    Those were unfortunately a necessary evil to ensure that the gang members stayed loyal and could support their own families. Gary could try to exin that the Howlers were better than most, but he doubted Izzy and the others would just take his word for it.

    ¡°There¡¯s more than just that.¡± Izzy continued. ¡°Gang members are just¡­ ¡®different¡¯, usually vicious, people who don¡¯t give a damn about who they hurt, and I bet that includes the ones in here. If we¡¯re lucky, we might meet someone who is prideful and won¡¯t ask for help from their family.

    ¡°The problem is that just because one gang member might be reasonable, that doesn¡¯t mean others in his gang are the same. Let¡¯s say I beat a low ranking gang member, there¡¯s a chance that because I wronged one of theirs, the whole gang will go against me.

    ¡°Even if they''re facing another gang that is clearly bigger than theirs, those who are deathly loyal will still risk their lives. Now that we know that you¡¯re in a gang, it certainly exins how you were able to do those things before so¡­easily.¡±

    Gary understood that she was referring to, how he had broken Ian¡¯s leg and wed at the others. There had been next to no hesitation in the Werewolf¡¯s strikes, and it was because he had already fought with his life on the line multiple times. As for the others, yes they were Altered, but their fighting experience had been far more limited and curated.

    ¡°Should I keep it to myself, then?¡± Gary asked. ¡°If other people ask me what my background is, I mean. Should I just lie and tell them that some business is behind me?¡±

    This was something the green haired teenager wasn''t so sure about, because the whole point ofing here had been to be a famous Altered, one that the Howlers could actively support.

    ¡°No, it''s best if you''re honest about that.¡± Izzy shook her head. ¡°I''m sure there will be those in here who have a way to gather information on us somehow. Besides, your backing is actually advantageous for you. None of those from Tier-3 towns will bother to mess with you unless they¡¯re from a gang themselves.

    ¡°Heck, even those from Tier-2 cities will probably want to avoid getting into trouble with you, unless they have big connections. Don¡¯t rely on my analysis, though. There is so much we don¡¯t know, that there still be some who will challenge you, maybe just see what you¡¯re like or what type you are.

    ¡°After all, you might be a gang¡¯s Altered, but it''s not like that automatically means that your gang will protect you from anything in here. It''s not like your the leader who can dere a gang war on the Howlers¡¯ behalf.¡±

    Gary scratched his chin at thisment. ¡°Right¡­¡±

    He wasn''t the type of person to do something like that in the first ce, and besides the gang was busy doing their own thing.

    ¡ª¡ª

    It had been a while since the group had all travelled together, but today was an important day for the Howlers. They had been nning this for a while now, and they couldn''t help themselves but be excited in the car on the way to their destination.

    ¡°Freaking hell, I never thought I would ever get to step foot into a Tier-1 city, and now we''re travelling by limo!¡± Innu eximed.

    ¡°Of course, we have to travel in style!¡± Kai replied. ¡°And with more of us, it was important we upgraded the vehicle. Otherwise, we would be squashed.¡±

    While most of them seemed to be excited, there was one with her hand slumped on her chin, staring out the window.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mai?¡± White asked.

    ¡°It''s nothing¡­ I just wish Gary was here. I know he''s busy and all, and he¡¯s living his dream, but it would be nice if we could enjoy this together.¡± Mai replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up too much. Think about the surprise on his face when he returns. Gary won¡¯t have to feel so alone any more.¡± Kai answered as the limo passed the sign stating they were entering, Morfran.

    The city was mostly controlled by a group of people, known as the Dark Guild.

    ****

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 Chapter 373: The high rankers

    <h4>Chapter 373: The high rankers</h4>

    The first day passed without any major problems for the green haired Altered. Surprisingly, nobody had challenged any of the neers. Due to theck of decent food, Gary had felt hungrier than usual, but since there had been no need for him to act, it had been tolerable.

    As intended, Gary had simply spent his time observing those who had been here for a longer period of time, and the Werewolf continued doing so on the second and third days. His Energy reserve had fallen to 178, but he had at least learned a lot in the meantime.

    For one, those public fights in the centre had been a daily urrence. However, the green haired teenager had discovered that the fights held there were mostly the ones following some secret agreement between both parties.

    Far more interesting were the seemingly spontaneous fights that had happened elsewhere.

    As it turned out, fights could take ce practically anywhere and at any time during their ¡®free time¡¯, so outside of meals and bedtime. Interestingly, even if it was an awkward ce that was rtively small, the teachers woulde out to clear the area, making sure the other students wouldn¡¯t get hurt. These fights were mostly issued by those who ranked highly, who didn¡¯t seem inclined to show off necessarily.

    The training facility was one of the ces where fighting was prohibited. Gary had visited it, and he had to admit that it was filled with some seriously advanced stuff. At the time, around a dozen low-ranking students had been using it, all seemingly striving to get better. Of course, since he had no ess to the higher ranking training facilities, Gary couldn¡¯tpare the two, though most of the high rankers preferred to chill in the main area as far as he had observed.

    At the same time, the Werewolf had kept an eye on those that had joined together with him. Izzy had taken a far more active approach than him, and whenever he had spotted her, it had been with a different set of students. She was obviously gathering information for her next move, but only a few had been willing to actually talk with her.

    Using his hearing, Gary could tell that she was being looked down on, simply because she hadn''t been scouted. Unsurprisingly, this wasn¡¯t limited to her. Gary, Numba, and Ian all were being discriminated against since they had entered through the assessment.

    Things changed on the second day after Ian had challenged a boy ranked at 105. Gary wasn¡¯t sure whether Ian¡¯s Altered was one that had great regenerative properties or the AFA had used some means to heal him up that well, but the teenage boy had been able to fight as if he had never been injured. What¡¯s more, despite being unable to transform, he had easily won.

    After that, there were those that had gathered and started to talk to Ian a bit more. Asking about his background and such. From the sound of it, there were even those that asked if they could do business with him.

    ¡®I guess it''s not all negative, then. If you can prove yourself here, you can even make connections for your gang, You don¡¯t just have to be afraid of others.¡¯ Gary thought.

    This morning, Numba had fought a girl ranked 98, and he had won his fight without too much trouble, allowing him to upgrade from the chicken soup that Izzy and Gary were being served once more.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up just because they won.¡± The teenage girl warned, sitting next to Gary. She had taken an interest in the Werewolf, and given his strength, she was surprised he hadn¡¯t acted yet.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The green haired teenager asked after slurping his soup, recovering his Energy to 180.

    ¡°Haven''t you noticed how those ranked closest to us are on the older side? It''s because a lot of them are like us, those who came in here after passing the assessments and have just remained here for a while. They all still seem to be hoping that they can get out of this ce at some point.

    ¡°From my calctions, we are a long way off in strengthpared to the others¡­ I¡¯m speaking just about the three of us, of course. You, Gary, are a different story, and honestly, I¡¯m looking forward to what happens once you stir this ce up.¡±

    The Werewolf had a grin on his face, their rtionship might have started off on the wrong foot, but after getting to know her a bit he had somewhat forgiven Izzy for what she had done. He didn¡¯t want to hold a grudge forever, after all, she had just been using whatever she could to get through the test and in the worst case, he would have lost the opportunity to attend the AFA, not his life.

    After their meal, everyone automatically went to the main area, but something was going on. A circle had formed, and a certain student started to p. It was loud and was itching around the halls.

    It was a lean student who had four others following him, all of them under the fifty number rank, and as for himself, why he had gotten the attention of the others was due to the number 4 on his badge.

    ¡°Congrattions on your fight this morning. Now I think you and I should have a little talk.¡± The rank four said, pointing at Numba. The Goat Altered looked straight at the person and eventually walked off.

    He wanted to pass him and head to his new room, but as he did, the others started to follow. A lot of people thought a fight was going to start, and we''re about to follow after to have a look, but strangely a few others came to stop them from advancing.

    ¡°Everyone, it''s best if you just mind your own business and stay out of it!¡± Their leader with informed them. The students were quick to listen as they walked away doing their own thing, as for the reason why they had listened. It was due to the number on their badges. Number 8, 6 and 5.

    Just then, Gary started to walk towards where Numba was, as he was interested in what they had to say. At the same time he owed Numba a favour so if anything was going on, Gary wanted to help, but after just a few steps he felt someone grab him by the arm.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing. I know I said I was excited to see what you were going to do, but even crazy should have its limits!¡± Izzy whispered as she pulled Gary in. ¡°You don''t understand what''s going on, but I do.¡±

    ¡°You remember what I said before, about how staying in the top 10 for a week would be difficult. From what I¡¯ve gathered, we came at a strange time. The current top ten have alle to an agreement.

    ¡°They publicly announced that they would back up each other if one of them were challenged and to not fight each other for a week. Apparently, it''s been hard for students to pass at the moment because of that rule, and that''s why those high ranking students just jumped in just there.

    ¡°Once these ten are through, there¡¯s always arge free for all that goes on for the next top ten positions. That''s going to be our best chance, and yours, if you want to get to the real academy.¡±

    Holding onto Gary¡¯s sleeve tightly, she could still feel that the green haired teenager was going to pull away, despite the warning.

    ¡®As I thought, gang members are crazy!¡¯ Izzy pulled on his shirt again, trying to convince him.

    ¡°Whatever they''re nning to do to Numba it won''t be bad. They have nothing to gain from him. He¡¯s from a small town, and he¡¯s a low rank, so don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Gary pulled his arm away with just a bit extra force to the point where Izzy could do nothing.

    ¡°Worrying is what I do. Maybe it''s because I¡¯ve worried about my mother and sister for so long¡­but I just don¡¯t like seeing this stuff. If it¡¯s nothing, then you won¡¯t have to worry about me either.¡± Gary said as he walked over to where the three high ranking members were.

    ¡°Stop!¡± The rank 8 shouted and ced his hand out in front of the Werewolf.

    *****

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 Chapter 374: The top of the top

    <h4>Chapter 374: The top of the top</h4>

    A second ago, everyone had been about to leave and do their own thing, worried that staying there might get them in trouble with the top rankers. However, when they heard Gary being shouted at, they couldn¡¯t help to turn around to satisfy their own curiosity.

    ¡°You think that guy has a death wish?¡± One of the students murmured to the one standing next to him. ¡°When¡¯s thest time someone dared to go up against anyone in the top ten?¡±

    ¡°I dunno about that death wish part, but that fresh blood¡¯s stay is destined to be miserable now. The poor idiot probably doesn¡¯t even have an idea what kind of mistake he justmitted.¡° Another replied.

    ¡°I feel bad for him. He¡¯s going to get killed if someone doesn¡¯t pull him out.¡± A third one chimed in.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Cat Altered, aren¡¯t you? If you want to y the good Samaritan, go sacrifice one of your nine lives to save him. I¡¯ll make sure to pray for the both of you after they¡¯ve sent you to the other side.¡± Another one ridiculed the notion.

    At the same time, watching from the third floor, there was a trio of students that were watching things unravel from above. Because if something did ur then in the end they would probably have to step in.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Hey, Snow, Appolo, did Sty tell any of you that he would be doing this?¡± A topless student questioned. Scratching his short hard hair, at an incredible speed, one would think he was trying to start a fire or had nits. Even while talking he seemed to be doing this action. His jacket was tied around his waist, and the badge that all the students wore was pinned on it, showing the number 3. This student was called Wu Chen, and there were many that knew his name, as he was the most often seen top ranker. Spending most of his time training in the standard training rooms that anyone could use.

    Wu was scowling since he was in the middle of training when he had been called. ¡°Didn¡¯t we all agree to sit still for one week? Ha, didn¡¯t you guys even bet that I would be the first one to break the pact? Looks like you¡¯ll have to treat me once we¡¯re in the AFA!¡±

    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t warn any of us, Wu. He better have a good exnation why he did that. Otherwise, I say, we should punish him by reducing his rank.¡± The tallest student among them replied. Seeing the scene in front of them, his hands tightened around the bar, and he was starting to grind his teeth.

    Seeing how Snow Light, the currently second-strongest student, reacted like that, the person to his left handed him a carrot. Not even looking up, Snow grabbed the treat and started chomping down on it aggressively, his overly long ears whipping up and down while all the tension in his body began to disappear.

    Seeing this sight, Wu couldn''t help but pull a face.

    ¡® I don¡¯t think you should be saying anything, Snow! With enough carrots, he could easily bribe you into pretending like you hadn¡¯t seen anything.¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind him taking action, to be honest. There are already rumours going around that those in the top 20 intended to challenge us all on thest day to stop us from advancing.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how reliable those rumours are, but given that their background isn¡¯t too far off from ours, we can¡¯t just ignore that possibility. Besides, I''m sure our actions have caused us to make some enemies inside here.¡± He let out a big sigh, almost tired of the situation.

    ¡°I was the one that proposed the idea of no fighting, so I guess I will also need to be the one that enforces the rules.¡± Stopping there, the student began to stare at the green haired student. ¡°I prefer honest people like that guy. At least you know what to expect from his type since they express their feelings openly.¡±

    Apollo Zorian was looking at Gary specifically when saying these words. Underneath his dark clothes was a chest bigger than anyone else¡¯s in the facility. What also stood out was his incredibly pale skin that looked like it would be burnt just from the lights in the room alone. On top of that, there were visible scars on his knuckles and a few on his chin as well.

    Usually just seeing such a person most would avoid them. For altered there weren¡¯t many with scars, because their bodies would heal them. This meant, at first nce, it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t someone unfamiliar with the world of fighting, as he was someone who had fought before he was an Altered even at this age. Yet in here there was another reason to avoid him. He was the one whose badge showed the number 1 right now.

    ¡®I wonder what type of surprises the rest of this one week still holds for us.¡¯ He thought to himself with a mild grin.

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the first floor, Gary continued walking toward the high-ranking individuals. He showed no fear and others had already coined him a dead man walking, though they were also looking forward to witnessing a one-sided beating.

    It was then that the two high rankers looked at each other as well wondering what to do, or perhaps suggest which one would fight the person in front of them because at the moment, Gary¡¯s number indicated he was one of the weakest people in this ce.

    That was until Gary stopped around 30 centimetres away from the student''s hand, that was still up in the air.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a problem with me just standing here? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t interrupt you guys.¡± Gary said.

    ¡®I have no idea what he¡¯s thinking.¡¯ Izzy shook her head in disbelief. ¡®Does he n to annoy them into attacking him first? Or is he just hoping that if he shows off his confidence that they might not attack him, fearing the kind of backing he might have?¡¯

    In the end, the two high rankers simply nodded, unwilling to call the Werewolf¡¯s bluff. They didn¡¯t wish to act before they were sure about who this neer was, and as long as he behaved they were willing to tolerate his antics.

    As for the reason why Gary had stopped just short of them, it was simple. From that position, he was able to hear everything happening to Numba. A normal person wouldn''t have been able to hear from this distance, but then again, the green haired teenager was anything but normal.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside his newly earned room, Numba sat down while surrounded by a bunch of uninvited guests.

    ¡°What do you want? Given her ranking, I doubt the one I defeated was a friend of yours, so you shouldn¡¯t be here for revenge.¡± The Goat Altered came right to the point.

    ¡°Oh that? No, you¡¯re correct, I don¡¯t know who she is and she is nowhere near my type. I''m not focused on that aspect for now. As I¡¯ve said, I¡¯ve juste here to talk to you.¡± Sty, the number 4 student answered. ¡°You see, I heard that TS services ns to expand. They¡¯re the ones backing you, correct?¡±

    Hearing this name, Numba¡¯s attitude changed from nonchnce to actual interest. Even a smidgen of respect could be found on his face.

    ¡°You see, your father, or I guess adoptive father, recently came over to my family asking to do business with us. I thought since the two of us are the ones who will represent ourpanies in the future it would be in our mutual interest to get to know each other. Besides, I have some influence in here, so I can make sure that your stay will be morefortable sooner rather thanter.¡± Sty smiled.

    Numba thought about it for some while, because his number one rule was not to trust people, and he didn''t understand what exactly Sty would get out of all of this.

    ¡°What¡¯s exactly in it for you? For the time being, I have nothing to give you, least of all in this ce. My rank is far below yours, not to mention, you will soon be leaving this ce as well.¡± Numba replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. There is one thing you have in here that I desire, yourself. I¡¯m always in need of loyal people. I wish to build up my own group, you see, and what better ce than the AFA? Agree and will tell my folks to treat yours nicely. All you need to do is do as I say.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    A short whileter and the conversation ended. Sty was leaving the room, followed by his goons, and eventually Numba. The Goal Altered looked unhurt, which led the onlookers to specte as to what they might have been talking about.

    Sty headed to the other high ranking members and that''s when he saw Gary standing there.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± He asked the green haired teenager.

    Gary looked him up and down, before smiling. ¡°Nothing, I just didn¡¯t know shit could stack so high.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 375: A personal pet

    <h4>Chapter 375: A personal pet</h4>

    Saying those words, Gary simply turned away, though not before seeing Sty¡¯s face turnpletely beet red. Before the top ranker had a chance to say anything, the Werewolf had run off.

    Not because he was scared or anything like that, but because he knew this would be far more annoying to someone high and mighty. In the end, Gary arrived in his room to think about what he had heard just now.

    The reason he had insulted Sty was because those had been his real feelings towards the guy. Just listening to him talk for a bit, he was convinced that the top ranker was someone who abused his power and position. It reminded him a lot of how the Underdogs used to participate and how Damion used to act.

    In a ce like this, there were lots of little Damions all over the ce, it was taking a mental toll out of the Werewolf to avoid following his gut instincts to outright punch them in the face during his time observing them.

    Still, he understood that he had to bide his time, so he kept his feeling buried inside. Just from watching how others acted and used their position to abuse others, Gary was actually learning a lot.

    He might not like it, but he knew that what he was seeing inside this ce was the unfortunate reality of how these types of people truly acted. It was something that Kai had a lot of knowledge about, but for Gary, whose social standing had been at the bottom before obtaining his system, he knew nothing about it.

    Perhaps there would be a day when Gary¡¯s input would benefit the group and be a better suggestion than what Kai coulde up with.

    ¡°Who was that?!¡± Sty questioned, barely holding himself together, his cheeks still a bit red and filled with anger.

    ¡°We¡¯re not really sure. The guy¡¯s rank suggests he is one of the neers, so it might be for the best to just ignore him for now. It¡¯s not really worth our time fighting someone like that. Remember, we all agreed to try to avoid fighting for this week.¡± The rank 8 reminded him.

    Hearing this, Sty took a deep breath. Before he had reached the top 10, he had often been linked to stirring up trouble through fighting in this ce. He couldn¡¯t help it, as he found it exhrating to see how hopeless the other Altered looked once he defeated them.

    Still, he had agreed with the other top rankers that he would lie low for one week until they were allowed to advance. Since Appolo had been the one to suggest the idea, it was a given that he would be the one to enforce it. Sty knew he was strong, but he knew better that the top three were more powerful than he was.

    As such, even someone of his position could be kicked out of the top ten, reced with someone else. In the end, he made up his mind to let it go¡­ at least in here. If he saw Gary in the AFA, that would be another story¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    Two more days passed, and Gary had still not challenged anyone. ording to the rules, an assessment would take ce soon, which was another opportunity for people to change their rank. However, the green haired teenager didn''t care too much about the assessment.

    From what Izzy had told him during yesterday¡¯s lunch, most of those inside shared his sentiment. The main way to rise in the ranks was through fighting.

    Ian had participated in two fights just this morning, winning both of them and obtaining rank 77. The Altered had stopped there, iming it was a lucky number for him. It was quite impressive considering how he was unable to transform into his Altered form.

    However, he hadn¡¯t been the only one who had fought. For the first time, Izzy had shown off her skills. Granted, the teenage girl had only fought against the student with the next higher ranking, but that fight had looked like a carefully prepared choreography.

    Without suffering a single injury, she had continued to fight two more times, eventually reaching rank 101. After doing so much research into what other peoples'' Altered forms were, and their fighting styles, she had set her goal to to reach the double digits.

    Unfortunately, against rank 99, she had also suffered her first loss. Izzy¡¯s head had ended up swollen, her ribs bruised, all of that due to one single mistake. Whether she had overestimated herself after consecutive wins or underestimated her opponent, she didn¡¯t know.

    However, the loss had been a devastating one, the difference in skill had been obvious.

    Fortunately, the medical care in this ce was top notch, so Izzy was back on her feet for lunch. Ian had earned the privilege to sit at yet another new table, but he had decided toe over to where Gary was, probably because Izzy had done the same.

    Although the neers had been told on the first day that they should sit ording to the numbers on the table, nobody was actually enforcing that rule.

    ¡°Guys, you have got to get out of the hundreds as soon as possible!!¡± Ian said. ¡°They have meat! I admit, those are merely pieces of meat, but it''s way better than that soup, I tell you. ¡±

    By now, Izzy had gotten used to eating the soup, but after her loss she had shown no appetite, ying with her food before handing it over to Gary.

    ¡°Don''t worry too much, you did well. You had four fights in a row, and we have plenty of time to help you rank up.¡± Ian tried to cheer up his childhood friend.

    ¡°My problem is, I don''t see how.¡± Izzy eventually mumbled listlessly. ¡°I know my body better than anyone, and I just don¡¯t see a way for me to beat rank 99. Not with my current skill set even if I had been at 100%.

    ¡°My only chance might be to unlock my Altered form, but who knows how long that will take!¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t say anything, focusing on gulping down the soup. Sadly, there was no input he could give her. After all, he wasn¡¯t an Altered in the first ce. His system was what allowed him to get stronger, and he wasn¡¯t the best when it came to techniques either. One of his good points was his ability to analyse, but Izzy didn¡¯t seem to have a problem in that department.

    Just then, though, they saw Numba enter the canteen. The group didn''t really have many friends in the ce, so they had silently agreed to sit together and talk to each other most of the time.

    ¡°I guess he''s doing it again huh¡­¡± Ian said.

    That''s when they saw Numba head to the table with the top rankers, stopping next to Sty. After a while, the Goal Altered left, before he came back with a meal meant for the rank 4 student. Not only that, but while Sty was enjoying his steak and soda, Numba was giving him a back massage.

    Essentially, the lower ranked teenager fulfilled all whims of the top ranker, starting with the evening after their talk. The trio of neers found it an odd sight to behold, because although they hadn¡¯t known Numba for long, his current attitude was a clear contrast to his initial prideful self.

    ¡°They might be from the same city or they¡¯re ckmailing him in some other wy.¡± Izzy guessed. ¡°There¡¯s not much we can do about it. I know it''s sad, but it''s unfortunate that one of the top rankers has picked Numba to be hisckey. Anyway, without any incidents, he will only have to endure that for a few more days, and then he will be able to do what he wants again, I imagine that''s why he is putting up with it for now.¡±

    At that moment, a bit of food dropped on Numba''s shirt, and the others began tough. It was then that Gary stood up from his seat and began to walk over to where the others were.

    ¡°Damn it, why does he always move so fast? I don''t even have time to grab that stupid moss head!¡± Izzy cursed, pping her forehead.

    Walking across the canteen, Gary eventually reached the top rankers¡¯ table. The Werewolf stood by the side of the table, looking at the Goal Altered and his handler. Sty, who had already forgotten their encounter, just looked at him. He looked familiar, but he just couldn¡¯t put a finger on who it was.

    ¡®Oh, isn''t this the same person from the other day?¡¯ Apollo thought as he recognised who it was.

    The rest of the top three, including Snow who continued to munch on his small pile of prepared carrots also instantly recognised the person, though none of them stopped enjoying their meal.

    ¡°Numba, I don''t know how you can do this? I don''t know if you''re scared or what, but I just can''t watch you act like this. Is it really worth it? Can''t your family make a deal with anotherpany or something?

    ¡°Anyway, if you''re that scared, remember I still owe you a favour, so I will happily beat this person up for you if you want?¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 376: A predator (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 376: A predator (part 1)</h4>

    Gary was making it crystal clear who these words were directed at by looking straight at Sty during thest part of his sentence, making the rank 4 student experience an odd feeling of D¨¦j¨¤ vu.

    ¡®Why am I getting this annoying bubbling feeling when looking at this guy¡­ for some reason, seeing his annoying green hair is reminding me of something. Am I just annoyed, because my Mom forced me to eat broli in the past? No, that''s not it. But his Green hair is making rm bells ring in my head.¡¯ Sty was left puzzled.

    Since Sty had only seen Gary for a brief second before, there wasn''t a solid image in his head.

    Usually, he would take any small threat seriously, teaching the other person a serious lesson, but the moment his eyes wandered to the number on the green haired teenager¡¯s badge, he just chuckled. The scene reminded him of a baby trying to threaten an adult, and he just found it amusing.

    ¡°Numba, this person is being an eyesore. Make sure that he leaves.¡± The rop ranker ordered, waving his hand nonchntly towards Gary as if he was a fly pestering him.

    The top rankers sitting next to him at the tableughed at thisment, looking forward to what would happen next. They all knew that the teachers would stop a fight from taking ce in here, but they wouldn¡¯t act straight away.

    Numba moved towards where Gary was and there was a smile that appeared on the other''s faces seeing this.

    ¡°Please leave, Gary¡­ I understand that you mean well, but if you really want to help me, then you should leave this table right now.¡± Numba urged in a soft, defeated voice.

    It was aplete contrast to when the Werewolf had first met him. Where was the confident teenager who would never take crap from anyone? The Goat Altered had been a person that had resonated with Gary, because his gut instinct had told him that the two of them were alike.

    Right now, this was also true, but the current Numba resembled the Werewolf during his time in the Underdogs when he had been merely a Transporter. Just like he had feared Damion, the Goat Altered seemed afraid of Sty, a situation where both of them had felt helpless.

    Gary remembered the feeling well, often wishing there could have been someone that could help him at the time. In a way, Kirk had done that, pulled him out of the situation before he drowned, Gary wanted to be the helping hand.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± The rank 4 student questioned in annoyance. ¡°Do I really have to spell it out to you? When I tell you to ¡®get rid¡¯ of him, I don¡¯t mean to ask him nicely! Go beat him up! Come on, even someone of your calibre must be able to do something. Or do you really not care about the deal?¡±

    Gary mmed his hand on the table, making some tes jump up for a second before falling back down. He had shut Sty¡¯s mouth right there before he said anything else and his eyes started to glow faintly red. Immediately, the others stood up, ready to jump on Gary at any second if he were to try something. These actions also caught the eyes of the teacher guards, who started to pay a little more attention.

    At the head of the table, where the top 3 sat, they felt the vibration across the table and both Wu and Snow stood up.

    ¡°What the hell? That guy made one of my carrots drop on the floor!¡± Snowined. ¡°I''m going to kick his arse.¡±

    Just as they were about to move, though, they felt someone push on both of their shoulders, forcing them back down in their seats.

    ¡°Calm down, you two, things are about to get interesting,¡± Apollo ordered, not moving his eyes away from the low ranking student who had disturbed their meal time.

    Apollo himself even sat down, grabbing arge turkey leg, and continued digging into his food as if he was watching a movie.

    ¡®Hahaha, I can tell from just looking into that guy''s eyes. He''s a predator, one that has tasted blood!¡¯ Apollo kept it to himself, rather than warning the others. It wasn''t his business anyway. He only regretted the fact that Gary came sote, as he would have loved to spar with him. Unfortunately, it would look bad if he broke the agreement he himself had instated.

    However, his gut was telling him that the two of them would meet again in the future.

    Sty didn¡¯t move, there was a certain chill going through his body. His hair was sticking up on his arms and all over. The eyes of everyone inside the canteen were focused on the current scene. If he said nothing, did nothing then the others might start to think of him as someone weak.

    Realising the same problem, Numba grabned Gary by the wrist, though it wasn''t particrly strong. The Werewolf took his hand off the table, and looked at the Altered who pleaded with his eyes to make him go.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll leave like you asked, just know that I hate seeing you like this. Just remember, I owe you one, no matter what it is.¡±

    After those events, Gary didn¡¯t go back to sit with the others. Instead, he decided to just leave the canteen as he needed to calm down, yet the other students were surprised by one thing. The fact that such a low ranking member was allowed to go up and threaten someone on the top ranking table without any immediate consequences.

    Of course, many assumed that Gary had just lived to see another day, as they were sure he would be a huge target of whoever he had just decided to cross soon enough. With him gone, and the top rankers continuing their meal as if nothing had happened, the others were doing the same.

    What nobody noticed was that one of the teachers had been speaking softly into a microphone during the entiremotion.

    ----

    ¡°This is the first time in a while that I¡¯ve seen you pay so much attention to a new student, Wood.¡± Haimented as he took a sip of his coffee. ¡°I understand that it is rare for the scouts to miss someone, but it¡¯s not like this is the first time. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re wasting your time on him?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but perhaps not. You¡¯ve seen it yourself, he is in an entirely different league than the rest.¡± Wood answered as he drank his tea. ¡°He has yet to actually fight anyone, but his actions have already caused ripples to the ce.¡±

    ¡°From the reports we¡¯ve received, he¡¯s only been observing the others. Sounds to me like he¡¯s simply looking for the best opponent to beat, nothing umon about that.¡± Hai shrugged.

    ¡°Please, we both know that he can easily be one of the high rankers. If that was his goal, he could have achieved it on the first day. I, for one, am looking forward to what happens when he finally decides to act.

    ¡°There are already interesting things happening in the AFA and I predict that he will make it even more interesting, just like that feisty girl who came here before.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 377: A predator (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 377: A predator (part 2)</h4>

    ¡°Man, I know Gary is strong, but I don¡¯t think he can just go around doing whatever he likes,¡± Ian whispered to Izzy. ¡°You¡¯ve been gathering intel so far. Based on his strength, what rank do you think he could get if he were to fight for real?¡±

    Izzy was left staring in the distance for a while. They were still in the canteen and quite a few people were talking about what had happened. She shook her head for a moment, before answering Ian¡¯s question. ¡°Based on what showed us during the assessment, he should at least be able to enter the top 50. As for what rank he would end up with, I¡¯m not too sure. Practically all the high rankers should be able to do what he did.

    ¡°Still, the confidence Gary has to just do what he wants¡­ I don¡¯t know if he is just crazy, or he actually has the strength to back it up. If only it was true that this ce merely cares about strength¡­ With people from Tier-2 and even Tier-1 cities, his actions might actually prove harmful to those Howlers back home¡­ yet he doesn¡¯t seem to be too worried about it.¡±

    ¡°I wish I could be the same.¡± Ian sighed, rubbing his leg. ¡°Every time I get close to him, my leg starts to hurt, even though it has already healed. I have no idea how many people in here might be stronger than him, I just know that he is thest person I would really want to fight against.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Later that night, there were many that struggled to get some sleep. Numba was left in his room thinking about what Gary had said, and to get out his frustration, he punched the wall in his room.

    A small dent appeared on the wall, but since he hadn''t transformed, it wasn''t too big. However, the material of this ce was quite sturdy, enough that his knuckles were bleeding from his action.

    ¡®Damn it, Gary, don¡¯t you think I WANT to hit that arsehole in his stupid face? I¡¯ve thought about¡­ but I just can''t do it¡­ I can''t. If I do, someone like him will definitely punish my family. Even if they aren¡¯t the ones who raised me, they were the ones who gave me everything.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, Izzy was having her own difficulties falling asleep. The teenage girl was restlessly lying in bed, reviewing her match to Rank 99. She couldn''t help but stare at the ceiling thinking of how to win, but no matter what she couldn''t think of anything but there was one option.

    ¡®I have nothing to lose, I have to go for it.¡¯ Izzy thought. She got up and left her room. Outside it was dark, the lights turned off after midnight, but there was no rule about students having to stay in the room and sleep. It was just that nearly everyone was on that pattern.

    Walking not too far from her own room, she had reached Gary''s. Being one of the lowest ranked rooms, there wasn''t even a proper door, so Izzy was able to peak in.

    ¡®If I want to get better then I¡¯ll have no choice but to train. Who better to ask than the strongest person I know.¡¯ Izzy thought to herself.

    Plucking up the courage, she looked inside, but there was no one there. ¡®Where could he be at this time?¡¯

    Walking around, Izzy was really scratching her head. ces like the canteen were locked at this time of night, and since he had kept to himself, it was unlikely that he was in someone else¡¯s room.

    Following her hunch, she went past one of the teachers that just stood there like a statue. Theoretically, they were meant to enforce certain rules, but just like with the intended curfew, they appeared to be just cking on their watch.

    ¡°It looks like you''re lost.¡± The teacher supervisor pointed out the obvious.

    ¡°Oh, just looking for someone.¡± Izzy revealed, surprised that the adult had decided to say something. ¡°You didn¡¯t happen to have seen a certain green haired boy by any chance, did you?¡±

    The man simply pointed towards the training rooms. He hadn¡¯t even needed the description of Gary, since the teenage boy had been the only other student who he had seene out thiste at night.

    ¡®I¡¯ve never seen Gary train since getting here, but I guess everyone has to train at some point.¡¯

    Thanking the man, she headed to the training room. Opening the door, Izzy was surprised to see the lights were off, but that was when she could suddenly see a pair of red eyes move across the pce, jumping from one side to the other at a great speed. It was difficult for Izzy to keep track of, but suddenly the pair of eyes started to head right towards her.

    At that moment her flight or fight response triggered, but rather than run away, her knees gave out, making her drop to the floor inplete fear.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± A familiar voice asked. Stepping closer Izzy could now see Gary, he had his top off, and his hard abs were showing clearly, while there was a bit of fur on his chest and covering both of his arms. It was retracting into his body, as he continued to walk forward, and the glow in his eyes disappeared.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I just w-wanted to ask you something.¡± Izzy plucked up the courage and tried to stand on her two feet, only to nearly fall over again, before Gary caught her with one hand, making her face go red slightly.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said. ¡°I wanted to ask you¡­ to train me. I want to be a stronger fighter.¡±

    Gary looked at Izzy for a while, before he started to wipe his sweat away.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll help you, but not right now,¡± Gary replied as he walked past her, heading towards his room. ¡°I can¡¯t let my Energy drop any lower than this¡­ so I guess it''s time I start doing things. Once I can get a good meal, I¡¯ll help you train.¡±

    Izzy was left there confused, wondering what he meant by that statement.

    *****

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 Chapter 378: Whos scarier?

    <h4>Chapter 378: Who''s scarier?</h4>

    The next day, the students were woken up by a loud announcement, calling them over to the main oval room. One of the teacher supervisors stood there with a piece of paper in his hand. The moment everyone was inside, he began reading out the contents.

    ¡°Due to certain circumstances, the next assessment evaluation has been moved back and will take ce in four days time rather than today. This also means that the students ranked 1 to 10 will have to keep their position for that additional time period if they wish to advance.¡±

    As soon as he was done, the adult turned around and left the room. Since the ones mostly affected by this sudden change were the top rankers, the other students just smiled and continued doing what they would usually do.

    ¡°Has this ever happened before? Am I the only one who feels like they¡¯re tantly targeting us?¡± Wu asked, visibly annoyed at this kind of treatment.

    ¡°Who knows?¡± Apollo shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised that they decided to act. From the start, it was impossible for them to not notice that the ten of us haven¡¯t really been fighting since we became the top rankers. If anything, I¡¯m surprised that their approach is this lenient, given that we¡¯re circumventing the rules.

    ¡°Still, we should be careful. Who knows what will happen in these next four days.¡±

    The others weren¡¯t sure what he meant by this, but when looking at his new favourite subject, Apollo noticed that there was a different air around the most prominent neer.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Izzy and Ian weren¡¯t bothered by the announcement and simply performed their morning ritual of watching the fights that were happening before breakfast. She was watching them mostly to figure out how to counter her potential future opponents, while he was doing it to hype himself up before fighting himself.

    As they watched, Izzy told her childhood friend about what had happenedst night.

    ¡°Wow, I never thought you would actually go to him to ask for help.¡± Ian gasped at that shocking revtion. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could do the same, his presence alone makes me feel off. Still, let me know if there is some secret involved to his strength.

    ¡°Until then, I think I¡¯ll just continue fighting until I hit a wall. The more I fight, the more I can feel that I¡¯m getting one step closer to grasping my Altered form! Just you wait, once I can transform like the others, you¡¯ll see me rising through the ranks!¡±

    There was a smug smile on Ian¡¯s face. He had gained a lot of confidence based on his recent fights. Originally, he had believed that he would have a hard timepeting with those who had been scouted, but he was doing fairly well as someone who was unable to transform.

    At that moment, two people came up to them from either side. Izzy and Ian wanted to move out of the way, but the two made it obvious that they wouldn¡¯t let them, blocking them in with their bodies.

    ¡®Damn it, what did we do to make the high rankerse to us?¡¯ Izzy wondered as she stared at the badges of the brothers, rank 44, and rank 42. The former belonged to the long haired redhead, while thetter belonged to his short haired brother. They seemed to be fraternal twins, rather than identical ones.

    ¡°From what we have been able to gather, the two of you took the assessment along with that Broli Head, correct?¡± Rank 44 began to question them.

    They hadn''t turned their heads while speaking, pretending like they had just joined the duo in watching the fight.

    ¡°That''s correct, but what¡¯s it to you?¡± Ian replied, not liking where this was going.

    ¡°You see, we were told to gather some information on him. So we just wanted to know a few things about him, nothing you shouldn¡¯t know. What''s his Altered form, his fighting style and most importantly, what¡¯s his backing?¡± Rank 42 exined why they hade to bother them.

    It didn''t take long for Izzy to figure out that these two had to be working for one of the top rankers. It seemed like Gary¡¯s confidence had made them hesitate before acting, so they first wanted to verify whether the green haired teenager was someone they could afford to touch.

    ¡°Sorry, but we have no idea. He didn¡¯t look impressive, so we didn¡¯t pay attention to him during the first test. After that, he kicked all of our arses without transforming, so the only thing we know about him is that he is far stronger than us.¡± Izzy quickly splurged out a cover story, before Ian could identally spill the beans.

    Just then the fight had stopped, and the female Altered was getting ready to move away, but her hand was grabbed before she could leave.

    ¡°Nice story, but we¡¯re not buying it. You¡¯ve been sitting together during the meals like real chumps, so I don¡¯t believe that he hasn¡¯t told you anything of value about himself. Let me warn you, if you don¡¯t tell us exactly what we need to know, then starting today, we¡¯ll make your stay here a living hell.

    ¡°Every day, the two of us will challenge you two, and during the fight, we will beat you before you can give up, and we¡¯ll also make sure nobody else will fight you. We will continue to do that until you eventually leave!¡±

    Pulling her arm away, Izzy continued to walk and Ian made sure to stand behind her and the twins.

    ¡°Fine, go ahead!¡± Izzy shouted as she walked away. ¡°Your threats might work on others, but it''s not going to work if I''m more scared of the other person!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if you two want to get involved with that crazy person, then be my guest, but I''m not going to sell him out.¡± Ian shrugged and shivered as he thought back to what Gary had done to him on ident, as he hadter revealed.

    The brothers were left dazed as this was the first time their threats were ineffective. They couldn''t believe that these two neers were actually more scared of this Gary person. It just didn''t make sense, but Izzy¡¯s words were true. After seeing him yesterday at night, she knew that she should never cross this person if she wanted to live.

    As Ian and Izzy walked over to head to the library room, they soon saw anotherrge figure stand in their way. They looked up, and gulped at therge person¡¯s chest, as they could see the tip of his smile.

    ¡°Oh, here I was waiting for just you two. I was wondering if you could tell me a couple of things about your green-haired friend.¡± Apollo requested with a toothy smile.

    ¡°Umm, Izzy¡­ I might be afraid of this person a little more than Gary.¡± Ian whispered to her.

    *****

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 Chapter 379: A nice meal

    <h4>Chapter 379: A nice meal</h4>

    ¡®Gary, just how did you manage to make even the rank 1 of this ce interested in you?¡¯ Izzy thought as she gulped hard. ¡®I asked about what happened at the canteen, but from what I¡¯ve been told, the only one you antagonised was Sty. Is Apollo asking because of the pact that the top rankers made?

    ¡®Was he the one who sent over those twins? No, I doubt it. From the things I¡¯ve heard, he is the type who acts on his own just like he is doing now. Unfortunately, Ian has a point, although I haven¡¯t seen Apollo act, making an enemy of the strongest person in this ce isn¡¯t a good idea.¡¯

    Apollo continued to do nothing but smile at the duo who looked at him like a pair of frightened bunnies. Ian was looking at Izzy for an answer.

    ¡°What exactly do you want to know?¡± Izzy asked cautiously.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After answering all of Apollo''s questions, the top ranker simply walked away, even thanking them for the talk. The two breathed out a sigh of relief, while therge student decided to head back to his room. Thankfully, for Izzy and Ian, Apollo¡¯s actions were more friendly than his looks.

    The rank one¡¯s room was great in size and included everything anyone could ever wish for, rivalling the suite in a luxury five-star hotel.

    Arge super king-size mattress, thefiest sheets, a bathtub and a rainfall shower were just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, it was so nice, that his two friends would oftene over just to hang out, despite their rooms not being too far off.

    When he came in, he found Wu and Snow already ying a game of cards on the table.

    ¡°So, did you find what you wanted?¡± Wu asked, as he looked over his cards, raising the pot.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ but it was a bit disappointing,¡± Apollo answered with a sigh. ¡°Turns out hees from a Tier-3 town, apparently one that hasn¡¯t any redeeming qualities. The only interesting part about it was that he is backed by a gang.¡±

    ¡°Honestly, what exactly did you expect from someone who wasn¡¯t scouted? If he was worth his salt, he wouldn¡¯t continue being a low ranker. He''s probably just acting tough because he¡¯s in a gang.¡± Snow replied, revealing his cards and winning all the snacks that had been in the middle of the table. The first thing he did was munch on a carrot in delight.

    ¡°Haha, looks like your killer instinct is getting dull from you not doing anything.¡± Snow teased his friend. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re notpletely to me for that, given his confidence he even made a fool out of Sty.¡±

    Apolloid down on his bed, wondering whether there was some truth in what his friend said, but there was one thing he kept thinking about, something he had overheard from Izzy and Ian¡¯s earlier conversation.

    ¡®She said, she was more scared of him than the twins? From what I¡¯ve seen, she seems to be a smart cookie, so she must have realised that those two had been sent by Sty or another of the top rankers¡­ and there¡¯s also the look in his eyes. If he can actually fake that, he deserves an oscar.¡¯ Apollo thought.

    At that moment, there was a light knock at the door. ¡°Come in.¡±

    Opening the door and closing it behind him, they saw that it was just the guy they had mentioned. Immediately, Apolloid back down on his bed, as he wasn''t really interested in what Sty had to say.

    ¡°Skip the formalities, alright? That''s only for outside this ce and when our two families meet. Why did youe to me?¡± Apollo asked without much enthusiasm.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Sty replied, his voice a little shaky, indicating that he was nervous in the other student¡¯s presence. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask for your permission to deal with the annoying guy. You all heard what that guy said at the canteen. He needs to be taught a lesson before others start thinking they can do the same to us.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here asking to break the pact. I agree that it''s far more important for us to move onto the next stage and enter the academy, which is why I''m asking if you won¡¯t mind me sending my men to act.¡±

    Hearing this, Apollo actually rose up from his bed, and looked towards Sty. ¡°That¡¯s a far more reasonable request from you than I had expected. Sure, feel free to send out some of your guys.¡±

    Having been granted permission, Sty immediately left the room, though he found the reaction odd. He had been prepared to convince Apollo somehow, only to be given his full blessing.

    Of course, he had no way of knowing that the rank 1 student was already looking forward to how the person of his interest would deal with the twins.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary had gone down to breakfast, but as usual, the food really wasn¡¯t enough to fill him up. His Energy had finally dropped below 150, which had only strengthened his resolve to act today.

    ¡®Should I just go and teach that Sty guy a lesson? No, it might affect Numba if I do that. Unfortunately, it looks like he will have to endure his treatment for four more days. Hmmm, what if I go for Rank 3 instead? If I win that fight, then maybe I¡¯ll have a bit more influence over Sty and can tell him to stop.¡¯

    Contemting this possibility, Gary was ready to leave his room, but just then, a pair of red-headed brothers entered his room. It was already a small ce, so they blocked almost all the lighting in.

    ¡°Next time, think twice whether you should open your stupid mouth.¡± The student with the rank 42 mouthed off, as his face started to change and transform, while his brother was doing the same.

    Gary looked at the small space he was in, it wasn''t the best ce to fight, but there was one good point about it. Nobody should be able to see what he was about to do.

    ¡°I''m sorry guys¡­ but your red hair and the fact that you¡¯re brothers really piss me off. I¡¯ve been hangry for thest few days and since you came to me, don¡¯t me me for retaliating.¡± Gary replied, his eyes starting to turn red.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Finally, it was time for lunch. The students flocked in, and Ian went over to sit with Izzy at Gary¡¯s table, so they could enjoy their food together. Numba stood by Sty who had arge smile on his face for some reason.

    ¡°Hey¡­ Gary he¡¯ste.¡± Izzy said. ¡°You don¡¯t think, that someone went after him?¡±

    ¡°I mean, that guy is neverte for lunch¡­it can only be that¡­ do you think that top ranker acted even though he promised he wouldn¡¯t do anything?¡±

    Just then as the two were about to leave the canteen, they saw someone enter through the double doors.

    ¡°Phew, he''s here.¡± Ian let out a sigh. ¡°Hey, Gary, we¡¯ve been waiting for you. If you don¡¯t hurry, your soup will get cold.¡±

    Gary just gave him a thumbs up. ¡°I¡¯ll be over in a second.¡±

    The Werewolf took a moment to locate the seat numbered 42, and grabbed the food from there.

    ¡®Finally, a worthy meal!¡¯ He thought to himself, as he stared at the steak, potatoes and extras.

    ******

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 Chapter 380: Match up

    <h4>Chapter 380: Match up</h4>

    *BZZZ*

    The familiar sound that indicated that it was time for the next meal resounded through the ce. Despite practically starving throughout his stay, the Werewolf had nevertheless been looking forward to each meal time. Looking at the timing of his two uninvited guests, it became clear to him that their appearance wasn¡¯t a coincidence.

    Right now, everyone would go to the canteen, making this the time the teachers were at their busiest as they made sure no fights would break out. However, one of the brothers was standing slightly behind the other, making it impossible to see inside.

    With his head held down, Gary¡¯s body started to shake.

    ¡°Look at him, Brock!¡± The twin ranked 42ughed. ¡°That scaredy-cat is shaking all over from fear. Let''s get this over and done with quickly, so we don¡¯t miss lunch.¡±

    Immediately, Brock rushed towards Gary. His face had transformed into that of a gross looking insect. He had huge eyes and a giant forceps on top of his head, simr to that of a beetle.

    When running forward, the Insect Altered tilted his head down towards his target. His forceps looked sharp and strong, and they looked to be controlled independently as he snapped them shut a couple of times before reaching Gary, creating arge echo sound.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see your mouth off after I snapped right through your weak bones!¡± Brock taunted.

    ¡°You guys¡­¡± Gary growled in a low tone. When the Insect Altered was close enough, the Werewolf transformed both of his hands and grabbed onto the closing forceps of the intruder.

    ¡®I¡­ I can''t close them!¡¯ Brock realised as he intensified his struggles, but the green haired teenager¡¯s hold on him was absolute.

    ¡°What are you doing, Brock? Just cut his hands! It¡¯s not like it will be your first time. They¡¯ll patch him up, anyway.¡± His brother hurried him, unaware that the situation was no longer in their control.

    ¡°How dare you get in the way of my lunch?!¡± Gary shouted as he used his strength to pull apart the forceps until they snapped. Blood rushed from Brock onto the floor, but Gary didn''t stop there, using his leg to kick the Insect Altered in the stomach and sending him back to his brother.

    ¡°Make sure to hold him steady.¡± The two of them heard Gary¡¯s order, and looking up they saw him sprint from one end of his room to the other, throwing out a fist, hitting Brock right in the stomach. The strength of the hit resulted in a loud crack, indicating that more than one rib had been broken.

    The attack was so strong that the twins flew out of the room and ended up embedded in a wall, both losing consciousness.

    ¡ª¡ª

    A teacher had taken care of the two, so Gary had simply headed to the canteen, where he was enjoying the taste of the superbly grilled steak. Of course, the potatoes and sides weren¡¯t much worse, but the meat was the real kicker.

    [10 points of Energy have been restored]

    [158/300 Energy]

    ¡®That really hit the spot¡­ but I¡¯m still hungry. I should have asked if I can ask for refills. I could still eat a dozen more, maybe even a hundred, after I had nothing but that soup for nearly a week.¡¯ Gary thought, rubbing his belly as he looked over at the others at this table.

    They were baffled at seeing the green haired teenager sit at their table, but the number on his badge convinced them that he had every right to be there. Looking down on their own badge, they all saw that their numbers had shifted, further proving that a fight must have taken ce just before he had appeared. As to who he had thought, that was also obvious, since two seats were empty.

    ¡°Hey, are you guys going to eat that? If you''re not, I could do with some extra food.¡± Gary asked, eying up their tes full of meat, as he licked his lips. ¡°I really just want the the meat, you can keep the rest.¡±

    The student next to him, who was now the new rank 44 just nodded, handing it over. His rank had been in between the twins before and seeing that the neer had been able to even beat the stronger twin, he understood that he wasn¡¯t his match. Making an enemy out of him over a piece of meat really wasn¡¯t worth it.

    Over at the table with the top rankers, they had been aware that Sty had received permission to deal with the nuisance, but his appearance made it clear that the n must have failed. Apollo noticed that Sty was tensing his fists. His head was practically shaking, and everyone on the table could hear him grinding his teeth in frustration.

    ¡®How is that possible? The twins might not be the strongest in this ce, but there were two of them against one of him! Just who is this person?!¡¯ Sty was left speechless.

    Given the priceless look on his face, Apollo couldn''t help butugh out eventually. He had done his best to hold it in for a while, but the visible confusion was just too hrious.

    ¡°You still think my killer instinct is off?¡± The rank 1 student gloated, snatching one of Snow¡¯s carrots out of the Altered¡¯s hands and taking a huge bite.

    ¡°Whatever, how far can a Tier-3 bumpkin like him really get in here? All he did was beat up two scrubs who could barely be called high rankers, that doesn¡¯t make him special.¡± Snow replied, rolling his eyes before he grabbed another carrot.

    Of course, Sty didn¡¯t miss that information and shot up in disbelief. ¡°Tier-3¡­ that rubbish dares to spout off when hees from a shitty Tier-3 town?!!¡±

    Numba was speechless as well. He didn''t know what to think as he looked at the green haired teenager who was gobbling up meat without a care in the world.

    ¡®Gary, how are you not afraid about the consequences of your actions? Your family is from a Tier-3 town like mine. No matter who you are, even if you''re a member of a gang, the guys in here can crush the likes of you and me like a little bug at any second. Don¡¯t you care about your gang members, or your family¡­or is it just¡­¡¯

    It was then that Gary, after finishing his second meal from the one on his table, stood up, and once again started to walk towards those on the top table. Heading over he walked to where Numba was as well and while doing so he made direct eye contact with Sty.

    ¡°Your two goons might be incapacitated for a while.¡± Gary revealed. ¡°Once they wake up, please let them know that they only got hurt because you were the one that sent them over to me. I was never nning to go for them myself.¡±

    ¡°Damn you!¡± Sty shouted, ready to go for for the Werewolf, but at that moment Apollo hit the table. It wasn''t a loud hit, in fact it was quite a soft one, but strangely it looked like when he hit the table a vibration was sent through it that was directed straight to Sty¡¯s ce, making his te and cutlery jump up and down again.

    Getting the message, the rank 4 student red at Gary, but sat back down.

    ¡°Oh, I thought you were going to challenge me?¡± Gary questioned in a cocky manner. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have no interest fighting you, not until this guy asks me.¡±

    Just then, Gary thought it was time to put his n into action, he looked over at the table and his gaze stopped at the rank 3 student, Wu Chen.

    ¡°I challenge you to a fight.¡±

    ¡®Wait a second, I didn¡¯t say that?¡¯ Gary was confused, looking as to who had said it. Turning to his side, he saw that Numba was pointing at Sty.

    ¡°I challenge you to a fight, let¡¯s get this over and done with. I¡¯m sick of you treating me as your personal butler.¡± The Goal Altered rified, his eyes burning with fire.

    After seeing the Werewolf act without fearing the consequences, something had been lit up inside Numba.

    ¡°Has everyone suddenly gone crazy? You want a fight, fine then you got one!¡± Sty shouted, standing up. ¡°If you manage to win, I¡¯ll follow through with our deal, no questions asked¡­ but if I win, you''re going to wish you were never born!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 381: Rumble

    <h4>Chapter 381: Rumble</h4>

    Today, leaving the canteen, the students were far more excited than any other day. Everyone was walking together in arge group, following two specific individuals to their match.

    Witnessing one of the top rankers fight was usually quite a spectacle, because the top rankers only ever fought against others who were close to the top. This would allow the other students to see a high level of skills being disyed, and showed everyone just how far or close they were to catching up.

    However, the reason the students were even more hyped up than usual was that ever since the current batch of top rankers had risen to their position, they had made a pact that they wouldn¡¯t fight. This meant that no high level fights had taken ce since nobody had dared to antagonise the top rankers so far. Ever since Gary had openly mocked Sty, the students had hoped that something woulde out of it, and now that it did they were all ted, even though the green haired neer wasn¡¯t the one who would fight.

    ¡°This isn''t good.¡± Izzy said to Ian, concerned for Numba. ¡°Everyone has a right to challenge those in the top ten at any time. It''s the whole point of this system, but the others haven''t done that because of the pact.¡±

    ¡°Ah, you worry too much.¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°Personally, I think this is quite exciting. I mean, let''s assume Numba loses, what¡¯s the worst that will happen? From what you told me, the primary purpose of that pact was to prevent the other high rankers from challenging the top rankers constantly during the time they have to protect their top rank, not for people like Numba.

    ¡°Do you really think they would waste their time beating him over and over again?¡±

    ¡°You don''t understand.¡± Izzy sighed as she stopped walking. ¡°I did some research on Apollo and Sty. They don''t just have a rtionship inside this ce, but one outside as well. Sty works for a gang in a Tier-2 city, who works for the leader of the gang in a Tier-1 city¡­ which is linked to Apollo. Do you understand why it''s so dangerous now, and why Numba has been listening to them this whole time?¡±

    Hearing this news, Ian wondered what he would do in this situation, and one thing was sure, he wouldn''t touch someone from gang in a Tier-2 city, much less one linked to a gang in a Tier-1 city. Their whole Tier-3 business could be wiped out in a few seconds by any one of those.

    Just then, Gary ced his arms around the two of them.

    ¡°Let''s just watch the fight and worry about that stuffter. Besides, remember what you said about gang members having pride. Do you really think this Apollo guy is the type of person who would go running off to his gang if he lost a fight¡­ or call his gang for help with something like this.¡±

    It was true, but it was always better to be safe than sorry, especially in this world. Everyone had now gathered in therge oval room. The students made sure to stand around the outer edge, making ce for the fighters in the centre, Sty and Numba.

    ¡°It seems like your green haired friend there has gotten into your head, making you think you can take me on. Let me show you that my background isn¡¯t the only reason I¡¯m ranked this highly!¡± Sty shouted.

    The match started and Sty began to transform. Immediately his eyes bulged, turning intopound eyes, with a slightly orange colour. At the same time, a pair of wings sprouted out of his back. Finally, his mouth elongated a bit, starting to resemble a proboscis, giving him the overall appearance of a fly.

    At the same time, Numba was transforming as well. From the looks of it, his horns had finished elongating at the same time as his opponent was done with his transformation.

    The Goal Altered swept his legs on the floor a couple of times simr to a bull. Suddenly, Numba exploded in speed, closing the gap between the two in an instant. With this type of speed many of the onlookers felt that they might go down in a single hit.

    However, Sty¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t just for show, allowing him to see the moment Numba had elerated, and his body was fast enough to react. Making use of his wings, he avoided the attack at thest second by flying into the air.

    ¡®Where is he?¡¯ Numba wondered, as his horns had failed to make impact. Looking up, he could not see Sty in front of him. The next moment, he felt his back re up in pain, making the Goat Altered fall down on his knees. Sty had not only avoided the attack perfectly, but positioned himself perfectly in the other¡¯s blind area.

    ¡°That was your master n in going against me?¡± Sty asked in ridicule. ¡°What else have you got, now that your surprise attack failed?¡±

    Turning around quickly in anger, Numba faced Sty again and pushed off his feet, aiming for his horns to stick right into Sty¡¯s body, pinning him in one piece. This time, instead of moving to the side though, Sty flew up with his wings pping about, avoiding it again.

    ¡°Haha, I could just stay up here all day, and you wouldn''t be able to hit me. You''re just a useless goat, and I can''t believe you actually thought you could beat me with your level of skills!¡± Styughed, flying in to deliver a kick right to Numba''s face faster than he could react. Blood dropped from his nose and mouth across the floor.

    Numba swung a fist, but it hit nothing but the air again. It didn''t stop there, as Sty continued his attack pattern, flying in to kick his opponent once, before getting out to prevent his opponent from retaliating in any way. After taking a couple of hits, it became obvious that the Goal Altered had to focus his all on simply defending, not leaving him any room to change the situation.

    ¡°Crap!¡± Gary cursed. ¡°It''s my fault Numba is fighting right now, and now he''s getting beat to a pulp.¡±

    The Werewolf hadn¡¯t been sure if Sty had been all talk, but this fight proved that his arrogance was grounded in his abilities. Of course, the moment Numba had challenged him, Gary had considered the possibility that his buddy might lose¡­ only he hadn¡¯t considered that it would be so one-sidedly.

    ¡®Should I go in and help him?¡¯ Gary thought, readying his body to go in.

    ¡°If you intend to interfere in their fight, I''m afraid I¡¯ll have to stop you.¡± A deep voice sounded from behind him.

    When he turned around, he saw therge figure of Apollo, his arms crossed and a smile across his face, and that''s when Gary could see the badge disying the intimidating number 1.

    *****

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 Chapter 382: Youre the Problem

    <h4>Chapter 382: You''re the Problem</h4>

    The person ranked Number One was standing right next to Gary. His stature was huge, and although most would be intimidated by just hisrge size, Gary turned to look at the fight straight ahead after seeing who this person was.

    "Are you looking for a fight? Because you can challenge me any time." Gary said while staring at the arena.

    Most of the attention in the room was on the ongoing fight. Hence, people watching were unaware of what was happening, apart from Ian and Izzy, who often stayed close to Gary. Besides them, Wu and Snow, who weren''t too far off either, listened to everything going on, although they weren''t too bothered.

    ''As I expected, I knew this guy was curious about Gary for some reason, but why?'' Izzy thought. ''We didn''t even have time to warn him or tell Gary about his background, but knowing Gary, he wouldn''t back down anyway.''

    She was nervous, not because she thought Gary would lose the fight, but rather about how it would affect thetter''s life.

    Hearing the response, Apollo chuckled.

    "Haha, sorry, I think I misspoke. I have rules that I follow anyway. I agreed to no fighting for a week to move on from this ce. There was no one interesting at the time. Anyway, I was talking about the teachers.

    "They are overseeing this fight. It''s being disyed publicly to everyone. If you try to jump in there, the teachers will stop you, and if you end up hurting any student before they can catch you, there is a good chance you will be punished, maybe even kicked out of this ce.

    "And I don''t really want that to happen, which is why I decided to warn you."

    Gary¡¯s clenched fists loosened up a bit after listening to these words. Feeling guilty, he thought he had to do something, but there were rules in this ce. It wasn''t like the outside. Getting kicked out of the academy this soon wasn''t an option, he could only stand there and watch the one-sided fight.

    Sty continued to attack while dashing away in the air, making every single one of Numba''s strikes fruitless. It wasn''t that Sty was too fast; instead, it was hard to predict the angles he woulde at Numba and to make matters worse, thetter''s reaction time was too slow.

    It was a terrible match-up to pit them against each other since Numba''s strength came from raw power and straight-headed charge. But, unfortunately, he was no match against Sty''s swiftness.

    What the crowd did find interesting though, was the fact that Numba was still standing. His face was bloody and had already begun to swell. Even his ribs and arms were badly bruised up, and almost the whole arena was now covered in his blood.

    Sty''s strikes weren''t weak by any means because of the momentum his attacks gained from his speed. It was just that Numba''s heart was strong.

    "Are you just going to keep running from me?! Don''t you have any pride?!" Numba shouted in frustration with a swollen mouth. Even his teeth had turned red because of the blood.

    "This is probably the best strategy," Izzymented. "Since Numba can''t catch him, he''s trying to anger Sty to make him act out, but I''m not sure it will work."

    Ignoring Numba''s words, Sty flew in again. Numba waited patiently, and instead of trying to catch Sty, he was no longer moving from the spot he was in, although it was unknown if this was a strategy or if his legs were on the verge of giving up. However, just as Sty was right before him, he threw a fist.

    Sty easily dodged, moving his whole body out of the way and then zig-zagging below the former''s arm, he sent his own punch at Numba''s face. However, Sty didn''t stop there as he had finally nted his feet on the ground, readying himself to give a few more blows.

    "Pride? Who cares about pride? What can pride do?" Sty asked as he punched Numba in the face once again. "Can pride help you win this fight? Can pride get you into the academy?"

    Sty punched and punched again, and bearing the pain, Numba threw out another fist, but Sty caught it with his left hand.

    "Remember, you brought this on yourself." Sty pulled Numba''s arm, drew thetter''s face towards him and threw out a fist with his other hand hitting him straight in the face again.

    Numba''s head jerked back, and his body reverted to human form. Then, after a moment of pause, Numba''s body fell back-first on the arena, and the match was over.

    Sty raised his head and looked at the crowd from one side to the other as silence fell around the arena.

    Then, as he lifted both his hands in victory, the crowd instantly erupted in resounding cheer.

    "Boo, Boo, you damn bug eyes!" From one corner, Ian shouted, cupping his mouth.

    Sty turned his head to where the sound wasing from, and when he saw Ian, thetter was whistling away, staring at the ceiling as if he had just found the most interesting thing in the world.

    The fight was an expected result to everyone watching, there were no surprises, but Gary looked down at the arena speechlessly.

    ''Sh*t, what did I do? I pushed Numba to do this. I should have just dealt with that damned bug myself. No¡­I didn''t because Numba said he could get into trouble, but all of this mess is just because I was trying to get friendly with Numba.'' Gary thought.

    "You want to get revenge for your friend? But in this ce, things aren''t so simple. You can''t just solve everything with your fists like you used to do," Apollo said before walking away.

    In the arena, before stepping out, Sty stood above Numba and slowly said to him.

    "Tomorrow, you''re going to regret everything you did."

    After Sty walked away, the crowd of students started to disperse as well, and the teachers were moving in to give Numba some medical treatment.

    Before they got to him though, they found there was already someone else in the centre of the room, kneeling beside Numba.

    ''That student¡­he got there fast.'' One of the Teachers thought, seeing Gary seeminglye out of nowhere.

    "Numba, I''m sorry, this is my fault...just tell me what to do. How can I fix this? Is there anything you want me to do?" Gary asked, not knowing whether to just beat Sty or challenge someone else for a higher position to fix this.

    Opening his eyes and staring at him, Numba had few words for Gary.

    "Just¡­ stay away from me."

    ****

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 Chapter 383: An Annoying Fly

    <h4>Chapter 383: An Annoying Fly</h4>

    While lying on his bed in his new room, Gary stared at the ceiling with his mind full of thoughts. He was struggling with the current predicament in front of him.

    ''What do I do?'' This was the question in his mind. The scene at the end of the previous fight shed over and over in his head.

    Numba''s bloody and swollen face, with which he could barely see or talk, appeared in his mind, yet, in the end, Numba had mustered up the strength to tell Gary to get away from him.

    ''Have I done the right thing? Did I believe everything else would be effortless after the Underdogs just because I managed to get rid of them? Either way, I screwed up.

    ''If I take out Sty, then he''ll direct his frustration on Numba, and I''m not sure even getting a higher position than him would do anything. The way they treat Numba might even worsen after this.''

    Right now, Gary was honestly missing the Howlers more than anything. Making decisions on his own was hard. If he could, he would have picked up his phone and discussed with Kai about what the best thing to do in this situation.

    He was sure that thetter would have some ideas and would have probably exined the consequences to him before he acted on his own ideas. But, unfortunately,munication wasn''t permitted in this ce, at least not via phone, unless Gary wanted to get disqualified.

    Once he was in the real academy, it would be no problem.

    ''Wait a second? Doesn''t that mean Sty and the others can''t really do anything unless they have some way of contacting the outside that I don''t know about? Still, as one of the Rank Ten, he''ll be out of here in a couple of days.''

    Even after racking his brain for a long time, no solution came to his mind. Initially, he nned to take out one of the Top Ten and wait a week before going through, but now, he didn''t want to leave Numba in a situation like this.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day soon arrived, and Gary was looking for Numba but couldn''t find him anywhere. Wherever the teachers had taken him off, he had yet to return. Gary did make eye contact with Sty several times though, who would immediately look the other way and walk from him.

    ''Tch...I thought I could get them to challenge me to a fight, but they seem to be making a big deal out of this pact thingy.'' Gary thought.

    While waiting for lunchtime to begin, Gary had resolved his goal. For now, he would stick to his n of knocking out anyone in the top ten, but before that, he would eat a nice meal for lunch, so he has enough energy just in case he needs it.

    Seeing Sty the other day proved that some of his opponents were close to Gary¡¯s level. And thetter can''t just beat them in a single hit or so.

    Right before lunch had started, Numba finally returned.

    He looked a lot better. In fact, it was hard to tell if he had ever been in a fight, but Altered¡¯s did heal at an incredible rate, so it made sense. With the medical treatment at the academy, students were assured that they could take the risk of fighting every day with their full strength.

    As he kept an eye on Numba, Gary saw him heading straight towards Sty, ignoring all the stares he was getting from the other students.

    ''Don''t get involved, Gary. You''ll just make things worse.'' Gary stopped, wondering for a second if he should get close so he could hear their conversation.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Lunch had finally arrived, and as usual, Gary was one of the first people there. He quickly began stuffing his food down. The meal was decent enough that his energy levels would no longer go down for the day, but they were neither going up.

    [168/300 Energy]

    Still, from what he had observed, he should be able to beat some of his opponents quickly, and if it was proving a difficult match, he could always go into hisplete transformation. After finishing lunch, Gary walked up to Izzy and Ian. They hadn''t fought for a few days and were waiting for their next assessment.

    While the three were chatting, they saw the top rankers enter after a while, with Numba following Sty closely behind. Like before, Numba went to collect food for Sty, but there was something strange about his food.

    As Numba ced it down, the others could see someone was moving and wriggling about in the bowl.

    "As you all know, the top ten students can request whatever they wish. They just have to put in the order at the start of the day. This is why I have decided to be nice to my fellow participant and ordered some nice worms for him." Sty said aloud so everyone could hear, even the ones who weren''t at their desk.

    He then pushed the bowl of worms to Numba, who stared down at it. They still had pieces of mud on them as if someone had freshly picked them from the ground.

    "This is my treat, and please remember to eat every single one. The staff has worked hard to gather these lovely worms, you know?" Sty smiled.

    Some at the table and a few others were put off by their meal, while the rest stopped to see if Numba would actually eat this specially ordered ''food''.

    Numba stared at them for a few seconds and picked up the bowl. He stopped a few centimetres away from his mouth before opening his mouth with a gulp. He then chucked them in and tried to swallow them rather than chew.

    However, the thought of what he was doing and feeling them wriggling about in his mouth was too much for him, making him gag. Then, putting the bowl back half-empty, he threw up all across the floor.

    In the vomit was whatever he had eaten earlier and the wriggling worms.

    "Now that''s not very nice, that''s not very nice at all." Sty said, standing up. He patted Numba on the back as if he was a good friend.

    "Look at all of this. It''s such a waste. I think you should eat it. We can''t waste food now, can we? I think you should get on the floor and lick up every single bit you just threw up." Sty advised.

    Numba''s body quivered, but he got on his knees. Staring at the vomit, his eyes teared up.

    ''I¡­I have to do this...I have to...otherwise my family. I can''t let them down after everything they''ve done for me. I''m sorry...for not being able to do better¡­and Gary, I''m sorry for saying that to you yesterday. I just know that¡­you would get involved, and then you would be in this mess.''

    Sty put his foot on Numba''s back, kicking him towards the mess on the floor, but his attention soon changed to something else. Just like the days before, a certain someone was walking across the room.

    "Ah...look, your hero hase to save you again." Styughed. "What''s he going to do? stare at me again?"

    Gary continued walking without a word. He didn''t slow down his pace and didn''t look up either, and when he reached the table, he picked up the bowl of worms with one hand. Before anyone could do anything, and before even Sty could react, the bowl had been mmed down onto Sty¡¯s face. A loud sh was heard as it broke to pieces.

    The bowl had smashed on impact, shattering and making scratch marks across Sty. Then, as he lost bnce, he dropped to the ground, and worms covered his face.

    "Eat the damn f*cking worms yourself, you damn fly."

    *****

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 Chapter 384: A small meal

    <h4>Chapter 384: A small meal</h4>

    It was as if time had stopped for everyone in the Canteen as silence descended throughout the dining hall. Even those on the Rank 1 table were stunned and didn''t know how to react to this. As for Gary, he just stood there looking down at Sty.

    Sty was hurt, but not so bad that he couldn''t get up and wipe the worms off his face.

    "You bastard! I''ll kill you. I''ll kill you and your whole FAMILY!" He rubbed away the worms and shouted as he stood up from the ground.

    His body was already transforming, but before he could fully get up on his feet, a sudden force enveloped both of them, and a shadow appeared between them, making Gary take a step back.

    "Do not act!" A voice said. "Please stay calm until we resolve the problem."

    As for the one speaking, it was one of the teachers who constantly kept an eye on all the students. One held Sty before he could take off, and another stood in front of Gary.

    "Fighting is not permitted in the Canteen. The attacker and the victim muste with us to resolve this case. Please follow us." The teacher instructed.

    A few students were shaking their heads at what they had seen, mainly Apollo and Izzy, because they both had the same fear.

    ''Gary...Gary, why don''t you ever talk to me or think before you act? Doing something like this, attacking him out of the blue without challenging him, the teachers could kick you out of this ce for this stunt.'' Izzy thought.

    Gary and Sty seemed to haveplied and followed after the two teachers, leaving the rest of the students in anticipation of what would happen next. The whole dining hall was overwhelmed withmotion as soon as the doors closed.

    "Did you see that? He smashed that te right on Sty''s face! Who is that guy? Wasn''t he just a recruit, an assessment person?" A student asked.

    "Yeah, I think he might have a screw loose or something. If I am not wrong, this is not the first time he walked to the top table. Honestly, I wouldn''t be worried about getting kicked out. Instead, I would worry more about what would happen outside the academy after getting kicked out." Another asked.

    At the same time, while listening to all thements, Numba was still on the floor.

    ''Gary...Gary, what are you doing? Are you putting your position in this academy and your whole life at risk just because of one favour? Don''t be an idiot!''

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside the dining hall, a few others were shaking their heads as well after seeing what had transpired in the hall. In particr, the three professors who had their eye on Gary. They were being updated on everything going on and were even called to make certain decisions.

    "This guy." Hai huffed. "He makes no moves in the facility, and then, the first thing he does is cause trouble and break the rules by doing this? You guys know what could happen now, right? That family might even target us for not looking after him."

    ¡°Stop being overdramatic.¡± Humfree said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Everyone who enters this ce is made aware of the consequences. Just because the person attacking him has a low background makes no difference.

    "Besides, there is a simple way to resolve this matter." Humfrey smiled while taking a sip of his coffee and then called a teacher to send some instructions.

    For now, the teachers had detained both Sty and Gary in separate rooms. They were medical rooms attached to the facility, but the students didn''t have ess to them unless they were hurt.

    Sty was getting treatment with the best avable means to heal the wounds and swelling, and on the other hand, Gary was under observation while the staff decided on what to do next. In the room, Sty was currently in, the teacher standing beside him had received some instructions.

    "There has been a resolution put forward to you." The teacher said, "To resolve the matter between the two of you, they wish for the two of you to have a match. This is the professors'' suggestion to clear the bad blood between you.

    "However, no such scuffle is allowed between you after the match unless it is in an official duel. If you pull off such a stunt once again, we will immediately expel the instigator, if not both of you, without any change of plea. Right now, someone else is exining the same conditions to the other guy as well."

    Clenching his fist, Sty thought it wasn¡¯t fair. The other party had started it, but he stood up immediately, because this was what he wanted a long time ago.

    "A forced match? That''s fine with me. This way, Apollo can''t say anything about me starting this crap. Bring it on. I will make that bastard wish he never came before me!"

    ¡ª¡ª

    While the staff was telling them about the decision they had arrived at, lunchtime was over for the students.

    However, almost all the students were still preupied with the incident and were anticipating the decision made by the teachers.

    And they didn''t have to wait for long as the double doors were pushed open, and two teachers walked inside, with the two students following them right behind.

    The teachers then brought both of them to the facility''s centre, and soon, they were standing in the so-called Arena.

    "An official match between Rank 42 and Rank 4 will now take ce. No one is allowed to interfere with this match until one of them gives up, is knocked out, or if we decide any of the two to be a winner!" The teacher exined.

    Sty walked over to the other side and turned towards Gary. His blood was boiling with rage after what had happened. He had never been humiliated like that before and publicly, no less.

    "You have made the biggest mistake of your life. I''ll rip out all your teeth, break all your bones, and beat the crap out of you until you beg for a swift death! But that won¡¯t be the end of it! Because my anger won''t calm just with your death.

    "I''ll find your family, your friends, every single person you care about, and make you watch as I beat them all to a pulp and take everything away from you that you ever owned!" Sty''s words resounded throughout the arena, and all the students stopped talking.

    Gary didn''t reply and stood there, not acting, not showing how he was feeling.

    "Gary, he can win this, right?" Ian whispered, trying not to attract any attention.

    "He can, of course, he can," Izzy replied, "But it''s going to be difficult, and I am sure Sty will do exactly what he said he would if he wins. He won''t let Gary off with a simple beating."

    In the arena, the match began. Sty had sprouted his wings and eyes. He immediately started flying right toward Gary as if he was about to hit him, but at thest moment, he changed direction.

    ''Sty... he''s flying much faster than when he was fighting against me. He must be furious,'' Numba gulped.

    Flying from area to area, Sty was making it hard for Gary to predict the direction from which the former woulde.

    "I will torture you till the veryst ounce of your breath!" Sty shouted, finally flying in once again.

    "You made a mistake," Gary replied.

    He then opened his mouth and let out a resounding howl, making everyone at the scene have a strange feeling run through their body.

    ''This is what I wanted...this is who I thought you were.'' Apollo smiled.

    At that moment, Sty was affected the most by the howl. He suddenly had the urge to fly straight toward Gary, There was no other thought in his head other than to attack Gary, and his speed had increased once more.

    [Full Transformation Activated]

    Before Sty could reach him, Gary''s entire body started to transform this time. The hair on his arms and legs grew, and clothes ripped apart as his body erged. His mouth elongated, and his ears became pointy.

    Some of the students couldn''t believe what monster they were looking at, and at that moment, Gary grabbed straight onto Sty''s shoulders mid air stopping him dead.

    His sharp ws dug into Sty, causing thetter to scream in extreme pain, and made it so he was unable to break out unless he could rip his body away.

    "Report report, what do we do!" Seeing the situation, the teachers shouted for instruction from the higher-ups.

    Gary tightened his grip, digging in his nails more, making Sty cry for his life. No matter how much he struggled, Sty couldn''t get out.

    "You don''t threaten my family or friends, no matter who you are," Gary dered as he opened his jaw wide and his razor-sharp teeth dug right into Sty.

    *****

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 Chapter 385: Little Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 385: Little Wolf</h4>

    Some Altereds in the facility couldn''t believe what they saw in the arena. The Altered in front of them wasn''t the typical one they would see.

    With razor-sharp fangs, long ws, saliva dripping from his mouth, and red eyes, he looked like a monster out of their worst nightmares.

    Many felt a chill just looking at Gary''s form. It was a rare sight for a lot of them to see. Altereds first learned how to transform their certain body parts, and as time passed on, they would mix and change their body to whatever was best suited to them, but Altereds were rarely able to change into their full beast form.

    Some Altereds didn''t even know what their actual beast form would look like since it was hard for them to imagine what their beast was based on from the few parts they could change. Although, depending on how they became Altered,panies such as NIRV would allow one to see the beast which had been used for their DNA.

    Either way, Altereds were still seen as human by many but seeing Gary, it was hard for them to believe that he was actually a human.

    In the arena, Gary stood there staring at Sty. He had grabbed him hard, dug his ws in, and using hisrge mouth, he had crunched hard over his shoulder. The fang marks had reached up to Sty''s chest. During the bite, Gary realised what he was doing and restrained himself from chewing off half of his opponent''s body.

    Although from the sight, the others wouldn''t have believed that Sty''s life was saved just because Garry restrained himself. Blood dripped down from the tip of his ws. In front of him, Sty had utterly passed out from the shock.

    At that moment, Gary had decided to let go, dropping Sty on the floor and into thetter''s own pool of blood, which was continuously spreading.

    ''I didn''t mean to transform fully.'' Gary sighed. ''I just got so angry. Why can''t I just learn to control myself when I''m angry? Although he deserved it, now I''ve gone and shown everyone what I really am.''

    Immediately, Gary started to revert to how he was. His clothes were ripped but still covered the essential parts of his book. Once he returned to his human form, he stared down at Sty again.

    ''Shit, I bit him as well.''

    When Gary was frustrated and fully transformed, he realised he had somewhat lost himself. Especially now, he just had this urge to bite the person in front of him. Maybe his werewolf instincts were kicking in, telling him to eat the prey in front of him to get stronger.

    One thing had changed though, the number on Gary''s badge. It had turned to number four, meaning he had sessfully gained the position. The fight was over, but that didn''te as a surprise considering Sty''s state.

    What many of the students were concerned about was if Sty was still alive or not. The teachers on the side quickly rushed to the arena and began checking Sty''s condition.

    "Damn it, kid! Couldn''t you have gone easy on the guy?" One of the teachers said while lifting unconscious Sty off the ground.

    "Don''t me him." Another teacher retorted, "No one saw thising, it was our fault, and he won this whole thing fair and square. So let''s just get this student to the infirmary."

    Then turning towards Gary, the teacher added, "As for you, don''t cause any more trouble. We will be watching you."

    The teachers quickly left the arena, taking Sty with them, but there wasn''t enough time to clean up the blood on the floor, which was still there, and Gary was also standing on it.

    "Hey, hey, hey. Was any of this in your calctions?" Ian asked.

    "How could it be," Izzy said, still staring at Gary, but now she knew why she was feeling so afraid of thetter. She didn''t understand it before, but now it made sense that her natural instincts told her not to mess with this person.

    "I didn''t know he could fully transform. I don''t think anyone did. He was already strong enough, and to think he was still hiding some of his power. Did he lie to us about his background?"

    It was the only thing Izzy could think of, but Gary didn''t seem like that kind of person. Was he just naturally talented? But then what about the Altered DNA he had? If there was something this strong, surely the more prominent gangs would have kept it for themselves, unless this Howlers group was something special.

    Other than these two, the most surprised person around the whole arena was none other than Numba, the person who was the epicentre of this mess. Looking at Gary standing in the pool of blood, his eyes started to well up. It was unknown how long ago he cried and how long he had kept these emotions at bay.

    ''He beat Sty¡­He beat them...how was he able to beat them, just like that, and so easy? The two of us even have a simr background as each other. So what is the difference between the two of us? Is it strength? Would all my problems disappear if I was that strong and had the power to beat Sty? Would I be able to help my family?'' A thousand thoughts were running through Numba''s mind.

    "Gary!" He finally shouted out, seeing how Gary looked lost in his thoughts. "Thank you¡­thank you.".

    Gary came out of his stupor and turned his head towards the cry. When they made eye contact, he smiled at Numba but walked away.

    Without stopping, Gary went to his room while his mind was preupied with many thoughts.

    ''I''ve achieved my goal of reaching the top ten, and I smashed that guy''s head in, but why did I have to bite him? Is he going to be okay? He isn''t going to change, is he? I remember Billy bit that White Rose agent, but nothing happened to her. A Werewolf can''t turn Altered, can they? It should be okay. I hope.'' Gary thought.

    Meanwhile, staring at his disappearing back, Apollo''s fist was shaking. He ced his hand on his chest as he sensed his speeding heartbeat.

    ''I¡­want to fight you so bad¡­little wolf.''

    ******

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 Chapter 386: An offer is made

    <h4>Chapter 386: An offer is made</h4>

    Gary put his brand-new room to good use¡­ by hiding in it. The teenager even went as far as to skip his next meal to avoid having to face the consequences of his actions. He simply didn¡¯t know how to cope with all of this sudden unwanted attention.

    Naturally, his absence did little to nothing to stop the rumour mill that wasing up with crazy ideas about what the strange Wolf Altered would do next. However, the other students were just as curious about how the other top rankers intended to handle him.

    Since the Werewolf had won the duel, everyone else had their rank adjusted. Normally, that would be barely worth mentioning, but this time around, one of the former top rankers suddenly found himself disqualified from advancing to the AFA.

    Only¡­ what exactly could he do about it? By himself, barely anything. Challenging Gary after the teenager had revealed that he was actually capable to fully transform into his Altered form was akin to suicide.

    The only ones who might stand a chance against him were Apollo Zorion, Snow Light or Wu Chen, and it was questionable whether they would risk their own position with their advancement only a few days away. Not to mention, the duel had been set up by the adults so that there would be no more bad blood between the two duellists.

    ¡°What do you think about the rumour that Gary is going to challenge the top three next?¡± Ian asked as he and Izzy headed towards a certain location. ¡°If someone had told me that earlier, I would have called that person crazy¡­ but now¡­ after what he did to Sty¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Izzy replied cautiously. ¡°I asked around, but nobody ever saw any of the three fighting, so it¡¯s hard to say.¡±

    Stopping in his tracks, Ian¡¯s face was one of pure confusion. He was unable to figure out how such a thing would be possible in this kind of ce.

    ¡°Sty was the one actively fighting, until he eventually ended up as rank 1. After that, Wu, Snow, and Appolo challenged him to a duel. Each of them ¡®defeated¡¯ him with a single strike. I don¡¯t think I need to tell you that those were all just show matches.

    ¡°All of that happened right before we entered the ce, and then Apollo suggested that the top rankers enter a pact so that they could all advance together. Since he had some connection with Sty who defeated all of them, and all of them stood to benefit from that type of arrangement, they had all agreed to it.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s when we came into this ce, and now Gary managed to destroy their little utopian dream¡­¡±

    Finally, the two of them stopped before a door and knocked on it. A few momentster, Numba came out, his head held low.

    ¡°You ready? All three of us agreed to do this, remember?¡± Izzy reminded them, and the two boys nodded their heads.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary staying in his room wasn¡¯t all bad. He had barely noticed the time passing with how much there had been to check out in such a luxurious ce. Even Jayden¡¯s top suite paled inparison. Gary¡¯s favourite boon of the room was definitely the jacuzzi style hot tub.

    As he was soaking in it, he suddenly overheard some students talk outside.

    ¡°Hey, it''s Sty, he''s back.¡± A student said.

    Hearing a knock on his door, the green haired student put on a luxurious bathrobe before he opened the room. Next to Sty were some of the teachers who were there to help him move some of his things.

    Moving rooms was a somewhat annoying process for the students involved, but since this ce valued strength above everything else, the top rankers had the most luxurious rooms. As such, it was always an extra hassle whenever one of them was defeated and had to move rooms.

    Sty looked to be in a lot better shape than at the end of the duel. The wounds on the back of his arms from Gary¡¯s ws looked to have healed a lot, but there was a certain part that hadn''t healed yet. His chest was banged up, and part of the blood could be seen having soaked through the bandages, revealing fang marks.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Gary greeted him with a nervous smile. ¡°Are you feeling alright? You don¡¯t have a craving for meat, right? And you don¡¯t smell things any differently than before?¡±

    Everyone was surprised to see the wildcard neer suddenly act so chummy after having defeated the top ranker. The strangest thing was that it didn¡¯t seem to be an act on Gary¡¯s part, rather genuine concern. That was because it was, as the green haired teenager was worried about Sty¡¯s condition after he had bitten him.

    Although the System had been unable to turn Kirk, the Werewolf didn¡¯t really have aplete understanding of his mostly silent helper, and after what had happened to Billy, he wanted to avoid any such surprises. The easiest way was simply to ask Sty himself.

    Unfortunately, the other teenager wanted nothing to do with Gary any more. He headed straight into his room and started gathering his things. What nobody noticed was that his hands had been shaking the entire time Gary had looked at him.

    ¡®I can''t even look at him without getting like this¡­¡¯ Sty thought. ¡®He¡¯s acting like nothing happened¡­ trying to be friendly with me¡­ What a joke. Has the realisation finally kicked in what I might do to his family? ¡­ Tsk, if only Apollo would let me. Still, I don¡¯t need to tell him that part. Hopefully, he¡¯ll suffer nightmares throughout his stay here.¡¯

    Eventually, Sty and the adults left the ce. Just as Gary was about to go back to enjoying the hot tub, there was another knock on the door.

    ¡°What is it? Did you overlook something?¡± The Werewolf asked, only to look into three familiar faces.

    ¡°Holy shit, your new room is awesome. No wonder you haven¡¯t left it at all. You could fit about a dozen of us in here without it getting cramped!¡± Ian stated, as he shamelessly went inside, passing Gary who just stood at the door.

    Hurrying behind him, Izzy pped him on the back, reminding her childhood friend why they hade here in the first ce. As for Numba, he seemed a little more reservedpared to his usual self.

    ¡°So, did you juste to enjoy the sigh of my new room?¡± The Werewolf asked, closing the door behind the Goat Altered.

    Izzy pulled the other two towards herself, and made them stand. All three suddenly got down on their knees.

    ¡°We¡¯ve alle here to ask you for a favour, Gary.¡± Izzy answered with her own head held down as well. ¡°Please train us. With your help, we¡¯ll be able to get out of this ce and advance to the AFA. In exchange, we¡¯re ready to help you with whatever you need.

    ¡°If you need manpower, we¡¯ll fight at your side. If you n to expand, our families will help your gang with that. Please help us enter the AFA, and we promise that for the rest of our lives, we¡¯ll be in your debt!¡± Izzy bowed her head again until it was touching the floor.

    *****

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 Chapter 387: Train us

    <h4>Chapter 387: Train us</h4>

    With Izzy suddenly pleading their case with such fervour, Gary was left speechless. He didn¡¯t really know what to say. He had half processed what they were saying, but at the same time didn''t really understand.

    ¡°First of all, can you guys please get off the floor? It makes me feel ufortable when you act like that. We''re the same age, and I''m just a student like you guys. Heck, technically all of us are still just student candidates for the AFA.¡± Gary said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

    Lifting their heads off the floor, all of them had eager faces since the green haired teenager had not yet refused their request. He was certain that Izzy was putting on a pair ofrge puppy eyes, which made things extra hard on him, and just made him want to look away.

    ¡°Gary, it took a lot for us to ask that of you.¡± Ian confessed. ¡°It¡¯s nice of you to say we''re the same, but let¡¯s be honest, it¡¯s obvious we¡¯re not. Take a look at the number on your badge, and then take a look at the number on ours. If we do things our way, it might take us months or years to reach your level.

    ¡°Do you think anyone can just challenge someone like Sty? I mean, look at what happened to Numba!¡±

    ¡°Watch it.¡± The Goat Altered retorted and punched Ian on the shoulder. ¡°I might have lost, but at least I fought against one of the top rankers. I stood my ground.¡±

    ¡°Look, that might be noble or whatever you guys tell yourselves, but the whole point of this ce is to reach the top and stay there for a week. Right now, we can¡¯t do that¡­ because we''re weaker than them.¡± Izzy sighed. ¡°Gary, we want to form an alliance. Not just between us, but our families as well.

    ¡°It''s the only thing families like ours can do in a ce like this.¡±

    Gary started to pace backwards and forwards in his room¡­ It was something he often did when trying to think properly, but the problem was he couldn¡¯t really grasp what was being offered.

    ¡°Can you exin this to me like I¡¯m five?¡± Gary asked in slight embarrassment. The idea itself didn''t sound bad to him. Kai did tell him to try to attract more business and so to Slough, or perhaps even find opportunities to expand, and it might be what he needed. ¡°Is it really alright for you guys to make that type of promise without speaking to your family beforehand?

    ¡°Sorry, I forgot that you¡¯re backed by a gang, and that things work differently for you. Our families invested into us bing Altered, sending us here in the hopes that we would meet other great people and form rtionships with them.

    ¡°While a gang in a Tier-3 town might not be all that great, all of us are convinced that in the future you will be a great person, and we want to help you achieve that potential. As the futures of our respective families, we have the power to help you, even if it might be somewhat limited at first. Once we prove ourselves though, we¡¯ll be able to do more for you!¡± Izzy ced her hand out, trying to get Gary to shake it, but the Werewolf was still looking at it with caution.

    ¡®I have some open Marks, so perhaps I should enter a bond with her. At least that way, I would know in case she tries to betray me in the future, though she seems to be serious about her current offer.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, Gary.¡± Numba said. ¡°You know I don''t trust anyone, and it''s the same for my family. I might have to ce a meeting between mine and yours, but I promise that for what you have done I will have your back, in return for having mine.

    ¡°Just like in that assessment, we can do this together as well.¡± Numba put his hand out as well, and seeing this Ian soon followed with all three of them cing their hands out.

    Scratching the back of his head, Gary eventually put both of his hands out,

    ¡°I can''t shake all three of your hands at once. Of course, I¡¯ll teach you, and this can be the start of our alliance.¡± Gary said with a smile.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The training began that day, more specifically at nighttime. Given Gary¡¯s new priviliges, he brought the three of them along to a private training room. That way no one could see what they were doing. His Energy was around the halfway mark, but that wasn¡¯t much of a concern. The Werewolf was already looking forward to breakfast since he could now order as much food as he liked, something he nned to put to very good use.

    Inside the training room, the first thing Gary did was have the three show off what they were capable off. In a way, it reminded him of the days when he would wach and analyse Altered fighters on the TV, only now he would be the one to actively give them pointers.

    The three Altered looked a bit tired after showing off, and that''s when Gary started to walk forward to each of them.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve seen enough. There are few things that we should do to make you improve at the fastest speed. Truth be told, I don''t n to stay here longer than I need to, so that gives us around a week.

    ¡°The quickest way to improve will be to focus on your respective strengths, since weck the time to effectivelybat your weaknesses. I want you guys to think about what your strengths are. This will be important for your next task.¡±

    Gary¡¯s arms started to transform, and he got into a fighting stance himself.

    ¡°There is one thing that all of youck, and that is experience. The experience of fighting with your life on the line. Remember what I said, so let''s try to kill two birds with one stone! All of you fight me at once!¡± Gary started running forward as he looked over his Status.

    [Exp 3788/5302]

    ¡®Defeating Sty resulted in a nice Exp boost. Let¡¯s see if fighting them might also me some Exp. If so, I might get something out of our training as well, and get one step closer to Level Up.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The next day was special for more than one reason. Not only was it the day the assessment would take ce, but today was thest day the top rankers had to hold on to their rank to be allowed to advance, so many were expecting for things to get quite interesting¡­

    ****

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 Chapter 388: Stubborn

    <h4>Chapter 388: Stubborn</h4>

    The next day, Ian, Izzy, and Numba woke up groaning in pain. Their bodies felt sore all over after their nightly exercise. It took each one of them half an hour of stretching and twisting until their aches and pains had gone down to tolerable levels, just in time to head to the canteen.

    ¡°I knew he was a monster, but if this is his idea of training, I¡¯m worried we might not survive our stay here.¡± Ianined as they met up in front of the canteen. ¡°It¡¯s frightening how much stamina that guy has. Sh*t, I just realised that he did all of that pretty much on an empty stomach. Doesn¡¯t that mean, tonight it¡¯s going to get even worse?!¡±

    ¡°His stamina isn¡¯t the only concerning thing.¡± Numba added. ¡°Even after the three of us finally managed to trap him thanks to Izzy¡¯s idea, we were unable to damage him, even though I made sure to not hold back my punches. I might not have been in peak condition¡­ but he didn¡¯t even flinch. It was as if I was punching an iron wall!¡±

    Unbeknownst to the Goat Altered, Gary had felt it. Unfortunately for him, given the Werewolf¡¯s high Endurance andrge Health pool, he had remained calm, aware that he could sustain dozens of punches without having to worry about his well-being.

    ¡°He¡¯s surprisingly good at analysing fights.¡± Izzy spoke up. ¡°All those points he made about us were spot on. When you showed off, I noticed the same thing as he did. However, his talent to do that during a fight is clearly one notch above mine. Sigh, it¡¯s as if he was practically born to be an AFC champion.¡±

    While the three of them were bantering casually, they entered the canteen. The atmosphere inside was unusually heavy. Rather than the normal chit-chat, the ce was filled with hushed whispers as everyone was waiting for something to happen between the top rankers and those in the top 25.

    ¡°That''s right, I nearly forgot that today¡¯s thest day before the assessment. Apollo and his group just need to keep their positions to advance. Since no one has seen them fight, there are some people that are going to hedge their bets and challenge them. At least that''s what most students assume is going to happen.¡± Izzymented, when the three of them sat down at their table.

    ¡°Well, Gary won''t have to worry about anything then. Truth be told, I hope something will actually go down today. No offence, Numba, but if we ignore the fact that Sty kicked your butt, him fighting was pretty impressive. I wouldn¡¯t mind seeing the other top rankers show off their abilities.¡± Ian said.

    ¡°Speaking of rumours, I¡¯ve heard one about our future treatment in the AFA being linked to what rank we end up with before advancing. However, seeing as the top rankers don¡¯t exactly seem overeager to challenge those above them, it might only be something the teachers spread to encourage fighting.¡± Izzy shared her thoughts while enjoying her meal.

    ¡°In that regard, it¡¯s actually a smart way to force us to fight each other. It would certainly fit in line with those weekly assessments where the teachers decide what rank each of us should have instead of allowing the rank 11-20 students to be the new top rankers.

    ¡°Any one of them who fails to enter the top 10 would automatically have an incentive to challenge the new top rankers, thus making it hard for everyone to keep their positions for a week¡­¡±

    ¡°Only Apollo broke that System, so who knows what kind of assessment awaits us today.¡± Numba pointed out.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Numerous dishes were being brought out one after the other. Just the ingredients that were being used to make them rivalled the yearly ie of the average Tier-3 family. While everyone was staring at this spectacle, a certain green haired teenager only had eyes for the food in front of him.

    Atop five tes were different types of steaks, but the one thing they all had inmon was that all of them had been cooked blue. What¡¯s more, there were eight to ten per te, spreading their aroma throughout the canteen.

    ¡®They weren¡¯t kidding about serving whatever my heart desires. This is EXACTLY what I¡¯ve been dreaming of!¡¯ Gary didn¡¯t care about the fact that he was drooling, without caring the slightest bit about his image, he started digging in at an incredible pace.

    To the onlookers, it appeared as if he was barely chewing his food, devouring all of it like a ck hole. Even after he had topped up his Energy, the Werewolf didn¡¯t stop. After all, it was all free!!! In his eyes, he was earning money for each steak he consumed.

    ¡®I¡¯m going to eat my fill until my stomach explodes!¡¯ Gary thought in glee.

    ¡°For a small body, you sure eat a lot.¡± Apolloughed when the rank 4 student asked for seconds.

    ¡°Oi, Wolf bastard, there are other people at this table. Can¡¯t you mind your manners even a little?¡± A girl whose badge showed the number 8ined.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Gary apologised while licking the juice off his fingers. He hadn¡¯t bothered using a knife or fork to eat. ¡°After having only soup for days, I really needed this. You guys will leave after today, so I hope you can tolerate my behaviour for one day.¡±

    It wasn''t that he didn¡¯t have manners, his mum had brought him and his sister up well, it was just that for the first time in his life, he wanted to act as he pleased without having to care about others. Since this ce advocated might make right and neither Apollo nor his friends said anything about Gary¡¯s behaviour, the Werewolf enjoyed letting loose for once.

    With breakfast over, the students were excited because the time most challenges and fights urred was between breakfast and lunch, followed by after lunch. When heading back and exiting the canteen doors, everyone was looking around, looking for the first challenger.

    ¡°Sty!¡± A voice shouted and pointed towards the student whose badge now showed the number 5. ¡°I challenge you for your position.¡±

    The challenger was rank 11, the student who had left the top ranks due to Gary. Many found it reasonable that the guy would be pissed, and since Sty had been seriously injured in yesterday¡¯s fight, he might not be in peak form today.

    As for the pact between the top rankers, with this being thest day, it was practically useless. After his fight, rank 11 could make use of the rules to refuse any challenges for this day, so he had nothing to fear.

    The two of them walked into the fighting arena, and the match began. Immediately, the challenger ran across and punched Sty, who just stood there taking it. He didn''t transform and just remained on the floor.

    ¡®What is he doing?¡¯ Izzy thought. ¡®If he just wins this match, then he gets through and can join the academy!¡¯

    However, the Fly Altered remained on the floor and didn''t get up. Only once the match had been deemed resolved, and his badge changed to the number 6, did he finally get up.

    ¡®I¡¯ll stay here, and I¡¯ll make sure that damned Goat quits on his own. It''s because of him and his green haired friend that I got so humiliated!!!¡¯ Sty thought, as he pointed at the student whose rank was one above his current one, Rank 7.

    ¡°I challenge you to a fight!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 389: Last Day

    <h4>Chapter 389: Last Day</h4>

    Everyone in the facility was stunned, as it was hard for them to tell what Sty¡¯s goal was. It was clear that he had lost thest match on purpose, so why was he now the one challenging his fellow top ranker, especially one he already outranked?

    His action waspletely legitimate. The rules merely stated that someone who had already fought was allowed to refuse any further challenges on that day, yet there was no limit to how often someone could challenge others. As long as a challenger didn¡¯t have any severe injuries forcing the teacher to take them away for healing, they were technically free to fight to their heart¡¯s desire.

    Usually, only students at the lower ranks would fight more than once, as the strength disparity between them wasn¡¯t overly great. The higher the rank, the bigger the gap became, so fights between high rankers normally resulted in injuries for both sides. However, the situation right now was outside the norm.

    Since the rank 7 student had nothing to lose by epting this challenge, he agreed to it.

    ¡°I forfeit the match.¡± Sty announced loudly, the moment it started.

    ¡®He¡¯s purposely losing to others. Why would he do that?¡¯ Izzy wondered, trying toe up with a reason why someone so close to the finish line would act in this manner. The only one that came to mind was that he might¡­ want to stay. Coming to that conclusion, she looked over to Numba, who looked quite tense.

    ¡°It looks like we''re thinking the same thing. He must want to stay to mess with us¡­ and by us, I mean me and Gary.¡± Numba stated, although he wasn''t so sure how Sty would deal with Gary after the Werewolf had beaten the Fly Altered in the duel. Nevertheless, he understood that he had to tread carefully in the future.

    ¡®No, I should see this as an opportunity. If he is staying here, then I can''t pass this ce, until I beat him!¡¯ Numba reassured himself.

    As suspected, Sty continued to challenge those lower ranked than him, until his badge finally disyed the number 11. Turning towards Numba he smiled before walking out of the ce to his new room.

    ¡°Man, that bug guy is seriously weird.¡± Gary uttered out what had been on the mind of every other student.

    The rumours had been correct about the top 25 nning to challenge the top rankers today. Unfortunately, Sty¡¯s bout of challenges had made it impossible for them to enact their n. Everyone who had beaten the Fly Altered were now protected by the rules and could simply refuse the challenge.

    This meant that only the top four could now be challenged. Some of those in the top 25 looked at Gary, yet soon turned their heads. They knew their own strength well enough to understand that they would be unable to beat Sty, so none of them dared to challenge the one who had beaten him.

    ¡°Hey, why don''t we just go for it?¡± One of the students whispered to another. ¡°It¡¯s not like we have much to lose. Worst case scenario, we remain at our current rank. Best case scenario, they turn out weak and we can boast our reputation and make it so that the others might not want to challenge us during the next week.¡±

    In the end, rank 15, a lean student who had been spending most of his time in the training room, walked forward and pointed towards none other than Wu Chen, issuing a challenge.

    ¡°Me? Hey, Apollo, you saw it, right? I didn¡¯t go looking for a fight, he chose me of his own volition!¡± Wu eximed, jumping up in excitement, over a few of the other students'' heads, even kicking off the bald head of another student to help him get to the main stage faster.

    ¡°Come on, let''s do this!¡± Wu shouted, ripping his shirt and revealing his body. His hard trained body was already covered in sweat. His body fat was so low that the saturation of his muscles could be seen as he tensed his arms and chest. He wasn''trge and muscr by any means, but there looked to not be an ounce of fat on him.

    The moment the fight began, the challenger started to transform, and out from the side of his ribs, a pair of extra arms grew out. By the time his transformation finished, Wu was already directly in front of him.

    The rank 3 student grabbed one of the freshly grown arms and with a kick up, he bent it in the wrong direction. Wu mmed his foot on the ground, or more correctly on his opponent''s toes. It was so hard that the floor beneath actually cracked, and the same was true for the challenger¡¯s entire foot.

    Pushing through the pain, rank 15 tried to punch him using his two hands on the other side, but before he could, he suffered a direct punch towards his chest. He lifted his foot, and the student was sent hurtling to the other side, being caught by the teachers just before crashing into the crowd of onlookers.

    ¡°... aplete defeat.¡± Ian uttered, his mouth left open. ¡°It wasn''t even a contest and the guy didn''t even change into his Altered form either. Looks like they¡¯re not just there because of their position. They actually have the strength to back it up.¡±

    Izzy agreed with Ian. If Rank 3 was already this strong, it was most likely that his two friends were even stronger. Seeing how one of their own had been dealt with, none of the other high rankers came forward to challenge Snow or Wu.

    Lunch came and passed, turning into evening. During the meal, there had been only a single question on everyone¡¯s mind.

    What would Gary do?!

    ¡°Why does everyone expect me to do something?¡± Garyined when Ian asked him that very question. The four of them were in his room, getting ready to go to their next training session that Gary had nned for them.

    ¡°Because you have nothing to lose!¡± Ian replied. ¡°You can challenge them without the risk of losing your rank, and it will let you see how you fare against them. If you don¡¯t do it now, you might not get a chance to fight them. I heard that in the normal academy fighting between students isn¡¯t allowed without the permission of a teacher. Are you really going to waste your chance?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don''t really care.¡± Gary shrugged. ¡°Sure, I like fighting, but If it''s meant to be, then I¡¯ll end up fighting them some time down the line in the future. I have no grudge against any of them.¡±

    There was another reason Gary wasn¡¯t feelingpetitive. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t hold back, even if just for a ¡®simple spar¡¯. Seeing Wu in action, the Werewolf understood that he would have to fight all out if he wanted to win. If that was the case there was a high chance of something going wrong. After what happened with Sty he didn¡¯t want to have yet another Billy scare.

    The students here weren¡¯t like the Underdogs, or the gang members he had been fighting in Slough. Many of them might be arrogant, but none of them hadmitted any crimes¡­ at least not that he was aware of.

    ¡°Come on, let''s go train. You guys don¡¯t want to be stuck here forever, right?¡± Gary said, walking forward. Opening the door, he nearly collided with therge frame of Apollo.

    ****

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 Chapter 390 Hit Rank 1

    Chapter 390 Hit Rank 1¡¡¡¡Apollo had not expected for Gary toe out of his room the moment he had been about to knock. His hand remained in mid-air for a moment before he took it down and smiled at the Werewolf.

    The other three behind Gary gulped as they saw why the green haired teenager had suddenly stopped. Since the day was mostly over, none of them had expected that another fight would break out. However, why else would Apollo appear right at Gary¡¯s doorstep if he wasn¡¯t looking to challenge the neer away from prying eyes?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to invite me in?¡± Apollo asked in a humorous tone to break the awkward silence.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s a bad idea. You see, I have a terrible stomach ache. Must have been all the food I ate earlier.¡± Gary quickly replied, holding in his stomach. Just like everyone else, the Werewolf hadn¡¯t even entertained the idea that trouble mighte looking for him. He had thought that as long as he avoided the other, all would be good.

    s, the rank 1 student simply entered the room before Gary could close the door in his face. ¡°Your excuse isn¡¯t very believable when you have three other visitors waiting inside your room, especially when your outfit clearly shows you were about to head out to train. Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯te here to challenge you.

    ¡°Should the two of us fight, then I want you to be at your very best¡­ and I¡¯ve noticed in your fight against Sty that there appears to be something holding you back in here.¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure how to react to being seen through. Apollo was right, since all their fights were being watched, the green haired teenager didn¡¯t feel it safe to fight at his full strength.

    ¡°I¡¯ve simplye to offer you a piece of advice before I leave.¡± Apollo exined. ¡°Maybe you or your friends have already heard some rumours that your rank dictates your treatment in the AFA. That is only one half of the truth. The time it takes you to advance is also very important.

    ¡°Given your earlier performance, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have to worry about what rank you end up as. But I have one word of advice, go through at least in the top three if you wish to see me. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the academy then.¡±

    Having said his piece, Apollo was already on his way out and when he finally left, Gary heard three loud breaths behind him.

    ¡°Man, I was only one second away from taking cover behind your bed.¡± Ian blurted out, touching his heart in an attempt to calm down his racing organ.

    ¡°Well¡­ that wasn¡¯t at all what I had expected, but I think this might be the best result in the end.¡± Izzymented, as she got ready to leave the ce and so did the others, but as the door was opened, and she turned around, she could see Gary just thinking as he stared at the floor, his fist was shaking.

    ¡®I see¡­you''re one of those types.¡¯ Izzy smiled. ¡°Earth to Gary, you promised to train us, remember?¡±

    Inside the personal training room, the three weren¡¯t sparing against the Werewolf, at least not together. After some intense warm-ups, he had asked each of them to use their best skills against him. It was part of the homework he had given them yesterday, when he had told them to figure out what their strengths were ande up with ideas to improve upon them.

    This was the way for them to get stronger quickly in this ce. The fundamentals were important, but all three already had a good set of fundamentals so rather than to try and improve those to a master level, he wanted to help theme up with something that would allow them to be top rankers like him.

    Izzy, and Ian had done well in showing off, and had improved far quicker than Gary could imagine. Ian was focusing on trying to get his Altered form toe out, since it would be hard to do much in terms of improving his strength. As for Izzy, her strength came from her logical thinking and how she used her head toe up with strategies. Honestly, she was seeing a lot of improvement just by being able to fight someone at Gary¡¯s level.

    ¡°Gary¡­ I want to thank you.¡± Numba said when it was his turn. ¡°Your words, the stress I was suffering from and the will to push through, I feel like what I have learnt to do, all of it was because of you. Which is why I''m asking you now¡­to be careful and brace yourself!¡± With that the Goat Altered started to transform and began his attack.

    A few momentster, both Ian and Izzy were left with their mouths wide open,pletely speechless. Numba who was on the floor, panting and sweating, yet above him stood a partially transformed Gary, whose frame had been pushed into the wall, surrounded by cracks.

    ¡°Thanks for the warning.¡± Gary coughed, his body a bit tensed up. ¡°I think you¡¯ve got this.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day started with an announcement, informing the students that all those who had been eligible had passed on to the AFA. They were quickly escorted out of the ce, as the other students had things they needed to do as well. They were then told to follow the teachers who would apany them for today¡¯s assessment.

    ording to what they had learned the assessments differed from time to time, it could be a game simr to what they had done when joining or just a simple series of tests. As it turned out, today was thetter. 100-Metre sprint, strength test, flexibility test, reflex test among others.

    Everything was being done in the open, with no real surprises. One was allowed to transform during the test, yet Gary had chosen to remain as he was. Nevertheless, he gave it his all because Apollo¡¯s ¡®advice¡¯ was still ringing in his head.

    ¡°Everyone, please pay attention!¡± One of the teachers called out to the students who had returned to the facility. ¡°The screen will disy the ranks of everybody. If you¡¯re dissatisfied with your ranks, do better next time, or im the rank you feel you deserve!¡±

    The screen flicked as it showed them their results, starting from the bottom, going up.

    Izzy¡¯s name was the first one to show up. Her new rank was 54, and she was very satisfied with it. While some students were already eyeing her with a challenging look, she felt that after Gary¡¯s Draconian training, there was no need to fear them. In fact, she might even try to secure a ce in the top 50 after a few more days.

    The next name to show up was Ian¡¯s. His new rank was 23, a very impressive feat for someone unable to ess his Altered form. Simr to Izzy, he wasn¡¯t afraid of having to defend his rank, in fact he was looking forward to being challenged. Perhaps it would give him the needed push to allow him to transform, even if only partially.

    Then there was Numba. He was by far the biggest surprise, ending up as rank 15. Meanwhile, Gary¡¯s name showed up as the veryst one, right after Sty¡¯s.

    ¡®I could have done even better if I had chosen to transform, yet it was enough to get me to rank 1. Did the teachers take that fact into ount?¡¯ Gary wondered as he looked up at the disy. The Werewolf had already spent a while in this facility, and this morning the system had reminded him that he didn¡¯t have time to idle.

    [15 days until the next full moon]

    ¡®I have to make sure to pass this week.¡¯

    ******

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 Chapter 391 The New Top Dogs

    Chapter 391 The New Top Dogs¡¡¡¡As usual, many were very displeased with their new rankings, especially those whose rank had shifted by arge margin. Many had suspected those in the former top 20 to be the new top rankers, but other than Gary and Sty everyone else was a new face. Even the two former top rankers who lost their qualifications had only ended up in the top 20 this time.

    It was somewhat like Izzy had predicted and because of this, there were non-stop challenges going off, even before breakfast had begun. Finally, when they went to eat, Gary had finished his food quickly and gone over to sit with the three.

    People always made space for the higher ranks to sit with the lower ranks, but it wasn''t the same the other way round.

    ¡°Man, do you think you could order me some food?¡± Ian asked shamelessly. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, the menu for the top 25 is great and all, but pretty much the entire canteen gets a whiff of your steaks, and my meal just can¡¯tpare to that. I would be seriously in your debt, if you could sneak over a single one¡­ even a bite!¡±

    ¡°Don''t you think it would taste a lot better if you actually earned one of those steaks by bing a top ranker? That way, you can eat as many as you like, and won¡¯t have to eat someone¡¯s scraps.¡± Numbamented. ¡°It doesn¡¯t even have to be steak, you could order whatever you want. Aren¡¯t you getting sick of eating so many of them, Gary?¡±

    The three of them waited for their friend to answer, but he was clearly distracted by something on his mind.

    ¡°Hellooo, meat boy!¡± Izzy called out after a whole minute had passed, waving in front of Gary¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hmm? What? No, steak is great. It''s super expensive for me outside this ce¡­ and it¡¯s meat, which is all I need.¡± He finally replied, still somewhat absentmindedly. It was a strange answer, but then again the green haired teenager was a strange person to begin with, so none of them pried any deeper into it.

    As for what was on Gary¡¯s mind it was the system message he had recently seen.

    ¡®With levelling up, I¡¯ve been on a teau, but that''s okay¡­the gang isn¡¯t in any trouble or anything, but what I''m more worried about is the next two weeks.

    ¡®I haven''t even really figured out what I''m going to do. I mean, with all this food around can I really starve myself? I don''t have help likest time¡­it won¡¯t work, and after what happened with Sty I''m worried my hunger might take over¡­¡¯

    Thinking of Sty, the rank 2 hadn''t been challenged at all, and he hadpletely ignored the Werewolf throughout the day. From what he had learned from Izzy, Sty was part of Apollo''s group, so she was worried that once Apollo was gone that Sty might have some ns for Gary, but there had been nothing so far.

    When breakfast ended and everyone returned to the main hall, though. Sty had turned around, and looked towards all of them.

    ¡®Damn it¡­here he goes¡­is he going to want another beating?¡¯ Gary thought.

    Seeing his hand rise, Sty was certainly getting ready to challenge one of them, yet his finger was pointing at the Goat Altered.

    ¡°I challenge you to a fight.¡± Sty said, a smile on his face.

    Raised eyebrows were seen from Izzy, Ian, and even a few other students that heard this. The two of them had fought before, so why was Sty going after Numba who had a lower rank than him?

    ¡®Sh*t what is this bug doing?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®Is he trying to get revenge on me by beating Numba? Does Sty want to keep beating him up so he won¡¯t be able to advance?

    ¡®Am I going to have to challenge Sty every day and beat him to the punch, so he can''t challenge Numba? Or maybe¡­wait, couldn''t I just give Numba my position on thest day. Get Numba to challenge me, and lose the fight on purpose?¡¯

    However, the moment he came up with the idea, Apollo¡¯s advice rang in his head again, telling him that he should try to get through this thing as rank 1. Honestly, Gary thought he wouldn''t care about such a thing, it was just a number and either way he would get in the academy, so would there really be that much of a difference if he entered as rank 1 or rank 2?

    While worrying, Gary felt a hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about me. You¡¯ve done enough of it. I can''t even imagine what someone as strong as you has to worry about.¡± Numba said. ¡°To be honest, I want to get to the AFA together with you, so I was nning to challenge one of the top rankerster. I just didn¡¯t intend to go for Sty¡­ at least not straight away, but I feel like this is meant to be.

    ¡°I¡¯ve trained with you and I know it hasn''t been for very long, but I know how strong you are Gary. If I canst even a minute against you, then I have the confidence to crush that stupid bug!¡±

    The fight was on, and the two of them moved towards the arena in the centre of the room. Since it was a rematch and a grudge match, there were those that were quite excited to witness it. The only thing was, most thought it would be the same oue asst time.

    After all, the difference between the two of them was too great, despite the surprisingly high rank of the Goat Altered.

    ¡°Look at your smug face.¡± Stymented. ¡°Just because you have a strong friend, you think I can¡¯t touch you? He might be strong, but at the end of the day he¡¯s just some Tier-3 gangster who can do nothing to help you against my family!

    ¡°However, I don¡¯t need them. In here, I''m going to make good on my promise to let you experience hell! For as long as I¡¯m here, you won¡¯t pass!¡±

    The Fly Altered began to transform. ¡°And once I''m out of this ce¡­.we will see just what will happen!¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 392 The goat and fly (Part 1)

    Chapter 392 The goat and fly (Part 1)¡¡¡¡If Gary had a disliking before for Sty, he certainly had an even greater one now. Everyone here was fellow students¡¯, and they were all for the same thing. Gary had seen those that trained hard day in and out, all to reach the top and advance to the actual academy. He had even heard of those that had been stuck in this ce for years.

    Sty had the chance to leave this ce yet had decided to stay. So he could prove to everyone that he could beat Numba? He had already proven that. He had already won once. Which was why Gary believed that Sty was an incredibly petty person. That needed to be taught a bigger lesson than thest one.

    However, there was a chance that if Numba could beat Sty in the fight, that it would bring an end to everything. Numba would be the one that had humbled his opponent.

    ¡®It''s going to be hard, we only had a little bit of training, but you were the one that improved the most. If you can get a hit on him like you did me..it will be interesting.¡¯

    The two in the centre had transformed, and just like before, they looked no different. Numba had hisrge Ram-like horns that would curl and extend past his face. In contrast, Sty had hisrge bug eyes and wings on his back.

    However, the start was differentpared to before. Rather than charging in from the get go, Numba had gotten into a crouched position, one where he could kick off from his legs with explosive power when needed.

    He looked right where Sty was. Seeing this,Sty started to fly around and decided to try to approach Numba from a different angle. At that moment, lifting his front foot and swirling around, Numba had made it, so his body was facing Sty.

    Seeing this, Sty was changing direction, trying to get behind Numba in some way, flying to his left to right, and each time Numba would follow him, not allowing for his back or side to be facing Sty, constantly swirling on his feet and having a bounce in his steps as he swirled around.

    ¡°Man, just watching Numba is making me feel dizzy,¡± Ian said, holding his stomach. ¡°He just keeps turning and turning. Can¡¯t one of them just attack already?¡±

    For the people watching, they were getting restless as well. While it was tense, the fight had no such action yet, making them get bored as they hurled insults and began to chant the words. ¡°Fight! Fight! Fight!¡±

    However, Numba wasn¡¯t going to let anything get to him as he continued to do this, waiting for the right opportunity.

    ¡°You''re annoying more than ever. You think you have everything figured out?¡± Sty said as he flew forward. No longer trying to find an opening.

    Numa waited for Sty to get closer, and closer, then when he was in range. His back feet pushed off, and the sudden explosive charge was set. His head was held down as he was ready to hit Sty on with full force.

    Regardless of this, Sty¡¯s reaction speed was incredibly fast, as he flew upward slightly and pressed his hand right on top of Numba¡¯s head. Spinning in the air beforeing back down and kicking him right in the back of the head.

    It was a strong kick, and due to it being in the back of the head, Numba saw ck spots for a few seconds. He stumbled on the ground slightly and found his hands touching the floor.

    ¡®He¡¯s still faster than me¡­ he can still avoid my charge¡­but that¡¯s not all I have.¡¯ Numba thought, quickly spinning around using his knees to pivot him into position before standing up again, taking the same position as before.

    ¡°Man, I thought he had him there. That was a good chance, his timing was perfect, and his speed improved a lot more after doing all those drills.¡± Ianmented.

    ¡°I have to admit. Sty is really fast; he might even be faster than me.¡± Gary said nervously. He realised that if he hadn¡¯t used his maic howl skill, maybe even Sty would have been able to react and avoid the attack.

    It was only because of his skills and raw power he was able to do something before Sty could. Maybe everyone here, including him, had underestimated Sty.

    ¡®Faster, faster. I need to move faster ¡­maybe if I wait till thest second, or if I swirl and then punch at the moment he thinks I''m going to change.¡¯ Instead, Numba hade up with another idea at that moment.

    Once again, Sty was hovering in the air, waiting for his opportunity. He flew from side to side and could see Numba was doing the same thing. At this point, he was testing to see if Numba had slowed down after thest attack, but he was just as fast, so Sty would be cautious once more.

    Diving in, he went straight ahead at full speed. Numba waited carefully, again trying to find the right time to push off, and that¡¯s when he could see his opportunity. He sted off, heading straight for Sty.

    As usual, his Altered form allowed him to have super reaction speed timing that could move him in less than a second, to react to what he was seeing, and in doing so he flew up, avoiding the strike again and was aiming toe from behind.

    At that moment, though, Numba, using every muscle fibre he could in his leg, had stopped his advance suddenly. There was great pain in his joints, suddenly stopping as he had done, but bearing through the pain, there was a repeated word in his head.

    ¡®Just one hit¡­I just need to get one hit..and then I know I can take him out!¡±

    After suddenly stopping, using his explosive power, he twisted his body, turning him back to face Sty, who was now in front of him. A loud bang was heard on the floor when cing Numba¡¯s foot down.

    Sty couldn¡¯t believe it. As he went to attack Numba, his leg was already in a Kicking motion likest time, only this time, Numba was facing him.

    Once again, using all his strength, Numba kicked off his two feet, charging forward suddenly.

    It was a seamless three-move motion. One time charging in, a stop and another burst spinning around and then a final burst straight towards Sty.

    With his fast reactions again, Sty started to move backwards as he could see the hornsing toward him, but that wasn¡¯t what he needed to worry about because there was an overhand being thrown at the same time heading straight for Sty''s face.

    Swinging it out, Numba couldn¡¯t see, but he felt contact as Sty was sent sliding across the floor.

    ¡°I did it¡­I hit him.¡± Numba said out loud he was so pleased.

    ¡°Well done.¡± Sty said, wiping away the blood from his mouth. ¡°So you hit me once, but do you really think that¡¯s enough to win?¡±

    At that moment, another part of Sty¡¯s body began to transform. There was a lot more that Sty could do, far more that he hadn¡¯t shown.

    *****

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 Chapter 393 The Goat and Fly (Part 2)

    Chapter 393 The Goat and Fly (Part 2)¡¡¡¡Looking at his fist, Numba could tell although he had hit Sty, it wasn¡¯t a full contact hit. Sty had still managed to react at thest second, pulling his body back and allowing for most of the energy to disappear.

    Although there was blood, it wasn¡¯t a solid hit, and Numba knew that Sty wasn¡¯t badly hurt, but it did manage to get a reaction out of Sty.

    ¡°I see. You think you¡¯re now a someone ever since you met him. You have some sort of strange confidence around you.¡± Sty shouted, but it was getting harder to understand him. Almost as if his voice was getting muffled.

    Looking down and avoiding eye contact, Sty had tensed both of his arms.

    ¡°You are still nothing!¡± Sty charged forward.

    His wings pped fast, and Gary could hear his fast heart rate from here. It was faster than he was at the start, the fastest he had moved in the fight so far.

    ¡®It¡¯s like I thought. Humfree was right. These scouted students are good. I only got the upper hand because I had the element of surprise. Sty probably never even had to go all out against someone before. So he thought he could do the same with me.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Numba, seeing the change in speed, had somewhat panicked and just charged forward again. He was hoping for blind luck as he threw out his hand.

    ¡®If he moves faster, I can get to him faster as well.¡¯ Numba thought, unsure if his timing was right or not.

    That was when he could see something greening straight towards him. It hit him in the face, and the substance was quite sticky. Immediately Numba threw out his fist, but it hit nothing but air as he tried to figure out what was on his face.

    ¡°My eyes!¡± Numba cried, he could feel they were slightly burning. At the same time, the sensation was felt all over his skin. While in pain, a great force was felt right in his stomach. It was a strong kick that lifted both his feet off the ground.

    The next second , and an axe kick was thrown straight on his back, hitting him back down and sending him onto the floor. The Burning sensation, bruises and pain were felt all over his body.

    Seeing this, Sty flew up in the air, as high as possible, and now that everyone could get a good look at him, they could see the change in his body. It was his mouth. It had elongated, looking now like arge tube with a few hairs growing around it.

    More and more, Sty was looking like a giant fly and seeing this; something clicked in one of the student¡¯s heads.

    ¡°That has to be some type of acid,¡± Izzy exined. ¡°Fly¡¯s before they eat their food they have to break it down, turn it into liquid form. If he¡¯s based on some type of Fly beast like we have seen so far, then that acid has to be quite strong, that was thrown up.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying there¡¯s like super sick on Numba right now?¡± Ian replied.

    ¡°Yeah..and if it got in his eyes¡­I¡¯m afraid that Numba might not be able to see anything at all.¡±

    It was a tense situation, and Gary was getting more nervous by the second. Had he given Numba too much hope in him just being able to hit him? Once again, Gary was feeling like he was unable to help. After Numba had helped him get into the facility in the first ce, Numba had been met with difficulties, and Gary had just been making his life harder, not easier.

    ¡®You can do ite on.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Numba had ced his hands in a press-up-like position, trying to get his body off the ground. He had only been hit three times in total, four if one counted the strange green goo which had already dissolved but was still hurting him.

    Yet, he was probably in more pain thanst time. Still, with his body shaking, Numba knew he needed to do something. With a strong explosive push, Numba pushed off the ground, and his whole body was lifted in the air.

    He was a good metre off the ground, and soon hended but quickly fell to one knee. Opening his eyes, they were stinging badly, and everything was a blur as expected. There was no way for him to see anything.

    Sty had noticed this and his slow movements. He thought now that his prey had been injured it was time to go in. From this high up, he was able to pick up speed diving down. The speed was getting faster and faster, and he was getting closer to Numba.

    ¡°I can¡¯t watch this. How is he meant to do anything if he can¡¯t see!¡± Ian cried out.

    ¡°Well, there is one thing¡­ but¡­¡±Izzy had a thought and was wondering if Numba had the same.

    Finally, realising that nothing could work, Numba stood up and began crouching his legs. Gary had noticed his fist was tense as well. If there was one thing Numba would never do, it was giving up.

    The next second, Sty had crashed with his fist hitting Numba. It hadnded so hard that his fist went through Numba¡¯s horn. As it pushed down with force, the horn snapped off, breaking it. Blood was spilling out, and extreme pain was being felt, but now Numba knew where Sty was.

    The fist continued to go down towards Numba¡¯s face, but at the same time, using all the strength in his legs, Numba jumped up, and threw his fist in an uppercut. Not only had his legs emptied an explosive power, but his fist as well as it suddenly went towards Sty¡¯s face as well.

    Turning his head slightly, both of them tried to lessen the damage as much as they could, and at that moment, Sty¡¯s fistnded right on Numba¡¯s face, and his vision was turning ck, but Numba¡¯s fist hadnded directly on Sty¡¯s as well.

    Numba fell to the ground on his back, his face hit, while sty had crashed to the ground, breaking the flooring. It had caused some dust to be hit up, but one thing was clear. Both of the contestants were lying still on the floor, not moving.

    ¡°Is this a¡­draw? What happens now?¡± Gary asked.

    ****

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 Chapter 394 A strange result

    Chapter 394 A strange result¡¡¡¡The situation became tenser and tenser the longer the two of them remained lying on the floor. It was an unexpected situation, to say the least, but even more so something that hadn¡¯t happened before. Even the teacher to the side seemed unsure what he should do about it.

    ¡°What happens now?¡± Ian asked. ¡°Do we have to wait for the first one to regain consciousness? Does Sty keep his position as rank 2, while Numba gets upgraded to rank 3?¡±

    ¡°I''m not sure.¡± Izzy shrugged. ¡°The rules state that a fight is over once someone is knocked out, or when they remain on the floor for more than ten seconds. It¡¯s been double that length, yet both badges remain unchanged. Maybe the system just hasn¡¯t been programmed for this type of scenario.¡±

    Seeing how no one was doing anything, one person decided to act. Jumping over the rail guard, he rushed down to the main arena. Without any hesitation, Gary knelt down and put his head towards his friend¡¯s chest, searching for a heartbeat.

    ¡°You guys call yourself teachers? Don¡¯t you know anything about care? Just because they¡¯re both Altered, doesn''t mean they''re not human! Come down here and check if that guy is okay as well!¡± Gary berated the adult.

    The students were a bit stunned by the green haired teenager¡¯s action, but they knew he was right, and it sprung the teacher into action. He reported something into his cor, and a few momentster, both students were being taken away on stretchers.

    ¡®I hope Numba''s alright. Thatst attack of his was powerful¡­ but it was also a double-edged sword. elerating towards his opponent made this attack stronger, but the force of his legs jumping added to Sty''s attack when getting hit as well.¡¯ The Werewolf analysed as he watched the two disappear.

    For the rest of the day, the other students were theorising about how the teacher would judge the oue of this match. Many assumed that the adults might have the two of them enter a sort of rematch to rify who was the stronger one. Others thought that Numba might just get automatically assigned rank 3, or that the current rank 3 would have to defend his position against the Goat Altered.

    However, everyone agreed on one thing, and that was that the current rank 15 Altered deserved a position in the top 10. He certainly was strong-willed and determined, putting off many that had intended to challenge him before today¡¯s performance.

    Towards the end of the day, an announcement gathered the students in the main hall. All the teachers appeared in a military-like camo uniforms. It was strange to see all of them in one ce, and even more surprising was the fact that there appeared to be only ten of them in total.

    Standing in the centre in front of everyone was one who wore a red beret hat. It was clear he was the leader of the supervisor teachers. The whispers of him possibly being the one in charge of the entire facility quickly spread, though it was impossible to tell since this was the first time he had appeared in front of the students.

    On the stage, slightly behind the leader of the supervisor teachers, were Sty and Numba. Gary, seeing him, was happy that his friend seemed to be doing okay. His head looked fine, and only his cheek was still a bit swollen, but nothing that wouldn¡¯t heal in a short period of time. However, one thing that did worry the Werewolf was the look on the Goat Altered¡¯s face.

    ¡°As you¡¯re all aware, there was a fight between two contestants earlier today, one which seemingly ended in a draw. I¡¯ve called you all here today to rify the matter. After reviewing the match in its entirety, we have decided to dere the oue of the match as void due to the interference of a certain student!¡± The leader of the supervisors stated.

    ¡°Did someone interfere, I don''t remember that happening?¡± Heads started to turn and whispers were shared amongst the students. Seemingly having expected this reaction, a clip started to y above the lead supervisor, showing Gary run towards an unconscious Numba.

    ¡°This student has interfered in the ongoing match between his fellow students. As most of you should be aware of, only us teachers can conclude any match. However, since the responsible student has not been here for long, and his reason for interfering had been deemed to have been a selfless one, we have decided not to punish him. Nevertheless, this match will be regarded as if it had never happened.¡± The man concluded.

    ¡®Wait a second¡­ did he just say that I was the reason the match voided?¡¯ Gary thought as his brain was starting to process what had just been said. Looking over to Numba, he also understood why he looked so unhappy and frustrated.

    ¡°That doesn''t make any sense!¡± Izzyined loudly. ¡°We all saw the match! We all saw that both of them had been knocked out for over ten seconds! There was absolutely nothing that Gary did that would qualify as interference under any definition! He just came forward because he had been concerned for both of their health!¡±

    The lead supervisor listened to her nonchntly, before he simply stated. ¡°One void match won''t make much of a difference in this ce. If your fellow student deserves that rank, we¡¯re not stopping him from earning it by fighting once more.¡±

    Izzy understood there was no use arguing with the man, but she was still miffed that the school would make such a decision and me Gary, of all people. With the announcement over, the supervisors returned to their usual position.

    Numba and Sty also went their separate ways, but not before the Fly Altered made a snidement. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that staying with that friend of yours was a bad idea? You got lucky once, but don¡¯t for a moment that I¡¯ll fall for a trick like that again! Good luck, and see you tomorrow.¡±

    The Goat Altered didn¡¯t even react, still too downtrodden about his loss. He simply walked over to the waiting trio. When he finally reached the others, his arms flopped to his side in defeat.

    ¡°I''m sorry Gary¡­ I really wanted to win. I really wanted to win so the two of us could go through together. If I won that fight today, then I would have been able to pass with you today. We both could have held our ranks for the full week after the assessment. I tried so hard, I tried so hard.¡± Numba said his legs were getting weak as it looked like he was about to fall to the floor and on his knees, but as he was falling his head had hit a solid chest.

    ¡°It''s okay, Numba¡­ you got cheated¡­ and I have no clue why,¡± Gary replied with gritted teeth. ¡°Since those bastard are ming me for your loss, let me be the one to fix this situation. We¡¯re going to leave here together, and that piece of sh*t fly won¡¯t be able to stop us.

    ¡°Numba, I challenge you to a fight!¡± The Goat Altered lifted his head confused, but Gary¡¯s eyes told him to just trust him, so he epted.

    A few momentster, there was a change on a certain badge, which was suddenly disying the number 3.

    ¡°What the¡­¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 395: Bending the rules

    <h4>Chapter 395: Bending the rules</h4>

    ording to protocol, the facility staff had to send a report of everything that was happening within the facility to the main school. Usually, that report was nothing more than a formal listing of the students¡¯ changes in rank. asionally there would be some notes, for example when an Altered managed to exceed expectations by improving far faster than anticipated.

    Today, the report included the special incident that resulted in an announcement by the lead supervisor. Since that note mentioned a certain green haired teenager who the professors had been actively keeping their eyes on, it had raised more than a few eyebrows.

    ¡°In essence, you¡¯ve voided a match due to the interference of the student named Gary Dem in that active match, correct?¡± Professor Wood summed up the note that had made the three of them call forth the lead supervisor. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be standard procedure. What¡¯s more, effectively the only one who appears to have been disadvantaged by this is the party that had been challenged, even though both parties have reportedly fainted.¡±

    The supervisor, sat up straight, seemingly not intimidated by the three opposite him. ¡°Should that student be deserving of the rank, he is more than wee to fight once more after he has recovered. With all due respect, Professor Wood, but I don¡¯t think the nullification of one match is something that should warrant your concern. After all, the assessment had just beenpleted and the student had already jumped several ces.¡±

    The supervisor took a sip of the tea that had been served to him. However, unlike the polite tone and calm voice in his tone, his heartbeat was above that could be considered healthy. He was biding his time, waiting for one of them to speak, still unaware why they had taken such an interest in this case.

    ¡°If what you im to be the case is true, maybe we professors should see the video in order for us to see if the punishment received is appropriate.¡± Professor Hai suddenly said with his arms folded. ¡°I take that there should be no problem with that? ¡±

    The lead supervisor nearly spat out his tea on the red beret before him. He barely managed to trap the liquid in his mouth, gulping down hard as he let out a few coughs. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the footage no longer exists. While we reviewed it, my subordinate identally overwrote it when I asked him to zoom in at one moment. I intended to punish him internally for that mistake, but I can let you take matters into your hand if you insist.¡±

    ¡°... there¡¯s no need for that, we don¡¯t wish to interfere with your way of handling things in the facility. Since we only have your word to go on, we¡¯ll agree with your course of action. You may leave and continue doing your job as always.¡± Professor Humfree waved his hand to send him off.

    The lead supervisor didn¡¯t even finish his tea. He quickly grabbed the beret hat, and with a short bow, he left the room.

    ¡°Well, how shall we proceed? Should we tell the director to swap him out? It''s clear he was acting strange.¡± Professor Woodmented.

    ¡°Hmm, for now, let''s see how things y out, but we should also make sure that no evidence ¡®disappears. Since one of his subordinates made a mistake, use that as a pretence to get one of our men inside.¡± Professor Humfree decided.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day, when everyone had gathered for their breakfast meal, there was a new topic of gossip for the students to talk about. Last night they had already been talking about how unfair the result was¡­ only to find Numba sitting at the table with the rest of the top rankers. Not only that, but he was sitting in Gary¡¯s ce¡­ and his badge was disying the number 1!

    ¡°Gary, are you sure this is going to be okay?¡± Numba asked, burdened by all the stares he was receiving. ¡°Everyone is talking about it, and they might think it''s unfair.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± The Werewolf scoffed as he grabbed another steak from his te. ¡°They were the ones who cheated you first. All we are doing is making use of the existing rules. If anyone has a problem with the current situation, they¡¯re free to challenge me.¡±

    Before breakfast, Gary had challenged Numba and let him win once more. This way, the Goat Altered was free to reject any challenges for the rest of the day. Still angry with the decision the facility had made, it was the Werewolf¡¯s way of protesting.

    Sty was one of thest students to appear, and the first thing he saw was thetest top ranker sitting among them. He had already expected this kind of situation after seeing that he had dropped a rank. Clenching his fists, he turned around and left without uttering a single word.

    ¡°Did you see the look on his face? That''s the look we want to see!¡± Gary jeered as he pped the back of Numba, cheering him on. ¡°Now let¡¯s enjoy our meal.¡±

    The other students were aware that those two had quite a strange rtionship. Based on the fact that they hadn¡¯t heard or seen a fight, they could only guess what had led to the current situation. Honestly, after seeing Numba¡¯s performance they weren¡¯t too bothered by it, though most of it might have to do with nearly everyone being baffled that Gary was actually okay in giving up his rank 1 spot.

    Just as they were about to finish breakfast and head over to Izzy and Ian, though, the lead supervisor came storming into the canteen unannounced.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± The man questioned Gary.

    ¡°I was about to eat a steak. Why? Want some of it? I wouldn¡¯t mind, but you don¡¯t strike me as someone who would appreciate blue steak, more someone who fancies it well-done.¡± The Werewolf cheekily answered and bit into the meat.

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about your meal, but this!¡± The supervisor pointed at Numba, more specifically at his badge. ¡°This ce is meant for you students to EARN your ranks, not get them GIFTED!!!¡± He went and motioned to remove it from the Goat Altered¡¯s clothes, but before he could, Gary grabbed his wrist.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pile of bull if I¡¯ve ever seen one! On the very first day I entered this ce, there were students ¡®fighting¡¯ each other. Before their match I heard theme to an agreement about exchanging benefits for their rank! Neither you, nor any of the other teachers cared about any of it, yet suddenly this facility is supposed to be some righteous ce that cares about its rules? Is there something wrong with your head?¡± Gary went off on a tirade when faced with the audacity of the adult.

    ¡°Let go! The rules might not allow me to remove his rank, but if you continue to injure me, as a member of staff, I¡¯m well in my right to kick you out!¡± The lead supervisor threatened, staring into the green haired teenager¡¯s eyes.

    Hearing this, Numba pulled at his friend¡¯s arm and whispered to him. ¡°Please stop, it''s not worth fighting him over this. Not when you came so far already.¡±

    The moment his wrist was freed, the lead supervisor just turned around and headed out. Like everyone, Izzy had watched this sudden confrontation and like everyone, she thought there was certainly something strange going on for the lead supervisor to personally show himself twice in such a short amount of time.

    ¡®He only found out about this after Sty had left¡­ and he came in here bursting in the room. This can¡¯t just be a simple coincidence¡­¡¯ Izzy thought. It was at that moment that she decided to leave the canteen early. Seeing that, Ian followed her. After all, his childhood friend was always up to something interesting and given what had just happened, he was dying to find out what they might uncover.

    Izzy waited until no one seemed to be looking her way, before opening the door slowly back into the main area. The two of them exited the room and looked around. The angry adult wasn¡¯t exactly hard to follow, given that his frustrated steps were loud enough. Izzy and Ian eventually hid behind arge shelf that was used to store books. Hearing voices, they peeked around, and that''s when Izzy saw what she had suspected.

    ¡®Just as I thought, that guy is definitely on Sty¡¯s side. Just what could that fly bastard have to make someone inside this ce follow his instruction.¡¯ She wondered.

    ¡°We have to tell someone!¡± Ian whispered in her ear, realising the same thing.

    Before the two were caught, they thought it was best they get out of here, and perhaps inform Gary, but when they turned around, they collided with something.

    ¡°You¡¯re not telling anyone squat!¡± Another supervisor told them off.

    *****

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 Chapter 396: Where are they?

    <h4>Chapter 396: Where are they?</h4>

    As soon as Izzy¡¯s eyes fell on the supervisor who was standing in the way of their escape, her heart sank. There was a sick feeling in her stomach as her fight or flight instinct kicked in, rushing her to get out, even though her brain screamed that it was impossible.

    ¡®Damn it¡­ I was such an idiot. I should have realised sooner that if Sty had the lead supervisor under his thumb, that this meant the other teachers could also work for him.¡¯ As her brain was racing to find a solution to this insurmountable problem, she only noticed a sharp pain for a moment before everything around her turned ck.

    ¡°Izzy!¡± Ian shouted as he helplessly watched from the side. ¡°You bastard, what do you think you''re doing?!¡±

    Inside Izzy¡¯s stomach from the supervisor¡¯s hand there was what looked like a stinger that had been injected. Almost immediately, she closed her eyes unaware of everything around her. Ian, now knowing the dire situation that they were in. Spun his body as he performed a spinning back kick towards the adult¡¯s head.

    Unfortunately, the teacher merely had to lift his arm to catch the attack. With his other hand he injected another stinger into Ian¡¯s body. In less than a second, his whole body felt weak and drowsy.

    ¡®This is f*cking unfair! How are we students supposed to win a fight against the supervisors? I¡¯m sorry¡­ Izzy¡­ for being unable¡­ to protect you¡­ ¡¯ was thest thought running through his mind before he too lost consciousness.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    With nobody else disturbing them, Numba and Gary had enjoyed their breakfast, even joking around a bit. They had used the time to be closer friends. Before they had even noticed, it was already free time, yet surprisingly neither Izzy nor Ian were anywhere to be seen.

    At first, the green haired teenager just found it odd, but not enough to look for them. After all, he was sure the two of them would join their training. When lunch came, both Numba and Gary noticed that neither of them were present. It was weird but still didn''t worry them too much, that was until when heading back to Gary¡¯s room, none of them turned up to training.

    This was a first, especially since all three had been ¡®enjoying¡¯ the training. The increase in their ranks had been the best evidence to support the use of it, so for the two of them to miss out without prior warning was more than odd. What¡¯s more, with Gary and Numba both being top rankers, the time they would stay here was limited, which should be all the more reason for Ian and Izzy to not skip out on any of it.

    ¡°Well now I¡¯m starting to get worried.¡± Gary admitted, pacing back and forth. ¡°This isn¡¯t like them at all. If they weren¡¯t feeling well today, they could have at least told us. Do you think somebody challenged them?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that''s the case. Beforeing here, we passed the guy who was next in rank to Ian, yet his badge number remains the same. If they fought, the badge numbers should have changed.¡± Numba replied.

    ¡°You don''t think¡­ Sty has got anything to do with this, do you?¡± The Goat Altered gulped as he considered that possibility. However, how could a single student cause two people to simply disappear? Nevertheless, he had been the first one to leave the canteen earlier¡­

    ¡°Maybe¡­ he did send over those twins to try and ambush mest week, so I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to try and do the same. Or something simr. If that¡¯s the case and they were badly hurt, there¡¯s a good chance that they could be in the medical bay.¡± Gary answered after thinking it through.

    Numba was silent for a while. He had this uneasy feeling in his stomach. ¡°That might be it¡­ but maybe he did more than that. I didn¡¯t have the chance to tell you this, but before the teachers called all of you out to the meeting, both of us had been informed that the result of our match had been inconclusive, and that the teachers would discuss what to do about it.

    ¡°To be honest, the more I think about it, the more it seems like he must have bribed some of those teachers. He was all confident and looking at you during the announcement, even though we hadn¡¯t been told that they wouldn¡¯t count it.

    ¡°I know I should have said something earlier, but I thought it might have just been me overthinking things yesterday. I mean, Izzy and Ian aren¡¯t even a part of all of this.¡±

    Considering Izzy¡¯s curious nature, she might have figured this out before them. There had to be a reason why Sty was confident in staying behind even after Gary had beaten him, and it looked like they had just found the answer.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Numba asked nervously. ¡°We have no idea who among the teachers is on Sty¡¯s side. But without asking them for help, how else can we find the two?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll just ask the one person who seems to be involved in all of this charade.¡± Gary answered confidently as he left the room. Without caring how it looked, he started to sniff the air to filter out his target.

    Walking through the main area, out at the centre arena where there were those that would fight. There wererge staircases that led upward to the rooms. On a few of therge stairs, there were a few students hanging about and joking, as for one of them sitting down calmly with his arms spread out, it was none other than the Rank 3 student.

    ¡°Sty!¡± Gary shouted the name in a volume that it instantly caught the attention of every student in the vicinity. It was aggressive and powerful, making them freeze in their ce.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got five seconds to tell me where they are before I smash your face in.¡± The green haired teenager threatened as he approached Sty. Not fazed by this, the Altered stood up and shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°How am I supposed to know what the hell you¡¯re talking about? If you¡¯vee here looking for a fight, then I have to disappoint you. I¡¯ve already been challenged. Try again tomorrow, but you might have to get there reeeaaaaally early because there¡¯s someone who is very keen to challenge me these days.¡± The rank 3 student let out a chuckle, visibly enjoying the frustration that was building up on Gary¡¯s face.

    The Werewolf continued approaching him, and when he was a short range away, he stopped for a second, before suddenly transforming his legs. Sty¡¯s was busyughing, as Gary closed the distance between the two. Transforming his hands as well, Gary grabbed the back of Sty¡¯s head, clenching it tightly.

    ¡°You think I give a sh*t about whether you''ve been challenged or not!¡± Gary shouted, mming the Fly Altered¡¯s face down right on the edge of the staircase. Teeth were seen flying through the air and dropping to the floor.

    Being lifted, Sty¡¯s mouth was now a bloody mess.

    ¡°Mwy tweath!¡± He struggled to say.

    ¡°Wrong answer!¡± Gary interrupted him, mming his head down once more into the staircase.

    ¡°Where are they?!¡± The Werewolf demanded to know, his eyes glowing red with fury and fire.

    *****

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 Chapter 397: Expelled

    <h4>Chapter 397: Expelled</h4>

    There was a reason for why most students had avoided interacting with Gary, much less challenge him to a fight, ever since the day they had seen him fight against Sty. It was simple¡­ they were afraid. The Werewolf had not only managed to defeat the Fly Altered, but he had done so seemingly on ident.

    After his family had been threatened, an anger had ovee Gary making him show off far more than he wanted. Many had hoped to not see such a scene anytime soon. s, the student who had just been hanging out with Sty were privy to first row seats. What¡¯s more the current spectacle was even worse than the match.

    Sty¡¯s mouth was colouredpletely red, the white of his eyes were visible since his eyeball had at some point rolled to the back of his head. And yet¡­ the green haired teenager was not showing an ounce ofpassion for his fellow student.

    ¡°Answer me!¡± He demanded, holding the Altered by the head. Of course, being passed out, it was impossible for Sty to say anything, and his ¡®friends¡¯ were too afraid to move.

    ¡®Gary¡­ I understand that you''re worried¡­ I understand why you¡¯re angry at him¡­ but when I see you like this, even I¡¯m scared of you.¡¯ Numba thought to himself as merely watched in silence with the rest.

    Because there was no answer from Sty, Gary had gripped his lead again, getting ready to shove him into the staircase for the third time. Midway, pushing his head into the staircase, there was a strong force that held onto both of Gary''s arms, and now in front of him one of the supervisors held the unconscious teenager safely in his arms.

    ¡°Student Gary Dem, you¡¯re in clear vition of the rules. Stop this act immediately and follow me!¡± The teacher who had followed the noise shouted at the Werewolf. ¡°Your punishment will be decided by us. As for you, get back to your rooms. There will be no duels for the rest of the day until this matter gets resolved!¡±

    The students quickly dispersed, while one teacher carried Sty and the other dragged Gary along. On their way, he turned around for a brief moment, smiling knowingly at his friend.

    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­ did you do all of this, so they would punish you? Don¡¯t you think your actions are a bit excessive? We aren¡¯t even 100% sure yet that they¡¯re the ones behind all of this.¡¯ Numba worried that his friend¡¯s rash actions could be leading him to something worse.

    The Werewolf had done a lot of dangerous and unconventional things in the facility during his short stay, but without a doubt this had to be by far the worst.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to get kicked out! He has to! That¡¯s what they did to other students who fought anybody who was in their right to refuse a challenge¡± One of the studentsmented on the way to his room.

    ¡°Sure, but none of those expelled had been top rankers. I feel like the teachers are far more lenient on them since those guys have proven that they have the necessary talent to advance to the academy.¡± Another argued against that.

    ¡°Still¡­ that meat loving freak didn¡¯t simply hit Sty once or twice. This was a full on assault and battery. I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if he crippled him for life!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Gary followed the adults until they reached the medical bay, where he had been told to wait until someone came to pick him up. The green haired teenager looked around, checking if his missing friends were here as well. It was hard to do, as one teacher had remained to keep watch on him at all times during this period, but sniffing the air he found their scent.

    ¡®Izzy and Ian¡­ they were both taken here. The scent is rtively fresh so they might still be here somewhere. The AFA is nothing like I thought it was. How can even the teachers be involved with something like this?¡¯

    Just thinking about it more, and worrying about the two others, was making Gary angrier by the second. Eventually, the teacher received an order to move elsewhere. Following him, the two ended up on the outside.

    Behind the facility there was another building and when they entered the inside it looked like another training room. Already waiting inside was none other than the lead supervisor. His arms were folded, and standing next to him, were both Ian and Izzy.

    ¡°Gary!¡± Izzy shouted out, but the lead supervisor held out his hand, stopping her from getting closer. Just then, one of the supervisors entered the room, while the other left. The door was closed behind them and locked in ce.

    ¡°I hear you have been looking for these two. Well, here they are, you can have them.¡± The lead supervisor said, giving a nod to the two.

    They didn''t hesitate and ran over to where Gary was and stood by his side. Izzy even hugged him without prior warning.

    ¡°Gary, why are you in here!?¡± Izzy asked. ¡°Never mind that, this man, and the other teachers are all working with Sty! He has them under a payroll or something. We heard him, and then they kidnapped us and took us to this ce!¡±

    She was frantic and speaking too fast for Gary to follow, but luckily he had already guessed as much.

    ¡°All three of you have broken several rules, which leaves me with no other choice but to punish you by expelling you from this ce!¡± The supervisor exined calmly.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡± Ian shouted in protest. ¡°Just because you''re working with another student. We¡¯ll tell the other teachers and report this to the others!¡±

    ¡°Are you really threatening us?¡± The lead supervisor asked, at that moment the one from behind started to move closer to the trio. ¡°I am in charge of this facility, whatever I say goes. None of you will ever set foot in the academy again, ore close to it.

    ¡°I was nning to be lenient and allow you to go so you could enjoy your lives at some other academy, but since it looks like you don¡¯t understand what¡¯s good for you, let me teach you the consequences of evering close to the AFA in the future!¡±

    From the top of their forearms, both of the supervisors had giant stingersing out from them. Both Ian and Izzy had seen what they could do, and now took a fighting stance, getting closer to Gary.

    ¡°Kick us out?¡± The Werewolf chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, I was already nning to leave. However, if you thought I was going to leave this ce without making you guys pay, then you''re dead wrong!¡±

    ****

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 Chapter 398: Double Stinger (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 398: Double Stinger (part 1)</h4>

    After receiving the threat from the two supervisors, for the first time in a while, the system had prompted up a message.

    [Two dangerous Alterds have you surrounded and wish to take you out!]

    [Quest: Defeat the two Altereds]

    [Additional Quest: Complete the quest while surviving with your two allies]

    [Optional: Consume your opponent to gain additional stats]

    ¡®That''s not a good sign, that''s not good at all. If the system has decided toe up now. Doesn¡¯t that mean this will be quite hard, and judging by the additional quest. It doesn¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to survive with them two.¡¯

    While thinking this Gary retaliated by using partial transformation in his arms and legs. He had plenty of energy, but thest thing he wanted to do was drain it quickly with a full transformation. Not while he didn¡¯t know who his opponents were and what they could do.

    ¡°Wait! Your really going to attack us students over this! That¡¯s crazy!¡± Izzy said her whole body trembling. ¡°Surely we can talk this out?!¡±

    In her mind, if there was a fight between them three and the supervisors, even with Gary it was surely a loss, and if she knew Gary, then he would retaliate quite a bit. Which could cause these eager supervisors to identally go further than they intended.

    However, as for Gary, when he looked at the supervisors he had one thing going through his mind.

    ¡®Kirk would have been able to beat both of these, and because of me..he¡¯s dead. I can¡¯t lose this fight!¡¯ Gary thought.

    The first one to charge in wasn¡¯t the lead supervisor, it was the one from behind. At that point, Izzy was just frozen. She didn¡¯t know how to act. In her head, she believed that all of this was still so unbelievable it was impossible that it was real.

    ¡°Move you, idiot!¡± Ian shouted as he kicked Izzy right in the middle of her two cheeks and onto the floor. At thest second, he himself had dodged by ducking and rolling allowing the stinger to be thrown into the air just above their heads.

    ¡°He really tried attacking us,¡± Izzy said staring at the stinger and seeing a drop of liquid fall off and touch the floor.

    Meanwhile, Izzy had turned her head to see how Gary was fairing for a second. He had both ws holding back one of the stingers from hitting his stomach.

    ¡®This guy..he¡¯s quite strong, I have my controlled transformation to the max, and I¡¯m using two hands!¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°You predator types, always think your the top dog, wherever you go.¡± The supervisor said. ¡°Strong, fast and you have this natural instinct inside you to fight, but you see a bug¡­has more strength than you can imagine.¡±

    Giving his fist a quick jerk, an explosive force of power was emitted. It pushed both of his arms away, and a deep pain could be felt in his gut.

    Sliding across the floor from the powerful attack as usual his system was there to remind him.

    [-10HP]

    [190/200 HP]

    ¡®-10 hp, but the attack didn''t even hit me, and I have a high resistance as well. I''m starting to second guess myself if Kirk could have really beaten these guys.¡¯ Gary thought. A single hit said a lot.

    However, it wasn¡¯t the only worry that Gary had to be concerned about. From behind the other supervisor had his stinger ready to stick it into Gary''s back.

    ¡°Don''t let them touch you with that!¡± Izzy yelled. ¡°It will make you sleepy!¡±

    It was a natural instinct for Gary to be concerned about the stingers, he thought it might have been some type of poison but now he knew their effect, he was even more so concerned.

    Activating his ws, his nails grew longer, and stabbing them into the ground, he had stopped his sliding making ite to a halt. Seeing this the supervisor from behind charged in, and the head one charged in from the front as well.

    ¡®Which one do I go for, taking on two at once at this level..is just not possible. One needs my full attention.¡¯ Gary thought.

    A skillful young man from the side hade in sliding on the ground and had kicked the supervisor right in the shin. It was quite a powerful attack from Ian. Afternding, he quickly, used his hands to flip himself back and took a fighting stance.

    ¡°Look, I don''t agree with fighting you guys, but you attacked us! It''s just our right to protect ourselves!¡± Ian shouted. ¡°Gary, we might not be able to kick his arse, but we will at least hold it in ce for you, until you beat that other guy.

    ¡°Wait that sounded weird? Maybe I should rephrase that.¡±

    In all honesty, there was a bit of concern running through Gary¡¯s mind after receiving the system message, that the two behind him weren¡¯t dependable, but after training with them, and knowing, he started to feel a bit silly.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you guys say!¡± Gary said, this time running forward towards the lead supervisor.

    The supervisor waited for the right moment, and threw a punch from a standing position, like one would do in karate. The hand could be seen clearly, hitting his opponent''s hand at the right time, he had pushed the stinger passed his face.

    A clean step was taken to the side, and Gary with all his strength made a fist andnded a strong blow right on the s head. It didn''t knock him, as his position was solid and his body felt like it was a brick wall but it didn''t matter to Gary,

    He had already carried on moving, now getting behind his opponent, and with his sharp ws, he shed at the back of the supervisors. It ripped through his hard clothes and a little bit of blood was seen. Although Gary¡¯s ws hadn''t gone in deep, because there seemed to be some strange brown under casing beneath the supervisor''s skin.

    ¡®What is this stuff?¡¯ Gary thought.

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 Chapter 399: Double Stinger (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 399: Double Stinger (part 2)</h4>

    The strange skin or whatever it was on the supervisor didn''t slow down Gary, as he ducked down from another attack, and this time sprinted forward and kicked the supervisor in the stomach. A grunt was heard, and for a second it looked like the supervisor was stunned.

    ¡®I was startled for a bit, because of your strength, but so what if you¡¯re stronger than me?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®What does that even matter? ¡®That''s not my only trait. I have a lot more things I can do!¡¯

    Attacking quick and sharp Gary was striking the supervisor, on his chest, back, arms and more. His ws would rip through the Altered¡¯s skin but were unable to go in deep due to some strange bones he had inside his body. No doubt something to do with his Altered form.

    Not all Altereds worked the same, nor were their bodies the same either, even if they took the same type of Altered DNA.

    Little by little Gary was racking up the damage, but at the same time, the supervisor was starting to get a hang of Gary¡¯s speed, his odd angles and more. When Gary threw a strike out towards him, the supervisor blocked it matching hit for hit. His stinger was caught between Gary¡¯s ws.

    At the same time, he would throw out another punch towards his body of his own. Gary blocking this lifted his hand making sure his stinger didn¡¯t go inside him, had hurt him once again.

    [-12 HP]

    [178/200 HP]

    Still, the Werewolf continued charging forward again.

    I have a lot of health I can take a lot of hits, as long as I hurt him more than me. While not running out of energy I¡¯ll win this fight!¡¯ Gary thought.

    Again, the Werewolf teen was ready, a big strike in his full Werewolf form would do no help here, so he felt like he was making the right choice fighting this way. Once again, he was ready to attack but that was when a strange pair of thin light wings sprouted from the back of the head supervisor.

    They broke through the hard brown skin, and without hesitating, he used them to fly forward and threw both of his hands out at the same time. Gary could tell this was going to be a more powerful attack due to the speed that had been involved.

    If he was to block the attacks with his weight behind it, the stingers would go into his hands, so he had to carefully line up his ws to stop the stingers before they reached any of his flesh. Moving his hands in the right ce, at the right time he was sessful. Still, because it had next to no strength behind it, Gary was pushed back across the ground much further than before. Only this time the momentum didn''t stop.

    At the stingers were stuck in his ws, the lead supervisor continued to fly ahead, dragging him along, before Gary could act or do anything, he felt a sharp pain enter right through the centre of his body,

    ¡®What the¡­.¡¯

    [- 15Hp]

    [You have received a fatal wound]

    [Emergency healing cannot be used until the object has been removed from the body]

    [If the wound is not healed you will continue to lose HP]

    [An unknown substance has entered your body]

    [It is slowly affecting you]

    [Body is at 98 Percent functionality and will continue to decrease]

    All the messages had popped up at once. Looking down, Gary could see the Stinger inside him. It was solid ck in colour while a strange coloured liquid was seening out of the end, along with Gary¡¯s own blood.

    When looking at the stingers in his ws, he knew it was impossible to havee from his own opponent which could mean only one thing, it was from the other supervisor.

    ¡®Is that really it..it has to be..but then.¡¯

    Turning his head, Gary looked to the ground, where he could see that his two friends were lying still on the ground. Neither one of them were moving, and blood was seen on the floor in front of them. Just like him, the two hadrge punctures on their body having been stung by the stinger.

    ¡®No¡­no..are they dead¡­What happened?¡¯ Gary thought.

    [Your body functionality is now at 97 percent]

    ¡®I¡­I was the one that made this situation¡­if I had just minded my own business. Who cares about this Academy. Their lives are more important.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°How..how the heck can you teachers do that to just students. What is wrong with you!¡± Gary¡¯s arms were tensing up and his veins could be seen popping even through his fur arms.

    ¡°Why are you listening to some nobody, are you a machine who just follows orders!¡± Gary asked, pushing forward bit by bit, he had moved his opponent back. ¡°Is it just because you two are freaking bugs!¡±

    Hearing this, the lead supervisor smiled as he decided to give Gary an answer.

    ¡°I guess this should teach you, In this world, in this day and age that we live in, you should be careful about who you touch. A nobody like you.¡±

    Now hearing this, Gary was the one that started to smile, his shoulders were moving up and down as he was chuckling.

    [Full transformation has begun]

    [-30 Energy]

    ¡°Your right, I¡¯m just a leader of a no name gang form a tier three city.¡± Gary answered. His arms grewrger and his snout started to elongate. With all his strength Gary pushed the lead supervisor off from his body. With both hands, he grabbed onto the stinger, and beagn to push on either end eventulley snapping the end of the stinger.

    Now holding onto this piece, without hesitation, Gary walked forward before turning around and mming the broken part of the stinger right into the supervisor''s head, pushing it through the temple and causing him to fall straight to the floor.

    ¡°What¡­.have you done¡­you..can¡¯t get away with this!¡± the supervisor shouted.

    ¡°I have already gotten away with it before..its no problem for me!¡± Gary charged forward in his full Werewolf form, but he was against the clock.

    [Your body functionality is now at 90 percent]

    *****

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 Chapter 400: Running out of time (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 400: Running out of time (part 1)</h4>

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure whether the supervisor behind him was out cold, badly hurt, or had died. Honestly, he didn¡¯t care about the adult¡¯s fate as long as he was out of the fight, because right now if the Werewolf stood any chance of making it out of this situation, he would have to defeat the lead supervisor in front of him.

    ¡®Just what the hell is in their stingers?! I can already feel that stuff affecting me.¡¯ Gary thought as he noticed his transformed feet felt off as if he had sat on them for too long.

    The system had informed him about the decrease in his body¡¯s performance, but at first, it hadn¡¯t been too bad. However, given the tempo it was getting worse at, he was under a serious time constraint. Gary had intended to conserve his Energy at the start of the fight, to find the best way to deal with the lead supervisor, in case he had more surprises in him like Sty¡¯s ability to fly.

    However, he understood that his best chance to win was to go full out¡­ for as long as he could.

    Since the head supervisor was close, Gary was able to run across the floor a couple of times, before he leapt up through the air. The Insect Altered tried to fly away, to avoid getting grabbed. However, he was toote, the Werewolf had sessfullytched onto the bottom of his legs.

    For a second, the two fell towards the floor, as Gary¡¯s sudden weight was added. However, the next moment the wings were sent into overdrive as they started to flutter at an extreme rate, lifting the two of them back into the air.

    ¡°Get off me, you damn monster!¡± The supervisor lifted his hand that still had its stinger out, and threw it down, punching Gary on the shoulder. It had gone through his thick hide, and it was the first time a punch had hit him so cleanly.

    [-28 HP]

    [135/200 HP]

    The transformed teenager felt a mix of pain from his shoulder getting crushed by the stinger. Due to the injury, the grip and strength in his right arm had gotten loose, making him let go and now only holding on to the supervisor with his healthy hand.

    ¡®That freaking hurt¡­it was a big blow as well, but I need to hold on.¡¯

    Gripping his left hand, he used his ws to pierce into the Head supervisor''s leg. While he was shielded by strong armour on his torso and back, the same wasn¡¯t true for his leg. Now with a better hold and before any more damage could be done to him, the Werewolf swung his body up, pulling his weight with a single arm.

    [Emergency healing has been used]

    Gary was unable to heal back his Health with Emergency healing, since only a skill like w Drain could do that, but it was very effective to mend his broken bones. Most importantly, it was quick as well.

    ¡°Now it''s my turn!¡± Gary shouted as soon as his shoulder was fixed.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    Gary had positioned himself, so his legs alone were wrapped around his opponent''s body, allowing himself to be held up and both his hands were free. Not wasting time, he swiped at the supervisor''s chest.

    His ws went in deeper this timepared to before, as chunks of flesh were ripped off and fell to the ground. With more strength, his fingers were able to go through the heavy strange armour.

    [+3 HP]

    [+5 HP]

    [+2 HP]

    At the same time, Gary was getting his Health back as he continued to do this. Fully focused on striking his opponent, the teenager didn¡¯t notice his surroundings. The next moment, he was crushed up against the side of the wall.

    The Insect altered in his struggle had flown at full speed, trying to get off his furry passenger in any way possible. The second Gary¡¯s grip had weakened, the supervisor used his leg to kick him off, sending him crashing into the floor.

    [76/200 HP]

    Getting up, Gary¡¯s chest felt heavy, but what was worse, was his legs which were weak. They were wobbly, and his eyes were drowsy.

    [Body is at 48% functionality and will continue to decrease]

    ¡°You really are a fool!¡± The supervisor screamed, his hand held over his chest. The attack had been very effective, and a lot of blood was flowing out. The grimace on his face was not hiding the pain he was in. ¡°I admit that you¡¯re strong, but you¡¯re also an idiot! The more I get to use these stingers of mine on you, the quicker it will affect your body!

    ¡°How does it feel, are you tired yet?¡± The Insect Alteredughed at the dishevelled state of the student. ¡°All I need to do is avoid you at all costs, and wait for it to take proper effect. And let me tell you, once you take that nap, it will be thest thing you do!¡±

    Hearing this, Gary didn¡¯t doubt that the adult was bluffing. After everything that had happened, it was impossible for both of them to make it out alive. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight, so he got on all of his fours and charged forward.

    ¡®Come on, legs, don''t fail me now!¡¯ Gary screamed internally. ¡®Let''s move like you used to, move like you mean it!¡¯

    He was fast, even after losing control of over half his body, and against an opponent like this one. It wasn''t enough, instead of using his ws Gary threw out a fist.

    The supervisor didn''t even fly away this time, he merely moved to the side, retaliating by punching the Werewolf right in his ribs and injecting the stinger into his body yet again.

    [-16 HP]

    [60/100 HP]

    ¡®This guy is really hard¡­ if only I hadn¡¯t been stabbed in the first ce by his partner. Maybe I would have had a chance then. I know I would have already been dead if it was the old me¡­ but¡­¡¯

    Gary threw out a fist again, it was still fast and had a lot of power, but just like before the supervisor was able to follow his current speed.

    [Body is at 40% functionality and will continue to decrease]

    *****

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 Chapter 401: Running out of time (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 401: Running out of time (part 2)</h4>

    Just throwing out punches wasn¡¯t working, so Gary needed to make a change. He was unsure if it would work, but it was something he wanted to test a while ago and with nothing to lose in this situation he had to.

    ¡°Stop moving!¡± Gary shouted, and right after a loud howl was heard.

    [Skill activated Maic Howl]

    Hearing this strange howl, it was as if something took over in the lead supervisor and he came towards Gary. After getting both of his fists ready, he began to pummel the student, hitting him over and over in the chest. Another hit came his way, but the Werewolf was ready to block this one.

    ¡°You truly are an idiot! So what if you can make me attack you? My punches are stronger than your stupid hide! Fine, if you want to die quicker, be my guest!¡± The supervisor shouted.

    ¡°Maybe¡­ but at least you¡¯re now in range for me to attack you back!¡± Gary growled.

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    Gary swung his arms out, forfeiting his defence to exchange blow for blow with the adult. After all, thanks to his skill, he was also getting part of his Health back, albeit not enough to make up for the loss he was suffering. Naturally, the lead supervisor was not holding back. Blood was pouring from Gary''s mouth and dripping from the several wounds that were all over his body.

    ¡°How are you still not dead?! How are you still standing with that much poison in your body?!¡± The supervisor was shocked. He had never seen anyone take as many hits as the student in front of him, bleed this much and still be alive.

    ¡®He''s hurt I know he''s hurt¡­this is it¡­ I just have to go on for a little longer.¡¯ Gary thought as he saw his HP drop below ten points. Fortunately, there was onest trump card he had at his disposal.

    [Skill activated Last Stand]

    [-6 HP]

    [1/100 HP]

    [Last Stand is activated (59 seconds remaining)]

    Even though Gary''s movements were slowing down, and the supervisor was managing to hit the teenager twice for every hit he received, there was arge difference between the two. With Gary''s Health, his Energy and his skills, he had be an unstoppable force.

    A frightening being that could take ten hits to give out one. Covered in blood from head to toe, the Insect Altered could only continue to stare into those glowing red eyes. At that moment, another w went right into his stomach, piercing through him, blood filling the lead supervisor''s mouth.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Gary screamed as he continued to stab the supervisor in the stomach. He stabbed and stabbed, Hit after hit, digging into the same ce. Blood was now pouring from the supervisor''s stomach, as the hole continued to widen.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Gary continued to scream as he felt a weight on his shoulder, but he continued to throw his ws again and again until finally, a message had appeared.

    [Quest has beenpleted]

    ¡®Wait¡­what?¡¯ Gary thought. He could hardly see, not because of his tiredness but because his eyes were swollen, blood filling in them. His Energy was extremely low as well.

    Still, the system screen was connected to his mind, so he could still see the notification before him clearly. Taking a step back, the seemingly lifeless body of the supervisor''s body copsed and fell before him.

    ¡®He¡¯s moving¡­he''s really not moving.¡¯ Gary thought to himself and fell to his knees next to the body that was by his side. His body reverted to his human form, trying to use as little energy as possible.

    [Last Stand hase to an end]

    [1/200 HP]

    Pushing the supervisor''s body over, Gary flipped him onto his front, and here he could see a lifeless face. There was no heartbeat, and the colour from his face and eyes had gone.

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 21]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [Congrattions, Additional Quest has beenpleted]

    [ 2 Pawn Points have been given]

    ¡®Wait, what is this? Pawn Points, does that mean¡­¡¯

    Looking across the room, Gary could barely see them as the effect of the poison was still inside of his body, but he could see the two figures on the floor. If the Additional Quest waspleted, it meant both Izzy and Ian weren''t dead, but had just been injected with the same stuff he had inside him now.

    ¡®Thank you¡­ thank you for not making me mess up again¡­ thank you.¡¯ Gary thought to himself, he was relieved, but there was another problem. Now that the worry was out of his head, something else was taking over his natural instinct.

    ¡®My body hurts¡­ and I''m so hungry¡­ so¡­ very hungry.¡¯ Gary thought, as he moved over to the supervisor. Gary could feel his mind cking out, but with him being so weak, his body was moving on its own.

    [Optional Quest (Waste not want not) is still in progress]

    [Consume the body of the Altered for additional stat points]

    As if he didn''t need to tell his body what to do, and he felt himself pick up something and start to chew down. He continued to chew¡­ Everything was a mist of haze as to what was going on. He only subconsciously heard the sound of dings.

    It was the system message, but what the message was Gary had no clue because he was somewhere else right now, asleep but not quite at the same time.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°This is where they took them, Professors.¡± A supervisor said standing outside a separate training room that hadn''t been used in years, away from the facility.

    ¡°I reported back to you as soon as possible, and I tried getting inside, but the lead supervisor ordered me to stay outside. Which is why I decided to call the three of you.¡±

    The three professors from the assessment had arrived, but they took a while, having toe from the main academy. Seeing this, one walked up to the metal door, and slid it to the side, breaking the lock on it and mming it open.

    The three professors and the supervisor who had informed them entered the room immediately, and stopped the moment they saw what awaited inside.

    ¡°What on earth has happened here?¡± Professor Wood had to cover his mouth, almost feeling sick, while Professor Humfree was shaking his head, a churning feeling in his stomach.

    Standing in the middle of the room, his whole body covered in blood, was Gary. He was unmoving, and his face pointed towards the corner of the room, where two lone silhouettes were lying down. It was as if he was sleeping on his two feet.

    However, the surrounding scene was something they had never expected, the injured students, and as for the supervisors, there was hardly a body left for them to bury.

    ***

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 Chapter 402: Evolving

    <h4>Chapter 402: Evolving</h4>

    Slowly opening his heavy eyelids, Gary found himself starting into a bright white light. There was nothing else in view, and his hearing appeared to still be muffled, making everything sound as if he was underwater.

    ¡®Am I dead? ¡­ Is this what death feels like?¡¯ Gary wondered. ¡®What happened to that supervisor? I remember him threatening to kill me once his poison works¡­ so I just kept hitting and hitting¡­ and hitting¡­ I guess in the end¡­¡¯

    Soon his blurry white vision was bing clearer and he realised that he was just staring at the ceiling light. Simrly, his hearing was alsoing back, followed by the sense of touch, allowing him to feel the soft cotton sheets on his arms.

    [Body is back to 100% functionality]

    Then hearing the system message had confirmed it, Gary really hadn¡¯t died. He was still alive.

    ¡®So that damn poison is finally out of my system. Is that what kept me asleep, and made me feel so weak!¡¯ The teenager reasoned.

    Looking around the room, and gathering his bearings, he noticed that he was in a medical room. What¡¯s more, this was a private one as there was only a single bed, and Gary was hooked up to several machines surrounding his bed. However, there were no physical wounds, no punctures, no anything in terms of wounds on his body. His clothes had been changed into a light blue robe, but that was it.

    ¡®Well, I guess whoever put me in here doesn¡¯t want me dead¡­ at least not yet.¡¯ The Werewolf thought. ¡®But at the end, Ipleted the Quest. The other two should be alright. Maybe they¡¯re somewhere closeby?¡¯

    Just to make sure he hadn¡¯t been dreaming the part about thepletion of the additional Quest, the teenager decided to open up his system and check over hisst notification.

    Things looked good so far, he had levelled up after defeating the two of them, and he now had two unspent Pawn Points, which was a relief. If he was in a hospital then they would be as well, but when looking at the start, Gary¡¯s eyes widened, staring in disbelief.

    ¡®How¡­ how could this have happened¡­ how could this much have changed, unless.¡¯

    A quick sh went into Gary''s mind, of feeling something in his mouth, but there were no clear images or memories of it, but the system was there to confirm what Gary thought had urred.

    [Name: Gary Dem]

    [ss: Warrior]

    [State: Human (Alpha)]

    [Grade: Bishop]

    [Level 21]

    [Exp 3788/6789]

    [Health: 200 >>> 250]

    [Energy: 78/300]

    [Strength 27 >>> 35 (+2)]

    [Dexterity 26 (+2)]

    [Endurance 25 >>> 32 (+2)]

    (Editor¡¯s Note: The System just shows him the right number. I simply used this format since it¡¯s the easiest way to show off how much it changed. If you dislike it, let me know.)

    First of all, there was a change in his Health value. Eating Kirk had granted Gary extra stats, but Health hadn¡¯t been one of them. The Werewolf had believed that only stat points could increase it, but he didn¡¯t mind being proven wrong. On top of that, Strength and Endurance had both increased by leaps.

    ¡®I guess that confirms it. ¡®You are what you eat¡¯, isn¡¯t just a saying in my case. This body evolves based on what type of Altered I eat.¡¯

    Scrolling through the list, he noticed another notification he hadn¡¯t expected to find there.

    [A passive skill has been gained: Poison Resistance (Low)]

    [Your body now has a base level of resistance against poisons]

    ¡®This body¡­ It''s amazing! To be able to develop even such a thing¡­ Hang on, if I have the ability to keep evolving like this based on the enemies I eat and kill¡­ doesn¡¯t that mean that as long as I eat enough, I¡¯m practically invincible?

    ¡®Am I really the only one alive?¡¯ Gary started to wonder. ¡®Were the ones before me hunted to extinction by a group like the Altered Hunters? ¡­ or maybe it was something else.¡¯

    Both possibilities were interesting to think about, and the teenager became even more interested in finding out the origins of the Werewolf System. Unfortunately, the only ones who might know were already six feet under.

    Now, with Gary''s head starting to clear and after reading all the notifications, and further ogling his newly gained passive skill which would have been a heaven-sent BEFORE his fights against the supervisor, it was time to face his current situation.

    ¡®Whoever picked me up and put me here¡­ they must have seen the bodies¡­ or theck thereof¡­ Shit, what if they came in right when I was eating those two? Am I still in the facility even? If that is the case, and it was one of the other supervisors, with two of them dead, then I should expect quite therge punishment, maybe beyond just getting kicked out of the school.¡¯ Gary gulped.

    With his new-found strength and extra stats though, if that did happen, he might have a good chance of getting out of the ce. Worst case scenario he was prepared to hide out in Slough before the teachers could do anything.

    That''s when he looked at the surrounding equipment,

    ¡®Wait, I was definitely covered in blood. I had holes in my body. I might have healed from eating, but it wouldn''t have been so bad, and for me to be in this hospital. Have they gotten a hold of my blood? If that''s the case, they might have found out what I really am?!¡¯

    Immediately, the Werewolf started to pull himself out from the bed she was in. All the strange white little sters that were on his body came off, and a t line signal wasing out from one of the machines.

    ¡®Shut up!¡¯ Gary thought, as he felt a sudden breeze by his backside.

    He realised that other than the robe, there was nothing else on him. Turning his head around, he saw white toosh. Just when he was convinced that there were no clothes in this room and he was nning to get out of this room, the handle on the door started to turn.

    *****

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 Chapter 403: A way in

    <h4>Chapter 403: A way in</h4>

    Panic started to set in the werewolf teen¡¯s mind. His heart was beating rapidly, and he was frantically searching for a way out. s, other than a small vent and a small window that he would only get stuck in if he tried to use it as a means to escape, there was only that door.

    In the end, amidst his panicking, the door was pushed open, and three rtively old men walked into the room, one after the other.

    ¡°Oh, this is a nice surprise, you''re already up!¡± Professor Humfree said with a smile and his hands behind his back. This was all done on purpose, just so Gary wouldn''t feel threatened or attacked during this delicate situation. ¡°Mr Dem, please rest and lie down while we inform you about what happened during your sleep.¡±

    Gary cautiously looked between all three of them, yet he couldn''t sense any hostility from any of them. His rational mind was telling him that if they really wanted to hurt him, then they would have done it while he had been unconscious¡­ or at least put him in chains like Damion had done.

    Walking backwards to avoid showing him his bare skin, the green haired teenager hopped onto the bed, and even pulled the sheets over him. At the same time, underneath the sheets, he used Controlled Transformation on his right arm, to make sure he wasn¡¯t defenceless in case his earlier judgement turned out to be wrong.

    After what had urred, Gary wasn''t willing to fully trust anyone with a rtion to the AFA, even the three professors in front of him.

    ¡°First of all, all three of us owe you an apology.¡± Professor Humfree began and bowed down, the other two joining him without any protest. Never in his life had the Werewolf expected that toe out of someone working for the AFA. His shock even made him revert his arm to normal.

    ¡°Everyone working as supervisors should have been heavily vetted to prevent any student from abusing their status. Unfortunately, it is impossible to stop corruptionpletely due to how our world works.¡± Professor Humfree exined with a deep sigh.

    Gary knew that, and if someone was joining the academy, they wouldn''t exactly tell them all the connections they had.

    ¡°We deeply regret that one of the students actually managed to influence the head supervisor, of all people, and that you and your friends suffered because of that. We¡¯re even more indebted to you that you not only stopped him, but managed to save the life of your two fellow students.¡± Professor Hai added.

    For the first time in the conversation, the tension in Gary''s body settled a little. He had been worried about Izzy and Ian, so hearing that they were alive and well was certainly great news.

    ¡°Gary.¡± Professor Humfree addressed him by his first name with a strong voice. His face was no longer full of smiles, as it sounded like the next subject that was toe was more serious. ¡°We havee here to ask for a favour from you. We¡¯ve already dealt with the student in question, and hope that you can let it rest at that, rather than seek your own revenge against him.¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me that you want me to overlook everything he did? You just said it yourself, ALL THREE OF US COULD HAVE GOTTEN KILLED! How can you ask me to simply ignore that?!¡± Gary had the right to be upset, after all, because of this one student he had almost died.

    ¡°Mr Dem, we understand your fury, but please try to understand our own position as well. Unless you have the express permission from a high-ranking staff member, fights between official students in the AFA won¡¯t be permitted.¡± Mr Wood exined.

    ¡°Most students are able to leave behind what happened in the facility, but those that don''t and wish toplete their revenge only hurt themselves and other students. There have been several cases where we have seen students nevere back to the academy again. I''m sure you''re smart enough to understand what I mean.¡±

    Hearing these things, Gary was starting to think that the AFA, the gathering of those from all over the ce, might be actually one of the most dangerous ces in the world.

    ¡°In your case, the backing between the two of you is just too far and wide apart. Thest thing we want to see is a talented student like yourself no longer be in the AFA, Gary.¡± Professor Humfree tried to persuade him.

    Yet another reason to let out a sigh of relief as it looked like Gary wasn''t getting kicked out. At least he had the option to stay, but could he really not hit Sty if he saw him again, if he continued to y his tricks and games.

    ¡°We understand that we¡¯re asking a lot from you, and we¡¯re also not asking you to do it for free. Not only has he been warned that any attack or provocation against you, or any of your friends will be regarded on a case by case basis and can lead to his expulsion, but as long as you agree to forget about taking revenge, we shall bury any details about the state we found you in.¡±

    Gary''s heart thumbed louder, hearing those words

    ¡®They¡­saw what I did¡­didn''t they?¡¯

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. You were in a desperate situation, one where your life was literally on the line, so none of us me you for what you did. Given your advanced transformation state, your Altered instinct might have simply kicked in. We¡¯ve not told a soul about it, and we don¡¯t n to, so we hope for your cooperation, Mr Dem.¡± Professor Hai admitted.

    Listening to this, Gary thought about it for a while, but if he was honest with himself, he didn''t want to leave the AFA just yet, not when he hadn''t even made it into the real academy.

    ¡°It''s a deal.¡± The Werewolf agreed not long after. He was about to stand up and shake their hand on it, but he remembered hisck of clothes just in time.

    The three smiled and started to head towards the door, but Professor Humfree turned around before closing it.

    ¡°We¡¯ll send over a teacher to hand you a change of clothes as well as some food. Once you¡¯re done, he¡¯ll apany you to the Real AFA academy. Let me be the first to congratte you for passing.¡±

    ¡°Huh, I made it?¡± Gary raised his eyebrow. ¡°So I won¡¯t have to wait for the week to be over like the others?¡±

    ¡°A week?¡± Professor Hai chuckled as he thought the teenager was joking for a moment, before he remembered why they hade to him at his current location. ¡°Mr Dem, you''re one week period has already passed. Compared to your other two friends, there was a lot more poison in your body, so you slept for a far longer time. Anyway, we will see you soon.¡±

    After the door closed, Gary immediately went to check something, something that he hadpletely missed.

    [Your bloodlust grows]

    [2 Days until the next full moon.]

    *****

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 Chapter 404: Entering the Real Academy

    <h4>Chapter 404: Entering the Real Academy</h4>

    Just as the professors had stated, it was not long before a young nurse entered the room and a set of clothes in her hands. She ced them on the bed after giving a few instructions. Once he was changed, Gary woulde out of the room, and she would lead him to a bus waiting for him.

    When picking up the clothes, Gary noticed that they weren''t the clothes he was wearing earlier. Instead, they looked more like a type of uniform. The shirt was tight fitting, simr to a sports shirt. It was mainly yellow in colour with a few white details here and there. Turning the shirt around, he saw arge white circle on the back with yellow letters with a ck outline saying AFA.

    ''Is this what I think it is?!'' Gary held it up in the air to make sure. ''It''s the AFA uniform! The one fighters actually use! That''s why the material is stretchy, has the cooling ability, and is also quite resistant to certain attacks.''

    Gary used his strength to stretch the shirt to test this, and the results came out to his liking. When he let go, it went back to its initial shape. But, of course, he didn''t use his full strength because right now, these were the only clothes he had.

    When he put it on, the shirt came out a perfect fit for him, and they had even provided him with some shorts to match the top. It reminded him a little of his rugby days, but this was far more prideful to wear.

    All the worries he had before seemed to have vanished as soon as he put on the shirt. The fabric was soft against the skin, and when he threw out a couple of punches and kicks, he was even more satisfied with this uniform when he found no restrictions in his movement.

    ''I wonder if I can take one of these back with me and have Kai make the gang uniform from this kind of material? They can analyse this, right?'' Gary wondered.

    Finally, after dying enough, Gary decided to step out the door and face whatever was toe in theing days. He hade up with a semi-solution to solve his problem in the next two days, and he was hoping not toe across those who would agitate him during that time.

    The nurse was waiting for him when he exited the room, and Gary shyly handed over the robes he was wearing.

    "You could have just left those in the room, you know." She chuckled but took them anyway while walking to the bus.

    To Gary''s surprise, waiting just outside the bus was someone that Gary had seen before but didn''t know too well. It was one of the teachers during the assessment, the well-built, man who wore a tight-fitting ck shirt.

    "It''s nice to meet you, Gary. You have been quite the trouble maker during your time in the facility, I hear. But nevertheless, after ourst encounter, I knew we would meet again." The man smiled. "The name is Eddy, and I''m one of the teachers you''ll see more frequently."

    The teacher seemed friendly enough, which was a good sign, but Gary now had this subconsciousness not to trust anyone he met for the first time. It was somewhat like how Numba was on the first day.

    After getting on the bus, Gary noticed it drove past the facility, which was a good sign. They eventually arrived at the main academy where Gary had taken the original assessment. It was enormous, like a university. Even though the ce didn''t have many students, it didn''tck any facilities for people to use, which was why there were so many buildings.

    "First, I''ll give you a tour of the ce, so you can see everything we have," Eddy stated.

    Gary followed Eddy, and as they walked past each building, thetter exined how there were different teachers in different facilities that would teach him various things, from fighting to survival. For example, an entire building was dedicated to the fighters'' dietary requirements. Every Altered was different, so it was quite the specialist treatment they had.

    At the same time, they would teach students about their diet so they could take the information for themselves outside of the AFA. There were also massage rooms, infirmaries and a whole section where AFA students would learn about Altereds.

    Then there was arge oval building, randomly plotted. It looked highly secure as if even a missile could not break it.

    "That is a new facility that we are building. It should be ready soon, but we cannot enter now. Anyway, let''s head somewhere else."

    Eddy had a smile on his face as he said those words. Gary noticed the area they were heading to, and ording to Eddy, this was where sparring matches would be organised.

    There were octagon rings just like in the real AFC matches, and it also had many more training facilities than other buildings. The two soon stepped into arge room through a pair of double doors, and in the next instant, Gary found his eyes glued to the octagon ring in front of him.

    ''Wow, it''s just like it is on TV, and all the equipment, and..and.''

    Gary paused for a second when he noticed a few familiar people sitting on the bench.

    "Gary!" Numba called over as he stood up and rushed over to him. "You''re okay? You''re really okay?! It looks like you finally made it!"

    Numba was wearing the yellow uniform just like Gary, and seeing this, a smile appeared on Gary''s face. It looked like even without Gary, Numba had managed to make it through.

    "I can see the look on your face, but I wasn''t the only one that passed." When moving, Gary could see Sty sitting on the bench with his arms folded, but other than him, there were Ian and Izzy as well.

    Although Numba''s presence made sense, he was more surprised to see those two here.

    "It was a special request," Numba exined. "Due to what happened, they were asked if there was anything they wanted, and they said they wanted to go through to the real academy...and now they''re here. So we''re all here together!"

    Gary never thought this would be the case, but it seemed like their set of dire circumstances had worked out for them.

    "What a great reunion, but that''s not why you are all here," Eddy interrupted with the same smile as before. It was clear he had something nned.

    *****

    -//ANNOUNCEMENT//-

    Hello dear reader, this is your author, JKSManga, and I am here to announce that after a long wait, the webtoon of [My Werewolf System] is finally out!

    It¡¯s currently avable for free on the BILIBILI COMICS app, so please head over to your app store and download the app right now!

    Thank you for supporting this journey so far and I hope you like theic!

    Do not forget to use this code to dress your avatar like Gary in the redeem section of the app:

    40eclm3fxwq3thc2d3

 Chapter 405: Introductions are in order

    <h4>Chapter 405: Introductions are in order</h4>

    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t look like Eddy had any intentions of sharing his secret. His arms were folded, and he had told the others to enjoy themselves while he had met up with Gary. The Altered students had done exactly as they had been told and tried out the equipment after a bit of catch-up.

    Now that the green haired teenager was here, he decided to ask Izzy and Ian about what had happened, but before he had a chance to open his mouth, the both of them bowed their heads in unison.

    ¡°Gary, I know you hate when we do these types of things, but we don¡¯t know how else to thank you for saving us back there!¡± Izzy began. ¡°After the poison knocked us both out, we feared we might be all gonners, but the professors informed us about what you had to do¡­¡±

    There was a nervous drop of sweat running down the side of the Werewolf¡¯s face. He had been somewhat worried that they might have seen what he had done, or that the professors might have told them the entire truth, but judging by their actions and words his friends had only been informed about the result, not the aftermath.

    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. I mean, in the first ce, I¡¯m the reason you guys got into trouble, right? And besides, we agreed to an alliance, and my part in this was helping you out with my strength. It''s the only thing I can offer, after all.¡± Gary smiled, not at all showing any remorse about taking the lives of two adults.

    The two were more than thankful. Honestly, they had feared for their lives multiple times that day. Never had either of them thought that teachers of the AFA wouldmit such things, and if they were willing to go so far, there was always the worry that they could have gone even further than that.

    Ian and Izzy knew how Gary would act, but deep down in their hearts they also knew that they owed him a lot, and they were even more inclined to work with him to repay him for his help.

    ¡°Anyway, let''s talk about some good things, ok? We managed to skip that whole facility and join you here because of everything that happened.¡± Ian smirked, still staring around the ce in amazement.

    After giving his thanks, he had wasted no time running over to one of the punching bags that were designed for Altered and gave it a few hits. Naturally, it was a lot heavier than the usual heavy bag used in boxing. A few light hits didn''t move it at all.

    The others went out to try some of the equipment along with Ian, his enthusiasm was quite maic and charming as it made them all wish they were as energised as him. However, there was one person that was left on the bench near the octagon fighting ring.

    Both Sty¡¯s and Gary¡¯s eyes met for a second, but for Gary all he did was smile and look away.

    ¡®You''re not even worth my time, and perhaps I should thank you since you have allowed me to get even stronger, so I can protect the ones I care about. However, if you try anything funny in here, I¡¯ll make sure that you join those two.¡¯ The Werewolf swore to himself.

    ¡°Holy shit, you¡¯re right. I can''t get this bag to budge at all.¡± Numba eximed. ¡°Maybe if I transformed, I could do something.¡±

    There were several bags in a row and the others were using them to test their strength. So far they had somewhat been able to move the bags a bit as they dangled from their heavy chains, apart from the pen at the very end.

    Ian, and Numba had used their full strength when punching it, yet it hadn''t moved at all.

    ¡°Hey Gary, why don''t you give it a go? Maybe you could make it move?¡± Numba suggested.

    Looking at the bag, Gary touched the outside, and he could feel that it was sturdy. Perhaps it would even survive a few shes from his ws, but a lot had changed, and he knew for a fact that his Strength was far greater than before.

    ¡®I should try to move it without using Controlled Transformation.¡¯ Gary looked at his fist, and readied it for a big hit. Eddy was watching carefully from the corner of his eye as well.

    ¡®Hmm, those three fogies told me that he was special. He¡¯s already proven himself to be a fighter but what about his raw strength. Is he on the same level as thest guy?¡¯ Eddy wondered.

    Storing up his power, Gary controlled his breathing, getting ready to swing it out at the right time. Just as he was about to throw out his fist, his concentration was broken by the sounds of the doors opening roughly.

    Turning around, there was a bright light behind a group of people only allowing them to see the shadow but when they stepped forward, everyone could see the shirts that they were wearing, marking them as true AFA students.

    ¡°Alright, Eddy, please don¡¯t berate us likest time. You know that our schedules are busy okay? If you want us to put on a good show, then we need to be well rested, don¡¯t we?¡± A messy, spiky blonde haired student scratched his head and yawned a little while giving his speech.

    ¡°I understand. Now, if everyone could please gather at the octagon, I wish to introduce you all.¡± Eddy replied nonchntly.

    The others did as instructed, walking over to the teacher. Only Gary continued to look at the bag. It left a sour taste in his mouth to leave it just like that and be the only one who didn¡¯t get to test out his strength. His hand wounded up again, and he was ready to throw out another punch.

    ¡°Hey, is he really trying to go for the ck bag? If he can do that straight after leaving the facility, without transforming then I would be quite impressed.¡± The blonde student from before said.

    ¡°Gary, you¡¯ll have all the time in the world to do thatter, so get over here!¡± Eddy sounded slightly annoyed. Once again, the Werewolf stopped, but after taking a few steps and turning his head, he suddenly stoppedpletely.

    ¡°Did you say Gary¡­ it can''t be?¡± A soft voice asked.

    Looking straight ahead, Gary''s heart started to thumb.

    [BPM is rising]

    ¡°Xin!!¡± Gary called out.

    ****

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 Chapter 406: Teen love

    <h4>Chapter 406: Teen love</h4>

    Everyone in the room had heard the two teenagers call each other by thier first name, and judging by their slow and awkward movement, it was pretty obvious that this wasn¡¯t the first time those two had met. Slo9wly the two of them inched forward towards each other, and when Agryu was around a metre or so away he stopped.

    Now, the real question on everyone¡¯s minds was the connection between Gary and Xin, and this was true for both groups.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Ian gave Izzy a nudge. ¡°From the way he behaves, Gary seems to be head over heels for her. I hope you didn¡¯t have the hots for him yourself because their feelings might actually be mutual.¡±

    Izzy didn''t say anything to that. Honestly, she wasn¡¯t sure herself about what her true feelings were with regard to the green haired teenager. She still remembered how she had schemed against him to increase her chances to make it into the AFA. He might have forgiven her for it, but she still felt bad. On top of that, they had made it out of the facility together, but everything that had happened inside had made their rtionship more thanplicated.

    The one thing Izzy did know, was seeing him act like a lovestruck fool did annoy her.

    ¡°Hey, Xin.¡± Ryan, the blonde haired spiky boy, nodded his head towards Gary. ¡°Who exactly is Greeny over there to you? Is he your boyfriend or something?¡±

    When this question was asked, the two of them looked at each other. Neither one was sure how to answer it. Both of their faces lit up bright red and Gary was struggling to control his heart as always. Any second now he could end up transforming.

    Ryan had merely asked it as a joke, yet seeing their reaction and neither one refuting it, he was more than just a bit shocked.

    ¡®No way¡­ are they really a thing? How is that possible? Is this really the same Xin who won''t slow down for anyone? I mean, she rejected me¡­ four times!¡¯

    Gary and Xin had been unable to properly date, or get to know each other very well due to the circumstances back in Slough. Nevertheless, the green haired teenager had made it clear how he felt towards her, and she hadn¡¯tpletely denied him. On top of that, Xin was also thankful for him saving her.

    Still, those feeling were something she hadn¡¯t really processed herself yet. They were something she had thought would be in the past. Her immediate goal was to go through the AFA and be a well known AFC fighter, so she could live her life how she wanted.

    ¡°How did you manage to get in?¡± Xin asked eventually. ¡°I mean, you weren¡¯t an Altered thest time we met, right?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Gary scratched the back of his head, trying toe up with a good excuse. ¡°I was sponsored by a¡­pany. You know how I was always into fighting? They saw potential in me, and so they helped me apply for the AFA. Well, one thing led to another, and so I ended up here. It was just a stroke of luck really.¡±

    There was a pause and an awkward moment between the two of them. Gary had yed this moment many times in his head. The reason for himing to the AFA wasn¡¯tpletely because of Xin, but it¡¯s not like she had nothing to do with that, either.

    Thest time he had met Jayden, Xin¡¯s brother, he had advised him to join the AFA and to go chasing after her. Now that she was before him, he was questioning if that was really the best thing.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you''re doing well.¡± Gary blurted out. ¡°It can¡¯t have been easy to make it through, but you got to this ce all with your own power. It''s¡­ good to see you again.¡±

    Arge p was heard from Eddy as he didn¡¯t want to continue watching this teen drama catch-up. There would be time for thatter. Besides, he had noticed a particr student, Ryan, mumbling profanities under his breath as he was trying to murder his fellow student with his eyes. However, that wasn¡¯t the worst setting for why he had called the students to this ce.

    ¡°These students here are the current top of the top the AFA has to offer. Me and the other teachers have given them our blessings to have their debut match in the AFC in the near future. Before that, though, they''ll be showing you guys what it means to be the top dog in the real AFA.¡±

    Seeing the smirk on Eddy¡¯s face, Izzy quickly figured out the meaning behind his words. ¡°Are you telling us to fight them? On our very first day?¡±

    The others looked towards Eddy, semi-frightened. Even Sty, who had acted cocky and confident now showed unease on his face.

    ¡°I see that your file wasn¡¯t lying when it described you as a smart cookie,¡± Eddymented with a light chuckle at their overexaggerated reaction. ¡°Just because you have made it through to the AFA, it''s important to know that you can''t take it easy, and this sparring match will be good for you to remind you that there¡¯s always someone stronger than you.¡±

    Looking across from each other, they reached looked at their opponents. It was hard to tell how strong the others were, but they had the advantage of attending the academy for some time already.

    ¡°Ryan, would you mind?¡± Eddy asked.

    Still, with a new wave of energy inside him, Ryan nodded and walked past the others. He stared at Gary, who was unaware of why this certain individual had suddenly started to point his anger toward him.

    Then, stopping in front of the ck bag that they were all standing in front of earlier. He readied his fist, threw it out and a loud bang was heard hitting the bag, it swung widely back in the air, and up. There was no trouble at all for the student as it was seen swinging back down and swinging in ce.

    For the others who had tried to hit the bag earlier, they gulped. The difference between the performance of their groups was evident.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Eddy added. ¡°You will not be fighting today. Just like with any match, you¡¯re given a certain amount of preparation time. In your case, you have today and tomorrow to prepare as you see fit. Feel free to use the training facilities or rest during that free time.

    ¡°The day after tomorrow, though, you¡¯ll have to challenge one of these five.¡±

    Gary¡¯s mind went nk for a second.

    ¡°Sir¡­ did you just say we have two days until our match?¡±

    Eddy nodded, and the other students with Xin started to smile. They thought that Gary feared that it would be impossible to catch up in such a short period of time. Xin thought it was unfair, but she herself had been forced to challenge the future AFC fighters and that experience had been both humiliating and encouraging.

    However, the Werewolf was worried for an entirely different reason. After all, he would have to fight during the day of the full moon¡­

    ****

    ANNOUNCEMENT: MWS WEBTOON IS OUT, read now on the BILI BILI COMICS APP.

 Chapter 407: Starving wolf

    <h4>Chapter 407: Starving wolf</h4>

    In two days time, the five students would officially enter the AFA by battling the current top 5 of their student body. For the time being, though, Gary and the others were taken to a temporary room. They were free to rest there, as the temporary bedrooms were being prepared.

    As the only girl among the group, Izzy was very happy about thatst fact. The room itself was located in the sparing building. On every floor, there was arge octagon in a different style or shape filled with equipment for Altered to train with.

    After cing their belongings down, everyone was allowed to order some food. Once more, the former top rankers were free to order whatever they liked. Eddy had even rmended them to make use of this opportunity to have theirst ¡®cheat meal¡¯. Once inside, their dietitian would decide what they were and weren¡¯t allowed to eat.

    The teenagers didn¡¯t waste this chance, as they wished to gain every bit of energy before their matches. An Altered¡¯s body required a lot more calories on a daily basis than a regr human. Their bodies would digest food in a short amount of time, which allowed their body to absorb it and produce the energy they needed to fuel them, especially if they wanted to transform.

    Everyone was different in how fast that process was, but there were even those who could eat an entire three-course meal and fight right off the bat without it affecting them at all. His friends had long since epted that Gary was that type of Altered, so it came as a big shock when the only thing he had asked for was one measly steak with some potatoes on the side.

    ¡°Is everything alright with you? Does that measly meal even count as your appetiser? Usually you would order steaks by the dozens. Are you still feeling sick, or something?¡± Ian asked worriedly.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I''m just¡­ not that hungry right now.¡± The Werewolf replied in a dejected manner.

    His friends looked at each other, but didn¡¯t say anything. They thought that he must simply be nervous about fighting in front of his old girlfriend. They couldn¡¯t me him, as they themselves felt nervous about the tough fight in front of them.

    ¡®What the f*ck do I do?!¡¯ Gary screamed internally, his mind had been like this for a while now. ¡®How can I get out of that situation? I can¡¯t tell them that I¡¯m not feeling well when they have state-of-the-art machines to check me out. They won¡¯t take me seriously, especially not if there¡¯s nothing visible wrong with me! They¡¯ll just think I¡¯m scared of fighting. Oh god, I don¡¯t want Xin to think of me as a loser when we finally met.¡¯

    The Werewolf still had no idea about what to do to avoid having to fight on that. He just one thing for sure, he had to make sure his Energy would stay under 30 that day. Thanks to the experiment during thest full moon, he had discovered that the key to surviving the full moon was by starving himself so that he wouldck the Energy to transform.

    However, while he had already proven the sess of that method, it came with a number of big problems. First of all, the overwhelming desire to eat was prone to make him act far more snappy than usual. He was also more likely to give into his natural urges. Ideally, the teenager would have preferred to avoid interacting with anyone at all, just to make sure he wouldn¡¯t identally devour anybody.

    ¡®Sh*t, why couldn¡¯t it have been the day before or after?! Am I really just meant to fight on a hungry stomach? Should I just surrender and live with the shame?¡¯ Gary wondered. He didn¡¯t like that course of action, but if he didn¡¯te up with anything better, that might just be his fate.

    When everyone¡¯s food arrived, the green haired teenager enjoyed his meal¡­ for the entirety of roughly thirty seconds. After that, he had to force himself to stop ncing at the meals of the others. The scent alone made him hungry, and his stomach started to grumble. Nevertheless, he pretended like everything was fine.

    In his head, he imagined his mother and sister together in a room with him. No matter what, he would suffer through whatever it took to avoid eating them. This scenario helped hime to terms with his fasting.

    Sty was the first one to leave the room. The Fly Altered knew that he was on thin ice, so he ignored everyone else in the room. After all, he knew perfectly well that they all hated him. He headed towards one of the empty rooms to train for the fight.

    ¡°What do you guys want?¡± Gary asked as he noticed that Izzy, Ian and Numba were all looking at him expectantly. Izzy was a bit startled by the Werewolf¡¯s tone of voice. He sounded annoyed, nearly angry.

    ¡°We just thought that you could teach us¡­ You helped us improve before, so we hoped you could help us again. With only two days time, we should do our best.¡± Ian exined their reasoning, also having noticed Gary¡¯s erratic behaviour.

    ¡°No! ¡­ Now is not the best time.¡± The Werewolf shook his head. He could see the look of disappointment on their faces. It sucked, but he couldn¡¯t exin that he wanted them to keep their distance from him because he was afraid of hurting him due to the state he was in. The hungrier he got, the more likely that he might snap at them, and he had yet to find out how strong he currently was.

    ¡°I''m sorry, I need some time to myself. With how long I¡¯ve been asleep, I want to focus on some basic conditioning training. Just repeat what we¡¯ve been doing in the past, and you guys should be golden.¡±

    Before they could reply, Gary ran out of the room at his top speed. This way, he was continuously using up his Energy and it allowed him to focus on something besides his protesting stomach.

    ¡°I guess we were being a little selfish.'''' Numba sighed. ¡°We have relied on Gary for a while now, it''s not right for us to keep relying on him. We are now in the AFA, so we need to start acting like it.¡±

    Izzy and Ian let out a sigh each as well, but they agreed with Numba. Taking Gary¡¯s advice to hear, they headed over to a training room. After warming up together, they each trained in their own way, before they started to lightly spar with each other.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Late at night of the same down, Eddy called in the AFA students for a meeting.

    ¡°I hope all of you took the time to check out our batch of students. As is tradition, your rank 1 will fight their rank 1 and so on. Well, I¡¯m sure you all remember how it goes.¡±

    On the TV screen, the faces of the AFA students appeared with a number below them. Numba at rank 1, Gary rank 2, Sty rank 3, Ian rank 4 and Izzy rank 5.

    ¡®This is great!¡¯ Ryan smiled to himself. ¡®Let¡¯s see Xin continue to ignore me after I kick her boyfriend¡¯s butt!¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 408: Hunger is pain

    <h4>Chapter 408: Hunger is pain</h4>

    ¡°Is it just me, or do these guys look kinda weak?¡± Shingi, one of the top students soon to debut in the AFC asked the question. While speaking, he was twirling thick strands of his ck curly hair.

    ¡°I guess you could say that.¡± Another student chimed in. Stark had the appearance of the typical Altered celebrity, with his neat blonde hair and a perfect V shape body. ¡°Thest set batch already gave us quite a surprise, so it should be expected that nearly anyone after them would seem weak inparison. Hey, Xin, you seem to know that green haired guy.

    ¡°Is there anything you can tell us about him? It would be great if we could finish things early.¡±

    The reason he asked that question was because other than their name and rank there was no other information given to them. It was to keep things fair between the two teams. The only thing they could go off of was what they had seen earlier in the day.

    Xin didn¡¯t really know what to say. She had only fought against Gary once, and at the time he had proven to be someone hot headed who had charged forward recklessly. Nevertheless, the one thing she still remembered was his tenacity. Despite her attack, which had even received Jayden¡¯s praise, he had stood up from it. And that was before he even became an Altered¡­ at least she thought that was the case.

    ¡°My only advice would be to not go easy on him. I think he¡¯ll be a tough opponent for any of us.¡± Xin replied eventually.

    ¡°Haha, really?¡± Ryan chuckled. ¡°A tough opponent? The guy didn¡¯t even make rank 1. Just look at the group of people he ended up passing with. You know the students get worse as the year goes on, since the top of the top have already left. Anyway, I¡¯ll take your advice, and I won¡¯t go easy on him.¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t forget to do your due diligence.¡± Shingi reminded the overage teenage boy. ¡°You know, if there is a conflict of interest and that crap. We should check out their backgrounds, and if it messes with any of ours, report it to Eddy, so we can change who we fight.¡±

    The others agreed and would begin their research for the rest of the night, while Xin was left wondering what had happened to Gary after she had left.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day, Gary was down to 100 Energy. While the others were enjoying their breakfast, he had ordered a small meal once more, making his friends even more concerned for him. They could see the visible struggle on his face, not to mention the sounds of protesting from his stomach.

    ¡°Hey, bro, I know you''re meeting your girl and stuff tomorrow, but you don¡¯t need to diet for her. You look fine.¡± Ian joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

    s, Gary didn¡¯t say anything and instead left the room to go train. Usually he would have at least let out a courtesyugh, but right now every little thing was annoying him. Just during breakfast, he had felt part of his teeth start to grow out, urging him to feed on something. The only thing keeping him sane was letting out stress by training.

    During thest full moon the Pack hade together and following Kai¡¯s suggestion they had performed a little experiment to discover the optimal way to deal with theirmon condition. After drawing sticks, Olivia got to power herself outpletely and barely ate anything during thest 72 hours. Gary¡¯s task was to continuously power himself out for that same duration, whereas Kai was to power himself outpletely on thest day.

    From what they had been able to tell, Olivia¡¯s method had led to her being the most irritable of them all due to her prolonged hungry state. On the other hand, Kai had been the most aggressive one, since his body had the least amount of time to cope with his starved state. Gary¡¯s path had been the middle ground between, yet it was hard for the other two to copy since the Alpha Werewolf was the only one who could actively check how much Energy he had left thanks to the system.

    Unfortunately, this time, not only was he on his own, he also didn¡¯t have the luxury to tie himself up to make doubly sure he couldn¡¯t attack anyone. Tomorrow it would be a mental game, he would have to constrain in front of all those people, so he wanted to get used to the feeling of hunger and build up some resistance.

    ¡®The hunger is one thing, but this stupid full moon is also making me feel like everything is pissing me off!¡¯ Gary thought as he practically drained the entire water bottle in a few gulps. He was huffing and panting in the training facility.

    Seeing how agitated Gary was, the others decided to stay out of his way, for lunch and dinner. In the end, they also had to worry about their own training for tomorrow¡¯s match. Although they had been told that this match was mostly for show, none of them wanted to let themselves get beat up.

    At around 11 PM all of them had gone to sleep. Only Gary remained in the training room, not feeling sleepy in the slightest.

    ¡®My Energy is still high, and this damn pain is pissing me off!¡¯ The Werewolf cursed silently as he punched the bag in front of him. He continued to hit it with all his power, again and again.

    ¡°ARGHHH! Just a little more!¡± Gary shouted and threw out an almighty punch.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Walking through the hallway, Shingi was nning to go for ate night training session himself. He was whistling through the hallways when he overheard the sound of someone hitting something.

    ¡®No way, someone other than me is training thiste? Man, what''s up with these new guys? It seems like that Wu guy isn¡¯t the only gym rat. Oh well, the more the merrier.¡¯ Shingi thought amused.

    Heading to the door, he decided to open it, and take a look at who exactly it was that was powering themselves out before their big match. To his surprise, as soon as the door opened, he could see the green haired teenager only a few feet away from him, covered in sweat huffing and painting.

    Shingi wanted to say something to him, but his eyes seemed lost as Gary continued to walk, and just went past him and down the hallway.

    ¡®So it was that Greeny that was the one training thiste, huh? I mean, a light session is okay but going that hard, he¡¯s not going to be able to fight tomorrow.¡¯ Shingi thought, as he went forward and got ready to train himself.

    However, he stopped in his tracks the moment he noticed the state of the training bags. At the very end, the ck bag, the heaviest of them all, had severalrge holes through them. It looked like cannonballs had been shot through the things.

    ¡®I¡­ I¡¯ve never seen anyone do something like this before. I need to warn Ryan before his fight tomorrow. If he doesn¡¯t take it seriously tomorrow, he might end up with a hole in his body.¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 409 Dont fight

    Chapter 409 Don''t fight¡¡¡¡It was finally the day of the big match. Izzy, Ian, Numba, and even Sty were dealing with their nervousness in their own ways to give it their all. As for Gary, he was currently sitting on top of his bed, his eyes closed. The Werewolf had barely gotten any sleep. Unlike the rest, he cared little about the oue of his fight, far more worried about the state his opponent might end up in.

    During thest full moon, the Werewolf Pack had found out some interesting things, among them that it wasn¡¯t just the night that they had to worry about. Even before the moon came out, one was at risk of snapping. In Kai¡¯s case, the Grey Werewolf Shapeshifter had gotten feral during his transformation, forcing Gary, with some help of Olivia, to subdue him before he could cause any damage.

    ¡°Gary.¡± Izzy called out in a soft voice as she knocked at his door. ¡°It''s time for us to head to the octagon.¡±

    The green haired teenager slowly opened his eyes, wincing, like he was in pain. He took some controlled breaths before he changed into the outfit the AFA had prepared for them.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, in another room, the five that the group would be fighting today were also getting ready. Only the students from the AFA weren¡¯t in the least bit worried about today¡¯s matches. In fact, most of them saw these matches as nothing more than an annoying task that came with their position.

    ¡®I¡­ I just can¡¯t get that bag out of my head.¡¯ Shingi thought in the boys¡¯ changing room. ¡®It wasn¡¯t just one but multiple holes ripped right through it. The power had even reached the wall behind it. How the hell do I tell Ryan about this? It would be a total embarrassment for him to throw in the towel in front of a newbie.¡¯

    As the boys exited their changing room, Shingi tapped Ryan on the shoulder. The other two boys continued to walk towards the octagon, barely noticing that half of them had stopped.

    ¡°Hey, Ryan, I need to talk with you. Look, I know we haven¡¯t exactly been best friends in here. If anything, we were more like rivals, but I hope you know that I at least respect you in that capacity.¡± Shingi began.

    ¡°Oh,e on, if you say it like that makes it sound like I¡¯m the bad guy. We might not have hit it off at first, but as far as I¡¯m concerned, you¡¯ve proven in those tag-team trainings that I can trust you with my back.¡± Ryan replied with a grin, not sure where his fellow Altered was going with this.

    ¡°Good, ¡®cause I want you to take what I''m about to say seriously, man. You see, yesterday, I went to train like I usually do at night¡­ and I saw the ck bag ripped to shreds.¡±

    Ryan had no particr reaction to that piece of information. Sure, the ck bags were famous for being durable and sturdy, but they were a far cry from being indestructible. ¡°So? Eddy or one of the other teachers must have been using the room. What¡¯s that got to do with me?¡±

    Shingi shook his head. ¡°Eddy is the only teacher who woulde down here, and he¡¯s been busy with other stuff. No, it wasn¡¯t any of the teachers, man. Now I haven¡¯t seen him do it, but right before I entered, that green haired kid went out of the training room.¡±

    A few secondster, Ryan just started tough. ¡°I didn¡¯t take you to be the funny type, Shingi, but that was just what I needed right now. There¡¯s no way it could have been him. I¡¯ve done my research. The guy''s a nobody. Someone who simply lucked out during the assessment and made use of the vacancy thest lot left.¡±

    ¡°I told you I wouldn¡¯t joke about such matters.¡± Shingi insisted with a serious look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about some teensy weensy hole in the ck bag. It looked like swiss cheese, as if he had some grudge against that damn thing. If you get in that ring¡­ you better take things seriously!¡±

    Ryan ced his hand on Shingi''s shoulder. ¡°Are you even listening to yourself? If their rank 2 is already scarier than most of our teachers, doesn¡¯t that mean their rank 1 would wipe the floor with Xin? Did any of them look capable enough of such a feat?

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it must have been one of the teachers. I got one of my contacts to look into Greeny¡¯s background. He¡¯s from the same town as Xin. The only difference is that he¡¯s a nobody who got picked up by a no-name gang.¡±

    ¡°What did you just say?¡± A female voice asked from behind the two teenage boys.

    Turning their heads, they both saw Xin had gotten out of the girls¡¯ changing room and was ready to fight. She wore the same yellow and white AFA tops as them, only hers was more simr to a sports bra, revealing her midriff and her abs slightly showing through.

    ¡°About what?¡± Ryan questioned. ¡°The backing of your old friend, you mean? His sponsor is this gang who call themselves the Howlers. My contacts told me they¡¯re not a big deal, but you should probably know better.¡±

    Hearing the name, certain conversations shed through Xin''s head. She hadn¡¯t been in contact with her family since joining the ce, but she did remember her father angrilymenting about a new gang that was on the rise. Then there was also a news report she recalled about more and more businessesing under those Howlers.

    ¡®So that¡¯s why you avoided your gaze when telling me apany sponsored you. You actually became an Altered by joining a gang.¡¯ Xin had hoped that Gary would have done better, especially after she herself had been captured by a gang. To hear that he had actually joined one, it just didn¡¯t sit too well with her.

    ¡°The name doesn¡¯t really ring a bell. Come on, let''s go and show these guys what we got.¡± Xin said walking forward.

    *****

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 Chapter 410 Lock me up (Part 1)

    Chapter 410 Lock me up (Part 1)¡¡¡¡Eddy himself had arrived in the dormitory of the newly joined students. He had a big smile on his face as he looked over everyone, though he noticed that nearly all of them weren''t looking too good, especially one of his favourites.

    ¡®Hey, hey¡­ don¡¯t tell me the pressure is getting to him as well.¡¯ Eddy thought, looking at the sweaty and tired Gary. ¡®I guess these guys are kids after all. They don¡¯t have much experience yet, but I thought he was different. Maybe I was wrong in the end.¡¯

    ¡°Everyone, remember, the oue of this match doesn''t matter whatsoever.¡± Eddy reminded those from the facility. ¡°Even if you lose in one punch, you will still be granted entry to the real academy. You have already made it. That being said, I advise you to try and avoid such a fate unless you want to get teased by your peers about it.¡±

    The joke made some of them chuckle, at least. ¡°These fights are tradition and their purpose is to show you how far you still have to go, and of course what you can achieve by giving it your all during your stay in the AFA! If you give it your best, one day you¡¯ll be the ones teaching others a lesson!¡±

    Eddy¡¯s little pep talk had lightened the mood a bit, especially for Izzy, Ian and Numba. All they needed to do was show their best and that¡¯s exactly what they intended to do.

    The group followed the teacher through therge double doors, and on a bench, just outside the fighting octagon, the students were sitting down waiting. All the nerves that had disappeared from their bodies hade back in a second, seeing them again.

    ¡°Man, I¡¯m worried I might let out a log during the fight. I should have gone to the toilet or something.¡± Ianmented.

    ¡°You''re so disgusting, you''re going to make me sick,¡± Izzy replied.

    ¡°Please don''t be sick, when someone¡¯s sick, that just makes me sick,¡± Numba replied.

    The others could all hear this conversation and couldn''t help but smirk, but at the same time, it just made the other group more confident that this whole thing was going to be a walk in the park.

    Xin moved her head, trying to get a look at a particr student, and that''s when she could see Gary, walking sloppily behind the rest of the group.

    ¡®He looks quite pale¡­ and he''s already sweating, I think I just saw some drip from his nose. Is he really sick or something?¡¯ Xin wondered, as she couldn''t help but worry, but the conversation from before had entered her head, making her clench her fist.

    ¡®I''m sorry, I don''t know what your situation is Gary¡­ but if what Ryan found out is true, I don¡¯t really know how to act.¡¯

    Numba, along with the others, sat on the bench on the other side of the cage. Both groups could see each other but only through the cage, so they were unable to see clearly one another.

    ¡°The order of the matches isn¡¯t fixed, and I¡¯ll use a random generator app to will be in a random order through my phone random generator app!¡± Eddy held his phone, showing everyone. ¡°A number between one and five will show up and you guys will have to enter the ring and face your opponent.

    ¡°Just to let you know, your own rank will determine who you face on the other side if you know what I mean.¡±

    Izzy certainly understood, both rank 1s would go against each other. Which meant that there were going to be no easy matches for any of them.

    Pressing the button on the app, the numbers rumbled through and eventually stopped at number three. All heads turned to the first person which had surprised them all.

    ¡°Ha, you guys are already shaking in your boots.¡± Sty stated, standing up confidently. ¡°If you''re worried about something like this, then you¡¯ll never make it far in the AFC.¡±

    For a second, Sty paused his tough talk as he looked at Gary who still had his head held down and a towel over his head. The whole time he had consistently been drinking water, rehydrating himself.

    No one had talked to him today. He had made it clear to his friends that something was up with him, so they had collectively decided to not bother him, at least not until his match was over and done with. ¡°As for you, I''m the most disappointed in you out of all of them. I can¡¯t believe I lost to someone like you.¡±

    Sty walked over and entered the octagon, while his opponent did the same. Standing opposite Sty, was a tall specimen of a person. If one thought ke was the ideal candidate to be an Altered then they had yet to see the student known as Stark, who had a superhero like figure in the movies they all used to watch.

    ¡°Rank 3, huh. Let''s see if your group is as interesting as thest lot.¡± Stark said, slightly crouching down and having his hands away from his face, getting ready to fight at any moment.

    ¡°Oh trust me, I¡¯m the best of this bunch of losers, so tough luck!¡± Sty shouted as his whole body transformed. His wings came out, his mouth elongated into a fly¡¯s proboscis, and immediately he started to fly straight towards Stark.

    Just like in the battle against Numba, Sty shot out a strange liquid from his mouth. Using just his toes, Stark pivoted avoiding the strange liquid, and while doing so, he spun his body backwards throwing out a spinning back fist at the Fly Altered¡¯.

    At thest second Sty was able to fly upward avoiding the attack.¡°Oh, you have fast reflexes. I guess this won''t be a boring fight after all. Let¡¯s see if you can entertain me as much as that Wu guy.¡± Starkmented as he could see Sty flying towards him throwing out his leg for a kick.

    ******

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 Chapter 411 Lock me Up (Part 2)

    Chapter 411 Lock me Up (Part 2)¡¡¡¡Once again, Stark pivoted his foot, changing position and making Sty miss. Sty, while flying up in the air, started to fire out more of the strange green liquid, hoping to hit him somehow, but each one of these were avoided with swift minimal movements.

    ¡°Sty has gotten faster than before, but still he can¡¯t do anything against that other guy,¡± Numbamented from the side.

    ¡°It''s because he¡¯s also just reacting,¡± Izzy replied. ¡°That Stark guy has managed topletely minimise his movements, just using his toes to pivot and swivel. Against someone like Sty who starts his attacks from a distance, it''s easier for him to see everythinging.¡±

    ¡°Easy?¡± Numba replied. ¡°Trust me, Sty is able to change direction in a split second, this is why I could never really hit him.¡±

    ¡°I said it was ¡®easier¡¯. Nothing easy about this, to move your body, to not blink or get scared and to focus without losing sight of a flying opponent. The most impressive thing it that he''s doing all of this without having transformed into his Altered form.¡± Izzy exined.

    For a while now Sty had been on the attack and hadn''t managed tond a single hit. He was getting frustrated and tired, so instead of hoping for a lucky hit, he decided to take a risk. He flew up directly above where Stark was, and immediately started to dive down.

    While doing this, Sty started to spin his body and had his hands held out, ready to hit Stark at the right time. The attack was faster than anything Sty had done before. Seeing this, Stark spread his legs out wide somewhat simr to a sumo wrestling match.

    As the Fly Altered approached, he lent back avoiding the punch and reached out his arms grabbing Sty by his shoulders, and threw him right into the ground. The others could hear the sound of his body breaking when his head was mmed into the canvas of the ground.

    It bounced a bit as the material was flexible, but it was designed for Altered fights. Sty''s own body had blood spilt out from his nose and mouth. When hended on the canvas again, he didn¡¯t get up.

    ¡°F*ck! Is he dead?!¡± Ian shouted out. ¡°Damn, I hate the guy, but it seems like he is always getting beaten badly these days.¡±

    Stark knew the fight was over, so he went over and picked up his opponent''s body from the ground taking him out of the cage. There were a few teachers who seemingly appeared out of nowhere to collect Sty and take him away.

    ¡°Don''t worry, guys, it takes a lot to actually kill an Altered. All of you should know that.¡± Eddyughed.

    However, it didn''t seem like aughing matter to the others. For Izzy, Ian and Numba, Sty was someone that was next to impossible to beat. So how would they fare against the rest? Before Stark headed back to the other group, he looked at all of those on the bench.

    ¡°You guys aren¡¯t as good as thest guys, it looks like it''s going to be a boring day,¡± Starkmented before walking off.

    ¡®He must mean Apollo and his friends¡­ I wonder how they did.¡¯ Izzy thought. It was hard to tell, because they had just witnessed Sty, who was originally part of Apollo''s top five gang, get beaten without putting up much of a fight at all.

    On the other hand, Ryan couldn''t stopughing.

    ¡°Come on, Shingi! Is this supposed to be the fighting group that I need to be so scared off? You have to be pulling my leg. If their number three guy couldn¡¯t even get Stark to transform, how strong could Greeny be?¡±

    Shigni didn''t reply. Getting mocked by Ryan was just annoying him, especially since he had shared that information because he had worried for him. Now, he was starting to think that it would be for the best if Xin¡¯s boyfriend could teach him a lesson. The only problem was, if what he had seen was true, then Ryan wouldn''t just get taught a lesson, he would never be able to walk again.

    His leg shaking nervously, Shingi himself didn''t know what to do.

    ¡°So, what do you think about Xin? It looks like your friend hase with quite a weak group. Although maybe their rank 1 will give you a run for your money. That Apollo guy sure as hell had you sweatingst time. ¡±

    Xin looked at Numba. She didn¡¯t like judging a book by its cover, but he alsocked a certain aura that rank 1s usually had. Unless he was an actor worthy of an award, he seemed to be really nervous about their fight.

    ¡°If Gary has continued to improve from thest time I met him, I would not underestimate him. Least of all now, that he has be an Altered who has managed to get to his position in record time. Which means I shouldn''t underestimate their current rank 1, either. You should never judge a book by its cover.¡± Xinmented, being serious about everything as always.

    It seems like she was the only one in a fighting mood, and had been the only one that had warmed up beforehand.

    ¡°Gary, what did you think?¡± Numba eventually asked. He already knew what he and the others thought, but Gary was someone beyond all of them, just like the people in front of them.

    Honestly, having Sty lose like that was embarrassing, and Numba felt like there would be more embarrassment on the way, but there was one person that could perhaps change that, the one right next to him.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Gary finally said. ¡°It¡­hurts so much¡­ I just want to make it stop¡­ can¡¯t this day end quicker¡­ please¡­¡±

    The mumbles of Gary were only heard by Numba, but he was unable to make sense of it, leaning in closer, though it looked like Gary had something to say.

    ¡°Numba¡­favour. Please¡­after the fight¡­lock me up¡­hold me back. Make sure I¡¯m far away¡­ from anyone¡± Gary mumbled again.

    Numba wanted to ask what he meant, but could tell he was struggling just to get these words out for some reason.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll help you with whatever you need after this, Gary.¡± Numba just said back, no longer caring so much about the oue of the fight, but instead worried about the person who was by his side.

    ¡®What is happening to you, right now? I don''t think you''re just sick any more, Gary, you''ve been acting strangely for thesest few days¡­ I wonder if there is anyone that would know how to help?¡¯

    Looking at the other side, the Goat Altered looked at Xin, thinking she might know the answers.

    ¡°Alright everyone, stop thinking about thest match and get ready for the next one. Remember, just show us the best you can do.¡± Eddie continued to smile and pressed the button on his phone. Finally, it stopped at the number 4.

    ¡°Ah, Sh*t! I was hoping to gost!¡± Ian said standing up, his legs were shaking as he walked towards the octagon, but strangely he saw that his opponent seemed to be a bit absent-minded.

    Shingi wasn''t looking at Ian, but instead looking at Gary, who was sitting down on the other side.

    ¡°How do you think he will do?¡± Numba asked.

    ¡°Well, these guys are strong, no one can deny that, but Ian is someone who was able to get through the facility without using his Altered form, and now that he can, I think they might be in for a surprise.¡± Izzy answered with a smile.

    *****

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 Chapter 412 A strong will (Part 1)

    Chapter 412 A strong will (Part 1)¡¡¡¡"Teacher," Numba called out. "Do we have to fight today? I don''t exactly feel well."

    The fight had yet to start. As the two opponents were getting ready in the ring, Ian was jumping up and down, trying to get the nervous energy out of his body. At the same time, Shingi couldn''t stop looking past him.

    "Hmm, I would say it''s best if you just fight today and get it over and done with even if you are sick," Eddy exined. "It''s very rare that someone gets sick as an Altered in the first ce. However, if it''s severe enough for you to be distressed, we can take you to the medical office and get you checked out."

    Just then, Gary grabbed Numba by the forearm tightly. Numba wanted to scream in pain but knew that wasn''t the best idea.

    "No, it''s okay...I was just wondering." Numba replied to Eddy, who was looking the other way so he hadn''t noticed Gary''s movements.

    "These students are on a busy schedule as they are currently the most promising of those in the AFA. They won''t be able to fight you again, so you wouldn''t want to miss out on this opportunity."

    As the fight started, it looked like the teacher''s attention was now fully focused on it, and Numba could finally breathe without a w of death holding his arm. Gary knew that Numba was looking out for him, trying to get him out of fighting. However, going to the Nurse''s office and then possibly finding out the truth was another thing altogether, not to mention the trouble it would put him in.

    "Begin!" Eddy shouted.

    Still bouncing on his feet, the moment Ian''s feet touched the ground, he darted off towards Shingi. He went to throw out a punch, but just like with Stark, thetter was able to pivot and move away from it with ease.

    At the same time, it looked like Ian had overthrown his punch as he chucked his whole body forward and was seen tumbling. The second he was close to the ground though, Ian used his arm to lift his whole body weight and legs, then performed a side kick, hitting Shingi.

    "That was a nice hit," Shingi replied, holding his arm up to block the kick. "But you''ll need to hit harder than that to take me out."

    Pushing Ian''s leg away with his forearm, Shingi charged forward and went to throw out a kick of his own toward Ian. Just as he was about to lift his leg off the ground though, he noticed a smile on Ian''s face.

    ''Does he have something nned?''

    The image of what he had seen in the training room, of what Gary had done, shed through his head, and instead of kicking Ian when he had the chance, he retreated instead.

    "Boo! What are you doing? Running away?!" Ryan shouted. "Come on. This isn''t a serious match. Why are you being so careful!"

    Shingi looked at his taunting teammate. It was frustrating, no matter how annoying Ryan was, Shingi knew he was right. If this was any of the other fights or students that had passed before, Shingi wouldn''t have hesitated to throw that kick. It was only because of what he had seen before that he was second-guessing himself.

    "Hey!" Shingi changed tactic, "Why haven''t you transformed? Do you really think you can beat me without transforming?"

    "Haven''t you done the same? Do you think you can beat me without transforming?" Ian replied, shrugging his shoulders. He easily saw through Shingi''s trick to rile him up. "Besides, I got through the facility without needing to use my Altered form, so I don''t see why I should use it now."

    The others hearing this were quite surprised. They wondered if they had ever heard of one doing such a thing and if it was something they could have done. However, it certainly did make the others pay closer attention to the match in front of them.

    Of course, they were all unaware that Ian had actually jumped several spaces due to the special request made by someone.

    "If you''re not going toe to me, I will keeping for you!" Ian shouted as he ran forward, it looked like he was going for a punch, but once again, he lent down and bent backward. It looked like he was falling, but with his powerful arms, he pushed off the floor and flung out his legs, kicking Shingi in the chest.

    Landing on the ground, Ian quickly got up and spun once again, trying to do a spinning back kick. This time, however, Shingi blocked the attack, but more wereing his way, one after another.

    "Is something wrong with Shingi?" Stark asked, noting that he seemed to be unfocused.

    "Pft, he just believes that these guys have some hidden thing up their sleeve, that''s all. I guess he''s just being more cautious about the fight." Ryan replied, not telling the whole truth but even knowing Shingi''s words just seemed beyond ridiculous.

    In the end, Shingi himself knew this was ridiculous, and when he saw the leging toward him rather than avoiding it, he readied his fist and threw it out, sending it straight into Ian''s shin. The strong punch caused Ian''s leg to swing backward and his whole body to spin.

    "Oh," Ian said, rubbing his shin. "Now, that was more of what I was expecting. I thought you might have forgotten how to punch."

    Honestly, Shingi was surprised that his opponent''s bones hadn''t broken in the single hit even though he had delivered an attack at close to full force.

    "Unfortunately for you, someone on our team hits a lot harder than that," Ian replied while standing up and heading toward Shingi again. If there was one thing about Ian, he was persistent and would keep trying to find an opening.

    Ian spun his body, trying the same spinning kick as he did before, and Shingi seeing this, had decided to punch the shin again, only this time he would use more strength, hoping to break the other leg.

    ''I can''t let this guy''s words or what I saw get into my head. I''m about to head into the AFC. My mentality can''t be this fragile!'' Shingi threw out the punch at the perfect time and faster than before, hitting Ian in the shin once again, only this time there was blood.

    *****

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 Chapter 413 A Strong Will (Part 2)

    Chapter 413 A Strong Will (Part 2)¡¡¡¡Due to the angle the two had hit each other at, it was hard for the others to view who the blood wasing from, and since they were close to each other, even as they stood up and titled their heads it was hard to tell.

    Blood trickled down, dripping onto the mat. There wasn''t a lot of blood, but it was clear someone had been hurt, and in the end, it belonged to Shingi. The blood wasing from his own knuckles, and it looked like his hand was wounded.

    Shingi''s fist had struck Ian''s leg, which appeared to have sprouted out a load of dark brown, golden-like bristles suddenly. They were sharp little spikes that came out of his skin, and now they were stuck in Shingi''s hand.

    ''I was so caught up in trying to throw a punch that I was overthinking and missed the obvious. What is wrong with me!'' Shingi thought.

    Now seeing how Shingi was stuck. With his leg in the air, Ian strangely was able to hop with his other leg forward and threw out a fist. It wasn''t an ordinary fist though, the second it hit Shingi''s arm that he raised to block, the bristle dug deep into his arm again, causing it to bleed.

    "Ian actually doesn''t seem to be doing too bad out there," Numba said. "Maybe, we can do something against them after all."

    After seeing Sty lose, there was a bit of hope lost. But, seeing Ian, who was in the same position as them,ing from the recruitment, doing something against the best, it seemed like there was a ce for them in this academy after all.

    "SCREW THIS!" Shingi shouted. "Why am I trying to be as impressive as Stark!" He took a step back, and the bristles hade out from Shingi''s body. It was painful but something he could put up with.

    Immediately, he started jumping back a few steps until his back was up against the cage wall. Ian was quite a distance away, too far tond a punch or a kick, yet Shingi suddenly threw out his arm for some reason.

    The next second, Ian felt a hand on his head, and someone immediately pushed him to the ground. His forehead mmed against the canvas floor. He was unsure what was happening, but the others had seen it.

    Shingi''s arm had stretched in the middle of him throwing a punch, and it had done so faster than the punch itself. Before Ian could regain his footing, using his long-limbed arms, Shingi mmed it onto the back of Ian''s head, a loud bang followed, and Ian was no longer moving.

    "The fight is over!" Eddy shouted, having a concerned look on his face. He rushed in to see if Ian was alright picking him up off the ground. Thetter''s eyes twitched, and seeing the uneven breathing, Eddy let out a big sigh.

    "Did you really have to transform?" Eddy turned around and asked the other student.

    Usually, Shingi wouldn''t have had to, especially against an opponent like this, and perhaps if he let the fight go on longer, he could have tired out Ian and still have won. However, Shingi just wasn''t in his normal fighting mood. He knew this from the beginning, so he decided to take the extreme step to transform himself.

    Before Eddy could give him an ear full, Shingi decided to turn around and leave the area.

    ''Damn it, in a way, it''s embarrassing that I had to transform in front of a newbie like that. I guess I still have a lot to learn.'' Shingi thought.

    "Hey, hey, before you try warning me, you should take a look in the mirror and improve yourself." Ryan mocked the other.

    "Whatever, man. Screw you and everything about you," Shingi ignored the former, "I won my match at least. You can do what you want, and you know what, I hope that you lose."

    After that, Shingi decided to lean against the wall rather than sit with the others while the wounds on his body had already begun to heal.

    "That was some strange transformation," Izzymented. "I guess as we get closer to the academy''s top, we are more likely to see the unique Altereds and less of your typical kind."

    Just as Izzy finished giving her judgement of the others and the fight so far, Ian came back to join the others while rubbing the back of his neck.

    "It looks like I got knocked out in the end, but at least I didn''t break any bones...this time." Ian chuckled, looking at Gary and hoping for a response, but thetter still had his head held down.

    "Gary said you did well. The training paid off, and he''s proud of you." Numba chirped, answering for him. "You really managed to show them."

    The blood on the floor was being cleared, and while doing so, it was time for Eddy to announce the next match. There were only three more fights, and none of them from Izzy''s group wanted to go next.

    In the end, the number shown on the phone was number 1.

    "Woah! well, it looks like you''re up, Xin!" Ryan cheered. "Go on, go show them what a real Altered match should look like."

    On the other side, Numba stood up. He nced at Gary for a moment, hoping thetter would say some words, but then again, he was going up against his girlfriend. Nor was he in the state to say something supportive, so he walked forward.

    "Numba, whatever happens, you have already achieved so much just getting in the ring, and don''t underestimate the girl. She''s ranked Number One for a reason." Izzy shouted.

    Getting into the ring, Numa stood there, and so did Xin.

    "Numba¡­ don''t go easy on her...show her everything you have." A weak voice suddenly came from the stands.

    Turning around, Numba could see that Gary no longer had the towel on his head and was keeping an eye on this fight. Although his opponent was Xin, Gary was going to support the person who was currently at his side.

    ''Xin¡­ let''s see how much you''ve improved.''

    ******

    *****

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 Chapter 414 Stand up (Updated)

    Chapter 414 Stand up (Updated)¡¡¡¡At first, the talented top students from the AFA hadn¡¯t expected much from Gary¡¯s group. After all, it wasmon knowledge that as time went on, those that would pass from the facility would get worse and worse.

    On top of that, thest lot had proven to be beyond what any of them had expected. Although nobody on the AFA¡¯s side had lost their matches, each one of them had been forced to take those fights far more seriously than they had anticipated. Apollo and his gang had been better than some of the students that had already been studying in the AFA for a year.

    In fact, with their skills, they would be able to do rtively well if they were ced in the AFC right now. After all, the AFC epted students from all Altered academies, not just the AFA. It was just that those directly from the AFA had an advantage due to their connections.

    Still, after witnessing Ian¡¯s performance in his fight against Shingi, the others epted that this lot was extraordinary, even though they might not be on the same level as Apollo¡¯s group. Nevertheless, they showed a lot of potentials, and sometimes that was more important. With rank 4 being more impressive than rank 3, they were expecting a lot from the current rank 1.

    ¡®I was informed that there were special circumstances with this group, but from what I¡¯ve seen Gary is the one who should be fighting right now. Numba, let¡¯s see what makes you more special than him¡­¡¯ Eddy thought ot himself.

    The professors had kept to their promise, and hadn¡¯t told anyone about what exactly had ured. As such, it was natural for everyone to think that the Goat Altered had to have some secret up his sleeve.

    ¡°I''m in the ring. I''m finally here! I have to show that I deserve being here. I have to at least do something, so I can continue to help our family grow¡­ and I want to show you, Gary, that I¡¯m strong enough to repay you for your kindness.¡¯ Numba thought to himself after his friend¡¯s encouraging words.

    ¡°Fight!¡±

    Unlike Ian, Numba transformed straight away. Aside from the horns on his head, the base of his feet changed into goat''s hooves, though most of it remained human. The change was apparent since the fighters didn¡¯t wear anything on their feet here. His already explosive power further increased by his mastery of transformation and the Goat Altered shot off like a rocket.

    ¡®Come on, do what the others did, I expect you to pivot. It seems like you have all been taught the same thing. So I¡¯ll use thest few fights to my advantage.¡¯ Numba thought, getting his fist by his side ready, his head pointed at Xin.

    However, the female Altered didn''t move out of the way, rather she remained standing, as if to make a point. Xin took a fighting stance and just as Numba''s horns entered her range, she threw out the palm of her hand to the side. It hit therge horn of the Goat Altered and he could feel the energy from the palm strike rattle throughout his body. At the same time, his entire head was chucked off to the side.

    The momentum in his own legs, made him crash into the cage. His horn went right through one of the mesh gaps, and bent the metal¡­ making him stuck

    ¡®I need to get out before she hits me!* Numba began to panic, pushing off with all his strength. As soon as his horns were free, he felt his legs shaking. They were wobbly and the next second, he fell to the ground now on one knee.

    ¡®What¡­ was that attack, what just happened to me? Why won''t my legs work!¡¯ He was unable toprehend the strange situation. Confusing him even more was the fact that Xin had yet to move. She had the perfect opportunity to finish him off, yet for some reason she didn¡¯t.

    ¡°I won¡¯t strike you when your back is against me.¡± Xin said as if she could read his mind.

    Laughter could be heard from down below, mainlying from Ryan. ¡°Are they serious, has the AFA really gone downhill? The number one student that passed through the facility is a freaking Goat Altered. What¡¯s he going to do, spit and chew at his opponents?¡±

    Hearing the taunts, Xin turned around, now staring at Ryan, telling him to shut up with her eyes. She had used the palm strike, with a strange inner power she had on others before, and they had been knocked out, but this one in front of her. It was clear that he had a strong will.

    The question was, would he be able to stand up again?

    ¡®Again, people areughing at me again¡­ I can''t take it. What is wrong with these guys, who just sit there andugh at others'' hard work?¡¯ Numba thought as he ced both hands on his knee. He pulled on it with as hard as he could, hoping that it might allow him to stand on it again.

    His whole leg was shaking, he was biting down on his teeth. ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Numba shouted as he sessfully stood up on two feet. He stumbled a bit but got in a fighting stance again. ¡°I did it!¡±

    ¡°Yes, you did.¡± Eddy agreed. ¡°That¡¯s an impressive feat¡­ but the fight is over. You¡¯re in no condition to fight any more. ¡±

    The teacher was already entering the cage. Numba tried to argue his case, but when trying to move towards Eddy, he started to lean forward as if he was about to fall over. Fortunately, the adult caught him just before he made a fool of himself.

    Xin returned to her seat. She sat down, folding her arms. She was ready to watch the next match, but there was one person that wanted to say something.

    ¡°You know how you always say that you only go out with those that are stronger than you?¡± Ryan reminded her. ¡°You just beat their strongest guy with ease. So your old boyfriend over there can''t be stronger than him. Why don''t you go out with me, or was that just some type of excuse.¡±

    ¡°It''s not an excuse.¡± Xin replied. ¡°Beating me is a minimum to my requirements and as for my history with Gary, that is none of your business. Now stop bothering me, before I beat you myself.¡±

    A tut was heard as Ryan walked away, not really thinking it was fair, but then again what could he do, he only hoped he would be fighting next, so he could let out his frustration on Gary.

    ¡°Alright, the next fight, rank 5!¡± Eddy dered.

    It was time for Izzy to go up, and when she stood up, she looked to be the least nervous out of them all. She walked and entered the stage while the others gave her words of encouragement, even Numba who had just fought himself cheered for her.

    As for her opponent, he was a silent bowl haired cut student. He had yet to say a single word since they had entered the room, and the expression on his face had stayed the same.

    ¡®This is perfect, this is exactly what I need.¡¯ Izzy thought.

    ¡°Begin!¡± Eddy called out.

    Just like all the ones before them, Izzy ran out first as well. There were many disappointed faces seeing this because it was clear that the tactic of attacking first wasn¡¯t working out, and when the female Altered threw a punch, the other student moved his head and answered with an over right counter hitting her in the face and sending her to the floor.

    Izzy had a bit of blood in her mouth, yet she stayed on the ground for a full ten seconds.

    ¡°Well¡­ I guess that''s the end of that fight as well.¡± Eddy said, shaking his head. After Ian¡¯s performance, he had expected more of them, making him nearly forget that this entire match up could be seen as a form of hazing for the new students.

    ¡®There¡¯s no chance of me winning a fight against these monsters. I tried to figure out a way, and no one else could, so what difference would I make? This was the most efficient way to lose a match, and also without revealing my Altered form. This way, I¡¯ll have element of surprise down the line.

    ¡®I don¡¯t n to make it far in the AFC like everyone else. I''m just here to make connections.¡¯

    Izzy wiped the blood from her mouth, as she returned to the others with a smile on her face. She wanted to show them all that she was not upset about the oue, and they all understood that she must lost this way on purpose.

    ¡°There is no reason to use the random number generator. There are only two of you left. Both of you, please get into the ring.¡± Eddy told them.

    Ryan was smiling and punching his fist into the palm of his hand, while, Gary had taken the towel off from his head and stood on his two feet.

    ¡°Let''s get this over with.¡± Gary grumbled in a pained voice.

    *****

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 Chapter 415 Dont eat him!

    Chapter 415 Don''t eat him!¡¡¡¡A thing that had gone unnoticed by Eddy and those on the AFA¡¯s side was how nervous those on the facility¡¯s side were. They were all very concerned for Gary. It was clear that something was wrong with him, and having overheard those strange sentences, Numba was certain it wasn''t his nerves.

    The good thing was, whatever had been affecting his body in thest fight, he was back to norma, so he could at least cheer for his friend.

    On the other side, Shingi, while still pissed off at Ryan, had a gut feeling that his rival wouldn¡¯t make it out unscathed. As for how it would go, well the ck bag was still fresh on his mind¡­

    As for Xin, her feelings were mixed. Her small past high school life was now mixing with her current life. Part of her wanted to cheer for him due to their past connection, while another knew it would be wrong to do so.

    ¡®Gary, if you lose this fight, you should not be ashamed, even I lost to Ryan a couple of times when I first got here. As long as you show the academy what you got, they¡¯ll guide you in the right direction.¡¯ Xin thought.

    When walking to the cage, Gary continued to hold his head down and opened the door to enter the fighting area. At the same time, Ryan confidently went into the cage with arge grin on his face.

    ¡°Come on, Greeny, what''s wrong? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re ill?¡± Ryan questioned since his opponent''s movements were incredibly dull and slow.

    ¡°If only you knew.¡± The Werewolf mumbled under his breath. He was repeated one sentence over and over as if it was a mantra. ¡®You''re not hungry, don¡¯t eat him! You''re not hungry, don''t eat him!¡¯

    His fists were tensed up, and his own nails were digging into the palm of his hands. This was already his third full moon, and he was wondering if things would get worse and worse each time. He still remembered how things had esctedst time¡­ which was why he knew If he ate now, he would go on a rampage in this very room.

    ¡®How long is this stupid day going tost?!¡¯ The green haired teenager cursed, but before he could look at any type of clock of some sort, the familiar announcement was made.

    ¡°Fight, begin!¡± Eddy dered.

    For the first time today, the contestant on the AFA¡¯s side chose to go act as the aggressor. However, rather than run across the floor as the others, Ryan used the edge of the cage.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what your situation is, but I¡¯m going to take you out in one hit, without even needing to transform!¡± Ryan jumped up the side of the cage and started to run across it without falling down.

    It was as if he was defying thews of gravity. It didn¡¯t take long for him to reach the position where Gary was, and he jumped off and threw out a kick right towards the troubled teenager¡¯s head.

    Surprisingly, although his opponent remained standing in one spot, not moving an inch from where he had entered, he had immediately lifted his arms up to block the quick attack. When the foot connected, a loud bang was heard as if someone had fired off a gun. Gary felt his whole body shift from where he was, and he was sent crashing into the cage.

    From outside the cage, the attack looked like a strong one. The sound itself was an indicator of how much power and force had been used. Everyone got a feeling that Ryan deserved his spot as the second strongest Altered on the academy¡¯s side.. His attack sounded and seemed more powerful than the others, even Xin''s if it hadn''t had a weird effect on Numba.

    [-3 HP]

    [247/250 HP]

    The Werewolf wasn¡¯t suffering from any broken bones nor pain in his body. With his current Endurance and HP, his defence was on another level. He was sturdy enough to act as a ¡®tank¡¯ to protect those close to him.

    ¡°You''re still standing after an attack like that, huh? I guess you¡¯re the rank 2 for a reason, but I won¡¯t give you the chance to hit me!¡± Ryan announced as he ran forward and started to jump from side to side.

    He was energetic and showcased his agility. One of Ryan¡¯s traits was the fact that his opponents never knew what his next move was going to be in a fight. Jumping off his left foot, the Altered swung his arm in a hook-like fashion and was aiming right for Gary¡¯s ribs.

    He could see that the ce was wide open, an easy target to hit. Once again, though, Gary slightly dropped his arm at thest moment, blocking the attack with his elbow.

    [-2 HP]

    It was a strong hit and the Werewolf*s body was chucked to the side again. However, that was it. There wasn¡¯t much energy in him in the first ce. Seeing that Gary had blocked his attacks twice in a row, something that had rarely happened to Ryan before, he leapt to the other side throwing the same punch, only for the same oue to ur. It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that this wasn¡¯t simply coincidence.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Ryan screamed, as he threw punches everywhere. He looked like a boxer, trying to break through one¡¯s guard but only throwing knockout punches. Unfortunately, each punch was met by Gary¡¯s defence, neutralising most, if not all of the power behind it.

    [-1 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    [-0 HP]

    If Gary was able to think properly he would have been beyond impressed with his Endurance since one of the hits had taken 0 damage, which was the first time he had seen a message like that, but his head wasn¡¯t clear at the moment.

    ¡®Don''t eat him¡­don¡¯t eat him¡­ but I want to hit him so badly¡­ SO I CAN FREAKING EAT HIM!¡¯ Those thoughts slipped in every once in a while. That¡¯s why the Werewolf had been focusing so hard to remind himself to NOT do it. For the entirety of his fight, he had been acting on auto-pilot.

    Eddy watching from the side had a grin on his face. ¡®If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would have believed he was some Turtle Altered. Still, to think blocking skills are this great, without even transforming. If his offence is just half as good, we might have a soon-to-be champion on our hands.¡¯

    While watching the match, Shingi was tapping his foot away nervously. All of them had already noticed what Gary was doing. At first, they thought that Ryan had the upper hand, but now they could see that their teammate wasn''t pulling any of his punches.

    ¡®Why hasn¡¯t that guy thrown a punch yet? Is he trying to tire out Ryan?¡¯ Shingi was confused. Were it not for the green haired teenager staying on the defensive, this would be an even more entertaining fight, especially since he was certain that Gary¡¯s power should be enough to end it all with one hit.

    Even Xin started chewing on her nails. Sure, he was blocking all the attacks, but all that damage should be umted. He looked weakerpared to Ryan as his body was being chucked all over, and from Xin''s experience, Gary had a strong will. Given his unyielding character, going against a strong opponent might not be the best thing.

    It was then that the doors opened from the outside, those in the cage didn¡¯t notice it because they were too focused on their fight, but Sty had returned, being somewhat healed and having bandages all over him.

    He went to the others and stood by his side watching everything. Still, Gary was taking the hits from Ryan, and there was nothing else going on, until finally, the Altered had trapped him against the back of the cage, using his position to rain a flurry of hits.

    ¡°Is this guy trying to make me look like an idiot!¡± Sty shouted in disgust. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he fighting against him properly? Just transform and get this over with.¡±

    Although Eddy didn''t know the details about the Werewolf¡¯s fight with the supervisors, he had been informed about the fight between him and Sty. It had not only been one-sided at the time, but also caused a huge mess.

    ¡®Why hasn''t he transformed yet, exactly?¡¯ Eddy was starting to wonder himself. ¡®Is he waiting for Ryan to do it first?¡¯

    ¡°Gary!¡± Ian shouted. ¡°Just turn into your full form and rip his head off!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gary shouted with strength in his voice. Words like ¡®bite¡¯ were triggering him into a rage, and for a second a surge of energy could be felt. Ryan even backed off unconsciously.

    He looked at Gary, who was slightly bruised in some ces but appeared to hardly be hurt.

    [218/250 HP]

    Ryan was breathing heavily, he couldn¡¯t remember thest time he had hit someone so much without them falling. There was a tingling sensation at the back of his head telling him to back off, yet his pride couldn¡¯t take it.

    Looking over, he could see Eddy was about to raise a hand, stopping the fight.

    ¡°Well, well, looks like I have just been given the go ahead to transform.¡± Ryan stated. ¡°I don¡¯t care how I win, because winning is the most important thing.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 416 Walking Zombie (Part 1)

    Chapter 416 Walking Zombie (Part 1)¡¡¡¡There was a reason why Eddy was upset with Shingi when he had transformed during their fight. It was because before the matches had started there was an agreement that had been made. That they were not to use their Altered forms.

    The little spar wasn¡¯t just to help out those from the facility but the others as well. If they were truly ready to enter the AFC with a bang and the impact they wanted, then they should have been able to beat these guys without having to transform.

    However, thest time Xin and the others had fought, the top three fighters at least had to use their transformed states, it was inevitable otherwise they would have lost. That was when Eddy had agreed with the others this time he would give them a signal, a signal for when they could transform.

    It was then that the signal had been given. Not because he thought that Ryan would lose, but because he wanted to see what Gary could do. After hearing the students by his side, it was clear that Gary had yet to transform and was holding back.

    Smiling, Ryan was happy with the decision, because it meant now he could use his power to the max.

    ¡°You''re going to wish you would never let me transform,¡± Ryan stated.

    In an instant, both of his arms started to growrger, mainly it was his shoulders at first that had gotten three times as big. Then, the rest of his arms started to grow, and soon he had a giant forearm that was bigger than Ryan¡¯s entire body.

    It was the same on both arms. The two arms started to getrger and elongate to the point where Ryan¡¯s legs were no longer touching the floor, and he had his knuckles pressed down on the canvas. Finally, the hair grew out from his forearms. Then there was one more change but it was hard to notice apart from those that were behind.

    Running up on his back and reaching the top of his neck, there was white coloured hair, almost like fur, while the colour of the fur on his two giant arms were ck.

    ¡°Is his Altered form rted to some type of Gori, like a beast!¡± Izzy said out loud standing up from her seat. It was obvious to everyone else as well what animal it looked like.

    Although the beasts weren¡¯t based on today''s animals they did share simr traits to them, with the giant arms that now made Ryan''s body look small. Without a doubt that they packed some power and punch in them.

    Using his arms, Ryan leapt down and boosted himself off his knuckles, he had jumped with his arms. In doing so he was now in the air above Gary. He lifted both of his arms and was ready to m them down on top of Gary¡¯s head.

    ¡°Block this!¡± Ryan shouted.

    ¡°Move!¡± Xin stood up, and she wasn¡¯t the only one shouting as well. As Izzy was screaming for Gary to move.

    Just like before though, Gary didn¡¯t move and lifted his hands above his head. Both of the hands were held together as Ryan hammered his fists down. Bending his knees, Gary tried to take the impact. The canvas on the ground had bent in slightly as well as the framework below seemed to be slightly damaged.

    [-18 HP]

    [200/250 HP]

    ¡®This attack is stronger than the supervisors¡­¡¯ Gary thought.

    The head supervisor was strong, and Kirk was strong, but it seemed like as the professors said, there were many talented people in the world. The world of the Altered was a new thing in the first ce, so stronger and better beasts were rising all the time, and Kirk was only the rookie champion, there were plenty of people who were above him.

    [- 2HP]

    [198/250 HP]

    Ryan hadn''t thrown out another attack, but it seemed like with Gary trying to resist, he was still getting hurt, and he could feel his own muscles somewhat tearing in his legs.

    [Energy 24/300]

    So far Gary had kept his energy at 29 as well. Not wanting to make it tick above 30. Due to the full moon being today, if it did, he would transform, but also he didn''t want topletely starve himself or have the energy to do nothing. If it got too low there was the fear of him not being able to think at all.

    In the end, Gary slipped out and rolled to the side, allowing for Ryan''s fist to continue and bash into the floor.

    ¡®My thighs feel like they''re on fire.¡¯ Gary thought.

    As he stood up from the ground though, there was already arge fist the size of almost Gary¡¯s entire bodying towards him, this time he was unable to block it.

    It hit him right in the chest, a crack could be heard internally as his body was thrown, and his back had hit the cage.

    [-22 HP]

    [176/250 HP]

    Blood hade out from Gary''s mouth, as a wound was felt internally and spat onto the arena floor.

    [Your sternum in your chest has slightly broken]

    [Your energy is low]

    [Unable to use emergency healing]

    Wiping his mouth, Gary was still standing there, while looking at Ryan dead straight in his eyes.

    ¡®I should just have fallen over and pretended I lost this fight, right?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®It certainly would make my life easier..but for some reason, I don''t want to lose to this annoying guy.¡¯

    Gary looked past Ryan and was looking straight at Xin, this didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Ryan.

    ¡°So that''s why you''re still standing huh, you really think you can beat me, without transforming¡± Ryan charged forward again, using his arms this time to push him from side to side, as his legs dangled in the air.

    A punch was thrown at Gary''s rib, he had blocked it with his arm which knocked idiot his own body and had hit his ribs breaking one of them slightly.

    [-15HP]

    More blood came out from Gary''s mouth, and he was flung to the side again, at that moment, Ryan hit him from the other side with another arm again.

    [-13Hp]

    This time he let Angry body crash into the cage, thinking it would be the end of it, but Gary stood strong, and not even his legs were wobbly.

    [148/250 HP]

    ¡°You think you''ve beaten me?¡± Gary replied, wiping more of the blood from the side of his mouth. ¡°Your punches are weak.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 417 Walking Zombie (Part 2)

    Chapter 417 Walking Zombie (Part 2)¡¡¡¡Standing strong and fine like a tree was the Werewolf boy Gary.

    Eddy and the others were amazed, here they could see an Altered yet to transform getting hit by one of the strongest raw powered Altereds and yet, he was still standing. It was hard for them to believe that Gary wasn''t hurt by the hits, after all, there was blooding out of his mouth, but Eddy didn''t stop the fight, because Gary had yet to transform.

    There was a reason behind his thought, he felt like Gary wouldn¡¯t risk his own life in this fight, if he truly felt like he was in danger he would transform.

    ¡®I want to see it, I want to see what this kid can do!¡¯ Eddy said his whole body shaking with excitement.

    Seeing this, Ryan charged forward and rather than throwing a punch this time, he grabbed Gary''s entire body with just a single one of his arms. His hand wasrge enough to do so.

    He began to squeeze Gary tight but could feel resistance and it seemed like this would do next to nothing. So instead, he lifted GAry and mmed his whole body onto the ground. The next second he started to pound, and punch Gary hit after hit, after four more hits he had stopped there.

    ¡°You cocky bastard, that''s what you get for not transforming.¡± Ryan started breathing heavily. This form was strong but it was also tiring for him to keep up and use. By now in a fight, he would have lost or won.

    Still, getting up, they could see Gary standing from the ground, and staring directly at Ryan.

    [97/250 HP]

    ¡°Screw you!¡± Ryan stated and swung hisrge arm toward Gary only this time rather than a fist, his nails had be that of a w. They ripped through Gary¡¯s skin right across his chest and he was bleeding all over the canvas floor.

    [-12HP]

    [You are bleeding, blood loss will continue to take 1 HP every minute unless something is done about it.]

    It was a bad wound, an incredibly bad wound and with the amount of blood they had seen so far, it wasn''t natural for a fighter to still be standing after something like that. At least the person would be screaming in pain but for Gary, there was no reaction at all. The hunger he felt was far more painful than anything he had felt so far.

    Slowly, Gary then started to walk toward Ryan.

    ¡°Is Gary a Zombie.¡± Ian gulped. ¡°How is he still standing after all that, and the blood loss? I don;t understand why hasn¡¯t transformed?¡±

    Something strange happened in the arena at that moment. Ryan for the first time in the fight started to step back.

    ¡®What is my body doing, why am I walking away from him¡­¡¯ Ryan thought. ¡®Am I scared, how can I be sacred?¡¯

    In truth, Ryan knew he was scared, none of his attacks were working, and for some reason, the one that was directly in front of him just wouldn''t fall no matter what he did. He had even used his secret transformation of the ws and that hadn''t worked as well.

    Right now, Ryan felt like he was staring and facing an opponent that was far higher than him.

    ¡®Gary.¡¯ Xin looked in pain at seeing the amount of blood. ¡®You''ve shown enough, you can stop fighting, I know you''re strong, but you''re still an idiot just like before.¡¯

    Thinking back, Xin was remembering the fight the two of them had. She had hit him with her strongest move and he had still gotten up. However, this time she was worried, worried for his life.

    Biting her lip, she was debating whether to go in and stop the fight herself, but Eddy was the experienced teacher, if he didn''t go in, then neither would she, at least not yet.

    ¡°No! No!¡± Ryan shouted, as he felt his back touch the gate. ¡°You don¡¯t scare me. You''re just from the facility. You have not transformed because you can''t transform. I guess you''re just some type of turtle with good defence andrge life or something.

    ¡°Yeah that''s it, I just have to beat you before I tire out!¡± Ryan said, trying to regain his confidence through his own words.

    Seeing this, Eddy thought this was also a good learning step for Ryan, he had never seen him act this way. It looked like the student''s mental mind was more fragile than he thought. It was important for a fighter to stay calm in a situation like this if they had any chance of winning the fight at all.

    Feeling like he was trapped against a wall, Ryan charged forward again, and jumped up in the air, like he had done the first time holding both his hands together. He threw them down desperately on Gary with all his strength and he felt an impact again.

    However, this time, Gary''s hand blocked the attack.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Ryan was speechless, for he could see that Gary was holding onto both of his arms, and at the moment, his arms had transformed and were in his werewolf form.

    ¡°I still have some energy left to do this.¡± Gary mumbled. His energy was too low to do aplete transformation that was done on purpose, but with the little engy he had left a controlled transformation just focusing on his arms gave him the strength to stop the attack.

    Seeing that they were held onto, Ryan tried to pull them away.

    ¡®I can¡¯t move¡­¡¯

    ¡°Finally, this is what I wanted to see!¡± Eddy rubbed his hands together, but others thought otherwise, as Shingi felt like this was getting into the dangerous territory that he feared.

    ******

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 Chapter 418 The next meal

    Chapter 418 The next meal¡¡¡¡A long time ago, Ryan had been told that his Altered was special. It was normal for people to say this to their child but in his case, it was more true than others. His Altered form hade from a rare beast that was rted to the Silverback Gori. Those great apes were one of the most natural and strongest beasts in the current world. Although many might argue about lions being the ones deserving of the title ¡®king of the jungle¡¯, without a doubt goris could im that crown if they wanted.

    The reason they didn¡¯t was that most goris were peaceful by nature. Nevertheless, in terms of strength, a regr gori could match nearly two dozen humansbined. Now, take their ancestors, who had been far bigger in size and more ferocious and use its DNA to create an Altered, and the result would be an apex predator, especially in the right hands. This was what Ryan had been taught.

    However, he was second guessing all of that right now, since the ¡®ordinary¡¯ human in front of him had survived so many of his attacks. The Gori Altered had fought against Altered whose defence had been their strongest trait, yet even they had been unable to take that many punches without it affecting them. Meanwhile, Gary looked like they had all been love taps. To top it all off, he was currently losing in a battle of strength.

    ¡®How¡­ how is he able to hold my hands like so? I know I haven''t fully unlocked my power yet, but this is crazy. What type of Altered is this guy?!¡¯ Ryan questioned. His transformed hands were starting to hurt, and it was difficult to uphold the current standstill.

    ¡®Am I going to lose to this guy? How can I call myself the second strongest if I get defeated by some grunt who just came out of the facility!¡¯ The Altered was fuming at that thought. ¡®No, I can''t lose. I¡¯m at the top for a reason, and I¡¯m going to continue being at the top!¡¯

    With these thoughts in his head, Ryan had decided to change his tactic, and stopped using just his brute strength. As he said to himself earlier, winning was the only thing that mattered.

    He couldn''t just think of Gary as someone at the facility, but as someone he needed to beat. At that moment, both of Ryan''s arms started to shrink. They were getting smaller in size as he decided to revert his Altered form.

    The others felt like this was a little strange, if he couldn''tpete with Gary while he was transformed, how was he going to beat him without? However, what it did do, as both his arms were shrinking, was close the distance between the two.

    ¡°Are you going to do something, or just hold me all day!'''' Ryan shouted directly into Gary''s face now the two of them were locked in arm to arm. Gary was holding onto Ryan¡¯s forearm, and he was doing the same thing back, but it was strange to everyone that Gary had yet to do anything.

    That''s when, Ryan opened up hisrge mouth, and it started to change, his canines grew outward until they were almost as big as a walrus¡¯ tusks. They were curved sharper and would have the power of Ryan''s jaw behind them. He bit down right into Gary''s shoulder, They went through his whole body with ease. The pain this time was greater than any wound Gary had received before.

    [-30HP]

    [55/300 HP]

    This one had hurt, and the scrunched up look in Gary¡¯s face showed that. On reflection he had pushed Ryan off him, taking his teeth out of his body. It was a strong shove that had sent Ryan close to the back of the cage.

    [Your blood loss has increased]

    [-3 HP for every minute that passes unless something is done to address the wound]

    [Emergency healing is unable to be used due to low Energy]

    From behind, the others could see tworge holes just underneath where his traps were. They could only imagine how much it must have hurt, but what was even more worrying was the amount of blood that had already split onto the floor.

    ¡°Stop the fight.¡± A voice said, shakey, when Ian looked at who had said those words he could see it was Izzy, and she was almost on the verge of tears.

    ¡°What are you doing, stop the fight!¡± Izzy said. ¡°Can''t you see his life is in danger, this is just a student match, not a real AFC match with a title on the line? Stop the fight!¡±

    The female student was pleading to Eddy, but all she could see was a huge smile on his face.

    ¡°Stop it? Have you seen Gary? Does that look like the face of a person who wants me to stop this match?¡± Eddy retorted.

    When they turned to look back in the ring, they could see that Gary had his head down, his arm over his wound, applying pressure. He was huffing and panting quite heavy, his chest rising up and down. When lifting his head, his eyes were glowing red. What¡¯s more, the pupils had narrowed like a wolf, and his teeth had sharpened.

    Gary had taken a low stance with his arms spread out, the fur on his arms had grown past his forearms and were growing up his shoulders as his biceps got slightlyrger. The next, he finally went on the offensive by running straight toward Ryan.

    The sick feeling returned in Shingi¡¯s stomach, and he could no longer stay quiet.

    ¡°Eddy, you need to stop the fight! Ryan, get the hell out of there!¡±

    s, the warning came toote, the Werewolf¡¯s wed hand was headed straight for Ryan¡¯s chest, more specifically to the ce his heart would be.

    ¡°GARY, STOP!!!¡± Xin screamed at the top of her lungs.

    At thest moment, a shred of sanity allowed Gary to realise what he was about to do. Before his hunger took over again, he did what he could to change the trajectory of his attack. Were it not for Ryan subconsciously listening to his rival¡¯s warning, and being in the midst of rolling out of the way, this would have been it.

    As it was, the Werewolf¡¯s attack merely scratched the Altered¡¯s chest before the w ripped right through the specially built cage. The material used in its construction was sturdier than the ck bag, making it suited for Altered fights, or at least it should have been enough for the students¡­

    Moving his hand, Gary cut through the entire gate causing arge sh, turning and looking at Ryan again. His eyes were back to glowing red. Even Xin¡¯s shouting from the side did nothing to calm him down at that very moment.

    ¡°Screw this!¡± Numba shouted as he ran forward. The Goat Altered entered the damaged cage and transformed before cing himself between the Werewolf and Ryan.

    ¡°Stop, Gary! The fight is over! There¡¯s no need to continue!¡± Numba tried to reason with his friend. ¡°You asked me to stop you, remember? Let¡¯s just go, ok?¡±

    Too bad that the only thing the red eyed creature registered was that a tasty morsel had just volunteered as its hors d''oeuvres.

    *****

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 Chapter 419 The Next meal (Part 2)

    Chapter 419 The Next meal (Part 2)¡¡¡¡The others had still been hesitating whether they should step in and help. In their mind, Eddy as an experienced teacher would be able to step in at any time in case things turned hairy. However, seeing him stay gave them doubt. Unlike him who only cared about the oue, they were friends of those inside and didn¡¯t want either one to be hurt.

    However, none of them did, apart from Namba. There were too many times when Gary had stepped up for him, it was now his turn.

    ¡®Gary¡­ I¡¯m doing as you asked, and if I have to, I will hold you back with force just like you asked.¡¯

    Numba had already transformed, he had his head tilted forward, ready to ram into Gary. If he got him at the right time, then it was possible that his horns could dig into Gary¡¯s shoulders and pin him against the cage.

    The only thing was, this was Gary. During training none of them had been able to get the upper hand on him, sure he was more hurt now, but also far more dangerous as well. It was then that Gary had changed forward, the red glow was still there, and his mouth opened wide as if he was going to bite Numba.

    ¡®His actions are wild, and he¡¯s not thinking straight. I just might be able to pull this off...¡¯ Numba realised.

    When Gary¡¯s feet touched the ground though, using all the strength in his toes, he suddenly pushed off at an incredible speed, faster than Numba or the others had ever seen him before.

    Unsurprisingly, the Goat Altered was unable to react to this, but he didn''t have to. Right In front of him, a longrge scaled golden armour object had appeared. The next moment, the screeching sound of the Werewolves ws scratching that surface could be heard.

    The attack didn¡¯t work and turning his head to whom his saviour was, he was surprised to see that it was the teacher, Eddy.

    ¡°You guys were right, perhaps I let things get the better of me, but you have nothing to worry about now,¡± Eddy imed.

    His arms, legs and strange tail were covered inrge scales that were the size of a sheet of paper. They were a golden brown colour, and it was difficult to say what beast he was based on just from a simple look.

    Whatever the case was, seeing how Gary¡¯s attack was able to break through the cage like so, it meant that these scales were solid.

    ¡°Gary, the match is over. You have shown enough.¡± Eddy reasoned. ¡°If you don''t get a hold of yourself, we¡¯ll have to send you off for testing.¡±

    It was clear that Gary¡¯s head wasn¡¯t there at the moment. He wasn¡¯t listening to anybody which prompted fears in Eddy that perhaps the green haired teenager had turned into a crazed Altered. After subduing him, they could easily test the colour of his blood.

    Truth be told, the teacher was hoping that it wouldn¡¯te to that. Ideally, Gary had just worked himself into a frenzy, one he could break out of¡­ if needed by force.

    Whatever the case, Gary wasn¡¯t listening to reason and simply charged in again, this time leaping in the air. Turning around, Eddy went to whack him with hisrge tail, managing to hit him right in the chest.

    The teachers at the AFA weren''t nobodies, although many of them weren''t in the AFC or arge corporation they were highly paid as if they were in one, The AFA itself was a high organisation.

    So there were those that just didn''t choose that lifestyle in the AFA. So in some cases, the teachers and the coaches in the AFA, could be considered better than top-tier athletes.

    Still, when the tail hit the Werewolf boy, rather than whack him away, Gary held onto the tail and opened his mouth wide, ready to bite through the hard scales. Arge hand had be behind Garyt, grabbing him and pulling him off the teacher, throwing him against the back of the cage. As for the one responsible for doing this, it was Ryan, who was huffing and panting covered in sweat. Not from being overworked but from the fear before.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry teach, I feel like a lot of this is my fault¡­ I should have just forfeited the match.'''' Ryan apologised. He was helping out because he didn''t want his teacher to get hurt. Eddy was well liked among the students, and he would have felt guilty if anything happened to him.

    ¡°Well, I see you two have this sorted, so I¡¯m just going to step out of here now.¡± Numba said, as he tried to tiptoe out of the ce, but he soon heard Gary give out an incredibly loud jowl.

    ¡°AWHOOO!¡± Gary howled to the sky.

    ¡®Gary what is happening to you, you¡¯ve been acting strange this whole time. You knew this was going to happen, right? Is that why you didn''t fight today? We have to do something, I have to do something before you get killed in this ce.¡¯

    Numba had turned around, ready to help his friend, when one more person joined the party to help out. Climbing over the top of the cage, Xin had dropped down, right behind Garry and ced both hands on his shoulders.

    ¡°This might hurt a bit, but hopefully it will let you calm down a little.¡±

    A small yellow spark could be seening out from her hand, and in the next second, Gary''s whole body lit up. His convulsion made it look like he had been electrocuted, and him looking like a human lightbulb only strengthened that idea.

    Xin was using an incredible amount of power, and Gary was shaking endlessly, his eyes were still red with anger as he gritted his teeth baring through the pain, until his arms dropped to his side. Their natural colour returned for a moment, before they rolled into the back of his head.

    Once Xin stopped, the Werewolf dropped to the floor unconscious. Everyone stood there looking at Gary, expecting him to get up again, like he had done during the fight many times, but he didn¡¯t making everyone breathe a sigh of relief that it was over.

    ¡°Now what do we do?¡± Ryan asked.

    *****

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 Chapter 420 Strange blood? (Part 1)

    Chapter 420 Strange blood? (Part 1)¡¡¡¡It was as if time stood still. For a moment, everyone in the room held their breath as they looked at Gary, making sure that he had really been knocked out. Thest thing they wanted was for someone to go and check, only for the green haired teenager to take a bite out of their arm.

    During this pause, Izzy was left in amazement about what she had just witnessed. ¡®That girl Xin really deserves her number one rank. I¡¯ve heard that there were beasts with elemental skills and powers, but I thought those were just baseless rumours¡­¡¯

    Unbeknownst to the normal viewers, the AFC was well aware that some Altered were more special than others, which was why each fighter would be informed beforehand that they were just to use the advantages the Altered forms gave them and nothing else.

    This led to the belief that some Altered were actually stronger when during their official matches outside the AFC. The reports of Altered having special powers hade from those that belonged to gangs and organisations in the first ce.

    ¡®This Xin girl is the same age as us, but she has already reached such an advanced level. Just how long will it take me to catch up?¡¯ Izzy wondered, but rather than get depressed that her own Altered wasn¡¯t that special, she intended to use it as motivation to get better. Hoping to close the gap through training and using her brain.

    After it became obvious that Gary wasn¡¯t faking being unconscious, the teacher assistants quickly entered and carried him away in the same manner as when Sty had been hurt in the first match.

    ¡°Wait, where are you taking him?¡± Numba asked, getting ready to follow him.

    ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Eddy said, stepping in between Numba and the leaving assistants. ¡°He''s going to be okay. The AFA has an incredible medical team and will make sure he¡¯ll be up in no time. Sty should know all about it.¡±

    Taking this as a type of dig, Sty just crossed his arms and looked away. ¡°I still don''t understand why that guy just wouldn¡¯t fully transform.¡± The Fly Altered mumbled, though not loud enough for the others to hear.

    As for Numba, he had no other choice but to watch his friend leave through those double doors, unable to stop them at all. ¡®Gary¡­ are you really going to be okay?¡¯ He thought.

    ¡°Alright, everyone, head back to your rooms. You¡¯re free for the rest of the day. Make sure to go to bed early, since tomorrow will officially be your first day. The teachers will know this, so they will take it easy on you. Do your best to catch up to your peers.¡± Eddy exined.

    Before the students left, Xin came up to Eddy. She looked a bit nervous as she rubbed her arm, but it was clear she wanted to say something. ¡°Eddy, can you¡­ can you let me know once he wakes up? I¡­ I want to apologise for what I did.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Eddy smiled back. ¡°I¡¯ll let him know you were worried about him as well.¡±

    Xin¡¯s face went all red, as she quickly hurried off to exit the room with the others. Seeing this, Eddy was quite happy. He had been worried about her since the only thing on that girl¡¯s mind had been fighting.

    Throughout her stay, Xin had never shown to care about anything else, which was why she had been able to improve so fast. As her teacher, Eddy was happy to see that a teenage girl her age still had normal interests. Unfortunately, he wasn''t quite sure about thepatibility between the two, the ¡®ice queen¡¯ and the ¡®wild boy¡¯...

    ¡®If these two get together, the pair of them could cause trouble for whoever they meet.¡¯ Eddy thought as he shook his head with an amused look.

    There was another person who wasn''t the same after his match. Ryan¡¯s cocky attitude was nowhere to be found, and he was not speaking to anyone. At the moment, he was looking at the cage itself¡­ and its damaged state.

    It made him wonder if he hadn''t moved in time, what would have happened to him, what would have the oue been. Seeing the others leave, Ryan decided to catch up with a certain individual.

    ¡°Hey¡­ I just wanted to say I¡¯m sorry.¡± He apologised. Shingi looked at him, barely believing his ears.

    ¡°It''s okay, man. I¡¯m happy you didn¡¯t die. If anyone beats the shit out of you, it should be me as your rival.¡±

    The twoughed it off as they exited from the ce, believing that they would never forget an event like today.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary was being wheeled through the facility in a hospital bed, and due to the severity of his wounds, they had decided to take him to the main facility, instead of the rooms they were in.

    There, a group of experts could work on him, to patch him up until he would be good as new. He had already been attached to an IV drip on the way. When the Werewolf arrived to see the specialised doctors, they were surprised that the wounds on his body weren¡¯t to a degree that put him in any ¡®life-threatening¡¯ condition.

    His heart was beating healthy, and it looked like just patching up his wounds had made arge improvement. With the IV drip inside him, Gary felt a small spark of Energy return, yet his eyes were still blurry. He tried to open them butcked the ability to do so.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen many Altered with great natural healing abilities, but it looks like he¡¯s on another level.¡± A male voice said. ¡°There¡¯s not much else we need to do, so put him in his own private room for now. Also, make sure to lock the doors, the file explicitly mentioned that part. The supervising teacher suspects that he might be a crazed Altered.¡±

    ¡°Would like me to collect a blood sample and proceed with the tests, doctor?¡± A female voice questioned.

    ¡®Blood sample? No, I can''t let them take one¡­ if they do¡­they''ll find out I''m not an Altered. I don¡¯t know what''s going to happen then but I don''t want to find out.¡¯

    The teenager tried to open his mouth, wanting to object and tell them that he was alright.

    s, as someone whocked the power to even open his eyes, he was unable to even move his lips. Everything was bing burdensome, and before he could do anything, he lost consciousness once more.

    ****

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 Chapter 421 Strange Blood (Part 2)

    Chapter 421 Strange Blood (Part 2)¡¡¡¡This time, Gary mustered enough strength to open his heavy eyelids and he was greeted by a bright white light above him. A in colour. It was a familiar feeling, a familiar scene as if he had been here before. The soft touch of the bedsheets in his hands acted as thest piece of the missing puzzle.

    ¡®Sh*t! I''m back in a hospital bed again, aren¡¯t I? What happened this time.¡¯ The green haired teenager tried to recollect his thought as he clenched the sheets tightly. He could only remember bits and pieces, with most of it just being a reminder of how painful that hunger had been.

    Eventually, the memories of what had happened were slowlying to him, and thankfully not one of them had him eat, kill or injure anyone else. Still, he also had no clue how he had ended up in this room. He remembered the teacher Eddy getting involved with the fight towards the end, but that was it.

    ¡°Well¡­ I can always ask someer. I guess it at least all worked out in the end.¡± Gary let out a sigh of relief. He took in his surroundings. The Werewolf knew that he was in a hospital bed again, seemingly in a private room, though slightly different from thest one, with a nt pot here and there, but that''s when he realised something.

    Slowly the pain in his stomach wasing back to him, the pain of hunger.

    [10/300 Energy]

    Seeing the low value, he felt relieved. He was a bit surprised that he still had Energy left over, but then he noticed the IV drip connected to his body, ensuring that he would have enough nutrients to survive.

    [30 Days until the next full moon]

    ¡®Wait, did I read that correctly¡­ the full moon¡­ it already passed! I don''t have to worry anymore!!¡¯ Gary thought excitedly in his head. He would have cheered if he had the Energy, but for now, he just enjoyed thefort of the pillow. ¡®Great, I can finally eat without holding back.¡¯

    Unfortunately, his joyous moment didn¡¯tst long. The realisation hit him how close a call it had been, the third turning. The pain he had gone through and the amount he needed to hold back was worse than the previous two times.

    On the first night, surviving just the night alone had been enough, though he had been upied with his fight against ke at the time¡­ Then there was the second turning, and suffice to say, three hungry Werewolves being cooped up in one room had turned out to be a recipe for disaster¡­ yet Gary had learned a lot from it. Enough to survive this third turning, at least that is what had been his assumption.

    In a way, the starvation method coupled with his draining of Energy had worked. Perhaps without that match, he might have made it the entire day, but if things would get harder and harder, then he might have no other choice but give in to his urges.

    To just eat, and then transform on that night to go out hunting?

    ¡®I guess I could always just make someone who I don''t like a hunting target.¡¯ Gary tried to joke with himself, but he knew it was a serious matter.

    In all honesty, he wished that either Tom or Kai would walk in through the door. Speaking of the Beta Werewolf, he was curious how his Pack members had fared with their own turning. Was it also getting worse for them each month, or was it just an Alpha thing?

    Whatever the case, he could at least put off his own suffering for another thirty days, and Gary was great regarding postponing problems he could do nothing about.

    ¡®What is going to happen to me now, though? I didn''t reveal myself, did I?¡¯ Gary wondered. ¡®Xin should have only seen my arms transform and my eyes, she can''t think I''m a Werewolf.¡¯

    There was a worry in Gary''s head, if one person he wanted never to see him fully transform, then that was It. Because, she and the rest of the gang had been attacked by Billy that time. Although he had joined, he was in his Werewolf state.

    If she was to find out, it might take her some time, but eventually, she would put two and two together. If she had to know the truth, then he wanted her to find out from his own mouth.

    Just then there was a knock on the door. At least the Werewolf didn''t feel the need to escape from the room this time, but he was concerned about who might walk through that door and what they would say.

    Surprisingly, Numba was the one to enter the room. ¡°Hey, you''re awake, I didn''t expect that.¡± The Goat Altered greeted him, as he pulled out a chair and sat down next to him. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Hungry,¡± Gary replied without an ounce of hesitation.

    Hearing the green haired teenager speak in his usual manner brought thergest smile on Numba¡¯s face.

    ¡°You''re back to normal¡­ I thought something had happened to you. I was worried you might have stayed like that forever¡­ You knew something like that was going to happen, didn¡¯t you? That''s why you told me to hold you back, right? It''s why I came alone and didn''t bring any of the others with me either.¡±

    ¡°Hold me back?¡± It was then that Gary remembered mumbling something like that¡­ At the time, he had been close to being delirious. If he hadn''t been knocked out, then he wanted Numba to lock him in a secure room, and leave him in there, making sure he didn''t escape.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Gary said, looking his friend straight in the eyes. ¡°Thank you for getting into the ring that time. I¡­ I don¡¯t know what would have happened if you didn¡¯t¡­ You''ve really proven to really be a wonderful friend. I don¡¯t know what I can do to ever repay you for that.¡±

    Numba stood up from his seat, and headed towards the door. ¡°Stop that. Isn¡¯t that what friends do for each other? Let me grab one of the nurses to bring you some food. They might want to take your blood before that, though.¡± Numba said opening the door.

    ¡°Blood?!¡± Gary shouted out. ¡°Hang on, Numba, does that mean they haven¡¯t taken my blood yet?!¡±

    The Werewolf instantly remembered the voices he heard moments before he had passed out.

    ¡°Umm, no, I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯m pretty sure they were waiting for you to wake up. To be honest, I shouldn''t even be here. I snuck in here to make sure you were alright. Because of the way you acted, Eddy suspected you might have been turning into a crazed Altered, but since you''re all okay, there should be nothing for you to worry about.¡±

    s, there WAS something to worry about. Gary already knew about the blood test thanks to White Rose. And he also knew that his blood wasn¡¯t that of an Altered. While White Rose might not have cared about it, how could he exin to the AFA, an academy EXCLUSIVELY for Altered how he had made it in and how he was able to transform without being an Altered himself?!

    ¡°Numba, I don¡¯t have the time to exin things but I need a huge favour from you. I need your blood to pass that test!¡±

    ****

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 Chapter 422 Fake blood

    Chapter 422 Fake blood¡¡¡¡Hearing Gary pleading with his voice, Numba stared out the door to see if anyone wasing their way. He slowly closed the door and kept his back against it, so he could buy them a few seconds if anyone did try ande in.

    ¡°Gary, what are you talking about? You''re not seriously trying to pass my blood off as your own, are you?¡± Numba asked. ¡°You seem normal enough, so what is even the point of that?¡±

    It was a confusing thing to do. Gary was behaving like his normal self. Even if he might be someone who could get easily angered, that wasn¡¯t the same as being a crazed Altered, so there had to be another reason for that. Perhaps he was just not feeling well, but in that case, why not just tell the nurses that so they could test him another day?

    Gary sat there in silence. He had been in this type of situation before, and he remembered how Tom had taken him to the medical room at school. Back then, he had still been debating whether to tell the truth or not. Still, this was different. Tom had been his best friend who had arrived at the right conclusion on his own, whereas Numba, no matter how great a friend he had proven to be, was someone he knew for less than a month. Furthermore, as far as he or everyone else was concerned he was just a Wolf type Altered¡­

    ¡°Look, Numba, I can¡¯t tell you everything right now, and I know that might make you feel like sh*t, but I promise I¡¯m doing it for your own good. I don¡¯t want to get you into trouble.¡± Gary exined. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t ask for your help unless I really needed it, but if they take my blood¡­¡±

    While the Werewolf was still searching for the right words, Numba just had a big smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s ok, Gary. We haven''t known each other for too long, but in that short period of time, how often have we stuck our necks out for each other? When you came to me in the assessment, when I helped you with that ck ball test, you with Sty and all of that until we are here right now.

    ¡°To me, you are a person who can¡­ aplish anything, so if you need my help, but can¡¯t exin things, then I¡¯m trusting you that you¡¯re doing it for a good reason.¡±

    Gary was surprised by this reaction, though this feeling of trust made him feel even guiltier for not reciprocating it. Still, there was just too much he didn¡¯t know about the Werewolf System, and the fewer people knew about it, the better.

    ¡°Thank you¡­ so you¡¯ll take the blood test for me?¡± Gary asked.

    Numba pulled a strange face. ¡°I mean, I¡¯d be happy to, but how exactly are we supposed to do that? It¡¯s not like I can hide in your bedsheets and stretch out my arm when theye. I also can¡¯t just go out and tell a nurse that I¡¯ll bring them your blood, nor can I go out and pretend to be you.¡±

    Now that Numba brought up the issue, the Werewolf didn¡¯t exactly have a solution for that problem, either. Before they could rack their brains together, a slight pressure came down on the door handle. Numba, immediately sprinted towards the bed, hoping to hide underneath it, but it was toote, the nurse had already opened the door.

    ¡°Hey, who are you? You''re not meant to be in here!¡± She shouted loudly. ¡°Someone call the guards, we have an intruder!!!¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry, I just came to visit my friend because I was worried about him.¡± Numba tried to exin him being there. He made sure to put up his arms as a sign of surrender while showing off his AFA uniform so that she knew he was a student. The nurse simply looked him up and down, before she pointed to the door.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave. I¡¯m sorry for intruding.¡±

    As he exited the room, Numba gave Gary a disjointed look. However, the green haired teenager didn¡¯t notice it. He was too busy staring at the tray full of equipment the nurse brought with her, specifically at the needle and a strap.

    ¡®I can¡¯t just leave Gary, he¡¯s not going to be able to figure this out himself, but I don¡¯t have any ideas either.¡¯ Numba thought, but fortunately, he knew just the right person to help them out.

    Running out of the hospital wing, the Goat Altered headed across one of the hallways that connected several of the building. He was headed for their new rooms, going straight to one of the rooms, which turned out to be unlocked.

    ¡°Izzy, I need your help!¡±

    ¡°Ahhh! What the f*ck do you think you''re doing, close the door!¡± Izzy shouted.

    Numba stood there motionless as his eyes stared at Izzy who had juste out of the bath. Thinking she would be on her own, she didn¡¯t even have a towel covering herself, only one to cover her hair, allowing the teenage boy to get a great look at all her assets.

    ¡°Get out!¡± Izzy screamed, and Numba instantly escaped the room.

    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, but we don¡¯t really have much time. It''s about Gary, he¡¯s in trouble.¡± Numba revealed from behind the door. He was d that there was nobody else around to see his beet red face.

    ¡®I saw¡­ everything.¡¯

    In less than a minute, Izzy came out of the room, now dressed in the AFA uniform. The only sign that she had been naked moments ago was the still wet hair.

    ¡°He better be close to death for you to barge in like that.¡± Her finger pressed into his chest, as she was barely resisting the urge to beat him up for what he had done. She took a step back, her arms crossed as she waited for more information, yet Numba could only stare at the floor to avoid looking at her.

    ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s got you so mad?¡± Ian suddenly appeared from the hallway,ing back from the kitchen after his meal. He had heard themotion on the way, but he had been too far away to make out details. ¡°What did I miss? Did you confess to Izzy or something?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Both Izzy and Numba answered in unison.

    Ian was shocked why they reacted to his teasing this way, but he let it go. Since he was already there, Numba didn¡¯t want to send him away, especially since they were all friends of Gary.

    ¡°Look, I came here because we need your brain,¡± Numba said. ¡°I¡¯ve juste from Gary¡¯s room. He¡¯s awake and from what I can tell, he¡¯s back to his regr old self. However, the moment I mentioned that they needed to test his blood to make sure his outburst yesterday had nothing to do with him being a crazed Altered, he started freaking out. He even begged me to cover him by taking the blood test for him.¡±

    ¡°What? Why? That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± Ian chimed in.

    Numba could only shrug his shoulders. ¡°I asked him the same thing, but from what he could tell me, it was best for me not to know. We didn¡¯t exactly have a lot of time to discuss what he meant by that because a nurse came in and tried to call the supervisors on me.

    ¡°Maybe his blood is a little crazed, and he''s worried about what the school might do if they find out. Whatever the case, we need to help him. We owe him at least that much. If it weren¡¯t for him, we all would still be in the facility.¡±

    Hearing all of this, Izzy let out a big sigh. ¡°Alright, sounds like this is really serious. We might be able to do something, but it''s going to be hard. The good news is, due to the rules around Altered, they are only allowed to test the blood for ck particles, which means they aren¡¯t allowed to store or keep the blood sample in any way.

    ¡°After all, the corporations, and other groups, don¡¯t want to risk an independentpany having their Altered¡¯s blood on file. That means, giving our blood, or swapping the sample before they test won¡¯t be a problem, it''s just how we do it.

    ¡°If a nurse is already in the room with him, that means we don¡¯t really have the time toe up with something. We''re just going to have toe up with a n on the way there. Let¡¯s hope that Gary manages to buy us some time.¡±

    Standing up, all three of them were ready. They knew that getting caught in an attempt to temper with a medical test couldnd them in huge trouble, but for their friend, they were ready to take that risk.

    ****

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 Chapter 423 Fake Blood (Part 2)

    Chapter 423 Fake Blood (Part 2)¡¡¡¡The three walked through the hallway at a fast pace, they didn''t want to run to attract any attention, because currently, they were now in the official academy. They were supervisors, teachers and students that would appear once in a while, in certain ces.

    The reaction to this little mission that they had was different for all of them, Numba nervous, Izzy focused while Ian, he was excited. Never did he think his life in the AFA would amount to so many things happening and a life like this.

    In fact, he didn''t even get a second to rx, either.

    ¡°Alright, so there are two things that need to be done. First is to get a test tube they use for blood, and also, get a syringe to draw out the blood. I¡¯m guessing neither of you knows how to give yourself a blood test?¡± Izzy asked.

    ¡°I feel a little sick just thinking about it, they need to find a vein right in your arm, and they wrap that thing around your bicep,¡± Ian replied.

    ¡°Alright, well we don¡¯t know why Gary needs Numba''s blood, but if I were to guess it doesn''t matter who ites from, So Ian, that''s going to be your job. As for the second task, that''s getting Gary¡¯s blood sample and swapping it. This is going to be the harder one.¡± Izzy exined.

    When arriving at the medical bay, there were quite a few students with different injuries, what surprised them was there were also some supervisors here as well. When training Altered with all different types of abilities, they guessed it was just a normal thing.

    The Medical ward wasn''t too big, there was an oval desk in the centre with staff members working at it. Nurses were walking back and forth, looking a bit too busy to deal with anything.

    Then there were the patients that would sit outside a particr door on a cold metal seat.

    ¡°I was going to tell you Izzy, the sneaking part, I don''t think will be so difficult.¡± Numba exined. ¡°When I came here earlier, everyone was just so busy, and they seemed to trust the students not to do anything crazy here.

    ¡°The problem is, probably wherever they have the Blood samples. I mean, sneaking in and getting a few things, fair enough, but snooping around was bound to get caught.¡±

    Before Numba was able to fully finish his exnation, Ian was already off, he had seen where the nurses were going, in and out with their troubles of equipment. He went through the double doors, and everyone waited nervously for a while.

    Five minutes had passed, ten minutes had passed and then. After fifteen minutes, Izzy was going to go in herself, but that''s when she saw Ian walking back towards them. The group regathered, and stepped a bit away from the reception.

    ¡°What took you so long?¡± Izzy asked.

    ¡°I was getting this,¡± Ian replied. ¡°I wanted to be careful, make sure it was a clean needle, where to dispose of it, and do you know how scary it is to stab yourself with a needle?¡± Ian asked.

    ¡°Aren''t you a beast that makes needles?¡± Numba asked.

    ¡°That''s different, anyway, it was terrifying, and I missed a few times, but I eventually got what you wanted. You know on the inte I could probably sell my blood for a fortune and here I am, giving it away for free.¡± Ian joked, but Izzy had already snapped it out from Ian''s hand.

    ¡°So what are we going to do, about the other part, the swapping the blood? I couldn''t find theb.¡± Ian replied.

    ¡°I''m going to need you two to make some type of distraction for me, just something to get all the nurses out here. Something big, and I¡¯ll go in and have a look.¡± Izzy stated.

    ¡°What if the door is looked at, or if anything is looked at, don''t we need a key or to force someone to tell us?¡± Numba asked.

    Izzy smiled.

    ¡°You know, I only epted because I thought there was a chance of this working, you can let me deal with that.¡±

    The two boys were standing there thinking about how they could make arge distraction when Ian hade up with an idea and whispered it to Numba.

    ¡°No way, why would I let you do that?¡± Numba asked.

    At that moment, Ian pushed Numba strongly across the room.

    ¡°Why are you trying to steal my girl, man, can''t you get your own!!¡± Ian shouted.

    Like an actor, his facial expression and tone of voice had changed in an instant just like that.

    ¡°Come on, what if you really want to do something, then why don''t you fight me right here, right now!¡± Ian shouted.

    Everyone had stopped, including the nurses, as they looked at themotion happening in front of them, and one had even picked up the phone.

    ¡°Oh, so you''re not going to say anything, well good defence!¡± Ian shouted, throwing out a kick and transforming his leg. Spikes grew out of it that dug right into Numba''s own leg.

    ¡°ARGHHH, you bastard!¡± Numba shouted. Even if it was all an act, Numba was now annoyed.

    ¡°Stop fighting, please stop fighting!'''' The nurses were shouting.

    It was perfect for Izzy, and she had already disappeared. It didn''t take long for her to find the room that they were looking for.

    There was ab with a thick ss window, where all the samples could be seen. It looked like the facility had on site testing, so there was no need to send it off.

    cing her hand toward the handle, Izzy''s finger started to change, and a clicking sound was heard. It was easy for her to get into the room.

    Closing the door and looking at it again, she stayed low, Izzy was looking through the test tubes at whatever she could find.

    If someone was toe in, she was also looking for appropriate hiding spaces until they left. Eventually, she found it, in a tray with a couple of other blood tests.

    There was a sticker on it, with Gary¡¯s name. Taking the tube, she took off the sticker and put it on the one Ian had given.

    After that, she ced it back in the tray, as if everything was there as it was, but the question was now what to do with the blood.

    There was a bright yellow container for rubbish that was to be destroyed, and there was also a sink not too far by that she could have poured it down.

    ¡®Gary wanted us to get this for him, but why? Is he really a crazed Alter, or is it something else?¡¯

    In the end, rather than throwing the tube away, Izzy decided to keep it. Her curiosity about Gary had gotten the better out of her.

    *****

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 Chapter 424 The plan (Part 1)

    Chapter 424 The n (Part 1)¡¡¡¡After Numba had left Gary alone with the nurse, the woman had asked Gary a few routine questions before attempting to get his blood sample. Biding his time, the green haired teenager had asked for some food, but the medical professional had told him that the doctor ordered her to get the test done first.

    With no better idea, the Werewolf told the woman that he really needed to go to the toilet, and with him just having woken up, she understood why he might need to go. Unfortunately for him, she had apanied him right to the door, and since he stayed inside for over five minutes, the nurse was just about to call the doctor. Naturally, the green haired teenager had quickly left his impromptu hideout.

    During that whole time, Gary himself was thinking of a n, any n to get him out of the situation, even climbing out of the toilet window, turning into a werewolf and nevering back to the academy again.

    In the end, he could think of nothing.

    After returning to the room, the nurse was ready and had eventually taken his blood, though not before Gary had destroyed one needle by ¡®identally¡¯ flexing his muscles during the procedure, he was devastated. Now more than ever, he would have loved for someone to tell him what to do.

    In the end, he justid there in his troubles. The only good news was that he could finally eat having taken the blood test. After a short while, the food had arrived and he was drawing his sorrows by eating.

    ¡®Goodbye academy, this could be thest meal I eat.¡¯ He thought as he stuffed his face.

    Suddenly he heard amotion outside, and since the voices sounded familiar, he decided to take a look outside. Walking down the hallway, he saw that everyone had gathered around the reception. The next second he had to blink several times and rub his eyes as he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.

    In the reception, there was a Goat Altered who was currently fighting a Hedgehog Altered. At the start, Ian had just been ying around, but after hurting each other a few times on ident trying to make it realistic, there were some real feelings involved.

    ¡°Numba¡­ Ian? What the hell are the two of you doing?¡± Gary asked loudly since they both had bloody wounds. He was confused about what could have happened in the short period of time that he hadst seen his friends, that might have led to the two of them to fall out this brutally.

    While the attention shifted to the new arrival, Izzy took the chance to exit the hallway, briefly giving the Goat Altered a thumbs up to signal that she hadpleted her part of this mission, before disappearing.

    Instead of answering him, Numba ran towards Gary and hugged him in front of everyone.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got it resolved. You should be all good now.¡± The Goat Altered whispered to him, before he let go.

    Ian raised an eyebrow, unsure whether he should continue with the script about this merely being a spat over a girl. Ultimately, he decided to pretend to take this as his win.

    ¡°Yeah, you better run to your boyfriend. If I see you next to her again, nobody will be able to help you!¡± He loudly harrumphed and ran out before anyone could stop him.

    ¡°This is what friends do, we look out for each other.¡± Numba silently mouthed those words as he walked away. Gary received the message loud and clear, and believed that the fight had been part of a bigger n to help him with his problem.

    Later that night, there was worry in the room. Gary was starting to think if he had gotten the message from Numba all wrong. When the nurse entered, she had given the results of the blood test, informing Gary that they found no abnormalities in his blood. He was also informed that the blood had already been disposed off, and taken off file.

    After that, he was told to go to his new room. It was a bit hard to find with the AFA being sorge, but once he saw the red, yellow and blue building he was sure that was in the right ce.

    The apartment block could hold around five hundred students, and although there wasn¡¯t a giant ranking system that dictated every student¡¯s quality of life, the colours did serve a simr function.

    The reason the AFA had such a great reputation for raising talented students, was because they wouldn''t allow just anybody to progress to the AFC. For the time being, Gary had been told to head to the red section of the building, and enter room 114, which was on the bottom. Once he proved his worth, he would eventually climb up to the other buildings.

    ¡®Well, it looks like I won¡¯t be bumping into Xin any time soon, but it does make me wonder. All those students we fought should be in the blue dormitory, but if we had beat them, would we automatically have been assigned to the blue dormitory? Or was that never possible and it was really just some type of assessment?¡¯

    Gary felt a little left out since all of that had probably been told to Numba on the others earlier today. While they had all enjoyed the first day of the AFA, he had spent it in the hospital bed, praying that whatever Numba had done to his blood test had worked.

    Since that had been taken care of, If he couldn''t figure out a good way to get out of the next full moon, lock him somewhere or escape far away in the woods, then he would leave the academy before then. While here, though, he would learn as much as he could and make plenty of connections¡­ at least if they weren¡¯t stuck up arseholes like Sty that is.

    *****

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 Chapter 425 The plan (part 2)

    Chapter 425 The n (part 2)¡¡¡¡Finding his room, Gary pressed the key card the nurse had handed him against the door and it had unlocked, opening up. The smell of freshness wafted into his nose. It felt simr to the sensation one experienced when checking out a hotel room.

    To the left, there was a nice kitchen area with two stoves to allow the students to do some home cooking. Then there was a fridge next to it. To the right, was arge bathtub that doubled up as a shower.

    Finally, walking on a bit more, there was quite arge empty space with a high ceiling, as well as a few basic tools in the room such as dumbells, and finally a double bed. For an apartment for a single person, it was beyond what Gary had expected, especially since he still remembered where he had slept in the facility during the first few days¡­

    Of course, it was nowhere near as high-end as the luxury rooms he had enjoyed at the end, but as the professors had already stated, that was special for the facility''s circumstances. Living the life he had lived, he was not one toin that he had suddenly been robbed of his luxury.

    ¡®Crap, why does my heart hurt a little?¡¯ Gary thought. Thinking of the joy of this ce, and everything he started to think about his mother. Before he had left, he had visited her at the hospital, but her state had not changed. He wished that she would have woken up, so he could have told her not to worry about him anymore.

    s, he knew that wishful thinking wouldn¡¯t change anything about her condition.

    When heading to the bed, Gary saw that a sheet had been left out for him, and it looked like it was his rota for the week. It had a timetable with what time all his lessons would be and when he should arrive.

    It reminded him of being back in school again, just as he was about to read the thing, he heard a knock on the door. Looking through the peephole, Gary smiled as he opened it.

    ¡°HEY, Look at you, it seems like everything was okay in the end,¡± Ian said, already walking in.

    He wasn¡¯t and with him was both Izzy and Numba as well. They instantly made themselves wee, just like they had done in the facility. Ian casually took a seat. While Numba sat next to him on the bed.

    ¡°How did you guys know that I was here?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°The supervisors told us.¡± Numba chuckled. ¡°After that little fight we had to distract everyone, it was impossible for us to get out unscathed. Fortunately, they bought our story about us fighting over a girl and since we¡¯ve just arrived they chose to be lenient.

    ¡°However, they did warn us that the next time we¡¯ll get a severe punishment, but we¡¯ll just have to avoid there being a next time. Anyway, when we asked about you, they told us that you¡¯ve already been discharged and sent to your room. By the way, we¡¯re your next door neighbours.¡±

    It wasn''t too big a surprise, it would make sense for them all to be in the red part of the building and next to each other.

    ¡°Thank you¡­thank you all for helping me, and I¡¯m sorry for acting weird thest couple of days as well. I know what you saw might have been a bit scary.¡± Gary finally said.

    ¡°Hey, I already knew you could break bones.¡± Ian pointed at his leg. ¡°And did you see the look on Ryan''s face? I swear, he must have shat his pants when you nearly wed!¡±

    ¡°How¡­how did they stop me in the end?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°It was Xin.¡± Izzy immediately replied. ¡°She got up behind you, and knocked you out on the spot.¡±

    Of all the people that were present, Gary had expected that Eddy would have been the one to stop him. He didn''t remember the teacher doing such a thing, so he had assumed that one of supervisor must have snuck up on him to knock him out. Xin hadn¡¯t even been on his list of suspects.

    ¡®Is she really that skilful? I might have been out of my mind, but I still had a lot of Health left¡­ I wonder how I would have fared if she had been my opponent from the start. Oh well, maybe we¡¯ll have the chance in the future. Now, should I thank her for knocking me the next time I see her?

    ¡®There''s Xin the rest of the AFA, Altered Hunters, White Rose, and a number of gangs that still could topple me when ites to terms of power.¡¯

    It was then that Numba picked up Gary¡¯s rota off the bed.

    ¡°Ah, that''s good, you have the same rota as me,¡± Numba said.

    ¡°Don''t we all have the same rota?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°We do, but I''m guessing he¡¯s talking about another thing,¡± Izzy replied. ¡°Numba''s sheet was the only one with another lesson called, ¡®Special Lesson¡¯. It¡¯s a ss that¡¯s being taught once a week, but neither one of us has it.¡±

    Looking at the sheet, Gary could see it was there, and it made him wonder what it was.

    ¡°Alright, I guess we should let you rest up.¡± Ian stretched. ¡°Today was pretty chilling for us, but I imagine tomorrow, they will start pushing us. Especially since we got in trouble. We should let you get an early night in a proper bed.¡±

    The others agreed and headed to the door, but before closing it, Izzy had one more thing to say.

    ¡°Take a look in the wardrobe, there is a nice surprise waiting for you.¡± With that the female Altered closed the door.

    ¡°The wardrobe?¡± Gary thought, when opening it up, there was a small box with the top open. He pulled it out, and opened the lid. Inside, there were a few of his valuable items that he needed to hand over before joining the facility.

    The most important one of all that was inside was his phone. Picking it up, Gary immediately went to turn it on, and luckily it still had a bit of juice left.

    ¡®I can finally contact the others, and see how they are doing.¡¯ He thought with a smile on his face.

    *****

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 Chapter 426 Update from the outside

    Chapter 426 Update from the outside¡¡¡¡Gary knew that he should focus on getting a good night¡¯s rest, but such a simple task felt impossible to him. Now that he finally had gotten his phone back, he was dying to find out what had happened during his stay in the facility.

    For all he knew, something serious could have urred without his knowledge. The Howlers might be in serious trouble and require his help¡­ or they could be just fine on their own. Fortunately, his phone didn¡¯t let him wait for long. The sounds of several dings let him know that he hadn¡¯t been forgotten.

    Noticing that his phone about to die with merely 3% battery, the green haired teenager hurried to plug it in. The AFA had nned everything perfectly, allowing him to lie on his bed while scrolling through his contacts and their chat log.

    Marie: [Gary, I hope you''re kicking some serious butt at the academy. It feels really weird without you here. I can¡¯t wait to see you on TV!]

    It was a short message, but sent during the beginning of his time at the academy. Of course, all of those in the Howlers knew what he was really doing.

    Austin: [Stay strong.]

    ¡®Short but precise. I might have had to worry if it had been anything buting from him.¡¯

    Innu: [Happy that you¡¯re on your way to be a famous superstar. Sorry to have to ask you like this, but I¡¯d like to borrow some cash from the Howlers Bank. Without you around, Kai is even more of a stingy arsehole than before. I even exined that I don¡¯t need it for me, but to look after Kevin.]

    Gary pulled a face at thatst one. Because he was a leader, it was only natural that from time to time. he would actually need to make a decision, yet in terms of money he felt like Kai would know best. If he denied that request then surely there would be a good reason for it. As such, he merely told Innu that he would talk about it with Kai, stressing that he could not make any promises.

    Tom: [I got an Apprenticeship at NIRV, so it looks like we are both onto big things. Don''t worry, I won¡¯t hold it against you if you don¡¯t reply anytime soon. I know you''re busy, and they must have rules about limited phone ess. If you can, tell me that you¡¯re fine, otherwise, I guess, we¡¯ll have a long discussion next time we meet.]

    Reading the message from his best friend reminded him of the bittersweet days in the past. During peaceful moments like this one, part of the teenager wished he could just go back to ying video games, not having to worry about so many adult things. Still, he knew that it was just wishful thinking. He had had people to look after, especially his family.

    ¡®I should give Tom a call at some point. Maybe when it''s the holidays time, I should go see him. We should have enough money to visit a Tier-2 city, surely?¡¯ Gary thought.

    Amy: [Gary, I never thought I would say this¡­ but I actually miss waking up and finding your clothes lying around because you were too busy hurrying to school. I don¡¯t want to sound ungrateful. The apartment you got me is great, and your friends look after me. I also managed to make some new friends but¡­ every time Ie home it just feels so empty. I¡¯ve been visiting Mum nearly every day, and while her condition is stable, there are no signs of her waking up. The doctor told me it could be tomorrow, next week, or next year, there¡¯s no way to tell. Anyway, I don¡¯t want to be your whiny, little sister. I understand you have important things to do, but it would be nice if you visited once in a while.]

    This message pulled at certain strings in Gary''s heart. It was painful to read, and it was the one that actually made him question his decision toe to the AFA in the first ce. He cared about his family, everything he was doing was for his family, but was it really worth it, if he left behind the people he cared about?

    ¡®Am I being selfish by joining the AFA. If I just spent time with the Howlers, then we could have just lived off the ie off that, right?¡¯

    The more he thought about it, the more his heart tried to persuade him to leave, but taking a long breath he shook his head. His brain told him that he hadn¡¯t been gone that long, and leaving now would make his journey to this point meaningless. Besides, the life they had now, could easily change at the drop of a hat.

    Being in a gang wasn''t safe, nor was it something that a person could¡­ take it easy with.

    Finally, Gary scrolled back up to the message he had skipped earlier.

    Kai: [I bet you were expecting me to give you an update on the Howlers¡¯ progress and how we¡¯re doing, Gary, but you won¡¯t find that here. I don¡¯t want you to worry about any of that stuff. You¡¯ve earned the right to be selfish, and even then your sess will also help the Howlers, so just concentrate on your honeymoon with Xin. ;) ]

    Kai: [By the way, knowing you, you probably didn¡¯t bother reading their policy, so here is the short version. Once you''re a student, you should be able toe and go as you please. They know that due to the students¡¯ connections, sometimes they have to leave. You¡¯ll probably have to ask a teacher or something for some time off. Don¡¯t overuse that privilege, though, and don¡¯t do it to meet up with us. We¡¯ll be fine on our own. ]

    Then there was another one which was very recent.

    Kai: [You must have been worried sickst night, about how we dealt with the full moon. The short version is that Olivia and I are doing fine, so please don¡¯t worry about us. In fact, I''m more worried about what might have happened to you. I hope you didn¡¯t eat anyone. I guess we¡¯ll find out in a couple of days on the news. :P ]

    For some reason, reading Kai''s messages had caused Gary to grip his phone a little tighter. Perhaps it was the fact that Kai was nearly spot on with his prediction. Even if his smiley told him that he was jesting, they both knew that the possibility had been there¡­

    Kai: [I know I said I wouldn¡¯t update you with gang business, but the gang has gone through some big changestely. Look forward to seeing it. Apart from that, things are going well and there have been no problems. Still keep your phone on you if possible, perhaps I¡¯ll contact you.]

    After reading the message, Gary¡¯s first instinct was to reply to his friend. He couldn''t imagine what he would be needed for, when Kai had the whole gang. The only scenario would be if they needed him for additional fire power, but who would dare to go against them in Slough?

    Yet the context of the message said they were fine. In the end, Gary decided to not reply to any of the messages yet. Knowing Kai, Gary had been given all the details he deemed necessary.

    ¡®Kai was right about one thing, though, I need to focus on me.¡¯ Gary told himself. ¡®Tomorrow is my first day in the academy. I need to work hard so I can catch up to Xin, and even Jayden. If the group needs me, he¡¯ll let me know.¡¯

    Gary, ced his head on the pillow, and it didn¡¯t take him long to fall asleep.

    *****

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 Chapter 427 The first day

    Chapter 427 The first day¡¡¡¡Waking up, Gary was in a great mood. After all, the first thing on his Rota was breakfast. The canteen was linked to the red section of the dorms, so unfortunately, just like before, he had no chance to meet up with Xin. At this rate, if Gary wanted to meet her, then he would just have to go over to the blue section, or outright go search for her during a free period, hoping that she would be free as well.

    At breakfast, a kind of buffet awaited the students. The food there wasn¡¯t as extravagant as in the facility, but there was plenty of meat such as sausages, bacon and chicken breast. Since he had missed the first day, and thus the opportunity to meet his dietician, he just picked everything he liked, which resulted in him carrying several tes of pure meat to his seat.

    The eyes all around the room naturallynded on him as he carried his towers of meat.

    ¡°You know what, I''m happy for you, Gary.¡± Ian said as the green haired teenager sat down. All four of them were back together, enjoying their meals. ¡°We¡¯ve been worried when you were fasting, but now that you¡¯re eating like that again, it¡¯s all good. It¡¯s also good to know that whenever you go on a hunger strike, we¡¯ll have to be careful that you might go all cray cray on us.¡±

    Izzy kicked Ian on the shin, telling him to shut up. She was sure that their friend didn¡¯t need to be reminded of that event, but that¡¯s when they saw that he was just happily stuffing his face as usual, seemingly not caring about that at all.

    Once breakfast was over, the four decided to head to their first lesson together. Gary was lucky that he had them to lead the way. Numba revealed that they had actually arrived ten minuteste for the first lesson yesterday, due to how big the AFA was and how many buildings they had.

    The rota had the name of the building and ss number, but that didn¡¯t help much when they had no idea where they were going. The initial tour with Eddy had helped, but it had been too much to take in at once.

    The first lesson of the day was a theory lesson. It had nothing to do with fighting or martial arts, but the history of Altered themselves. It wasn¡¯t the most interesting subject in Gary¡¯s opinion, since he was only early interested in the fighting part, but it was good that he didn¡¯t have to show off anything today.

    ¡®I wonder when we will have a morebat focused lesson?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®Since I had to conserve my Energy in the fight against Ryan, I couldn¡¯t really go all out¡­ at least not while I was conscious. I still don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ve really improvedpared to before¡­ but it makes me think.

    ¡®Other than Xin and the teachers, Is there even anyone for me to fight in here? Or learn from? If not, maybe there is a way I can skip all this, and go to join the AFC as quickly as possible.¡¯

    While daydreaming about his debut match, Gary and his friends arrived in ss. It was held in arge room, almost as big as a cinema, and the seats were set up that way as well. There was arge bench with rows going upwards looking down at the centre of the ss where the white board was.

    A start case in the middle that devised the two sets of rows as well. It seemed like it was a bit of a free for all when it came to seats, buting early allowed the students to sit wherever they wanted.

    While waiting for the teacher and seeing the new students enter, some of them looked Gary¡¯s way. They whispered about his green hair and his earlier eating habits. Rumours were also spreading as to why he only arrived today, rather than yesterday.

    The new students were always interesting to those that had passed, and just like the facility, everyone had been here, for different amounts of time. Although, the ssroom looked small, with about five other students entering.

    ¡®I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised since this ss is called ¡®Beginner Altered Theory¡¯. That means that there should be an Intermediate or Advanced Altered Theory ss, though. I wonder how you go up¡­ Is there a test for each subject or something? And you have to get a certain score before you go up another level?¡¯

    While pondering about this, three more students arrived, Wu, Snow and Apollo. Noticing the new arrival, Apollo nodded towards the Werewolf with a big grin.

    ¡®Well, I made it big, but sorry to disappoint you, I didn¡¯t make it through as the number one.¡¯ Gary thought in his head.

    The group went to sit on the other side. Strangely, when Sty entered, rather than sitting with the three of them, he sat on Gary¡¯s side, but several rows above.

    Eventually, the teacher entered and one of his helpers handed the Werewolf a text book and a bag with utensils to write notes and such during the lesson.

    The first lesson was about Beasts, and how they were rted to Altered.

    ¡°We have found that in the past, Beasts had been ranked into different tiers based on the crystal inside them, which yed a major role in how powerful they were. This could be one of the reasons why there''s such a difference in the Altered powers.

    ¡°However, we are unable to determine how strong the Beast was that would be used for Alterification at this point and time. Or at least we haven¡¯t found an easier way.¡±

    The lesson continued, and Gary discovered that he found the subject far more interesting than he had initially anticipated, perhaps it was because it was his first day and everything was to do with the Altered he had always found utterly fascinating.

    After that, Gary had a personal lesson with the dietician, while the others had a free period. He had to answer a few questions, such as what he would normally eat. He was a bit embarrassed, yet he answered honestly, because the one thing he wanted to avoid was to have his ess to food restricted in any way.

    ¡°I think your diet is quite suitable for you.¡± The female dietician springily said. ¡°Your Altered form, it matches quite well, so your stomach must have changed. Although if I didn¡¯t see you myself, I would have worried you might be overeating, your body doesn¡¯t show any signs of that. In my professional opinion, I can only advise you to continue with your diet.

    ¡°I have made some adjustments, taking out some fatty foods for you, but tomorrow morning, at lunch and dinner, everything should be prepared for you. If you feel like you need any adjustments, please make a booking at the reception ande and see me.¡±

    A free pass to continue eating like he had done put him in a great mood, and it was a good thing as well, because the next lesson was the mysteriously titled ¡®Special Lesson¡¯. It was in apletely different part of the building, and there looked to be ack of students in the current ce.

    Gary stood in front of a giant steel door, tapping his foot away, waiting for his friend to arrive.

    ¡°Thanks for waiting for me. I''m d I''m not doing this alone.¡± Numba said.

    ¡°Me too, so what is this lesson?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Eddy just told me that it will be something special, but it''s the first time for me as well.¡±

    After waiting a while, they saw another familiar student arriving, Sry. This came as a bit of surprise, though part of Gary had also expected it. Since neither Izzy nor Ian had it on their rota, he had theorised that it might be something exclusive to the top three students.

    A momentter, Apollo, Wu and Snow arrived, further proving the Werewolf¡¯s theory.

    Whatever this special lesson was, apparently the AFA only wanted the top students to participate in it.

    *****

    My Werewolf System Webtoon is out! You can read now in the BILI BILI COMICS APP. Weekly Webtoon chapters. Check it out, help it grow, and there might be news of an official My Vampire System webtoon someday.

 Chapter 428: Special Lesson (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 428: Special Lesson (part 1)</h4>

    Despite everything Gary had been through, Apollo still had this strange aura surrounding him that told the Werewolf on an instinctual level that the person was quite dangerous. It wasn¡¯t that the Altered used it in any conscious way to threaten him, it was just there and made Gary aware that he should treat him with respect as he had done the head supervisor.

    The visits between the two of them had been short, their interactions practically nothing, and yet, his words were quite weighted on Gary¡¯s mind thest two times they had spoken. When thinking about it, before thinking about getting better than Xin, or anyone in the AFA and AFC, he needed to beat this person in front of him, he just had no idea what level Apollo was at, or his two teammates that were with him.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you took my advice and made it through your group at the top.¡± Apollo said.

    It was good that Apollo had broken the ice, because the conversation between the two groups wascklustre for a while.

    The three from each group stood opposite each other, looking into the other''s eyes. Sty, had his arms folded as he looked away from the group. Clearly something had happened between the two of them, because before Sty was a part of them. First the ssroom and now this, it wasn¡¯t hard to put the two things together.

    Numba was feeling nervous. Out of all the people that were currently there, he felt out of ce. After all, he knew that he hadn¡¯t done enough to deserve his ce, and he felt like the weakest of the lot.

    His draw against Sty could be considered a fluke, and he felt like if the two were to fight again, Sty would surely win.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I didn''t quite manage to stay at the top.¡± Gary replied, pulling Numba into a friendly type of headlock, while he was still dazed and in the middle of his thoughts. ¡°This guy took that from me.¡±

    Hearing this, Apollo¡¯s eyesnded on Numba.

    ¡°Huh, what are you saying, Gary? I only made it here because of you in the first ce.¡± The Goat Altered quickly refuted the praise, not wanting to set up the wrong expectations like he had done before, with thest group of people they had met.

    Hearing this, the look on Apollo¡¯s face changed.

    ¡®Huh, I didn¡¯t take him to be a softie.¡¯

    For a brief moment, he even questioned his evaluation of Gary. He had taken the green haired teenager to be the same as him, but if Apollo was in the same shoes, he would have never given up the number one spot, even if they were a close friend. Yet, there was still a feeling that the two of them were simr.

    ¡°Since you guys arrived here before us, care to tell us what this special lesson is all about?¡± Gary asked.

    Both Snow and Wu looked at each other before giving an answer. ¡°This is our first time here as well. Although it was on our timetable, we were told to wait until we were called, so here we are.¡±

    It was strange, that only the six of them were involved in something, and it made Gary even more curious what they would be taught. Was it just a coincidence that the AFA didn¡¯t start those lessons before there were six of them? Did it have anything to do with the number? Was it hard to prepare, so they preferred to do it with arger group at once? There were too many reasons to guess. The only fact they did know, where they were the top three students that passed the facility.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from the students before about this.¡± Apollo stated. ¡°Those that pass through the facility as one of the top three students in under a month get rewarded by the AFA by being allowed to take part in a special course.¡±

    Although the others started to get excited after hearing these words, Gary was getting nervous. What if this special course was some type of training that only Altered could do. Lately, his Werewolf self was getting into more trouble, and he had alreadye close to getting caught a few times.

    Although he wasn¡¯t a cat, he felt like he had already used up many of his nine lives.

    While the teenager was worrying about the unknown, the sound of the double doors could be heard opening up. The doors looked to be made of thick steel, an entire arm''s length thick, anding out was an extravagantly dressed adult who they could only assume to be the teacher.

    ck was the predominant colour of his outfit, mixed with a few tinges of red. He was dressed in a ck coat, had a pair of ck boots, and his ck gloves were holding on to arge staff, with arge ring at the end. That ring was further adorned by many ck feathers, seeminglying from the same bird as the one his golden ne had. His onyx hair was pointed upward like a feather and his neatly shaved and groomed beard covered up his round face.

    ¡°My name is Crowley Corvus!¡± The teacher introduced himself, lifting both his hands. ¡°I will be the one to act as your teacher, if you choose to participate in my lecture. If you think you have what it takes to be, then pleasee and follow me.¡± A bang of the staff on the floor ended his sentence.

    The teacher said nothing else, as he turned around and entered through the doors, while also somewhat pping his arms, making his cape look like wings. It was as if a human was trying to fly, but clearly Crowley was moving nowhere.

    Numba looked at Gary.

    ¡°What was that all about?¡± The Goat Altered asked.

    ¡°I don''t know, maybe he''s just role-ying or something.¡± Gary replied with a shrug. Unsurprisingly, all of them followed him into the room. As if on cue, the moment Sty entered, the steel doors behind them shut closed, and once done, a locking mechanism was heard.

    There was a worry in Gary¡¯s head, why would they need such a thick steal door, and why did it need to be locked.

    *****

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 Chapter 429: Special Lesson (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 429: Special Lesson (part 2)</h4>

    From the size of therge steel doors, everyone thought that they would be entering a fairlyrge room, but instead they were now in an even smaller room, with another locked door in front of them.

    The room was hardlyrge enough to fit around twenty people. There were a few seats, and a TV, where Mr Corvus was standing at the back.

    ¡°You have been specifically chosen by the academy for this task. It is a job that not everyone can do. If you have a problem please ask. Which is why, before we are even to proceed, I must hand you all the documents you need.¡± Mr Corvus waved his weird staff, and from below the seats where the students were sitting a piece of paper emerged,nding in theirps or hands.

    It was like magic, but clearly that wasn''t the case. Gary assumed it had something to do with the Teacher¡¯s Altered forms power.

    ¡°Please read all the terms and conditions carefully before proceeding, and remember you have the option to ept or decline.¡±

    Honestly, Gary didn''t like all this mystery mumbo jumbo. He would much prefer just getting a straight ss, but remembering the words that Apollo said, he at least wanted to see what this ss was like. After all, this was most likely what had allowed Xin to improve at the rate she had.

    Perhaps, all of those that had be big and well known in the AFC had gone through this, it was just hard to ignore such a special ss.

    {By signing this document, I hereby agree to all the stipted rules.

    I understand that this is a contract that binds me for life, and I hereby give permission for NIRV to hand out the consequences should I break any terms of the contract.}

    Thepany name, NIRV, stuck out like a saw thumb. Although they had all heard that NIRV had certain connections to the AFA, they had all just thought that they were one of many corporations. Now, this document made it look like the whole special lesson was somehow connected with them.

    {Rule #1: Whatever happens during the special lesson is to be keptpletely secret. The only exemption from this rule are those who also took the special lesson, as well as your handler, Mr. Crowley Corvus.

    Rule #2: No electronic devices, nor recording equipment of any kind are to be taken into the lesson. All personal items will be left in a basket before entering and will be returned upon the end of the special lesson.

    Rule #3: NIRV will do its best to ensure the safety of every student that agrees to take part in the special lesson. In the unfortunate case of a student¡¯s death, their respective corporations, sponsors or family members will bepensated greatly. Please read the terms and conditions on the next page for more rification.}

    ¡°Gary, did you read Rule #3?!¡± Numba eximed. ¡°Just what type of lesson is this? What do they want us to do that we might end up dead?!¡±

    The Werewolf had just read the same rule, and was wondering the same thing. At least now he knew why they only allowed the strongest students to participate.

    ¡°Stop being such a baby!¡± Sty sneered from the side. ¡°As Altered there¡¯s always a risk of dying. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t know that when you chose to be an Altered. People don¡¯t enter the AFA just to be a better fighter to protect themselves out there in the real world. You can''t just keep hiding behind your friends.¡±

    Numba closed his mouth, unable to retort that point. He gave the Fly Altered a dirty look, but otherwise continued to read the rest of the rules. Gary wanted to say something, but he had promised the professor to let bygones be bygones. As long as Sty was merely running his mouth without threatening him or anyone close to him, he would overlook those antics.

    {Rule #4: Anything found or obtained during the special lessons, will be regarded as property of NIRV. Students will still be rewarded with an appropriatepensation.

    Rule #5: By agreeing to every rule, the student will automatically be an Apprentice Recoverer. This means that NIRV is able to call upon you at any point and time, to do Recoverer rted tasks. Please read the terms and conditions on the next page for more rification.}

    ¡®What is all of this Recoverer stuff? Signing this basically means I work for NIRV? They make it sound like there is no way to back out of this, and they don''t really make the consequences for breaking these rules clear, either.¡¯

    When looking around the room, Gary saw that Apollo, Snow and Wu had already signed their pieces of paper, and handed them over to Mr. Corvus. Numba was still wondering what to do, while Sty was also signing it, after noticing the other three had done so already, and quite aggressively as well.

    ¡°What will the two of you do?¡± The adult asked them. ¡°There is no second chance. You can either sign it today, or leave it forever.¡±

    Looking at Apollo, thinking about Xin¡¯s rampant growth, and then thinking about the future of the Howlers, there was a chance that if NIRV called on him, he might be unavable. This would mean he would have to face the consequences... whatever those might be.

    With NIRV being involved it just made everything more dangerous, but there was something inside of Gary that told him he shouldn¡¯t miss out on this opportunity. There was no way of telling whether there would ever be a time conflict in the future, but even if there was, he would just have to deal with it then.

    Having made up his mind, he signed the piece of paper. Seeing this, Numba plucked up the courage and did the same.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the special lesson, Mr Corvus.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. With all six of you, your survival chances should be great!¡±

    *****

    My Werewolf System Webtoon is out! You can now read it on the BILI BILI COMICS APP. Weekly Webtoon chapters. Check it out, help it grow, and there might be news of an official My Vampire System Webtoon someday.

 Chapter 430: Special lesson 1 (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 430: Special lesson 1 (part 1)</h4>

    ¡°I knew you would sign that piece of paper in the end. Still, I¡¯m surprised it took you so long to make up your mind.¡± Apollo addressed Gary in a teasing tone.

    ¡°I value my freedom, that¡¯s all. Getting told what to do by a giant corporation I don¡¯t really know much about doesn¡¯t sit too well with me.¡± The Werewolf responded. He wasn¡¯t lying. If the AFA had been the one to organise everything, the teenager would have signed a lot sooner. Especially if there was nomitment use to indefinitely serve them for as long as they were alive. However, suddenly finding out that NIRV was apparently the one behind this entire special lesson had been really off-putting, especially with all the secrecy they had to uphold.

    Gary had already learnt a few things and secrets about them from Tom.

    Only time would tell whether he would regret signing that piece of paper. He could only hope that him restricting his freedom was actually worth it. Of course, if Xin¡¯s powers actually originated from her having participated in this special lesson, then him selling his services might be a small price to pay.

    ¡°I''m happy to hear that was your only reason for hesitating.¡± Apollo added. ¡°There aren¡¯t just downsides to this deal, though. NIRV is far more than meets the eye. They seem to have their hands in a bit of everything, not to mention, they have enough influence to indirectly control the happenings of even Tier-1 cities.

    ¡°No matter your background, it won¡¯t hurt having a connection with them. This way, both parties benefit from it. This is just how things are in our world, and you have to get with it, if you don¡¯t want to lose out.¡±

    Gary chuckled a little bit, after hearing this. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise you were the type that would rely on others, just because they were above you..¡± Gary replied, tensing his fist. ¡°Because for me, I never want to be in that situation again, where I¡¯m helpless from those above.¡±

    Before the two could continue on their conversation, Mr Corvus whacked the bottom of his staff onto the floor.

    ¡°Please, children, if you wish to bicker, do it in your own free time. For now, let¡¯s rejoice in the fact that we have a full house. Although that is usually the case, let¡¯s just hope it stays this way. Everyone, please proceed to follow me, and make sure to not stray.¡±

    The second set of doors opened up, and just like the first pair they had gone through, it was made of thick steel, though not as reinforced as the first pair. From the looks of it, they were being led through a tube tunnel.

    The flooring was white and so was the surrounding metal, and there was no destination in sight. It made them wonder if their destination was even going to be inside the academy, o

    r some ce entirely different.

    Suddenly, Mr Corvus stopped, and turned around holding a basket in his hand. It appeared out of nowhere like a magician.

    ¡°Now, before we proceed, I¡¯ll have to insist that you leave behind all mobile, and recording devices. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll retrieve them all once the special lesson ends.¡±

    Nobody protested, and one by one, they emptied their pockets, filling up the basket. When everyone was done, Mr Corvus turned around, his hands free, with their items nowhere to be found.

    He continued walking, and the students had no other choice but to follow him. What Gary and the others did notice was that there were cameras every so often in the hallway. A red blinking light could be seen, indicating that someone was clearly watching them.

    Eventually, the long tunnel split up. Without stopping for even a moment, Mr Corvus took a right turn. Once it happened again, they ended up in front of three possible entrances, where he took the middle one. As time passed, the tunnel started to resemble a maze, and Gary wasn¡¯t sure he would be able to find his way back on his own with how many turns they had taken.

    In the end, they had finally arrived in front of a sturdy looking door. This one had a hand scanner next to it. The adult ced his hand on it, and a beep resounded. The next moment, the doors opened up.

    The group entered a fairlyrge square room, and for the first time they saw a change to the bleak white colour. One half of the room was covered from the bottom to the top in red. There was a bench, with different outfits. Seemingly par for the course, there was also arge metallic steel door. On the other half of the room, everything was the same, only coloured in blue.

    ¡°Firstly, if you could all please get changed into the uniforms that have been provided with your name tag, and once you are done, remain standing in ce.¡± Mr Corvus ordered.

    The Werewolf scanned through the outfits before he found his own name tag in the blue section of the room. As he walked over, the teenager looked at the other two outfits and stopped, before turning around. At the same time, Apollo, who had been heading to the red side met Gary¡¯s gaze. The two of them had an unhappy look on their face.

    ¡°Sh*t.¡± Numba cursed. ¡°Looks like we''re not in the same group.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re correct. The teams have been created based on your performance reviews. This way, both groups should have roughly the same strength. Since we have an even number of you, I won¡¯t have to fill it out.¡± Mr Corvus informed them.

    There was a worried look on Numba''s face. The Goat Altered had been hesitant about signing up in the

    first ce. A major part in his decision was him trusting his new friend, but now it looked like they would be split up.

    As if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, the red team consisted of him, Apollo and Sty. At least the two of them knew each other, but his rtionship with the former was non-existent, and antagonistic with thetter. That was less than ideal in this special lesson that actually mentioned the death of a student as a possibility.

    *****

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 Chapter 431: Special Lesson 1 (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 431: Special Lesson 1 (part 2)</h4>

    Numba wasn¡¯t the only one unhappy with the teams. Gary had never really interacted with either Wu or Snow. Apollo had been the only one among the three who had given him the time of day, while his friends had treated the green haired teenager like air during the meals.

    Meanwhile, Apollo had paid special attention to Mr Corvus¡¯ words. ording to the adult, the teams were the way they were because they wanted to distribute the strength of both teams as evenly as possible. He knew the strength of his friends, as well as Sty, so the current team rosters told him a lot about the power of the other two...

    Apollo was the first to change out of his outfit. Since they were all boys, there was no reason to waste time and ask for a changing cab. Besides, given his muscr body, he had nothing to hide. In fact, he was quite proud of his scars. Wu and Snow did the same, without uttering a word. Seeing this, Gary joined them as well.

    It only took a few minutes for both sides to finish changing. The outfit that had been prepared for them was quite a bit thickerpared to their AFA uniform. It was flexible enough to bend, while being hard like a type of leather.

    It was mostly ck, with some ents of their team¡¯s colour, and only covered the main parts of their body. Pieces for their arms, shoulders, body legs and such. It was clear it was designed in a defensive manner like a suit of armour, while not restricting their free movement.

    Both groups stood opposite each other. Numba looked nervous because he had a thought in his head. If there were two teams, then it meant most likely they were going to bepeting against each other in some manner. Still, there were also two separate doors on each side of the room. Which indicated they might not be facing each other directly.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to exin what this special lesson is all about.¡± Mr Corvus stated. ¡°As you might have already guessed, I haven¡¯t led you here to teach you some theory. In fact, I won¡¯t be the one teaching you at all today. It will solely depend on your own actions and yourprehension how much you will take away from this lesson.

    ¡°However, we understand that this might be difficult for some students. As such, before the next special lesson, I¡¯ll prepare feedback on your performance, focusing on yourcking areas. Nevertheless, I can only rmend that you do your own due diligence without solely relying on me.

    ¡°Now onto the lesson itself. Although there are two groups, you will both be given the same task. The goal of this special lesson is to provide you with the ¡®extra push¡¯ you¡¯ll need to ris

    e above your peers. Holding your hand too much will only slow your progress down.

    ¡°Let me stress to you that this is NOT apetition. I want you to work together, as that will be key to passing this lesson. Once you¡¯re inside, you¡¯ll know what you have to do. I understand that a lot of what I said may not make a lot of sense. It''s because I have been told to be as vague as possible.

    ¡°Which is why I will now leave you with a few words. To pass this lesson, you must survive. or to fail¡­ means death.¡±

    Numba gulped, he wondered how an academy could condone this. However, then he remembered the cruel way the world worked at the moment, and the contract he had just signed. It wasn''t a saintly world.

    ¡®They did say that they would do anything to ensure our survival¡­ he must have said thatst bit to keep us on our toes¡­ right? Surely, if we are in trouble, they will step in to help.¡¯ Numba told himself.

    The two steel doors were heard opening at the same time, and both groups were told to walk in, on one side Apollo took the lead, as for the blue team, Snow was the one who decided to walk in front.

    ¡°I know you can be a bit crazy at times, Greeny, but let''s pass this together, alright? Wu and I have experience fighting together. Support us where you can and listen to mymands, and we should have no problems.¡± Snow said.

    Not wanting to get in an argument before he even knew what the task was, Gary nodded. Before entering the room at the end, he gave Numba a thumbs up. The two doors then closed behind them.

    Gary and the other two with him entered yet anotherrge white room. There was nothing inside, but a steel door behind them, a steel door in front of them around fifty metres away, and some cameras that had been ced in every single corner and along the entire side.

    ¡°This is a pretty big room.¡± Wu said. ¡°I''m guessing it''s going to be like those assessments we did, with the sticky ck balls, or thest one to be hit. Whatever it is, I''m in for it!¡±

    The two seemed excited, and as they were talking to each other, Gary went up to the wall, deciding to check out the room. That''s when he felt a deep scratch in the wall. It was hard to see from far because it seemed like they had painted over it, but up close the scratches on the wall were visible, and there were a lot more than one.

    The next second, the closed door started opening up.

    ¡°GSHH TCH!¡±

    Strange noises could be heard from behind it. The moment it was fully

    opened, both Wu and Snow froze in ce from shock.

    ¡°GSHTY HHH!!!¡±

    The moment Gary saw it, he received a new notification.

    [A new Quest has been received]

    [A beast has been discovered]

    [Kill the beast in order to gain Exp]

    [Optional Quest; Consume the beast in order to gain stats.]

    *****

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 Chapter 432: The Red Team (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 432: The Red Team (part 1)</h4>

    There was a rtivelyrge room with several screens inside in an unknown location. Some monitors showed what was currently going on in the special lesson.

    The cameras could rotate 360 degrees, zoom in, and they had so many that they could view whatever was going to happen inside from any angle.

    On the outside of the stic of the monitor, one half of the room, the monitor was painted in a slight blue colour, while the other red to indicate which room they were watching. On top of that, there were also several people inside.

    A few men and women were in whiteb coats with the letters NIRV, written across their shirts. They had tablets in their hands and were looking at other screens monitoring a number of different things.

    Finally, there were also the three professors that were also seen as the head of the entire AFA academy. Humfree, Wood, and Hao. They were busy people, but the three of them always insisted on being there at the beginning of everything.

    When new students arrived, the assessment and now, they also wanted to view the first special lesson that was to take ce as well. By their side, there was also a female teacher. Her hair was a light red that went up to her shoulders, straight and parted in the middle.

    The current clothes she wore were quite sports-like, and were a dark red colour. As if she was ready for a fight at any moment.

    ording to the deal between NIRV and the AFA, there would also always be a teacher from the academy present while these lessons were taking ce.

    Just in case something had urred that was outside their expectations. Currently, the four of them were sitting in seats, a little back in the room so they could see every single one of the monitors.

    At the same time, a man was standing in the centre with round sses, ready as if he was about to give a presentation. In contrast, the others continued to adjust levels, type away, and input data, checking everything.

    "It always is fun for me at the start of these, sharing my passion with others." The man said in an energetic and upbeat voice as he pushed his sses up. The screen behind him had suddenly changed and was no longer showing the room and instead had a 3d image of what looked like a beast instead.

    "Before the lesson is to start, I wanted to give you some information about the beast that we have been able to gather for today." The man exined. "Of course, since it is their first lesson, we have tried to not give them something too

    overwhelming, while at the same time we didn''t want to give them something easy, as it could make them too confident in their next lesson. As requested by the AFA, of course.

    "However, I do have to remind you, although we have attempted to gather as much information about the beast as possible in order to determine what difficulty your students might face, it is impossible as this is a new type of beast even for us."

    The man looked down when he said this, avoiding eye contact with them all.

    "A New beast¡­so you are experimenting with a new beast on the students? Why couldn''t you have used one that you know all of the details like you have done before." Humfree asked.

    "As you know, we have to get something out of this as well. A basic beast that can turn a person into an Altered isn''t going to do much. We need to keep expanding our research, and our technology has always improved and has gotten better in terms of figuring out what the beast will be like before we..bring it back, let''s say."

    Humfree folded his arms and gave out a big huff showing that he was displeased. Although the three professors ran the AFA, they were not the owners of it. This lesson, the whole deal was set up between people who were much higher than them, and they could do nothing about it, but ensure that the students were safe.

    Now that that was over, the NIRV employee turned to his screen to have a look at the beast. The 3d render showed its body in full. ording to a scale chart, it wasrger than a Lion, yet smaller than an elephant, about the same size as an SUV car.

    Then, the beast had six eyes in total, but three eyes on one head, because this beast had two heads. They were split apart, and had tworge fangs sticking out of its mouth. There was also arge tail that looked somewhat like a hammer at the back, but only a single tail.

    The beast itself looked to be bulging with muscle, having next to no fat at all.

    "This beast is meant to be difficult to deal with due to the two heads, but as a group, they should be able to figure out some way. Still, they will need to watch out for its powerful tail as well. It''s the perfect beast that will promote teamwork between the three of them.

    "We have yet to receive a crystal from this type of beast as stated, so we have no clue what a human Altered, or how they would be able to benefit from this. However, from our tests, we have determined that it is unlikely to have any powers, skills or abilities. This is why we have considered this safe for b

    oth groups of students.

    "As always, we have the gas set up and staff if we believe there''s a chance of one of the students dying. Without further ado, it looks like the students are now ready."

    Stepping to the side, the screen showed both teams entering and the doors opening up for both of them.

    ''With Apollo and Gary on either team¡­I doubt we will have to worry.'' Humfree thought.

    *****

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 Chapter 433: The Red Team (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 433: The Red Team (part 2)</h4>

    The dreaded two-headed beast had entered the room. Saliva was dribbling from its mouth and onto the floor. It continued to make constant noises out of its mouth that were unheard of and out of this world.

    The second that Numba saw it, his legs started to shake, and he had almost copsed.

    "I knew something had to be up¡­all the red gs were there, talking about death and getting Involved with NIRV. They''re making us fight real beasts! The things that our bodies are based on, how are we meant to win against that!" Numba argued. "How are beasts even a thing...how is one standing in front of us!"

    Although Sty was having a go at Numba before, he even seemed hesitant to go in and attack such a thing. It wasn''t what he had expected either. To be honest, he hadn''t actually read the document and just signed the thing when he saw the others had as well.

    "Haha, now this is more like it. I knewing to the AFA was the right thing to do!" Apollo said as he punched his hand into his fist.

    The next second, they didn''t have time to think because the beast was already heading straight toward them. With itsrge body and on all fours, it began to run across the floor like a crocodile, but each footstep was hard, loud and clear.

    The first one to change into their Altered form was Sty. Flying up in an attempt to avoid confrontation with the beast. Numba was still too nervous about moving but knew he had to do something, or he would end up being eaten by the two heads. He could already imagine his body being split in half.

    Just as Numba was in the middle of his transformation, he saw Apollo running forward, heading straight toward the beast. He had a smile on his face as he did so. Then midway, as he ran toward it, his arms started to change, bingrger and turning white in colour, with a type of soft fur around them.

    Then, just like the beast in front of him, Apollo was running on all fours. The beast opened its mouth wide, baring its two fangs. Apollo had leapt up in the air. His tworge, now white fists had turned into deadly ws. Throwing them down, he bashed both of the heads with his hands banging them into the ground. Its mouth was closed shut in an instant.

    The floor shook beneath when Apollo''s feetnded. It was as if he weighed several tonnes, and his attack looked like they had the weight behind them as well. The beast had been stopped in its tracks. All that momentum it had built up hade to nothing.

    ''Wow, this is the first time I have ever seen Apollo fight before.'' Numba realised. ''I wonder what type of beast he has, to have white fur?''

    Soon though, the heads of the beast started to struggle. It was moving about, shaking it left and right. Apollo kept hisrge paws on the beast, holding it down, not getting it to move.

    "Well, are you guys going to do something to help or what!" Apollo shouted. As he finished saying those words, the tai

    l from behind the beast, which looked to be too short of reaching, had extended itself and swung right round.

    The hammer tail could be seen heading straight towards Apollo and had hit him right in the chest. The next second he was sent flying and crashed into the wall before falling onto the floor. Blood spilling from his mouth.

    "It looks like that thing has some power after all," Apollo stated, getting up. "If only it didn''t have two heads this would be no problem, or if you two were a little useful. But don''t worry. Even if you don''t help. I''ll kill this thing on my own because that''s what I always do."

    Walking forward, Apollo''s eyes started to change, bingpletely ck in colour. It looked like he was ready for round two. However, the beast didn''t turn to look at Apollo. Instead, it was now looking at Numba, who was closest.

    It then began to run towards him with its tworge mouths.

    "Crap, do I charge forward just like Apollo did? I have a feeling if I did that, then I would be the one that was knocked forward, but I have to do something!"

    In the middle of his thoughts, liquid hade out from above and had managed to hit three of the eyes on one of the heads. Numba recognised this liquid well and knew the acidic pain that it would produce.

    One of the heads was screaming. It had slightly veered off course and didn''t know where it really was going.

    "Sty, make sure one of the mouths is shut!" Apollo shouted.

    Hearing this, Sty flew into the head, which he had spit his acid on, and kicked it hard. He continued to fly around, hitting the beast in the head. Its tail was swinging recklessly, trying to swat Sty out of the air, but Sty''s fast reflexes were working for him as they usually would have.

    "Damn it, even that damned bug is being more useful than me. I have to¡­I have to help in some way."

    Numba used his explosive power to run to the beast, and since its tail was in the air, he was able to right up to the base of the tail. Stopping suddenly, Numba charged right in and hit the base of its tail with his horns, digging them in.

    They were stuck quite deep into the beast, and now that he was in front of it, Numba started throwing fist after fist toward the beast.

    "Well, it looks like this team isn''t too bad after all. It''s time we finish this!" Apollo said as he ran forward and grabbed onto the other head that Sty wasn''t attacking. He ced both his arms by its side and began to lift. It was unbelievable, but the next second, the beast was in the air.

    Sty has stopped his attacks, and using his legs, Numba pushed himself out of the tail, falling to the ground. After that, Apollo fell on his back, mming the beast to the ground. It was now on its back, wiggling with pain, and before it could roll over, Apollo was already above it, looking down at its belly. &n

    bsp;

    Hended right on top of it with its two feet, and cracking noises could be heard as the bones in this body broke and both of its halves had bent upward as if arge weight had been thrown on the beast. It let out itsst few squeals as the beast was no longer alive.

    "Well, the red team has done well." The NIRV employee said. "I didn''t expect there to be such a strong one inside. Now it''s time to see how the Blue team will fare."

    ****

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 Chapter 434: Blue team (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 434: Blue team (part 1)</h4>

    Both Wu and Snow were stunned as they saw the beast. Their brains needed a moment to handle the surprise of seeing one in the flesh rather than in some textbook or documentary. The feeling of having to face something that should be extinct and was now threatening your life was hard to describe.

    It was a natural reaction for them to think that everything they were experiencing now was just a dream, but their senses and their inner Altered beast knew it weren¡¯t true. They could feel something react inside their bodies when looking at this thing. Meanwhile, thest member of their team had a different take on the situation.

    ¡®Huh, somehow I pictured them scarier. ¡­ am I going crazy? Or is it because I fought against Billy who turned into a bloodthirsty Werewolf? No, that¡¯s not it. Even Damion was more of a monster than this thing before us.¡¯ A simple beast was doing cruel things in nature, were as humans did stuff to each other for what reason? Gary didn; understand, but a human was the one that had ced his mother in the hospital. To him, those that could hurt someone like his mother were the true nightmares that people needed to be scared of, Gary thought to himself after receiving the system notification.

    For a while now, the Werewolf had believed that his only way to grow stronger would be by levelling up through the system. One of his Quests wanted him to reach Level 25, which would reward him with a ss Promotion. Given how much stronger he got from receiving his ss, it was a no-brainer that it would make him even more powerful. Unfortunately, the system had been really stingy these days in terms of giving him Exp. The days of just fighting against his local highschool mates, and challenging strangers for exp were over, but fighting against beasts would surely fix that.

    On top of that, it allowed him to raise his stats.

    After all, how many chances would he get to consume an Altered and actually get away with it? Each one was a precious resource to whatever background they belonged to, so unless he was willing to face the bacsh, he could only forget about it¡­

    ¡°Hey, Greeny, forget about the whole supporting us bit. I¡¯m sure you want to pass this in one piece, same as us, so whatever chance we get, we need to attack this thing. Don¡¯t hold back and let¡¯s take this thing out together!¡± Wu said as he regained hisposure.

    ¡°I¡¯ll distract it, so the two of you better make use of that time!¡± Snow shouted, as he ran forward. His front two teeth started to elongate until they went past his chin. At the same time, the teenager¡¯s ears started to growrger, while white fur grew on t

    he back of them.

    The special armour they had been told to wear was not only strong, it was also flexible, able to amodate their transformation without a problem.

    ¡®Ha, so he really is a rabbit. No wonder that guy would only eat carrots. Still, I shouldn¡¯t forget that he was ranked number 2 in the facility, so I shouldn¡¯t underestimate him just based on his Altered form.¡¯

    Gary had to admit that he was impressed by both Wu and Snow. They might have been stunned at first, they only needed a moment to understand that they couldn¡¯t let their fears get the best of them, not if they wanted to survive this.

    The beast who had only stared at the trio, seemingly deciding who to target first, it ran towards Snow, and it was picking up speed. It felt like the Rabbit Altered was trying to escape and naturally it wouldn¡¯t let him.

    ¡°I bet you think I''m a tasty rabbit! Well, let me show you that you''re nothing but an ugly oversized dog!¡± Snow shouted, as he zigzagged around the beast. Pissed off at failing to catch it, the beast followed him as he neared the wall.

    Just then, when the beast looked like it was about to bite down and chop on the agile Snow, he leapt up, and his feet transformed. They grew long and t like a rabbits, and the surface of the bottom of them was nowrger. Immediately, Snow jumped off the wall, andnded behind the beast.

    Given its momentum, it was unable to change direction, ending up crashing into the wall. It let out a howl in pain. Its tail was wagging left and right, trying to hit Snow, but he would hop, and jump out of the way with his strong legs and jump around the beast.

    ¡°I guess I was being generous,paring you to a dog, you¡¯re far stupider. Did even one of you get a functioning brain?¡± Snow taunted it.

    Turning around, the beast opened its two mouths. While it had suffered some damage, it was far too little to do anything to it, but Snow had never believed that this little would do the trick. Instead of letting the beast build up momentum and run towards him again, Snow jumped from the ground, and hisrge feet hit the top of one of the beast''s mouths. He pushed off, jumping backwards, mming the beast¡¯s mouth shut, while also avoiding the other mouth of the beast.

    ¡°Do the two of you need some sort of invitation? Am I meant to do all the work here? I mean, I''m sure I could beat the thing myself, but I thought Mr. Corvus said the idea was to work together! I don¡¯t fancy getting hit by that damned tail or by its mouth, so get off your arses and do something!¡± &n

    bsp;

    ¡°I thought your buddy was the silent type¡­ looks like that is only true when he has a carrot in his mouth.¡± Gary sneered and Wu could only add a quiet ¡®tell me about it.¡¯ under his breath.

    ¡°I have no idea what this mutt can do, but to be honest, I¡¯d rather not find out. Let¡¯s just both use all our strength to take it down in one hit!¡± The former rank 3 suggested as he ran forward and began to transform mid-sprint.

    *****

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 Chapter ?435 Blue Team (Part 2)

    Chapter ?435 Blue Team (Part 2)

    Before Wu could transform, it looked like there was a type of routine that he would need to perform. He let out a few punches as they neared the beasts, and he got into a stance. Sweat started to cover his body, and in less than a second there seemed to be a pool of water below his feet. It was amazing in a way how a person was able to sweat so fast. Focused on the pool of water, it was only then did Gary notice the two antennas on his head.

    ¡®What type of Altered is he?¡¯ Gary thought.

    Looking at Wu again, he could see his forearms were slightlyrgerpared to before, but there looked to be little difference on the rest of his body. He could only assume it was a partial transformation but even then, what difference would a pair of antennas make?

    ¡°I know that I don¡¯t look as impressive as those two, but I promise you, as long as we¡¯re talking pure strength, I¡¯m no weaker than Apollo.¡±

    At the same time, Gary had transformed himself, though he didn¡¯t fully transform into his Werewolf Form yet. Apart from his shoulders, his legs turned into that of a Werewolf, providing him with extra speed, enough to reach Wu¡¯s side.

    ¡°I''m sorry, but I have no clue how strong Apollo is, so I don¡¯t know how strong you are.¡± Garymented with a smile. Wu saw this smile and, coupled with the green haired teenager¡¯s earlier remarks, he realised that Gary didn¡¯t seem tense at all. Rather than a life and death battle, he appeared to be treating it like a spar or a match.

    Meanwhile, Snow was continuing to distract the beast, mainly fighting concentrating on one head. He would jump off the ground, from his legs, and throw out a punch straight to the left head, hoping to take it out. It was damaging the beast, but it hadn¡¯t been doing major damage.

    Snow would have been able to do a stronger attack, but he was being careful, worried that the beast might hide some nasty surprises. There was no need to overexert himself if the others were there to help, and he knew Wu would be the one to help.

    ¡®If Green hair helps then it''s a bonus, but me and Wu will be able to take on this beast. I guess that''s why they had made the teams like this in the first ce.¡¯ Snow thought.

    While charging forward, both Wu and Gary had readied their fist, and at the first opportunity they threw it out right at the side of the beast''s body. Turning his head slightly, Wu was surprised.

    ¡®His punch is as fast as mine¡­ and he hasn¡¯t even transformed fully. I hate to admit it, but Apollo was dead on about him being more than meets the eye.¡¯

    The second their fists hit the wall of muscle that was the hide from the beast, it rippled, and the entire body of the beast was lifted on its side¡­ before it crashed into the wall. Snow was left there stunned because one moment the beast was in front of him, and the next it wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± Snow eximed. ¡°Well, it looks like you guys finally woke up. Wu, it looks like your nightly training is paying off. I¡¯ve been hoping for you to damage it, not send it flying away. I know they said there aren;t any points for this lesson and stuff, but man you earned some big ones there if there are.¡±

    Wu didn¡¯t say anything, he just nced at Gary by his side. It was hard to tell which hit had been stronger, but he wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to believe that he could have managed this feat on his own.

    Either way, the beast wasn¡¯t dead yet, a bit of ck blood hade out of its mouth as it got back up, and it started to growl deeply. Drool dropped from its mouth covered in blood, and it looked like it still had plenty of fight in it.

    It sprung off the ground and leapt up in the air from where it was. Its mouths opened wide looking at both Wu and Snow as tasty snacks. Snow jumped back, while Wu was getting ready to hit the beast from below.

    However, at the same time, therge tail had grown in length and had swung to its side, looking to hit them. Seeing this, Gary moved to the side and wanted to take care of the tail. Judging by the speed of its jump, he was sure that his current power would be insufficient.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Gary¡¯s size started to change, and the next second he grabbed the beast¡¯s tail. His foot dug in and with all his strength he was able to stop the tail from hitting the others. Lifting his hand, he shed it towards the base of the tail, making a deep cut, then pulling with all his might he had ripped the tail off.

    Blood spilt all over the floor, and turning around, Gary stopped his transformation as he could see that both Wu and Snow had finished the beast off.

    ¡°Hey, man, you could have helped as we-'''' Snow stopped hisint the second he saw the Werewolf with a giant part of the beast tail held in his hand.

    The two of them hadn¡¯t noticed that he was doing his part as well.

    [You have defeated your first Beast]

    [Quest reward: Instant Level Up]

    [Additional rewards: 5,000 Exp]

    [5 pawn points have been awarded]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 22]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    [Optional Quest (Waste not want not) is still in progress]

    [Consume the body of the Beast for additional stat points]

    ¡®Now¡­ how exactly am I meant to do this without making them think I¡¯m crazy...¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 436 Secret Meal (Part 1)

    Chapter 436 Secret Meal (Part 1)

    Usually, Gary would be fascinated by the rewards the system would present him with. They were like an incentive for him to keep working harder and stepping closer to reaching the Level 25 he was aiming for. It was an addictive feeling and quite thrilling to see oneselves progress in a way like this.

    However, this time, he was far too obsessed with something else. That was the beast''s dead body on the ground.

    ''The beast''s body is right there. It''s right in front of me. If I just took a quick few bites of it, it wouldn''t be a problem, right? Otherwise, it''s just going to waste. Maybe I can just say I¡¯m really really hungry or something. Would that work?'' Gary considered, but he soon remembered that everything in the special lesson belonged to the group called NIRV.

    It made him think twice about whether or not he should do such a thing, but instead, there was another solution, the beast''s tail that was still in his hand. Quickly turning away, Gary didn''t know if just the tail was enough for him to gain stats, but he was going to try anyway. Bringing the tail closer to his jaws, he went on to take a bite.

    He paused for a second, seeing the blinking camera in front of him.

    ''Will I get in trouble for this¡­ah, screw it!'' Gary thought as he elongated his teeth to make it easier to dig through the beast''s skin. It was still much harder than expected, and he imagined it would be rtively impossible to bite through it with his regr set of teeth.

    However, just when the tip of his upper canine had pressed against the beast''s skin, a buzzer suddenly rang throughout the area, forcing him to stop immediately and drop the tail. It was as if he had been caught red-handed doing something he shouldn''t have.

    [The Special lesson hase to an end.]

    [All students should refrain from touching the beast for the time being until the invigtorse to collect you.]

    Gary had an awkward look on his face. He was unsure if that message was directed at him, maybe someone had seen him, or if it was just simply a coincidence. However, after hearing the announcement, Gary walked over to stand by the others. Although he was quite upset, he was still trying to devise a way to consume the beast and wouldn''t miss an opportunity if he got any.

    Not for just this lesson, but if he somehow found a way, then in every special lesson, he would be able to eat a beast and get even stronger than before. Even the title of the Champion of the AFC would be within sight, and he could possibly do what Kai wished as well: Get to the very top, where the Tier 1 cities were.

    The sound of the door in front of them opening was heard again, and for a second, all of the students, including Gary, had somewhat flinched. It was from the same door the beast hade thorough, and the trauma of what they had just been through, they thought they might have to go through it again.

    It wasn¡¯t a beast though, and instead, a few men in hazmat suits hade out. A group of around five. Along with them was a man with round sses and ab coat with the words NIRV embedded on his shirt, and finally was the professor that Gary had seen a few times before, Professor Humfrey.

    As for the other Lab Coats, Professors and Teachers, they had gone to the other coloured room to do the same as they were about to do.

    The staff in hazmat suits swiftly entered the area with all sorts of different equipment, including a special type of carving tool that looked quite like a chainsaw. However, the end was a lot thinner, and when they turned it on, it didn''t seem to make as much noise when being turned on.

    The students noticed that they were carving a part of the beast out carefully as if they were looking for something.

    "Congrattions." Humfrey walked up to the students with a NIRV employee standing next to him. "All of you did incredibly well in this lesson, and to not get injured either, I am truly impressed. I have to say that you are one of the best batches to have taken part in the special lesson."

    The students were pleased with thepliments, but they were unsure if this was just something that was said to all of the students for further encouragement or if it was actually the truth. But truthfully, it didn¡¯t matter much.

    "Yes, you have helped out NIRV greatly, and I am sure you all will make great Retrievers in the future." The NIRV employee also broke his silence and introduced himself, "My name is James Kent, and I will oversee the special lessons you will be taking from now on, so you will get to see me more often."

    Going by the first impression, Gary wasn''t really getting a good feeling from this NIRV scientist guy. The vibes just seemed all wrong, as if out of the whole thing, he always had more to benefit over those that he would make a deal with.

    "We found it!" A shout from the right suddenly attracted everyone''s attention.

    One of the men in the hazmat suit held a tennis-ball-size crystal in his hand. He lifted it in the air for all of them to see, and almost immediately, James left the students and walked over to him in excitement to take a closer look.

    "I guess I should continue from where he left off." Humfrey shook his head and continued after clearing his throat. "NIRV wants to have a good rtionship with those that are the future of this world, and they believe you guys are that future. So, in addition to this, for bing a Retriever, those who take part in killing the beast to get crystals that create the Altered, the NIRV would surely give ample rewards for your efforts.

    "The more dangerous the task is, the better the reward they will give you. And since this is the first time you''re taking this special lesson, as a kind gesture, they will be happy to have open ears to your almost any demand, and they, along with the academy, will do their best to amodate your request.

    "Whether that be an Altered DNA for a family member, or the first pick at rare Altered DNA to be used for yourself, or maybe even a meeting with the NIRV between your cooperation and more. Whatever request you can think of, please ask for it now, and we will try our best to match it as closely as possible. It''s the least the academy and the NIRV can do for you for risking your lives."

    Gary''s eyes lit up because he had finally found his way to get the beast''s dead body. He just needed to find a way to word it so it didn''t sound so weird.

    *****

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 Chapter ?437 Secret Meal (Part 2)

    Chapter ?437 Secret Meal (Part 2)

    The NIRV employees looked to be having a field day with the crystal they had extracted from the beast. First, everything was handled carefully and delicately asrge metal prongs were used to hold the crystal, and then it was gently ced into a container as if it was an explosive that could go off at any second.

    Everything was a slow and steady process, and James was upied overseeing the crystal restoration and would be busy for a little while longer. This gave enough time for the students to think about the rewards they wanted, and eventually, it was Wu who was the first to make a request.

    "I would like to request a new type of Altered DNA. One that has yet to be used on others, and at the same time, for that Altered DNA not to be made again, I and my cooperation should gain exclusivity over the Altered DNA." Wu slowly put forward his request. He carefully worded his sentence to avoid sounding like he was asking for too much, although it was hard to tell if he seeded.

    Hearing what Wu had asked for piqued Gary''s interest. It sounded like a big request. Although they likely would give Wu a special type of Altered DNA, the request to make it exclusively for him was not quite easy. In the end, it all depended on how valuable they saw these Retrievers as, and it was also a chance for Gary to observe this fact.

    As for the reward itself, it could be sold or passed onto someone who was in Wu''s group, increasing their power and status in the outside world. It made Gary wonder if he should change the request he had in his mind. If he got his hands on some Altered DNA, then he could use it to change one of the Howler''s lives, maybe get it for his sister so she would be safer and will have the ability to protect herself.

    However, in the end, Gary felt like getting the beast''s body was a better reward. Being an Altered had its own risks, such as the Altered Hunters. He just wanted Amy to live a safe and sound life which she already had at the moment, and Gary would deal with whosoever attempts to harm her.

    While Gary was musing in his thoughts, Snow put forward the subsequent request.

    "I didn''t get my Altered DNA from NIRV, but if possible, I would like them to make a replica or get hold of the same type of Altered DNA I have and pass on that information to my group. Also, a year-long supply of carrots for me if you can add that as aplimentary reward."

    With the information from the Altered DNA, Gary could somewhat guess what Snow wanted to do. He wanted more Altereds like himself in his group. If his group did receive the information he had requested for, maybe it could reallye true, and they might seed in creating more versions of the Altered DNA.

    "The year-long supply of carrots can be done." Humphrey smiled. "Even though you made two requests, I will give you that. As for the requests regarding Altered DNA, I will have to pass them on to James and see what he can do."

    Then ncing at the young man standing at the left end, he asked, "What about you, Gary? What would you like?"

    Gary had some time to think about how to phrase his request, and in the end, he couldn''t really think of a way to not make it sound weird, but he just had to go for it since this was a great opportunity.

    "My request¡­is the body of the beasts we kill in these special lessons," Gary asked. "I can see that NIRV cares a lot about the crystal. I don''t need that, but just the body and a private ce for me to do research."

    Gary could see the eyes of the others looking at him, and he decided he needed to exin himself.

    "If I can investigate the beast''s body, then maybe I can figure something out regarding how Altered DNA is created."

    Humfrey stared at Gary for a while, observing thetter''s bodynguage. Due to his over-exnation and the slight nervousness in the tone, it was clear the student was lying. Which made Humfrey think, why did Gary want the corpse?

    Another thing was that he hadn''t asked for the corpses to be sent to his group. Instead, he had asked for them for his personal use.

    ''Does this have something to do with before?'' Humfrey wondered as he recalled the image of a bloody Gary in his head. ''It never made sense why he ate his teachers, but what I saw on camera and now this, it''s most likely that Gary wishes to eat these beasts as well, but why?

    ''Has he figured out a special trait of his Altered? A way to get stronger based on what he eats. If that is the case, then that is incredibly rare, and it makes me wonder what his limit is. Either way, seeing this student grow is making the bones in my body shake again.''

    By now, James and the other staff had safely extracted and stored away the crystal, and he had joined Humfrey''s side once again.

    "One of our students had a particr request," Humphrey asked. "Since it can be granted right now, I guess I should talk to you here itself. The request is for the beast''s dead body. Will it be alright if he takes it with him, including the beasts that die in the future lessons?"

    James'' separated jaw showed how stunned he was upon hearing the request.

    "I mean, it''s not really a problem for us, but are you sure that you want that to be your request?" James looked at all the students, not knowing which student he was really speaking to since he wasn''t there when they had made the requests.

    "You see, the corpses have no use to us, so that''s not really a problem, but there is a reason why they have no use to us. Once the crystal is removed from its body, they tend to disintegrate at a fast rate. So in half an hour or so, that will be nothing."

    Immediately upon hearing James''s words, Gary left to go towards the beast. He went past the other staff and used his strength to lift it up and put it on his shoulder, holding therge thing with two hands.

    "That''s great, don''t worry about that. Just show me to my room where I can have a look at this thing in peace." Gary asked.

    Seeing the strange excitement in the boy, James decided to take note of who had asked for their request. It was the first time for them and although they thought the student would get nothing out of it, they never did know.

    ''Come on, let''s eat this meat and gain some stats!'' Gary was more interested in what was about toe.

    *****

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 Chapter 438 Eating a beast

    Chapter 438 Eating a beast

    It did not take long for them to head to Gary¡¯s request and give him a room. The area they were in wasrge, wherever it was, and there were plenty of rooms in the ce. The only problem was, that all of the rooms had a camera system set up in them.

    On therge tableid out, was the beast¡¯s body. Using his sharp ws gGary had split it up to make it easier to consume for himself, but he couldn''t help but look in the corner of the room at the camera.

    ¡®Humfree said they turned them off, and that red blinky thing is no longer blinking.¡¯ Gary thought. On top of that for extra safety measures they had ced an enclosed cap on the cameras. So that way, even if they were on, they would see nothing but darkness.

    In the end, Gary had to check the entire room, just in case they had hidden a camera anywhere but he could find nothing. Before inspecting the room, Gary also noticed that just like the NIRV employee said, its body looked to already be disintegrating.

    A part of its leg, the skin of it, was turning slightly ashey. Small particles breaking off and seemingly disappearing to be part of the air.

    ¡®That guy said it was because they moved the crystal out of the body. Does that mean the crystal is what is needed to create Altered DNA. I guess that''s why they don¡¯t care about the body so much.

    ¡®It makes me wonder, if I eat this now, will I still gain stat points even without it having the crystal inside it?¡¯

    In the end, there was only one way to find out. Although Gary was now used to eating such things, animals and more, most of the time he had done so out of desperation. There was an instinct in him, or the situation itself would force him to do such things, but there was none of that now. He needed to willingly eat the ¡®food¡¯ in front of him.

    Picking it up, Gary started off with the leg because it seemed like the easiest part. He had begun his challenge.

    The whole thing had taken a while since there was a lot of the beast, but what Gary was more impressed by was his own stomach. Even after consuming enough meat to bring his energy back to 300, he could still keep going.

    On top of that, after around two-thirds of the beast was eaten, Gary had received a message from his system.

    [The beast that you have defeated has been consumed]

    [You have received the following stats]

    [+1 Strength]

    Gary was somewhat waiting for more messages toe, but they never did after that, which left him seriously disappointed.

    ¡®Just one stat point, but I got so many for the other Altered. Is it because the beast is considered a weak one¡­or maybe it has something to do with the crystal that left its body.¡¯

    After oveing the disappointment, Gary thought about it for a while and thought it was still a good oue overall. For one, he had gained a single stat point as an extra, something only usually gained from, levelling up.

    On top of that, he gained exp and a bonus exp reward for killing a beast for the first time. From the way the professors had exined things, he was sure that in the future the beasts would get stronger and stronger.

    ¡®I guess I should wait here for a while, there are still parts of the beast''s body left inside, but it''s disintegrating even now. If I wait for it topletely disappear, then I can exin that''s just what happened.¡¯

    While in the room, Gary saw it as a chance to check out his current stats.

    Gary

    Grade: Bishop

    ss: Warrior

    Level 23

    [Health 250]

    [Energy 300]

    [Exp 1788/11564]

    [Strength 36]

    [Dexterity 26]

    [Endurance 32]

    The recent point was added in strength, and due to the exp gained from killing the beast, Gary had levelled up twice bringing him closer to his 25 goal. What this did mean though, was he also had two stat points to use as well.

    At the same time, he still had two pawn points but was saving them for useter on, if they were needed.

    ¡®Originally I was thinking about increasing my energy pool, but I''m starting to see that as a problem after experiencing the full moon. The more energy I have, the longer I can go without food and starve myself, but it just seems to all add up to this aggressive side in me that I can;t control.

    ¡®Arge energy pool requires a lot to eat to fill it up, and that means, it will be harder to get used to on the day of the full moon. I imagine as well, the Werewolf side of me, if it goes crazy, will keep eating until at least until its energy is full, maybe beyond.¡¯

    Thinking of other ways to use his points, he thought back to the fight with Ryan and how well it had worked out. Sticking to his original n, he decided it was best for him to add his points to endurance.

    [Endurance 34]

    His endurance was linked to his health, and with tougher opponents and now beasts to go up against, it would be better for hits against him to take less damage.

    ¡®Man in some ways, I wish I could fight Ryan again, and fight him properly. Then I could show off in front of Xin, and everything would work out. I mean I would still have to figure out the whole werewolf thing, but we can be a powerhouse fighting couple or something.¡±

    Waiting a bit longer, the entire body of the beast had now disappeared. Leaving the room, Gary had nned to find Crowley to get out of here and get a good night''s rest. As soon as he opened the door and left the room though, there was a person standing right in front of him.

    ¡°Hello.¡± James, the NIRV employee said with a smile.

    *****

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 Chapter ?439 The best for themselves

    Chapter ?439 The best for themselves

    It was a surprise to Gary to see this person of all people, maybe he thought Crowley would be waiting or Humfree but there was no one apart from the NIRV employee. Honestly, this person was already making him nervous and the fact that he must have been standing outside for a while, waiting for something was putting him at ease even more.

    ¡°Did you get to y with the body and find what you wanted?¡±

    It was a probing question, and Gary didn¡¯t know how to really answer. It wasn¡¯t like he was some scientist, Tom would be best for this.

    ¡°I did, but I still would like to do more research. So as long as you don¡¯t want the bodies, then please send them my way after the lessons.¡± Gary said, and the easiest way for him to get out of the awkward situation was to walk away and head back the way he came.

    ¡°I have a question if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what type of Altered are you?¡±

    Hearing this question, Gary¡¯s heart started to throb, and he didn''t know how to answer. He had yet to turn around but had stopped walking. It was clear he had heard James, and the hesitation in his answer wasn¡¯t the best for him.

    ¡°You see, I looked into our files, and NIRV has never given any type of Altered DNA, to the group known as the Howlers, which would suggest you got your DNA from somewhere else. Maybe an auction, another corporation or even abroad.

    ¡°Your Altered form, the way you ripped off that tail was quite impressive, so we would like to know what ourpetition is, that''s all.¡±

    Thinking hard, Gary wanted to answer the question in a way, so he would no longer be involved in NIRV, or at least get James'' attention off his back. The answers though just weren''ting to his head. He never expected James to be there when the door opened.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± A voice said down the hall, and Crowley the teacher dressed in all ck could be seening out from the corner of the hallway.

    ¡°The students are only meant toplete tasks for you as a retriever. In the first ce, they are still apprentices. They do not have to do your bidding outside of the special lesson and it is now over. Come over here, Gary.¡± Crowley called over.

    Out of all the people toe and help him, Gary never thought he would be thankful to see the strange bird magician teacher, but he was, and soon rushed over. The two turned down the hallway and began to head back.

    They walked for a good five minutes, and it seemed they were heading down the long hallway back to where they first started, taking several turns once again just like before. When they were finally in the tube-shaped hallway that Gary recognised, Crowley had stopped.

    ¡°I have a warning for you as one of our students,¡± Crawley stated. ¡°NIRV are a group of people that only care about themselves. They will do anything for the sake of science. You know there are those against Altereds, well these guys are PRO Altered.

    ¡°If they could they would turn every single person into an Altered, but aren''t foolish.They would do it, so in a way they are at the top. NIRV, is a corporation that supplies Altered DNA, even to tier one cities. Creating the strongest Altered the world has seen.

    ¡°Now imagine, if that''s the Altered DNA they are willing to sell, then what about the ones they are keeping for themselves.¡±

    Gary had heard simr conspiracy theories online simr to what Crowley had just said, but hearing it directly from a teacher that was connected and worked with them, gave a different feeling.

    Maybe the world hadn¡¯t seen everything Altered could do and with expanding technology there would be breakthroughs at every corner creating better Altered.

    The double steel doors opened up, and Gary was back in the room where they had started with the seats and the signed sheets of paper. To his surprise, the others were there waiting as well.

    When Gary''s eyes met with Numba, they both smiled at each other. Happy to see that the other was okay. With Apollo with the group, he wasn¡¯t so worried about what might ur though.

    He was sure, after seeing Wu and Snow, that they would be able to deal with that beast as well.

    ¡°Everyone is to leave and enter the special lesson at the same time.¡± Crowley said. ¡°These are the rules and it''s true if someone is being held back to be healed or something else. But don;t worry while they were waiting for you, I gave them all their feedback as well.

    ¡°As for you Gary, they actually didn¡¯t have much to say about your performance. Apart from, they would like to see you be more active and see more before they judge, but I would say that is for you to decide.

    ¡°For me, I think all of you when you enter the special lesson should just survive, focus on surviving no matter what.¡±

    The special lesson was only once a week, so they would have to wait to see what their task or who they would go up against next week. In the meantime, they were to continue their lessons like normal, while not speaking a word to all of those outsides.

    Now that the lesson was done, Crowley made the basket appear in his hand, and all of the mobile devices were returned. The doors were open to the outside and it was around 8 pm, and the night was out.

    ¡°Ah man, I really want to talk to you about what happened there, but rules are rules,¡± Numba said. ¡°No doubt the others are going to ask, I wonder what we should say to them?¡±

    Gary was thinking the same thing, but he was distracted because as soon as he turned on his phone, he noticed there was a missed call from Kai, and he had received a message.

    [Call me as soon as you can, we need to talk.]

    *****

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 Chapter ?440 A message from home

    Chapter ?440 A message from home

    Seeing the text message had caused Gary¡¯s heart rate to rise a little. He knew that because his system''s messages were telling him that was the case. It was odd, Kai was always calm, collected and hardly anything fazed him.

    On top of that, he and Olivia were now like him. Their strength and more had increased and there shouldn¡¯t have been many in Slough that could cause them problems.

    Now that Gary was being contacted, he felt like it was a serious matter.

    ¡®Is it those people that the Underdogs worked for, or maybe something has happened to their werewolf forms.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Hey, Gary, are you just going to stand there all day? Come on.¡± Numba shouted.

    Putting his phone away Gary followed Numba back to their rooms, but he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what had happened. In the end, they had arrived in front of their rooms, but Numba headed to Ian¡¯s room rather than his own.

    ¡°Oh, hey aren¡¯t you going toe chill with us for a bit?¡± Numba asked. ¡°I know we can¡¯t talk about what happened, but Ian wouldn''t stop texting me toe over after the special lesson ended.¡±

    Gary had automatically gone to his own room, in fact, he noticed that he had received a text from Izzy as well, about a little get together iming it would be nice for their first day.

    ¡°I just need to sort something out first, it might be a while, I¡¯ll send you a message when I¡¯m done.¡± Gary smiled and went inside to his room.

    ¡°Hmm, he was looking at his phone the whole way back, maybe someone from home. Come to think of it, I got a message as well.¡± Numba mumbled to himself as he let himself into Ian¡¯s room.

    Ian and Izzy were already ying some music and had a load of snacks out on the table. Popcorn, crisps and more.

    ¡°I mean, I know you said that we were having a party but is it really smart to be eating all of this junk on the first day?¡± Numba asked.

    ¡°Will you rx, it''s okay to have a cheat day once in a while even if it is on the first day,¡± Ian replied getting up from the sofa. ¡°Besides the food they rmend us, is a rmendation. They can¡¯t force us to not eat this stuff.¡±

    Although Ian did have a point, Numba wanted to take this whole thing seriously, especially after what had happened in the special lesson. He kept imagining if Apollo wasn''t there and it was just him and Sty, could they have taken out the beast? Soon they would be facing bigger and stronger things than today.

    Coming out of the bathroom, Izzy was sorting out her hair, and saw Numba standing by the door.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Gary?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Oh great, so I guess you¡¯re not happy to see me?¡± Numba replied. ¡°Gary needed to sort something out first, he said he would text us when he¡¯s free.¡±

    In an instant, Numba could see the look of disappointment on Izzy¡¯s face. And it was at that moment, that he realised the feelings she had for him. Even if she didn''t know about them herself.

    ¡°Soe on, what made this special lesson so special?¡± Ian asked, and the excitement could be seen in his eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine what lesson would only have you and Gary in it. Did you get personal sparring training one on one with the teachers, or maybe met some AFC athletes.¡±

    Thinking back, Numba was thinking the same things, but the truth was far more terrifying than any of that, but he didn¡¯t want to show this fear in front of the others, and knowing that he had something that Ian wanted, Numba folded his arms and put a smug smile on his face.

    ¡°Unfortunately I can¡¯t tell you any details, those are the rules of the special lesson,¡± Numba said out loud and proud. The others weren''t sure if they were imagining it but it looked like his nose had gottenrger as well.

    ¡°Look, stop ying around, just tell us what it is?¡± Ian asked.

    ¡°I''m serious,¡± Numba replied. ¡°Gary will confirm when hees over here, we can¡¯t tell anyone about what is happening, but I will say one thing, Apollo, Wu and Snow were there as well.¡±

    Hearing those names, it just caused Ian to light a fire in his belly.

    .

    ¡°Ahhh it would have been better if you said nothing, now I''m really jealous. Maybe, I should have just waited and passed through as the top three with the next lot. This seriously sucks.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the other room, Gary sat down on his bed and nervously began to call Kai. The sound of beeps was heard once in a while.

    ¡®Come on Kai, pick up, pick up¡­please don¡¯t make me worry.¡¯

    Beep, and more beeps were heard, as the phone continued to ring. Gary was squinting at this point, because his worst fear wasing true, something drastic must have happened while Gary was away and he wasn¡¯t there to save them.

    ¡°Hello,¡± A voice was heard from the other end. ¡°Hey Gary, are you there? Sorry I was having a nighttime shower. Sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°You were taking a shower,¡± Gary replied. ¡°I thought something had happened to you, are you okay, is everyone okay?¡±

    Gary was speaking so loud, that Kai was forced to pull the phone away from his ear. He eventually ced it down and ced it on a loudspeaker while he dried himself with a towel.

    ¡°There all okay, everyone is fine, your sister is fine as well. I just wanted to talk to you, that''s all.¡± Kai replied. ¡°I didn''t realise you would panic this much. I mean if I was well enough to send you a message then that means everything is alright, right?

    ¡°Anyway, I won''t keep you for long. An up anding electronicpany that sells parts for phones wanted to expand into our city. They are looking to produce more than just small parts for phones and need to broaden their contacts.

    ¡°There are quite a few skilled but unemployed people in Slough, so it''s a good ce for them to set up base, hire people from ect.. At the same time, of course, they''re looking to be protected by others and as the current top gang of Slough they havee to us.¡±

    So far the news sounded good rather than bad, and everything was kind of going over Gary¡¯s head, so he was waiting to hear why he needed to be involved in this.

    ¡°Thepany is known as Cardenez electronics, and we had a meeting set up with them. They were quite honest with us, and are also thinking of joining a tier 2 city. Of course, they needed protection there as well.

    ¡°The tier 2 city might be able to offer them more, but at the same time will take a bigger cut. I think since we are an up anding group, they have a feeling that we will rise, and rising together is much more attractive to them, than going under another. The problem was that he could tell Gary.¡±

    ¡°Tell what,¡± Gary replied. ¡°That you¡¯re a werewolf?¡±

    Although that didn''t make sense it was the only thing he could think of.

    ¡°No,¡± Kai replied. ¡°He could tell that I wasn''t the leader of the gang. He said he will only do business after meeting the real leader. If he is putting his future on the line with us, then he wants to meet you.

    ¡°I know you''re busy with the academy, but I can set up the meeting to be held in the evening, and I and Olvia will be there as well. You¡¯ll just have toe down after one of your sses, maybe one day you finish early.¡±

    Gary thought about it for a while, he didn¡¯t have a problem with what Kai was suggesting but he was nervous. What would he say, what would he do and how should he act? This was something that he had never done before.

    ¡°It''s okay, maybe I should take a couple of days toe to see you again anyway. A couple of days won''t hurt, and it would be good to catch up.¡±

    ¡°That''s great, we can sort out the details about the whole thing at ater time.¡±

    With that, the call had ended, and it looked like Gary was going to go back to Slough and meet the others again. He couldn''t wait to see what they had been up to, and seeing his mother and Sister was something he had to do out of respect, but there was something bothering him.

    ¡®Cardenez electronics, I''m sure I have heard of them before? But why would I know that name?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ****

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 Chapter ?441 I am a Werewolf

    Curious, Gary searched for Cardenez Electronics on the inte, yet all he ended up finding was thepany''s products, which did little to help jog his memory. The teenager let out a sigh and decided to head over to his friends and enjoy the rest of the evening. Tomorrow, there would still be more than enough time for him to worry about how to help the Howlers.

    As he walked down the hallway, he thought back to thest time he had seen all of them together. It had been at the Wolf''s Pool Club, and Gary hade there straight after school because Kai had informed him that there would be an important meeting with everyone.

    The Werewolf still remembered theck of reaction when he had told the Howlers about his decision to give up school, followed by them telling him that they had decided that it would be for the best for him to leave the gang, albeit temporarily.

    Fortunately, the misunderstanding hadn''tsted long, and after agreeing to try out for the AFA, he had made sure to leave the gang at its strongest by granting Kai a Unique ss. Of course, the most memorable moment had been when Gary came clean about what he was...

    ----

    "Guys!" Gary eximed, and everyone in the room turned to look at him. "There''s something important I need to tell you all. I''m aware that all of you already know my secret... and I''m thankful that none of you have asked me about it. Before I go, I want to set the record straight. I''m not an Altered... I''m actually a Werewolf..."

    The room that had been filled with theughter and jokes of the Howlers went silent at this sudden deration. The green haired teenager had been so focused on his words, and how to phrase it, that he had forgotten that White was also in the room. Although the pool club was currently closed, as the barmaid who practically lived there.

    On top of that, there was Tyler. The Howlers driver, that had beening here more oftentely and Miss Degrace, Marie''s mother. In the end, both of these people were important and the future of the howlers. So to shy them away from the truth was rude as well.

    Everyone in the room is silent after hearing what Gary had said. In fact, Tyler''s legs were shaking. He took Gary''s words seriously and although no one knew about it, he had also watched the fight with the Werewolf and Kirk many times.

    Innu soon started to break the silence with hisughter.

    "A Werewolf? Do you mean like those creatures from the movies? I don''t understand, Gary, we already figured out that you''re an Altered, so what''s the point of lying to us about something so crazy?'''' Innu asked, but judging by their gang leader''s reaction, this wasn''t a joke of any sort.

    "I know that it''s hard to believe, but I swear I''m not an Altered." Gary insisted. "I wanted to tell you all earlier, but I was afraid... afraid that if I did, you might all be scared to be around me."

    "Why would we be afraid of you?" Mai asked, still not fullyfortable with the unexpected revtion.

    "Because of what happens when I lose control. It already happened once... at the park..." ?????? ???? ???? ????o???. ???.

    The first one to understand what Gary meant was surprisingly Innu. With all the puzzle pieces in ce, how could he not realise it? It was not like he could forget what had transpired in the park, when they all had nearly died due to two Wolf-type Altered...

    Talking to Kai, Innu had somewhat figured this out, but at the same time confirming their thoughts, was another thing altogether.

    They could all see he was down, and that''s when Austin decided to stand up.

    "Altered, Werewolf, what''s the difference." Therge teenager shrugged it off. Innu gave him a meaningful stare, yet he refrained from arguing that he hadn''t been there.

    "You''re you, and you were the one who has helped out this gang so much. I only have one question. When we first met on the rooftop, were you already a Werewolf? The way you say it, I assume you weren''t a Werewolf since birth, so how and when exactly did it happen?"

    "Yeah, and if you are a Werewolf are you one from birth? Does that mean your sister is one as well!" Innu asked.

    Gary wasn''t expecting this type of reaction, he had been prepared for all his friends to scream and run, perhaps call him a monster and leave the ce, but if anything, they were simply curious about his condition.

    "You''re right, I haven''t been a Werewolf for long, and to answer your questions, you''ve only met me after I became one. And no, my Sister isn''t a Werewolf, and truth be told she knows nothing about this and I would like to keep it that way. I hope you understand." Austin showed him a wide grin after hearing the answer. Gary wasn''t a mindreader, but he knew his friend well enough to understand why he did that.

    "You all seem to have a lot of questions, and since I''ve already told you this much, let me start at the beginning."

    Gary went on to exin to the group what had urred that night as a Transporter. After that, he went into the details of the park that day, where most of them were present. They now also knew about the full moon and the problems that gued him during that day.

    The only thing he didn''t tell them about was the existence of the Werewolf System. Its existence was a pure enigma, and he didn''t feel like it would help anyone knowing about it. This was something that Olvia nor Kai had even though they were Werewolves as well.

    When he was finally done with his story, the teenager sat down at the bar, and finally rested. He let out a big sigh, feeling like a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

    "Gary...thank you." Mai finally spoke, waiting for the right time. "You know, I feel like I never got to thank you for that day. When I was trapped in that container because of the twins. I know you went through some bad things, and all of this is scary...it is for me as well.

    "But if you didn''t have this power, I wouldn''t be alive today."

    "She''s right." Innu agreed, despite being the most shocked out of everyone. If he was, to tell the truth he was scared, and hearing what had urred to Billy, how he had been turned by ident frightened him even more, but Marie had made him consider the positives.

    "Not just Marie, but you pretty much saved Slough. It''s on video! If it wasn''t for you, a lot more people would have died, and it''s because of you that us Howlers are the top gang now. We can really make a change in this town!"

    From behind the bar, Miss Degrace pulled out a drink and left it on the table.

    "I''m a mother, and believe me there are not many I would trust with my daughter, but you are one of them."

    "And I still want to be your driver!" Tyler shouted with passion. Which made all the othersugh.

    Honestly, all the positive support brought a tear to the Werewolf''s eye. After losing connection with his mother, there weren''t many he could share this burden with, in fact, he couldn''t even share it with her, and hiding it from these guys every day was hurting him each time.

    He had always been scared of how the Howlers would react, but seeing it now, he actually felt a bit stupid for hiding it for this long.

    "Speaking off." Kai interrupted, pping his hands. "I hate to interrupt this moment, but there are a few things I should tell you. Not only will Gary attend the trial to get into the AFA, I know I brought it up to all of you earlier, but it has been confirmed. So we should have a big leaving party.

    "It also means there are quite a few things we need to set up. A ce for his sister, those to keep an eye on his mother and of course, all the Howler''s duties. While he is away, we will do our best to keep this gang growing and when he returns, we will be the ones to shock him with some news."

    All the gang members smiled at this fact, and that included White. The truth was, that day when Gary had fought against Olivia, she had seen a lot of it, but she too had decided to keep it to herself, as she was enjoying her life right now.

    "Oh, and since we''re on the topic of sharing secrets, Olivia and I are Werewolves as well, and we need to start preparing for the next full moon, and for that, we''re going to need your help."

    ****

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 Chapter ?442 The second moon (Part 1)

    Chapter ?442 The second moon (Part 1)

    A few days had passed since Gary had told everyone the truth, and during that time things seemed to be going well. Using Olivia, and the rest of the Howlers, they were working on a strategy to control Slough better.

    There were still the mid size gangs to worry about, as well as the mayor who had yet to make a move, but the fact that the Underdogs had been dealt with, it looked like for now everyone wasying low.

    On top of that, Gary had been spending more time with his sister, although he had yet to tell her he was going to be leaving the city, or anything to do with the gang. He still couldn''t quite bring himself to doing any of that yet, but he knew he was dying the inevitable.

    Finally though, there was a big day ahead of them. It was the night before the full moon. The main members of the Howlers had been preparing for this for a while, and with only them knowing the truth, they were also the only ones that could help.

    Currently, the whole gang was spending the night at the abandoned police station. It was one of the properties that originally belonged to the Underdogs but was now under the Howlers group that had recently been made.

    It was also the ce where Gary and Kai were kept for a while. Only this time, they weren¡¯t in the cers and were in one of the meeting rooms where the police would usually conduct their cases.

    Everyone sat down, and was quite nervous for the day. Although they had all been epting of the fact that they had three werewolves in their gang, at the same time, words and actions were two different things. They hadn¡¯t seen Kai or Olivia transform, and only saw Gary partially transformed when he was asked to help move things.

    Inside the room was Marie, Austin, Innu, Olivia, Gary, and Kai of course. Although there were more that knew about them being werewolves, Kai felt like it was too dangerous for them to be here. Although he didn¡¯t tell those that had toe to the meeting that.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Kai said, pping his hands, standing up in front of everyone to get their attention. There was also arge TV behind him with a powerpoint calling it ¡®Operation Full Moon 2''.

    ¡°This is everything that we know about the full moon thanks to Gary. First if we do nothing, it all starts at midnight. All three of us will turn into these huge monsters called werewolves.¡±

    The screen was changed showing a cartoon like image of a werewolf that didn¡¯t look scary at all. Kai had done this so the others would be more inclined to take part.

    ¡°On this night, apparently we will lose our minds. We won''t really know what we are doing and also won¡¯t be able to control ourselves. Instead, we will eat and kill people to satisfy our hunger. Does anyone have any questions on this part.¡±

    During his talk Kai had gone through a few more slides, this time showing cartoon characters being killed, and some pictures of food. When looking at the others the cute pictures no longer seemed to be working so well.

    Innu gulped and slowly raised his hand.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean us who are working closest to you are most likely to be¡­ eaten by you.¡± shing images of the werewolves chasing after him for some reason were appearing in his head.

    ¡°I mean you are correct but hopefully it won''t get to that point.¡± Kai replied. ¡°You see, once the sun rises at 6:00 AM and the moon goes away and then the dangerous night is over.

    ¡°ording to Gary, his transformation had ended earlier than that, on that night. After fighting against the Altered Hunters and the White Rose agents, he had tired himself out. ording to Gary this is because he ran out of energy, and what werewolves need for energy is food.

    ¡°Both mine and Olivia¡¯s appetites have be farrger now that we are werewolves. So it seems to be true. Gary hase up with the suggestion that we tire ourselves out, while also not eating the night before which is today.¡±

    Although this was true, and Gary was confident of his theory, there was one problem. Gary had the system to know when he didn''t have enough energy to transform, while the others didn¡¯t.

    If they were like him, then they could just transform before the full moon, and try to use up all their energy, but he wasn''t too sure they wouldn''t give in to their natural urges.

    ¡°And what if that doens¡¯t work?¡± Austin asked with his arms folded and looking towards the corner of the room. There were a few strange weapons they could see that weren''t there before.

    ¡°This is where you guyse in. The Underdogs did a good job of keeping Gary herest time. In fact, they still have some chains and more to tie us down. Each of us will be put in our own cell and tied to the ground. You are to keep watch over us in the camera room.

    ¡°When we have sessfullypleted the full moon. You can free us and treat us to a nice meal. Now the camera room and the cell room are quite far apart, but just in case, there are Anti-Altered weapons for you to use.

    ¡°They are for your protection and seem to work quite well against us. Even if we do turn, I imagine we will be quite weak. So after a few hits with those, you should be golden.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, should '''' Innu said, shaking his head, not believing what he was getting himself into.

    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s head down to the cell, and start this long night shall we.¡± Kai smiled as if he was going to enjoy this.

    *****

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 Chapter ?443 The Second Moon (Part 2)

    Chapter ?443 The Second Moon (Part 2)

    Olivia, Kai, and Gary weren¡¯t given another drop of food to eat, and they were already feeling the effects of their hunger. The closer it was to the full moon the higher alert they would be in the first ce.

    ¡°Ahhh this sucks!¡± Olivia screamed from her cell.

    The three of them had been tied up, next to each other, and could see one another through the metal bars, but due to the chain length they were unable to reach each other or the bars that were in front of them.

    The order of the three went Kai, then Gary, and finally Olivia.

    ¡°You never said this was what was going to happen when you turned me!¡± Oliviained.

    ¡°Will you rx?¡± Kai replied. ¡°You remember all of us are in the same pain, and besides I thought you would be used to your emotions getting high strung once a month.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I swear if I turn into a werewolf, the first one I''m going to kill is you pretty boy.¡± Olivia said, licking her lips.

    Gary immediately turned his head to look at her, and stared her down. It was a fierce look and his eyes had slightly transformed, appearing a little redder than they usually would look.

    It was a reminder to Olivia. In the first ce, turning her into a werewolf was meant to be a punishment. Gary didn''t really care what happened to her, and he had made the decision that if he was unable to control her during the full moon, or at least restrain her like they were attempting to do now then he would get rid of her.

    He didn''t want another Billy situation, never again. However, Olvia had helped them out a lot. With her Pincer gang, protecting his sister, and even helping out in the fight with Kirk.

    It still didn''t forgive her for all the bad things she had done while being in the Pincers and for attempting to kill him, but she was more useful alive than dead.

    Olivia remembered challenging Gary when she had first been turned, and although she had grown stronger after seeing him go up against the Underdogs, she didn''t want to do so again. Besides, her life was good at the moment, she was in the top gang of Slough. Everything was going well apart from this.

    There was quiet between the three of them as they focused on thier breathing. They were trying everything to forget about the pain that they could feel in their stomachs. Kai even resorted to some exercise as he began to attempt to hit the air, do push ups, and more.

    After a while though, Kai was beginning to feel incredibly weak. For a werewolf just keeping one''s body awake for the day took up more energy than the average human. It was why they needed to eat so much.

    Gary could also see via the system that his energy was now below the required amount to transform. Since the others had been doing the same as him, they should be below the energy amount, but it was the moment of truth.

    ¡°Just one more minute right.¡± Innu said holding onto the spear type Anti Altered weapon. All of them were, but it didn''t feel right what was about to happen.

    ¡°Yeah, it''s the moment of truth, whether their n will work or not.¡± Marie replied, looking behind her. The door had been bolted shut, and at the same time multiple objects were ced in front of it just in case.

    Although it was a double edged sword, because if they needed to escape it would be impossible, but there was only one way in and out of the room. With their weapons they were confident they could at least control them.

    ¡°You know, there''s three of them and three of us, we need to start thinking about what to do if they all will turn.¡± Austin said, and nodding his head it looked like Innu agreed as well.

    However, Marie wasn''t too sure, because Gary seemed pretty confident about him not turning, he had told her that she didn''t have to worry about him but to keep an eye on the others.

    *BEEP *BEEP

    The sound of an rm set on their phones had gone off for midnight. There was also one phone left in the cell for the others to know what time it was as well. After waiting around thirty seconds, Gary let out a big sigh.

    [It is the night of the full moon]

    [The power of the moon is at its fullest]

    [Your blood lust is at its max]

    [There is not enough energy for you to transform]

    Each one of them felt something in their body as soon as it hit the midnight clock, a strange twinge, but their body soon calmed down, as it realised it wasn''t able to do what it wanted to do.

    ¡°It worked, your n really worked didn¡¯t it!¡± Kai said with a smile.

    ¡°It looks like it has¡­but it''s just begun, herees the real hard part.¡± Gary replied.

    What Gary said was true, because they would have to survive six more hours, through a pain that was unimaginable. It was simr to someone who was being starved but rather than over a period of time, it was instant.

    The pain was rushing through their heads all at once, and their stomachs. So much that they were unable to properly focus. It was hard to even tell what was around them because of the pain.

    Several times, the shackles were heard being pullled and mmed onto the ground.

    ¡°We have to keep fighting!¡± Kai shouted.

    Olivia seemed to be suffering the worst, as she would constantly let out screams.

    ¡°Let me out!! Let me out!!!:¡± Her wrists were bleeding from the repeated pulling of the chains.

    How much time had passed it was hard to tell for them, but it felt like minutes were bing hours, until¡­

    *BEEP BEEP *BEEP BEEP

    ¡°Is that?¡± Gary said looking up. ¡°It''s 6 AM, we did it!¡±

    A few secondster the others hade into the room. All three of them with a meal in their hands and their weapons by their side. They waited a couple of minutes just in case, but it was hard for them to watch.

    There were a few times when they wanted to just get out of the rooms and help them but knew it was for the best. Now down here, they had quite a few raw steaks that had been bought just for this asion beforehand.

    Austin opened up the cell to Olivia''s room first, and when he got close, she went and snatched the food right out of his hands.

    ¡°Whoa¡­ I thought you were going to take my head off there!¡± Austin was so shocked he had taken a step back and held the spear pointing towards her. ¡°I guess she was just hungry after all.¡±

    The others were getting ready to open the next few cells as well, and do the same, until they heard the sound of growling.

    ¡°Guys, it''s happening!¡± Austin shouted, and immediately went out of the cell and mmed the door shut, locking it as quickly as possible.

    ¡®It''s happening, what''s happening, how can this be¡­ it''s past six, so why¡­ why is she changing?¡¯ Gary thought.

    Whatever the reason, Olivia had turned into herrge ck-furred self, and immediately, everyone pulled out their weapons pointing it toward the cage.

    ¡°What are you guys doing, run!¡± Kai shouted.

    ¡°Run?¡± Marie replied. ¡°And leave you two with this in the room. That''s not an option.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter ?444 The Second Moon (Part 3)

    Chapter ?444 The Second Moon (Part 3)

    Before the day of the full moon, Gary had already informed Kai and Olivia that he was next to a 100% sure that as long as they starved themselves, and therefore kept their Energy low enough, they shouldn¡¯t be able to transform during the full moon.

    Taking their leader¡¯s words with a grain of salt, Kai hade up with some theories of his own on how to deal with that starvation, so he had suggested they test those out to find out more about their condition.

    After drawing straws, Olivia had ended up being the one who had been forbidden from eating enough 72 hours before the full moon, making her by far the hungriest. Although she had beenining a lot, the Lady Boss had acted fine when the clock had hit midnight and only towards the end had she disyed signs of aggression.

    Gary was the one who should stop eating meat starting one day before the full moon, and he had even used w Drain a few times before midnight to get his Energy down.

    Then there was Kai, who had done the same, not eating for today, and who was still expanding his Energy in the cell itself. He was exhausting himself by doing push-ups and other physical exercises. Although he didn''t tell the others, he had clenched his fist hard so many times, that blood had been drawn in the palm of his hand and that was without transforming.

    At the same time, the more exhausted he became, the more each and every little thing was starting to irritate him. The rather quiet sounds of dripping water here and there, the breathing from Gary and Olivia, but rather thansh out, the Beta Werewolf had just continued to work out to keep his feelings bottled up. Never had he ever experienced pain like this before.

    Looking to his right, Gary could see Olivia in the midst of her transformation. The ck fur on her skin was starting to spread, while her mouth was changing. Without a doubt, this change resulted from her eating.

    However, the thing Gary didn¡¯t understand was why?

    ¡®Is it because of the methods we used¡­no, that can''t be right?¡¯ The Alpha Werewolf thought, his mind hazy from theck of food. ¡®This little food shouldn¡¯t have been enough to make her transform, so what¡¯s happening? Is this due to her ss, or is there something I didn¡¯t know?¡¯

    ¡°Quick, give me some food, so I can whack that Werewolf bitch!'''' Kai demanded uncharacteristically. It was the first time they had seen him act like this. For him, he couldn''t hold it in anymore, as his patience for this whole thing was wearing him thin.

    ¡°You think we''re going to give you some food after what is happening? Dream on!¡± Innu shouted back. The three were hesitant, unsure what to do, yet Olivia looked like she had already finished her transformation. Drool was dripping down her maw as she looked at the trio.

    All of them wanted to run, but running right now was not an option. They were no fools to believe that the chains and bars would keep the transformed woman inside. Werewolf Olivia probably didn¡¯t even recognise Gary and Kai as anything but tasty little treats wrapped around for her.

    ¡°If you guys are going to stay, then attack her now!¡± Gary ordered. ¡±Right now is your best chance to overwhelm her. Quick, before she manages to get out of those chains!¡±

    The group seemed hesitant, but the more the ck furred Werewolf struggled, the clearer it became that the chains wouldn¡¯t be holding her forever. In the end, Austin was the first to heed the Alpha Werewolf¡¯s words. He opened the gate door, and thrust his spear forward, hitting her right in the body.

    Olivia started to light up as sparks hit, but it seemed like the only thing it was doing was pissing her off. Fortunately, two more spears quickly helped out the first. Thanks to that, her entire body got lit up, and a loud growl escaped her, before it slowly started to fade. In front of their eyes, the Lady Boss began to revert to her human form, though her clothes had been partially ruined. Revealing some skin in certain areas.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Olivia. I know first-hand how much those Anti-Altered weapons hurt, but you can¡¯t argue results. When the Underdogs used them on me, they managed to knock me out, even when I still had a bit of Energy in me. With how little food Olivia got, she shouldn¡¯t be a problem until this is all over.¡¯

    ¡°Hey! Hey! Is everything okay? Will you guys answer me? For f*ck¡¯s sake, stop ignoring me!¡± Kai shouted from the third cell down.

    ¡°You did a great job, but I think it''s best if you leave now.¡± Gary told his wrongs. ¡°It seems like I was wrong earlier. The food you guys are holding isn¡¯t helping us. In fact, it''s only making it harder for us to hold on.¡±

    ¡°We can just take the food back and keep an eye on you here.¡± Marie suggested.

    ¡°It''s not just the food.¡± Gary shook his head.

    They understood what he meant, and didn''t need to be asked twice. Leaving the room, they headed for the monitor room to keep an eye on them again. On the way, they thought about what a close call that could have been.

    Inside the cell, around half an hour passed before Olivia eventually came to. Both the chains were still around her wrists and legs. They were made to contract and expand in size just for this asion, and thankfully it didn''t look like she would be turning into a Werewolf anytime soon.

    ¡°I turned, didn''t I?'''' Olivia asked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really myself when it happened, but now I¡¯m starting to remember. Good thing they stopped me.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, you didn¡¯t hurt anyone, so I¡¯ll let you off this time.¡± Gary answered in a weak voice. ¡°At least we¡¯ll know not to do that next time. How are you feeling right now?¡±

    ¡°Hungry. VERY hungry. I remember that I ate something, but it feels as if I hadn¡¯t. Honestly, the hunger doesn¡¯t really seem any worse than yesterday¡¯s but the moment I smelled the food¡­ I didn¡¯t even think about it, I just went for it.¡±

    ¡°Will you two sh*t the f*ck up?!¡± Kai yelled from his cell. ¡°You''re yapping so much that I can''t focus!¡±

    Until now, Gary had believed that Kai and his way of dealing with the full moon were better. After all, both of them seemed to be dealing with the hunger better than Olivia, most likely due to them starving for a shorter period of time, but after the Beta Werewolf¡¯s outburst he was no longer so sure. In his case, one might argue that he could endure it because this wasn¡¯t his first turning, or perhaps because he was more concerned about keeping his Pack in check.

    Then again, perhaps Kai had endured it for this long because he had a good mental state, or it was to do with what they had done before today. Whatever the case, the more Gary thought about it, the more his mind pointed to one direction¡­

    ¡°Guys, you can hear me, right? I think¡­ I might have been wrong about another thing. Because of how it wentst time for me, I was sure that we could oust it, but now I¡¯m starting to worry that it''s not just the night that we have to worry about¡­ We might actually have to endure this for the whole day¡­¡±

    *****

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 Chapter ?445 The Second Moon (Part 4)

    Chapter ?445 The Second Moon (Part 4)

    The night of the full moon, or rather the day of the full moon, was putting an immense amount of pressure on the mental strength of every Werewolf in the room. It had been hard enough as it was already and as time got closer to the 6AM mark everyone was starting to feel a bit relieved knowing that it would all be over soon.

    s, the moment Gary brought up the possibility that they might have to continue with the current situation for perhaps even the rest of the day, everything changed. It might have been a different story if it had been a few more hours, but this¡­ this was simply soul-crushing.

    ¡°Alright, Gary, I can see where you''re going with this, but maybe you''re wrong,¡± Kai said after a minute of staying silent. He focused all his energy on breaking out of his cuffs. Fortunately, his he was far too exhausted at this point, so it only stayed at the level of attempts. All it was doing was making him more exhausted and annoyed, sweat dripping down his forehead onto the floor.

    ¡°Wrong about what?¡± Gary asked. He was trying to focus on the pain himself. In this situation, the only reason why he was doing well, was because he was afraid. As the Alpha Werewolf, and the only one among them who had gone through this once before, he couldn''t show that it was affecting him in the same way as it was them.

    ¡°About your theory. Why don''t we just give some food to us in the next 6 hours? That''s 6 more than you originally thought, and then that would be okay, right¡± Kai bargained.

    Gary stayed silent. Although it was true that it might work, he didn''t want to test it, because any test they did meant that the others were put at risk.

    ¡°Stop f*king ignoring me!¡± Kai shouted.

    For the others watching this from the recording room, seeing the usually calm headed teenager act this way was rather entertaining. Innu even suggested that they should keep the security footage and perhaps use this against Kai in the future, because it was almost as if they were looking at apletely different person.

    <sub></sub>

    ¡°I''m not ignoring you, I was considering your idea,'''' Gary replied, before he lifted his head and looked into the camera. ¡°Alright, you guys, listen carefully, because I want you to follow my instructions based on what I say now. Ignore whatever I say in the future because it could be a different me talking to you.¡±

    Based on Kai¡¯s behaviour, Gary was worried that he was only a few hours off from acting the same way he was.

    ¡°Every two hours from now,e in and give us each a bit of food. HOWEVER, make sure that it is LESS than what you gave Olivia. Our Energy is already low, but with if don¡¯t eat anything throughout the day, we could actually die. Also, make sure to NOTe into the cage like you didst time. Just chuck the food over so it¡¯s close enough for us to eat it.

    ¡°It might feel wrong, since you''ll be treating us like animals, but right now we''re worse than wild animals.¡±

    Although this was true, Gary imagined that if they got a little bit of food, then it could make the hunger harder for them to deal with. The Alpha Werewolf wasn¡¯t sure if they should exclude Olivia or not. Right now she seemed fine, but who knew what could happen.

    ¡°Then, two minutes before midnight the next day. I want you to feed Kai, feed him until he¡¯s full. If there are any signs that he¡¯s starting to turn, you have my full permission to zap him. If what I think is correct, then even if he starts to turn, you will only need to survive a minute.¡±

    The instructions had been given and they were clear. There was a lot of extremely loud moaninging from Kai and Gary this time. Olivia, who had beenining before, was still in pain, so she wasn''t making too much noise.

    Once the two hours were up, Austin and the others came and did as Gary asked, just giving each one of them a bit of food. The timing seemed quite perfect, as they practically copsed on the floor, nearly unable to move.

    The colour of their skin and some of their Energy wasing back, but none of them had transformed, and just like Gary had warned them, all three Werewolves were doing all they could to convince the trio to let them out or feed them some more.

    Kai was the worst of them all, going from promising them everything they might ever want to threatening them all with kicking them out of the Howlers and even hurting their loved ones. It was tough to listen to, but they reminded themselves that this was the hunger speaking through him.

    Another thing that Gary had gotten correct, was after eating, the pain seemed to worsen. The small taste of food made them even hungrier than before, and it was true for every one of them.

    Once again though, although it affected Olivia not as much. Gary thought it couldn''t have been a coincidence and had to have something to do with her fasting before. She was the only one that had done something drastically different from them all.

    It had been a long and tough day, even Austin and the others were tired from watching, giving out insults and more. They had stayed up the whole day, only giving each other two hours sleep as they went on shifts.

    When going into the cage, they didn''t want to go in without the three of them, they all agreed this was the safest thing to do, so they couldn''t sleep any longer either.

    ¡°Alright, it''s time, we have five minutes until midnight, let''s do this,¡± Innu stated.

    They walked over with the raw food just like they did before. Then, both Innu and Austin had their spears ready to hit Kai at any moment, while Marie was the one that would feed him.

    She threw it towards him, lots of it in front of Kai who began eating it immediately, ignoring everything around him. At the same time, Marie picked up the spear from the floor and pointed it towards Kai, waiting for any signs of him turning.

    ¡°Come on¡­please don''t turn, please don''t turn.¡± Innu begged in a low voice.

    Eating the food at an incredibly fast rate. Kai suddenly stopped, and everyone''s hearts started to thump louder for a second.

    ¡°Screw this!¡± Innu screamed, as he thrust the spear forward, unwilling to take any chances. s, having expected this, the Beta Werewolf grabbed onto the spearhead just below the tip, and looked up at the dark-skinned teenager.

    Saliva was dripping down his mouth, as his now blue eyes stared at him.

    *****

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 Chapter ?446 Grey Vs Brown

    Chapter ?446 Grey Vs Brown

    Seeing Kai grab onto the spear, Innu immediately tried to pull it back. The Anti-Altered weapon only worked by singing the tip of the spear. As long as the end didn¡¯t directly touch the target, then it would electrocute nothing but the air.

    ¡®Damn, what is this strength? This scrawny blonde kid would have been able to overpower me this easily in the past!¡¯ Innu thought, but the next moment he gulped down, as he noticed that Kai¡¯s attention was fully on him. Those blue eyes ring at him made him aware that he was in great danger.

    ¡°WHY THE F*CK DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ME?! HELP ME, GUYS!¡± Innu yelled as he tried to push down the weapon as best as he could. You understood that letting go of the weapon at that moment would be a death sentence.

    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t alone, and the moment they noticed Kai¡¯s eyes, they ran up to help their friend by shoving their spears into the Werewolf¡¯s body. Sparks could be seen at the end of the weapon, and just like with Olivia, his whole body lit up like a Christmas tree. The sparks continued for a while, but unlike the female Werewolf, instead of reverting to his human form, Kai continued growing bigger by the second.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Growls escaped the transforming teenager¡¯s mouth, as his back grew in size, his forearms were changing and grey fur was begging to cover his body. It started on his arms, and went to his face. The transformation looked slightly different to Olive and Gary, as the snout on the face didn¡¯te out as muchpared to the others, yet his sharp canine teeth didn¡¯t look any less terrifying than those of his Pack members.

    Pulling the spear forward, Innu was almost dragged around, so he let go of the spear at thest second, leaving him with no weapon to defend himself with. Although both Austin and Maria had been using their weapons at the highest setting, Kai was now standing up, with the chains barely holding him in ce.

    ¡°Get out of there!¡± Gary shouted from his cell. ¡°Release me quickly! It''s the only chance we have!¡±

    Immediately, all three of them listened to Gary¡¯s order and started to run out of the cage. Soon after, a clunking sound could be heard, followed by a loud bang. Innu didn¡¯t want to, but turning his head, he saw what he had been afraid off.

    ¡°Holy sh*t, he didn¡¯t just break the cuffs, he took out the whole freaking floor with it!¡± Innu shouted in disbelief, not really helping the tense situation. Austin opened the cage, and Marie quickly flipped through the keys she had. There were a few of them, for the door, the outside door and the chains for all of them.

    ¡°Come on, Marie, hurry up!¡± Innu hurried her.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying!¡± Marie shouted back as she went through the ring of keys. Her hands were shaking, hindering her from finding the right one.

    A loud bang sounded from the right side. Rather than following them out of the cell, the Grey Werewolf was trying to make a path to get them directly. He had charged forward with his body into the bars, bending them outward.

    ¡°Hey, Gary, even if we let you out, how are you nning to deal with that him? If we give you food, won¡¯t you just be the same as him?¡± Innu suddenly questioned the validity of their n.

    "I don''t have to beat him." Gary answered. "I just have to keep him busy for a minute until it¡¯s midnight!"

    They all could see that Kai was charging up to have a second go at the bars again, and they weren¡¯t so sure they would be able to hold out this time. It was then, that Kai, lifted his hand, and his ws grew longer, looking incredibly sharp.

    ¡°Shit, why does he have to use his brain NOW?!¡± Austin cursed.

    ¡°Sess! You''re free!¡± Marie stated.

    Getting free, Gary turned to face Kai. It was already a frightening thing to face a fully fledged werewolf, much less when he only had 15 points of Energy to keep him upied. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t have much of a choice, so he ran past his friends, using Controlled Transformation on his arms.

    ¡®I can only hope that my Endurance is good enough to keep him upied. All of this is my fault, so if anyone has to get hurt, it should be me. I knew that I might have to face you when I created you, Kai, but I wish it wouldn¡¯t havee to this!¡¯ Gary stated and transformed his arms.

    Running forward, Kai leapt up and swiped at the cage, his ws slicing through the bars like hot butter. His body did the rest, making them bend further. Luckily, this caused him to lose a lot of his momentum.

    With his transformed arms, Gary held on to him, keeping him down. The green haired teenager didn¡¯t have to say anything, Marie and Austin saw their chance and helped out their leader by poking Kai in his ribs. Even Innu didn¡¯t just stand there, running over to grab his weapon to help out.

    Kai let out a pained howl and closed his eyes. Grasping this opportunity, Gary pushed him down, and with his ws, he started shing his belly.

    *Beep Beep *Beep Beep

    ¡°That''s the sound, it''s midnight, it''s midnight!¡± Innu cheered for joy.

    [You have survived a full day of the moon]

    [The moon no longer empowers you.]

    Seeing this, Gary let out a sigh of relief, but he knew that it was now over. Not until Kai reverted to his human self. At the moment, he still had a wild look of defiance in his eyes.

    ¡°Kai!¡± Gary shouted, hoping that it would get through to his friend. Unfortunately, all it did was make him squirm.

    ¡°Damn it, he doesn¡¯t listen. Give me some food so I can make him submit!¡± Gary shouted, and running out of the cell, Austin threw some food over to the Alpha Werewolf who caught it with one hand out of the air. However, using that moment, Kai pushed him off using his feet, getting free.

    [Skill activated Full Transformation]

    [-20 Energy]

    [Transformation has begun]

    Immediately, Gary''s whole body began to turn, brown fur covering him whole. He charged in, running at the other Werewolf on all fours. Seeing this, the Grey Werewolf did the same, both of them shed grabbing each other''s hands.

    However, there was a clear winner in terms of strength in all of this. Twisting his hands, Kai fell to his knees from the pain, and Gary then lifted him by the chest, and threw him over his shoulder, mming him onto the ground. Right after, he mmed his foot onto the Beta Werewolf¡¯s chest.

    Stomping on him a few times did the trick, Kai''s transformation began to be undone, his body shrinking.

    *****

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 Chapter ?447 Leaving Slough

    Chapter ?447 Leaving Slough

    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re the leader. However, if this is what you all have to deal with every month, I guess I¡¯m alright staying human.¡± Innu said. Marie and Austin just nodded along, sharing his opinion.

    The horrible day had finallye to an end, and the three of them just spread out on the floor. All the built-up tension from watching the Werewolves, theck of proper sleep and the adrenaline that had left their body, left them with no energy.

    After filling up his own Energy, Gary carefully gave Olivia some of the meat to eat. Once he was sure that she wouldn¡¯t be feral once more, he ordered her to keep watch over Kai, while he carried each one of his friends upstairs to a morefy ce.

    Grabbing a phone, he called Tyler, telling him to bring over some burgers, pizza and other junk food, so the trio could have a feast. Gary was positively surprised when Tyler told him that there was no need for it. Apparently, Marie had informed her mother earlier that their ¡®thing¡¯ would take the whole day.

    As such, Mrs Degrace, with the help of White, had cooked an entire feast for the Howlers and was just waiting for them to be done. A few minutester, the three of them brought out all the food and Marie, Austin and Innu began feasting as if their life depended on it.

    Never in their life did they want to feel the same way ever again as they had done during thest 24 hours. At some point, Gary left them and went downstairs, where Kai and Olivia were waiting for him. The Grey Werewolf was still injured, but it was clear that those injuries would heal on their own in due time.

    ¡°I guess Olivia was affected thest time because she had fasted for a couple of days before. Getting her body used to the pain.¡± Kai analysed, dressed in a new set of clothes he had brought along just in case. ¡°Although, we survived the night with nothing horrible happening, we need to learn from this experience for next time.

    ¡°After all, Gary, you most likely won¡¯t be here for the next full moon. If you weren¡¯t here today¡­ well, let¡¯s just say, Olivia and I already have enough to apologise for¡­¡±

    After the ¡®sess¡¯ of this turning, Gary was actually somewhat reluctant to leave. There was no guarantee that the AFA would let him be there for them next month. He knew that at some point he might have to leave them on their own, but was now really the best time?

    ¡°We will be okay without you, brat.¡± Olivia said, seemingly having noticed Gary¡¯s sudden change in attitude. ¡°Don¡¯t we just need a bigger and stronger area to hold us during those 24 hours? Also, now that I¡¯ve actually experienced it, I know what to do and not to do. I even have a n where I can go the next time.¡±

    ¡°Great, I also have a n on what to do for the next time. How about we discuss it together at ater time?¡± Kai offered. ¡°She¡¯s right. For now, the Howlers are doing great on their own. Because of your methods, the businesses in Slough are willingly seeking us out.

    ¡°Because we are the only gang with a confirmed Altered, the other gangs don¡¯t dare to do anything but curse us. It¡¯s actually funny, usually therge gangs use their power to bully others into getting more money, but we¡¯re doing the exact opposite. In a way, I have to admit that I¡¯m surprised how well all of this seems to be working out for us.

    ¡°Although we¡¯re not flushed with cash, we still have enough for a few projects. And that¡¯s even after I¡¯ve made the arrangements you asked for. Your family will be safe during your absence, I promise. All you gotta do now, is tell her whatever you feel is right.¡±

    With business out of the way, the trio of Werewolves went upstairs and joined the others. The Howlers continued their feast, with all three of their ¡®wardens¡¯ reminding Kai how obnoxious he had been during his hangry phase. Unable to defend himself, Kai just took it in, and kept apologising for his behaviour.

    The merry mood continued for a while, but after Olivia excused herself, Gary quickly followed suit, since there was one thing he had put off for the longest time.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Walking through the broken door of their apartment building, up the stairs, Gary reached the Dem¡¯s door, where the numbers were hanging crooked. He had lived there seemingly forever, ever since his father had disappeared, but it was finally time for them to leave this ce.

    Opening the door, he found Amy in the living room, having fallen asleep in front of the TV. Unfortunately, the creaking of the door woke her up.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re back.¡± Amy groggily greeted her big brother. Although the teenage girl wouldn¡¯t admit it, she had been quietly lonely these past few days. With her mother in the hospital, Stacy dead, and her brother hardly being at home, the previously cramped t had felt toorge for her.

    When she saw her brother''s serious face, Amy quickly became more awake.

    ¡°What''s wrong, is it something to do with Mum?¡± She asked, starting to sweat.

    ¡°What? No, no, Mum is fine. She¡¯s better than fine. In fact, they''re moving her to a better hospital. She¡¯ll get the best treatment possible.¡± Gary quickly answered as he moved to sit next to her.

    ¡°Huh, but how? No, why would they do that? Gary, we don¡¯t have the money to afford that!¡± Amy said. Healthcare wasn¡¯t free, and although her brother had allegedly been able to pay the bills with his part-time job, a better hospital would naturally cost a lot more money.

    ¡°This is why I wanted to talk to you,¡± Gary admitted.

    Amy felt nervous, she already knew that he had been hiding a few things from her. Still, she knew Gary long enough to know that whatever he was doing was for their sake. Not wanting to get in his way, or worry him even more, she had promised him that she would stay out of his business and had merely offered him to listen whenever he felt ready.

    ¡®Is he finally going toe clean?¡¯ Any thought as she gulped.

    ¡°There¡¯s going to be a lot of changes around here, and I know I''m not Mom¡­ or Dad, but I am your older brother. So I want you to listen to me, and I promise you that everything is in your best interests.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have a new apartment in Cipen. You will be staying there, but don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be alone. You¡¯ll be living with White. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already met her a couple of times at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. She knows how important you¡¯re to me and since you''re both nice people, I''m sure you will get along.

    ¡°You won¡¯t have worry about anything. All the bills will be taken care of, and you¡¯ll even get a weekly allowance to do with whatever you want. I know that Stacy¡¯s death has been weighing on you, and I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t there for you to talk about it, so if you want, I¡¯m sure we can transfer you to a different school entirely. If there¡¯s anything else that you need, just tell me, alright, Amy?¡±

    It was quite a shock to the teenage girl. As someone who had lived her whole life in Slough, she knew that Cipen was the most expensive district in their town. To suddenly move there, and to live with a stranger after staying here all this time¡­

    Still, there was one thing that Amy had picked up when Gary was speaking.

    ¡°Gary¡­ the way you''ve been talking. You''re making it sound like you''ll be leaving¡­ Are you no longer going to be¡­ living with me?¡± Amy asked.

    This was the hard part he still wasn¡¯t ready to admit. The lump in his throat made it hard to swallow,, but eventually, he blurted out the words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Amy, but I¡¯ll be going to the AFA.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 448 A last meal

    Chapter 448 Ast meal

    It took a second for Amy to realise what Gary was talking about. Unlike him, she wasn''t really into fighting sports, but she had heard the name before, and it finally clicked in her head.

    "The Altered Fighting academy, but that makes no sense. You''re not an Al-" Suddenly, images shed through Amy''s head of everything she had found. The bloody clothes, how Gary got them out of a tricky situation and even more things, including the money to pay for everything.

    "I''m working with a corporation, and they sponsored me, so I''m an Altered now, but part of the deal is that I have to join the AFA and be a mascot for them," Gary exined.

    Gary had thought long and hard, but it was impossible toe up with a reason to tell Amy about why he had to leave her, where he got the money from, and eventually, she might even see him on TV if things went well. That was why it was easier to mix lies with the truth, just enough for her not to ask any more questions, but tears started falling from Amy''s eyes the next moment.

    "I...I can''t believe it." Amy sniffled. "You''re doing something so dangerous..and it''s to look after us, and now...now we won''t even be together anymore."

    The tears didn''t stop there, all Gary could do at this moment and time was to hug her and pull her toward his chest. Amy continued to cry for fifteen minutes before she eventually stopped.

    "Come on, let''s go for a meal in Burnham High street. It''s my treat." Gary smiled. He would never want to see tears in his sister''s eyes and would do anything to keep her safe and happy.

    The two of them enjoyed a nice meal after picking one of the steak houses, which was Gary''s choice, of course. Amy didn''t mind because the steak was expensive and a luxury. She thought that if Gary was leaving her, she needed to treat him nicely and not let him worry too much about her.

    The two of them started to talk about the good times in the past and more, and eventually, they got onto the tough subject of what she would be doing next. Gary would be leaving soon, so she was to move in with White.

    If she needed anything and couldn''t get in contact with him, she could go to Olivia or Kai, whose numbers were now saved on her phone.

    During the meal, Amy kept asking if it was okay for her to order as she whined. The price on the menus put her off and never before had they done such a thing. After she invited the waiter a few times, only to send him back, Gary decided to order for her, and she filled herself up until she felt like her belly was going to explode.

    After letting it settle down, they decided to head back home.

    "Hey, don''t you need to pay?" Amy asked.

    "I settled the bill already while I was returning from the washroom." Gary smiled.

    While they were leaving the shop, two waiters were standing by the door. It looked like one was about to go forward and stop Gary until the other looked at him and mouthed the words ''fine.''

    They exited without a problem, and Gary thanked both of them.

    "Who was that guy, they ate around 300 pounds worth of food, and you just let them leave like that? And they''re just kids, don''t tell me they are the owners'' kids or something?" One of them asked.

    The other waiter smiled back.

    "Not quite, and to be honest, I don''t know either. I know that Olvia Pearl said if we ever see a green-haired teenager, he should not charge him. In fact, I think when I was talking to the others, I found out every restaurant in Burnham food street was said to do the same."

    The other''s face went a little pale after asking the question.

    "Olvia pearl, well, I guess it makes sense then, but I wonder who that kid is then. Even her own men don''t get free meals, and she''s not old enough to have a kid that old."

    Unaware of the discussion between the two waiters, the siblings continued to trot toward their home.

    In the past, Gary and Amy would have never visited such areas, nor would they have walked sote at night. It was just too dangerous of a ce.

    "Is it just me, or have things settled down in Slough these days? There seem to be fewer fights, scuffles and even fewer colour gangs on the streets." Amy said. "I kinda like our home town now."

    Of course, Slough still wasn''t safe enough to allow his sister to walk home on her own, but right now, she had one of the best bodyguards out there, even if she didn''t know it.

    "I agree," Gary replied, "Things seem to be changing in Slough, and I''m d they are. After what happened to Mom, I hope no one else ever has to experience something like that again."

    One of Gary''s orders was to eliminate the colour gangspletely. The Pincers, the Howlers, if anyone saw them, were to give them a warning they wouldn''t forget and, simultaneously, make them spill information about that day of the attack.

    "Gary, I never want you to forget about your hometown slough. Even if you be some famous AFC champion, use the money to make this a better ce or something. I think this could really be a good town."

    Gary patted the top of her head and smiled.

    "Of course, this is my town."

    Heading home, Gary helped his sister pack the heavy things she needed. The movingpany woulde in the morning, and he would be off after that. He had left it till practically thest moment to tell his sister because she was so afraid.

    While in the middle of packing up, Amy was going through some letters, and it caused a question to pop up in her head.

    "Gary, since we won''t live here anymore, what should we do if dad tries to contact us?" Amy asked.

    *****

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 Chapter ?449 The Big Auction

    Chapter ?449 The Big Auction

    Once everything was set in motion, Gary left to go to his trials at the AFA. His friends and acquaintances sent him off with their farewells and goodbyes, trying to make him worry as little as possible. At the same time, Amy had now moved in with White.

    The two seemed to get on well. Although White didn''t talk much, that was alright with Amy since she wouldn''t be living alone. And at the same time, there would also be two guards who would follow them when they went out or while they were heading to school, even if they didn''t know about it.

    This left the Howlers to make their next move, and Gary had called a meeting between the original gang and Tyler since thetter would be somewhat involved in this. The Pool club had been closed for the morning as they all sat around a table.

    "All of us will be going on a trip," Kai began with a smile.

    "A trip, you mean out of Slough? But I still haven''t sorted things here. Kevin is about to go to secondary school." Innuined.

    "Wow, having a kid at your age, it''s almost like you are the father and Suzan is the mother," Mariemented.

    Innu''s face instantly went red, but he didn''t deny anything as he imagined himself and Suzan holding hands. Although there was a bit of an age gap between the two, that wasn''t a problem for him.

    "You can put that on hold because this is important," Kai replied. "Remember, a while ago, I talked about the Dark Guild Auction house? Well, it''s in two days. So we need to start preparing."

    "Dark Guild Auction House?" Tylermented, not really following, especially since he wasn''t there thest time.

    "It''s the auction house that sells nearly anything but is more known for their Anti Altered weapons and Altered DNA," Austin exined with a grin on his face because he had been waiting for this for a while.

    "This time, the auction will be quite big because they are holding it in Morfran city. A tier one city that the Dark Guild controls. Usually, they just hold auctions in other cities, getting a few of their men as guards, but because it''s in their own city, they must have some pretty interesting items this time." Kai exined.

    "Does it mean we''re going to a tier one city?!" Marie asked, her eyes lighting up as she imagined what the shopping malls would have to offer. Of course, it was unlikely she could afford anything, but just window shopping would satisfy her in a tier one city.

    "Isn''t everyone else going to think the same thing?" Austin replied. "Which means there''s going to be a lot of gangs there from everywhere."

    Upon hearing this, the others froze. The Underdog was a tier three gang and not even one of the top in that category. Yet they were so difficult to deal with. In this auction, there would surely be gangs and organisations from all over the country far more powerful than them.

    "Don''t worry too much. No one tends to cause trouble at these auctions. It''s usually after them. One group gets an item another wanted, and then maybe a fight urs, but they won''t do anything risky for fear of angering the Dark Guild.

    "What I''m hoping is because the others are holding out for something impressive at this auction, that we will be able to get what we want for cheap. Altered DNA." Kai stated.

    The fear of everyone in the room had gone away, as their hearts started to tremble with excitement and a smile appeared on their face. Both Innu and Austin had a smile sorge on their face that one couldn''t see their eyes, and when they looked at each other, they stopped for a second.

    "I know why I''m smiling, but why are you smiling, you big ape," Innu asked.

    "Because of the Altered DNA, of course," Austin replied. "Now, we can finally match up to Kai, Olivia and Gary."

    "I mean, you can get all excited you want, but you know that I will be getting it first, right? I mean, I was in the Howlers Gang before you." Innu replied.

    "What by a few days? And what does that matter? It should go to the strongest person in our group, and that''s clearly me." Austin replied, grinning from teeth to teeth.

    "Ha, you!" Innuughed.

    "Will you two calm down," Marie shouted. "Kai didn''t even say we would only be buying one Altered DNA tube, the gangs'' financial situation is doing well from what I heard, and besides, technically, I was the first, so I should get dibs."

    The three continued to argue for a while, and Kai was waiting for a good time to interject to tell them a few more things, but it seemed like it never was going toe.

    "Listen!" Kai couldn''t hold back in the end and banged his hand on the table, and everyone heard a creaking sound on the wood. Arge crack could be seen in the table now, and the memory of Kai nearly attacking them all hade through their heads, making them listen immediately.

    "Unfortunately, we only have the funds to buy one solution, and that''s if we''re lucky. Honestly, at a push, maybe we could buy two, but we don''t want our funds to hit rock bottom just when we have taken over everything.

    "In the future, we can always get more, as for who gets the Altered DNA...it would depend on what we find and for whom it will be the most suitable. I think that''s fair and is the best for the gang." Kai exined.

    With that, everyone spent the next two days beaming with excitement, visiting a tier one city and going to an auction with the top of the top. Then the day had finallye, as Tyler pulled up in a Limo to take them all to Morfran city, under the control of the Dark guild.

    ******

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 Chapter ?450 Tier 1 City

    Chapter ?450 Tier 1 City

    The limo ride was intense for the gang and they talked about multiple things on the way there, most of it about Gary and wondering how he was faring. Since he hadn''t sent them a message yet, they only took it as a good sign that he was doing well.

    Then the conversation soon steered to where they were going today.

    ¡°Why are you all nervous, you should all be exited for today!¡± Kai said.

    ¡°How are you not nervous, we''re going into a battlefield where all the top gangs will be around us, ande on you know how they act.¡± Innu said. ¡°Some of them will be worst than the Underdogs, one bad look and maybe they¡¯ll just destroy us and take over our town.¡±

    ¡°You better not do anything stupid then.¡± Austin teased. ¡°Oh wait, I think that¡¯s impossible for you.¡±

    Grinding his teeth, Innu wanted to reply back, but that''s when he could see the sign saying ''Wee to Morfran city''. Shortly after seeing the sign they had entered a tunnel, immediately the whole atmosphere of the tunnel alone was something they had never seen before.

    As cars entered the city, there were long digital screens across the entire tunnel they were in, and it was seamless. The video seemed to be advertising some type of drinking beverage which had a male and female model on it.

    ¡°Hey, isn''t that Lulu and Matthew? They''re both in the top ten altereds!¡± Innu pointed out.

    ¡°Well, these cities can afford to pay them. Plus, each tier one city will have a few of the AFA stars under their belt.¡± Kai exined.

    Soon, the car hade to a stand still as well, at the end of the tunnel there was a barrier that would scan the license te of each car that entered and exited out of the ce.

    When they reached the barrier, every person in the car was also required to take a photo, and the machine at the front also took a photo of the license te as well. After all was done, they were allowed to continue travelling through the tunnel again.

    ¡°That''s quite the security system.¡± Mariemented.

    ¡°A lot of the tier one cities have them. It''s so whoever causes trouble, isn¡¯t allowed to leave.¡± Kai replied. ¡°It makes attacking a tier one city extremely difficult as the tunnels are the only way to normally enter them. Unless they drop out of a helicopter or something.¡±

    The image appeared in their heads, thinking about what a war between kings would look like. If they were caught in the middle of it, it would be mayhem for them all.

    Eventually, the car left the tunnel and they had finally entered a tier one city. To be honest, although Kai didn''t mention it to the others, it would also be his first time seeing such a ce.

    ¡°This¡­ is not what I expected,¡± Tyler said as he stared through his windscreen and was unfocused on the road in front of him.

    When one heard the word city, they usually expected giant skyscrapers with apartments on top of apartments, however, it wasn''t like that at all. Instead, there were plenty ofrge green parks and giant mansions ced in areas.

    There were skyscrapers, but they looked like office buildings, and were covered with advertisements all over them.

    ¡°I guess it would make sense,¡± Kaimented. ¡°The tier one cities are a ce where truly only the top of the top can live, the top 1 percent of the poption. So they wouldn''t be overcrowded like the other areas.¡±

    Of course there were still apartment blocks here and there, for those who wished to live in a tier one city, rather than live arger lifestyle in a tier 2, and there were many reasons for that. Just seeing the beauty of how the city wasid out, everyone could understand.

    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there''s just such a huge difference between their lives and ours,¡± Marie said, clenching her fist. Even in Slough there was inequality, but not quite like this one here.

    ¡°Who knows Marie, maybe we can change all of this one day, who knows,¡± Kai said with a smile, because seeing all of this, was just inspiring him even more toplete his goals.

    ¡®Damion, I wish you were still alive to see what exactly I¡¯m going to do to this whole world.¡¯

    Following the car''s satellite navigation, they had finally reached the Auction house. It was an incrediblyrge building that had a unique architecturepared to the rest of the city. Most of the city was made out of ss, and fancy designs, giving the whole ce a modern look.

    Most of the flooring and pathways were even made of marble rather than the standard concrete or stone flooring. As for the design of the Auction house, it looked like something that belonged to the Victorian Era.

    There were carved out details everywhere, and it even hadrge pirs at the front with a huge entrance way. In front of therge auction house, there was a gigantic garden that had a fountain disy, along with hedges and flowers that had been perfectly cut and organized.

    There was also plenty of green space behind the auction house. The ce was quite busy, busier than they thought it was going to be with several cars pulling up to the entrance.

    Directly in front, there seemed to be valet drivers who would park the car a little off sight. While waiting in the cue, they could see that the Auction house itself had yet to open its doors, and currently there were groups enjoying a nice drink outside, to the side of the Auction house, where there was a pop up bar for guests.

    Some were dressed in suits, wearing expensive items that cost more than a whole house in a tier three city area. Then there were others that looked to be wearing their gang''s clothing and more.

    ¡°I''m shaking man, I''m seriously shaking.¡± Innu said, holding out his hand, and it was certainly shaking all over the ce. ¡°Look at them all, look at all these people. I have no clue who they are, which makes it worse.¡±

    It was true, many of these groups, although their names were known, no one knew who they belonged to. Many of the gangs behind the scenes didn¡¯t publicly disy their face, and as for the Kings that ran the gangs, there were only a couple that were quite shy in proiming who they exactly were.

    ¡°Alright everyone, my best advice would be, to not talk to anyone for the time being. If someone does approach us asking us questions, then it would be best to just send them to me.¡± Kai imed as he pulled out the ck and gold fox mask and ced it on his face.

    ¡°Do the rest of you have your masks as well?¡±

    Pulling them out, they all did the same, covering the top half of their face. Unlike Kai¡¯s though, theirs didn''t have a particr design and was only a solid ck-like colour. That just went below their hairline.

    Since they were a new small gang, and the current people in the car, minus Olivia, were the Pirs of the Howlers, Kai didn''t want them to be revealed to everyone. Stepping out the vehicle, Tyler also had a mask on.

    Each one of them were dressed in their ck and gold gang uniform as well, and the strange masks had certainly attracted some attention.

    ¡°Who are they? I have never seen them before?¡± a personmented.

    ¡°Probably some up anding group from the new cities. They do this stuff all the time in hopes of getting noticed.¡± another replied and turned their head away.

    There was certainly some interest, but that interest had quickly faded with the higher groups. It was only the lower ones that gave them another look.

    The whole group stayed together, with Kai leading the front, and went on the green grass by the side ordering a few drinks. He had done so confidently, even though he was underage, and the man didn''t give it a second thought.

    Never in their wildest dreams did they think that a bunch of high school students would be attending such an event.

    ¡°Hey, I feel like I¡¯ve seen that uniform somewhere before, and those strange masks. Aren''t they that gang that was on TV!¡±

    At the time of the broadcast, many of the tier three and below cities had taken great interest in it, and their little show along with their uniforms seemed to do the trick.

    However, what Kai didn''t expect was to catch the attention of one of the kings, who was standing towards the back of the crowd of people with a drink in his hand.

    ¡°So, those are the Howlers, who recently took over Slough. It might be worth talking to them.¡± Sin, one of the King¡¯s said as his drink had evaporated into the air.

    *****

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 Chapter ?451 A world of gangs (Part 1)

    Chapter ?451 A world of gangs (Part 1)

    Looking around, the Howlers could only guess who belonged to a gang for those people who were dressed simrly. Of course, without special knowledge, that didn¡¯t tell them where those gangs came from. It was of the utmost importance to avoid any type of conflict with those who had established themselves in high-tier cities, especially as a new gang.

    To prevent anything from urring the group was staying together, and they were enjoying their drinks and some casual chat. Still, Marie noticed that a certain person was continually looking their way.

    At first, she had decided to ignore it, wondering if she was just imagining things, but as time went on, she could see his eyes were following them.

    ¡°Have you noticed that mboyant man over there? Ever since we came here, he¡¯s been staring at us?¡± Marie whispered to Kai. The girl felt tingles running up her entire back when she looked over. The creepy thing was that the man didn¡¯t even try to hide that fact, and even smiled and waved at one point.

    ¡°I have noticed him, but I have no clue what he wants,¡± Kai replied, feeling uneasy. At the stage the Howlers were as a gang, there should be nothing warranting Tier-1 gangs to bother looking at them, especially not someone as shy as that man.

    As the son of a gang leader, he knew far more about the underworld than the other members, so how could he not recognise the man with dyed red tips dressed in therge red overcoat in his white fur hood?

    Practically everything about Sin screamed ¡®Look at me!¡¯, and yet everyone in the bar appeared to be actively trying toe too close to him. At the same time, there were those that chose to stay far away from him as well. After all, unlike the other Kings, Sin had seemingly made it a point to show off. His action had shown the entire country why the ¡®Kings¡¯ deserved their moniker.

    In the past, a Tier-2 gang had stolen something that was meant to go to him. When Sin had learned that fact, he had offered the gang one chance to return it, no questions asked. Of course, the gang had refused to do anything of the sort, and so Sin had paid them a personal visit.

    Usually, gang wars wouldst weeks, if not months. After all, therger the gang size, the more territories they would control which needed to be fought over. Funds and more were tired into assets as well as businesses. A gang war would ur, when one wanted to take over the other''s businesses or to expand their own. So it was important they were to do it right.

    What¡¯s more, it¡¯s not as if other powers at work would just sit on the sidelines and watch the show. Perhaps not White Rose, but the local police force, the mayor, and other gangs would all try to intervene in some way, making it difficult to navigate such things.

    And yet, one person had managed to eradicate an entire gang in the span of one day and in the process he had nearly burnt the whole city to the ground...

    Rather than hide his involvement, Sin had made his actions quite public, even hiring a team of professional videographers to film it all. Their job had been to show off his vast power, and that was what they had done. The video was spread and talked about other cities for months, and the craziest thing about it all was the fact that he had suffered zero repercussions for his heinous act.

    Sin had returned to his own city as if nothing had happened at all. After that, life for the Tier-1 cities got easier. Because everyone understood the possible consequences at hand if they didn¡¯t follow their order. Now, whatever the Kings asked, not just Sin the task waspleted. The lower cities were to do their bidding, whether there wasrge involvement with other gangs or not.

    ¡®The Underdogs, and the Grey Elephants, both of them were working for higher groups. Could it be¡­ don¡¯t tell me that Sin is rted to one of them? Or maybe he did business with one of them. I hope not, because even all three of us might not stand a chance against him. Even if Gary was here it wouldn¡¯t make a difference. Kai realised as he continued to pretend not to have noticed the King staring at him.

    Unless Sin came up to them, he would continue that charade¡­

    As they waited for the doors to open to the auction house, more and more people started to gather. It looked like there were around five hundred in the garden to the side, all here for one thing, from all over the country.

    The Dark guild also had auctions that spread to other countries as well, but this was their homnd so they tended to keep the best items for themselves. Although, wars hade to somewhat a halt.

    The level of Altered and how strong they were, was a type of sign of a country''s strength. Some thought it was why, the government was so lenient on these gangs with powers that roamed around. It was also why there was next to no regtion on Altered solutions and DNA either.

    Their mistake was somewhat realised toote, as the situation had be what it had be.

    Eventually, a certain group came up to the Howlers and decided to try and make conversation. The white rose was their answer but were too small and weak to stop the power houses at the top.

    ****

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 Chapter ?452 A world of gangs (Part 2)

    Chapter ?452 A world of gangs (Part 2)

    ¡°I haven''t seen you, people, here before. First time?¡± An older gentleman asked in a polite tone. He was dressed quite nicely, with a shirt and zer that barely covered hisrge tummy. Behind him were two men that looked to have weapons strapped around their side, checking out the gang.

    The others turned toward Kai, just like had been instructed to, and let him be the one to talk for the group. The fox masked teenager had expected that their new appearance and new faces would attract some attention, yet so far nobody else hade over.

    Of course, all he hoped for was to meet someone from lower tier towns, as those above would already have all the connections they needed.

    ¡°I doubt we¡¯re the only ones who¡¯ve arrived here just for today. We¡¯re the Howlers from Slough. Perhaps you¡¯ve heard of us. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Mr. ?¡± Kai ced his hand out for a shake, which the old man epted. Feeling the Werewolf¡¯s grip and seeing him up close, he was in for quite a surprise.

    ¡°My name is Harry Cardenez, and I represent Cardenez Electronics.¡± The old man admitted, after staring at the rest of them, noticing that they were all young. ¡°I thought I recognized you all, though you¡¯re younger than I expected. To be honest, I¡¯m a bit surprised that you are here.¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn''t we be?¡± Kai questioned, trying not to sound the least bit surprised. ¡°There are some things that we need to get, and it''s always good to make connections. As someone whosepany is located in a Tier-3 town, I¡¯m sure you understand.

    ¡°With the boom in electronics yourpany has been able to expand quite well, perhaps

    demand has even gotten a bit too much for you to handle in Brighthum Town alone. You know, Slo-¡±

    The old man raised his hand to stop Kai right there. ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯ve underestimated you and your group. You¡¯ve really done your research. However, you should understand that there is no use in us talking¡­ not until you hold the key to your town.¡±

    Hearing this, Kai smiled and send the adult man off with a polite bow.

    ¡°Hey, what was that? Why did that guye over if he wasn¡¯t interested in doing business?!¡± Innu asked with some confusion in his voice.

    ¡°He was and he is.¡± Kai corrected Innu. ¡°We aren¡¯t the only ones who have done their research, though. As much as we might want to expand, it''s too early for us, because there is still one problem that we have to take care of.¡±

    The others started to think about what I could possibly be talking about. The Underdogs had been able to freely do as they wished, and only the Grey Elephants had been able match up to them, yet both of their gangs had been eliminated.

    So then who were the Howlers supposed to take care of?

    ¡°You guys may not have noticed it, but they have been causing problems for us from behind the scenes.¡± Kai exined. ¡°However, the real problem is our mayor.¡±

    The Mayor of Slough, Xin¡¯s father Ben Clove, had quite a few medium-sized gangs under his fist. Individually they were all weak, but as a unit, they were just as troublesome as the Grey Elephants or the Underdogs.

    Originally, they had nned to swoop in and take over the city just after the new war between the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants, but in the end, the Howlers had joined the fight and had done that instead.

    However, the mayor was quite a powerful figure if not controlled by a gang, because he was fighting in ways that only he could. For example, by rejecting proposals to rebuild new areas, not offering tax breaks and cuts to new businesses that wereing in.

    Any progression to do with the city that had the Howlers name on it had been halted in some way. When making a contract with these new businesses in order to prove that the Howlers were involved in them for their protection, and so on. Legally, these terms as well as a percentage, were written in the contract.

    All of this information was passed onto the mayor, so it was easy for him to reject anything that had Howlers LTD on it. There were ongoing legal battles, but thewyer that Olivia had introduced them to had told Kai that there was nothing that they could really do at this point and time.

    Fighting back would take a considerable amount of time, especially since the mayor had the power to make the judges dy those things until thest day. Until a decision really got overturned, they would have to do this on a case by case basis.

    Kai gave the other gang members a summary of those problems, making them realise why he had been holed up in his office for most of the day. He wasn''t just sitting and nning some mastermind things, there was a lot that needed to be done and to run an efficient gang.

    ¡°Then what are we meant to do?¡± Marie asked.

    ¡°It''s actually simple. Cardenez said it right there. He is interested in working with us, not with the mayor. The people on the outside are rooting for us. We just need to control him, giving us full control over all of Slough.¡±

    Not many others approached the gang after. There were a few people from Tier-4 towns and such that said hello out of respect to the Howlers, but none of them mentioned any business.

    This was fine for them, though, as everything else was secondary, they were here for the actual auction itself.

    Therge double doors could be heard creaking as they were pushed open by tworge men, dressed in a dark purple outfit. A giant man, who was a wall of muscle, came out.

    ¡°The auction house is now open. The event will be starting in fifteen minutes. Pleasee inside, where you will be escorted to the right area!¡± The man shouted.

    Finally, it was time.

    ****

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 Chapter ?453 Dark guild (part 1)

    Chapter ?453 Dark guild (part 1)

    Following the instructions, two lines formed, five metres apart from each other, at either side of the hall. Behind therge door, there were several staff members dressed in the same dark purple clothing as the ones outside. Their faces were visible as they stood straight and proud like guards.

    This wasn¡¯t the typical entrance or type of group that Kai was expecting. The Dark Guild was a well-known gang. Although gangs operated differently and did different businesses all of the guards were gang members, but this was almost like a well-tuned army.

    Guiding the guests in the front was a woman who was dressed in a skirt, a white shirt and a purple waistcoat. Next to her was a man with a purple sleeveless waist and a top hat. They didn¡¯t say much other than for the guests to follow them for the time being.

    The hall they were being led through was littered with giant paintings that depicted scenes of old armoured knights, kings with crowns as well as fantastic beasts like dragons. At times the hosts would exin some of the paintings as they exined the history of the Dark guild.

    However, the further they went the more modern the decor became. Rather than paintings, photos started to fill the walls, depicting items that had been sold in prior auctions. Apart from weapons like swords, axes, bows or shields which looked to have been created with unnatural materials, there were also fantastical creatures next to syringes.

    When a guest had asked about who these items were exactly sold to, the hosts just smiled as they carried on.

    ¡®The Dark Guild seems to have quite a history.¡¯ Kai thought as they silently followed the group. ¡®All I could find out was that their gang has been around for quite a long time, but for some reason they have stayed out of the way of others, mainly focusing on their auction house.

    ¡®Strangely, I haven¡¯t found even a single report about anyone daring to attack them. I¡¯m still not sure whether this means that somebody might have tried and that information got buried by them, or something is actively stopping others from even trying it.

    ¡°I doubt that an unspoken rule not to attack them would keep everyone in check. They must have either made a deal to have the others guarantee their safety¡­ or they have the means to protect themselves.¡¯

    Although it was rare for Tier-1 gangs to face each other due to the potential fall-out of such a confrontation in terms of damage and problems it would cause as an aftermath, it was normal for small disputes to ur. After all, therger a gang was, the harder it was to control each and every member.

    On top of that, there were plenty of people with big egos who had a high amount of pride. Those that just had to prove themselves or thought that their gang was better than others. They just couldn''t help themselves but get into a fight. So at some point and time, every group had some type of reporte out about them causing a bit of trouble, the sole exception to this appeared to be the Dark Guild.

    Not even an attempt to see if they were truly as strong as people thought they were. Or at least not one that had been reported.

    ¡®It makes me wonder, how strong are these guards that are filled in this hallway? If we want to rise to the top, there is a lot of work we need to do.¡¯ Kai analysed silently.

    Suddenly, the two guide members stopped and turned around.

    ¡°All those from a Tier-1 city, please follow me upstairs to the gallery seating. There is a bar and we¡¯ve prepared refreshments for your convenience.¡± Thedy¡¯s soprano voice filled the hall as she lifted her hand toward the staircases that were on either side.

    ¡°As for the rest of our guests, please follow me to your seats.¡± The man added in a deep baritone as he started opening the doors on their level. Inside there was also a bar area, allowing the guests to order as they wished provided they were willing to pay for it.

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s always someone higher up than you,¡± Innu noted with a big sigh, but it wasn''t because of the split of people, there was another reason. ¡°Goodbye, prettydies.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ I thought you only had eyes for one.¡± Austinmented. ¡°Maybe I shoulde with you next time you pay Kevin and¡­what was her name again, a visit.¡±

    ¡°Will you get out of the way?!¡± A man¡¯s loud voice disrupted the previously sombre atmosphere. Themotion wasing from upstairs. A group of three men, all with shaved heads that looked like they had been slightly waxed, were stopped at the top of the staircase, blocked by the purple guards from taking another step forward.

    ¡°Why are you stopping us?¡± The man asked at the front, gritting his teeth.

    ¡°Because you have disrespected the rules.¡± The one in the middle answered in a neutral tone. ¡°You¡¯ve been informed that the upstairs is only for guests from Tier-1 cities. You¡¯re not one of those. Please head back down and make ce for those who deserve to be here.¡±

    ¡°And how would you even know that?¡± One of the gang members pointed at the guard.

    Watching the situation, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out what was going on. Unless the Dark Guild¡¯s staff had decided to single them out, the trio must be pretending to belong to a Tier-1 city. With how many gangs and organizations each one of them could hold, there was no way to prove who was and who wasn''t from a Tier-1, unless they asked those forms that said city, or some questions of proof.

    Judging by their behaviour, Kai assumed that the trio was trying to sneak in. He himself had entertained the idea, yet the risk would far outweigh the potential benefit, so the Werewolf had refrained from acting upon it.

    ¡°Sir, we¡¯ll ask you once more to leave on your own.¡± The Dark Guild member repeated, raising his hand, and cing it by his chest. ¡°Please, enter the appropriate way, or we will have to escort you out of the ce.¡±

    ¡®Maybe we will see just how strong this Dark Guild is?¡¯ Kai thought.

    ****

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 Chapter ?454 Dark Guild (Part 2)

    Chapter ?454 Dark Guild (Part 2)

    The bald man was filled with rage, but even more so, when he nced at the people staring at him from below, he felt embarrassed. They had garnered too much attention to simply step down now.

    As a Tier-3 that had recently risen to the top, they felt like they were now in a ce of respect. Getting to be seated with the King would allow him to progress further and he would be a person that he felt was deserved. Rising to the top, in their town the group felt like they needed to ride on this momentum and continue to push themselves further.

    It was at that moment that Sin, who had been the first to enter upstairs, went out to take a look at themotion. When he saw the three men, he just sneered.

    ¡°You think you have finally made it, huh? That is because you are able to be in a ce like this, where you can do what you want. Let''s make this clear, people like you can be reced at any moment. Look around, there are plenty of those that are at your level, but your ce is down there.¡±

    Clicking his fingers, a small me appeared right above his hand, yet he held no lighter or anything of the sort. It burnt upright and strong.

    ¡°Would you mind not doing that in here?¡± The woman in the purple skirt stepped out behind the King. ¡°Mr Mutav, as much as we treasure you as a valuable guest, you should be aware that our Dark Guild does not differentiate between troublemakers. Should you choose to start anything here, I¡¯m afraid, we¡¯ll also have to remove you from our premises. ¡±

    It was an interesting development. After all, the guide had just threatened to remove a King. What¡¯s more, Sin was known for not taking orders from others, so everyone was wondering what would happen next? Could the Dark Guild really make true on their threat?

    The balded headed men even looked to be nervous looking at Sin, but they weren''t backing down. In a way, the fact that they saw him and still chose to act this way made him want to burn them even more.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Sin shrugged and put out the me before he turned around and walked back in. ¡°Just make sure they know their ce.¡±

    Hearing this, the bald headed man tried to push past the guards, and at that moment, yet the moment he took the first step, the raised palm rushed out. A loud bang was heard and it looked almost as if a shockwave hade out of the bald man¡¯s back.

    All the guests turned around, worried that a gun had been used, but that would have been impossible, for this time and age. The bald headed man fell back, and started to roll down the stairs, banging his head bit by bit until he eventually stopped midway.

    ¡°ppy!¡± One of the other men shouted, as they chased after him. ¡°Are you alive?¡±

    ¡°You have a minute to take him away before we do the same to you.¡± The woman noted before announcing. ¡°Dear guests, please ignore this little incident and enjoy yourselves at the event!¡±

    ¡®What was that? One hit without any transformation?¡¯ Kai wondered. ¡®Surely, everyone who is here has to be an Altered, but the guard didn¡¯t even look as if he was serious. Just what kind of Altered is he? Are the rest the same?

    ¡®I guess it would only make sense for the Dark Guild to keep the best Altered solutions for themselves, and they need strong people, in order to protect all of this.¡¯

    After this little demonstration, Kai was sure no one else would try anything, so it seemed like it was pretty safe inside the ce. He also overheard othersmenting about how ¡®every year there was always one new group that caused trouble¡¯.

    Heading inside the main venue hall, it was simr to arge theatre. There was the seating area above that was reserved for the Kings, and then there were the rest of the seats down below.

    As they entered, each group was handed one paddle with a number on it, and the number their group had received was ¡®23¡¯. If they wished to bid, they just would have to race the panel.

    ¡°Oh man, I''m so excited. We''re really going to see cool weapons and stuff, right?!¡± Innu eximed in excitement. ¡°I mean, maybe we don''t just have to get an Altered solution, maybe we can get some cool weapons as well.

    ¡°The ones we have were good but it was still difficult using it on you guysst time, and didn''t Olivia say she got her whip from here.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± Kai replied. ¡°Our first priority will be the solution. Even among the Altered solutions, there are variants. The cheapest are themon ones, the type that most people can get any way. Then there are those that are proven to be strong since it¡¯s either the same or from a simr type like the AFC fighter.

    ¡°Finally, there is the mystery type that are quite expensive but a gamble. Those are the never before seen type, meaning they can either be super strong or a total bust. I would prefer to go for one that we know is strong and suits one of you, but depending on how muchpetition there will be, we¡¯ll have to even afford one, much less two.¡± Kai exined.

    ¡°How much is our budget?¡± Marie asked.

    ¡°Five million, and that will leave us with pretty little for the next few months.¡±

    Hearing that number, everyone''s eyes next to Kai lit up.

    *****

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 Chapter ?455 5 million

    Chapter ?455 5 million

    Everyone had beenfortably sitting in their seats when they heard Kai mention the budget that their group had, but the moment he revealed the number, all of them nearly jumped up in shock. Five million was an unimaginable amount for any of them.

    Instantly, they were all thinking about what they could do with this kind of cash. There were even dor signs in their eyes. Coming from a Tier-3 town, they could practically go anywhere, select any apartment and car they fancied, and still have enough left over to live a happy life¡­ and yet for some reason, their blonde leader had mentioned it as if he was talking about fifty bucks.

    ¡°I know what you''re thinking, but it shows that you guys have no idea how much it actually costs to run an organisation as big as ours. While we get paid protection money from various businesses, we have dozens of people on our payroll, not to mention that each property we own has its own costs associated with it.

    ¡°This money we¡¯re using will be gone. We won¡¯t be able to upgrade our businesses or reinvest it into the Food High Street or other areas that have been run down. To give you an example, think about the apartment blocks where Gary lived and his whole neighbourhood. This money would be enough to renovate the entire building, but think about how many of those there are in all of Slough.

    ¡°What¡¯s more, to get this type of liquid fund, I had to sell off a couple of Underdog buildings. Due to the rush, and certainly because of the mayor¡¯s interference, we got less money than they would be worth, but I had to do it because we can¡¯t handle their costs at the moment.

    ¡°Besides, in a ce like this, this kind of money might be pocket change to those sitting up top. Don¡¯t forget, everybody who hase here to bid is the a leader of a town, city, or arge corporation. Worst case, we¡¯ll go home with nothing from this auction.¡±

    The others fell silent, as they realised how naive their thoughts had been. Altered DNA was something everyone would be fighting for. Unlike other luxury items, it was something that they could all use, as without it their high style lifestyle would be short-lived.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that if we end up not buying any of the times, we get to keep it all to ourselves?¡± Innu asked.

    Immediately, Marie who was sitting next to him pped him on the back of the head. The sound was quite loud it had caused the others in the room to look over, making Marie a little embarrassed. ¡°Did you not just hear a word he said? There are plenty of uses for that money in Slough, and we all know the Mayor isn¡¯t going to do anything for the city.¡±

    ¡°That''s true.¡± Innu rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Say, why don¡¯t we get someone we know to run for mayor in the next election? Won¡¯t that solve a lot of our problems? Surely we could use our gang¡¯s influence to help them get votes. What about Olivia, she is the oldest among us and already known by others?¡±

    Kai ced his hand to stroke his chin, considering that idea. The Lady Boss might not be the

    most optimal choice given her gang connection, but the idea certainly held some merit.

    While their own group was discussing things, the Werewolf had made use of his super hearing to listen in on the conversations between those around them. It had allowed him to learn that arge percentage of guests on the bottom floor consisted of new gangs, mostlying from low tier towns.

    Crime was more rampant in these areas. Everyone was fighting for the few scraps that were there, which meant they were quite dangerous, but it also meant the leaders and those at the top changed constantly, unlike the Tier-2 and Tier-1 cities.

    The Howlers were also a rtively new group, and they were merely treated with a bit more respect due to having appeared on the news rather recently. Additionally, their current appearance with the masks made them quite mysterious.

    On the Howlers¡¯ left sat an all-female gang that called themselves the Amazons. They were an established gang that was well known and even quite popr in their hometown. On the other hand, the No Land Gang was the pr opposite of thosedies.

    To the right of Kai, sat gang members who shared neon green dyed hair, all of them with several missing teeth, and torn clothing. Were this any other ce, they could have easily been mistaken for a group of hobos, but this was just the style of this Tier-4 gang.

    ¡°Hmmm, isn¡¯t your boss with you? I remember his mask was different from the rest of youse!¡± The man sitting in the seat next to the Werewolf asked. The teenager had purposely been sitting on the very edge, not just to stay with his friends, but also to be as far away as possible from the other gang¡¯s stench.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for him toe personally. This is just an auction, not a fight, so let¡¯s just enjoy the event for ourselves, shall we?¡± Kai answered as he tried to keep down his disgust.

    The man smiled, showing off his silver teeth, and began to p the armchair of his seat over and over. ¡°You¡¯re right. Oiii, let''s get this started!¡± He shouted, and the other members of his gang shouted along with him.

    As if on cue, a spotlight appeared on stage, and underneath was none other than the man in the top hat, who had been leading the main group this entire time.

    *****

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 Chapter ?456 Everyone is here

    Chapter ?456 Everyone is here

    ¡°Thank you all foring today. We¡¯re especially happy to see so many new faces around, but of course, we¡¯re also ted to see the old ones return. Allow me to inform and remind you all that it¡¯s in your own interest to stay respectful and follow the rules of our auction.

    ¡°For the first timers among you, be aware that any bid you make will be binding. Should your group be unable to pay the full sum, we¡¯ll have our own ways to get our money.¡± The man stated with a mischievous smile without borating.

    It was a pretty brazen thing to do to start off an auction with a threat directed to everyone in the room, especially in a ce filled with leading figures who all had massive egos, yet not a single one said anything.

    ¡°With that out of the way, I won¡¯t bore you any longer. Let''s give you all what you are here for and introduce our first items.¡± The man said and pointed to the side.

    The headlight pointed to a staff member who rolled the first item in, arge crater box. Upon opening the box, there were a load of illegal melee weapons inside. Immediately, multiple gangs started to raise their paddles, bidding for them one by one. Even the No Land Gang showed off their interest, though not a single Tier-2 or Tier-1 gang paid it any attention.

    Once the bid was over, the crate of weapons was rolled away, before another one was rolled in, though this time it contained ranged weapons with ammunition. The man on stage would exin what they did, while showing off their power a little bit. Firing a bolt, it hit a target and began to electrify it greatly.

    After seeing a few ordinary Anti-Altered weapons, what surprised Kai was the next set of items. Because only a screen projector was brought out. On the screen, it showed images ofnd and the name of the city.

    ¡®Oh¡­they''re sellingnd and buildings from their cities to others. I didn¡¯t know this was a thing. Hmmm, it''s quite a good strategy for expanding. It will allow one to enter another city, without causing trouble and if a higher gang buys it, then it''s also a sign of cooperation.¡¯ Kai thought.

    The building andnd was being sold for a crazy amount, though, with the Tier-1 and 2 cities being the ones fighting over it. Although it was a quick way to make money, for a gang that wanted to rise like the Howlers it wasn''t a good idea to invite others in, at least not if they wanted to purchase it back.

    They would either have to pay more for it, or force them somehow to take it back.

    ¡°You seem to becking funds, young one.¡± The man next to Kaimented. ¡°Your group has yet to bid on a single item. If you n to keep your position and protect yourself, these items are valuable to have, you know.

    ¡°In a way, even this auction house is a battlefield. There will be those that are taking note of what others have bought and it is a way to show off your power.¡±

    Kai already knew this so he didn¡¯t engage the conversation with the No Land leader. Due to the way Gary had asked the gang to make money, their source of revenue, despite being the top gang of their town, was far less than what the Underdogs or even the Grey Elephants would have brought along.

    They didn''t extort the people, down to the breadline so they could gain higher profits, nor did they delve into extremely illegal things like Olivia had been doing. They still made a lot of money. But didn''t have as much as the surrounding gangs.

    ¡®If only the guy knew how many Anti-Altered weapons we still have left over from the Underdogs. Even better, we have three Werewolves, who might be even stronger than your average Altered.¡¯ Kai smiled to himself.

    ¡°You think what I said was entertaining, was it?¡± The man asked, having misunderstood his gesture. ¡°Let me help a fellow neer out. If you take off that mask, and show that pretty face of yours, then I will be happy to lend you some money so you can have a bit of fun with the grown-ups.¡±

    Although Kai hadn¡¯t beenughing at the person originally, he was doing so now as he turned his head towards him.

    ¡°You seem very interested in what lies underneath my mask,¡± Kai stated as he leaned towards the gang leader. ¡°However, are you sure you can actually afford to pay the price? because it will cost you your entire city.¡±

    The moment he said those words, Kai''s eyes started to glow blue, narrowing slightly, making him resemble a predator looking at his prey. The gang leader felt shivers run through his entire body and shifted his attention to the auction once more.

    The next item that had been brought out was another weapon, this time a sword although it looked different to the one in the first batch. It was one of the olden style weapons, looking as if it had been carved out of an animal, quite simr to those that they had seen in paintings.

    ¡®These weapons¡­are they simr to what Damion¡¯s axes or Olivia¡¯s whip? I¡¯m guessing these are what those more experienced Altered Hunters use as well.¡¯ Kai thought.

    Just as the auction started, people started to raise their paddles one after another. It was the most popr item that had been shown today and it made Kai believe his hunch was right.

    That''s when he felt a nudge from Innu. ¡°Hey, are you seeing what I''m seeing?¡±

    The ck skinned teenager was pointing downward to the lower seats. One of the guests holding their paddle up, had a recognisable face.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ ke Hunt.¡± Kai said in surprise, not having expected to see him here.

    *****

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 Chapter ?457 Auction Start! (Part 1)

    Chapter ?457 Auction Start! (Part 1)

    As his upperssman, Kai had never really interacted with ke Hunt. The former had only known thetter due to being Westbridge¡¯s rugby ace, making him famous in their school. Onlyter did he find out the younger teenager¡¯s double life as an Altered Hunter, and that was mostly from Gary.

    During Slough¡¯s big gang war, involving the Underdogs, the Grey Elephants and the Howlers, ke Hunt hade out to help. One could argue that he had merely acted as an Altered Hunter, who wanted to get rid of the Infected Altered, but it was undeniable that his intervention had helped out their entire town.

    ¡®Have the Altered Hunters sent him on his own? No, I doubt that. He would make too easy of a target if that were the case. I should assume that either the ones next to him are Altered Hunters, or they¡¯re somewhere else hidden in the room. Have theye here to buy Anti-Altered weapons¡­ or are they here for another reason?¡¯ Kai wondered.

    They were in a room with many Altered. The more Kai thought about it, the more perfect the location seemed for arge-scale attack. The only thing was, that wasn¡¯t how the Altered Hunters operated. They attacked isted Altered in small groups to avoid the risk of anyone else interfering.

    Besides, the unknown number of Altered would also pose a giant risk to them, as there was no guarantee the Altered Hunters could take out everyone involved, and if they failed, the retaliation was bound to be very bloody.

    ¡°Sold!¡± The auctioneer announced before he mmed a mallet down on the stand that was ced in the centre. ¡°For 1.2 million.¡±

    ¡°Sh*t, if a single weapon costs a fourth of what we have, do we even stand a chance to get an Altered solution at all?!¡± Innu was left bbergasted at the kind of money being thrown around.

    The others were also beginning to doubt the likelihood of winning anything. The further this auction went on, the more expensive the items seemed to be. Before those various pieces ofnd and buildings hade out, things had been rtively tame. At least with the batches of weapons, it had seemed less shocking, since they could justify the high prices due to the quantity of sold goods, but now¡­

    A couple more weapons followed, and one of the adults next to ke Hunt had actually managed to win the bid for two weapons. Unfortunately, he was unable to purchase a third one, as the trident he was interested in, had also attracted the attention from a patron above, and perhaps due to their earlier acquisitions, they had ended up conceding the following bidding war.

    ¡®Considering that the Altered Hunters are regarded as a terrorist group, it¡¯s a bit surprising to see how much money they appear to have. I¡¯m not even sure if they gave up because theyck the funds, or simply because they wish to avoid standing out.

    ¡®Either they have very rich members among them or someone must be backing them? Perhaps a privatepany? Hmmm, it actually also be one of the Tier-1 gangs or even a King. I suppose there could be a symbiotic rtionship between them. They would make the perfect pawns to take out a rival gang¡¯s Altered.¡¯ Kai realised, though he was also aware that most of it was wild spection on his part.

    It was hard to do research on such an elusive target. Just like ke, their members were leading quite a normal life during the day, so it was near impossible to find out who was a member and who wasn¡¯t. Up until this point, Kai had also focused mainly on other gangs or organisations who they might have to fight at some point, but now that they were delving into Altered territory, they were bound to be enemies with the Altered Hunters at some point. Assuming, they weren¡¯t already on. After all, only ke knew that about Werewolves not being Wolf Altered.

    ¡°And with that, we¡¯re out of weapons. Let¡¯s move on to the next category of items.¡± The host dered as he wiped the sweat from his head. The bidding had been quite intense on thest item, and he knew there was more toe. ¡°The first Altered solution of the night.¡±

    Rolled out from the back came a tray table with a solution. It was further protected in a ss container, disyed on a red cloth.

    ¡°Thanks to recent developments frombs around the world, nearly everyone can be an Altered with but a simple injection. This item will let you be a cat-type Altered, granting you fast reflexes, better night vision, power climbing abilities among other perks. All who watch the AFC fights should be aware of the prowess of feline Altered. The bidding starts at 500,000!¡±

    The people at the front cheered a bit, and nearly the entire room put up their paddle, each one trying to be the first to shout out the starting bid.

    ¡°700,000!¡± A man shouted as he lifted up his panel.

    ¡°750,000!¡± Another shouted.

    ¡°800,000.¡± The gang leader next to Kai shouted. He had arge smirk on his face, and looked at the masked teenager, seemingly challenging him to participate.

    ¡°Hey, should we go for this one?¡± Marie asked. ¡°I think I might be suited to be a Cat Altered, and the bids are quite low at the moment.¡±

    While discussing the bids were continually going up, if Kai were to make a prediction, then this solution would sell between 1.5 million and 2.0 million in total. So far nobody from upstairs had made a bid, else the others would have backed out.

    However, there was a good reason why they refrained from doing so. As much as the auctioneer had hyped it, it didn¡¯t change the fact that this was a rather simple Altered solution. Sure it increased one''s strength greatly, and depending on the person, one could utilise it better than others, but a cat just wasn¡¯t the same as a lion.

    It just didn¡¯t have an impressive enough track record to warrant the current bids, and perhaps the crowd had merely fallen for the silver tongue of the Dark Guild¡¯s representative.

    ¡®The auction house is truly clever, not telling us how many there will be. This way, we¡¯re being pressured into spending more for fear it might be thest item, eventually. ¡¯

    ¡°Sold!¡± The host announced, pointing towards the No Land gang. ¡°For 1.1 million.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 458: Auction Start! (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 458: Auction Start! (part 2)</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be an Altered, Boss Kit!¡± One of his members cheered. ¡°We¡¯ll be able to make the others submit to us and take over a Tier-3 town!¡±

    Overhearing their group, Kai learned that the leader was apparently called Kit, and their strategy was very typical for a low level gang. Rather than improve their own town, they nned to use all the money they had gained to improve themselves and to invade another nearby town. No wonder, they were spending their money without worry. This was also the reason why it was nigh impossible for lower tier towns to rise a tier.

    ¡®Hmm, but the item sold for a lot less than I thought. Either the other guests are smarter than I gave them credit for, or the bidding was mostly done by neers like them. The others must be aware that better stuff ising soon.¡¯

    Keeping it interesting, the next item to roll out was not one, but three solutions at once, this time allowing the ones to ingest it to be rat type Altered. This, however, did not seem to stop the people from bidding. After 3 million got passed, some voices from above called out some bids, eventually ending at 4 million.

    After a while, a single solution was rolled out, but the screen behind it was showing what type of beast the solution was toe from.

    ¡°As you can see in the video, this Altered DNA has great power. This solution is already showing great results in the AFC. He might be a rookie at the moment, but he has been rising through the ranks, so its potential is guaranteed.¡±

    The video showed a man transforming into somewhat of a bull. It gave great strength, and horns growing out the top of one¡¯s head. It also boosted a high amount of endurance, as it showed another Altered from the AFC hit him without causing any notable damage.

    ¡®This¡­ this is the one that we should bet on.¡¯ Kai decided. It should suit Austin perfectly. He was alreadyrge and a natural powerhouse when it came to strength.

    ¡°The bidding starts at 1 million!¡±

    Paddles were raised, and almost instantly the price had been boosted up to 1.5 million.

    For the first time Kai raised his paddle. There was no need for him to say anything, as the minimum bid would always be 10% of the starting one, meaning just by showing his interest, his bid became 100.000 more than the previous top bidder.

    ¡°1.6 million to those in the masks!¡±

    ¡°2 million!¡± Kit shouted, raising his paddle, and nced towards them. ¡°So this is what you were waiting for, huh? Well, let''s see who has the deeper pockets.¡±

    The masked teenager just raised his paddle, not reacting to the clear provocation.

    ¡°2.5 million!¡± Kit shouted with a loud smile, not even caring that he had just outbid someone from the top floor.

    ¡°3 million!¡± The same person bid. He wasn¡¯t one of the Kings, but the leader of a Tier-2 gang, wouldn¡¯t give up that easily, not without putting up a fight. This sign that someone important was really interested in the solution made those on the bottom back off, but not Kai.

    ¡°3.5 million!¡± The Werewolf stated loudly.

    ¡®Damn this guy. This is far higher than I wanted to go, and this is for just one solution. I was really hoping that we could buy another one, or other items¡­ but who knows when we might get another chance.¡¯

    ¡°4 million.¡± Kit outbid him without hesitation, and this raise even silenced the Tier-2 gang leader. Sure, this was a rare Altered DNA, but not a super rare one. He could continue, but at this point it was likely that his peers would make fun of him for overpaying. As such, he simply remained silent.

    ¡®Is he really that keen on winning one over me?¡¯ Kai wondered as the auctioneer was about to ept the bid. Swallowing down his reluctance, he raised his paddle, yet Kit did the same, making the new bid 4.2 million. The masked teenager let out a regretful sigh, yet stayed the paddle.

    ¡°Sold for 4.2 million!¡±

    ¡°Hahah, is this the best you fools can do? What type of gang are you running? At first I thought you were buying nothing because you were holding back for something, but it turns out you¡¯re just a bunch of beggars.¡±

    Kai was dying to argue about the stupidity about overpaying for the solution, but he understood that it would just be a waste of time. It would merely make him look like a sore loser. Still, just like many, he expected that despite all the mysteriousness, the Dark Guild would follow the typical auction scheme, of saving the best item for the end of the auction.

    With this just being the first rare one, there were surely more and even better solutions toe. The only issue with that was that if they were too good, the gang wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it. In other words, if they wanted to go home with something, they would have to strike soon.

    ¡°Okay folks, to keep things interesting, the next item will be a mystery solution. The Dark Guild can guarantee that this type of Altered DNA has never appeared before. However, everything else it up to chance. It might turn you into a slightly stronger human, or incredibly strong. This is the risk that you¡¯ll have to take with this item.¡± The host imed as he started the bid.

    ¡°2 million!¡± Kai said straight away, doubling the starting bid from the get-go. Given the description, he hoped that not too many people would be interested in it and this move might make it seem even less interesting.

    ¡°You know, you really shouldn''t have threatened me earlier.¡± Kit sneered. ¡°If you had apologised earlier, I might have even forgiven you, but now I''m going to buy every little thing that you guys want!

    ¡°3 million!¡±

    Those who had been slightly interested in the mystery solution were now put off. The real show was now the bidding war between those two gangs who clearly had it out for each other.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, you better back off.¡± Kai looked straight at him, and his eyes were glowing blue, even fiercer than before. ¡°If you¡¯re that keen on crossing us, I¡¯ll personally pay your sh¡¯thole of a town a visit, and make sure not a single member of your gang will have any limbs left!¡±

    When speaking and opening his mouth, Kai didn¡¯t realise it that the anger had gotten to him, making sharp fangs grow from his mouth, while his nails had turned into ws.

    ¡°FIVE MILLION!¡± Kai shouted at the top of his lungs, turning into a powerful howl.

    Seeing this from above, Sin smiled at the sideshow. ¡°Those guys are idiots. Only desperate people would bet on a mystery solution, especially the first one, but I have to admit, that shout was quite intimidating.¡±

    Kai looked toward Kit, his bodynguage telling the gang leader that he would pounce on him the moment he would open his mouth, so he never did.

    ¡°Sold for FIVE million to the fellow in the fox mask!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter ?459 Who gets what?

    Chapter ?459 Who gets what?

    When the Howlers heard Kai bid their entire budget on the solution, they could feel their hearts stop for a moment. Even after the gavel was struck down, they didn¡¯t really feel like celebrating. As the one responsible for their finances, they could only hope that there had been a good reason for their de-facto leader¡¯s behaviour.

    Kai would be lying if he said that his emotions hadn¡¯t influenced his action in any way, but it hadn¡¯t been fully without any logic. Admittedly, it had been a calcted risk, and if someone had bid higher than them, the Howlers would have been unable to do anything about it. At that point, they might as well have packed their bags, as it would have been the same as admitting their entire budget was capped at 5 million.

    The Werewolf had bet on the fact that the others would be holding out their bids due to the Dark Guild bringing out more and better items each time. With this being the first mystery solution, it was clear that there would be more toe. Had this been the final bid, though, then those that wanted to buy something and to use the money they had brought with them, would just use it anyway, even at the risk over paying for the item itself.

    Part of the risk was that he had to trust the Dark Guild that this was truly a never before used mystery solution. In that case, even they should be unable to find out what type of Altered one would be if they used it, thus it would make no difference if they purchased the first or thest one, as it would remain a gamble.

    ¡°Kai, did we really have to blow our whole budget on that one Altered solution? We have no idea whether it¡¯s good or not. Worst case, we can always get turned.¡± Mai whispered to him as the auction continued.

    It was something all of them had considered. After all, Gary had turned Kai and Olivia, so why not them. Of course, after living through the night of the full moon their enthusiasm of bing Werewolves had greatly decreased, but it was nevertheless an option on the table.

    ¡°It¡¯s far moreplicated than that. What happened to us on that day is just the tip of the iceberg.¡± Kai shook his head, able to talk with her about it since she was already aware about the existence of Werewolves, thus not going against thest Pack rule. ¡°Trust me when I say, none of you will want to experience what it feels like. If it hadn¡¯t been for the circumstances, Gary wouldn¡¯t have turned me, either.

    ¡°ording to him there is always the chance of something going wrong, and even if that chance is incredibly low, we don¡¯t need to take that chance if it means risking your lives, especially not when there are other ways to increase our strength!¡±

    Of course, there were other reasons for their refusal of turning the rest of the Howlers. It was safe to assume that those in Tier-1 cities, at least the core members that belonged to the top gangs, were all Altered. Admittedly, the Werewolves'' bodies seemed strong andparable to a good Altered, but every gang could use some variety.

    Different Altered forms meant a diverse portfolio of strength. What one Altered could do, another couldn¡¯t. They backed each other up, creating a horrifying team, and the Howlers needed to do the same.

    What¡¯s more, if all their members were Werewolves, it could invite a different set of trouble.

    The bids continued, and the Dark Guild kept everyone on their toes by mixing known Altered solutions with mystery ones, keeping everyone guessing how much of each they might have. Just like Kai had predicted, it didn¡¯t take look for the final bids to cross the 5 million mark. It wasn''t the exact Altered Solution they wanted but it was something, and it could even turn out better than what they originally wished to get.

    ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, with this item, today¡¯s auction hase to an end.¡± The host stated. ¡°We thank you for your patronage and we shall inform you about the next auction through our website. We further ask those who have sessfully purchased at least one item today to remain in the auction house so we can finish the formalities.¡±

    The doors opened and everyone began to exit. Many groups left with disappointed looks on their faces, with some even muttering that it would have been better for them to go to a smaller auction in the future, where there would be fewer people with high amounts of money.

    In total, 53 sets of items had been sold today, and yet, only around 16 groups stayed behind, two of them containing Kings, though Sin wasn¡¯t one of them. In a ce like this, certain groups were just more dominant with their financial situation. If Kai had tried to remain conservative with their money, then they would have ended up with nothing.

    ¡°Pleasee to the stage where we shall send you the details to send the money into our ounts. Once we verified that your payment has gone through, your items will be delivered to you in person.¡± The host exined, now surrounded by the other staff members to refrain anyone from trying something stupid.

    Kai, with the others, stood up, and so did the No Land Gang, as they were walking down the staircase towards the stage. This was a chance for him to check out the Kings that had paid for a few items.

    Walking down, there was a mountain of a man whose former muscles were now hidden behind hisrge belly. He was dressed in a red robe, and the crown on top of his head was the only item that made one associate him the term ¡®King¡¯.

    This man called himself ¡®King Henry¡¯, though most assumed it was a fake name. Nevertheless, he was one of the few Kings that showed themselves in public. Some even theorised that it was due to Henry¡¯s dress code, coupled with his actions in his prime days, that had led to him taking over one of the Tier-1 cities, that had coined the term ¡®Kings¡¯ in the first ce.

    As for the other one, Kai had no idea who she was. The woman was wearing a small ck leather jacket, had long legs in tight fighting trousers and dark boots. Strangely, she had a majestic aura as she strutted forwards in her purple lipstick, her casual gait treating everyone as if they were beneath her.

    There was no one else with her, which was the strangest thing. The only reason why Kai suspected her to be a King, was the way even King Henry seemed to treat her as equal. Was she just that confident with everyone around to be on her own?

    It was hard to say, although one might be confident in the Dark Guild¡¯s presence. It wasn''t the same and if this person was a leader, or even if they weren''t, they could be dealt with easily without anyone even knowing.

    When reaching the stage, the tworgest groups were the Howlers and the No Land Gang, who had brought along more than just one or two bodyguards like the rest. That''s also where they made eye contact with ke Hunt, who looked to have two others around him as well. Although both of them seemed quite a bit older than ke himself.

    ¡°Please use your phones to scan the QR code we¡¯ve prepared for you. It will forward you to a site with the total amount you owe us. Once confirmed, one of the staff will deliver your item.¡±

    Everyone did as asked, and honestly it was hard for Kai to sign away this amount of money, but in the end he had made the choice. Pressing his hand up against his ear, the host nodded with a smile on his face, and members of the Dark Guild appeared from behind the curtain with the items. Some of them had to get their items in via crates since there were so many.

    However, the Howlers didn''t care about the others so much, instead they were focused on what was in front of them. The mystery solution was in a small, shiny, metal container.

    As soon as they had the solution, the group exited the auction house with no problems.

    Kai had warned them not to stay too long as he had a bit feeling that either the No Land Group or the Altered Hunters might be looking for a fight.

    ¡°Tyler, go grab the car, and let''s get out of here.¡±

    In the end, they left the auction house, andter the city with no trouble, and all of them couldn''t stop staring at the syringe with the strange liquid inside.

    ¡°At least we got one solution out of it¡­ but who should be the one to use it?¡± Innu asked. ¡°After all, we have no way of finding out what¡¯s inside, and it¡¯s not like we can try again if it turns out to be garbage.¡±

    ****

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 Chapter 460 The one star hunter

    Chapter 460 The one star hunter

    It wasn''t too long ago that ke had be a one-star Hunter, thus officially joining the Altered Hunters. Of course, now that he was officially recognised as one of their members, there were certain responsibilities on his shoulders.

    No longer was he able to just travel and piggyback with his father doing hunts in the local area. In the first ce, Ozacas Hunt was away more often, being called by the organisation for important tasks involving the mysterious ck liquid.

    This was one of the responsibilities of being an Altered Hunter, to always answer when they call you, and it was why ke was where he was now.

    Of course, hunters could choose where they wished to live, and they could also act as they saw fit, as long as they followed certain guidelines that were given out, but the guidelines weren''t the setw.

    However, now as a one-star Hunter, ke could be called out for tasks that were nned by the leader and the other five-star Hunters, and that''s why he was currently in the Dark Guild¡¯s auction house in Morfran City.

    Currently standing on stage waiting for the items they had bought, was himself, another one-star Hunter and a three-star Hunter. This was the first time he was working with these people. They had only been told about the great task that they would have to aplish today.

    The other one-star Hunter was a university student that was a little older than ke. He was taller than him, at a height of around 6 foot 4, with ck hair and always a serious look on his face even now. The young adult had introduced himself as Kane, and unlike him, his promotion wasn¡¯t as recent, making him his senior, despite sharing the same number of stars.

    Then there was Josh, the three-star Hunter in his mid-twenties. Unlike the serious Kane, he seemed to be far more amiable, always having a smile on his face, and coupled with his light brown hair that was split down the middle he had the appearance of a charming gentleman.

    As for the reason why these people were selected for the auction, It was due to them being rtively new members of the Altered Hunter Association. Although all Altered Hunters were required to wear masks during their nightly outing, it was impossible to guarantee that they would stay on during fights.

    The more senior members knew for a fact their faces had been passed around to the higher tier gangs. This made it impossible for them to attend the auction, though they didn''t want to cause trouble during it in the first ce. So, who better than to send a few harmless looking young members to buy a few new weapons.

    So far they had achieved their task, the first part had gone smooth, but while standing on stage, ke¡¯s hands were starting to sweat a little.

    ¡®This is my first time going on a group outing. I have to do well. No doubt my father will hear about this outing as well.¡¯ ke thought.

    Focused on the task ahead, he was only now really looking at the people around them. With the crowd clearing out, he saw the familiar ck and gold uniform of the people who were on the stage with them.

    ¡®That''s the same colours that Gary would always wear and his gang.¡¯

    Looking at the mask on their faces, ke couldn¡¯t help but gulp. He and the fox masked leader made eye contact with each other. Itsted for just a moment, but the young Altered Hunter was sure that they knew each other.

    ¡®Why¡­why did you guys have toe here? Why now of all times? Is Gary with you?¡¯ ke wondered. ¡®Without him, you guys might will be in a lot of trouble and I can¡¯t help you.¡¯

    Seeing them, it made ke think back to the meeting before entering Morfran.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Back in Slough, ke had been called upon, and he was to wait in his home at his father''s dojo. He was pacing back and forth after he had prepared a table along with a few chairs out.

    The reason for him being nervous was because he was meant to be meeting quite a few people from the Altered Hunter Association today, and they had chosen his ce as the meeting area.

    ke had been given a few details and the reason why they were all meeting up in Slough was because it was on the way to their actual destination, Morfran City. Eventually, the speaker in the dojo sounded off, indicating that someone was at the door.

    Walking through his rtivelyrge front garden, ke checked the camera on the door, and could see five people present. Immediately he opened the door, and bowed down to them all.

    ¡°It is my pleasure to meet all of you, seniors. I will do my best to make your stay here asfortable as possible.¡± ke greeted them.

    ¡°You can raise your head, for starters.¡± John the three-star Hunter replied with a friendly smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need for all that formality. We¡¯re all friends here, so you can rx a bit.¡±

    ke was happy to see that there were those close to his age. In fact, everyone looked quite young on the team that would be sent out. While leading the group out to the dojo they all started to introduce themselves.

    Aside from Kane and Josh who was the leader of the group, there were three two-star Hunters. It was a little strange as Josh looked younger than one of the two-star Hunters.

    But it reminded ke that not everything was about age, it was skill and talent, and the stars just indicated that Josh had the talent to kill a number of different Altered. After the introductions were done, each of them sat down and Josh¡¯s smiley face had gone to quite a serious tone.

    ¡°Now, all of you have been briefed on the task, we are to head to Morfran City and buy supplies for the Altered Hunter Association. They have given me a budget and a set of requirements so you guys can let me deal with that.

    ¡°The only thing you need to keep in mind, is to avoid trouble. The best thing to do that is by staying at my side and to stay silent.¡±

    This was part of the task that ke already knew, but he was no idiot. If that was the only thing they were attempting to do, then there would be no need for six Altered Hunters to be sent on this task.

    ¡°The association wants to test the waters a bit. Due to how big this event will be, they¡¯re sure that quite a few new gangs will be turning up. We¡¯ll be ignoring the established gangs and will be keeping an eye on the up-anders. They¡¯ll be the ones to improve their strength the most by buying supplies, and of course Altered solutions.

    ¡°Our main goal is to do our best to get rid of these new gangs by eliminating at least their leaders and if possible the entire gang. However, there is a good chance that we might be unable to do so with our current strength.

    In the case it proves to be too much of a hassle to take them out, n B will be to focus on stealing their Altered Solutions, so we can at least cripple their growth. After we¡¯ve achieved that goal, we¡¯ll flee and meet at the predetermined locationter.¡±

    Looking towards Kane, ke wanted to see if the other one-star Hunter was nervous about the situation. Judging on what Josh had said, there was a chance they could be going up against more than one Altered Hunter together.

    On top of that, they would be in Morfan City.

    ¡°We will only target those that buy Altered solutions from the event. We also will only target the new groups since for a lot of you, this will be a first experience. If there are no groups that I think we are capable of taking out, then we will not proceed with the task, understand?¡±

    Everyone gave a nod, and after that, Josh pulled out a few thick pieces of paper. It was information on the new gangs that were rising, and handed it out to each of them so they could be updated on the situation.

    ¡°Now there is a chance that some of these gangs will not even appear at the auction itself. Or perhaps they¡¯ll be unable to buy the Altered solution, but I want you to go over the proposed n of what we are to do, and keep up to date with all the possibilities.¡±

    Everyone was silent as they worked through the thick book, looking at all the information.

    ¡®The No Land Gang are a Tier-4 gang, there is a star stating that this is most likely one of our targets¡­ it looks like there is another star on another gang.¡¯ ke noticed.

    Looking at the name, and the descriptions that were given. It stated at the top, that one of their targets was a gang who called themselves the Howlers.

    *****

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 Chapter ?461 The Hunters Choose

    Chapter ?461 The Hunters Choose

    Given the information provided on the gangs, it appeared as if the Howlers had been selected because they were deemed a rtively easy target. For one, there was only one confirmed Altered in their group, and that was Gary. They had his appearance and still shots from the filming that day, along with a few details here and there. When ke saw their name, he could only hope that they wouldn¡¯te to the auction.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Reality was often disappointing, and there was nothing the young Altered Hunter could do after the gang had stayed behind to pay for their purchased Altered solution. It might have been different had they bought nothing, or simply weapons, but their single purchase had, unfortunately, put them on today¡¯s radar.

    After everyone received their items, the Altered Hunters proceeded to leave the venue on ck motorbikes that they had used for today¡¯s trip. They were not only stylish but more importantly, they had been tinkered with to allow them to reach a speed surpassing the average car while fitting two people on it.

    On top of that, there were weapons that were ced in cases and more were hung from the side of the bike for easy ess for them. Exiting the auction house, the three of them met up with the other half of the team, stopping by on a street and entering an alleyway together.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Josh said, giving out a big breath. ¡°Two groups on our list have ended purchasing an Altered solution. Usually, those gangs n to stay here for a couple of days. The city is currently full of influential groups, gangs and corporations, making this a prime opportunity to make connections.

    ¡°Since we don''t know how long they will stay here, we¡¯ll have to act fast, especially since we want to avoid attracting another group¡¯s attention. Should we go for the No Land Gang, or the Howlers?¡± Josh asked.

    Everyone seemed to be in thought, but given that he knew at least some of their members, ke obviously didn''t want to go after the Howlers. He and Gary had worked together in the past, so he felt like he at least owed it to him to try and make his group consider going for the other option.

    ke knew that he would someday have to fight Gary since he was believed to be a Wolf Altered. It was impossible for him to correct that mistake in thinking, at least not without any proof or admitting that he had worked with the ¡°enemy¡±.

    ¡°I think it would be for the best to go for the No Land Gang.¡± ke suggested. Josh raised an eyebrow, his sign for the youngest member of their group to borate.

    ¡°The Howlers¡¯ might all have been wearing masks, but ording to our information their leader is known to be wearing a ck and golden wolf mask. The one who bid on the items and epted them, though, was someone in a fox mask. In other words, at the moment their group has no Altered with them.

    ¡°The main goal of us Altered Hunters in the first ce is to fight Altered, ridding them off the world before they be crazed and cause more harm than good. Like our ancestors did in the past with beasts.

    ¡°Taking down a gang of normal people is not the Altered Hunters Association''s goal, but police work.¡±

    It was spoken strongly, with strong passion, and they felt like ke had a point, yet there was also an opposing opinion.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good reason to go for them, though?¡± Kane questioned. ¡°I mean, if their leader isn''t with them, then there is less risk involved for us? Without an Altered stopping us, it will be child¡¯s y getting their solution and destroying it,pleting our tasks.¡±

    ke hadn¡¯t considered that point, now worried because he had to agree that Kane had a good point. Judging by the other Hunters, it was more likely that Josh would take the easier approach. The three-star Hunter was considering both opinions.

    ¡°Kane is right¡­ but so is ke. Taking away their solution will not get us any closer to earning our stars. ording to the information, there is one Altered that is here today in the No Land Group. If they have already used the solution that they have just received, then it would be two Altered. There is a chance for all of us to get closer to a promotion.

    ¡°There won''t be many opportunities like this.¡± The older two-star Hunter mentioned. ¡°We have to have some backbone if we want to rise.¡±

    ke was thankful this was rtively a young group, because the younger members of the Altered Hunter Association always wanted to improve themselves and go up thedder in the organisation. It was the same for ke, but given the circumstances, he wanted to avoid fighting one side.

    ¡°Alright, I have heard your opinions on the matter¡­ and honestly I can''t make a simple decision. At the end of the day, it''s not just my life but yours as well that we would be risking, so I want to take that into ount.

    ¡°Which is why we¡¯ll decide this by majority vote. I¡¯ll ept whatever decision the five of youe to.¡±

    Gulping, it all was down to this, and just in case, ke needed toe up with a back-up n.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The group didn¡¯t wish to waste their first visit to a Tier-1 city, and Kai had made a promise to a certain someone that they would be visiting a certain area before they returned to Slough, which was why the group were currently at the main shopping district in Morfan City. The group stood at one end, inplete awe, with their mouths held open. They could see stylish people walking the street, all wearing clothes that shouted ¡®look at me¡¯.

    On top of that, the street itself was super impressive. The entire ground was marble and there wasn''t a speck of dust or gum on it. It was reflecting some of the sunlight, making it sparkle even more, and the shopping malls were no different. Large and like pces inside. Marie found the ce so beautiful that it had brought a tear to her eye.

    ¡°I know it looks really cool and all, but do you really have to cry?¡± Innu asked.

    ¡°You don''t understand, just going to a shopping area, where there are dozens of people around, it just makes me feel so free.¡± She said, smiling and hugging herself with excitement, but that excitement soon dwindled down. ¡°And¡­we can¡¯t even afford to buy anything.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no use looking at me. I¡¯ve already told you, the gang''s funds will be sparse the next few months. Besides, all of you get paid, so time to use that money.¡± Kaiined.

    This caused the rest of the group to stare at him deeply, because their pay for being core members wasn''t exactly the best. It was simr to them working a normal 9-5 job in Slough, it certainly wasn''t the high life treatment that the main members of the Underdogs had enjoyed.

    Kai had cut corners to save as much money as he could, and he knew that those closest to him would be able to take the hit better than the others. If he tried cutting the pay Olivia¡¯s gang members had grown used to, there would be uproar and they could forget about loyalty. Coincidentally, it was for this reason that Olivia was actually one of the best paid members of their group.

    ¡°If you really see something you like, I''m happy to pitch in and help you buy it.¡± Austin stated. ¡°I don¡¯t really have any need for my money in the first ce, and I think you would be happier with it.¡±

    Marie was so over the moon with these words she felt like she could kiss Austin right now. The teenager girl held his hand and thanked him, and soon looked over toward Innu.

    ¡°If you¡¯re expecting me to do the same, you must be crazy. Did you forget that I''m using my money to look after Kevin and Suzan? And despite all myints, Kai won¡¯t raise it!¡±

    After a bit of back and forth, the group decided to let Marie drag them around through the shops. Kai stated it was best if they stayed together and because of that, the gang ended up going to a lot of shops, and got tired of looking at clothes after clothes.

    At first, they enjoyed seeing the shopping malls, and the robots that were in them that would guide you to certain ces, but it was getting extremely tiring and after trying all the clothes she had simply bought a small red purse.

    However, the guys understood because even with Austin''s money, it was the only thing that she could really afford without going broke.

    After a full day of shopping, the sun was starting to set and it looked like soon it would be dark out. Getting back in the car, Tyler was ready to drive them away as their visit to Morfran City hade to an end, and they were ready to return to their home town.

    The whole group was in therge limo and travelling across arge bridge that went over the river. They could see the light turn on all the buildings as the sky turned dark and it looked extremely beautiful to look at.

    The bridge was mostly empty as there didn''t seem to be a lot of visitorsing in or out of Morfran City, heading towards the tunnel. The Tier-1 cities were certainly differentpared to the rest of the tier one cities.

    While driving along the long bridge, the sound of a high revved engine could be heard. Taking a peek in the car mirror, Tyler could see somethinging up to them very fast. He had decided to slow down as he didn''t want to get in an ident.

    ¡°Who is driving so fast at this time, and at night? Do they want to get in an ident?¡± Tyler mumbled to himself.

    Turning his head, Kai went to take a look at what was making that noise, but they had quickly gone straight past them. That''s when they noticed it was a motorbike. After getting in front of Tyler though, it skidded to the side, and stopped side on right in front of the car.

    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Tyler shouted as he rammed the brakes, forcing the car toe to a halt around five metres away from the person on the bike.

    ¡°I don''t like this one bit.¡± Kai stated. ¡°Get ready to drive away at any second.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter ?462 An ally or foe

    With the motorbikeing to a halt while it was dark outside, it was clear the person was here for them. Since he had waited for the group to be in a secluded area, and at a time like this, it was safe to say that this person was looking for trouble, or at least didn''t want to be seen.

    Turning his head, Kai was looking to see if there were others.

    ''I have a bad feeling about this, but whoever this is, if there is only one of them, there will be no trouble at all. I doubt that they know about me or the fact that I am the trump card of the Howlers. I just didn''t think that I might have to step up so soon.''

    However, as the man on the motorbike kept on his helmet, there was one dreaded thought, what if this was one of the Kings after them? What if right in front of them, right now, was Sin? If that were the case, then it would be better for them to retreat from this ce and get away.

    But Thinking about that, Kai imagined thetter could just explode their car with a single snap of his fingers.

    "Keep your foot on the pedal, Tyler. Worst case, just run this guy over." Kai ordered. No matter who the person was, if things turned hostile, they wouldn''t just go down without fighting back.

    However, Kai''s words made Tyler gulp because he wasn''t so sure if he could go through with such a thing. Sure he knew what his position was now, but to actually attempt to hurt someone. It wasn''t the job he had originally signed up for. Still, if his life were to be in danger, then he might just have to.

    Slowly, the man lifted his hands toward his helmet and took it off, revealing his slightly dark and curly hair underneath. For a second, there was a sigh of relief from Innu when he saw the man''s face.

    "It''s just ke," Innu said.

    "What do you mean it''s just ke?" Marie frowned, "Isn''t that a bad thing? Did you forget he''s with the Altered hunters at the moment? Doesn''t that mean he might be after us?"

    This was one of Kai''s guesses as well. That the Altered hunters would attempt to go after those who were here for the auction, the only thing was, with so many gangs crowding the ce, Kai believed their gang would most likely not catch anyone''s eye.

    ''Wait a second, why is ke alone? Even though Gary isn''t here, he couldn''t possibly think of taking us on alone, right?'' Kai frowned.

    On the other hand, ke continued to stare at them while standing in the middle of the street, which was why Kai had decided to open the door.

    "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Do you want to back up? Should we stay in the car or what?" Innu asked.

    "Just stay in the car for now," Kai replied as he closed the door shut and walked up to where ke was.

    The others were interested in what was going to happen and why ke was there, so they decided to slightly roll down the car windows to overhear the conversation and understand what was going on.

    "If you wanted to talk to us, then you could have arranged a meeting back in Slough." Kai began starting off with a bit of a light-heartedment because he needed to see where ke was.

    ke shook his head before answering.

    "This matter couldna€?t be dyed. I had to meet you about this because I have been told you''re a smart guy, Kai. Gary always spoke highly of you, and I''m sure that you probably don''t trust me, but the matter at hand is serious and you must trust me. I just want to ask one thing, do you mind if I see the solution that you bought?" He asked as he held out his hand.

    While doing so, it looked like he winced a little from the strain on his injured arm.

    "You want the Altered solution?" Kai raised an eyebrow and stared at the former to see if he was joking or was really serious here.

    For a second, Kai even wondered if ke was trying to take him for a ride. Did an Altered hunter just ask for the solution out in the open like so? Was this some kind of prank?

    ''Or is this his way of telling me that he doesn''t want to fight? That he will let us go if we just give him the Altered solution? I guess then he can go to his teammates and tell them he did the job he was meant to do.''

    "I''m sorry, ke. I know you helped us out before in the past." Kai exined. "But, we have a lot of targets on our backs. Gary has a lot of targets on his back, including you guys. If you''re his friend, you should understand that we can''t just sit by and let him bear all the burden."

    It looked like ke was hesitant for a moment but eventually, put his hand down.

    "You don''t have to give it to me. Just show it to me." ke replied. "I will stay here and have a look. I just want to let you know that I am looking out for you guys."

    There was a lot in Kai''s favour, and since he was sure ke still didn''t know about him, he took out the solution from under his zer jacket and lifted it up in the air for Balke to see.

    "Is this what you wanted? I''m afraid until you give me a good reason, I can''t just give you a closer look." Kai exined.

    "Fine," ke said, partially annoyed and looking down the motorway as if we were expecting someone toe. "The Altered hunters are after the solution sold by the Dark Guild for a reason. Also, if you haven''t noticed, the number of Crazed Altereds has increased in recent times.

    "Simr to the attack on Slough, the Altered Hunters are trying to find the source of the Altered solution that causes people to go crazy. It is the association''s top priority. It is unlikely that something like this ising from corporations such as NIRV, which is why we have been looking into the solutions from the Dark Guild.

    "There is an easy way to tell at the moment if the solution is differentpared to others. Inside there is a dark substance, it can be a small amount orrge, but it will slightly tint the colour. And what stands out about it though, is that it moves as if it''s alive. I can''t see that well from this far, but your solution seems to be okay.

    "Now that I am done here, I will take my leave," ke said as he walked back to his bike and was ready to put his helmet back on again after sitting on it.

    "Wait!" Kai hesitated for a moment and said, "Thank you for the advice. Your arm hurts, right?"

    ke didn''t say anything, but he could feel the pain, and some blood had already dripped down his sleeve onto the helmet that was in his hand.

    "I don''t know what you have been through, but I know that you are already helping us more than you should. Warning us, and I guess, stopping the others in your group froming after us. ke, this might sound like a shot in the dark, but I do have a question to ask you.

    "Why don''t you join us?" Kai asked.

    Everyone who was in the car let out a loud gasp. They had been listening to the whole conversation the entire time, but they never expected Kai to ask an Altered Hunter to join their group.

    ''I guess Kai is always one step ahead of everyone. It wouldn''t surprise me if he had already been thinking something along the lines of this for a while.'' Marie thought.

    "Ha!" ke chuckled. "First of all, it''s naive of you to think I want to leave. My family have been involved in the Hunter business for much longer than you think. This isn''t something that I can just give up.

    "And besides, even if I do join you, then what? The Altered Association would not just be after me but would be after your gang as well. There is no one who can protect me."

    With those words said, ke put on the helmet on top of his head and was ready to drive off.

    On the other hand, despite getting a straightforward rejection, there was quite arge smile on Kai''s face.

    "So are you saying, once we get big enough to protect you, big enough to even the Altered Hunters who won''t touch us, then you would join? Well, it''s a deal."

    It was unclear if ke had heard these words or not as he started his bike and headed straight past Kai, not without leaving a few final words.

    "You better get out of here now. I can''t stop them." ke muttered and drove off.

    *****

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 Chapter ?463 Skilled Hunter

    Chapter ?463 Skilled Hunter

    ke continued to ride the motorcycle back down the highway and across the bridge, heading to the meeting ce they had agreed on. On the way, he was trying toe up with a believable excuse without implicating himself. Clenching his fist hard around the handle, the teenager was also trying to forget about the cut and pain that he had on his arm.

    ¡®ording to the media, us Altered Hunters are supposed to be the bad guys, but I know that¡¯s a lie that people simply believe in because they¡¯ve been told.¡¯ ke thought. ¡®However, am I really any better if I were to believe that every Altered and every person who wants to be one is automatically bad, simply because I¡¯ve been told that since young¡­ even then I know for sure that Gary and his friends are not like the rest?¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s decided then.¡± Josh said with a big smile as he looked at the show of hands. ¡°Since the majority wants to go after the Tier-4 No Land Gang, we¡¯ll ignore the Tier-3 Howlers for now. As ke said, it¡¯s not our job to clean up after normal gangs and we¡¯ll focus on the gang who have a confirmed Altered with them.¡±

    ke felt like letting out a sigh of relief, but he controlled himself, not wanting to make it obvious that his opinion was more than just ¡®logical¡¯. He was just happy that the older members seemed far more interested in taking down an Altered to advance their own promotion over simply getting the solution.

    The Altered Hunters had their ways of tracking down the gangs, and Josh didn¡¯t really exin how they were able to know their current location or when. At the moment, the No Land Gang seemed to be heading to an underpass of a bridge.

    It went over the river of the city, but underneath it, there was a walking path, graphite and more, and it was also a popr hang out spot for some of the younger ones. At the same time, ording to Josh, the No Land Gang were there to do some type of deal.

    It was detailed information, down to even knowing what gang they were going to meet. It seemed impossible to gather this type of information unless they had someone on the inside.

    ¡®If they know this much about the No Land Gang, then does it mean they also know a lot more about the Howlers than what was on the intel?¡¯

    There wasn¡¯t really a n that had been set, Josh just sat around waiting for a while and then. When he stated it was the right time, each of them got on their motorbikes in pairs of two, and started to ride off to the location.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the underbridge, a group of eight men, all with dyed green hair and ragged clothing, were walking confidently on the pebble-like surface. They stomped their feet as they continued to walk and eventually stopped.

    The men in the back were carrying quite a few things, including some of the Altered weapons, that they had gotten from the auction as well. Rather than carrying them, though, they were holding them as if they were ready to use them at any point and time.

    ¡°Come on out!¡± Kit shouted. ¡°You were the ones who called us out here, remember?! At least, show up time, dammit!!!¡±

    After shouting these words, a group of men appeared from around the corner. Wearing brown leathered clothing. Their group consisted of ten members, all of them were armed, although just with ordinary weapons.

    ¡°Hey, what''s the big deal?¡± Kit asked, not dropping his smile in the least.

    The man in the front straightened out his leather jacket a bit, before speaking.

    ¡°We had a deal.¡± The man began. ¡°We were to pool our money together and would split the goods, but how exactly do you n for us to split a single Altered solution, huh?!¡±

    Kit''s shoulders started to shake up and down, as he thought about him andughed.

    ¡°Well, it''s simple, you guys should have used your heads a bit more. You should never, make a deal with a group that¡¯s stronger than you.¡±

    Immediately, Kit grabbed what looked like a crossbow from one of his own gang member¡¯s hands, and pulled the trigger. A bolt came shooting out, but the man in front had moved out of the way. Unfortunately, one of his fellow gang members was too slow, and the bolt pierced right through his head, leaving a hole behind and a corpse.

    ¡°Kill them all!¡± The man in the brown jacket shouted, and their fight turned bloody instantly. Knowing full well that the No Land Gang had an Altered among them, they had brought more people to suppress them.

    However, due to the restrictions and movements tracked by those in Mofran City in the first ce, it was impossible for them to bring more in. The fight was scrappy, with faces being punched, those being kicked, rocks behind picked up off the ground and mmed into each other¡¯s faces.

    Regardless of how dirty the Brown Jackets fought, they soon realised that the Altered weapons, the money that they had supplied as a Tier-4 gang to the No Land Gang to buy the weapons in the first ce, became their downfall.

    With a face covered in blood, Kit had just finished pounding the leader of the Brown Jacket¡¯s face in. His knuckles were bloody as he continued to smile, and lifted his head.

    ¡°Haha, that makes another territory for the No Land Gang.¡± Kit announced loudly, earning him some cheers from his men. Suddenly, the gang leader¡¯s ears started to twitch as he could hear the sound of something revving in the distance.

    It was clear that it was the sound of motorbikes but not just one, it was a few of them. A few secondster,ing from above, and riding down the hill onto the pebble path, the motorbikesnded and stopped.

    Keeping their helmets on, they began to pull weapons out from the holders they had at the side of the bikes. One had a double-edged sword. Another a strange tooth-like weapon, a third two red des in their hand, and the fourth had a sword which looked to be made from bones from the handle down. It was the weapon that they had seen at the auction.

    ¡°Well. I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t expect others to go after us.¡± Kit stated. ¡°It''s clear that you want our items for yourselves, but you will end up just like them.¡±

    A crossbow was fired again, from one of his gang members, towards the guys in the masks. Seeing this, Josh was ready to move out of the way of the bolt, but before he could, there was another by his side, who had struck the weapon down swinging his red sword, and knocking the bolt down.

    ke stood in front of him, and was eager to prove himself and show off his skills.

    ¡®Is ke really just a newly advanced one-star Hunter? What he did was skilful, perfect timing, and a strong powerful strike. He is one to watch out for.¡¯

    At the same time, what ke had done, had set the tone for the No Land Gang and Kit. Their faces dropped, as they realised that these guys weren¡¯t going to be as easy as the Brown Jackets.

    Instantly, the young Altered Hunter charged in, and avoided an attack from a spear, knocking it away with one sword, attacking with the other making a strike at the chest.

    ¡®I can see it again, this feeling, the white lines that are appearing. It tells me where my opponent''s strike path is going to be, and the best ce to attack.¡¯

    For some reason, ke was back in the zone, just like he had been the time that he had fought against Billy. He had tried reaching it during his training, but he had never been able to achieve it¡­ until now.

    Another member came towards him, with a ball and chain. It had an electrified end, but the white line showed ke where to strike, and when following it, the de had gone right in the middle of the chain causing the ball to wrap around and cut short. Then, pulling the sword, the gang member had let go of the weapon from his hands. ke was ready to strike again, but as he went to, the other one-star Hunter had thrust his spear forward, stabbing the man right in the stomach.

    It was a quick thrust, and more importantly, the Altered Hunter¡¯s footsteps were so silent that ke didn¡¯t even hear him approach.

    ¡°Hey, you''re doing good, kid.¡± Josh stated. ¡°Let us take care of the extras, why don¡¯t you take care of the leader there, and be careful okay, because remember he¡¯s an Altered.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter ?464 Growing quickly

    ?464 Growing quickly

    The Altered Hunters were used to fighting Altered. It was their main task and what they trained for, and on top of that, most of the group were two star hunters. The weapons that the other groups were using, although they were Anti Altered equipment, it just wasn¡¯t on the same caliber.

    For one, the weapons where just enhanced with some type of electrical power that anyone could use, but real Anti Altered weapons, one was able to draw power from them. A technique that was shown to all, and those single items were expensive, and was what the Altereds were trying to collect.

    Because of this, fighting the everyday gang member, especially from a tier four city, was rtively easy for the group. There was only one that they needed to worry about. With his teammates fighting with the rest of the gang members, ke was now face to face with Kit, the leader of the No Land group.

    ¡°You think I''m as easy as the rest of the guys, well that¡¯s where you''re dead wrong!¡± Kit shouted as he threw out a punch confidently. It was fast, but ke was also fast having dodged the hit, and in return dashed in to create a strike vertically across his body.

    The sword had ripped through the clothes, but there seemed to be some type of leather armour that was underneath. Looking down at his chest though, Kit seemed to be a little surprised because the leather like armour had been scratched as well.

    ¡°You guys, I should have known you''re not just some wannabe gang that wants to take us down. Your Altered Hunters!¡± Kit shouted. ¡°Well you havee to the right ce, Boys!¡±

    Most of the men had been beaten and were on the floor. The Altered Hunters had actually tried to avoid killing them when not necessary. Usually in a situation where the others were willing to kill them they didn¡¯t hold back, but the difference in strength and skill between them, they were able to solve this without the need.

    What this did mean though, was that they were still conscious, and with the weapons still next to them, they threw them over at the same time to where their leader was. Kit stretched himself and suddenly, two more arms on each side had sprouted out, giving him a total of six all together.

    He grabbed two swords, two spears, but his other hands were left free so he could deal physical pain when he truly needed to, a strength of his.

    ¡®The report was right, an altered that can create extra limbs, and it is quite skillful at using weapons. This is going to be a bit more difficult.¡¯

    On top of that, ever since ke had started to fight against Kit the leader, the white lines, that would show him where to attack, the ces of where the opponents attacks would, be had disappeared. He still didn¡¯t know what was the difference or reason for this.

    Two thrusts of the spear had gone straight towards ke. They were powerful attacks, and ke had no choice but to use his two red swords to try and deflect the attack. As he had done that though, two more of the swords wereing down towards him from above.

    ¡®I have to avoid this.¡¯

    The quickest thing he could do in his position was to roll forward. The spears were still by the side and blocking his path, and the sword strike would possibly damage him, even with the Altered armour they were wearing.

    When attempting to roll forward though, two of theleader''s fists were chucked right towards his head from below and had smashed right on his helmet. Breaking it in an instant and causing him to fall back onto the ground.

    ¡°Hey, we''re done over here, shouldn¡¯t we help him?¡± Kane, the one star hunter asked. Seeing that it was an Altered this was what they were around for. A step closer to getting the next star.

    ¡°Don''t worry, if he needs our help, then we will join in.¡± Josh answered with his foot on top of one of the gang members. ¡°One has to be put in situations like these to grow, it''s the kids time to shine.¡±

    ke was unaware that the rest of his teammates had already dealt with the gang members, instead he was focused on the opponent in front of him, and at the same time he was frustrated.

    ¡®What was I doing before, that I''m not doing now?¡¯ ke thought.

    However, Kit wasn¡¯t going to give him time to think by just standing there. He came forward again, thrusting the spears, and this time, when deflecting the spear, ke spun his body. This allowed him to avoid the strike of the other spear, and now knowing that the des would being.

    ke used the momentum of him spinning to knock the two swords out of the way. Now it was time for him to deal with the next step, he charged in again with his shoulder first, and barged his body into Kit hitting him back a bit.

    With his arms free, Kit went to grab ke, but before he could, ke pulled both his swords up from below and sliced his hands in the process.

    ¡°This is getting annoying!¡± Kit shouted, dropping the spear in his hand, and throwing out a hook, hitting ke right in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground and his helmet off.

    Seeing this, Kane charged forward, quickly Kit had picked up the spear off the ground and threw it right at Kane. It was a lot faster than he expected and on top of that, he thought that Kit hadn¡¯t been paying attention to the rest of them.

    They thought they would have been able to just sneak in and take this one out, but following the spear Kane knew in that moment that it would pierce his body. HIs speed wasn¡¯t fast enough, his hand was moving but it was too slow.

    ¡®This person isn''t just an Altered, but a skilled one at that. I took him as too little of a threat after taking out the rest of the gang. This is one who rose up and took over a tier 4 city. Which means there strength could be higher.¡¯

    nning to just take the hit and recover from it, Kane was bracing himself but at thest second, a swing of a sword had hit the spear, sending it directly to the ground. It crashed and pushed the pebbles away quite a bit as well.

    ¡°That''s one way to test this sword out. It''s pretty good if I do say so myself.¡± Josh said swinging therge thing around with a single hand. ¡°Still, I can tell from that throw your opponent is tougher than we gave him credit for, do you want a little help?¡±

    ke was standing at this point, and with his helmet off his face was now In full view.

    ¡°What the hell!¡± Kit siad. ¡°You''re just a kid.¡±

    ¡°What does that even matter, if I''m the one that¡¯s going to beat you!¡± ke stated, charging in again.

    This time, when the spears were thrust forward though, ke avoided them stepping outside of the range of his swords. He wanted to go deep like before and was keeping his distance.

    While watching the fight carefully, Josh felt like he already knew who the winner of the fight was going to be, it was clear that one person was improving at an incredibly fast speed during this fight and it would only be a matter of time.

    ¡°This is going well, it looks like none of us have had any injuries either. At this rate, we might be able to go after the Howlers gang as well.¡± Josh stated. ¡°If the information was right, they should be crossing this bridge soon so it shouldn¡¯t be far either.¡±

    Hearing these words, ke''s heart thumped louder, and for some reason, he could see where to strike on the gang leader once again. Not wanting to lose this moment, ke charged in, he could see the path of the spear that was being thrust out.

    Although he could avoid it, he imagined that the white line that was going across vertically on Kit¡¯s neck would be impossible to hit, unless he did one thing. Moving just an inch to the side, he allowed for the spear to pierce the side of his arm.

    It had cut through drawing blood, then with the other sword he whacked away the other weapon. Lastly, leaping forward and vertically shing his sword, ke was able to cut right across Kit¡¯s neck before he could do anything with his other weapons; it was all in one smooth motion.

    ¡®That was incredibly impressive. This kid is going to go up the stairs in no time, I just know it.¡¯

    Kit fell to the floor holding onto his neck, trying to stop the blood froming out, but his eyes were starting to fade and it looked like it was the end for him. When the others were going to go ahead and congratte him though, ke continued to run forward, and hopped onto one of the Bikes riding it away, leaving the rest of the Altered hunter¡¯s confused.

    ¡°Let''s clean up this ce here, and go after ke, something is up.¡± Josh ordered.

    *****

    My Werewolf System Webtoon is out! You can read now in the BILI BILI COMICS APP. Weekly Webtoon chapters. Check it out, help it grow, and there might be news of an official My Vampire System webtoon someday.

 Chapter ?465 One day

    ?465 One day

    Kai and the rest of the Howlers were nervous as they drove back. They managed to safely exit Morfran City without any problems. Even after half an hour, their group continued checking out of the back window, expecting to hear the sounds of motorbikesing after them. Everyone had heard ke''s warning and it had sent chills down their spine.

    ¡°Alright, guys. It doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯ll have to worry about them today.¡± Kai stated eventually. ¡°If they wanted to take us on, they should have caught up to us by now. Looks like we owe our little Altered Hunter friend a favour now.¡±

    With those words, the others did indeed calm down a little, yet every few minutes one of them still turned around. They only calmed down fully when they were close to home.

    ¡®I¡¯m happy that you helped us today¡­ I just hope you didn¡¯t have to pay too steep a price¡­¡¯ Kai thought to himself as he looked back.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ke''s arm was throbbing with pain. Even ayman could tell that he needed a professional to patch him up. The cut on his arm was quite deep and once his body had stopped producing the adrenaline, there wasn¡¯t much but will power that kept him going. In fact, due to him being on the move all the time and on the bike, ke hadn¡¯t even noticed just how much blood he had lost.

    While on the bike, his vision started to turn hazy, his body was beginning to weaken and he no longer added the throttle onto the bike to elerate it further. Still, that was when he could hear the sound of the others, and could see them in the distance.

    ¡®I still don¡¯t¡­ what should I tell them?¡¯ ke wondered as he drifted off, the bike itself started to lean. Fortunately, he had put on the spare helmet as the next second the whole bike was leaning on its side, and began to skid over the ground. Just as ke fell off, though, another bike went past at thest second with no rider on.

    Instead, the person themselves were sliding on the gravel with their specialised boots and had grabbed ke before he fell onto the floor.

    ¡°You stupid kid.¡± Josh berated ke as he held him in his arms. ¡°If you¡¯re injured to this degree, why didn¡¯t you just tell me?¡±

    A few momentster, the rest of the Altered Hunters caught up and stopped on the bridge to check the damage.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± One of them asked. ¡°Should we continue on and chase the Howlers? That was the original n, right?¡±

    Josh looked in the direction from where ke had juste from. It was where the Howlers would have been. Taking off his leather vest, and looking at the armour underneath, the leader could see therge cut on his arm, but was unable to any other wounds.

    ¡®Just why did you run off like that, and why were you heading back towards us? It doesn¡¯t look like you had a scuffle with them, and you had a bit of a head startpared to us.¡¯ The three-star Hunter thought to himself.

    After defeating Kit, they also needed to receive the Altered solution from him. Their task had beenpleted, and their rising neer was now one step closer to his next promotion.

    ¡°As much as I hate leaving things unresolved, we can¡¯t just leave ke like this. Splitting up and going from one fight to another also isn¡¯t the best idea. Alright, we¡¯ll take him to a hospital and focus on recuperating. We can always take them on another time.¡± Josh dered.

    The older Altered Hunters weren¡¯t too happy without that decision, but nobodyined. One of them procured a first aid kit, and with their basic knowledge they tied ke¡¯s arm. After that, the group exited the city and headed for the closest Tier-2 city to get more professional treatment for ke.

    They needed to head to a ce that wouldn¡¯t raise too many questions. They were sure that it would take some time until news reaches the Dark Guild about what had happened. It was certain that it would put them in a tight spot. They had always boasted about the safety of their auction, yet two gangs had died right underneath their noses¡­

    The Altered Hunters changed out of their work clothes into a more normal set. At the hospital, nobody suspected them to be anything but normal citizens. Some of them looked bored, but Josh was keeping his eye on the TV screen.

    ¡°We interrupt your series to bring you breaking news. The Altered Hunters have struck today. Their calling card has been left at the scene of the crime where members Morfran City¡¯s police force is investigating with the help of White Rose.

    ¡°The gang that had been targeted were known as the Brown Jackets and the Nond Gang. A newly rising gang that had recently taken over a Tier-4 to¡­¡±

    The news report went on, and of course, no members of the Dark Guild had made a publicment, since the actions themselves were a secret only to those that knew them.

    ¡®I hope this has the effect that you are looking for. It''s the first time something like this has been done.¡¯ Josh thought as he was trying to understand his task.

    ¡°Visitors for Billy Hunter may now enter the room.¡± A nurse called out with a clipboard. Standing up, Josh immediately headed into the room, to see a young buck still alive and kicking.

    ¡°Thank you so much for saving my life, leader.¡± ke thanked him with a still weak voice. ¡°I am sorry for causing you trouble and inconvenience.¡±

    Josh looked at him and just let out a deep sigh, feeling relief that it looked like his injured team member would survive without any permanent injuries. ¡°Remember, there was a chance that we might have not had to attack anyone on this trip. The whole thing was a huge sess. We took out an Altered and managed to get the solution as well.

    ¡°However, what I do want to know is what exactly happened, why did you go off like that.¡±

    ke had been awake for a little while, but the doctors and nurses were still doing a few checks on him. Altered Hunters were stronger than the average human, but as non-Altered, they unfortunatelycked the supernatural healing factor.

    As such, ke¡¯s arm had needed to be stitched up with around twenty stitches. It looked like the wound he had received was quite the big one. Regardless, what it did mean was he had a lot of time to think about how to answer this.

    ¡°I wanted to take out the Howlers as well, for myself.¡± ke answered. ¡°I don''t know what happened, but while I was fighting, there was something different about me this time. I could feel myself getting stronger.¡±

    ke paused there for a second as he turned to Josh.

    ¡°When you''re fighting, have you ever seen those¡­ lines?¡± ke asked.

    Josh raised an eyebrow at the question.

    ¡°When I''m fighting, it feels like someone or my own mind is telling me where to strike. It shows me the path of where a weapon will go, and it shows me where the best ce is to strike as well.

    ¡°I only see these lines sometimes, but today I saw them again, and because of that, I thought that I could get a head start and head off to the Howlers. But when I got to them, my body was starting to feel weak.

    ¡°I''m guessing it must have been a loss of energy or something, but I could feel that I wasn''t up to the task and most likely that feeling, that vision and white lines that I could see would no longer be there.¡±

    This was ke''s answer to mix in some of the truth with a bit of his lies as well, and it sounded usible because it would be a reason for one to jump the gun.

    ¡°I see, I think I have heard about this before. Maybe when I head back, I will speak to the management about this and see if anyone else has any information.¡± Josh replied. ¡°Don''t worry about the Howlers. Sooner orter you¡¯re bound to get your chance¡­ just promise me you won¡¯t go at it on your own.

    This was what ke was partially worried about. The Altered Hunters were now clearly targeting the Howlers. It couldn¡¯t be helped as they were now a gang who had won an Altered solution, making them even more troublesome in their group¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°They¡¯re from your hometown, Slough, right? When the timees, you¡¯ll most likely be the one we¡¯ll call you to deal with them.¡± Josh said to cheer up the teenagers.

    ke didn¡¯t know what to say to that. Although he had gotten away with not taking out the Howlers today, it felt like his actions had merely dyed their execution date. The worst part about it, he was now the one who was supposed to wield the axe to do the job.

    Only time could tell whether he would be able to follow through on that order¡­

    ****

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 Chapter ?466 A New Altered in the Howlers (Part 1)

    ?466 A New Altered in the Howlers (Part 1)

    After a tense ride back, the group¡¯s destination in Slough was unsurprisingly the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. Although it was ratherte, there were still more than a dozen people around the pool tables, though none of them were teens.While the business continued to be a very popr hangout spot for teenage delinquents, during the evening it had turned into a bit of a meeting spot for university students and young adults.

    Austin¡¯s three friends who would earn some extra cash as waiters during the day had already clocked in, though they were now ying a round free of charge. Meanwhile, the ever popr hostess White continued doing her job, helped by Miss Degrace who would often chip in during the evenings and act as a bartender.

    Although she had started selling alcohol there had yet to be a fight breaking out. Then again, it was consideredmon knowledge for the locals that the pool club was connected to the the Howlers. Of course, nobody knew that this ce was used as the defacto headquarters by the gang members.

    ¡°Make sure no one follows us downstairs.¡± Kai asked Miss Degrace as the rest followed him. ¡°Tyler, you¡¯ve done a great job. Here¡¯s some extra. Feel free to take a drink and get home. I¡¯ll call you when we¡¯ll need your services again.¡±

    When they reached the refurbished office room in the downstairs club, everyone sat on the sofa seats that had been ced apart from Kai who sat at the table and ced the Altered solution out in front of everyone.

    ¡°Now that we don¡¯t have any Altered Hunters on our heels, we should resume our earlier discussion about who gets the solution.¡± Kai began. ¡°Do consider that bing an Altered will definitely ce a giant target on your back, so you should do your best to grow in strength as much as possible.

    ¡°Of course, that also applies for those of you who don¡¯t get the solution this time. Aside from the Altered Hunters, there will be other groups who will be out to get us. They might be from the lower tier towns, higher tier cities, and heck, there are still those gangs and the mayor here in Slough.¡±

    For a second, Kai nced at a few letters that had been ced on his table, most likely left there by thewyer that used to be part of the Pincer¡¯s gang but was now part of the Howlers.

    There were a lot of tasks that Kai had given him, and he was keen to look through them. However, this was more important.

    ¡°Originally, the n was to hand the Altered solution to the one it suits best, but seeing that we had to purchase a mystery solution that¡¯s not really a choice. Since we don''t know what type of Altered solution will be inside, we have toe up with something else. I feel silly asking this since we have no idea when we¡¯ll be able to get another one, but would one of you voluntarily pass this time around?¡±

    The room was dead silent, with eyes darting around the room everywhere. Everyone was just looking at each other constantly.

    ¡®Come on, guys, just give up! Didn''t we talk about this before, I was the first to join the gang so I should get to be the first one to pick!¡¯ Innu thought in his head.

    ¡®I could really do with the Altered DNA. However, we don¡¯t know if it''s a strong or a weak one, but whatever the case with it, I could improve my strength, but then what about the gang?¡¯

    ¡°It should go to the strongest.¡± Austin said out loud with his arms folded. ¡°This group needs to get stronger. It''s not about making everyone at an equal level. So I think it should go to the strongest, which is clearly me.¡±

    It was the most words they had hearde out of Austin in a while, so it was clear that he wanted the solution quite badly. Just as it looked like everyone was getting ready to fight over it, Marie raised her hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± The teenage girl stated her desire. ¡°Like Austin said, it¡¯s in the gang¡¯s interest to make sure we¡¯re the strongest we can be. Giving me a mystery solution won¡¯t aplish that. I have been practising using the the Anti-Altered daggers that we received from the Underdogs every day, so I don¡¯t mind waiting a bit longer.

    ¡°I have even practised how to use ranged weapons like their crossbow. I can help out in my own way, but if possible I¡¯d prefer supporting you from the back rather than from the frontline, so I think you guys deserve it more.¡± She said with a sweet smile.

    ¡°In that case, don¡¯t mind if I do!¡± Austin was ready to grab the solution.

    ¡°Oi, you oaf, did you forget about me?!¡± Innu stood up, and grabbed the other boy¡¯s hand before he could reach the desired item.

    While the two of them bickered, Marie felt a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Thank you for being a lot more sensible than those two idiots. Don¡¯t worry, Marie, I¡¯ll do my best to make sure your kindness gets repaid some day soon. In the meantime, you can be sure that all three of us will do our best to protect you.¡±

    ¡°As for you two overgrown children.¡± Kai pped his hands to get their attention. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that neither one of you will budge so let¡¯s do it the good old fashioned way. One match, no rules, winner gets all.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Suddenly the two of them were outside. Since they had juste back from the Tier-1 city it waste at night and the dark sky was already out. At the same time, they weren''t the only two that were outside.

    All the customers, Austin¡¯s friends who had been called over, along with White and Miss Degrace were outside. In total, there were around 25 people who had formed a circle and were ready to watch what was about to go on.

    ¡°Alright everyone!¡± Kai shouted out loud. ¡°These two have a little dispute that they would like to solve, and since neither one is a talker, this is the way it goes.

    ¡°On the left side, our dark skinned friend is a Muay Thai street fighter who has won a number of underground fights. On the right side, the giant fellow used to be the leader of the few schools in the area, able to blow away most of his enemies in a single punch. This will be a close match, so please ce your bets now.¡±

    Since there was an opportunity to make some money, Kai wouldn''t miss the chance and he started to gather bets from the onlookers. As a nice bonus, it might help spread the word about the pool club and earn them a few more customers.

    ¡°What the hell! Why are my odds that much worse than Austin¡¯s? Are you saying I''m going to lose this?!¡± Innu shouted in protest.

    ¡°Don¡¯t me me. The general consensus is just that most people here believe in Austin, making you the underdog of this fight. It¡¯s on you to prove them wrong, Innu. If you need any extra motivation¡­ well, you know what¡¯s on the line.¡±

    ****

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 Chapter 467 Fight For The Prize (Part 1)

    Both Austin and Innu readied themselves for the fight ahead of them. Innu had gotten into his usual fighting stance and surprisingly Austin had as well, putting both of his fists out like that in boxing.

    ¡°I guess that means you''re really serious about this thing, huh?¡± Innu said. ¡°You just can''t let me have anything. Well, I guess I''m just going to have to earn this myself.¡±

    Austin didn''t say anything, but just clenched his fists harder. Seeing this siutation it made Austin think back.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Everyday, the two of them had a morning training session. This was requested by Kai, and after that, when they had decided to leave their respective schools, they continued to train. Instead of one training session a day they had upped it to two.

    During their everyday training sessions though, that was where Austin realized that Innu was a monster, especially when it came to anything to do with his legs. Innu was able to lift more with his lower body, he was also able to mentally deal with more pressure. On top of that he was more hard working than Austin as well.

    It was clear when watching him, that the strength that Innu had achieved was from hard work. He was used to this type of training, honing his skill and technique in fighting, whereas Austin was a natural fighter.

    Naturally he had been gifted arge body, naturally he had a hard punch that could knock most students the same age and size as him down with one hit. He had never had to train before to take out the delinquents that were around him.

    However, seeing Innu train like so, it had unlocked hispetitive side. Due to the two of them being in the same gang, it wasn''t as if the two could have an all out fight. So the only way they couldpete was through hard work and training.

    It was hard at first, there were aches and pains that Austin had never felt before, but soon he was catching up to Innu. The thing was, Innu was seeing this as well. Innu had always believed if the two were to fight that it would be a close call between the two of them.

    Now that Austin was training, it worried Innu but it only caused him to up his training even more.

    However, training wasn''t the only thing the two of thempeted in. Kai had often sent the two of them on tasks. Shortly after the Howlers had taken over Slough, there were a few troubles here and there down the streets that were owned by the Howlers.

    Some of them involved gang members, others just involved rowdy students, and it was their job to protect these ces in the first ce.

    ¡°You know I can deal with it myself,¡± Innu said as they walked down the street at night toward one of the locations.

    ¡°I can as well. I¡¯m just doing what Kai ordered.¡± Austin replied.

    When they arrived at the bakery that was being harassed, there were ten adults holding mainly bats but a few other weapons as well. Seeing this, Innu gulped for a second. He was good at fighting one on one but not in a scene like this.

    ¡°Hey, it''s those freaks in masks, I guess it''s true what they say about the Howlers!¡± A man at the front saidughing.

    Austin was confident as he walked up to the group, and while the leader of these attackers was busyughing, he had thrown out a punch as hard as he could. The leader ced his bat in front of his face trying to protect it, but it soon split apart and a fist collided right into the man''s face causing his teeth to fall out.

    Another person that was close by went to attack, swinging a bat towards Austin¡¯s side, but before it could hit, Innu had jumped up through the air with his knee forward, hitting the attacker right in the face and causing him to drop the bat onto the ground.<sub> </sub>

    The other eight were stunned as their two strongest had been knocked out just like that. Regardless, the two weren''t going to let the attackers get away with it as they continued to beat and fight against them all, soon defeating the attackers.

    This wasn''t a one time urrence at the beginning, but the two of them fought and fought, continued to train and were getting stronger each day.

    One day though, outside of their regr Howlers work, Austin had gotten a call. It was from his school friends. He stayed in touch with some of them due to theming to the pool club at times, and Kai also said to keep up the rtionship he had with them.

    These delinquents could possibly be the future of the Howlers after all.

    ¡°Austin¡­ East Boys are giving us trouble without you here, we need your help man!¡± The phone call shouted.

    Austin thought about it for a while, it wasn''t the first time he had gotten a call from his old school asking him to fight off other schools, which was why at that moment he had made a decision.

    ¡°Gather everyone and tell them we''re going to be taking care of the whole of Slough. They will learn that the Howlers own all of the delinquents in the school area, and to not kick up a fuss.¡± Austin replied.

    He had been training long enough, fighting long enough, and now Austin sat out to do what he had always dreamed of doing when he was in school. That day, every school had a visit, not from the masked individual, but from Austin himself, and he had done what he had set out to do.

    In an alleyway, Austin had just finished dealing with thest of the schools in Slough. His hands bloody, his knuckles sore, and bruises over his face and body.

    ¡°This was the dream that I used to have¡­ and now I am here.¡± Austin thought. ¡°King of the high schools of Slough. Well this suck¡¯s balls. That was too easy. I guess I''m done with this child''s stuff. I need something a lot more interesting.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Now Austin was here, in front of Innu, in front of the Howlers¡­ and ready to make a name for himself.

    ***

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 Chapter 468 Fight For The Prize (Part 2)

    ¡°All bets are now in, and the fight will now start!¡± Kai shouted.

    Immediately, Innu was seen as the first person to charge in as he ran across the hard ground.

    ¡®I know Austin is strong, big, and it''s like going up against a solid wall. So I need to use all the momentum I can get.¡¯

    When Innu was close enough, he decided to use a move that never failed him when taking on a big opponent. Jumping up in the air, with his knee forward, Innu leapt up to an incredible height, as his knee was right where Austin¡¯s face would be.

    Quickly, Austin had covered his face, his arms were already close to his head so it was easy for him to make a guard. The knee banged right into his forearms, causing them to start throbbing but it was nothing that Austin couldn''t take.

    After receiving the hit, Austin went to throw out a punch of his own. It looked heavy and strong. Spinning, Innu managed to avoid the hit, and get closer to Austin at the same time. When spinning Innu swung his elbow out and hit Austin right in the face.

    A loud crack sound was heard by everyone and the crowd couldn''t help but wince as they heard the noise and imagined how much the attack had to have hurt.

    ¡°I think people might have underestimated Innu too much just by looking at the size difference.¡± Kaimented. ¡°These are the core members of the Howlers, and no one is weak on our team!¡±

    After saying those words and what looked like Austin falling to the ground, he ced out his leg and shifted all of his weight on his thigh, not allowing him to fall down. From the awkward position, Austin started to throw a punch towards Innu.

    ¡°I knew you wouldn''t go down just from that!¡± Innu shouted, after all he had seen Austin get hit with a baseball bat to the head and still stand. That''s why Innu was throwing out a kick toward Austin even though he was already falling down.

    However, the kick had been grabbed with Austin¡¯s left hand and a punch had been thrown, right towards Innu¡¯s side. Letting go of the leg, Innu¡¯s body was lifted up in the air, and everyone could see his eyes bulging out, and spit shot out from his mouth.

    Eventually Innunded on the ground, and had his hands holding onto his side. Everyone was stunned.

    ¡°Is¡­ he okay, that punch, I could hear it, I think he might have broken the other guy''s ribs!¡± One of the onlookers said.

    To them, it seemed like the fight was certainly over. Innu was still on the ground, trying to gather air into his lungs as he was winded by the blow as well.

    ¡°Innu I thought you were different from the rest.¡± Austin stated. ¡°Is that why you want the prize so bad, because you realize how weak you are?¡±

    Hearing these words, the veins on Innu¡¯s neck started to bulge. All of the hard training, the faces of those that needed him appeared in his head. Without using his hands, Innu got up using just his legs and knees alone standing up.

    ¡°There¡¯s a big difference between me and you Austin.¡± Innu said, as he got his breath but could feel the pain in his side. He was certain that something had broken. ¡°I have a real reason to fight, so I will always get up!¡±

    Innu charged in again, toward Austin, and just like before it looked like Austin was ready to block whatever wasing his way, but instead of jumping or leaping up, when Innu got close, he used all the strength in his legs to deliver a powerful and devastating kick.<sub> </sub>

    The leg was lifted off the ground, and mmed right into Austin''s thigh.

    Immediately, Austin felt the impact.

    ¡®It feels like someone grabbed a sledge hammer and mmed it into my leg!¡±

    It wasn''t just one kick though, before Austin could do anything, the second Innu¡¯s foot had reached back into position, he lifted it again and performed another kick straight after.

    From two kicks on the thigh, Austin could feel that it was numb, he wanted to move away, but his legs were already shaking.

    ¡®These are incredibly strong kicks, and If I hadn''t trained then I would have fallen down by now, but it''s because of you that I trained, I trained not just my upper body but my legs as well!¡¯

    Innu could tell that Austin was on hisst legs, if he just kicked him a couple more times, then Austin would fall and Innu could finish him off with a knee straight to his chin, rattling his head and ending the fight.

    Once again, his leg went down and Innu threw it out towards the same thigh, no one could see but it had already started to swell. It was a strong blow thatnded, and everyone could now visibly see Austin''s legs shaking.

    Regardless, this time, Austin had grabbed onto the leg, he then pulled Innu forward, and grabbed him by his shoulder with his other arm. Innu attempted to hit Austin in the face to break free, but Austin was taking the hits as he lifted Innu¡¯s body into the air, and then mmed his body down right onto the concrete ground.

    The second Austin had finished his move, he fell to one knee, his leg could no longer support his body, but at the same time, Innu couldn''t get up off the ground.

    ¡°It looks like we have our Winner, let''s take them both to the hospital as soon as possible, and after that¡­ we can give you your prize. Congrattions, Austin.¡± Kai smiled.

    *****

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 Chapter 469 The Last Problem

    Opening his eyes, Innu found himself staring at a dark ceiling. He could feel the spongy seating underneath his body and slowly lifted himself up. Looking around he recognised this to be the back seats of the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    The ce was quiet, and devoid of customers now, though he could see Miss Degrace and White were busy cleaning the bar area. As for the others, Innu at least didn¡¯t see them. Moving his body slightly he winced as he could feel the pain from his injuries.

    ¡®My body and my sides are killing me. Just what the hell has that big oaf been eating to have such power?¡¯

    Looking down, Innu saw some bandages, but overall nothing too serious. Still, his current condition made him aware of one important fact.

    ¡®The fight¡­ I lost. Damn it, I lost, which means that damned meat head got the Altered solution.¡¯ With his head held down, Innu kept reying the fight, pondering whether there was anything he could have done differently.

    <o>,m In hindsight, it was the first hit he had received from Austin that had knocked him off his flow. If he had been more patient after giving out arge strike, then proceeded to attack the other teenager''s thigh, perhaps he could would have won.</o>

    Even when kicking the thigh of Austin, he shouldn¡¯t have rushed it that much, though he had mostly done so because of the pain. Innu had been in enough fights to have recognised that his ribs and breathing would slow him down if the fight were to drag on.

    ¡®I can¡¯t just make up excuses for myself. At the end of the day, he won and I lost. If it had been a real fight against a rival gang, I would be dead right now. If that happened, then who would look after Kevin and Suzan?¡¯

    Being in a gang was a dangerous business. s, it came with corresponding high rewards, meaning he couldn''t just quit.

    ¡°Looks like the doctor was right about you only needing a couple hours. You''re not too bad after all.¡± Kai smiled, havinge from downstairs along with the others.

    ¡°Doctor?¡± Innu questioned.

    ¡°Yeah, we had a doctore out and check on you. Why, who did you think bandaged you? Fortunately, in his medical opinion, you should be in top condition in a couple days. Perk of being a big gang is having an oncall doctor for these types of situations now. Hospitals are busy ces and we don¡¯t exactly want to endanger others due to our identity.¡±

    Innu understood but he was a bit distracted because he could see that Austin had something in his hand, the syringe.

    ¡°I wanted to wait for you.¡± Austin exined. ¡°Knowing you, you would have made a fuss about missing out on such a moment.¡±

    Thement annoyed Innu, making him tense up his whole body, which unfortunately just caused him more pain. Closing his eyes, he was surprised by what he saw the moment he opened them.

    ¡°These are¡­ but these are yours.¡±

    ¡°And now they¡¯re yours.¡± Kai stated, as he held out the two red axes that had originally belonged to his father. ¡°I had always nned for them to be a constion prize for the loser.

    ¡°These axes were what gave Damion his power, and now they will do the same for you as well. Don¡¯t feel bad about taking them either. Everytime I see those things, I¡¯m tempted to throw them away because they remind me of him. The only reason I don¡¯t is because it would be a huge waste.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll learn how to utilise them properly, it will boost your powers immensely. Given your fighting style, it might even be a good fit.¡±

    Innu didn''t know what to say, but he could tell that the blonde teenager was serious so he grabbed onto both of the axes. For a second, he had a strange feeling of being energised. The pain on his body even lessened a bit, and he felt more powerful.<sub> </sub>

    ¡®All this from just holding some weapons? Just what are they made of?¡¯ Innu wondered. The feeling did quickly fade though, but he had a glimpse of what they could do. Now he was starting to understand how Damion had been able to face Altereds as a normal human.

    ¡°The shop is closed up, so now that we¡¯re all conscious, let¡¯s see what this solution brings to the table for our group.¡± Kai said.

    The solution was handed over to Marie. There were no instructions but from what Kai had gathered online, it was pretty self-exnatory, one jab to the shoulder would do it.

    ¡°Alright, three¡­ two¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a countdown, just jab it in!¡± Austin rushed her, closing his eyes as he looked away. Apparently, the big teenager was afraid of nothing¡­ but needles?

    Marie didn¡¯t take it to heart and just did as she was told. Once the needle was inside, she started to push the solution in. The teenage girl did it as quickly as she could, making made sure all of the liquid was used up before pulling it out again.

    The next second. Austin fell to his knees, as he could feel a burning and itching sensation all over his body.

    ¡°No one told me this sh*it was going to hurt!¡± Austin wanted to w at his skin as it felt like ants were inside his body, crawling and changing everything inside.

    Kai didn''t say anything while looking at Austin because he was sure he would be able to endure. He doubted the pain could be any worse than what he had gone through back in the cell, or before Gary had left.

    Quite frankly there were other things on his mind. When he had gone back to the office, the vice-leader had checked the letters that theirwyer had left behind. It had been one rejection after the other. No matter what approach the Howlers had taken, be it direct, indirectly through a proxy, or even in the appearance of an investment, the answer had stayed the same.

    With the way the mayor was acting, it was going to be hard for the Howlers to expand. Who would want to work together with a gang who was unable to get their own yard in order?

    ¡®How would the Underdogs have dealt with this situation? As far as I¡¯m aware, Ben Clove had avoided getting in the way of Damion and his ns, yet now that our influence has undoubtedly overtaken theirs, he somehow has the confidence to take us on? Is it because we haven¡¯t retaliated?¡¯

    Now looking at Austin recovering, standing up there was a smile on Kai¡¯s face.

    ¡®Well, if he doesn¡¯t want the carrot, perhaps we¡¯ll have to pay him a visit and convince him that he won¡¯t like the stick¡­ let''s see how you deal with a full frontal attack.''

    ****

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 Chapter 470 One Less Problem

    After Austin and Innu¡¯s match concerning the ownership of the Altered solution, Kai told everyone to prepare themselves for something big to ur. His choice of words had been pretty vague, yet the fact that Olivia would apany them made his fellow gang members suspect that there would be a fight soon.

    As to who their enemy was going to be, nobody questioned it. They all trusted in the blonde teenager¡¯s judgement, so each one spent the next days training. Marie continued her daily training with the variety of weapons, while Innu had started to incorporate his two new axes into his fighting style.

    Austin was undoubtedly the one who had it the hardest though. After all, bing an Altered didn¡¯t reallye with an instruction. In a way, it was simr to what the two Beta Werewolves had gone through, yet in his case, the big teenager had yet to find out just what kind of Altered he was.

    One night, Kai stood on the roof of a restaurant. It was around three floors high, and the wind was blowing his hair, as the backdrop of a crescent moon was behind him.

    ¡®A few more days and we should be ready to take them on. Austin is getting the hang of his powers, and he got rtively lucky with the mystery solution. Once we take care of our local problem, we can look into taking over the other Tier-3 towns in the vicinity.

    ¡®I know I shouldn''t rush it, but Austin¡¯s power just has me shaking with excitement. Still, I need to keep in mind that gang wars are a different ballpark than a straight-up fight. Gang wars require funds, and after ourst purchase, we¡¯recking in that area.

    ¡®We need to build up our finances and power to be able to protect our increased influence. Taking over an area doesn¡¯t mean a thing, if we¡¯re unable to protect it.¡¯

    While the others had been busy training, the Werewolf had been preparing their next step by snooping around. He had also asked Olivia and her people toplete a certain task for him. To pass on what they heard about other gangs. There was one group that was of significant size, and that was the mayor.

    Gary¡¯s tant disrespect during the meeting of the mid-sized gangs had already made the Howlers into a public enemy. However, since the Howlers had established themselves as the most powerful faction by taking out the Underdogs, the others had kept to their territories. Of course, they all understood that this peace had an expiration date, so it hadn¡¯t taken Ben Clove a lot of convincing to get them all to agree to form into onerge alliance to stay relevant.

    On the surface, it looked like they were all equal, but in reality, the ones calling the shots were the Rising Dragons. They had been working for the mayor before the change in the status quo, so he naturally trusted them the most. There wasn¡¯t much the other gangs could do about it, except to curse their situation.

    ¡®If possible, it would be for the best if I can get them to fight amongst themselves by having one or more gangs defect to our side. Since Gary left Olivia alive and her gang is thriving, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to convince them. As for how much we can trust them¡­ well, I¡¯ll cross that bridge once we get to it, but first I need to find out what has made the mayor so confident.¡¯ Kai thought to himself as he continued to track after this night¡¯s prey.

    Outside the chinese takeaway, there were gang members who were already lightly intoxicated and in the midst of discussing a seemingly important event.

    ¡®It''s a good thing that Gary..mad an adjustment to the pack rules. Because I¡¯m going to need it.¡¯

    Jumping off from the third floor, the Werewolf¡¯s body shifted into a much smaller form. Rather than growing in size, his bones became morepact, and fur began covering his entire body.

    When hended, his body was no longer that of a human¡¯s, but that of a grey coloured wolf¡¯s.

    This was one of the advantages and differences in Kai¡¯s Werewolf type. His Unique ss wasn¡¯t called the Grey Werewolf Shapeshifter for nothing.

    Like an obsessed man, he had spent every free moment to learn how to use those newly granted powers to the point he felt that he had graspedplete control over his transformations.

    This form was far more suited to reconnaissance, especially since he looked not too different from a normal dog. His senses were even sharper in his animalistic form, allowing him to listen in from a distance without making the gang members suspicious.

    Even if someone were to see him, who could turn around and people would think he was a simple dog, and nine times out of ten, even if they saw his face it looked like most didn¡¯t know what a wolf looked like and they would just assume that he was a husky or some type of dog they hadn¡¯t seen before. It was rare for humans to interact with wolves in the first ce, at least in the town of slough.

    ¡°Did youe here?¡± One of them asked. ¡°Rizer asked us all to get ready to move, and to keep track of the Howlers.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The other replied with a hup. ¡°I¡¯m guessing this has something to do with that meeting that the boss said they had, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, from what I hear, the alliance has been asked toe back together again. Based on the actions and the word from the other gangs, it looks like the Mayor is wanting to make her move.¡±

    ¡°Move, against the Howlers¡­ but they took out the Underdogs, they have an Altered as well. There¡¯s no way we can take them on.¡±

    The man flicked his cigarette into the middle of the road and let out a huge puff.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Word is, the Mayor managed to get his hands on a pretty strong Altered solution himself, and it''s enough for the boss to believe we have a chance of getting rid of them. If we get rid of the Howlers, then we own a pretty big pie of Slough. Our alliance will be the one who has all the say, and with the mayor we can rise up. Nothing is stopping us now.¡±

    The men continued to chat for a while, but it was useless information, what Kai needed was a date and time. He continued following them, taking his time¡­ until the perfect opportunity presented itself.

    Going down the alleyway, one of the men seemed quite drunk, he was wobbly on his feet and decided to take a leak. As he was letting out relief of his fresh air, he noticed something to his right.

    ¡°Oh¡­ F*ck, that¡¯s a huge wild dog, I need to hurry up and finish this.¡± The man said as he shook his body to let out thest few droplets, but as he looked down with his pants partly down, a hand grabbed the back of his head and mmed him into the wall.

    Blood dripped from his nose and forehead as his vision blurred. His hair was pulled back, but he could see what looked like a blonde teenager.

    ¡°You scream, you die. You call for the others, you die. You speak before I tell you to, you die.¡± Kai whispered. The man was about to say something but before he could Kai grabbed his head and mmed it against the wall again.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t give you permission yet. Just nod if you understand.¡±

    The man was incredibly shaken, but out of fear he nodded.

    ¡°Good, I¡¯m going to need some answers from you.¡±

    The man''s lips turned out to be incredibly close, it seemed like these men weren''t too loyal to their gang, at least not for such simple information as where a meeting would take ce.

    ¡°Please¡­will you let me go?¡± The man whimpered.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but no one can know that I know about this. I can''t trust someone as loose as you.¡± Kai said as his whole head started to transform and he bit down on the man¡¯s neck.

    Knowing that while Gary was away that the gang would have to use violence, and possibly go as far as killing someone. Gary had changed the pack rules. Olvia was trust worthy enough by now, at least to the point where he trusted Kai looking over her. The one thing Gary didn¡¯t want was for them to suffer because of his rules.

    The gang member died a few momentster. Back in his wolf form, Kai let out a few barks before he started to dig in. The others, hearing themotion, followed the noise, where they found him with blood all over its mouth.

    ¡°That f*king street dog killed Umar!¡± One of the men shouted as he discovered the corpse. ¡°Kill the damn dog!¡±

    Now that they had seen the scene of the crime, and believed it was done by an animal, Kai turned tail and ran away, too fast for the intoxicated gang members to even attempt to catch up.

    ¡®A big meeting, huh? Now should we strike them all at once, or do so before they have a chance to gather?¡¯

    *****

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    We haveunched our first Kickstarter which allows ess to a physical volume book with all Shrine series first chapters. Which includes a physical version of the first chapter of My Werewolf System.

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 Chapter 471 Tier 4

    ¡®Those f*cking Howlers and their f*cking Altered have ruined my f*cking ns!!! Just why the f*ck did they have toe here of all ces?!¡¯ Ben internally cursed the appearance of the gang for the umpteenth time as he stared at the pile of documents on his desk with hateful eyes. The paperwork was stacking up to his chin, because he had recently instructed his staff to bring everything that needed his approval directly to him.

    It wasn¡¯t a coincidence that had led Ben Clove to Slough. The politician had done his fair share of research before he hade to the decision to campaign in this particr Tier-3 town, and unlike what he had imed during the election period, his true reasons were far less utilitarian.

    The thing that had made Slough stand out among the dozens of other Tier-3 towns he could have chosen, had been the particrly delicate bnce between its underworld. The signs had been there that the two big gangs that controlled most of the town would sh in the foreseeable future, and he had intended to be there to reap the benefits when it happened.

    Of course, he would have been unable to do it on his own, but, fortunately, he wasn¡¯t the only one was interested in biding his time. The five small-time gangs had long since held gatherings to decide on amon course of action to not offend the big gangs, keenly aware that their continued existence was tied to staying off the radar.

    At one of those meetings, Ben Clove had introduced himself to the gang leaders and using his charisma and glib tongue he had managed to win them over. In time, they had helped him win the mayorship, some directly, others indirectly, and all of them had waited for the inevitable falling out between Damion and Brandon¡­

    Unfortunately, the oue had turned out drastically different from anything they could have foreseen, leading them to a situation far worse than before. Instead of enjoying full control over Slough, the mayor was currently doing all he could to hinder the Howlers¡¯ growth.

    ¡®I can¡¯t allow them to expand their influence any further. ording to D, the other gang leaders are starting toin more and more openly about this alliance. If I don¡¯t do anything soon, some of them might consider deserting.¡¯ Ben Clove thought as he picked up the telephone by his side and started to dial a few numbers to set up a group call to inform the alliance about the location for their next meeting. It was a ce he would never go to if circumstances hadn¡¯t demanded it.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Tier-4 towns had a nasty reputation of being cesspools of filth, housing factories that caused mass pollution. The people who lived there had fallen so low, leaving them with nothing else to lose. Nevertheless, those well-off considered them a ¡®necessary evil'', producing many things the Tier-2 and Tier-1 cities required to run.

    Admittedly, aside from the worker areas, the living districts weren¡¯t as bad to look at. The same couldn¡¯t be said about the people, though. The poption could roughly be divided into those who tried to live by doing the only honest work they could get, and those who wanted to get rich or die trying, with thetter not being a rare urrence.

    After all, there was something dangerous about those that lived in a Tier-4 town, painfully aware that they were practically the drags of society. Given how crazy and hectic the constant fighting and power struggles tended to be, the ones in charge rarely got to enjoy that privilege for long.

    The top floor of this town¡¯s highest building was a fancy restaurant with red and gold theme. In the centre there was arge round table set up, surrounded by a group of outsiders who had secretly travelled here.

    ¡°Gentlemen, let me thank you all for meeting me here. I understand that it must be out of yourfort zone, but I assure you this should be the only time.¡± The mayor said as he raised a ss of champagne to the present gang leaders.

    With him in the room was Tony from the Block gang. The gang leader was sitting at the table while two of his gang members stood behind him. Opposite him were the three Red Blood Triangle brothers, the oldest brother was the one sitting, while his two younger brothers acted as guards.

    To the right of the mayor was D, leader of the Raising Dragon, while to the left of him was ¡®Little Dragon¡¯, a gang headed by D¡¯s little brother who had recently taken over leadership of the Hook gang before rebranding.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Let¡¯s cut the bull and get to the chase.¡± Tony yelled, as he mmed his ss onto the table, causing it to smash. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here a second longer than I have to! Heck, the fact that we have to hide from them is already saying everything that needs to be said about the current situation, don¡¯t you think so, Mr Mayor?!

    ¡°More and more of my men are either leaving me to work for the Howlers, or are at least thinking about doing that soon. I have no idea what their leader is thinking, but his jacka*s way of doing angel-like business is making all of us lose money. I¡¯m only afraid that if things continue the way they are, we¡¯ll go out of business before they do.¡±

    All of those around the room agreed as they nodded their heads in unison.

    ¡°Well, Mr Block, today''s topic just so happened to be strictly about the Howlers and our next course of action to get rid of them once and for all.¡± Ben replied with a smile, not caring the least about the gang leader¡¯s tantrum.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside the restaurant establishment, the currently strongest gang had been paid a handsomemission by the mayor to ensure that nobody would disturb that meeting. Aware that theycked the manpower to offend their guests, their gang leader had happily agreed to lend out his men to show off his muscle.

    ¡°Hey, check the list. I¡¯m pretty sure, we¡¯ve already let in all the VIPs today.¡± A gang member who stood in front of the door as a sort of bouncer asked his buddy who had the list.

    ¡°Yup, everyone is ounted for. Well, you heard the boss, let¡¯s give those masked freaks a beating.¡± The other answered, happy that this evening was about to get fun.

    ¡°Looks, like they sent over the weingmittee. Let¡¯s crash this little event of theirs, and move on.¡± A teenager in a fox-like ck and gold mask said to the ones next to him.

    *****

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    We haveunched our first Kickstarter which allows ess to a physical volume book with all Shrine series first chapters. Which includes a physical version of the first chapter of My Werewolf System.

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 Chapter 472 New Altered

    The confidence in the mayor¡¯s voice as he revealed each and every way he had rejected the Howlers¡¯ many attempts to expand was invigorating for the gang leaders to hear. Nevertheless, when Ben told the gang leaders that for the next step he needed their help in stopping the Howlers¡¯ revenue streams by doing things that he, as a public figure, was unable to do, the hesitation from their side was palpable.

    ¡°You do understand that doing that is the same as crippling Slough as a whole, don¡¯t you?¡± Tony from the Lock Gang pointed out the issue they all had with the mayor¡¯s proposal.

    ¡°Mr Lock, weren¡¯t you the one who stated that the Howlers would win without having to do anything if things continue as they are? I admit that forcing most business to pause their operation is a drastic step, but it¡¯s necessary, though I assure you that it¡¯s only for a limited period of time.

    ¡°I have it on good authority that the Howlers have liquidated arge amount of their buildings recently, which is a sure sign that they intended to purchase something big. In other words, their reserve is about to take a real hit soon.

    ¡°What do you think happens when their businesses, which appear to be their only reliable source of revenue, stops all of a sudden?! Without money, they will be unable to pay their people¡­ what will happen then? There will be arge-scale revolt!¡±

    There was arge smirk on Ben¡¯s face as he reaches this point of his monologue. Seeing this, the leaders of each gang all subconsciously came to one shared realisation: the mayor might be an even bigger crook than any of them, because he truly cared only about one thing, and that was himself and his own well-being.

    The fact that his n would further decrease the quality of life of his constituents seemed to be merely an afterthought. A minor factor in aplicated calction. The most sinister part of it was that he would be handing those businesses over to the gang members on a silver tter, and once things returned to normal, he intended to take credit for solving a problem he himself had instigated.

    ¡°That n sounds great, but isn¡¯t there a huge problem?¡± The little brother from the Blood Triangles asked with a small frown. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t ount for the fact that they might not have spent that liquidated money, what do we do when the Howlers decide to take action?

    They might have ignored us before, but if we go after their source of revenue so brazenly, how is this any different from an open war deration? They¡¯re bound toe after us and if we had the power to stand against them, we wouldn¡¯t be meeting here in the first ce.¡±

    Ben started tough out loud. ¡°Do you really think I would have suggested my n if I didn¡¯t ount for that fact? Besides, if they werepletely sure about taking us out, they would have done so already. That¡¯s just another reason to go after them, before things chan-¡±

    A few grunts interrupted the speech, which made all those present look at the only door on the floor. The only ones on the outside were the Tier-4 gang leader¡¯s so-called best men, which the mayor had been forced to hire when choosing this venue as they came with the package.

    Just when Ben was about to make an off-handed remark about how difficult it was to find good personal before continuing their meeting, they could hear the men outside raise their voices.

    ¡°Who the hell are you guys? You''re not allowed to be up he-¡±

    The sentence was cut short, and the next moment the double doors were swung wide open by an iing human projectile that crashed into the wall.

    ¡°Sorry for the disturbance, but one of you must have forgotten to put our name on the VIP list.¡± A man with a ck and gold fox mask exined with a wide grin as he stepped over a downed gang member and entered the room.

    He was followed by four individuals who were also d in ck and gold clothing, with different masks on their faces to cover their identity. Ever since that day, the ck and gold uniform had be a symbol for their gang, and it was alreadymon knowledge that those with masks belonged to the inner circle of the Howlers.

    ¡°Who the hell told them about this meeting?!¡± The leader of the Blood Triangle shouted as he looked around, suspecting that one of the other gangs must have betrayed them, yet the confusion on the face of the other alliance members was genuine.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Do you have a problem with us being here? Would you have rather continued cursing us behind our backs?¡± Kai asked calmly as his gaze slowly fell on each one of them, sending shivers down the backs of those grown men.

    Ben looked over at the man that had been sent flying a few moments ago. Without a doubt, he was one of the supposed guards. When the mayor looked behind the Howlers he could also see many others in a simr or worse condition, yet none of the five neers had so much as a scratch on them.

    Still, he also noticed that they were short one very prominent member.

    ¡°Tsk, just how lowly do you guys think of us that you just sent the B team?¡± Ben asked after regaining hisposure. ¡°Your leader, the guy that defeated Kirk isn''t even with you. None of you match his body shape or are wearing the same mask as him!¡±

    When he pointed that out, the others let out a sigh of relief. As impressive the feat of sending someone flying was, the person they all feared the most was the Wolf-like Altered as he had managed to take out the AFC¡¯s Rookie Champion.

    ¡°You really think I don''t recognise you, Olivia?¡± Tony questioned after regaining his confidence. Given their shared history, it was easy enough for him to recognise her proportions. ¡°How low can you sink? They kicked your ar*e, yet you follow them like a loyal dog?!¡±

    He mmed his hand into a fist, and punched the chair that he was sitting on breaking it in a single hit. His knuckles were bleeding, but with a smile he licked away the blood.

    ¡°Had you run into my Pincers headquarters and defeated all my guys, I might have considered tolerating your presence long enough for a single date. Besides, where did you get the audacity to question me working for them, when all of you rats gathered together to stand a chance against us, huh?!¡± Olivia retorted. The Lady Boss swung out her whip at a lightning fast speed and it wrapped around Tony''s shoulders. He was lifted into the air with Olivia''s strength and then mmed into the ground at full force, breaking part of the wooden flooring.

    Ben began to grind his teeth as he could see that his side was losing momentum.

    ¡°You guys have annoyed me for long enough!¡± The mayor shouted as his body began to transform. His new status as an Altered was supposed to be their side¡¯s trump card, and without Gary, now was the best chance for him to use his advantage to deal a critical strike to the other side.

    ¡°No wonder he grew the balls to mess with us directly. Kai thought inwardly.

    ¡°Alright, big guy, it''s your time to shine.¡± The vice-leader ordered Austin who happily walked forward to meet the Altered.

    ****

    Sorry for theck of chapters these days. If you haven''t noticed it''s because of the new webtoon Just a Goblin just being released on Webtoon, as well as the Werewolf Webtoon. Just need to get to the point where things are flowing and I''m hands off so I can write my books again.

    Because without the books, the webtoons would have never existed in the first ce. Wish I could clone myself.

 Chapter 473 New Altered (Part 2)

    Olivia was locked up with Tony Lock and the two goons by his side. While it didn''t look like they would give her any trouble. it would still take her a few moments before she could help out the others. With their way out blocked by the rest of the Howlers, the ambushed gang members decided to act.

    The Rising Dragon that had worked under the mayor the longest took the charge. D leapt up onto the table and began to run across it making his way to the masked intruders. However, before he or his men could reach them, they were met with an iing bolt.

    The gang leader managed to avoid the first one, but one of his men wasn¡¯t that lucky. The projectile pierced an inch deep into his body, not enough to kill him but more than enough to make him scream in pain, unable to move his muscles.

    ''It looks like all that training wasn¡¯t for nought.'' Marie thought to herself. A proud, satisfied grin formed on her face as she held the crossbow in her hand.

    ¡°You b*tch!¡± The injured gang member yelled out. However, he was unaware that his pain was just the prelude to the actual effect. Were he able to look down, he would see the bolt had started to light up, sparks forming as a high voltage current was released inside his body.

    The effect was far more potent than any ordinary stun gun, as it was a weapon designed to be used against Altered. The man fell right on the table, as Marie continued to ce bolts inside her new weapon.

    D had only stopped briefly to gauge the lethality of the weapon. Although it sounded painful, he was at least relieved that it appeared to be designed to restraint rather than kill the target. Nevertheless, he had no intention of allowing himself to be hit. He leapt through the air, aiming straight for Marie with his fist wound up.

    ¡®We need to get rid of her first!¡¯ The gang leader thought, as he looked at the teenage girl¡¯s thin frame. ¡®One punch should be enough to take her out and use her as a hostage!¡¯

    ¡°Do I look like decoration to you?!¡± A mocking voice resounded as Kai used a seemingly casual gait to move into the perfect position to intercept D. He moved his head to the side, thus avoiding the iing, punch and countered with a right hook of his own. The punch was hard enough to make the gang leader¡¯s body flippletely, shattering a few of his front teeth as he fell to the floor.

    ¡°Next time, think about how you¡¯ll dodge when in the air, dumbass.¡±

    The Werewolf was slightly surprised that a single hit was all it took to knock out D. All the present leaders had a certain reputation of being relentless when fighting, yet the Howlers were dealing with them with ease. They had all changed since beating the Underdogs, and they were growing stronger by the day.

    ¡°Just keep firing away at these idiots, I¡¯ll make sure no one gets close to you.¡± Kai ordered Marie, as he turned towards the remaining Rising Dragon members. He crossed his arms, taunting them toe and try to get past him.

    At the same time, Innu locked eyes with the Blood Triangles, trying to differentiate the bald triples. Each of them was using the same type of weapon: a long staff with a metal end on the bottom. They had slowly surrounded Innu, locking him into a triangle like formation, but the teenager wasn¡¯t unarmed.

    Innu charged forward, swinging his right axe towards the one in front of him. Unfortunately, he was unable to hit his target as the brother to his left hit the top of his axe, causing the weapon and his whole body to shift to the side. Presented with the opportunity, the other two brothers hit the teenager right on the thigh.

    It was a hard whack, and was more like a p which made Innu grunt with pain. He wanted to scream but he wouldn''t let himself. Innu then went to kick another one of the wannabe-monks, but the pole was lifted in ce blocking the attack, and once again two staffs came his way hitting him on the back leg as well as the side.

    ¡®Arghh! This sh*t hurts. Their stupid poles give them the range advantage, so my fists are useless in this situation. There¡¯s no way I can go against three experts like this after training with these axes for this short period of time!¡¯<sub> </sub>

    While in the middle of his thoughts and his leg back on the ground, all three of them struck from above this time aiming for Innu¡¯s head. He could see their movement and their feet this time, so he lifted both axes above to block the ining attack.

    They had pushed him down slightly, as they all hit the top of the axes, but with his strong thigh and leg muscles, Innu pushed up, making them all back away as they marveled at their opponent¡¯s surprising strength.

    Innu charged forward and jumped in the air this time, swinging both of his axes down towards one of them. The youngest of the Blood Triangle brothers was startled by this, yet he managed to lift his pole in time. The axes mmed into the weapon, bending it, and for a second the man could see a crack forming in the wood.

    ¡®The ded part didn''t even hit the pole, how much power does this guy have?¡¯

    Arge pole had whacked Innu in the rides again, sending him off to the side slightly, he gritted his teeth and bared the pain again.

    ¡®Come on, you useless things! Kai said you were supposed to have some sort of power, but right now it just feels like you¡¯re dragging me down!¡¯ Innu screamed in his head. ¡®If you''re not going to do anything, then I might as well throw you away.¡¯

    Getting up again, the furious Innu didn¡¯t even realise that the surge in power didn¡¯t stem solely from his anger. With a fire lit in his belly, the fighter went after of the bald headed men again, thrwoing out a kick as hard as he could.

    Just like before, the man held his staff on its side to block the attack, but as Innu¡¯s shin hit the staff, a loud bang was heard from the pole breaking in half. It was the strongest kick that Innu had ever produced. As soon as his legsnded, Innu leapt from the floor pushing off his two strong legs and the poles from the other two had missed him.

    ¡®HOLY SH*T!!! I¡¯ve never felt like this before! Is it really because of the weapons? How is that possible?!¡¯

    As Innu reached the bald headed man, he kicked the shin with the side of his foot, and a fracture was felt at that moment, his leg bone hadn''tpletely broken but it was in severe pain. When he knelt over, Innu shoved the axe up from underneath and hit his chin with the top of his axe shattering the bottom of his jaw and causing him to fall to the floor.

    ¡°That''s one brother down, two more to go,¡± Innu announced with a challenging gaze.

    ¡®Perhaps, I didn''t get the short end of the stick after losing that fight.¡¯

    Turning his head slightly, though, he abandoned that thought as he watched both Austin and the mayor had transformed.

    *****

    Please remember to check out the MWS webtoon on BilliBilli Comics. We already have 12 Chapters out. If you show enough support that MWS anime might not remain a pipe dream!!!

 Chapter 474 Full Transformation

    One after the other, the gang members were starting to get more and more self-conscious about their chances against the Howlers. Olivia was making use of this opportunity to settle her score with Tony and his Lock Gang. In the past, the Lady Boss had had no other choice but to endure his ceaseless attempts to woo her, but now she was giving him a taste of his own medicine, teaching him an entirely different meaning of ¡®no, doesn¡¯t always mean no¡¯.

    Suffice to say, her whip wasn¡¯t idle, and while his two goons had long since passed out, the gang leader didn¡¯t get to enjoy the same privilege. Olivia made sure to hit him hard enough to hurt, but not enough for him to lose consciousness. Were it not for everyone being busy with their own fights, the loud screams would be very distracting.

    As for the person responsible for this entire meeting, Ben Clove, he had removed hisrge suit to reveal hisrge belly. One look at it was enough to convince anyone that the man was definitely no fighter. He didn¡¯t look like a gang member either, but he didn¡¯t need to. Seeing him transform, made it clear why the chubby man had remained so stoic in the face of the ambush.

    The shirt around the mayor¡¯s forearms started to rip open as muscles started to bulge, revealing sharp long fins on both of his arms sticking through. His face started to elongate and a hole was ripped through his trousers, from a tail that emerged. The colour of his skin was changing to a greyish blue, while his teeth sharpened and his eyes nted a bit.

    Depending on their Altered form, it was hard to tell what beast they came from since they were based on animals that didn¡¯t exist today. However, in Ben¡¯s case, it was safe to wager that he was based on a sea creature, more specifically one in some kind of rtion to today¡¯s sharks, predators of the sea. ording to research most beasts were predatory anyway, at least back in the day.

    Still, there was a clear distinction between beast and animals, the two of them were different. Their DNA, make up, their blood, and a number of other things that scientists had discovered. Nevertheless,paring both types of fossils, they did find some rtion. Through evolution the animals of the past used to take on some forms of the beast around them.

    In nature, the predator animals tended to take on the forms of the most dangerous of beasts. Since the mayor knew there was some rtion to a shark, he was certain that NIRV had given him a powerful Altered, even if it paled inparison to Xin¡¯s.

    ¡®It¡¯s shameful to envy my children for their Altered, but that NIRV employee promised me that this was one of the best out there, and for a Tier-3 town like ours no one will get in my way.¡¯ Ben thought as he smiled, baring his razor sharp teeth at Austin.

    The mayor had grownrger and his form looked dangerous, however at the same time, Austin had a trick up his sleeve as well, his own transformed state. However, Ben might have been a pencil pusher for most of his life, yet he understood that it would be idiotic to allow his opponent to finish his transformation by doing nothing. He spun his body and went out leading with its tail. This particr Shark Altered had huge muscles in its tail that could knock over a ton of blocks.

    ¡°You guys are done for!¡± Ben shouted as he put all his strength into his tail. When he had tested it against cars, it had been enough to fully destroy the mettalic vehicles, so no human would be able to survive that impact.

    When the tail whacked into Austin a loud bang was heard that echoed throughout the whole room. It sounded like a gun had gone off right there and then. Everyone stopped their own fights for a moment and turned their heads, just in time to see Austin had caught the tail, though not without being shifted back by a foot.

    ¡°Now I''m a bit confused?¡± Innu let out as he started at Austin¡¯s Altered form. This was the first time he saw his fellow gang member in this form, since the big guy had been practising on using his Altered self on his own, or with Kai.

    The reason for the confusion was because right now, Austin''s whole body had grownrger and more muscr, the uniform stretched to amodate his new form but was tight fitting showing hisrge shoulders and muscles.<sub> </sub>

    As for his legs, there were now two hooves on the ground, then there was his head. It had grownrger, and he had two horns sticking out from the top. Finally there were hisrge nostrils as well.

    ¡°I thought, we didn''t get the Bull Altered type serum, and how has he learnt to partially transform so fast?¡± Innu asked out loud. Kai just smirked at that. As much as he would like to take the credit for it, he had just helped out in that regard.

    He too had been surprised when Austin had asked him for some help. For a while the two of them had been trying to figure out what he was. When looking at reference videos and photos Austin had been unable to find anything that matched his own form.

    At the same time what was confusing was the transformations. Usually, there was partial transformation, allowing one to just change one part of their body. This was the easiest and at the same time hardest to control state wise. For many it was the first step into figuring out how to use their Altered forms, and at the same time, an expert could control minor details such as just their fingernails to transform.

    Then there was what was known as the Hybrid form, this was usually the preferred form that users fought in, and it was what every new altered focused on obtaining. How long it would take for one to obtain such a form was different for everyone, and then there was a full transformation, turningpletely into a beast.

    This was advantageous depending on the situation, and at times some found it easier to go straight to this form rather than the hybrid form when practising. What the two had realised was that this was Austin''s real form.

    ¡°You think you''re strong? Just because you''re an Altered?¡± Austin gripped tightly onto the tail. ¡°You''re nothingpared to me!!¡±

    Exerting both arms, he lifted Ben into the air, and then swung his tail and his entire body over his shoulder mming his head first into the ground, breaking the floor bored underneath partilley. Letting out a big breath, it looked as if steam wasing out.

    ¡®We might have lost out on the Bull Altered, but this mystery solution was worth every penny. I have no idea where they got it from but a mythical beast is far stronger. With this Minotaur Altered, we seriously hit the jackpot!¡¯ Kai inwardlyughed to himself.

    *******

    New chapter of MWS webtoon out tomorrow! Check it out on the Bili Bili Comics app! Let¡¯s get that Anime!

 Chapter 475 The Perfect Form

    Without learning how to enter into a hybrid state, Austin¡¯s particr beast DNA had allowed therge teenager to enter his fully transformed state. Every once in a while, he would let out a big huff of hot air, and steam woulde out of his nostrils. One such moment was exactly when he looked down on Ben Clove on the floor.

    ¡®It¡¯s as if this Altered form was specially made for me.¡¯ Austin thought once more. As a Minotaur Altered his strength had gone up an entire level, and the best part about it was that there had been no need to change anything about his particr fighting style. ¡®If Innu or Marie would have used it, I¡¯d have certainly regretted it for life, but now I can help the gang defeat anyone who will stand in our way.¡¯

    As he slowly pushed himself off the floor, the Shark Altered tasted the blood in his mouth. Spitting it out, a few shark teeth also fell on the floor. The attack, which could have killed a normal human, merely dazed him. When he looked up at his opponent, he fletched his teeth, showing off that he had a full set again.

    ¡°You think you can beat me in one hit?¡± Ben asked. ¡°You think I could have reached my current position if I was the type of person to give up at the first hurdle?! You were merely lucky, punk!¡±

    Ben started to charge in, his movements were rtively slow as he pumped his foot side to side. When looking at him, Austin couldn''t help but think he would have been far better off if this fight would be underwater. Right now, he was faster than a regr human but against his Minotaur form¡­

    When the mayor got close, once again he spun his body along with his tail. This time, Austin didn''t try to grab it, instead moved backwards just enough so the tail skimmed past him. Right then, using his strong hooves, he burst and charged in.

    Seeing this, Ben had covered his face cing both hands there ready to brace himself. However, the punch hade from below as it hit him in the stomach and the sheer power lifted him in the air.

    Trying to breathe and let in a breath of air, Ben dropped his hands from his face that was guarding him and the next second an overhand fist was nted in his face, sending him away and crashing into the wall.

    Despite being an Altered, Ben felt the pain, as Austin¡¯s hits were heavy and hard. By the time he had recovered, the Minotaur Altered was already standing in front of him. Desperate, the Shark Altered threw out a punch, but it was simply pped away to the side, and a kick was felt in his stomach again causing him to lean on the floor.

    After that, on the back of Ben¡¯s head, a heavy hand was felt. ¡°Since we¡¯re both Altered, let me tell you that this form is truly wasted on you.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Ben raised his voice, but let out a cough the next moment. He was still finding it hard to breathe, his energy spent, it was hard for him to even lift a finger at this moment. His fingers and toes were even starting to revert slowly, giving him the appearance of a half-monster.

    ¡°Did NIRV lie to me? I gave them everything because they promised me that this Altered form was special.¡± Ben mumbled to himself as he watched the chance happen.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you being lied to. Anyone with half a brain would agree that this form is better than your average Altered.¡± Austin replied. ¡°See, the problem is not the Altered itself, but the one behind it.

    ¡°The second we started to fight, I knew I had nothing to worry about. It¡¯s obvious that you¡¯re the type of person who has been doing things behind the scenes for his entire life. Always pulling the strings of others, but never directly involved. I¡¯m sure that you thought bing an Altered was enough for you to beat us.

    ¡°However, as someone who was never in a fight in his entire life, it¡¯s impossible for you to bring out this Altered form¡¯s potential. I bet even the lowest gang member with a somewhat decent Altered form could take you on. Thinking about how many people would kill to be an Altered, it¡¯s truly a waste that you¡¯re one.¡±

    Still holding onto the back of Ben¡¯s head, he then pushed it to the floor, breaking the floorboards before bouncing back.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Hey, why did you kill him?!¡± Marie shouted. ¡°We were meant to keep him alive.¡±

    Austin¡¯s form started to revert back, and he soon crouched down next to the mayor.

    ¡°Rx, he¡¯s still breathing. He might be a waste as an Altered, but he still has the durability of one.¡± The teenager replied before turning to Kai. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m going to need a new mask. The inside of this one gets all wet after I transform.¡±

    It was practically soaked due to the steam that would involuntarily escape his nostrils, the small holes only allowed for a little bit of air toe out.

    ¡°Sure, we can look into that, but first we have other things we need to do.¡± Kai stated.

    In the room, everyone had dealt with the enemy at hand, all of them had been beaten to the degree of either passing out, or unable to get up off the ground. They were rolling in pain or just drained of all the will to fight again.

    That''s when Kai knelt down to the mayor. He lifted his head and unceremoniously gave him a big p across his face. The shock made him regain consciousness.

    ¡°Look, your little n failed.¡± Kai began. ¡°Everyone was dealt with before you could even make your first move. You must have thought that with the Underdogs gone, you could take over, but you were dead wrong. Although we may be nice to themon folk, we don¡¯t show the same courtesy to other gangs, especially not ones who n to stand in our way.

    Looking through his swollen eyes, the small body frame of the fox masked leader of the Howlers indicated that he wasn¡¯t even fully an adult yet. With the others, it was clear that they were a bunch of teenagers, not counting Olivia, so he was wondering just where had it all gone wrong.

    ¡°Speaking of, I¡¯ve been trying to y nice with you, but what did you do? You used your position as the mayor to spit on all my proposals time and time again. Do you have any idea how annoying and time consuming it was to fill out all of that stupid paper work, only for you to reject when you most likely didn¡¯t even take a look at it?

    ¡°Well, that ends today. After today, Slough will change, but it won¡¯t be in the way you wanted. The only thing we still have to decide is what your role in all of that will be.¡± Kai lifted his mask up slightly, allowing the mayor to see the giant maw and long tongue that was licking its lips.

    ****

    MWS webtoon is at chapter 13! Also, for those who pay for Priv I wanted to suggest a cheaper alternative for MWS. My p.a.t.r.e.o.n is $10 per month for thetest chapter of MWS, the same point as on webnovel. There is also no need to keep paying for chapters, just one monthly fee and you get ess to all the chapters.

    It helps with months like this, where the chapter updates have been unstable. The P.a.t.r.e.o.n is just for MWS though no MVS. search JKSmanga.

 Chapter 476 A New Slough

    ¡°Holy crap, is that who I think it is?!¡± Tyler let out in disbelief. ¡°Are you sure we should be doing this? I really don''t think I can help you with this.¡±

    ¡°Get a grip, Tyler!¡± Kai shouted at their panicked driver. ¡°Nobody¡¯s asking you to get involved in this any more than you already are. All I need you to do is to drive us to that location. Unless, of course, you¡¯d prefer me to drive and get home on your own.¡±

    The thought of having to stay in the Tier-4 town was enough to quiet the university student. While his whole body was still shaking, he at least kept his mouth shut and drove their car on the highway, asionally looking back at their unwilling passenger.

    Were it not for the specks of blood on the Howlers¡¯ clothes, the casual tone between the passengers would make it appear as if they were nothing more than a group of teenagers enjoying a casual drive. Of course, if one were to listen in to what they were talking about, just like a certain driver had been doing, the only reaction would be bafflement.

    Because right now, he was sure that therge man with the bag over his head was none other than Slough¡¯s meyer. Never in Tyler''s wildest dreams did he imagine he would meet the politician in this type of setting, yet his encounter with Gary and the subsequent job opportunity had changed his lifepletely.

    ¡°Come on Tyler, this is the big life. You¡¯ve always wanted to be more than just a small fry, this is your chance.¡± He continued to mutter to himself as he followed the GPS to the destination Kai had programmed in. The closer they came, the more obvious it became where he was driving them all, the more his face continued to drop.

    ¡®Is it toote to get down?¡¯ Tyler thought to himself. He was finding it hard to fully open his eyes, but not because they had gotten out and it was particrly a windy day, but because he was on the rooftop of a multistory apartment building.

    On top of that, the mayor was still with them. Rubbing his eyes, Tyler didn¡¯t want to believe but it was clear what was happening. The mayor no longer had the bag over his head, yet he was still tied up and Kai currently held on to him, tiling him over the edge.

    ¡°In case your situation wasn¡¯t clear enough, let me spell it out for you. Right now, the only thing standing between you and certain doom is me holding on to this rope. If you try to attack me, if you try to y wise and turn into an Altered, or if you give me any attitude, I will let go. You might be an Altered, but this height is at least more than enough to cripple you for life.¡±

    Turning his head, Ben stared into the abyss, before he turned around, facing the blonde teenager who even without the fox mask looked like a devil. It was hard for the mayor to understand just how it was possible for him fall so low that even a brat like this could threaten him, especially after he had be an Altered.

    s, with his life hanging on a proverbial threat, all he could do was nod along, and ept what wasing his way.

    ¡°Great. First of all, let me tell you Mr Mayor, that I¡¯m greatly disappointed in you. You¡¯re just like all the other politicians, the kind who promised the world during the election period, but once you¡¯ve won and got the power in your hands, what did you do besides sitting on your arse?¡± Kai began. Judging by Ben¡¯s expression, he had some choice words on his mind, but given the situation he could only swallow them down.

    ¡°Tell me, are you happy with the current state of Slough? Don¡¯t you find it ironic that you chose a Tier-4 town to hide in, so you can hold a meeting because of safety concerns? In my eyes, your actions were no different from themon man who had to keep his head low when heading home from work, trying their best to not stick out and be prey for one of the gangs. Do you still think yourself above those people?¡±

    ¡°No matter my current situation, I was voted in by the people.¡± Ben coldly replied back.

    Hearing these words, Kai slightly let go of the rope, making the adult be more inclined to fall. A drip could be seening from his trousers, as he was silently saying his prayers with closed eyes.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°You don¡¯t even believe that pile of bull yourself, do you? The people don¡¯t really get a vote, you just used scum tactics to get where you are.¡± The teenager stated. ¡°Do you even remember what you promised the people on the day you took office? Not only did you promise them that you would do everything in your power to make it safe for them to go out, but also that you wanted to make Slough great again, to turn it into a Tier-2 city.

    ¡°Now you might have forgotten about this fact, but I haven¡¯t, I want it to change, and you should as well.¡± Kai exined as he pulled the rope up, making sure the mayor could listen to him without having to be afraid.

    ? ¡°There are two scenarios how things can go from this point on. You can either leave with us or go first by taking the direct route. It should be in your best interest to partner up with us. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you for anything outrageous in the first ce. The first thing you will do once you¡¯re home is to ept the proposal that the Howlers have made. You should know exactly the ones I¡¯m talking about.

    ¡°They will not only benefit the Howlers, but also Slough as a whole. If you¡¯re honest, you should be able to admit that you¡¯re merely rejecting them out of spite. In the future, if you ever reject one of your suggestions without a valid reason, I¡¯ll send over Austin, though next time he will tear your whole house down, do you understand?¡±

    The mayor had no choice, he didn''t want to shake his head, but he had to, so that¡¯s what he did. Never in his life had he been treated in such a way, but what worth did his pride hold when weighed against his life?

    ¡°Good. Now for the second condition, you¡¯re not to go up for re-election. What¡¯s more, you¡¯ll have to rmend a sessor, and we will be the pens choosing who your sessor will be.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Ben shouted immediately. ¡°I can¡¯t do that! This was just my first term! If I don¡¯t even be a candidate, it will affect my whole career and my entire family! You need to-¡±

    Kai, not impressed by the shouting, let go of the rope until the mayor¡¯s body was hanging over the edge.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re just threatening me! You¡¯re not a killer, you¡¯re just a teenager!¡± The mayor shouted. ¡°You¡¯re asking too much from me. You have no idea what I had to do to get this far. I can¡¯t give it all up now. It''s worth more than my life, it IS my whole life.¡±

    For a second, the eyes of the two met, and Ben could see something different about the blue pair of eyes. There was something inhuman about them.

    ¡°Fine¡­ don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t give you a choice.¡± Kai said as hepletely let go of the rope.

    *****

    My Werewolf System Webtoon is out! You can read now in the BILI BILI COMICS APP. Weekly Webtoon chapters.

    Check it out, help it grow, and there might be news of an official My Vampire System webtoon someday.

 Chapter 477 Changing Slough

    Tyler was unable to close his mouth, but he didn¡¯t even care that saliva was dropping on his clothes. He had been prepared that things might go a little crazy, especially after what had happened on their way back from the auction, but this was on another level. If someone had told him hours ago he would be a front row witness to the brutal murder of his own mayor, he would have called that person.

    ¡®That''s¡­ there is no stopping this now. We have long passed the point where the Howlers can be considered just a small group, and I was simply a driver. I ignored everything that was happening because I trusted that Gary was a good guy, but this Kai¡­ I can¡¯t deal with this.¡¯

    Dragging his face with his fingers, gathering his resolve to tell Kai that he wishes to quit after this, he noticed that one more person was no longer on the rooftop. Looking around, he noticed that the other members had looks of confusion on their faces as well. They were just as surprised by Kai¡¯s actions, not quite understanding why he would use such an approach with the mayor, but before they had a chance to question him in any way, the Howlers¡¯ vice leader had already jumped off the roof.

    The blonde teenager had purposely let a few seconds pass, before following behind their still tied up hostage.

    ¡°Catch my shoes!¡± Kai shouted flinging them off and transforming into his Werewolf self, he used his powerful legs to, kick off the building to give himself an extra boost, allowing him to catch up to the mayor who was praying to all deities to save him from certain death.

    Kai used his transformed hand to stab through the b of the mayor¡¯s back, making sure to get a strong grip. Ben screamed in pain, unable to understand what was happening in his panic. Blood was dripping from his back, and he experienced a tingling feeling throughout his entire body.

    Kai''s head was still mostly normal. Not so much wolf, with his nose only elongated slightly, and his teeth a little sharper than it usually would be, allowing him to speak a little easier.

    ¡°Do you still think that your ideals are worth dying for? Or are you ready to talk to this ¡®dumb teenager¡¯? I promise you that this thest chance that you will get. I suggest that you open your eyes now.¡± Kai said with a slight muffled mouth. He sounded like there was still food left to swallow, but it was just him struggling to speak clearly with therger teeth.

    The mayor opened his eyes, only to see that he was halfway down the building and there was still quite a fall to go. His trousers werepletely soaked, with a warm liquid that hade from himself.

    ¡°Do you agree to the conditions that were set out before or do you wish for us to change something. I¡¯m ready to listen, but you better make it quick.¡± Kai prompted him once more.

    ¡°Whatever you want, you crazy kid, just save me first!!!¡± The mayor shouted. ¡°Someone like you should be locked up!. I can¡¯t believe someone like you is running this gang.¡±

    Kai smiled, as he grabbed on to the rope still attached to the mayor, before he used the person as a foothold to jump towards the building. He used his ws to dig into the stone. Slowly, he carried the cursing mayor up, and eventually tossed him over, as his body reverted.

    Seeing that the mayor was still alive, Tyler let out a sigh of relief, reconsidering his n to quit. Still, he at least nned to have a talk with Kai once they were back home.

    ¡°Thank you forplying with our conditions, but I just need to correct you on one thing. I''m not the leader, just remember that.¡± Kai stated, as they all left the rooftop. He untied the mayor, but he had no ns of giving him a lift. As an Altered, he didn¡¯t worry about not making it back, and it some cardio couldn¡¯t hurt the adult.

    ¡°Olivia, get someone to repair the walls of this building. We are the ones that need to start looking after this city, we can¡¯t just leave a mess behind.¡± Kai ordered.<sub> </sub>

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The next day, Kai sat down in the basement of the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, searching for the copies of his previous proposals. He was eager to see if the mayor would be stupid enough to deny them again. It was easy enough to really understand the applications they had previously sorted but Kai also knew that they needed to do something bigger than this to get Slough up and running and to give it a new life.

    ¡®I should probably contact that electronicpany. Now if we were to get in contact with them, they showed interestst time.¡¯

    In the end, there was no harm in trying, so Kai went ahead and decided to make contact. It didn¡¯t take long to get a reply back, and a meeting was set, but there was one more condition that had been set springily.

    ¡®I see¡­so they want to meet the actual leader of the Howlers, I guess it''s time to contact Gary, and see if he¡¯s up for it.¡¯ Kai thought.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Currently Ben was in his office, he had healed up from the fight that had urred but he wasn¡¯t so sure if he would ever recover from that horrifying experience. His hands were constantly clenching, his back was hurting every time he thought about what had happened.

    ¡°Soon everyone will be taking about the Howlers, when it was meant to be my time to shine! I worked so hard for so long, and now this!¡± Ben shouted at the top of his voice. He was huffing and panting and his face was a studio red as he said these words.

    Eventually, he had calmed down somewhat as he sat in his seat, and looked at the envelopes that were in front of him, the proposals by the Howlers.

    ¡®Fine, I will y along with your games for now, and do as you request, but don¡¯t think I will take it lying down. There is still something that I can do. You gang members think you are a strong, the new rising group.

    ¡®Well, let¡¯s see how strong you are when you have to face an experienced Altered!¡¯ The mayor inwardly smiled as he began writing an email addressed to his son.

    ******

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 Chapter 478 Black And Gold Returns

    ¡°We¡¯re now arriving at¡­ Slough train station.¡±

    As the doors slid open, a crowd of people got off the train, surrounded by other people who were eagerly waiting for the chance to get on. Among the arrivals was a teenage boy wearing a regr in white top, jeans and a pair of trainers. Were it not for his green hair colour, he would hardly stick out from the mass.

    Looking to his left and his right, he recognised the dirty chewgum ck filled spots on the floor tiles. The slight smell of the waste power nt that was nearby, and the regr people that would argue at the train station and shout at each other.

    Spending time at the academy had almost made him forget about how filthy his home town actually was, but this was clearly the same old Slough that he had left not too long ago.

    ¡®I guess some things don¡¯t change, but at least there aren¡¯t any gang members I have to hide from. It feels nice being able to walk around these streets without a hoodie over my head.¡¯

    Leaving the train station, Gary took a right turn down a street and continued walking down the familiar streets until he was back in the neighbourhood he had grown up in. Although Gary had stated he wasing back, he actually hadn¡¯t told them when he would arrive as he wanted it to be a nice surprise for the others. Only when he was about to head further in, did a sudden realisation strike him.

    ¡®Shoot, Ipletely forgot about getting Amy that apartment in Cipen. I went in thepletely wrong direction.¡¯ pping his head, Gary turned around, wondering whether to walk or call in Tyler to give him a lift.

    During his absence the other core member had other things to do, so the general n was to meet up at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club in the evening to get him up to date before the big meeting tomorrow. Until then, Gary nned to spend time with Amy.

    He still regretted how he had decided to move her out and in with White without asking for her opinion, even though one might argue that the new apartment was an upgrade in every sense of the word. Still, he knew that he had messed up, and as her big brother he wanted to spend some quality time with her, especially since he wasn¡¯t sure when he would have to return again.

    Turning around, Gary walked past a bakery. The smell of freshly baked goods wafted into his air. He wasn¡¯t really into sweets these days, but the smell reminded him of a few pleasant memories from his childhood. Coming back with one of those blueberry muffins should certainly earn him some brownie points with his sister.

    Although, this wasn¡¯t the same bakery that was there back then. In the past that bakery had long closed down due to pressure from the Underdogs, so it was nice to see that there was another one in its ce.

    From outside, Gary saw three young adult men wearing ck and gold clothing through the ss window.

    ¡®That''s the¡­that¡¯s definitely the Howlers uniform, but I don¡¯t recognise those guys. They don¡¯t look like any of Austin¡¯s friends, and I also can¡¯t remember seeing them among the Pincers? Must be new members, I guess.¡¯

    It was nice to see the Howlers gang had expanded in his absence. He hadn¡¯t really paid attention to it, but now that he thought about it, he was sure to have passed quite a few people who had been wearing their colours. They were all over the ce, just like the Underdogs were in the past.

    ¡°Howe you are asking for arger cut AGAIN? You just raised it the week before!¡± A female voice was heard. ¡°I have been speaking to my friends, and their percentage has stayed the same throughout. Why does only our district¡¯s rate keep increasing?¡±

    Gary¡¯s enhanced hearing was able to pick up her voice even from the outside. He had wanted to go inside, but now he was curious to see what was happening. In the past he might have ignored such a thing, but now this was his gang operating. If something was affecting his old neighbourhood, he needed to know it.

    One of the men started to tut and wave his finger toward the woman in a baker''s outfit. She was in her mid 20s, donning arge chef¡¯s hat and in a white outfit. It was strange because the appearance was quite simr to the baker that Gary used to go to, which would have been impossible due to the amount of time that has passed.

    ¡°What are youining about? If it weren¡¯t for us giving you the cash, would you have been able to renovate this ce? You¡¯re talking as if we haven¡¯t done anything, but who is keeping the streets safe, huh?

    ¡°Thanks to us there are no longer any gang fights, nor any colour gangs loitering around in the streets. You could say, we¡¯re keeping public order, and your business is also profiting from this, right? So don¡¯t you think it¡¯s only fair that we deserve a bonus once in a while?¡±<sub> </sub>

    One of the three men grabbed one of the loaves of bread that was wrapped up in stic and ced it in a basket to the side and opened it up, taking a big bite out of it. Clenching her fist, the baker was holding back her anger, from pping the man.

    ¡°I understand you guys helped us by getting rid of the Underdogs but if you keep hiking up the prices, how are you any different from them?! If things are going to just be the same, then I won¡¯t pay, go ahead and do your worst.¡±

    The woman then folded her arms, standing behind the counter. She was going to take a stand. In the past she witnessed how the others, the members of the public, didn''t take a stand against these gangs, and they were able to do what they wanted. Under the Underdogs she had been forced to use up her reserves. Thanks to the change in leadership, she had been able to save up a bit again, but she was unwilling to give that up again.

    There was also a deeper reason, one that no matter what, she needed to make this bakery a sess.

    Since it was new, there was still ack of loyal customers and a lot of start up costs. Every penny she had, went into this bakery, so the truth was she wasn¡¯t able to pay either way.

    The man in the Howler¡¯s uniform was beyond annoyed, and in doing so, he reached out and mmed his hand on top of the chef¡¯s hat ttening it, then through the hat, he grabbed onto the blonde hair girl''s head, and pulled her forward.

    ¡°You think you''re a smart bitch!¡± The man shouted, right in her face, that parts of his spit went onto hers. ¡°Do you even know who the F*ck we are?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± The woman replied, with a pained look on her face. ¡°Typical that you result in violence, I guess this makes you big huh, because you have nothing down there either.¡±

    The man out of anger went to pull her forward even more, but before he could he felt a hand on the back of his head.

    ¡°What the f*ck are you doing, in my town!¡±

    The two looked at the green haired teenager who had just entered the shop and was holding their friend by the back of his hair.

    The man tried to turn around.

    ¡°How dare you touch a member of the How-¡±

    Pushing the man''s head, Gary mmed it right down into the counter. The man¡¯s nose could be felt breaking, as the rest of his skull was pushed into the wood, breaking it slightly. When Gary let go, the man¡¯s face slid off the counter, and onto the floor.

    ¡°What did you do! Do you know what you just did?¡± The other shocked members said, standing to the side. ¡°Do you know who we are?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and I will make sure you guys are never allowed to say that name again.¡± Gary stated as he grinded his teeth back and forth.

    *****

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 Chapter 479 The Leader Returns (Part 1)

    Naomi was standing behind the counter with her hand covering her mouth. She was in disbelief at what had happened right in front of her. She hadn¡¯t been running the bakery for a long time, but to be honest, these people that would ask for protection money every once in a while were getting to her.

    The woman was aware that having to pay protection money was simply a necessary evil if one wanted to work in any town, but the frequency with which those gang members were harassing her about it, was simply getting out of hand. At times she had wanted to p these members herself, but Naomi knew that it wouldn¡¯t end with that. The Howlers weren¡¯t just any gang in Slough, but the biggest one, so doing any such thing would only make it worse in the end.

    The woman had merely resisted today because she was out of options, never expecting for someone to intervene on her behalf, much less to witness one of the gang members slump over on her floor with blood dripping out from his mouth.

    ¡°You fu*ker!¡± Another gang member shouted at the teenage boy whose back was facing towards her.

    ¡®The boss told us something like this would happen since it''s a new area, and since the gang haven''t quite made their name around everywhere, there would be those that would test us. Regardless he was only able to take Joe down because he caught him by surprise!¡¯ The man thought to himself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mess with the Howlers!¡± The man shouted, as his fist flew towards the teenage boy¡¯s head¡­ only to hit nothing but air. Gary had calmy moved his head to the side, and now grabbed onto the attacker''s forearm. It was a deadly grip that caused the gang member to scream out in pain. He felt that his bones were on the verge of breaking.

    ¡°I just told you that you should keep that name out of your filthy mouth!¡± Gary threw a punch cleany in the man¡¯s face and let go of his forearm at the same time sending him flying back. A loud crash was heard as he bumped into the door of the shop causing the ss to crack but not to break.

    ¡°Din! Are you okay? Wake up, man, wake up!¡± Thest member in the bakery shop came to the other''s aid, but Din had been knocked outpletely. Realising this, the man stood up, his legs shaking slightly.

    ¡°You! You will pay for this!¡± The man threatened as he pulled out his phone and ran back out through the entrance of the shop.

    ¡°That damned coward he left his friends here lying on the ground as well.¡± Gary mumbled to himself, either way it didn¡¯t look like they would be getting up any time soon.

    ¡°Do you¡ª Do you realise what you¡¯ve just done?¡± A female voice asked him from behind.

    Taking a nce around the room, Gary saw that some of the shelves that were holding bread had been knocked off, the counter top was now slightly broken and had a chip mark in it, as well as the broken ss on the front entrance. The ce was now in a mess that was for sure.

    ¡°I''m sorry about all of this.¡± Gary said scratching the back of his head. ¡°I promise you won¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯ll make sure that everything will be fixed up for you in no time.¡±

    Folding her arms, Naomi let out a big sigh. She knew that it wouldn¡¯t be right to be angry at him. After all, he had gotten involved to help her, seemingly unaware of the consequences his own actions had.<sub> </sub>

    ¡®Who is this kid? How can someone say those words so easily? He doesn¡¯t look like he has any idea how much these repairs will cost. Not like a teenager in Slough even has that type of money in the first ce.¡¯

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about the shop.¡± The shop owner rified. ¡°You can forget about that. What I''m concerned about is you. Look you might be some strong student who likes fighting but you just messed with one of the Howlers gang members. You need to get out of here and hide. Those guys aren¡¯t the type who are quick to forgive, and I don¡¯t want you here when theye back.¡±

    Naomi moved from behind the counter, and started to push Gary out of the shop. He was resistant, and pulled an awkward face, as he had certain thoughts in his head.

    ¡®This woman is really nice, I can tell she is concerned for me, but how do I convince her she has nothing to worry about. It¡¯s not like she will believe me if I tell her that I¡¯m the head of the gang that was harassing her.¡¯

    ¡°Will you stop being so stubborn,e on, just get out of the shop quickly before more of them-¡± Naomi''s voice trailed off as she looked at the street in front of them.

    Now, there were around ten men in ck and gold coloured uniforms who wereing towards them. The group of people didn¡¯t exactly look the friendliest, and stood in the centre of them all, was a bald headed man with a wooden sword carried over his shoulder and a scar over his face.

    ¡°That''s him Park, that''s the one that''s causing trouble!¡± The man who belonged to the trio from earlier said as he pointed at Gary.

    Park shook his head, as he tapped the wooden sword on his shoulder.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that there is someone dumb enough to try and cause trouble in this area when everyone knows this is Howlers territory. Unfortunately for you, boy, the Great Park has been assigned to this area, and the boss said we need to do everything we can to protect this ce.¡±

    Taking the sword off his shoulder, Park pointed it right toward Gary.

    ¡°Get him!!!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 480 The Leader Returns (Part 2)

    Chapter 480 The Leader Returns (Part 2)

    Gary couldn¡¯t help but shake his head at the sight in front of him. In the past, if he had been surrounded by ten gang members like this, he would have been shaking in his boots. However, after everything he had been through, fighting off against a group of normal thugs seemed like child¡¯s y. His System seemed to agree with him, not even bothering to issue a Quest.

    ¡®I don¡¯t mind beating them all up, but that wouldn¡¯t exactly reflect well on the Howlers. Is there any way for me to get out of this without a fight? If I tell them that I¡¯m their leader, they won¡¯t believe me. Should I call Kai or Olivia and get them to vouch for me?¡¯ Gary considered his options.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Naomi shouted, as two men threw out their fists at the same time to teach the teenager a lesson.

    Although Gary was still contemting what to do, he calmly grabbed onto the iing fists, and quickly twisted both of their arms, before lifting his leg and kicking one of them in the back. The blow was so strong that it knocked the man off his feet and into his friend sending them both tumbling down to the ground.

    ¡®Kai told me that it¡¯s important to hide my identity, for my sake and that of Amy. The leader of the Howlers should be someone feared but remain a mystery and it¡¯s kinda toote to put on my mask..¡¯

    One of therger members rugby tackled Gary with full force, yet the man was unable to push him for even an inch. Holding up both his hands, the teenager mmed them down on the man¡¯s back, causing the gang member to yell out in pain as he fell down.

    ¡®Damn it, I have to keep in mind that these guys are more fragile than the Altered from the academy. Tese guys won¡¯t be able to recover in a short amount of time. If I don¡¯t hold back my strength, I might identally end up killing or crippling them. That would be bad, especially since they¡¯re technically my gang members.¡¯

    Naomi continued standing at the door, unable to believe her eyes. It had already been impressive enough to see this strangere into her shop and defeat two adult men. Part of her had still thought that the green haired teenager had been lucky to only face some inexperienced members, but now it was clear that he was really extraordinary.

    The cuts on these gang members¡¯ faces and their erged knuckles were proof that this batch of Howlers members were more experienced, but somehow the teenager was dealing with them without much of an effort. Seemingly thinking the same, this time three men charged towards Gary, and hade toward him with a kick and a punch while the third one stayed a bit further back.

    Moving in at a quick speed, Gary came in close to the man before his kick had finished, right up to his chest and pushed him, causing him to fall off bnce. Now he was dealing with the other one, which he kicked at the back of the legs, making him fall on his knees.

    ¡®Arghh, this whole situation is super annoying. You guys aren¡¯t even worth a single point of EXP.¡¯

    While in the middle of his thoughts, Gary was able to hear something cutting through the wind. Lifting his head he quickly made out what it was. He opened his palm, stopping the flying object with it.

    [-1 HP]

    Gary looked at the small knife that was now stuck inside. The wound hardly did anything to him, and if he took out the knife he knew his body would just heal it up. Regardless, Gary¡¯s whole body was shaking with anger.

    The kneeling man who had been kicked from behind saw this as an opportunity, and went to grab Gary¡¯s leg, intending to restrain him so others could finish him off. However, Gary quickly lifted his leg, and stomped it back down. Gary¡¯s footnded on the man''s hand and a few cracks were heard as he crushed it against the concrete ground.

    ¡°I was going easy on you guys because it was clear to me that this was mostly a misunderstanding.¡± Gary stated in a gruff tone that sounded slightly like a growl. ¡°That ends now. I won¡¯t overlook what you bastards just did. It¡¯s one thing for you to attack me, but since when is it okay for the Howlers to drag innocent bystanders into their fights?¡±

    The gang members were unsure what he was talking about, but Naomi figured it out. She was standing in the path of where the knife was thrown. Gary could have easily avoided the knife, yet he had deliberately blocked it, so she wouldn¡¯t get hit.

    ¡®This¡­ this is definitely not the actions of a kid.¡¯ Naomi thought, feeling bad for how she had treated him earlier. ¡®This man saved me, and he still is thinking of me, even at a time like this.¡¯

    Although she had no clue how old Gary was, she was starting to see him in a different light. She had never felt indebted to someone like this before. Pulling the knife out from the palm of his hand, Gary immediately threw it back, piercing into the original thrower¡¯s leg, who yelled out in pain.

    ¡°I was in a good mood today¡­ I was happy that I was going to see Amy again, but you just had to go and ruin it. I thought it was okay to leave everything to Kai, but it seems I¡¯ll need to help him sort out some of the rotten members.¡±

    The energying off Gary was giving Park the creeps. It was like every cell in his body was telling him to run away, but his brain argued that it was just one teenager when there were nearly a dozen of them. If they caved in, it would be a disgrace to the Howlers¡¯ name. Unsure what to do, he pulled out the phone from his pocket.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside his office, Kai was doing his paperwork as normal when his work phone received a sudden phone call. The caller had been saved as ¡®Team Leader #17 (Park)¡¯. The blonde teenager let out a sigh as he epted the call and pressed on the loudspeaker.

    ¡°Sir, I know you told me not to contact you unless there is an emergency but there is big trouble at Bader Street!¡±

    ¡°How many?¡± Kai asked nonchntly as he continued to sift through papers.

    ¡°It¡¯s just one person sir, but if someone doesn''te soon, we¡¯re going to be in big trouble.¡±

    ¡®Bader Street?¡¯ Kai thought. ¡®We¡¯ve invested quite a bit into it since it was Gary¡¯s old apartment. It won¡¯t look good if something happens to it, especially when he should being today.¡¯

    ¡°Just hold out for a little longer. Help will be on the way,¡± Kai replied and hung up, before calling another number.

    ******

    *****

 Chapter 481 A Special Boy

    Arge right hook sent yet another gang member flying through the air, leaving only two gang members in fighting condition. Park, as well as the one who had called over Park¡¯s group, both of them looked quite nervous because it was far toote to run away.

    ¡®Just where did that guye from, and just what gang is he working for?¡¯ Park wondered, aware that he was somehow supposed to buy enough time for reinforcement toe. ¡®Could he be the leader of some colour gang from another town who hase here to take over our territory?¡¯

    Park¡¯s appraisal would have been apliment for most. After all, colour gang leaders were strong fighters, but of course Gary was on apletely different level. The team leader didn¡¯t even consider the possibility that the green haired teenager might have been holding back.

    It was at that moment that the image of men and women in ck and gold masks appeared in Park¡¯s head. Their leaders were naturally the strongest fighters of their gang, with one of them even rumoured to be an Altered. As long as that teenager wasn¡¯t one himself, he would be finished if one of their leaders had been sent over.

    ¡°I have to admit you are skillful.¡± Park chuckled as he looked forward to the scene of Gary being beaten up. He held his wooden sword firmly in his hand. ¡°But I bet you¡¯ve never had to go up against someone who can use a weapon like this.¡±

    Park started to run toward Gary carrying the wooden sword with both hands above his head. The street that they were fighting in had cleared out by itself. The painful screams of the injured gang members had been loud enough to make the people in the area aware that there was a fight going on and nobody wished to get involved.

    The only ones that were watching the fight were the shop owners, and a few customers who had refused to leave the shop, be it because of fear or sheer curiousity. All of them looked at themotion that was happening outside.

    Gary waited for the wooden sword to approach his head, before he calmly stopped it with his previously injured hand. ¡°You have courage, but the right thing to do if an opponent is far stronger than you, is to run away!¡± The teenager lectured as he tensed his muscles and snapped the wooden sword there and there.

    Looking directly into Gary¡¯s eyes when this happened, Park fell on his backside, and started to scoot himself back on the ground. At that moment, the two that had originally been knocked out in the shop hade outside as well, holding parts of their body and face.

    ¡°What¡­is all of this, did that guy do all of this?¡± One of them asked. Seeing the frightened look on Park¡¯s face, and the person standing above him, without a doubt this was all due to one person.

    ¡°Park, look behind you!¡± One of those from the shop shouted.

    Turning his head, he could see that around five other members in ck and gold clothing were running toward them, but not only that, there was one who wore a ck and gold mask.

    Tears almost left Park¡¯s eyes from joy when he saw that his silent prayers had been answered.

    ¡®One of the leader¡¯s of the Howlers has reallye.¡± Turning back toward Gary, there was a confident smile that returned to Park. ¡°You are truly done now. We told you that messing with the Howlers was a bad idea and now you¡¯ll understand!¡±

    Park stood up on his feet quickly and started to move to those running toward them, but they soon stopped as the one in the mask lifted his hand, telling the other members to stop before him.

    ¡°Lieutenant! Thank you for answering our call.¡± Park said, bowing down. ¡°We are sorry we were unable to get rid of the one causing trouble in the area. He is skillful now that you are here, I¡¯m sure that you will be able to deal with him. Please help us!¡±

    Park lifted his head, and could see the one in the mask, with his fist clenched walking over to him. The sadistic smile on the adult man¡¯s face wouldn¡¯t go away as he was looking forward to watching the green haired punk being punished for what he had done.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Haha your life is over!¡± Park gloamed, but as he turned around, he could see a fist approach his face. Ironically, it wasn¡¯t from the green haired teenager, instead it wasing from his very own leader.

    The fistnded strongly, swinging Park¡¯s face to the side and once again he fell to the floor.

    ¡°Lewader!¡± Park excalimed, with his mouth hurt and sore. ¡°What did I do?!¡±

    ¡°You idiot!¡± The masked man shouted at him. ¡°All of you are idiots! And the worst part is that none of you even have the slightest idea about who you just tried to hit right now! All of you, get on your knees and beg him for forgiveness.¡±

    Seeing this, the masked man looked at Gary who kept standing where he was, a smile stered on his face. Due to his smell, he knew exactly who it was behind the mask, and he was happy to watch how he treated the gang members.

    ¡®I''m d they sent you, Innu.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Make sure that none of you so much as look at him without express permission in the future! Now you, exin everything that happened to me right now!¡± Innu continued ordering.

    Naomi who had been watching everything from behind the safety of her damaged door was just as confused as the Howlers members. Nevertheless, they knew better than to argue with Innu, so without understanding the reason they crawled their way towards him, with aches and pains.

    Those watching from their shops were curious at the sight they were seeing, to the point were they started to pull out their phones and were filming the event. Because never in their life would they see a gang act this way, in front of what looked like a teenager.

    ¡°I appreciate the gesture, but I''mte for a meeting with my sister.¡± Gary stated as he patted his friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Please make sure that this woman¡¯s bakery will be up and running as soon as possible. As for this one? '''' Gary pointed to the one that threw the knife.

    ¡°Kick him out of the gang, and do the same with the other three that were in the shop. I¡¯ll be honest I''m not sure if that sword wielding guy really knows what is going on, but I''m sure you can run an investigation into what happened. I will leave these matters to you and we¡¯ll catch upter, okay?¡±

    After saying those words, Innu nodded toward Gary who was running off towards Cipen.

    ¡®He just ordered one of the leaders of the Howlers like that¡­and they all listened to him, even about fixing the shop?¡¯ Namoi scratched her head. ¡®Who was that guy?¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 482 A Special Boy (Part 2)

    There were now many bases of the Howlers gang that were spread around the town. Here the bases would be used to pass on information, work as a base of operations, ie, oues, and more.

    In fact, many of the bases were just ces that, in the past, the old gangs used to use, and the Howlers had taken over. It was impossible for Kai to micromanage everything, which was why these bases were being used.

    Each area would have a captain of a squad of sorts, and they would pass down the information that was revised from the core leader which was in charge of certain districts and so on.

    In this case, Kai, passed the information to Innu, who would then pass on the information to the captain of the squads and in this case the captain of this squad in this particr area was Innu.

    However, each squad captain would also have the number of Kai, which was only to be used in emergency cases and Park had deemed the situation enough of an emergency to contact him.

    This was the system that Kai had set up, to control the whole of Slough, and the Howlers gang as they got bigger and bigger. Kai knew that there would be adjustments that needed to be done here and there, but this was his concept and idea.

    If it worked, then this n would also work when they grew outside of Slough and started to operate in other cities as well. For now, Kai was imagining each district as a separate city.

    There was another reason for doing things this way, and that was to keep the identity of the core members, or the lieutenants of the gang as some of the members referred to them, as a secret.

    The core members of the Howlers gang, whenever meeting other members or in the area, would wear the masks on their faces covering their identity. Of course, there would be those that knew the real appearance of these core members.

    Olivia being a big example, as nearly everyone recognized her with or without a mask, but it would still make finding out their identity harder. In the end, it was up to the core members as to who they decided to reveal their real face to or not.

    Currently, Park and all of the members involved in the bakery incident were in one of the bases. This base in particr was inside one of the sporting shops that was part of their territory.

    In the back of the sporting goods shop there was a stock room which had a cleared out area for them to conduct their meeting in. All of the members, including the injured ones, had been made to go down on their knees.

    This was all at the order of Innu, who stood at the front with his arms folded.

    ¡°I can''t believe you guys. I exined to you all about the importance of this area to the gang.¡± Innu said, shaking his head.

    ¡°An investigation into what has happened is currently ongoing so we will find out what happened. Now, I don''t like to waste my time so I¡¯m going to tell you all now. If we find a reason why what happened today, happened, your punishment will be a harsh one. Or you can tell me now whatever it is you are hiding to make it lighter.¡±

    Although Gary had said to get rid of certain members from the gang, Innu felt like these people were his responsibility, and in order for something like this not to happen again, he needed to find out the truth of the matter.

    For a second, the three at the back nced and looked towards each other, and eventually the one in the centre, who was unhurt, lifted his head.

    ¡°It all started from us.¡± The man admitted. ¡°We were collecting our payments like we usually did and¡­ we asked for a little more. We thought the gang could use the funds. The owner said that she was struggling. Because of that, she refused to pay and¡­ that''s when that kid got involved.¡±

    ¡°You asked for more?¡± Park repeated as he turned his head to look at them. ¡°Didn''t you numbskulls listen to anything I said. We don¡¯t ever ask for more, and those that are struggling you report back to me!¡±

    Park was furious after learning this, because he knew that the lieutenant several times emphasized this point.

    ¡°What is so wrong?¡± one of the beaten up members asked. ¡°Why are you making a big deal about asking for a bit more money? We were the ones that got hurt. I mean, we are a gang right, we are already extorting people, and we''re bringing in money for the gang. What is wrong with that?¡±

    Innu mmed his foot on the concrete ground, which surprisingly made quite the snap, as loud as a p causing everyone to shut up.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid after learning of this, there is nothing I can do. All three of you are to leave the gang immediately. You are never to use the Howlers'' name again, or apply to join the gang in any way or form.¡± Innu was blunt with his words, and since this was an order from Gary in the first ce it would have been something he would have had to have done anyway.<sub> </sub>

    Immediately, the three of them stood up.

    ¡°Wait, you''re really going to listen to that green haired punk, and kick us out of the gang for this! I don''t understand, what the F*ck did we do wrong, other than getting our arse kicked trying to protect the gang''s name!¡±

    ¡°Because those are the leaders'' rules!¡± Innu shouted back. ¡°We made it clear when everyone joined the Howlers that we are different from other typical gangs. Our protection fee is more like a service to the shops, so the other gangs don''t touch them and they feel safe.

    ¡°Yet, your actions undermined that. We are trying to build a ce with the people in thismunity. In truth, if there weren''t other gangs and the police actually were able to do their job properly then there would be no need for us to even do this.

    ? ¡°But our leader has stated that we are the necessary evil that has to exist in this world. That''s why we do what we do.¡±

    Innu then looked toward one more person, who had his entire foot bandaged up.

    ¡°You as well, you are no longer part of the Howlers gang. The leader has stated clearly that there is another rule. The Howlers are to try and not involve the general public.

    ¡°Gangs shall fight with other gangs, those who know what they are getting into, but for the general public who don¡¯t wish to live the same life as ours, we are not to involve them. Only if you feel like your life is on the line are you allowed to act in a certain way, which is why you, throwing that de without thinking, means you are no longer allowed to be in the gang.¡±

    The member stood up, clenching a shaking fist, but didn¡¯t say much else like the others, at least not immediately.

    ¡°That green haired person, he is someone isn¡¯t he?¡± The man asked. ¡°No normal teenager is that skilled at fighting, and is able to just throw a knife at someone like that. On top of that, you followed his orders down to the letter, by getting rid of us.

    ¡°You¡¯ve just done it in a roundabout way so we don¡¯t get suspicious.¡± The man then smiled. ¡°I guess we just messed with someone that we weren¡¯t meant to touch.

    The man then bowed down. ¡°Thank you for the opportunity that you have given me.¡±

    With that said the man started to walk away, until.

    ¡°This is B*llshit! What type of rules is this gang running! We did nothing wrong, screw you and screw your gang!¡± the man shouted as he charged forward and ran toward Innu.

    Park was ready to get up off the ground and stop him but before he could, Innu charged forward and kneed the man right in the stomach, letting go, the man immediately fell to the ground.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t make me kick all of your arses, because you know I can.¡± Innu imed. ¡°The rest of you, get out of here, and remember to follow the rules, I know you were all just following procedure so there¡¯s no need to worry about that.¡±

    The members stood up and started to walk their way out of the room, however, Park had waited until all of them were eventually out and it was just him and Innu.

    ¡°I wanted to ask Sir, about that boy, who was he? Should I be aware of his presence as part of the gang and why was he so¡­ skilled?¡±

    Innu smiled at the question.

    ¡°I can''t really say anything, but I will tell you this. It would be good in the future if you ever did see him to do whatever you can to get on his good side, and to just do whatever he asks.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 483 Brother And Sister

    Eventually, Gary reached Cipen. The district was filled with paved walkways, nice restaurants, and all types of shops selling everything from general appliances, over fancy clothes, to thetest generations of electronic gimmicks. On top of that, there were some of the top hotels and apartments in the area.

    Following the directions on his phone, the teenager finally reached what looked like the outside of a hotel lobby.

    ¡®This ce looks like a castlepared to our old ce. At the start of the year I would have never thought to live in a ce like this, much less to own it. Well, I guess it''s notpletely right to say ¡®we¡¯ are living in a ce like this since, seeing as I haven''t actually been inside yet.¡¯ Gary thought.

    A man opened the door for him, and bowed, weing him inside.

    ¡°Wee¡­Sir.¡± The man greeted Gary once he raised his head. There was some slight hesitation in his voice for some reason. Unsure whether he had the right ce or not, the teenager continued to walk on the pale marble flooring, until he reached the front reception desk. Once again, those behind the counter exchanged looks, before they spoke to the new arrival.

    ¡°Is there anything we can help you with, Sir?¡± The man in the suit asked with the name tag ¡®Stin¡¯.

    ¡°Um yes, I''m actually looking for apartment 2306. It¡¯s supposed to be located in this hotel.¡± Gary stated. Personally, he found it a bit strange that there were apartments in hotel lobbies, but he had been told by Kai that it was actually quitemon withrge buildings.

    ¡°Ah, yes we do have that apartment number here, but are you sure you are at the right ce? There are plenty of other ces that perhaps have the same room number. If you need any help we could direct you.¡± The man offered with a smile.

    Gary looked at his phone,with the texted address from Kai. It said the Biltop Hotel, and judging by the giant sign behind the receptionist, this was without a doubt the Biltop Hotel.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty sue that this is the right hotel. Could you tell me how I can get to that apartment room?¡± Gary asked again, politely.

    ¡°Sir, is there any reason for you to go to the apartment room? Could you share your reason for visiting today? We haven¡¯t been informed about any visits, and our rules state that we do have to contact the owner in question in these kinds of situations, to make sure that we don¡¯t bring someone over by mistake.¡± The man exined.

    Gary was starting to find the whole conversation frustrating, but he felt like this level of security for the apartment rooms was quite nice. If it took this much for someone to see his sister then they were at least doing their job.

    ¡°I mean you can do that, but¡­ that would be a little weird.¡± Gary scratched his cheek. ¡°I¡¯m actually the owner of that apartment. It''s just my first time actuallying here, so I really don¡¯t know the way.¡±

    The man looked stunned as he heard those words, and looked to his colleague once more. In fact there was even a small chuckle.

    ¡°I see now. I hope you have enjoyed your little joke. Now, if you don¡¯t mind, we adults have to work. If you wish to exit the building, the exit is that way.¡± The man gestured.

    Now Gary was the one raising an eyebrow. ¡®Why is everyone treating me so weirdly.¡¯

    ¡°Did I mess up my words? Can you just tell me how to get to apartment 2306?¡± Gary asked again, getting slightly annoyed in his voice.

    ¡°Sir, if you do not leave, we will have to call security.¡±

    ¡°Call them!¡± Gary shouted back. ¡°Maybe they can freaking show me, where room 2306 is!¡±

    Now causing a scene in the hotel reception, there were many that were looking Gary¡¯s way. The security looked like they were ready to move as well, until.

    ¡°Gary!¡± A voice called out.

    Turning around, a pale faint skinned woman could be seen walking up, and there was only one person that Gary knew was like this.

    ¡°White?¡± Gary replied. ¡°It''s a good thing that you are here, maybe you can help me up to the room.¡±

    The man behind the desk looked nervous as White and him crossed eyes at each other.

    ¡®Miss White¡­ she seems to actually know the boy.¡¯ The man realised in shock. His manager had warned them to treat Miss White and Miss Amy with the utmost respect, fulfilling their every wish. Apparently, one of the two was rted to theirtest investor who now owned 10% of their entire hotel.

    ¡°I''m sorry!¡± The receptionist immediately apologised. ¡°We had no clue this boy was a guest of yours. We promise if we see him again we will treat him with the same respect as you! I apologise for my negligence, Sir!¡±<sub> </sub>

    White didn''t really say anything, and instead just waved the man off as she dragged Gary towards the side. She pressed on the button and the elevator doors opened up. It was an express elevator that went directly to the 20th floor.

    As the two of them got on the elevator and the doors closed, White finally let out a sigh. ¡°Have you figured out why they treated you like that? No? It¡¯s because you look like a homeless person who has just gotten off the street.¡± White stated since Gary only gave her a confused look. ¡°Since you wereing over to visit your sister, couldn¡¯t you have at least worn something nice for her?¡±

    Gary then looked down at himself. Admittedly, his current outfit was a far cry from fancy, but calling him a homeless person seemed like a stretch. He was wearing hisfy clothes, a shirt and jeans, though they had been scrunched up, a button had been ripped off and there was even a bit of blood on his shirt.

    All of this was due to the fight that Gary had gotten in a little while ago.

    ¡°At a ce as fancy as this, of course they are going to try and stop you if youe in dressed like that. Although they are undoubtedly snobs I think they had a reason to act like that this time.¡± White stated.

    All Gary could do was pull an awkward smile, next time he would have to dress up a bit , but if he had fought in an expensive suit, it would cause other problems.

    Either way, he could ignore everything that happened, because he was ready to see his sister¡¯s smile.

    The door to the apartment room was opened, and immediately Gary was greeted with a sight he could only imagine in his dreams. There was a ss window that overlooked the entire town from here.

    Top of the end wooden flooring, and a nice sofa set that looked out to a TvV There were a total of four toilets in the apartment room, and a nice kitchen with an ind with all the cooking equipment you could need.

    However, Gary didn¡¯t care about any of that, instead he immediately ran over as he could see a certain someone sitting on the sofa, and gave her a big hug from behind.

    ¡°Hey what are you doing holding me so tightly, White?!¡± Amyined, startled by this sudden attack, only to realise that the forearms were far too muscr to be a girl.

    ¡°I used to look forward to having a room of my own, but honestly I never thought I would miss you so much.¡± Gary said.

    Immediately, Amy recognised who it was and stood up. Tears started to flow from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks uncontrobly.

    ¡°You¡­you big green idiot! Why didn''t you tell me you wereing!¡± Amyined as she jumped at Gary, who held her closely in his arms.

    ¡°Family.¡± White mumbled as she watched the reunion with a smile. ¡°It''s¡­a good thing to have.¡±

    ¡°When did you get back? What are you doing here? How long will you stay? How was the academy?¡± Amy had a number of questions for her brother, since the two of them had a lot to talk about together, a lot to catch up about in person.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll stay here long enough to answer your question, but I want to ask you some of my own, like how are you doing in the new school? Did you manage to make some friends already? There is a lot for us to talk about, but why don''t we talk while we head to the hospital. I nned to see Mum here together, and see how she''s doing.¡±

    When this one question was asked, the smile had surprisingly dropped from Amy¡¯s face. Gary didn''t quite understand why, he thought it would be good to have the family back together.,

    Sure seeing their mother was always upsetting but it had been a while now since she had been hospitalised, and at least her condition has not worsened. They had visited her together a few times before Gary had left.

    ¡°Sorry, I didn''t mean to act all weird,¡± Amy said. ¡°I think catching up and heading to her is a great idea. It''s just¡­ I think there is something else I need to show you, before we head to see Mum.¡±

    Amy quickly rushed off into her room, and a few momentster brought with her a letter.

    ¡°Shortly after I moved here, it showed up on the doorstep. I haven¡¯t looked inside yet, but the sender is¡­ Dad.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 484 Letter From A Father

    The smell of chemicals, disinfectant, cleaning supplies and more was entering Gary''s nose, and on top of that, there was one that his Werewolf self hade to know quite well, blood.

    Despite this being a nicer hospitalpared to the others, they all had the same smell in the end, and ever since that day, the day when he and Amy were standing outside waiting for the result of what had happened to his mother, Gary hateding to the hospital no matter what reason it was for.

    ¡°She looks so peaceful since you moved her here,¡± Amy said as she rubbed her mother''s hand on the bed.

    Surprisingly, or not at this rate, Gary had his mother in a private room. In one of the best hospitals in Slough. Despite all of that, seeing his mother lying there, hooked up to a bunch of needles, bags and machinery all around her, none of it made him feel good, and he knew Amy¡¯s words were just to make him feel better.

    Sitting down in a chair by the bed, Gary reached out to hold her hand along with Amy. He looked at her, just breathing in and out.

    ¡°Looks like you''re still sleeping, mum, I guess you''re tired after looking after us two for so long, but you deserve all the rest you need. You always looked after us.¡± Gary said, his voice choking up. He had to look down on the ground for a few seconds, and could feel Amy rubbing his back.

    ¡°I''m sorry mum, after all this time, I still haven¡¯t found the one who did this to you. But I haven''t stopped looking, it''s just on pause for now, but I promise I will make them pay, but let''s talk about some good things.

    ¡°The family is doing well, Amy is able to focus on her grades, and she¡¯s enjoying the new apartment I got her. I wish you could see it, I think you would love it as well. It has this big kitchen that I asked for. Honestly when I was thinking about it, I was thinking of you and how you loved to cook for us. I really¡­I really miss your meals. I really do.¡± Gary started to sob, his shoulders moving up and down as he couldn''t take it any more.

    Leader of thergest gang in Slough, part of the AFA, and an Altered on top of all that, well kind of an Altered. There were many that would dream to be in the position Gary was in right now, do anything to get what he had, but for him, he just wanted his mother back, for her to wake up at this point and time.

    After a few minutes Gary had recovered and was just enjoying the time with his sister by his mother. They were sharing funny stories as if their mother was able to hear them, speaking out loud andughing away, until a serious point came up.

    There were no more smiles from Gary as he pulled out the letter that Amy had given him, it was still sealed, and the contents of the letter were unknown.

    ¡°I know he abandoned our family, he never came to visit while we were struggling, but you told us never to resent him despite all of this. You told us to trust him if he ever dide back.

    ¡°I still, honestly really can''t and both me and Amy feel the same way. Which is why I thought it would be best if we open this letter here together as a family.¡±

    Gary''s heart was beating quite a bit. He didn¡¯t even know what his father looked like and couldn¡¯t remember his voice or even his smell. Which was why Gary found it hard to say he had a connection with such a person.

    Yet, for some reason, he was nervous about the contents of the letter. The only reason why Amy knew it was from their father was due to what was on the letter. Stating to My family.

    On top of that, from some old letters that their father used to write to them, there was a time when their mother had shown them that as well, and the handwriting had matched up well together.

    ¡°To the entirety of my family, It''s been a long time since Ist wrote to you all, and for that, I would like to apologise.

    ¡°I wonder how you are all doing, I wonder how much Amy and Gary have grown up. I hope that they aren;t having any problems, and I wish that the life you and them are currently living is a far more peaceful one than mine.

    ¡°There is a reason why I haven''t written to you regrly, and I wish to exin that in person not on words on a piece of paper where they can mean nothing. I always believed that actions speak truer than words, and in your eyes I know that my actions have been little.

    ¡°As for writing to you know, the burden of not seeing you all has gotten a little bit too much these days. Which is why, I n to end my journey as quickly as I can, so I can see you all soon.¡±

    Gary read the letter out loud and it ended there, not really saying much of anything, apart from thest part.

    ¡°Does this mean, dad will being back to Slough?¡± Amy asked.<sub> </sub>

    Gary scrunched up the piece of paper there and then.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he wasn¡¯t here when mum was struggling, and he probably doesn¡¯t even know about mum being in the hospital. He hasn¡¯t been in our lives so far, so I wouldn¡¯t count on him being in our lives anytime soon.¡±

    Amy didn''t know what to say about that, but as Gary left the room, he threw the letter in the trash can. She couldn¡¯t help herself and picked it back out. Her feelings weren''t as strong as Gary¡¯s towards her father because in the end, her mother was the one that chose him, and there had to be a reason for that.

    After visiting the hospital, Gary took Amy back to the apartment and was ready to say his goodbyes to her and White as he went to the Wolf¡¯s pool club, but before he left, White had called Gary just outside the apartment in the hallway.

    ¡°Gary, it was a good thing to do, surprising your little sister like that. She was really happy that you wereing.¡± White said. ¡°But next time, why don''t you tell her you''reing? Sure, she is happy today, but if she knew you wereing, then she could have been happy the whole week knowing that you wereing. She really misses you.¡±

    Gary waved her off and was thankful that he had met White, someone who could be by the side of Amy while he wasn;t there, because if she weren''t, then perhaps it would have been too painful to leave Amy on her own.

    Spending the whole day out together, the night sky was out, and the Wolf¡¯s pool club, including several bars and establishments next to it. It was livelier than before. Gary remembered the days when the pool Club was on the border between two territories, constantly being involved in fights. No one wanted to establish a business here.

    Yet, there had been a significant change to the ce, this was the effect of the Howlers gang, and it was nice to see the Howlers having a positive change after witnessing what had urred at the bakery.

    Walking into the club, it was busy with customers inside, and Miss Degrace could be seen busy working away as she did. There was no need for her to work at the bar anymore, but it seemed like she was happy with her ce and the work she did.

    None of the others that Gary was looking for were inside, at least not on the public floor.

    ¡°They are downstairs and they have been waiting for you for a while.¡± Miss Degrace said.

    Making his way down to the basement, where Kai¡¯s office would be, Miss Degrace gave a few passing words.

    ¡°Wee back, we have missed you, leader.¡± She whispered thest word but Gary could still hear it.

    The one thing he still couldn¡¯t get used to being called was leader, and his face would light up bright red every time he heard those words.

    Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he could see that everyone was sitting there, split on two sofas, while Kai was sitting in his office chair, waiting.

    ¡°Gary! It looks like you finally made it!¡± Kai shouted.

    Everyone said Gary''s name, and gave him a big wee. They stood up on their feet, giving Gary a punch here or there, or even a hug, especially Marie who had given Gary quite a tight squeeze. She wasn''t sure if she was imagining things or not, but it felt like Gary had gotten slightly bigger than before.

    ¡°Okay, calm down, everyone, because I need to talk to Gary about something. Have you seen this?¡± Kai asked as he lifted up his phone, and there was a video, a video of Gary.

    *****

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 Chapter 485 Business Tycon

    Everyone in the room had already watched the video that Kai was currently ying. Since they lived in Slough, they were updated with thetest, and on top of that, Kai always hammered into them that it was important to stay on top of current news.

    They couldn''t always rely on their informants and so on for thetest news, and this video in particr that Kai was now showing had been seen by everyone.

    ¡°What¡­ someone was filming all of that!¡± Gary said as he grabbed the phone out of Kai¡¯s hand.

    It showed him, a green haried teeneager from behind, quickly dealing with a few of the Howlers members, and after that even giving direct orders to Innu who was behind the mask.

    ¡°This is partly my fault.¡± Innu admitted as he sulked and sat back down on the sofa. ¡°I should have checked to see if anyone had filmed anything, but I was just so focused on punishing those guys, and so surprised to see you return.¡±

    The video in question had been filmed by one of the shop owners, and it showed Gary not just taking out the Howlers members but giving orders as well. Based on thements, many of them knew that the ck and gold clothing was the Howlers gang, which led to many questions underneath the video.

    ¡°I''m worried for that kid, the Howlers gang now might send some big one¡¯s after him, I mean they took over Slough, how could someone like that stand up to them.¡±

    ¡°Didn''t you watch the video properly, he was ordering them around, and his fighting skills as well. He¡¯s probably the son of the leader or something and the other members just didn''t know who they were messing with.¡±

    ¡°Who is the Green haired boy, does anyone recognise him?¡±

    ¡°That Green haired boy, I think it''s Gary. He used to go to my school, he¡¯s just a normal person.¡±

    ¡°No way, you must be mistaking him for some other green haired person.¡±

    Thements went on and on and Gary was surprised at how much information was being dug up.

    ¡°Is it really that bad? And, what should we do about it?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Thankfully the video hasn''t gone viral. It''s only spread around Slough since the Howlers is really only the talk of Slough, but your face is familiar within the AFA now as well. So if it did get widespread, maybe they would find out you were a student of the AFA.

    ¡°We were nning to publicly sponsor and support you but that wasn''t till you entered the AFC. Right now, while the Howlers are still new and in its expanding stage, I don''t want to gather too much attention just yet.¡±

    Kai put his finger on his chin, a habit when he was thinking quite hard, and eventually sat down.

    ¡°I do have an idea, something that I have been thinking about for a while now, that will help us and yourself. The number one thing we need to do, is make sure that other gangs don''t know Gary Dem, is the leader Gary Dem of the Howlers.

    ¡°Now, we have already incorporated the masks between the higher ups of the Howlers gang, so most don''t know your face, but once Gary Dem of the AFA gets well known, and your ability is out there for the world to see, some people might be able to put two and two together.

    ¡°Which is why, my n is to make you¡± Kai pointed. ¡°the Gary Dem right here, another person of greatness!¡±

    Gary raised an eyebrow, and so did many others in the room, because they really didn¡¯t know where he was going with this one.

    ¡°People know that the Howlers are a gang in Slough, and there are some businesses and ces that are scared of us. It makes them unwilling to take our investment money or to work with us at times.

    ¡°Although sometimespanies can see the benefit of working with a gang but that is mainly therger corporations and this is where you woulde in. I would like, Gary Dem, to make his ownpany of sorts.

    ¡°The Dem Foundation invests in small businesses helping them thrive. A business genius who turns aroundpanies and makes a fortune. Of course most of the funds would be moving between the Howlers corporation and yours, but the public won''t know this.

    ¡°All they need to see is the public image that we project of you. In the end, people will think the Howlers listened to you, as you are a wealthy person. At the same time, your mother won''t be so suspicious about where the money hase from either. You will have an answer for her.

    ¡°We can also attack business from both sides, a business has an investment opportunity from the family man Gary Dem or the Howlers, they think they will have a choice but in reality, they are bothing from the same person. This is perfect!¡±<sub> </sub>

    Kai was rambling on, and there was such arge smile on his face that Gary was finding it hard to interrupt.

    ¡®When do I tell him I have no clue what he''s talking about? Kai is a lot smarter than me, maybe I should just trust him with all of this, and in the first ce, I really do need a way to tell mum how I made all the money.''

    ¡®At first, the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club would have been a good answer for paying all the bills, but the apartment and a luxury car among other things.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Kai was still smirking to himself mumbling under his breath and writing on a piece of paper as if he was piecing out his n.

    ¡°By day, you can be Gary Dem, the young Business Tycoon, and by night, the Howlers'' gang leader, the bloodsucking Werewolf!¡±

    ¡°What do you want us to do then?¡± Innu asked, raising his hand. ¡°There have already been a few people asking who Gary is.¡±

    ¡°That''s perfect.¡± Kai replied. ¡°We can start spreading the rumour within the Howlers first, if the people hear it from the Howlers gang, they will surely think that it''s more credible.¡±

    Writing on a piece of paper, Kai then handed it out to the others. They were replies they should say when other members asked, which he was sure they would do. Everything was moving a bit too fast for Gary, especially since he had just got here, but as usual he would just need to ride the wave.

    ¡°Is there anything that you need me to do?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°For now, you focus on the AFA, and other things, we will sort out spreading your name.¡± Kai replied. ¡°Besides, we have bigger things to worry about at the moment. Why don''t we all catch up a bit on what has happened.¡±

    The entire group started to talk about the events that had ured. Everything the members of the Howlers went through while Gary was away. He was amazed about what happened to ke, and wondered if he should pay him a visit.

    However, what he was even more surprised about was Austin who had be an Altered. Gary, after learning of this, immediately asked Asutin to transform for him, to which he did.

    Austin had also asked Gary if the two of them would want a little sparring match. Gary couldn''t lie he was definitely interested, especially after fighting against all the Altered at the AFA.

    More than likely though, after the strength Gary had gained at the AFA, maybe he was another step ahead of them all here as well.

    After that, it was Gary¡¯s turn to tell them all that happened in the AFA. It looked like there was no easy ride for him in the entire thing either. He exined why he was unable to contact them and all of the events with others that had ured.

    The only thing that Gary had decided to leave out, was all the information about the special lessons. It stated he should keep it a secret and although he trusted everyone here to never tell a soul at the same time, he didn''t want them to get in trouble.

    NIRV was a muchrger corporation with its hands in the pockets with the biggest gangs, a gang like the Howlers, although growing, should never attempt to upset them, so it was better for him to just keep his lips sealed about that one.

    ¡°I''m happy to know that you have not just been doing well but have been doing really well. This will increase our publicity even more when you have your debut match.¡± Kai smirked. ¡°But before all that, I guess we should start.

    ¡°Tomorrow will be a big day for you and the Howlers, it could be the starting point of progressing the Howlers, from a tier three town, into something more, so let me ask¡­ are you ready?¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t nod straight away. He was usually up for fighting, trying his best at physical things, but something where he had to use his mouth and words, that was more up to Kai, but he knew this was a big point for them.

    ¡°I have to be. No¡­ I am ready.¡± Gary answered.

    *****

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 Chapter 486 Fame Of The Howelrs

    Scratching his head so hard, Gary feared that he might go bald in a certain spot, but he knew due to the system message that as long as he had energy the system would revert him back to his original form.

    That was one of the reasons why he was unable to change his green hair that he had dyed. Which made him think, if he had kids, would their hair colour be strange as well, or maybe his normal genes would pass on, and his kids would wonder if he was really their dad due to the strange hair colour he had and they didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Gary, will you pay attention and stop daydreaming this is important!'''' Kai shouted as he tapped arge white board several times.

    After meeting up with the others in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, Gary and Kai had left as they needed to make special preparations for tomorrow. What Gary didn''t realise was it was almost a trip back to school for him.

    There was a desk, a notepad, and a pencil. Sitting at the desk, and directly opposite to him was Kai, up against a whiteboard. They were in a room of one of the businesses they owned and Kai had specifically booked a slot for the two of them.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we have already been at this for three hours, I think my brain is going to explode!¡± Gary replied, as he continued to scratch a certain spot, and eventually just ced his forehead on the table.

    ¡°Do I have to exin the importance of this meeting to you again?¡± Kai sighed, as he tapped the white board, where there was a single name of apany written in the middle and circled, ¡®Cardenez Electronics.¡¯

    ¡°This is one of the biggest up anding electronicpanies. They are sorge that they have more influence in their tier three city, than the gangs that are there, since they also supply electronic parts to the tier 2 cities as well.

    ¡°Because of their massive growth, they are now looking to expand, and our town is one of the ces that they are looking at. Think about it, this is apany that has bargaining power with tier 2 cities, so much so that they have even been talking with opening up factories and new headquarters in the said tier 2 cities, and they will probably continue to grow there as well.

    ¡°Which is why, if we get them to set up a base in Slough, prove to them what we can do, maybe they will move their whole operation to Slough. Gangs might target us because of this, but if we can protect them, and continue to show that Slough was the right choice, we can grow together and make this city better.¡±

    Gary knew a little bit about the effect of businesses and how they worked to grow certain ces, he had seen the effect of the Underdogs and other gangs'' ie when spread to the city, but that money had hit a limit to what it could do for Slough.

    Lifting up his head off the table, Gary looked at the whiteboard again.

    ¡°I understand all of that, what I¡¯m struggling with is all these other terms that you are throwing at me. Dilution, Gross, and Net profit. Yearly turnover, buy back schemes and more! It''s too much to learn the day before, and I never was good at school in the first ce.¡±

    Kai put the pen down and held his head down slightly.

    ¡°I know this is a lot, Gary. Honestly I don¡¯t know why he insisted on seeing you. Otherwise I would have taken over all of this for you, but these are just the basics, and if he talked to you directly, I wanted you to understand a bit of what was going on, I know it''s a lot of pressure and not what you''re used to.¡±

    As usual, Kai was just looking out for Gary, and his passion wasing across in the lesson.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go over these terms again and see if I can get any of them right.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Kai pumped his fist. ¡°This will be good practice for you in the future anyway, for when you be a business tycoon.¡±

    Gary shook his head, just wondering what the future of everything withheld.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The next day had arrived, and for some reason Gary had chosen to sleep at the old apartment. He hadn''t gone to sleep in the apartment with his sister. The truth was, he had told her that he was heading straight back to the AFA even though that was a lie.

    This was because he knew he had other business to do, business to do with the Howlers and he didn''t want her to think that he had something else that was more important than her. If he could, Gary would have happily spent a whole week with Amy, before heading back to the AFA, but a break that long would make him fall behind, and he didn''t want to miss out on any special lessons.

    So a few days back in Slough was the most Gary was willing to give up for now. His eyes felt a bit heavy, as he hadn''t had much sleep. The terms were constantly being repeated in his head every time he tried to get some shut eye.

    When looking at the clock, Gary would say, if he went to sleep now he would have 8 hours of sleep, then an hourter he would say 7 hours of sleep, that was enough right, and before he knew it there was hardly any time left.

    Getting out of his bed, Gary headed to the closest ce that was pretty much empty, the whole apartment was, since it was moved.

    ¡®This ce, I couldn''t sell it, not without informing mum what to do with it, and if any more letters get sent here as well.¡¯

    ? Opening the closet there was a special outfit that Kai said he had prepared. What Gary was expecting was his gang uniform, but instead there was a suit.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Man¡­¡±

    Putting on all of the pieces, and looking at himself in the mirror Gary felt like he was almost unrecognisable. He truly looked like a full fledged adult and the suit fitted him to the skin perfectly in all of the right areas.

    It even made him look slightly taller due to how the legs were.

    ¡®Is this a tailored suit, when did Kai even get my measurements. I guess I won''t be fighting in this thing anytime soon. I imagine the suit cost a pretty penny and I wouldn''t want to ruin something so nice in the first ce.¡¯

    Two beeps were sounded from a car outside. It was the signal that Tyler was there. Gary¡¯s heart was thumping. At the end of it, seeing how serious Kai was about this whole thing, just showed the importance of this which only made Gary even more nervous.

    ¡®This is¡­ worse than when I''m fighting!¡¯ Gary thought.

    In the end he left his apartment, and Gary walked over to the limo that was waiting for them. Tyler was standing outside by the door, but he wasn''t the only one. All of the others were present.

    Innu, Marie, Austin, Kai, of course, and even Olivia was with them this time.

    ¡°Your looking sharp boss!¡± Tyler was the first to say.

    ¡°Yeah man, howe your suit fits your perfectly, mine is a bit baggy in areas.¡± Innu started showing how his sleeves were a bit too long.

    ¡°It suits him right, this look.¡± Kai smiled, and nced over at a certain someone.

    ¡°Yeah, it looks good on him.¡± Marie replied with her face slightly red and eyes off to the side, but they kept taking another look at Gary.

    ¡°You know, all of us in suits and going to a big meeting together like this, it finally feels like we are in a gang.¡± Austin said.

    This was a true feeling for them all, and that included Gary. Before everything felt like they were just going with the flow, while this was a step in the right direction.

    ¡°You only feel like that now!¡± Olivia pped her forehead. ¡°How did we get taken out by these guys?¡±

    Getting in the car, Kai went over with everyone what was to happen and go down. Only Gary and Kai would be sitting on the sofa opposite the CEO, the rest were to stand by the side as guards.

    It was allowed since they would have the same. Most likely another gang would be used for protection. What Gang though, Kai didn¡¯t have that information.

    The meeting was to take ce in one of the top hotels in Cipen, where the lobby was already booked out. Finally the car had reached its destination. The limo had caught the eyes of the guests that wereing in and out of the hotel.

    When the door opened though, they were surprised to see a group appear, all wearing different masks on their faces that were ck and gold.

    ¡°Who are they?¡± Many of the guests wondered, they had this presence around them, and it was clear that they were somebody or something.

    ¡°Wait, those masks, I know them. They are what the leader¡¯s of the Howlers wear. That must mean something big is going on here.¡±

    As all of them walked through the hotel entrance, many people brought out their phones and started to take photos and videos.

    ¡°Get used to this guys, because we might be experiencing it a lot more often in the future.¡± Kai said.

    *****

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 Chapter 487 The Big Boss

    Entering the hotel, some bolder people followed behind in an attempt to make more photos. However, the hotel staff¡¯s security quickly intervened and asked those people to move out. A young bell boy quickly approached the group and asked if he needed to take care of any luggage. Following behind him was a middle-aged man in a white shirt with a name tag that made him out to be the manager..

    ¡°Thank you for choosing to have your event at our establishment, um¡­.¡± The manager looked at all of those in the masks, trying to discern who exactly he should be addressing. Realising the issue, Kai pressed his hands on Gary''s shoulders and lightly pushed him forward.

    ¡°This is our leader.¡± Kai rified.

    ¡°Thank you so much for choosing us, sir.¡± The manager repeated as he bowed down respectfully. ¡°If there is anything that we can do to make your visit here more enjoyable, please let me know. I will make sure that any and all of your requests will be fulfilled in a moment¡¯s notice. Please don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡±

    This time, the slightly balding man addressed Gary directly, and there was a creepy smile on his face every single time he finished his sentence.

    ¡®This difference in treatment is truly crazy. Is this truly just because of my change of clothes? Or this because of the level of respect the Howlers have earned here¡¯ Gary wondered, but just nodded towards the man. There wasn¡¯t really anything he could think of, especially since this was his first timeing here.

    ¡°Actually, now that you mention it, we would have much preferred if there had been a separate area for us to walk through to avoid this kind attention. I assume it won¡¯t pose a problem to make the necessary arrangement for our exit and for any future meetings.¡± Kai requested.

    The manager looked nervous. For hotels, aside from offering rooms for guest to stay in, a good portion of their revenue came from hosting big events forpanies, and for an area like Slough this was a first. Even the hotel knew how much a big deal this would be based on the guest list that would be arriving.

    The group was directed downstairs into a area was muchrger than they had expected. It was much bigger than the reception area, and there were several rooms that had primarily be designed for business meetings and more. Eventually they reached the room that they would be meeting in question.

    ¡°As instructed, me and my staff will keep out of the room and remain at the exit, in case¡­ ¡®anything¡¯ were to happen that would result in a need to alert the authorities.¡± The manager bowed his head one more time and remained at his ce.

    ¡°Gary.¡± Kai whispered as he put his hand around his friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°As our leader, it would make the best impression if you are the first to enter. Just take a deep breath and remain confident. This is a formal meeting between us and apany, so there should be nothing to worry about. In the future, if we meet another gang, though, it might be best if you let one of us enter, just in case someone would dare to try and assassinate you.¡±

    Gary gulped down hard after hearing this. Kai''s words were just making him more nervous than before. Even if there was an assassination attempt on him, the Werewolf would prefer to walk in first anyway, that way he could stop any of the others getting hurt.

    If his friends were to die because someone targeted his life, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with it. After taking a few deep breaths, Gary went ahead and pushed the double doors open. The room wasrge and grand with high ceilings and even a chandelier at the top. Then in the centre of the room there was a low table with coffee already having been prepared and several seats. Sitting at one end of the table was the person that had requested to meet with the true leader of the Howlers.

    ¡°Please take a seat.¡± Mr Cardenez spoke after he took a good look at the gang members.

    ¡®So that¡¯s him, the owner of the up anding electronicspany. ording to Kai, theirpany is so big that even the gangs in the cities are willing to work with them. I have to admit, there is a certain air around him that¡¯s differentpared to others.¡¯ Gary thought as he went over to take the seat opposite from the man.

    Mr Cardenez was wearing a grey suit, which went well with his ck hair. However, given his age, it was clear that it had to be dyed, yet it was not obvious at the first nce. He was very different from what Gary had pictured when he had been told that he would meet an old man. The aura alone made Gary hesitate in the way he should address him.

    Kai was the only one who sat down next to their leader, while the others had already been instructed by him that it would be best if they remained standing. They went and leaned against one side of their side of the room, mimicking the group of people behind Mr Cardenez.

    The clothing of his bodyguards was quite a strange choice, making them resemble a troup of clowns, being overly bright andrge. Without a doubt those weren¡¯t people from a corporation but had to be from a gang, though none of the Howlers knew which one it was.

    ¡®He seems to be quite confident in his protection, seeing as none of his men are sitting next to him. Me or Gary could just leap from here and take him out in one hit. Unfortunately there is no point in doing that. Companies work different than gangs, his second inmand would just take over, and we would have made an unnecessary enemy.¡¯ Kai mused, before deciding to officially greet their potential partner.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you again, Mr Cardenez. You might have already heard that the problems you¡¯ve mentioned during ourst meeting have already been sessfully taken care As such, the Howlers have the final say as to what happens in Slough.

    ¡°Now, if there aren¡¯t anymore reservations from your side, the Howlers would be more than happy to work together with the Cardenez group. We have even prepared some ns, which should make things easy for you. Of course these are all just suggestions, so everything is subject to change.¡±<sub> </sub>

    Kai handed over a big file of papers. Mr Cardenez picked them up and flicked through them but didn¡¯t look at any individual file for a long time, before putting the file down. The blonde teenager had to admit that this meeting was nervewrecking even for him. Despite literally being the one behind a mask, he was unable to read the person in front of him.

    Were they happy? Angry? What was it that they wanted?

    cing both of his hands together in front of his face, the old man leaned forward.

    ¡°I have to say that I am quite disappointed.¡± Mr Cardenez eventually spoke up. ¡°When I first met you, fox mask, I was quite curious about your group. I¡¯ve done my due diligence and had studied up on the Howlers and Slough. On top of that, you yourself acted quite impressive to the point that I was intrigued about what kind of leader someone as capable of you would follow. And yet¡­ what about great leader? How is this meeting any different from ourst one?¡±

    Gary¡¯s ears perked up as soon as he heard this.

    ¡°You talk about wanting to strike a deal, to work as equal partners, yet all of you sit in front of me, all wearing masks to hide your identity, including this leader of yours. Speaking of, I have yet to hear him mention a single word.

    ¡°It appears that I have wasted my timeing here again. One piece of advice, next time you n on meeting someone, learn some manners beforehand.¡±

    Kai had been prepared that this meeting could end badly, but he had been prepared to offer solutions for most concerns the other party might have. He had considered showing up without a mask, perhaps using his Werewolf powers to change his face. Unfortunately, there would be many problems if Gary revealed his true face, and not just because he still had the look of a teenager.

    Even with makeup it would be very hard to age him beyond a university student. These older folks, they liked experienced people in the field, and one look at Gary would most likely have been enough to steer him away. In that case, they would have given away valuable information about their identity without gaining anything in return.

    ¡°It¡¯s truly a shame, I had hoped that the Howlers gang were something impressive, but it appears that you are nothing but a bunch of wild dogs with no idea of where to go or what to do next, no different from all the others who wish to piggyback on ourpany.¡±

    There were a few words that Gary extremely disliked and one of them, was being called dogs, with a tensed fist, he stood up from his seat.

    ¡°Well, Mr leader, if violence is your first reaction after seeing that you won¡¯t get your way, then there is truly nothing that makes me regret my decision. Our group won¡¯t be working with the Howlers. I¡¯ll just focus on the Tier-2 city instead.¡±

    After saying those words, the old man stood up, and started to walk out of the room. Gary just stood there in ce not saying a word. All of the hard work that Kai had put into teaching him terms and more, it was all for nothing.

    And, Gary couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was all because he had appeared.

    ¡®Maybe they should have used a stand in, or Olivia should have pretended to be the leader instead?¡¯ Gary thought until he felt a hand once more on his shoulder.

    ¡°Gary, you did nothing wrong. This was a learning experience for all of us, and I know what you''re thinking. You¡¯re our leader, we all chose to follow you for a reason so if he can¡¯t see that well that¡¯s his lost cause.¡± Kai said in a low tone, so that his friend was the only one who would be able to hear him.

    The old man was just about to leave, his group of bodyguards following behind, yet Kai had a few choice words for him.

    ¡°Mr Cardenez, we thank you for your words of advice, and as such we would like to offer you something in return. If at any point and time you find yourself confronted with a problem that neither your money nor power is able to solve, please remember us. Even if you can¡¯t see it now, but we Howlers are more than meets the eye, and all we need to convince you, will be that one chance.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 488 Notburg

    On the car ride back, everyone was quiet. No one asked about what had urred in the meeting, and it was all because of the energy that was being given off by Gary. One could tell as Gary still had his hands clenched, annoyed at what had urred, still ming himself for what happened.

    In the end, Gary finally spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, guys. As Mr Cardenez said, I guess I''m not really fit to be that type of leader. I don¡¯t know many things when ites to business and such, and I know I make ridiculous requests that might make it harder for the gang to operate.

    ¡°But I guess, I can only really be me in the end, and if someone doesn¡¯t like it, I guess that''s just it. So I guess what I''m trying to say is, I''m sorry that you guys have to put up with a leader like this.¡±

    Immediately, everyone started to speak out at once, arguing against what Gary said, about to say he was a great leader but because they all said words at once, Gary couldn¡¯t even follow what any of them were saying, so instead Kai turned around to Tyler.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop on Burnham food street and get something to eat.¡± Kai suggested.

    Everyone was sitting down at a fancy hotpot restaurant on burnham street and due to Olivia being with them it was safe to say they got top service. As for the onlookers there really weren¡¯t any without their masks.

    Since they were wearing normal suits and so, many thought it was just apany out on an evening meal, which in some cases it really was.

    Everyone was trying to cheer up Gary as they gobbled down on food, and Olivia, Gary and Kai were by far eating the most, but nearly everything they ate and ordered was all meat. After the meal was done though, raising a ss of plum juice, Kai had a few words to say.

    ¡°This is only a small hup in the many opportunities toe, but it was a good chance for all of us toe together once more. Let''s enjoy tonight as we say goodbye and good luck to our friend Gary!¡± Kai raised his ss.

    The rest did the same with Olivia only the one actually drinking some alcohol since the rest weren¡¯t of age yet. As for the toast, it was because Gary would be returning back to the AFA tomorrow, just in time for his special lesson again.

    Before leaving of course, Gary did make the promise that if he was needed again like so, then he would be happy to return at any time. The others were sad to see him go after arriving so soon, but that was just the way it needed to be for them to move forward.

    For some reason though, Kai didn¡¯t think it would be the end of their involvement with the Cardenez group.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After the meeting had taken ce, Mr Cardenez wasn¡¯t the type of person who would just sit and wait around doing nothing. His business would have never survived if that was the case, which was why he had set up a meeting on the same day with the tier 2 city, known as Notsburg.

    A tier two city that prided itself on its history. Because it was one of the few cities that ,although it wasn¡¯t strong enough to ssify itself as a tier 1, they had cemented its position as a tier 2.

    They had been one of the longest standing tier 2 cities, and not once had they been taken over, or had the head gang that was in charge of such a ce been changed. Of course, just like other cities, they would listen to the kings if instructed as to not cause any trouble but the fact that none of the kings ever tried to directly own the city, showed their strength.

    Mr Cardenez knew this about them, which was why he was sure they were a confident pick. They had also shown an interest in hispany as well.

    Before heading to the tier 2 city though, Mr Cardnez wished to head home, and that way because there was a certain someone that he was looking forward to picking up.

    Rather than heading to hispany headquarters, he was heading home instead. His house was a single story building, that was wide and had quite therge pond for fish and more.

    As soon as he entered through therge gate, many of the men had their heads held down as he walked towards the gate.

    ¡°Wee back Sir!¡± The men shouted at once.

    Rather than an owner of arge business the way his employees acted were more so that of weing back their gang leader, but this was the way that he had run things and would continue to do so.<sub> </sub>

    Walking down the grand entrance, he eventually went to his office, arge room with a back window that looked out to the pond and shelves filled with countless books, but here was the person he had been waiting to see the most, and seeing him had brought the biggest smile on his face.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to give your father a hug?¡± Mr Cardenzes said. ¡°Come on Numba there is no need to be shy.¡±

    Hearing this, Numba tilted his shy face to the side, before he walked over and gave his father a hug. Sitting down in his office chair he picked up a picture, which had him, Numba and his mother in the picture as well.

    Of course, in the photo Numba was only a couple years younger than he was, and there were no photos in the room of Numba as a child, all of this, was due to Numba being an adoptive child of the Cardenez family.

    ¡°I got your message, and came back as soon as possible, is there something wrong?¡± Numba asked.

    ¡°Nothing is wrong.¡± Mr Cardnez replied back. ¡°In fact things have been great, especially after learning of all the things that you have done in the AFA. I knew you were a special person which is why we put so much hope into you, but you have been surpassing our expectations.¡±

    Numba knew exactly what he meant, people usually spent a lot longer in the preliminary stages before entering the real academy, but he had gotten through quickly but not just that, as the number one ranking student no less.

    This was a joy that anyone would have learning of the news, but Numba knew it wasn¡¯t due to his own efforts, and seeing his father act a certain way about it, there was no way he could tell his father the truth, that a lot of it was due to his help from his friend Gary.

    ¡°I know it must be hard for you there, especially with our position. I have heard a lot of things about the AFA and how the students use their backgrounds to bully the others around them but you have stuck through it, but soon you won¡¯t have to shy away so much. That is the reason why I called you.¡±

    Mr Cardnez let the smile go away from his face as he moved onto what he believed was a more serious matter.

    ¡°I wish for you to attend a meeting today with me. As you are the only heir, eventually you will also take care of the family business. I know it will be hard for you to focus on the AFA, the AFC and the business at the same time, but this is to improve our rtions in the future.

    ¡°You will be a name that will not be messed with.¡±

    This was pretty much the thought that nearly everyone had that sent their kids to the AFA. So Numba was expecting this.

    ¡°I see now, I will try my best to learn as much as possible during this meeting,¡± Numba replied.

    ¡°Good, your willingness to learn has also always been great. So I will give you a few details beforehand about the whole meeting. This is a chance for ourpany to make good connections with a tier 2 city.¡±

    Now, Numba knew what his father meant by not allowing him to be bullied around. If they had connections with a tier 2 city it would put him on par with many of the others.

    ¡°The tier 2 city we will be going to is Notsburg.¡±

    Hearing that name, the colour from Numba¡¯s face had immediately dropped. The name was quite familiar for Numba, and that was because he had been doing some research of his own on the tier 2 city.

    ¡®This city, it''s the one that Sty¡­.and Apollo, the one that both of them are from.¡¯

    *******

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 Chapter 489 A Tier 2 Boss

    As someone who had battled against real beasts, the teenager would dare to im that the journey towards Notsburg was far more nerve wrecking to him than the AFA¡¯s special lesson. One could argue that this was because he was on his own now, but given that his teammates had been Apollo, who Numba hadn¡¯t had any sort of prior rtionship with, and Sty, who would be thest person the Goat Altered would ever entrust his back to, things weren¡¯t that different in the limo that he shared with his adoptive father and the two bodyguards.

    Ever since that first special lesson, Numba had spent a lot of his free time training. He didn¡¯t know if their teams would stay the way they were, but Mr. Corvus had hinted at the possibility that they might eventually go up against beast on their own, if they wished to do so of course.

    Having to take care of a business, on the other hand, was an entirely different type of fighting. No matter how excellent the the tutors Harry Cardenez had hired to teach Numba everything he needed to know, there was a vast difference between theory and reality, an important lecture the Howlers had been taught today. There was also a fear at the back of Numba''s mind that if he messed up, that his father could abandon him, and that his life would return to what it was¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so nervous.¡± Harry Cardenez chided his son. ¡°This is a prime opportunity for you to witness how business is properly conducted between two groups. Just focus on learning as much as you can from this experience. With the Freaks by our side, there¡¯s no need to worry about your well-being, either, though I suppose at this point, you¡¯re more than capable to protect yourself. If things get dangerous, make sure to save your old man.¡±

    Thestment finally put a smile on Numba¡¯s face.

    Meanwhile, the two men who sat opposite the duo, onerge and one thin, remained silent. The two had white makeup and bright lipstick on their faces, which suited their clown clothing. There were others like them riding in the cars in front and behind the limousinde along the expressway.

    The Freaks didn¡¯t start out as a single gang. Just like Slough used to have the Underdogs, the Grey Elephants, the Rising Dragons, the Block gang and others, Numba¡¯s hometown also used to have multiple gangs fighting for control. However, Harry Cardenez had managed to bring an end to all of this.

    The Freaks had been created bybining all the leaders of the gangs, creating a supergroup. The way he was able to do this was simple, through the use of money. It was a fair deal for all parties. The Freaks protected the city and mainly the workings of the Cardenez group, and in turn they got paid and everyone in the town was able to prosper.

    Due to them being a bunch of gang leaders, the Freaks were a strong group and sitting next to both Cardenez were the two strongest gang leader. Numba could see the confidence on his fathers face, but after seeing Apollo¡¯s strength during the special lesson, if there were more like him in that city, the Freaks would only be able to buy some time.

    ¡®No, I shouldn¡¯t use Apollo or Sty as the standard. Just like there is only one of me, guys like those two aren¡¯t a dime a dozen and unlike me, I don¡¯t think their family would call them back for a meeting like this.¡¯ Numba hoped.

    As the limo entered the city, there was something that Numba noticed looking out the window. Every few hundred meters there would be giant bill boards praising this or that casino. Due to the colourful lights that illuminate at night they were easy to spot. Casinos existed in a lot of cities but in Notsburg they seemed to rival the number of grocery stores.

    As such, Numba wasn¡¯t the least bit surprised when their car stopped in front of a giant casino. It was a unique establishment that one had to go over what looked like argeke. A bridge was connected to a centre ind where the casino was ced. And the casino itself was beyondrge, as it looked like one could get lost in the ce for weeks without proper directions.

    As they entered, the entire group was escorted by men in groups and they walked through the main hall, where the sounds of slot machines going off never stopped. Mixed in were the sounds of people cheering, screaming and some even shouting or arguing with the guards.

    It was close to midnight, and yet the ce was filled to the brim. Numba could only imagine the sums of money exchanging hands each and every day. Of course, most of it would enrich the house, or more precisely the one owning it. Eventually, they arrived in front of the VIP area.

    Guarding therge velvet door were tworge men both with long ponytails who pushed it open to reveal one of the most extravagant rooms Numba had ever seen. The room had a lot of red inside, and a lot of velvet. Nearly everything, the sides, the chairs, the sofas, all of it was red velvet. At the side of the rooms, behind the number of people were ss cabs that were filled with all sorts of different luxuries.

    Top of the line watches, jewellery, rare items and more. All of them looked stunning and untouched, but perhaps what gave off the biggest impression in the room were the two people behind the desk at the back.<sub> </sub>

    The man sitting behind the desk in the chair looked to be in his 40¡¯s. Strangely, he was sporting a greyish beard, yet theck of wrinkles on his face suggested that this was more of a fashion choice than his natural colour. There were rings on each of his fingers, some of them having two on one, that were shining so brightly that Numba thought he might have to close his eyes.

    As for his clothes, it looked like they were an extension of this room, being red and velvet. The man wasn''t too big in size, apart from his eyes that bulged out like a bug.

    When seeing this man, there was a thought that came through Numba''s head. ¡®This has to be the head gang of Notsburg. if it is, then does that mean, this man possibly has a rtion to Sty. His gang was the leader of a tier two city that had ties with Apollo who works for a tier 1. If that''s a case there is a good chance that maybe someone in this room actulely belongs to a tier 1 gang. Anyway, most likely the man in front of me, is Sty¡¯s father.¡¯¡¯

    It was safe to say that those in the AFA were mostly sons or daughters of gangs and corporations. It mostly was the case and thinking of Sty, what he had done to him and how this could be his father was making Numba¡¯s legs shake. At the end of the day, unlike them, this was a gang that they were meeting with, a gang of the city, one had proudly set up base in one of thergest casinos in the area.

    But that wasn¡¯t the only person in the room that was getting a lot of focus in the room.

    When entering, everyone was told to take their positions. Numba wasn''t going to act like Harry was his father in case he was targeted in this, and stood by the side, along with the other Freaks in the room.

    At the same time, there were two Freaks that stood by Harry¡¯s side at all times during the meeting. Harry had taken a seat directly opposite therge man as the meeting between the two was about tomence.

    That''s when Numba¡¯s eyes started to linger, because the one that he was focusing on wasn''t the leader that was sitting down, but the man that was standing by his side, which Numba could only guess to be his guard.

    Standing in a light blue Hawaiian shirt, that was unbuttoned revealed the man''s abs and muscr pecs. Not asrge as the one sitting down there was something fierce about the perons''s eyes.

    On the visible part of his body, there were cuts scars going all the way up, and his spiky wild hair almost made him look like someone who didn''t belong, didn''t belong in this room full of people.

    Still Numba kept focusing back on the eyes of the person, because they reminded him of something, something that shook his very core.

    ¡°Alright, it''s time for us to do business, no one will be going home today until we make a deal.¡± The man stated with a big smile on his face, yet the tone of his voice was enough to convince everyone in the room that he wasn¡¯t joking.

    ****

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 Chapter 490 A Tier-2 Deal (Part 1)

    Numba didn¡¯t really know what he should do in this meeting, his eyes darted between his father, the gang leader, and his bodyguard. Despite the wild attitude of their host, his swinging arms and creepy smile, Harry Cardenez didn¡¯t budge an inch, his facial expressions not changing in the slightest. He kept his hands together, clearly unfazed by the gang in front of them.

    ¡°The Scatterbugs have ruled Notsburg for generations, a truly impressive feat. As a gang this means one of two things, you¡¯ve either managed to earn the respect of most Tier-1 gangs to the point they don¡¯t dare to mess with you by yourself, or you¡¯re under the protections of one of the Kings.

    ¡°Now, from what I managed to find out, there is no affiliating to any of the Kings, meaning your gang has actually managed to solidify its position on its own. I hope that putting my business here won¡¯t change that.¡± Harry began.

    On the table in front of him, the man pulled out a name te that was hidden behind a few items and ced it directly in front of him for all to see, stating the name Slith.

    ¡°The name right here indicates who is in charge of the city, and who is in charge of the Scatterbugs. Both things go hand in hand. As someone from the outside, I can why you might be worried about others trying to prevent you from expanding.

    ¡°Well, let me tell you, all the gangs in Notsburg work for the Scatterbugs. I¡¯m sure you have seen the city has more than one casino around the ce. We¡¯ve assigned each gang a casino in their area to protect that has been set up and funded by us.

    ¡°As long as they do their job properly, they¡¯re paid a percentage of the casino¡¯s earnings as a bonus, and believe me when I tell you that they enjoy that treatment. They all know that it would be child¡¯s y for us to take that awy from them and hand it over to another group. Thanks to this type of symbiotic rtionship, our position is more than just secure.

    ¡°In fact, just for a bigger slice of the pie, the small-time gangs are more than happy to check, report, or even fight against any gang that thinks too highly of themselves, and dares to try some type of uprising. As for your business, we can offer to work with you directly, meaning you will enjoy the privilege of being protected by the Scatterbugs personally.¡± Slith said, sitting back in his seat with both hands behind his head.

    To be honest, as a prim and proper businessman, Harry was finding the way Slith was conducting himself quite rude, yet he knew that it was impossible to expect proper etiquette from gang members. Nevertheless, it irked him that even those Howlers had shown more decorum.

    ¡°I see, you¡¯ve talked about percentages before. In order for us to use your services and set up base here, what would condition can you offer us.¡± Harry asked.

    This was the most important question but it showed he was serious. The Scatterbugs had given him confidence that they could protect the business at least.

    ¡°Usually we share 10% of the profit to the business around the area, but since you¡¯re a new partnering from the outside and my advisors tell me that your numbers look more than promising, I¡¯ve decided to be generous and let you keep a total 20% of the profit!¡± Slith answered in a grand tone.

    For the first time Mr. Cardenez¡¯ hands split, and he ced them on the side of the seat. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you were criminals, but I thought your group would like to do real business. Taking 80% of our profits for all our hard work is madness.¡±

    Several members of the Scatterbugs stared directly at Harry. It was clear that they didn¡¯t like the tone he was using.

    ¡°Let me make this clear, you were the one that came into my city. You know perfectly well that without my say so it will be impossible to operate in Notsburg. Look at it from a different perspective, after all, 20% of something is still a lot more than 100% of nothing.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, you¡¯re free to leave. Go ahead, continue doing small-time business in your small Tier-3 town. However, if you were satisfied with that alone, would you truly have contacted us ande here?¡± Slith replied, the smile on his face getting bigger and bigger as he continued.

    Harry was silent for a bit as he tapped his finger on the side of his chair, something he did when he was thinking about what to do.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°I believe the two of us are just two far apart. I was looking for a group that wished to treat us like proper partners. In the face of your strength, your city and everything you have built up, the most I¡¯m willing to part with will be 50%.¡±

    Now it was Slith¡¯s turn to consider the counteroffer. The thing was, unlike the Tier-3 cities, the tier-2 had a good life. They had business setup that were already flushing so they didn''t necessary need to attract new businesses. There were plenty of people like Harry that were attempting to do the same thing.

    However, money was money, and his advisors who were more informed about that side of business, had all agreed that it would be a good thing to partner up. By putting his own man at the helm, they would make a lot of money.

    ¡°You know what, I like your spunk. I¡¯ll agree to your 50-50 deal, but on the condition that you moved the entire operation of Cardenez Electronice into Notsburg. Furthermore, all deals going forward will be as partners, including us having a say regarding future expansions into other cities.¡± Slith suggested. There might be groups that would ept such a thing, but not him.

    Harry¡¯s eyes widened. Slith wasn''t just asking for a 50/50 deal in this specific deal but essentially the wholepany. They wanted them to be exclusive and own 50% of all of Harry¡¯s hard work.

    Thepany that he had built up from nothing. With the smile still on Slith''s face it was clear he knew exactly what he was doing, and in a pressure like situation Harry was sure that there might be multiple gangs that would have taken what ever offer hade there way, but they weren''t the same.

    Standing up, Harry straightened his suit.

    ¡°It is time I take my leave, I can see that this whole thing was a waste of time.¡± Harry looked toward Numba and the Freaks, and started to walk out the door.

    The others followed him, heading out of the door, but Slith didn''t look too shocked and instead began tough.

    ¡°If you do change your mind, I will be right here.¡± Slith called after him as the doors closed. A few secondster after it was clear they had left the room Slith''s smile left his face.

    ¡°That man was awfully rude don¡¯t you think?¡± Slith asked into the rrom.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Several of them in the room answered apart from the man in the haiwan shirt.

    ¡°Yes I would have to agree, I think they should receive a nice surprise for being so rude. A gift before they head home.¡± Slith smiled.

    ******

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 Chapter 491 A Tier-2 Deal (Part 2)

    Numba didn''t say a word to his father on the way back to the limo. His father, although a strict and serious person hardly ever showed his temper. Nevertheless, there had been a few times, he had seen father lose it and it had always been rted to his business.

    Right now, if anyone said the wrong word he would blow the top off his head. The thing was, Numba knew what had set him off as well. The fact that a gang thought that they could just swoop in and take 50% of everything he did. They were trying to rob him and right in front of his nose as well.

    They all entered the limo in silence. There was no need to say anything, so it was only Numba and the Freaks in the car, and in the first ce, Harry Cardenez was the sole director of thepany. There were no other partners, it truly was apany that he had built up from scratch and would continue to do so, with or without the help of others.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you had to see that, based on their reputation, I believed that things would have gone a lot smoother than that.¡± His father eventually spoke up. He then let out a deep sigh trying to calm himself down. ¡°A true shame, but there are plenty of other Tier-2 cities that we can work with. We will just have to go back to the drawing board and see which ones aren¡¯t so influenced by the Kings.¡±

    Numba smiled and nodded at his father. In truth, he was happy that the deal fell through. If Slith was indeed Sty¡¯s father then things would have been bound to turn bad at some point. Judging by how the meeting went, it was safe to assume that both of them were somehow rted, both of them being Grade-A arseholes, Numba smirked to himself thinking about this.

    The car came to a sudden halt as the driver mmed down on the breaks. It was so sudden that the seat belt locked up around Namba. The next second. the screeching of tires could be heard as the car spun to its side, and skidded across the ground.

    Mr Cardenez had brought three cars with him and all three of them hade to a stop.

    ¡°What is going on?!¡± Harry demanded to know.

    ¡°Sir, it seems like we have trouble up ahead.¡± The driver answered.

    Looking through the window, there were several cars, around four of them, and standing outside of them were what would only be described as a bunch of thugs, holding onto weapons such as bats, knives and more.

    Looking at the location, they were still on the bridge from the casino, to the main area, so it was clear that this wasn¡¯t a coincidence but people being ordered to attack them.

    His two bodyguards helped Harry out of the car, while the other Freaks had also left their cards, ready for the inevitable fight. Mr Cardenez mmed the door so hard that it almost shattered when it closed before Numba.

    ¡°Father, I can help!¡± Numba shouted as he got out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Numba, I know you can, but I can''t let you get such filthy blood on your hands.¡± Harry stated. ¡°They think just because I run a business that I don''t know how to deal with a few ruffians, well Freaks it''s time for you to do your job.¡±

    There were ten members of the Freaks going up against around fourteen thugs. All of them dressed and covered in weird clown clothing. One had pulled out what looked like a scythe from behind. Another pair of nunchucks, and some more. The difference between the weapons the Freaks had and the thugs had was arge contrast.

    All weapons of the Freaks seemed to be top quality, some even looking like they had been made from real life animals or creatures. That was because they were, some of them were holding onto Anti-Altered weapons.

    ¡°Haha, what the F*ck are a bunch of clowns going to do, get rid of them!¡± The thugs shouted as they ran across the bridge, they were the first to act.<sub> </sub>

    None of the Freaks were startled, and when the first person came towards them, the man with the scythe swung it right towards one of their legs without an ounce of hesitation. The attack was so fast that the attacker suddenly fell to the ground. As he turned around he could see that his right was no longer attached to his body.

    The man screamed, and following him were hispanions. The man with numb chucks swung them, hitting one man in the arm breaking the bone on the spot, and hitting another in the chest sending him flying back. It was clear that the Freaks¡¯ grealty outmatched these thugs and soon only the ten Freaks were left standing.

    ¡°I can''t believe it, I bet these were the type of people that he would have put to protect our business. It looks like there was a silver lining to this whole thing after all.¡± Harry stated as he and the others got back in the car, and carried on their way home.

    Numba, witnessing the Freaks'' power, had to admit that he had greatly underestimated them and wondered how he would fare in a direct confrontation.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside the casino, Slith received the news that his attempt at stopping the Cardenez group had failed.

    ¡°I knew I had a good feeling about them.¡± Slith chuckled.

    ¡°What would you like to do now, sir, should we send the main group after them?¡± One of the men asked.

    ¡°There is no need.¡± Slith started to sort through a bunch of files that had Tier-3 written on top of them. ¡°It would be embarrassing for a group like us to deal with them personally. Will just give a reason for one of the other gangs near them to sort them out.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, how about this.¡±

    Slith pulled out one of the files and pushed it forward.

    ¡°A new gang that was able to rise up recently beat the top gang in their area and took over the town. They must have some strength to do that. Let''s see if they can handle it.¡±

    On top of the report, the first letter of the gang could be seen, with the letter H.

    *****

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 Chapter 492 Solving The Problem

    The next day had arrived for the Howlers gang and once again they were without Gary, but it was okay, it wasn''t as if the Howlers were nning to go up against anyone anytime soon, and the gangs that would cause disturbances in the past had quieted down, allowing them to take control and work on their day to day business a lot easier.

    Inside his normal office, surprisingly it was both Kai and Olivia, and as usual Kai was on hisptop, doing his morning research, gathering news on what the other gangs were doing and seeing if there was any way for the Howlers to expand their business.

    ¡°You know you should really get someone else to do this for you.¡± Oliviamented, looking at her newly painted nails. Whenever Ie over you''rete by nearly an hour and yet you insist that I''m the one thates here on time.¡±

    Kai let out a big sigh as he rubbed his eyes due to him looking at the screen a bit too long. As for why Olivia was in the office, it was for their daily training session. Since the two of them were werewolves, Kai thought it would benefit both of them to fight against each other, or to be more precise, to train with each other.

    Although there was no enemy, who knew what they woulde across in the future. However, even though they were training, other than getting better use of their body, knowing how to fight in certain forms, they didn''t feel a rise in strength or power like they had done before, the burst of growth.

    ¡°Hiring somebody would cost money, and that is something that we don''t have plenty of right now, especially after the auction. I can''t even proceed with the n of making Gary a well known tycoon at this rate. I was really hoping for the deal with the electronicspany to go through, but I guess I will have to look elsewhere.¡±

    As Kai continued his research, in the middle of it Olivia had received a phone call.

    ¡°Okay, We¡¯ll be there in a moment.¡± Olivia hung up the phone.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be there?¡± Kai repeated.

    ¡°I assume you will being. It''s Burnham street, they say someone from Notsburg has paid them a little visit and are asking to see the Howlers. A few of our clients used to be from Notsburg, so I know how much of a problem this might be, and with you being the research guru I''m sure you know as well.¡±

    Of course Kai knew, he knew every single city in the country, and Notsburg was a tier-2 city.

    ¡®What do they want with us? Is it a gang the Underdogs were working for? If that is the case, we are not ready yet. We''re not ready to deal with a tier 2 gang.¡¯

    Cancelling their training session for the morning, both Olivia and Kai had decided to head to Burnham food street. He didn''t inform any of the others. At the end of the day, they hade to Slough, and had done so unnoncend.

    If they were nning to attack, they wouldn''t have asked for a meeting and because it was in their own home territory it was most likely to be a safe meeting. At the same time if it came to it, Olvia and Kai certainly had the skills to escape most situations.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Standing outside with the masks on their faces, Kai looked up at the sign above.

    ¡°Of all the ces for them to choose from. Brings back memories, huh.¡±<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Shut up,¡± Olivia said as she walked forward and pushed open the double doors to the seafood restaurant. A ce that used to be the old base of the Pincers.

    Bursting through the door, Olivia had made quite the entrance. All of the workers in the shop bowed down as they knew who it was, even with the mask there was only one person with that figure in the entire city.

    The restaurant had been cleared of customers, so there was no one else inside, apart from one, a man sitting inside with a suit and sses. He looked fairly young, like someone who had just graduated from University.

    From just looking at him, most wouldn''t think he was a gang member, but as Olivia walked over to the four seater table, she also noticed that one of the workers there had a marking on their face.

    Of course, the workers in the seafood restaurant weren¡¯t regr workers, they were all members of the Pincer gang who had fighting experience.

    ¡®He¡¯s on his own, and he still decided to start a fight in here, and obviously he made a big enough presence to stop the others from jumping in.¡¯

    In this situation, Kai knew he had to be the more calm one, so picking up his pace, he walked in front of Olivia and sat down before she did, opposite the man, and he was doing this for his safety rather than hers.

    ¡®This person, it has to just be a messenger, is this not what I think it''s regarding.¡¯

    ¡°I have heard a lot about you Howlers, to think that you really do wear masks to hide your face.¡± The manmented, lifting his sses up with his index finger. ¡°I would assume that none of you are the leader of the Howlers.¡±

    ¡°We are high ranking members.¡± Kai replied. ¡°With enough say in the gang to make decisions. Since this was unannounced, our leader won''t be able to visit. Unfortunately he is away. I''m sure you would understand since it appears to be the same with your leader.¡±

    Kai gave a smile which could be seen with the type of mask he was wearing, since it only covered the upper half.

    ¡°That''s good enough for me.¡± The man said as he lifted up a suitcase that was on the seat next to him. ¡°I have a proposal which I think you would be very very interested in.¡±

    Opening up the case, it was full of the one thing the gang needed at the moment¡­ money.

    *****

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 Chapter 493 Back At The AFA

    It wasn''t everyday that someone from a tier-2 city woulde down to tier-3 town, especially in a ce like Slough to offer some money, so it was safe to say that Kai was intrigued.

    ¡°That''s no small amount.¡± Kai calmly said.

    ¡°10 million to be exact, which I''m sure would be able to do a lot for a gang like yours.¡± The man smiled as he closed the suitcase. He could see that he had already caught Kai¡¯s attention.

    ¡®These tier-3 ces are all the same.¡¯ The man thought.

    This certainly would solve their problems, but only for a short while. It wasn''t a permanent solution. Maybe for other gangs, who weren''t looking to grow out of their own boots, it was life changing money, and especially for those that would spend the money on themselves.

    Which is why he could see other gangs snapping at the opportunity.

    ¡°For that amount of money, I¡¯m sure the task is not a small one.¡± Olivia added.

    ¡°No, no, please it should be fairly simple for you guys, at least based on my research. The Howlers from Slough rose up from nowhere and dominated the Underdogs with sheer strength. Usually a takeover of a ce, even a tier-3 town, would be slow, which just goes to show the wit and strength you guys have.

    ¡°And that is why we havee to you. Because we want to use your strength to take care of a problem.¡±

    Kai was starting to understand the gist of what was being proposed. They wanted the Howlers to be the muscle. It was quitemon for higher gangs to do this when they didn''t want to use their own men, or when it was just easier to act behind the scenes.

    In truth, Kai was just thankful that this didn''t seem to have anything to do with the Underdogs, when that time came, he would have to kick everything up into high gear.

    ¡°I find it hard to believe that there is something we can do that your gang isn¡¯t capable of, what''s the catch?¡± Olivia asked.

    Kai was d, that of all the people, he had Olivia by his side, because she was asking the same questions as he would have done, although at times Kai wasn''t blunt enough, where Olivia was able to be.

    ¡°Money isn''t something that is important to us, but we know it means a lot to others.¡± The man answered. ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase. The target is a tier-3 city, close to Slough, but it''s not a gang but a business instead. All you need to do is disrupt their business a bit.

    ¡°Get in the way of some of their shipments, burn a few warehouses down, it''s up to you how creative you want to get. Of course, doing these things you might get targeted, or there might be some guards that you will have to deal with, which is what the payment is for. There¡¯s no reward without a bit of risk.¡±

    Honestly, Kai thought the offer was quite fair, and since it didn''t involve any killing, maybe it was something that even Gary would allow, but it did make him wonder. What had apany done that managed to annoy a tier-2 city like Notsburg?

    ¡°What is the name of thepany and what did they do? I would hate to do the same thing as they did and offend you guys as well.¡± Kai said.

    ¡°That¡¯s not really part of your business and you know that, even if you did phrase it like that.¡± The man replied. ¡°Thepany is Cardenez Electronics.¡±

    Kai was silent for a while before eventually giving an answer.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°I''m sorry, even though I said we could make the decision, for something like this I would have to speak to our leader about it. You see, our own gang is in our growing phase here and there is quite a bit of trouble here and there. I can give you an answer by the end of the day, and if you don''t hear a call from me. I''m sorry but we can''t ept.¡±

    A few momentster, the man from Notsburg was on his way out.

    ¡°Are you really going to ask Gary about this?¡± Olivia asked.

    ¡°Nah, that was just my excuse to get him out of here, and a way out of this deal. They seem like the type to bear a grudge against those that don¡¯t do what they say. For now, I n to watch this interesting development and see how things go.

    ¡°Maybe a big opportunity wille out of this.¡± Kai smiled.

    ¡ª¡ª

    It was time once again for Gary to head back, head back to the academy. With the next full moon further away than before, he could enjoy his time here in peace, and he could always head back when the full moon was due as well.

    On top of that, his one and only Xin Clove also went to the academy.

    ¡®I wonder if I can meet her again. I won''t be so out of it this time, and maybe we can leave from where we left off.¡¯

    Gary still had the picture of Xin kissing him before leaving fresh in his head. Currently, Gary was riding the bus, it was a long distance away but he was one of the few people on the bus.

    Once he reached the main city, then he needed to switch onto another bus that would take one to the academy. Just as he was at his stop to exchange buses, he got on the one that headed directly to the academy.

    All Gary needed to do was show his ID to the bus driver. When getting on, Gary was expecting it to be empty but there was one person sitting at the back staring out the window.

    ¡°No way, what are you doing here?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Gary¡­I guess you''re heading back to the academy as well.¡± Numba replied.

    ¡°Yeah, I didn''t know you left, what did you leave for?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°I¡­ Just had some family stuff to deal with.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 494 Two Lives

    494 Two Lives

    Both teenage boys had been prepared to just tune out on their way back to the academy, yet ending up together on the ride was a wee surprise. There wasn¡¯t much to catch up on, as the two of them hadn¡¯t really missed much. Gary had left the day before yesterday, whereas Numba had left yesterday.

    The Werewolf had mixed feelings about returning. Part of him was looking forward to it, because the AFA was a dream of his. However, another part of him regretted leaving so soon. After visiting his group of friends, he couldn¡¯t stop worrying about them, his gang and also Slough as a whole. Truly, being a gang leader, even one mostly in name, there was a lot on his te.

    Since they were alone in the bus, and the bus driver wasn¡¯t paying attention, Gary and Numba started discussing their special lessons, though just to be sure they kept it vague. Time passed as they discussed strategies and nned what they would do until the next lesson.

    By the time they arrived the lessons were already over so the two students headed straight for their dormitories. On the floor they could already hear noisesing from a particr room.

    ¡°You¡¯re the same as always! You invite yourself over and decide to watch whatever you want! This is my room, so at least let me pick the film!¡± A male voiceined loudly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that your taste is garbage! Besides, shouldn''t you be studying!¡± A female voice shouted back.

    Since they were both passing by anyway, Gary and Numba decided to inform their friends about their return. The room went silent before the sounds of someoneing over could be heard. Opening it was a messy looking Ian.

    ¡°Hey, Izzy, get over here!The two of them are already back!¡± Ian shouted into the room.

    Hearing this, the sound of a door mming was heard, which Ian thought was strange, but he shrugged his shoulders and let the two of them in.

    ¡°She proby just went for sh*t or something.¡± Ian murmured.

    ¡°No, I didn''t! I''m just freshening up.'''' Izzy shouted from behind the bathroom door.

    As the two of them entered, they could see that Ian¡¯s room was aplete mess. Numba just shook his head and started tidying up the ce. Seeing this Gary realised that this wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen the Goat Altered clean up behind the two and from his practiced technique, Numba might have grown used to cleaning up behind the two.

    While his¡®guest¡¯ was making the room more presentable, Izzy came out as well, her face a little flustered. She brushed some crumbs off the seat she had been in earlier and sat down. Unlike before, his childhood¡¯s friend hair was no longer a ball of mess, rather it was nicely braided. She was clearly making an effort for a certain someone that had returned.

    Once Numba was also happy enough about the state of the room, the group spent some time to catch up. The two left behind naturally wanted to learn more about the other two¡¯s trip, yet both just brushed it off as nothing but a boring trip, with mostly some family things.

    At the same time, neither Izzy nor Ian could contribute much, apart from the fact that they had attended all of their lessons and continued to train with each other, hoping to get stronger and catch up with the two of them. Naturally, just three days was too short a time to do that.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re both still training so hard, but we only got into the main academy. Don¡¯t you want rest a little?¡± Gary asked. At least that was what he nned to do until their next special lesson. Of course, the Werewolf could get stronger from eating the beasts, so training the old-fashioned way wasn¡¯t of much help to him.

    ¡°We need to excel, especially in our physical lessons.¡± Izzy shook her head. ¡°You know they have quarterly assessments for all the students here, right? The AFA isn¡¯t like other academies where you study for a year and then move up a grade. This is THE ce to train the next generation of Altered, so they don¡¯t care about making us book smart.

    ¡°Do you remember those students we fought with when we first entered?¡±

    To be honest Gary didn¡¯t remember much of what any of them looked like apart from Xin. Then again, his mind had been muddled to say the least, but not wanting to exin any of this, he just nodded.

    ¡°Well, that''s what should be our goal. As long as you can prove that you¡¯re ready for a debut match in the AFC, then the teachers will personally take you in and assign you to a coach. After that, you fight your debut match and then, you¡¯re pretty much on your own.

    ¡°At that point, you technically no longer need to attend the academy, since you pretty much just graduated from the AFA to the AFC. If you want, you can still attend lessons and the academy might ask you toe back once in a while and help them with things, but you¡¯re no longer technically a part of the student body.

    ¡°That is why you have to show promise in the assessments! No one is expecting you to pass on your first go, but if we perform well the teachers will keep an eye on us, especially if we¡¯re showing spectacr growth!¡±

    Thinking about this, Gary realised that Xin was one of those students. Her debut match in the AFC could be any day now. Did that mean that soon she would no longer be in the academy and there would be no way for him to see her again?

    ¡®Is there even much of a point for me to stay in the AFA other than the special lessons? With the way I am right now, I should be able to enter the AFC and have a debut match. If I show off at the assessment then I can get out of the AFA as quickly as possible.

    ¡®In that case, I can use my new status as an AFC fighter and then we can turn Kai¡¯s ns of turning me into some tycoon into reality. As long as I show up to my matches, I can just live in Slough with my sister and help the Howlers without having to worry.¡¯

    Gary knew that he should put some more thought into it, but he was pretty sure he had just made his decision. After everyone had run out of things to say to each other, they had decided it was best to have an early night.

    The two childhood friends assumed Gary and Numba to be tired from the travelling and liked to have some time to themselves, before tomorrow¡¯s lesson. Waving goodbye to Numba, Gary entered his room, yet stopped when he noticed that he had spent on something.

    ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ Gary wondered, as he picked up an envelope from the floor, clearly a letter.

    ¡°Meet me in the octagon room level 4 at midnight tonight. I want to talk about what happenedst time.¡±

    ¡®A letter left behind in my room¡­ could this be from Xin?!¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 495 A Confession Letter

    Unfortunately, the mysterious letter wasn''t signed, meaning that anyone could have written it. He had never really seen his Xin write, so looking at the letters wasn¡¯t helping him in the least. Luckily, his new senses gave him one way to try and find out the writer of his letter.

    Taking a sniff Gary tried to catch a whiff of a particr scent. Back when his crush had been kidnapped, he had managed to find her. Since that day, Gary has had her scent locked away in his mind, yet there was no trace of it on the letter.

    ¡®It could still be her right?¡¯ Gary thought, his heart starting to beat a little slower. ¡®Our rooms get cleaned daily, and the letter had to have been dropped off and not too long ago. What should I do?¡¯

    On one hand it could be Xin calling out Gary after being unable to talk with him during theirst meeting. Still, it it was highly unlikely for her to do it this way. If she wanted to contact him, why not meet him directly or at least ask for his number, if not directly, indirectly through his friends?

    Then there was the location, the octagon. Whoever wanted to meet him might have chosen the ce for a fight. The question was how many people were there in the academy that wanted to fight Gary? There were only a handful of people that he had run in with.

    ¡®Ah man, I know I should just leave it. ¡­ but we¡¯re in the academy so it should be safe, right? Even if it¡¯s not her and someone challenges me, nothing is stopping me from walking away¡­ Besides, if it¡¯s not her, whoever wants to talk to me will probably keep pestering me.¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    There was still quite a bit of time for the teenager to change his mind. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him, yet instead of waiting around, he decided to go to the meeting ce beforehand. It felt impossible for him to just ignore it now.

    It was evening, around 9PM, and to his surprise there were quite a few students who were training by themselves. Some were hitting away at the special heavy bags, others were doing drills. There were even a couple of students in the sparring ring, though they weren''t really sparring and were just imitating certain moves in slow motion letting the other person react to it.

    It reminded Gary that he was more safe than he realised. He hadpletely forgotten that in the main academy they were only allowed to fight with the teacher¡¯s permission. Sitting down on one of the side benches, he watched everyone hard at work, pouring sweat as they did their best to improve their bodies to the next level.

    One person in particr caught his eye, as well as those around him. The student was hitting the heaviest bag in the room, and with quite therge amount of force. With each hit the bag would do a swing but he would hit it again as it swung back. The impressive thing wasn''t just the force but also the student¡¯s stamina. Gary continued to watch him for a couple minutes and he was hitting it with the same amount of force speed and power without looking tired.

    ¡®That guy¡¯s name was Wu if I remember correctly. I didn¡¯t realise it during the special lessons, but that guy can really hit.¡¯

    Gary continued to watch him, and more, and more students were stopping their own training to observe him who just continued to hit the bag, not caring that his whole body was dripping with sweat. There was a dark mark around him from all the sweat his body had made.

    ¡®I thought I had a crazy amount of stamina as a Werewolf, but I seem to pale inparison to him. I¡¯m not even sure how to feel about it.¡¯

    Without noticing it, as the time went by it was time for Gary to have his meeting with a certain someone, but when he looked around the only two people left were him and Wu.<sub> </sub>

    ¡®It couldn¡¯t be¡­ was Wu the one to send that letter?¡¯ Gary scratched his head. ¡®But what reason would Wu have to send it? Hang on, ¡®I want to talk about what happenedst time¡¯, does he want to ask me about what happened during the special lesson?¡¯

    Gary continued to wonder what he would be asked, and what he should say, yet Wu simply continued training until the clock struck midnight. At that point, the student stopped mid punch. He grabbed his sports bottle that was by his side. After quenching his thirst, Wu finally seemed to notice Gary at his side and raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°What are you doing here? Don¡¯t tell me you watching me the whole time, I feel¡­ so exposed.¡± Wu eximed as he covered up his chest, though for some reason only his nipples.

    ¡°Oh, shut up!¡± Gary shouted red faced, not having expected this level of shamelessness. Seeing as Wu had been hanging out with Apollo, the Werwolf unconsciously believed him and his friends to be the serious type, yet now it seemed that at least one of them might be a bit of a goofball. ¡°I was just waiting for someone, that''s all. You just happened to be training in here.¡±

    It was quite clear that Wu wasn¡¯t the one that had written the letter. Scratching his head Gary was wondering who it was. He intended to wait a few minutes before giving up, but soon enough the doors opened on the other side of the room.

    A dark skinned man, with several bracelets on both of his arms came. Gary racked his brain, yet he was unable to remember where exactly he seen the other party.

    ¡°Oh, so your date is with one of the debut students. Interesting, you do you, man, I don¡¯t judge¡± Wu noted from the side. That¡¯s when it hit the Werewolf. It was one of the students that had fought against his group when they first came to the real academy, although Gary didn''t remember much about his fight.

    ¡°It''s nice to meet you again, Gary. You don¡¯t seem to remember me, but that¡¯s ok. My name is Shingi. I''m happy to see that you could make it today.¡± As Shingi said those words his voice was shaking slightly and so was his body, which is why he grabbed one arm with his other hand to stop himself.

    ¡°I know you might find it weird as to why I called you, but ever since I saw you train in here, since I saw you rip a hole through that bag, I haven''t been able to sleep properly. I was worried about what would happen in the fight, fearing for my friend''s life. To be honest, I thought that you might kill him, identally or not, but in the end, he lived.

    However, that whole fight that day was strange. For someone with your capabilities, that fight should have been a walk in the park, especially since my friend didn¡¯t believe me when I warned him about you. That¡¯s why I wanted to you, why didn¡¯t you use your full strength in that fight?¡± Shingi asked with a serious look, and there was arger figure behind him, he wasn''t alone.

    ¡°Coincidentally, I¡¯m also curious about the answer to that question.¡± Eddy asked, his arms folded.

    *****

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 Chapter 496 A debut (Part 1)

    Chapter 496 A debut (Part 1)

    Gary had to admit, of all the things that he thought he would be asked, this wasn¡¯t one of them. The thing was, they were right, Gary was having an off day for more reasons than one during the time of the fight.

    On top of that, if Gary was to truly show his absolute full strength in a fight like he had done against a certain supervisor teacher, then he would have to use his full transformation skill.

    Wu, who was still in the room, found the conversation quite interesting, especially since for some reason a teacher was involved. So he decided to take a step to the side, with a towel ced over his head, as he listened to the conversation.

    ¡®If Shingi had just asked the question then I could have yed it off, but why is Eddy, that teacher, asking as well?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gary replied with a smile. ¡°I barely won that fight, and I felt really sick that day, which is why I acted like that. Honestly, I think I was barely conscious since I felt so sick.¡± Gary chuckled.

    ¡°If what you say is true, then you wouldn''t mind having a match with me.¡± Shingi asked, tensing his fist. ¡°I have to fight you, to get over this fear. Are you special, one of a kind? Maybe I¡¯ll find out once I fight you and will be able to progress myself.¡±

    A certain word had caused Wu to look up again.

    ¡®Did Gary say he won his fight? I noticed that guy, so I''m guessing both my group and his group fought against the same guys, but we all lost our fights. Unless they fought against someone else, that wouldn''t be possible.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gary replied. ¡°After what happenedst time, I really don''t have an interest in fighting others. Not when there¡¯s no reason to, I still have a lot to learn at the academy, including how to control my powers properly.¡±

    Shingi looked disappointed by the answer, in truth he had sought out Eddy telling him his worries, and what he was hung up over. Since Eddy had received a few hits from Gary himself, he was interested in this student as well, and agreed to help him out.

    ¡°A reason to fight.¡± Eddy stroked his chin. ¡°Maybe I can give you one. You and Xin, you both know each other right? From the feeling I have, you seem to like that girl, correct?¡±

    Gary''s face made it impossible to hide this fact as he turned away. He was quite an honest person, based on his facial expressions, and a terrible liar.

    ¡°Can you even do that?¡± Shingi whispered, questioning the morals of using one of his other students like so.

    ¡°You know, I am directly in charge of Xin¡¯s lessons before her debut match. There is a reason why you haven''t seen her as much, but if you take part in this match, and do so seriously then maybe I can make some favourable situations for you.¡±

    ¡°Can you even do that?¡± Shingi whispered, questioning the morals of using one of his other students like so.

    A little kick from Eddy quieted Shingi though, since this was all for him in the first ce.

    Maybe such a simple thing wouldn¡¯t have convinced others, but the truth was half the reason why Gary hade to the AFA in the first ce was because of Xin.

    ¡®I can show my strength a little right, I already passed their checks so anything I do now isn¡¯t so suspicious.¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®And the better I show I am, the closer I can get to Xin.¡¯

    In his head, Gary was just imagining the two of them rising through the ranks and then maybe in the future, Xin and Gary would be set up to have a match together. Before the match was to start though, Gary would bow down and forfeit the match saying the words.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t hit the one I love.¡¯

    The crowd would start to cheer and whistle, as Xin shows her cute shy side, and confesses her feelings there and then. It would be a moment for the history books.

    As Gary was thinking about all of this, all the others could see was his shoudlers moving up and down, and stupid faces being made on his face as he went into a daze.

    ¡®This guy¡­ this guy beat one of the top students in the entire AFA¡­ no way. I know he did quite well in the special lesson, but I still can''t see too much of what Apollo sees in him.¡¯

    ¡°Alright, fine!¡± Gary said. ¡°I¡¯ll win this fight, and teacher, you better keep your promise.¡±

    The octagon was set up, and this time unlike the time before, Eddy would be in the cage. He was unsure if a strange urrence would happen likest time, but Gary certainly did seem like a different personpared to thest time he entered the cage.

    Gary was a little concerned because after consuming the beast, he was actually strongerpared to before. He didn''t have the boost of the moon on his side, but he was apletely different person, one that wasn''t fighting with himself, which would allow him to show the full extent of his skills.

    ¡°I have a favour to ask.¡± Gary said, just before the match was about to start. ¡°I know it might sound cocky of me saying this, but if you feel like there is arge difference between the two of us, then give up straight away. For mine and your sake.¡±

    Although Gary hadn''t fought much sinceing into the academy, he did realise something after turning into his werewolf self. With each fight he was growing with excitement and sometimes, he would get carried away, making it harder and harder for him to stop.

    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s do this!¡± Shingi dered.

    *****

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 Chapter 497 A Debut (Part 2)

    Shingi believed that both students had a fair advantage, because he had disyed some of his Altered formst time, even though they weren¡¯t meant to, and he had seen Gary¡¯s wolf-like form.

    The truth was though, Gary couldn''t even remember what this person could do, and he was just going to go with the flow and react. If he showed his absolute strength, he was sure that these guys wouldn''t bother him again.

    ¡°Since you were so nice to give me a tip, let me give you one as well.¡± Shingi said. ¡°When the fight starts, you should use your Altered form straight away. Otherwise you won''t be able to survive the first attack.¡±

    Gary smiled at thisment as he looked at his stats.

    Grade: Bishop

    ss: Warrior

    Level 22

    [Health 250]

    [Energy 300]

    [Exp 8788/11564]

    [Strength 36]

    [Dexterity 26]

    [Endurance 32]

    ¡®The system didn¡¯t give me a quest. I''m sorry, I know you might be skilled, but ording to my system you''re not enough to warrant giving me exp.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°If the fighting gets too dangerous, I will have to step in likest time.¡± Eddy dered.

    Wu stood up, and moved closer to the cage. Everything he was hearing about the teacher having to get involved, just made him imagine a crazy situation that had to have ured thest time Gary fought.

    The thing was, whatever Wu was thinking, it was not crazy enoughpared to what had actually urred.

    ¡°Match Start!¡± Eddy shouted.

    Gary felt like he could win the fight without transforming, but he didn''t want to give everything away, so to make it look like he was trying his best, Gary had transformed his arms, as brown fur started to grow on his legs, and part of his face as well.

    Right now, essentially his whole body had been transformed, but not quite to the point where he was a full werewolf, just around 60 to 70 percent.

    As for Shingi, he immediately went to strike out, he threw both of his arms forward, and they stretched across the entire arena going to the other side. It was extremely fast, but it ended up hitting nothing but the cage.

    ¡°Where did he go?¡± Shingi thought.

    ¡°Brace yourself.¡± A voice from underneath was heard, as Gary had his fist tensed and threw it right into his stomach. The contact was tough and loud, lifting Shingi¡¯s body up into the air. Quite a bit of liquid hade out of Shingi¡¯s mouth, but in truth he wanted to throw up.<sub> </sub>

    Eddy, who was standing on the side, had seen the whole thing.

    ¡®I knew Gary was skillful when he kept dodging all of Ryan¡¯s attacks, but he had moved the instant Shingi started his attack, and that speed and strength is crazy. Maybe I should stop the fight here, Shingi is clearly outmatched.¡¯

    While in the air though, Shingi gritted his teeth and was determined. There was a reason why he was one of the top students soon about to debut. His arms retracted back to him fast, and he stretched them out again, grabbing both of Gary¡¯s shoulders.

    Honestly Gary thought the fight was going to be over with that, and he was interested to see what Shingi would try to pull next.

    The top of Shingi''s head had turned a strange silver, as if his skin had hardened into a type of metal, then pulling forward and leaning his head back it stretched out slightly. He was going for a headbutt.

    Seeing this Gary smiled.

    ¡®I know you wanted me to go all out, but I can''t do that. I have skills that would be deadly and if I turned into a full Werewolf you might find out that I''m not really an Altered, but there is something I can show you. That my endurance is top notch!¡¯

    As Shingi swung his head, Gary did at the same time and they both bashed into each other. Gary''s head was meant to fling back but instead it stayed there. With his hands Gary grabbed both of Shingi¡¯s.

    ¡°You are better than I thought¡­ but you should rest now.¡± After saying those words, Shingi¡¯s whole body weakened, and he copsed on the ground, passing out there and then.

    Gary''s forehead was a little sore. It was safe to say that Wu watching was left a little confused as to why Shingi was on the floor, when Gary had only done one attack, unless one counted the headbutt.

    Eddy, walking over to Shingi on the ground, smiled at him.

    ¡°You did well. You were already out of the fight after that first hit, but you decided to stay in there a little longer and show him everything you had instead, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Gary noticed it as well, the look in Shingi¡¯s eyes halfway while he was performing the headbutt, they were already gone. Simr to that of a person that had passed out. Gary was surprised he had held on after the first punch he was aiming to finish the fight quickly so he didn''t have to show more and he had done it.

    Showing that he had more than what he had shown with the fight against Ryan, without having to show everything, he actually had.

    A few momentster and Shingi came to, and seeing Gary, immediately he went to the canvas and ced his head on the ground.

    ¡°Thank you so much for having a match with me. It''s as I thought. You really are something special, but there is one thing I''m happy about.¡±

    Shingi thought back to the punch he received and the damage to the bag he had seen. He was happy that he was able to take Gary¡¯s punch and survive.

    ¡°Hey, please we are all students here, learning. I¡­ just have gone through a lot in my life.¡± Gary said as he gave out his hand to Shingi and lifted him off the floor both smiling at each other.

    ¡°Well, now that this is out of the way, I have a big question that I need to ask.¡± Eddy grinned. ¡°I think you''re more than ready to join the AFC. Why don¡¯t you join the Debut students and practise with them?¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 498 Becoming A Debut Student?

    498 Bing a Debut Student?

    Although Wu had to admit that Gary was impressive in the match just now, he couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. The teacher had just asked for Gary to bypass all of the procedures and prepare for his debut match.

    This was the goal of every student in the AFA, and it was being handed to him right here and then.

    For Eddy though it was a simple matter, Gary had beaten Ryan, the number 2 of the debut students. Some might have thought it was down to luck or his out of control powers, yet here he was having beaten another student with ease.

    It wouldn''t make sense not to put him at the same level as them, and staying in the academy for whatever reason would just be a waste of his time. It was clear this was someone who managed to hide under the scouts radar and more.

    For a second, Gary started to think about the benefits. He was already thinking about, at the next quarter assessment, of trying his best. That way he could quit the academy and go back to the gang, but to have that option arrive so soon in front of him.

    ¡®If I ept, it means I¡¯ll be under a private coach like Eddy, and then in the academy until my official first match, after that I¡¯ll no longer be in this ce.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°If I say yes.¡± Gary replied. ¡°Does that mean I will be taken out of my dormitory and all of my current lessons including the special lessons?¡±

    Eddy didn''t reply straight away, because he knew the special lesson was good for growth, but in his opinion the special lessons were below Gary. In fact, students normally, afterpleting the special lessons, woulde out of them at the stage where Gary was now.

    On top of that, there was something else Eddy didn¡¯t like about the special lessons either. It was the fact that students had died before. Students just as promising as Gary had lost their life and in doing so never got to see the stage

    Eddy didn¡¯t know much about what urred in the special lessons, he wasn''t allowed to, but it still gave him a bad feeling.

    ¡°When you be a debut student, you will be given a set date for your first match. You will then follow the coach''s schedule and only the coach''s schedule. You will also be sent to a different part of the facility, one that can move you away from distraction, but of course you cane back to visit if need be.¡± Eddie answered.

    Hearing that, Gary had made his decision, or at least he thought he had, as he opened his mouth to reply, he closed it again as images shed through his head. An injured Numba in the preliminaries, a shy Izzy, and an energetic Ian cracking jokes.

    He was enjoying his time at the academy, and so far they had passed everything together. Taking a shortcut like this¡­ it just didn¡¯t feel right.

    ¡°How long until the next assessment?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°In 4 weeks, if you get a fight it will take 8 weeks of preparation time as well.¡± Eddy answered.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I''m going to have to decline,¡± Gary replied. ¡°But I promise, that as long as I prove myself at the assessment, you will see me then.¡±

    After that, it would be the end of the time at AFA and heading back to the gang, to see where his 20:33

    path would lead him to. With the conversation over, Shingi thanked Gary once more before leaving.

    Eddy smiled at this answer, after all there was no doubt in his head that Gary would pass, so waiting an extra 4 weeks wasn¡¯t too much to ask. As for Gary, this also meant 4 more weeks of special lessons that he could make use of.

    After that, it would be the end of the time at AFA and heading back to the gang, to see where his path would lead him to. With the conversation over, Shingi thanked Gary once more before leaving.

    Giving out a big yawn, Gary walked down the hallway as he thought about what a tiring day it had been, but he couldn¡¯t wait for the morning breakfast, being a Werewolf was certainly a tiring job for once a month.

    Wu looked at Gary as he walked down the hallway.

    ¡°Honestly, I thought he would have jumped at the chance. I know I would have.¡± Wu said to himself. ¡°Crazy though, how Apollo said the same thing when he was offered it as well.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day after waking up, Gary had attended his lessons as usual, going through all of the procedures learning about Altered fighting techniques and more. It was still somewhat a dream for him and unlike in school, Gary had paid close attention to everything.

    On top of that, whenever asked questions about certain things, openings in analysing videos and such, he was able to answer most of the questions.

    ¡®Is that how Gary is able to grow at a fast speed?¡¯ Izzy thought. ¡®He seems like a bit of an airhead, but when ites to things like fighting, he¡¯s quite the genius.¡¯

    Whatever the reason was, Izzy would have to work harder especially since she was the least physically capable out of the entire group, she didn¡¯t want to be left behind.

    When leaving the ss, a lot of the students looked to the left of the exit door, as if they were staring at someone strange, and when Gary and Numba left they understood why.

    ¡°AH COO COO!¡± Crowley said. ¡°I was looking for you two. I thought that you might have both gone to the loo.¡±

    Izzy and Ian looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

    ¡°Who is this¡­ weird adult?¡± Ian couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°He¡¯s our special lesson teacher.¡± Gary answered.

    Suddenly, both Izzy and Ian didn''t feel so bad missing out on the special lessons if that was their teacher.

    ¡°Enough!¡± Crowley said, lifting his hands and his ck feathered cape was raised with it. ¡°There has been a change of ns, as there is a special guest today. COO! You must attend an extra special lesson today.¡±

    ****

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 Chapter 499 A Special Guest

    A surpise meeting was taking ce at the AFA academy, due to an unexpected guest. This guest didn¡¯t announce his arrival, but when he arrived, even the professors of the ce felt the need to pamper and treat this person with respect as they came.

    In fact, it was an honour that such a person had decided toe to the AFA. Although they did expect he woulde someday due to a particr person.

    Currently, the special guest was in one of the many meeting rooms, and the only ones in the room were the three professors that practically ran the AFA, Hai, Wood and Humfree. A request had been made that even they didn¡¯t expect.

    ¡°You would like to see the results of thest special lesson?¡± Humfree replied, as he stroked his beard. ¡°That certainly is possible, but I''m surprised you are interested. You didn''t ask about the other sessions, just the most recent one.¡±

    The man smiled. ¡°I had just heard that someone interesting had arrived, that was all. I just wondered how they might have done.¡±

    The professors looked at each other. The person who had made the request already knew of the content of the special lessons so they saw no trouble on their end, and they thought it might be good to get their opinion on the students as well.

    As the video was getting set up, six reports were handed across the table so the person in question could check them out.

    ? Then finally the video of the lesson started to y. It showed both groups fighting what should be the first beast of their life. However, for some students in the video, it certainly didn''t look that way.

    ¡°I see.¡± The man replied. ¡°These certainly are some special students. You have been having quite a good few prospects in thest couple of years. As they say, the new crop of Altered just keeps getting better and better.¡±

    Sorting out through the files he had just received, eventually he handed two of them back to the professors.

    ¡°If you were to ask me, these two are the ones that you need to look out for. They certainly will be something big.¡±

    The professors looked at the two that were chosen, and all of them nodded in agreement, because they had the same inkling. The names on the reports were Apollo and Gary.

    ¡°You have done a lot for me already.¡± The man said. ¡°But If you don¡¯t mind, I have one more request that could be beneficial to you.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Numba, Sty and Gary were all following teacher Crowley once again. They had already passed through therge steel doors and in the small waiting room they met up with the other trio that would usually be together, Wu, Snow and Apollo.

    For some reason, Gary noticed that Apollo was looking his way smiling. The rtionship between Apollo and Gary wasn¡¯t significant by any means and they only had one or two interactions here and there, but not enough for Gary to judge his character.

    ¡°Man, I really didn''t expect them to have another special lesson so soon. I''m really not sure if I''m ready for this, Gary.¡± Numba whispered.

    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m quite happy about there being a surprise lesson.¡± Gary replied, smiling back. The extra stats, the exp, all of it could only be found here.

    ¡°Man, Gary, I wish you were just a little bit weird, sometimes I feel like I''m the crazy one for worrying too much.¡± Numba said, as he could see Apollo smiling as well.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much.¡± Wu said. ¡°I¡¯m a bit nervous too.¡±

    It was somethign Wu couldn¡¯t deny after what had urred, and since they would be fighting with those they didn¡¯t know so well, they didn¡¯t have their normal friends to back them up.

    After following Crowley to the red and blue rooms and putting on their clothing, he cleared his throat.

    ¡°COO!¡± Crowley shouted, catching their attention. ¡°Today¡¯s lesson, both teams will be taking part together.¡±

    Immediately, because of this, the students were thinking that the beast that they would be facing this time had to be a tough one. They had been warned about this beforehand, but then why did it have to be a surprise lesson, why couldn''t it have been scheduled at the normal time?

    ¡°Although you will be working together, your colours still signify your team, and the assessor will be judging each team on their performance. The ones that do the best, will be allowed a special request.¡± Crowley smiled.

    ¡°Wait, didn''t you say that when the task forces the two teams to work together, that we should do anything we can to survive?¡± Numba asked with a raised hand.

    ¡°Yes I did, and that is still true apart from this special special lesson.¡± Crowley answered. ¡°You will understand when you pred.¡±

    ¡°The special request?¡± Snow raised his hand. ¡°Is it likest time, something we ask from NIRV.¡±

    ¡°This one is a little different.¡± Crowley replied. ¡°It will be limited to whatever the academy can do, within their power.¡±

    With no other questions, Gary looked across to Apollo who had done the same. This was a contest between the two teams and they would be in the same room. Finally the two would be able to see what the other had.

    Both doors to the rooms opened, and they entered a separate chamber as the doors closed behind them, then when the doors opened again, both teams had entered a bright white room, just like before, and a single person stood on the other side.

    ¡°I''m guessing you are all slightly confused?¡± The man said standing there.

    The others all froze for a moment as they couldn''t believe who they were looking at, meanwhile Gary just covered his face with both hands, closing his eyes.

    ¡°Today, your special lesson will be fighting me. I will be testing all six of you. Come at me at once, and show me your full strength, especially you, streaker boy.¡± the man said.

    *****

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 Chapter 500 The End Goal

    Although the academy didn''t have many studentspared to ces that would focus on academic studies, or those academies that would ept anyone as long as they were an Altered, but for some reason the AFA was incrediblyrge.

    This was due to a number of reasons, one of them being the multiple training facilities they would have. While others thought that the academy did more than just train people, using facilities such asbs and such for otherpanies.

    A little ways away from the main area, past the main field, there was quite arge square-like building that would look more like the outside of a swimming facility if it was in another ce, but there was no swimming going on inside. Instead all that could be heard was just loud grunts.

    ¡°Harder! Each punch needs to be as strong as your first!¡± Eddy shouted, pping his hands.

    Several loud bangs were heard, echoing and going off one after the other, as Eddy looked at his students and gave them a nod. Right now, he was training the debut students. They were in a special facility designed just for them.

    Currently all were present, Xin, Ryan, Shingi as well as the others, and they were on a green like astro turf grass, punching arge punching bag. It wasn''t a regr bag, and in fact it was even tougher and heavier than the ones they had at the academy.

    On top of that, they were on a special system. Each time they would punch a bag, it would move away on a pulley system. When it stopped, a red mark would be left where the bag reached and it would then start toe back.

    Each time the bag came back, the students were to hit it again as hard as they could, either getting the same distance as they did before, or surpassing it. This was why Eddy was able to see if the punches they were doing now were just as strong as their first.

    All of them were drenched in sweat, and as Xin saw the bage back her way, she mustered up the strength again, and threw out a punch hitting it hard, sending it three quarters of the entire length of the room they were in.

    Ryan, looking to his right, could see that Xin¡¯s punch was the furthest.

    ¡®How can she still hit it that hard, even after going at it for 20 minutes.¡¯

    Ryan''s altered form was somewhat simr to a gori, and being like that, he had extreme power even when he wasn''t transformed into his Altered state. At first, his punch had gone further than Xin¡¯s. It wasn¡¯t by much but it was a win in Ryan¡¯s eyes.

    However, as this test went on he started to realise, after ten minutes he could no longer hit it as hard as he could before, not reaching his red marker, yet Xin was still hitting hers.

    ¡®It doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s pulling her punches either. I guess that''s just Xin, she¡¯s on another levelpared to us.¡¯

    Thinking about this, as Ryan saw the bage back to him, he really wanted to hit the red marker he had made before, and as he threw his hand he started to draw out power, his forearm grew slightly and his knuckles growing slightly harrier as he hit the bag, and sent the bag flying, past his original red marker.

    ¡°RYAN!¡± Eddy shouted, as he pressed a button and reset the marker back to where it was before. ¡°I told you already, that you are not to use your Altered forms. You have to build a strong foundation without your forms.

    ¡°Improving your natural body is the first step to allowing you to bring out everything you can in your Altered forms. When transformed, you rely on that state, so it''s hard to train your Altered state, but by building your everyday state, your Altered state will improve with it!¡± Eddy nodded his head up and down proud of his lecture.

    The lesson went on for a while, until everyone copsed on the ground out of breath and worn out, apart from Xin. She was breathing deep breaths but still at a slow rhythm.

    She had taken in a breath as the bag came towards her, then at the right time exhaled out as she punched it once again hitting the red marker.

    ¡°I¡­ just don¡¯t understand her.¡± Ryan said, taking deep breaths in between.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Eddy pped. ¡°That is enough with that, you all did well, let''s rest up for now and then we will get to the next training session.¡±

    Xin walked over to the others and then equally, just like them, she sat on the floor and started drinking heaps of water, it was clear that she was actually tired, but it was just, while the training session was going on, she had this fierce look in her eyes that she was able to switch on and off.

    ¡°Come on, you got to tell me what juice you''re on?¡± Ryan said, throwing her a snack bar to eat.

    Catching it, Xin quickly dropped it to the ground.

    ¡°I''m not on anything, it''s just¡­ in each of these training sessions. I give it my all no matter what, no matter how exhausted I feel.¡±

    Everyone wanted to hear what Xin had to say, but they too felt like they were giving it their all, it was just their body wasn''t letting them. It wasn''t the answer they were looking for.

    ¡°Okay, then let me ask you this instead, what pushes you to work so hard?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°And don''t ke out like you usually do. Whenever I ask this question you just give me a fake answer and just duck out, but it''s clear you wanted to be part of the AFC for a reason.¡±<sub> </sub>

    Thinking about this question, for Xin there was more than one reason, but how to exin that her father was an overprotective person due to his position, that he thought his daughter was weak?

    On top of that, she would always bepared to her brother, who she cared for dearly, but wished to be on the same level as him, or at least surpass his achievements, which was a big ask for anybody.

    ¡°I want to be free.¡± Xin answered. ¡°I want to live a life where I can walk the streets, go to whatever city I like and do as I wish. To do that without having anyone to look out for me or worry for me, then I would have to be the best right?¡±

    ¡°Wow!¡± One of the others said. ¡°Well, that''s a better answer than mine, I''m just doing it because I want to be famous. I mean after a few matches in the AFC, then I can go get an acting job or something.¡±

    ¡°We can see why you''re the first one to copse then.¡± Ryan joked.

    ¡°I wonder what his reason is for being here.¡± Shingi mumbled. ¡°I wonder how he would have done on the test as well.¡±

    ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Ryan asked.

    Shaking his hands, Shingi looked to be on the defensive.

    ¡°Oh, no one, just forget about it.¡±

    ¡°Noe on, just say who it is you were thinking about. Who¡¯s caught your eye?¡± Ryan asked again.

    Looking down, Shingi really didn¡¯t want to say the name of said person, because of what happened, but he also knew that Ryan would keep pressuring him until he got an answer out of him.

    ¡°It was Gary¡­¡± Shingi said.

    After saying it, everyone went a bit quiet. They all knew it was a taboo subject around Ryan, as it reminded them all of what happened during that match.

    ¡°It''s alright guys, I''m over it, I promise. You don¡¯t have to treat his name like he''s some bogeyman around me.¡± Ryanughed and the othersughed nervously around him.

    ¡°Oh really.¡± Eddy said, having juste out from the side. ¡°That''s a good thing then. I was worried that if he epted the invitation to join us, you would have been affected, but now that I¡¯ve heard this, it might motivate you to work even harder.¡±

    ¡°What? You asked a student that''s barely been here a couple of weeks to join us!¡± one of the others shouted.

    ¡°Will you all calm down, he said no anyway.¡± Eddy folded his arms. ¡°That also reminds me, Xin I might need to speak to youter on¡­ about him.¡±

    The others were certainly interested to know what this was about. Why would she and Gary be involved? They had stayed away from the subject so far as to not annoy Ryan but now he said he was okay with it.

    ¡°Enough, we don''t need to know about that.¡± Ryan said red faced, trying to change the subject, what he hated more than talking about Gary was talk about Gary and Xin. ¡°Speaking of, teacher, do you know why Jayden Tiger was at the academy?¡±

    ¡°Jayden is here!¡± Xin almost jumped up. It was a secret to everyone that it was her brother, but why didn''t hee see his sister? She thought, folding her arms.

    ¡°Yeah, I thought he might being over to train us for a bit or something?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°Oh really, I guess I should look into it.¡± Eddy said with a smile, wondering what was going on right now.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 501 6 Vs 1

    ¡°I must be dreaming, but that''s Jayden Tiger, right?¡± Wu asked with glowing eyes. His fellow students were just as baffled to see the Altered celebrity in person, but without a doubt, this was the famous ¡®White Tiger¡¯.

    Snow frantically started searching his pockets for something to give to one of his idols, eventually pulling out a carrot while also dropping a few on the floor. It was amazing itself how one could hide so many carrots on one¡¯s body in the first ce.

    With the carrot in hand, he was running over to Jayden¡¯s side.

    ¡°Would you mind signing it for me?¡± Snow asked with some slight embarrassment. ¡°It¡¯s the only thing I have on me right now.¡±

    In some situations, this might have been embarrassing but the others were just jealous that they didn¡¯t have anything that Jayden could sign right now.

    ¡°Just what strings did the AFA pull to get the 48th strongest AFC to teach us a lesson?¡± Sty wondered out loud. It was normal for students to be star struck when meeting someone from the AFC, even more so since this wasn''t just a regr fighter but someone within the top fifty of the world. Even those who didn¡¯t watch AFC fights would recognise him with ease.

    ¡°Thanks for all the praise, but I¡¯m actually back to rank 49 after yesterday¡¯s fight. In the end, I lost by a few points.¡± Jayden admitted freely. Since he didn''t have a pen on him to sign Snow¡¯s carrot, the young adult simply transformed his finger nail into a w and used that to make an indentation of his signature instead. ¡°There you go. It¡¯s my rest day today, so i decided to pay a visit.¡±

    ¡°Do you think it was the AFA or NIRV who asked him toe here to teach us? I mean, his schedule must be filled to the brim with training, shoots, and more?¡± Numba whispered to Gary by his side. Although the two weren¡¯t on the same team, since they were friends it was natural for the two of them to stand next to each other, but Gary had moved to the back of the group still covering his face with two of his hands, even though nobody seems to have connected the dots that Jayden had addressed him with that awful nickname.

    ¡°What are you getting all shy for, shouldn''t you at least say hi?¡± Jayden prompted, as he looked toward the back of the room, making everyone turn their heads. ¡°When I heard that you not only managed to make it into the real AFA, but also joined the special lessons, I just had to pay you a visit. It''s been awhile since west fought, so I¡¯m looking forward to see how much you improved.¡±

    ¡®Gary¡­ y-you actually know Jayden personally?! Just what kind of rtionship do the two of you have for him to not only be interested in you, but also make time to teach us a lesson?! And what does he mean, since youst fought?¡¯ Numba¡¯s head was filled with questions, but now didn¡¯t seem like the right time to ask his friend about those.

    He wasn''t the only one whose opinion about Gary changed drastically.

    ¡®I knew it!¡¯ Apollo smirked. ¡®Someone that strong, couldn''t havee from some no-name Tier-3 town. He has to have connections, I just never thought that Jayden Tiger would be one of them. I¡¯ll seriously need to ask one of the teachers to allow me to have a match against him, but for now¡­ I''m more excited to see how I fare against an actual AFC fighter.¡¯

    Apollo started to punch his fist into the palm of his hand, and Jayden saw this, which made him clear his throat.

    ¡°Ahem, let¡¯s focus on the contents of this extra special lesson please. There will be more than enough time for us all to talk afterwards, provided you do good enough.¡± Jayden stated, not forgetting to offer them some extra motivation. ¡°For the next fifteen minutes, both teams are to attack me as if I were your enemy. There¡¯s no need to hold back, so I advise you to turn into your Altered forms.

    ¡°I will be the one grading both teams, and the one to do better will win the reward. It¡¯s up to you whether you want to work together, or get in the way of the other team. From what I saw from yourst special lesson, unless the six of youe at me together, you won¡¯t stand a chance of actually defeating me.¡±

    With the rules exined it was time for them to get ready. The red team, Apollo, Sty and Numba, stayed on the right side, while the blue team, Gary, Wu and Snow stayed on the left. Then there was Jayden who was standing on the other side of the fifty metre fighting room.

    ¡°BEGIN!¡± Jayden shouted which sounded almost like a growl as his face started to change. White fur appeared on his face with loose ck marks, as his nails turned into ws. It was a small partial transformation but just this slight change made the teenagers feel a slight form of pressure.

    ¡®Thest time we fought, he didn¡¯t transform but I did see him use some of his strange skills against that red colour gang. We have to be careful.¡¯ Gary thought, but just when he wanted to warn his teammembers, he could see that everyone else had decided to recklessly charge in.

    Numba had transformed into his goat-like state, the horns on the top of his head pointing at Jayden. Wu had the same antennas on him as before with his body covered in sweat. Then there was Snow with his fluffy white fur andrge legs hopping around. Sty was in his bug like state and was flying around.

    All of them seemed confident in their skills as they charged ahead, and even Apollo was towards the front as well.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Really, your big n is to charge at me all at once?¡± Jayden scratched the back of his head as he let out a low sigh. ¡°I guess you¡¯re confident in numbers. If people saw this many Altereding at them even if they were Altered themselves they would be frightened, but you have to remember¡­ I''m not your regr Altered.¡±

    Jayden ced his leg back slightly, as he got in position and swung his hand back, the next moment he threw his hand out with massive force. The group had yet to reach him, there was still a good 15 metres before any one of them were in striking distance.

    When his arm swung, arge powerful gust of wind came out. It immediately hit the others like a concrete wall. They were kicked off their feet, into the air, their bodies spinning as they crashed on the floor. The wind was too hard for Sty to continue flying as he fell as well.

    ¡°Oh, one of you managed to break through that. Good job.¡± Jayden praised, as he could see something akin to a giant white pr bear rush through his attack. Apollo¡¯s Altered form still looked made him look human but it was as if he had grown an entire size. His cheeks had transformed a little making them puffier but the details of his face were still there. Charging ahead on all fours, he was running at an incredibly fast speed for someone of that size.

    ¡°You¡¯re good.¡± Jayden said, as he glided across the floor suddenly being pushed by the wind. He didn''t even move his feet; it looked like he flew over. Apollo had carefully watched his feet, but because of that he was unprepared for Jayden to suddenly appear in front of him throwing out a fist. It wasunched right into the Pr Bear Altered¡¯s stomach, and once again arge rush of wind came out of the strike lifting Apollo high up in the air, causing him to crash andnd on the floor.

    Only a few seconds had passed, and Gary had just stayed at the back and watched everything.

    ¡®One swing knocked down four of them and a single punch was enough to do Apollo in. Is this what it means to be the best of the best¡­ no, he himself admitted that there are Altered out there even stronger than¡­ and he isn¡¯t even taking thispletely serious¡­¡¯

    ¡°They don¡¯t call me White Tiger and Master of the Wind for nothing.¡± Jayden boasted proudly, making a fist.

    ¡®If I want to protect my family and the gang in the future then I need to be stronger than him.¡¯

    [Skill activated Controlled Transformation]

    [New Quest received]

    [Honorable Fight 3.0!]

    [Among your team, you¡¯re thest man standing!]

    [Condition: Survive fifteen minutes or knock your opponent out]

    [Reward: ???]

    [Failure: ???]

    ****

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 Chapter 502 6 Vs 1 (Part 2)

    If Jayden had fully transformed then Gary could never dream to win this fight without transforming himself. However, since the AFC fighter obviously held back, Gary decided to transform to around 80% of his Full Transformation. His face was the only thing that remained as it was. Although it was now covered in brown fur, he had neither arge snout nor had he sprout hisrge canines.

    ¡®This looks just like the Quest the System issued when I fought against Xin. It¡¯s the only one I ever failed so far. Should I thank you, System, for giving me a chance to redeem myself?¡¯ Gary thought as he ran forward.

    It was at a fast speed, and all of the others that were still getting up from the first strike had seen him go right past them all.

    ¡®That guy, he''s even faster than when he fought against Shingi?¡¯ Wu thought.

    Seeing this Jayden prepared the same strike he had done against the others, and swung his arm out letting out arge gust of wind. Seeing this, Gary waited for the fur to rustle a little bit, and when the wind wall came at him at full force the Werewolf pushed off the ground, and swung both his hands as if he was striking the air.

    To those looking from the outside it looked silly, since the wind was invisible to the eye, but Gary¡¯s strong force and use of sharp nails allowed him to cut right through and continue forward.

    ¡°I see, so far the wolf and the pr bear get equal points. Let''s see if you can get through the next part.¡± Jayden smiled.

    When Gary was close enough, he was ready to swing at Jayden''s head but just before he did, the Altered swung his arm slightly, and from the side a gust of wind hit the teenager, moving his body off to the side, making him nothing but the air.

    Using this opportunity. Jayden went forward and kicked Gary with a push of his leg. It was strong forceful, and Gary felt the force of the wind send him flying back and crashing across the ground. In the end, Gary had to use his ws to stop himself from bouncing all over the ce, as he was back in line with the others.

    [-10HP]

    [240/250 HP]

    ¡®The wind is strong, but it looks like he¡¯s still holding back to make sure he doesn¡¯t hurt us too much. Unlike against those gang members he isn¡¯t using fatal attacks. I can¡¯t believe that Jayden is so much stronger to the point that he can pretty much y with us like this, without having to worry.¡¯ Gary thought, and the realisation dampened his mood.

    If he wanted, he could have easily ended the fight right then and there, but since he hade here to teach the teenagers a lesson, Jayden stayed in ce and waited for everyone to get up from the ground. This time, none of them were quick to charge in again.

    ¡°Great, it looks like you¡¯ve learned your first lesson. It¡¯s always smarter to study the skill set of your opponent rather than just rushing in to attack. This is true for fighting humans, Altered, but also beasts. Never make the mistake of thinking you fully know what your opponent is capable of, just because you might have studied him beforehand.

    ¡°I bet you all thought that just because you¡¯ve seen me on TV many times that you already knew my skill set. I hope I don¡¯t burst any bubbles, but as you will learn in the future, the AFC prohibits the use of special attributes for Altered like me.

    ¡°So this wind power that my Altered form grants me has never been seen before on TV. Well, streaker boy over there might have warned you, since he¡¯s seen me use it already. This is why you I told you that you needed teamwork. If Gary had informed you of that beforehand then you all would have fared better, right?¡±

    The others turned to look at Gary including Wu and Snow. Their eyes were questioning him whether he had withheld that information on purpose, just so could impress Jayden the most.

    ¡®Don¡¯t me me, when you guys were the ones that ran off before I could even say anything!¡¯ Gary thought to himself as he rolled his eyes, frustrated at theck of trust, and at Jayden obviously scapegoating him.<sub> </sub>

    Now that everyone was a bit more cautious they had naturally split up around the room in their forms. Apollo surprisingly had actually gone back, while Gary moved forward to act as part of the attack force this time.

    The idea was simple, with them being split up, it should be near impossible for Jayden to use his attack like he had done before. The White Tiger was ncing around him, smiling and the first to make a move was Sty, as he spat strange green liquid from his mouth.

    Jayden moved away to avoid the attack, but the second he did, with a burst of power Numba charged forward with his horns. Unfortunately, his charge was stopped prematurely, as Jayden held onto them.

    ¡°You have quite the explosive bit of power there, and the two of you worked well together, a point for the red team!¡± Jayden announced, just before he mmed Numba¡¯s head into the floor, and his transformed state was reverted back to normal. Judging by the cracking sound, it was safe to say that Numba was out of this fight.

    Sty continued to spit out the green acid like substance at Jayden, who was able to avoid it easily as he moved bit by bit, and Snow, getting impatient, jumped in with his rabbit-like legs. It seemed like the perfect time, since their opponent would have to move to avoid getting hit by the acid, but with a flick

    of his wrist, wind moved the acid and sshed it right in Snow¡¯s face, covering his eyesight and burning him.

    Lifting his leg up Jayden was ready to finish him off with a kick to the head, but standing in the way with arge forearm and atenea, Wu punched the leg that wasing toward them. It was a powerful punch that matched even Jaydne¡¯s strength.

    ¡°That¡¯s impressive power you have there. Extra point for your team, but I¡¯m afraid I have to get a little more serious on you.¡± Jayden said, as cuts appeared across both Wu and Snow¡¯s body. It looked like w marks and they had no idea when this had urred.

    Concerned about the cuts, with two swings of his hand, Jayden bashed their heads together, knocking both out. At that moment, jumping out from the side though was Gary, as heunched in with his w.

    The Altered moved back avoiding it, but mid strike Gary used his Controlled Transformation to extend his ws longer and scratching the top of his chest.

    ¡®You aren¡¯t the only one with skills.¡¯

    [w drain]

    [+2HP]

    ¡°You waited for the right time to strike, but you ended up losing your teammates in the process, so I can¡¯t give you any points. You in the back are doing the same mistake.¡± Jayden critized Apollo. ¡°I already told you that you would need to work together, if you continue the special lessons like this, you¡¯ll end up in serious trouble in the future.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 503 A Winner

    A lot of what Jayden said was unheard by the students. For one, most of them were already knocked out. Even Sty had been hit by a wind st at some point, banging his head into the wall.

    Leaving the only students able to listen being Apollo and Gary, but with Apollo being on the other side of the room it was unlikely he heard anything and as for Gary, he was so focused on the person ahead of him, that he was drowning out the wordsing from his mouth.

    ¡®I scratched him¡­ which means I can hit him as well, which means I can win this fight!¡¯ Gary thought, as he burst off the ground from his position, swinging his arms at Jayden. Although the attacks were fast, Jayden was able to see them rtively easily, and he could parry away the strikes without touching Gary¡¯s hand.

    Right now, Gary¡¯s strength was unable to be felt because a single hit wasn''tnding on Jayden.

    ¡®I only have a few skills, the w drain,st stand, and howling force, but in this situation none of them can help me. Did I make a mistake, should I have stopped focusing on stats and have used pawn points to unlock a skill from the system instead?

    ¡®I still have two pawn points right now that I can use, but I''m trying to get a skill and use it in the middle of a fight.¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking far too much.¡± Jayden said, as he jumped, flipping over Gary and Gary¡¯s strike with his hand had gone right into the wall, stabbing it.

    Gary didn¡¯t even realise that they were this close to the wall because he was so focused on hitting Jayden.

    ¡®In a ring, Gary¡¯s speed and tenacity would put nearly any AFC contestant in trouble. His speed, strength, and his deadly ws¡­ his transformed state, it''s one of the strongest I¡¯ve ever seen. In the ring where one can''t use special abilities or attributes, you may very well be champion, but outside the ring¡­

    ¡®It will be hard Gary, if you are continuing down your path, you will meet those who are far more powerful than me, with far more dangerous skills. You have to learn how to fight them. I''m d I came here, because you need to learn a lot more than what the AFA can teach you if you''re going to survive.

    ¡®I know you were the one that defeated Kirk, and I know you''re involved with the Howlers. I¡¯ve been watching the news carefully to see what you have been doing and it looks like Slough has be a better ce¡­ but there will be those out there that will try to take advantage of that. It was the same for me.¡¯

    With a double palm push from his hands, Jayden unleashed a strong wind that pushed Gary into the wall further with his ws, because there was another one that wasing toward him.

    Apollo, had been waiting for the right time, and while Jayden and Gary were busy fighting, Apollo had begun his charge, he had reverted to his full Altered form, looking more like a pr bear than a human, and was running on all fours.

    It was slow at first, but soon he began to pick up speed and was running as fast as a car as he came straight toward Jayden. When heunched forward, Apollo¡¯s form was changing into his half state making him appear more human and Apollo had the biggest grin on his face, because he could tell that this was too fast even for Jayden to react.

    ¡®I got him.¡¯

    Apollo grabbed him by both of his arms, holding onto them tightly.<sub> </sub>

    ¡®Now he can''t use his wind against me.¡¯ Apollo thought, as he lifted him in the air and threw Jayden into the ground as hard as possible.

    The professors and the observers from NIRV who were watching were worried, they had seen the strength of Apollo, especially hisrge m, and even Jayden would be hurt by this.

    At thest moment, with his hands facing toward the back of him, Jayden unleashed arge amount of wind. He needed to use all of his power as he pushed back against the floor.

    Apollo had felt like he had mmed someone onto the floor, but the sheer power that Jayden had produced, had stopped him from touching the floor.

    ¡°You¡¯re good, you¡¯re really good.¡± Jayden said, with a smile. ¡°Too bad that I''m awesome" Jayden said, as he pushed off the ground with the wind again, using it in a burst and loosening himself from Apollo¡¯s grip.

    ¡°You''re a big guy, so I think you can take this!¡± Swinging his hand, wind hade out, but not as strongly as the times before, instead across his chest, Apollo felt the special armour they gave him had been ripped and so had parts of his flesh, as blood was being drawn, but Apollo still stood there strong as Jayden created distance between the two of them.

    At the same time, Gary had quickly reverted his form back to his normal self to get his ws out of the wall and then had transformed back to his Werewolf self.

    ¡®I can feel it, I''m close, I have to keep trying new things.¡¯ Gary thought, as he walked closer and had Apollo by his side.

    ¡®These two¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®Both of them are incredibly strong. It makes me wonder if the two of them were to get in a fight, which one of them would win. What a talented new generation we have. Xin, you have a lot cut out for you if you want to stay at the top.¡¯

    Putting his hands down, the buzzer went off shortly after.

    ¡°Fifteen minutes have passed, the special lesson is over.¡± An announcement was made.

    During that whole time Jayden was also able to tell how much time had passed, it showed how skilled he was able to be able to focus on different things during the fight.

    ¡°I guess it''s now time for me to decide who the winner is out of both of the teams.¡± Jayden smiled.

    *****

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 Chapter 504 A Special Reward

    Before announcing the results, Jayden waited for the knocked out teenagers to wake it. This didn¡¯t take long since there was already a specialised medical team on standby. Usually, they only needed to take care of wounds caused by beasts, so treating the two teams who had been only lightly been injured by the AFC fighter was a wee change for them.

    ¡°No need to make a fuss, if those guys weren¡¯t strong Altered they¡¯ve never would have made it into the special lesson sses. Besides, I made sure to hold back, so most of those are surface wounds.¡± Jayden shrugged as he waited for the medics to do their job.

    In a matter of minutes, both teams were lined up, all of them sharing unsatisfied looks on their faces. One of them being Apollo who cursed himself for notsting longer. There had been so many more things he had wanted to try out, yet before he could, time had run out. Gary knew exactly how he felt because it was the same for him as well.

    ¡°Man, we suck so much!¡± Snowined. ¡°We were one of the first ones to get knocked out.¡±

    Wu was also feeling down. When they had faced off against the debut students, it hadn¡¯t seemed like there was such a big gap, but fighting against a top ranker, it was clear to him that outside the AFA a whole new world awaited them. Even scarier was the fact that until the end the White Tiger hadn¡¯t taken them seriously.

    ¡°Now, now, don''t get your knickers in a knot. You guys didn¡¯t do that bad, and your bravery ismendable. Still, I hope that one of the lessons you take with you today is that there will be times where being brave could get you killed.¡± Jayden lectured. ¡°You need to be prepared that you might another Altered with special abilities, as well as beasts that have special abilities. In fact, you yourself as Altered might have yet to unlock your true talent and powers.¡±

    Hearing these words was quite encouraging to the six teenagers. For a while some of them had felt that they had hit a teau in their training. They felt that they weren¡¯t improving as quickly or as much as they used to, but hearing this, and seeing what was possible allowed them to push themselves even harder.

    ¡°Now herees the hard part for me as your stand-in teacher, I need to decide which of your teams which sucked le- *ahem* performed better than the eather.¡± Jayden quickly cleared his throat to distract from his verbal blunder and ced his finger on his chin, as he thought back to the events.

    ¡°Gary, let¡¯s start with my critic towards you. I get that you¡¯re more of a lone wolf, but you have been assigned your teammates for a reason, but what did you do? Rather than make use of their strength, you stood back twice waiting for a chance, even going so far as to sacrifice them to get a chance to hit me. The same, though to a lesser degree, applies to you, Apollo. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, I give you equal points for having managed to circumvent my wind wall and get to me, in Gary¡¯s case even scratching me.

    ¡°Snow, Wu, Sty Numba, the four of you might have been knocked out by me, but you still showed at least a semnce of teamwork. If you had focused on it, you might have done far better. Snow, I¡¯m sorry to say but your performance was the worst of you six. While it was a good idea to attack me at the position I would appear at, after seeing how I could use wind, you should have been prepared to be hit by the acid attack.

    ¡°Wu, your mentality to attack me when I was going to dispose of Snow isn¡¯t that much better than Gary or Apollo, yet I noticed a slight hesitation when you attacked me, since you made sure Snow was okay. As passionate as that is, in those situations you should focus on doing your job, and should have attacked me with all you got, rather than allow yourself to get distracted.

    ¡°Sty, I think you already know that while your wings give you the advantage over many enemies, they¡¯re not almighty, and your attack capabilites aren¡¯t the best against those who are either tough enough to brace your acid attack, or those who dodge or evade it.

    ¡°Numba, while your charge attack might certainly pack a punch, you need to work on it, especially on not making it that obvious. Still, good usage of the opportunity that came from me not knowing about Sty¡¯s attack. That was the closest thing to teamwork that came out this lesson today, and for that reason I have to give it to your team.¡±

    Numba lifted his arms up cheering, and went to high five the person next to him, only to realise that it was Sty, he put it back down who kept his arms folded and turned his head away. There was then Apollo on the other side, but he didn¡¯t look to be in the mood to high five either.

    ¡°You guys will get to ask the academy for a reward. Ask for a day off, some nice food or something. Anyway, the real reward will be what you take away from today¡¯s lesson.¡±

    With that said it was time for Jayden to leave, but as he did, he walked past Gary putting his hand on his shoulder and whispering in his ear.

    ¡°Meet me on the roof of your dormitory, we need to have a little catch up chat before I go.¡±

    ? Gary gulped not knowing whether this was a good thing or bad thing. In the past Gary wasn¡¯t bothered about Jayden too much, but now after seeing his disy of skills, it made him worry. What would happen if he and Xin got in an argument one day. Would he have Jaydene knocking on his door the next day?

    ¡®Why am I worrying about that now when me and Xin aren¡¯t even together? Besides, as an Altered, she could probably fight me herself if I ever pissed her off. Jayden never seemed to mind the two of us in the first ce, unlike her father¡­¡¯ Gary thought.

    Once again the Werewolf found everyone''s eyes on him. With the lesson over, Crowley sent them on their way back to rest at the dormitory, but not before he exined that the regr special lesson would still be on Friday, and reminded everyone to take to heart that they had been told, especially since Jayden had been a part of these same special lessons.

    It was no surprise otherwise they would have never let him in there, but did this mean NIRV had control of many of the big shots in the AFA? If that was the case, they were a far bigger and powerful organisation than the outside world was aware of.

    As they were walking back to the dormitory, Numba couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you know Jayden, so what is the deal between you two?¡± Numba asked the question that had been guing him ever since the White Tiger had shown himself. He wanted to ask before but didn¡¯t want the others to find out, even though he knew they must be just as curious interested.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t really call it knowing him. Not a lot of people know this because they don¡¯t really advertise it, but he has folks living in my hometown. In the past, I did something¡­ ¡®stupid¡¯ and he was the one to help me in that situation.¡±

    All of what Gary said was technically true, but he wouldn¡¯t mention the reason behind his embarrassing name.

    ¡°I see, it''s still cool to know someone like that. He seemed to like you at least.¡± Numba then started to rub his hands. ¡°I can¡¯t wait though, I don¡¯t even know what to ask as a reward. Maybe I can ask to get a personal coach that can help push me to the next level. After all I don¡¯t want to fall behind in the special lesson¡­Oh sorry, I forgot, you didn¡¯t get a special reward.¡± ,

    Numba was just too excited and since Gary was his only friend in the special lesson, he sometimes forgot that they weren¡¯t on the same tim. Now he felt a little bad about the bargaining he had just done.

    ¡°It''s okay, seriously I''m not that upset about it.¡± Gary replied with a smile. He didn¡¯t lie, after all, he did get something out of it.

    [Questpleted]

    [You managed to survive against one of the best, though next time he might take you seriously!

    Hopefully, you¡¯ve learned a valuable lesson.

    The system wishes to help you by unlocking part of your strength!]

    [Please choose one of the following skills]

    [Lethal Pounce]

    [Berserker Mode]

    [LOCKED] (Failed to achieve the optional part)

    ¡®You really know how to motivate me, System. Still, getting choose one out of two skills is better than nothing. Now, if you only could at least provide me with a bit of description in the future¡­¡¯

    There was a skill that Gary perhaps could have used against Jayden and that was Maic Howl. However, it was a trump card which he didn¡¯t want to reveal too soon, but looking at the skill there was one that had interested Gary that kepting up.

    ¡®I think this skill could work well with what I have at the moment.¡¯

    ******

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 Chapter 505 Reach Me

    In the past when things like a tough decision came up, Gary would have confined in Tom for advice. Since he was on his own, the teenager was wondering what his best choice would. Although there was no description on the skills, the skill names themselves gave him some information.

    Lethal Pounce had to be a type of movement skill. In the fight with Jayden, it might have allowed him to cover the distance between the two of them. It had been tricky getting through the wind attack, but in the end the Werewolf had managed to do it without the need for a skill. Of course, the skill could have some other effects, but there was no way to know that without choosing it.

    Then there was the Berserker Mode, which promised a lot more synergy with his current stats. From what Gary knew Berserkers were usually type that focused on their rage, gaining pure power in favor of defense. The more wounds they took, the more power they could exhibit, so in his case, the Werewolf assumed that less Health would trante to a bigger boost to his Strength.

    Fortunately, his Endurance had always been high, and coupled with his Last Stand skill, Berserker Mode might prove to be a deadlybo. Unfortunately, it was once again a skill that seemed like a double-edged sword, and might be more suited as ast resort.0

    ¡®I don¡¯t like the idea of ying around with death. I get that taking this skill might very well mean that I would be at my strongest at that point, but if I miscalcte even slightly, it might be it for me¡­ stupid System, why did you have to taunt me by showing that I missed out on a potential choice? Now I can¡¯t help but be curious!¡¯

    Rolling from one side to the other on his bed, Gary was suddenly informed that it was past midnight, courtesy of his system that would update him on how many days it was until the next full moon.

    ¡®System, can¡¯t you give me a tip or suggestion? Is it possible to trade those in for a more useful skill, how about something that allows me and others to have a peaceful time during the full moon?¡¯

    Unsurprisingly, Gary got no answer. He started listing the pros and cons, once again, but In the end the decision was so tough that the exhausted teenager was starting to fall asleep and as he closed his eyes he pushed his finger forward and had picked one of the skills.

    A small napter, he suddenly woke up with a scary realisation. Taking a look on his phone, he noticed that he had been asleep for over an hour. ¡®Ah crap, Jayden, he''s going to kill me.¡¯

    Taking the quick way to the rooftop and not wanting Jayden to wait any longer, Gary opened the outside window, and started to climb up. With his strength and grip he was easily able to throw himself a few ledges up with a single hand.

    He continued to do this, until he eventually reached the dormitory of his building, and there he could see the one and only waiting in the distance.

    ¡°FINALLY!!! I was just about to walk to your room and drag you here. Do you have any idea how many people would be willing to pay me to get to hang out with me and yet here you are taking your sweet time.¡± Jayden tapped his foot in anger, the smile on his face was showing his teeth.

    ¡°I''m so sorry.¡± Gary immediately apologised, putting both of his hands together. He even went as far to get onto his knees like he was begging. ¡°I promise, the teachers¡­¡±

    ¡°Rx, there is still one more person I need to see before leaving anyway, besides I like being on roof tops.¡± Jaydne said as he turned around and looked at the view from atop the academy.

    ¡°Gary, there is a lot I want to speak to you about. The academy, the AFC, the Tier cities, the gangs, my father, Xin. The list is huge, but we don¡¯t have too much time, and I¡¯m afraid at the moment, most of that stuff will just unnecessarily put pressure on your shoulders.¡±

    Jayden then turned around with a very serious expression on his face. It wasn¡¯t his usually smiley self instead it was a worried look, which looked foreign on the young adult. Gary knew what this was like because it was the same for him when he was in the Underdogs.

    ¡°Jayden¡­ is everything okay? Do you need help with anything?¡± Gary asked.

    Those words seemed to snap Jayden out of his daze as he shook his head. ¡°Help? From you. I appreciate the gesture, Gary, but If I can¡¯t solve my problems, then what do you think you could possibly do?¡±

    It was true but for some reason at that moment Gary wanted to offer his hand to pull Jayden out of whatever struggle he was in at the moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m amazed at the speed of your growth. With what you¡¯ve shown, I don¡¯t doubt that you would fare well in the AFC¡¯s lower ranks, but until you reach where I¡¯m standing, my problems should not be yours to worry about. I do sometimes wish there was someone at my side to discuss these type of things, and maybe its stupid of me to say this but im going to anyway.

    Jayden took in a deep breath as he walked over to where Gary was, and then stopped right in front of him putting his hand out, onto the teenager¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Get stronger, strong enough so you can stand by my side, and when you do, we can have that type of conversation¡±

    For some reason, Gary felt like whatever problems Jaydne was having they had to be rtively big if for one he couldn¡¯t solve them and two, he needed someone just as strong as him. For this person though, that had helped him every step of the way, of course Gary would take their hand.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Gary said. ¡°I promise that I will get as strong as you, and when I am, if there is anything you need help with, I will be there.¡±

    [Would you like to make a bond mark with Jayden Clove?]

    This was a promise that Gary didn''t want to break himself, no matter who he became so he decided to make the mark anyway. Not that he thought he would need it any time soon.

    ¡°Haha, you surely have balls. Well, should you be strong enough to stand by my side, I might actually have to give you my blessing for Xin. Well, getting her to agree, is still up to you first, of course.¡±

    Gary let go and put both hands behind his head as his nostrils grew slightly bigger. ¡°Haha, yeah.¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry about this, but my message basically is, reach where I am,¡± Jayden confirmed.

    With that said, Jayden was off. The Werewolf didn¡¯t know when they would see each other again, but eventually, when Gary felt like he was strong enough and had the power to help, he would find Jayden and repay him.

    ****

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 Chapter 506 Special Lesson 2 (Part 1)

    The normal days at the academy were going quite slow for Gary. There wasn''t much to do, and since he had already been offered to debut, the lessons felt somewhat pointless now. Sure it was interesting, but none of it was as interesting as what was happening in his life at the moment.

    After speaking to Jaydenst night, Gary couldn''t stop thinking about what the problems could be, and there was one thing he knew, what he had to do before, and always did, was to get stronger.

    Gary

    Grade: Bishop

    ss: Warrior

    Level 23

    [Health 250]

    [Energy 300]

    [Exp 8788/11564]

    [Strength 36]

    [Dexterity 26]

    [Endurance 34]

    (There was a mistake thest time his stats were shown)

    Which was why he couldn¡¯t wait for Friday toe. Still, Gary got to enjoy his time with the others and Numba had done as he said he would, getting a private instructor to teach him, just like the debut students. Although it wasn''t Eddie that was teaching him since he was far too busy but there were a lot of talented teachers in the AFA, so he was sure he would make some improvement.

    Which meant that Numba was away from the others a lot more than he usually would have been. As time went on, the day had finallye and Gary was back in the strange room wearing his blue clothing, taking part in the special lesson.

    ¡°Before your lesson is to begin today, I am to take you to the observing deck.¡± Crowley mentioned. ¡°Coo! I want you to know, you are all to be on your best behaviour, for there are many up there that are from NIRV.¡±

    ¡°Sir, what exactly will they be doing?¡± Snow asked.

    ¡°That is not for me to know, but I think there may be a weekly assessment for you all. Before you take part, perhaps they are monitoring your growth.¡± Crowly exined.

    The two groups went into therge fighting area as they usually would have done, but at the side of one of the walls, there was a door that was already open. Entering inside, they realised that it was actually an elevator.

    Gary had noticed that the NIRV research team that had taken the crystal out of the beast had gone into these rooms before.

    ¡®Man, I hope I don¡¯t meet that creepy guy again. I have a feeling he already had an idea of what was going on.¡¯ Gary thought.

    As the elevator dinged, the students were surprised by what their eyes were looking at right now. It looked like argeb. There were several machines, recording equipment, and men in white shirts and suits.

    To the right, there was a long ss wall that would allow them to look down and directly at the fights taking ce. Now they knew why it was called the observing deck. However, one of the very first people that Gary could see was the very NIRV employee he was thinking about.

    ¡°Ah, it''s very nice to meet the new Retrievers in person!¡± James said, as he walked forward with his thick ck frame sses and his annoying pen in his hand. Every so often he would click the top of the pen for no reason and, with Gary¡¯s hearing being sensitive, he would notice it more so than others.

    James looked at all of them smiling, but when his eyes met with Gary, the smile was even bigger than it was before.

    ¡°Please, none of you have to be nervous, we are just checking your Altered information. After all, we want to give you the best chance of survival, as you will be fighting stronger beasts from now on. If we knew your skills and the type of Altered you all are, it would allow us to match you up with more appropriate beasts that are advantageous for you.¡±

    Crowley had his arms folded and stood between James and the students, if there was one thing Gary was happy about, it was the fact that Corwley seemed to also have a disliking for these guys.

    ¡°But if there is a danger, then you will do everything in your power to stop it, correct?¡± Corwley said.

    ¡°Of course!¡± James smiled. ¡°Please just follow along, this will only take fifteen minutes or so, after that you students should be ready for your next assessment.¡±

    As Gary continued to walk with the others, he realised something. What if these tests figured out he wasn¡¯t an Altered, what would happen then? There was still the fact that the Underdogs were meant to deliver the package that had made Gary into a werewolf to someone. From all the things he was finding out about NIRV, it seemed like they would be a good suspect.

    ¡®My only bet is to plead to Crowley that I don¡¯t want to take these tests, he should understand, right¡­ right?¡¯

    ¡°Please, my employees will take great care of you.¡± James said as he walked off and brushed past Gary. His heart was beating fast but, as he turned his head, it soon turned into a smile.

    ¡°You shouldn''t worry too much. It''s just a questionnaire and a health checkup. We can''t take that much information from you guys. Rules of your academy and what not.¡± A soft voice said that Gary hadn¡¯t heard in a while.

    He nearly blurted out and shouted as he saw this person, but soon saw him give a wink towards him as he held the clipboard. Once again, the others looked at who the wink was aimed at, and they all turned to Gary once more.

    ¡°Ah don¡¯t worry, I was just trying to be friendly.¡± The person nervously said. ¡°Anyway, let''s get going to the test.¡±

    As Gary walked forward, it was hard for him to stop smiling.

    ¡®Who would have thought, of all ces, I would meet you here. Well, it''s nice to meet you again, Tom.¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 507 A Special Item (Part 1)

    Tom had been working for NIRV just as long as Gary had been at the AFA. When the two of them had split up that day and left school, Tom had resumed his prior work as a special case. His grades were more than good enough and although he was younger than what they usually got, as the son of two of their prominent researchers, NIRV had agreed to make an exception and sign him up for their program that was aimed at students who had just graduated, offering him a nice career.

    Of course, as soon as Tom had heard that there were some NIRV employees that worked at AFA he did his best to be a part of it. He couldn''t imagine the look on Gary¡¯s face as he would appear in a whiteb robe, and he was quite with the result today. In a way, their meeting showed that although they were both taking different paths there could still be chances for them to be involved in each other¡¯s lives, they just needed to get out of the current rut they were in.

    ¡®It''s nice to see you again, and from what I learnt edbout these special lessons it seems that you have been doing well at the academy to get yourself here, and you don''t have to worry about a thing now that I¡¯m here, I will make sure your secret stays a secret.¡¯ Tom thought as he conducted the tests on each of the students.

    Honestly, at the moment there was nothing in the test that would out Gary as they were just going through small small checkups. They were connected to a machine via cables that checked their heartbeat, the electric pulse and a few other things.

    After that, there was a questionnaire that was given out to each of the students. It was all about their current Altered forms and their powers. Many of those questions would ask them to rate themselves on a scale from one to ten, such as how strong they feltpared to other Altered. The questions were quite subjective depending on their experience.

    When Tom handed out the clipboards for them to fill in, Gary¡¯s form, which was on the very bottom, was already filled out. When the Werewolf looked up, Tom just mouthed the word ¡®pretend¡¯, so the green-haired teenagers quickly picked up the pen and ¡®used¡¯ it.

    ¡®This is the safest way to do it. Gary could always answer something that would raise their suspicions, so it''s best that I do it for him. I¡¯m a really good friend, aren¡¯t I?¡¯ Tom smiled to himself as he wiggled his nose about in the air.

    The thing was Gary would have to agree Tom was going above and beyond. If NIRV were to catch him doing such things, he might be lucky if all they did was to kick him out. It just showed how much Tom treasured the friendship between the two of them.

    With all the tests over, the students were free to go, but before they left it looked like James hade back as he had something to say to them all.

    ¡°Today¡¯s test will be the same asst time. You will be split into two teams, but for your own safety, we¡¯ll be doing one group after the other.¡± James exined. ¡°The red group will start, so the blue group is free to rx, or even watch ande up with a strategy.¡±

    ¡°Isn''t that a bit unfair?¡± Sty asked. ¡°If they see what the beast is capable of then they will have a better chance of beating it easier and quicker.¡±

    ¡°This is not a contest.¡± Crowley quickly interrupted.

    ¡°Your teacher is right. Although today you will be fighting the same beast again, it¡¯s unlikely to happen often in the future. The primary goal of these special lessons is to strengthen you, so that you can work as full fledged Retrievers. Knowing your enemy beforehand is a luxury, not a guarantee.

    ¡°Of course, depending on the estimated degree of danger, it¡¯s likely that we put both groups together to face the beast, but regardless, most Retrievers do their job going in blind, so best get used to it. Also, and you should take clear note of this, if at any point and time we evaluate that you¡¯re not Retriever material, we¡¯ll no longer allow you to take part in these special lessons.¡±

    This was the first time the students hearing this, that if they didn''t show good enough skills, or could prove they were strong enough to survive, that they would be kicked out of the lesson. Gary¡¯s guess was this was more of the academy¡¯s doing rather than NIRV. From the judge of character NIRV couldn''t care who¡¯s life was lost and whose wasn''t.

    Apollo, Numba and Sty headed back down to the training room, while the blue team were allowed to stay in the observing deck and watch from above. Just before the test was about to begin, Tom coughed loudly and informed his supervisor that he needed to go to the toilet. The older NIRV employee seemed annoyed, and chided the intern that he was old enough to just go on his own.

    Seeing this, Gary could only assume that Tom had done that on purpose to send him a signal, so he quickly turned to Crowley. ¡°Actually, I might go quickly as well, before the test begins.¡±

    As Gary entered the stalls, he could see Tom was waiting by the sink for him. ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you understood what I wanted. I was worried, I might have to be in here for ten minutes before you got the message.¡±

    Gary chuckled because there were a few moments he was second guessing himself, but he thought it would be a nice time for the two of them to talk anyway.

    ¡°Anyway, we can''t stay in here for long otherwise they will be suspicious, but I wanted to give you something. During my research I found something that I think you might like.¡±

    Tom walked over, and ced what felt like arge medallion into Gary¡¯s hand, as he looked at it, he could see that there was a shield and a face of the wolf on the medallion, that wasn¡¯t the only thing though, because the system recognized it as well.

    [An ancient item has been received]

    [¡­]

    [¡­]

    *****

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 Chapter 508 Special Item (Part 2)

    ¡°Tom, where did you get something like this?! Are you sure it¡¯s alright to give this to me?¡± Gary had to ask, because he still couldn¡¯t believe that the System had such a reaction to this thing.

    ¡°It''s pretty cool, right?¡± Tom smirked. ¡°You better ept it, because it wasn¡¯t easy getting it out. I pretty much swiped it from work. Don''t worry, I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to do it in one go and it¡¯s also nothing too precious, at least for NIRV¡¯s standard. In fact, they won¡¯t even miss it. It was one of those things they found when digging for fossils, but after a few rounds of experiments there was no link to any ancient beasts.

    ¡°Well, it has a wolf on it, so ording to the notes, the researcher assumed that it was just a piece of art depicting what could have been a beast. Since it was gathering dust in the archives I thought it might be better off with you rather than getting auctioned off to some museum at some point. Anyway, I thought it would be a nice gift for you, to remember me, you know in case you forget.¡±

    ¡°Tom¡­¡± Gary replied wanting to make a joke that they weren¡¯t a couple like that. There was no need for him to get the other a gift but there was so much on Gary¡¯s mind because he doubted that Tom even knew what it was that had just been handed to him.

    [An ancient item has been received]

    [A Werewolf Artefact of the old]

    [The Artefact cannot be activated with your current power]

    ¡®It doesn''t just have normal a wolf on it, this picture on the medallion is a Werewolf? Does this mean that Werewolves also existed back then, when the strong beats used to roam the earth?¡¯

    An image appeared in Gary¡¯s head of Werewolves fighting against therge beasts. It seemed to make more sense than humans existing in his head, but the other thing was the fact that this item could be activated but stated he didn¡¯t have enough power.

    ¡®What does it mean by power? Does it mean that my level is too low, or is it something else? If it belongs to Werewolves of the past, then Werewolves should be able to open this thing. The next time I see them, I should have Kai or Olivia hold it and see if there¡¯s any reaction.¡¯

    At the end of the day, Gary wasn¡¯t going to refuse something like this as he ced it under his trousers. In the suit he was in, the pocket wasn¡¯t really the best ce.

    ¡°Are you sure that thing¡­ is going to befy there?'''' Tom asked.

    ¡°It''s the only ce I can put it for now.¡± Gary replied wondering how to make sure it would suffer in the middle of the fight.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom couldn''t help but stare in Gary¡¯s chunk area trying to see the outline of the object. ¡°There is something else I wanted to warn you about. While working at NIRV they seem to be quite worried about this ck liquid.

    ¡°It''s a substance that is just like the Altered DNA and it can be used the same way, the only thing is, only a small amount of it needs to be used to be sessful. Because of that, many groups have been researching it, not just NIRV, but there is quite a nast side effect, it makes the people turn into Crazed Altered.¡±

    Immediately Gary¡¯s mind went to the orphans in slough as well as a couple of redhead twins he hade across.

    ¡°Of course they''re trying to get rid of the side effects because this could be a huge breakthrough in the Alterification process. People would no longer have to pay fortunes to be Altered! Of course, that¡¯s only if they canplete it. Anyway, my point is, the ck liquid''s origin is from the beasts in the first ce.

    ¡°There have been some cases when creating a beast from the crystal that a beast shows signs of being infected. Purple skin, dark eyes, and at times a bit of strange shadow floating from their skin. There are two things, these beasts that are infected are stronger than your average beasts, and the other point is, if seriously injured by these infected beasts there have been cases where Altered have turned crazed as well.

    ¡°So, while taking these lessons, if you evere across a beast that looks like this, I advise you to run.¡± Tom suggested.

    All of the information was interesting to Gary. Meeting Tom had taught him a lot. Now, Gary was starting to see the advantages of having people in different areas of expertise. Gary could gather information in the academy, Tom at NIRV, and Kai in the gang world as well.

    ¡°Come on, let''s get out of here, before they think the two of us are up to something.¡± Tom suggested as he exited out of the toilet first, and then a few momentster Gary followed after.

    ¡®How¡­did the Grey Elephant get their hands on the ck liquid? Did they work with an organisation like NIRV? No, I doubt that they would want something like this to get out. Does that mean that someone is selling this defective liquid to the gangs for some extra money? I¡¯ll have to update Kai about this and make sure none of it reaches Slough. Once was more than enough¡­¡¯

    As Gary was thinking this, he could hear a lot of talkinging from the scientist and more.

    ¡°Wow, impressive. This beast was harder than thest, we can see that, but in the end they managed to defeat it quite quickly.¡± James said.

    Hearing this, Gary rushed to the ss, where he could see a beast that was unrecognisable as most of its body parts were torn. Apollo still looked to be in a transformed state as he was covered in blood, while Sty and Numba looked to have somewhat been injured, but it was clear that the two of them were still alive.

    Judging by the wounds this beast that they had gone up against wasn¡¯t as easy as thest, and once again Apollo had done most of the grunt work.

    ¡°It looks like that surprise lesson from Jayden had made him reach another level.¡± Crowleymented, and it was clear he was talking about Apollo.

    ¡°Alright, Blue team, it''s time for you to get ready.¡± Crowley smiled.

    Gary was excited. ¡®A stronger beast thanst time? Perfect, that just means, I¡¯ll be even stronger afterwards!¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 509 Special Lesson 3 (Part 1)

    There was a fine line between nervous and excited and, as Gary stood there in the white room, he didn¡¯t know how he felt. A way to grow stronger, what type of beast woulde out this time.

    Yet at the same time, he knew how dangerous this was, these creatures were trying to outright kill them, and there was the warning from Tom. Before the assessment was to start, Gary looked up where the ss screen was being seen. Now he knew the type of people that were keeping an eye on him.

    ¡°Hey Gary.¡± Wu said, as he was already punching the air warming up. ¡°You know we have to impress the people as well to stay in the lessons, you heard them right. So give me and Snow a chance.¡±

    ¡°Give us a chance, what are you talking about?¡± Snow angrilyined.

    Wu never acted like this before, even after thest assessment. Yes, he knew Gary was good, but the way they were talking to him made it sound like he was on another level.

    Of course, this was Wu¡¯s evaluation after seeing him take on the debut students and fighting with Jayden.

    A buzzer sounded off, and they had no time to argue or fight against each other, because now in front of them, was the beast that they were ready to face. The door opened wide and unlike thest time they could see nothinging straight at or through.

    There were no heavy intimidating footsteps which made them wonder if there was a type of mistake. That was until they could see it crawling out from the side of the wall. Its body was the size of half a car, but the length of it was almost that of a small train, and it had hundreds and hundreds of legs that could be heard scurrying as it walked on the side of the wall.

    There was a hard outer shell, which made the beast this time look like that of a centipede and the tworge ws in front of its mouth didn¡¯t make it look any less like one.

    ¡°Is it going to stay on the side of the wall?¡± Wu asked, as his two antennas were already sticking out of his head. Seeing what looked like another bug, his instincts were kicking in.

    Bug type Altereds were dangerous for a few reasons, one of their main strengths being they were far superior in strength and speedpared to humans. As insects, they were already fast and when increased in size, it made them even more deadly.

    Now, seeing a beast of one, Wu felt like this was going to be a tough one. After saying his words, the beast started to climb halfway up the wall, making it hard for them to reach, and was going from the side wall to the back wall at an incredibly fast pace.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the beast we have on file?¡± Tom asked in the observing deck. ¡°I thought we were still giving both teams the same type of beast to evaluate the students'' limits.¡±

    There was something worrying Tom, perhaps it was the fact that he had never seen this beast on file. Meaning he didn''t know what type to categorise it at. Through research, they were starting to learn from the crystals that the beasts left behind after death, it coted a lot with their strength.

    So from the plenty of fossils they had, they were able to tell if it was a basic tier beast, an intermediate, advanced, and so on. Yet if it was a beast that wasn¡¯t on file it meant that they had no idea what tier it was at either.

    The other students also realised that this wasn''t the same beast as they fought against, and the first thing that Apollo noticed when looking at this one, was it was a lot faster and a lot more agile than the one they had gone against.

    ¡°You''re right, I switched it.¡± James answered. ¡°However, you have nothing to worry about. From our research we are beginning to understand the level of beasts before they are created. Don¡¯t worry I wouldn¡¯t let something so dangerous out with a bunch of amateur retrievers. What type of person do you think I am?¡±

    That was the thing, Tom had no clue what type of person James was. He was always smiling and friendly to everyone but at times would do wild things with the experiments or the teams that he ran as well.

    ¡°Based on theirst assessment, I just thought they could do with more of a challenge.¡±

    ¡°James!¡± Crowley shouted. ¡°Remember what I said. If these students are seriously hurt because of something you did, I don¡¯t care what organisation you have behind you. I will do everything in my power to hurt the one that is responsible.¡±

    James just looked at the teacher as he nodded, and continued to watch the match as if it was no big deal.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Snow, seeing it up on the side of the wall so high, was getting frustrated and he couldn''t take it anymore. Eventually transforming his body, and the bottom part of himself had once again be that of a rabbit, while both of his small ears had berge as they flopped.

    ¡®That bug thing is pretty high up. I know he has strong jumping power but how is he going to reach up there?¡¯ Gary thought.

    The only thing he could think of was using his ws to climb up the wall. The problem was, then he would be in a vulnerable state. Which was why Gary thought it was best to wait for the beast to attack them first.

    Taking a deep squat, Snow was directly up against the wall, and then jumped up high, reaching around halfway up the wall of therge room, but the centipede was nearly as high up as the ceiling itself.

    When it looked like Snow was slowing down and about to fall, he pushed his legs again in the air. There was nothing for the rabbit-like Altered to push against, but somehow and some way it looked as if he was on the floor again, as a burst of energy sent Snow upward.

    With his hand, Snow threw out a fist towards the centipede. When Snow got close though, using its body like a whip, it swung its body with the main weight being in itsrge head and hit Snow out of the air, and right into the wall.

    Now all they could see was Snow slowly sliding down the wall.

    ¡®I¡¯m quite happy that I didn¡¯t decide to go through with my n now.¡¯ Gary thought, as he imagined that he would be in the same situation he had done. The beast was incredibly fast and due to the segmented parts of its body, it was able to create a powerful strike just like a whip.

    There was an indent in the wall form where Snow had been hit into, but Snow was the number two student, so something like this wouldn¡¯t kill him, at least that''s what Gary hoped anyway.

    However, the centipede was now on the move, moving on the wall again, and it looked like it was going right for where Snow wouldnd on the ground, aiming to finish off its injured prey.

    When Snow touched the ground, the centipede opened up its tworge pincers, ready to cut him in half. Snow was slightly dazed, but he wasing to, and had only just seen the beast.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I got you!¡± Wu said, as his forearms grewrger and the skin tone changed to a dark brown which was almost ck. Stretching out his arms, Wu stopped the pincers'' strike. His arms were shaking but he was unable to stop its body.

    The momentum carried on, pushing Wu into the air. He held his hands out at full width, stopping the pincers from crushing him while holding on as well. Although Wu hated it, the only one he could rely on now was Gary and he could see him already having been transformed.

    Seeing all of this, Gary saw an opportunity as he ran forward towards its body. Yes, the beast was fast, but so was Gary. As he swung his arm, the segment of its body suddenly twisted the other way, and Gary¡¯s w had hit nothing but the air.

    ¡°Was it bad timing?¡± Gary thought, as he ran after the bug beast again and swung his w at a different bit but the same thing happened again with the beast curling its body avoiding the strike.

    ¡®But its head is focused on Wu, and it isn''t looking this way. This must be some type of sixth sense the beast has¡­¡¯ At first Gary was worried, but a smile appeared on his face. ¡®I guess this is an opportunity to try that, my new skill.¡¯

    *****

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 Chapter 510 New Skill Activated

    Therge centipede-like beast continued to move, and unlike with thest beast, Wu wasn¡¯t pulling any of his punches. He was using the full strength of his current Altered form as he was stopping all of the power in the pincers from crushing him.

    It was a struggle that was going on for a while, but eventually they had reached the end of the wall, and the centipede, with no fear of hurting its own body, crashed into the wall, pushing Wu right up against it.

    The body weight, speed, and strength of the beast made it a powerful blow, but if there was one thing that Wu was proud of, other than his strength, it was his body. Having not passed out, Wu was still fighting against the pincers crushing in on him, and he was noticing that his hands were starting to bleed as well.

    ¡®With the strength and size of these things, one snap of these, and I¡¯ll be dead, not just me but any Altered. Isn¡¯t this too much of a step up from thest beast that we fought?¡¯ Wu thought.

    In the air he could see someoneing from a distance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is teamwork!¡± Snow shouted, as hended on the beast''s head with his two feet. The second hended, he pushed with all his strength off his legs and the centipede''s head crashed into the ground.

    As Snow was falling, he wasn¡¯t done just yet. He was ready to kick his legs into hyper gear right on top of the centipede''s head. As his foot was ready, the head moved out of the way, and the rest of the body scurried away, leaving Snow¡¯s foot to crash into the ground.

    Where Snow¡¯s foot was, the ground was broken, it was an attack sure to do some damage, but now the centipede had scurried back onto the wall again, just like the time before.

    ¡°Damn it, that might have been our best chance, while it was closest to the ground, what are you doing Gary!¡± Snow shouted.

    Seeing that Gary hadn''t been following the centipede like he had been before, he just stood in the centre of the room.

    ¡°Sorry, I was just checking something.¡± Gary smiled awkwardly, as he scratched the back of his head, but now he was sure of it.

    The skill he had selected while being half asleep was perfect to use on an opponent like this, he just needed the right opportunity.

    ¡°What are we going to do now?¡± Snow asked, as he approached Gary and Wu as well, who¡¯s back didn¡¯t look to be in the best of shape, as it was raw and red.

    To be honest, neither did Snow as well.

    ¡°It looks like that thing is just going to stay up there, but if we try and go up to it, well we know what happenedst time.¡± Wumented.

    This was the problem, the beast was too far away and all of them were physical fighters. Even Gary didn¡¯t know too much about what to do and with them all standing around, eventually he had toe up with a solution.

    ¡°I¡­ will go try and get it toe out of the corner. Maybe it will do the same asst time, if it grabs me in its ws again, but there is also a chance that it might go after you two¡­ the thing is so fast.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us so much.¡± Snow interrupted Gary. ¡°The two of us are top students, and we are in this lesson for a reason. If you get that centipede out of the corner, then we can handle ourselves.¡±

    Heading to the other end of the room, Gary looked up at the centipede in the corner of the room. It wasn''t the best situation and he didn¡¯t know when it would be, so he would just have to try and go with the flow after this.

    Using his ws, Gary had to now do what he thought about earlier, and he was now climbing the wall, digging his nails one step at the time. He had scaled it quite quickly, but as he got closer to the centipede as he could see it crawling over its own body he started to slow down.

    ¡®I saw what that thing did to Snow¡­ do I really have to.¡¯ Gary thought.

    In the end, he had no choice, as he climbed right up to the centipede, and he could see it moving, lifting its head. It was doing the same actions as before, right before it hit Snow like a whip.

    While on the wall, Gary was frightened that he might get crushed, so the only thing he could do was match power with power. cing his legs up against the side of the wall, Gary pushed off as hard as he could with his ws, in the air.

    Swinging part of its upper body, while its slower body parts remained clinging to the wall, it whipped, hitting Gary just like it hit Snow. There seemed to be no difference, despite Gary using his ws or power, as he was sent flying and crashing into the wall.

    [-66HP]

    [184/250 HP]

    ¡®That''s a big hit, a couple more of those and I¡¯ll no longer be standing.¡¯

    Quickly recovering and not allowing himself to slide down the wall, Gary was ready to fight against the beast again, but it was no longer in front of him.

    ¡®Where did it go?¡¯

    Looking down he could see it was now on the floor and it was heading straight for Snow and Wu instead.

    ¡®This is what I was afraid would happen!¡¯ Gary jumped off from the wall, and as soon as hended on the ground, he ran off after the beast.

    ¡°Do you have any ns?¡± Snow asked.

    ¡°I was going to hit it until it stopped moving.¡± Wu replied.

    ¡°I thought as much.¡± Snow smiled, as he hopped away towards the beast.

    When getting close, Snow jumped in the air, and mid air, it used its pincers to try to grab him. Once again, Snow kicked the air giving him a type of double jump and avoiding the hit altogether.

    With this jump, Snow had leapt over the body and had reached the end of its tail as it carried on moving forward. As he fell through the sky, he had both legs tucked in towards his chest.

    Then at thest second, he pushed his legs out as hard as he could, hitting the veryst segment. The attack had broken through the hard shell of the beast revealing bits of flesh and had pinned it to the floor, but it didn''t stop the beast.

    As it carried on moving with its legs, thest segment was just detached from its body as it headed towards Wu.

    Once again, Wu was unable to do anything other than use his hands, as he stopped the pincers from closing down on him.

    ¡°I need to help Wu somehow.¡± Snow stated.

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Gary replied, running at a fast speed and catching up to the beast, he had reached halfway along its long body, but it looked like Wu had used a lot of strength the first time defending from this attack, and soon his muscles would give in.

    ¡°I have to do something now!¡± Gary jumped to the side with his ws out, aiming for part of its body, and with his eyesight he could see its sixth sense cause it to twist and curl its body away.

    ¡°Now!¡±

    [Lethal pounce activated]

    The second Gary¡¯s feet touched the floor, a burst of energy exploded from him, and to the others watching it was like a blur, as Garyunched forward and stabbed his ws right in its body.

    However, the power was so great that Gary had ripped a segment of the beast''s body out of it. Causing half of its body to be detached from where its head was now.

    ¡°This isn''t enough, I have to finish it!¡± Gary said, as he turned and ran towards Wu. ¡°Throw its head towards me.¡±

    Wu wasn''t so sure that was a good idea, but because of Gary, the beast felt slightly weaker. In the end, Wu decided to listen, as he threw the centipede''s head towards Gary. It opened its two pincers again, ready to close them.

    They looked like they were about to touch Gary, but before they could,

    [Lethal pounce activated]

    The same rush of energy came again, allowing Gary to move fast, as he jumped with such a force and with his ws in front of him, he pierced through the beast''s head. The pincers had missed, and Gary had broken through the other end.

    The beast had sessfully been killed and the special lesson hade to an end.

    [Skill Lethal Pounce]

    [This skill can only be used within a certain range of the enemy. The skill will light up when it can be used on an enemy. The user pounces on its enemy giving it a fifty percent speed boost. The Skill can be used in session and there is no cool down]

    [Energy cost: - 50]

    ******

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 Chapter 511 A Crystal

    The newly acquired Lethal Pounce was quite strong for a few reasons Gary realised. For one, it was the fact that the skill boosted his speed and it seemed to scale with his actual Dexterity. As long as that stat continued to increase then so would the skill as well, since it gave him a 50% boost.

    The only sad part was that the boost was purely limited to the execution of the skill itself. Nheless it was impressive. A speed increase, coupled with his strength caused, resulted in a devastating attack as the others had just witnessed

    So far, the Werewolf had been focusing on his Endurance, Energy and Health, making sure that he would be more and more of unkible monster. However, his fight against Jayden had taught him an important lesson that stats alone wouldn¡¯t help him against certain kinds of opponents. Skills were needed to make up the difference, and Lethal Pounce was a great start.

    If there was one downside the skill, it would be the rtivelyrge Energy consumption. Gary had thought that his days of worrying about that were over, yet using the skill twice had cost him a third of his reserve. One shouldn¡¯t forget that Controlled Transformation, as well as the fighting itself also took their toll, leaving the green haired teenager with slightly less than 100 Energy.

    Luckily, there had only been one opponent, but in the future, if he were to fight multiple opponents, or perhaps a beast that was even harder than this one, he would have to conserve the skill and use it as a trump card.

    Just likest time, after the beast was defeated there was a clean up crew that entered the facility, looking after the students, while also securing the crystal from the beast. Gary¡¯s eyes were fixed on the men, making mental notes as to where the crystal would be pulled from its body. In the future, he hoped to be able to locate it on his.

    ¡®I was sure, it would have been in the head, but when I broke through I couldn¡¯t find it¡­maybe next time.¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    [An Advanced tier has been defeated]

    [A first time reward bonus for defeating the beast will now be rewarded]

    [15,000 Exp has been rewarded]

    [You are now level 24!]

    [You have gained a stat point]

    ¡®This is it¡­ I''m only one level away from reaching Level 25. Then something is meant to happen to my Warrior ss at that stage. Fighting these beasts or high level Altereds are the only thing that gives me Exp these days. I hope after the next lesson, I¡¯ll reach level 25 and if not, I still have one more lesson before that.

    ¡®Then my time at the AFA, and using the special lessons will be utilised the most.¡¯

    Forpleting the task, Gary had been given his reward just like before. Where the body parts of the beast were ced in a particr room. Before he went in this time, Crowley had decided to go in first. Gary wasn¡¯t sure what his strange teacher intended to do, but he believed that it was in his best interest. After all of that was done, Gary looked left and right to see if James would pop out of nowhere and went in straight away, looking at the strange beast parts in front of him.

    ¡®If my theory is correct, I need to eat this thing as quickly as possible in order to maximise how many stat points I can gain. Without the energy of the crystal, those bodies have epxiration dates.¡¯ With this in mind, Gary did his best to ignore the fact that he was going to eat a giant insect carcass.

    As usual, even though the beast parts were several times bigger than his own body, he managed to devour them eventually, as if his body was digesting whatever it was, and turning it into something at a fast rate.

    That''s when he saw the message appear, and he couldn¡¯t be more pleased.

    [The beast that you have defeated has been consumed]

    [You have received the following stats]

    [+2 Dexterity]

    [Dexterity 26>>>>28]

    There were also still Gary''s stat points form levelling up that he had yet to use.

    ¡®Hmmm, since the System called it an Advanced tier, I had hoped for more. Still, it''s not as much as I get when consuming an Altered. Sigh, I shouldn¡¯tin too much, after all, this is double what I got from thest one. Most likely because the beast was quite strong, and since this one was fast it also makes sense for me to get something speed based.

    ¡®Could it have been more if I had eaten it earlier? Too bad they dry out once that thing gets taken out¡­ I wonder, what¡­ what would happen if I were to eat one of those?¡¯

    Since he gained strength from the beast mainly due to the crystal, it seemed reasonable to assume that eating the crystal directly might provide an ever bigger boost. Part of him had hoped to be able to find it, but he had failed¡­ at least this time. In case he ever got lucky, he knew that he would have to be sneaky about it, NIRV did not care about losing the worthless body, but a crystal¡­

    ¡®Maybe I can do that on myst test or something, then even if I''m caught and they kick me out, it shouldn¡¯t matter.¡¯ Gary decided.

    All Gary had to do now, was wait for the rest of the body to disappear after some time had passed and just like that it did. It was a shame that Gary wouldn¡¯t be able to speak to Tom again before he left, but for some reason he thought that the two of them would be able to see each other again some other time.

    Likest time, once the lesson was over, their phones and other personal belonging were handed back to them, and finally Gary could pull the medallion out from his special ce and into his pocket as he changed clothing from the suits.

    While Gary and Numba were walking back to their dormitory and talking about the assessment to each other, Numba¡¯s phone started to ring.

    ¡°Sorry Gary, it¡¯s my Dad. He never calls, so it should be urgent. I¡¯ll be with you in a moment.¡± Numba excused himself as he walked off in the opposite direction.

    Gary continued ahead, but as usual his sensitive ears were able to pick up a few things.

    ¡°Son¡­ I just wanted to be the one to tell you. Right now¡­ right now it might be for the best if you stayed in the academy. However, do be careful there as well, make sure nothing bad happens to you.¡± The sound of a man¡¯s voice was heard on the other end of the phone.

    ¡°What do you mean, Dad? This isn¡¯t like you. Is everything okay?¡± Numba questioned, but that was the end of what Gary was able to hear since the phone call had ended.

    *****

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 Chapter 512 A Lesson Learned

    A few days had passed since Harry Cardenez had visited Notsburg in the hopes of striking a deal. Just like he had said in the meeting, there was more than one Tier-2 city that they could do business with, and so he had spent thesest few days in an attempt to set up another meeting. Just as he was sifting through the reports of the Tier-2 gangs in those areas to avoid another such situation, fric knocks came from behind his doors.

    Bursting into his office was one of Harry¡¯s newest assistants, a promising young man whose clothes were drenched. ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve just been informed that one of our factories is under attack! It looks like it''sing from one of the gangs.¡±

    Harry didn¡¯t even look up, rather he huffed out a loud air as if it was bothersome.

    ¡°This does happen once in a while. The gangs in the city forget who exactly took over this ce just because we don¡¯t push and shove our name everywhere. Just notify the Freaks to deal with them, and tell them to leave behind some men to protect it for the next few days.¡±

    After giving his order Harry went on with his business, but his assistant still stood there. ¡°Sir¡­ are you sure that this will be sufficient? ording to the reports, the gang that is currently attacking us isn¡¯t one of the local ones. It¡¯s too early to say who they are, but they¡¯re definitely from an outside city.¡±

    This finally got Harry¡¯s attention as he ced his pen down and closed hisptop. He knew that this would happen some day, another city attempting to take over theirs. They were doing well so far, which was one of the reasons the man wanted to coborate with a higher tier city to avoid bing the target of an attack.

    ¡°Send out a full force. We need to send out a message so other groups won¡¯t do the same thing.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The man bowed down.

    The Freaks were sent to the factory location, and with their strength and power it didn¡¯t take them too long to deal with the outside gang. After some interrogation, they discovered that they came from a nearby Tier-3 town, though this was more of a scouting party.

    The Freaks didn¡¯t hesitate, deciding that slicing off their heads and sending it back to the town would send a clear message in case the gang leader would want toe for them as well. Harry wasn¡¯t sure if that wouldn¡¯t provoke them, but he trusted in the Freaks¡¯ judgement.

    The next day, the same thing happened again, only this time another factory was targeted. Once more, the Freaks were able to deal with the mess, yet they found out that it wasn¡¯t the same gang that had attacked them the day before.

    One attack could be called a coincidence, but two in such a short timeframe¡­

    ¡®Two attacks, one after another and both at the factories. Although they didn¡¯t manage to destroy much this is cause for concern. Fixing the damage will take some time, though fortunately we¡¯ve been ahead of the schedule so far. Still, if this continues to happen, our workers might soon start to quit.¡¯

    The third day, things get ever worse, both factories were being attacked at the same time by two different groups. The Freaks were strong, but there weren¡¯t many of them. In this situation one would have to deal with one and then the other.

    As they cleared both ces, many of the workers, as well as equipment had been destroyed in the second factory. Seeing the site, Harry had clenched his fist, and as he thought, many workers too afraid to go in were deciding to quit.

    Harry mmed his fist right on the desk.

    ¡®How do I solve this situation? Two groups have decided to go after us. Both of them are local towns. If I send the Freaks to go deal with one of them, then we will be defenceless.¡¯

    It was at that moment that a number of calls wereing through on Harry¡¯s phone. He answered them, dealing with them one by one. The men stationed outside of the room could just hear shouting and cursing on the first few.

    After that, it settled down but the calls hadn¡¯t stoppeding in and when he eventually did. Harry was lost as he put down his phone.

    ¡®Those clients just cancelled their orders all of a sudden. It should be impossible for them to have already heard about the factory attacks¡­or maybe they were targeted as well.¡¯ As this thought came to Harry¡¯s mind a certain image of a man in a red suit appeared.

    One that he had recently met, the man named Slith. Harry¡¯s phone rang once more, this time from an unknown number, usually he wouldn¡¯t pick these up but in this situation he answered the call.

    ¡°Hello, dear friend.¡± A deep voice, a voice that he had just thought of had entered his ears.

    ¡°You¡¯re behind everything, aren¡¯t you? Is this your way of trying to force my hand?¡± Harry questioned, yet all that could be heard on the other end was the sound of soft chuckles.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the slightest idea what you might be talking about, neither me nor anyone in my city has even lifted a finger.¡± Sloth replied.

    At the moment, with the way things were going, Harry knew that the business he had built up with his own sweat and blood was falling apart. Which was why right now, he decided to swallow his pride so salvage what he could.

    ¡°Please stop¡­I will sign the deal with you under your conditions, and we can work together. That¡¯s what you want, right?¡± Harry asked.

    This time, there wasughter on the other end. ¡°Sorry, but I thought I made it clear that offer was only valid during your stay with us. You were given a chance and yet you rejected it. You wanted to get up here at the big table, but there is a reason why people like you can¡¯t reach it. Now, have fun dealing with the consequences of your own actions, and enjoy watching your wholepany burn down.¡±

    The phone call had ended there, and Harry was left staring at the desk in front of him. At this point and time the only thing he could do was talk to his son.

    ******

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 Chapter 513 A Little Task

    The next day had arrived and it was now morning. However, Numba didn¡¯t get much sleep. A few hours at most and even then he would toss and turn as his mind was so full. After the call ended with his father he sent him multiple messages updating him on the situation, after that Numba had one more call in the morning.

    For the first time since he had been adopted by the family, he had heard his strong and unmovable father break down and started to cry over the phone. Hearing this, it tore Numba¡¯s own heart.

    Why wasn¡¯t he born a few years earlier, maybe then he would be part of the business already, helping them sort out this mess. In fact, it was then that Numba even offered toe back. He was a lot stronger than before, and being part of the AFA already meant that he was a lot better than other Altereds out there.

    ¡°No!¡± Harry shouted back. ¡°I¡­ haven''t given up yet, but you being here will make no difference. In fact, I am sorry that you might get involved in all of this because I was the one that brought you in. You have always been great, and the reward for never backing down, going above and beyond, is the academy and your powers.

    ¡°If anything ever happened to thepany or me, then I want you to continue doing well in the AFA, and live a good life.¡±

    His father had hung up the phone there, and immediately after, Numba hit the redial button attempting to call him.

    ¡°We sorry, the number you are trying to call is currently not -¡±

    ¡°No please! Please! Why are you doing this!¡± Numba said, his eyes swollen, too tired to even produce tears from his eyes, but his throat was all swollen up. After trying to call for the third time, Numba threw the phone onto the bed.

    It bounced off the bed and almost hit the ceiling.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand.¡± Numba said. ¡°Everything I was doing in the AFA, was as a thanks to you¡­ a thanks for getting me out of my sh*t life!¡± Numba continued to sob.

    That morning Gary had woken up and was waiting outside his room. Him, Izzy, Ian and Numba would leave at the same time, so they could all walk to ss together. Usually, Numba was always the first one to be out, but as Gary looked to his left and the others looked to their right, there was no Numba in sight.

    The three of them walked to the door.

    ¡°Maybe we should knock, he might have forgotten to set his rm.¡± Izzy suggested.

    Just as she was about to knock, Gary grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her.

    ¡°We¡­ should just let him rest and leave him be. I¡¯m sure he will join uster.¡± Gary stated.

    They agreed as they walked off. Turning his head, Gary was a little worried, because he could hear it. The sound of crying through the doors, and it sounded like Numba was in incredible pain.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Back at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, Kai had also been following the situation quite closely. He had asked for Olivia and her gang to gather reports on the ongoing situation.

    ¡°As I expected, they didn¡¯t juste to us, but came to all of the gangs in the areas surrounding Cardenez Electronics.¡± Kai smiled. ¡°From the looks of it, three other gangs in the area had epted the deal.

    ¡°Even if the group protecting the Cardenezpany is strong, to deal with attacks from all three sides. If we had epted as well they would have been done by now, and to top things off, they would have only had to hire us. Still, it was a good excuse to tell them that Gary was away, because the Scatterbugs seem to be quite the petty gang.

    ¡°The only thing I don¡¯t understand is why hasn¡¯t Harry epted their offer yet. I was sure if they were pushed to this situation, he would have epted unless¡­¡± Kai had to remind himself what Daimon was like, and how many people were like him who worked in this world. If that was the case he knew exactly what had happened between the two.

    ¡°Interesting¡­ Now how can I take advantage of this situation?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Back at the academy, Numba had missed the entire first lesson. Due to it being the weekend, they only had a half daypared to a full day. The second half allowed them free time, where students were allowed to study, practice or just rest. Rest was important, but being Altered, less rest was requiredpared to regr people. However, during the second lesson of the day, Numba had finally entered.

    They all quickly realised that he wasn¡¯t himself though, as he walked, he was dragging his feet slowly, he avoided eye contact with everyone, but when he reached where the others were sitting he looked up and forced himself to smile.

    ¡°Your face, it''s so -¡±

    Before Ian could finish his sentence, Izzy gave him a quick jab in the ribs with her elbow.

    As Numba sat down, Izzy tried to make the atmosphere asfortable and as normal as possible, but it was quite hard to, and the group was unable to talk the same way they had done before.

    ¡®I wonder¡­ should I ask what''s going on. I heard some of the conversation that he had with his father, but if it''s personal business, then it might not be my ce to get involved.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Regardless of thinking this, Gary couldn¡¯t stay silent. It just wasn¡¯t his style, so right as the lesson ended and everyone was leaving their seats, he had some words.

    ¡°Numba!¡± Gary called out. ¡°Remember, that we made that alliance. Well, it goes both ways right? So whatever you need help with. If there is anything bothering you, you can always talk to and count on us.¡±

    Izzy thought they were the right words in this situation. It wasn¡¯t prying into the other''s life nor asking what happened, but just letting him know that they were there for him.

    ¡°Thanks Gary.¡± Numba . ¡°You are a good friend.¡±

    After saying those words, Numba just walked away as the rest of the day would be a free period.

    ¡®Thank you for the offer Gary, but with what is happening with my family, I don¡¯t even think you could help. This matter is big, it''s practically a gang war, and I doubt you could do anything to help.¡¯ Numba thought as he walked off.

    Trailing a bit behind Numba, Gary had been called out.

    ¡°Gary, there you are!¡± A loud voice said.

    Turning his head, waiting for him once again by the entrance was someone else. It seemed it was bing a regr urrence. As for who it was, it was the Debut Teacher, Eddy.

    ¡°I checked your schedule and you should be free right now, soe over with me for a second. I think I have a nice surprise that you might like.¡± Eddy smiled.

    With nothing else to do, and since he was the only one being invited, Gary waved the others off. While Izzy made sure that she would look after Numba while he was away.

    During the free period, some had decided to return to their rooms rather than train, like Numba had done. He wanted to get his anger out, and hit something. One of these people that had returned to their rooms was Sty, because he had received a message on his phone to call someone as soon as he could.

    ¡°Great, you got the message then.¡± A cheery voice said on the other side. ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point. I believe there is a student named Numba Cardenez in your school.¡±

    Sty, of course knew who this was, in the pre assessments he had been doing everything he could to make his life hell.

    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± Sty replied.

    ¡°Great, well I have a task for you. It should be rtively easy for yourself, but I want you to make his life hell, and make sure you get evidence of it as well. Can you do that?¡±

    Hearing these words, Sty''s heart started to beat faster. The eyes of Gary entered his mind once again. If he was to touch Numba then¡­ on top of that, thest time he and Numba fought it had ended in a draw.

    ¡°Hey, this is important!¡± The voice shouted on the other end of the phone. ¡°A son of mine should easily be able to take out a no name form a tier-3 city. Are you really saying the task is this difficult!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Sty replied back. ¡°I can take care of it. I definitely can. I won¡¯t let you down father.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 514 For Hours

    Following behind the teacher, Gary had no clue what this was about, and it didn¡¯t look like Eddie was going to say anything to him either. Without turning around, he was walking along routes, passing by areas of the academy the teenager had never seen before while whistling along with a giant grin on his face.

    Eventually, after they had past some fields, the duo headed for arge rectangle building. Once the teacher was the inside, Gary started to have an idea of what this ce was. There was high tech training equipment inside, simr to what they used in the academy, but for it to be tucked away, as well as all the equipment being thetest models inside, he had an inkling as to what this was.

    Besides the fact that there was one person in the room still, pretty much gave it away.

    ¡°Shingi, how many times have we been over this?¡± Eddie asked in an annoyed tone. ¡°Resting is an equally important part of your training period!¡±

    The adult could only let out a frustrated sigh, since Shingi had been like this even before he hade to the real academy. He was the type if student who would train himself given the slightest opportunity, no matter where he was, or what state he was in, even ignoring the advice of his trainers.

    Right now, Shingi was training with the automatic punch bag. Where one would hit it as fast as they could, and then the bag woulde back to the person on a pulley system for them to hit it again. It was one of Shinji''s favorite training equipment because he could easily see if he was doing better or not.

    For one, he could measure if his punches were stronger than before by how far they went. After that, he could see how long he could keep the punches strong before he hit the bag less than his original punch.

    ¡°Shingi, stop that now!¡± Eddie shouted to get his student¡¯s attention. ¡°Somewhere in that thick head of yours, you should know that this training is pointless with how tired you were after the earlier training session!¡±

    Even though Eddie said that, it did look like Shinji was able to hit the bag just as strong as before and as hard as well. It made the teacher wonder, what had lit a fire under his belly, even more so than usual.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Gary cleared his throat, unwilling to just stand by the side. ¡°Could you please tell me what we¡¯re doing here? I already told you that I didn¡¯t want to be a debut student until I took the assessment.¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Don''t worry, I haven¡¯t forgotten, and that¡¯s not why we¡¯re here. We are a bit early but you will see in a moment.¡± Eddie replied without looking away from Shinji who continued hitting the bag. Only this time, he noticed that it fell a bit shortpared to hisst hit, making him stop.

    Shingi had managed tost around 16 minutes all punches with equal power. As he wiped the sweat away, he turned around only to notice that Gary was here as well. He was so focused that he had barely registered Eddie¡¯s voice, much less that of someone he hadn¡¯t recognised immediately.

    ¡°Oh, this is great.¡± Shingi smiled. ¡°Gary did you see what I was doing with the bag training? This is something us debut students do quite a lot.¡±

    It was then that Shingi went on to exin the rules, stating you weren''t allowed to transform and what all the equipment meant.

    ¡°So what do you think, do you want to give it a try? It''s quite fun.¡± Shingi suggested.

    Ever since doing this type of training, Shingi had wanted to witness Gary on the machine, because he wanted to get an idea of how far apart he waspared to the other.

    Gary looked at it for a few seconds as he wondered whether he should take him up on it. After his lunch meal his energy was full at 300.

    ¡®I mean, this doesn''t really help too much. Because my energy goes down when I transform, or when I get hurt to heal my body, as well as using my skills¡­ but I do want to try it.¡¯

    Standing on the tform, Gary was set up and so was the punching bag.

    ¡°We are short on time, so just hit the bag a few times to get a feel for what it will be like. If you like it, we can talk about youing hereter.¡± Eddie advised.

    As the bag came towards Gary, he readied his right hand and threw an overhead right straight. It was the same punch he had seen Shingi do, so he thought he should do the same. The impact was strong, the speed from his hit was fast, and as it went along it had gone 85 percent along the length of the room.

    ¡®That¡¯s a good hit, especially for someone who is doing this for the first time. Usually it takes a few hits to familiarise yourself to it, but Gary beat my score and his strength is higher then Xin¡¯s, though not as high as Ryan¡¯s.¡¯

    Although Gary was strong, this wasn¡¯t his peak strength, which he would only reach in his transformed states. However, since this was just a type of training, he saw no need to use his Controlled Transformation, especially since Shinji hadn¡¯t transformed either.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    As the bag came back, Gary was ready to hit it again. All in all it took 30 seconds for the bag to be hit, stop ande back before one could hit it again. This was regardless of how far one would hit it, and it was so while training they could measure their time easier.

    Once again, Gary punched it making great contact with the bag. It was satisfying to say the least, and on bad days the Werewolf could picture himselfing here to get his Energy out.

    The bag went back as much as it had done on the first hit, showing that Gary knew how to control himself well. After that Gary hit the bag three more times before finally stopping. He didn''t seem out of breath or tired at all.

    ¡®Most people would be exhausted just doing five punches at full strength, but with each one Gary had hit it to the same distance.¡¯ Eddie thought to himself.

    ¡°So¡­what do you think, how long do you think you couldst on the machine?¡± Shingi asked in excitement.

    There was a reason why Gary had stopped after four hits, though it had nothing to do with him being exhausted. No, he had stopped since a sudden revtion had shocked him, and it was that after thest hit his Energy had dropped to 299. So far, as long as he didn''t transform, and would fight in his normal state, without the usage of skills, he could literally go for hours.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, give me a second, I need to do some quick maths.¡± Gary replied.

    Shigni and Eddie looked at each other in confusion. Why would Gary have to do maths? The teenager should know his own body well enough to just give a general answer.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure but if it''s just doing this, then it should be¡­ around 10 hours, give or take? Although I would probably get tired just standing around during the day and would need to eat something if I did that.¡± Gary replied after trying quite hard to crunch the numbers in his head.

    ¡°10 HOURS?!¡± Eddie couldn¡¯t help but repeat andugh. ¡°Gary, I know you feel fine now, but trust me the strain and tiredness builds up after a while. You would be lucky to evenst 1 hour.¡±

    Hearing the adult¡¯s opinion, made Gary feel embarassed. Afterall, maybe his maths was wrong. 10 hours sounded ridiculously long to him as well. However, Shingi didn¡¯t feel quite the same way. The person in front of him, it felt like he hadn¡¯t said it to be funny.

    Just then, the sound of the doors opening into the room was heard, and all of them turned to look.

    ¡°Alright, Eddie, why did you call me this time? It''s our rest period and you¡¯re the one who keeps repeating how important it is for us to not skip out on that.¡± A female voice sounded it, but the voice slowly drifted off as her eyes fell on Gary.

    ¡®XIN!!¡¯ Gary screamed in his head and his heart rate started to thump louder. Then thought of what had ured thest time had appeared in both of their heads. She had attacked Gary because it had been the only thing she could have done to calm him down, while he felt extremely embarrassed as he remembered how he must have acted like a crazy person in front of her.

    ¡°Well, look at you two, all shy like that.¡± Eddie smiled. ¡°Anyway, you should have dressed up rather thaning in your academy uniform, but this will have to do. I¡¯m sorry Xin but you see I promised our green-haired friend here that as long as he agreed to a request of mine, that I would give him a date with our local star.¡±

    ¡°A date?!¡± Xin shouted back. ¡°How could you do that without even asking me?!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, call it whatever you will, it¡¯s just spending time together, and you two obviously have some shared history. It''s not like you can go off academy grounds at this time anyway. So it will just be like spending time with another student, whether it will be a traditional date or not, I¡¯ll leave that up to you.¡±

    Xin looked at Gary, and then shook her head. ¡°No¡­its fine. I¡¯ll go on this date. I want to go on this date.¡± Xin answered. ¡°But, Eddie, you owe me for not asking or warning me beforehand!¡±

    Gary¡¯s heart felt like it was going toe out of his chest, but Xin had always been this type of person straightforward and honest with her feelings.

    ¡°I-I do as well.¡± Gary stammered.

    *****

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 Chapter 515 The Date (Part 1)

    Shingi and Eddie waved Xin and Gary off, giving the two ¡®lovebirds¡¯ the rest of the afternoon to do whatever they wanted. The only problem was that neither one of them really knew what they were supposed to do due to theck of their dating experience and neither one having been told about this date beforehand. It didn¡¯t help that the AFA students had to apply for leave beforehand, so they were unable to do anything exciting outside the academy.

    As the two of them were thinking about what they should do together, each one was just following the other in silence, resulting in the two of them heading straight towards therge field. It was more or less a track field that had multiple pieces of equipment for the debut students to train outside. It wasn¡¯t utilised a lot because most of the students in the AFA were aiming for the AFC, making them prefer practising indoors, specifically in the cages where real fights would ur.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Xin eventually broke the silence that was starting to get awkward. ¡°About zapping you before, I mean. However, in my defence you did seem like you were out of it.¡±

    Gary tried tough it off, trying toe up with a good excuse, but he couldn''t think of any. ¡°No, no, you were totally right to do that. I just got bit too hungry that day, I guess.¡±

    ¡°That was all from you being hungry?¡± Xin asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°In that case, I should probably be happy that you must have eaten before you came over to meet my parents.¡±

    Hearing Xin tease him like this, Gary felt that the awkwardness of the whole situation had lessened. His crush always seemed up for anything and was quite forward, not hard to read either, making her all the more charming in his eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, we should avoid dates at restaurants in the future¡­ assuming you want to have another one, of course. ¡­ oh God, I¡¯m messing up already, aren¡¯I?¡± Gary cursed his own tongue for being faster than his brain. However, to his surprise, Xin just chuckled at his antics. ¡°Rx, let¡¯s just enjoy the time together and y it by ear.¡±

    Eventually, the two of them approached what looked like an archery field with arge round board at the very back. Strangely, there were neither bows nor arrows in the vicinity, rather a row of heavy metal looking balls at the side. It was a condensed weight, and picking it up, one was meant to practise throwing them at the target from around fifty metres away.

    ¡°How about we start our date with this?¡± Xin suggested. ¡°It¡¯s easy, each of us gets five balls, and the one to score the most points wins. Hmmm, let¡¯s make it a bit more fun. Usually we y this with some ante, so why don¡¯t we do the same? Is there anything that you want if you win?¡±

    Looking at her from head to toe, the teenage boy blurted out the first thing that came to mind. ¡°A kid!¡±

    Xin dropped the heavy ball into the ground as she heard those words. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you''re moving a little too fast, casanovva?¡±

    Gary¡¯s head was turning a bright red colour, due to his nervousness he had misspoken. ¡°KISS! I meant to say KISS, I swear!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, that seems reasonable. Alright, but if I win, I¡¯m gonna ask something from you, but I have to warn you, I¡¯m pretty good at this.¡± Xin replied as she went first and threw the ball. It went flying through the air and hit the target right in the centre, scoring her the maximum amount of 100 points.

    ¡®I guess since this is next to the other training ce she has done this a few times, but it doesn''t look too hard.¡¯ Gary thought as he picked up the weight. It turned out heavier than he had expected and he imagined there were a few people that would be unable to throw the ball without transforming, but since Xin didn¡¯t transform, he wasn¡¯t going to either.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Gary then hurled the ball as hard and as fast as he could. It had gone through the air faster than Xin¡¯s had, hitting the inner middle ring scoring him 75 points.

    ¡®That''s pretty good for his first try¡­ it''s hard to imagine Gary was really the same person as that lunatic I had to knock out.¡¯ Xin thought.

    ¡°I guess we didn¡¯t really get to talk since that time, huh?¡± Xin suddenly realised. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t even look after you. Say, when did you even be an Altered? It had to be after I left, right? What made you join the AFA?¡±

    While she asked her questions, the teenage girl was still concentrating on their game, focusing her aim. Gary was looking at everything she was doing so he could initiate her form.

    ¡°It was pretty much after you left. Apany called the Howlers decided to invest a lot of money into Slough and they had a trial run, looking for candidates to join them, going around schools and scouting. In the end, I was lucky enough to get selected, so I¡¯m now a representative of theirpany. Since I was verypatible with my Altered, they let me try out with the AFA, and here I am.¡± Gary answered confidently.

    It was a lie prepared for him by Kai in case anyone ever asked him. Xin also believed it since she had seen how talented he had been, though she was mistaken in that she had seen him before his turning. The only hard part to believe in was the story about a new corporation investing in Slough of all ces, especially seemingly out of nowhere. Then again, Slough was neither the first nor thest town that apany might choose to invest in, in case they saw some potential.

    Honestly, Gary was quite nervous, after all as the mayor¡¯s daughter, Xin might have been told by her father about the Howlers, although it might just have been ament in passing.

    ¡°Although, if I¡¯m honest, I also asked for the chance to get here. ¡­ Jayden was the one who rmended I do so.¡±

    Xin was just about to throw the ball, but this sudden piece of news, made her flinch, resulting in her throw being off by a bit. Nevertheless, her second throw ended up giving her 75 points.

    ¡°Jayden? As in my brother? He told you toe here?¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 516 The Date (Part 2)

    Turning away, Gary answered a bit embarrassed. ¡°He told me that if I wanted to be with you, that I shoulde here.¡±

    There weren''t many things that startled Xin, but this was certainly one of them. If she was hearing Gary right, the reason he came here was because of her. Although that was sweet to hear¡­it saddened Xin.

    ¡®It must be nice, for someone to be so free that they can join the AFA just for a reason like that, while here I am trying to gain my freedom.¡¯ Xin thought, her mood souring a bit.

    Gary threw the ball again, and although he believed he had copied Xin down to thest part before her flinching his ball hit the 75 point mark again.

    ¡°Have you visited Sloughtely, or talked to your father about anything?¡± Gary peeked from the corner of his eye when he asked this question.

    Xin then threw the ball perfectly hitting the same spot, dead in the centre scoring a 100 points.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve put all my attention into the AFA. For now, that''s all I want to think about until I have achieved my goal of reaching top 50 in the AFC.¡±

    It was the first time Gary had heard Xin¡¯s goal so clearly. Top 50 was a tall task, it meant she needed to at least get as strong as her brother, which coincidentally was a goal that Gary had set for himself as well.

    Throwing the ball for a third time, Gary''s aim was even more off than before, though it was enough to score him 50 points.

    ¡°Stop trying to throw it as fast and hard as you can.¡± Xin advised. ¡°This isn''t a contest of strength. Not everything is about how strong, or fast you are. Treat this like a fight, you aren¡¯t just running to your opponent to clober them. You need to have the right technique, use your head and sine self control.¡±

    Gary nearly jested that as a Werewolf, self control was thest thing he had, but he quickly swallowed it down. Besides, it was something that he needed to learn. With the fourth ball being thrown from Xin it hit the centre again, scoring her another 100 points. Gary could foresee that there was no realistic way for him to beat Xin at this game, but he at least wanted to hit the centre once and he had two more throws to do it.

    ¡®Control myself, and aim for the centre.¡¯ Gary thought as he breathed in and out slowly. His heart rate started to slow down. Then throwing out the ball it went straight¡­ falling to the ground midway, not even reaching the target.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xin burst out inughter, making the green haired teenager get red again. His crush tried, but couldn¡¯t stopughing as tears were about toe out of her eyes. ¡°Gary, you can¡¯t justpletely focus on one thing, but that was good. It shows that you are willing to listen. You''re a bit like a sponge soaking up the knowledge that everyone tells you. It''s a good trait as long as you can tell the bad advice from the good.¡±

    The game continued and in the end, Gary had managed to hit the 75 again. He hade close to the centre but never hit it, while Xin had ended with a score of 475. With that, he had lost their little bet.

    ¡°Xin, with you being so busy, do you think the two of us will ever have a proper date? Just live our own lives?¡± Gary asked, thinking about his own circumstances with the gang. Xin turned to Gary and smiled while looking at him.

    ¡°Of course.¡± She replied with confidence. ¡°That''s why I''m fighting so hard. Anyway, it looks like someone lost the bet, so now you need to do something for me.¡±

    Sulking in his head about missing his chance to earn the kiss he wanted, he was now a bit worried what she might ask of him. To never bother her again, perhaps? To wash all her clothes and be her servant for a while. Frankly, Gary wouldn¡¯t mind thetter too much, after all it meant he would be able to see her more.

    ¡°Close your eyes.¡± Xin said after some slight deliberation.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Gary listened, closing his eyes wondering what could happen, when he suddenly felt something soft on his lips push against his, and a small little pressure soon after. Opening them immediately Gary could see Xin with her eyes closed and her lips pressed against his.

    [Your heart rate is rising at an incredibly fast rate]

    [Suggestion to see a doctor or a vet!]

    ¡®F*ck off, you stupid system, let me just enjoy this.¡¯ Gary thought to himself, closing his eyes. For a short, sweet moment, all his worries were forgotten, yet the next he focused on slowing down his heart to avoid transforming. Eventually, that moment that he dreaded the most came, for Xin ended the kiss and took a step back.

    ¡°I never got to tell you what my reward was for winning¡­ but it''s because we both wanted the same thing.¡± Xin smiled cheekily. ¡°Keep chasing after me, Gary. One day, we should be able to go on a proper date without having to worry about stuff. Until then, although I know it makes me selfish, but I like that I have one person who cares about me in their own way. It makes me feel, not alone.¡±

    Hearing those words, said with that face and smile, Gary at that moment felt like he would chase her anywhere she went. It was just impossible for him to put it into words so he just stood there and nodded.

    ¡°Come on, we still have a few hours together.¡± Xin said as she grabbed Gary¡¯s hand and the two of them continued to walk. The Werewolf¡¯s brain had seemingly short circuited, still trying to process his second kiss with her. It was undoubtedly better than the first one, and longer. For the moment he was more than content to walk with Xin holding hands.

    The trees, the sky, even the garbage bin stationed around the school seemed prettier in his eyes now.

    ¡®Is this¡­ what they call love, how does everything look so nice to me now?¡¯ Gary wondered, arge.

    As they continued to walk around the academy, they eventually arrived behind one of the buildings, and Gary picked up the sound of someone arguing.

    ¡°Did you really think you could take on ten of us? You really are an arrogant piece of sh*t!¡± One of the voices screamed.

    ¡°Come on, why don¡¯t we head in another direction?¡± Gary suggested to avoid getting involved.

    ¡°Why¡­¡± Another voice was heard by the Werewolf. ¡°Why¡­are you doing this to me¡­why are you doing this to my family!¡±

    Gary stopped in his tracks there and then, and Xin could feel him gripping onto her hand. As she went to look at his face, she could see his eyes had changed and were glowing slightly red.

    ¡®Why¡­ why can¡¯t they just leave him alone! And why did they have to do this today of all days?!¡¯

    *******

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 Chapter 517 Why Me?

    During their free period in the afternoon, Numba decided to go off ahead on his own, heading towards the dormitory. Having found out what his father was going through, he couldn''t get it off his mind. A part of him was afraid that if he stayed around the others, there was a good chance that he would just blurt something out by ident.

    Before Numba had met the others, he hadn¡¯t really been someone who would filter his speech, a trait which hadn¡¯t exactly gotten him a lot of friends in his life. Exactly for that reason, thest thing he wanted to do was get his new friends involved into his family¡¯s mess. On his way, a student with a beanie was standing in the hallway, leaning up against his room.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re Numba, right?¡± The student asked while chewing a piece of gum. ¡°My name¡¯s Mike. Miss Patel sent me to fetch you.¡±

    The Goat Altered didn¡¯t recognise this student immediately. There were only so many students in a ss, yet there were multiple sses due to number of students fluctuating depending on how fast someone was able to ¡®graduate¡¯. Numba knew that he had only focused on the students that hade in just before their batch. That way he couldpare his progression to theirs.

    ¡°What does she need me for?¡¯ Numba replied.

    The student shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Beats me, I¡¯m just the messenger boy. My guess is that it might have something to do with your absence this morning. If you wanna know, just ask her.¡± With that, Mike walked ahead.

    Numba didn¡¯t think much of it, because that theory was quite sound. After all, he hadn¡¯t informed her about his absence nor had he requested time off. He followed behind Mike who seemed to be showing him the way. However, when they ended up in an outside area, only then did Numba start to suspect that something else was going on.

    ¡®Wait a second, I¡¯m pretty sure the teacher¡¯s office should also be in the same building, so where is he taking me?¡¯ Numba wondered. Of course, there was the chance that Miss Patel might be somewhere else, but in that case what would be important enough that it couldn¡¯t wait for when she was back at her office? Besides, was there really a need for a student sent to pass on the message and to guide him, rather than just tell him where to go?

    ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t want you wasting this free period. How about you just tell me where she is. I can head there on my own.¡± Numba suggested carefully.

    Mike stopped dead in his tracks. they were around ten metres away from the main academy building.

    ¡°I thought that this would be a simple, easy job.¡± Mike turned around, still chewing the piece of gum. ¡°Look, all you need to do is follow me, okay? And before you think of running away, let me tell you that there is a particr girl with curly hair who is waiting with my friends for you to show up. Surely, you don¡¯t want her to get hurt just because you didn¡¯t show up, right?¡±

    Numba¡¯s heart thumped louder for a second, hearing that name. Whoever this person was, or this group, they had to know a bit about them, because they knew that Numba and Izzy were friends.

    ¡®How¡­did this happen? Izzy and Ian are nearly always together. How did they manage to split them apart?¡¯ Numba wondered as he proceeded to follow ¡®Mike¡¯.

    Sure, there were plenty of strong students in the academy, but in a lot of cases, Numba would ssify Ian as a better fighter than he was. The two of them would also have been in school, so Ian would have been able to do something for them to get away.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Ian let out sigh as he pushed the toilet door open. ¡®I really needed that, I don¡¯t know what it was that I ate yesterday¡­ Huh, Izzy?¡¯ Ian turned his head left and right. ¡®I swear she said she would wait for me? Maybe yesterday¡¯s food didn¡¯t agree with her either. Anyway, they say it¡¯s best to stay put when separated, so I guess I¡¯ll just stay here for now.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª

    Eventually, Numba was led to an outside part of the school that not many would walk around. It was in between the main academy and where the debut students would go. So the only people that would go back and forth were the debut students, but they would never go around the building and instead would go through it, so it was a pretty good spot for whoever nned it all to do whatever it was they wanted.

    When turning the corner, that''s when Numba could see it, ten students, a mix of some he had seen, and others he might have only noticed in passing. The group consisted of only males, the only odd one out was Izzy who was up against the wall. There was a blood mark on the wall, and her face was beaten and bruised, with somewhat dry blood around her nose. Her eyelids were swollen and it looked like she had passed out.

    ¡°You basta*s!¡± Numba screamed. ¡°You wanted me, right? Why would you hurt her?¡±

    Seeing like this the rage was too much, and Number had already started to transform as a long white fur was grown g on his arms, and horns on his head appeared.

    In an explosive takeoff, Numba sted his way right to Mike, throwing out a fist hitting him square in the face, sending him flying through the air and on the group, blood dripping out his mouth, and not getting back up.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± One of the other studentsughed while turning around, it was the one who was closest to Izzy. He was tall, and had a skinny body, with bags under his eyes. When looking at him closely, it looked like he also had bruised knuckles,pared to everyone else.

    ¡®That''s him, he must be the one that hurt Izzy!¡¯ Numba thought.

    The Goat Altered started to run forward towards her, but his explosive power would only take him so far, before he slowed down. It was more like an explosive kick from the ground, and then he would need to kick off again.

    At the same time, this greatly tired out Numba doing something like this. When he started to slow down in speed, though, all the others had transformed. This wasn¡¯t just a gang of ten teenagers one would meet in the city, nor a group of thugs loitering around school. This was the AFA, an Academy for Altered where the best came to train, and that''s when Numba realised the situation he was in. A strange long wet looking limb whacked him right in the stomach.

    At the same time, something he couldn''t even see had hit him from the top of the head. Before he could even recover, he felt like he had been lifted by another pair of arms and mmed on the concrete. Straight after, not even being able to lift his hands, he was getting hit and kicked from multiple sides.

    ¡®Why¡­why is this happening, why are these people attacking me?¡¯ While thinking of this, Numba remembered the words of his father, that he had to be careful in the academy. It was too much of a coincidence to just ignore. He had been going through his academy days fine until this point.

    ¡®That man, the one that I saw at Notsburg! His eyes, I knew they weren¡¯t normal. This gang, it''s one that''s rted to Sty¡­ is he the one behind this? Even if he isn¡¯t, he will surely know something about it, but first I need to survive this!¡¯

    The group of nine didn¡¯t stop, and Numba¡¯s vision was getting hazy from the blood loss. ¡®Because of me¡­ they hurt Izzy¡­ I¡¯m the worst type of friend.¡¯

    ¡°Stop!¡± The man''s voice from far back, next to Izzy, was heard, and the rest had stopped. Looking at Numba on the ground, he was in no condition to fight or get up. It was unclear just how many bones they broke in his body, but it was obvious he would need weeks to heal.

    ¡°It was a great idea to bring her here, don¡¯t you think? Seeing your girlfriend like this was a sure-fire way to get you to attack us first.¡± The man gloated. ¡°One of the first things you learn about this part of the academy is that no fighting is allowed in the academy between students allowed without a teacher¡¯s permission.

    ¡°However, there is one addendum to that rule. Students are allowed to act in self-defence. You, Numba, were the first one to strike us, so you got nobody to me but yourself.¡±

    Numba, unable to move, could only move his mouth slightly. ¡°Why¡­ are you doing this to me¡­why are you doing this to my family?!¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it looks like you figured out why this is happening to you.¡± The manughed again. ¡°Either way, it looks like, you might no longer be in the AFA after this.¡±

    The group started tough again, until they heard a grunting voice. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡±

    As they turned their head, they could see a green haired teenager standing next to a grey haired girl.

    ¡°Oh, are you a friend of his? Well, too bad you can¡¯t get revenge, otherwise you will get kicked out of the academy as well.¡± The manughed.

    Gary¡¯s eyes were beaming red, as he looked up and shouted at them, his body starting to transform.

    ¡°You think I give a f*ck about following the academy¡¯s rules when scum like you attack my friends? I¡¯ll kill you all!!!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 518 A Spark Of Power

    Numba had been so badly hurt that he was fading in and out of consciousness, but a deep rumbling voice which shook even his core caused him to look through his blurry eyes.

    ¡®That can¡¯t be¡­ is that Gary? ¡­ How is he here? Why is he here?¡¯ Numba¡¯s brain was too muddled to make sense out of the situation. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to tell anyone about where he was going, and at the same the ce they were at, wasn¡¯t a ce a student would just stumble across.

    ¡°Please¡­ don¡¯t get kicked out of the academy for my sake.¡± Numba quietly muttered with his limited strength.

    Under normal circumstances, Gary might have listened to him, but the Werewolf was only seeing red. The scent of blood from both Izzy and Numba had wafted in his nose, so his instincts told him to punish those responsible for hurting his friends.

    ¡°Look at this guy!¡± The student in the back ridiculed Gary¡¯s tough guy approach. ¡°Something is seriously wrong with your whole batch. Your friend down there also thought himself a hero and look what it did for him. Take a look around, do you seriously think you¡¯re capable of taking ALL of us on?!¡±

    Although the student standing next to Izzy seemed confident enough to taunt the green haired teenager, the rest of his friends had yet to act. If they could, they would have moved and attempted to attack Gary, but those closer to the Werewolf could feel some invisible pressure radiating from him. Their brains told them that it should be impossible for one student to fight off nearly a dozen, but with how crazy he looked, nobody wanted to sacrifice themselves for the others.

    As Gary approached the first student, he clenched his fist tightly. When he got within attacking range, the student reacted instinctively. Mid-swing, his arm turned into a limp that resembled a tentacle, indicating that his Altered was based on a creature from the sea.

    As the tentacle came toward Gary, he dodged under it, and kicked off the ground, aiming for the Altered¡¯s face. His fist was inches away from the student''s face, yet before he could connect, the guy suddenly fell to the side, making his attack hit nothing but air.

    ¡®Did he dodge that?¡¯ Gary wondered, since the student had yet to move away.

    For some reason, he remained on the ground, though his body randomly shook as if someone was electrocuting him. Seeing this, it reminded Gary of when he had been in a simr situation. Turning his head in the other direction, he could see Xin putting her leg down.

    ¡°You¡¯re too angry. With how you are now, you may seriously end up hurting someone and regretting it for the rest of your life, so let me deal with it!¡± Xin shouted as she ran toward the next student that was close to her.

    She had already jumped in the air, spinning her body andnded a kick right on one of their heads. When her foot made contact with the person, sparks were seen for a second. Even though the kick didn¡¯t seem to be too hard, he ended up zapped, suddenly sent flying away.

    ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t attack her just one at a time! Get her all at once!¡± The student from the back shouted.

    The rest of the students headed toward Xin as they all began to transform, Gary was ready to rush in and help, but lifting her foot in the air, above her head, yellow sparks started to surround her leg and she mmed it on the ground.

    The sparks from her foot were released and went in every direction like a current. Whenever it touched the other students, the current of electricity went up their bodies. A tingling feeling could be felt, it wasn¡¯t painful like some of them imagined, but what they soon found out was it was a lot worse.

    They were struggling to move properly. Trying to move their hands, it was their feet that reacted, making them all fall down. Itpletely creepted them out, as they felt like someone else was in control of their body, yet in reality Xin¡¯s attack had simply messed up the signals from the brain to their bodies.

    Before they could ever recover, Xin punched one in the stomach, lifting them in the air, and went right to the next one, kicking one of them into another. Each one was dealt with a single hit, and there was no need for her to do more.

    ¡®What is this? Nobody told us that someone like her would interfere!¡¯ The older student next to Izzy thought. There wouldn''t be many students that could take on 10 Altereds at a time like this. When she was finally done and was walking toward him, that was when he could see her face clearly, and everything was starting to make sense.

    ¡°You¡­you¡¯re Xin! Why is a debut student like you getting involved?! You should know the rules! Do you even know this person?¡±

    It was clear he was startled and he had good reason to be. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he could take on the best student in the whole academy, and as a way to get out of it, he looked towards Izzy and reached out toward her.

    ¡°You idiot!¡± Xin shouted as she threw her fist out, there was still a distance of around five metres between them but when her fist hit the air, a single electric current came out, looking like a lightning strike had hit the student, throwing him against the wall and causing him to pass out immediately.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Gary was mesmerised by what he had just seen. Xin didn''t even have to transform to fight against the others yet she was able to use a strange power. A skill, or more urately, an attribute just like her brother Jayden.

    ¡®She¡¯s so powerful without even transforming. Just what type of Altered is she? I have no clue, but it has to be really powerful given her current status and the electric powers it lets her use. Damn, how is it fair that others get all the cool powers?!¡¯

    For a second Gary was actually feeling jealous, wondering if he hadn¡¯t been turned into a Werewolf, what type of Altered he could have been. However, when he thought about it some more, he realised that while his Werewolf System might not have granted any really shy type of skills, something like Last Stand was too good to give up.

    Getting a one-minute extension of life was an extremely extraordinary skill.

    Snapping out of it, Gary quickly went to Numba¡¯s side, checking up on the true extent of the damage. It was clear to him that his friend had more than a couple broken bones. He gently lifted up the Goat Altered¡¯s head, as he could see Numba was still alive and conscious.

    ¡°Gary¡­ I¡¯m sorry! I''m sorry for getting you involved and you having to help me again.¡± Numba blurted out.

    ¡°I think you might have hit your head a bit too hard.¡± Gary replied. ¡°For one, I¡¯m not the one you should be thanking. I didn¡¯t even get to do anything. Second, how is it your fault that those scumbags attacked you?¡± You don¡¯t have to exin yourself, let''s just get you to the medical office as soon as possible.¡±

    Lifting Numba up, Gary was practically lifting him in the air with his shoulder alone, so he had to put as little pressure on his one working foot as possible. The two of them went over, and looked at Izzy. Xin came over and picked her up off the ground, helping ce her on Gary¡¯s other shoulder.

    ¡°Look after them, Gary. I''m sorry that our date had to be cut short by this, but I will stay here and handle the aftermath. Don¡¯t worry, as the top-ranking debut student, they won¡¯t kick me out, and I''m also close with the teachers. I¡¯ll do my best so that something like this won¡¯t happen to any of your friends in the future.¡±

    Gary nodded, appreciating how reliable Xin was. Although a tiny part of him wanted to suggest possibly continuing their date after dropping off his friends, he understood that he needed to be there for them now. Using Controlled Transformation, he lightened his load and made sure to get to the nurse''s office as quickly and gently as possible.

    Once the three were out of sight, Xin knelt down to the man she had shocked earlier. Grabbing his head, she let out another few sparks, showing him awake. The older student groaned in pain as he opened his eyes, directly staring into Xin¡¯s.

    ¡°Me and you are going to have a talk, and you¡¯re going to tell me everything about this little stunt of yours.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The nurse''s office looked more like a hospital, and there were many trained staff going from room to room. It only took a few minutes for someone toe over and bring the two injured students into rooms of their own. Due to them being Altered, Gary was certain that they would heal in due time, but the pain they had gone through was still the same as anyone else would have suffered.

    Half an hourter, Gary was allowed to visit Numba, as he had woken up. From what the receptionist had told him, Izzy was still asleep. Gary entered the room and went to stand by Numba¡¯s side, who for a second looked away and was holding onto the bedsheet tightly.

    ¡°Izzy¡­.she was hurt because of me.¡± Numba admitted as tears fell down the sheets one by one.

    ¡°True, but were you the one who hit her? Or were you the guy who bravely tried to attack those who did that to her?¡± Gary asked back. After that question, Numba cried even more.

    ¡°No, but¡­ Gary, I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± His friend sobbed, wiping his tears away. ¡°Please¡­help me. Help¡­ my family.¡±

    ******

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 Chapter 519 A Cry For Help (Part 1)

    Twiddling his fingers on his desk, Kai was sitting in his office at the Wolf''s Pool Club, but once again, he wasn¡¯t on his own. He was with Olivia, and both of them had their masks next to them.

    ¡°What a very interesting development.¡± Olivia couldn''t help but note with a devious smile. ¡°Tell me, did you know this was going to happen?¡±

    Shaking his head, Kai smiled back. ¡°Do you really think I somehow have the ability to see into the future? The only thing I can say is, people are more predictable than you think. There are only so many scenarios that I can ount for, I just do what I can to prepare for all of them equally. Even now, I am unsure as to what will happen.¡±

    Looking toward the staircase Olivia folded her arms. ¡°Sometimes I forget that you¡¯re just a 17 year old brat. If only you were a few years older.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but even though you look this young, I¡¯m not really the type to date someone who is-¡±

    Before Kai could finish his sentence Olivia had pulled out her whip, her eyes shining blue as she dared him to finish the sentence. The teenager knew better than to piss her off.

    For the day, the Wolf''s Pool Club had been closed, and upstairs the rest of the core members were present. Innu, Marie, Austin etc¡­ Unlike those below, they were already dressed in their masks. They stood in ce waiting for the double doors to open.

    Eventually, they could hear the sound of cars from outside. Two ck cars with tinted windows had arrived, anding out of one of them was none other than Harry Cardnez, followed by his close aide Will. The young man was his newest personal assistant and had a tendency to be on point, having a tablet in his hand, ck thick frames and a perfectly tidy clean suit.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Will grumbled, shaking his head. ¡°They have asked you to meet in a ce like this, in this area? This is nothing like thest time! Was that all for show?¡±

    Harry had called up Kai asking for another meeting after theirst, and to be honest Harry himself was surprised about the location change. He had never seen a gang operate from such a small ce.

    ¡°Will, remember why we are here!¡± Harry lectured the young man as he continued to walk forward.

    Like the time before, from the other car there were members of the Freaks, one from the car they were riding in and two in the other. A lot had to be left back in the city, in case of more attacks.

    Walking side by side Harry and Will went to the doors pushing them open, and as soon as they saw the others standing there with the masks on their faces they knew they were in the right ce.

    ¡°The person you are waiting for is ready to meet you downstairs.¡± Marie said, as she walked over. As a girl with a small frame she seemed like the perfect choice to guide their guests, without putting them on alert. What didn¡¯t go unnoticed were the Anti-Altered weapons that Marie had strapped around her side, a spear and a crossbow tied to her back.

    ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t like the feeling from this ce, this could very well be a trap.¡± Will whispered while covering his mouth.

    ¡°We have no other option.¡± Harry replied as he walked forward following the masked girl.

    She went down the stairs first while the others remained upstairs in case there was anything strange that went on. When they finally reached the bottom, they could see Kai sitting at his desk and Olivia standing by the side, both with their masks on.

    Harry started to look around the room, to see if there was anyone else, but he seemed unable to find them.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ¡°If you are looking for our leader, he isn¡¯t here. He is a busy person, you see, and since we don¡¯t know the oue of this meeting, I hadn¡¯t asked him toe along.¡± Kai exined.

    Will was burning up inside. Even for a gang, the whole thing was disrespectful. Kai hadn''te and greeted the owner and now the leader of the gang wasn¡¯t even here. Still, unlikest time, Harry seemed to ignore all of that as he used a hand to tell the others to stay where they were as he got in front of Kai¡¯s desk.

    ¡°I have one question first before I tell you my request.¡± Harry stated, while Kai remained silent. ¡°Did the Scatterbugs request for you to attack Notsburg?¡±

    Bringing both of his hands up towards his mouth, Kai was hiding his smile from the others and only Olivia could see it at that moment.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kai answered after a heavy pause. ¡°They even offered up a very nice incentive.¡±

    Immediately, after hearing the answer, Harry¡¯s set of actions was shocking to everyone in the room. He fell to both of his knees, and ced his hands and head on the floor.

    ? ¡°Our two groups were once close to reaching a deal, but in the end I decided to look for other opportunities, which is why right now the only thing I can do is plead, no beg for your help.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you didn¡¯t agree to help the Scatterbug group, but I¡¯m sure you are aware of the situation. We, the Cardnez group, are asking for your help! If it is within your power, I want you to save ourpany and in return we will be a part of the Howlers¡¯ group.¡±

    ¡°Sir, how could you?!¡± Will shouted. ¡°You put your blood, sweat, and tears into building thispany from the ground up. How could you give that to a gang, a Tier-3 gang that we don¡¯t even know if they can help or not?!¡±

    ¡°SILENCE!¡± Harry shouted at the young man by his side. ¡°What¡¯s the use of all my former achievements in out current situation? If we do nothing now, then there will be nopany left!¡±

    It was more than that, Harry knew the likeness of the Howlers epting such a thing was unlikely. Because them getting involved could mean the end of them as well. It was a crazy idea, for two Tier-3 groups to team up to take on the other Tier-3 gangs as well as the Scatterbugs, but this was hisst hope.

    Before Kai could give him an answer, he could see his phone ringing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is a very important call.¡±

    Once again this was angering Will, but this time he bit his tongue, as Harry was down on his knees it was the least he could do.

    ¡°How are you doing, Green Fang?¡± Kai asked.

    *****

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 Chapter 520 A Cry For Help (Part 2)

    Inside the medical bay in the academy, Gary had stayed by Numba¡¯s side who hadn''t said much after asking for help. Eventually one of the nurses informed them that Izzy was well enough and back to her normal self. Not long after, she had entered the room.

    Numba would still take some time to heal. When they entered the room, though she hadn''t entered herself, she had done so with Ian. While Gary stayed by Numba¡¯s side, Ian had done this for Izzy. Immediately after finding out what had happened, Ian burst into the room saying sorry, asking who they were and wanting to take them all down.

    But as they were exiting their room, they soon saw that multiple students were being brought in, the ones that had done this to Izzy in the first ce. It looked like someone had already got to them, before Ian could.

    To calm down, they both decided to go visit Numba, and since he wasn¡¯t allowed to leave they were worried that he was in a worse situation. Thankfully Numba was okay, and now, Gary, Ian and Izzy were all sitting around their friend as heid in his hospital bed.

    ¡°So¡­ are you going to tell us? Why did they attack you?¡± Ian asked. ¡°Izzy said that they captured her to get to you, but she knew something was up, and then that happened.¡±

    Izzy once again kicked Ian¡¯s shin. She knew that this would hurt Numba, thinking it was his fault, but Ian just seemed to be unware of those things.

    ¡°Can you stop kicking me?! That shit hurts! I know it might be hard for him, but we need to either teach those guys a lesson so they don¡¯t do it again or find out why they were doing this.¡± Ian exined with a small tear in the corner of his eye.

    ¡°I¡­agree with Ian.¡± Gary added. ¡°Numba, you asked for my help, but since then you haven¡¯t said a word. Just tell us what''s going on, so we can find a way to help you.¡±

    Numba took a deep breath, as he was prepared to answer. He was well aware that without an exnation, they would constantly nag him either way. The Goat Altered repeated what his father had told him and his own findings.

    Everyday he had been checking the news back in his city and it was getting worse. The constant attacks, people quitting the business, withdrawing from deals, and how his father had warned him to be careful as well. In the end, Numba had even mentioned who he thought was most likely to be behind the whole thing.

    The most likely suspect in his mind where the tier-2 gang that he and his father had met. When finding this out, Numba had pretty much lost all hope. Not only was his father''spany up against them, but the other cities they had paid as well.

    ¡°That''s why I didn¡¯t want to tell you guys. There is nothing that we can really do.¡± Numba clenched his fists. ¡°This is business between cities¡­I heard all the other towns in the area close by have started sending gangs as well..and I..I.¡± Numba started to break down in tears again. ¡°Can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±

    It hurt the others to see Numba like this but Izzy and Ian didn¡¯t know what to do. They were heirs to restaurants and other businesses. They could ask their family to send over financial support towards the Cardenez group, however they knew that their family would most likely decline, based on what was happening. If anyone got involved they ran the risk of being targeted as well.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ¡°Numba¡­I don¡¯t like seeing you like this. Earlier you asked me for help. I saw the desperate situation you were in and it''s worse than I thought. For them to utilise students to attack you as well¡­ for them to get you involved in all of this. I can¡¯t forgive them. so I¡¯m going to help you.¡± Gary stood up from his seat and started to walk toward the door.

    ¡°Gary, what do you mean!¡± Numab shouted out. ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking of fighting against them yourself. Don¡¯t do anything crazy. This is a Tier-2 gang we are talking about. I could never ask you to get your whole gang involved in this.¡±

    Turning around Gary asked. ¡°Do you not remember what you said to all of you? We are an alliance now, and one of our members needs help. It''s only right that I act out, and don¡¯t you remember? I owe you one from that assessment. With this we can call it even.¡±

    ¡°What is he thinking?¡± Ian stated. ¡°Is he really going to try to fight the gang¡­I mean even Gary is not THAT crazy, right? Maybe he¡¯s going to ask his gang to help.¡±

    Hearing this was what Number was worried about, more people would be getting involved because of him.

    ¡°Numba I wouldn¡¯t worry too much. Look if anything happens to you and your family, we will look after you. As for Gary, I know you''re worried about him, but I¡¯ll be honest it''s unlikely his gang will get involved.

    ¡°Gary is just someone the gang sponsored. Sure he might have some say, but to utilise a whole group to go up against a Tier-2 gang won¡¯t be possible. No gang would start a gang war just because of the request of a member.¡±

    The second Gary had exited from the room, the smile disappeared from his face, and he grabbed his phone, pressing the speed dial number. It only wrangled a couple of times before he got an answer.

    ¡°How are you doing, Green Fang?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°Kai¡­ I need you to prepare the whole gang.¡± Gary asked. ¡°I¡¯m asking you all for a favour, as the leader of the Howlers.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 521 The Trio Acts!

    Numba had been told that he was to stay in the hospital one more day. His wounds had mostly healed up, but it was just to make sure that there was nothing else wrong before continuing his regr activities. After all, this was a fighting academy so just being well enough to walk wasn¡¯t good enough.

    The others had eventually left, Gary being the first, then Izzy and Ian leaving together. One would think that the two of them were a couple based on how much the two stayed together, but it was clear to Numba that she had certain feelings for another, which was why he didn¡¯t say who had actually stopped the students that had attacked him.

    ¡®Why were the two of them together at that time? And they were both walking at the back of the academy?¡¯ Suddenly, a few lewd thoughts entered Numba¡¯s head which caused his face to go slightly red.

    ¡®I knew he said the two of them knew each other, but to know each other that well. I wonder, could the two of them possibly be dating?!¡¯

    While thinking this, there was a slight knock on the door. It was quitete, but he assumed one of the others probably had something else to say that they had forgotten.

    ¡°Come in!¡± Numba called out., making sure he was cozy in his sheets.

    That''s when he could see a smooth skinned delicate hand push open the door, and grey hair flowing down. One of the people he was thinking about seconds ago, was now right in front of him.

    ¡°It''s a pleasure to meet you, Numba Cardenez. My name is Xin Clove, I believe the two of us met during the debut match.¡± Xin politely said as she gave a little bow.

    Immediately, Numba bowed back.

    ¡°Yes, I remember you, but please there is no need to be so formal with me. You were the one that saved me, back there. So please don¡¯t bow your head.¡± Numba replied back as he started to bow down, three to four times.

    Xin couldn¡¯t help but giggle and as Numba saw this face his heart started to throb.

    ¡®Well, I can see why you fell for this girl.¡¯ Numba smiled. ¡®But I would never do anything to get in the way of the two of you. I wish the best for both of you.¡¯

    Numba prayed in his mind for the sess between the two.

    ¡°I actually came to speak to you.¡± Xin stated as she approached the bed. ¡°The students that attacked you. I have reported them to the teacher, who will have a review with the professors as to what to do with them.

    ¡°They will look into this matter further, but I wanted to just tell you that, you will certainly be safe. I have a bit of sway with the teachers being the number one student and I can safely say that you won¡¯t be getting in trouble.¡± She smiled.

    It was a worry in the back of Numba¡¯s mind. What would happen to him for fighting outside of the school. Although the academy was thest of his problems he was happy to know that at least this was off his mind.

    ¡°I have something else to tell you, something that the teachers don¡¯t know.¡± Xin exined as she looked to her left and right. ¡°The one that had ordered the attack was a student named Sty. I¡¯ll give my opinion but a student usually doesn''t have that much power to force others to risk getting kicked out of the academy, which means someone else got involved most likely. I thought you should at least know this much.¡±

    This had confirmed Numba¡¯s suspensions, the one that was behind everything, was the Scatterbugs. Beating up Sty or confronting him about it wouldn¡¯t do anything though, as this was a matter between their groups.

    ¡°Thank you Xin, and thank you again for the help. I hope things go well for you.¡± Numba said and shortley whispered. ¡°And I wish you good luck with Gary.¡±

    With Xin leaving the room there was a lot for him to think of. The thought of leaving the academy all together and then heading back to help his dad had crossed his mind.

    Even though his father said it was pointless, sitting here doing nothing was also pointless.

    When the next day arrived, Numba was still in the hospital bed until the lessons hade to an end, and Numba had been given the clear to leave as well. As he changed and exited the door, he was surprised to see two people standing there waiting for him.

    ¡°Look at you, you look as good as new!¡± Ian shouted, hitting the side of his arm to check if there were any pains.

    As for Izzy, she was looking behind Numba at the door and into the room.

    ¡°It''s good to see you. Is Gary with you?¡± Izzy asked.

    ¡°No¡­why?¡± Numba raised an eyebrow.

    Both Ian and Izzy looked at each other.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ¡°Because Gary didn¡¯t turn up to one lesson today. We thought that he went to see you and maybe stayed with you the whole day.¡± Izzy exined.

    The three of them went to his room knocking on it hard, but after five minutes of knocking and no answer, it didn¡¯t seem like there was an answer.

    ¡°So he¡¯s not in his room, and he didn¡¯t turn up for lessons. Unless he¡¯s taking a big dump, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s here guys.¡± Ian shrugged his shoulders trying to look for an exnation..

    Numba was already storming off as he went to one of the professor''s offices, professor Humfree, who was in charge of taking time off in the academy. After a knock and bursting into the room.

    The three had entered what looked more like a library rather than a professor''s office as both sides of the wall were filled with books.

    ¡°Professor Humfree, we can¡¯t find Gary Dem anyway. Did he request time away from the academy?¡± Numba asked.

    The professor was a little startled but he knew who Numba was due to the special lessons he had been taking and also knew he was close to Gary as well.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­.Yes.¡± Humfree answered, stroking his beard. ¡°Yesterday night, he requested time away from the academy. Although it is none of my business I will say this. If he didn¡¯t tell you why he has taken time off, then perhaps there was a reason for it?¡±

    Numba already knew what the reason was for. After what happened yesterday, it couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence as to why he wasn¡¯t here right now.

    ¡°No way! Do you really think Gary left to help Numba¡¯s situation? That''s crazy! I thought he was going to ask help from the gang he was in, not go himself!¡± Ian said.

    ¡°Well, I mean if the gang said they woudln¡¯t get involved, you know what type of person Gary is.¡± Izzy repleid. ¡°Most likely he decided to take matters into his own hands. I know Gary is strong, but I think he might be underestimating their power a little bit.¡±

    The professor was carefully listening in on the panicked students'' situations. Unfortunately it wasn¡¯t the first time cases like this happened. In an academy where groups from all sorts of different ces arised, it was moremon than one thought.

    The worry could be seen all over Numba¡¯s face, and he remembered Gary¡¯sst words before leaving. Talking about how they were an alliance and how they were going to help him.

    ¡®He¡¯s doing all this, just because I helped him during that assessment. You idiot, you already paid off that debt a long time ago, there is no need for you to do anything!¡¯ Numba thought.

    ¡°We¡­.we are an alliance.¡± Numba finally said. ¡°Professor, please may I ask for immediate leave from the academy. I don¡¯t know when I will be back but I have some family issues to take care of.¡±

    ¡°Numba!¡± Izzy said, grabbing his arm. ¡°There is no need for you to get involved in this, if you stay in the academy. Then they won¡¯t be able to touch you, but if you go outside then there are no rules out there.¡±

    Numba shook Izzy¡¯s hand off.

    ¡°I have to.¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ming with you to your city!¡± Ian shouted. ¡°Like you said we''re an alliance so we need to do this together, and we can just talk Gary out of this crazy idea.¡±

    Izzy shook her head, but in the end, gave in and smiled.

    ¡°You two are idiots, which is why you will need me to look after you.¡±

    All three of them had asked for leave from the professor all for the same reason.

    ¡°Okay, I will take note of that.¡± Professor Humfree replied. ¡°And, I expect to see you alle back to the academy soon.¡±

    ****

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 Chapter 522 The Deal Is Done

    In the Wolfs Pool Club the air was heavy. Harry Cardenez, the owner of Cardenez Electronics, was still on his knees. He no longer had his head down as he was waiting for an answer as to what the decision of the Howlers was.

    In the middle of it all, a phone call of all things dyed that answer. Will couldn¡¯t believe the audacity of the guy in the fox mask who didn¡¯t seem much older than himself. To answer a phone call of all things, unaware who was on the other end!

    Kai didn¡¯t say much, other than a few nods here and there, as the one on the other end appeared to be doing most of the talking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. In fact, it seems like this was something that was meant to be.¡± Kai said as he looked over to the kneeling adult. ¡°See you soon.¡±

    With that the call ended, and the phone was ced on the desk. Kai ced both his hands together as he smiled. This time he wasn¡¯t covering the bottom half of his face, which made Harry and the others wonder what news they just got.

    ¡°Mr Cardenez, it looks like you haven¡¯t run out of luck just yet.¡± Kai revealed. ¡°I like that, which means the momentum is on our side. The Howlers will agree to help you.¡±

    Hearing this Harry¡¯s eyes lit up, but it wasn¡¯t the same for Will. Because even with the help of a Tier-3 gang, how much hope did they really have? There were already two Tier-3 gangs attacking them, with a Tier-2 gang wall behind it all. In truth, they would need to sacrifice a lot, and without convincing other gangs toe to their aid, there was no guarantee that they would be able to fend off these attacks, and Will¡¯s heart was hurting imagining just how much that would cost.

    ¡°However, as you yourself are perfectly aware of, the conditions have changedpared to before.¡± Kai added. ¡°We will not only help you weather the storm, but even get back at those guys, in exchange for¡­ 51%. Not just of Cardenez Electronics, but of every venture you do in the future and with other cities. With fifty one percent it will also mean we have say to what cities you expand in, and where the business is going.¡±

    In a way this was simr to the deal the Scatterbugs had proposed. Kai was asking for exclusivity by making sure they would have the majority vote for all future decisions, giving them final say in any business. However it was arger chunkpared to the Scatterbugs.

    ¡°You¡­you¡­You¡¯re taking advantage of us in this desperate situation!¡± Will couldn¡¯t hold his tongue any longer. Giving up control of thepany. In Will¡¯s head they would have to give up a lot of thepany, but if they had to give up thisrge piece of the pie, how were they supposed to rope in other gangs.

    ¡°So?¡± Kai admitted nonchntly. ¡°I think you should let your boss do the talking, as he seems to understand what my offer entails. Based on the gangs you are dealing with, the Howlers are taking a huge risk. This is essentially a gamble. After all, we will have to quite literally go to war for you to obtain those 51% of the Cardenezpany. Should or we fail, the Howlers will be no more, and I¡¯m talking about the actual lives of men, not somepany. Tell me, who do you think is taking the bigger risk here?¡±

    In truth, Kai actually felt like he could have asked for a bigger percentage of thepany. He could tell how desperate Harry was. No other gang would be crazy enough to ept such a deal. In fact even he was on the fence until Gary had called.

    That call just happened to be the nail in the coffin. In the end, Kai was making the best of the situation. He didn¡¯t know how to run an electronicpany and he already had enough on his te to deal with. As long as he was able to veto major decisions that might harm their interests he was fine with it. Besides, demanding arger chunk of thepany would make the other side lose the drive they had.

    Why would someone work hard for thepany owning just 10% of it, while some else got 90%?

    This was best for both of them in the end.

    ¡°You¡­.have given a very fair deal.¡± Harry said as he stood up from his kneeling position. ¡°I¡¯m thankful that you have considered our position. I promise you, that we will not just stand by, and let you do this work. In this partnership we will also do our best to protect ourpany.

    ¡°If I have to pick up a bat myself, I will get rid of the gangsters trying to take over mypany!¡± Harry shouted, tensing his fist. An entry could be seen in his eyes. It was fierce.

    ¡®I can tell¡­this is it!¡¯ Kai thought with excitement. ¡®This is the power of a leader. Bringing him to our side will help us grow! This is exactly what we needed right now. If we allow him to proceed with his ambitions we can get to the top together.¡¯

    Kai stood up from his seat for the first time and held out his hand. ¡°Olivia, call ourwyer and we let¡¯s sort out the contract right here and now.¡±

    Oliviva didn¡¯t say anything and just pulled out her phone, while both Kai and Harry gave each other a firm handshake. A deal had been made but they needed to make it official.

    When thewyer came, the documents were drafted up, for the deal to be done, and before the deal was officially signed by both parties. Will had a look over it as well. He wasn¡¯t just any aide or personal assistant to Harry, he came along for good reason. He was aw graduate in charge of negotiating the terms for thepany.

    While thewyers were talking things over, Harry and Kai were still face to face with each other. Rather than on the floor Harry was now sitting on the chair opposite him.

    ¡°I know it might be a bitte to say this now, but the Scatterbugs¡­they are a big group, it will be tough.¡± Harry stated.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I did my research. As I said, they already came to us before, so we needed to know how bad it was if we offended them by refusing. It¡¯s funny, one might even call it fate that you came back to us. After all, you didn¡¯t know about the offer, you didn¡¯t ept ours and now we are back here.¡± Kai smiled.

    ¡°Is¡­this okay?¡± Harry asked. ¡°I mean, you are doing this without your leader present. He was the person I met before. I''m sure you would need to ask him, and I would like to apologise for the words I saidst time.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I can assure you he supports this. Perhaps you will be able to meet him sometime soon, and you can thank him in person then.¡±

    While the two were in the middle of conversation they were interrupted as they heard something m against the table behind them. When looking they could see that Will had mmed a wad of papers that was the contract.

    ¡°Look right here, what is this?¡± Will pointed at.

    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± Harry asked.

    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Will replied. ¡°The contract. It states that 41% of thepany will go to the Howlers LTD corporation.¡±

    At first Harry raised an eyebrow. 41%. Was the man in front of him just trying to see if he was willing to ept such terms, but Kai would never be that nice.

    ¡°Then it says that 10% will belong to the Gary Dem Foundation. Why would we give 10% to a stranger. On top of that, if there was a major decision, then this person would be able to sway to one side or the other.¡±

    Again, Harry was confused. For one, why were the Howlers willing to give 10% to a stranger. This was actually better for them. As long as the Cardenezpany got him on their good side, they could either buy him out and take back control of theirpany at some point, or persuade him to make decisions that were in their favour rather than the Howlers.

    ¡°Ah yes, you see the Howlers have a lot to thank him for. He¡¯s been a sort of¡­ I guess you could call him an angel investor of sorts. A lot of improvements in Slough has been due to his money and he supports the Howlers greatly. We owe him a lot, you see, which is why we decided to repay him by including him into the deal.

    ¡°Either way, isn¡¯t that better for you guys? This way we Howlers don¡¯t have majority control?¡± Kai pointed out with a smile.

    Will was perplexed because what Kai was saying was true, but judging from the smile it was as if he was hiding something. Why would they do this in their favour? Of course they didn¡¯t know that Gary Dem was also the leader of the Howlers.

    This was the start of Kai¡¯s grand n of spreading the name of Gary Dem, hidden business Tycoon that works closely with the Howlers.

    ¡°Okay¡­if you are fine with it¡­¡± Will said.

    Both of the contracts were brought to the desk, and two of them signed on the dotted line. It was now set in stone.

    Kai stood up from his seat and pped his hands.

    ¡°Alright, the deal is done. Now that we own part of the Cardenezpany, it''s only right that we protect what''s ours, right? Olivia, prepare everyone!¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 523 The Alliance Gathers

    <h2>The Alliance gathers</h2>

    Threerge ck vehicles could be seen heading out of the town of Slough, one more than what had entered. As for the destination, it was Rightdale, the Tier-3 town where Cardenez Electronics resided.

    The new addition was the car in the centre, a long limo driven by none other than Tyler. He was nervous about the whole thing as he tightly gripped his hands on the steering wheel and looked into a camera that was on his dashboards.

    Between the driver and the passengers the divider had been lifted to give those in the back their privacy. Nevertheless, Tyler was able to see what was going on through the screen on his dash, so he snuck a few nces from time to time.

    ¡®Man oh man, every time we leave the city I get nervous. Especially at times when the others wear their masks since it almost always means we are headed for a fight. It doesn''t help that there are strangers in the car as well.¡¯ Tyler thought to himself as he shifted his focus back on the road.

    In the car were the core members of the Howlers wearing their uniform and masks. Marie, Austin, Innu, Olivia and of course Kai, but they weren¡¯t alone in the car. Harry and Will had decided to drive with them rather than in the cars they had arrived in.

    ¡°I have to admit that I am quite surprised that you have decided toe back with us.¡± Harry noted.

    ¡°Well, your situation is quite dire. Besides, I¡¯m only doing what we would do if we had signed the original deal. There¡¯s no point in having a percentage of yourpany without the factories that you have built up.¡± Kai replied.

    There was a lot of tension in Will¡¯s hands, indicating that he had a lot he wanted to say at this moment.

    ¡°The Freaks¡­.they are an elite force of members that we have. They have the power to stop the other Tier-3 gangs from attacking. The problem is though, we have two major factories and a few small ones as well.

    ¡°Due to the constant attacks we have been getting from the other cities, the Freaks are either spread too thin, or we fail to move quick enough. I worry that the people you brought here are not enough.¡±

    When asking for help from a leader of a gang, not just any gang but the leader of a gang that was in charge of a town or city, Will had managed arge force just like their attackers.

    He was sure that the Howlers had to have many members to keep control over Slough, yet they had only brought over a handful.

    ¡°I can tell what you''re thinking, our enemy has us outnumbered, so we have to be careful with how we use our members. Right now the Howlers are preparing. There is a chance that once they find out that we have decided to side with you, they¡¯ll attack us in retaliation, either directly or by sending proxies like in your case. As such, our members need to be prepared to defend our town as well.

    ¡°Although I feel like that is unlikely. Either way they will be ready for when the real war against Notsburg will start. For the time being, I can assure you that we will be enough to deal with these Tier-3 gangs who are bothering your workers.¡±

    Kai¡¯s words sounded confident, but looking at the amount of members, Will didn¡¯t share his confidence. From their body frames the sound of their voices when speaking to each other, every one sounded quite young. There were only two that felt like adults, the female whose name seemed to be Olivia, although he was unsure whether it was real or fake, and therge male with the pompadour hairstyle.

    Will was worrying that Harry was putting too much hope into this group. On the entire drive, Kai¡¯s face remained glued to his phone as he was writing to a certain someone.

    ¡°If I''m correct, one of the locations of the factory is in Whitley, while another is in Hightown?¡± Kai asked as he continued to type, not even looking at the other two when asking this question.

    ¡°That is correct.¡± Will replied. ¡°We don¡¯t know when the attacks wille, but those two gangs have proven quite capable in coordinating their attacks tounch them at same time. On top of that, their numbers are gettingrger with each attack, and they have switched to a hit and run tactic. Because of it, the Freak¡¯s are tired and are umting injuries. It''s only a matter of time until they destroy everything in the factory.¡±

    ¡°Okay that makes things simpler then, we will head to Whitley right now.¡± Kai stated. ¡°We will focus on protecting Whitley, don¡¯t worry about the other factory.¡±

    Now Harry was concerned. ¡°If they attack the other factory with no support, the Freaks there will not be able to hold. Are you trying to say one is better than none?¡±

    ¡°You should trusty that one a bit more.¡± Olivia blurted out. She was the first to speak to the other two in the carpared to everyone else who was in. ¡°If you want to save yourpany, I would trust him a bit more. That''s all I''m going to say.¡±

    The three cars finally entered Rightdale, due to it being a city rather than a town it was around twice the size of Slough with many districts, and quite a few cars on the road. Kai was already looking at the structures which weren''t well built.

    Because of the way the highways and roads wereid out a long time ago, transport wascking and they were stuck in traffic even now. It would make sense with the size of the city and this level of traffic why it would take them so long to get from one factory to the other.

    As well as overdeveloped buildings in small areas, it meant there weren''t many ces for them to build therge factories in the first ce. Ideally the city could do with an underground subway system to allow faster travel and less traffic, but that wasn''t a luxury that a tier-3 city could afford.

    Eventually after going through the city they had gone on some open road, where therge factory could be seen up ahead. It was incrediblyrge and to walk around the whole thing it would perhaps take around an hour.

    Once again, Kai could see why it was so hard for them to protect such a ce as well. However he had witnessed some clever y at work. Surrounding the factory were broken abandoned cars which acted as a sort of makeshift wall. Then standing on top, and in front of the cars, were hired guards, gang members and members of the Freaks.

    The wall of cars was a good 100 metres away from the factory itself. When entering everyone started to stretch, and it was safe to say that the strange appearance of the Howlers had caught the eyes of the other guards around the factory.

    ¡°What are they looking at us so weirdly for?¡± Innu asked as he locked eyes with one of the guards. ¡°I mean they have the Freaks that are dressed up as clowns, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I''m just thankful that I never made us wear something like those clown suits. I understand it''s like a type of symbol. A uniform that people can remember and strike fear into the enemy eventually but why clowns of all things.¡±

    ¡°That should be obvious.¡± Austin said seriously as his arms were folded. ¡°Clowns are scary.¡±

    The words were said in such a deadly tone that no one knew whether it was a joke or not, and were too scared to make ament.

    ¡°Speaking of.¡± Tyler called out as he leant on the car. The three cars were parked within the 100 metre circle, in between the factory and the wall of cars. ¡°Shouldn''t I wear a mask? You know, to hide my identity.¡±

    ¡°What for?¡± Olivia who was standing right next to him questioned him. ¡°What benefit would someone possibly have from targeting our driver?¡±

    This made Tyler sulk somewhat because he felt like his position was receable in the gang.

    ¡°Tyler.¡± Marie called out smiling underneath her mask. ¡°You''re a great driver. Usually I get car sick in cars but with you I never get car sick! I wouldn''t want anyone else.¡±

    Tears of joy nearly came out from Tyler''s eyes. He had never met someone so sweet and Marie looked like an angel to him at that moment. If she wasn''t in the gang, perhaps Tyler would have quit a while ago.

    Right now, the group was waiting patiently for something to happen, an attack or some type of messenger to appear. Something did happen after around twenty minutes, the gates were being opened. Harry and Will looked at each other in confusion, as they weren''t expecting any guests.

    When the car stopped and Harry saw who got out of it, they were in for a surprise as three young students were seen.

    ¡°Numba!¡± Harry called out.

    *****

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 Chapter 524 The Groups Meet

    The Howlers were baffled at the sigh of the three new arrivals. They were sure that the whole city should know by now that this was a dangerous area, one would onlye here if they knew their life was on the line.

    ¡°What are a bunch of students doing in a ce like this?¡± Innu blurted out.

    ¡°Should we really be the ones saying this?¡± Marie whispered at his side.

    Although it hadn¡¯t been long since all of them had dropped out of school the teenagers sometimes forgot that without the gang they too would have been regr students. When seeing Harry react though it was quite clear that these three weren¡¯t just brave passerby.

    ¡°Numba.¡± Harry said softly at first, but then his eyebrows started to furrow so much that it looked like they were touching each other. ¡°What are you doing here?! Did you decide to disobey your own father?!¡±

    Harry was walking at an incredibly fast pace toward Numba, startling Izzy and Ian at his side.

    ¡°Hey, if the old man attacks us, we can at least defend ourselves, right?¡± Ian asked his childhood friend.

    ¡°No, you dofus! Remember, this is Numba¡¯s father and he¡¯s an odinary human whereas you¡¯re an Altered!¡± Izzy replied back.

    ¡°I told you to stay at the academy! I told you to live your life there! Do you think your father can''t handle things on his own?!¡± Harry questioned his son amidst his stride.

    ¡°I''m involved in all of this, father!¡± Numba shouted back. ¡°I¡¯ve been a part of this ever since the day you took me into your family. How am I meant to live a life in the academy when I know all of this is happening? I could¡­ I would never forgive myself!¡±

    The old man stopped there around three metres before reaching Numba¡¯s position. Both Izzy and Ian were somewhat hiding behind Numba who was surprisingly standing his ground.

    ¡°Father, it''s not just you¡­ they have already targeted me back at the academy. And not just me, but my friends as well. I have personal issues with them. Let me help you!¡± Numba locked eyes with his father.

    Neither one looked away. It was as if they were the only two that were there on that concrete ground.

    After a good minute or so, Harry smirked as he pondered out loud. ¡°Just where did I go wrong in raising you?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t.¡± Numba replied. ¡°You gave me the perfect life and I just wish to repay you for it.¡±

    ¡°You have grown a lot since the academy. It looks like you might have gone through more things than I can imagine.¡± Harry sighed. ¡°I¡¯m assuming the two behind you are your friends from the academy? Alright, since you¡¯re already here, I¡¯ll ce you under Gib in the Freaks, you are to support him and follow his lead!¡±

    One of the men dressed as a clown with arge red nose came over. Gib had two bats on his back, but rather than being made out of wood or metal, they seemed to be grey in colour, and the handle part ck. This was an Anti-Altered weapon, albeit a basic one. It just had a slight electrifying power rather than one made from a beast.

    The Howlers were a little far away from where the academy students had parked up, so they were unable to hear most of what was said apart from a few angry words here and there. Only Kai and Olivia with their enhanced hearing had heard it all.

    ¡®That person''s name¡­ I see why you took a liking to him, Gary, in some ways he is like you. A new business and loyalty from three Altered. I would say if things go well here, we''re on a great way to the top.¡¯

    While the others followed Gib, Harry and Will were talking to the managers of the factory. They were trying to get a handle on the situation with employees leaving. They needed toe up with a n to reinstate confidence and also discuss how much production was behind.

    While following Gib, it didn¡¯t take long for Ian and the others to notice a group standing by a high end car, who were all wearing strange masks dressed in ck and gold.

    ¡°Man what is with your family?¡± Ian asked. ¡°I mean, I thought the clowns were already strange but now these freaks in masks as well.¡±

    Once again, Izzy kicked Ian''s shin, causing him to jump up and down rubbing his leg. The one leading them in the first ce was a clown and he didn¡¯t look like a happy one, in a lot of cases it was so strange that it almost freaked out Izzy.

    ¡°Those guys are not part of my family. I don¡¯t know who they are. Did the gang manage to get some help Gib?¡± Numba asked.

    ¡°Yes, young master.¡± Gib answered. ¡°Your father managed to receive help from a neighbouring town called Slough. The ones that you are looking at right now are a gang who call themselves Howlers.¡±

    Each one of them stopped in their footsteps as they heard those words, and at the same time looked at each other. Gib had only just noticed that the others stopped following and wondered what it was that he had said that was so confusing.

    Immediately, Ian put his arms around the two heads and made the other two huddle up into a circle.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡°Hey, I''m not going crazy, right? That clown just called them Howlers and from Slough? Isn¡¯t that the same group that Gary told us he was from?¡± Ian asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but I had no clue that my father was going to ask them for help. I guess this must have happened while we were in the academy.¡± Numba replied.

    ¡°From what you told us though, the ones responsible are the Tier-2 gang Scatterbugs. Any gang would be crazy to help you out. Sorry¡­ I know that was a bit rude but you know what I mean. Does this mean Gary actually managed to convince them to help?¡± Izzy added.

    They all looked over at the Howlers again. None of them had the same hairstyle or colour as Gary, nor did their body frame match them. At the same time, they realised that the number of people from the Howlers was incredibly low.

    ¡°If Gary did ask them, then where is he? I mean he left before us, so he should be with them.¡± Ian imed.

    ¡°I hate to say this, but it looks like the Howlers just sent a token force because Gary asked them. They want to keep Gary on their good side because he''s talented.¡± Izzy guessed. ¡°So they say they sent help but really it isn¡¯t much. I think it''s a good thing that we came in the end.¡±

    The group eventually broke off their huddle and continued to follow Gib with a smile, but Numba couldn''t help looking at the people in the masks. For a group that had been sent off for what Izzy thought was fodder they looked quite brave.

    At the same time, was it true, had Gary been kept back by his gang, told that he wasn¡¯t allowed toe to help out?

    ¡®Thank you Gary, for at least trying. I bet you did whatever you could to help us¡­so I will do the same.¡¯

    They eventually reached their post where there was a small gap in the wall of cars. There were these small gaps throughout the wall. It was to allow their members in and out and only so few in at a time.

    This way, the numbers advantage didn¡¯t go so well in their favour. As they stood there Numba had a few more words to say for the others.

    ¡°We came here to stop Gary from doing something stupid¡­but I have decided that I will be staying here, even if Gary isn¡¯t here.¡± Numba exined. ¡°I have to help out my family no matter what situation they are in, but for you guys it isn¡¯t the same. This isn¡¯t your family.

    ¡°If any of you are in danger at any point and time, then please just get out of here.¡±

    The two didn¡¯t reply and instead, Ian went to Gib and whispered something in his ear. After that the gang member called on help from one of the other members of the Freaks.

    ¡°What did you ask for?¡± Izzy asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±

    A short whileter and the freaks hade back, with some clothes, makeup and red squidgy nose for the two of them.

    ¡°With this, our parents will never know we were involved.¡± Ian exined. ¡°Call me, if you need any help.¡±

    After changing into their costumes Ian couldn''t stopughing at how ridiculous Izzy looked but hisughter was cut short by an announcement.

    ¡°They''reing, everyone get ready!¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 525 Protect The Factory (Part 1)

    Harry''s factory was currently well guarded, at least more so than the others, for several reasons. For one, a couple of his Freak group members would always stay with him.

    Since he was at this location, it meant that the total number of members of the Freaks in this area were around eight. At the same time, it was therger factory of the two. In all honesty, if Harry had to save one of the two factories, he would have suggested this one simply based on its size.

    However, the problem was both factories were getting hit with the same amount of force from two different gangs. Still, it made him wonder when the blonde-haired Howlers member suggested if he had done so knowing these details beforehand.

    ''I can''t be thinking about the other factory right now. We have to put all our efforts into protecting this one!'' Harry had made up his mind and knew he couldn''t afford to distract himself right now.

    "Give me a report on the enemy numbers!" Harry asked.

    "I have received messages stating that it looks like this time, the number of attackers is in the hundreds. Several cars and motorbikes have been spotted at the scene. This is the biggest attack from them till now." Will said, his hand trembling nervously.

    There were eight members of the Freaks and around twenty guards stationed around one-half of the building, having moved to the direction where the attackers wereing from.

    Since the factory was a bit out of the central part of the city, there were only really two directions they could attack from: from the main city roads or, more likely, from over the hill, where one coulde from the countryside.

    There was morend on that side, and it was harder for them to spot the enemy if they came from that way.

    ''Even if we have the Howlers on our side, their numbers are more than doublepared to ours. Not to mention our people are tired from the constant fighting as well, including the Freaks. Is this their final push to finish us off?''

    "Stop the advance, do whatever you have to to stop the advance, and somebody get me a damn weapon. We will fight and take care of these guys until we meet the Scatterbugs ourselves!" Harry shouted, rolling up his sleeves.

    "Wow, your dad really is a scary man," Ian gulped, seeing the former''s enthusiasm.

    "He''s not scary," Numba replied in a matter of factly way, "He''s just passionate about these things."

    The Freaks were in action as they moved out of the small gaps from the doors of cars, while the regr guards stayed behind the wall, waiting for the enemy toe in. It was then that Gib, the leader of the Freaks, turned around to all the others.

    "Let us take out as much as possible, and then we will leave the rest to you." Gib looked at the three students, who were now dressed in clown outfits as well, indicating that those words were meant for them as well.

    The sound of revving motorbikes brakes being mmed upon as they screeched and came to a halt could be heard. Multiple cars and motorbikes had driven over the grassy fields and were now on the grey concrete.

    They had stopped, not wishing to collide with the barrier and could see those in front of them. Just like the reports had indicated, as the members got out of the car, they looked to be around a hundred of these thugs, carrying all sorts of weapons on their bodies.

    Onerge man with nothing on but a tank top and a golden tooth stood in front of the others. They hadn''t rushed forward to attack just yet.

    "Today is the day we finish the job!" The man moured, raising his hand that had a brass knuckle worn on it. The others cheered loudly with this, and the sound of a hundred people enrapturing was quite deafening for the others to hear and feel.

    There wasn''t a moment of a breather for them as they all started to charge in, with those on the motorbike getting the lead as they went forward first. One of them was holding a crowbar and went straight toward Gib.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The motorbike man swung the crowbar, but Gib ducked under it, hitting the man in the stomach, letting his motorbike continue going forward before it skid across the floor and crashed into the wall of cars.

    It was an explosive start to the fight. Soon the men had surrounded the Freaks, but just as their reputation preceded them, they were doing well to hold off even though they were outnumbered.

    Swinging their weapons, they began the counterattack. They had great stamina; whenever they hit someone, it would do great damage by either knocking them out or taking them out of the fight. However, in the end, they weren''t invincible.

    Gib was struck in the ribs by a chain, causing him to flinch, and as he did, the man with the brass knuckle from before came and gave a powerful uppercut right under his chin. It was a blow that would have knocked most grown adult men out, but somehow, Gib was able to hold on.

    With the Freaks slowing down, it allowed the other gang members to run around them and get to the gap in the cars.

    "No wonder my boys couldn''t finish you offst time." The man smiled, showing his gold tooth. "Well, it''s a good thing I personally decided toe this time. I have to say that after this, we will never have to worry about a day in our lives again, and you can rest in peace as well, haha!"

    The man lifted Gib by the top of his curly head of hair and readied his knuckleduster once more as he swung it to the side.

    But before he could take thest swing, an explosive bang resounded as if a heavy weight had hit the ground. Then, as the golden tooth man turned his head, he suddenly felt a heavy hit right in his stomach. Intense pain instantly clutched him as his ribs cracked from the impact, and he was sent flying into his own men, crashing into them as hey unmoving on the floor.

    "Is that a¡­clown with Horns?" The man lifted his head before passing out.

    Gib looked up and, standing in his ce, was none other than the young master of thepany. In a clown outfit, of all things, with horns sticking out of his head.

    "You have done what you can, head back to the factory and recover yourself. Leave the rest to us. If you don''t follow this order, you''re fired." Numba said.

    Gib nodded while trying his best to remain calm.

    "Getting a bit ahead of yourself, you''re not in a position to make those decisions yet."

    ? *****

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 Chapter 526 Protect The Factory (Part 2)

    Everyone, including the guards working for the Cardenez group, witnessed the Freaks take on the attackers. This was not the first time the gangs had attacked them. The Freaks had always seemed so strong, able to stop those gang members before they could do too much damage to the factory.

    However, today was the first time that they witnessed the Freaks on the short end of the stick, struggling to prolong the battle. Not only had a considerablerger amount of gang memberse to attack them, but they also seemed to be a cut above the thugs that hadest time. All the Freaks understood the gravity behind the battle, and thus they were giving it their everything.

    Unfortunately, courage alone couldn¡¯t decide a fight. The guards watched the Freaks get beaten, hit, and kicked over and over again, but despite their worsening wounds, the clown-dressed gang members continued to fight. It was this moment that the guards asked themselves how they could just stand behind the walls and do nothing.

    It wasn''t right, which was why they decided to act. The guards abandoned their orders of waiting to deal with the leftovers like the previous times, instead they rushed out of the barrier they had built themselves and attacked the gang members who surrounded the Freaks on theirst legs.

    Fortunately, they weren''t on their own, as a few others dressed in simr attire to the Freaks had arrived at the scene. Two gang members had swung their bats down on guards before being wrapped around by a strange extended substance and held in its tracks. Before they could react, anotherrge tentacle-like vine, the same that wrapped around their weapons, hit them in the stomach and sent them flying through the air.

    Then another one wrapped around a member of the Freak¡¯s waist and lifted him up. "I''ll take him back to the factory! Don¡¯t fight here, you guys, get back behind the barrier as soon as you can!" Izzy shouted, ordering around the guards. While she appreciated the gesture, it was obvious at a nce that they were more of a liability than actual help in this gang fight.

    With her strange hair-like abilities, Izzy was using her unique Altered form to fight, and as she headed back to the others, she hit a few more members on the way, leading the barrier.

    At the same time, in an area not too far from where they were, another Freak member was being protected by a person dressed as a clown. Several gang members were on the floor bleeding from their hands, and others had even dropped their knees on the ground out of fear.

    Meanwhile, Ian in his clown getup had several spikes stick out from his body and clothes. They were more like the small bristles of a hedgehog, and several holes had already formed on his clothes as they retracted back into his body.

    "I''m sorry, my fellow clown friend, but it looks like I ruined this set of clothes."

    The Freak, who looked to have a broken leg, couldn''t help butugh as he heard this remark.

    "Just get me out of here, and I¡¯ll make sure the boss won¡¯t chew you out for it." The clown replied. Ian was happy to hear that and gave his ally a hand and shoulder to lean on, before he headed back to the barrier just like the rest, followed by Numba and Gib.

    Inside the factory, the medical staff was already busy treating the iing patients. Unfortunately, there was only a handful of them. Money could only go so far in convincing someone to risk their own life, especially since it was guaranteed that the factory would turn into a dangerous area.

    After making sure that the injured Freaks were taken care of, the three Altered students quickly returned, but the situation soon changed. The rival gang members had entered through the gaps in the cars, and although the initial n of attacking them as they came through had worked at first, eventually, they were overpowered.

    Seeing this, Numba exploded from his position, getting to where the others were at a swift speed and striking a man so hard that he flew back and hit a car.

    "Get the f*ck away from ourpany ground!" Numba roared. With the three Altered fighting inside the 100-metre area of the factory, they were able to hold off the gangs pretty well.

    Harry, seeing all this, had to blink twice and almost held his hand toward his chest. You¡­I can''t believe it. This factory is being saved right now¡­and it''s all thanks to you. I don''t know what I did to receive someone like you in my life." Harry stated.

    It was strong wordsing from the president, and it was the first time Will had heard the presidentpliment his son in such a way.

    Far back, from where the gang members were attacking, a middle-aged man with long hair hadn''t joined the fight. He was leaning up against the car with his arms folded.

    ¡®Three Altered? Now that is a surprise. Did the Cardenez family hire them? I didn''t think anyone would support them in this situation. Surely they should know the Scatterbugs are behind this. Maybe this is something I should report.¡¯ The man wondered to himself as his hand went towards his phone.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The man wasn''t the only one watching everything from the backline. Kai and the other members of the Howlers had yet to join this fight. So far, they had just stayed in the back, he to observe, the rest waiting for him to give them to go ahead.

    ''Those Freaks are more impressive than I thought. They might be on the same level as the Underdogs¡¯ Cheetah Squad. The Scatterbugs must have never expected that a simplepany would be so hard to take over, but that just shows his strong mindset. He is definitely someone we want on our side.

    ''As for those three, they are all highly skilled Altered. I guess that¡¯s what I should expect from AFA students, but they are particrly talented, and that girl seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Without any major changes in this fight, the Cardenez group might actually make it out of this without the need for us to intervene.

    ¡®Well, we can''t just let things end like this, not without letting them know what we¡¯re capable of as their allies. I wouldn¡¯t want to give them a reason to want to weasel out of our deal.¡¯

    Kai turned around to the others, who all seemed restless. For many, it was taking everything they had to hold back from joining.

    "I know that all of you are eager to get involved, but it was important that you saw that those guys are capable of. They are nothing like us, and the group behind them is even worse. You¡¯ve seen it for yourselves, these people hurt others without a second thought.

    ¡°Some of them have taken lives just for fun. If these people find out who we are, or if we give them the chance, they wille back and make us pay back tenfold. I want you to imagine not what they would do to you but what they would do to those you care about, what they would do if they manage to get a hold of your family! Do you understand?!" Kai moured.

    Numba was busy fighting, but he could hear Kai''s voice. The Altered was doing well, but fighting like this had exhausted him and he wondered if the Howlers would ever do something. At that moment, a man on a motorbike drove through the gap on a motorbike, heading straight for the Howlers.

    "I want you to all fight without holding back!" Kai ordered.

    As the man on the bike came closer, Austin elerated and shed with him. The man swung down his crowbar against the bull masked teenager¡¯s shoulder. Surprisingly, it did nothing, leaving no injury. At the same time, the bike crashed right into Austin and stopped in its tracks.

    "I understand!" Austin replied as he lifted the front of the bike in the air with ease, causing the man to fall off and hurled it over to the iing rival gang members.

    Numba was ready to deal with a group of members in front of him when a bike came flying from the side. It hit a group of around six of them, knocking them off their feet and crushing the bones in their bodies.

    Upon turning his head, Numba noticed the masked figures walking their way.

    "You¡¯ve done enough, now it¡¯s our turn. I promise we¡¯ll get rid of all of them for you!" Kai said as he ran forward, his hands transforming with a tuft of grey fur.

    ******

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    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply.

 Chapter 527 The Howlers Join

    The Howlers finally decided to join the fray, and the first act from one of their members had caused nearly the whole ce to stop the fighting. The tall guy in the bull mask had not only performed a superhuman feat by lifting a heavy,rge vehicle, but he had furthermore chucked it a far distance at an incredible speed.

    Harry and Will rubbed their eyes to make sure they were seeing right, and while all attention was on Austin, Kai as he lifted his transformed hand in the air. "This factory and the Cardenez group as a whole belong to the Howlers! An attack on them, is an attack against us!"

    With his partially transformed body, Kai rushed to the closest rival gang member, grabbing him by the head and mmed him down on the concrete. This act of violence ended the momentary peace and his fellow gang members rushed at the fox masked aggressor with their weapons drawn.

    As one swung a bat toward Kai''s head, he was met with a swing of an axe that sliced the weapon in half.

    Before the person could act, a kicknded on his head which spun the man¡¯s body beforending on the ground.

    Innu didn''t stop there as he continued to run forward and avoided swings and hits from the invaders. One of the axes stuck right into one of the gang members'' shin which caused him to scream out pain.

    ''Remember Kai''s words, we can¡¯t let these guys go. Letting them off easy is also out of the question, else they won''t juste for us. Kevin and Suzan I care about as well!'' Innu thought, as he felt his weapons supply him with another boost of energy.

    More members were running through the gaps, but before they could make it through, they were hit by a bolt that electrified them on the spot. Marie had be quite the decent archer as she continued to fire at spots that would disrupt more of theming in.

    "Oh, I thought¡­ you were like me." Tylermented.

    "I used to be, but when you hang around these guys, you inexplicably tend to find yourself in situations like this. I know that I¡¯m not as good as them in a head-on fight, so I try to keep up with them in my own way, though I''m told that I¡¯m too shabby with my pair of daggers these days." Marie smiled.

    All Tyler could do was smile, as he wasn''t sure whether it was a joke. Suddenly a loud scream was heard, because the most brutal member of the Howelers wasn''t holding back at all. Olivia had used her whip, tying it around one of therge member''s hands. As she made use of her Werewolf strength, she lifted the man in the air causing his shoulder to pop.

    Unfortunately for the man, that wasn¡¯t the end of it. His body was swung towards her and with a transformed Werewolf fist, she mmed it deep into the man''s stomach causing him to cough out blood all over her, tainting her mask which revealed her shiny blue eyes.

    The fight continued, but the invading gang members were practically ignoring Numba and the others, forced to focus with the biggest threat that was in front of them. The Howlers, however, were proving capable of dealing with everyoneing their way.

    A chain swung right at Kai and using his ws he ripped right through it. The Freaks hade out after being partially treated, thinking that they might be needed to help out in the fight. All they could see were several gang members bleeding on the ground unconscious, many of them either dead or not far from it.

    "I think we were wrong about the Howlers, sir." Will stated. "Rather than too few, I would say they sent out far more than was needed to deal with our problem. How can a Tier-3 city have¡­ I don''t even know how many of them are Altered at this point."

    It was a hard thing for them to determine because the only ones that had visibly transformed were Kai and Olivia. The others were disying powers that seemed beyond what a normal human was capable of, but not necessarily enough to determine them as Altered.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I think we all underestimated them." Harry concluded.

    The students from the AFA were standing there, simply watching like the Howlers had done in the beginning. They were looking for ways to help out, but eventually the area became mostly clear. There were still gang members on the other side but they were having trouble getting in.

    "THIS is the gang Gary belongs to?!" Ian blinked a few times, still finding it hard to believe. "He told us he was from a Tier-3 town, right? How is it possible for any town to have so many Altered and not be known far and wide?!"

    "I know." Izzy agreed with him. "Any one of them should easily be able to secure a ce in the AFA and do well, so what¡¯s stopping them? Why did they decide to sponsor someone like Gary and send them as their sole representative?"

    As for Numba, he was focusing on something else. "Gary¡­ he really managed to secure us help from such strong people. I thought¡­ he really is a great friend."

    Like Ian and Izzy, he had assumed that the few members of the Howlers had just been sent here as a show of solidarity. However, the fact that a gang had sent out more than one Altered meant the other side was treating this seriously.

    A Tier-3 gang shouldn''t have many Altered to begin with. In the group''s mind, it just showed how much importance his gang must ce on him, and it made them all the more intrigued to find out just what type of group the Howlers were.

    Two gang members swung their bats right towards Kai and transforming his arms, more grey fur could clearly be seen as his forearms bulged. He swung them out breaking both of the bats and, a secondter, swiped his ws right towards their necks causing them to spurt blood, killing them on the spot.

    When their bodies fell, Numba was looking directly into Kai''s blue eyes. It reminded him of a simr feeling when seeing this. It didn¡¯t take the Altered long to remember what it way, but he didn''t share his realisation with the others, although it was a hard thing to miss.

    The transformation of Kai and Olivia, and their Altered forms looked incredibly simr to Gary''s. Was this merely a coincidence, or was there more to it?

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 528 Sending A Message

    Taking another look at Kai, Numba soon noticed that not only was he simr to Gary, but aside from the fur colour there were certain simrities between him and Olivia. It was more than just the mere appearance of the Werewolves, though, it was the feeling of ferocity behind each of their attacks.

    "You¡¯ve noticed it as well, right?" Izzy asked. "It¡¯s not unheard of for there to be Altered who are simr to each other, but there are still variations between them, as if they were distant cousins. Those two and Gary seem to be more closely rted, like they were somehow siblings.

    "What¡¯s even stranger, if there was an Altered form that was known to be this strong and multiple solution of that type got sold, it should have cost an insane amount of money. Not something that Tier-3s like us could afford, gang or not.

    ¡°The only possibility I can think of is that someone made a huge gamble on mystery solutions. There¡¯s no way of knowing what type of Altered you will be, but it¡¯s next to impossible to find those on the market.

    "Two of those Wolf Altered might have been a coincidence, but three of them means there is something going on. Something that we don¡¯t know about. It makes me think that the Howlers have someone bigger backing them, or they might even be a chance that whoever is backing them, has found a way to extrac.t more than one solution out of an Altered fossil."

    Izzy had managed to not only summed up Numba¡¯s thoughts on the matter, but had even given him a lot to think about. Thest one was unlikely, but if it were true¡­ it might be a breakthrough and usher in an age of Altered!

    Since it was obvious that they were no longer needed, the AFA students reverted to their human forms as the fight looked like it wasing to an end.

    All of the gang members that had crossed the barrier of cars had been beaten up. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, Olivia was using her whip to pick up those that were injured, passed ou,t or dead and was throwing them over the wall.

    Her allies could only imagine the horror the invaders would feel when they saw their friends chucked over aplete mess. It certainly had the effect that Olivia was going for as the few remaining members outside had decided against fighting their way in.

    "We can''t just let them go this easy can we? Bull!" Kai said with a smile.

    Harry, the guards, and the AFA students were baffled. ¡®Easy¡¯ was thest word they would use to describe what had happened to the invaders. That was when Austin went to the barrier of cars and picked one up. With his great strength and in his full Altered form that made him look more like just a regr human the car was lifted above his head.

    "Okay, no way that guy a regr human, he must be an Altered as well!" Ian stared in amazement, wondering if he could even do such a thing in his fully transformed state.

    With the car above his head Austin jumped up on top of the car below. He could see the ten or so gang members who were running away for their lives. As they did the Minotaur Altered hurled the car crashing into several of the men, preventing them from moving today or ever.

    Austin had strong resolve in the beginning when he knew what type of life he would need to live, and he too epted the weight of Kai''s speech. Jumping off the Howlers had regatherd but were still transformed in their uniforms and masks. None of the members looked to have suffered so much as a scratch.

    "The Howlers have saved us." Will uttered in disbelief, pinching his cheek to check whether all of this was a dream.

    "No they haven''t saved us yet. There is still much to do, but they have given us a chance to keep what is ours!" Harry replied.

    No longer was there fighting or other gang members rushing in to attack. For a second they all felt safe.

    Standing at the very back of the concrete base, where the attackers hade from was the long ck haired man who just shook his head at the scene and had his phone in his hand. As soon as he saw Austin throwing the car at his men, the speed dial button got hit.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Boss I''m sorry to report this, but the attack was aplete failure. We weren''t able to touch the factory. They have gotten a group called the Howlers to help them out, and they brought along an Altered."

    The loud words said by Kai had been heard clearly and the man had made a note of it all. That''s when he could see Kai standing on top of the cars and looking out toward the man still on his transformed state.

    "There¡¯s an update, the reason why they are so confident is because they have at least two Altered among their midst. "

    The man had to pull the phone away from his ear as all he could hear was the one shouting on the other end. When the shouting was over only deep breathing could be heard.

    "Fine, we will show them an ounce of our strength, is there a leader of some kind?" The voice at the other end asked.

    Kai gave a friendly wave and took a deep breath.

    "You there, tell your boss that if he dares to touch our turf again, we¡¯ll being for him next!" Kai yelled out with a deep howl at the end. His voice had easily reached everyone there.

    "Yes, I think there is a perfect person to target. I imagine if we get rid of him, they will all start to crumble." The man on the phone reported.

    ----

    On the other side of the call, the phone got ced down. The table was slightly cracked due to it being hit early during the call.

    "Midwak, I have a special task for you."

    "Yes, sir." The man in the hawaiian shirt replied stepping forward his eyes starting to glow a slight tint of yellow.

    ******

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply.

 Chapter 529 Another Factory

    Some of the gang members that had been chucked over the wall were able to move after a few minutes.

    On the order of the long haired man at the back, they were told to gather their men and in doing so they would take them back to their city or town with the cars they had brought with them.

    There was a chance that the Howlers or the Cardenez family wouldn''t allow this and would finish off the gang memberspletely, but they did have a heart and Kai had believed they had done more than enough to deter the other gangs from doing the dirty work of the Scatterbugs. In the end, one''s life was more important than anything, and that included money.

    Eventually the gang left in their cars, heading back to where they had oncee from. It allowed for everyone to breathe a big sigh of relief.

    "Please sit, sir, you must be exhausted." Will said, as he had seemingly pulled a pop up chair out of nowhere.

    Harry took the seat, wiping the sweat from his head. The entire time, even when it looked like the group was on the upside, he was nervous.

    "The factory, the business, is saved for one more day at least."

    The Freaks and the guards had gathered, giving them an update on the situation. In the end, the guards were told to head inside to inform everyone that the ce was safely protected and they could continue their work with no worries.

    Seeing the full fleet of guards all present would give the workers confidence.

    "I need to thank you three as well." Harry said, as he looked at the Altered students. "This was none of your business and you could have been hurt. Just because you guys are skillful, don''t let your guard down or let it get to your head."

    Ian and Izzy knew this was apliment from the old man, even though it was said in a fatherly type of way.

    Eventually the group heard footstepsing toward them and it was none other than the masked fighters, the Howlers from before.

    The Freaks as well as the Altered students stood by the side of Harry in a line and when the Howlers were close enough, Numba bowed down at a 90 degree angle.

    "Thank you for helping ourpany out. Thank you for agreeing to help the Cardenezpany." Numba shouted out loud.

    Soon after he said those words, Harry stood up and the rest of them bowed down as well, all saying at the same time, "Thank you!"

    Even with the masks on, smiles could be seen on the bottom half of the Howlers'' faces. It was nice to be thanked for their work even if it was from beating up a bunch of people.

    "As I said before we are just doing what we can to protect what is ours. We want to show you that working with us is the right choice." Kai exined. "Besides, the one that you should really be thanking is our leader."

    Looking at the group and how they were all acting, Numba had assumed that the one talking now was the leader, but from his words that didn''t seem to be the case at all.

    "You are correct, I believe thest time we met I greatly disrespected your leader. I should be getting down on my knees and thanking him. Where is your leader?"

    Kai smiled as he heard this.

    "Ah, I wrote to him earlier. I think he should be done anytime soon. Don''t you remember in the car I asked you for the location of both factories?"

    Harry''s eyes widened at what the person in front of him was saying.

    "Are you telling me, your leader went to the other factory!" Harry asked.

    In all honesty, Harry had given up hope on the other factory and was just happy that the one in front of him was still standing.

    "Haha, you guys are more sly than I imagined." Will chuckled. "I can''t believe you sent the rest of the Howlers to the other factory with your leader, no wonder so few of you were here."

    Kai soon shook his head.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I didn''t lie, the rest of the Howlers are still back in Slough. Our leader went to the other location himself."

    A panic set in both Harry and Will.

    "Are you crazy!" Will shouted. "Didn''t we tell you before, that both factories so far have been attacked with an equal amount of force. Which means if your leader went out there on his own, he would be facing these guys with just a few guards!"

    Immediately, Will went to make a call to the other factory. There was a good chance that no one would pick up, but if they could save their leader, then maybe the Howlers would still agree to help them.

    After a few rings, the phone was picked up.

    "Report! What is the situation over there?" Will shouted, not even giving time for the other person to speak.

    "Sir¡­ Everything is fine here." The man answered.

    "Was there no attack? There might be one any second now, so prepare yourselves." Will said again.

    "That''s not it sir, we were attacked but a man came and helped us, a man wearing a wolf mask¡­ he just finished dealing with them now."

    On the other side of the phone, the guard was still in disbelief at what he had witnessed. Unlike at the other factory, there were no barriers of cars.

    When the masked man appeared, he just said one statement to the group.

    "I''m from the Howlers¡­ don''te close to me or I might hit you."

    Momentster an unbelievable scene had appeared in front of them.

    Now all that was left was remnants of the fight. w marks dug deep into the ground, blood sttered everywhere on the concrete ground, and right now, as they looked at Gary, he had a person held by the head and was dragging them across the floor back toward the group.

    "Tell them I got one of them that can help us." Gary replied, as he could hear the conversation on the other side of the phone.

    ----

    Will hung up the phone after the call was over.

    "Your leader¡­ he dealt with all of them and said he caught one of them."

    The Freaks, Harry, Will and the Altered students all gulped at that moment as they were just imagining how strong the leader of the Howlers was.

    ******

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 530 The Counter Attack

    While the people belonging to the Cardenez group were thanking the Howlers for their help, Kai was on his phone, informing Gary about how things had progressed on their end, and his n in regards to what they should to next. Once done, he gave off a polite bow and started to head back toward the car.

    Tyler, seeing this, took this as his cue to open the door for the Howlers.

    "Wait, where are you going now?" Will asked nervously. Now that he had seen for himself how capable, and deadly the Howlers¡¯ members actually were, he was unable to talk with as harshly as he had done in the past. "I mean, shouldn''t we head inside and discuss what to do next? I doubt the Scatterbugs will sit back and do nothing. Perhaps we should invite your leader here as well."

    Will was putting on his biggest smile as he suggested this, trying to look friendly, but one could tell that thewyercked experience in faking sincerity.

    "There¡¯s no need for us to stay here any longer." Kai exined as he turned around. "After today, other gangs will no longer dare to attack you out in the open. If I were you, I would make use of this interlude to convince your workforce to return. I don¡¯t know how much setback you¡¯ve suffered, but no factory is able to work without its workers."

    "As long as I¡¯m alive, I will make sure that ourpanies won¡¯t¡¯t have to close down." Harry said, stepping forward, an answer that prompted a smile on the fox masked fellow.

    "Good. In the meantime, we¡¯ll be ready for the Scatterbugs¡¯ response." Kai added. "However, after my earlier message, it won''t be you they¡¯ll be after. I also doubt that they¡¯ll send someone else to do their dirty work after we¡¯ve stepped over their reputation like this, all the more reason we should hurry back to Slough.

    "The n is simple. After we sessfully manage to defend their next attack on us, we will counterattack them with our full force. The entire force of the Howlers will move into Notsburg and show them why they shouldn¡¯t have messed with us.

    ¡°Hopefully, the Cardenez group, the Freaks, as well as their powerful allies, wille to join us in that attack." When he said that final sentence, Kai was looking towards Numba and his friends. For some reason they felt quite happy to be included in that n, no matter how suicidal it might sound. It was almost as if someone who seemed above then was acknowledging them.

    Before anyone had a chance to say anything about his n, though, Kai and the others entered their vehicle and Tyler was off, heading back to Slough.

    As suggested, Harry called down all the employees who hade to work these past few days, and had stayed with them. The businessman thanked them all profusely, reassuring them that not only had they sessfully protected the factory, but that after today¡¯s performance there was unlikely to be another attack in the future.

    He also didn''t shy away mentioning who it was that helped protect them. Although the Howlers weren''t a name that those outside of Slough would recognise, Harry wanted them to get them the recognition they deserved. In the future, when they would be a household name, many would argue that this was the start of the gang¡¯s real journey to the top.

    Harry could foresee that as long as the Howlers could best the Scatterbugs, otherpanies woulde to them, just as he had done in the past, only that they would dly offer up half of their business, just for the opportunity to work with them.

    The day was gettingte and eventually Harry and the others returned to thepany''s headquarters.

    Therge, wide building that was only a single floor rather than the typical multi story building otherpanies would have.

    "Wow!" Ian excalined as he walked through the halls and could see ancient vases and paintings that would catch for a small fortune in the hallway. "Why didn¡¯t you mention that your family was super rich? The way you talked about being from a Tier-3 town like mine and Izzy¡¯s, I thought that you might be slightly better off, but this is on another level!"

    "It¡¯s not like any of this belongs to me." Numba shrugged. "Even if I might inherit it all one day, what¡¯s the point of that much money without the power to protect it? The Scatterbugs hired two gangs and nearly managed to take us out entirely without having to lift a finder."

    It was expected, since Numba¡¯s family more so ran the entire city simr to a gang due to their wealth, that they were like this. The three of them had decided that they would stay under Numba''s care until his matter was resolved, no matter how long it took. Harry Cardenez had no problems with Ian¡¯s friends apanying them, especially since he had been told about how they had helped out his men.

    As they were taking a tour around the ce, Will suddenly arrived in front of them through therge hall.

    "I apologise for my interrupting, but I was asked to apany Numba to his father. I hope you don¡¯t mind waiting for him." Will requested with his dreaded smile again. It was almost as if he was practising to be a nicer person.

    Currently Harry, Will andstly Numba were in his office.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''I went against my father''s order. Is he going to punish me for this?'' Numba wondered. Worst case scenario, he might get disowned from the family and return to being an orphan once more. If this was to happen, though, he would be fine with it, not regretting his choice at the time.

    "We won''t talk about what happened in the past. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already reflecting on your actions, so let¡¯s focus about what to do going forward. Our next step might decide our future path, and as my heir, it is not only your right to be part of that decision, it is your duty."

    The words spoken from his adoptive father were the nicest words he had ever hearding from the old man¡¯s mouth. Were Harry that type of father, he would have hugged him right now.

    "I wish for you to head to Slough. As the fox mask said earlier the Scatterbugs are most likely to attack them to enact revenge. Seeing as they have only be involved in this entire mess due to partnering up with us, it seems wrong for us to just look from the sidelines.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much help you being there might actually offer, Numba, but I truly wish for them to regard us as equal partners. As such, it is my wish for you to help them fight back against the Scatterbugs. I have to admit that I feel guilty asking you of this because this is something I can not do myself but I saw your strength today.

    "Ultimately, the decision is your."

    Without taking a moment to weighing the pros and cons, Numba stated his mind. "I will head to Slough and help fend off the Scatterbugs."

    With nothing else to be said, the Altered bowed down to his father and left the room, not before seeing the biggest smile on his father''s face, both of them were proud of each other. The teenager found the others resting in one of the manyrge rxing living rooms which had a projector that disyed arge cinema like screen and a kitchen in the back.

    His two friends seemed to have not wasted any time making themselves at home as they sat back on the sofa helping themselves to arge tray of carefully prepared food.

    "Hey everyone, I have some news¡­"

    ? "I¡¯lle along." Izzy decided as soon as Numba was finished exining everything. "Slough is where Gary is from, right? We originally came to stop him, we agreed to go together. I understand you want to go to the Howlers and thank Gary personally, but I have a lot of things to thank him for as well!"

    "Yeah, and remember we are an alliance. It''s only right that we go p Gary on the back of his head for not leaving us." Ian added after gulping down the piece of food. "So let''s all go together."

    Numba, who hadn''t expected to make friends with anyone at the academy, surely felt like he had a strong group around him.

    "Alright, let''s head to Slough, we will see the Howlers and meet up with Gary!"

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 531 The Last One

    It hadn''t been too long since Gary had set foot in this ce, the Wolf''s Pool Club, yet he had found himself back here again and sooner than they expected.

    Not only was Gary present, but all of the core members from the Howlers were upstairs ying pool with each other.

    It turned out yesterday was an exhausting event for all of them. Although they had been able to defend the factory with ease, they were silent on the car ride back with each other.

    When they got home, they had all fallen asleep immediately. As for Gary, he had given his sister another surprise visit and stayed over.

    The thing was they had slept till midday, nearly all of them, until they had received a message from him for all of them to meet at the Wolf''s Pool Club.

    It was closed for the day stating that there was a private work event and the whole ce had been booked out.

    "You should all enjoy today." Kai said, as he threw a small cocktail sausage in the air and caught it in his mouth. "Everyone did a good job yesterday and we don''t know when they will attack again."

    There were smiles all around and the others couldn''t stopmenting to each other about their skills.

    "Hey Marie, do you think maybe you could show me how to use some of those Altered weapons?" Tyler asked. "I mean for self defence, of course."

    "I mean, sure, I would be happy to. I''m not too busy these days." Marie replied.

    "If you want to learn self defence then you should learn to fight using your bare hands first." A deeper female voice said, which caused tingles to run up and down Tyler''s spine. "If you lose your weapon, then what are you going to do? You shoulde practice with me."

    The boys were smirking at the suggestion, in their head they could just imagine Tyler getting whipped by Olivia every time he did something wrong.

    "Gary you must have gotten even stronger right? For you to take out all those guys on your own, are they feeding you some type of special juice at that academy?" Innu asked.

    Gary was nervous to answer because, in a way, Innu was right. One of the main reasons for his growth was due to him eating others and the beasts in the special lessons.

    "It''s a shame we didn''t see you fight." Austinmented. "I would have liked for you to have seen my Altered form, and hearing about what you did, I would have liked to have seen it in person."

    When Gary had first arrived at the scene of the factory, he was only going to help out to the point where the others didn''t get hurt.

    However, he had received a specific quest to take out fifty percent of the attacking forces. This made him act quickly and disy more of his powers than he would have liked.

    It was no wonder that the others had heard of what Gary had done before he was even able to exin it himself.

    In the end forpleting the quest he had received a single pawn point, which he thought was a bit cheap, but then again due to the level of opponent he was going against, it made sense since the job wasn''t hard by any means.

    As the day went on and the group were enjoying their celebrations, the sky was quickly turning dark. Gary stayed mostly by Kai''s side as they talked about what was going to happen next.

    What was amazing to Gary was that Numba had a rtionship with the Cardenez group. He realised where he had heard the name before.

    The fact that Kai''s n and Gary''s wish to help Numba lined up with each other was perfect.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''ll be honest, I felt bad asking the gang to help out in a personal matter, so it does make me feel a bit more at ease." Gary said.

    "These people have already gone through a lot of troubles Gary. Also they joined the gang knowing full well that they would do these types of things. If anything, I would like you to be more honest and utilise us more when you need it. You have to understand that it''s because of you this gang exists."

    It was nice strong words that certainly made Gary feel like the entire group was stronger and closer togetherpared to before, he felt like he was missing out a little.

    "Speaking of your friends, or maybe I should say the friends that were at the other factory along with us, I was surprised that they were all quite skillful. You having gone to that academy may have improved the gang in more ways than you realise. Also I was wondering, do they know you''re the leader?"

    Gary shook his head.

    "I didn''t tell them anything and was surprised to hear they were here to be honest. They think the Howlers are just a group that sponsored me."

    "Well, if you trust them, you''re free to tell them what you like but if other students find out who you really are it might cause a problem, maybe even for the academy."

    Gary would keep this in mind, as there were already enough people that were keeping an eye on him at the academy.

    Eventually it started to gette, and one by one everyone began to head home. Even Marie and her mother had headed back, leaving only Kai and Gary alone together.

    "You don''t have to stay and baby sit me. I looked after myself for a long time before I met you. I have a lot of paperwork to do, so you go ahead."

    They were in Slough and Kai was as strong as any Altered, so he felt like he didn''t have much to worry about as he went ahead and left Kai downstairs in the office on his own.

    An hourter, Kai started to yawn. Looking at the time, it was 11 PM. It wasn''t toote, but the party must have taken quite a bit out of him.

    -----

    Just outside on the empty street, footsteps could be heard.

    "So this is the ce, the Wolf''s Pool Club."

    *****

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 Chapter 532 The Wolfs Break

    Thanks to his enhanced hearing, Kai was able to make out the sound of someone being at the door, even from downstairs in his office. Wondering who it might be at thiste hour, he decided to take a break from the paperwork and find out.

    It was only when he was at the stairs that he noticed that the noise didn''t belong to a single individual, but a small group. Not fearing for his own safety, the Werewolf opened the door.

    "It''s rare to see visitors at this time of night." Kai stated as he got a good look at the three before him. After a slight moment of surprise from suddenly having the door opened from the inside, the visitors immediately bowed down.

    "W-we are so sorry for disturbing youte at night¡­sir." A female voice stuttered.

    "Don''t you think that''s a bit much? He looks the same age as us." A male voice spoke his mind.

    As a result, the boy received a kick from his femalepanion, making the other boy shake his head for ruining their first impression.

    "Your friend is right, there''s no need to address me as sir. Now, how about we take this talk inside." Kai suggested, trying to keep a smirk off his face over their antics.

    Entering the Wolf''s Pool Club were naturally none other than Numba, Izzy and Ian. They had been told by Will that this establishment was seemingly the main meeting ce of the Howlers'' gang.

    Although it was quitete, gangs weren''t exactly limited to operating during business hours. Unsure whether it would be more respectful to greet the Howlers now orter, they eventually decided on the former. However, while they had still been making up their mind what to say, Kai had surprised them.

    Like a good host, he went ahead and got the three of them some pop drinks from behind the bar. After that the blonde teenager gestured them to take a seat on the bar stools, already having a good guess as to why they hade to Slough.

    "As you can see, this ce is empty, but something is telling me you aren''t here for a game of pool or drinks." Kai suggested.

    "We¡­ We heard that this ce belongs to the Howlers. Are you part of their group, by any chance?" Numba asked politely again.

    "Ah yes, I suppose you don''t recognise me looking like this." Kai chuckled. The next moment he transformed part of his arm in front of them, showing his grey fur. "Well, at least I can be sure now that the masks do their job."

    The three weren''t gang members, and their groups'' interests aligned for the foreseeable future, so Kai didn''t mind revealing this much as a sign of goodwill. He knew them to be friends of Gary and Kai trusted in their leaders judgement of people.

    "Y-you''re that grey Altered from before!" Ian''s eyes widened. "I am so sorry for being rude to you earlier, I thought that would have been an old man¡­ or like an older teenager or something."

    "It''s okay." Kai replied. "You behaved without taking into ount our positions, and frankly I''d prefer you continue doing that. Anyway, you still have yet to tell me what brings you over."

    Numba''s face changed, now that he knew that he was actually talking to a high ranking knowing member of the Howlers, and most likely a top one as well.

    "We were sent here by the Cardenez group, to support you from a possible attack for the Scatterbugs." Numba proudly said. "Although, we don''t think you will have any trouble dealing with them. We believe that it is not right that the Howlers take on all the risk, that we should have some part on the line as well."

    Kai nodded as he heard these words. If it was arge-scale attack, then of course having three Altered, especially talented ones like these, would always be a wee help.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I assume that you came here directly because you wish to meet our leader as well? Perhaps to personally thank him?" Kai asked and the three nodded in unison.

    "That''s too bad. Unfortunately, you just missed him. However, I will happily pass on the message to him."

    There was a nervous pause as the students didn''t really know what to do now. They had money for a ce to stay and so on, but there was one more thing on their mind. It looked like Numba felt ufortable to overstretch Kais hospitality, so Izzy decided to do so instead.

    "Gary Dem." Izzy started off. "He is our fellow student from the AFA. We wanted to ask if you know where he is. You see, we are quite close with him¡­ and wanted to also know if he asked the gang for help. We just hope that he won''t get in trouble or has to do some crazy deal to get you to help him."

    Kai couldn''t help but smile at this sweet statement. ''How did you manage to win over a bunch of students like this? Gary, you really do have this natural nature as a leader to attract people around you.''

    "Don''t worry, Gary has quite the special status in the Howlers and I''m happy to learn that he has made such caring friends during his stay." Kai stated. "Tell you what, if youe here tomorrow, I''ll make sure to arrange a meeting with Gary and our leader. Also, if you guys don''t have a ce to stay, then I can take you to one of our hotels we have part ownership in, let me just grab my things."

    Kai went downstairs and the three students were happy to know that the members of the Howlers were kind people. They knew that gang members were hard to deal with, but it didn''t seem to be the case here.

    *KRGG*

    "Did you hear that?" Ian asked, turning around, toward the door and could see the handle moving up and down.

    "I think someone is trying to get in." Izzy answered as the door continued to be rattled around.

    The next second, the door was kicked right off its hinges and went flying towards the group. Numba quickly stood in the way and knocked the door to the side.

    Standing at the entrance was a man in a Hawaiian shirt.

    *****

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 Chapter 533 Three Altered Unite

    In the middle of the night, in a ce like this, Numba didn''t expect to have to fight. Neither did he expect to get a door mmed into his face, and he wasn''t too pleased about it. His instincts were telling him to transform, as the person in front of him clearly had no good intentionsing here. The horns grew from his head and the shape of his feet were changing slightly already breaking through his shoes.

    ¡°Who the hell is that guy?! Why did he do that?¡± Ian asked puzzled about the sudden intrusion.

    ¡°I don''t know him, but we can be sure that he''s not a friend of the Howlers based on his entrance.¡± Izzymented, as she started to transform as well. The hair on her head started to clump together, growingrger, turning into six separate hands.

    ¡°Should I transform as well? Isn''t that overkill against just one guy?¡± Ianmented. ¡°Besides, maybe this is just some sort of giant misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°Where are they?¡± The man in the Hawaiian shirt questioned them. ¡°Where are the people in the masks? I need to get rid of them all.¡±

    ¡°Okay, scratch that, he''s clearly an enemy!¡± Ian sighed.

    At that moment, the man at the entrance ran forward toward them. The floorboards underneath his feet broke. Rather than running across the floorboards what they were looking at now was somewhat more of a leap.

    A strong powerful jump went across the entire length of the room, and while he was midair, his eyes started to glow yellow, ck fur started to grow across his face and arms. His attack targeted Izzy first, her hair stretched out, aiming for the hands and legs of the attacker.

    The female Altered attempted to wrap the person up, which would allow for Numba to strike at him with his strongest attack. As soon as her hair got close though, the hands of the attacker turned into sharp deadly ws, and swinging his hands the hair got ripped through.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Izzy shouted in pain. She was in her transformed state, and although it looked slick, the hair''s durability was able to rival steel. And yet, the man had severed it like it was nothing. Unfortunately for Izzy, all those hair extensions had a ton of nerves inside of them, making her feel as if someone had pulled out all her teeth.

    After mming through most of the hair strands, the man then allowed for one of the clumped up parts of hair to wrap around his wrist. He then twisted it around a few more times before pulling forward, causing Izzy to be lifted into the air.

    ¡°Let go of her!¡± Numba shouted, as he exploded in speed and was right in front of the man. The Goat Altered delivered an explosive punch right into the man''s stomach. A shockwave was sent out as the man¡¯s body was lifted in the air slightly and his grip on Izzy''s hair loosened for a bit.

    However, a smile appeared on the man''s face, as he swung his leg, kicking Numba right in the face. The Altered crashed into one of the pool tables, breaking it on the spot, yet after a few seconds he got back up.

    ¡°I see that you are quite a strong one.¡± The man admitted. ¡°Out of respect for you brave young fighters, I shall tell you my name. I''m Midwak Convel, the person who will send you to your graves!¡±

    Midwak then quickly jumped in the air once again. He leapt up as he was ready tond on top of Numba, grabbing both hands together ready to m them down, but as he did, another person dove right on top of Numba, his back facing away.

    Then, straight out of his back,rge golden colored bristles came out. Midwak ignored this as he mmed his hands through the brittle tore right through sticking out on the other end. It didn''t pierce his bone, but it had moved them to the side as it stuck out.

    The attack had still managed to crash into Ian''s back, at great strength but Ian used all the power he could, to not crush Numba any more than he could.

    ¡°Ian, what are you doing?!¡± Numba asked.

    Blood was pouring out from Ian''s mouth.

    ¡°My name¡­ I¡¯m going to tell that bastard my name!¡± Ian shouted at the top of his lungs, his back started to shake and so did the bristles. Midwak could sense something was going to happen as he pulled both his arms out. Seconds after and the bristles started to shoot out heading straight towards him.

    Lifting his arms in a cross, he covered his face, but the hard, thick bristles still manage to hit different parts of his body. Eventually, Midwak moved and jumped back, and was back to the entrance of the ce.

    Numba got up off the ground, and helped Ian as well, who seemed to be partly exhausted after the little attack of his. The good thing was, it looked like Izzy wasn''t badly injured either as her hair had regrown to what it once was, and the three of them stood there looking at the attacker.

    ¡°My name¡­ my name is Ian! And you fucker don''t even deserve to know myst name! Just remember that I was the one to kick your arse.¡± Ian shouted, his words weren''t so convincing as a small amount of blood spilt out of his mouth.

    It was then, that Midwak let out arge almost howl like noise, as his eyes began to glow. Bristles shot out of his body onto the floor and the surrounding area. Right in front of their eyes, the wounds that he had suffered, starting to heal up at a visible pace.

    With no use for the shirt anymore, Midwak decided to just rip it off, bearing his chest to them all. After healing his wounds, his arms were transforming more than before, being covered in fur and the eyes were memorising as in the backdrop the yellow glow from them could clearly be seen.

    ¡°Guys¡­ am I going crazy, or are there more and more Wolf Altered showing up recently?¡± Numba asked, gulping down hard.

    ¡°He must be an exiled member of the Howlers. The ws, the transformation, the crazy healing factor and physical abilities. We need to work together, because right now it feels like the time the three of us were going up against Gary!¡± Izzy cautioned them to be careful.

    Midwak continued to walk toward the three with confidence. ¡°You three were just coteral, but I''ll make sure to ask my employee for sufficientpensation for all of you. Especially for you,mb!¡± A deep smile appeared on his face, and it was starting to transform even more, as it was elongating, turning into a type of snout.

    Amidst his transformation, a grey blur passed by all three of the Altered, crashing into Midwak. As it did, the other side of the pool club was thrashed, and secondster they could see what looked like arge Altered wolf like human lift the transformed man into the air and m him onto the ground.

    ¡°Those clothes¡­ they''re ck and gold¡­ is that the guy from earlier?¡± Izzy asked, her mind unable to process all these changes.

    Kai''s eyes were shining blue, as he took a step back. Breaking through the broken pool table parts, a full-blown Werewolf fully transformed hade out, his yellow eyes challenging the teenager.

    a€?What the hell is another Werewolf doing here?!'' Kai wondered.

    ******

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 Chapter 534 Beta Vs Omega

    During their time at the academy, the three Altered students had seen Gary transform his appendages many times. They still recalled how shaken up they had been seeing it for the first time, yet without realising it they had grown used to it. As such, seeing Kai and Olivia do the same during the gang war had not really phased them.

    Thanks to that experience, seeing Midwak to do the same and attack them with his deadly ws and strength, the trio hadn''t been frightened into inaction. Nevertheless, all of that changed now as they stared at his bestial form. From head to toe, it felt like they were staring at a wall of muscle.

    In his full Werewolf form, Midwak was around eight feet tall, his head only around a foot shy of touching the ceiling. His razor sharp teeth had bits of saliva dropping off its teeth onto the floor. Their natural instinct told the three Altered that they should run away, rather than face such a creature.

    "They''re in full Altered form!" Ian shouted as he pointed at the two. It wasn''t just Midwak that was giving them a strange feeling because they could see the blonde teenager had fully transformed as well. If it wasn''t for the fact they could still see his ck and gold uniform that had stretched to fit his new size, there was a good chance they wouldn''t have recognised him either.

    For a moment, nobody moved. A heavy, deep breathing could be heard from the two Werewolves in the room.

    ''It will be my first time fighting against a Werewolf who isn''t Olivia or Gary.'' Kai thought to himself as he continued to observe the intruder. ''Unlike with Olivia or Gary, I don''t feel any sort of connection to him, so he could be from another Pack. I have no idea how old that guy is, but he doesn''t seem so surprised to see that I''m also a Werewolf. I have no idea what he is capable of, so I need to be careful, especially with Gary''s friends still around.''

    "You." Midwak pointed with a long finger and a sharp finger nail. "Your eyes¡­ you''re a Beta. You''re not worth my time! Bring out your leader!"

    There was a heavy growl with his voice. It shook what was left of the furniture and the students couldn''t help but gulp. They even had to remind themselves to breathe in this situation.

    "Fine, if you don''t want to call him, I''ll give your Alpha a reason to show up!" Midwak smiled as he charged at the grey Werewolf. Once he was within range, Kai swung out his leg, aiming for a kick to the face. The muscles of his physical werewolf body along with the speed were great.

    It hit the side of Midwak''s arm, who grunted a little bit and ced the leg under his armpit as he grabbed on and lifted Kai''s entire body, mming him into the floor.

    "W-we have to help!" Numba stammered, yet still exploding forward. Arge sound was made from the floorboards as Numbaunched from his position. Although his attention had been on Kai, Midwak who leapt up in the air and grabbed onto the ceiling with his legs and arms.

    Meanwhile, Numba continued forward and hit nothing, making him unable to stop. That was the problem with his Altered form. His explosive power was as much a boon as it was a downside when he missed.

    "I don''t need you annoying flies anymore. " Midwak growing as he jumped down from the ceiling and went toward both Ian and Izzy. Seeing this once again Ian was ready to sacrifice himself as he activated his Altered form standing in front of his childhood friend.

    Therge arm was raised and at a speed beyond Ian''s ability to follow he felt a heavy backhand hit his face and his whole body was chucked in the air with it. The Altered looked back while in the air and he could see the Werewolf standing right in front of Izzy who was shaking with fear. The girl hadn''t transformed, nor had she moved from her spot.

    ''Move! I have to move! Why isn''t my body listening to me?!'' Izzy''s mind was ordering her feet to do as they were told, but nothing was happening. ''Everyone else was able to move, so why can''t I?''<novelnext></novelnext>

    Opening itsrge mouth, Midwak bit right down on Izzy''s shoulder. His teeth easily sunk into her flesh and as the boys saw this, they screamed at the top of their lungs.

    Izzy looked at both of them. She only felt a sharp yet dull pain in the area. A breeze of wind seemed to go past Numba just then, as he saw something else leap up and open its mouth wide.

    It bit down hard right, on Midwak''s neck it had clenched down hard not letting go and twisting its head.

    ''That''s a¡­ grey wolf.'' Numba was baffled as to where that creature hade from. With Altered being an epted part of society it wasn''t too strange for two people to transform into wolf-human hybrids, but this was undoubtedly a wild animal, arge one at that which had appeared out of nowhere. Yet, it had some strange items of clothing on it as well.

    Eventually, Midwak was forced to let go of Izzy, shifting his attention to the grey wolf. It was on the floor on all fours and the wolf began to run right toward Midwak when it leapt up in the air it where it transformed back into a Werewolf crashing right into the ck furred giant, piercing his stomach with his sharp nails.

    Kai''s Werewolf form was hovering above him, who knelt on the floor putting pressure on the wound.

    "You, Goat Altered, take your friends out of here!" Kai ordered in a growling voice. You''re no help in the fight, and are more of a hindrance. If you want to help, call Gary!"

    Midwak lifted his hand off the wound that had already healed and his nails that pointed at Kai flew through the air like projectiles embedding themselves in the grey Werewolf''s chest. He was bleeding profusely, but not stopping there the ck Werewolf jumped from the floor andnded right on top of Kai.

    "Just get out of here, and look for Gary!" Kai shouted as the two Werewolves were wrestling on the ground. "Tell them what is going on and to get Olivia and the others! HURRY!!!"

    *****

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 Chapter 535 A Call For Help

    Numba was reluctant to follow the orders from Kai. Who in their right mind would send away three Altered, much less if those happened to be talented AFA students? Sure, the Goat Altered had to admit that the grey Werewolf was faring better against Midwak than their trio, but¡­ was that really the right thing?

    When he looked at the condition of Ian, who had been hit twice, most likely suffering internal damage, and the side of his friend''s face was swelling up, it became clear that the three of them were not really in fighting conditions anymore. Then there was Izzy whose shoulder was bleeding quite badly. Her clothes had already been dyed red, and would have to be discardedter.

    ''I don''t want to leave him on his own¡­ but I need to look after my friends. They came along with me just to help out, I can''t let them die.'' Numba, almost closing his eyes, ran to his allies because if he could see what was going on, he thought there was a higher chance for him to jump in.

    He picked up Ian first, and then went next to Izzy, and all three of them started to head out of the door. The good news was that both of them, although hurt, were conscious and still able to move. They were moving fast down the street, but as they did they could hear loud crashes and bangs from behind. They were clearlying from the club, and they could only imagine the destruction that was going on.

    "Ahhh!" Izzy shouted in pain as she tripped over her own leg and fell onto the concrete, her knees had banged against the floor, but the paining from her shoulder was hurting far more. "This bite¡­ it stings like crazy!"

    "Should we¡­ head to the hospital or something?" Numba asked, panicked and unsure what to do. He was even looking around to see if there was anyone on the street, but it had to be close to midnight, and this wasn''t really a popr area for people to be at this time of day.

    "I''ll be okay¡­ I can bear with it¡­ for now." Izzy said through gritted teeth. It was hurting a lot, but the girl felt like she had only been a burden so far, so she couldn''t get in the way again. They needed to help Kai, who had risked his own life to allow them to get away with their lives.

    "That guy¡­ he told us to find Gary, right?" Izzy asked.

    "Yeah, I thought that was strange as well." Ian mentioned. "Shouldn''t we be looking for a member of the Howlers, or maybe try to find their leader? Why would he ask for Gary specifically?"

    Izzy thought about it for a while, but Gary also had a simr form to all of them. At first, she thought the attack might have been to do with the Scatterbugs, but maybe this was something else. Had someone sold the Howlers all the solution, and now there was a disagreement.

    Perhaps, the teenage boy was asking Gary not for help, but for him to run away, or know the right thing to do.

    "At the moment, we really don''t know anyone in the Howlers in the first ce." Izzy pointed out. "So the best thing we can do is try and listen to that guy and do our best to get in contact with Gary."

    Scanning through her pocket, Izzy was trying to look for her phone, but she couldn''t find anything. Her best guess was that it must have fallen out of her pocket when they were fighting earlier. Ian, understanding what she was doing, went ahead and searched through his pockets. He felt a small prick, and when pulling it out from his pocket he found out the reason. It turned out his phone gotpletely smashed up and in pieces.

    Then there was one, they could at least try calling him, when Numba looked, surprisingly he still had his phone. There were smiles on their faces but when he scrolled through his list he realised something.

    "I¡­ I don''t have Gary''s number." Numba said in a quiet voice, earning him strange gazes from the others. "We were without our phones for so long, and we were seeing each other every day, okay? I never thought something like this would happen, so I didn''t ask for his number."

    "We have to do something!" Ian said, as he turned to Izzy. "You''re the smart one, we have no phone, and we''re in a foreign town in the middle of the night, so how do we contact Gary?"

    There was a worried look on Izzy''s face, because in the end she could onlye up with one desperate answer. A few momentster, running down the streets of Slough, without any shame, or any concern at all, they started to shout.

    "Gary!!! Gary, are you out there?!" They shouted at the top of their lungs.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "We need your help, Gary! Does anyone know Gary!" They continued to shout.

    It didn''t seem to be working, apart from a few people turning on their lights from their apartments wondering what themotion was about. Many even opened their windows, shouting at them to shut up, but this didn''t stop the trio.

    "Howlers! We need your help! One of your leaders is in danger!" Izzy screamed at the top of her lungs, it was a desperate plea, but they needed help.

    After travelling so far, shouting Gary''s name, they thought it was useless, and they were about to give up,e up with another tactic, until.

    "You three are hurt..." A voice said.

    Looking up, it was a young, handsome boy in front of them. "Those wounds, they don''t look like they were done with weapons¡­ it almost looks like bite marks. Were you attacked by an Altered?" The young man asked.

    The three didn''t know how to answer, what if they were to call the police, wouldn''t that make the situation worse.

    "Gary." Ian blurted out. "We are looking for a teenager, about this tall, green hair."

    The young man''s eyes lit up. "Gary¡­ as in Gary Dem?"

    "YES!" Numba excitedly jumped up and down. "Please, can you help us get in contact with him?! Better yet, do you know where he might be? One of his friends needs immediate help. It''s literally his life on the line!"

    The young boy looked at the three of them and their wounds.

    "I¡­ I don''t know where Gary could be right now, but¡­ maybe I can help you. Take me to the Altered that did this to you."

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 536 Slough Gathers

    In the first ce, the chances of running into someone who would perhaps know Gary were low. Sure, he was a member of the Howlers, the gang that controlled the city, but that was exactly it. As far as they knew, he was just a member, nothing more, nothing less. Yet, their desperate pleas had been heard by a certain someone, and at the same time, the wounds on their body had caused a certain person to be interested.

    ''What are the chances that this crazy idea actually worked and we not only found someone who knows Gary, but can also help us out in this situation.'' Izzy wondered. The three of them were Altered from the AFA, so how much help could a random passerby actually be in this situation, but then again, now wasn''t the time to question those things.

    "I don''t know where he is, but I have his number. Let me text him¡­ you said to tell him that he''s urgently needed at the Wolf''s Pool Club, right?" The stranger replied, as he was already sending a text.

    "Yeah, that''s correct. Can you add that the blond guy is in trouble, and to also inform some Olivia?" Ian repeated Kai''s request.

    "Alright, the message is sent. It''s best if you guys stay on the path to the Wolf''s pool club if you hope to run into Gary." The stranger advised, as it looked like he was ready to take off.

    "Wait!" Numba shouted. "Why are you heading toward the pool club? Don''t you understand that the one that hurt us was an Altered?! Are you really nning to go there?"

    "Yes." The stranger answered and resumed running off in the distance.

    The three stared at the stranger from behind, too injured to really follow after him, and if they were to return, along with anyone but Gary or other members of the Howlers, they felt like it would be pointless.

    "Hey¡­ did we just send a random person that knew Gary to his death?" Ian asked with a gulp in his voice.

    "I¡­ I''m not too sure." Izzy replied. "Let''s just hope he isn''t crazy and actually knows what he is doing."

    She kept a close eye on ke as he ran, and somehow, he was able to run faster than a human would. Was it possible that they had run into another Altered? Just how many were there in the ce of Slough?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Continuing to run to the Wolf''s Pool Club, loud destruction could be heard. The strange teenager that they had run into wasn''t out thiste at night for no reason. He was searching for information, which was why he had a few items on him.

    Pulling out from his back, a ck mask was ced on his face. Attached around his back were two almost red-like weapons. Underneath his shirt was armour, the type that only the Altered Hunters would wear.

    ''If I bring back down another Altered, maybe I can prove to the association that there is no need for them to send me a partner¡­.''

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The three students continued to head down the street, hoping for the best from the stranger. At least they knew that Gary has been made aware of the situation, but he alone might not be enough.

    "We need to look for other members¡­ others from the Howlers." Numba said. They continued down the street, and not long after, a figure leapt out from one of the alleyways. It was a woman, wearing a tight-fitting uniform in ck and gold. However, there was no mask on her face, and she looked panicked. She seemed to be sniffing the air and noticed the three that were in front of her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The smell of blood¡­ it''s from you." The woman stated, seemingly unsurprised about their sorry state..

    "Hey¡­ she has to be a member of the Howlers!" Ian imed. "I recognise the uniform and figure!!"

    Ian had immediately noticed the figure, it was the female that could somewhat transform into a wolf as well. The two boys would never forget the curves they had seen on her body, and there was also the trusty whip they could see that gave things away.

    Giving them another look, Olivia Pearl realised that she had seen the three of them not too long ago, having fought on the same side as them.

    "What the hell are you guys doing here, and who injured you to this degree?" She asked immediately.

    Without realising it, Olivia''s eyes started to change slightly as she looked at the three, her eyes starting to glow blue, something they had seen on the blonde boy as well. At the same time, Olivia started to squint as if she was in pain and her chest seemed to be slightly hurting.

    "Your friend is in trouble, he was attacked by a Wolf Altered, or a Werewolf Altered!" Ian shouted. "The one with the fox mask, he turned into a wolf and was attacked by another guy who turned into a Werewolf. Howe there are so many Wolf Altered in here?" Ian blurted out, as he came to the realisation the others had long since made.

    "He needs help." Numba stated. "He told us to look for Gary. We met another teenager who wrote him a message, but we don''t know if he saw it yet, and that guy also headed towards the pool club."

    Olivia bore through the strange feeling she was experiencing and took in what the others were saying. The blonde boy could only refer to Kai, especially since they had seen him turn into a wolf. If he chose to reveal such a thing, it could only mean that he must be seriously in trouble.

    In his absence, the two Beta Werewolves would often spar against each other, and although she would never admit this, after the first few times, it became obvious that the teenager seemed to be better suited to fight as a Werewolf. Even though she might be stronger, he had always found a way to outsmart her in their matches, so for him to say he needed help¡­ Olivia wondered if she alone would be enough.

    "Gary¡­ I don''t have my phone with me, and we don''t have the time to look for him. We can get to him after rescuing that guy!" Olivia stated, ready to transform and rush off to the ce.

    Just as they turned, though, from above, seemingly out of nowhere, a personnded right in front of them. The others braced themselves as they thought they were under attack. The ground cracked somewhat, and dust was rising. Through the dust, all they could see was a pair of red glowing eyes. At first, all the hairs on their body stood up.

    *******

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 Chapter 537 Leaving A Message

    A heavy figure hadnded in front of them, causing a cloud of dust to rise up, like in a superhero movie. However, the group wasn''t yet sure if the figure with the red, glowing eyes was a hero or a viin.

    "Gary!" Numba called out as he recognised the figure.

    The Alpha Werewolf had noticed the others from above, the truth was he was in his fully transformed state heading to a certain location. He didn''t care for his Energy because he was in a desperate situation, but when seeing the others, he thought it was best not to frighten them in his full form.

    Gary had noticed the others from above as he had been heading towards a certain location in his fully transformed state. He was in a desperate situation and didn''t care about conserving his Energy, but when he saw the others, he still thought it was best not to frighten them with his full form, thus reverting to his Controlled Transformation.

    "You''re bleeding," Gary said urgently, mostly concerned for Izzy. "What happened?" He was surprised to see the three of them in the same city, especially since they were traveling with Olivia, but their injuries were a more pressing concern. The bite marks on their bodies wererge and deep, causing Gary to worry.

    "We were looking for you everywhere!" Ian replied. "Did you get the text message from that guy? Is that why you''re here?"

    ''ke sent me a message at this time? Just what is going on today?'' Gary wondered as he quickly scanned the text message from ke and saw that it was an urgent request for help. ''I just came here because I had a bad feeling, an instinct that told me to hurry over in this direction. It was as if something was calling out to me.''

    "Gary, you don''t have time to worry about us!" Numba said in a pained voice. "One of the Howlers members, the blonde guy who can transform into a grey wolf, he was attacked in the pool club! The guy who attacked him was able to transform into a ck Wolf Altered!"

    In response to what he had just heard, Gary''s heart started to pump louder and faster. With Billy dead, the only ck furred Werewolf should be Olivia, but the woman was clearly in front of him. For there to be another ''Wolf Altered'', it meant that an actual Werewolf hade over to Slough. This was very bad news, since the members of his Pack were all rtively young, and their experience fighting other Werewolves was quasi non-existent.

    "He told us toe and get you and tell you what was going on." Izzy exined.

    Without wasting any more time, Gary immediately took off running down the street, his body transforming as he went. Olivia chased after him, struggling to keep up with his speed.

    "Gary, are you just going to charge in there without a n?" Olivia asked, panting as she tried to keep pace with him.

    "What choice do I have?" Gary replied, his voice urgent as he picked up the pace.

    Olivia was worried because she knew Kai was strong and had seen the three Altered students fight. They were quite formidable opponents, and she wasn''t sure if Gary, who hadn''t shown her his strength since returning from the academy, had improved enough to handle the situation. As she watched him vanish from sight, she could only hope for the best.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The three students from the AFA were unable to make up their minds about what to do next. They had informed Gary, and just like they had feared, their friend had thrown caution out the window and simply run off to help Kai.

    "This is why I didn''t think it was a good idea to tell Gary." Izzy shook her head. "I knew he wouldn''t go to the leader or call the other members, he just rushed in there himself."

    "At least he isn''t alone. He is with that woman Altered, and there is also the guy who rushed in earlier. With all of them working together, don''t you think there''s a chance they can do something about that Hawaiian shirt guy?" Ian tried to see a silver lining in the situation.

    "Well, I''m going to help as well!" Numba decided as he hurried down the street from where they came.

    Both Ian and Izzy looked at each other and let out an exasperated sigh. They had managed to heal slightly from their wounds, not enough to be in any real fighting situation, but at least to the point that they could follow after Numba. They knew that this was stupid and wentpletely against Kai''s orders, but they couldn''t just stay away when all their friends were risking their lives.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As they approached the club, they noticed the windows had all been smashed and there were multiple holes in the building. The destruction had spilled onto the street, with debris and broken ss littering the ground. The once lively and vibrant club now seemed like a deste and abandoned ce.

    Ian and Izzy looked at each other with a mixture of shock and worry on their faces. They had never seen such destruction before and couldn''t even begin to imagine the kind of power and strength it would take to cause such damage.

    Numba, on the other hand, seemed determined and undaunted. He took a deep breath and charged towards the club, ready to face whatevery ahead. Ian and Izzy exchanged a quick nce before following after him, ready to support their friend and fellow Altered.

    "What is going on¡­did they do it?" Ian asked.

    There was only one thing they could do. The three of them slowly walked to the entrance of the pool club, the door was broken. One half of it is hanging on. Still not being able to hear anything, the three of them entered the inside of the ce, and the first thing they could see was blood.

    There was blood all over the ce, on the floor, scattered around the area, then they could see, Gary was standing there in ce, by his side was Olivia, and a strange man dressed in ck armour and clothes. The three of them were staring at something, something that was on the wall.

    The three AFA students move in closer, and when they went to the others, they could finally make out what the others were looking at. All three of them covered their mouths. Out of shock, trying not to make any noise in this situation, tears started to flow out of Izzy''s eyes.

    "I''m sorry, Gary." The masked man said. "When I got here¡­ he was already like this. The guy who did this to him is gone. You arrived seconds after I did."

    Gary walked forward, to what was on the wall, his own body functions were out of control. His face, his arms, they were transforming and reverting as he moved forward. It was a true show of his emotions.

    When entering the Wolf''s Pool Club with Olivia, they had all seen it. Kai was pinned to the wall, hanging up in the air by some string nails. His body had been cut and ripped to pieces, blood was dripping onto the floor, creating a pool from where he was.

    He was no longer transformed, back in his human form, riddled with wounds, with the objectively worst one being mouth, orck thereof. Parts of his teeth could be seen through the muscle, and his ripped off jaw was seen lying there on the floor.

    "ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Gary''s cries of anger echoed throughout the neighbourhood as he stared at the gruesome sight of his friend.

    On Kai''s chest, there was another fingernail that had a card attached on it, with a picture of a single hercules beetle, it was the sign of the Scatterbugs.

    *****

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 Chapter 538 Save Him!

    It was hard for one to look at such a sight, yet at the same time everyone there felt like they needed to. The entire pool club had been destroyed, the ss, the bar, every inch and corner. It was unrecognisablepared to the ce it was once before.

    At the same time, there were markings of blood in every area, and the same could be said about Kai''s body. Deep cuts had been made, tearing through his skin, and a lot of blood had been lost.

    The others didn''t want to say anything, as they looked at Gary just standing there. He was looking at the whole scene for a few seconds, and then suddenly opened his mouth after the cry.

    "Call the hospital and get an ambnce here immediately!" Gary shouted. "One of you, go get some food, it''s vital for him, and I''ll take him down!"

    Gary quickly rushed over to Kai, he first pulled the nail that was located in Kai''s chest and threw the piece of paper to the side, and soon got to work pulling out the other nails.

    "Wait¡­ is he alive?" Ian asked.

    Looking at the scene in front of them, he thought there was no chance for Kai to be able to live through such a thing, even for an Altered to survive something like this was crazy. Perhaps a lot of people would think the same, but not Gary.

    Because Kai wasn''t an Altered, he was a werewolf, and one of the strongest traits that a werewolf had was they were resilient, they were fighting warriors that could keep fighting even with missing limbs.

    Finally, Gary had taken all the nails out of Kai''s body, and started to gently carry him. ke had called an ambnce from his phone, and Olivia had gone running out of the ce to search for some raw food. She knew how important it was for his healing to kick in.

    Now seeing Kai up close like he was, Izzy had noticed something she thought was strange. Although there were many deep w marks, none had been made too deep on his stomach to the point where his guts were spilling out. If anything, the most lethal thing that had ured was the other''s jaw had been ripped out.

    "Kai, you have to fight, your time in this world is not over!" Gary said, as he practically shouted at the body in his hands.

    Due to the time of night, the ambnces were able to move quicker and they could be heard off in the distance.

    ''The system, you are still a member of my pact in the system¡­ If the system is still showing that you are there, then that means you are still alive!'' Gary thought.

    At first he was in a panicked and angered state like everyone else, and just like the others he thought that not even Kai could survive this. In fact, the werewolf that was able to do this to Kai, meant he was able to finish him off, and it made sense for him to.

    After all, was there any reason for a werewolf to attack Kai and allow him to live? Not any that Gary could think of, but then the system hade to mind, and that''s when Gary made his move.

    Olivia had returned with food, with his sharp nails he shredded it as finely as he could, after all, Kai didn''t seem like he could use his jaw in any way or form. After it was finely shredded, it was mixed with some water, and slowly was poured into his throat at an angle.

    "You promised me that we would go to the top together. This is an order, you are not allowed to die here!" Gary said.

    The food was washed down, and as the substance hit the back of his throat, the muscles had moved slightly, taking it in and going into his stomach. It gave some of the energy he needed. As the food was finished, the ambnce had soon arrived.

    Gary quickly walked out of the ce, and went inside the ambnce with Kai, whether they wanted him to or not.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The group were taken to the closest hospital and the paramedics had picked up part of Kai''s mouth and jaw. They weren''t too hopeful they could reattach it, but Gary insisted that they took it anyway.

    Telling them that Kai was an altered so there was a good chance that they could do something. When arriving at the hospital, Kai was taken into the emergency room and he was left waiting outside.

    "Sh*t!" Gary said to himself, as he paced backwards and forwards. "What the f*ck happened. How am I in the same situation again? I thought, after getting stronger and learning how to use my powers, that I would never be in a hospital again, waiting like this."

    Eventually the others had arrived, ke was no longer in his uniform but felt like he shoulde in. The other altereds had been asked to go for a check up, and Olivia was there as well.

    "Gary, just sit down for now, there is nothing else we can do." ke said.

    All three of them sat down, the hospital wasn''t too busy and the reception staff were having a nice chat with each other.

    "What¡­ happened? The others, they said it was a werewolf that attacked Kai? Why?" Gary asked.

    "On the way here, we both asked a few questions of the others about what exactly happened." ke exined. "Because the way Kai was put up like that, it was strange, and I wanted to give you as much information as possible.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I don''t know much about werewolves but I do know quite a bit about gangs and altereds. That werewolf was able to leave Kai in such a state, which meant he didn''t just beat him, but he overwhelmed him with his power.

    "Which is why it''s confusing to leave him in such a state, where he is barely alive. The piece of paper that was left behind, it was from the gang, the Scatterbugs."

    The whole of Gary''s body tensed up as he heard these words. The Scatterbugs were the ones that Kai said was likely to attack them, but he never expected them to have a werewolf.

    Did this mean that the Scatterbugs were a tier-2 city due to the werewolves they had. Did they have an entire pack?

    "Leaving Kai like that for us, was it a warning for us to not get involved?" Gary asked.

    ke shook his head.

    "That''s why I am confused. Killing the messenger sends a stronger message than letting them live. I can only guess that the werewolf left him alive because of a werewolf thing, rather than a gang thing."

    Unfortunately, Gary didn''t know much about werewolves, because his own situation wasn''t very traditional in the first ce.

    "I know what your thinking." Olivia chimed in. "But I don''t believe the Scatterbugs have a pack of werewolves or are in the same situation as us. In the first ce, it is quite easy to find out information on the Scatterbugs'' altereds, and there has been no talk of a wolf-like altered.

    "However, from the piece of paper that had been left, it''s very clear that he was sent by the Scatterbugs, but myst guess as to why he was working alone was because of what those kids said. The werewolf''s eyes¡­ they were yellow."

    Instantly Gary remembered some knowledge that Tom had passed onto him as well as his own eye colour change. Yellow meant an Omega wolf, which was a lone wolf not belonging to any pack at all.

    ''The Scatterbugs are able to have someone like that under their control¡­ but it doesn''t change anything.''

    It was then that a tired looking doctor hade out from the double doors. Gary was getting a serious sense of Deja Vu all over again. He was just hoping that the news wasn''t going to be the same.

    "You were the young man who brought in your friend, correct?" The doctor said, as Gary had rushed over to him with the others.

    "I have some good news for you." The doctor said, "Your friend, he is healing well. His condition has stabilised. However, at the moment, it doesn''t seem like he is waking up."

    A dreaded fear started to ovee Gary, it felt like a darkness was creeping up his throat, as he said the words.

    "Like aa." Gary replied.

    "Not quite." The doctor replied. "His brain is quite active and wasn''t badly damaged. Everything is healing well, but the healing process in certain parts looks to be taking longer. We have seen some cases with Altereds like this before. I think at most, it will take a week for your friend to wake up."

    Gary fell to his knees right there and then, with his head towards the floor.

    "Thank you¡­ thank you¡­ thank you."

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 539 The Leader Of The Howlers

    The three students from the AFA had decided to get a check up as well. It looked like the doctors already knew that they were altered while treating them, and they assumed that this had to be a hospital that the Howlers had been dealing with.

    It wasmon for gangs to have rtionships with hospitals because a lot of their members would end uping there. The one that was giving the doctors direction and had informed everyone of everything was Olivia.

    Kai, Marie and Olivia, were the three that knew about the Howlers'' businesses the most, and with Olivia having handled a reasonablyrge gang herself in the past, Kai had always asked her opinion on things, which was why she was taking over now.

    At first she thought it was quite a pain, their leader was off at the AFA, while the two of them were practically running the gang. It was a strange set up, to say the least, but maybe it was the werewolf part of her¡­tely she had been finding it harder and harder for her to hate Gary in his position.

    Izzy had just finished having a checkup and bandages had been wrapped around her shoulder after it had been disinfected and it looked like the doctor had a few words to say to her before leaving.

    "You''re an altered, so it''s expected that your recovery is quite fast. There is no need for you to stay at the hospital." The doctor exined. "However, as you might have noticed yourself, for some reason the direct wounds on your shoulders are struggling to heal. They are healing, just at a slow rate.

    "Although I hardly get the chance to treat altereds, from the data we do have shared across hospitals, it is a little unusual, but I would say it''s nothing to worry about. Just if the problem persists I would get it checked, perhaps by the medical staff at the AFA, it is more likely that they have a better understanding of what is going on."

    Izzy wasn''t particrly concerned about her wounds so much. Her body felt fine, a little weak, but it was expected after being involved in a fight for her life. At the moment, she just wanted to know how everyone else was.

    When leaving the room, Izzy could see that in the seats there were two others that had been waiting for her, Ian and Numba. Ian''s head was on Numba''s shoulder, it looked like he was patiently sleeping away with dribble running down the side of his mouth onto Numba.

    It was safe to say that she didn''t need to ask if Ian was okay, as he was back to his usual self already, but Numba didn''t look the same, because he was just looking dead straight ahead, not even looking at Izzy and not noticing the pool of spit that had built up on his shoulder.

    ? Eventually, the two of them made eye contact.

    "Hey¡­ you still have bandages on you. I thought you would have been healed by now." Numbamented.

    "It''s okay, it''s just a precaution." Izzy replied. "What about Gary¡­ have you gone to see him yet, or talked about what he''s going to do? I''m not sure about the rtionship between him and the Kai person, but the two of them seemed to be pretty close."

    For the three at the AFA, they were always ssified as different at their schools, to the point where they didn''t make many friends. It was safe to say that Izzy, Ian and Numba, along with Gary, were the closest friends they had.

    It was to the point where they had almost forgotten that he had a life outside of the academy. It looked like Gary didn''t just work for the gang, but he was a big part of them. It reminded Numba of himself, because it was the same for him.

    Hearing Izzy''s question, Numba started to think back to a call he had not long ago with his father. He had updated his father on the situation, how the one with a fox-like mask and grey fur had been attacked quite badly, and seeing the note it was certainly an attack from the Scatterbugs.

    "I imagined that the Scatterbugs would have acted but I thought they would have sent a full force to deal with the Howlers. That young one was a talented member of the Howlers gang and he had a good head on his shoulders." Harry stated.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "If I was to guess, an attack will eventuallye. They have weakened the Howlers quite a bit with this one move, and weakened their confidence. I''m sorry to hear about the situation you have been put in¡­ I will leave the decision of what you wish for you and your friends to do in your hands."

    Numba thought about it for a while, he was hesitant, an attack from a single person¡­ Was this something that the Howlers could survive, and what about Gary? Surely he would stay to protect his hometown, there was no convincing him toe back to the AFA for safety.

    "I can tell your hesitating." Harry added. "But let me tell you one thing. This attack, it was most likely more of an assassination attempt on the leader of the group. That Kai fellow had made the biggest scene, it was almost as if he wanted them to believe that he was the leader of the group.

    "I have a feeling that the boy also predicted that this would ur as well, but remember, the Howlers still have a leader. Someone that all of those strong people we met, including Kai, choose to follow. There has to be a reason for it."

    ¡ª¡ª

    It was the one thing, the Howlers were a strong group, they didn''t just have Kai, so it always made Numba wonder where was the Howlers'' leader? At a time like this, when one of his members was in the hospital, why hasn''t he made an appearance, or decided to do anything?

    If his leader was this type of person, then Numba didn''t have much hope in the group after all.

    When the three walked back to the main reception area of the hospital, the automatic doors had opened, and a group of people had entered. The three of them had paused because they had recognised the gold and ck uniforms, and although they hadn''t seen their faces, they did somewhat recognise the body shapes of the others.

    Innu, Marie, Tyler, and Austin had entered the hospital. Every single one of them with a serious look on their face.

    "Those guys¡­ they must be the ones that wore the masks and were with us at the factory right¡­ it has to be them." Ian said.

    Out of all of these here though, there was still no sight of the Howlers'' leader, which was just making Numba even more infuriated.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 540 Its An Order

    540 It''s an order

    If before the trio had been unsure about the identity of the group of teenagers who had appeared at night in the hospital, it became obvious enough that they had to be members of the Howlers when Marie asked for the room of Kai. A few momentster, their small group headed in the direction the receptionist had pointed them to.

    ¡°Come on, let''s go with them and see Gary.¡± Numba suggested to the other two.

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s a good idea? Shouldn¡¯t we like leave gang business to the gang members? We might be close with Gary, but we don¡¯t really know any of the other members. Heck, around an hour ago, we didn¡¯t even know that Kai guy.¡± Ian wasn¡¯t too keen to interrupt their group, especially given the circumstances of their visit.

    ¡°We¡¯ve risked our lives not only bying here, but we also fought that guy. We did the best we could to help out Kai. That should be worth something.¡± Numba argued. ¡°Besides, whatever they''re going to talk about we need to hear it as well. After that, I also have a lot of questions I would like answered, and depending on what those answers might be¡­ we might need to find a way to pull Gary out of this gang.¡±

    The three started to follow the Howlers down the hallway, but it didn¡¯t take long for one of them to notice. Innu stopped and turned around, hearing the footsteps of the Altered trio behind them. It took him a moment to recognise them without their clowns'' makeup.

    ¡°Oh, it''s you guys.¡± Innu said. ¡°We heard the gist of what happened. It¡¯s great that you three were there, otherwise, Kai might have been in even more trouble. We¡¯ve been told that he isn¡¯t in any condition to speak right now, but if you guys want toe in and see him as well, feel free to join us.I don¡¯t think he would mind you guys seeing him, not that he can say anything anyway.¡±

    It was an unexpected response, because the students just never thought that gang members, especially the ones that they had seen breaking bones so easily, would be so nice. Then again, they hadn¡¯t exactly expected the Howlers¡¯ members to be this young, either.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Izzy answered for the group, since Numba was at a loss for words. The Goat Altered¡¯s anger had been building up, yet this kind of response had caught him off guard.

    As they joined up with the Howlers¡¯ group, they heard the sound of sniffles,ing from the ck haired girl with pigtails. She kept wiping at her face as she got closer and closer to the door where Kai was resting.

    ¡°You have to be strong, Marie.¡± Austin told her. ¡°We all have to show strength in this type of situation. Remember what the receptionist said, he will leave¡­ even if he will likely end up with scars.¡±

    What wasing out of the students was how close-knit this gang seemed to be. Expressing these strong feelings, it didn¡¯t feel like a gang at all. It was clear to them how much they thought of this individual Kai as well.

    When entering the room, Marie somehow managed to stop her tears and Tyler held the door open for the other three students. The room was rtivelyrge, but will all of them inside there wasn¡¯t much room for them to move around.

    Gary was already inside, sitting by Kai¡¯s side on one of the few chairs. Olivia, and ke were with him in the room but they were standing by the wall away from where Kai was, they had already been in the room for a while, and Gary had yet to move from his position.

    The teenager himself was covered under the bedsheet, so the most prominent thing they could see was therge bandages around his face, as well as tubes attached to him. There was a type of stitching around his jaw, no doubt from the surgery to reattach his jaw.

    While it was apparently sessful, it was also obvious that there were clear imperfections. Altered or not, it was practically guaranteed that even if he healed from this, it would leave behind obvious scars, perhaps even disfiguring the previously pretty boy.0

    Those that had just entered the room went to get a close look at Kai, they could hear the monitor, the sound of his heart beating still there, but they were unable to see Gary¡¯s face that was looking down on the floor in a hunched over position.

    The students decided that this wasn¡¯t the best time to talk with him, so they stayed at the back with the others, giving the Howlers a chance to deal with the situation.

    In the end, looking at Kai¡¯s miserable state, Marie couldn¡¯t hold back her tears any longer and her sobs turned into a loud cry. There was nothing, anybody could say to make her stop, making this the only sound that filled the room. After a few minutes, Marie quieted down, and the others silently helped walk her toward the back of the room with the others so she wouldn¡¯t have to look at Kai.

    The silence felt deafening and the pressure was tense. A few times Numba opened his mouth to say something, only to close it again, since the timing felt horribly wrong.

    ¡°The Scatterbugs.¡± Eventually Gary was the one who broke the silence, his head still down. ¡°They¡¯re the ones responsible for him lying there. They ordered a hit and went for Kai¡¯s life. I¡¯m going to take them out¡­ I¡¯m going to take out every single fucking one of them and rip them to shreds, just like they did to Kai!¡±

    Numba could tell from the pain in Gary¡¯s voice, that his friend was serious and intended to put his words into action. He himself he couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty, after all, this entire situation came about because the Howlers had decided to help his father¡¯spany.

    ¡°I get how you¡¯re feeling, but attacking them outright was not part of Kai¡¯s n.¡± Olivia chimed in. ¡°His n was to defend against an attack from the Scatterbugs, before we take the fight to them before they have any chance to regroup. This attack on him wasn¡¯t that, they will surelye for us soon, and it is always easier to be the ones defending a location, rather than be the invading force. They¡¯re a Tier-2 gang, in a city none of us ever visited.¡±

    Gary then stood up from his seat, and turned his body towards them, but was still looking down at the ground with his fists tightly clenched.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± The Alpha Werewolf practically growled. ¡°The guy who did this¡­ he is hiding behind the Scatterbugs, and knowing this, how can I just stand by and do nothing?!¡±

    ¡°Gary!¡± Numba finally spoke. ¡°I know how you feel¡­ I know you''re strong, but you can¡¯t just attack the Scatterbugs on your own. Going into a city without anyone there to back you up is suicidal.¡±

    There was a pause, Ian and Izzy agreed with Numba. They were just too shy to say it in this situation.

    ¡°He¡¯s your friend, but do you really think all Howlers will go on a vendetta just for one guy? Your gang won¡¯t start a gang war over one person¡­ Please, Gary, juste back to the academy. It will be safe there.¡±

    Gary finally lifted his head up, and when he did, his whole face was scrunched up, his teeth were elongated, and his red eyes were glowing, looking at all of them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going to attack the Scatterbugs tomorrow. Inform everyone in the Howlers, anyone who wishes toe with me, should be in front of the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club at 9:00. This is a direct order.¡± Gary stated.

    Hearing thosest words, those in the room knew how to act, Gary rarely used those words, and it meant he had made his decision, so there was only one response they would all give.

    ¡°Yes, boss!¡± They all replied in unison, bowing down their heads.

    ¡°Boss?¡± Numba repeated.

    *****

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 Chapter 541 The Leader Of The Howlers

    After his promation, Gary closed the door behind him, leaving behind the Howlers and the AFA trio. Numba''s mouth was left wide open, still struggling toprehend what he had just seen and heard.

    Before the Goat Altered hade here, his father had informed him that during the initial meeting between the Cardenez group and the Howlers in Slough, Kai had been by the leader''s side, a green haired fellow in a wolf mask.

    Given the fact that the first contact both sides had made had been through the blonde teenager, Harry had shared his assumptions that the guy in the fox mask had to be something like the second inmand. An assumption that had only grown stronger, once Kai had brought out all those strong fighters to defend the factories.

    If what Ian said earlier was true, and Austin, Innu and Mary were indeed the three masked helpers, it had to mean that they were part of the top echelon of the gang as well, yet they had just witnessed that all three of them had referred to Gary as Boss.

    Numba turned around to check his friends'' reaction, and he could see that both of them had their mouths left wide open, same as him, unable to close it.

    "Hey¡­you heard what I heard right, Izzy? You''re the smart one, so exin to me like I''m five what just happened." Ian requested. "Not only did they not tell him off, but they agreed, with a ''Yes, boss!''"

    "Unless we''re all going crazy¡­ I heard it as well." Izzy stated, taking deep breaths to regain her cool. "It should be exactly what you think. The Howlers might be different, but I doubt any gang would use the title of Boss lightly. It''s the title reserved for one person, the actual boss of the gang."

    Numba wanted answers, and he needed answers now. How was it possible for someone like Gary to be the boss of an entire gang? He was an AFA student, sure a very skilful one, but what kind of gang leader would have the time to attend a fighting academy?!

    "Is it true?" Numba asked the Howlers. "Is Gary¡­ is he the leader of the Howlers?"

    Olivia just looked at them, not saying much. ke felt awkward, since he had seemingly missed the opportunity to get out. He did not really wish to get involved into the whole gang business, but seeing as at least one Werewolf was involved, it seemed wise to find out more about their n.

    Marie wasn''t in the right mind to answer, and Austin was too busy making sure she wouldn''t start crying again. As such, it fell to Innu to answer. "We thought you knew. Was that something that he and Kai had decided to hide?"

    It was true, all of it was true. All of these people in the room know the entire gang followed Gary Dem, the same person that they went to the AFA with. The confidence he carried, the way he was able to lead people, it was starting to make sense now, but it was still hard for Numba to process, so he fell silent once more.

    "How''s that possible? Gary is the same age as us? How can he be the head of the gang, how is it possible for him to even rise up that high?" Ian asked the obvious.

    In situations like these Izzy was d for her childhood friend''s open way. She wanted to ask the same things, because In her head it made no sense. In the first ce, to be an Altered you had to have a big corporation sponsor you. Assuming there would actually be one willing to sponsor Gary, what would they have to gain by overtaking a city, or letting him be in charge of a gang? Even if there might be something she was unaware of, how did making him an AFA student fit into all of this?

    Everyone had to have your respect, everyone had to think that you were right for that position, but what was harder since Gary was young she could only imagine he rose to that position or took it over, but she coudln''t process how someone would even start to do that.

    "We¡­are all friends of Gary." Marie answered, letting out another sniff. "Look at us, do we look that much older than he is? Honestly, the way you guys are acting, is probably the natural reaction. Seeing it makes me realise how lucky we are to have someone like him leading us, but it''s not just him, it''s Kai as well.

    "It''s a long story, but thanks to the two of them, we are in the position we are in today. So if he says, he''ll help you, he doesn''t men just him, all the Howlers will go and follow him."

    Hearing those words, something clicked in Numba''s head. It was when he was in the hospital, when he had asked for Gary to help, when he asked him of a favour. It all lined up, at the same time, the Howlers had agreed to help.

    ''Gary, you really got involved to help me?'' Numba was welling up, arge lump could be felt in his chest and eventually he couldn''t hold the tears back, as he fell on his knees and started to punch the ground.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You idiot, Gary¡­why¡­why would you help me so much, when you have your own things to deal with?"

    Each of the Howlers members smiled at each other. "You should know the answer to that one, that''s just how Gary is." Innu answered with a smile. "So that''s why, when he gives an order, we''re going toply."

    With that, everyone but the AFA students left the hospital. The three of them sat down in the reception hall to take the time to process everything.

    "Man, I really can''t believe it." Ian said. "He told us he was part of a gang, but to be the leader¡­ well I doubt we would have believed him even if he did. It feels unreal, all those guys seem to be strong as well."

    "They must really trust each other." Izzy agreed. "If you think about it, they let Gary go to the AFA. I can only guess that Kai was the one running things in his absence. It''s the only way it could work. However, can you imagine any one else do something that crazy?

    "To put your trust into a single person, to not try to backstab or betray him. It seems like they''re not your typical gang, and the bond between those two must be pretty close. No wonder Gary was upset."

    Numba was thinking back, going over all the interactions he had with Gary, from the very first assessment, to the troubles with Sty and more, even theughs that the two of them enjoyed with each other.

    Did the revtion that Gary was the leader of the Howlers change any of that? No, all of his reactions were genuine, and in fact if anything, the fact that he was a leader of arge group and was still doing those things actually made it more impactful.

    "I guess when we made that alliance, none of us but him knew what exactly we were agreeing to, did we." Numba stated, a smile on his face, but he wasn''t the only one smiling, the other two were as well.

    "I was going to ask you about your ns for tomorrow, but I guess I already know your answer." Izzy said.

    Numba stood up out of his seat and looked outside.

    "Let''s get some rest, while we still can. Tomorrow is going to be a big day."

    ***

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 Chapter 542 9:00 AM

    In the future this would be remembered as a very important day for the gang known as the Howlers.

    Thanks to Kai''s gang tiered system, it was rtively easy to pass on the message. All Olivia, Innu, Austin, and Marie had to do was inform the people directly below them who would do the same until the entire gang knew what had happened and what Gary intended to do about it.

    "Taking on an entire Tier-2 City¡­ and not just any but Notsburg and their Scatterbugs¡­ I have heard that our leader was apparently reckless but to this degree? I heard those guys are strong enough that some Tier-1 gangse to THEM to ask for help."

    "I feel you, man. I''ve seen for myself that our masked bosses are strong, but can we really do this? We''re just a Tier-3 gang. If our boss wants to expand, shouldn''t we try and go against lower tier ces first¡­this is a big jump?"

    "Didn''t you get the same message as the rest of us? We don''t have toe, only those that are interested in taking part. It seems like this is a personal grudge. ording to my superior, they took out ''Fox'' yesterday, so the boss wants revenge."

    "I''m d that I won''t get into trouble for noting then. Still, if they''re powerful enough to take him out, doesn''t that mean that the Scatterbugs have the power to take out our core members in our own territory? If that''s the case though and only the core members go out, won''t they 100% lose this fight? In that case, what happens to the Howlers?"

    "My guess is that someone else will take over. Anyway, I''m out. No matter how much they''re willing to pay for me toe, there''s no point in joining a losing fight. I still need to be alive to be able to spend it."

    Conversations like these were happening all over Slough. Naturally, news didn''t just spread to those in the Howlers, though, it also spread to important figures behind the scenes in Slough. Among them were the leaders of gangs who had been suppressed, and of course a particr mayor who sat in his office.

    ''Hahaha, finally things are looking up! If I had known that those bastards would find themselves such a powerful enemy I would have waited by the side and enjoyed the show!'' Ben heartilyughed in his office. ''This is perfect, the Howlers will fail, and the Scatterbugs will see that there isn''t much for them to gain in Slough. They will leave, and the town will be back in my hands again.''

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside the Wolf''s Pool Club, at 8:55 AM, Gary was sitting on the few steps that used to lead up to the door. The club was still destroyed behind him. After all, given howte it was when the fight broke out, nobody had reported that the ce needed repairs.

    Sitting down on that staircase, Gary was busy putting together some pieces like a puzzle. As the first one to arrive, he had spent his time looking around for salvageable things in the pool club. There wasn''t much to find as the intruder had done a horrific job making sure that their establishment would be out for business for a while. However, one thing that he had found was the smashed fox mask, and with nothing better to do, he had made sure to find as many pieces as possible.

    ''There that should be most of them. Just looking at your mask, I can practically picture you wearing it, Kai, berating me for doing something stupid and reckless again. Well, I can''t argue that it will be reckless, but as I recall I''m not the only in our gang to do reckless things.''

    Gary grinned as he as he thought back to how Kai had let himself get captured, on the off chance that he would get put into the same cell as him. What''s more when he found out that Gary was unable to do much about his situation, Kai had forced Gary to turn him by nearly sacrificing his own hand.

    ''You got us out of that situation back then, so by the time you wake up, I''ll do what I can to have our situation with them resolved. Once that is done, I''ll return your mask, and if you want, you can still berate me afterwards.''

    Eventually Gary saw a car drive towards the pool club''s venue. It was the usual limo that the Howlers used driving to certain ces. The door opened and Tyler stepped out, and opened the door for Olivia, Innu, Austin, and Marie, each one of them wearing their masks. Gary noticed that Austin''s mask was different to what Gary had remembered before. Now it had what looked like a bull with a ring hanging from its nose covering his mouth slightly, and also Olivia''s was slightly different, looking more like that of a wolf, although it didn''t look the same as Gary''s, as there was indented eyshes.

    "It was a gift from Kai, I thought it was only appropriate." Austin exined.

    Gary smiled and put the fragments of Kai''s mask into his pocket, before he put on his own mask.

    ? "Gary." Marie spoke. "I''ll be honest, we''re most likely going to be the only ones. Everyone knows that we''re going against the Scatterbugs and since you told us to write that this was a personal vendetta, even our lieutenants are unwilling toe. #"

    Gary had been afraid that this might be the case, but as a gang leader responsible for the lives of his gang members, he had felt that it was only right to let them decide for themselves. Just when he was about to stand up and get into the car, the Howlers turned around towards the footsteps making their way over.

    "A smaller, stronger team might be better, anyway." Ian greeted them with confidence<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Before you even try to say that we are not allowed toe with you, let me remind you about what you said before, we are in an alliance and that''s what these alliances are for in the first ce!" Numba stated. "Besides Gary, you''re a friend, and a good one. You would do the same for me, in fact you already have done, so I have to do the same for you."

    Gary couldn''t argue with those words, and having three more Altered by their side boosted their strength considerably.

    "We also made a deal once." Another voice said to his left, turning his head, this one was truly an unexpected person.

    "ke¡­but why would you¡­ I mean, you''re a¡­ are you sure you won''t get into lots of trouble if you tag along?" Gary asked.

    "What do you mean? From what I''ve seen yesterday, that was the work of an ''Altered'' who came into my town before he fled to Notsburg. In other words, I''m justing along to do what''s supposed to be my job, right?"

    Gary knew ke''s skill from when the two of them fought against a Werewolf before and he had no doubt that he had continued to hone his skills.

    "I¡­ thanks, I''ll really owe you one for this." Gary smiled.

    Just as it looked like everyone had arrived who was going to arrive, a few more people started to creep in and fill the streets wearing the ck and gold uniform. It was a good thing that the core members were wearing their masks at this time.

    "We want to help as well!" they shouted. "Slough¡­it''s changed so much since the Howlers took over, and I don''t want it to go back to the way it was before!"

    "I used to be a member of the Underdogs and they treated us like dogs¡­ you saved me¡­ so it''s only right we follow you!"

    It was a surprise, there were at least ten people from the Howlers group that were there, but when Gary looked at them, he made his choice.

    "Thank you, you truly have shown your loyalty to the gang and for that you have my gratitude. I won''t forget the faces of those that came here today¡­ but I can''t take you with me, I can''t have you risk your lives.

    "I realise now, this is something that we have to solve, because what the Scatterbugs have done to us¡­ is personal." Gary said as he walked to the car with the others and they all got in one by one, driving off to Notsburg.

    ''You thought you could end this fight by taking out one person, well now you have a war on your hands, Scatterbugs.'' Gary thought to himself as he looked out the window.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 543 Slough Vs Notsburg

    As usual, Tyler was incredibly nervous as he drove the limo with the core members of the Howlers and the AFA students. And yet, despite them heading towards Notsburg, the stronghold of the Scatterbugs, he felt less nervous than during their other trips. The main reason for that was because Gary was travelling with them this time. For some reason, seeing the younger teenager always gave him a feeling of safety, reminding him of the time when Gary had stood up for him in hisst job.

    At the same time, Tyler could see how different the Alpha Werewolf looked now, how much pain and anger was behind that face of his. He wanted to do something to help him, even if it was something as simple as driving him and the others to their destination.

    During the drive, the group spent the majority of their time silently watching out the window as they were approaching the Tier-2 city. Anyone would think that the whole thing was mad, going along with a small amount of people like that.

    "Before he was attacked, Kai shared with me his ns for our potential counterattack." Olivia stated at one point. "I''m not too sure how effective it will be, since his n ounted for him being part of it, but seeing as we have three Altered, it might still work. Kai hade up with a couple of ns, but the simplest one was to go straight for the Scatterbugs'' main base and attack them while their defense is down.

    "Of course, that n relied on us taking us their main fighters beforehand, but now we will have to just use the element of surprise to our advantage. From what we found out, the Scatterbugs'' forces are spread among multiple casinos, but there is one where the leader resides most of the time.

    "A typical gang war isn''t exactly resolved in a single day. There will be back and forths, small and big attacks all over the city here and there. However, in the situation we are in, the best thing to do is head to the main casino. There will be a lot of them, but if you want to end it in one shot, taking out the head might be the best shot we''ll have."

    Hearing the n, Numba was quite surprised because talking with his father he had stated the same thing. The Scatterbugs were arge gang, but thereiny the problem. Once gangs exceeded a certain size, the organisation structure would prevent them from reacting to things quickly.

    The best way was a full-frontal attack towards their leaders and those around them, from there the rest would crumble. Ironically, the Scatterbugs had attempted to do the same thing by taking care of Kai, but that wasn''t the case at all.

    Through the silence inside the car, the same wasn''t heard outside, as a vehicle could be heard revving quite loudly. Ian turned his head, looking through the back window, and saw a person on a motorbike that was following them.

    "So, is anybody gonna tell us why that pretty boy is out there and not in here? It''s not like we don''t have the space for one more passenger." Ian asked.

    "Him?" Innu couldn''t help but chuckle because of the people that were asking the question. "You''re right, he''s not part of the Howlers, but he''s also not exactly an enemy. It might be the easiest for you to think of him as outside help. Sometimes he''s on our side, sometimes he''s not, the rtionship isplicated, though I''d advise you guys in particr to stay away from him"

    The three had confused looks on their faces as they were trying to understand what Innu meant, but nothing was really making sense.

    "I want to know more about this operation." Marie asked. "If we go with Olivia''s n, how likely is this to work. Surely before an event like this, Kai would brief you about everything but now¡­"

    The absence of Kai was making them lose a bit of confidence, and Gary knew that, yet everyone hade today to apany him despite knowing the risks.

    "I actually don''t think what we''re about to do is too bad of a n." Izzy stated, as she had been thinking about this for a while. "Their attack has only urred yesterday. Logically speaking, what you should have done was to strengthen your defences and wait for their actual attack. Nobody will expect you toe for revenge while Kai is still in the hospital.

    "Of course, that doesn''t mean they will bepletely defenseless. They will be somewhat prepared in case of attacks of any nature. So don''t expect this to be aplete walk in the park, either. Remember, with the amount of money they have at their disposal, they can easily have a couple of Altered on their payroll as their guard dogs."

    It gave them a bit to think about, and at least it allowed the others to envision a little as to what to expect.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Entering the city via the highway was rtively easy. There was no checkpoint like there was at the Dark Guild city. Gangs ruled the cities and towns but they didn''t rule the whole country.

    Which was why only those with top level influence were able to do something like that. As they entered Notsburg though, everyone could soon see the amount of wealth the ce had.

    The bright lights that lit up on nearly all the buildings, the giant screens filled with adverts and, of course, the several casinos that were ced all through the city.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "It''s like night and day." Mariemented. "This is nearly as impressive as a Tier-1 city."

    "As a group grows, they venture into different things and businesses." Oliviamented. "All the cities tend to specialise in something that will attract the public toe over and spend their money there. As such, the normal workers try hard to rise up, get a good job so they can afford to move there. This is an entertainment city, one that focuses on the thrill of gambling, so of course it will look good from the outside."

    As they continued to drive they soon spotted their location from far away, arge casino that looked to be ced in the middle of ake of all things, with one bridge connecting to it. It had mostly golden lights shining off it, and with it being the only thing there and nothing surrounding it, it stood out like a sore thumb.

    At the start of the bridge leading up to the casino there were barriers and the car had no choice but to stop. There were two guards standing at the booth, and one of the men started to walk round to the window side of the car.

    "Hi there good sir, we havee to your establishment for some nice gambling today!'''' Tyler happily stated their prepared reason foring.

    "This ce is only open to VIP customers. Please show us your VIP card, or give us a proof of invitation, else I''ll have to ask you to turn around and go to one of the other casinos." The man replied in a professional manner.

    Tyler was nervous, as he didn''t know what else to say.

    "Roll down the window on my side." Gary replied.

    Tyler did as he asked and started to roll down the window. Seeing this, the man naturally moved to the window, expecting to recognise the person in the car. The back windows were tinted anyway.

    "Please sir, if you could show us your-"

    A hand reached out and grabbed onto the man''s jaw before he could finish his sentence. It was being held so tight that the man was unable to speak or utter another word. Then opening the door, while still holding onto the man''s mouth with his hand through the window, Gary got out wearing his wold mask..

    "There is no mercy for any of you." Gary pulled the man lifting his body off his feet through the window, and chucked him inside the car with the others. He then quickly leapt up onto the car, jumped across. He broke through the ss window shattering it with his leg forward kicking the other guard right in the face.

    It had hit so hard, the man''s whole body crashed into the wall behind him. A few secondster, Gary was seen walking out of the booth from the others, straightening up his uniform.

    "No one is to go easy on any of these guys." Gary stated. "I will not have what happened to Kai happen to you, I won''t give them any chances."

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 544 Take The Casino (Part 1)

    In therge grand casino that was practically an ind, the inner circle members of the Scatterbugs had been gathered. Not all of their members hade here from the other casinos, but most of the crucial and strong members of Notsburg hade on their leader''s behest.

    At the very top of the casino, in the pentsuite, Slith was sitting behind his office, wearing a red suit as he yed around with a ck betting chip. He was twirling it between his fingers and knuckles back and forth. Standing in front of him were all the Altered that the Tier-2 city had.

    There were twelve of them in total, including him and Midwak by his side. On top of that, there were around 200 staff members in the casino itself that worked for the gang. Although they looked like normal guards, dealers and more, they were all trained fighters.

    On a day-to-day basis, they dealt with those that came from gangs and all sorts of cities. They would often get rowdy when drinking too much or suffering arge loss of sorts. Which was why they had to be strong, enough to deal with those that came in their way.

    If there was one ce where Slith felt safe from attack, it was in his own casino.

    "You have all been gathered today because it''se to my attention that a gang known as the Howlers might attack us." Slith exined.

    The members of the Scatterbugs looked at each other with slight confusion. Coming here, they had believed this would be some kind of meeting, but not about an attack. Most couldn''t even remember thest time someone had been stupid enough to attack them, much less directly at their stronghold.

    On top of that, the gang''s name didn''t ring a bell in any of their heads. If this was a gang that they really needed to worry about, they would call the heads of the other casinos to this ce.

    "I can see the look on your faces, so let me say that I''ve gathered you here mostly as a precaution." Slith exined. "The chances are unlikely, but Midwak is the one who advised me. I''ve sent him out to strike at them, and it is his professional opinion that these Howlers will be more troublesome than we expect."

    Slith turned to look at Midwak. Had someone else been the one to advise him, he would have called this meeting excessive, but so far listening to his most trusted aide had always proven beneficial. Just hearing about it, it was hard for the gang leader to believe that a Tier-3 town that they had nearly hired for a job could turn out to be such a pain in their side.

    Midwak didn''t say anything. He just looked at the other Altered, grinning to himself as he thought back to the conversation he had with Kai yesterday.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After the initial attacks, Midwak had proven too powerful for Kai, overpowering the Beta Werewolf in the fight. The injuries Kai has sustained appeared to be too much for his body to recover in a small amount of time. Midwak knew the limits of a Werewolf''s body quite well, which was why he had decided to shoot out his nails, pinning Kai to a wall.

    "You¡­think¡­"Kai began speaking as he was nailed to the wall, barely clinging to consciouness. "I''m¡­ afraid¡­death?"

    MIdwak looked at Kai, who was lifeless apart from the look in his eyes. He walked up to him, cing his hand up onto his chin holding his mouth, so Kai was unable to talk.

    "Do you think I give a damn about you when you are nothing but a Knight?" MIdwak replied. "You still have the smell of a whelp on you, so you probably don''t even know what I''m talking about. If there''s one thing you should take away from this, then let it be this, being in a Pack is nothing special!"

    Kai wanted to say something, but Midway''s hand was holding his mouth so tight that he was unable to. The Omega Werewolf was right, Kai had no idea what he meant by calling him a Knight. He didn''t care much about this Werewolf business, and regarded it mostly as a special type of Altered, though one that came with certain downsides around the full moon.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I can see in your eyes that you''re not going to give up your leader, but you see, after I''m done with you, your body will BE the message. All Alphas are the same. Their weakness is that they care too much for their Pack, and they get hell-bent on revenge when one of their members gets hurt!

    "Do you know what will happen after I defeat him? Once an Omega beats the Alpha, I will be the Alpha of your Pack. Which means you will have to obey me whether you like it or not!!! It would be too much of a waste to get rid of youpletely.

    "Once I be Alpha and take over your Pack, I will need strong ones to go up against them. They will regret everything they did to me."

    Kai was trying his best to follow, he could hear the words spoken by the other, but due to the blood loss and damage he was unable to think straight, unable to figure out what this Werewolf was doing to him.

    "I still have a need for you, but I don''t necessarily need you in one piece. I think it''s safe if we remove this nasty mouth of yours, so you can''t say anything to your leader. I doubt you will be able to wake up for a while after this." Midwak said as he pulled and ripped the bottom part of Kai''s mouth off and threw it onto the floor.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    After thinking back to what happened, Midwak stood up. "Don''t worry, Slith, they wille. I only hope they bring a strong group with him. This will be our biggest step forward, trust me."

    Not able to control his feelings, Midway''s eyes were already starting to glow slightly yellow. Sltih knew his battle hungry ally long enough to be able to tell he was excited.

    "Sir!" One of the men standing guard by the door had just been given a report through his earpiece. "It seems like someone has just driven through the barriers and is heading straight to the casino!!"

    "I told you they woulde," Midwak stated.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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 Chapter 545 Take The Casino (Part 2)

    The casino was thriving as it would have done any other day. There were people who had dressed up to the very best, throwing their money around across the tables with smiles on their faces. At the same time, there were many VIP members who were enjoying their time as they continued to ce bet after bet.

    Some of the guests hade from Tier-1 cities after hearing about the luxury gambling establishment from their friends, deciding to pay Notsburg a visit due to all the good things they heard. There were also many scouts from other gangs among the guests, havinge here since they didn''t believe that a Tier-2 gang with no backers could survive on their own. They were there to check out if some other Tier-1 gang was secretly backing the Scatterbugs, and if not finding out what it would take to convince Slith to work with their group.

    ? As bets were being made, every member of staff was made aware of something as they all had received messages through their earpieces.

    "I''m sorry, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, the game right now will be put on hold." One of the dealers said at his table.

    "What?! You can''t do this! I was on a run! Do you want me to tell all my friends that your casino is just a damn con?!" One of therger men with a cigar in his mouth shouted. Soon though, the man could hear that the same sentence was being used by all of the others that were on the shop floor.

    "Let us apologize once more for this. Aspensation, you will receive double the amount of chips the next time you cash in." The dealer stated.

    This apology was easily epted by the big spenders calming them down slightly. For the casino, it didn''t matter anyway because it knew all the extra money they had just given out would be returned to them.

    After all, the guards and dealers had told the civilians of the special circumstances. They were wondering, what was to happen next, and some had gotten up to leave.

    "Sorry, sir, but it might be best if you stay inside the establishment." The dealer started with his hand out, and a big smile on his face. "You see, the reason we have had to pause for a short while is due to some uninvited guests."

    The workers started to move to the front entrance of the casino. There were threerge swivel doors close to each other, yet No one had entered the ce for a while. The casino workers asked all the guests to move behind them, take cover or stand by the side. They then stood there pulling out their batons, knives, and other weapons as they waited for what was toe. The tension was high in the room as only whispers were being heard between guests as they wondered what was going on.

    "Should one of us head outside, and see what''s going on?" One of the workers asked their supervisor.

    They had all received the same message to be ready for an attack, but waiting around like this wasn''t in their nature, which was why one of the workers had decided to move forward and head towards the doors.

    As he got closer, his eyes widened as he could see something through the ss, he quickly turned around and started to run but it was toote. The ss behind him smashes, along with the entirety of the doors.

    Arge object smashed through the building, and it collided with the man. It carried forward,nding on a few of the other guards as well. The object eventually stopped, turning out to be a car. What''s more, the doors had been fully unhinged by the vehicle. The workers quickly ran to help their colleagues, who had been ttened by the car.

    "There''s no one inside!" One of them shouted.

    "That''s impossible! Are you saying that a ghost drove that thing in here?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Eventually, with multiple of the workers using all their strength they were able to push the car so it was up on its side. They pulled their injured colleagues out from underneath the car as quickly as they could.

    Now with the car on its side they were able to take a closer look at it, and could see that there were two deep w marks on the side, and hand imprints. They looked back into the direction the car had entered from, it was on its side, not from the front or back.

    "The car¡­ it was thrown in." One of them deduced, and the sound of footsteps crushing ss could be heard. When the workers turned their heads, they could see a man in a ck and gold wolf mask, in a uniform of the same color scheme.

    "Tell your damn bosses, that the Howlers from Slough are here." Gary demanded.

    As he stood there, there was a presence of Gary''s back, his nails were sharpened letting the others know that he was an Altered. It was quite the entrance and it had an effect that the others weren''t so sure was intentional or not, but seeing a car hauled into the casino and the Werewolf releasing his bloodlust made for a scary scene.

    "Who the hell do you think you are? Just wait until our boss puts an outsider like you into your ce!" One of the workers shouted as he ran forward with a baton. "Everyone who was crazy enough to attack us left in a body bag."

    Seeing the mane towards him, Gary tensed his fist, and threw it out, crashing into the baton, bending it and hitting the man right in the face. His whole body was lifted off the ground and spun in the air, causing him to copse. One single punch was all it took to make a grown man unable to move.

    "The rest of the Howlers and I are not leaving this ce until we get what we want¡­and unfortunately for you I want blood.." Gary growled as his eyes turned red.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 546 Take The Casino (Part 3)

    After taking out the first person with ease, the rest were nervous looks on their faces. Although Gary was just one man, the casino staff were reluctant to just charge in recklessly. In a way, the person in front of them looked to have a bit of craziness in him. After all, how could one person have so much confidence when he was in enemy territory and surrounded by so many people.

    a€?What are you doing charging in on your own?!a€? A female voiceined as she ran in from behind with a wolf mask on her face. There were two others who followed behind the woman, wearing the same uniform and also masked.

    a€?I told you, he was going to do something like this, we just have to go with the flow.a€? Innu stated as he pulled out his two red axes from behind and got in a fighting stance. Marie quickly did the saem as she saw the sheer amount of people in suits, looking towards them.

    a€?Can we...do this, just with us?a€? Marie asked in a whisper.

    a€?You have to have confidence, young one.a€? Olivia said as she brought out her whip and swung it quickly, it hit the air making a loud bang. The single move shook with strength, and once again the opponents thought they were crazy. Now they knew the man who had entered wasna€?t on his own, but to only have three other people by his side.

    a€?You''re right, and the others will be here soon as well.a€? Marie stated. a€?We just have to hold off, we can do that.a€?

    ----

    A little while ago, after Gary had taken out the two guards at the barrier with ease, they all knew it was only a matter of time before somebody would report their arrival. Their one advantage was the element of surprise, but it might disappear any moment now.

    Which was why, Izzy, currently being there, was looking at her surroundings trying to form a n.

    a€?I think...therea€?s something we can do.a€? Izzy said after thinking through it, as she knew there was only a couple of minutes until the car reached the entrance. a€?No one else is going toe to us in this fight...but Gary let me ask you this, how confident are you that you can take out whoever might be there in the casino?a€?

    There was a pause for a few seconds, but Gary eventually answered. a€?Anyone but the guy who you fought and injured Kai I should be able to take!a€?

    a€?Then if you let me borrow Austin, I can assure you that the Scatterbugs will receive no backup, but I have to tell you this, we will be trapped as well.a€? Izzy suggested.

    a€?Do it.a€? Gary answered.

    He would put his trust in the AFA students. This way he only had to focus on one thing, all of those that were inside the casino. A short stop away from the entrance, Tyler stopped the car sideways on Garya€?s behalf.

    The members of the Howlers burst out, each of them taking out the guards in the car park and at the front. It was rtively easy, Marie and Olivia were able to take out the ones a little further away with their Anti-Altered crossbow weapon whip respectively.

    However, when the others turned around, they were unable to see Gary, because he had already moved ahead of them all, aiming for the entrance. Seeing this, Izzy called upon Numba and the others for help, and the one person that would be the biggest help for them, Austin.

    ----

    a€?Thata€?s it, slowly and ce the car right here!a€? Izzy ordered.

    Austin was carrying a car over his head with his immense strength and ced it down on the bridge. He had been doing this quite quickly with the help of the others as well. Now they had created a barrier of cars on the bridge.

    a€?Ia€?ve finished on my end as well!a€? Numba shouted, pouring thest bit of gasoline over the cars. He had been gathering the petrol and diesel from other cars, pouring it over the ones that had been ced as a barrier.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Finally, Ian had returned with a zippo lighter, one that could stay a me for a short while, he knew there would be one of these things with the number of cars and the rich thugs that were insided.

    a€?So what''s your n, are you nning to blow up the whole bridge, to stop the other gang members from getting here?a€? Ian asked.

    a€?Not quite, cars are harder to blow up than you think. It''s not like the movies.a€? Izzy repleid. a€?But with this, we should be able to create a fire big enough to melt part of the bridge structure. If that doesna€?t work, then therea€?ll be a wall of fire that theya€?ll have to try and get through.a€?

    She let Ian to do the honours as he threw the lighter and hit the liquid, lighting it up in a ze at an incredibly fast speed. They had to nce away for a second and could feel the explosion of heat that came out.

    a€?Now leta€?s go give Gary some back up.a€? Izzy said with a smile turning around. The group were running towards the entrance, but the smile soon faded. This was a true gamble, as neither side would be able to receive any help, but it was the best that she could do.

    ------

    Inside the casino, the others had yet to move, and Gary had noticed something from the system.

    [New Quest received]

    [You have invaded the Scatterbugs (Tier-2 gang]

    [Defeat the gang or force them to surrender]

    [Reward: unknown]

    a€?I know that it was just one man who did that to my friend, so Ia€?ll give all of you Scatterbugs an option!a€? Gary shouted as he walked forward, making the first step towards them. He lifted his hand transforming fully in front of them. a€?Surrender and step aside, so you can live another day, or die by my hands protecting this piece of shit gang of yours!a€?

    *****

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If Ia€?m not too busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 547 Take The Casino (Part 4)

    Once again Gary''s words had startled them. Due to the way it was said, it seemed he had said them with conviction. This was truly thest chance he was giving them to leave now and not fight against them.

    "Shut up!" One of the workers shouted. "Look at how many of us there are and how many of them they have. Remember what the boss said. For each member that is taken out, we will get to keep 10 percent of the profits for one month at this ce. You will never have to work or lift a finger in your life if you take these guys out."

    The greed seemed to have gotten to them, as all of them started to rush in toward the Howlers group.

    With his head down, Gary shook it in disappointment.

    "I gave you one chance. I never wanted to go down this route, but you were the ones that forced me."

    Gary left where he was and suddenly appeared right in front of the gang members, one swung his bat down, but had hit nothing but the ground and the next moment his whole head had been grabbed by Gary.

    He lifted the man by his head, and chucked him towards the others, knocking them off their feet. One of the other gang members tried to kick Gary in his side, but his leg was knocked away by an arm, destroying his shin in the process.

    Another punch was delivered by Gary in the chest of the man in front, and a crack was heard in the process as he was sent flying back into the people behind him. With every hit Gary made, no matter how light he intended it, the hits were breaking bones, shattering them to the point where they would never be able to use them again.

    Gary wasn''t the only one fighting, as there were far too many people in therge casino for him to fight them at once, but the others were faring well. Olivia could use her whip to knock back and gain distance, but shortly after she would shorten the distance as she leapt forward and shed right through a man''s weapon and chest.

    The pact rules had been altered, it was something that Gary had done, in situations like these because he didn''t want them to hold back.

    The two that were struggling the most with the gang members, were both Innu and Marie, or more urately it was Marie who was struggling and Innu because of Marie. He stayed by her side, swinging his axe down.

    It had hit a man right between his neck and shoulder, cutting deep. With the extra strength Innu could draw out from the axes he could take them out with ease, so it didn''t slow him down. ncing to the side though, he could see Marie was in trouble, she was still using her crossbow and three men hade close to her.

    Innu immediately threw one of his axes through the air, and itnded right in one''s head. As another man next to him turned around, Innu had leapt in the air with both his knees forward and had mmed it right into the side of another''s face.

    As he touched the ground, Innu picked up the axe from the head of the first person he had dealt with, and spun, swinging it down and hitting the third one in the leg.

    "Marie, stab him!" Innu shouted.

    Seeing how close the enemies were now, Marie could no longer utilise her crossbow well unless she was able to get into a better position. So she had switched to one of the Anti-Altered spears, which had a sharp tip at the end.

    It could be used to thrust through the enemy, but also if the tip touched her opponent, it could electrify them as well.

    She thrust the spear, but pulled back at thest second, letting the tip only slightly touch the man. His whole body was lighting up, but she needed to hold it in ce for a few seconds before the man would pass out.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Watch out!" Innu shouted, as a man with brass knuckles threw a punch towards her head. Innu had seen it toote and from where he was, it would be hard to react. At the same time, Gary was in the middle of dealing with all the others, he was too far away.

    Before the knuckles touched her head, the man''s hand was wrapped around and a strong yank had pulled it in an awkward position, yanking it off form his body and blood started to spill everywhere.

    "You¡­ are going to get us killed!" Olivia shouted. "If you don''t have to resolve to kill your enemies who are trying to kill you, then what are you even doing here?"

    Marie was stunned by what could have happened, but even more so, the blood that was all around her. Innu had soone to her side holding the axes in his hands. He was ready to protect her.

    Just then a man came charging in and with a swing of his axe Innu had shoved it into the side of his neck and pulled it out, dropping him to the floor.

    "How Innu¡­ how can you kill people so easily?" Marie asked.

    "I hate to say this, Marie, but Olivia is right. After everything they did to Kai, how could you feel something for these people? Can you imagine what they have already done?" Innu shouted, as he continued to fight, delivering a kick to a man''s thigh, dropping him on the ground.

    "When I look at these people, I don''t see humans in front of me. It''s because of people like this, that everyone at the orphanage, everyone who meant everything to me is gone, and once again, these people are trying to take it away from us. That''s how! Thats how im able to kill these b*stards so easily!" Innu shouted.

    Arge man, almost three times his size, had suddenly appeared in front of Innu. He swung his axe and hit the man, but it seemed to get slightly stuck. On his body he was wearing some type of armour under his clothes.

    "I just need to use a little bit more energy to take you on!" Innu shouted, pulling the axe out and ready to swing it again, but before he could, arge fist had hit the gang member right in the face, causing him to tumble across the floor and for his face to skid, leaving blood behind.

    "I can''t let you have all the fun." Austin stated as he and the others had joined in on the fight.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not to busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 548 Take The Casino (Part 5)

    The Altered students along with Austin had all arrived in the main gambling hall. They had quickly transformed and were beginning to make quick work of those that were in front of them. However, Izzy hadn''t transformed but she was still beyond skilled enough to take on those that were in front of her.

    As the fighting went on though, everyone noticed something. The fighting seemed endless, when looking up, there looked to be the same amount of people in the room as there were before. On top of that, these weren''t your regr gang members.

    Everyone had to stay vignt because of the others'' skills. If they were to rx for a moment or so, or make a small mistake they would pay the price, and having been hit a few times already due to them breaking concentration, they knew this was true.

    ''We can''t keep fighting like this.'' Izzy thought, as she attempted to slow down her breathing and control it a little more. ''Although these members are skilled, one can tell that they are just cannon fodder.

    ''Where are the Altereds, Slith, and the one that hurt us form before? They have to be in this building. I bet they''re even watching from the cameras above. Are they just trying to tire us out? If that''s the case, then their n might very well work.''

    "They want to tire us out!" Izzy shouted, "conserve your energy, don''t use your Altered forms too much."

    Gary had arge amount of stamina, but he too was conserving himself, because he knew in the building there was another werewolf that he would have to do battle against. Which was why he was mostly using his skills to fight, but if he was to get injured then more energy would be used to heal the wounds, so he could fight in top condition.

    Right now, he was in a bit of a pickle.

    Hearing this though, Marie did think of something, a way to win this fight, because the situation that they were in now, had reminded her a lot of one in the past.

    "We are going to have to do the same as we did against the Pincers!" Marie shouted to everyone. "We need to make a path, and let our leader do his thing."

    Olivia knew about this well, because she had taken on Gary on his own, it was a risky move to make. It would possibly mean Gary would have to face all of the Altered, including the one that had faced Kai, on his own, but what other choice did they have.

    "Clear a path? Then I will clear a path!" Austin shouted and stomped his feet. The ground beneath them had cracked andrge bull-like horns could be seen growing from his head. A rise in his energy could be felt as he charged forward.

    Everyone who got in his way was smashed to the side. One gangster with a knife went to stab Austin but his knife didn''t get very far through his shoulder, as the skin of the person seemed to be incredibly thick, making the de do next to nothing.

    When Austin eventually stopped his charge and turned around, there was almost a tunnel of fallen men behind him. Quickly seeing the opportunity and the situation, Gary leapt up, jumping on top of a gang member''s shoulder and pushed off, sending him to the ground and Gary up in the air.

    Hended in the tunnel of bodies and sprinted right towards Austin who was standing by the door that further advanced Gary into the casino.

    "Thank you, Austin." Gary said, as he went past and passed through the doors.

    The second he did, Austin turned around and mmed the doors shut.

    "No one is going through this door without my permission."

    After seeing the single charge and the horns on one''s head, the gang members knew without a doubt that this was an Altered, and some of them were starting to turn towards the cameras in the room. Wondering if help would ever arrive for them, because if it didn''t soon, nearly all of the workers at the casino would be dealt with.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª<novelnext></novelnext>

    After exiting from the main gambling hall, Gary noticed how much quieter it was. There were almost no people at all, but from what he could see, there were several gambling rooms that were ahead of him.

    The doors were already swung wide open. Whoever was inside of them had already left the ce.

    ''I have to move fast and deal with this all. Everyone outside is fighting, giving me this chance, so I have to.'' Gary thought, as he moved forward.

    When going past the first room, he could see a poker table and nothing else. The chips had been left, and so had the cards. There was still no way for him to continue on further into the casino.

    Carrying on walking forward, when he went past the second door, an arm swung out, and it looked like there was an incredibly sharp de.

    ''I wasn''t able to smell them. The smell of blood is too strong and is throwing off all my senses.'' Gary thought.

    It was a fast attack, too fast and sudden, so that Gary wasn''t able topletely move away and arge cut was made on his forearm. It didn''t go deep, due to his fast reflexes. He had now jumped back to where the first room was.

    "I see now that wasn''t a de, that was your body." Gary said.

    Walking out from the room was what looked like a double jointed man who had des separating from another joint. His reach was twice as long as that of a normal human.

    "You think it''s so easy toe into the Scatterbugs ce like this, well it''s time to slice you up." The man shouted.

    From behind at that moment, Gary could hear something with his ears, it was vibrating and the sound was getting louder and more aggressive.

    "Move!" A voice shouted.

    Moving to the side and jumping into the room, Gary saw what looked like a motorbikee down the hall and crash into the attacker. A few secondster a man in a mask came in front of the doorway, wearing a solid ck mask that was different from theirs.

    "Leave this one to me. I came here to hunt Altereds and it looks like I found what I was looking for." ke said, pulling out his red duel swords.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 549 Altered Hunter Helper

    Although the casino was run by a gang, it nevertheless followed the town''s safety regtions, meaning that aside from the one main entrance, it also had multiple emergency exits in case of a fire. In his head, ke had convinced himself that he was merely using the fight between the Howlers and the Scatterbugs as an opportunity to hunt the Altered who hade into ''his territory.''

    To make it clear that he was in no way associated with the Howlers, the Altered Hunter had chosen against travelling with the others. He hade here via his trusty motorbike and chose to use the confusion the Howler''s entrance created to get further into the building.

    Wearing the special Altered Hunter mask, ke had an easier time locating Altered, and it was what brought him to the location he was in. Without hesitation, when he was in the hall of private rooms and could see the Altered in front of him, ke lifted the motorbike so all the weight was on the back of the well lifting the front end and jumped off.

    The bike continued going forward and he just hoped that what he assumed to be Gary from the green hair on the back of his head, that he would move away. The bike was fast and heavying toward the Altered who was more than surprised to see such a thing in a ce. Using both of his long double jointed arms, he swung them to the right, the balded parts dug deep into the metal of the bike.

    Sharp serrated edges appeared from the ded part of his body and made it so the bike was stuck in his arms. As he swung it to the side, the serrated edges disappeared and the bike was flung into the room next to the Altered, crashing hitting the table and the back wall.

    Getting out from the private room, Gary stood there next to ke, making sure that it was his friend who had just entered this way. Without a doubt he was wearing the same type of clothing on that day they fought Billy, though he seemed to have brought along a new set of weapons.

    "I know that you''re helping us, and I don''t mind, but fighting these guys is dangerous, thest thing I would want to happen is for you to lose your life over something that I started." Gary stated as he was starting to transform as he looked at the person in front of him.

    "Do you really think I''m risking my life for you? Did you forget what I am?" ke replied in an annoyed manner. "My existence means I risk my life on a daily basis. Don''t get it wrong, I''m just here to hunt some Altered. Given what you are, you''re not someone I need to worry about."

    After saying those words, ke ran forward, he was fast, he was always a talented athlete that was better than most, but he wasn''t at the Altered level. At the end of the day, although Altered Hunters were strong enough to take on Altered, there was a reason why they hunted in pairs or groups and not alone.

    The Altered that worked for the Scatterbugs was faster, as it equally charged forward and swung one of its arms from above. Before it could hit, though, ke swung his arm, hitting one of the elbow-like joints on its body. It was a strong hit, hacking the entire arm into the doorway.

    ''I can see it. It''s just likest time, I can see the lines in my vision, telling me where to strike!'' ke thought.

    With his other sword, he swung it toward the shoulder joint of the Altered, when it struck the de went through the clothing but not through the body. It felt hard, like he was shing his sword against a solid bit of armour.

    Still, the look on the Altered''s face, showed his pain, as his whole arm was shaking and he was unable to move his other arm to attack, before he knew it, three dart like objects hade from the strange gloves of ke and hit the Altered.

    The three darts started to light up slightly blue, and shocks of blue connected with all three shaking the entire body of the Altered. At that moment, tworge strikes were seen aiming right for the neck of the Altered.

    ke swung them with all his strength and a slight glow like a glow stick could be seen emanating from the swords as they hit the Altered.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It didn''t quite pierce the skin once again, but the Altered was knocked off his feet and he was now on the floor.

    "What are you doing? The longer you take to take them out, the more likely you are to lose someone you care about." ke chastised the other teenager. "As you can see, I''m fine by myself here!"

    Gary felt like ke''s words were right, he had to hurry. He had asked for the help of the others, he had decided to attack the Scatterbugs so he needed to do whatever he could to end it as soon as possible.

    Running past the Altered and ke, Gary didn''t look back as he turned down the hallway going deeper into the casino.

    The Altered had somewhat recovered, and swung its arms from the floor, aiming for ke''s feet. He moved back, but his left foot was slightly slow, and the de''s limb from the Altered shed through his armoured boots, and cut his chin slightly.

    It was painful, but ke remained standing.

    "Now I know what you are!" The Altered from the Scatterbugs said as he stood up. "You''re one of those Altered Hunters psychos. With all that clothing and fancy, stupid gadgets! Now, why would someone like you work alongside another gang?"

    It seemed like a genuine question, but of course ke had no intention of answering.

    "So there is a link to the Altered Hunter association? Is this why they were so confident in attacking us? Well, I guess it just means it''s more important for us to take out this Howler''s gang, and it would be pretty interesting to know what the other cities will think when they learn of this!" The Altered smiled.

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 550 The 1 Star Hunter

    Although ke didn''t say anything when faced with the usation of working together with the Howlers, he nevertheless began feeling slightly concerned. True or not, but if rumours started spreading that there was some type of connection between the two, things were bound to be difficult for him and the gang. Normal gangs might ignore it, but higher tier gangs, perhaps even the Kings might be interested in finding out if there was some truth to that, and Gary and co were definitely not ready for that.

    Even worse, the Altered Hunters might also send their men to find out what led to those rumours, and start questioning ke. Should they find out about Gary and other gang members being Werewolves, it also wouldn''t end well for them.

    ''I guess this just means that I can''t let him live, not that I was nning on that in the first ce!" ke thought to himself as he threw his ck leather jacket toward the Altered. His opponent sliced it up, but through therge cuts he could see the red desing towards him again.

    "It seems my words have made you a little angry!" The Altered swung itsrge arms that seemed to extend slightly giving it more momentum and the balded part of the arm swung out like a whip. It hit the two red swords and threw ke off bnce for once as it had overpowered him. Seeing another swing from the Altered, he ducked under the blow and pulled back slightly.

    Now ke could be seen standing there, he still had his mask on, but his bare arms could be seen down to the elbow. From there, his thick ck gloves covered his hands.

    With this, it allowed something to be seen on his shoulder.

    "A 1-star hunter, huh? Tsk, it appears I was worried about nothing." The Altered stated. "If the Altered Hunters really cared about those Howlers, then they would have sent a more experienced hunter here! A shame, if you were more experienced, I bet the boss would have paid a nice bonus for your head."

    The Altered was the one to charge in this time, and it swung its ded arm around, but mid swing one of its double joint arms seemed to extend slightly. It now looked like he had four different sections of his arms, as if he had two forearms.

    ke swung his sword hitting the arm, but had not one of the hard round joints, and the balded part continued to swing in a different direction as if it had a full range of motion like a ball joint.

    The ded part of the Altered was going straight for his forearm. It cut through the armoured gloves he was wearing and went through his skin, eventually hitting the bone.

    ''Arghh! His des are really sharp, and I can''t see the white lines anymore. I''m just fighting with instinct.'' ke pulled back, before his entire arm got sliced off, but from the other side he could see the other arm swinging toward him.

    He managed to barely block the hit by swinging the sword, hitting the ded part of the Altered rather than the joint. Regardless, it looked like the Altered wasn''t stopping there as it swung its arms out one after another throwing attack after attack.

    ke quickly figured out the best way to block the attack was by hitting the ded part and staying quite a distance away from the Altered, only there were two problems with this.

    ''If I stay this far away, I can''t deal a damaging blow from this distance.'' ke analysed his situation. ''Then there''s the more urgent problem. My right arm is severely injured. Every time I block an attack, I feel like my bones are shattering. I don''t know how much longer I can fight in this state, when it feels any moment its going to give in and snap. I can''t block for much longer, I need an answer, a way to win this fight.''

    The Altered looked to be enjoying this, it was only a matter of time, sure the Altered Hunter was blocking all his hits, but there was a difference between the two.

    "You Altered Hunters are a pest, but in the end you''re only strong humans. By now, you must be getting tired, your body is getting weaker!" The Altered sneered. "You don''t need to answer, I can hear your breathing has been getting heavier even though you''ve only been fighting for a few minutes!"

    It was true with each hit, ke could feel his body getting weaker, but the wordsing from the Altered made him realise something.

    ''My breathing, it''s all out of control everywhere!'' ke thought.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Usually, in a match even one of this difficulty he wouldn''t tire out this quickly, and one of the biggest teaching points to the Altered Hunters was controlling the breathing in a match.

    ''I must have panicked for a few seconds without realising it. So what if he''s stronger than me? Altered Hunters aren''t stronger than Altered, never have been, that''s why Dad drilled me into learning to use the special equipment to make up the difference. Fighting as an Altered Hunter has always been about skill, and using your head!''

    The first thing ke did as he continued to block the hits was control his breathing, breathing in and out,. Letting his belly feel like one would do when they were a child breathing.

    Taking deep breaths he calmed his heart, and that''s when he could see it again, the white lines in his vision that told him where best to cust.

    When one of the arms came striking toward him, instead of barely blocking it with one hand, ke stepped back, allowing it to skim his chest. It made arge cut, but he needed to be close. Then holding both the red swords in his hand, he swung them hitting the back of the ded arms of the Altered.

    As he did, the weight shifted the whole arm, and the other long limp from the Altered came swinging down hitting each other. It caused one part of the arm to sh right through its over arm, blood was spilling everywhere, and part of the balded arm was now on the floor.

    With both his fists, ke shot out several more darts that hit his opponent and began to shock his body. The Alterd couldn''t move for a second, and that''s when he could see the masked man running towards him with something strange in his hands.

    ke, was holding onto part of the Altered own arm. He rushed forward and pushed it right through the Altered''s neck, the back part of it had ripped through the palm of ke''s hand but it wasn''t as sharp as the other side which had sliced right through the Altered''s head, causing it to fall to the floor.

    A few secondster, ke himself fell to the floor, taking almost deep breaths. When he recovered slightly he lifted his head up, but his whole body was sore, he could see the rolling head in the hallway.

    ''Another head¡­ of all things¡­ but at least I did it this time. I defeated this Altered all on my own.'' ke crawled to the side, where he leant his back against the wall. ''Sorry, Gary, but It looks like I''m out of this fight for now. I helped you out as much as I could, and I certainly paid the price, so the rest is on you.''

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 551 Find Your Support

    In the main hall of the casino, the civilians had moved over to the sides, hiding behind the tables. Most of them had simplye to Notsburg to enjoy some gambling, but who could have guessed that they would end up in between two gangs. Even those sent over from gangs feared for their lives as they hid behind slot machines, or ran off into the hallways if they got the chance.

    s, it seemed nigh impossible to really escape the fight. Even if they managed to find some peace and quiet for a short moment, the next moment a burly man coulde flying through the air. Those less fortunate would end up colliding with the slow machines, coughing up blood everywhere.

    It was hard for the onlookers to get a full grasp of what was going on, as the casino was filled with Scatterbugs members who were trying their best to dog pile on top of the gang members, yet somehow they were the only ones getting injured from what they could tell, despite the numerical advantage.

    "How is this possible?!" One of the casino staff members shouted out in disbelief. "There''s only a handful of them, but we haven''t taken down a single one. Are these guys monsters?!"

    Austin was still standing by the door, part of his uniform had been ripped and there were even a few Anti-Altered arrows were stuck in his body. It was expected for a gang like the Scatterbugs to have these weapons in case of an Altered attack, but what they didn''t expect was for it to have next to no effect on therge teenager. As they shocked his body, he wasn''t startled for even a second and swung his arm, hitting two men at once, sending them flying crashing into a few of the slot machines.

    "Great job." Marie cheered Austin on from the side, as she thrust her spear, sticking it deep into a man''s stomach this time. During the fight, she had been cut on the arm, and once again Innu had barely managed to save her in the nick of time as he swung his axe, hitting the back of the person''s head. The cut wasn''t big, but it made her realise that these people were out for blood, it truly was kill or be killed.

    Pulling out the spear, she then whacked it on the side of his head, knocking him out in one go, but her arms were starting to feel numb. Most of the time, she had practised fighting with either her crossbow, or small daggers, the muscles in her body weren''t trained to use a spear the way she had been doing. A few times she had already been close to dropping it.

    "You''re not ready for meleebat. Just stay close to me!" Innu shouted, his breathing heavy. The ck teenager had felt confident after learning that he could draw extra energy from the weapons. Unfortunately, after the first time, the amount of energy it recovered has lessened with each subsequent time, until it lost effect. He had expected the weapon to have limitations but now was an awful time to learn that lesson.

    One of the gang members threw a knife toward Innu, who lifted his axe blocking it at the right time, but another dagger with a sharp de wasing right towards his side at that moment. At the same time, several knives were also thrown at Marie. In a quick split decision, she needed to make a choice, to thrust her spear and stab Innu''s attacker or try to defend.

    "Don''t forget about us!" A burst of power exploded from one side of the room and a fist right to the face had hit Innu''s attacker. Meanwhile, several long strands of what looked like hair, had grabbed all the projectiles that had been hurled towards Marie. After a moment, they all got sent back to the attackers.

    "Are you okay?" Izzy asked, looking back at Marie.

    "I''m fine, thanks. None of them hit me, but what about you!" Marie asked.

    It was only then that Izzy noticed that she had been injured. There was a small cut in her shoulder. She was bleeding. When looking at her hair that acted like part of her body, and when her Altered form was very much alive, she could see that it was still in ce.

    ''I knew something was strange¡­ it seems like I really can''t control my Altered form properly. Could this really be some after effect from the wound on my shoulder? Was it because of that bite¡­ I guess I just need to be more careful from now on.'' Izzy thought.

    "Everyone, duck!" Ian shouted, as he curled his body into a ball.

    Everyone looked at him wondering just what he was nning to do, but Izzy knew her childhood friend long enough to guess what he was up to. She quickly did as she was told and grabbed Marie with her.

    A secondter and several sharp thick bristles came out from his body, hitting all the gang members that were close by, while the others, including Olivia, had used a whip to drag one of the gang members in front of her, taking the brunt of the attack.

    "Ah¡­I don''t know if that was such a good idea¡­ I''m starting to feel a little faint." Ian said, as Numba was behind to grab him.Looking at the surrounding situation, there were now around half the number there were before, but in his mind that wasn''t a good sign.

    ''All of these guys are weak, incredibly weak. A Tier-2 gang being taken out just by a few Altered, that makes no sense. Which can only mean all the strong ones are inside.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Hey, catdy!" Numba called out.

    The Howler members were stunned into silence for a moment as they were wondering who Numba was trying to call.

    "You can''t be talking to me, could you, boy!" Olivia questioned as she appeared by Numba''s side with a man right under her shoulder, his face scratched up and her eyes glowing blue.

    "I''m worried about Gary." Numba admitted. "The guy who beat Kai isn''t here, and I''m sure there are stronger people inside. I know Gary is strong, but to face them all by himself¡­ I''m afraid he''ll tire himself out. He''ll need you by his side!"

    Olivia kicked one of the gang members right in the stomach and far away as she heard this.

    "Look, we can take care of the ones that are left in here. We''re weaker than you, and with your help he has a chance. Just leave us behind and do what you can to take that guy down!" Numba suggested.

    Olivia looked at the situation, before she looked at the Howlers. She wondered when she had started to try so hard for the sake of the gang who hadpletely ruined her life. Honestly, she agreed with Numba''s suggestion but she was conflicted about helping Gary.

    After all, from what she understood, she would be free if he was gone.

    "If we leave, you could die," Olivia argued.

    "There''s a small chance of that, but if you don''t follow behind Gary, the chance of him dying is far greater. And without him¡­ aren''t we all as good as dead anyway?" Numba smiled.

    Furrowing her eyebrows, Olivia was angry how one could smile in a situation like this, but for some reason, it appealed to her.

    "Fine!" The Beta Werewolf replied. "Howlers¡­we are leaving this area. It''s time to support our leader!"

    ******

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 552 The Alpha Trap

    Back in Slough, the heart rate monitor in one of the hospital room private rooms started to pick up speed. ording to the doctors, the patient lying there would wake up in due time. His vitals were strong and once he fully healed he would be back to normal. However, even the doctors would be surprised as the rate Kai was getting better.

    After the introduction of Altered, doctors and other medical staff would learn how to take care of them. In essence, they were like super humans with fast recovery times, but Kai was not an Altered. His body, after receiving the energy he needed had begun healing himself, starting with his vital wounds.

    The heart rate machine started to beat faster, his heart rate was rising, and eventually while lying in bed his eyes opened. Immediately Kai sat up right gasping for air, sweat on his forehead.

    ''What¡­what was that?'' Kai wondered as he grabbed his chest, followed by his chin. Although his brain wasn''t awake enough to process what had happened to him, he could still remember a sense of danger in the final moments before his unconsciousness.

    "Did you have a bad dream or something?"

    Turning his head, Kai noticed that there was someone by his side, but it wasn''t who he had expected to see.

    "Aunt- Miss Degrace." Kai called out as he recognised Marie''s mother.

    "It''s okay, feel free to call me Aunt Kiki or Aunty, it''s just the two of us after all."

    "What happened to me? How did I get here? Where are the others?" Kai asked a barrage of questions.

    It was at that moment, as if someone had opened a floodgate that the memories started toe crashing into his head. It felt like his brain was starting to split in two parts. Once the pain was over, Kai finally remembered who he had faced at that time, and how badly it had ended.

    "The others¡­" Miss Degrace replied slowly, seemingly trying to fish for the right words. She had been asked to look over Kai in their absence. The grown woman had been prepared to look after him for a few days, so seeing him awake already left her no time toe up with an excuse.

    "I can already guess from your reaction." Kai said as he ced his hand on his head. "Just tell me how long ago they left. I need to get out of here."

    Kai started to pull off the needles, the tags and other things connected to his body as he was ready to rush toward Notsburg to help the others.

    "They left hours ago, and you just woke up, Kai. It''s a wonder you''re already awake, but your body clearly needs more rest." Miss Degrace argued, her arms crossed. "You won''t make it in time to help them, so let''s just trust them. Don''t you trust that Gary can do this without you?"

    Kai''s eyebrows were furrowed as he was in deep thought. He had shared a lot of the information that he had gathered for their counter attack, so the Howlers wouldn''t attack them without a n, at least. Nevertheless, there was one variable that Kai hadn''t ounted for in his ns.

    ''I predicted that they might go for me, even for me to be out of the fight, but I never expected there to be another Werewolf¡­and the words he spoke¡­ This whole thing, it''s all a big trap to get Gary to fight him!'' Kai thought.

    "Aunt Kiki, I get that you''re worried¡­ but I still need to go. It''s because of me that this war started. I was the one who decided to help the Cardenez family and I was the one that was overconfident. I trust him, but there is something he doesn''t know!" Kai decided as he got up and most of his naked body was being shown to Miss Degrace, hanging in the free air.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª<novelnext></novelnext>

    The casino was arge building that actually had multiple floors. All casino operations were on the first floor, but on the second floor was where Slith, the leader of the Scatterbugs currently was at. He sat in hisrge chair, in the room full of jewels in their disy cabs wall to wall, but he wasn''t alone in the room. Inside, there were ten of the strongest Scatterbug members in the room.

    All of them in one ce, all of them waiting to eliminate anyone who pushed open the doors, not that they expected anyone to enter anyway.

    "They''re doing a lot better than I thought." Slith noted as he stared at arge screen on his desk. It was thetv to the casino. Several video feeds around the casino showing how everyone was doing.

    "Im''m losing a lot of men!" Slith shouted mming the desk. "Oh well, I guess that just means less wages to pay." He started tough.

    Meanwhile, standing by his side as usual was Midwak, and he too was intensely staring at the screen, looking at each of the Altered forms carefully.

    "What''s wrong?" Slith asked as he could feel angering from Medwakh. They had stayed in the room because of him in the first ce. He was the one that had warned them that the attacking force was strong so they should wear them down.

    "Nothing¡­ it''s just that they are a lot weaker than I expected." Midwak admitted, which came as a surprise to Slith.

    What would one expect from a Tier-3 town gang in the first ce?

    What Midwak was looking for were those like him, those that belonged to the Alpha.

    ''I can''t believe it¡­the Alpha is here, but there is only one other Beta wolf!'' Midwak found it hard to contain his frustration. ''I could smell the fresh scent on that guy, but I thought I was unlucky. Are you telling me that this Alpha Wolf is really so new that his entire Pack consists of three members?

    ''What has he been doing this whole time?! This damned Alpha, he deserves to get his Pack stolen from him!'' Midwak thought, but his n was sooning into action, because right outside the double doors, Gary had finally arrived.

    ****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 553 With All My Power

    Standing on the other side of the door, Gary hadn''t pushed it open immediately. He had been running around the casino for a while, searching for the leader of the Scatterbugs. However, during his search, he had only found insignificant people. Staff managers in charge of the casino had attempted to stop him, but the Werewolf had dealt with them quickly, to the point that it had barely slowed him of.

    All of this, though, had made him aware that the absence of the higher-ups wasn''t a coincidence. Then, when he found the borate door, he had heard the breaths of many people inside.

    ''I can smell him, and I can sense him as well. There''s another Werewolf on the other side.'' Gary thought. ''The person who did that to Kai, who ced him up like that on the show for everyone to see. Slough, the town was meant to be a safe ce for us Howlers, but while I was away, this damned Werewolf came in and did that. To a member of the Howlers, to a member of my Pack!''

    With the anger and rage building inside him, and the image of Kai in his head, Gary pushed the door open. There was no helping it, he had to face whoever was on the other side.

    With the doors opened it was just as Gary had expected, there were five men on either side of the room, all in fancy suits, all looking down on him. All of them were male, and their ages ranged wildly, but what stood out the most was the fact that none of them had weapons.

    Then again, it wasn''t too surprising, because every single one of them was an Altered. They were confident in their skills, and in the fact that their own body was far deadlier than any weapon.

    "Will you look at this?!" Slith spoke with arge smile on his face, his hands out on his desk, disying therge rings that were covering his fingers. "A member of that damned Howler gang hase all the way here, and what the hell is with that damned wolf mask?!"

    At the other end of the room, were the two people that Gary hade here to see. From his clothes, his presence Gary understood that the one sitting had to be the leader of the Scatterbugs, and then there was the one next to him, Midwak, the one whose scent he had picked up from the ouside.

    [A new Quest has been received]

    [Against all odds, you have entered the Scatterbugs base]

    [An enemy that never thought of you as one is now forced into a tough situation.]

    [Quest: Defeat the Scatterbugs gang]

    [Condition: the Scatterbugs gang will be considered defeated when all 11 Altered surrender or have been defeated]

    The Quest that popped up just reminded Gary about how hard this task would be, and confirmed the worst case scenario. Fighting against one Werewolf was already suicidal enough, but now he would have to face nearly a dozen Altered on top of that¡­ This situation was nothing like the time he had barged into Olivia''s office.

    ''Why is it 11? What about the one who is responsible for it all?'' Gary wondered as his gaze stayed on Midwak.

    However, his system wasn''t down with the messages just yet as it had an additional quest that had appeared./

    [A new Quest has been received]

    [You are in the presence of an Omega Werewolf.]

    [The Omega outranks you.]

    [Should you lose a fight against him, the fate of you and your Pack will be in his Pack]

    ''Hang on, other Werewolves also have ranks? I thought that was something exclusive to me and my Pack due to the System¡­ I''m at the Bishop Grade, so that means, he has to be at least a Rook. No wonder he ended up beating Kai¡­ No, now''s not the time to think about that stuff. I knew that guy was strong all along, and yet I''vee here to take revenge anyway. He might be a natural Werewolf, but I bet I''m still stronger due to the System!''

    Gary Dem

    Grade: Bishop [2/15]

    ss: Warrior

    Level 24

    [Health 250]

    [Energy 300]

    [Exp 2345/15564]

    [Strength 36]

    [Dexterity 28]

    [Endurance 34]

    2 Pawn Points

    2 Stat Points unallocated

    Skills:

    [w Drain (Level 1)]

    [Once activated, half of the damage inflicted by the user will be used to recover Health.

    The skill will take 15 points of Energy to use.]

    The skill willst 2 seconds.]

    [Last Stand]

    [When activated, the user''s Health cannot fall below 1 HP.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.

    Warning; While Last Stand is active, you''ll still continue to take damage as normal!]

    [Skill duration: 60 secs.]

    [Skill reset time: This skill can only be used once a day.]

    [Howling Force (Alpha skill - Level 1)]

    [When activated, the Alpha lets out a howl to energise nearby members of his Pack

    Level 1: 10% overall stat boost)

    The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.

    [Skill duration: 15 minutes]

    [Skill reset time: 1 hour]

    [Alpha Bite (Alpha skill)]

    [When activated, the Alpha uses a special bite to attempt to turn a target.

    An Alpha''s bite has a higher chance of sessfully turning a person into a Werewolf]

    The higher the Alpha''s Grade, the higher the chance of creating a higher Grade Werewolf.

    The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.

    [Skill reset time: 1 week]

    [Maic Howl]

    [When activated, the user can''t help but let out a Howl activating the instinct of the person inside.

    The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use but can only be used once every hour. The skill''s effectiveness is dependent on the lust of the person around them.

    [All those that hear the Howl are effected, and have a sudden urge to throw their attacks towards the user.]

    [Lethal Pounce]

    [This skill can only be used within a certain range of the enemy. The skill will light up when it can be used on an enemy. The user pounces on its enemy giving it a fifty percent speed boost. The Skill can be used in session and there is no cool down]

    [Energy cost: - 50]

    ''With everything I have, I need to beat everyone in this room, including him.'' Gary thought.

    "You are certainly skilled to have got this far. You know, that mask reminds me a lot of Midwak." Slith continued monologuing. "It was the same for him, he had one daye barging into this room, but look at him now. Now he is by my side as one of my strongest allies, which is why I''m willing to make you the same offer.

    "Join us. You and the rest of the Howlers can join us. Submit, and the fighting will stop here and now. There will be no bad blood between us, and we can share the riches that we earn together. I think this isn''t a bad deal, right?"

    Gary was a bit surprised hearing that Midwak had also tried to attack the ce, yet even more so to learn that he ended up failing. A bout of hesitation was starting to creep in, because in the end he wanted to keep everyone safe. Part of him knew that it was too early for him and the others to take on the Scatterbugs. They were still young, and they could always take their revenge after growing stronger in the future¡­

    ''No¡­ think about it, like Kai said all these people are the same. Who''s to say he keeps his words? Even if I work with him, he might change his mind at any moment. I''ve heard what he did to Numba''s family just because they refused. I can''t, I can''t join someone like that. I didn''t break free from the Underdogs to go ahead and join a gang like this.'' Gary shook his head.

    "So¡­ what will it be? If you refuse, you will never be able to reach me." Slith stated.

    MIdwak by his side walked forward until the two of them were side by side. "There''s no need for him to reach you. He''s here for me. This whole thing has always been something between the two of us."

    The next moment, the man*s entire hand transformed into that of a Werewolf and with a single wipe, his thick and long ws had shed Slith''s throat and blood started to quickly spill as the gang leader was bleeding out on top of his deck, a look of confusion ingrained in his eyes.

    [1/11 Altered have been defeated]

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 554 Kill And Eat

    Any second now, Gary was ready to charge in, but he just didn''t know what the best way to do it was. Was Slith going to let the Altered attack him first, if so, during the fight Gary would be able to eat on them for energy as he took them down one by one.

    The problem was, the other Werewolf was present and would most likely know what he was nning on doing. If that was the case, maybe he should just use his full transformation to take out Slith with a pounce attack to shock all the others, then head for the other Werewolf.

    In the end, all of his nning was for nothing, because something had happened that he never had expected, Midwak, the one that seemed to be the right hand man of Slith, had killed him.

    "Why are you all so surprised?" Midwak asked, as he ced one foot on the desk, and held up Slith by his head. His eyes were gone, and it was clear to them all that he was dead.

    "You all knew that I was stronger than him. You know that I''m stronger than anyone who is in this room. Do you really think I let this guy order me around because I liked him?"

    One thing was clear to Gary, that this wasn''t an act, nor did it seem like it was something that was nned. The other gang members who were Altered were left confused. They were shocked at what they were seeing and didn''t even know what to do.

    "What, do you guys want to turn on me and attack me?" Midwak asked, as he looked at them. "Go ahead, you headless chickens, but you won''t only be going against me but him as well, and with that I say you have no chance! So I''ll give you an offer, join me and ept me as leader of the Scatterbugs, or fight me and die."

    Gary was wondering what type of situation he was in, and during this confusion, whether he should fight or not, but while the Altered were making up their mind to join Midwak or not, it gave him an opportunity to fight with some of his allies. As the saying went, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and it certainly was the case in this situation.

    "Are you just going to stand there?" Midwak asked Gary, who was in the back. "You must know there was another reason for me killing him."

    At that moment, as Midwak was in the middle of exining, his mouth started to grow into that of arge wolf, it was only his head though, and then he opened wide. Closing the top part of his upper and lower jaw he bit right into Slith''s shoulder, taking arge chunk out of it.

    Blood was dripping from his mouth as Midwak swallowed.

    "You must know that we get stronger from killing and eating those we kill. We are more like beasts than like them!" Midwak said, as he continued to bite down on Slith''s body in front of everyone bit by bit.

    It was a horrific sight for everyone to see, and Midwak didn''t care at all, it was as if no one was in the room as he indulged in his feast.

    ''This is bad.. He was already strong and depending on how strong Slith was, Midwak could get even stronger.'' Gary thought.

    ''I have to act now.'' Gary started to transform his legs first, as he ran straight ahead, but quickly one of the gang members from the side jumped in front of Gary. Seeing this, Gary didn''t hold back as he transformed his arm.

    ''One hit, I have to take all of these guys down with one hit!'' Gary thought, as he threw out his fist using all of his strength.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The gang member in front of him started to change, his body was getting cker and his skin was turning a slightly dark colour. It almost looked like rusted Iron. Still, Gary threw out his fist, hitting therge man. A loud impact was made that the others could hear the punch but the gang member was still standing and he hadn''t moved from his spot.

    "You must have fought some pretty weak Altered up till this point, to be stupid enough toe in here, but there is an incrediblyrge difference between those from a tier-2 gang and those from a tier-3." The man said.

    It looked like some of the other gang members had made their choice, as they were starting to creep around Gary, but not all of them.

    "You killed him, you killed Slith. I knew you were a dirty rat from the beginning!" One of the men shouted as he leapt up, aiming to stop Midwak in the middle of his meal on top of the desk.

    The man started to transform mid-air, getting a pair of rounded wings that flew him fast into the other, and his nose turned into a snout, looking like that of an elephant, only brown in colour. It stretched out aiming for Midwak.

    When it came out to him, he lifted his hand grabbing onto the snout, then with his strength pulled the Altered straight towards him. It was with such strength that the whole Alterd''s body was yanked through the air.

    Soon after, with his other hand already transformed, he stabbed the Altered right through the stomach.

    "This is great, another one to eat!" Midwak eximed, as he opened his mouth and bit right through the Alterd''s neck, ripping out parts of its body and swallowing it whole.

    "I am the new leader of the Scatterbugs gang - Midwak!" He cried out, with a howl. "With this gang, and the blood of an Alpha, I will use you all to get my revenge!"

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 555 Im The Attacker

    In this type of situation, it was hard for Gary to really consider his next move. The Alpha Werewolf hadn¡¯t reallye prepared with a n in mind, aside from defeating Slith and Midwak, but with the sudden betrayal everything had turned even more chaotic. Still, the teenager thought that it might actually turn out to be a good thing, at least now it seemed like he wouldn¡¯t have to defeat nearly a dozen Altered by himself.

    At the very back of the room, he could see Midwak dealing with the Altered who had seemingly wanted to avenge Slith. As valiant as his ideal might have been, he only ended up sharing in the gang leader¡¯s demise. What¡¯s more, the Omega Werewolf took a giant bite out of the Altered who was barely hanging on to life.

    a€?Is this what a real Werewolf is like? He... he¡¯s far worse than those mindless beasts in the special ss!¡¯ Gary thought in disgust as he watched Midwak take another chunk out ouf the Altered. He wasn¡¯t even chewing, but greedily swallowing it up.

    At least the behavior of beasts could be excused as animals acting on instinct, but a Werewolf was still of sane mind. Midwak was just being himself, and in a lot of ways that''s what made the gruesome sight even more grim for Gary.

    [2/11 Altered have been defeated]

    Another system message popped up, confirming the death of the Altered who must have experienced the agony of being eaten alive. Surprisingly, that didn¡¯t deter most of the other Altered as they looked to continue with theirbined attack on Midwak.

    ¡°What are you looking at?!¡± One of the Altered closest to Gary shouted at him. Rather than join the ones eager to gang up on the strongest fighter amongst them, this gang member chose to engage Gary before deciding which side to choose. He went to strike the Alpha Werewolf with his hands.

    Gary reacted fast and grabbed onto them, but it appeared the Altered was in the middle of transforming. From the side of his body, several long thin limbs about as thick as a bunch hade out from his ribs.

    It looked like he had at least thirty sharp insect limbs with pointed ends. All of them went straight towards Gary, prating the side of his arms, his shoulders and his own ribs.

    [-38 HP]

    [212/250 HP]

    a€?Freaking hell, that''s a lot of damage!¡¯

    Ever since Gary had increased his Endurance, in hopes of turning more into a tank-like character, he had hardly suffered attacks that took out chunks of his HP. Suffering such an attack, which had nearly managed to cut through him, made him realise that his Endurance still had a long way to go.

    If Gary let go of the attack, he was afraid that the strange arms would go in deeper, so instead he pushed the other off him, making use of his Strength, causing the Altered to fall, but as he did, Gary saw anotherrge object swinging right for his face. Ducking down, Gary rolled to the side, and then pushed off his feet, ending up near the entrance door.

    a€?All of these Altered here are strong, this is nothing like the guys at the academy.¡¯ Gary thought.

    On top of that, they had now all finished transforming, and it looked like six had their eyes on fighting him rather than Midwak. Judging by the looks on their faces, they didn¡¯t seem too happy about it, but going after Gary was something they would have done anyway.

    a€?I should be thankful Midwak chose now of all times for his betrayal. Fighting six Altered will be hard, but with a bit of luck, perhaps the others can injure him while I deal with my half.¡¯

    Strangely, rather than assassination, or a duel, Gary ended up in a sort ofpetition with Midwak, both Werewolves having to take out the Altered on their side before their fight would begin. One of the Altered had giant stingers on top of his forearms, which he pointed at Gary like they were guns, and the next moment he started to fire away, small little needle flying in the teenager¡¯s direction

    Gary did not want to find out how much damage they could inflict, so he ran to the side, avoiding them all as best he could, he ran from side to side, and looked at the first Altered who had attacked him, which appeared to have some type of Iron skin on his body.

    So far, he had just stayed still standing there, but he had a reason to be, his defence was one of the strongest in the entire group.

    a€?If your defence is the strongest, then I will just have to make a stronger attack!¡¯ Gary thought.

    As he dodged, anotherrge limb came from another Altered. Then another gang member soon stood in his way. At that point, Gary suddenly came to a stop, and darted at extreme speed to the right of him.

    One more Altered joined in on the attack but Gary spun his body, heading straight for his target. If someone was watching from the outside, it was almost as if they were watching an Altered sports match. Gary was using his skills that he had learnt as a rugby yer to avoid the othersing towards him,

    ¡°He¡¯s really fast for an Altered.¡± One of the membersined.

    Now the iron skinned Altered could see that Gary wasing toward him, but with a smile on his face, he wee the challenge.

    ¡°You think doing the same thing will make a difference?!¡± The Altered taunted him. ¡°You¡¯ve already given it your best shot, face it, you¡¯re not getting past my defence.¡±

    ¡°If my best isn¡¯t good enough, then I just have to be better than that.¡± Gary shouted as he told his system to allocate the stat points he had kept in reserve for just such an asion. He was aware that now wasn¡¯t the time to be stingy, so he converted his Pawn Points to be able to enjoy an even bigger boost.

    [2 points have been added to strength]

    [Streangth 36 >>>> 38]

    a€?This is not enough, I need to get stronger!¡¯

    [Would you like to convert 2 Pawn Point into Stat Point(s)?]

    [Yes]

    [5 Stat Points have been obtained]

    [5 Points have been allocated into Strength]

    [Your base strength is now at 41]

    [2 Points have been allocated into Dexterity]

    [Your base Dexterity is now at 30]

    a€?I focused too much on bing a tank. I thought as long as I didn''t die, as long as I took all the hits for the others, that they would survive, but in this situation, I have to think differently. I was the one that decided to attack the Scatterbugs, so now I need to have the Strength to attack!¡¯

    [Skill activated w Drain]

    [-15 Energy]

    Gary¡¯s nails extended slightly, and with his boost in speed, he lifted both his arms and swung them down in arge x like position. His ws went deep into the iron skin, and the Altered who had been confident in his defense remained standing for a few seconds... until he eventually fell to the floor.

    [+15 HP]

    [212/250 HP]

    [3/11 Altered have been defeated]

 Chapter 556 System Overload

    The Scatterbugs'' Altered had been able to tell Gary was strong. From the moment they had seen him fight, they understood where the masked intruder''s confidence stemmed from to attack their base.

    Nevertheless, when he had entered the room, none of them had been too worried about him. They too were strong Altered. Strong enough that perhaps one of them on their own could take over, or at least defeat a gang of a Tier-3 town.

    This was how confident they were, but something strange happened, Gary suddenly became faster, and his strikes seemed to contain even more power in the span of a few seconds.

    Seconds before the iron skinned Altered got hit by those strikes, he knew he was in trouble. He had no time to prepare, no time to stop the hit, he could only trust in his own defense. s, the strong ws dug deep inside him, tearing his body and the long fingernail clipped part of his heart, killing him on the spot.

    [You have sessfully in an Altered]

    [10,000 Exp has been rewarded]

    [Congrattions, you have now reached: Level 25]

    [A stat point has been granted]

    There were multiple messages that appeared in front of Gary right now, but at this moment it was more of a distraction than anything else. He had just defeated one of the strongest Altered in the room in terms of defensive abilities, but that still didn''t faze the others as they all came towards him.

    ''Sh*t, can you guys just give me a second to read my messages!'' Gary thought, as he jumped from his position, and dug his ws into the side of the wall. He was now stuck to it, but some of the Altered could fly, he was just hoping that they would hesitate a little beforeing toward him after seeing what he could do now.

    [Optional Quest received]

    [Waste not want not]

    [Consume the Altered]

    [Quest reward: Additional stat points]

    ''Does it LOOK like I''m in any position to do so?!'' Gary was more than annoyed for this Quest to show up at this moment. There was hardly ever a chance for Gary to kill an Altered, but from the handful of times he had done so, he had learned that it appeared to be the fastest way for him to grow. He was sure that it was the same for Midwak, though he didn''t really know whether the Werewolf System enhanced this ability in any way, be it in the boost he gained or the time it took for the bonus to take effect.

    The Alpha Werewolf could only hope so, because otherwise Midwak would be even stronger once he finished eating the Altered he had defeated. Unfortunately, even after his boost, Gary wasn''t overwhelmingly stronger than the Altered in the room that he could eat at his pleasure.

    Still, there were a few messages that Gary had to go through.

    [Main Questpleted]

    [Who would have thought you would survive long enough to reach this milestone?]

    [Since you''ve proven to be well suited for your current role, you''ve earned yourself your 1st ss Promotion!]

    [Please select from one of the following sses!]

    ''I don''t remember this being a Main Quest, but whatever, Ipleted it at the perfect time. Bing a Werewolf Warrior was a major upgrade to my power, but it took some time for the changes to take ce, and it wasn''t exactly pleasant.''

    Gary recalled how his body had gone through some extreme changes, so if this ss Promotion would be the same thing, it would mean he would be unable to fight for a while. Selecting something now might very well be thest thing he ever did.

    Then there was an even bigger problem, just as Gary was about to check out his options the Needle Altered started to fire more stuff at him, and the Werewolf was forced to leap from the wall back down onto the floor.

    "You can keep running, but eventually you''re going to tire out! Spare us the nuisance and just ept your fate!" One of the Altered shouted.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was then, that a big thick log-like arm came out from one of the Altered and whacked Gary right in the stomach, sending him flying and crashing right into the wall, breaking the ss cabs that were on the side.

    [-20 HP]

    [192/250 HP]

    ''There goes the HP I just got back.'' Gary thought to himself as he got back up. ''I need to fight at full strength, I need to get rid of them all, but then I won''t have any Energy¡­ and I also need to find a way to eat their bodies to be ready for Midwak.''

    Anotherrge log-like arm wasing towards him, and still hurt from the attack before, Gary had no choice, but to use another skill.

    [Skill activated Lethal Pounce]

    [-50 Energy]

    Gary suddenly sped up, and jumped towards one of the people, but of all the Altered he jumped towards it turned out to be the one with multiple sharp limbs that had them all pointed towards Gary. Covering himself, Gary braced himself as his body was embedded with several of the sharp limbs about a metre thick, only his head and stomach were saved as he had gotten into a ball shape.

    Kicking off from the Altered, Gary got out but he was bleeding heavily and had suffered a lot more damagepared to before.

    [-48 HP]

    [144/250 HP]

    ''I have no choice, I have to fully transform and try to get rid of these guys as soon as possible. Then hopefully, while Midwak is still distracted, I can take the chance to choose that ss Promotion. Hopefully it''s something powerful, since it might be my only way to win this fight!''

    [4/11 Altered have been defeated]

    [5/11 Altered have been defeated]

    [6/11 Altered have been defeated]

    There was notification, after notification, of the other Altered being defeated, and Gary gasped for a second as he realised something terrible. In total six had decided to go after him, and he had only dealt with one of them¡­ in other words, Midwak had sessfully dealt with all the Altered who had gone against him.

    ncing at the back, Gary could see Midwak indulging in a feast of Altered bodies. He was growing stronger in this fight, eating them one by one, and once he was done, he would fight the Alpha.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 557 A Hotheaded Mistake

    The longer the situation wassting, the harder it was for Gary to make a decision as to what was the best choice for him, because now he was on a time scale. Midwak was getting stronger in this fight and he needed to get even stronger than him, but he couldn''t even defeat the Altered that were in front of him that Midwak had managed to defeat so easily.

    ''I hate to say it, but right now I could really do it with some help. I''m an idiot, just because it worked outst time, I thought that it would work out this time.'' Gary thought, as he looked at the Altered that had started to form a formation making it so Gary was unable to escape.

    There was an Altered that could fly and shoot out stingers from its forearms, Gary hadn''t been hit yet by them but could only assume that they were somewhat poisonous. Then there was the Altered that had multiple sharp limbsing out from the side of its body.

    It was one of the more difficult ones for Gary to deal with since his tough hide wasn''t thick enough to block the hits. Other than them, there were three more. One seemed to change his body into something that was as thick as a tree''s trunk.

    It had hit him once, already sending him into the wall. When looking at the Altered, he looked like a regr human which meant he had good control of changing his body at a fast rate.

    On top of that, there was one Altered whose skin was glowing yellow. There was a thick substance that looked a bit like goo, that was covering his body and hands. So far Gary had avoided conflict with that Altered, as he was worried about what the goo could exactly do.

    Then there was thest of the lot, whose hands were gigantic, although the word hands was the wrong term to use, as they now looked more like giant pincers of a crab. They were red in colour and looked like they would be able to crush anything.

    ''Scatterbugs'', I guess it makes sense that most of these guys would be simr to bug type Altereds. If I remember from my lesson''s correctly, most of the beasts out there are simr to the bugs we have today. I guess I just have to be thankful for one thing, and that''s the fact that I don''t have to go against Slith, whatever he was.'' Gary thought.

    The first one to act out of the entire group looked to be the Altered that was mostly human in form. When he raised his hand, it soon started to growrge like that of a tree trunk and extended out, then with its full force, it swung it down toward Gary.

    Usually, Gary would use his speed to avoid a hit, but that was when one of the Altereds fired his stingers towards Gary''s right. They weren''t aimed at him, but just slightly off so he wouldn''t move and on the other side, the strange yellow goo Altered was throwing something out of his body towards that side as well.

    When it hit the door behind him, Gary could see it solidifying, he was d that he didn''t try and test what it did. The thing was, now Gary knew exactly what they were doing, they had trapped him and he had no choice, but to take the hit.

    ''I guess I have no choice, I was thinking of doing this anyway.'' Gary thought. ''If I transform into my full form, I will be at full strength. It will use a lot of energy, but after beating these guys and eating them up, I''ll be able to take on Midwak. It''s the only way to beat them and win this fight!''

    As therge attack from the Altered wasing down, Gary was bracing himself and was ready to use his skill, when a strange scent had entered his nose.

    "Let me deal with this!" A voice said, and soon a man that wasrger than Gary had appeared by his side casting a shadow over him. He grabbed onto therge tree trunk, bending his knees slightly and holding on to it. As the man breathed, steam came out from hisrge rounded nostrils.

    "Austin?" Gary asked.

    "Get your hands off our boss!" Austin shouted, as he lifted the person by the end of his trunk and mmed him right into the wall. The person''s arm started to shrink, and as it did Austin had lost grip of the Altered.

    Soon after him though, the rest had entered into the room, Olivia, Innu, andstly Marie as well, all of them wearing the masks on their faces and wearing the ck and gold uniform.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The rest of the gang has shown up?" the red handed Altered said. "This isn''t going to be an easy fight."

    Soon, though, steps could be heard from behind, a topless man was walking, blood dripping from his mouth covering his chest. He no longer had shoes on either due to his transformation and only part of his trousers were left on.

    Midwak had finished eating the other Altereds and now, he was ready to join the fight as well. In this case it felt like when one door opened, another one had just closed right in front of his face.

    "There''s only one way to win this fight." Gary gritted his teeth, because he didn''t want to say it, but from what he had seen, it was the only way they could win. The only thing was, it had a high chance of one of his friends dying, but it was either one, or they all died.

    "Everyone!" Gary shouted. "Focus on the topless man, the Werewolf. I don''t expect you to win, but just hold him back for as long as you can, and I have one more order for you. Don''t die!"

    This was the only way Gary could see them winning, Gary needed to defeat the Altered to level up more, consume their bodies and evolve if he had any chance, and unfortunately his friends would have to be his shield, but just how long would they be able to hold that monster back?

    [Full transformation has begun]

    "AWOOOO!"

    [Alpha''s howl has been used, a ten percent boost has been given to those in your pack!]

    ******

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 558 Crazy To Fight Crazy

    Midwak was still standing on the other side, behind the groups of people. The desk looked to bepletely destroyed and the ground, as well as the whole area, was covered in blood. Parts of bodies could still be seen, and there were a lot of bones

    ¡°Oh that sweet sound!¡± Midwak said. ¡°It has certainly been a long time since I heard it!¡±

    The Alpha¡¯s howl had just been used, giving a 10 percent boost to Gary¡¯s power, it was only a temporary boost so Gary wanted to keep it for when his fight with Midwak was going to take part, but he wanted to give Olivia as much strength as possible before her fight.

    Seeing the seriousness of the situation, none of the Howlers asked what Gary meant, right now they were just going to do as he asked, and even Olivia was taking the situation seriously. She stared at Midwak, looking at his yellow glowing eyes.

    ¡°It looks like I¡¯m about to face someone who is even crazier than me! But for some reason my blood is pumping.¡± Olivia said, as her entire body was transforming from head to toe. Due to the special design of the uniforms, they stretched out, not ripping.

    [Olivia (Beta Werewolf) has marked a target]

    Now a tracking mark had been put on Midwak so they could find him wherever he went and the next second Olivia, was running across the room. The Hunter ss Werewolf had slightly longer arms and legs and she was using them to her full advantage as she ran across the room.

    The goo like Altered had jumped in front of her and swung its arm, the strange yellow substance was aimed right for her, but with a single leap she was able to avoid the strange substance and along with it, the rest of the Altered.

    With her sharp ws out, she was ready to rip Midwak¡¯s head off. Lifting his hands up, Midwak grabbed right onto Olivia''s while he was still untransformed.

    ¡°You are WEAK!¡± His hands started to transform, and Olivia was unable to pull away. Before she knew it, he had lifted her into the air and kicked her right in the stomach, sending her crashing into the side of the wall.

    The only thing Midwak had transformed were his arms, and he was still able to overpower her. He looked at his own hands, clenching them in and out.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes! This is what I needed.¡± Midwak eximed.

    The other members of the Howlers were rushing in to back her up, and they could see Olivia was far from being down for the count, as she had gotten up baring her teeth and letting out a growl.

    ¡°We have to help her!¡± Marie shouted, as they all ran forward with Austin leading the way, but once again, another Altered stood in their path trying to block them from joining in on the fight.

    It was the man with the huge red ws, he snapped them and the entire room rang. It showed what force was behind such ws. Still, Austin was ready to rumble, to match his power against the others.

    That was until arge figure hadnded right in front of him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of them!¡± Gary awkwardly said. He was in his full transformation but was able to speak a lot clearer since he had a lot of practice. ¡°You focus on holding him off!¡±

    When Gary was close to the red wed Altered, who looked ready to intercept any attack, he immediately used his lethal pounce skill. His speed almost doubled as he shot from his position.

    The w had hit nothing but the air, and Gary was directly up against his chest, opening his mouth and biting right at the man''s neck. Then using his ws, he shoved them deep into the man''s chest.

    Gary lifted him in the air, and pulled his ws out as he swung his arms, one after the other, cutting his body. He was using his full strength and his full speed now, and other than his ws it appeared as if the man¡¯s body wasn¡¯t as hard as the rest of him

    Thanks to the System notification, Gary could easily tell when the Altered was out of the fight due to his injuries.

    [7/11 Altered have been defeated]

    He stopped attacking right at that second, and as the man fell down, Gary opened wide and took anotherrge bite out of his body, this time the side of his shoulder.

    [Your Energy is being restored.]

    a€?Kill and eat, that''s what I need to do to keep fighting, and then I can stop him, then I will be on equal grounds with him.¡¯

    Gary¡¯s eyes were glowing red, his natural instincts were kicking in, and simr to Midwak, there was a madness showing in his face, which was causing the other Altered to second guess their next step, but it had done its job.

    Because of Gary, the others were all able to safely pass, and now were focused on Midwak. Turning her head, at the back of the group was Marie, she could see arge Werewolf with dark fur standing behind them.

    a€?For a second... even I was scared. That¡¯s still Gary, right? The Gary that saved us, the Gary that is our friend. No, of course it is. Right now, Gary is doing all of this, for all of us in the Howlers, and for Kai.¡¯ Marie thought.

    The Howlers were on one side of the room against Midwak, and Gary was going against the rest of the Altered on the other. Taking a step forward, Gary was looking for his next target as he scanned the room.

    a€?I need to keep fighting, I need to level up, I need to eat them, so I can be on the same level as that Omega Werewolf!¡¯

    ¡°Only four more to go.¡± Gary said, running straight in.

 Chapter 559 The Strong Omega

    Stubborn was one word that could be used to describe Olivia, and in this situation it was questionable whether it was a good trait to have. The moment she recovered from the initial sh with Midwak, she ran across the floor to reach him.

    Midwak tilted his head to the side as he saw her actions. "You''re as much a pup as the Grayling and yet he was stronger than this. Tell me what makes you think you could beat me?"

    When Olivia was finally close, she had taken onerge leap, and was swinging her hand right toward Midwak''s chest. The first swipe of her hand had missed, as he leaned back. Right after, Olivia swung her other hand, trying to pierce through his chest.

    It looked like, just like the attack before, he would dodge this one as well.

    "NOW!" Innu shouted, who had waited for this moment. Immediately after, three clicks were heard, anding out in the air, were three bolts.

    They hit Midwak in the back, piercing through his skin ever so slightly. The bolts were thick in size and had a small little container inside which looked like arge see-through battery.

    Inside the small container, there were blue sparks that were moving about, and as the weapon''s bolts were activated, they started to do their job, shocking the Omega Werewolf over. His skin was bing slightly transparent as the current ran through his body.

    Innu hadn''t joined in the fight, both axes hand, as he was staying close to Marie, just in case they chose to target her. So far, Midwak and Olivia had been too fast for Marie to be of any help.

    She was a good aim and a good shot, but hadn''t been into many fights to get the timing, the right moment for attack down, which was why Innu was watching the fight carefully for the perfect time.

    The bolts, while not lethal, served as a good distraction as Olivia left arge scratch mark right across Midwak''s chest. Blood dripped down onto his abs, but it was hard to see since his body was already covered in blood.

    At the same time though, nearly as quickly as the wound had been made, it was already starting to heal.

    "That''s some nice shock treatment." Midwak said, as he ducked under the strikes of Olivia, and then with his Werewolf hand, he reached out and grabbed her around the mouth. With his great strength, he just needed to use the power of his fingers to keep it shut.

    Right after, making a fist, Midwak threw it, hitting the side of her face, pounding it hard. Olivia wanted to scream, to howl, as the hit had felt like it had broken multiple bonds, but Midwak hadn''t let go, and continued to punch her while holding onto her mouth.

    "Haha, I can''t wait." Midwak said as he continued to punch. "until, you are under my control. Depenfing on how long youst I might ley you be my Luna!"

    By now, even though Olivia was in her full Werewolf form, part of her jaw, the side of her orbital bone, it all felt like it had cracked and was broken. She recoiled from him, but with the constant hits, there was no point.

    Swinging his arm back even further, it looked like Midwak was going for even harder punches. As he swung it straight towards her face once more, arge hand, even bigger than his own in its partially transformed state, had grabbed onto his fist and stopped it in its tracks.

    "How about you pick on someone your own size, asshole!" Austin grabbed onto his hand tightly and pulled Midwak forward, as he did, he threw out a fist hitting him right in the head. It flung backwards and blood had spattered out.

    Midwak, swinging his head forward, looked at Austin with a smile, it looked like he wanted to say something but before he even could, he felt another hand lift him by his legs. With all of his force, Austin lifted him in the air up high, and mmed him on the floor, leaving behind arge crater.

    The marble was broken into pieces. Austin lifted up the Werewolf, mming him down again and again. Bones could be heard cracking and Midwak''s arms and legs were in positions that weren''t natural at all.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Jumping up in the air slightly, Austin then ced the whole of Midwak''s body behind his back, and swung it down, letting go, throwing him right into floor. It almost shook the whole room and the entire casino at that point.

    Austin was huffing and panting, and a lot of steam looked to being out from his nostrils. Although the mask hid most of his face, part of it could be seen transformed. Right now, Austin was in his full form.

    The beast that created his Altered form was a rare one, one that had a humanoid body in the first ce, which was why it was hard to tell whether Austin had fully transformed or not.

    "Man, every time I see him fight in that form, it just makes me¡­ more jealous. If only I had won, that would have been me." Innu couldn''t help but say.

    Momentster though, when the dust started to settle, several clicking and cracking noises were heard, and a figure was seen standing.

    "Now, you certainly are a strong one, but it''s truly a shame that you are an Altered!" Midwak stated, as he walked forward towards Austin who was ready for another round.

    "Believe it or not, but I wasn''t nning to kill any of you Howlers, because you all would make great additions to my Pack!" Midwak stated. "There''s a reason I didn''t care about the members of the Scatterbugs¡­ and that''s because they were already Altered.

    "A Werewolf can''t turn an Altered, which means to me..."

    In front of their eyes, Midwak started to transform, his fur was dark ck in colour, and he grew nearly twice in size, his muscles and width included. Now he was only a little smaller than Austin himself.

    "You''re only useful as a meal!!!!" Midwak growled as he threw out a punch,ing from down below. It was at such a great speed it looked like the wind was being carried with it.

    Austin lifted his hands, but they were blown away as the fist hit him right in the stomach. His whole body was lifted off the ground and he was sent flying into the wall far away.

    "I hope for your own sake that he''s the only Altered!" Midwak stated with a smile showing all of his sharp teeth.

    *****

    *******

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 Chapter 560 Perfect Line Up

    If Gary wanted to help out his teammates, then the best thing he could do for them was to take out all of the Altered in the room as soon as possible. Not to get distracted, or focused on what they were doing. He would have to trust that they were capable enough to hold Midwak back.

    ''Out of these four guys left, I need to get rid of the one that''s the most troublesome.''

    Gary''s eyes looked onto the man with the stingers on his forearms, although Gary hadn''t been hit yet, the stingers always were distracting him from getting to the others and he had the furthest range when it came to attacks.

    Immediately after Gary had decided who would be his next target, he started to run towards him in his Werewolf form. His body was leaned forward at an incredibly low angle, his face nearly touching the floor. The muscles in his legs and toes were strong enough to lift his body just enough so his face wouldn''t hit the floor and once in a while he would use his hands to dig into the ground, giving him a further leap of power.

    Seeing this, the Altereds were moving into action. The strange yellow goo Altered saw Gary, and swung its arm, releasing arge amount of the substance out towards Gary. The Werewolf''s hands dug deep into the ground cracking it. The veins on his forearms were bulging as he quickly pushed his whole body to the side, making it so the goo would just hit the floor and harden in a matter of seconds.

    "Getting hit by that will slow down my movements, but it''s covering his whole body, that''s going to be a hard one to take care of.''

    While Gary was thinking of this, he could see the Altered that was able to change the size of his limbs into what resembled a tree in front of him, he swung his arm and mid swing it turned into therge tree trunk like arm.

    ''They''re working together better than they were before! I need to avoid this.'' Gary thought.

    Instinctively, Gary was just going with the flow, as he leanedpletely backwards, and started to slide across the floor. He had built up so much speed, that on the hard marble floor he was pretty much gliding across it.

    While the tree trunk limb was going over his head, he wouldn''t just let it simply pass over like that, reaching out his hands, Gary had his ws ready, and he tensed his fingers hard as they scratched right across.

    It broke through whatever material the Altered''s skin was made of and ck blood was dripping from the wound.

    In a smooth motion, Gary pulled his body up off the ground and continued running forward. Now there was only one Altered in his way from reaching the strange stinger man.

    "Fine, f*cking stab me then!" Gary lifted his forearms up, and in his full Werewolf form he was muchrger than he was before. When the Altered''s sharp limbs pierced Gary it had only pierced his forearms this time.

    [-12 HP]

    ''In my Werewolf form, my hide is thicker as well so I take less damage, but that wasn''t my goal in the first ce.''

    Due to Gary''s speed, the sharp limbs were pierced quite deeply into his arms and muscles, and he had purposely rxed them as much as he could before they had, now that they were inside him, he tensed up.

    The muscles were holding onto the limbs tightly, and the Altered was unable to take them out from his body if he wanted to.

    "Thanks for being my shield!" Gary said, as he could see the stingersing towards him.

    At that point, GAry moved his forearms and the stingers had hit the multiple-limbed man instead.

    "Arghh!" The Altered shouted.

    Taking a peek behind, Gary could see that the other Altered was in the air. He then leapt up with his strong powerful legs, still taking his ''Shield'' with him.

    Then, when the two had matched height, Gary rxed the muscles in his forearms, and with both of his legs, kicked the Altered off from him. His sharp limbs detached from Gary''s arms, and his entire body crashed into the stinger Altered.

    While in mid air, Gary flipped backwards,nding on his feet and he didn''t waste any time. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he darted forward to the other two Altereds once again.

    Gary could see the stinger Altered recovering, and with a swipe of his hand, he had made arge cut right on his neck.

    [8/11 Altereds have been defeated]

    [Congrattions you are now level 26]

    From killing the two Altereds, Gary was still gaining arge amount of exp. He still hadn''t had time to look at his system properly yet, or use the stat points gained. At the same time, the bodies of the Altereds he had killed were still intact.

    ''If I can do this¡­ if I can use everything, then I will be strong enough.''

    Looking at all of the other Altereds that were left confused and a little disheartened at the sight of another one of their allies falling, Gary saw this as an opportunity. With the main distraction gone, then he could perhaps pull this off.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Altered with multiple limbs had just gotten up, and almost in a line, just close enough to each other, he could see it.

    Gary went towards the Altered closest to the one with the sharp limbs and when he was in range.

    [Lethal pounce]

    [- 30 Energy]

    His speed doubled in the short distance and with his fist he stabbed right through the Altered''s chest.

    [9/11 Altereds have been defeated]

    [Lethal pounce activated]

    [-30 Energy]

    The most dangerous thing about the lethal pounce skill, was the fact that as long as there was someone in range, Gary was able to use it consecutively, one after the other. The only downside was it would take a lot of energy, but in this ce, around here with all of these Altereds, there was plenty of food for him.

    The tree like Altered couldn''t even react as Gary''s whole bodynded on top of him, and Gary used his mouth to bite down right on his neck, pulling out tendons and more, ending his life on the spot.

    [10/11 Altereds have been defeated]

    ? [Skill: Lethal pounce has been used]

    The Altereds now working together meant they were close to one another, and for Gary this allowed him to use the skill in rapid session, lining them up so he could take them out.

    Reaching the final Altered, Gary''s hand was going through the goo and he could feel it hardening, but it did little to slow him down as his ws reached the stomach of the Altered. As it sliced through, organs could be seen spilling on the ground, and with his other hand, Gary mmed it on the top of the Altered''s head, sending his entire head and body onto the ground.

    It wasn''t the end of the Altered yet, so lifting his foot, he mmed it down right on top of the Altered''s head.

    [11/11 Altereds have been defeated]

    [Questplete]

    [You are now level 27]

    [Quest update: a new threat has taken over the Scatterbugs ce. Defeat the threat to get rid of the Scatterbugs.]

    It was quite clear to Gary that the new threat was Midwak, but with his energy nearly being nothing, and his strength still far less than his opponent, he looked at the Altered underneath his foot and had another thought.

    ''It''s feeding time.''

    *****

    ******

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 Chapter 561 Red Axe

    Without a doubt, ever since Austin had received his new Altered form, he had been considered the strongest, strength-wise,pared to the others. As a human, his strength was already unnatural, and as an Altered it was even greater.

    He was able to lift things that even Gary or Olivia would have struggled with, which was why it hade to such a shock to see the Altered version of Austin to be whacked to the side of the room like so.

    "Sh*t¡­Sh*t¡­Sh*t!" Innu was mumbling to himself, as he left Marie''s side and had decided to join in the fight.

    In his head, he thought maybe Austin and Olivia would be enough, surely since they were an Altered and a Werewolf, they could do more than him in this situation, but now it felt like they would need the help of everyone if they didn''t want anyone to die.

    "What are you idiots doing!" Innu shouted out. "We knew this Werewolf was strong, which is why we don''t need to beat him. We only have two orders! To keep him here, and not die, so don''t die!"

    The words had been shouted out loudly, and with passion as well. The situation Innu was in now, reminded him a lot of the kids at the orphanage. He had lost them all back then, and now his new family, the Howlers, he didn''t want to lose any of them either.

    Activating the power in his weapons, they started to glow slightly red. Fueled by his emotions, Innu was drawing out the power from the special Anti-Altered weapons, and he was running right toward Midwak.

    "Have I ever told you, I hate Werewolves!" Innu shouted.

    Midwak swung the back of his hand, and at the right time Innu managed to dodge. He was already moving before Midwak, it was as if his senses were heightened and he could guess what Midwak''s next move would be.

    Otherwise, even with the boost of the weapons, Innu would never be able to dodge such a thing. The next moment, Innu swung one of the axes aiming to push it right into the Werewolf''s stomach.

    It cut through the skin, to both Innu and Midwak''s surpise, and rather than trying to take another swipe at the young gang member, Midwak jumped back a bit and looked down at the cut made on his stomach, it was healing, but at a slightly slower rate than usual.

    "That''s not a normal weapon." Midwak stated. "Who would have thought that a gang like this would have such a weapon."

    Innu wasn''t charging in and striking like before, and his little act had given enough time for Austin and Olivia to recover from the damage they had received earlier. Just like Midwak, both of their forms had good healing capabilities as well.

    "I never thought that your group would be more of a challenge than those Altereds I fought earlier. No challenge isn''t the right word. You aren''t stronger than them, you''re just more annoying and persistent!" Midwak said, and when he looked to his left, he could see one of the Howler members was now standing all on their own.

    "No¡­ no!" Innu shouted, as he knew exactly what Midwak was nning to do.

    Midwak was already sprinting towards Marie, who was standing far away, but even if she ran away now, it was certain that he would catch up with her. So instead, she took her crossbow out that was loaded with three bolts and fired.

    One of the bolts had missed, hitting the floor. Midwak was running so fast and her hands were shaking non stop as well. Taking a deep breath she fired two more bolts. One had hit Midwak in the chest and another hit him in his shoulder.

    The sparks started to light up, and blue electricity was sparking all over his body, yet it didn''t slow down Midwak at all. Not like it did before when he was in his human-like form. In his full Werewolf form, he just took the hit full on.

    Innu was desperately running after Midwak but could never catch up to his speed.

    ''It was my fault, I left Marie, when I was meant to be by her side protecting her. If she gets bitten, or hurt now, it will be because of me. How am I meant to face Kai and Gary after that?''<novelnext></novelnext>

    Knowing he wasn''t able to reach, all of his energy and power felt like it was being drained out of him at that moment and was going into his axe. Innu didn''t know what was happnign or why, but a desperate action caused him to throw it through the air.

    The axe spun multiple times, speeding up, as it continued to glow red, and went out like a bullet. Midwak was close to Marie but still out of reach, when the axended right in the back of his calf.

    "AWO!" Midwak let out a little howl of pain. Unlike thest blow, the axe was lodged in pretty deep. It nearly caused him to stumble, but MIdwak had caught himself with his arms.

    At the same time, Innu was huffing and panting, using the axe like that, whatever it was, had taken a lot of energy out of him. He was covered in sweat even though all he did was hurl the thing.

    "That won''t stop me!" Midwak said, as he got up, and started to walk towards Marie. She was now holding her spear and attempted to stab Midwak, who grabbed it and threw it off far and to the side.

    "I didn''t want to kill you, but there are plenty of talented humans that I can turn." Midwak lifted his hand, and swung it right at Marie''s face. She could see the wsing right at her. She attempted to move her head, but it was moving far slower than the hand.

    As the wed hand came closer, the finger nails had skimmed her cheek, leaving a cut, and she could see Midwak on the ground. ''Did he slip?'' Marie thought, as her life was just saved.

    Midwak looked at his leg and could see that there was something wrapped around it. It was ck in colour like a rope, but it wasn''t a rope, it was a whip, and on the other end of the whip, Olivia could be seen.

    Olivia was in her full Werewolf form, she was pulling on the whip. However, her strength alone wouldn''t be enough to pull Midwak, that''s why, at the very end of the whip doing most of the pulling was Austin.

    After using the whip to wrap it around Midwak''s leg, Olivia quickly gave the handle to Austin, and wrapped it around his hand for stability. Olivia then went further up on the whip and both of them pulled at the same time, just in time.

    "You were right." Olivia said to the tired Innu. "We were trying to beat him before, when we should have just been buying time like you said. We understand our job now."

    From the corner of her eye, Olivia could see something, and that was Gary, who was chowing down on the Altered.

    ******

    ******

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 Chapter 562 Class Upgrade

    After defeating all of the Altered, Gary didn''t even choose to take a quick peek at the fight that was going on. The fact that Midwak wasn''t attacking him right now, meant that things were going well for them all.

    He looked to the Altered that was in front of him, and with a swipe of his hands, flesh wasing off from the other''s bodies with ease, after that, he would take a few bites before swallowing most of it down whole.

    ''I can''t think of my actions, I can''t think about what I''m doing right now. I can''t waste a second. All I can do is focus on what I need to do.

    His hands were moving one after the other, the system message would finally appear when he had eaten enough of one Altered, and then Gary would hop on to the next, doing the same again.

    His energy was filled long ago, his body had filled its energy but he continued to eat to gain the stat points that were needed. He was even in his werewolf form so he could eat as quickly as possible.

    How strong was he right now, what stats did he gain? He didn''t know¡­ all he did know was he needed everything to be able to beat Midwak.

    Another ding was heard in Gary''s head and he started to look around the room. His fur was covered in blood, some of it had dried, and parts of it were wet still. That''s when he realised there was no one, there was no Altered left for him to eat.

    Raising his head, the system screen was quickly brought up

    [You have sessfully reached level 25]

    [You can now select a new ss based on your current ss type (Warrior)]

    This was the message Gary had received at level 25, although he had jumped two more levels since then. Now he had the time to choose his options.

    [Pdin Warrior]

    [This warrior excels in all aspects of fighting. A great defence, a great striker, and a great healer as well. The user''s power will stem from righteousness. When believing they are doing the right thing, they will gain strength like no other.

    [A special trait of the ss, allows the user to have a different set of skills, depending what form the user takes. (Werewolf/Human)]

    Any ss upgrade would mean an increase in strength, that was for sure but initially reading, he wasn''t so sure if it was right for him.

    The fact that Gary had chosen the life of a gang member, there were times he didn''t think his actions were righteous at all. In a way they were very selfish and even looking around there were dead bodies on the ground, and even those he had killed in the past.

    Still, it would depend on what the system meant, was it what Gary considered righteous or was there a type of higher being making the decision for him. Perhaps the system itself? There was an aspect that interested him greatly and that was the separate skills in his human form and Werewolf form.

    He had already seen how useful skills were, and if he didn''t have to transform, the element of surprise as well as the versatility would be great, but he needed to look at his options.

    [Dark Warrior]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [A warrior who excels in strength and healing, giving up nearly all forms of defence. Its skills are focused on doing the most damage it can to the one in front of it before itself can be taken out.

    [When the night sky is out, the Dark warrior gets a boost in energy, allowing it to use its deadly skills on its opennents for longer]

    Since both of the sses were deviations of the warrior ss, Gary assumed the two would be simr but they seemed quite different when reading the two of them. On top of that they both had their pluses and downsides.

    The Dark warrior, it looked like it grew in strength when it was dark, just like the Pdin when it believed it was doing something right. Right now it was dark, so Gary would get a boost, but in the future would all his fights take ce at night?

    In the academy there were times when he would have to fight at night, and it also seemed to somewhat go against what he had been building his werewolf body as a character so far.

    Gary had been making his Werewolf self a tank, withrge amounts of HP, that allowed him to take a number of hits, while also increasing his endurance so when he did get hit it would take low amounts of HP, but he realised when he was going against an opponent of this level, it hardly had any effect at all.

    ''Crap what do I do! Which one do I choose!'' Gary thought,

    He would have loved to have gone through all of the options, had time to think, to ask his friend Tom, or even Kai in this type of situation. These two were the smart ones, not him, but the longer he would take, the more chance the others would be seriously hurt, or killed.

    ''I have no choice, I have to pick one, the one that''s best for the situation I''m currently in, I don''t have time to think!'' Gary thought as his option was selected, and suddenly a great pain and a tingle was felt all over his body.

    Gary dropped to his knees, eventually dropping to the floor as all of his muscles and everything felt like they were breaking down and he was reverting back from his Werewolf form, to his human-like form.

    ''Guy''s just wait a bit longer, I''m going to kill that b*stard!'' Gary inwardly said, reaching his hand out toward Midwak.

    ******

    ******

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 Chapter 563 Hold Him Back!

    The Howlers were doing their best to hold Midwak back and they couldn''t break their attention away from him for even a second. Innu had already exhausted himself by throwing the axe. He was so tired that he had to prop himself up on his thigh.

    "You guys are doing a great job¡­ so I can''tck behind! I refuse to be a burden to you!" Innu yelled in an attempt to hype himself and his friends up. He dug really deep inside and rushed over to the Anti-Altered spear that had been chucked to the side. He grabbed onto it and made his way back to Marie, determined not to leave her side this time.

    With thebined strength of Austin and Olivia, they had not only managed to pull Midwak, saving Marie from getting her neck wed out, but they had also dragged him midway across the room. Using his hands though, he soon mmed them down, digging his fingertips into the marble floor.

    "Annoying! You should understand by now that you stand no chance against me, yet you pests keep bugging me!" Midwak shouted. "Your futile resistance is utterly annoying!!!"

    With his other hand free, the Werewolf went to grab onto part of the whip and pulled on it. As he yanked it forward, though, Austin equally pulled back at the same time.

    "If it''s a battle of just pure power, then I won''t lose out!" Austin stated confidently. The Minotaur Altered let out another puff of steam. Olivia by his side wasn''t sure if she was imagining it or not, but it looked as if Austin''s muscles were bulging even bigger.

    Being the type of weapon, it was. Midwak knew that it would be tricky to break the whip, but that''s when he saw something else instead, something that was still stuck inside his body.

    Holding the handle, Midwak easily pulled the red axe out from his leg. Blood poured onto the floor, but now out of his body it was starting to heal. The next second, he swung the axe, letting go to allow it to fly straight toward the two in front of him.

    The axe was approaching at a fast speed, and given that they were both in a line, it threatened to pierce them both. Austin immediately let go of the whip''s handle. Olivia felt the rest of the whip slip from her hands as Midwak broke free.

    Before she could brace herself for the impact, arge back, bigger than the brown body, stood in front of her, and a strange thud sound came from in front of her.

    "You big ape, what are you doing!" Olivia shouted as she quickly moved the figure that was in front of her, and she could see the axe had hit Austin right in the chest, it was deep, and his body size began to shrink, making him revert to his human form.

    Olivia caught Austin just before he hit the floor and held him in her hands.

    "Why did you do that?! Do you really think I''m so weak that I need protection from a child like you!"

    Olivia decided against pulling out the weapon. Just because Midwak had been able to heal from it without much issue, didn''t mean Austin would be the same. Altered might have a good healing factor, but the axes were special, not to mention that in Austin''s current state it might be too much for him.

    "I''m a big guy, I can take a hit like this." Austin replied, his weak voice didn''t give his argument much credit.

    "Who cares, why would you try to protect me? I''m older than you, and not even properly part of your gang!" Olivia argued back.

    "Who says you''re not part of the gang?" Austin questioned, letting out a cough. "How many times have you already risked your lives for us? Also, you''re not that old, and you''re really beautiful."

    Were it not for his currently deteriorating condition, Olivia might have pped him for thatment.

    "Don''t forget what your leader said! You''re not allowed to die here!!" Olivia shouted as she put him down on the floor.

    "Our leader." Austin managed to say. "Protect¡­them."

    Turning her head, she soon realised that she had been so upied and worrying about Austin, that she hadpletely forgotten about Midwak, who had untangled himself from the whip, his leg was in full working order, and he was already running toward Innu and Marie.

    Innu seeing this, charged towards Midwak with the axe lifted above his head, as for Midwak, he had his hand pointed towards him. From his hand, all his nails shot out like bullets and pierced through Innu''s skin, causing him a jolt of pain, with one of his nails embedding itself deep in his stomach.<novelnext></novelnext>

    An instinct reaction from him, made him drop to the floor and Midwak ran right past him, deciding to finish Marie off.

    Rather than use his hand, Midwak jumped from his position right toward her. While in the air, Marie was ready to try and stab the spear through him, that was until she felt something around her leg.

    Now she was the one who had been pulled from underneath as she found herself on the ground, resulting in Midwak flying past here straight into a wall.

    Marie was pulled to the side, and brought over to safety.

    "Are you okay?" A hand was offered, and when looking up Marie could see that the ones who had saved her were the AFA students. Izzy made her hair let go of Marie. Numba took position in front of the two girls.

    "It''s a good thing we came here after all." Numba said.

    Midwak had an annoyed look on his face as he came out of the hole he had left in the wall.

    "This is a supirse, the Scatterbugs aren''t that weak and there were plenty of them. What are you guys doing here? If Slith wasn''t dead already, he would die of shame from how weak his Scatterbugs have proven to be." Midwak shook his head in annoyance.

    Izzy, Ian and Numba were looking at Midwak, wondering what they could do, they had lost to him before, and he seemed to be stronger than thest time they had met. On top of that, although they were trying to hide it, they were exhausted from fighting just moments ago.

    "Well, it''s a good thing you''re here now, it will save me the time to locate youter! Now die!!!" Midwak ran towards them, yet the three were ready to do whatever they could to take him out.

    "NOO!" A loud voice shouted.

    A brown furred figure appeared right in front of the students, and grabbed right onto Midwak''s wrists. "The one to die will be you!!!"

    Both of the figures legs were lifted, kicking Midwak right in the stomach and sending him back through the hole in the wall, right into the next room.

    [ss Promotionplete.]

    ******

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 564 Choosing A Path

    A few moments ago, Numba, Izzy and Ian had still been in the main gambling hall. The Scatterbugs'' staff and gang members were proving to be more than a handful, not only did they outnumber the three students by dozens of times, but they were resilient as well.

    "Guys, we seem to have a problem. I''m starting to recognise a few of the ones I hit in the very beginning. They''re starting to get back up and rejoin the fight. Hey, assholes, just stay down, will you?! Don''t make us kill you for real!" Ian shouted.

    The three of them weren''t part of a gang, and while their strength as Altered made it easy for them to take out fully grown adults, they couldn''t bring themselves to kill them. While they knew it would be easy enough given the strength disparity between Altered and human, the psychological barrier from taking a fellow human''s life wasn''t that easy to ignore.

    Ian''s whole body was no longer covered in bristles and instead he just had arge one sticking out of his forearms, he swung it hitting it against a gang debris de knocking it out of his hand, and soon after stabbed him right in the thigh as he kicked him in the stomach.

    "Stay down unless you want a spike through your head! Surely the amount your boss is paying you can''t be worth it to go through this!" Ian pleaded, but it seemed like it really was as the gang members didn''t give up, unaware that the boss that they were being so loyal to, had already died.

    "Do you hear that?" Izzy asked.

    A loud constant sound was being heard, like a small bang one after the other, the whole building was shaking, and the machines were vibrating a little. Soon, it became apparent what the noise was.

    "I think it''s a helicopter." Numba answered. "It seems our little bridge trick onlysted so long, and now the reinforcements havee in after all."

    The sound of the helicopter soon stopped, and although no one wanted to say it to the other, they were tired. Without the help of the rest of the Howlers, they were having to draw out energy from somewhere.

    It didn''t take long for the doors to be burst open from the other side.

    "Arghh!" A few groans and loud noises were being made.

    "We''re being attacked from behind!"

    "Those aren''t our guys! Who the hell are they?!"

    The gang members were shouting in confusion, a feeling shared by the three AFA students. That was until they saw what was attacking the gang members, as it was a man in a clown suit, of all things.

    "The Cardenez group can''t just sit by while the Howlers attempt to attack the Scatterbugs!" Harry exined.

    The chairman of the Cardenez group held onto his chain with a rounded end, and mmed it onto the floor.

    "If the Howlers are to fail today, then it means the Cardenez group will follow suit in due time! To prevent that we''ll support them with all our strength!" Harry shouted, as the Freaks, the personal security team that he had built up rushed to take care of the Scatterbugs'' personnel.

    "Father¡­" Numba whisped, as he stood there, and avoided a punch from a gang member, delivering his own right to the face of a gang member sending him back.

    "Go, son, I''m sure they need your help." Harry prompted Numba.

    The three of them saw that the Freaks seened to have everything under control, so they nodded in confirmation, before they ran off after Gary and the others.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    That was how the three were able to arrive and back up Gary and his friends so far in the fight, how they had managed to save Marie in the nick of time, but now they could see, what they could only assume was Gary in front of them.

    "Everyone, you have done enough! None of you will die here today. Just stand by the side and make sure to not get in the way!" Gary shouted.

    After saying these words, Midwak was seen running out of the hole in the wall, and sprinting right toward Gary. He lifted both of his ws, and ten nails shot out right for them, aiming right towards Gary.

    Since the others were behind him, Gary had no choice, he wasn''t able to avoid them, and instead, shed his ws trying to hit them. He had knocked about three of the nails down, but the others had entered his hand and hit his body.

    They pierced his skin, but did little to damage him.

    "GRAHH!" Gary opened his mouth wide, saliva going everywhere as he sprinted forward. Both of them leapt toward each other, and Gary went to sh right against Midwak''s chest, cutting it open.<novelnext></novelnext>

    However, Midwak grabbed onto Gary''s wrist and pulled him forward, hitting him right in the head. Gary was startled due to the other''s strength, and was pulled forward again as the Omega went to hit him for a second time, but this time Gary grabbed onto his hand, stopping him.

    "I''m d you''re a lot stronger than the Betas you made!" Midwak said. "I see that you managed to use the time to get yourself a snack, no wonder you feel invincible right now, but there is still arge difference between me and you!

    "I thought before, that you had been doing nothing, but now I realize, it wasn''t that, you are just that young of a Alpha, someone who has next to no skills. I have no idea who made you like this, but it''s clear that you know nothing about being a Werewolf. A simple Alpha like you can never take me down!"

    The ws, on Midwak, started to grow twice in size, and looked to turn slightly metallic as if it was metal, he then went to strike against Gary who stepped back, but his forearm had been hit receiving arge wound.

    "You''re right." Gary admitted. "I''m an idiot! I know if Kai, had the same strength as me, if he had been the one to have evolved, he would have already found the perfect way to take care of you, but you see for me, it takes time.

    "I''m just an idiot who will have you to take you down with everything I have!!!"

    Once the ss Promotion had ended, Gary had quickly checked his stats, hoping that they would give him the boost to defeat Midwak.

    Gary Dem

    Grade: Bishop [2/15]

    Level 27

    [Health 250 >>> 300]

    [Exp 2345/38,000]

    [Strength 41 >>> 62]

    [Dexterity 30 >>> 45]

    [Endurance 34 >>> 48]

    Gary had gained quite a bit of stat points from eating the Altered as well, but ncing at the notification screens, he noticed that the more Altered he ate the less stats they gave him, thought it was still far betterpared to eating beasts. Nevertheless, the most impressive things was what hade with his evolution.

    [ss: Dark Warrior]

    [While the night sky is out, your Werewolf self will receive arge boost in your Energy]

    [Your Energy is now doubled]

    [Energy: 300 >>> 500 (+ 500)]

    ******

    *******

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 565 A Dark Strength

    [286/300 HP]

    [968/1000 Energy]

    Gary had already been hit by Midwak a couple of times, but thanks to his new Endurance, which had increased after his feast of Altered, as well as the ss Promotion, this attack hurt him far less than the ones before. On top of that, he had been able to heal the wounds, so the bleeding wouldn''t cause more damage to him on the spot.

    It looked like his new ss allowed his healing abilities to work faster, and now they were no slower than Midwak''s.

    ''It was a tough choice to make, but it seems to have been the right one.'' Gary thought.

    He had chosen what he considered to be best for the current situation. From the little information the Werewolf System had decided to share, one received a boost depending on how righteous his actions were. After having just killed a few Altered, he hadn''t been feeling very righteous, not to mention his head was filled with the desire to get revenge for Kai by killing Midwak.

    Meanwhile, the Dark Warrior imed that he would get a particr boost during night time. Although it wasn''t toote, the dark sky was already out. It also stated that it would grant strength, which was something he wascking against Midwak. For one, the ss Promotion had increased his Energy from 300 to 500, and Gary had been more than happy to see that the current time was considered to be night time, making it so that his current Energy reserve had actually doubled to 1000!

    Midwak leapt in the air with his hardened, elongated ws. They looked like des sticking out of his hand, and tried to swipe it right through Gary''s head. Seeing this, the Alpha Werewolf rolled to the side and the attack sliced right through the marble flooring with ease.

    Before Gary could get up, with his other hand free, Midwak shot out the nails towards him again. Gary went to swipe at them with both hands, faring better this time as he managed to block most of them. As he was busy defending himself, though, Midwak appeared in front of the teenager, and threw a punch right across his face, swinging the whole of Gary''s head to the side.

    [-16 HP]

    [270/300 HP]

    Gary swung back, and made a light scratch on Midwak''s chest, but using his toes, the Omega used the chance to kick the other''s stomach. To his shock, Gary saw that even Midwak''s toenails could elongate, stabbing right into his stomach.

    [-20 HP]

    [250/300 HP]

    "This is fantastic!" Midwak called out. "You''re a living anomaly. Never in the history of Werewolves should there have been an Alpha this weak! Someone above must be watching out for me, granting me this golden opportunity!"

    Gary pulled the foot out from his stomach, and then went to kick Midwak right in the head with his heel. The back of his foot connected Midwak''s the jaw. A loud bang was heard as it made impact. Gary was sure that it would hurt the Omega, since he had put all his speed and strength into it.

    "That''s it, Gary! Use your fighting skills to beat him!" Innu shouted from the side.

    From the fight so far, they could tell, even though Gary was incredibly strong, even after his evolution, Midwak was still faster than him, and his attacks were more powerful. On top of that, his Werewolf body seemed to have a few more tricks up its sleeve, allowing him to do more things.

    Midwak was slightly startled as he stumbled slightly onto his back foot, Gary didn''t waste this chance and went in for the strike.

    [Skill activated w Drain Lv. 2]

    [-30 Energy]

    [910/1000 Energy]

    Gary''s fingernails became longer, not as much as Midwak''s, but certainly an improvement over their previous length. They hit the Werewolf from the shoulder down, digging deep into his body, making him let out a growl. Gary could feel the flesh cutting as his hand moved down. With Midwak''s hand, he soon had put a stop to it, as he held onto Gary''s hand, and used all his might to push it back out the other way.

    "You bastard!" Midwak shouted, as he kicked Gary right on the thigh, and kicked him again, in the stomach, creating distance between the two of them.

    Gary slid across the floor, he was hurt, but noticed something else, his nails, they were still elongated, yet the next moment they disappeared.

    [+15 HP]

    [265/300 HP]

    After healing up, his body was feeling better, but it wasn''t enough topletely make up for the damage he had taken.

    ''The w Drain¡­ it gave me more Health than it should have, and my nails were even longer, and itsted longer, what is this?''

    [w Drain (Level 2)]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Once activated, half of the damage inflicted by the user will be used to recover Health.

    The skill will take 30 points of Energy to use.]

    The skill willst 5 seconds.]

    Gary briefly went over the skill, noticing that it took more Energy, but also that the duration had increased. It would have been a problem before, but not with his current pool of Energy.

    [While the night sky is out, the Dark Warrior gets a boost in its skills]

    ''The system, it said skills, not skill, which means.''

    Midwak, was charging toward Gary once more with his hardened nails, they were stronger than his, but Gary was willing to risk it, as he ran forward.

    [Skill activated Lethal Pounce Lv. 2]

    [-50 Energy]

    [860/100 Energy]

    A sudden shift in his speed, as Gary had leapt to the side, away from Midwak, which confused the Werewolf for a second, but soon pushing off the floor, the Alpha''s whole body mmed right into the Omega from the side.

    The tworge Werewolves skidded across the floor, and Gary was now firmly on top of Midwak. He lifted his hands and started to throw punches. Gary wanted to inflict as much damage as he could and didn''t use his w drain skill. Unfortunately, his opponent''s thick muscles made it hard for him to get through, with the ws, so it was better for him to deal more damage with his fists.

    Gary pounded Midwak from above, one hit after the other, and the marble floor beneath was breaking bit by bit. The entire room was shaking as they witnessed tworge powers.

    "That f*cking hurts!" Midwak shouted, and with his hardened ws he stabbed them right into Gary''s side.

    [-135 HP]

    [A major wound has been inflicted]

    [130/300 HP]

    The pain hurt so much that Gary was unable to continue his beating.

    "You''re so focused on getting rid of me, do you think I pose no threat!" Midwak shouted as he twisted his hand producing more pain.

    [-20 HP]

    [110/300 HP]

    Kicking off the floor, Gary managed to roll away, while holding onto his side, but that one wasn''t healing as quickly as the others were, and he was sure Midwak would soon be on him again.

    "Maybe in your next life, you can try and beat me." Midwak eximed.

    ''Is it not enough¡­ eating all those Altered, and promoting my ss. Just what else do I need to do, to beat a real Werewolf?'' Gary wondered.

    ******

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 Chapter 566 How To Fight, As A Dark Wolf (Part 1)

    [145/300 HP]

    [793/1000 Energy]

    Garya€?s Health was now below half, and while looking at Midwak, although he had delivered a few wounds on him, there were no signs of him slowing down, or weakening at all. He had used a bit of Energy, healing his vital wounds, as well as staying in his full Werewolf form, but still had plenty left.

    a€?Whata€?s the point of having all of this Energy, if there is no use for it?!a€? Gary angrily thought. a€?I thought I had chosen the best ss for the current situation, but maybe the Pdin was the better choice after all.a€?

    The one thing that the Dark Warrior ss stated was that it didna€?t focus on defence at all, and it was one that mainly focused on attack skills. With the Pdin ss he felt like the only thing he could have done wasst longer, but maybe that would have given him the chance to figure things out.

    a€?What can I do with all this energy?!a€? Gary thought.

    Midwak charged with his slight silver long ws, and thrust them forward. Gary knew he wasna€?t fast enough to dodge this attack, not with his side injured, but there was a way for him to force his movement.

    [Skill activated Lethal Pounce Lv. 2]

    [-50 Energy]

    [743/1000 Energy]

    His body suddenly leapt to the side, avoiding the blow. With his skill temporarily raised to the next level, Lethal Pounce consisted of two jumps, one that would move in a random direction and the next one which would actually strike. However, it meant he would have to strike no matter what. As soon as Garya€?s feet touched the floor, the muscles in his body reacted and leapt toward Midwak. He crashed into his side, and could see his ws ready.

    a€?If I''m going to hit him anyway, I might as well get some of my Health back!a€?

    [Skill activated w Drain Lv. 2]

    [-30 Energy]

    Garya€?s ws dug into the side of Midwak. Thanks to the speed boost, his ws managed to pierce the thick hide, yet the strike paled inparison to the Omegaa€?s previous one.

    [+12 HP]

    a€?Nice dodging there, but youa€?re now within my attack rangea€? Midwak shouted, as he grabbed both of Garya€?s forearms, and then lifted the Alpha Werewolfa€?s body over his shoulder mming him right into the ground.

    [-20 HP]

    a€?This is what I was worried about. I avoided one hit, to just get hit with an even bigger hit. The amount I heal isna€?t enough to make up the difference, so Ia€?ll just lose in a direct sh!a€?

    Midwak pointed his sharp nails at Garya€?s throat, attempting to pierce. His attack was stopped, but the Alpha needed both his hands, leaving one of his opponenta€?s hand free. Midwak naturally made good use of it, going for Garya€?s face, but once again he failed. Something stopped his wrist from moving. Oliviaa€?s whip was actually pulling his hand back.

    With him slightly distracted Gary lifted his legs and kicked him in the chest, freeing himself from his situation.

    a€?That''s the second time Oliviaa€?s saved me. Therea€?s no saying there will be a third. I need some way to deal with him.a€? Gary thought, as he charged in, and with a knee he dug in hard right into the side of Midwaka€?s ribs. With both hands, he held on to the back of the ck furred Werewolf. He pulled his head down, while delivering anotherrge knee right into his stomach this time.

    a€?ARGHH!a€? Midwak let out a pained howl and pulled on the hand that was tied up. Without Austin to help her, Olivia wasna€?t able to overpower the Werewolf. Left with no other choice, she let go of the whip, but the momentum caused her face hit the floor.

    a€?You want to lug this out, it will just end in your painful death!a€? Midwak imed, as he made a fist, and punched the ribs of Gary in one side, adn soon after swung his body, and hit Gary in his other side.

    a€?I can feel it... my ribs, even in my Werewolf form, theya€?re breaking. If I were a human, he made have smashed all my bones by now. Shit, I dona€?t know what to do , but I need to hold on!a€? Gary thought, as he pulled down and kneed Midwak in the stomach once more.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Gary was delivering arge blow as well, but Midwak threw out his fist still, this time a hit into Garya€?s side, and again in quick session, blow after blow and this time a loud crack was heard as they were certainly broken.

    a€?LET GO!a€? Midwak shouted.

    [43/300 HP]

    It hurt, it seriously hurt Gary, but he needed to continue, to continue doing as much damage as he could to. The teenager gritted his sharp teeth. He had even pierced part of his bottom lip, but still pulled Midway''s head down and kneed him in the stomach.

    Midwak felt his lega€?s give a little, but ultimately still stood strong.

    a€?Fine, if thata€?s what you want, Ia€?ll give you a warriora€?s death!a€?

    Unlike Gary, Midwaka€?s ws were long, and stabbed deep into Gary aside, pulling his hand out, he stabbed him again in the same side.

    [14/300 HP]

    Due to the way Gary was holding onto his neck, with his head held down, Midwak was unable to finish him, by crushing Garya€?s neck or head, but it didna€?t matter, because there were other ways to take down the Werewolf in front of him.

    Shoving both of his hands forward, with wed hands were ready to pierce Gary, and he could tell by the Alphaa€?s eyes that there wasna€?t much more life in him. This would be it, one final hit that should finish him off.

    Those watching by the side were already running forward, they had stayed out of the fight so far on Garya€?s orders, but watching him so desperately fight, they had to do something.

    a€?You''re toote!a€? Midwak smiled as both of his handsnded deep in Garya€?s stomach.

    Midwak could feel with each strike that Garya€?s grip around his head was weakening, and assuring him that the brown furred Werewolf had to be running on fumes. When Midwak went to move his head though, he could feel there was still a tight grip around it.

    a€?What... how is he still alive?a€? Midwak thought.

    Suddenly his head was pulled down more, and once again arge knee was delivered right into his stomach, just as strong as it did before, and this time Gary let go of him, allowing him to tumble down on one knee.

    The others stopped seeing this, as for some reason Gary was the one standing and Midwak was the one on the ground.

    a€?I figured out the best way to use my new powers.a€? Gary smiled.

    [Skill activated Last Stand Lv. 2]

    [1/300 HP]

    *******

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 Chapter 567 How To Fight, As A Dark Wolf (Part 2)

    There was blood dripping down Gary''s sides, down his midsection, and his arm was still cut, albeit slowly healing away. Comparing the two Werewolves'' bodies, no one would think Gary was winning in this fight. In fact, ever since it began, there wasn''t a real moment where it seemed as if the Alpha had been winning.

    Nevertheless, right now Gary was the one standing, while Midwak was the one that was on one knee.

    "I have seen many resilient Werewolves, but you¡­ you''re like freaking zombie!" Midwak shouted in annoyance as he jumped from his position and tried to strike Gary''s head. Lifting both of his arms, he took the blow, defending his head, while lifting his leg up and kicking Midwak right in the stomach once again.

    ''With Last Stand at Lv. 2, I have 1 minute 30 seconds to turn the tide, I''ll just have to make sure to make the most of this time!'' Gary thought to himself.

    Gary charged in, ignoring Midwak''s counter, as the Omega swung his arm towards his bad side once more. The Aloha swung his fist in an uppercut position. Although he got hit, barely any more blood gushed out, not because it was a weak strike, but because Gary''s body seemed to have already lost most of it.

    Unfortunately, Last Stand didn''t grant him invincibility, meaning Gary could and did feel all the pain he was suffering. Still, he trusted in the skill, so he focused everything into delivering arge blow to his opponent''s stomach, lifting him in the air slightly.

    "How? How are you still standing?!" Midwak appeared to be loosing his cool, continuing to swipe at the other Werewolf time and time again. Gary turtled up, focusing on blocking the strikes to his head, pinning his elbows close to his chest. He wasn''t keen on testing the limits of his ''temporary immortality''. System or not, he couldn''t imagine he would survive if his heart or brain got injured so he would protect these two parts for now.

    Then, there was a break, a slight gap, when Midwak needed to catch his breath. Moving in again, this time swinging his hand out from the side like a hook, Gary mmed the Omega in the stomach once more.

    However, his side was badly hurt, and Gary was unable to deliver another blow.

    "What is he doing?" Ian asked. "How is Gary still alive, and why is he just hitting the stomach all the time?"

    Everyone watched thought it was strange as well. There were few chances for Gary to attack in this fight. Midwak was able to hit Gary almost four times as much, so when Gary did get a hit, why wouldn''t he go for a vital strike?

    "He''s slowing him down." Innu said. "Strikes to the stomach, they eat at your stamina, mess up your breathing and slow you down. Gary noticed Midwak in general is faster than him, but¡­I don''t know what his n is, if he continues like this, then he''s going to die!"

    The others thought the same, what crazy n was Gary trying toe up with. Right now, the teenager was suffering from the fact that Last Stand did nothing to stop his umted damage, he still felt all the pain, and his injuries still needed more time to heal, something he sorelycked.

    He was struggling just to stand from the blows on his body, but he bared through it, throwing another punch, aiming at at the same spot like the others. It was as powerful as the others, each striking the same strength causing Midwak to spit out blood.

    ''This damn Alpha, he is resilient, and each of his strikes have the same amount of power in them!''

    "You can''t win like this, spare yourself the trouble, since we both know it''s only a matter of time!" Midwak stated, not looking too good now after the reacted hits in the stomach, but Gary looked ten times worse.

    [30 seconds remaining]

    ''This is it, it''s now or never!'' Gary thought, jumping back, but only slightly, as he kept focus on Midwak.

    "This is payback¡­for Kai. You should have never touched one of my people." Gary shouted, his hands nearly dangling on the floor. Midwak went to take a step forward, but the next second Gary was gone from his sight.

    [Skill activated Lethal Pounce Lv. 2]

    [-50 Energy]

    [Skill activated w Drain Lv. 2]

    [-30 Energy]

    Jumping out from the side, Gary shed Midwak''s shoulders, cutting deep, andnding in front of him. Midwak went to raise and attack Gary from above, but he soon disappeared again.

    [Skill activated Lethal Pounce Lv. 2]

    [-50 Energy]<novelnext></novelnext>

    Disappearing again, Gary jumped appeared at Midwak''s side, before he lunched at Midwak, he shed at midway''s back four more times. Midwak desperately swung his arm behind him but hit nothing but the air.

    [Skill activated Lethal Pounce Lv. 2]

    [-50 Energy]

    [Skill activated w Drain Lv. 2]

    [-30 Energy]

    Two ws stabbed Midwak right in the stomach, and they were pulled out, and he was stabbed in the stomach another two times. Opening his mouth, Midwak went to bite down right on Gary, who was in front of him.

    Arge snap was heard, as Midwak''s mouth hit nothing but the air. From the right, a w snatched his face, the nails got inside Midwak''s mouth splitting it apart. Gary was using the Lethal Pounce skill to avoid and strike, and each time the w Drain skill ran out, he renewed it.

    The others could see Gary moving at a crazy speed, going from one ce to the other, attacking Midway, makingrge cuts,rge marks all over his body while Midwak looked like a lost Werewolf hitting nothing but the air.

    Once again, a strike from the left this time, but rather than a w, it was a fist as it hit Midwak right in the side of the face, benign his whole body to the side, and him crashing down on the floor.

    Gary finally stopped moving, and stood in front of his body. Looking up from the ground, Midwak was confused as he looked at Gary, because he looked better than he did before.

    [182/300 HP]

    [243/1000 Energy]

    [Last Stand hase to an end]

    "You told me I would need multiple lives to beat you, didn''t you?" Gary walked up to Midwak, who was now badly injured from the repeated wounds. He got up off the floor, but his stomach was in incredible pain.

    His only answer came in the form of a fist, which wasn''t even a w anymore, but Gary knocked it away, punching Midwak in the face. He hit him cleanly on the nose scrunching it up. Not just one hit, but Gary then threw out another fist, hitting him with his other hand.

    Before Midwak could fall down, Gary grabbed his head, using his hands to close his mouth, and pulled it forward.

    "Don''t mess with my f*cking gang!" Gary shouted as he threw his fist as hard as he could, hitting Midwak clean on the side of the mouth, shattering the side of his teeth, and his whole body copsed, falling to the floor.

    With that hit, his body was now shrinking, tuning back into its human form. Midwak was spent, he was out of energy and he knew his body could no longer put up a fight, but he finally realised something.

    "Now I see¡­ your sudden boost in strength, being able to fight like that. In my former Pack they called ones like you Dark Warriors or Night Warriors, though there was an even better name¡­ Red Eyed Hunters".

    *******

    *******

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 Chapter 568 What To Do?

    Several blinks, pinches and deep breaths were let out, from everyone who stood at the side, because they could now tell that the fight was over, but it was hard for them all to believe. Every step of the way, every second during the fight, they felt like their fight could havee to an end.

    "Gary, he really won the fight against that monster," Ian said out loud.

    "Honestly, Gary is pretty amazing, I¡­don''t even understand what happened, his body, how was it even able to heal at that speed? It was almost like he got a second wind." Numba said.

    The members of the Howlers, although surprised, didn''t have too many questions, because they knew that Gary wasn''t an Altered, but this mystical thing called a Werewolf and they understood very little when it came to the subject surrounding that.

    "That''s just how our boss is." Innu said, looking at his back starting to shrink. Gary was reverting to his human form as well, conserving his energy but he still had plenty to turn back into a Werewolf if need be. "He seems to always get the job done somehow."

    With the fight calming down or seemingly over, they were wondering, what was Gary going to do now, what was he going to do to Midwak. The AFA students who had enteredter, not no longer needing to fight, were looking around and truly taking in the scene in front of them.

    They were starting to feel sick, as they saw the dead bodies around, ripped apart and ruined, it was the same for the other side of the room. They had realised during the fight that Gary Altered form was simr to Midwaks, and many of those around them, there was no question based on what they saw Gary do, that this was all Midwak''s doing.

    ''Is Gary going to kill him?'' Izzy thought. ''He has to be, right? It''s not like the police can just lock someone like that guy up, and leaving him alive means risking that he mighte back for revenge.''

    While everyone was worried about what Gary was going to do next, Olivia had run over to the young boy who was on the floor. The axe that was in Austin''s chest had fallen out at some point, and she could see there was no wound there.

    "Hey, are you asleep?" Olivia asked, in an annoyed voice. "Answer me."

    Austin opened his eyes. "I''m awake¡­ I saw Gary kick that guy''s arse, so I thought I deserved a little bit of rest."

    If a regr Altered''s chest had been pierced by that axe, they would have been done for, but it seemed that Austin''s Mystical Altered self was proving to be far more resilient than the others had given him credit for.

    "Midwak, is it?" Gary said as he walked over to the Werewolf on the ground. "You wanted to kill me, and take over my Pack."

    Gary then kneeled down, and ced his hand around the other''s throat, gripping tightly.

    "You hurt one of my members, you put him out on disy to get my attention, to bring me here, right? Well, you did a great job. I''m here now, and I''m going to make you pay for everything you put me and my group through."

    While holding his head up by the neck with one hand, Gary held out his other hand, transforming it, with his nails elongated. With one thrust, he would end Midway''s life, and put an end to this entire mess involving the Scatterbugs.

    "Gary, wait!" A voice shouted echoing in the whole room,ing from the doors, and as every turned around their eyes started to light up.

    "Kai!" Marie called out. "What are you doing here? Shouldn''t you be in the hospital?!"

    "I''m fine." Kai replied, as he had a serious look on his face and walked forward, hurrying to Gary''s side. Gary waited, until the three Werewolves were looking at each other.

    "Gary, you exceeded my expectations." Kai praised their leader. "I trusted you would do a good job, but I was sure you would need a bit of extra help. I even asked Harry Cardenez to lend me a chopper, all in an attempt to make it in time to assist you.

    "Well, so much for arriving like a hero and have you owe me one. What''s more, seeing since you did all of this on my behalf, I guess I''m the one who owes you one."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Gary''s grip loosened around Midwak''s neck as he saw Kai was up and moving and even joking around. Still, the green haired teenager noticed that Kai seemed to have some difficulty speaking, his jaw just wasn''t the same as it was before. He wasn''t even wearing a mask due to how much of a rush he had been in, making therge scar on the bottom of his entire mouth visible for all to see.

    "Gary." Kai said, cing his hand on his shoulder. "As the one who suffered the most from what that piece of shit did, I know more than anyone that he shouldn''t be forgiven¡­ but I think it''s in our best interest to keep him alive."

    Listening to this, the others were left with their mouths wide open. How could they let Midwak live? He was the most dangerous, even more dangerous than the rest of the Scatterbugsbined and based on his personality he would surelye back and attempt revenge.

    "The Scatterbugs are arge gang, and with nobody else around, he''s the only one who can take over." Kai went on to exin. "If we send our people, it will just end up as arge-scale war. There will be those that won''t be willing to listen to us, even if we subdue the Scatterbugs, there''ll be countless infighting.

    "But if Midwak joins us, and is part of the Howlers controlling the Scatterbugs for us, just like Olivia has done with the Pincers, there will be less of a pushback, and if anything, Midwak is strong enough to deal with any problems that might arise by himself."

    Kai did have a solid point, but Gary had never considered the possibility of taking over the gang. Admittedly, his ''n'' had only involved getting there, and deal with the Werewolf ''somehow''. Still, now that Kai mentioned it, the Omega was the only one left from the Scatterbugs'' higher ups. He was the only one who knew the establishments and the rtionships with the people and more.

    Taking over a Tier-2 city was impossible for a Tier-3 gang for more reasons than just a generalck of strength.

    "As if I wouldply!" Midwakughed.

    Gary was surprised at his reaction. Not that he was particrly interested in sparing him, but with Kai, his primary victim, being the one to vouch for him, to still resist the opportunity to safe his own hide¡­

    "Aside from the gang aspect, there is another reason to keep him alive. He is like us, but unlike us he knows far more about what it means to live like this. We have no idea when we might stumble upon someone like him in the future, but that information might be crucial in learning how to deal with others. Next time, we might not be as lucky as today."

    Gary had also considered that, and it was the major reason, why he hadn''t killed the Werewolf outright. His Werewolf System, as useful as it was, unfortunately kept most things secret from him, but Midwak had admitted to knowing things about his evolution and more. The chance to question a real Werewolf was invaluable for them, especially since they had no idea how many were out there.

    "As an Omega, he doesn''t belong to any Pack, so why not invite him to ours? With the rules, we can ensure he won''t do anything stupid." Kai further coaxed Gary.

    Hearing this, Midwak broke out inughter, sounding like a madman. The action was clearly hurting his throat, but he showed no signs of stopping.

    "You pups really are cute, but let me be the bearer of bad news!" Midwak eventually let out amidst hisugh. "Your Alpha here might have defeated me, but he''s not strong enough to force me to join your Pack!"

    *****

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 Chapter 569 A Quest Complete

    Kai knew quite a bit about Werewolves from his own research and from what Gary had informed him, but he didn''t know that the Werewolves themselves were a lot moreplicated than what could be read in the books.

    A lot of what the system had informed Gary about, with the chess-like ranking system and the pack rules that could be changed, it was hard to exin with things like a simple system. There were times where Gary thought these things were unique to him, but judging by Midwak''s reaction that didn''t seem to be the case at all.

    The rules of the Werewolves seemed to be more widespread than he first thought, because it was clear Midwak knew why Gary was unable to invite him into his pack.

    ''I''m a Bishop, while Midwak is ssified as a Rook. ording to the system. An Alpha is unable to force those that are higher rank than them into the pack. If that''s the case, even if I changed the Pack rules to make it so Midwak would be uncontroble, it would be impossible.''

    The Pack rules, the fact that the others listened to the Alpha in the first ce, as well as even the change into an Alpha, it all seemed quite magical in a way of how it worked, but that was important now.

    Gary raised up his hand, transforming it into its werewolf form.

    "Is this really the only way!" Kai stated. He was upset because Midwak was a huge asset to them. There was so much information, and not only that so much they could do with the tier-2 city. Without Midwak, they would have to give up on Notsburg for now, and it would perhaps be taken over by another city. They just didn''t have the strength or manpower to control a tier-2 at the moment, not at the level they needed.

    Swinging his arm out, Gary had made his choice. His wed hand soon turned into a fist, and tensing his feet he let out a big hit right at the side of Midwak''s head, hitting him nearly square on in the temple.

    It was a strong blow that would have cracked most people''s skull, and in this case they weren''t so sure it hadn''t been done. Midwak''s eyes rolled into the back of his head, as he copsed on the floor.

    "Is he dead?" Kai asked.

    "No¡­ there is one more thing we can try." Gary stated.

    With that hit, just as expected there was a ding sound,ing from his system.

    [You have defeated the leader of the Scatterbugs. (The New temporary leader at least)]

    [It seems you are growing, and your Werewolf pack needs to grow with you!]

    [20 Pawn points have been awarded]

    ''20 Pawn points!'' Gary couldn''t quite believe the number, but he knew in the past whenever he did things that would require him to act the ugliest in the whole gang, or at least everyone in the pack, he would receive arge number of points.

    Originally, he was using the pawn points in exchange for stat points, getting himself stronger, which had been the point so far, but now he was put in a situation where his rank certainly mattered, and it was what he was banking on.

    With this, he had enough points to evolve himself to the next rank, and possibly change it so the others were higher as well.

    [Additional quest reward!]

    [You have defeated a Werewolf of a higher rank]

    [Your Grade will now evolve from Bishop >> Rook]

    A slight tingling sensation could be felt all over Gary''s body for a second, it felt like ants were rushing up his blood vessels on the inside but it quickly disappeared as well.

    ''Wait a second, did I just go up a grade as well? Without having to use any of my pawn points?''

    When looking at the system it seemed to be the case, as Gary still had 20 pawn points avable.

    [2/50 Pawn points needed to go up to the next Grade]

    [20 Pawn points avable]

    ''The leap in pawn points I need to go to the next grade is high, but there should only be two more grades, Queen and then King. Although this type of situation, where there are high ranking Omegas, would hardly ur again.

    Gary then started to walk over to the fallen Midwak, who was starting to get up, his head still in a slight daze, and the screen had popped up in front of Gary.

    [Due to sessfully defeating the Omega wolf, you may now decide its fate]

    [1: kill the Stray Omega wolf]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [2: Invite the Omega wolf into your pack.]

    "Do you think I have no will?" Midwak said, as he rubbed the side of his head. "You think you can control me!"

    [You have selected to invite the Omega into your pack]

    At that moment, Gary''s eyes were glowing red, a bright red that stared deep into the other''s eyes, and although it seems like Midwak was trying his best to put up a fight, he was unable to look away, his muscles were tensed up in his neck, but he could do nothing as his eyes were changing from a yellow to a blue-like colour.

    [The Werewolf Midwak, has joined your pack]

    "Change the pack rules!" Gary said out loud, and he did so, so the other Werewolves around could hear.

    "The Werewolf Midwak, is unable to attack members that are considered to be part of the Howlers Gang and those that are under our umbre."

    "The Werewolf Midwak, has to follow the orders of all core members of the Howlers when asked."

    "The Werewolf Midwak, is unable to kill, unless he feels as if his life is threatened."

    "The Werewolf Midwak, is unable to bite and turn others!"

    "The Werewolf Midwak, can not leave the city of Notsburg without the permission of the Core members of the Howlers!"

    With that, all of the original rules that had been created for the Werewolves had been removed, and every single one of them were used to restrain Midwak in every way possible. The rules were originally put in ce to restrain Olivia most of all.

    Gary trusted Kai, but Olivia had been more loyal than perhaps even she realised. She started to care for those around them, and had saved members of the Howlers multiple times. Even now, she was by Austin''s side.

    At the same time, not a single time, had she tried to fight for the Alpha position.

    "These rules, you''re trying to keep me as a prisoner!" Midwak, was almost screaming at the top of his lungs showing his displeasure. "You think you''re smart by doing this, well you''re a fool! You think I don''t know what you are?

    "The second I''ve recovered, and it''s daylight, I''ll challenge you for the Alpha position, and take your position right from under your nose. You''ve just made my job a lot easier by trying to keep me by your side!"

    It was true, Gary would have to fight Midwak all over again, and it seemed like MIdwak would be the type of person who would fight him every month without fail.

    This was something Gary was worried about, but with his twenty pawn points, he was sure that he could make himself quite a bit stronger, but part of the reason Gary was able to beat Midwak, was due to everyone else fighting him beforehand, and the night sky didn''t just give him more energy, but allowed his skills to reach a new level as well.

    "Do you think you can?" Kai asked. "We won''t just let you attack our leader like that. You might be able to beat us individually, but all of us can stop you."

    "Yeah!" Izzy shouted as well. "And do you think you could just waltz in to challenge Gary while he''s in the AFA. You''re strong, you stupid wolf, but I would like to see you try to take on all those from the AFA."

    Izzy, listening in on everything, was getting a grasp on the situation and frustrated by the taunts, she had to say something.

    "But it doesn''t have to be that way." Kai eventually said to Midwak. "There is a reason why you did all of this right? A reason why you tried to take over the Scatterbugs. You didn''t care about the Cardenezpany, that was all your old boss''s doing.

    "Maybe we can scratch each other''s back in this situation." Kai suggested.

    ******

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 Chapter 570 A Whole New World

    A lot of work needed to be done in the casino, and the first call of action was to make everyone aware that the leader of the Scatterbugs was no more. It was fairly easy to do, especially since the Cardenez group, along with the Freaks, had already dealt with most of those inside the casino.

    Some members of the Howlers went downstairs and made the announcement, while showing quite a bit of proof, as there were some of the rings being held up on disy that only Slith ever wore on his hands.

    This had disheartened the people, but even more so, the news would spread out to the entire city. It would take a while though, as there was no easy way for the customers or the gang members to leave the ce.

    There were a few emergency boats that could be used to transfer the customers back to the maind, and for now, the Cardenez group were helping with that, as had been ordered by the Howlers.

    Kai knew there was a lot of work to be done, and it needed to be done quickly as well. There were multiple problems with what was going to happen. How would the remaining Scatterbug members react, if any of the nearby enemies they had made, or even those just wanting to get on top of an opportunity, the longer everything was going to take, the more chance of disturbances like so would happen.

    While Kai was busy searching the entire Casino, Gary and Innu were looking over Midwak. They had brought him to a VIP gambling room that had a poker table in the middle. Away from the main area.

    Midwak wasn''t tied up or anything, but they had made sure not to give him any food and made him stay away from food as well. Having been beaten so badly, he was out of energy and a werewolf needed to eat.

    Keeping him in this state was the safest thing to do and it would be dark for quite a bit more. The AFA students were helping out Harry Cardenez''s group, but Harry himself instead was with Kai, as they both had raided the offices along with Olivia, finding all of the paperwork they needed.

    "Really, what is the point of keeping this stuff in a safe? Any altered could sh through these things anyway." Gary said to himself as he pulled out the paperwork while his hand started to transform back into what it was.

    What they had been searching for were all the deeds, thepany files, and more. All of it was in Slith''s name, which was in a way quite problematic. In Olivia''s situation they had forced her to sign everything over, but in this case, Slith was dead.

    "I can take care of it." Harrymented. "I have some talented people. There will be quite a big price to pay, but I will take care of it all. After all, you and your gang have done more than enough. You have protected my family members, and my entire business. I never dreamed that this would be the oue."

    For a moment, Kai breathed a sigh of relief, because he had someone he could rely on. So far in the journey of the Howlers he had been doing most of the work like so. He had Olivia who was well versed and his own knowledge for when he worked under his father.

    For the first time, he had someone he could fully trust to do things.

    ''It was a good decision going fifty/fifty on that deal. It looks like we have a great partner for now and in the future.''

    Now they only had one big problem left, and depending how it went, it would determine how easy it would be for them to take control over Notsburg or not.

    Eventually, all members of the Howlers had entered the private gambling room where Midwak was being kept. Harry, and the others were busy still dealing with the gang members and others and was also quick to mark a call to someone who could sort out the documents for them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    When entering the room, they still felt a heavy presence as Midwak sat in the chair. They couldn''t believe it, he had already been beaten, he had no shirt on, and was clearly out of energy but it was his eyes. They always looked like they were ready for a fight at any second.

    "You must be getting pretty hungry now, right?" Kai asked, as he sat down. "We know more than anyone that a werewolf''s hunger is an unbearable pain, and I''m sure as soon as you get your energy back, you no doubt will try and take us all on."

    Midwak chuckled hearing this.

    "Do you think I''m an idiot. If I tried to fight him, now while it was dark outside he would have the advantage. You really know nothing about werewolves do you? I can''t believe I was beaten by such an amateurish pack!"

    Gary hadn''t told the others about his evolution, so it was safe to say they were confused but Gary did know and he was surprised as this wasn''t the first time Midwak had made these types ofments, and now it was clear that he knew what Gary was.

    "You''re right." Gary said. "We know nothing about werewolves, but right now, you are in my pack. We are in this together, and it''s quite clear that without information from you, that we might all end up dead.

    "You¡­ I can tell, you want to live, don''t you? There is a reason you want to live, a reason why you fought so hard and wanted to take the Alpha position. Now that you''re in my pack, I want you to answer some questions for us.

    "For the sake of your survival and the sake of your own goal. Who are you? Why are you an Omega wolf, how many werewolves are there out there, and what do we need to look out for?" Gary asked.

    Without realising it, these set of events, would open up a whole new world, that Gary never even knew existed.

    *****

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 Chapter 571 A Different World

    Chapter 571 A different world

    The Howlers were all waiting for Midwak to answer, as they were quite interested in Gary¡¯s past. Why was he a Werewolf, where did they evene from? Although the teenager had confided in them, he toocked the answers to many questions about his new being. He knew he wasn¡¯t fully human anymore, but neither was he truly an Altered nor a beast.

    In the first ce, they weren¡¯t even sure if Midwak would answer their questions. He had no reason to help him, so Kai had offered him ess something to eat, sure that this was something the Omega Werewolf would desperately crave.

    They had chopped up the body of one of those who had died during the initial ambush. They weren¡¯t about to risk him regaining too much Energy, so they used a human, rather than one of the Altereds¡¯ flesh. None of them really wanted to disrespect the dead further, but Kai justified these actions by choosing to believe that it was more important to care about his living friends.

    ¡°Do you think food would really tempt me?¡± Midwak asked with dribble slightly dropping from his lower lip.

    If Midwak, wasn¡¯t going to talk, then Gary would have to perhaps change the rules, but in the first ce, it stated that Midwak would have to follow the orders of the Howlers, and something waspelling him to speak.

    ¡°First, you are all idiots!¡± Midwak dered, his eyes darting towards the bag with the meat. ¡°If you really knew anything about the world, and what really goes on behind the scenes, then you should have continued to stay low, but now your gang has taken over a Tier-2 city.

    ¡°It''s not every day something like this happens, and take a wild guess how often a Tier-3 gang manages to pull such a stunt off. All eyes will be on you soon enough, you¡¯ll get investigated because everyone will want to stay cautious off the Howlers.¡±

    Although this was all true, Gary didn¡¯t regret his decision for even a second. The ted look on Numba¡¯s face, the satisfied look on Kai¡¯s when he had seen Midwak defeated seemed well worth it.

    ¡°What''s done is done.¡± Gary stated. ¡°We¡¯ll have to move forward and will deal with things as theye up.¡±

    Midwak let out a big sigh. It was unbelievable to him how he could lose to the people surrounding him. The fact that they were utterly clueless about how deep in trouble they were was only serving to infuriate him further. In a way, telling them a little bit of information would make him look less bad.

    ¡°Argh, it¡¯s so frustrating dealing with idiots who don¡¯t even understand how fucker they are.¡± Midwak cursed. ¡°First off, what happened to me is none of your business, and it won¡¯t help you in any way, so the short version of my story is that I¡¯m a Werewolf who used to run with a different Pack.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never cared too much about our history, so while I can¡¯t tell you exactly how old it is, it¡¯s been around for ages, might have even been around since the first Werewolves. I don¡¯t know about today, but while I was a member, it was MUCHrger than your sorry excuse of Pack. One day I was kic- I left the pack, due to some disagreements, and eventually ended up meeting Slith, who gave me a spot with his Scatterbugs. I stayed by his side because he had a knack for money, as well as for gathering around strong people.

    ¡°Even though, at any point and time I could have taken him out, and taken over the gang, I didn¡¯t because I''m not a fool. He was the perfect smokescreen, helping me avoid any unnecessary attention to myself. I know that the moment I turn up on their radar, they would send someone to take me out. Well, things changed with your leader¡¯s existence.

    ¡°It¡¯s been¡­ heck I don¡¯t even know how long it¡¯s been since there were two Alphas. I¡¯ve only heard about such a thing from some old stories. I guess I should have known that you would amount to nothing more than an anomaly. After all, who be dumb enough to turn you into an Alpha of all people.¡±

    Gary was trying to hold in his anger, because every time Midwak talked, he did so in a way where he would continuously insult them.

    ¡°To sum it up, you¡¯ve got kicked out from your Pack, which is much greater than ours, and now we have a problem in that the other Alpha will not like Gary¡¯s existence?¡± Kai repeated, earning himself a nasty re from Midwak by using the phrase ¡®kicked out¡¯. ¡°Where are they, what are they doing and roughly how many Werewolves are there? Do you have any ideas how and why Gary be an Alpha in the first ce?¡±

    Midwak shrugged his shoulders. ¡°How am I meant to know? I just told you that I did all I could to avoid their attention, so I sure as hell didn¡¯t do any investigations into them. From what I know, Alphas are either gained from taking over the position or naturally selected, but there is a tale that is told to all Werewolves. ¡®There can never be two Alphas that coexist.¡¯

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason I only heard about two Alphas from old stories, whenever there have been two Packs, they would all eventually sh with each other one way or another. If I had be an Alpha, the first thing I would have done was turn as many people as possible. A Werewolf grows in strength from turning others, and having arge Pack is a big plus for any Alpha. It¡¯s really a travesty, him having this wondrous power, and what did he do with it? There¡¯s a grand total of three of you little whelps!¡± Midwakughed as he finished.

    Gary could guess why one would get stronger. He remembered from the system that he would get a Pawn Point for every Werewolf that he turned. At the same time, all those that they beat, killed while he was around them, he would also get additional exp from that as well.

    ¡°Does this mean that the Werewolves wille after us, the second they¡¯re sure of our existence?¡± Innu asked.

    ¡°After you? Please, how egocentric can you be?¡± Midwak waved his hand. ¡°You¡¯re neither a Werewolf, nor are you an Altered. Even if you have beaten a Tier-2 gang, at best you¡¯ve evolved from maggots into flies in their eyes. The only reason to pay any attention to you in particr would be due to your axes, so congrattions, you¡¯ve moved up from fly into a rodent.¡±

    ¡°Is that because they are one of the Kings?¡± Kai asked, as he had somewhat figured it out already.

    ¡°Thank the heavens there is at least one smart person among you.¡± Midwak smiled. ¡°See, I knew it was a good thing keeping you alive, I really liked you. I nearly feel a smidgen of guilt now for what I did to you back there. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to work together and betray your green haired friend to be the boss?¡±

    There was a stern look from everyone in the room when he posed his suggestions. If there was one thing Midwak was sure about was that these ¡®idiots¡¯ were as dumb as they were loyal to Gary.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, the Werewolves are one of the untouchable Kings, meaning neither the gangs, the government, the AFA, NIRV, nor the Altered Hunters can do anything to them. The Kings are above all of these, and none of those organisations can touch you.

    ¡°And let me tell you something else, you would be an idiot to think that they don¡¯t already know about you. Trust me, the only reason why they have yet to pay you a visit must be because they have their own troubles keeping them upied.¡±

    Gary was slightly confused. Midwak had just stated that the Werewolves were above all of those organisations that were mentioned. Only another King could reallypete with them in terms of power and influence, so what trouble would they have.

    ¡°Troubles¡­ you just told us how scary these Werewolves are, so what troubles would they have?¡± Olivia asked the question Gary was thinking.

    It looked like Midwak wanted to bang his head on the table, but he restrained himself as he looked straight at Gary dead in the eye.

    ¡°You¡­ you''re a Dark Warrior, correct?¡±

    The others were now losing track of the conversation, but Gary knew the name well as he recently learned about it.

    ¡°You are quite a lucky one.¡± Midwak continued. ¡°Given what you are, they probably won¡¯t outright kill you, you might prove far more useful to them alive. Think about it, Werewolves who have lived for a long time, they essentially have no equal. You might be a pup but I bet you felt it already, given our speed of growth, not even the top Altered stand a chancepared to our elites.

    ¡°So what would give them trouble in this world, and why would you, the Dark Warrior, be given the nickname of the Red Eyed Hunter?¡±

    ¡®Red eyes?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®Omega wolves have yellow eyes, Beta wolves blue, red eyes, they are the Alphas¡­so what¡­ Am I an Alpha hunter?¡¯

    In that room, there was only one person who had somewhat figured it out, but the mere possibility of his answer being true sent shivers down his entire spine.

    ******

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 Chapter 572 Red Eyed Hunter

    After Gary had turned Kai into a Werewolf, the blonde teenager had spent his limited free time doing extensive research on the type of creature he had be. Unfortunately, given that barely any people believed in their existence, his main source of information hade from reading old myths and legends.

    Speaking from his own experience, he had to admit that most of them were unreliable to the truth of the matter. For example, he had felt nothing upon touching silver. After exhausting the sources he could find, Kai had started to read the only other type of media that entailed Werewolves... fantasy novels.

    With those, Kai had the opposite problem, there were far more than he could read in his lifetime, though he had encountered some useful pieces of information. He wasna€?t sure if any of the authors had ever met a Werewolf, or those cases had just been lucky coincidences.

    In any case, one of the simrities most of those fantasy novels shared was there was one type of creature that was often described as a sort of natural enemy of the Werewolf, the Vampire. Even more fitting, one of their characteristics were their red eyes.

    a€?Are you telling us that Vampires are real?a€? Kai questioned Midwak who merely smiled at the correct conclusion. While the others had troubleing to terms to this, the trio of Werewolves had only various levels of shock. Given their own existence that defiedmon sense, was it so hard to believe that there were other things out there?

    a€?The Dark Warrior is a type of Werewolf who is stronger under the night sky.a€? Midwak began to exin. a€?One of the biggest advantages we have over those bloodsuckers is the fact that we have no problem with broad daylight. Well, there might be some exception, but that doesna€?t matter right now.

    a€?There are too many theories about how it all started, but suffice to say that we and them have a blood feud going on that wona€?t end until one side is exterminated. Since most of the fights happen at nighttime due to their condition, youa€?re a Werewolf that is greatly sought after.a€?

    From Midway''s exnation, he understood how important Dark Warriors were for the Werewolves. Although Packs were separated from each other almost like different families, they had amon enemy and for now they were leaving Gary, not because they knew what he was, but because they had bigger problems.

    a€?I cana€?t believe it... are they really out there? Is it true what they say about them sucking blood and that they can turn you into one of them if they do?a€? Marie questioned, feeling her skin crawl as she imagined arge set of teeth sinking through her neck, but soon the face of a pale skinned beauty also entered her mind.

    a€?Maybe it''s not too bad to be bit.a€? Marie mumbled to herself, and shook her head as she snapped out of it. a€?Howa€?s it possible for them to exist with nobody knowing it?!a€?

    Midwak looked toward Marie first and licked his lips as if she was a delicious snack, but under the table Gary soon kicked his shin, and quite hard. The Omega reacted by trying to bare his teeth and transform, but it didna€?t work as he didna€?t have any energy to keep up the transformation.

    a€?What are you so surprised about, you didna€?t know about Werewolves for most of your life, but now you do. Just because you have never seen anything before doesna€?t mean they dona€?t exist.a€? Midwak snorted.

    a€?Are they one of the Kings?a€? Kai asked.

    Midwak answered, shaking his head. a€?Unlike us, they cana€?t pass as Altered, so it would be hard for them to fit among the Kings. Besides, from what I know about them, they seem to be a secretive bunch. That being said, they still have managed to infiltrate most parts of society with none of you even suspecting anything.

    a€?Gang members, police force, politicians, CEOs frompanies, therea€?s no way to know for sure. The vampires... are idiots. Despite their power to easily take over everything, for some reason they choose to do nothing. It''s hard to understand them.a€?

    The group had already learnt a lot from Midwak, and continued their questioning including which of the Kings was the leader that they needed to look out for and kept that in mind.

    After that, it was time to discuss what would happen with Notsburg and Midwak. It was stated that the Scatterbugs would officially be part of the Howlers, and the one that would lead this separate division would naturally be the Omega.

    If there was any against that or any disputes that would happen in the meantime, he was to deal with them. Kai''s prediction was that after Midwak defeated those who defied the new order a couple of times, things would calm down.

    After all, unlike Oliviaa€?s business, the gambling establishments would remain open and stay operating how they were. The gang members would continue to get paid, so for them the biggest change would be the person on the other end of the cheque book.

    a€?There, youa€?ve learned more than enough, now let me eat!a€? Midwak demanded as he was sniffing the air.

    a€?Not yet.a€? Gary refused as he stood up. a€?I want you to challenge me right now. I already know that those in the Pack can only challenge the Alpha once a month.a€?

    a€?If you know, then why would I challenge you now?a€? Midwak asked, his eyes asking the teenager whether he was stupid.

    a€?Youa€?re free not to, but then forget about the food. As you said, wea€?ve learned more than enough, and I dona€?t particrly care whether you die or not. Youa€?re someone who tried killing all my friends in here.a€? Gary answered, staring at him with red eyes. a€?I understand that you could be a powerful asset, but if you dona€?t want to cooperate then wea€?ll find a way to survive even without you<novelnext></novelnext>

    a€?The way I see it, you need us far more than we need you. After all, wea€?re your best chance to actually get revenge on the Alpha who did this to you, right? You cana€?t do that dead, so therea€?s one good reason for you to agree to fight me now.

    a€?Ia€?ll let you challenge me once a month whenever you want. You only need to beat me once for the position to be yours, then youa€?ll be free to do whatever you want with the Pack and the gang.a€?

    The others looked at each other in shock. They couldna€?t imagine a gang without Gary. They thought he must have had a ploy to stop the monthly challenges, but hearing him now, he didna€?t.

    a€?Dona€?t get me wrong, I''m not just going to let you beat me. I n to beat you every month, proving to you why I deserve this position. From what you said before, the other Alpha will eventuallye for us, so if I cana€?t even beat the likes of you, then the Pack would be better in your hands anyway.

    a€?Think about.a€? Kai chimed in. a€?You have nothing to gain by refusing Gary, but if you stay in our Pack, youa€?ll eventually have the opportunity to fight against your former Pack.a€?

    Midwak started to contemte. The young Alpha had barely defeated him, and they all knew that the Omegaa€?s downfall was a team effort. The real question was how quickly would Gary be able to grow in the span of one month. Would it be enough to beat him again? Even if it was, as long as they continued to fight, Midwak was sure he would be able to beat him eventually.

    a€?Ia€?ve worked under Slith for years, whata€?s a few more months under this twerpa€? Midwak eventually concluded.

    a€?Fine!a€? Mdiwak shouted as the pain in his stomach was bing unbearable. a€?I challenge the leader for position of the Alpha!a€?

    A ding was heard from Garya€?s system but just as quick the message disappeared with another one.

    a€?I admit defeat.a€? Midwak ground his teeth as those words were a little hard for him to say.

    Kai looked at the two Werewolves, as he had thoughts swirling around in his head.

    a€?I know what we''re doing is dangerous having someone like this trying to stab our back at all times, but Midwak essentially wants to take over the Pack, so he has a shared interest in helping us get stronger.

    a€?The only thing is, Gary needs to make sure he keeps getting stronger, so he keeps on top of Midwak, but maybe this is a good thing and will skyrocket his growth. You have already grown at an incredible pace, Gary, but now I have to ask you to continue to do so. I wonder just how much stronger youa€?ll get.a€? Kai thought.

    With the a€?fighta€? over, Midwak finally received his food.

    -----

    It didna€?t take long for others to learn about the amazing feat the Howlers had aplished.

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 573 Reaction To The Howlers

    A change in leadership of such a magnitude was naturally impossible to keep under wraps. Information was being passed around among the local gangs who continued to spread the tale far and wide.

    Over the span of a couple of days, everyone in the underworld was aware that the Howlers had taken over the Scatterbugs. A Tier-3 gang from practically a no-name time had managed to expand into a Tier-2 city in under a day. Such a thing was thought to be impossible, and were it not for all sources reporting the same, it would be even more unbelievable given that the Scatterbugs strength and influence had been rumoured to be on par with some of the Tier-1 gangs.

    Given that it was impossible to hide the truth for long, Kai had expected some faction to challenge them, yet not a single one, not even from a Tier-1 city, hade forward. Rather, from what Kai had gathered through his information channels, the price for any type of information about the Howlers had be a hotmodity.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The news had spread out, into all corners of the world, with each person reacting to it slightly differently. In the town of Slough itself, there were those that were beyond surprised at what happened.

    "How is this possible?!" Ben Clove tensed his fist and lifted it up in the air. Moments before he mmed it down on his desk, he managed to stop himself. The mayor had been forced to rece his desk far too often in recent times.

    ''When the hell did they manage to grow so strong? It feels like yesterday they''ve barely had the power to manage to take a piece of Slough, and now they''re expanding into Tier-2 cities. This has to be some sort of sick joke. Their group isn''t even thatrge to begin with, yet expanding bit by bit.''

    The more Ben thought about it, the more he was kicking himself. He started to really miss the days when his only worries had been the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants.

    ''With the ie from Notsburg''s casinos, they will have no problem funding a campaign for a candidate of their own choosing. If they choose to do so, it won''t be too hurt to rece me with one of their own. I''m not even sure if Jayden can do anything to stop them now.''

    Nevertheless, Ben Clove didn''t want to admit defeat, not yet at least. He felt like Slough had practically been in his grasp, and he was unwilling to give up on it. Fortunately, there was still some time before the next elections, so until then, he just had to bide his time. After their expansion, he was sure that soon enough someone would appear to take care of the Howlers. They might be able to defend themselves, but as long as they would be busy, it meant they wouldn''t focus on him¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    Simrly, another Clove member had learned about what had urred in Notsburg.

    "Holy crap!" Jayden eximed as he was resting in a dressing room, checking on thetest news involving the Howlers. He was in the middle of getting a photoshoot for a new skincare product, his white skin that was almost illuminated was always perfect for advertising products as well as his fame.

    ''I always knew you were crazy, Gary, but I appear to have severely underestimated you. Next time I see you, I have to ask what made you pull such a stunt? Just what could have happened to make you choose this path? When I told you toe and reach me, I expected you to do so through the AFA ranks, not by going down such a dangerous road that might turn you into the enemy of all the Kings.

    ''Still, I''m sure you have your reasons for doing so. Perhaps our lives will intertwine more, sooner than I thought.''

    ¡ª¡ª

    Then there were those that were keeping an eye on Gary that even he wasn''t aware of.

    In the AFA room, Professor Humfree sat at his desk, stroking his beard.

    "It can''t be a mere coincidence that this has urred during the same time as his leave of absence. We''ve all acknowledged his potential, but his growth keeps exceeding our expectations. I wonder what he will choose to do next. Given his power, it''s only a matter of time until he graduates, and he might very well change the lives of those he is close with in the academy itself."

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the academy, it wasn''t only the professors ho were keeping an eye on Gary, as Apollo was sitting with his two close friends, Snow and Wu.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Has your father told you to do anything?" Snow asked.

    "Ha!" Apolloughed. "You''ve met my Dad. Did he strike you as the type who would tell me to make friends with him? I''ve always known there was something special about him, and now he''s proven me right once more.

    "Based on how Sty and his father were, something like this was bound to happen sooner orter. The only surprising thing is that it was the Howlers who acted, whereas we were the bait would be taken by another King. After finding someone as great as him, I should have guessed that there would be others just as great as him.

    "Anyway, all this means is, if me and him don''t end up shing in the academy, or in the AFC, then we will do so outside of it."

    Apollo was without a doubt looking forward to the return of Gary.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    In a city, where the sun shined the brightest station by the seaside, the well known King Sin was standing on his balcony looking out from his vi. His time enjoying the scenery was interrupted when a couple of men entered the room, wearing dark red clothing, that reached their shoulders.

    It was the uniform of the gang members that worked for the Rising Phoenix gang.

    "Sir, we have brought in the two that you have asked us to."

    Soon, two men entered, one looked to be in his mid-twenties while the other was clearly a teenager. They immediately got down on their knees and ced their heads down.

    "Excellent." Sin said as he turned around and walked toward the two of them. When looking at them, neither of them looked special but he had called them here for a specific reason.

    "The two of you haven''t been in our group for too long, but from what I hear, both of you have proven yourselves useful to us, so I would like to thank you for that." Sin stated with a smile.

    The two on their knees weren''t so sure but it felt like the floor was getting a little hotter, and it felt like it wasing from Sin himself.

    "As long as you keep up the good job, and show your loyalty to the gang, your treatment will reflect your standing. Alright, enough of that, I have called you for a different reason. The two of youe from the town of Slough, and I happen to have an interest in it. What can you tell me about the Howlers?" Sin asked the kneeling Raven and Gil.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 574 Finishing What I Started

    All aspects and groups of the Howlers were extremely busy. Those from the Scatterbugs were getting used to the new rules, and how their new leader intended to run things. Of course, if there were any disagreements, Midwak had permission to use violence.

    However, that violence was limited due to the Pack rules that were currently in ce. On top of that, there was also the Cardenez group. No longer under any threat they could continue with their development n.

    A new factory was being built, not just in Slough to help with jobs and general levelling up of Slough, but one also was built in Notsburg as well. The progression was beyond what Harry had thought he would have been able to do with one factory, and this was all because Kai was giving more funding to the Cardenez group than they would have ever got out of either deal, and that was from using the money from the Scatterbugs in the first ce.

    All of this was important to Kai, because unlike other groups who would have perhaps moved to therger city and developed from there, they were staying in Slough. The biggest city would usually be one''s base and from there they would im lower cities so other ces didn''t attack them.

    However, the Howlers were staying in Slough, while looking after the areas around them. This was all based on Gary''s order, as he wanted to grow Slough out of poverty, and change it to be a ce that could match up with others.

    With all of this working like clockwork, it was why Gary had finally decided that It was time for him to head back to the academy. Numba, Izzy as well as Ian were all on the bus with him heading back.

    They had overstayed a few days as they had wanted to return with Gary, for more reasons than one, and during that time, they had also decided to visit their families as they wished to discuss something with them as well.

    "Wow, it''s all starting to make sense now!" Ian said as he pulled his hair back. "When you told us to get you blood that time. I thought it was because you were a crazed Altered, but this is huge!"

    Since the others had found out a lot about Gary, it was too much for him to cover up. They had seen multiple people transform into beings like himself, and words were thrown out left right and centre.

    It was tooplicated toe up with a lie that made sense, and besides all of that. Gary didn''t want toe up with a lie. These were his friends who had helped him and his other friends through a tough situation. They had risked their lives and by doing so, they at least deserved to know the truth.

    "I think what is even more amazing is, these¡­ um creatures I guess I should say, have lived among us for so long without us knowing about them." Izzymented. "Think about it. They would have existed in a time before there were even Altered."

    While Ian and Izzy were talking in excitement, Numba had kept somewhat quiet, as he listened to Gary''s story. Because it made him wonder if this was the difference between the two of them.

    Was it why Gary was improving so fast, and would they ever catch up to him?

    "Remember a lot of this stuff is new to me as well." Gary answered. "And there are still those that are stronger than me, and I''m not just talking about those that are like me, others like Jayden."

    Hearing Gary speak about himself in a humble way, had caused Numba to snap out of it. Gary was right, there were still plenty of Altered out there that were incredibly strong, that would beat Gary even the way he was now.

    If that was the case, then stating that Gary was different from them and that was why he was stronger, was the wrong way for him to think.

    "I¡­ was meant to ask you something." Gary said. "I can see you still have a bandage on the wound you received, is it not healing?"

    There was a nervous look on Izzy''s face when asked this question because the bite mark really was still there. It was the longest wound she ever had, and it was especially strong since she was an Altered, there were other things as well, but Izzy had yet to mention them to the others.

    "It''s okay. The doctor said there is nothing to worry about. It''s just taking longer to heal." Izzy replied.

    The answer didn''t give Gary confidence. At the time, Gary thought it was a wound that would just go away as well, and Midwak had said something that had lessened his worries. The fact that werewolves were unable to turn Altered into werewolves.

    Since this was the case, Gary hadn''t even asked the question to Midwak, and only now had it be a concern for him.

    ''Thinking about it, the only Altered I know who was bitten by a werewolf was the one that worked for White Rose by Billy. The quickest way to get an answer is to contact Kai to contact Midwak. I don''t really want to talk to that guy directly if I don''t have to.''

    "Anyway, what are you nning to do Gary?" Izzy asked. "I mean, it''s great that you areing back to the AFA with us and all, but I can''t help but feel that maybe your gang will run into more things in the future with this. The more I think about it, since you''re the leader¡­ you can''t just stay in the academy."

    Of course Gary had thought about this a lot, and there were quite a few discussions with Kai about what he needed to do. The original n was for Gary to be an AFC star that was sponsored by the Howlers.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Giving the group recognition and a chance to get sponsors from bigpanies using Gary''s AFC name. However, there was no longer a need for that. The Howlers name was well known now, and on top of that with the Scatterbugs funds, as well as their casinos, the gang was no longer strapped for cash.

    On top of that, Gary''s name was being used to invest in all sorts of different areas in Slough, including the new factory.

    "You''re right." Gary sighed. "I need to head back to the Howlers, for more reasons than one, but there is still unfinished business in the AFA. I n to stay here, pass the assessment, and join the AFC.

    "After that, I will have my debut match with them, so I am registered in the AFC. After that, I guess it will be time for me to head back."

    There were saddened faces, because they knew that the first assessment was only two weeks away. They knew that Gary would pass, which meant their time with him was limited. Unlike Gary they didn''t run a gang.

    Their dreams were just to support their families and join the AFC.

    "Hey, we can''t be sad." Ian said to the others. "We knew this was going to happen, and we talked about it before. If Gary said he was going to stay then we were going to convince him to leave, but the Green haired idiot had figured it out himself.

    "Gary¡­ our alliance is always ongoing, and even more so than before. We all went back to our families after that, and we¡­ want to be a part of you, a part of the Howlers, and we have made our alliance official with our families."

    "What¡­ Do you even mean by that?" Gary asked.

    "It was Kai." Izzy said. "We knew you would never ept, but something about that guy of yours, he seems to take a good deal no matter who it''s with. The Howlers already own a percentage of our family''s business in other cities."

    "Which means that the alliance is official. Although, my family''spany was the first." Numbamented.

    Gary didn''t know what to say. How could a bunch of students he had only known for a short while do so much for him, how did they trust him so much? It was because of this, that Gary felt like he needed to get stronger.

    Stronger, so he couldn''t lose those around him, because it had already been a dangerous call. The bus finally stopped and they had returned to the AFA. Meanwhile, Gary wasn''t the only one that had the same feeling.

    In the Howlers, there were two members who had learned a lot after that fight of theirs, and they were willing to go to any lengths to get stronger.

    "This is what I need to do."

    Both of them said in their minds, Marie and Innu, as they took two separate paths in their search for strength.

    *****

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 575 Innus Path

    For the Howlers, things were as busy as ever. Although, thanks to Kai and his systems, there was a lot less burden on the other members. In the first ce, he didn''t quite trust most of the core members with dealing with delicate matters, which was why he was having a hand in everything instead.

    This left many of the core members to their own devices. Although they could now travel out of Slough without much problem, and Kai even suggested they take a trip to Notsburg once in a while, most of them rejected the offer.

    Since Midwak was still there, there was a sense of uneasiness. Even if he was meant to listen to them due to the special Pack rules, it just felt strange to rely on some magical power.

    One of the members in question, Innu, was outside an apartment block. He had arge cardboard box in his hand, and he was sweating going in and out of the room.

    "I can''t believe we''re moving!" Kevin said, as he moved a much smaller box out of the room. "Man, brother is really the best."

    Innu smiled as he heard thisment, and puffed out his chest slightly.

    "It''s true, I never thought this would happen." Suzan said as she was lifting a heavy box and started to grunt, but Innu quickly went over and grabbed onto the box before it fell over. "I mean, you even managed to convince that stubborn Kai to give funding towards the new orphanage."

    Suzan had officially adopted Kevin, the only survivor of the ck Rock orphanage in the past. After what had happened, Suzan wasn''t sure if she could ever do the same type of work again and Innu wasn''t going to force her if she didn''t want to.

    He would continue to support the two of them as much as possible. Eventually though, Suzan realised it was in her nature to look after young ones. She kept paying out of her own pocket for kids she would see on the street and more, and she had decided to open up the orphanage again.

    There was still no official funding for the orphanage, which meant it would have to be privately owned, which also meant that Innu was putting all of his money towards Suzan''s dream.

    Although before the Howlers were doing well, Innu still wasn''t living avish life, and many arguments between Innu and Kai were caused because of this, stating that more money needed to be put towards the orphanage.

    Now though, with the Scatterbugs'' funds, they were able to upgrade the orphanage and on top of that, Innu was able to move Suzan and Kevin to the same apartment block that Gary''s sister lived in.

    "This is all because the Howlers actually managed to take out the Scatterbugs!" Kevin was excited, and of course after thest incident they were involved in, they hade to learn Innu''s position in the gang.

    "You must''ve kicked some serious butt, when you were there!" Kevin excitedly said, as he threw out some punches and kicks in the air, but soon stopped as he looked at Innu, who wasn''t smiling and instead felt like he broke out in a sweat.

    ''Kicked some butt?'' Innu thought. ''No, that isn''t what happend at all. I was barely helpful at all.''

    shbacks to the fight wereing into Innu''s head. Of how strong Midwak was, how weak he felt, and how Marie had almost been killed multiple times, even though it was his role to protect her.

    After helping the others move, Innu had found out that one of the rooms in the apartment block belonged to him. ording to Suzan and Kevin, they had always wished for Innu to stay with them, it was just they never had a big enough ce for it.

    Of course, Innu was overjoyed at this fact, since he had been living on his own for a while. He was so excited that he too had decided to move out that day and move in with the others.

    When he was unpacking things into his room, his hands soon fell onto the red axes, and once again, he was left thinking about the fight from before. In fact, it was more urate to say that it had never left his mind since they had left Notsburg.

    ''These red axes, they''re powerful, but I still can''t use them properly, and it makes me wonder, with just these alone, how far can I go? If the Howlers start to get involved with bigger gangs, other tier 2''s and 1''s, even other werewolves¡­ I don''t think I can keep up.''

    It was obvious that Innu wanted to get stronger, he didn''t want to get left behind and wanted to still help the Howlers. As a core member, he felt like it was only right that he was as strong as the others.

    Innu felt like his skills were one of the best. There was always room for improvement, butpared to an Altered, that wasn''t the type of strength that he needed. The axes gave him a boost in power and although he could use them, how to use them to their full potential he had no idea.

    Which was why he was also thinking of alternative solutions. Having taken over Notsburg, the Howlers'' funds were more than capable of buying an Altered solution. Whether that was by making contact with NIRV, or one of the other groups, or even the auction house¡­ they could buy a solution.

    The auction house wasn''t for a while, and honestly Innu wasn''t so sure about bing an Altered. It meant getting attention from a lot of people, and there was always the chance that his Altered form wouldn''t suit him. Innu also liked fighting with weapons and his own hands and fists and felt like he would never use the transformed state, it just felt like a waste.

    This led to the other solution he was thinking of, perhaps asking Gary to turn him, just like Kai had been turned. Gary seemed reluctant to do something like that, and for the same reasons as bing an Altered, Innu was against the idea.

    ''Think then¡­ is there a way for me to get stronger¡­ to have the power topete with Altered, by just staying as I am?'' Innu thought.<novelnext></novelnext>

    That whole night, after moving in, Innu was stuck in his room trying to rack his head. The other two were concerned as he hadn''t evene out for dinner, but they left him on his own, as they were sure it was something important.

    ''Damn it! Why did everyone have to get so strong and so fast? I have topete with that damn bull man, how is that even fair!''

    ¡ª¡ª

    Eventually, Innu had fallen asleep thinking about it all night and the sun was starting to rise. He looked out the window and could hear the sound of kids talking, and more.

    "When did I fall asleep?" Innu said to himself, rubbing his eyes. When he took a second look out of the window, it hit him. There was a way for him to get stronger the way he wished.

    Innu was leaned up against a wall, as he tapped his foot away on the ground. Eventually, a bell was heard and a rush of school students started as they left their school.

    "Hey¡­ isn''t that Innu, what is he doing here, didn''t he drop out of the school?"

    "Who?" another student asked.

    "Ah, he wasn''t here for long, he transferred and then dropped out."

    Ignoring the words of the others, Innu continued to wait, until he had finally found who he was looking for, he almost leapt from the wall as he stood in front of one of the students.

    "Oh, what are you doing here?" ke asked.

    "I need to talk to you about something."

    While talking, the two of them headed to a nearby park and were now sitting on a bench next to each other, he had heard everything that Innu wanted to say.

    "So you want me to train you?" ke replied.

    "Yeah, I mean it makes sense right? You''re an Altered Hunter and you guys learn to take out Altereds even though you aren''t an Altered yourself. There has to be a way the top guys take out those things without turning into them." Inuu exined.

    "There are maybe some things I can show you, but you have to know that I''m basically a beginner Altered Hunter myself. I don''t know all the tricks that my dad knows or those above him.

    "Although I could teach you what I do now, there is a bit of a problem."

    "Problem¡­ what is that?" Innu asked.

    "If you really want to get stronger, and want to learn the techniques of an Altered Hunter, then you would have to join us, you have to be an Altered Hunter."

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 576 An Altered Hunters Life

    Chapter 576 An Altered Hunters Life

    ¡°Be an Altered Hunter?¡± Innu repeated and was now standing up from the bench they were sitting on. He was walking back away from ke at that moment as well. It was such a crazy thing to suggest. he never thought he would be put in this type of situation, and it would be awkward for him to just suddenly leave.

    Altered Hunters were seen as something akin to terrorists. Being an Altered was not illegal ording to thew. The fact that Altered Hunters killed Altereds for next to no reason just because they were one, was never something that Innu wanted to align himself with.

    ¡°Is it that big of a deal?¡± ke asked, as if he could read Innu¡¯s mind, and had stopped him from backing up any further. ¡°If you truly believe that Altered Hunters are so scary, then why did you approach me in the first ce?¡± ke asked. ¡°And, you have to think about your own situation as well. Aren¡¯t you in a gang, haven''t you already killed for your own survival?¡±

    When ke put it like so, Innu was starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing. The reason why Innu approached ke was because he believed not only was he skilled, but the fact that he was a nice person.

    At the same time, just like Innu never believing he would be an Altered Hunter, he never saw himself working in arge gang like the one he currently was in ethier. It was just a way to make money for a short while until he found something else.

    ¡°But¡­ I didn¡¯t want to join the Altered Hunters.¡± Innu replied. ¡°I just wanted you to teach me a few things¡­ a way to beat the others.¡±

    ke sighed at that point as he went on to exin.

    ¡°As I said before, I can¡¯t just go ahead and teach you what I know. If they found out about it, I would be in serious trouble. Also, if you want to grow you will need more guidance than just from me.

    ¡°For one, a lot of the Altered Hunters'' strengthes from their equipment. The armour they use, the weapons they are allowed to hold. Then you have the high star rankers. Those are the ones that you will need guidance from for real strength, not just me, and to do that you would have to join the Altered Hunters.¡±

    Everything ke was saying was convincing, and the fact that Innu didn¡¯t have any intention of bing an Altered, it wasn¡¯t a bad path to take. However, what about the gang?

    ¡°How can I be an Altered Hunter? The whole reason why I want to be stronger is so I can help them. As the gang grows, there will be more Altered in the gang, and won¡¯t I get swept away with Altered Hunter stuff.¡± Innu argued.

    ke finally stood up from his seat, and looked Innu in the eye.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave the gang.¡± ke stated. ¡°The low star Altered Hunters blend within society. It''s part of their job and role. Being a gang member is no problem and we have more freedom than you think.

    ¡°Take me for example, I have acted and helped out the Howlers because I consider Gary¡­ a partner.¡± ke had stopped himself for a moment from saying another word. ¡°I know that there are Altered in the Howlers, but I don¡¯t act on it. I do have to admit from time to time, you might have to be called, but based on your position, you could inform the others.¡±

    The more ke talked, the more Innu was getting convinced, but he needed time to think about it.

    ¡®I can see he¡¯s on the edge, but if I¡¯m honest, if he does join the Altered Hunters this will be good for me as well.¡¯ ke thought.

    There was an ongoing problem that ke had yet to resolve and that was the fact that the Altered Hunters association wanted to send a partner to his city. Originally he worked side by side with his father, but his father had been relocated to another location.

    ke had achieved his first star, and with recent events he was close to getting his second one. Since he was an official hunter he needed to have a partner but there was something else that could be done as well.

    Just like how ke worked under his father, he could take on an apprentice. With Innu under his wing, they wouldn¡¯t send a partner. If Innu decided against the idea, then it would mean Slough would have another Altered Hunter to deal with, and they most likely wouldn¡¯t be as kind to the Howlers as ke had been so far.

    ¡°You want strength right.¡± ke asked. ¡°I understand, believe me, you will get the strength you are looking for, and if we need to continue to help out Gary, we can do so together.¡±

    Saying thosest words, ke held out his hand, trying to seal the deal. Innu looked him up and down, and there was something about ke that was drawing him.

    ¡®Is it his handsome face? I mean, I don¡¯t even swing that way but I think it''s making me attracted towards him. No, maybe he just has a way with words.¡¯

    Innu shook his head, as he had finally made a decision.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll be an Altered Hunter.¡± Innu said, shaking ke¡¯s hand. ¡°But it will be in name only. I want to make that clear, especially if Gary ever found out.¡±

    ¡°Gary?¡± ke smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about him. He¡¯s not even an Altered.¡±

    The two of them chuckled for a little bit, and Innu was ready to get into action straight away.

    ¡°Alright, so what are you going to teach me first, or where are you going to take me? Is there like a secret shop where you store all your armour, or a cool car or something!¡± Innu excitedly said.

    ¡°Sorry to burst your bubble, but it''s nothing like that, and technically you''re still not an Altered Hunter yet.¡± ke answered.

    Innu was almost deted to the ground at that point, all of the excitement was sweeping out of his body. He already had made the resolution to join the Altered Hunters and he thought he would have gotten something out of it.

    ¡°Do you really think someone like me has the authority to do something like that?¡± ke asked. ¡°There are a few things that need to be done for you to be an apprentice Altered Hunter.

    ¡°First, I will need to contact the base and inform them that someone is interested. After that, two star ranked Altered Hunters will need to evaluate your skills. If the two Altered Hunters agree that you have potential, then it will be reported back. After that you are an official Altered Hunter!¡±

    It seemed like quite the long process but now Innu understood why the Altered Hunters were all quite skilled. It wasn¡¯t something that just anyone could join.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you can count as one of the Altered Hunters, who¡¯s the other one, will it be your father?¡± Innu asked.

    ke shook his head.

    ¡°He is busy at the moment, they will most likely just send someone who is close by. When they doe, it would be best to make sure no incidents happen when they arrive. Otherwise, it might cause more problems than we realise.¡±

    That was thest thing that Innu wanted to do. The true strength and the numbers of the Altered Hunters¡¯ association were unknown, but it certainly wasn¡¯t something that the Howlers wanted to deal with.

    ¡°What about the test, is there anything I need to do to prepare for it?¡± Innu asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Usually the Altered Hunters decide between themselves on how to test you. Most likely me and you can just spar in my father''s dojo, with your skills, I¡¯m pretty sure they would ept you in a heartbeat.¡±

    After the talking was done, ke had pulled out a strange phone-like device that looked more like a radio. He started to type away on the device. Meanwhile Innu was a bit nervous.

    He had no idea what this meant, or what the oue would be, but it did bring him a little excitement for what he would learn.

    ¡®I can¡¯t wait. If I get strong enough, then I can start fighting that damn minotaur again. The look on his face, will be worth all of this in the end.¡¯ Innu thought, as his rivalry with Austin was strong.

    ¡°Well that was fast.¡± ke said. ¡°It looks like there is a hunter nearby, they will be here in the evening.¡±

    ******

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 577 The Hunters System

    Since ke had already been informed that the Altered Hunter was on his way, he had decided to wait at his father''s dojo. It was the first time Innu had been in such a ce, and he couldn''t help but stare at the front garden and the whole ce in awe.

    "I know you said Altered Hunters have different jobs, but I guess your dad must be a pretty high ranked Altered Hunter to afford all of this." Innumented.

    "Haha, not quite." ke replied. "My father only recently got promoted to a four star Altered Hunter. The organisation is quite wealthy. Since they have a number of Anti Altered equipment that they can sell.

    "Don''t ask me how they get their hands on this stuff. Anyway, you have to remember that Slough is only a tier-3 town."

    What ke said was true, but with all the recent developments, shopping malls and more were being put in ce as the people started to have more expendable money and a higher wage, it was slowly starting to look quite impressive.

    When the two got inside the dojo, Innu sat down and so did ke. The two of them talked for a while but they didn''t have much to say to each other, so after that, they started to y on their phones as they waited, waited, and waited.

    In the end Innu had to fill the silence as his phone''s battery was starting to die.

    "Okay tell me, you were talking about ranks before, and I know that you have the stars on your shoulder but how many Altered does one have to kill to get a star and what''s the highest rank?"

    "That''s a good question, essentially a five star Altered Hunter is the highest in the association, after that, there are no more stars to be gained, but there are higher positions. The Altered Hunter association is located all around the world.

    "Each country has a head, and captains underneath to support him. There is no limit on captains, but there is only one head. As for the stars themselves, one has to kill five Altereds in total, to gain their first star.

    "However, if an Altered kill is assisted by teammates depending on the situation and how much one contributed it would count as well. We Altered Hunters are quite prideful, so if we believe we didn''t y a big part in taking one down, we wouldn''t im credit for it."

    Five Altered sounded like an incredible number and since ke had a star already it meant he had faced a number of Altereds already.

    ''No wonder he''s so strong.'' Innu thought.

    "And what about the other stars then, how many Altered would one have to kill for that?" Innu asked.

    Although they spoke about it like it was no big deal. Unless one was an Altered themselves, no one in their lifetime would believe they could take on one.

    "For a second star, one would have to take out 15 Altered altogether, after that for the third star the number is 50, then for the fourth star a 100 and for a fifth star over 250. Of course, there are those that are perhaps way above this number, but there is no way for us to tell as they don''t track their kills after that."

    Innu started rapidly coughing in the air, he had nearly choked on nothing he was so surprised. After his coughing fit was over he went over the numbers again.

    "Wait, I didn''t even know that was possible? You''re saying that your dad has killed over a 100 Altered, and there are those that have killed even more, but I thought altered were rare, how can that even happen?" Innu asked.

    "You have to remember a couple of things. First, although the stars indicate how many Altered you have killed, that does not dictate one''s strength, more so it shows how dedicated one is to the goal of eliminating all Altered.

    "However, the more stars, the more high level equipment one is allowed ess to, so the two things do go somewhat hand in hand. The second point is that Altereds are bing moremon.

    "Morepanies areing out with easier ways for one to be an Altered, and more DNA ising out on the market. Still, let''s say that 1 percent of the poption are Altered. 1 percent of 60 million is still 600,000 people."

    Innu never looked at it that way before, and judging by the fact that bing an Altered was usually associated with the rich. In the higher tier cities, there were bound to be more Altered than here.

    With his curiosity answered, the two decided to wait again, but after waiting a while Innu couldn''t help but open his mouth again.

    "Where is this guy¡­ has something happened?" Innu asked.

    "He ister than the time stated¡­ I hope nothing has happened." ke replied.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The towns and cities of the current world were never a quiet ce. Crime was rampant even withrger gangs in control. In most cases, therger gangs didn''t even care about the smaller groups in their cities, as long as they didn''t interfere with their own business.<novelnext></novelnext>

    While at the same time, the police were corrupt and understaffed and were unable to do anything. The only ones that were worth mentioning were White Rose, but due to the Crazed Altereds as well as the Altered Hunters, they were busy as well.

    In Slough, this was no exception, as students left the university feeling like there was no future. With fewer activities to do, and gangs seen as an easy way to make money, there were plenty of troubles that still urred.

    However, unlike the other cities and gangs, Slough was trying to mp down on gang rted activities. The Howlers would often do patrols in hotspot areas for delinquent activity.

    If they saw potential in someone they would even invite them to join their gang, giving them a sense of responsibility. Due to the current rules in ce, when things were too difficult for the regr Howler members, they would inform their leader, and if they needed more help they would inform their core member.

    Riding on his motorbike, with the hair blowing away his wing, Austin had received one of these calls, and was heading to the area to deal with the situation.

    ''I thought these types of calls would start to die down once we took care of the Scatterbugs, but I guess there will always be those foolish enough to push some buttons here and there.

    ''Still, we really need to start training these guys, so we get called less.''

    Eventually, Austin had arrived at the location, arge open park that was filled with several different pathways that led torge tforms. The students would often use it as a drinking or dancing area.

    Parking, Austin let out a sigh as he walked down one of the pathways, and he noticed something strange.

    ''If there was a fight going on, I would hear people shouting at the top of their lungs, or cursing at each other.'' Austin thought.

    As he went deeper into the park, he had reached one of the open squares and he couldn''t hear the sound of shouting, but instead he heard groans, lots and lots of groans. Looking at the ground, Austin could now see it.

    There were several members of what looked like an orange colour gang on the floor holding onto their arms, their legs or their stomach. They were moaning in pain.

    ''I got called all this way for a colour gang really, but if they''re the ones on the floor then¡­''

    Austin question was soon answered, as he saw Howler members on the floor in the same situation moaning. Looking now at the full picture, it really was a strange sight to see, because on the floor were several members from the Howlers, as well as those from the Orange colour gang and there was only one person standing.

    "Did you do all this?" Austin asked.

    The man was standing facing the other way, there were a few stains of blood on his top. As he turned around his long ited hair on the back of his head swung slightly.

    "This?" The man replied. "This is not what it looks like. My phone is dead and I was asking for locations. The two groups were fighting and started to attack me out of nowhere, I had to defend myself."

    Seeing how the man was uninjured, he had to be skillful, and a good fighter. It caused the old instincts of Austin to kick in.

    "Some of those people you hurt and on the ground belong to my group, and you seem like a strong one." Asutin said, punching his fist into his hand.

    "Hey¡­ trust me kid¡­ if you are thinking about doing what I think you''re going to do, it''s not a good idea." The man replied.

    ******

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 578 A Hunters Struggle

    Ever since Austin had be an Altered it was hard for him to find opponents that he could brawl against. Completely overpowering a person might be good for one ''s ego''s but it wasn''t good for sharpening one''s skills.

    At the same time, even though he could fight against Kai and Olivia, it didn''t give him the variation in different opponents and skills to go against. One also fought differently when they knew their opponent and what they could do.

    However, there was then the likes of Midwak, who was too strong for him, so he needed someone just right, and considering how a single person was able to take out around fifteen people on their own, Austin guessed this person was quite skilled.

    ''I won''t transform, otherwise this fight might be a little too easy!'' Austin said, as he threw out a heavy punch from the get go. He didn''t hold back in terms of speed, and Austin was already strong before bing an Altered.

    However, the punch had gone on to hit nothing but the air, and his opponent had already moved to the side of him.

    "Look, judging from your clothes you''re in some type of gang right? I don''t want to get involved in this mess, and as I said, it''s best if you don''t fight me." The stranger imed.

    In order to show the difference between the two, the stranger lifted his leg to kick Austin while he was behind him. When his footnded and he pushed forward though, but instead of Austin falling over, he didn''t even move.

    ''It feels like I''m pushing against a giant boulder or something, how much muscle and bnce does this guy have?''

    Austin swung his arm behind him, aiming to hit the man, and seeing this he quickly moved his feet out of the way. Instead of a punch though, Austin went to grab him instead and only managed to hold onto the sleeve of his shirt.

    As the stranger pulled away, and Austin held on, arge ripping sound was heard and the entire sleeve had been ripped offpletely.

    "That''s not good, that''s the only change of clothes I had." The man shook his head.

    Austin looked at the man''s bare arm, and that''s when he could see it, he had markings on his shoulders and they were little stars.

    ''Those stars, aren''t they the mark of an Altered Hunter?'' Austin recognised. ''1¡­2..3¡­4¡­5 stars?''

    Although many knew about Altered Hunters, not many knew the representation of the stars or what they meant, but Austin did know that in front of him was an Altered Hunter.

    ''If it''s an Altered Hunter in this city, then they could be rted to ke. Gary told us to leave them be and not get involved with them.'' Austin was deciding on what to do.

    Meanwhile, the Altered Hunter himself was sighing to himself.

    ''This kid has a lot of strength¡­ Could it be? I left my equipment at one of the safe houses since this was meant to just be a small task. I''m not here to look for Altereds. I should turn off my brain once in a while.''

    Surprisingly, it looked like his attacker was no longer clenching his fists and had dropped them down to his side.

    "I guess, I was a bit rash since I don''t recognise you, but I''ll warn you." Austin said. "If you see the ck and Gold uniform, don''t get in the way of what they are doing. It''s us that run this area." With the warning given, Austin started to walk away.

    "Wait!" The man shouted out. "Do you mind giving me a few directions?"

    As expected, the man had asked where a particr dojo was, and it was of course where ke lived. Since bing a full time gang member, and the Howlers taking over Slough, Austin knew of all the areas and gave him directions of where he needed to go. The man thanked him, and was off, but he turned around wanting to say onest thing to the boy.

    "I just wanted to let you know, it was a good thing we stopped that fight." The man smiled, and lifted up his foot. "Because I would have won."

    Soon after, he mmed his foot into the ground. It didn''t shake, nor did it feel overly strong, just a simple stomp, and the man started to run in the other direction as he knew he waste.

    Out of curiosity, as Austin mumbled under his breath, he went over to where the man had stomped the ground.

    "What¡­. is this?" Austin quickly looked closer and his eyes weren''t fooling him. There was a two inch sunken down footprint. That wasn''t the only strange thing about it, as there were no cracks to the surrounding areas, nor on the other ground tiles.

    "This, is just not something that''s possible for a human." Austin said. "But I''m sure of it, he was an Altered Hunter, there''s no chance that he would be an Altered, but then, how is something like this even possible?"

    It was then that Austin realised that if the two of them had gone face to face with all of their strength, then maybe it wouldn''t have been an easy fight like he thought, and there was a chance he might have lost.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Following the directions well, the Altered Hunter had finally arrived at the required location. He could see it just up ahead.

    ''I really should have kept my equipment with me. I just never expected to run into trouble in a tier-3 town.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    After a gentle knock on the door, ke soon came, and when he saw who it was, he bowed his head down greeting him. Innu was stood by his side and could see the man and did the same.

    "I wee thy fellow hunter." ke said.

    Taking a peak, Innu noticed that his sleeve was ripped, and on there he soon could see the number of stars that were marked on his arm.

    ''Freaking five stars!!! Five stars! Of all the hunters they could have sent to Slough, they sent a five star hunter!'' After learning of what a five star hunter had done and was capable off, it was only right for Innu to somewhat panic.

    "I''m sorry I''mte. My phone died, and I had to ask some people for some directions." The man politely said. "You''re ke, correct. My name is Ashen, it''s nice to meet you both. Sorry, but do you mind if I use your toilet?"

    ke, pointed towards the dojo, which had a toilet on the inside and Ashen soon ran past them both in a hurry.

    "I have to ask, do all five star Altered Hunters go around, showing off their markings?" Innu asked.

    "I''m not too sure, myself. This is the first time I''ve met a five star Altered Hunter. At least face to face like this." ke was concerned, and from his whole bodynguage, it was easy to tell. "We should get this test done as soon as possible, so he can leave.

    "If he stays for a while, who knows what will happen if he finds out what''s happnign."

    Innu couldn''t agree more, because if anything did happen, then he would feel a little guilty, as the whole reason Ashen was here in the first ce was to see him.

    "Alright, let''s get this assessment started." A loud voice said from the dojo, with a big smile on his face.

    If anything, the one saving grace was that Ashen seemed to be a happy person.

    When they entered the training hall, both Ashen and ke were talking back and forth. As stated, the two of them had toe up with a test of some sort.

    ke was trying to suggest a sparring match between the two, but since the two clearly knew each other, Ashen seemed to be against the idea. However, Ashen noticed that there was something that Innu had brought that was in a ck bag. It wasrge in size, almost like one that was meant to hold ski''s in.

    "Do you mind, if I take a look in here?" Ashen asked.

    Innu gestured that it was okay to open the bag, and when Ashen saw what was inside, his eyes lit up as he held onto the weapons. They were the pair of red axes.

    "These are nice, really nice. I''m guessing they''re yours?"

    Still too scared to speak, Innu just nodded.

    "Do you know how to use them properly?"

    Innu wasn''t so sure what he meant by the question but he had an idea, so he eventually answered.

    "I think so."

    "Alright, well if that''s the case, just show me how to use the axes, if you can, I think that will be sufficient to pass." Ashen imed.

    ke was left confused and in the dark, because even he didn''t know what Ashen meant by this, but perhaps by meeting this five star hunter, both of them could learn something that would boost their strength.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 579 Use Your Weapon!

    The dojo was dead silent, which was only making Innu more nervous as he stood in the centre holding onto the two red axes. What didn''t help were the two people standing to his side that were intensely staring at him.

    "Just try to breathe, rx, and ignore that we are here." Ashenmented.

    ''I was doing that, until you started talking to me.'' Innu annoyingly thought, but he needed to show what he had.

    Closing his eyes, it allowed him to focus more. He was trying to go into a deep state.

    ''I''m not too sure what that hunter meant when he said ''do I know how to use the axes properly'', but I can guess. There were those times¡­''

    Innu started to think back to when he was fighting against the gang members, a power from the axes would be drawn out, and would enter in his body. Giving him more strength, allowing him to move faster and more, but there was also another instance.

    When he was fighting Midwak, there was an instance where it felt like, rather than the weapons giving him energy, his energy was being drawn into the weapon. In the end, it had worked out as it allowed him to hurt Midwak, but after that, Innu himself was unable to move.

    ''Which way is the right way to use the weapon? Is that what he''s asking?'' Innu was conflicted but in the end, when fighting Midwak, what he had done was out of desperation and wasn''t something he could turn on and off.

    Whereas the other method, Innu had gotten the hang of. Energy started to fill his body from the weapons, and opening his eyes, Innu swung the axe through the air. He swung one after the other, cutting through the air cleanly.

    Since it was a demonstration though, Innu didn''t just use the axes. He also used his legs, as he went for a quick demonstration, ducking down, rolling on the floor, and swinging the weapon faster.

    From a rolling position, he used his strong legs to push himself off the ground and knee the air, while swinging both axes at the same time.

    While Innu was showing off his skills, ke took a look at Ashen by his side, to see what his reaction would be, and there was an incrediblyrge smile on his face.

    "I wonder¡­ who is the opponent is in his head, for him to try fighting that hard against." Ashen said to himself. "Because he''s fighting quite hard."

    ke took a second look at Innu after hearing those words, and that''s when he realised something. Although Innu was showing impressive skills, and was fighting with great strength, he wasn''t slowing down.

    It was as if he was in a panic while fighting, and soon he would be worn out. A few secondster, Innu had dropped down to the ground, as he started to take quick deep breaths.

    "And¡­ I''m dead." Innu said, as if he was disappointed, and the phantom image he had created in his head of Midwak, started to disappear.

    During his little demonstration, Innu thought it would be best if he used his skills on an imaginary opponent. Because he wanted to bring out the best of his skills, he wanted the strongest opponent in his head, which was Midwak.

    Now in hindsight, onlysting about a minute or so against the phantom before tiring, he was regretting it slightly, that was until he could hear psing from the side. Turning his head, he could see that it wasing from Ashen with a big smile on his face.

    "You are an impressive person." Ashen said. "In a ce like this, in a town like this, I never thought I would meet someone like you. When I saw the weapons I thought they might have been wasted on you, but that doesn''t seem to be the case.

    "ke, you certainly have an eye for talent. How do you know someone like him?"

    ke froze for a second before answering, but Innu answered instead.

    "At an underground fighting tournament." Innumented. "I didn''t go to school, and to make money I fought in different underground fighting venues, but was I really that impressive? I felt like¡­ I couldn''t use them properly."

    Ashen walked over to Innu and held out his hand, asking for the axes, to which Innu dly handed them over.

    "The fact that you know that, means that you are thinking in the right direction." Ashen exined. "When I asked you if you knew how to use the weapons, I was talking about the special properties of the weapons.

    "You see, with certain Anti Altered weapons like this one, energy can be drawn out of them to improve one''s strength. You are quite clearly capable of doing that, but let me ask you, have you ever experienced energy leaving your body going into the weapon?"

    Innu''s eyes lit up as he heard this, he knew going to the Altered Hunters was the right thing to do, and he nodded immediately.

    "Well you see, that''s because you were putting your own internal energy into the weapon." Holding onto the axe, it started to vibrate slightly, and something simr to heat could be felting off from it.

    Lifting his arm up, Ashen swung the axe down. The sound was so sharp, and the area that had been cut, it looked like there was an actual cut in the air lingering there for a second or so before it disappeared.

    "This energy that we have inside us, is known as Qi. If you want to use the weapons to their full potential then you will need to learn how to use this energy. Then, the weapons will power you with their energy, and you will power the weapon with your own, but you always have to be careful.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Qi, is an energy like none other. You give too much of it, you will be out of the fight, and in some cases if you push it too much you will go into your own life energy. So keep that in mind when you''re using weapons like this."

    ke was listening intently to Ashen''s words because it was the first time he had heard of such an energy himself. HIs father never taught him something like this, and as far as he knew, this wasn''t something that the Altered Hunters shared or taught each other.

    "I''ve never heard of this before." ke mumbled.

    "It''s not something that''s shared really." Ashen smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, some Altered Hunters will be using it without even knowing. There aren''t many that will know about it like I do.

    "It''s only due to my position outside of being an Altered Hunter that I came to learn this, but that''s too much for you guys to know about."

    ke knew what Ashen meant by position outside, he was talking about his regr day to day role, his fake appearance. Just as ke was a high school student, or the fact that Innu would still be part of the Howlers, while being an Altered Hunter.

    It made ke think about what type of role Ashen had to be able to learn about this power in such detail.

    "Think of this as a reward for both of you. For bringing and showing me such a talented person. Knowing about it, will allow you to search for it a bit more. Anyway, it''s safe to say that you have passed. Congrattions on bing an Altered Hunter."

    After learning all of that information. Innu had nearly forgotten what this whole assessment was about, but it was clear that he had taken the first step onto his path of getting stronger.

    "If you ever see me around the Altered Hunter association, feel free to show me how much you have improved. I will be looking forward to it." Ashen said as he stretched his arms and let out a big yawn.

    ke bowed down.

    "Thank you for taking your timeing here, and thank you again for passing on your knowledge."

    "No problem, I will inform the association, and then whenever you have time. Pop down to get your equipment and register." With that, Ashen was walking toward the exit of the Dojo.

    It had been an eventful day and he still couldn''t believe it. He had met two interesting people and he hadn''t been in Slough for long. It certainly was an interesting ce.

    "Wait!" Innu called out.

    Ashen stooped in his tracks.

    "I¡­ don''t have time to wait, or figure this out on my own, and I''m not the brightest person, I just go based on my instincts, but that won''t work this time. Which is why I want to ask you¡­ can you be my teacher. Can you stay and teach me!"

    ke turned his head, as this wasn''t part of the n. The whole point of him getting Innu to join him was so another Altered Hunter wouldn''t join, and they wanted Ashen to leave as soon as possible.

    "Please¡­ even if it''s just for a day or two. I know you''re very busy, but I promise, whatever you tell me to do, whatever it is you need¡­ I have someone, I have someone I need to protect."

    Ashen turned around, and the grin was stillrgely there on his face.

    "It''s just like I thought. You are really impressive, alright. Let''s do this. In a couple of days, I can''t show you how to use Qi, but I think there is something else you can learn."

    ******

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 580 Learning A New Power

    There were a lot of talented people in the Altered Hunter association, and Ashen could have taken a few of them under his wing. The problem was, nearly everyone who was introduced in the Altered Hunters was introduced by someone else.

    Simr to even ke himself who had been brought in by his father. This meant that all the talent was pretty much ounted for and being looked after. Meanwhile, Ashen was too busy doing his duty to try and find someone to raise on his own.

    It wasna€?t that Ashen never wanted a pupil it was just he was far too busy, he wanted a talented student while also raising them in the Altered Hunters association from the ground up, and right now, was the perfect opportunity so he said yes without hesitation.

    a€?There is also something interesting about this town. If I have a pupil here, then I can use it as an excuse to visit more often.a€? Ashen thought.

    a€?Thank you, thank you, so much!a€? Innu said, hitting his head on the floor.

    a€?As I said, I dona€?t have much time that I can spend here. I already wasted most of it getting lost. So it will be best if we start now.a€? Ashen exined.

    It was alreadyte in the evening but Innu stood up as straight as a bamboo shoot, and was ready to take on anything.

    a€?Alright, follow me, let''s head on outside to the streets.a€? Ashen said.

    Innu and ke were following him out of the dojo, until Ashen turned his head and cleared his throat before speaking.

    a€?Ia€?m sorry ke, but what Ia€?m about to show is between a master and pupil only. I hope you understand.a€?

    With that, Innu and Ashen walked off, outside of kea€?s house leaving him at the dojo, dumbfounded and staring off into space.

    a€?What just happened?a€? ke thought. a€?Is a five star Altered Hunter just roaming around the streets of Slough? No, I shouldna€?t even be worried about that. What is he going to teach Innu, that Ia€?m not allowed to see? Is Innu going to be a better Altered Hunter than me?a€?

    After seeing the skills of Ashen, ke knew that there was a long way to go, and he understood how it might not be right for him to be taught by another. However, his father was away most of the time, and even when they were together his father''s teaching methods were mostly self teaching methods and there wasn''t really any teaching involved at all.

    a€?Now I feel restless.a€? ke thought.

    ------

    While following Ashen out of the housing estate, and into a more city-like area, Innu was starting to worry as he realised something.

    a€?Wait a second, where is he even taking me? Why am I the one that''s following him? Didna€?t he say hea€?s never been here before?a€? Innu thought.

    ? a€?This should do.a€? Ashen stated, as he walked down a fairlyrge alleyway that was in between a few restaurants. The alleyway was wide because the restaurants threw a lot of their rubbish behind the shops, and it was safe to say that the area absolutely stunk to the point where Innu was finding it hard to keep his food in his stomach.

    a€?Why is he taking me here... is there some sort of secret technique to train your stomach, so that way I can learn to use Qi better?a€? Innu thought, because when looking at Ashen he seemed to bepletely fine with the smell.

    Turning his head to the left and to the right, he could see that there was no one else present so he decided to pick up a small stone from the floor, and threw it up in the air a couple of times.

    a€?Do you remember what I said before?a€? Ashen asked. a€?I wona€?t be teaching you Qi, that would take far too long and with what I have told you already you should eventually be able to figure it out on your own. If that''s the case, then I am not really going against the rules.

    a€?But, what I am about to show you is somethingpletely different, and it might seem a bit out of this world.a€?

    If Innu hadna€?t met Ashen before he would have thought he was simply overhyping his capabilities, but after having seen him do what he had done before, he was expecting something quite big.

    Ashen then threw the rock in the air, down the alleyway it went quite some distance away, but eventually dropped onto the floor.

    a€?That... am I missing something?a€? Innu asked.

    Ashen smiled as he saw this and picked up another small stone.

    a€?Watch carefully, watch it till the very end.a€?

    Ashen threw the stone down the alleyway once more, and Innu tried to not blink. The stone continued and just likest time fell down onto the floor again.

    a€?I didna€?t see anything different.a€? Innu imed and was wondering if this was all a big prank from Ashen.

    a€?Alright... Ia€?ll try to make it a little more obvious for you.a€? Ashen said, holding out his hand, and this time there was nothing in his hand as he stretched it out with his fingers stretched open.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Innu was now watching his hand carefully, when suddenly a small stone appeared in it. Ashen grabbed it at that moment, and started to throw it up and down again.

    Innu looked left, he looked right, and started to rub his eyes.

    a€?That stone... where did ite from? Did it just fly into your hand? What is this, is it a magic trick!a€?

    Ashen started to chuckle.

    a€?It''s not magic, although I''m not quite sure what it is myself. You see, one day, I was just able to do things like this. Control where objects moved. When I was throwing the stone earlier, if you had paid attention you would have seen it swerving to the left or the right.

    a€?But as long as the object isn''t too heavy, I can bring it back into my hand like so.a€?

    The stone was now levitating in the air, in front of him. Innu was sure that there were no strings, so he had to just believe what the other said.

    a€?When I saw your axes, it made me think of this. Imagine if you had this power? If you learnt how to transfer your Qi into the axe, and threw it towards your enemy, if you could control its path it would hit your enemy without fail, and then with the power, the axe coulde back right to the palm of your hand.a€?

    As Ashen exined, Innu was imagining it there and then. How useful something like this would be when going up against Midwak.

    a€?You see, this isna€?t something the Altered Hunters teach you, nor is it anything rted to my current position. This is something that one day I could just do. It allowed me to hunt for Altereds easier, and I haven''t shown any others this skill or ability if you want to call it that.a€?

    Now Innu was understanding why ke wasna€?t allowed to tag along. After hearing Ashena€?s exnation it did make him have a thought.

    a€?Wait, you said that you just knew how to do this one day, and no one taught you it before, right? So does that mean, you''re not even sure if it''s something that can be taught to others?a€? Innu asked.

    Ashen nodded.

    a€?That''s right, I have been wanting a student for a while now, to see if it''s possible to teach others how to do this. Oh and of course, if this all does work out. I would tell you to only use it in emergencies. If people were to find out about this, they might hunt you down and take your body apart.a€?

    Innu didna€?t like the sound of that, and more so, he was a bit disheartened that it might be the case that he couldn''t learn this ability. If it was, then wouldn''t a lot more people have powers, or maybe those with powers were just hiding themselves like Ashen.

    In the end, Innu couldn''t help but think, how much of a plus it would be if he could do something like this in a fight.

    a€?Leta€?s do it, lets try and learn this power!a€? Innu excitedly said.

    a€?I knew you were the right person for this.a€? Ashen smiled.

    Innu quickly started to grab some stones off the ground, as he was ready to begin his training. He would work day and night for this, and time was short.

    Meanwhile, Ashen looked at him, thinking if this worked out, maybe it would change the world, or even the future, but one thing was for sure, Innu would be a five star hunter in no time.

    a€?Ashen, are you okay?a€? Innu asked. a€?Your nose is bleeding.a€?

    Ashen quickly wiped the side of his face.

    a€?Oh... this... it''s alright, let''s start your training.a€?

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If Ia€?m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 581 A Different Path

    Marie was currently sitting in the Wolf''s Pool Club, her head was down on the bar table. While the teenage girl was feeling down, business continued as usual around her, White was happily serving guests like any other day. At this point, the profit from the Wolf''s Pool Club wasn''t really relevant for the Howlers, but Marie''s mother was more than happy to continue working in it.

    The core members all appreciated her effort, due to the fact that it was running as normal on a day-to-day basis, and with it not standing out so much, it made for the perfect hideout.

    "What''s wrong, Mai?" Kiki Degrace eventually asked. It was obvious to anyone that something was bothering her daughter, judging by the ever increasing number of sighs she was letting out.

    "It''s hard to exin. Do you think I did the right thing by dropping out of school? Do you think I should go back?" Marie shared some of her burdens.

    Letting out a sigh of her own, Miss Degrace stopped cleaning the bar, headed towards her daughter, and started to rub her head, giving her a bit of a massage. "Sweetie, nothing is stopping you from going back to school but is that really what you want?"

    "It''s hard, you know." Marie continued toin while enjoying the head massage. "Back when we all left school, I was so determined to help Kai and Gary out of trouble, and I would like to believe that I really did help them. I was doing my best to get stronger, I was really putting in the work to get better with¡­ the dagger and weapons."

    For a second, Marie''s mother stopped massaging her head, looking around shiftily that nobody had heard her teenage daughter. As thankful as she was for the Howlers for everything they had done to help the two of them, as her mother, Kiki despised the fact that Marie was involved in gang business. She knew what she possibly had been doing but tried her best to disregard it, but rather than worry about her own feelings, she needed to look out for her daughter.

    "Now, though¡­ I can''t help but feel that I''m useless¡­ that I just get in the way." Marie continued. "I thought I was needed, but when I really I think about it, am I any differentpared to another person if they had the same weapons?

    "The ones we met in Notsburg were nearly strong enough to hurt Gary¡­ and from what we learned our enemies in the future are likely to be even stronger. I''m just a normal girl, nowhere near as special as his new friends."

    Marie started to think about the AFA students she had seen, like Izzy who had saved her life. Although they were the same age, one was a dropout, while the other was a student at the most prestigious Altered academy. Given her abilities, she could help Gary far better than Marie ever could.

    "I understand how you feel, sweetie¡­ There were many times when I felt weak and helpless, and there will always be times when you can''t do anything but rely on the people around you. You might not be at the point you wanted to be, but let me ask you this, do you think people like me and White aren''t helping out the Howlers?"

    Marie turned around and could see White as popr as ever with the boys, as she gave them their drinks. As soon as she turned away, they couldn''t stop whispering about her. It was an open secret that many of their regrs only visited to to see her, it was clear she was building up her own little fan base.

    "I''m not sure what to say." Marie replied.

    "While it is certainly true that the Howlers are a gang, a gang doesn''t function simply by having many strong fighters. Besides, at this point, I see it more like a corporation or apany. The whole thing cannot exist without everyone doing their part. No matter how small that task, it all allows the Howlers to be as sessful as they have been. So let me ask you, while you might not grow strong overnight, is there really nothing you can do to support the Howlers right now, even if it''s something small?"

    Marie thought about it, maybe there were other ways that she could help, but the thing was, if she was to do the same as White right now, just working at the bar, or helping out at meetings and such, then she didn''t think that she deserved to stand side by side with the others.

    While nobody could deny that she was one of the Howlers'' core members, she knew that it was mostly because she had been a member since the beginning. When she looked at the others, andpared herself to everyone else, there was a big difference between them and her, and that was strength.

    As a core member, to continue standing by the side of others, she needed strength. The talk with her mother had helped, but not in the way that she thought. It allowed her to realise she didn''t want to just be a little help to the Howlers, she realised what she wanted.

    "I have to go somewhere!" Marie said as she quickly went to leave her seat. "If Kai asks where I am, just tell him I''ve gone home for the day to rest up.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Taking the bus, Marie hadn''t informed any of the other members where she was going. It was quitete out at night, but after going through what she had been through, the streets and more just didn''t seem as scary anymore.

    While on the bus though, she did notice something. There looked to be three teenage boys who were incredibly loud, sting out their music and hitting each other. It was bothersome, but Marie wouldn''t get involved and just like everyone else was ignoring what they were seeing on the bus.

    However, there was one thing that was concerning her. Two boys were sitting in one seat and were constantly hitting their third friend behind them. The bus was full and there was a woman who was next to them who seemed to flinch each time one of the boys would go in for a hit.

    "Damn you, Yami, hold up your hand properly. I need to show you how I pounded that guy''s face earlier!" The boy asked.

    Yami, the one sitting next to the woman, held up his hand like a boxing pad, ready to take the strike. As the other went to throw out his fist, the bus went over a small bump, making it go off target and as it did it hit the woman in the side of her face.

    "Did that woman jump in front of my fist, what the hell is wrong with you?" the boy shouted.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The others could clearly see what had happened, including Marie, yet they were ming the woman.

    "But¡­ you hit me." The woman said, holding her face.

    "What, the f*ck are you saying, are you trying to me me?" The boy asked.

    "Hey, small dick!" Marie shouted, as she stood up and couldn''t take it anymore.

    "What, small dick? Is she talking to me?" the boy pointed at himself.

    "Well, if you were the one that replied, then I guess I was on the mark." Marie smiled to herself, and the boys soon started tough at their friend.

    "You were the one that hit her, so if anyone should be apologising it should be you. Why are you getting involved in other people''s lives?" Marie asked.

    Due to the embarrassment, there was a rage building up in the boy, and as he saw Marie get next to the woman, and help her up, he lifted his leg and kicked Marie right in the shoulder, sending her falling to the ground.

    "I see, you act tough, but you fall over just as easily as all the others." The boy smiled.

    This was the feeling that Marie hated, feeling so weak. These were just some teenage boys, they weren''t Altered nor were they gang members, and they were able to do this to her, what was she to do next.

    Gritting her teeth, she soon leapt from her position, and tackled the boy. He didn''t fall to the ground, but with her swinging her arm, it hit him on the chin and caught him by surprise.

    "That hurt!" the boy said, and before he knew it, his whole body was being electrocuted by a strange object. It was an Anti Altered weapon, a baton that was kept on Marie at all times along with a bunch of other weapons.

    When the sparks finally ended, the boy fell to the ground having passed out. The other two boys, after seeing this, didn''t want to get involved, and as the bus came to a stop, they quickly picked up their friend and dragged him off.

    Marie put away her weapon and could see it was her stop as well, and rather than checking if the woman was okay, she walked off.

    "Thanks for the lift if you need any reimbursements of any kind, just contact this number." Marie said, as she pulled out a business card and handed it over. It was a card that Kai had made in case circumstances like these popped up once in a while,

    The people on the bus, as well as the driver himself, were just too stunned. It was a strange urrence that didn''t happen every day and they didn''t know what to make of it.

    Either way, it seemed like the incident today was just confirming all of Marie''s fears as she had throughout the day, which was why she was here, on Burnham food street.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 582 Maries Path

    Burnham food street always looked impressive, especially at night, but gone were the days where it would transform from a street of restaurants to a seedy red light district. Now it was full of ssy bars and fine dining restaurants.

    It was quite impressive how they had managed to transform the clientele and keep it just as busy as before. A lot of this was to do with investments and pushing from Kai, but the real person that was behind running such a sessful ce, was the one who had run the same red light district as before, and that was Olivia Pearl.

    Marie looked up at therge Octopus above the restaurant, she could see various purple and pink lights from inside with people cheering and more.

    ''Remember why you''re here.'' Marie said to herself as she pushed the door open. Immediately, she was met with tworge bouncers dressed in ck suits that were standing by the door.

    "Whoa there missy, aren''t you a bit too young to be heading inside?" One of the men said, while the otherughed.

    "I''m not here to party, I''m here to see Olivia Pearl." Marie asked.

    "The owner?" One of them replied. "We weren''t told that there would be any appointments today."

    The whole situation was frustrating and Marie had run into something like this more than once. If she wasn''t wearing her gang colours and mask, they treated her just like everyone else, but this was meant to be a secret meeting in the first ce.

    "Can you just tell her Marie is here to see her, I promise you''ll understand." Marieined and was getting frustrated, she had already had a bad day.

    "A lot of people try that one, unless you can show some ID that says you''re over 18, or book an appointment in advance, then I can''t let you in." The man stated.

    Out of frustration, Marie decided to walk away, or at least she made it look that way, as she bolted and attempted to run right past the two bouncers, but they quickly moved, blocking her way.

    As she crashed into them, she fell on the floornding on her backside once again. Looking up, it was only then she realised the sheer size of the two people.

    ''I''m not sure if even an electrified baton would take these two out.'' Marie gulped.

    "Look, if you don''t leave this ce, then we might seriously have to hurt you!" One of the men said as he pulled back his fist ready to hit Marie, but he soon felt someone grab it.

    "What are you doing, were you really going to hurt a little girl?"

    When the two bouncers turned around, they immediately noticed it was Olviva with her bright red lipstick on her lips and fur wrapped around her neck. They immediately bowed down.

    "I hired you guys to follow the rules not to cause trouble, and you two remember her face. If shees here again you are to let her in immediately." Olivia said, as she offered a hand to Marie.

    Rather than taking the hand though, Marie got up herself. The action had brought a smile to her face. The two went inside and Marie followed until they had eventually reached the second floor. A lot had changedpared tost time she was there. There were a lot fewer rooms and more open space.

    Eventually, the two had entered a small room that looked to be for entertaining guests, as there were only two sofas, a table, and on the back wall there was a number of different drinks.

    ''I don''t feel the besting here on my own¡­ I almost forgot how scary Olivia is.''

    There was no one in the room but them two, and the confidence that Olivia had, it was overwhelming for Marie in a way, making it hard for her to even speak.

    "I was surprised when I heard your voice calling my name." Olivia said. "That''s why I went to the door when you were having trouble. Since I didn''t receive a call from him, I can only assume you have decided toe here and see me by yourself.

    "It''s rare that just us two girls hang out with each other, so tell me, why are you here?"

    Pulling in her fingers, making a fist as she scrunched up the skirt she was wearing, Marie took a deep breath.

    "I''m too weak the way I am now." Marie said. "The others¡­ I really don''t think they understand how I feel. If I brought it up to them, they would say it''s okay, that there''s no need for me to do anything, but I don''t want that. I want to get stronger.

    "And you¡­ you''re strong, in so many different ways!"

    Olivia raised her hand there, as she very well understood how Marie was feeling.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''m not going to say what the others would say to you, that you are young, or you have time, or that there is no need.

    "Which is why I want you to get to the point. What do you want from me, do you want me to train you? Teach you how to fight, because that won''t work. Our bodies are naturally different to them, which is why I used weapons in the past, before I was changed."

    This was it, this was the question Marie had been going through her head, what she had nned to do.

    "You''re right, everything you said is right. Which is why I havee here, because I want you to turn me. I want you to turn me into the same as you!"

    It was clear as day what Marie meant. The group had learned that Olivia had been turned by Gary, and that Kai was as well. Which meant they too could be turned as well.

    "I know what you''re thinking, but if I went to Gary, or Kai, neither of them would ever agree to turn me. They would say there''s too much risk! They just wouldn''t ever listen to my side. How am I meant to just do nothing while they are taking all of the risks!" Marie argued even though Olivia hadn''t said anything.

    She was thinking about it. In the past, the Pack rules didn''t allow her to hurt the other Howler members, but since they had all been changed recently to keep Midwak in check, that was no longer a problem, but there were other issues.

    "There''s a few problems I think we have here. First, I don''t even know if I can turn you as I have never turned anyone before. We don''t even know if that''s something possible. On top of that, don''t you think that me turning you would put me in their bad books?" Olivia replied.

    "I''ll exin to them, I''ll tell them I forced you, that I gave you no choice, whatever the case I''ll make sure you won''t get in trouble¡­ but please, you''re the only one that I can go to. Even if we''re not sure if it works or not¡­ we have to try."

    In Marie''s head, it was simple, Olivia would bite her, on her arm or such, and in the worst case she would have a mark there for the rest of her life, but in a best case scenario she would be like the others and she could stay by their side once again.

    "I''ve always quite liked you Marie, that is the only reason why I am willing to listen to your madness, and give it a shot."

    A giant smile appeared on Marie''s face but Olivia wasn''t done there.

    "But I need to ask you again, are you sure? There is no reversing this process. Your normal life will disappear, there will be a hunger inside you and a desire to kill, as well as dealing with the full moon. It is not something that everyone can handle."

    Marie didn''t hesitate as she nodded, she had already been thinking about it for a while.

    "Very well." Olivia stood up from the sofa, and started to take off her clothes, undressing in front of the other. Since she wasn''t wearing her gang uniform, transforming would break her clothes, and she quite liked what she had at the moment.

    At first Marie covered her eyes out of embarrassment but she couldn''t help but peek through her fingers, as she could see a beautiful perfect hourss shaped figure. She was getting a little red in the face looking at her.

    That was until she started to transform, fur growing from her body, her limbs elongating, and the sharprge teeth.

    Although Marie had seen this transformation a few times, she never could get used to it, as her heart would always start to thump.

    However, rather than looking away, she reached out her arm, and therge teeth sunk into her skin.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 583 A New Beta

    Marie was keeping her eyes closed, getting ready for what she herself had asked for. The moment Olivia''s fangs pierced her skin, a sharp pain radiated throughout her body, and she screamed out, starting to regret her decision.

    ''What if Olivia doesn''t stop there? What if she was only waiting for such a chance to get back at us and decides to keep on eating me?'' The teenager''s delusions onlysted so long before her body started to pump out adrenaline, while her arm was starting to feel slightly cold.

    "Are you just going to stand there with your eyes closed the whole time or what?" Olivia asked. Opening her eyes, Marie could see the bloody wound on her arm, it was dripping down but it wasn''t as bad as she had imagined. Meanwhile Olivia was reverting to her human form, changing into her normal clothes.

    "Since I''ve never done something like this before, I thought it was best if I transformed. Sorry for scaring you a little." Olivia apologised. "I highly doubt biting you in this form would aplish anything other than making your face turn a little redder."

    Thatment alone was enough for Marie''s face to flush a little more as the apanying image went through her head. She quickly shook it away as Olivia went to approach her again now that she was fully dressed again.

    "So do you feel any different, other than the pain on your hand?" Olivia''s question was filled with curiousity.

    "Not really, if anything I feel strangely fine. Not sure what it will be like once the adrenaline is gone, though. What was it like for you, after Gary bit you?" Marie asked.

    Olivia had to think back. Honestly speaking, she didn''t remember a lot of it, other than cursing Gary for barging in her base, and apparently outright challenging him for the Alpha seat.

    She hadn''t done so ever since. Part of her knew that if they were ever to battle again, her loss was a foregone conclusion. The fact that Gary had managed to beat Midwak proved as much. Besides, there really was not much reason for her to rebel. She had the same if not more power than she did as the leader of the Pincers, as long as everything continued this way, then she would be satisfied.

    "Oh wait." Olivia finally remembered something. "I forgot to warn you, get ready for some serious pa-"

    "Ahhh!" There was arge scream that echoed in the room, followed by a thud.

    Looking on the floor, Olivia could see Marie rolling around helplessly. She was digging her nails into the carpet floor trying to tear at it as if it would help her in any way. While the veins all over her body were building, almost allowing one to see the shifting and movement of blood going up and down.

    ''It hurts so much, my heart feels like it''s going to explode¡­ am I going to die?'' Marie started to fear.

    The pain was continuing and she wanted to scream to let the pain out, but only silence came out of her mouth, as if her body was denying her even this after the first blood wrenching one.

    Every time she attempted to, pain started to emerge from a different area, even worse than before. It wasn''t for a short time, either, and Olivia was left with nothing to do but watch the poor girl on the floor for over five minutes. The adult woman knelt down by her side with a worried look.

    ''I don''t remember the pain going on for this long has something happened¡­ could there be a problem since I was the one to bite her?''

    Olivia went to grab Marie''s hand, and as she did, it was gripped far harder than usual, more than the strength of a human, that was for sure. Were it not for her being a Werewolf, she felt like her entire hand would have been crushed by this grip strength,

    "Don''t you dare die on me now, girl! You said you would exin to the others that this whole thing was your idea! How are you meant to do that if you''re dead!"

    It was Olivia''s unique way of encouragement but it was better than nothing. The pain continued on for another hellish five minutes, Marie''s heart had no time to rest beating fast during the whole ordeal.

    And for what could have been the first time for Olivia, she felt somewhat bad for what she had done, because it was her bite that was causing all of this pain.

    "Don''t die, you wanted to show the others what you have right, well this is the price you have to pay. You were too scared to leave, because you thought they worried too much about you, well prove them wrong and get through this!" Olivia screamed.

    The pressure from Marie''s grip on her hand was starting to fade, her heartbeat was starting to lower.

    "No, no!" Olivia shouted. "Are you even listening to me? If you die, I''ll kill you myself!"

    The grip in her hand hadpletely left and it was over. All of it was over.

    "Thank you¡­ thank you¡­ I¡­ I could hear¡­ you loud and clear." Marie answered weakly.

    --

    Having arrived at the academy, Gary was resting in his room. Without any warning a message popped up.

    [A new Beta Werewolf has joined the pack]

    [1 Pawn Point has been awarded]

    At first, he thought it was a mistake, but the message was clear as day.

    "What¡­ is going on. Did one of the others bite someone?"

    Gary remembered something from the system, iming that those he turned could turn others as well.

    However, he never thought the others would do such a thing, because even with his Alpha Bite there was a no guarantee, merely a lower chance of failure, which he could only assume to be synonymous for death.

    If the Alpha already had a low chance of a bite seeding, then what were the chances of a Beta seeding and turning someone?

    ''Who was it? There are only three other Werewolves in the Howlers Pack, and I doubt Midwak would try to pull something so soon. Was Kai testing something without informing me? Maybe¡­ or could it have been Olivia? Just why would any one of them try anything so dangerous?''<novelnext></novelnext>

    Getting on his phone, he sent each one of them a message to call him ASAP, but unfortunately all of them seemed to be busy. Remembering he had another way to check, he openen the Pack menu via his system.

    [Howlers Pack]

    [Alpha Werewolf - Gary Dem]

    [Grade: Rook (1/50)]

    [Beta Werewolf - Olivia Pearl]

    [Grade: Knight (0/5)]

    [Beta Werewolf - Kyle Hamper]

    [Grade: Knight (0/5)]

    [Beta Werewolf - Midwak Wolk]

    [Grade: Rook (0/50)]

    [Beta Werewolf - Mai Degrace]

    [Grade: Pawn (0/1)]

    That''s when he could see it, he could see Marie''s name written there. (Editor''s Note: This is not a mistake, though aside from a few characters and system notifications, we will stick with Marie when referring to her. Pretty much like we do with Kai rather than Kyle)

    "What is...what is going on." Gary picked up the phone again as he needed to find out some answers.

    --

    Before doing anything, Olivia waited for Marie to regain some energy. They both waited a few minutes to see if there were anymore signs of pain, but everything was okay with the both of them. Marie was clenching her hands a few times and she could feel a difference in strength from that little act that alone.

    Her nose was also sharper, able to pick up many smells in the air, stronger scents she couldn''t even describe to others and her ears were also capable of picking up on the conversations happening on the floor below.

    "I really have changed." A wave of emotions wasing over Marie and tears were falling down her face.

    "Most people would be frightened or hate the fact that they''ve be a Werewolf and yet here you are crying tears of joy." Oliviamented sarcastically, with a slight smirk on her lips.

    Marie quickly tried the ultimate test as she tried to transform. She gritted her teeth, imagining her body changing, yet nothing had happened.

    "Yeah, I tried that as well, but I''m afraid it''s not as easy as it looks. After your first full moon it might be different, but just changing is only the beginning. It''s going to be tough from here on out. Did you think just bing like this would change you? Well it did, but I imagine just like bing an Altered, you''ll still need to put in the hard work, though you''re lucky that I can share my own experiences with you."

    "No that''s okay I can do it on my-"

    ? "What, you don''t have a problem letting me turn you, but now you''re about to reject my kind offer?" Olivia asked as she leant in closer.

    Marie felt like she was unable to refuse if she did, then maybe worse things were toe, and through this experience she had learnt that maybe Olivia was a nicer person than she seemed.

    "You...are a good person, I can''t believe.. you did all that stuff before, is there a reason for it?" Marie asked what was on her mind but quickly realised that she could be over stepping herself.

    "A reason?" Olivia replied as she thought back, but was soon interrupted as she could hear her phone vibrating on the sofa.

    Heading on over, she picked it up, and there was a call on it from Kai.

    Answering it, she thought there was no problem or there would be no bother, however as soon as she answered the call she wasn''t even able to get a word in.

    "What did you do?" The growl from the phone sent shivers down the spine of bothdies.

    *****

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 Chapter 584 Kais Anger

    Gary''s initial reaction was twofold when he found out about Marie. The first one was worrying, wondering if she was okay.

    To his mind, for Marie to have turned was only usible if she was forced into it. Someone must have bit her trying to take control of her.

    However, the fact that she was now part of the Pack let Gary wonder what the other person''s intentions were by turning Marie.

    Because based on his system if Marie was to die now, she would disappear from the list, notifying him immediately.

    Which was when the second emotion took over, anger. Anger due to the fact that for whatever reason someone had deliberately risked his friend''s life.

    It was why he had decided to pick up the phone and call the person most likely to have turned her in. However, Kai revealed not to be the one to have turned her and he knew Midwak was still in Notsburg, leaving only one possible suspect.

    "Alright, at least the good news is that Marie was sessfully turn-"

    Before he could finish, the call had already disconnected from the other end. After learning what had happened Kai had already hung up, sharing Gary''s anger, and unlike their leader, he was close enough to demand some answers in person.

    ''I can''t say I''m not a little worried for Olivia seeing as Kai treats Marie like his little sister. Well, whatever happens, only has herself to me. If it was Amy in this situation I don''t know what I would do. Still¡­ perhaps I should give her a heads up that Kai might be on his way. ''

    Calming down, Gary just felt like what was done was done. She was already turned and there was nothing they could do about that but help her.

    Looking at his system Gary could see the number of Pawn Points as his disposable and felt maybe it was safe to upgrade Marie. If it was like the others she would get a ss upgrade as well.

    --

    Simr to Gary, the call with Olivia and Kai had ended abruptly. She was unable to say anything or get a word in, instead Kai kept howling down at her.

    "How could you be so stupid?"

    "I was just starting to trust you.."

    "Do you know who she is?"

    Marie standing nearby could hear everything as well and was just shaking her head. Both her and Olivia had never seen him act this way.

    Kai was the cool calm and collected one, even in a tense situation or near death he didn''t act like this yet he did now. Marie couldn''t lie either, that the fact he was acting this way, made her a little happy.

    "That went about as well as expected." Olivia noted as she rubbed her ears. They were hurting from all the shouting.

    "It sounds like he''s on his way here. You heard it as well, I didn''t even have a chance to exin myself, and I doubt he will have cooled down by the time he arrives. Since this was all YOUR idea, you got a pretty big job ahead of you, missy."

    There was an awkward smile from Marie but a promise was a promise she wouldn''t let Olivia get in trouble for this.

    --

    Momentster arge limousine was seen driving on Burnham Food Street. Usuallyte at night or early morning you could drive on the footpath but during the day where there was so much footfall the road would be closed, so the site of the car as well as the particr car had caught a lot of attention.

    It stopped just outside the restaurant with its giant octopus sign and the door was opened aggressively.

    Kai was the first to exit the vehicle, he wasn''t in his gang uniform nor wearing his mask revealing the scar he still had across his jaw thanks to Midwak.

    Following behind him was arge figure as well, strangely in his pyjamas, a fluffy grey top and bottoms, but nheless there was a serious look on his face.

    ''This is a bit embarrassing.'' Austin thought as he could feel the eyes on him looking at his clothes. ''I was just getting ready for sleep, but how could I ignore a call from Kai when sounded so angry.''

    Kai didn''t really exin much he didn''t have time to, but since he was seeing Olivia and a fight could very well kick off he wanted to call someone and Austin was the only who has answered, otherwise he would have brought Innu as well.

    Regardless, the two of them walked inside the venue, and reached the tworge bounces inside.

    "What is with today and these kids trying to get in. Since when did this venue be so popr with the young ones?" The bouncerined.

    "Austin." Kai said and he already knew what he needed to do.

    Stepping forward in front of the bouncers the tworge men couldn''t help but let out augh. Unlike Kai who looked his age Austin looked more like an adult and no matter how big he was, his current outfit let to a burst ofughter.

    "I''m sorry but there is no sleeping allowed inside." One of them joked.

    Grabbing onto both of their shoulders, a simple push hurled the bouncers past the two of them banging their heads into the door, while one of the heads went right through the door.

    ''Hmm I need to control my strength a bit more.'' Austin thought.

    The music was ying quite loud in the venue that no one was aware of what was happening inside. So when the two entered they didn''t get too much attention as they walked through the crowds to head upstairs.<novelnext></novelnext>

    However Austin was gaining a lot of attention.

    "Oh I like your style."

    "Why did I never think of that? I think this could set a new trend. We should inplemt a pajama night!"

    "Hey, this might sound strange but can I rub your clothes?"

    People were blocking Austin left right and centre and Kai was already by the stairs where there were even more guards.

    "Hey you, you''re not allowed up here!"

    These were all technically members of the Howlers, so Kai didn''t want to hurt them. As they went to grab him with his quick movement he was able to move away, take a step forward and use his foot to trip one of them up.

    The other guard was still running down the staircase and with the strength of a single leg Kai used his power to junp up and over the person before quickly rushing up the stairs.

    "Olivia,e out here!" Kai shouted, knowing that she definitely would hear him from the second floor.

    Just like that, a bunch of guards came out from their rooms hearing the shout, and at the end of the hallway Olivia could be seen as well.

    "Everyone get back in your rooms and stay in your rooms, this is a very important guest!" Olivia stated.

    The guards listened and entered their doors after they did, Kai''s eyes were glowing blue.

    "What is this, you want to fight me, without even hearing me out. That isn''t like you?" Olivia smiled.

    "Hear you out?" Kai questioned as he walked forward, his arm transforming. "There is nothing to hear about the fact that you went behind not just my back but Gary''s as well and turned her. You didn''t even consult me.

    "Do you think you can do something like that, to someone I care about!" Kai rushed forward but as he did, Marie quickly went and stood in the way of the two of them spreading her arms out.

    "You can''t hurt her, Kai!" Marie shouted. "If you do, I''ll never forgive you."

    "Mai, move." Kai instructed.

    "No! Stop being so stubborn and just listen."

    "She''s right, you know." Olivia added. "Why don''t you listen to what Marie wants for once, rather than doing everything for her. You are not in control of her life, she is in charge of her own. So listen to her."

    Although Olivia''s words seemed to only anger Kai more at first, hearing what she said while looking at Marie and the desperation in her eyes was causing him to calm down and Marie saw it as her chance to exin things.

    "I was the one that approached Olivia, I was the one that asked her to turn me. Just take a look at your current behaviour. This is why I knew I couldn''t go to you or Gary.

    "I know you guys care about me, so you would have simply said there was no need. That you two would protect me but I want to be with you guys¡­ side by soe and not somewhere in the back! Even if you say I don''t have to do this, I can help in my own way. I want to help in my own way.

    "Back then, when we fought Midwak, if it wasn''t for Innu, if it wasn''t for Izzy I would have died. I know that.

    "So I couldn''t just stay by your side as I am now. I had to change. So you can''t me Olivia, all of this was my own choice!"

    Kai''s arm started to revert back to normal, his eyes no longer glowing as he thought about Marie.

    ''I thought I was doing a good job of protecting her but she''s right, I''ve never considered how she felt. I just didn''t want to lose another person that I cared about so much. I didn''t want you involved in all of this to begin with and now you''re more involved than you need to be.

    ''I can''t believe that you were so scared of me, that you felt like you couldn''t even ask me.''

    Just then as Kai was about to speak, Marie''s phone received a message from Gary.

    "Brace yourself."

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 585 Pick One

    Through a process of elimination, Gary determined that Olivia had to be the one who turned Marie into a Werewolf. This conclusion was reached as Kai''s reaction indicated he was not responsible, and Midwak was also ruled out. Given Olivia''s past actions, including her use of the whip to save the group, Gary could not imagine her acting with harmful intentions.

    In the end, Marie was safe, and Gary had to address the new reality he was facing.

    ''Now that she is a Werewolf, there is a good chance that she won''t just be involved in gang matters, and that Midwak''s old Pack might go after in the future. In that case, the best thing to do is to allow her to evolve, and assign her a ss.''

    Having gone through the process himself in the past, Gary knew that the process of receiving a ss was quite painful. Remembering Kai''s transformation, and Olivia''sint about no prior notice, he decided to warn Marie in advance by sending her a text.

    Feeling confident in his decision, Gary smiled to himself and opened his Pack tab. He then allocated the necessary Pawn Points toward Marie and watched as the system reacted as expected.

    [Congrattions, your Pawn Grade Beta wolf, is now a Knight grade]

    [The Beta Wolf ''Marie'' is now able to select from one of the following sses]

    [Congrattions, one of your Beta Werewolves (Mai Degrace) has been upgraded to Knight Grade]

    [You may now select her ss]

    [Hunter ss]

    [A Werewolf Hunter is fast, agile, and sneaky. They focus on killing their prey quickly, out of sight and from the shadows. They are able to track their targets from a great distance and have great focus]

    [ss perks include: More and better Marks, improved tracking]

    This was the same ss he had assigned Olivia. It was handy to have her as a Hunter as Gary could mark targets, giving her a boost in power. While she could do it as well, without a system of her own, she would only do so subconsciously, once her killing intent for a target exceeded some unknown value.

    As for the tracking features, Gary''s theory on that were that Hunter ss Werewolves had arger detection range for Marks. He himself had realised in the past that the ones he had marked, like Tom or his sister, had turned more and more faint, the greater the distance. Because of that, although, he would know when one of his friends was in trouble, following them via that scent was next to impossible.

    Given that their Pack already had a Hunter, Gary felt that it wasn''t really necessary to a need another one, though part of his decision also stemmed from the fact that the system also didn''t rmend that option.

    [Warrior ss]

    [Werewolf Warriors can be considered the vanguards of their Pack. They lead their Pack into battle with their great strength. They have exceptional fighting ability and courage, but it is because of this trait, that they also boast the highest fatality rate.]

    [ss perks include: Wide range of skills to select from,rge Energy pool]<novelnext></novelnext>

    This option was of course what Gary had chosen for himself. It was a strong ss, and unlike with the others, he already knew what the advanced options were that one would be able to select. Although he didn''t think that the role of a Dark Warrior would suit her, it might not hurt to turn her into the Pdin ss in the future.

    ''However, what I don''t like about it, is the fact that it states they have the highest fatality rate. Although the sses past that are good, I''m not sure if I have enough points to shoot her up to a Grade where she can select her next ss. I also have no idea about what the ss Promotions for the other two sses are, for all I know, they might be just as good, if not better.''

    [Protector ss]

    [A Werewolf Protector boasts one of the sturdiest bodies of their race. They use their own body to shield their fellow Pack members from any harm, making sure they will survive.]

    [ss perks include: Extra Endurance, faster healing.]

    ''Unlike Kai, Marie only has ess to the three base sses. Does that mean that he only got that extra option because I used Alpha Bite to turn him, was it purely luck, or could it have something to do with natural aptitude? The system also didn''t rmend any of them this time, so does that mean Marie is simply an all-rounder?'' Gary wondered, but then recalled that when he had to make a choice for his ss Promotion, there also had been no rmendation.

    Given thest option, Marie''s small stature didn''t exactly seem to fit the image Gary had when he thought of a Protector ss Werewolf. He felt like this was a role suited for someone with arge wall of muscle like Austin. He also had yet to experience what the Protector ss could do or its traits so it was a bit of a risk.

    ''Going by the ss perks, the best advantage the Protector ss seems to have is that they should be very hard to kill. A hard body, and fast healing. Although the name sounds like they would only be good as defenders, that doesn''t have to mean that they have no offensive capabilities.

    ''There''s also no reason for Marie topletely change and give up what she has been doing to fit such a role. Choosing this one, nothing is stopping her from continuing to be a backline support, only with the added benefit of extreme defence, and great healing. This way, she should be able to survive long enough for any of us to help her out from any bad situation. I also believe Kai would support such a choice..''

    The more Gary thought about it, the more he talked himself into this being the optimal choice for her.

    [You have selected the Protector ss]

    [The process will now begin.]

    ******

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 586 A New Person

    While Marie had to be going through her transformation, Gary looked at the remainder of his points, and going by the numbers, he had enough to evolve both Kai and Olivia to the next Grade. Whether this would result in them advancing in their ss, he wasn''t so sure. After all, his own ss Promotion had been the result of reaching Level 25, but his Pack members didn''t have any Levels.

    ''I should probably stop here and do it the next time I see it in person. It''s likely that I''ll have to make a choice between two options for them as well, and it would be better to ask their opinion rather than deciding it then.''

    Sending out another text, Gary apologised to Marie for what she must be experiencing right now. He also send another text to Kai not to worry if she suddenly fell into extreme pain because she was simply going through the same process as he had when bing a Shapeshifter ss. He also asked to be kept updated on any changes. Pretty pleased with himself, Gary finally decided to get some shut-eye for the night.

    The next day, Gary was attending the lessons of the Altered academy as if nothing had happened. During recess he talked with his friends as if nothing had happened the day prior. They brought up their future lessons, and some said they were more confidentpared to before based on the experience they had.

    Gary did notice Izzy was quieter than normal, which seemed to be rted to her wound that had yet to disappear. However, once lessons finished, it was time for Gary and Numba to head somewhere. The two had been lucky enough to make it exactly one day prior to their special lesson, so that''s where they were headed..

    ''The situation in Slough took longer than I thought. Which means, I have two more of these special lessons to attend before I decide to take the Altered assessment and get out of here. I made my decision and told the others already.'' Gary thought.

    The thing was, Gary had gotten a boost from the Altered that day, far more than he would have gotten from the beasts that had their crystal removed. So honestly, unlike before, he didn''t feel like he would lose out too much if he stopped attending. Nevertheless, he would still have his debut match to be a proper AFC fighter.

    The two had met up with Crowley and were walking through the halls. They went to the room they were in before, putting on their red and blue uniforms and that''s when they could see someone they hadpletely forgotten about, someone who had been impacted by their visit to Nosburg personally.

    When looking at Sty, the teenage boy appeared to be tired, he was weary as he put on his uniform and even stuck his leg through the arm pocket then on the wrong side a few times. It was quite clear that he wasn''t in the right ce.

    When Numba saw him, and although he hated to admit it, but he felt bad for the guy. Although he was a Grade A scumbag, he was also a kid who had just lost his father, even if he had been the leader of the Scatterbugs. When meeting back at the AFA, Nuba had expected Sty to go crazy, to attempt to attack the two of them, or shout at them or something, but he hadn''t said a word to either him or Gary.

    ''Losing a father, even if they are a D*ck would be bad for anyone.'' Numba thought. Although he knew that he was merely adopted by Harry Cardenez, to him he was like his real father, and he knew he would be heartbroken if anything happened to him. Perhaps it was even worse to lose someone you actually were rted to¡­

    That''s when they could see Apolloing over and stopped just in front of Gary.

    "You were away for a while, I was starting to get worried that you would leave the academy." Apollo smiled. "But, then I heard that your gang went ahead and took over the Scatterbugs, I can only guess that''s the reason you went back."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Numba couldn''t help but smirk inwardly. ''If only you knew what role exactly he was ying in that.''

    "Your gang is impressive, just like you." Apollo continued to praise the green haired teenaer. "Just to let you know, my family has decided to take in Sty, so don''t feel too bad. It''s not like you had anything to do with the decision. It sucks, but things like these happen and let''s get on with this assessment."

    Things were going smoothly, perhaps too smoothly for some strange reason, but Gary kept his mouth shut to not jinx himself. He preferred to stay uninvolved in any future academy matter since he would be leaving soon anyway.

    "I have an announcement about today''s assessment." Crowley informed them. "Due to the performance both teams have shown during the inspection, the beast chosen for today is a particrly strong one. For your own sake, I can only highly advise you to work together. Today isn''t a time to make this into a contest on who is stronger, so your main focus should be on surviving this encounter!"

    Gary was ready, and despite his teacher''s warning he didn''t feel afraid, now even by a little bit. After his fight with Midwak, a beast seemed like a minor thing inparison, but still a great stepping stone on his journey to get stronger. After all, he had a powerful Werewolf on his back that was going to try to take his spot each and every month now.

    ''Let''s go!''

    ******

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 Chapter 587 A New Gary

    Crowley stated before that if they were ever to do a special lesson together, then it would mean that the beast that they were going up against would be a strong one. So it was safe to say that they were all a little nervous as they entered the usual room.

    Gary looked up at the observing room. Since it was a one way mirror, he was unable to see through it, but he could sense that there were people in there, most likely from NIRV again, watching everything that was going on.

    ''No Mark¡­ it looks like Tom wasn''t able toe this time.'' Garymented. ''Before, I was a little shy in hiding my powers, worried about what they would do, but the academy has done a good job in protecting me so far, and outside, they would have to try and get through the Howlers to get to me.''

    Everyone apart from Sty looked to be ready for what was toe out of the door in front of them. He still was absent-minded and it was clear to his fellow students that he was not someone they should rely on today. He seemed tock any motivation whatsoever, just going through the motions.

    On the other hand, Gary''s behaviour was also different this time. Rather than step back, he inched forward until he was side by side with Apollo.

    "Oh¡­ have you decided to show us something interesting this time?" Apollo asked. "You''re not the only one. While none of us were able to do much against Jaydenst time, it''s different now. There''s a reason why I''m always at the top."

    Gary wasn''t sure if he was imagining it or not, but he feel that there was something strangeing from in-between Apollo''s hands. Particles of frost around his fingers.

    ''Did he learn how to use a skill with his Altered form?'' Gary wondered.

    It seemed different from Xin''s yellow volts of electricity, his was more blue in colour. Still, he didn''t have time to worry about that, or worry about how strong the others were getting.

    The sound of the opening door made them stop their chatter, and look towards the beast that was slowlying in view. From the bottom, there were a set of holes andrge muscr legs. When seeing it clearly, it looked like the bottom of a horse.

    This came as a big surprise after hearing that this enemy would be a tough one for them to battle. This was small andpact, rather thanrge and bulky as they had all imagined it to be. As the door slowly lifted more, they could then see its chest, which was almost exactly like that of a human.

    A stunning muscr body was on full disy, with human hands as well. So far it looked like a mythical beast, a centaur of legends, but there was certainly something different about this one. As it had no head, or at least the head was not where one would expect.

    On top of the human body, there was a neck but it led to nothing as if somebody had cut it off. Rather, when looking closer at its chest, they could make out a face that stuck out a little from between its pecks. It was smiling with eyes that were fully white toward them.

    "That doesn''t look like any beast I''ve ever seen." Wu eximed in shock.

    "Yeah, it looks like something straight from my nightmares." Numba added.

    James, the head of the NIRV team at the AFA was inwardly smiling, or rather outwardly, though he was doing a good job covering it up with the palm of his hand over his face.

    ''These kids, they have no idea what they are facing right now, but seeing as the study of beasts isn''t really part of any curriculum, this doesn''t surprise me. Even if we told them that they''re looking at a bona fide humanoid beast, they wouldn''t understand the implications.''

    NIRV had done a lot of research into beasts, especially after sessfully recreating them from fossils. As stated, different breasts seemed to emit a different amount of energy, and the only sure way they had to tell the level of energy emitted was from the crystals after their death.

    However, the more data they got their hands on, the more proficient they became in estimating the strength of a beast based on the fossil used to create it. Regardless of all of this, there was one thing that would somewhat turn their knowledge on their head, and that was beasts that had more of a humanoid figure.

    Sometimes the crystals gathered after their death would emit a low amount of energy, yet somehow, and for some reason, they were far stronger in battle. They had learned this the hard way, letting theme to the conclusion that humanoid beasts were beasts at the top of their ss, or tier of the Beasts with that energy level reading.

    This was not going to be an easy task.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When the door finally lifted up in the air, the beast started to scrape its legs across the floor. Momentster, it charged directly at all of them on the ground floor.

    "We should wait and see what it can do first, and then attack it, right?'' Numba asked Gary who had yet to do anything.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Instead, the others acted, Wu, went forward, as he wished to match the centaur beast in strength. Antennas could be seen from his head, and his forms slightly bulged. Since the beast seemed to have no deadly weapon on its body and such, Wu felt like this was the perfect opponent for him.

    At that moment, the two of them collided, yet Wu was easily pushed back.

    ''This type of strength, despite its smaller size, it''s even stronger than the centipede!''

    Wu was suddenly lifted off the ground by the centaur. Seeing this, Snow came in to help, and jumped with his powerful legs towards the Centaurs side, but acting fast the Centaur threw Wu right into Snow, causing the two of them to tumble.

    "He, he, he!" The face on its chest emitted a horrible shriek that could only be interpreted as a wickedughter. That was when arge heavy fist wasing from above. Apollo was in the air, grabbing both of his hands doing a type of hammer strike.

    While he swung his hand down, it almost looked like a blizzard of cold air followed his hands, and it smashed into the floor, missing its target but destroying the tiles underneath. It was a heavy strong strike.

    However, it hadn''t hit the target, and the Centaur beast was still smiling a distance away.

    "That thing is so fast, and it''s almost like it''s teasing us, knowing how fast it is." Numba noted, wondering if his explosive speed would be enough to contend with it, or if his fate was the same as Wu''s.

    "It looks like Apollo did learn a skill¡­in such a short amount of time as well, but I''m not the same either."

    Gary started to walk over, and as he did, there was something that had urred. The special lesson was always thest lesson of the day, it was de in the afternoon, and now it had hit 6PM.

    [While the night sky is out, your Werewolf self will receive arge boost in your Energy]

    [Your Energy is now doubled]

    [All skills have temporarily increased in level]

    When Gary was close enough, he could see the centaur still not moving, it had a human trait, of arrogance and was overconfident, and this would be its downfall.

    Gary transformed his arms and legs.

    [Skill activated Lethal Pounce Lv. 2]

    His whole body jumped in one direction away from the centaur, it turned its body, and before it would do anything, Gary had jumped off a second time. It was part of the lethal pounce level 2 skill.

    Hitting his target, Gary had a hand right through its chest, with his transformer arm, holding onto the head of the beast in the air.

    *****

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 Chapter 588 Classified Information

    One moment, everyone was ready to fight with everything they had on the line. After seeing Apollo, Wu and Snow struggle against the beast, they knew this was going to be a difficult task, and as usual a thought would creep in at the back of their minds, what if this time they weren''t strong enough?

    It was these types of situations that would allow them to grow, yet all of the built up feelings that they had, vanished in a moment. They looked upon Gary, who had pulled his hand back out of the beast, and nted his two feet on the floor.

    The beast fell to the ground with a loud thud, unmoving, clearly having been killed. It happened so soon, so fast, and with no sign of struggle.

    "You¡­" Apollo said looking at Gary, yet for the first time he was speechless. Throughout the two''s meetings and journeys in the academy, Apollo had always felt on top. He felt like he was the one that was superior to Gary, even though he was interested in his strength. Yet now after seeing what had happened, he was finding it hard to say that to himself.

    Shaking his head, he soon smiled though.

    ''Not only did I think I was already far ahead of you, I thought I was a fast grower and was continuing to put distance between the two of us. I saw most of your skills when you fought against Jayden and to now be on this level¡­ how quickly are you growing, and when will you hit your peak?''

    It was only for a moment, but Apollo was feelling down, or rather shocked was more the word. He wondered if this is how others felt when they saw his power, but he soon realised that all of this was a good thing.

    There was someone around his age, simr to him, that could bepetition. It meant he just needed to work that much harder, if he wanted to lead his own gang in the future, and take them to new heights.

    ''I was unsure before, but If your gang is as special as you are, I believe that the world will soon learn that there is a new king. The question is, which one will fall so you can rise.'' Apollo thought.

    When a beast was defeated, there would then be a team of NIRV workers who woulde out and dissect the beast to find the crystal. This time, they were a bit slower, perhaps due to the speed that the beast had been killed at.

    ''Those guys, I can tell that they''re stunned by Gary.'' Numba thought. ''Look, Wu and Snow can''t even look at them. I can''t believe it myself, but the truth is, that Gary hasn''t even shown them everything he has, because he can''t.''

    Numba was feeling lucky, lucky that he met someone like Gary, and like that his family was now deeply connected with Gary. As long as he was with him, he thought they could achieve great things.

    When the workers eventually came out, they got to work as usual, and the request was granted to Gary again. He was allowed to have the body of the beast, before it went away. Looking at the body up and down, surprisingly since it was more human, it was more what Gary was used to eating by now.

    ''This beast, it feels like there is more energy lingering in its body than usual. It''s a shame, I thought maybe I could get the crystal and see if it would help me even more, but It wasn''t where I was expecting it to be.''

    After consuming the beast, Gary did see an increase to his stats.

    [Dexterity 45 >>>47]

    [Endurance 48 >>> 49]

    It was more stat points than he usually would have received, but now since his stats were so high, the increase looked minimal, and in a way felt minimal as well.

    ''I guess it makes sense to not feel as much of an improvement. If I had a 1000 stats and gained 1 point, then the difference between 1000 and 1001 wouldn''t be great, but the difference between 1 and 2 is double. Still, a small margin in a fight could be the difference.''

    While Gary was busy in the special room to feast on the beast, there was a certain individual that was also surprised by the results of today''s special lesson.

    ''I wasn''t expecting that at all.'' James thought. Going to theputer screen, the NIRV employee looked at it again. He saw the transformation and the defeat of the humanoid beast.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''The humanoid beast was meant to be a real test for them. To be honest, I wouldn''t have been surprised if one of them died today. Yet, because of him, that didn''t happen.''

    Lifting his head he looked at the others.

    "Did you manage to gather information on the students'' Altered forms like I asked?" James said.

    Another employee stood up from his seat.

    "We did check, and even bought information from the otherpanies to see if they had any records on Altered forms that were like that of a wolf. There was nothing that we could find.

    "However, when digging into NIRV files a bit more, I did find something somewhat rted to it."

    After the strange request James was looking into Gary more and more, and he was only getting more curious.

    "Unfortunately sir, I was unable to ess the files." The employee replied.

    "You couldn''t ess the files, did you use my ess code?" James asked.

    "Yes sir, since it was a request from yourself, I even requested to have ess to the files, thinking that it was some mistake. After all, it''s just information on some Wolf Type altered, yet the request was denied."

    Information in NIRV that not even an employee at James''s level could get ess to. Now, he was really intrigued, and wondered why it was the case.

    ''If I can''t get ess then I will just have to do some research myself. Let''s see, if you defeat a humanoid beast so easily, then it''s only fair to up the level of the next special lesson.'' James inwardly smiled.

    *****

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 589 A Deal With The Phoenix

    The Phoenix gang was one of the most well known Tier-1 gangs across the country. The main reason for this was their leader Sin who wasn''t one to shy away from showing off his powers. Unlike most of the Kings who seemed contend with secretly ruling from behind the scenes, Sin was very public in disying his face and fighting on the front lines, especially if there was a group that annoyed him.

    Even though his face was so public the other Kings didn''t attempt to go after him, or increase their influence, which, in a lot of ways, showed the power the Phoenix gang had. This was precisely the reason why two people from a small Tier-3 town had decided to join them, Raven and Gil.

    The two of them had nothing left behind for them at Slough. Gil''s parents had long since abandoned him, his consistent streak of getting into trouble had caused them to eventually give up on their son.

    As for Raven, his parents had long since died, leaving him and his brother on their own. Trying to make a better life for themselves, he had joined hands with his two friends Brendon and Yevon and had founded the Grey Elephants, who had managed to be one of the two overlords of Slough. s, his friends, as well as his brother, had all messed with the wrong people and had ended up killed.

    As if fate had brought them together, Raven and Gil had nowhere else to go but they shared a clear goal, and that was to punish the person they held responsible for all of their recent misgivings, Gary Dem.

    Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do on their own. They both knew his strength, he had proven himself by taking out the Underdogs. Being in the de-facto strongest gang made them as untouchable as a world renowned celebrity, so they needed help and so Raven had decided to leave town and join the Phoenix gang.

    Coming from a Tier-3 town, despite being the vice-leader of a prominent gang, Raven had no choice but to start from the bottom, same as Gil. Nevertheless, this didn''t bother him. The two of them were always quick to volunteer for any and all jobs, be it to clean up one of the gang hideouts, or to get rid of some dead bodies or evidence of crimesmitted. Doing the dirty work that no one liked to do had quickly earned them a favourable impression from the others.

    Neither one of them was a stranger to gruesome sights, but some of the scenes they had to witness would make any normal person faint, yet eventually they had grown numb to such things. When being given their first proper task, it allowed them tomit to what they needed to do, easier than they thought.

    The gang was impressed, and slowly they were being spotted for their talents. They were given jobs that had more importance, one that required them to get stronger.

    Raven had always been quite the skilled fighter, and Gil had natural strength and agility from his rugby days. The two of them would often train against each other, and continued to grow their fighting skills, but it wasn''t enough to stand out. In a tier-1 gang, there were many like them who were just as skilled or just as strong.

    At some point they hit a wall. Without rising to a higher position they would have no influence, but those that were able to rise up, were at least Altered, something that they could never be unless a miracle urred.

    Unbeknown to them, their wishes would soon be granted. Being the leader of the Phoenix gang, it was next to impossible for either one of them to meet with Sin, not only because their standing was far too low, but also because he would often be out and about doing his own thing. Nevertheless, for some reason they couldn''t even begin to fathom, one day they were called out in front of him, since Sin seemed to have some interest in Slough. Being natives, he asked for all the information they had on the ce.

    The two of them shared everything they knew, with Raven giving more of the detailed information about the underworld. About how the Underdogs worked, what members the Howlers had, and more.

    A few dayster the two of them continued their normal duties in the gang, when they were called once more, only this time they were to head to therge vi that was in the mountains overlooking the sea.

    Both Girl and Raven sat down nervously as they looked at the surrounding guards, and Sin in a dark red jacket, looking out at the view from his balcony.

    "I called you two back, because I wanted to thank you for the information you provided before." Sin exined, still not turning around. "I am a fair boss who rewards those that are helpful, and you have been very helpful in this situation."

    One of the men that was standing by the side with sunsses on his face came over with a metal briefcase. He mmed it on the table in front of them, and lifted it open revealing two syringes.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''Is this what I think it is!'' Gil thought with excitement. ''I''ve only heard the others talk about it, the new method to bing an Altered, it''s Altered solution¡­ he''s really allowing for us to be Altered!''

    Although Gil was over the moon, the same couldn''t be said for Raven, because when looking at the syringe he noticed something. The colour of the liquid inside was a little ck. It was moving around as if it was alive.

    ''This¡­ this seems awfully like the same liquid he wanted us to disseminate amongst the Grey Elephants¡­ and it turned them all, into those mindless monsters.''

    Sin turned around, and when he did, he immediately noticed the look on Raven''s face. "From the looks of it, you have seen this before."

    Raven was quite surprised, because in theirst meeting Sin had seemingly forgotten all about him.

    "I can already guess what your main concern is, so let me calm you down, this solution has been vastly improved. Think about it, what would I have to gain from turning two of my own men into Crazed Altered? If I wanted to get rid of you, would I really have to use such methods?

    "The reason why I am offering you this chance, is because I have big ns for you two. Whatever reasons you have for leaving Slough, you will be able to head back with no problem at all if you take this.

    "And, to go one step further, this is your choice, your reward for being loyal, I will not force you to take it."

    Raven looked at the syringe again, it was slightly different to the one he had given them. The tint of ck was almost sitting on top of the other colour inside the tube rather than mixing. Last time as well, only part of the solution had been used rather than the whole thing, which could have been a reason for the bad side effects.

    ''Gary is growing stronger, and ording to my information, his whole group is also improving at a frightening speed. If I wish to have any chance of catching up, to get revenge for Hawk, I need to take risks.'' Raven convinced himself, as he grabbed the syringe and right there and then stabbed it into his shoulder.

    *****

    ******

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 Chapter 590 Taking It Seriously

    The sound of the familiar rm went off, and almost immediately Gary reached out his hand, stopping it. Instead of just hitting the snooze button or staying snuggled in his sheets for a few minutes like he used to do, he got up straight away, rubbing his eyes.

    After that, he soon stood up and started to stretch. Raising his hands as high as possible towards the ceiling, he then proceeded to do a few more stretches as he went towards his toes.

    It was still dark outside, and his lessons wouldn''t start for a while, yet he still put on his AFA uniform and proceeded to head outside. On the way, he passed a few of his notebooks that had several drawn images and words written out. They were his notes from the videos he had been watchingst night.

    Outside, Gary headed to therge track and field, the track was a standard 4000 metrerge oval circle, while in the middle of the field there was some equipment that could be used for training, at the moment Gary was just running around the track and at a fast pace as well.

    What Gary was currently doing was his new routine. Late at night he would study Altered matches from the AFC. Although he knew that Altereds were stronger outside of the AFC, due to their banned skills inside the ring, they were still talented at hand to handbat.

    The thing was, with Gary''s form it was very physical, so getting better at hand to handbat was important. During his time as a werewolf Gary had been doing a lot, and he had been training as well, but not in a way that someone from the AFA normally would be.

    Instead he was getting stronger through his system and werewolf self. It wasn''t a regret, because it was still the best way for him to grow the fastest at the time, and it possibly was what saved his life.

    Now though, eating beasts would raise his stats by one or two and there wouldn''t be much of a difference, so he needed to improve in a different way.

    ''That''s why I''ve decided to go back to the basics. Analyse the skills, replicate how they fight. I remember Eddy, and Xin as well. Both of them were strong and skilled at controlling their powers. The debut students train by increasing their strength without transforming, in order to make their altered forms stronger and deadly.

    ''I''m not an Altered, but I feel the same can apply to me as well.

    All of these things had led to Gary making his own routine, to do everything he could to improve and get stronger.

    After warming up with a few sprints around the track, Gary stopped for a moment, and started to think back to some of the skills that he saw on the video. He was attempting some of the kicks, trying to replicate them but it was proving quite difficult as he kicked the air.

    ''Unless I film myself or have a mirror, it''s hard to check my form to see if I''m doing something right, and even if I learn the skills. It''s harder to find a use for them in actualbat unless I have a sparring partner.''

    For a second, Gary was thinking about asking Numba or one of the others, but asking them to wake up this early, he was sure they wouldply, it was just unfair on them. Regardless, Gary continued to go through the motions as he imagined the opponents on screen in front of him.

    While doing all of this, there were multiple thoughts that were going through his head. One of them was how far he hade. From being a transporter for a gang, to being the leader of a gang and taking over Slough.

    From there, they were now in charge of a tier-2 city that brought in more wealth than he could spend. Unless it had to do with Altered solutions and Anti Altered weapons.

    ''Kai''s n is working as well. The investments in Slough are being done with my name, and people in the know are starting to learn about me. It''s scary sometimes how far ahead that guy thinks.'' Gary thought, but his mood soon went sour.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''It''s crazy¡­ me a sessful business tycoon. I still remember when we were struggling with our bills, and were unable to even buy meat. Now, our family never has to worry about money again¡­ and yet, my mother, she isn''t able to experience any of this. She hasn''t been able to enjoy a stress free life. When will you wake up?''

    "Gary?" A voice called out from behind.

    Judging by the sky around them, Gary thought that it was perhaps around 6 AM in the morning, the sun still hadn''t risen, so who would be out here at this time and that would know his name?

    When he turned his head, he could see that there was another AFA student in their uniform.

    "Xin¡­ what are you doing here?" Gary asked, as he couldn''t help but stare at her smooth face and glowing eyes.

    "What do you mean? Ie here everyday, it''s you that is here for the first time." Xin replied.

    The truth was, Xin was quite happy to see Gary and surprised that she saw him here of all ces. After theirst meeting was cut short, she looked to see if Gary was okay, only to find that he had left the academy on some urgent business.

    "Right¡­ I just thought that I should train a bit harder, and take the academy a little more seriously." Gary answered.

    Thement had annoyed Xin a bit, because during her whole time in the academy she had been taking it seriously, and wondered how one could be so rxed. Which caused a few unexpected words toe out of her mouth.

    "Fight me." Xin requested.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 591 Fight Me

    Taking a step back, Gary was a little startled at the sudden request. In the first ce he never expected to see Xin, and when he did see her, he often fumbled his words or found it hard to speak.

    So, to hear this, he was really fumbling now.

    "I¡­ fight.. me¡­ me.. fight.. you." Gary said, struggling to get his words out.

    "Yes." Xin replied. "Gary, I''ve seen how strong you are. How strong you have be and how you beat the others. At the moment, everyone says that I''m rank 1 in this ce, but is that really the case?

    "How can I say I''m rank 1, when I haven''t gone against you?"

    Rankings were never something Gary cared about sinceing into the AFA. Because in his head, his dreams were too small in the first ce. Just getting into the AFA was a dream, getting this far, and being a part of the AFC.

    He didn''t have any goals, when it came to the AFC or AFA, but it wasn''t the same for Xin.

    ''Is facing Xin a good idea?'' Gary thought. ''I have to admit, I am interested in how strong she is, but if she lost¡­ what would it mean to her?''

    Gary knew he had improved by leaps and bounds since fighting the Scatterbugs. Even if the two were to fight before, Gary perhaps might have lost but only by a little, now though he felt like it was almost unfair.

    On top of that, due to the night sky still being out he had the advantage of his ss. Although he could limit himself while fighting Xin, she was skillful enough to know that he was holding back. For Gary to put up a fight, he would be unable to hold back.

    Because of all of these reasons, he eventually came up with an answer.

    "I''m sorry Xin¡­ but I don''t think I can."

    It was clear that this wasn''t the answer she was expecting and from the look in her eyes, and her tensed up body, it was almost as if she was angry.

    "Why? Is it because you like me?" Xin replied. "Do you really think that I''m going to be thankful to you, for being a gentleman and not fighting me? You know I''m not that type of person."

    "It''s not that." Gary replied, he was trying to think of a way to exin himself, without revealing his secret, he looked to the ground unable to look Xin in the eye, and realising this, she herself realised that maybe she had jumped the gun.

    "I''m sorry¡­ I was a little annoyed at you and let my angere out." Xin exined. "You see, Gary you''re amazing, I still remember you when I met you at school. You''re so strong and you keep growing stronger.

    "You know, for me I have a big reason for being here, for joining the AFC, but for you. I somewhat felt like you were only here because of me. At first I thought it was sweet, but then It started to make me feel strange.

    "You managed to get here, just on those feelings alone. Is that how you are so strong? Then, does that mean that my own resolve is weaker, or is it just the fact that you''re so much more talented than me?

    "I''m sure this might even be something that you can''t answer yourself, so I wanted to learn through fighting against you. I thought I might get my answer that way. You should know that before the assessment of the academy students, the debut students will have their first match.

    "After that, we will be shipped to clubs, or professional teams, to work on climbing the AFC, which also means, I won''t be here anymore, that''s why I wanted to fight you, just before I left." Xin exined.

    There was a lot in what Xin said, and although some of it was partly true, not all of it was. Gary dide to the academy because of Xin but there were other reasons, and as for why he got stronger, it was because he was carrying a lot of weight.

    The weight of the Howlers gang, the weight of his friends, and the weight of his family. There was a lot riding on Gary''s strength, and even now it was why he needed to continue to grow stronger.

    "Xin, I''m not good at exining things so I want you to do something." Gary held up his hand, as if he was going for a high five and ced it in the air. "I want you to transform and use all your strength and do whatever you can to move my hand from its position."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Xin didn''t understand the point of this, but she decided to go along with it anyway, she ced her hand against his, and the two of them were now touching. She first just tried to push using her strength but there was no movement at all from Gary.

    Then, using her whole body weight she pushed it in, but again there was nothing.

    ''What is this, my strength is not weak¡­ so why can''t I move his arm?'' Xin thought.

    Holding it in ce, she decided to take things a bit more seriously, there was a little spark in her eye, before she shifted her feet, moving it in a motion, twisted her hip and pushed in one go as hard as she could against Gary''s hand.

    It was with such force that on a normal person it would have sent them flying across the field, but with Gary nothing had happened and his hand was still left there in ce.

    "I know this is nothingpared to a real fight and you''re more skillful than me. I have no idea what your Altered form is, and there''s never a sure win in any fight, but with this strength I have, right now I don''t even know how to control it properly."

    Hearing Gary, Xin started to think about the fight she had seen him in, how out of control he was at the time.

    "Thest person I would want to hurt, is you." Gary exined.

    Xin couldn''t help but smile as she heard this.

    "Well I guess, that just means I have to get so strong that you don''t worry about that." Xin smiled.

    The two of them continued to talk after that, about school life, the troubles they both had and a little about their family, but they left the matter of fighting each other behind.

    It was nice, for the two of them, to just enjoy speaking to each other like so. When they split ways, Gary continued his lessons, but he wasn''t as chatty with the others as he usually would be, he was quite diligent at studying and it was the first time the others had seen him like this.

    Then came the end of the day, as Gary was ready to head back to his dorm room, Izzy had stopped him before doing so. She stood in the hallway, twiddling with her fingers while looking at the floor.

    "Is something wrong, is it the bite mark?" Gary asked worriedly.

    "No, no it''s not that." Izzy replied even though the bite mark was bothering her, but that wasn''t the reason why she was here. "I''m sorry, but I wanted to ask you this all day, but I couldn''t find the right time and I have to now.

    "It''s my parents, they want to meet you."

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 592 Gary, Not The Leader

    Meetings with adults for Gary hadn''t exactly gone well so far, and that would include the one he had with Harry, Numba''s father, originally. Although Gary was now meant to be this great figure, it was hard for him to get over the age hurdle, so when speaking to others, unless it was in an aggressive way, he tended to shy away a little.

    "Wait." Gary held out his hand while cing his fingers on the top of his nose and squeezing the skin together. "Why do your parents want to meet me, what did I do? What have I done, is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

    It was only natural for him to have a load of questions and Izzy somewhat expected this reaction as well.

    "I''m so sorry." Izzy shyly replied. "I really didn''t want to do this, and I tried to exin, but unlike Numba and Ian, my parents can just be a bit difficult at times."

    Letting out a big sigh she was ready to exin.

    "You see, after everything happened, Ian and I, we both decided to go ahead and talk about the official alliance between our families. Honestly, I didn''t think it would take much convincing. After all, the Howlers have been in the limelight for a while. Everyone knows that they now own Notsburg.

    "Us, being from a tier-3 joining up with a power that can rival a tier-2, along with my rmendation seems like a no brainer, but¡­" Izzy paused for a second as she went to grab the wound that was on her shoulder.

    "It seems that she doesn''t like the fact that I was hurt helping out the Howlers. I tried to convince her on the phone, but she wasn''t convinced. So she said she wants me to bring the boy that got me so obsessed with this idea."

    Once again saying thest line, Izzy pulled away, her face turning a shade redder.

    Hearing everything, it was clear that Izzy perhaps had told her parents some of what happened, but not everything, because there was an important detail that was said. The fact was her parents wanted to meet Gary, not the leader of the Howlers.

    If they had asked to meet up with the Howlers to discuss the alliance, well Gary was just going to send Kai in his ce, or ask Kai to do all the talking of the finer details like he had been doing so far.

    The problem was, her parents wanted to meet him.

    "Wait¡­ so why do they want to meet me?" Gary asked.

    "Well, because I told them that we had made an alliance beforehand, and the reason we got involved was because we were chasing after you and trying to help Numba. I didn''t tell them anything about you being the leader of the Howlers, I thought you wanted to keep that a secret.

    "You really don''t have to see them, they just insist a little."

    Gary really didn''t know what to do, what were Izzy''s parents even expecting of him, what did they want to see? But when looking at Izzy herself, and hearing the tone of her voice, it felt almost as if he didn''t go on this journey that she would be put in a difficult situation.

    ''She did end up saving Marie, and she did help when the academy wanted a blood sample,pared to that, what she was asking now was very small.''

    "I''ll meet with your parents." Gary smiled. "It''s only right after everything you did, and you are even hurt because of me, so I should at least go see them, right?"

    Arge smile appeared on Izzy''s face and she soon bowed down a couple of times to thank him.

    "I can''t promise that it won''t be awkward but I''ll try to make it as easy as possible." Izzy said. "And don''t worry, we won''t have to take many days out of the academy, maybe just one, I know we''ve already taken a lot of days away.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Anyway, I''ll go right to my parents and they will arrange something. I''ll tell you the details as soon as I know something."

    With that the two parted ways to their rooms with Gray feeling a little strange.

    ''I know I''m not going into battle, but why does it feel that way?'' Gary thought.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Izzy''s mother had just received news from her dear daughter, and almost immediately she had called for a group of people toe in and enter her office. They were all lined up in front of her.

    She looked down at her notepad that was filled with notes, and then looked up at all those lined up dead straight.

    "My daughter fails to realise her own feelings. I know her well, and based on her words and her tone of voice, it seems like she has fallen for this Gary Dem." Her fist mmed against the desk when mentioning the name.

    "Izzy is bright and strong, and in most situations I would trust her in a lot of things, but when ites to love life she has no experience. I mean, the girl doesn''t even know she has feelings herself.

    "Which is why, tomorrow, I want you to do whatever you can to find out the true nature of this Gary Dem. Find out everything about him from head to toe, and find out whether he is good enough for my daughter.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The response was quick, extremely quick. The next day Gary was putting on his normal AFA academy uniform and in the middle of doing so he had received a text, saying that the meeting would be that day.

    ''I have a bad feeling about this.'' Gary thought.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 593 A Strong Family

    It was fairly easy for students to get a day off at the academy, and due to Gary''s position it was easier for him. It wasn''t as if he was a failing student. With that, he was following the instructions he had been given by Izzy.

    Heading outside of the academy, there was the driveway and here she was waiting, unlike himself she wasn''t in her AFC uniform and appeared to be dressed up a bit, at least the most dressed up he had ever seen Izzy before.

    She was wearing ck shorts with fis stockings, and a rtively short open ck top that showed her midriff and belly button. The clothing showed off her hard working body in a different light that Gary had never seen before.

    "Now I feel a bit underdressed." Garymented.

    "It''s okay." Izzy smiled. "It''s just when I see my parents I always feel a bit morefortable in something like this. They will understand."

    It was hitting Gary a little bit that he was going to see Izzy''s parents, it was a strange development because he wasn''t going as someone from the Howlers, but more so someone from the AFA who knew their daughter but happened to be in the Howlers.

    The two waited for a bit, and it felt strange. Usually the two would be able to speak if they were on their own but it would always be rted to stuff in the AFA, now without Ian, it for some reason just felt awkward to say anything.

    Just as Gary was about to open his mouth to at least say something, he could hear the sound of tires screeching. Someone wasing toward them and they were driving rtively roughly, and it looked like he was right, as he could see what looked like a van drive around the corner and stop right in front of them.

    "Oh, no." Izzy mumbled to herself as she saw the van. It wasn''t just a regr van, as on the side there was arge picture of someone cooking with a wok and chucking food in the air. It was one of the many food vans that her family owned.

    The problem wasn''t with the van itself though, it was with who was in it. The van came to a screeching halt in front of the two, and immediately the door slid open as well as the driver''s door.

    "So¡­ I am here to pick up a Gary¡­ is that correct?" The voice wasing from the driver, a muscr man with a sleeveless shirt on and a bandana who also had a big grin on his face when saying those words.

    It wasn''t just him though, as a row of people came out from the van standing tall, and each of them were looking at them and in particr staring at Gary. All of them had a bandana on their head, and sleeveless shirts like they were part of some gang, but they were just cooks.

    There were a total of five including the driver, four males and one female, who also didn''t look like a cook but more like a fighter, based on toned muscles on the body.

    "Gary¡­ these are all of my cousins, everyone, meet Gary¡­ and please don''t embarrass me." Izzy said.

    After introductions were done, with a nice firm handshake from them all, and a look up and down from them, they entered the van and were on their way. Both Gary and Izzy were sitting in the back of the van and Izzy couldn''t stop shaking her head.

    She couldn''t believe her parents, because they hadn''t just sent one of her cousins, but had sent them all, and it was quite obvious what they were trying to do.

    "So Gary, it''s a big day, meeting one of your ssmates'' parents, don''t you think you should have dressed up a bit. What''s wrong, don''t you own a nice suit?" One of the men asked.

    "That isn''t his fault, you guys suddenly wanted to meet as soon as possible, and besides I told him to look casual." Izzy replied before Gary could answer.

    Another cousin of Izzy, named Shanesea, was seated just in front of him. She turned her head looking at Gary up and down, and reached out to grab his bicep, she was stroking his arm almost.

    "I kind of like what you''re wearing, it shows off his body." Shanesea said with a wink. "Tell me something, Gary, how experienced are you?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Experienced?" Gary replied gulping, and his heart rate was rising a bit.

    "Come on, you know what I''m talking about, are you still a virgin?"

    "Shanesea!" Izzy screamed red faced and she couldn''t be more embarrassed by her family right now.

    "Ohe on, you guys are practically adults, is it really so strange?" Shanesea said. "I mean, isn''t he a member of a gang, surely he has done worse things than that."

    When Shanesea put it like that, it did make Gary think. He had killed people, but he had yet to do the deed. As a young adult his priorities were certainly in the wrong ce than they usually would be.

    "Speaking of your gang, I''ve heard a lot of things about the Howlers!" Maz shouted as he was busy driving the car. "Although your gang has done a lot of impressive things, what about yourself?

    "How can you promise to protect Izzy, are you even in a position to promise that, and does your gang even pay you well for your current position? What if you have a family, it''s expensive to have a family, what will you do to fund that?"

    Gary kept silent, because the truth was, he was the leader of the gang they were talking about, although they didn''t know that. Because of this, he had more money than he could handle for the rest of his life, but it was hard to exin his position to these guys, and Izzy knew that as well.

    "The Howlers support Gary a lot, that''s why he''s in the AFA to begin with." Izzy answered for him once again.

    The interrogating questions continued while they were on their journey, but it soon came to an end, as the van was put to a sudden stop when Maz mmed on the brakes.

    "What''s going on?" Shanesa asked.

    "It¡­ looks like we got trouble." Maz grunted, as through his window shield there was a barrier of cars and cones that had been made, heading into the city, and there were a number of unfriendly looking people standing on the outside.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 594 Because Of You

    594 Because of you

    ¡°All of you inside the vehicle step out now!¡± A voice shouted from outside.

    Looking through the window Gary could see a man with a baseball bat. He was pping it into the palm of his hand and behind him at the border there were a number of people. Naturally Gary started to count how many of them there were, and it looked to be around ten in total.

    ¡®If it¡¯s just ten of them, then I can deal with them, but the problem is, why are they even here in the first ce?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s just listen to what they have to say, this isn¡¯t our territory. We didn¡¯t expect this to happen.¡± Maz said, as he pushed a button to open the side of the van door to let the others out.

    Izzy had told Gary some of the details. In order to set up the appointment quickly and not to cause too much trouble for Gary, Izzy and her parents were to meet him in a nearby town. The town was a nearby tier-3 town and chosen for safety reasons.

    If someone caught wind that a member of the Howlers was entering a tier-2 city that wasn¡¯t owned by them, then she feared it would ruffle a few feathers.

    Since Maz was the oldest of the group, he went ahead first, and stopped to confront the man that stood in their way.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it''s been a while since we werest in this town. Has something happened?¡± Maz asked.

    The man with the baseball bat looked behind them before answering.

    ¡°The town is now under the care of the Rhino Horns!¡± The man pointed to himself. ¡°To enter the town safely, we require an entrance fee, for five of you¡­ that would be 1000.¡±

    It appeared as if the man had made the number up on the spot. There wouldn¡¯t be many people that would just carry a 1000 around on them, even if there were five of them, but the van that they were travelling in wasn¡¯t exactly run down.

    Izzy¡¯s family invested a lot in their food business and upgraded their vans whenever they could. On top of that, there was a till inside that contained quite a bit of cash.

    ¡°This wasn¡¯t the case before sis, what happened?¡± One of the men asked. They were too far away to be heard by the others up front, and whispered just in case.

    ¡°This is somewhat of a guess, but an educated guess.¡± Shanesea said, looking at Gary. ¡°Although this town wasn¡¯t owned by a gang in the past. They were kept in check by the Scatterbugs and were on their payroll.

    ¡°I heard that there were actually a lot of tier 3 town gangs that worked for the Scatterbugs. Since they''re no longer a thing, the gangs have gone back to their more traditional way of making money.¡±

    Gary understood what Shanesea was saying, that somehow this was indirectly his fault. The Howlers were the one that took out the Scatterbugs and although they kept most of the businesses running in Notsburg they didn¡¯t continue on with the small or dark parts of their business.

    That wasn¡¯t Gary¡¯s way, but he was unaware of what ripple effect it had.

    ¡®I remember Kai saying that the Scatterbugs had also asked us to do some of their dirty work. Since Slough has been less impacted by the local troublemakers these days, I forgot that most cities and towns were actually like this.¡¯

    ¡°1000¡­ that seems a bit exorbitant.¡± Maz said with a nervous smile. ¡°I¡¯m happy to pay you an entrance fee, but can¡¯t youe up with something more reasonable.¡±

    There and then, out of nowhere, the man swung his fist, and hit Maz right across the face. It was a clean hit, and it buckled Maz¡¯s legs a bit, but he didn¡¯t fall to the ground. One could see that the attacker was a bit startled by this, as a strong surprise attack would knock one over, but Maz, although a cook, was a wall of muscle.

    ¡°The price is the price, and that''s final, the man said. You either give it to us, or we will forcefully take it from you.¡± The baseball bat man said, and the others from the back were starting to move up to back them up.

    Maz was a little worried, because Izzy¡¯s parents should be in the city by now, and was wondering if they were dealing with the same thing. He didn¡¯t know what to do.

    ¡°Why are you so slow at answering? That''s it, check the van and see what cash you have on board!¡± The man ordered, and the men started to move.

    ¡°Hey, you touch that van and you''re dead!¡± Shanesea shouted.

    ¡°Yeah, what do you think you''re doing, do you want to mess with our family!¡± One of the younger men shouted.

    ¡°Your family!¡± The baseball bat manughed back. ¡°A bunch of cooks, what are you going to do, stink our city out?¡±

    The man with the baseball bat moved past Maz to join the others to search the van, when doing this Maz couldn¡¯t help himself as he grabbed the man on the shoulder to stop him.

    Once again though, he shrugged his shoulders to move Maz off and kicked him straight in the stomach.

    ¡®Crap¡­ do I get involved?¡¯ Izzy thought. ¡®Although Maz looks scary, and works out a lot, he¡¯s a friendly giant. He¡¯s never been in a fight in his life.¡¯

    Lifting the baseball bat up in the air, the man was too filled with andereline and swung it down. Izzy was toote to act and wouldn¡¯t get there in time.

    Looking in front of him though, Maz soon saw a figure standing in the way, and the bat held in his hand.

    From one side of the street, over to the other Gary had gotten there at great speed and there was a slight mark on the ground from where he was.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to get involved.¡± Gary sighed.

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 595 The Best Choice

    The bat was easily stopped, and was held in Gary''s hand, he could feel that the attacker was trying to pull away yet was unable to. The situation had changed in a matter of seconds as those approaching the food van soon turned back to look at what was happening, and started to walk forward.

    ''Gary¡­ you''re getting involved because of my family.'' Izzy thought. ''I''m so sorry for this happening, it should have been me, I should have been the one to protect my family¡­ but..''

    "What are you trying to do?" The man asked, still acting tough. Even if the boy was strong, he had numbers on his side and the person in front of him just looked like a kid. "Do you really want to get involved, you know what will happen right? We won''t just stop at you, we will track who this truck belongs to and go after everyone you care about for messing with us.

    "So it''s better to just take a beating and get out of here! The man shouted.

    Moving his other hand, Gary reached into his pocket, he then pushed on the bat slightly, moving the man away, letting go of the bat, and pulled something out.

    "Here, this should be enough right, this is what you asked for, so will you let us go in?" Gary asked.

    The man almost fell over but caught his footing, when he regained his bnce, he could now clearly see what was in Gary''s hand, a bunch of green notes, and there weren''t just a few of them either.

    Immediately, the man snatched it out of Gary''s hand and started to count all of the notes, and soon a smile appeared on his face.

    "You should have just done this from the beginning, of course you can go through! Men clear the path!" The man shouted.

    The others were surprised by Gary''s actions. It was so sudden, and being part of the AFA, they thought he was going to fight, especially as a gang member, but he had done what they least expected, and heplied with their request.

    Maz got up off the floor, and soon the rest got in the van, and drove off without saying anything. They continued on the road for a while until eventually Shanesea was the first one to speak up.

    "I can''t believe you just did that. Youplied with their request and handed them a load of money. How much did you even give them 2000!" Sheined. "I thought you were some gang member, I thought you were going to kick their arse... man, you''re much more of a loser than I thought."

    Honestly, Izzy was a bit surprised as well. The situation was getting too much for her, that even she would have fought back, and she had seen Gary act before.

    "Gary¡­ why did you give them the money?" She eventually asked, still too curious.

    "It''s because he must be some rich snob!" Another one of the cousins in the van interrupted.

    A stare from Izzy that could kill had almost silenced him right away though.

    "Trust me I care about money more than anyone. I know how much it can change a situation, and my heart hurts inside knowing I gave away that much."

    Gary wasn''t lying either, the amount of things he would have done in the past for that amount of money, it was hard for him to remember every time he thought about it, but he had his reasons.

    "I believe if we can get out of the situation where nobody gets hurt, that is the best solution." Gary answered.

    Once again, Gary''s words, the words like thating out of a gang member''s mouth, was unexpected.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Do you really think so?" Shanesea asked. "The reason why they do things like that is to extort people. Now that you have given them money, they know those methods work, so they will try and try again.

    "It''s because of people like you who give in to gang members demands that the general public just ept the fact that all these gangs run the towns and cities. You might have saved us, but the next set of people thate along, they won''t be so fortunate."

    The van was filled in silence once more, as the van continued to its destination. Things in the town didn''t seem so bad, there were a few gang members around the street, but they didn''t bother those in the van and they had eventually reached their destination, a Hot Pot type restaurant.

    It was an authentic ce with a wooden sign on the outside. It didn''t look like a chain and had that feeling that it was family run.

    "We will head inside first, just wait until we call you in." Maz said.

    This left Gary and Izzy waiting outside of the restaurant.

    "Are you nervous?" Izzy asked.

    Gary didn''t answer straight away, it was almost as if he had something on his mind, but he did eventually answer.

    "I was at first, when we were back at the academy, but whening to this town, I seem to have calmed down a little." Gary answered. "I don''t know what it is, but this town, it reminds me a lot of my ce, where I was from before all of the changes."

    Izzy was happy to hear that Gary at least wasn''t nervous but was wondering what he was thinking, ever since he met those gangsters at the outskirts of the city, he seemed to be deep in thought.

    "Well, my parents, they can be stubborn at times, but they are nice people. Don''t worry so much, you have done enough by justing here, I will do all the convincing!" Izzy pumped her fist.

    Just then, the door opened and Maz hade back outside.

    "They are ready to see you now."

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 596 Can You Protect?

    The two of them followed Maz into the restaurant and as somewhat expected, it waspletely empty. ording to Izzy, the restaurant wasn''t owned by her family, so the most likely case was that they had booked the whole thing out.

    There was no staff, no other customers, only tables, but at one table there were two people sitting down. In an instant, Gary could recognize them as Izzy''s parents. Maz continued to walk towards them and eventually stopped.

    "Gary, please introduce yourself, this is Mrs. and Mr. Shamone, from the Shamone group." Maz said with a hand gesture.

    Gary bowed to both of them, he never really cared for respecting elders and such. He thought it was quite a silly rule. Was he meant to respect someone like Damion just because he was older? In a lot of cases, it was the older generation that allowed for the situation to get to what it had be. Which was why he didn''t usually just bow his head in front of those older than him.

    However, in this situation, he was just a young person from a gang, while the other was the head of an entire restaurant group.

    "It''s a pleasure to meet both of you, as Maz stated I am Gary Dem, from the Howlers of Slough."

    Lifting his head, Izzy sat down and tugged on Gary''s shirt showing that he could sit down as well. The strange thing was, not even for a second did they nce at Izzy, and instead were just staring at Gary.

    ''This is a bit awkward.'' Gary thought. ''The reason why the others went in before me, it was probbly to tell them what they thought of me. I can tell Izzy''s cousins don''t have a good opinion of me¡­ still, either way it was a good thing I listened to Kai.''

    Remembering back, Gary being the boy he was growing up, he never would have carried that amount around in his pocket. Kai had suggested it to him, stating he never knew when he would be in a situation where he might need the cash.

    Sure, he had his trusty card on him, but it wasn''t as if criminals went around carrying a card reader and in the end it had helped them.

    "I will start first." Mrs. Shamone stated. "Frist, thank you foring to see us on such short notice. I am aware that both of you will be busy with things in the AFA, and from what Izzy has told us you are quite the talented student."

    Izzy was fidgeting next to Gary and hearing those words she was tilting her head away from him.

    "However, Izzy is our only daughter. We didn''t give her an Altered solution because we wanted her to be a fighter, but for her to better her own life, and to run the business for a very long time without getting harmed.

    "Yet, she then goes ahead and tells us that she had formed an alliance, with a gang at that, and not just any gang. You Howlers have been wild, obtaining a tier 2 city, and have been growing at a fast rate.

    "I am worried you see, worried that your gang will contiue to get attention from the eyes of others. You will be invovled in more things, and in the end it will put my daughter in harms way even more. She has already been injured due to thest expedition you did, which is why I wish to break the alliance that my daughter has formed with you."

    Turning her head, Izzy mmed her hand on the table.

    "That was out of my own choice, I already told you that!" Izzyined. "Gary didn''t ask me toe. I decided to help out Numba and Gary. In the first ce, it''s because of him that I have been able to get so far in the AFA."

    "A deal and agreement isn''t made lightly." Izzy''s father said. "Which is why we have decided to do the right thing, and have asked for you to break the agreement on your end. Our daughter is young and doesn''t know what she is agreeing to."

    "Are you listening to me!" Izzy shouted, as she felt like she was beingpletely ignored, and was invisible.

    Gary thought about what the two were saying for a while. It was true Izzy was hurt, but he tried to imagine how she felt in her situation rather than her parents, after all he could rte more to her than the others.

    He remembered the times when they came together to help him, it was a good feeling to have.

    "Do you have the power to protect Izzy?" Gary asked.

    The two were a bit taken back by the question.

    "We are not a gang." Mrs. Shamone answered. "But we do have influence in our city."

    "A tier-3 city, where your only influence is money?" Gary replied. "Then I would say you have no influence at all. If the Howlers gang wanted to, we coulde in and take over your city by force, and then wouldn''t you have toply with us?"

    The two were getting annoyed at Gary''s words. Although he was speaking about his gang, the way he was speaking about the situation was too light.

    "I''m not saying the Howlers would do such a thing, but my point is, at any point and time that could happen. An internal fight, a war, one of the kings, or one of the other gangs and even Altered Hunters.

    "We live in a world where at any point and time this could happen, and it makes me wonder how far your good rtions with the current gang of your city would take you.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "My alliance is with Izzy, I will do everything in my power to help if she needs the help. If she wishes for me to extend that to her family then I will do so, but the decision is up to her. I think she knows that I would never do something or ask her for something that would intentionally put her in harm''s way.

    "The fact is, this alliance is made between us two, two people who have their own lives, and it is something that you can''t break. What? You want to stop me, stop me from protecting your daughter, then go ahead and try."

    The room was stunned into silence, all of Izzy''s cousins were on the side, watching. How could such a simple student say such powerful words, what gave him this confidence to talk to them like so.

    ''Where was this Gary at the border?'' Shanesea thought.

    "I guess there is nothing left for us to talk about." Mrs. Shamone said.

    After those words, Gary stood up from his seat and bowed toward the two of them.

    "Wait, Gary where are you going?" Izzy asked.

    "You should spend the rest of the day with your family. I''m sure you miss them and they miss you. You never know what might happen, so treasure this time." Gary smiled, thinking about his own mother and started to walk off leaving the resturant.

    "What do you think?" Izzy''s mother asked.

    "I think our daughter certainly has her eye on an impressive boy." Her father said.

    Izzy was now the one left confused, she thought her father and mother would be filled with anger but instead they hadrge smiles on their faces, but she was left wondering, looking out the door, why did Gary leave just like that, why did he sound as if he was in pain with thatst sentence?

    ¡ª¡ª

    After leaving the restaurant, Gary felt like there was something he needed to see, with his speed he didn''t waste any time as he headed in a certain direction, and soon he was back, back at the border.

    "Do you think we were joking!" the man shouted, as he swung his baseball bat and started to hit the car over and over makingrge dents on it.

    There was a group of four people, it looked to be a family trying to make their way back into their town.

    "But¡­ we have lived here all our life, and have never had to pay a fee. If we pay you, we won''t even have enough money to pay our bills!" The man pleaded on his knees grabbing the attacker.

    His family were watching on the side with two young children.

    "Get off me!" The man shouted, lifting the baseball bat in the air.

    Swinging it down, the baseball bat snapped in half, and a fist was seening right through it, hitting him solidly in the face, sending him in the air andnding on the cold hard ground.

    The other gang members were looking at what happened and could just see a young man standing there.

    "I want you to take me to your leader, and tell them the Howlers are going to take over this town from now on." Gary said, strong and proud. "Oh, and where the hell is my money."

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 597 A Growing Leader

    Late at night, Izzy had returned to the academy, but unlike she had expected, it was on her own. In the middle of the conversation with her parents, Gary had wandered off. She had done as he asked and spent time with her family.

    They didn''t do a lot of exploring though, since it wasn''t exactly a safe town nor was it one where they had much influence. Instead, they talked about what had happened and they had a lot of questions regarding Gary, including some personal questions as well.

    When she eventually left her family, she wrote a message to Gary asking if he was still in the town, or if he had left yet, but there was no reply. In the end, she decided that the best thing for her to do was just to return to the academy.

    It was hard for her to sleep that night, because she kept thinking about one of the questions her parents asked her.

    "Izzy, it seems you might be more interested in this person than just as a friend." Her mother asked. "If it''s him¡­ I guess he would be eptable."

    Izzy tried opening her mouth and tried to reply back at the time, but herck of an answer made her parents see right through her.

    She was so embarrassed by the thought that she grabbed her pillow and shoved her face into it as she let out arge scream. Soon she took the pillow off and started to think.

    ''I mean, it''s not like I don''t like Gary, but I can tell he doesn''t see me that way.'' Izzy thought, and images of others started to appear in her head. Xin for one, and as for the other, there was the person that was already part of the Howlers, Marie.

    ''There are so many around him, and the way they look at him¡­ I can tell they feel a certain way. Honestly, I''m not sure I want to throw myself in the middle of all of that. For now, I just want to be a part of what he creates.''

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The next day had arrived, with Izzy eventually falling asleep, she quickly went to look at her phone, but there was still no message from Gary. It was now starting to worry her a little. What if he got lost, maybe his parents actually didn''t agree and attempted to kidnap him.

    Her thoughts were going wild, but she soon remembered what type of person Gary was. It was highly unlikely that he had been kidnapped. Either way, she would have to focus on herself and continue going to her AFA lessons as she had been doing.

    Her family said they would update her on the status of the rtionship between them and the Howlers. When getting to ss, she had made her way over to Ian and Numba, who both couldn''t help but notice that the two of them weren''t at the academy yesterday.

    "So what did you do, did you finally confess to him!" Ian asked.

    "Not you too." Izzy sulked. "No, I just needed to discuss with him and my parents about the rtionship between our two families. Numba is already a big part of the Howlers and due to your family working in a simr field it was quite easy to convince them but mine¡­ they were worried about me."

    Just as they sat down in their seats for the lesson, they soon saw that Gary had entered as well. He walked up to sit with the others as if nothing had happened.

    "Gary¡­ you''re here, when did you get here, when did you arrive, why didn''t you reply to my message?" Izzy asked.

    "Look at this." Ian nuged Numba''s arm. "They''re having a lovers'' quarrel the first thing in the morning."

    Izzy and Gary both decided to ignore thements, even though they could hear them loud and clear.

    "I saw your messages this morning, but I already arrived at the academy so I thought it would be nicer to see you in the morning." Gary answered.

    It was a good enough answer, but Izzy was still worried.

    "What¡­ what did you do, after the conversation with my parents, I mean. You just left, did you stay in the city?"

    "Nothing much." Gary answered, opening up his notebook. "I just explored the ce a little."

    ¡ª¡ª

    Izzy''s parents along with her cousins had also arrived back at the city. In the morning they had decided to get to work, and were ready to contact the Howlers and try to form a stronger rtionship with them.

    ording to Izzy, through Gary they had already expressed their interest to help them out, but they weren''t so sure they could trust the words of Gary so much. After all, he was just a teenager, even if he was an Altered. He could simply just be trying to say he had a lot of influence in the gang to impress her.

    "Maz if you could please set up a meeting with the Howlers when you can, that would be great, if they are too busy we can simply set up a call as well." She ordered.

    Maz nodded in agreement.

    "Yes ma''am, about the Howlers group¡­ We have been keeping an eye on them since we might soon go into business with them, and it seems an interesting development has urred.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You see, remember the town, the town of Mikton Green that we were in yesterday?"

    Izzy''s mother was interested and took off her sses as she was paying attention to Maz''s words.

    "Well you see, it seems that as of today, Mikton Green is under control of the Howlers as well. The gang members that were there have agreed toply."

    Mrs. Shamone blinked a few times while she digested what she had just heard.

    "The Howlers, why would they bother with a town that isn''t even close to their current territories? There is nothing special there, and there is no advantage for them to control such a town."

    "I agree." Maz said.

    There was only one thing that they both could think of. The fact was that Gary, who was part of the Howlers, was in the same town and they knew what had urred there, but even so¡­

    Just because a member of the Howlers was there, why would they do such a thing, and even more so, how did the whole town get taken in a single day. It seemed impossible that this would be rted to Gary Dem, but at the same time, they had no inkling of another reason.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Sitting at his desk, Kai was looking through several pieces of paper.

    "Gary, do you just love to give me more paperwork?" Kaiined, but he soon leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Still, I can''t believe it. All on his own, he took down a tier-3 town gang and their leader.

    "That guy, day by day, he''s acting more like a gang leader. It''s good for us, especially with where we want to head, all the way to the top."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Back in ss, the lesson had finally ended, and Gary remembered something as he approached Izzy, he soon took out his wallet, and handed her over a bunch of notes. Both Numba and Ian''s eyeballs nearly popped out of their heads.

    "Gary¡­ what is this for, why are you giving me money?" Izzy asked.

    "I almost forgot." Gary replied. "Your parents, it seems like they paid that stupid fee to get into the city as well. I met up with them and spoke to them. They decided to give the money back in the end, so, that belongs to them, you don''t have to worry about it so much."

    The money was already in Izzy''s hand, but she was finding Gary''s exnation hard to believe.

    ''He just spoke to them? I don''t think they were the type of people just to give money back just from speaking to them.''

    It seemed like a kind gesture, so Izzy couldn''t really say much and the rest of the day just continued like normal. The week at the academy went by rtively fast, with Gary focusing on lessons and enjoying his time with the others, while the Howlers continued doing what they were doing.

    Innu and Marie hadn''t been seen around the Wolf''s pool club a lot, but at the same time Kai wasn''t there much either. He was paying a visit to each of the families that wished to make an alliance.

    There was more to the alliance than just helping watch each other''s backs, as Kai wanted to do something with the money to help them, and help their own cities by investing in them. He was spending money that would help them out in the future and in ways he was doing it with people who he could trust.

    Then it finally came for Gary, hisst special lesson at the academy, before he would take his assessment to be a debut student. It was thest chance for him to fight a beast, and gain stat points, and he wondered what NIRV had in store for him this time.

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 598 Some Entertainment

    The Howlers had been non-stop busy after taking over Notsburg. Or more urately, Kai had been busy working alongside Harry mostly, because in terms of why they were so busy it was due to the investments they were running.

    To put it simply, Notsburg was a money maker, an incrediblyrge money maker, and due to them not having a leader who cared about extravagant yachts, bribing of other gangs, buying super cars, or jewels, they had a lot of money on their hands.

    At the same time Kai didna€?t want to just waste this money. He didna€?t want to spend it on things that wouldna€?t give them a good return. Because after all, although their wealth wasrge, when it got to this point, it was more about power and influence.

    Who cared how much money one had, if one of the Kinga€?s at any point and time could juste and forcefully take it away from you? At one point, Kai was considering using all the money they could to buy Altered solutions.

    There were a few problems with that, there were only a number of Altered solutions out there and they would bepeting against others and who would he use it on? It was a good reward to have for creating loyal Howler members.

    However, he needed to be careful, making their own gang stronger in this way, if they were betrayed, could fall pretty harshly on them. In some ways it was one of the reasons why they were able to take over Notsburg easier, due to Midwaka€?s betrayal.

    While in the middle of thinking about what to do, with arge amount of the cash, a certain call hade through to his phone.

    a€?Speak of the devil.a€? Kai answered the phone. a€?What do you want Midwak?a€?

    ----

    Midwak had made the main casino where the Scatterbugs gang mostly would be his own home. There werena€?t many changes apart from a lot of the tacky shiny jewelery being sold off.

    After all, Midwak had lived with the gang for a while and he had somewhat gotten used to it, so he wanted to keep it this way. At the moment though, one of the private rooms was a bloody mess.

    Broken noses here and there, blood all over the cards and chips in the room, and on the table. Meanwhile, Midwak was holding up a long haired man by his head, who had his front two teeth shattered.

    a€?I just thought I should let you know something.a€? Midwak said on the phone. a€?A gang called Ashes just came In. They were making quite a big fuss.a€?

    If Kai had done his research correctly, Ashes was a gang from another Tier-2 city. They didna€?t have a high profile like the Scatterbugs, but a tier-2 was a tier-2 at the end of the day.

    a€?I thought something like this was going to happen. The surrounding cities will want to test out the new owners. It''s a good thing we have Midwak to deal with it all, and he should be strong enough to scare most away.

    a€?Since they came here, I''m guessing they might being to Slough as well. I cana€?t kill these guys without your permission, so what do you want me to do?a€? Midwak asked.

    a€?Just send them back, if they sent some people to test us it might not necessarily be a bad thing.a€? Kai ordered. a€?What Ia€?m more surprised about is, why did you exactly give me a call? Do you care about our gang?a€?

    Midwak was heardughing on the phone so loud that Kai had to pull away.

    a€?Are you an idiot, this is my gang, I cana€?t have it crumble to pieces! Otherwise there will be nothing for me to use!a€? The phone call ended there without Kai being able to say anything else.

    A few days had passed, and the Ashes gang had contacted Harry, of the Cardenez group for a meeting. They had no clue how to get to the Howlers but the Cardenez group was quite public, this information was passed on, and eventually a meeting was set up, in one of the factories that Harry owned.

    In the corner of the factory, there was an office for Harry where he overlooked things, and now Kai, along with Austin had attended with their masks, and Harry was also present.

    Kai would have brought more people with him, in case this was all a trap, but they were in friendly territory, not enemy territory, and the others seemed quite busy these days, so he decided not to bother them.

    a€?Hi to you all, my name is Ash and I am the leader of the Ashes. I think you can guess why our group has such a name.a€? The young man chuckled.

    The man was in a striped suit, and had two guards by his side. He looked young, but nothingpared to Kai and the others, perhaps in his lower twenties. His hair was neatly done up and swayed to the side, and he had the face of an actor or model.

    a€?I first want to exin that I have no intentions of fighting you.a€? Ash exined. a€?We didna€?t get involved with the Scatterbugs and we certainly dona€?t want to get involved with you who defeated them.

    a€?But you need to understand, empires fall because they are spread out too thin. I needed to test your capabilities and see if you still had a hand in Notsburg, still strong enough to protect it and that was certainly the case.a€?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    This was one of the guesses Kai had for Notsburg being attacked.

    a€?You see, I wish to have a partnership with you. Our gang runs arge entertainmentpany called AJ productions. We are scouting talented actors, singers, and more all across the entertainment sector.

    a€?Our business is doing well, but there are two things that are troubling us. First the matter of funding for rapid growth. As our stars get bigger, there are those that wish to poach them with better deals, this also links with our other problem.

    a€?If our stars are in contracts of sorts, then they tend to resort to other ways to deal with them. Because of this reason, and your great strength, I havee to you to make a deal of sorts. Of course, I know what I am asking is a big ask in many regards, which is why we are willing to offer part of thepany to make it worth your while.a€?

    It was an unexpected proposal, Kai thought that maybe the gang would face a war with another tier-2 first before things like this came along, but perhaps it was due to him underestimating the Scatterbugs reputation.

    The other gangs were too afraid to go to war with them.

    a€?I will have Harry check the financial situation of thepany, ande up with an offer that he thinks is suitable and fair, only if he thinks it is a good investment for us.a€? Kai exined. a€?But we do have a problem.

    a€?If on the surface the Howlers are known to have invested in arge chunk of yourpany, then it could cause problems. There will be those that think we are teaming up, trying to grow stronger to take out those above us.

    a€?If the Kinga€?s got word of this, they could very well start a war. Maybe that''s one of the things that you''re worried about in the first ce, and is one of the reasons why you want to make this deal, but I have a way, where it wona€?t cause us problems.

    a€?We have a person we use for situations like this, on paper the one that will own part of yourpany will be Gary Dem.a€? Kai smiled.

    ----

    Of course, at that point and time, Gary had no idea that his name was being spread throughout the cities. That he was bing an influential figure, a tycoon with practically an unlimited amount of money to spend.

    Soonpanies would being to him, just to ask him to get his name on their product, because they would believe he had golden fingers, everything he touched would make money.

    Meanwhile, the real Gary was in a very different situation altogether. He had gathered with all the others that were getting ready for the special lesson. The two teams put on their red and blue outfits, but there was one missing and Gary noticed that his was the one that was missing.

    a€?Did you forget to clean my suit or something?a€? Gary asked.

    Crowley looked a bit nervous as he looked at his student.

    a€?Thata€?s not it, young one, for you they have suggested that you take this special lesson alone this time. While the red and blue team will be together.a€?

    a€?A... Alone?a€? Gary said.

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If Ia€?m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 599 Danger Danger!

    When the special lessons were first introduced to everyone in the room, there was an exnation for how things were set up. That they were put into teams of three for their own safety. That if they wished to defeat some of the beasts they would need to work together, and the fact that at times all six of them would be put in the same room together, if the beast they were going up against was a strong one.

    Which was why, it was safe to say that Gary as well as all the others were deeply confused.

    ''Are they telling me to go on my own, because the beast I will go up against is weak?;'' Gary thought, but quickly shook his head at that silly thought. ''After what I didst time, that wouldn''t make any sense. I practically took out the beast on my ownst time. So why would they put me on my own this time¡­ unless they have discovered something or they want to find out something¡­ is this a trap?''

    NIRV didn''t exactly seem to care for the students'' lives as much as the teachers, so a trap of sorts set up for them, Gary wouldn''t put it past them.

    At the same time, there was one student who was part of the special lessons that was disappointed at hearing this.

    ''They''re letting him fight on his own?'' Apollo thought. ''It has to be because of his strong performance fromst time. They let him fight a beast on his own, and for me¡­ they have asked me to team up not just with my regr partners but the others as well.''

    There was a mix of emotionsing from Apollo, that he needed to work harder, but at the same time there was anger. He knew there was perhaps a gap between them now, but thought that NIRV was treating him lighty it was as if they thought the gap between both of them was this big.

    "There must be a lot of confusing thoughts going through your head." Crowley said, his eyes looked slightly watery as if he was worried, which didn''t give Gary any confidence. "I have to admit, this is a first, for the special lessons."

    Whenever Crowley would stop rhyming it usually meant what he was saying was important.

    "NIRV has been monitoring you from day one, and as they witness you grow and defeat beasts more and more, they be confident in predicting what level of beasts you can beat.

    "After all, this is a plus for NIRV as much as it is for you guys. So I warn you all, this time, the five of you, will be fighting a strong beast, and you won''t have Gary by your side. As for you Gary¡­" Crowley paused for a second.

    "I usually wouldn''t give you my opinion as a teacher, but I believe they want to push you as far as they can. Usually we wouldn''t allow a single student to take a test on their own. These special lessons are dangerous on their own as it is, but the principal has agreed, even with the professors and my rejection.

    "However, at the end of the day, this is up to you. You don''t have to do this, but if you do, NIRV has promised you another reward, bigger than the one that you asked for before. I also want to inform you, that if you do decide to go ahead with the lesson, that I will be very close and try to protect you, in case anything goes wrong."

    It was quite a bit to think about. In the first ce, Gary felt like the man called James, who was behind this whole project, didn''t like him from day one. Asking for the remains of the beast''s bodies already put him on the suspicious list.

    If he really went up against a strong beast there was a chance he would have to transform and if that was to happen, there was a chance NIRV would get closer to the truth.

    ''This was going to be myst time though.'' Gary thought. ''Myst time taking the special lessons. The others will continue while they are here, but for me, I don''t know if I''ll ever get a chance to fight against a beast again.

    ''And as for the reward, if they really are saying I can request what I want, what if I request a beast crystal. If I eat that, with the beast body, won''t I gain a lot of stats, and I n to leave the academy after having my debut fight anyway.''

    Turning back wasn''t something Gary did often and since he was already here, and already had convinced himself beforehand that this would be thest lesson, he had to ept.

    "I will take the lesson on my own, but only if they ept my request, of allowing me to take the beast crystal." Gary asked.

    Judging by Crowley''s expression it wasn''t the answer he wanted from Gary''s mouth but he understood and soon turned it into a smile.

    "I will inform them of this."

    Crowley went over through a side door while the students waited in silence, all of them seemed to be thinking about their own things. Sty was still separate from the group, but his eyes were a little less darkpared to before.

    "NIRV has agreed to your request." Crowley answers. "You are to remain here though, while the others take their assessment first."

    With that said and done, the other five had entered the room as the doors opened and Gary was left on the other side. He was waiting patiently and with his enhanced hearing he could somewhat hear what was going on the other side.

    There was a lot of shouting from all of them, as they asked for each other''s help, the use of skills. There were screams of pain as well, some of them from Numba which caused Gary to worry a little.

    When he heard Numba speaking again though, he was relieved, and after what seemed to be a long fight, it looked like the lesson was over at least for these five.

    Inside the room itself, most of them had broken bones, were exhausted and couldn''t even keep up their altered transformation anymore.

    "That was a tough one¡­ and Sty." Numba said as he looked at him being taken away by the medical staff. "He nearly died."

    In the assessment, the one that had been hurt most from the beast was Sty, and Numba, for some reason, felt bad for him even after everything that had happened to himself. Either way, it looked like Sty and the rest of them would live, but they all realised that without Gary they struggled tremendously.

    James hade down with the rest of the staff, and pped his hands as he congratted the students.

    "You all did splendidly, if you wish to rest up, then please feel free to." James said with a smile.

    "I want to stay." Apollo replied. "I want to stay and watch Gary fight, is that allowed?"

    "I want to stay as well." Numba added, even though his arm waspletely bent the wrong way.

    "Of course, of course we should all watch from the viewing room, I''m sure today we might all witness something special." James smiled.

    After the room had been cleaned up, the door finally opened allowing Gary to now enter the room. He could smell that blood from the others even though it had been cleaned.

    ''Since thest special lesson took longer than I thought it would, it''s already night time, so I get the skill and energy boost from my ss type.'' Gary thought. ''With this, it should be enough for me to defeat any beast thates through there without having to fully transform.''

    Up above, James was making sure all the systems were ready.

    "Okay, proceed to start the lesson!" James shouted. "Let''s go ahead, and see what is so special about your Altered self, and why someone like me can''t even get my hands on your file."

    The door slowly opened and the first thing that hit Gary was the scent of the beast. It was strong and pungent. Through his new nose he had smelled a number of different things before that he never experienced as a human, but this¡­ the smell was reacting to a thought in his head.

    This beast smelled violent. It didn''t make sense, but all sorts of words wereing through Gary''s head as he smelled the beast and when the doors finally opened his system reacted as well.

    [Danger! Danger!]

    [A quest has been received!]

    [A dangerous beast has appeared]

    [New quest received - Survive]

    Gary had seen this before, and thest time he had done so, he had nearly died, what was in store for him this time?

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 600 A Tricky Beast (Part 1)

    Originally Gary had gone into what he deemed was his final special lesson confidently. He knew it would be a little bit tough, but he never imagined something on this scale. For something to trigger a warning from the system.

    ''A beast that will really give me as much trouble as when I faced against Midwak¡­ is that even possible?'' Gary thought.

    The barrier had been lifted, allowing Gary to see the beast in full sight, but just at a nce it was hard to tell if it was fierce or not, and he had no idea about a certain fact that those from NIRV knew, the fact that this beast was ssified as a humanoid one as well.

    It was standing on its two muscr legs that looked like tree trunks. They were thick, solid, and muscr and it was hard to see where the toes were on the beast. The theme of its muscr body continued upward on its human-like shape, but around its chest area, it looked like the beast had an exoskeleton. Almost like a ribcage, but on the chest going toward the centre.

    The exoskeleton on its body continued as parts of white bone around the darkened purple skin could be seen going out towards its forearms and reaching up towards its head to the point where one could only see its eyes peeking through.

    ''I can''t tell how strong it is, but this thing is definitely something that will give me nightmares for the next few days.'' Gary inwardly said. ''The question is should I be careful, or just try and take it out in one blow.''

    If Gary hadn''t received the message from the system, he certainly would have just gone in immediately. In his hesitancy, the beast was the first to make a move. It lifted itsrge hand that had a white skeleton structure over it making it four times bigger than a regr hand, and proceeded to cut part of the flesh from his body.

    It was a strange act, why would the beast hurt itself? When the blood hit the floor though, it started to spread, it didn''t look like blood at all and just a pool of darkness. Soon from that very pool of darkness, figures started to rise.

    They were forming a shape simr to the beast in front of him, and part of their bodies started to take shape. Now, there were five more beasts that looked identical to the one in front of him.

    In fact, if Gary hadn''t been keeping an eye out, he would have no clue which one was the real one because the wound had already healed.

    ''Okay¡­ so the right thing to do would have been to attack first, because now I have to face five of these things.'' Gary thought. ''I better go in now, before the situation gets worse.''

    Watching from the viewing deck, the ones mainly paying attention were Numba and Apollo, and they couldn''t believe what they were seeing.

    "There is a beast that can do something like that¡­ it''s now 6 against 1!" Numba argued.

    "Yes it is." James answered. "But let''s not all throw a hissy fit and panic, until he is in trouble. Who knows your friend might surprise you."

    Crowley was giving him quite the side eye as he was getting ready to jump in and help out Gary at any moment. A beast with just this type of power alone, was something he had never seen before in all his time supervising the special lesson. If he was worried before, he was extremely worried now as his foot was tapping against the floor.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Back in the room itself, Gary had decided to act as he ran forward as fast as he could, knowing the opponent was tough he had fully transformed his legs to give him speed and both of his hands were transformed as well, giving him the deadly ws and the werewolf-like strength that he needed.

    ''I don''t get aplete boost in power unless I go into my full werewolf form, and being a Dark Warrior, the boost is only in energy and skills and not my own strength, but if I can''t learn to take down a beast like this, when those werewolvese that are even stronger than Midwak, how am I meant to protect them?''

    When Gary was within range of one of them, he decided to use his lethal pounce skill. The beast ran forward and struck, but it hit nothing but the air. He was thankful that he used lethal pounce because the strike looked no slower than he was.

    Jumping off to the side, he had ended up right in front of another one, but since he was in his Dark Warrior form, lethal pounce was a level 2 skill that made him jump again, but the second time it was an attack.

    HIs ws hit the beast right in the chest digging in, and the impact of his power and weight caused the beast to fall over. With his legs though, Gary made sure he was stuck to the beast as he continued to hit it over and over again in its chest, until eventually it just popped right in front of him.

    The beast body exploded into nothing but ck liquid, and there was no longer anything left for him to hit. In his confusion, another one of the beasts lifted its skeleton hand, and swung right toward Gary, who was quick enough to react with a swing of his own.

    When his ws hit against the hard Skull, it stopped midair as there was a power struggle between the two.

    ''These guys have great strength, and I''ve lost track of which one is the real one, and which one is the clone.'' Gary thought. ''On top of that, my sharp ws that would usually tear through anything, it looks like it can''t get through the hard white parts of their body.''

    There was one more problem, but Gary was dealing with it in real time, as the other beast swung toward the other side, in the awkward position he was in, he couldn''t hit it away as he was still trying to push the first beast back. Lifting his forearm, the skeleton-like giant arm stabbed right through his forearm.

    [-18 HP]

    The third one was on him, swinging both of its ws towards the front of him. It had stabbed right through his stomach, the white part could be seen through the other end.

    [Critical injury]

    [-65]

    ''Sh*t.'' GAry thought, as he could taste blood in his mouth.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 601 A Tricky Beast (Part 2)

    Gary had suffered a serious injury, the attack had pierced through his body but he could feel his muscles hardening around the w, keeping it in ce, not letting it move out. The beast he was going up against was strange for a number of reasons, and mainly because Gary was still trying to figure out why it was so dangerous.

    He thought it would be one thing, its power to create copies of itself with its blood. Some time while fighting against the others, the beast had managed to make another clone of itself.

    Thankfully, it seemed the max number it could create a copy of itself was six, otherwise he really would be in trouble. Yet, what was actually the most troublesome for him was the sharpness of the ws.

    They were going through his thick werewolf hide like it was nothing, at least in his current state.

    ''There''s no point using maic howl in this situation, because they''re alling for me anyway!'' As Gary could see two more clonesing his way. ''Screw you!''

    Using a surge of strength Gary quickly used his hands to grab onto therge white skeleton part of his hand, and pulled them in a bit closer, while adjusting his grip so he could get a better hold of the two of them.

    The veins across his hands were showing even though he had thick fur, and they could be seen around his neck as well. He lifted them up in the air for a second as he chucked them against the one in the centre, crashing it into him.

    Using his legs, he then pushed off the ground and pulled out the Skull hand from his body as his blood dripped onto the floor, and he got in a safe area away from the six of them.

    [Emergency healing is in progress, your wounds will now be healed]

    Suddenly, Gary was feeling a bit better, but close to one third of his health was already gone with just that small confrontation.

    "Gary has good strength." Apollo said. "Those beasts, you can tell from the footsteps they make. They''re heavy and full of muscle¡­ that wasn''t an easy thing to do."

    Numba didn''t say anything, he was just worried about Gary. He was a bit stronger since fighting Midwak, but this was an entirely different situation altogether because of the ability of the monster to duplicate itself.

    ''This Altered form is more impressive than it looks at a nce.'' James thought. ''It''s more versatile, an extreme increase in speed, superior strength and its healing capabilities are one of the best that I have seen so far. On top of that, it allows the user to be incredibly resilient. Usually, an Altered would be lucky to have one of these traits, and then mostly its skill would be what propped up the Altereds strength to be extraordinary.''

    The beasts seemed to be well coordinated, as they stuck together in a type of formation. It allowed Gary some time to step back and think but also made it hard for an opening. When going up against Midwak, he could use the same skills over and over, especially the lethal pounce skill, but there was a slight problem in this case when fighting multiple enemies.

    Gary somewhat couldn''t control his lethal pounce skill, it wouldn''t just go to whoever he wished, so use it in session, he would only be able to injure them slightly before going to the next one, because from his first attempt, just one attack with the lethal pounce skill wasn''t enough to take them out.

    ''But do I have anything else¡­ Anything else that I can try?''

    Since it was somewhat his best option and only his option, he decided to try as he rushed in. When he got close again, he used lethal pounce, he avoided the first hit, and it looked like a repeat ofst time as he hit one of them right in the chest.

    [Lethal pounce]

    Using the skill while his ws were stuck in the beast, his strong legs pushed off the beast, pushing it back and stumbling, as he went toward the next one. He touched the ground and jumped up.

    As he went toward another one of the beasts though, two ws wereing right toward him. They were able to help the other beast. Gary crashed into the two white ws with the two of his own, flinging them back.

    However, it had practically stopped the lethal pounce attack, and now the one he had originally attacked had the time to be ready with a fist. It mmed the top of Gary''s head and immediately sent him to the ground.

    [-34 HP]

    ''It felt like I got hit by a hammer!'' Gary thought. The n had failed just like he thought it would because there were just too many of them in the area. When Gary came in with the first pounce they all moved around creating a type of circle, not giving him much space to manoeuvre out of the way.

    The beasts couldn''t quite get to him when he was using the skill and match up to his speed, but they were able to track him, and if they at least knew he was definitely going to go towards one of them, they just needed to act after that.

    ''At least my head didn''t crack open otherwise that would have been over, but I''m sure I''ve lost some brain cells.''

    But he didn''t have time toin about the pain, because when he looked up, all of the beasts were still around him.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    "We need to get him out of there!" Crowley shouted. "Cancel the special test or he''s going to die."

    Crowley was already starting to move, but James soon got in his way.

    "You can''t do that, not yet!" James shouted back. "Not when he hasn''t shown what it is he''s hiding!"

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 602 Thinking Ahead

    Crowley stood there as he looked the NIRV employee right in the eyes. There was a slight hint of obsession. He didn''t care about the student at all, one could tell clearly by the words that he had just used, but he was hesitating.

    ''NIRV funds the academy a lot. It''s because of them that the Academy can continue staying on top. It also officially sponsors the AFC as well. If I put my hands on him, then it will be troublesome.'' Crowley thought.

    "It seems like you somewhat havee around." Jamesmented. "You should know that the future is most important, and the future is Altered and NIRV."

    After saying these words, James calmly decided to walk past the teacher, and continue to watch the lesson take ce, that was until he felt a handnd on his shoulder.

    "End this lesson now, or I''ll chuck you in there with the beasts myself!" Crowley threatened.

    There was a smug smile on James face. He was a rtively high member in NIRV, of course no where near the level of those at the very top, but if he was touched, then he could easily make it so this person lost their job and could never be hired as a teacher in any academy ever again.

    Seeing the smile, James opened his mouth.

    "What are you going to do about i-"

    Crowley raised his fist and threw it out, hitting him right in the side of his cheek. His whole body spun on its side as he was thrown against the ss. The students and the rest of the NIRV employees for a moment stopped what they were doing.

    This was a first, nothing like this had happened before, and they didn''t even know what was the right procedure, or what to do next.

    With a reddened and swollen face, James was about to shout back, but his eyes were soon glued to what was happening down below.

    "I told you! I told you everything would be okay!" James smiled.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Down below, Gary had just been hit on the top of his head, and it was a heavy blow, it was just as strong as Midwak''s and due to him not being in his full werewolf form, it seemed to affect him more than it usually would have.

    By the time Gary was able to react, the other clones of the beast were already around him. He was trapped with their wsing right toward him.

    ''If I use w drain, if I use lethal ponce, none of that is going to help me out. When I hit one of them, the others will just attack me¡­ and my health, it''s around half!'' Gary thought.

    ''Sh*t I have no choice, what''s the point in trying to keep a secret, if I end up dying in the process!''

    There was nothing else he could do, so he unleashed his full power.

    [Full transformation will now begin]

    Gary''s whole body started to change. One of the biggest differences between his full transformation and partial transformation was the sheer size of Gary. Due to all the muscle mass his body would grow as well, and on top of that, his face would no longer look like that of a human.

    Immediately, the first thing Gary did was use another skill.

    [Lethal pounce]

    Moving from the side, he then punched one of the clones. He was much heavier in this form, and even though the beast seemed ready for what was going to happen and had blocked the attack by lifting its hands, Gary still knocked it over on its back.

    His ws didn''t carry on swiping like thest time, because if he did he would have got hit, and there was no point risking hurting himself more unless it was the real one. Immediately he jumped up, and the ws avoided him as Gary moved away from him.

    Now, not being surrounded by the beasts, the others watching could see his full werewolf body.

    "Is that what his full transformation looks like!" Apollo said. Just looking at the full transformation, Apollo could feel the strength oozing from its body. In a lot of Altered forms, the mixed transformation was the strongest form.

    A fully transformed Altered form, in a lot of cases, was worse, but it was something that was different on a case by case basis. Yet, looking at Gary''s fully transformed state, Apollo felt different, and James, who had seen hundreds, no 1000''s, of different Altered forms during his work, he too could feel that there was something different about this.

    Just because Gary had fully transformed didn''t mean he was going to win this fight. He would still be in the same situation in the end. Even if he was a little faster, a little stronger and more resilient, in this case fighting against this many strong opponents, it wouldn''t help.

    ''Worst case, I could use the pawn points I still have and transform them to stat points, but I wanted to save that for the others. If they are attacked again, it''s better for them to be as strong as they possibly can. Besides, I can''t just rely on increasing my stats every time there''s a fight.'' Gary thought.

    ''If only I knew which one was the real one¡­ then I could end this.''

    That''s when there was a light bulb moment for Gary. There was a way he could find out which one was the real one. Rushing forward, Gary was ready to attack, unlike the time before though, he wouldn''t use Lethal pounce, because that would just chuck him in the middle of the beasts, into the heart of the mess.

    Instead he went to the beast that was most outward, and swung his w. The beast in reaction swung its skeleton arm as well. When the two shed, this time rather than a draw in equal power Gary was able to somewhat knock the beast''s arm away, and with the other w, he stabbed it right through its neck.

    ''Crap that wasn''t enough to kill you, you''re pretty resilient, just turn into goop!'' Gary shouted, as he went to swing his other hand.

    Two of the other beasts swung their bone-like ws towards his side, and both stabbed right through him again. The attack didn''t reach as deep as it did before, but Gary was still quite badly damaged.

    [- 24Hp]

    [-18HP]

    Still, Gary was able tond an attack on the beast in front of him, and just like thest time, it had turned into ck liquid that just fell to the floor. Pulling out both of the ws from his side, Gary pulled back, but he made sure to keep track of what was happening.

    ''I have to pay attention¡­ which one is it?''

    Looking at all of the beasts, he then spotted one making a wound on its arm to rece another clone that had just been defeated.

    [You have marked a target]

    Even if he saw which one was the real one, eventually he would lose sight of the real beast, but now that he had marked it, there was a clear trail in the air that would allow him to pinpoint the real one.

    Without wasting time, Gary decided to use the strongest skill he had.

    [Lethal pounce has been activated]

    He jumped on one of the beasts, but it wasn''t the one he was going for.

    [Lethal pounce]

    Moving immediately from that target he went on to the next, but once again it failed tond on the right one, until finally.

    [Lethal pounce]

    Gary had hit his target.

    [w drain]

    [Last stand activated]

    Using all the skills he had, Gary continued to strike at the real beast with his ws. The other beasts were attempting to strike at him, to get him off the real one, but it was pointless.

    Even though Gary wasn''t as close to death as during his fight with Midwak, he needed to focus on just beating the real beast, and eventually all five of the other ones around him had popped into ck liquid, and the beast had been defeated, Gary standing over its dead body, full of blood and withrge wounds all over.

    ''This¡­ is sh*t.'' Gary thought to himself. ''If it wasn''t night time¡­ if there was more than one enemy, then I would have died. Last stand isn''t a skill I can use repeadilty, so if I had to fight again I would be dead¡­ I can''t just keep relying on that skill.''

    Looking up though, and transforming back to his normal self, Gary was a bit annoyed at those above as well. This was far more dangerous than he ever imagined, and the beast certainly was a strong one, so strong it was most likely that they would perhaps give him another crystal and not one from this beast.

    Taking a look up, Gary then looked at the body in front of him.

    "I have to make sure I get what is mine." Gary shoved his hand through the beast''s body with wed hands searching for something, and he eventually found it, pulling out the crystal.

    Once again, he looked at the ss, before opening his mouth and taking a bite out of the bloody beast crystal.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 603 Eating A Crystal

    Everything that Gary was doing right now was based on a theory of his own. Altereds gave him more stat pointspared to the beasts that he killed and ate. The beasts had the crystals removed from their bodies, and the flesh only had a hint of power in them when consumed.

    Whereas Altereds were created using the crystals that came from beasts. Which was what led Gary to his sudden and rash decision to bite into the crystal. Ideally he would have attempted to eat the body with the crystal in it, but that would have been a strange action to take, not that biting into the crystal wasn''t.

    In Gary''s head, since he ate things to gain power, he thought it was the next best thing. His hard jaw was able to crush the crystal and as the pieces went down his throat and into his stomach he could feel a bubble of energy building up.

    He was too far in at this point so all he could do was continue eating the crystal until it waspletely gone.

    "WHAT IS HE DOING!" James shouted and banged his fists against the ss. "He just ate a precious crystal, and from a highly powerful beast. That crystal could have sold for millions and he''s having it as a snack."

    There were more shocks heading James'' way, as he started to remember about the tests that were first conducted with the crystal. What benefit would eating a crystal have on a person? If they were a regr person, consuming raw energy in that form would be enough to kill a person.

    At least that''s what had happened in their tests. As for an Altered, if they did such a thing there was one of three oues. There were some Altereds, depending on the type, that could use the energy and would get a boost in power, although it was temporary so it was deemed unhelpful, as there were better uses for the crystal.

    Then, there were those that would suffer the same fate as a human, the energy of the crystal was just too much for the Altered form to handle, this usually happened if the Altered was made using a weaker crystal than the one consumed.

    Lastly there would be those that consumed a crystal yet nothing would happen to them at all. Their bodies were unable to absorb the energy released by the crystal gaining no temporary boost nor would there be any negative side effects.

    To put it simply, the benefits for eating a crystal were next to none.

    ''I thought he was some type of researcher, maybe working for another corporation under disguise. I thought that''s why he was asking for the beast''s body, and for the crystal¡­ but this person is just a fool!''

    For Gary though, having finished consuming the crystal he didn''t feel like a fool, as his system screen had responded as he had hoped.

    First, there was a message forpleting the quest and having managed to defeat the beast.

    [You have levelled up]

    [You are now level 28]

    Due to it being the first time he had killed such a beast there were quite a few exp bonuses that allowed him to level up, and gain a free stat point, but there was also the quest reward on top of that.

    [Skill upgrade!]

    [You are free to permanently increase one skill to the next level!]

    ''This is good.'' Gary thought. ''The Dark Warrior ss allows all my skills to go to the next stage as long as it''s night time, but during the day the skills rest back to what they were before. Upgrading one of the skills will make me stronger during the day, and if the Dark Warrior ss still takes effect, then it will mean that the skill might go to an even higher level.''

    Gary was pleased but it wasn''t the right time to pick which skill to upgrade, but before the NIRV employees came out and gave him hell, he did want to check just what stat points he had gained from eating the crystal.

    [Strength: 62 >>>> 65]

    [Dexterity: 47 >>>> 50]

    [Endurance: 49 >>>>54]

    ''The stat increase is a lotrger eating the crystal and my points have improved quite a bit, but that was most likely because of the beast itself.''

    Gary imagined that not always eating a crystal, Altered, or beast would give him points. After all, there were differences in the strength of beasts. It seemed like at some point the weaker beasts or even Altered, if he were to eat them, wouldn''t give him any stat points at all.

    ''The stronger I get, the harder it''s going to be to grow, but is there even a cap on this thing? After fighting Midwak, it feels like a werewolf''s growth is almost endless, after all, Midwak said there were those that were above him.''

    While thinking about all of this, the door was heard opening up into the room, as usual there would be those from NIRV in their special suits with their special equipment, although Gary did wonder what they would try to get from the beast this time, now that its crystal was no longer inside its body.

    That''s when he noticed that there was someone else among the NIRV staff as well, a NIRV researcher, it was James.

    "What do you think you are doing!" James shouted as he came out. "Do you have a death wish or something. You ate a high tier crystal! One that had yet to hit the market. I''m going to rip that crystal straight out of your body!"

    Gary had somewhat expected this reaction and the reason why he acted so rash was because he was already leaving the Academy soon and it was hisst lesson anyway. On top of that, although NIRV was big, James himself was unable to do anything.

    "Stop it!" A voice shouted as it descended in between the two and it was the teacher Crowley. "You have already done enough, and you stated that he was allowed the crystal, he can do with it as he wishes."

    "Yes, a crystal but not that crystal! Now get out my way. I will take him back to NIRV myself and we can see what they have to say!" James said as he went to push past Crowley, but he grabbed James shoulder and pulled him back.

    "You will do no such thing, I have had enough!" Raising his fist again, he threw it out hitting James in the face sending him flying across the room once more.

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 604 NIRV Block

    A solid hit had been delivered by Mr. Crowley, and it looked like he might have forgotten to hold back a little. After all, he was an Altered and James was just a regr human. It was why it came as no surprise when James was unable to get back up from the floor, he had passed out, and the other NIRV employees stood there like deer in the headlights.

    "Gary, you did nothing wrong, that crystal was your reward so don''t worry, I will make sure nothing happens to you. The lesson is over, so head back to your dormitory and get some rest." Crowley ordered.

    Gary did as asked and started to leave the special lesson area, they would need Crowley to take them through the maze of tunnels anyway so they could only really exit from this room.

    While leaving, Gary couldn''t help but think that Mr. Crowley was pretty cool back there.

    ''He''s a good person and a good teacher.'' Gary thought. ''Without him, I wonder how NIRV would have reacted?''

    A little whileter and Mr. Crowley took them back as normal, there was no speaking and all of the students were afraid to talk. Just before leaving, he had a final message to give them.

    "There will be no special lesson next week." Crowley stated. "All students are to participate in the assessment. I wish you all good luck, and I''m sure you already know, if you manage to impress and be a debut student, then you will no longer take part in the special lessons, which I think is the best for all of you."

    Heading back to their dormitory, Gary and Numba couldn''t help but talk about what happened.

    "I wonder, will something happen to Mr. Crowley, I mean he hit a NIRV employee who sponsors the AFA and also the whole special lesson thing in the first ce. It''s quite possible that he could get fired."

    Gary hadn''t thought of this, and if Mr. Crowley was to get fired because of his actions, he would feel extremely bad about it.

    "Think about it as well, with NIRV''s connections they could probably make sure he never gets a teaching job again in any academy." Numba continued.

    His words were just making Gary worry more and more.

    "Anyway, what made you eat that crystal in the first ce?" Numba asked. "Is that something..." He looked left and right before cing his hand to cover his mouth and whispered. "A werewolf does?"

    "I think so, it was a bit of instinct." Gary stated, it was already enough that Numba knew he was a werewolf, there was no need to tell him about the system stuff.

    When Gary was in his own in his room, he thought hisst lesson was quite the experience, but he also couldn''t help thinking about what Numba said.

    ''Will he really lose his job¡­ they can''t kick him out for just doing the right thing, right?''

    Just in case, Gary decided to send a text to a certain someone, as he hade up with an idea, just in case.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Unfortunately, things moved far quicker than anyone could imagine, and Numba''s guess was right on the mark. It was only about an hour or soter that evening after the special lesson.

    Mr. Crowley had been called into a meeting with the professors. The professors had high positions in the academy and ran most of what went on day to day, but they were not the principal nor were they the ones behind the academy in the first ce.

    As soon as Crowley entered the office, the look on their faces said it all.

    "Please do not have that pained look on your face." Crowley said, with his hands held behind his back, his head held high. "All I have to say is everything that I did, it was without regret. As for you three, I know you would have fought for my position as hard as you could."

    The speech had caused a lump to appear in all three of the old men''s throats.

    "You have always cared for the students, and as a teacher it is nothing less than what we could have asked for." Humfree stated. "Unfortunately, the ones that you angered this time, they are too far above us.

    "One note though, we did manage to stop them from causing any action to the student Gary. However, due to youying hands¡­"

    Crowley raised his hand, as he already expected this would happen, just not this fast.

    "I will be okay."

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next day had arrived and Crowley had left as soon as that, he went to the nearby tier 3 city where his home was, wondering just what he was going to do now.

    Of course, he soon got on hisptop, and started to apply for other academies. There were plenty of Altered academies in the country, maybe some abroad that he could attend if need be.

    Sure they weren''t as prestigious as the AFA, but with his resume, he should easily get offers. They would being to him.

    Soon though, emails started toe back, and each of them said the same thing. After reading one, after the other, the positive attitude Crowley had was starting to fade away.

    ''Is this NIRV''s power, all of them are rejections, not even a telephone interview.'' Crowley thought. ''I guess it makes sense, no one would be crazy enough to hire me and go against NIRV. Does that mean I have to give up bing a teacher?''

    Thinking about this, in the end, Crowley bit the bullet and in the Tier-3 city he was in, he decided to apply to be a regrbat instructor, and there was some level of sess, as he was given a face to face interview.

    A few hourster, he received a call stating that his interview was cancelled and they would no longer be processing his application.

    ''Will I even be able to get a job at this rate? What, did that damned James tell every corporation not to hire me? What a petty bastard, I bet even if I did get hired, that he would find out where I worked and tell them to fire me.

    ''What am I meant to do, how am I meant to live?''

    The worrinness of an adult was starting to set in, both his hands were dragging his face down, but he soon could see a calling to his number.

    ''I put my resume online, maybe that''s someone contacting me!'' Crowley thought as he immediately answered the phone.

    "Hello there, am I speaking to Mr. Crowley?" The speaker asked.

    "Yes, Mr. Crowley speaking, I am free to talk."

    "Excellent. Mr. Crowley, my name is Kai, and I''m speaking to you from the Howlers corporation. I have a very interesting offer to make you."

    ******

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 605 A Fresh Start

    605 A Fresh Start

    Crowley had found himself in a taxi staring out of the window. Life felt a little crazy for him at the moment. He was an adult, one that was 35 years of age and had his career path quite set out.

    He enjoyed his job, loved what he did and didn¡¯t mind if he was to do it for the rest of his life. Which was why he found the current situation frustrating and strange. The car was filled with his belongings, all taken from his apartment, and he was leaving the city he had lived in for a long time, in order to head to a new ce.

    ¡®Slough, I can¡¯t say it''s a town that I have heard much about, but when I did some research it seems they have been in the news rtively frequently.¡¯ Crowley thought. He wasn¡¯t the type to focus on what was happening in the outside world, because he had dedicated everything he did, to his job, and now he had lost that.

    ¡®Honestly, I don¡¯t know much about the Howlers Group either, but it was too good of an offer, that I couldn''t refuse.¡¯

    Crowley was thinking back to the phone call he had received. He was in a desperate situation, at the end of the day an adult needed money to live and get by. There were no benefits from the local government apart from housing in the even lower tier cities, which was a life that was hard to rise up from.

    The Howlers were offering a high generous wage, one that matched what he had got form the AFA, which was hard to believe. A tier-3 town able to do such a thing, it seemed almost too good to be true.

    What tipped him to ept the offer in the end, was the fact that it was, in a way, better than what the AFA offered. Giving him free amodation and meals as well, and the job role was quite simr as well.

    It was an offer he couldn''t refuse, and if there was anything he needed, the man on the phone had stated that they would try their best to get it for him. Every bone in Crolwey''s body was telling him that it was a scam, but while on the phone he had seen another rejection email and decided to give it a go.

    When the taxi finally arrived in the town, turning and twisting his head, Crowley was left with awe. The roads didn¡¯t have pot holes, the sidewalks were wide with aesthetic trees nted every so often, and the buildings were well maintained.

    ¡®This doesn¡¯t look like any tier-3 town I have been to¡­ this looks almost like a tier-2 city.¡¯

    Due to Crowley not being involved in the gang business, he only read the news that was avable to the public, so he knew nothing about the fact that the Howlers controlled Notsburg as well as having partnerships with many of the other Tier-3 towns.

    A lot of wealth had been ced to upgrade Slough, and when the annual GDP would be calcted, it would soon be recognised as a tier-2 city.

    ¡®Maybe I didn¡¯t make a bad decision after all?¡¯ Crowley thought.

    Near the centre of the town, the taxi stopped in front of a high rise modern apartment building. Crowley didn¡¯t even have to open the doors himself, as two men opened it for him.

    ¡°Mr. Crowley, correct, may we take your bag for you sir?¡± The man asked.

    Crowley was fine taking his own bag, but still thanked the person for offering. His strength made the bag fairly light anyway, but he did notice that the two that knew his name and came to greet him, weren¡¯t staff of the building, they were wearing a different uniform, one that was Gold and ck in colour.

    ¡°This is a key to your apartment, inside there is your schedule for this week. If there is anything you need, then there is also a work phone that has been provided with several contact numbers inside for you to use.¡± The man exined. ¡°We hope you enjoy your stay here, and we look forward to working with you, teacher.¡±

    Thest word had caught Crowley off guard, how did these people know he was a teacher? He didn¡¯t really have fame outside of the AFA, but he could only assume whoever he spoke to on the phone had informed everyone.

    Regardless, entering the apartment building, the floor was made of marble and there was plenty of staff to help and ask about things. The more things Crowley was seeing, the more and more he thought he had made the right choice.

    He was starting to feel a little less bad about what had ured now.

    ¡®Change is good at times, maybe it pays to do some crimes.¡¯ He chuckled to himself, thinking back to when he hit James. The fact that he was rhyming was proof of his good mood.

    Making his way to the elevator, he saw the door was in the middle of closing, and there was someone inside.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Crowley shouted out, he ran quite fast, but not too fast to alert the others. Altereds were rare beings after all and if the public knew of this they would be quite surprised.

    Still, there was no need for him to reach the elevator door, as the person inside had pressed a button in time.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Crowley said, as he looked at the young girl inside. He stared at her for a little while as there was something a little strange about her.

    ¡°I haven''t seen you before, have you just moved in?¡± The girl asked.

    ¡°Yeah, it looks like we''re both on the same floor as well. I guess we''re neighbours. It''s my first time in this town as well.¡± Crowley stated. He found it a bit strange talking to a girl, but for some reason he couldn''t help looking at her, staring at her from the corner of his eye.

    When the elevator reached the floor, the two got out in the hallway and went their separate ways to their rooms. The girl quickly walked in and closed the door behind her.

    ¡°Why¡­ did I keep looking at her, have I seen her before? But I¡¯ve never been to this town¡­ that''s impossible, maybe she was an AFA student?¡± Crowley thought, and ignored all that as he went to his room.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When the girl closed the door behind her, she started to rub her shoulders as she got chills all over her body.

    ¡°What''s wrong, Amy?¡± White asked as she was busy watching tv.

    ¡°I think there¡¯s some pervert on our floor, he wouldn¡¯t stop staring at me.¡± Amy replied.

    ¡°A pervert in this building, I doubt it, but you never know these days.¡± White replied. ¡°Speaking of, if he is a pervert, we should go to that ss that Kai sent us. He told us to be there, that Self Defence ss.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it starts tomorrow right?¡± Amy said. ¡°Yeah, maybe it will be good, you never know what could happen. What are you watching anyway?¡±

    Looking at the TV, it looked like an Altered match was going on. She never thought White would be into these things, but she was a strange girl.

    ¡°Introducing form the Town of Slough, our sparky fighter from the AFA with her debut match, XIN CLOVE!!!!¡± the TV announcer shouted.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 606 Teacher Crowley

    606 Teacher Crowley

    Crowley woke up refreshed as if all of his worries had vanished with a good night''s sleep. The bed was morefortable than anything he had before, and when looking around he still couldn''t believe the apartment he was in.

    Marble floors, underfloor heating, top of the range cooking appliances with an ind and a balcony he could go out on and see the sights of the city, which right now there seemed to be quite a bit of construction going on.

    It wasn¡¯t that the AFA paid him badly, for from it. They needed to pay the teachers that were Altered a good wage because Altereds in the first ce had so many opportunities they could take.

    It was just the treatment that had been given so far was the next level, but he had to be cautious. The fact that everything was overly nice, in some ways made him worry more that this whole thing could be a scam. It was amon technique to sucker one in like so.

    ording to Crowley¡¯s schedule he would give two different types of lessons in the afternoon. There was a general self defence ss, and then there was also a special ss¡­ but there was no information on what that special ss would be.

    Crowley thought about contacting one of those on the phone he had been given, but decided against it. If it was really important then they could always contact him and besides it was his first day and he hadn¡¯t made the decision whether or not he would be staying.

    Walking over, he turned on the TV, and there was a sports announcer.

    ¡°The students this yearing out of the AFA have been incredibly impressive, with all of them managing to achieve their first win in the ring. The question is where will they go from here. There are many promotional teams as well as professional groups and corporations that will be looking to sponsor these incredibly talented fighters.

    ¡°From there, will any of them be able to make a dent in the top 50, a foundation of which has remained unshakable in the AFC for a long period of time now?¡±

    While the announcer was asking these questions, clips from the fights that had urred were being yed in the background. In the AFC, Altereds weren¡¯t allowed to use their special skills, if they had the power of lightning, fire and so on.

    However, they were allowed to partially transform and fully transform into their Altered forms, and if they could do something different with their new body, such as use their long tongue.

    However, what hade off as impressive was that the Altered students that fought in their debut match this time, none of them transformed yet were still able to win their fights.

    This had happened in individual cases before, but not the entire group and it went to show just how far ahead the AFA werepared to all the other academies.

    Last night, Crowley had watched the matches, supporting and cheering them on, even though he was no longer part of the academy anymore. It was nice to see them all doing well, and he hoped that those that he taught in the special lessons would go on to do well as well.

    ¡®I will be watching you all, and supporting you even if I never see any of you again, and as for the Green Haired one, I hope he doesn¡¯t feel guilty for what happened to me.¡¯ Crowley thought.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Unpacking his things and setting up his room the way he liked it, the time for his evening lesson hade quicker than he thought. He needed to arrive early to see what exaclty he was dealing with.

    Following the directions set out, there was arge development which looked like it had been made very recently and had only just finished. It was a rtivelyrge shopping mall that had a modern and twisty design on the front, with arge screen showing advertisements that would switch once in a while.

    ¡°Seriously, where did this town get this type of money, and it looks like it''s expanding as well. I thought tier-3 ces didn¡¯t have these nice things because they would just get destroyed and ruined by the locals. Maybe the gang that is running this ce has a tight grip on everyone here¡­ speaking of, I didn¡¯t really look into them.

    ¡°But with my strength, even if I do run into trouble it shouldn''t be harmful, but I should still make sure not to offend and annoy the wrong people.¡±

    Heading inside the shopping mall, he headed to the fifth floor and he could see the ce in question. It had a ss panel that went across nearly the whole floor, and one could see mats inside along with a number of different types of equipment.

    It was close to being at the top level, it wasn¡¯t quite what the AFA would have but it was pretty close. Heading inside, he put his bag of tools down, some equipment he had brought himself realising that he wouldn¡¯t need it.

    ¡®This room, you could fit about a 1000 people in here, just how popr do they expect this ss to be?¡¯ Crowley thought.

    While getting things ready and wondering what to teach for his first lesson, he soon could see people enter the training room, they gave a friendly wave and would usuallye in groups of two or three at a time.

    The thing that stood out was the uniform they were wearing, all of it was in ck and gold, the same as those he first had met. The people kepting in and in, and there were already around fifty in the room.

    That¡¯s when he recognised one face, and it seemed she recognized him as well.

    ¡°It''s¡­ the perv!¡± Amy pointed and said rtively loudly.

    There wasn¡¯t a lot that would cause Crowley to be embarrassed but in a room full of people he hadn¡¯t met before, being called a perv would do it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a Perv!¡± Crowley stated. ¡°I¡¯m a teacher. I used to be in the AFA, and now I am teaching sses here.¡±

    ¡°The AFA!¡± One of the boys shouted and soon, nearly all of those in the room were asking Crowley questions. They couldn¡¯t believe that they really were going to be taught by someone from the AFA.

    They also had non stop questions for him about those in the AFA as well.

    ¡°I guess this was Kai¡¯s big surpirse.¡± White said. ¡°No wonder he lives on the same floor as us. He must have decided to pay him quite a bit.¡±

    Through living with White, Amy practically got nearly all of her information from White about the gang. She knew who was in the gang and what they did, but was still unaware that her brother was the leader, only that he was in the gang itself.

    It was why she was happy that he was in the AFA, rather than focusing on this gang business.

    Eventuallying through the door were two more that White recognised as they woulde to the Wolf¡¯s pool club from time to time.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Kevin shouted. ¡°Innu told us this is important, we have to be here on time.¡±

    Kevin was practically dragging Suzan into the room, and they were standing at the back, waiting for the ss to get ready. Eventually there were two hundred people in the room mostly dressed in the ck and gold clothing with a few people that wore their own clothes.

    Eventually, a man entered the room wearing a mask on his face, a slight tint of blonde hair could be seen creeping out the sides, and when the others noticed him they all bowed down.

    ¡°We greet you sir!¡± They shouted in unison as Kai went ahead and walked to the front to meet Crowley.

    ¡°There are going to be a lot of sses with a lot of students from now on, and as I said if there is anything you need, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡± Kai said.

    Crowley was in disbelief, what was the reaction of the others, this didn¡¯t seem like a corporation or apany but more like¡­

    ¡®Have I joined a gang¡­ without knowing it¡­ no that can¡¯t be?¡¯ Crowley thought. He was trying to dismiss it in his head, even if he had joined a gang, he was just a simple teacher. He wasn''t in the gang itself, and that was IF it was the case.

    ¡°I do have a question actually.¡± Crolwy asked. ¡°The special lesson, what¡¯s that for, there wasn¡¯t any information.¡±

    ¡°That?¡± Kai smiled. ¡°Well, there is a reason why we wanted a teacher from the AFA. Because we need you to train our Altered of course.¡±

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 607 A Growing Gang

    Although the favour had originally been requested by Gary, Kai felt like this was a huge plus to the Howlers. Even if Crowley wasn''t directly involved in the gang, having him teach the regr members on top of the Altered in their team would help them grow in strength.

    It was why Kai was treating him so nicely, on top of everything he had heard this teacher had done for Gary, there was the good first impression that he had.

    "Remember that you need to go to the Altered training sessions in the evening with Marie from now on." Kai said, as he sorted through several documents that were on his table and even signed some with his signature.

    "Yes, you''ve told me quite a few times, but is it really okay?" Olivia replied. "If me and Marie show our forms, won''t he notice that we are all the same type of Altered and get suspicious?"

    "What do you think is more likely, for him to think we all have just taken a serum from the same type of beast, or that we are all hungry bloodthirsty werewolves that kill on a full moon." Kai replied.

    Olivia had to admit that he had a point.

    "Speaking of, we need to speak to Midwak and see if there is a way to better control this. We have around two weeks right, until the next turn and it will be Marie''s first. This is a problem that I didn''t predict, the fact that there are more of us that are werewolves, it also means the less there are of us that know our secret and can help keep us in ce. Innu also has been off somewhere more and moretely away from the others.

    "Everyone survived by the skin of their teeth thest time, and there will be one less person to help them."

    There was another problem though, and that was whether or not to trust what came out of Midwak''s mouth. It was best to meet Midwak with Gary, that way he could change the pact rules to get him to tell the truth.

    Shifting through the papers, Kai came across a contract and quickly read the details.

    "Will you look at this, I didn''t think they would ept our terms, but it looks like they have." Kai smiled.

    "Go on, what are you so happy about?" Olivia asked, a little interested.

    "Do you remember that tier-2 Entertainmentpany that wanted to team up with us, it looks like they have epted our demands. AJ productions, apany that has many actors, singers, TV hosts and more under their belt.

    "And as of today, the Howlers will own ten percent, while the Business Tycoon Gary Dem will own fifty percent. Which gives us the majority control of AJ Productions."

    "I didn''t know you wanted to own an entertainmentpany so badly. Are you obsessed with one of the celebrities they have?" Olivia asked

    For the first time Kai''s face had gone red. It was a joke on Olivia''s behalf, but seeing this, it reminded her at the end of the day that although he had a mature head on his shoulders, he was a teenage boy after all.

    "That''s not the reason." Kai cleared his throat. "Rtionships, in a way, epting this deal is them agreeing to work with us, and for us to be the head. However, to all the other gangs this just looks like a simple business deal.

    "Besides with this business deal I''m sure they can do quite a few things, but not only that. You see this deal has put Gary on the map as well. I''ve already had multiple requests with those that wish to meet Gary Dem for a chance for investment.

    "In the gang world, the business world, government, and so on, connections are an important thing. All we need now is for Gary to debut and leave the academy. When he does, I''ll have set up everything for his return."

    "And when will that be?" Olivia asked.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    Kai shrugged his shoulders because he really didn''t have a firm date in his head.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    That day though, Gary and the rest of the students would take their quarterly assessments. The teachers would be watching, looking at their results and based on them, they would decide whether or not they were ready to debut into the AFC.

    Of course, Gary didn''t have much to worry about, as he was already offered this opportunity, but regardless he wanted to prove to himself and everyone else that he didn''t skip any steps and would take the assessment along with everyone else.

    ''Xin already had her debut match, and she was amazing. I also heard she had received multiple offers from professional teams that day. Just as she said, she''s no longer a part of the academy anymore.

    ''I don''t know when I will see her again, but with everything going on with me. It might be for the best that the two of us don''t see each other for a while. Otherwise, she could just be put in more danger herself.'' Gary thought.

    The assessment had begun, and it wasn''t a game of sorts, but instead was a few different exercises that the debut students would do during their training. Everyone was to do them, trying to achieve the highest score they could and they were to do them without using their Altered forms.

    It was safe to say that Gary had gotten the top score on every single activity, in second ce was Apollo, behind Gary in every aspect. There were some surprises though, Numba, Izzy and Ian performed far better than anyone thought.

    They had ced in the top ten in most activities, and this was thanks to them experiencing things that the others hadn''t. It had pushed them to their limit, giving them another reason to get stronger.

    Finally, the assessments were over and Eddy, the teacher for the debut students, was there to announce to them all who would be part of the debut students.

    "I want to first congratte you all for improving so much, and would like to say that the results of today just mean that you aren''t ready just yet. It''s not that we don''t think you aren''t strong enough to enter the AFC, it''s that we believe that you should enter the AFC when you are at your very best.

    "Which is why, with regret, we are to announce that there will only be a single student this time debuting, Gary Dem."

    *******

    ******

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 Chapter 608 The Only Debut Student

    The result was surprising to say the least and that was for all of them including Gary. There had been times where no students would be selected for a debut match, but the students had been keeping an eye on each other during the assessment stage, and to them there were a lot more than just Gary that was ready.

    In the end, none of them could say anything, as the result was final. At the same time, they were unaware that Gary had broken quite a few records at the academy, including being the quickest to go from entering the academy to bing a debut student.

    All the students dispersed from the room, vowing to do better next time, while Gary had been given a set of instructions. He would no longer be staying at the normal dormitory and instead would be staying in a separate building altogether where he would learn with a personal teacher.

    "Don''t you think this sucks a bit?" Ian said, as he shoved a bunch of clothes into a box without even folding them. A visible vein could be seen on Izzy''s forehead who took everything out and refolded the clothes before putting them back in.

    "Why are you even helping Gary pack if you''re just going to make things ten times longer." Izzy mumbled.

    "I agree, we won''t be training with you anymore and probably will hardly see you around the academy." Numba added. "On top of that, don''t you think you''ll be a bit lonely, I mean you''re the only debut student so it will just be you and Eddy most of the time."

    "It will be okay." Gary replied. "I never nned to stay in the academy for so long. Usually, even the debut students go through some training before they have their first match, but I have a feeling I won''t be waiting long."

    Although it might have sounded as if Gary was being cooky, the others knew he was right. They had already asked Gary to be a debut student, and he had grown far stronger than he was back then.

    They could see it during the assessment, what more did the academy have that they could teach Gary, he was quite possibly stronger than even the teachers

    "This won''t be goodbye." Izzy said. "So let''s not act like it is a goodbye. We will be right behind you. Remember we are in an alliance, so you cane to us whenever you want and we''ll help you."

    Gary smiled as he replied.

    "Same to you."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The building was detached from the main academy, a little off in the corner. Gary had been here a few times before, what he didn''t realise before was that above the training room on the second floor was where the rooms for the debut students to stay were at. After unpacking and staying in his new room, Gary had headed downstairs where he could see Eddy was patiently waiting for him.

    "It looks like you kept your promise, you said you would wait till the assessment and here you are." Eddy smiled. "Are you excited?"

    This was at one point that in Gary''s dream, he imagined if he had never joined the gang in the first ce, then he would have been over the moon at what was about to happen. So then why did he feel so hollow?

    ''Is it because there is no one with me, the others aren''t here. Is it because I would rather be with them or in my home town with the other Howlers members?'' Gary wasn''t so sure and just felt a bit lost.

    However, there was one thing that still spurred him on, and that was when thinking about the other debut students before him, in particr Xin. He had watched her match along with all of the others, and they had practically be superstars overnight because of it.

    This was in a lot of ways the only connection and thing he had inmon with Xin still, so he wanted to hang onto it a little bit.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    "I wanted to ask, why was I the only debut student selected, surely there were others that would do well, like Snow, Wu or Apollo." Gary asked.

    "So that''s what was eating you up in your mind?" Eddy replied. "Just as you said, there were those that could have debuted and don''t get me wrong, Apollo is someone who is stronger than most of the students we have ever debuted before. I have no doubt that if he was to fight now that he would win his match.

    "But if you listened to my words carefully, we selected the debut students when we think they are ready. The others, they still have a lot to learn from the academy."

    Although this answer was true, there was another reason for this, and it was due to Crowley''s request before leaving. They were to protect Gary. While he was still in the main academy, it was hard to keep him under watch.

    Who knew what NIRV would attempt to do, and it was the same if they had put other students with Gary. In a way, Eddy was now Gary''s personal bodyguard, and they would get him to have his match and leave this ce as soon as he could, for his own safety.

    "Regardless, today is a day of celebration and it should be about you, and I think there is something that might surprise you." Eddy said.

    "I''m sure you know already that the media can''t stop talking about the recent crop of debut students. They are the next big thing and manypanies have reached out for interviews,mercials, and more.

    "Well because of this, tomorrow for the whole day, we have some guests that will being over, wanting to interview you!"

    "Interview me?" Gary repeated, not really sure this was a good idea. Then again, no one knew the face of the Howlers leader, and bing an AFC fighter his face would be shown to all anyway.

    "Yes, it seems like they want to get the next scoop. They want to have and make the next star in the making. I think you will do well, and it''s a good chance that you could make quite a bit of money from this."

    Hearing these words, naturally Gary''s ears perked up, old habits didn''t go away.

    "Anyway, they are a fairly big entertainmentpany, called AJ Entertainment, so be on your very best behaviour."

    ****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 609 AJ entertainment

    Chapter 609 AJ entertainment

    Waking up, for a second Gary wondered where he was. The room wasrger than the one he had been sleeping in for a while, and he was exhausted from yesterday, but he soon remembered that he had moved rooms yesterday.

    ¡®Man, I hate when that happens, it must be because I was so tired yesterday. What time did I even go to sleep?¡¯

    Gary was starting to remember just what had urred yesterday, after being informed by Eddy that an entertainmentpany called AJ Entertainment would being, the two of them went through a series of questions together.

    What his responses should be like, how he should act, and just overall what he should attempt to do on that day. There was a good chance that this would be broadcasted and Eddy would be the one to get the me if the AFA was seen in a negative light.

    ¡®I think he told me so much stuff that I can¡¯t remember any of it.¡¯ Gary ced his hand on his chest, it was beating faster than it would normally and his system made it clear it was the case.

    Without realising it, Eddy had actually made Gary more nervous than he would have been and there was a lot of pressure on him.

    ¡°Alright, let''s take a quick cold shower, get dressed and ask Eddy a few things before they arrive.¡±

    Gary did just that, and wore the standard AFA uniform that he always wore. It was tight on his skin but gave maximum flexibility and the material allowed it to stretch even if they were to change into their Altered forms.

    It showed off his worked out muscr physique and one could even see the outline of his abs through the shirt. Of course it wasn¡¯t just Gary that looked amazing in the AFA uniform, all of the students had spectacr athletic builds, but Gary¡¯s was more on the lean side rather than muscr and he could thank his werewolf self for that.

    Heading down the stairs into the debut student training room, Gary was still drying his green hair with a towel.

    ¡°Hey Eddy, when are the others meant to get here then?¡± Gary asked, but stopped as he started sniffing the air.

    The towel was blocking Gary¡¯s view but he could smell Eddy who he had be familiar with, but there were quite a few other smells that were mixed in that he didn¡¯t recognise. When he put the towel down and looked up, it looked like he was right.

    ¡°Ah, Gary, it looks like they decided to arrive early and get to know you better.¡± Eddy smiled back nervously and he looked like he was sweating himself.

    Straight away, a woman in a ck and white suit, wearing long trousers that covered her slender legs and sses on her face walked over. She had a small birthmark above her lip that made her stand out, and immediately put her hand out.

    ¡°Nice to meet you Gary Dem.¡± The woman said.

    Gary reached out his hand and tried his best to give a firm handshake as Eddy had told him to do.

    ¡°My name is nor Evan¡¯s. I am a manager and a scout from AJ Entertainment. Your teacher has already told us a few things about yourself, and we are interested to see what it takes for a student to be an AFA student.

    ¡°We are also nning to run a broadcast with you and one of our new presenters, so we''re hoping you can show us a few things.¡± nor exined.

    nor had this confidence surrounding her, and eagle-like eyes that were looking all around at once. Gary could tell that she was trying to analyse him and the fact that she was a scout as well, it meant she was potentially looking at Gary for other reasons not just AFA rted.

    Eddy had already said this as well, that perhaps AJ Entertainment would ask to scout Gary to do a few adverts and such. The academy had no policy against this, it was just unusual for students to get offers before they had joined the AFA.

    It was only being considered because of what had happened with thest debut students.

    ¡°Clem,e over and introduce yourself!¡± nor called out.

    Running on the ground, with her feet lighty picking up off the floor, Gary almost felt like he was looking at a shooting star. The young presenter looked a little older than him, yet she sparkled, her skin, her clothes, and everything about her was attracting one¡¯s eyes to look at her.

    ¡°It''s nice to meet you Gary.¡± Clem bowed down. ¡°This will be my first broadcast so I hope we can work together to make this a good show.¡±

    [BPM is rising]

    [There are no enemies around you!]

    [Your heart is already taken by another, please don¡¯t confuse the system]

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Gary said.

    Eleanor, Clem, and Eddy were taken back by this, and he soon realised what had happened.

    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean you. My hearing is sensitive, you see, because of my Altered form. There were some loud birds outside that were annoying me. I promise I didn¡¯t mean you!¡± Gary apologised

    Clem seemed to ept the apology, and continued on, but there was a furious heat that wasing from Eddy. If he made a mistake it looked like the teacher was the one that he had to worry about the most.

    After the small interaction was over, Gary and Clem went over the programme details, what they would do, what demonstrations and more. They wanted everything to be natural so there was no script, there were no questions for Gary to read ande up with an answer beforehand, but they gave him a general idea of what would happen today.

    Helping out with a few things, as well, would be the guards that hade with AJ Entertainment. They were also all dressed in suits but based on their demeanour, Gary could recognise that the guards they had hired were most likely members of a gang.

    After that, it was finally time for the broadcast, the camera was set up and Gary was there standing next to Clem on screen.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Kai was doing the usual in his office when he suddenly got a string of texts. If it was just the one he wouldn''t look at it, but since they were constant he had to take a peak.

    ¡°Marie, she hasn¡¯t written to me in a while, I wonder what''s up.¡±

    [You have to turn to Channel 55 now!]

    [Tell me when you see it]

    [Do you see it?]

    [Have you turned on the TV?]

    Kai was wondering what could be so important to distract him from his business, with a sigh he reluctantly turned on the TV and went onto the channel, where he could see a watermark in the corner ¡®AJ Entertainment.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t the shocking thing, it was the dumbfounded kid who was red faced on the screen.

    ¡°What¡­ is going on? Why is Gary on TV?¡±

    *****

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 610 Green Hair on TV (part 1)

    Chapter 610 Green Hair on TV (part 1)

    The news of the Altered Fighter¡¯s debut had spread throughout the country, but the segment wasn''t expected to draw much attention. After all, the neer hadn''t even fought yet, and it was their first public appearance.

    Any viewers were likely to be students from the AFA, other academies, or aspiring to join the AFA. AJ Entertainment aimed to get ahead of thepetition with this broadcast.

    However, in a certain ssroom, the students were making use of their break and had tuned. Seeing a familiar looking bright green-haired student, on the screen, a heated debate ensued.

    "Hey, isn''t that Gary from our ss? What''s he doing in the AFA?"

    ¡°Can¡¯t you read? It says it''s an interview about an Altered about to debut in the AFC?¡±

    ¡°That''s crazy! How the heck did he of all people get to be an Altered? I could understand ke, but him?! If somepany scouted him, then even I have a chance to be one!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, dream on, buddy.¡±

    ----

    At the same time, Marie¡¯s message had reached the rest of the Howler¡¯s core members. They had decided to take a small break from what they were doing, to turn on the TV and check out the mentioned interview of their leader.

    ----

    ¡°Amy,e here, you have to see this! Your brother is on TV!¡± White shouted from the living room.

    Bursting out of her bedroom, Amy ran and vaulted over the back of the sofa,nding on the cushion staring up at the TV on the wall.

    ¡°It really is¡­ but why does he look¡­ so stupid?¡± Amy wondered aloud.

    ----

    Even those who had already entered the AFC were tuning in to watch the broadcast. Xin murmured Gary''s name as he watched the red-faced teenager fidget ufortably on the screen.

    ----

    Right now, everyone tuning in was looking at an awkward red-faced teenager. It was clear to anyone that today¡¯s guest was anything butfortable with the camera on him, his eyes were darting around, at times looking dead into the camera, and he would nervously scratch his head from time to time, seemingly unsure as to what else to do with them.

    The hostess had tried to ease Gary in, having started off with a few simple questions, including the basics like what it felt like to be part of the AFA, whether this had always been his dream and such, yet so far all his answers hade out quite awkward.

    ¡°Moving on, Gary, one of our trusted sources informed us that this time you are the only student debuting. Is this due to the AFAcking in skilled students, or would you say that there is something about you that clearly set you above your peers?¡± Clem asked.

    ¡°Uhm, I can safely say that there are a lot of talented students at the AFA.¡± Gary answered as he thought about his friends and everyone who had been part of the special ss. ¡°As far as I know the academy doesn¡¯t just pick those that are strong, but those that they think are ready, and it just so happened that at the moment I''m the only one that falls under that evaluation.

    "I used to be just a regr guy myself, so I don''t consider myself superior to anyone else. Actually, I believe I''m living proof that in the Altered world, you can transform yourself and achieve your goals through hard work and dedication." Gary spoke the words he had rehearsed with Eddie, confident that they conveyed his message effectively.

    It was a good answer which was meant to make him more sympathetic in the viewers¡¯ eyes, but his presentation was far more robotic, yet Eddie still gave him a thumbs-up from the side.

    ¡°It''s good to stay humble, and your body speaks volumes as to how much hard work you must have put into bing stronger.¡± Clem noted in a sexy voice, as she touched Gary¡¯s biceps and then went on to reveal his abs as the camera panned towards it.

    Soon the camera panned up, and with Clem next to Gary, the teenager¡¯s face had taken on a new shade of beet red.

    ----

    ¡°Oh shit, it looks like he¡¯s getting a stiffy on life TV.¡± One of his ssmatesmented, unsure how Gary would ever live that down.

    ¡°In those tight shorts¡­ no wonder the camera didn¡¯t pan down below the waist.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t me him, just take a look at the hostess and tell me you wouldn¡¯t react if she touched you?¡±

    Back to the broadcast, Gary¡¯s head looked like a tomato, and Clem started to chuckle seeing this. This was equally a good opportunity to get Clem some fans as well as Gary.

    ----

    ¡°Gary, you mentioned earlier that you work out every day to improve your abilities as an Altered. I¡¯m sure that the AFA providing you with ess to top-of-the-line equipment must have yed a significant role in your progress. As someone who also values physical fitness, I would love it if you could give our viewers a glimpse into what kind of workout regimen you follow as an Altered.¡± Clem asked, her eyes shining with interest.

    Looking at the surrounding equipment, there wasn¡¯t anything too fancy around them, in fact most of it was what every gym had, such as weights, a rowing machine, but also a gym ball, skipping rope and the like. Still, there was also equipment more geared towards Altered.

    Since they wanted to show the difference between an Altered and a regr human, Gary decided that the Baguncher would be the ideal machine for that, especially since it had been one of the first ones he had seen the other AFA students use. When asked about it, he exined to Clem, and in extension the viewers how to use it.

    It was the training that Altereds did in thier reagr from anyway.

    Where one would stand on the tfrom and hit the heavy bag with as much power as possible, it would then move across the room. The stornger the bag was hit, the further it would move out.

    It would then retrun to you marking how far you had hit the bag before, the aim was to consectivley hit the bag in to the same spot with one¡¯s full strength over and over.

    ¡°Tell us, Gary, how long could you hit the bag for?¡± Clem asked.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t actually tested my limit.¡± Gary replied, putting his right hand on his chin. ¡°If I were to make a careful estimate¡­ maybe a day¡­ a day and half. Perhaps longer if someone brought me some food every few hours.¡±

    The guards who were present couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at thement, a gesture which had been picked up by the camera, and it panned around to show some of them not hiding theirughter.

    ¡°Dear viewers, allow me to introduce some of our other guests. These here are the guards that work for AJ Entertainment and they are some of the best in the industry. Although you might not see it with their uniforms on, but underneath their clothes they have bodies that are just as impressive as Gary¡¯s.

    ¡°Now let me ask you the question that all our viewers must want to know the answer to, why did youugh?¡± Clem asked.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 611 Green Hair on Tv (Part 2)

    Chapter 611 Green Hair on Tv (Part 2)

    The men who hadughed by the side, after seeing that they were being filmed by the camera stood up straight and widened their shoulders slightly.

    ¡°If you are giving us permission to answer honestly, then I will do ma''am.¡± The man in the middle said. ¡°All of us have used this machine as part of our training to stay in shape. It certainly seems easy from the outside looking in, but hitting at the same point each time, with the same strength is an incredibly tiring task.

    ¡°I have also seen many Altered from AJ Entertainment perform this same exercise before, so in my professional opinion, no matter how talented an Altered may be, to be able to do this for an entire day without rest is an absurd answer. Knowing that, we couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    ¡°I don¡¯t me him though, he admitted he has never tested his limit, so he might just be overestimating himself¡­ or trying to impress the beautiful youngdy.¡±

    nor who was standing by the side had arge grin on her face, this was a perfect remark, a confrontation like this always stirred up viewers. In today''s day and age, even if there were a lot of viewers, saucy clips that stirred up drama, could be shared and in turn, bring in more viewers to the actual airing.

    ¡®Did I really overestimate myself?¡¯ Gary wondered, looking down at his fist. ¡®Here I was actually downying it, since I thought it would sound too unrealistic if I told them that I feel like I could keep it up for days.¡¯

    Gary was basing this on his past calctions, yet he had actually improved a lot since that time. On top of that, thanks to his ss, he would actually benefit from arge increase in his Energy during nighttime, which would further add to the time he could keep this up.

    ¡°As I said, I never tested myself, but I still believe I could keep this up for at least half a day.¡± Gary stated, not refuting the guards¡¯ opinion. Rather, he proceeded to show Clem how to throw a punch properly before hitting the bag, making it fly back some distance, but it was clear the hit was used just to demonstrate the action, and there was no force put behind it.

    A lot of the viewers were inclined to believe the guards, basing it on the experience they had, or what they had heard from others. There were even records of some Altered doing this exercise before.

    So far, the green haired student had only left the impression of a somewhat naive and nervous youth on the viewers, making them doubt his im. Him indirectly admitting that he might have been wrong, rather than keeping a cocky attitude helped his image though.

    After being shown how to do it, it was finally time for Clem to punch the bag, and so she did, hitting it dead in the centre. It went along on the ratchet around fifty centimetres proving that the bag was heavier than it looked.

    When the bag came back, she was ready to hit it, managing to strike in the same spot. It came back a third time, and she seeded again, but finally, on the fourth punch, she had only made it go back only around forty centimetres, thus ending the exercise.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you all now, that is a lot harder than it looks.¡± Clem stated as the camera was on her. ¡°It''s not about it being tiring, but to produce the same amount of power. I¡¯m a fit person, but that''s really not something I''m used to doing.¡±

    ¡°I have an idea.¡± nor shouted out from the side. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get one of the guards from the AJ Entertainment to give it a go? I think that would be a fairerparison, for the viewers. There is no need to hit it until he tires. Just try to hit it as far as you can four times like Clem did.¡±

    nor was trying to stir up trouble, and of course, the guard captain who spoke up before looked happy to go along with the idea. He was already walking forward, taking off his suit jacket, revealing a white undershirt.

    After taking that off, he had a singlet underneath that showed off his muscr chest and tattooed arms. They were farrger than Gary¡¯s and looked just as muscr.

    ¡°This training is usually designed for Altered in their normal human form, which is why even in this exercise!'''' The man swung his fist right into the back, taking it back around ten metres, it was a powerful hit that was recorded on the camera.

    ¡°Some humans are able to get better scores than Altered out there.¡±

    The man smiled as he went on to hit the bag again and again. For all four hits, he had managed to get the same distance as the first time.

    Stopping, the man looked toward the camera, and started to flex his biceps. This was the type of person viewers usually disliked, but because he could somewhat back up his cocky attitude, they were unable to say anything bad about him.

    ¡°That guy is a beast! Are we sure he¡¯s really not an Altered?¡±

    ¡°Did you hear the sound of the bag every time he hit it! He must be one of the strongest humans on this.¡±

    From observing, Eddie and Gary came to the same conclusion, that the man wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep that up for long, maybe two minutes at most. Limiting the activity to only having to hit the bag four times worked in his favour, and they were wondering what point he was trying to make by showing off like that.

    In the first ce, Gary had never imed he could hit it the furthest. That wasn¡¯t the true goal of the exercise. Theparison should be about who could hit it with their full strength for as long as possible, no matter how far, this was fair to all shapes and sizes.

    ¡°Alright everyone, so now we will finally have Gary, the debut student from the AFA, demonstrate for us how it''s done, and show us the difference between a regr person and a debut student!¡± Clem imed.

    Before Gary walked up to the tform, Eddie walked in front of him.

    ¡°Gary, you are a person who represents the AFA.¡± Eddie said loud and clear so that everyone could hear. ¡°So I don¡¯t want you to embarrass us, hit that bag with all your strength.¡±

    Gary smiled, because he had still been thinking of holding back, but with the teacher''s permission, and the smug look on the guard captain¡¯s face, he nodded as he walked up onto the tform.

    ¡°He¡¯s an Altered and a student at the AFA, so he should be able to beat him, but if it''s only by a metre or so I would be embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not allowed to transform into their Altered from during this exercise, so maybe he will get a lower score.¡±

    Gary readied his position, he didn¡¯t use his Controlled Transformation, and swinging his arm out, he threw it out forward hitting the bag right in the centre. A loud bang was heard as the bag nearly bent in half from where it had been hit. It swung along the railing at such a fast speed that sparks started to fly.

    Then when it reached the end the bag flew off the end of the machine, the chain detached itself and the bag crashed into the wall, as it fell to the floor, the wall was left with arge dent.

    The camera caught everything, and the look of disbelief on everyone''s faces, including even the teacher Eddie, then it finally went back to Gary.

    ¡°Maybe I should have held back a bit,¡± Gary muttered as he saw the shocked gazes.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 612 A Star in the Making

    Chapter 612 A Star in the Making

    The cameraman was carefully showing the damage to the equipment, how the metal rail had snapped and the chain linked to the bag had snapped as well. Then on top of that, there was the wall, which had been smashed and the bag itself, the outside of it was ripped and the insides were pouring out.

    If an Altered was to do the same thing to a normal heavy bag, or normal equipment, then it wouldn''t be so much of a surprise, but this was the AFA. The equipment had been made with those who would be tested on it kept in mind.

    It was strong, reliable stuff, and for Eddy who had been the personal teacher for the debut students for a while now, he had never seen anything like this before.

    ¡®His strength is off the charts, I¡¯m sure he wasn¡¯t this strong before. Did he manage to improve this much, in such a short amount of time? If the Gary now had gone as wild as he did back then, I don¡¯t think even I would have been able to stop him. I doubt if I was to go head to head in a battle with him that I would win.

    ¡®Is it possible, does Gary now have the ability, to be in the top fifty of the AFC?¡¯

    Eddy was already imagining it, depending on how many wins an Altered had in the AFC in a row, and how convincingly they won their matches, they would be put with higher level opponents quicker.

    Not everyone who was in the AFC was an automatic superstar, and it was really only those that had the potential to reach the top fifty or those in the top 50. Just as Gary had managed to enter the AFA and cause a storm, Eddy was imagining the same thing happening in the AFC as well.

    However, he had no idea that Gary had no interest in those things at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, I didn¡¯t expect that to happen.¡± Gary apologised with his hand behind the back of his head, embarrassed. ¡°That isn¡¯t something I''m going to have to pay for right? You guys have insurance for things like this¡­right?¡±

    Out of all the things to worry about, of course, Gary would be worrying about money and cost, while he had unknowingly caused a stir.

    ¡°Everyone, did you see that!¡± Clem said, pumping her fist toward the camera. ¡°This is the difference between a debut student and the rest. The AFA as ofte have been producing extremely skilled fighters and it looks like this might be one of the most skilled yet.¡±

    Right after Clem said those words. nor went to the camera man, telling him to cut the recording there. Their air time had just about toe to an end, and ending it there, she knew that the viewers would want more.

    ¡°They ended the program there! What about the Green Haired kid? When is his debut match? What about his Altered form? Aren¡¯t they going to show us more?¡±

    ¡°That guy, he looked like a weakling but he managed to break the bag off the rails of the thing.¡±

    ¡°He even damaged the wall, is that normal, can every Altered do that?¡±

    It was quitemon for those to question the power of an Altered. After all, for most it wasn¡¯t something they came across every day apart from in the AFC. Other than the few documentaries or programmes like this one, they didn¡¯t have much topare Altereds in terms of strength against each other.

    ¡°That had to be a set up, it''s clearly a fake video so more people tune in to his debut match!¡±

    ¡°What, you think they got a fake wall as well? Idiot.¡±

    ¡°FML, if you guys can¡¯t clearly see how fake this video is, then I feel sorry for you. Let me sell you this bridge I made.¡±

    There were quite a lot of usations online, because some Altereds that were watching from other academies, were even calling the video fake. Since they used the equipment, they felt like it was impossible for a student to do something like this.

    nor was going over the initial reaction and she knew it wasn¡¯t fake, which made her think that the publicity, whether it was good or bad, didn''t matter either way, because eventually when Gary did have his first match, everyone would soon be changing their tune.

    Thinking about what to do, Eleanor seemed to go over to Eddy, Gary caught it for a few seconds, but soon Clem was right in his face with a big smile and both hands behind her back.

    ¡°That was amazing¡­ I really didn¡¯t think you had it in you!¡± Clem said. ¡°You really are strong, and it was such a nice feeling to see that after that big ape showed off.¡±

    By big ape, it was obvious she was referring to the guard, who when Gary looked at him, immediately stood up tall like a bamboo shoot and couldn''t even look Gary in the eye. Since they had hit the same bag, he also knew that it wasn¡¯t a set up.

    Some Altereds were quite arrogant and they held grudges easily, so he just wished that this Altered wouldn¡¯t take it out on him, but Gary wasn¡¯t like that either way, so he had nothing to worry about.

    ¡°Thank you, I train quite hard so I¡¯m confident in my skills, I just felt a bit awkward when looking at the camera.¡± Gary could also hear his phone pinging now that the program had ended that he had left on a table by the side.

    ¡°I think with your looks, your body, and your personality you could be a one of a kind star.¡± Clem stated.

    ¡°A star?¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡± nor said, walking to Clem and Gary while a bright red faced Eddy was left in a daze behind them. From the beginning Gary could hear that Eddy¡¯s heartbeat would go slightly faster when he looked at or spoke with nor, so it was clear he was head over heels for her.

    ¡°Gary, it''s up to you whether you wish to or not, but we can make your debut huge.¡± nor said. ¡°If possible, we would love to take you to AJ Entertainment and sign for a contract. You will have to stay with us for a week or so, but in turn we will run a whole documentary of you, leading up to your big match.

    ¡°You will also be able to meet other stars and other Altered under the AJ Entertainment. Let me know what you think?¡±

    Gary really didn¡¯t know how to answer, if they were to make a program about him, then it would also mean they would be asking a lot of questions, but being in the academy Gary had gotten used to being a good liar.

    He also remembered initially that Kai wanted him to try and make his debut as big as possible. As there would be those wondering who Gary was under, and the team and group supporting him would be the Howlers.

    In turn, there would be those that wished to join the Howlers, and they could make their own Altered force as those who idolised Gary could go ahead and join them.

    ¡°Doesn''t that mean I¡¯ll be out of the academy for a week, I would have to ask my teacher for permission.¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°He already gave me his blessing.¡± nor said, and Gary realised now what she must have been doing before. ¡°Here is a sample contract for you, of course the details can be changed.¡±

    Gary took a look at the contract, and the first thing that caught his eye was the amount they were willing to pay him.

    ¡°200,000 just for 7 days of work! I would be stupid not to take it!¡± Gary said with a smile as he shook his hand.

    Since Gary didn¡¯t run the finances, he was unaware that 200,000 was pocket change for the Howlers. If Gary needed it, they would have given it to him in a heartbeat.

    Later that day, just so Kai was aware of what Gary was nning on doing, he sent him a text message with details.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Kai shoved his hand on his forehead. ¡°This idiot is getting excited over 200,000 and he doesn''t even realise how much he owns of thepany that''s paying him! Well, he already signed the contract so I guess the only way that he can break the contract is by getting permission from, well¡­ himself.¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 613 A New City

    Chapter 613 A New City

    Nowadays, most of the Howlers¡¯ business decisions made would go through Harry and his team. Kai didn¡¯t mind their input, after all, he was happy to admit that the experienced businessman and his team had far more experience in that area, and ultimately it was up to him to make an executive decision.

    Nevertheless, Kai still liked to have Olivia by his side. While not as business savvy as the rest, her own experience, there were just some decisions, especially those pertaining to their gang, where she had a better insight, a knack of what was best for the development of a gang. A lot of how the Howlers¡¯ current chain ofmand, with captains leading their own groups and such, had actually been proposed by her.

    ¡°So what do you n to do? Do you want to inform Gary about the purchase of AJ Entertainment? Make him ask for more money from his own people?¡± Olivia asked with an amused smile on her face when she imagined his reaction when finding out. ¡°He¡¯ll be travelling to a Tier-2 city and if something does happen it could stir up quite a bit of trouble.¡±

    ¡°At this point, I think it''s best if we leave things as they are.¡± Kai replied. ¡°Judging by how excited he seems, we would just be spoiling his fun if we informed him that he is basically working for pocket change. Besides, he¡¯s putting all his trust into us looking over the gang''s finance with veryx rules to go by.¡±

    ¡°Still, this is a partnership with Ash and the Ashen gang. Although most of their business seems to stem from AJ Entertainment, who knows what goes on behind the scenes. There are plenty of entertainmentpanies that are involved in shady business.¡± Olivia cautioned.

    ¡°Yeah, but this is Gary we¡¯re talking about. If AJ Entertainment turns out to be corrupt in some way that he doesn''t agree with, then he will be the first to speak about against them, and stop associating himself with them. That or more than likely he¡¯ll do something in an attempt to fix them. Right now, they believe Gary Dem from the AFA, and Gary Dem the business tycoon are twopletely different people.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be good to have someone on the inside to check if they have any skeletons in the closet. Gary also has the protection of the AFA right now, so there should be someone to prevent any worst case scenarios.¡±

    Olivia smiled as she heard this. ¡°You''re right, but you do know that I was never worried about what they would do, if there are skeletons in the closet, then you know that it should be them worrying about what he will do.¡±

    ________

    The next day, Gary was getting dressed, putting on one of his nicest suits. It was a gift from Kai at some point. At the time, the blonde teenager had stressed that when doing business one needed to wear a nice suit, lest he wouldn¡¯t be taken seriously, but so far Gary really hadn¡¯t had many opportunities to put that lesson into action.

    As someone from a family with barely any disposable ie, he didn¡¯t have that much stuff in the first ce, and although his financial situation had taken a drastic turn, Gary had yet to make use of it to go on a shopping spree, something he had intended to do if he ever became famous as an Altered Fighter. As fate would have it, the teenager was already rich, and currently on his way to be an Altered Fighter.

    ¡®Eddie said I wouldn''t be doing any fighting before my debut, so I should just focus on looking my best¡­ but I just feel so ufortable in these clothes. It feels as if I¡¯m pretending to be someone I¡¯m not.¡¯ Gary thought as he looked at himself in the mirror. Uneasiness aside, he had to admit his reflection looked sharp. Kai had done a great job in finding a suit that was a nice fit on his body, it just wasn¡¯t stretchy like his gang uniform or the AFA uniform.

    The reason for his attire was because today was the day he would be heading the AJ Entertainment. Everything had been arranged for him, to enjoy a treatment that was rare amongst debut students.

    ¡®Just think about the money.¡¯ Gary told himself. ¡®To get such arge payment just for a week''s work of showing up and answering some questions, and now that I think about it, I¡¯ll even get to hang out with all kinds of celebrities, singers, dancers and others Altered as a bonus!¡¯

    It was a position that many would pay a hefty price to be in, so he told himself that he ought to enjoy himself. He received a message on his phone, informing him that his ride was already there. The driver would take him to Mancull, the Tier-2 city in which AJ Entertainment was set up.

    Eddie had apologised earlier about being unable to apany him, and had told him that all the details would be shared with him upon his arrival.

    Entering Mancull, it was safe to say that Gary was quite impressed. Although it wasn¡¯t as shy as Notsburg with all itsrge buildings and signs pointing to their various casinos, Mancull had its own feeling to it. There was arge river that flowed through the centre, and there was plenty of green life mixed in with the buildings, such as nted trees that had perfectly been put in ce.

    It was a city that had a lot of thought put into it, and the same could be said for AJ Entertainment¡¯s building itself. It was arge tower-like building, and it wasn''t just tall but wide as well, especially at the base of the building which was already as big as a shopping mall.

    There also looked to be an extension of sorts going on, as to the right of the building there was a lot of building work. There was no sign, nor any clue as to what it was that they were building, but one thing was sure, they put a lot of money into it.

    ¡®I wonder where they get the money to afford such arge building, and even add to it?¡¯

    The building was ced on the river, with a pathway in front of it that looked to be secluded or private. There were walls around the area of the building, and plenty of guards on the outside as Gary went in.

    ¡®I guess it makes sense to have the ce heavily guarded and private away from the others, since it''s a building with plenty of celebrities, after all.¡¯

    Gary could already see trouble, as his car went inside the building just behind the gate, before they entered there were hundreds of photographers with shing lights.

    ¡®The paparazzi are watching this ce with hawk eyes, even following some of the cars thate out, just to get a photo for their story.¡¯ Gary gulped. ¡®Well, one thing is for sure, this might not be as rxing as I thought. I¡¯ll have to be careful while I¡¯m here.¡¯

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 614 A Nice Suit

    Chapter 614 A Nice Suit

    After passing the gate, getting into AJ Entertainment''s building was no problem, as Gary had been given a visitor''s pass by his driver before he had dropped it off. He was told that he would need that on the first day before they gave him a real one.

    Just walking up to the entrance of the building, Gary already came across a number of people he recognised. They were actors he had seen from TV series, small movies and also models, some of them he had seen on the drive here on billboards advertising products.

    Outside, in the garden-like environment, they were talking amongst each other. Others seemed to be practising speeches for their next drama, TV show or role, and there were even those that were just singing away out in the open, though with all the noise going on it was hard to make out specifics, even for Gary¡¯s ears.

    ¡®This whole ce has such a nice atmosphere to it. I feel like I have stumbled straight into a girl¡¯s gossip magazin. So far I haven''t spotted any top celebrities, so I guess they¡¯re the up-anding stars like me. The real sessful ones must already be living in the Tier-1 cities. Still, I recognise a good fifty percent of them.

    ¡®I wonder what it would be like to own a ce like this?¡¯ Gary wondered, stopping in front of the entrance, staring upward at the ceiling ss windows. ¡®Right now, I¡¯m just the leader of a simple gang, but I can still dream big. There are different ways for one person to build up their influence and wealth, and who knows, maybe it won¡¯t stay a dream. Then I could bring Amy along, so she can talk to all the people she watched on TV.¡¯

    Walking into the reception, it was the total opposite of the serene scene outside. Inside, everything was hectic. There were a multitude of guards apanying the stars, followed by what Gary could only assume to be their managers, as well helping staff members. They were all moving across the halls, running to head outside, seemingly trying to catch up on a far too right schedule.

    Now that he was in the middle of it all, Gary was unsure what to do next. The teenager had only been given simple instructions and so he had been hoping someone would meet with him, and exin what to do.

    Worst case, Gary had believed he could just ask someone for help, but now that he was here, people were too involved in their own world to pay any attention to him, just walking right past him. He reached out his hand a few times, uttering a rather loud ¡®Excuse me¡¯ awkwardly, but nobody stopped, not even a guard.

    ¡°You look a little lost.¡± A man¡¯s voice suddenly sounded from behind the teenager.

    Turning around, Gary looked at a young man in his mid-twenties. He was dressed in a nice suit, and standing by his side there were two guards. The way the guards were dressed, and their demeanour were nearly exactly the same as the ones that had tried to show off during his interview.

    ¡°You would think with your green hair you would stand out, but as you can see coloured hair is pretty normal around here.¡± The man pointed with a friendly smile.

    Looking around, Gary noticed that it was indeed the case. In order to stand out more on camera, a majority of the stars had coloured their hair, many of them using some very unnatural shades. Ironically, Gary¡¯s green hair used to unnatural, but thanks to his system, it had somehow turned into his ¡®natural¡¯ hair colour, with no option to do anything about it.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the time to be handing out visitor passes, meaning you¡¯re meant to meet someone today.¡± The man concluded.

    ¡°Yes, I was asked toe today, and am supposed to meet nor. All of it was a bitst minute, so I wasn¡¯t exactly told much else.¡± Gary admitted truthfully.

    The man was looking at Gary up and down, paying special attention to the other¡¯s suit. It was tailor-made, and the material was exquisitely sewn together. Most wouldn''t be able to tell with the naked eye, but someone like him who had worked in this business for over a decade had developed a knack for spotting those things.

    The small emblem of the make of the suit revealed that it was indeed the product of thepany that had the exclusive rights to use that special material. The suit the green-haired person was wearing was a specially made one, from one of the top designers in the world, and would cost quite a pretty penny.

    Even the stars under AJ Entertainment would have to spend most of their ie to afford something like this. It was what had attracted the man over in the first ce. He thought he might have had a meeting he had forgotten about, and was surprised to see a teenager instead.

    ¡®He must be the son of some important person from a Tier-1 city. I doubt just anyone would be walking around in a suit like that. If he¡¯s meeting up with nor, could he be a potential scout? He seems awfully young for that though¡­¡¯

    ¡°Sir, we are running a bit behind schedule.¡± One of the guards whispered into his ear.

    ¡°Sorry, I won¡¯t be able to direct you myself, but if you head down this hallway, and to the right, there¡¯s a door with her name on it. Just give it a knock, and she should be there.¡± The man politely instructed him. ¡°Before I go, mind telling me your name?¡±

    ¡°Ah, my name is Gary, sir.¡± Gary automatically answered, since the man looked a bit older than him and since the others were calling him ¡®Sir¡¯, it only felt right to.

    ¡°Nice to meet you Gary, the name is Ash. We might see each other again some time.¡± Ash said before he walked off with a smile on his face.

    ¡®Gary¡­ it''s a name I have heard a few times recently. Has it be a popr name again?¡¯ Ash thought as he continued to walk away.

    Following Ash''s instructions, Gary walked down the hallway, and soon saw the door with ¡®Manager nor¡¯ written on a que. He gave it a knock a couple of times until he heard a few words.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± A female voice asked from the inside.

    ¡°It''s Gary, from the AFA.¡± He answered.

    Immediately the door swung open, but instead of nor, he was greeted by a girl with a bright smile, Clem.

    ¡°Gary, you''re here!¡± Clem cheered, immediately grabbing his hand, making his heart rate go faster as she dragged him into the room. ¡°Come, let me introduce you to everyone.¡±

    Inside the room, nor was in the midst of talking to three other people, all of them stood out just as much as Clem. Turning her head, the manager noticed his arrival.

    ¡°Oh, Gary, you''re already here? I¡¯m sorry, I believed you would onlyeter.¡± nor apologised. ¡°Please sit down, it¡¯s great that you¡¯re already here. Allow me introduce you to the people that will be with you for the next week.¡±

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 615 Rookie Stars

    Gary was inside what he could only assume was a changing room. There were countless seats with mirrors and make-up set out, and a number of different costumes on railings for them to choose from.

    Originally nor was going to get Gary to wear something nice for his first day, which would consist of photo shoots and interviews. She had learned that he was from a tier-3 town, and his story truly seemed like an underdog story rising to the top, which the public ate up.

    Which was why she was surprised that he had such a nice suit on. So she decided that there was no need for him to change and it was best that she introduced Gary to the rest.

    "We have decided to create a program around the news stars of AJ Entertainment, although they have had a few appearances on the big screen already and have grown quite a following, so they are a bit more experienced than you." nor exined.

    There were four other stars that were in the room, Tyson Broner. A slick light brown haired teenage boy who had a mullet, his hair running down the back of his neck. It was a look only few could pull off and Tyson could.

    He was an Altered, but not part of any of the other academies. Instead he was picked up quite early on to be used for adverts for a various number of products, including advertising for one to be an Altered. He seemed to mainly do adverts for apetitor of NIRV and would show off his skills from time to time on the screen, but it was hard to tell how strong he really was.

    Based on the adverts Gary had seen, the moves he disyed seemed more shy rather than practical.

    Moving on, the rest of the stars that would be travelling with Gary were female. They were all a little bit older than Gary in their early twenties orte teens. One of the females that stood out had golden curly hair that went down to her shoulders.

    Her hair was something even Gary had to appreciate even though he didn''t really have a hair fetish, at least he didn''t think he did. Her name was Spring Rosewater, her name didn''t ring any bells for Gary, but her family name did.

    ''Her name¡­ isn''t that from that famous actress that is always the romantic interest in those drama shows?'' Gary thought.

    He was right, and Spring was about to shoot her very first drama which is why they thought this would also be good publicity for her.

    Both Tyson and Spring seemed unimpressed by Gary, just giving him a few nces and saying a few words here and there.

    ''Them two are quite different I can tell. If one is an Altered and not even in the AFA, then he must havee from a wealthy family that was able to make him an Altered, and the fact that Spring is a Rosewater, means she also had a wealthy upbringing as well. Unlike me, who struggled for so long.'' Gary thought.

    Finally, there were thest two, a short ck haired girl named Rachel Ruth. She was an uing idol who was about to release her first album. She had released a few solo songs that had done well, and went viral on Poutube for some of her covers.

    ''I know her as well, although nor says these are new stars and rookies, they are almost a bunch of super rookies that have already caught people''s attention.'' Unaware that it was the same for himself, he too was a super rookie after thest broadcast that had caught a lot of attention.

    The final girl, of course, was Clem who gave him a big smile, both Rachel and Clem were more respectful with their greetings and he felt he could get along with them a bit easier.

    "So, the first order of the day is to get your makeup done. The makeup team will be here any second and then we will get a few of your face shots in the building before I talk about what we will be doing next!" nor pped.

    Just like that, the makeup team came in, and started work, as they did though Gary couldn''t help but continue to sneeze.

    "Achoo!" Gary sneezed and particles went on the mirror.

    "What is wrong with him?" Spring leaned away in disgust on her chair. "Is he sick with some kind of disease?"

    "Spring, are you saying that you''ve never sneezed before?" Clem asked.

    "Sorry, I think I''m sensitive to the perfume and the make up." Gary exined, as his nose was going a bit crazy.

    "It''s okay, I think you look good as it is anyway." The makeupdy said, because of that Gary was the first one to be done.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    While waiting around, Spring felt her throat was a bit dry.

    "Gary, do you mind fetching me some water, if you''re not doing anything?" Spring asked.

    "Um¡­ sure."

    "Could you get me some juice as well?" Tyson asked as well.

    Gary didn''t reallyin, he went outside to fetch what they needed, he wasn''t doing anything anyway, but Clem and Rachel looked at each other with a concerned look.

    When Gary had returned Spring and Tyson were requesting Gary to do a few things, they were essentially making him their errand boy. This continued as they went on to take photos in the building.

    They were posing, and then nor had told them to head outside as a vehicle was waiting for them. Once again Gary was asked to grab their bags for them which he did.

    "Hey Gary, you do know what they''re doing right?" Clem asked, as she pulled him to one side.

    "It''s okay." Gary answered. "Trust me, this is nothing, you know my first job was an errand boy." He was thinking about his transporter days, and besides if this was their level of bullying, then they would never survive in the AFA.

    "Let me take your bags as well." Gary said, as he easily carried Rachel''s and Clem''s bags, he had all five on him with a smile on his face as he entered the van.

    "Gary you don''t need to do that, that''s what the guards are for." nor stated.

    When travelling outside, one of the guards was to travel with them at all times.

    "It''s okay, it''s good exercise, I have to keep my muscles working, remember I will have information on my debut match soon." Gary answered, as he went inside.

    The guard was quite impressed by the boy, and gave him a thumbs up.

    They all sat in a luxury minibus, it was used to transport stars and would have things that they might need in an emergency inside. nor stood in the centre as she went on to exin what was going to happen.

    "We want you all to be a sess countrywide, and to do that you need to be able to rte with your audience regardless of where theye from." nor stated. "There is a TV crew in the van behind us that will be following all our movements. They will be following our super rookies as they experience what life is like, which is why we have decided to film in Gary''s hometown, Slough."

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 616 Struggles Of A Poor Boy

    Of all the ces that AJ Entertainment could have taken them, it had to be Slough. It wasna€?t hard for Gary to guess the reason, as it would be strange to have a program in a town with no connection to any of them.

    He would be surprised to learn that any of his co-stars came from a Tier-3 town like them. Judging by the way they behaved, they had to have grown up in either a Tier-2 city, if not Tier-1.

    ''If Kai knew anything about this, he should have informed me, so our visit will definitely be a surprise to him and the others. I wonder if thata€?s a good or a bad thing.a€? Gary thought. Honestly, therea€?s not that many people who know what I look like... Ideally, I just wona€?t run into anyone I know, and perhaps Kai might make sure that I wona€?t.''

    While travelling in the car, a single guard apanied them, an older bold gentleman, stood up toy some ground rules for everyone.

    "Now, I know a lot of you have never been to a Tier-3 town before, so there could be a lot of things that you aren''t used to seeing." The guard stated.

    "Prepare to meet scum who roams about in the streets, like teenagers that will purposely try to cause trouble with you just to fight and prove something. Unless youa€?re looking for a beating, ita€?s in your own interest to NOT stray from the group, and stick with me."

    Some of the others seemed to be in shock to hear this, the picture that the guard was painting wasn''t a pretty one.

    "I can''t believe you managed to survive and live in such a dangerous ce." Tysonmented. "I don''t think I could ever do such a thing."

    Gary had no clue what Tyson was imagining, but more than likely he failed to understand just how bad it had really been. Garya€?s family had been in the lower bracket of a Tier-3 household. With a single mother supporting both her children, they had been only one rent increase away from having to move into Tier-4.

    "Hey, think before you speak, this is Gary''s hometown we are talking about!" Rachel stated.

    Gary was of a mind to defend his hometown, after all, he was technically the one in charge of it, but right now he was here as Gary Dem, rookie from the AFA, not Gary Dem, boss of the Howlers. He also

    couldn''t deny that there was a truth to what the guard told them. Everything had been during the reign of the Underdogs.

    Now, however, there was hardly anyone who would dare to start trouble out on the streets. Yes there were still gang members roaming around the ce, but those were members of the Howlers making sure that the few troublemakers would quickly be subdued. There would be a scuffle once in a while but that was true for any city or town.

    While travelling, Gary continued to be amazed by the car they were in, and was ying on therge touchscreen disy that was in front of him where he could select any entertainment he liked. Once in a while he would make audible noises, showing he was impressed. nor, the manager seeing this couldn''t help but smile at his innocence.

    "I''m guessing you''ve never travelled in style like this before."

    Once again, Gary didna€?t know what to say. The truth was the limo Tyler used to drive them around also had amazing features, the green haired teenager just never had had the time to use the features or disys in the car because whenever he would be travelling he would be concerned with other thoughts.

    "That makes me wonder, why did you agree to join our program?" nor asked. "I saw something change in your eye when you saw the contract."

    Gary answered almost immediately.

    "It was the money." Gary admitted, which had shocked nearly all the others. "Where else would I be able to earn 200,000 for a week''s worth of work"

    "200,000!" Clem nearly jumped out of her seat but it was hard to move since they were in a car. When she looked towards her manager though, she could see that there was an awkward look on her face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Gary... Ia€?m sorry to correct you, but you seem to have misread the contract. The budget for this program was 200,000, in other words, thata€?s how much we have to pay all of you. In your case, you might get around 20,000 at the end of it all. " nor corrected him.

    His heart sank at that moment. It wasn''t that he thought it was a small amount, it was just because he had been expecting a certain payout, number and to realise that it was a fraction of that cost.

    "HAHA, this idiot!" Tysonughed. "Did you really think, someone who has next to no following at all, would get 200,000 just for a TV appearance? Do you think AJ Entertainment has unlimited amounts of wealth to pay starter rookies like us that kind of money?a€?

    "It''s okay, 20,000 is still a lot for just a week''s worth of work, so Ia€?m grateful for the opportunity." Gary retorted, a tinge of sadness in his tone. He didna€?t like his tone, but what Tyson said did make sense to him.

    "This is a one-off." Spring stated. "These types of programmes don''te around a lot, and usually to lure you in there is arge upfront payment. They think of it as investment money. Based on your future jobs, thepany takes a percentage to go back towards paying back this debt, and once this debt is paid then you start earning money.

    "Did you not have your agent read the contract properly? Well, I guess you dona€?t have one, figures this is what happens to those that are money hungry, they just end up poor. No wonder you were stuck in a Tier-3 town for most of your life."

    "SPRING!" Clem shouted at her co-star. "You can''t say that! You and I were lucky enough to be born into a household with a lot of money, but all of that is due to our parents'' hard work! You should be grateful that we have never had to struggle, so how can you say something to him when you have no idea how hard it is to get out of that rut?!"

    "Haven''t worked for this? Hmph, do you think I didn''t work hard for this? Dona€?t you know how many people try to be an actor, how many people go to university andpete against each other? I never used my mothera€?s name and did everything through my own effort!`

    "That might be the case...but that''s where you''re wrong." Gary spoke up. "Everything you just said is a privilege that most like me will never have. Youpeted at a TOP university, while I never even got the chance to go to a university in the first ce.

    "And let me guess you worked really hard in your acting lessons, right? Well, whose money did you use to pay for it all, huh? While you were working hard, do you know what me and my family were doing? Trying to do EVERYTHING we could to put food on the table. I had no time to worry about how good my grades were because I was more worried about whether my mother would have to skip out on dinner AGAIN aftering home from her MULTIPLE JOBS, just so me and my sister wouldna€?t starve."

    It was clear, thement had rubbed Gary the wrong way, and everyone had gotten an insight to what his life had been was like.

    "And this is why, I think it''s best if we all experience what life is like for others, so we can connect and understand the struggles of everyone." nor said with a smile, trying to change the atmosphere.

    Fortunately, they were about to enter Slough.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If Ia€?m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 617 Popular man (Part 1)

    Chapter 617 Popr man (Part 1)

    The second the group had entered Slough, all of them started to look through the windows of the vehicle including the manager nor. It seemed like many of them had never been to a tier-3 Town before, but what they saw was beyond surprising for all of them.

    ¡°There looks to be a lot of scaffolding and building work going on.¡± Rachelmented. ¡°The streets are quite clean as well.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see young teens roaming the streets either with weapons in their hands.¡± Springmented as well.

    Gary thought it sounded like she was almost disappointed by this fact.

    Immediately, nor was disappointed as well. The roads were smooth and not covered in potholes. Plenty of the shops at the side could be seen open, rather than being boarded up with smashed windows.

    ¡°This is only a part of Slough.¡± nor said. ¡°I¡¯m sure not the whole thing will look like this, for now why don¡¯t we just stop off at the hotel as the camera crew gets ready and we can start our journey from there.¡±

    If the town was better than they expected then they would just have to roll with it, and nor would just try and get as many reactions from the stars and the public as possible. After all they had a whole week together of programming, so if this wasn¡¯t what she was expecting they could always go to other towns.

    ¡°Slough has improved a lot.¡± Gary said, seeing nor deep in thought. ¡°It might not be the ce you were expecting, because a lot has changed recently.¡±

    nor smiled back, as if to tell Gary not to worry. He was certainly a caring boy and she could see that just by his words right now, even in this situation he was caring about how it would affect her job.

    Eventually the group reached the hotel in Cipen. It was a luxury hotel that Gary had been to before, he remembered it well because it was where he had met Jayden that one fateful night.

    AJ Entertainment spared no expense getting the best they could for their stars. Getting out, the group were already ready, so they were just waiting for the van behind them with the TV crew to set up.

    While this was happening, they waited outside along with their guard Greg, and stood out in the street.

    ¡°Your hometown is quite nice.¡± Clem said with a bright smile. ¡°The hotel is better than I thought it would be as well.¡±

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Spring replied. ¡°If this ce was in a tier 2 city it would be considered 3 star, but it''s a five star here. You can be honest just because Gary is from this ce, he should know that his hometown is a dump.¡±

    When going through the improvements of Slough, the hotels were at the bottom of the list for Gary. This was because Slough never got much tourism in the first ce, and they would mainly be used by businesses setting up a project nearby.

    Although Slough was growing, that was mainly due to the workforce for the new jobs and businesses, people who were moving in to live in Slough, rather thaning for a short trip.

    Those that would move to Slough, would also be from a tier-3 or lower mostly anyway, so they didn¡¯t care about the standard of the hotel too much.

    ¡°Well, I guess every ce has its rich people. Look at that car.¡± Tyson pointed out.

    On the front bo there was a small statue of an angel, it hadrge wheels and stretched out fairly long. It was a car that a person couldn''t just buy but would have to order, as every single vehicle ordered was made down to the spec of the customer. On top of that, they wouldn''t just make cars for anyone with money, one would need to have influence to push thepany to make one of these, it was a sign of true wealth to have one of these vehicles.

    ¡°Sorry, I bet you don¡¯t even know what that car is, based on what you told us before?¡± Tyson said pointing at the car.

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Gary answered honestly, he knew the normal brands, and he had seen this car a few times, but he didn¡¯t care what brand it was, why would he care what brand the car was as long as it got him from A to B.

    ¡°You talk as if you could own a vehicle like that.¡± Rachel smirked.

    Tyson went a little red faced because it was true. Even for his family they would have to think twice before buying a car that cost just as much as a nice house. Soon though, the car that Tyson had pointed at started to move.

    It was going around the circle where guests would be dropped off and picked up, which was where they were waiting in the first ce and the car had suddenly stopped right in front of them.

    ¡°Oh, is this something nor prepared for us?¡± Clem asked.

    ¡°Wait, we''re actually going to ride inside that, holy crap!¡± Tyson couldn''t hold in his excitement.

    When the door opened, Gary¡¯s eyes widened as well, as he saw a familiar face.

    ¡°Gary, what are you doing here, you didn¡¯t tell us you wereing back, if you did I would have picked you up.¡± Tyler said with a smile. ¡°Oh and check it out, Kai gave me permission to buy a new car. She¡¯s beautiful right!¡±

    Those standing behind Gary were a bit stunned by the interaction.

    ¡°How does Gary know someone so rich?¡± Tyson asked.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell from their conversation, he¡¯s obviously just a driver for someone else.¡± Spring added. ¡°He¡¯s most likely just friends with the driver.¡±

    ¡°Oh I see, well if you want I can give you all a lift to where you want to go?¡± Tyler asked.

    ¡°Ah, it''s fine, we have our own van, so don¡¯t worry about that.¡± Gary replied.

    With that said, Tyler gave a wave and got in the car to drive off.

    ¡°Was he a friend?¡± Clem asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I never expected to see him here of all ces to be honest.¡± Gary answered.

    With that said, nor had returned with the camera crew, as it looked like they were ready to begin filming.

    At the same time, Tyler was driving off in his car with a smirk on his face.

    ¡°I see, so Gary¡¯s filming again, well I¡¯ll just have to let everyone know that Gary¡¯s back and they should make sure to treat him and his guests the best they can while they''re here.¡±

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 618 Gary the the Town Hero

    Chapter 618 Gary the the Town Hero

    The TV crew consisted of a small team of three people who followed the stars around the prestigious part of Slough, Cipen. The stars were instructed to act natural as they strolled past buildings and chatted with each other. nor was determined to showcase the best of Cipen without exposing any negative aspects of the other stars.

    Gary noticed that Spring had suddenly changed her tune as soon as the cameras were rolling. Gary suspected that Spring and Tyson were aware that any negativements could cost them their fans, so they decided to y it safe. Prior to filming, she had mentioned how her city had better stores and buildings, but now she was practically gushing over everything in Cipen.

    As expected of stars that wished to be in front of the camera for their whole life.

    "Alright everyone," the producer said, addressing the stars and the TV crew. "As you know, this program is going to showcase the best of Slough, and since we''re in Gary''s hometown, I was hoping he could take us to some of the popr sites and maybe even show us where he grew up."

    As usual, Gary didn¡¯t mind so he nodded, and thought it would be best anyway, since most of the Howler members wouldn¡¯t be around his old house anyway. Since he hadn¡¯t informed them he didn¡¯t want to make a big fuss. Especially since he wouldn¡¯t be staying for long anyway.

    Getting back in the vans, they headed to their next destination, and soon they were able to see some of the roots of the ce being a Tier-3 town. The buildings weren¡¯t as modern as they were before.

    They were older styled, and even the electric cabling system looked a mess, as they could see ck cables untangled and unorganised. On top of that, those that even walked the streets didn¡¯t look to be as well-dressed as what they wore might have been mismatched.

    The others riding looking through the window were stunned and felt bad for the people on the streets.

    ¡°It looks a lot better than it did before.¡± Garymented with a smile.

    ¡°Are you saying it was worse than this? That¡¯s impossible.¡± Springmented. ¡°You''re just trying to say that so your story sells better.¡±

    Gary''s words were genuine, and he wasn''t lying about the state of the town. As arge town, change would take time and money, and the recent acquisition of Notsburg had provided a significant injection of funds. The town was gradually being improved, starting with emergency maintenance of essential services like food, warmth, water, electricity, and inte, which were previously unavable to many residents of the area.

    Thanks to the various schemes put in ce, the residents who were living in the poorer areas could now ess these essential services on a daily basis. However, one of the biggest changes wasn''t something that outsiders would notice unless they had lived in the town before.

    The sense ofmunity and togetherness had improved significantly. People were more willing to help each other out, and there was a renewed sense of hope for the future. This was something that Gary was proud of, and he hoped that it would continue to improve over time.

    ¡°Hey, I seem to have noticed something odd about this town. I keep seeing these people in ck and gold clothing everywhere we go. They were in Cipen, and they are here as well, do they belong to some sort of club?¡± Tyson asked.

    ¡°No, they belong to the gang that runs this ce.¡± The guard answered. ¡°It¡¯s rather typical for gang members to show off their allegiance by wearing clothes in the colours of their gang. It informs the locals know who to not get involved with.¡±

    Nevertheless, Gary considered this to be a significant improvementpared to before when color gangs and other troublesome groups had caused chaos on the streets. Thanks to the efforts of the Howlers, more people were now happy to walk the streets without fear. Most simply ignored the gang members, with some keeping their heads down, while a rare few would talk with them.

    ¡°Is that right, Gary? Are the ones dressed in ck and gold, really¡­ gang members?¡± Clem gulped.

    It had be more than apparent to the teenager that those who were raised in higher tier cities were naive about these sorts of things, making him wonder how they had grown up. Had the Tier-2 gangs been better at hiding their influence on the public, or had their parents been more sessful in hiding it from the tweens. Surely, they would at least have heard of the Kings, at least.

    He wondered why his gang frightened Clem, when the Kings didn¡¯t. Was it just because they came from a Tier-3 town? Were gangs from poorer areas just considered bad?

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Gary answered. ¡°However, this gang isn¡¯t as bad as you seem to think. You mentioned earlier that the town is nicer than you had expected it to be, well it''s mostly thanks to them. They took over not too long ago, and ever since things have improved.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, improvements with dirty money they probably just stole from the people in the first ce. You are really naive if you think the gang is doing this all without a hidden agenda.¡± Spring snipped in.

    Gary could only let out a sigh, since he felt there was no point arguing. She had clearly already made up her mind, so it would just be like talking to a brick wall.

    Reaching the estate, everyone exited from the vehicles, and soon, they had a crowd of those that lived in the apartments starting to gather. The cameras always seemed to gather attention, and they noticed something else as well.

    ¡°Isn''t that Gary?!¡± One of the residents called out.

    ¡°Yeah, he used to live here, I haven¡¯t seen him in a while, I guess he must be busy with his business.¡±

    ¡°I saw him in the AFA interview recently as well. I was surprised to see someone from our town there. I guess they must be filming something.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we should say hello and go thank him.¡±

    The residents weren¡¯t keeping quiet about the Green Haired boy that had grown up there, but hearing all thesements, Gary was surprised himself. Most didn¡¯t bother to even learn his name, yet now they all of a sudden knew who he was.

    There was a reason for that, that Gary was unaware of. Kai had started to spread Gary¡¯s name, as the person behind the maintenance of the apartment buildings. He was the one that had allowed them to all get their apartments up to scratch, so they were livable again, and they all wished to go over there, and thank him for it.

    ¡°It looks like you''re quite popr here.¡± nor pointed out.

    ¡°It¡¯s to be expected.¡± Tyson stated. ¡°How many Altered do you think this town has? He¡¯s probably one of the few famous people that havee from here.¡±

    Walking up to the oldndlord, Gary smiled at him. ¡°Is it okay to have the key?¡±

    The oldndlord, who wasn¡¯¡¯t really thendlord anymore, gave Gary the key straight away.

    ¡°There is no need to ask, the whole thing belongs to you anyway.¡± The man said

    The others didn¡¯t understand what the old man meant by this, and assumed they meant the apartment they were going to look at. They thought someone who was an Altered would have had enough money to move out of this ce, and head to somewhere like Cipen.

    When the group were ready to head up the stairs to Gary¡¯s apartment, the other residents couldn¡¯t take it anymore, as they got in Gary¡¯s way.

    locals know who to not get involved with.¡±

    Nevertheless, Gary considered this to be a significant improvementpared to before when color When the group were ready to head up the stairs to Gary¡¯s apartment, the other residents couldn¡¯t take it anymore, as they got in Gary¡¯s way.

    They were crowded, and stepping forward first was a mother with two kids in her hands.

    ¡°Gary¡­we thought we would never get the chance to see you again, so we want to say sorry, and say thank you. Thank you, for everything you have done for us¡­thank you for giving us a better life.¡±

    nor didn¡¯t understand what was happening but signalled her camera crew to capture every single bit of this sentimental moment.

    ****

    *****

 Chapter 619 A Buyout (Part 1)

    After the first woman hade over to thank Gary personally, it started a chain reaction, causing more and more of the residents toe over. All of them praised the teenager for what he had done for them. They hadn''t seen him in a while and felt like they might never get the chance to see im again.

    "I won''t have to be cold this winter because of you!"

    "My toilet finally works, it flushes properly and I don''t have to punch my crap down the toilet anymore!" Another resident shouted, with some onlookers staring toward him for sharing something a bit to personal.

    "Without having to worry about any rent increases in the future, I can finally put that money I had saved up to splurge a little on myself. Thank you for letting me live my life a little more stress-free."

    Gary Dem, the ''Business Tycoon of Slough'', had bought up the entire building. ''He'' hadn''t stopped there either, as the entire area was now under his name. Learning about the fact that someone had been buying up the buildings where the less fortunate citizens of Slough lived, the residents had naturally been weary, but Old Man Mortem, Gary''s previousndlord managed to figure out who the real person was responsible for all of this, since the name had to be signed over and there was a condition in the sale, that Old Man Mortem was to be a caretaker of sorts.

    After the buyout, many small changes took ce, but it had a big impact on the residents. On top of that, many had seen the program of Gary on TV, learning the fact that he had be an Altered.

    Before that, they had wondered about oldndlord''s theory about Gary being responsible for this improvement of life, after all where would he have gotten that money. Now, however, seeing him introduced as a rookie from the AFA about to appear in the AFC, it started to make sense. They didn''t really know how Altered made money, or how much they made, but among the locals it wasmon sense that Altered were rich, or at least the ones behind them were. Even though this wasn''t true for every Altered it wasn''tmon knowledge.

    "What is happening? Why are all the people thanking him?" Spring asked.

    "I don''t know, I thought it was just because they thought he was a celebrity, you know being an Altered from the AFA and all, but that doesn''t seem to be the case. They sound like he helped them out personally?" Tyson said.

    "Did he help them all out before he was part of the AFA?" Clem wondered.

    After allowing them to all say their thanks, and capturing it on the TV camera, nor was happy with the results so far. They were ready to move, but it was at that moment that Gary noticed something. While the grown-ups had wanted to say their thanks, the children were ying with sticks, and some looked bored, not having anything to do.

    At the same time, some of them even looked hungry. In the end, Gary had only solved a small part of the problem.

    He remembered there were many days when he had pretended to have eaten over at Tom''s so that his sister could eat her fill.

    "nor, the money I''ll get paid at the end of the week, would it be ok to get it in advance?" Gary requested.

    The woman could see what Gary was looking at, but she had to make sure what he meant, she wanted to get his words on camera.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Well, it''s not exactly the norm to pay any of you before your work is over, but we can always make an exception. Is there any particr reason you want it now?" nor asked, leading him to answer in the best possible way.

    "I¡­ want to feed everyone here. I''ve noticed that many of the children look hungry. These days I get to eat as much as I want thanks to the AFA, but I still remember the days when there was only so much my mother brought home. I want to treat everyone here to a free meal¡­ and if I have some money leftover, maybe get some gifts for the kids. I promise that I''ll finish the 7-day program without fail." Gary answered.

    The others had overheard this, and they couldn''t believe it. To feed everyone here and buy the children gifts¡­ this was guaranteed to use up his entire payment. In the best case, he might have a little cash left over, but more than likely he would be left with nothing.

    "I would be a monster to deny your request if that''s what you want to do with it, but I need to make sure. Are you certain that you want to spend your payment in such a fashion?" nor questioned.

    "Of course." Gary answered without hesitation.

    With a few taps on her phone, she wired the money to Gary''s ount. The next moment he went over to Old Man Mortem and asked him to contact all the residents and treat them to a meal. Should any money be left over, he was to purchase some gifts for the children.

    "Gary¡­ are you sure that man isn''t just going to keep the money to himself, how can you just trust him with such arge amount?" Clem asked.

    If people knew who Gary really was, not a single person would attempt to take his money. There was no need for that, though, Mortem had helped out their family more than once, not to mention the Howlers had paid for more than the market price when buying the Apartments off Mortem, who thought it was all Gary''s money in the first ce.

    "Let''s hurry and go to my apartment and get out of here, before the others find out." Gary said.

    ****

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 Chapter 620 A Buyout (Part 2)

    nor was truly touched by this action of Gary''s. She could see that some of the others were contemting to follow suit. The manager wouldn''t mind, but with how much time had passed, even the stars should be aware that many of their fans might see through that it would simply be a stunt, a way to be even more popr with the people. The thing was, Gary was doing this, and he didn''t even want credit for it, letting the old man deal with it all, and leaving before they would even get the gift that he had prepared for them.

    She would certainlye back at some point and get the others'' reactions after Gary had left.

    Heading up the elevator that was now working and had the buttons intact, they reached the top floor. Quite a difference from the days when Gary would have to climb the whole flight of stairs every day.

    No amount of cleaning could get rid of the dirt that had literally be part of the walls, floor and door. One could tell that the others were a bit frightened to touch the walls. Using the key, Gary opened the door for the rest of them.

    "Wee to my crib." Gary said cheerfully. "Sorry, but I always wanted to say that once."

    It was hard for them all to fit through, they had to walk through the hallway one after the other, and the camera crew were struggling to move around to get good shots of things, but they were able to see how small everything was.

    Walking through each room Gary would describe his upbringing, where he would eat a meal with his family, and where they would talk and so on.

    "Wait, there''s only two bedrooms, didn''t you say you had a sister as well?" Rachel asked.

    "Yeah, I do. My sister and I had to share a room untilst year." Gary replied, looking a bit embarrassed as he did so. All the girls looked at each other in that moment, the room was already smallpared to what they had, and to share it with a boy of all things it sounded like a nightmare, and in that moment they all felt bad for Gary''s sister.

    "Your life must have really changed after you became an Altered then?" Clem asked.

    "It did." Gary answered. "But, other than the financial struggles my family went through, I don''t think it was too bad before that either. The people here are nice, my family was well looked after. It was bad before, but now I really think Slough has be a nice ce for people to live."

    With the tour done, it was time for Gary to take them all to some local sites. Gary waved goodbye to the residents who had changed into nicer clothes, just as several devilry food drivers were arriving. It looked like they were getting out of the area just in time. With that, they got in the van and were on their way to the next destination.

    "I have to say Gary, I would have never been able to live in a ce like that." Tyson stated. "And to give away your money like that. You might be unaware of this, but the advance we are getting is more money than someone would usually get on their first program¡­ the way you act so carelessly with money, you would think you always grew up and had tons of it, but then we saw where you lived."

    "I¡­think it''s because I lived like that. Sometimes I find it crazy how money, which is nothing more than paper which we assign a special value to, is the reason why people go hungry and have to worry. As I said, I''ve reached a point where I won''t have to go hungry anymore, so if I can make other people I know and care about happy by giving up on being richer than before, I won''t hesitate for even a moment."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As they travelled, the conversation started to steer away, as Spring was asking about a man named Ash.

    "nor, are you able to get me a meeting with Ash, he missed the onest week, we were meant to talk about another promotion." Spring asked.

    "Ah, I will try, but to be honest, Ash has been pretty busy these days." nor replied. "I suppose I can tell you all this, but the truth is, AJ Entertainment recently was bought out by anotherpany. Ash is no longer the majority shareholder. I don''t know the details of who yet though."

    Hearing the news of a takeover was always worrying and nor was quick to calm down their worries.

    "Don''t worry, Ash will continue working as the director at AJ Entertainment, this was actually his decision. It''s why we are able to invest more in productions like this. On top of that, Ash told me that the newpany has allowed AJ to continue working the way they have been. Although it''s technically a takeover, effectively it''s more of an investment basis, so none of us should be affected directly."

    "I''m happy to hear that." Rachel said. "Still, I thought AJ Entertainment was already a bigpany. Who would have the means to buy out thepany just like that?"

    "Whover it is, they must be a pretty big spender. We should find out, maybe they will have more connections for us." Tyson suggested.

    "I guess that means we should be careful if we see some new visitors around the building as well. Who knows, they could be part of this newpany, thest thing we would want to do is offend them." Spring agreed.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 621 Hello Boss

    The van didn''t travel too far away from where Gary used to live, as there was a little street that he wanted to visit himself to see how it was doing. He also felt like the next ce they would visit would show more information about Slough, then just showing the well developed areas.

    It was a row of shops that were still in the same area that had opened not too long ago, and the ce where Gary wanted to visit was a bakery.

    "So why have you decided to bring us here, is there any special meaning to this ce?" Eleanor asked.

    "Ah, I just wanted you to have a taste of the local food in the area, and besides if people ever visit Slough I want to let them know that this is where they want to go if they want the very best." Gary smiled.

    He was sure that there would be some visitors that woulde to Slough due to the programme and in turn, why not help out the local businesses. He remembered thest time he hade here he had met with a sweet young woman named Naomi, and he wanted to repay the favour for her niceness, and she really did make good food.

    The whole group had entered the shop, and when they did, they had all immediately frozen, Spring took a big gulp. It was because inside the shop, there were four young adults, all dressed in the ck and gold clothing.

    "Are they¡­ they¡­ gang members?" Spring whispered.

    "I think it might be best if we were all to get out of here." The guard said, although his job was to protect them and he felt confident he could do that. He didn''t want to get on a gang''s bad side. On top of that, while here, the guard was trying to size up just howrge the gang was, but as they travelled in the van they saw countless people in the ck and gold clothing.

    It was clear that this was the gang that ruled the streets of Slough, and it was best to not get involved.

    Before they could make an exit though, the men turned around with a few sweet breads in their hands.

    "Oh¡­ isn''t that, Gary?" Park said with a wave.

    Park was one of the sub leaders who worked under the core members, andst time Gary had arrived, he had dealt with some troublesome members of the Howlers that were using their name for no good.

    Park however, had no idea this was happening, and he turned out to be a good person in the end. He was also one of the many members of the Howlers that had turned up when they were going to raid Notsburg. That day Gary had decided to remember everyones face that had arrived, as he would return their loyalty to them.

    "Boss, I promise we aren''t here to cause any trouble." Park quickly said as he remembered what happened thest time. "It''s just afterst time, well we became regrs of this ce."

    Hearing the word boss, and not just Park but the ones behind him acting in a panic, had caused the others to be confused. Why was Gary on good terms with these people, and why were they calling him boss?

    "Gary¡­ we''re okay right, you know these people?" Clem barged her shoulder into him.

    "Yeah." Gary replied.

    "So they''re not going to hurt us?" Rachel asked.

    "Hurt you guys, if you are the boss'' friend, then of course we would never hurt you, and besides how could we eveny a finger on someone like him." Park said.

    With that said, the men waved their goodbyes and quickly left the coffee shop. They could tell that their presence was causing the others to feel a little scared and they wouldn''t want that.

    "What was that all about, why were they calling you boss?" Tyson asked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That¡­ I''m not really sure." Gary answered.

    It was true, Park and the others shouldn''t have known he was the boss, because whenever he made public appearances he was to put on the mask.

    "It was because of what happenedst time of course." Naomi said, as she came from behind the counter wearing an apron that had flour all over it.

    "Here, let me show you."

    Naomi pulled out her phone and it didn''t take her long to get the semi viral clip that went around in Slough. It was a video of Gary dealing with the gang members, fighting them just outside the bakery.

    "It''s amazing right, the reason why they call him Boss, is because they respect him of course, and they know that Gary would give them a beating if they ever tried something again." Naomi said, punching the air a couple of times.

    Gary was embarrassed, to say the least, seeing him fighting in his hometown.

    "He started fighting those guys when they were messing with my bakery and ever since, I''ve never had a problem again." Naomi continued.

    "Wow, you went up against gang members just for a bakery?" Rachel said. "You''re crazy even if you are an Altered. What if they went after your family?"

    "I guess it isn''t too much of a problem, if they knew Gary was an Altered then the gang might not want to go up against Gary due to their losses. It''s the same for me." Tyson spoke up, seeing that everyone was talking about Gary so much that it was making him feel a little ill.

    "I had plenty of offers from gangs. They know my strength after all."

    "Gary, the more I learn about you, the more you are starting to be this town''s little hero, this is great!" nor said with a big smile. "Let''s head to the next area, when looking up Slough, one of the destinations was Burnham food street, and it''s getting close to dinner time."

    Hearing the next destination, Gary wanted to object but he didn''t really have a good reason to, because Burnham food street was one of the ces he was most likely to run into others that knew him.

    Meanwhile Clem was starting to wonder, the way everyone had treated him so far, it wasn''t normal and she was starting to think that there may have been something bigger to this.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 622 A Special Guest

    With no protest from Gary, the group had ended up on Burnham food street. A row of mainly restaurants and bars that went on for around a mile side to side. It waspact and filled with people as it was one of the more popr ces for people to hang out in the evening.

    It was currently just about dinner time, so it was filled with people even now, and even the others could understand why. It was one of the nicer areas of Slough, this was, of course, because it was one of the areas that used to be run by Olivia, so it was already making more wealthpared to other areas.

    There had only been slight improvements, getting rid of the more seedy ces and recing them, as well as investing in new equipment for the more run down restaurants.

    "Wow, this ce is busier than I thought it would be?" Rachel said.

    "Yeah¡­ I agree." Gary replied.

    What he didn''t realise was, due to the new factory and other developments, there were a lot more people in Slough than there usually would have been, causing quite the rush on the street.

    "Hey¡­ it''s those guys again." Tyson pointed out.

    He was facing his head towards the people dressed in ck and gold. It wasn''t the same ones they had met at the bakery, but they noticed that the street was filled with them. They were standing in between the restaurants as if they were guarding the ce.

    "It''s most likely that the gang is in control of this food street as well." The guard satted. "But I guess we''re in luck, the locals don''t seem to be afraid, so as long as we''re not trying to get involved in their business, we should be fine."

    What the guard was more surprised about was how much a single gang dominated a tier-3 town. He had been to a few himself and hardly would there be just a single big gang. There would be those that stood out, or controlled the majority of the town or city, but in this case, the way it was being run was simr to Tier-1 cities. Where the whole ce was owned by a single king.

    While walking down the street, there were a lot of options for them to choose from. They were spoiled and struggling to decide, but as they got closer towards the end Gary was getting more nervous, as they were getting closer to where she would be.

    "Why don''t we just pick this restaurant¡­ the Wild Boar." Gary said. "Otherwise we might not be able to get a seat."

    nor thought Gary was right, by the look of things, it was so busy that they might be waiting a while.

    The Wild Boar restaurant was themed somewhat like a jungle with leaves on the walls, and also arge painting of boars as well. There were a few tusks that were out on the table and the chairs were simrly themed as well.

    Then, there was also a stage that had singing and was ying live music to top it off. It was clear why the ce was popr.

    It looked like the restaurant had quite a bit of fun decorating the ce. However, as they had expected it was rtively busy. In the reception area there were already what looked like four groups waiting to be seated, all of them around four or five people.

    And there was also arge group of around ten just in front of them that looked like they were asking if there were any seats. Since they were quite a big group themselves, with the camera crew, they thought it would be a while until they sat down.

    "I''m sorry sir, but it looks like it''s going to be at least a 30 minute wait for a group your size." The female waitress standing at the counter said. "As you can see we are quite busy today.

    The man at front was wearing a fancy suit and had spiked blonde hair.

    "Come on, is that really the best you can do? I can pay double, or triple if you want. Heck I''ll even pay for that table''s meal if they will get up and help us get our seats."

    The waitress pulled a difficult smile, it was clear the man was being difficult.

    "I''m sorry sir, but we wish that everyone can have an enjoyable experience ande back to this establishment over and over again, so I''m afraid we can''t make exceptions."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Gary and his group stood behind the blonde man''s group so they could overhear everything, and as expected it would be quite a wait, but since it was their fault, and it looked like everywhere on Burnham food street would be the same, they didn''t mind.

    In the end, the blonde man kissed his teeth in defeat and sat down in the waiting area where they served a few snacks for those waiting to nibble on and even had some board games.

    "Hi there."nor smiled. "Unfortunately we didn''t make a booking and we have quite arge group with us. We don''t mind if you have to split us up into different tables."

    The woman looked at the tablet in front of her before pulling a face that didn''t say she had good news.

    "Unfortunately, the best we can do is put you on two tables that will be free in around 45 minutes, is that okay?" The waitress asked.

    Since there was no choice and there were at least snacks they could eat in the meantime, nor gave a smile and said it was fine.

    The group was ready to sit in the reception area and wait with the others, but that''s when something strange urred. One of those in ck and gold clothing that were in the restaurant hade over to the woman working the front desk.

    He whispered something in her ear, and the woman had changed her tune.

    "I''m sorry, Gary is it?" the waitress asked, looking at the green haired teenager. "We actually have a table that is prepared for you that you can all sit on. Please follow me."

    The group were surprised, they were happy to wait, but for some reason now they suddenly had a seat, and they had mentioned Gary''s name as well.

    "Wait a second you dumb b*tch!" The blonde haired man shouted from earlier. "You told me a second ago, that there were no more seats, that we would have to wait. We came in before them and our group is just asrge as theirs, so why the hell are they going ahead of us?"

    Before the man could cause any trouble, the man who was wearing ck and gold, walked ahead and stood in front of the blonde man making a fist.

    "We can easily talk about this outside if you wish."

    While walking to their seat, Clem still couldn''t help but nce at Gary. Wherever they went in this town, as long as they were by his side, everyone was treating their group differently. It was happening too often to be a coincidence.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 623 Who Are You?

    The group was sat down at arge oval table that was ced to the side. There was a little velvet red rope that one would have to unhook to enter the area.

    It was clear that it was a seating area that was meant for VIP''s or those that had specially booked for it. It was also in the perfect ce.

    The positioning was great so one could see the live band, and it wasn''t too close that you wouldn''t be able to have a conversation with each other without the need to shout.

    After carefully seating everyone down, the waiter was off, and said that they would be back soon to take their order.

    As quickly as one person went off, more went to the table to giveplimentary bread and water, and it didn''t seem like something the restaurant did, as their table was the only one that had these things on them.

    It was safe to say that the group had attracted a lot of attention. A lot of those that were seated had a star quality about them, they were head turners, and to top it off they had the camera crew and were now seated in the VIP area as well.

    Those in the restaurant believed that they had to be quite important people, maybe those from a higher tier city that were paying a visit.

    "I wonder why they are treating us so nice, and gave us this special ce? You didn''t prepare this in advance did you?" Rachel asked, looking at nor.

    "No I certainly did not, which was bad nning on my part. My guess is it might be the cameras." nor exined. "Often when they see that there is a crew with us, ces like this will treat us a bit nicer.

    "They know that it''s a chance for them to get their restaurant on the big screen, and perhaps make it more popr than before."

    "I think it might have been because of Gary." Clem said out loud. "Maybe there was another person that he saved in this restaurant. Or someone who is a big fan of his, after all, they did call out your name."

    Gary had a nervous smile.

    "I think it might have been the cameras." Gary answered.

    As conversation continued, a waiter arrived and the first person they had gone to was Gary himself, asking him what he wanted.

    "I think it''s best if you ask the others first." Gary said. "I still haven''t decided."

    Clem kept on giving Gary the side eye, and each time something was happening she was starting to note it down in her head.

    It was clear, they weren''t the VIP''s, it was Gary. Meanwhile running through Gary''s head was how did the situation evene to this?

    Little did Gary know that Tyler had yed a part, informing everyone and in turn Burnham food street was informed to look out for the Business Tycoon Gary Dem.

    Nearly all restaurants on the street had reserved one table for him and his guests, so no matter what restaurant they went to, Gary would still have gotten the same treatment.

    Gary had ordered quite a bit of food for himself, he was an Altered after all so the others understood, and it looked like they didn''t hold back either.

    After all, the one that would be paying the bill was AJ Entertainment. Everyone enjoyed the food and enjoyed the live band but Gary noticed that there was one person among them that was enjoying the band more than the others.

    Rachel would continuously stare at the band not focusing on what was happening at the table. At times she would also mime along with the words.

    ''That''s right Rachel is an idol singer.'' Gary thought.

    "Do you want to sing? I think it would be nice to hear you perform." Gary asked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What a great suggestion this way Rachel can share her talents with everyone here as well!" nor ecstatically said.

    Rachel was starting to be a bit shy, as she curled up her head toward her chest.

    "Well, I mean, if they would let me, I wouldn''t mind singing." Rachel answered, as it was something she loved to do, no matter what stage there was.

    Gary stood up, and went to the toilet, on his way back he decided to speak to one of the staff members. If they were going to overly treat him, then he might as well use it to ask for a favour, and they gave him the go ahead, so Rachel could go up and sing.

    "They said it was okay!" Gary said with a thumbs up.

    An announcement was made and shortly afterwards Rachel took the stage. The group were just about to have their desserts, but their eyes were glued on Rachel.

    A song was requested by the band and she soon sang away. When she started to sing, it was as if all of the nerves had left her body.

    She looked like a natural as she moved her body holding the microphone and pouring her heart out.

    Gary had sensitive ears, and yet, to his ears it still was a beautiful sound and he could tell she was a truly talented person.

    "Okay Gary, I can''t take it anymore." Clem whispered as she scooted over to where Gary was.

    The others were listening to Rachel or having their own little short conversations, so she thought it was the perfect time.

    "Strange things have been happening in this town all night since we came here. Tell me, who are you? Or what did you do for everyone in this whole town for them to treat you so nice. Did you save 10 puppies from a burning building or something?" Clem asked.

    Gary smiled at thement.

    "You really want to know the truth? If I told you, you might get a little scared."

    "I''ve seen a lot more than you think, try me." Clem said.

    Gary went to look back at Rachel not staring away as he gave the answer.

    "The gang that you see everywhere wearing the ck and gold, they are the Howlers, a group that took over Slough and changed everything not so long ago, and I am the leader of that Gang¡­ does that answer your question?"

    *****

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 Chapter 624 Picked a fight with the wrong person

    Chapter 624 Picked a fight with the wrong person

    Clem and Gary were sitting pretty close to each other, Clem was staring deep into his eyes after hearing the words that hade out from his mouth, trying to read him, trying to read what was behind those eyes of his.

    ¡°I guess you just don¡¯t want to tell me.¡± Clem sighed. ¡°I understand, everyone has their own secrets, especially us stars, so we can¡¯t let the media and the public know every little detail about us. I guess you will just never have to find out about my secret then.¡±

    With a little show of her tongue, Clem continued to watch Rachel as she performed and the song came to an end, She pped greatly while cheering on her fellow colleague.

    Meanwhile, Gary just couldn''t help but smile at her response.

    ¡®I thought this would be the case, but I guess she didn¡¯t even believe me for a second.¡¯

    Keeping a secret was hard, and there were times where Gary just wanted others to know the truth, but he knew the reasons why the secret had to be kept, and the n that had been set out by Kai.

    The reason why he was happy to tell Clem the truth was because he thought she wouldn''t believe him, and if she did, he could just y it off as a joke because the real situation just seemed that unrealistic.

    A teenage boy, around the age of 17, still not old enough to legally drink, was the leader of arge crime syndicate that ruled an entire town. Even if he was an Altered, that just didn¡¯t make sense.

    On top of that, it was clear that none of them knew much about the Howlers, too busy in their own lives, their own cities, dealing with their own things, but if they also knew that the Howlers were in control of a Tier-2 city, and it was Notsburg it would make the story of him being the leader even more unlikely.

    ¡®It was good to say it at least.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Rachel came off stage and there were many that asked to take a photo of her. She wasn¡¯t famous yet, but since there was a camera crew, and after witnessing her talent, there were many that believed that she would be famous at least one day, and this was her chance to jump at the opportunity.

    When she finally came back, everyone gave Rachelpliments on her performance and that included Gary as well.

    ¡°You can actually sing, I thought you might have been like those other stars that just mime.¡± Garymented.

    ¡°I got recruited for my talents, my good looks are just a bonus.¡± Rachel gave Gary a wink as she went in for her dessert.

    While they were all enjoying thest course of their meal, the door opened to the restaurant as someone had entered. It was pretty forceful as well, like a small bang, causing nearly everyone to turn their head.

    When they saw who it was, the staff immediately stood up straight and bowed.

    ¡°Who is that!¡± Rachel asked.

    ¡°She looks amazing, her presence as well, she¡¯s captured everyone in the room.¡± Spring said.

    ¡°Is she a star, if she isn¡¯t should I give her my card?¡± nor said out loud, because she too was stunned.

    Walking in with a fur coat and a tight revealing dress that revealed the upper part of her cleavage she walked past everyone, and was heading straight for Gary¡¯s table.

    ¡®Oh no.¡¯ Gary thought as he looked at the wall trying not to grab her attention. ¡®This is the one person that I¡¯ve been trying to avoid this whole time.¡¯

    ¡°I hope you are all enjoying the service!¡± Olivia said as she greeted the table. ¡°You see, I always like to treat outsiders quite special, and when I heard that you were in the city, I thought it would be best to treat you this way.

    ¡°If you need anything then feel free to ask, as I am in charge of all the establishments on Burnham food street.¡±

    Now they all felt like they knew the reason why they were being treated so nicely, and the fact she imed to own all the restaurants here, just meant she was a very important figure.

    Hearing this, all hopes of scouting for nor went down the drain as well. An actor¡¯s life wasn¡¯t an easy one, and it is more likely she already had a lot of wealth as well.

    After her greeting Olivia didn¡¯t stick around and instead looked as if she was walking towards the back of the restaurant, but before going through another door, she turned her head and gave Gary a smile.

    ¡®What was that!¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®Did she juste in here to give me a heart attack? If she acted like she knew me after saying all of that, what would I have done then? I don¡¯t even know how far along Kai¡¯s n is of making me this business tycoon so I don¡¯t even know what I can and can¡¯t say.¡¯

    Gary was starting to realise the difficulties of being head of a gang, yet being so far secluded from it.

    ¡°I guess since we''re done eating, we should get going and rest up a bit.¡± Gary suggested wanting to get out of here as soon as possible.

    ¡°Right, we should ask for the bill.¡± nor said.

    When it came to the bell, to their surprise, or not to their surprise, it had already been paid for, ording to the staff it was by the owner who they had seen earlier. If there was one thing Olvvia did seed in, it was the fact that she had managed to get the manager nor on her side.

    She thought there were some good people in Slough and would make it so it was seen in its best light.

    Outside, the group were pretty tired, it felt like a long day and travelling always took a lot out of them. It seemed like some of them were quite used to this, but even they still yawned.

    Walking towards their car they were in a multi story car park and had parked rtively high up, due to them having tworge vans. The cameras had been turned off for the day

    ¡°Big shot, where do you think you and your friends are running off so fast to?¡±

    Turning around, they could see that it was the blonde man from before, and he wasn¡¯t alone, his friends were with him, around ten of them in total, holding weapons in their hands, one that you could get from a supermarket like a mop and baseball bats.

    ¡®Damn it, since we were in a car park I thought it was normal to smell others here, and there is the whole camera crew here.¡¯ Gary thought, ming himself for not catching it sooner.

    Immediately, the guard that was with them stood in front of the group. He was ready to do his job, even though he was a little nervous.

    ¡®I could take down maybe three of them at most, but with weapons this is going to be a little difficult.¡¯

    ¡°Why do you have a problem with us!¡± Spring shouted. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be taking it out on the restaurant? They were the ones that allowed us to take the seat before you.¡±

    ¡°Shut up b*tch!¡± The blonde man pointed his bat toward her. ¡°I saw that smug smile on your face, the look you all gave us as you went to the seat. You think you''re better than us, right? Well guess what, there is one thing we can do, and that''s beast your arse, to get some frustrations out!¡±

    ¡°I can''t believe it.¡± Tyson smiled. ¡°These idiots can¡¯t go against the gang here, since they''re protecting the restaurant, so they go after us because they think we''re easy pickings.¡±

    There was a reason why Tyson wasn¡¯t scared, because he was an Altered as well.

    ¡°Get them!¡± The man shouted and all of them charged forward, Tyson went towards the right, and the guard towards the left to take out a few of them, but there were still six others running right at them.

    ¡°AHHH!¡± Rachel and Clem screamed, while Spring was still shouting and pointing at them, but Gary quickly ran ahead. He jumped in the air, and split his legs kicking two of them.

    The strength of his kicks chucked the two so far back that they crashed into the cars and dented them. Whennding, he looked up at the Blonde man who was frozen after seeing that.

    ¡°Oh¡­ that''s right, Gray is one of the top students in the AFA¡­ and he incredibly strong!¡± Clem said.

    It was true, because by the time Tyson and the Guard were done dealing with the other two trouble makers, Gary had already dealt with all of them, and was holding the blonde man by his hair, kneeling down while the rest of his body was on the ground.

    He had been hit in the stomach and all of the wind was taken out of him.

    ¡°You¡­ and all of those that attacked us today, are never allowed in this city again.¡± Gary whispered, letting go of the man¡¯s head.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, before we cause a scene.¡± Gary said, and the others were inclined to agree as they got in their vans, and drove off.

    For some reason, the blonde man felt like he had gotten away lighty, and rolled over onto his back, expecting to see the ceiling, but instead, he could see a beautiful woman instead.

    ¡°Am I in heaven?¡± The man asked.

    ¡°Did you not here what that person said?¡± The woman stated. ¡°You messed with a very dangerous person, when you should have just gone home. You got off very lightly just getting kicked out of this town, or maybe not.¡±

    The woman pulled out what looked like a whip.

    ¡°Because I n to have some fun with you before kicking you out of here.¡±

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 625 The big meet

    Chapter 625 The big meet

    The group had travelled back safely to the hotel with no problems, and for the first time, they actually felt safer when they saw that there were some members of those in ck and Gold standing outside.

    Never did they think that they would be attacked by the general public, rather than those that referred to themselves as gang members, and it was starting to be clear that these gang members in particr were integrated into nearly every part of Slough.

    The small shops, the food street, and even here in Cipen in front of the luxury hotel, none of the staff were afraid of them. At times it almost seemed like if there were a problem with the general public, then they could rely on the local gang members.

    In some ways, they were almost like a police force, but one that was far more reliable. It was reminding them a lot of the higher tier cities.

    For the night, Gary and Tyson were sharing a room since they were the only two boys. They were lying down in their beds, not really speaking to each other, since they hadn¡¯t really seen each other eye to eye this entire trip.

    ¡°Hey Gary¡­ I just want to say something that''s been on my mind for a while.¡± Tyson said, while staring at the ceiling. ¡°You were pretty cool back there. I thought I was skilled and gifted, and chosen because I was an Altered, but you really showed that there is a huge difference between me and you.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the hazing I did to you before, I really thought you thought you were all that because you came from the AFA?¡±

    ¡°Hazing?¡± Gary replied, wondering what Tyson meant by that, and at that point Tyson couldn''t help butugh, because that''s when he realised that Gary never even knew what him and Spring were trying to do to him.

    Still, Gary thought it was ironic that the other was trying to do these things, when really it was them that thought they were perhaps too good for him, but either way, he was d that Tyson could admit his mistakes.

    ¡°You are a strong Altered yourself, Tyson.¡± Gary said, leaving it at that.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Waking up, it was time for them to finally leave Slough, and Gary was quite surprised that nothing happened during the night. He was worried that there would be a knock on his door and a whole parade of Howlers members8ng to visit.

    Or maybe, Kai would juste barging in, waving hello to Gary, yet none of that happened, and they finally left heading back to AJ Entertainment for the second day.

    ¡°It was nice to go to your hometown, Gary, I feel like I was able to learn quite a lot.¡± Rachel said with a big smile on her face.

    ¡°I guess it was okay.¡± Spring said, as she stared out the window, she was more shaken up by the surprise attackpared to the others, and had not spoken much since getting in the car.

    ¡°What will we be doing for the rest of the programme? Will we be heading to our own hometowns?¡± Clem asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, myself.¡± nor said. ¡°I was the one that pushed for you guys to head to Slough. They liked the idea I sold them, but I doubt we will be visiting any of your own areas.

    ¡°Today we have a special meeting with the producer that will be in charge of the rest of the programme, but don¡¯t worry, me and big Dave will be with you by your side. It''s our job after all.¡± nor exined.

    The person she was referring to as big Dave was their guard, who Gary had to admit was a decent person and strong as well. He had no fear when taking on those that had weapons, which led to Gary believing that he had some experience in that field. In the first ce, all of the guards that worked for AJ Entertainment gave off a different feeling than they usually would have.

    The group had finally arrived at AJ Entertainment, they were back and the ce was just as busy as before. Gary was still wearing the same suit as before, since it was really the only smart clothes had for the TV screen, but it was nice and clean thanks to the hotel''s prompt service.

    ¡°Alright everyone, we are in a bit of rush here.¡± nor said, looking at her watch. ¡°We have a tight schedule but we''re going to redo your makeup and have you look your best before you meet the producer.¡±

    They did as they were told, and everything went like clockwork as they entered their dressing room. They were pampered up, and getting ready.

    ¡°If were meeting the producer, maybe this will be our chance to ask for a programme of our own, or more promotion.¡± Rachel eximed. ¡°You heard what nor said, they have just had a huge injection of funding. I''m sure they''re going to be wanting to make big use of the money.¡±

    ¡°And to do that, they would need big profits in return.¡± Spring has started. ¡°Do you know how much money it takes to break a new idol group these days. I would say that a TV show, maybe a school romance with a low production and a star like me, would make the biggest return.¡±

    The room was heating up, with Gary honestly not caring for this meeting, but could see it was important to the others that wished to make this their living. Although Spring wasn¡¯t the nicest person, she certainly knew what she wanted and looked like the type of person who worked hard to get what she wanted.

    When everyone was ready it was time, they took an elevator that was heading up to the top floors. It was where all the big shots of thepany were, and those that made all of the decisions.

    Reaching the 23rd floor, just shy of the top 25th floor, they took a step out and headed to the meeting room. nor gave a knock before politely letting them all in.

    When walking through the door, there were three people sitting down in front of a long single desk. All of them with a strong air of power around their bodies, but Gary had recognised one of them.

    ¡°Oh, I''m surprised to see you here, I didn¡¯t know you were one of our stars.¡± Ash said.

    *****

 Chapter 626 Pure Scum

    Chapter 626 Pure Scum

    As soon as Gary arrived at AJ Entertainment, he identally bumped into a young man who exuded an air of importance. The man was apanied by guards and his confident posture further confirmed his significance in the organization. Although the encounter was brief, it left asting impression on Gary.

    ¡°Oh, are you one of the producers?¡± Gary calmly asked.

    ¡°Gary!¡± Upon seeing the three men, nor quickly stepped forward and humbly bowed her head, leaving the others in a state of surprise. Clem instinctively grabbed Gary''s sleeve and pulled him to the side, as they both watched nor''s respectful disy.

    ¡°You idiot, that''s not just anybody, but Ash!¡± Clem whispered. ¡°He¡¯s the person in charge of AJ Entertainment.¡±

    Gary was taken aback to learn that the person running such arge entertainmentpany was so young ¨C he appeared to be in his early twenties. However, the teenager realized that he too was quite young and perhaps age was not a barrier to sess in the industry.

    "Please forgive me, sir. I wasn''t aware that you would be present here," nor apologized politely. "Also, I must rify that Gary is just a guest and not affiliated with ourpany as a star or employee. Hence, his knowledge about our business is limited."

    Ash smiled, appearing unperturbed by the situation. "No worries, I didn''t inform anyone about my arrival either. I just wanted to personally wee our new talents and share a few words with them."

    "You are the future of ourpany and in order to reach new heights, we must create new stars from the ground up, bigger and better than before," Ash dered with enthusiasm. "Therefore, I have entrusted our producer, Neville Stomper, and one of our directors, Matthew Pearl, to oversee this program and to decide on future projects for both of you."

    "You might have heard the rumors that AJ Entertainment no longer holds the majority share in ourpany, and that is true," Ash confirmed. "However, I will continue to lead thispany, and the investment from our partners is what will allow us to expand and grow even further."

    Gary observed the other two standing beside Ash. He noticed that the producer was wearing sunsses indoors, despite theck of sunshine, and a brightly colored shirt as if he were ready for a day at the beach.

    The producer''s attire and demeanor seemed out of ce for the setting and the country they were in. He appeared aloof and disinterested during the conversation.

    On the other hand, Matthew, the other man by Ash''s side, exuded an intimidating aura that made others feel uneasy. When the new stars arrived, Matthew kept his focus on them, his hairy physique drawing their attention. He wore a v-neck shirt that showed off his chest hair and a pointed beard that entuated his strong jawline. His curly hair flowed down to his shoulders,pleting his rugged look.

    Given the amount of hair on his body, Gary couldn¡¯t help but feel that Matthew resembled a Werewolf more than himself right now.

    "It was a pleasure meeting you all, and I look forward to getting to know you better in the future," Ash said, signaling the end of the meeting. As he prepared to leave the room, he gave onest nce at Gary.

    As he left the room, Ash couldn''t help but ponder about the temporary addition from the AFA. ¡®I didn''t bother researching him much, but maybe I should,¡¯ he thought to himself. However, first he needed to address the small mess he had created for himself.

    As soon as Ash exited the room, Neville stood up and pulled his sunsses down, ncing towards them. "All female stars, please step forward and do a twirl ever so slowly for me," Neville ordered, his tone oozing with a hint of sleaze. The boys exchanged a nce, ufortable with Neville''s request, but the female starsplied, understanding the power dynamics at y and the importance of pleasing the guy before them.

    "No, no, no!" Neville shouted, his frustration palpable. "What''s with these costumes? Where''s the beautiful skin, the long, slim legs? These girls are beautiful and sexy, yet you''re not showing any of that. Sex sells, and you have them dressed up like this!" The room fell into an ufortable silence as everyone stood frozen, unsure of how to respond, except for Gary.

    "Is this guy from the 1980s or something?" Gary spoke up, breaking the ufortable silence. "It feels like I''ve stepped into a time machine and gone back in time. Plus, aren''t they all aiming for different things? One''s an actor, another is a TV presenter, and the third is a singer. This guy seems like a bit of a perv to me, to be honest."

    As Neville took off his sunsses, his eyes narrowed and he red at Gary, seemingly trying to kill him with his eyes. However, Gary remained unfazed, meeting the producer''s gaze without flinching.

    Their silent stare-off continued for about half a minute, until Neville sighed heavily and rubbed his nose. "I guess it''s safe to say who will be thest pick in everything," he muttered. "Alright, this has soured my mood for the day. Just take the rest of the day off, there will be no filming until I call you. You can thank the green-haired boy for missing out on this rare chance."

    Gary didn¡¯t care about not being involved in much of the programme, a fact that Neville had understood from him mouthing off. As such, rather than punish him in any way, he had left thisment to steer the group''s hate toward him.

    Eleanor quickly left the room, and the rest followed. They were in silence walking down the hallway, that was until Spring spoke up.

    ¡°Why did you have to open your mouth?¡± Spring questioned him, the fury zing in her eyes. ¡°Did you think this was anything new for any of us? That we haven¡¯t heardments like that dozens of times before? Do you think we don¡¯t know what many like him think, that we just got to meet him because of our looks?

    ¡°This was a big chance for all of us, and you might have just ruined that could have been our ONLY chance to work with someone like him? WHY?! Just because you wanted to be some type of white knight?!

    ¡°Do you get off on this Sh*t, do you think doing this type of stuff will get us to sleep with you, because it won¡¯t! Maybe you don''t care about this stuff but we do, so stay out of it.¡±

    Spring entered the elevator and ced her hand forward not wanting Gary to head inside, the others were already in the elevator apart from Big Dave. Gary could see he wasn¡¯t wanted and thought it was best to let hem head down on their own and approach them again after they had cooled down.

    ¡°That one has quite the mouth on her doesn''t she, Unfortunately, a lot of them are like that.¡± Davemented. ¡°I¡¯m sure you just wanted to do what you felt was right, kid. After all, you got a bad feeling from them two, didn¡¯t you? If so, you¡¯re not wrong.

    ¡°The Producer guy is pure scum but he is quite open about it and easy to read, the real one to worry about, is the director by his side Matthew. I¡¯m sure you already know, unlike the others, but the guards including myself are a part of the Ashen Gang.

    ¡°The Ashen Gang and AJ Entertainment are run by two people, Ash who is at the top, and Matthew. As AJ entertainment got bigger, though, Ash started to run things in thepany more rather than the gang.

    ¡°In turn, it also means that Matthews has been able to run a few more things. Gary, I¡¯m only telling you all this because I like you. I like what you did back in Slough and saw how you grew up.

    ¡°Matthew is a strong Altered, in fact he¡¯s the strongest in the gang. However, the loyalty in the gang for Ash used to be unmatched, but slowly it started to change. I have a feeling Ash might have known this and that''s why he sold control over thepany, maybe for some outside help but who knows what he¡¯s thinking.

    ¡°Either way, I know you are strong and feel free to get on the bad side of the producer as much as you want, but stay away from the Director.¡±

    -------

    Back inside the meeting room, Matthew was licking his lips.

    ¡°That girl Spring, I liked her, I really liked her.¡±

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 627 Mystery Howlers

    Chapter 627 Mystery Howlers

    The producer Neville and the director Matthew continued to stay in the room for a while, as they did need to n what was the best thing to do for the program considering these new stars.

    There was a lot of things that they had done before, but they figured this time it might be interesting to start something new. Yet, all of this nning was causing Neville a big headache.

    ¡°This is why you should have spent the day with them. We hardly know anything about their personalities and usually the first day is spent brainstorming.¡± Matthew said. ¡°Besides, it would have given me more time to see our products before trying them.¡±

    When looking through all the documents, Neville looked at his watch, as he was reminded of something, there was another reason why he was unable to work with the others today anyway, and the schedule had to be changed.

    ¡°I need to get going.¡± Neville said, standing up and putting on a jacket that only came down to his ribs, it was clear it was made for style rather than fashion. ¡°Ash asked me to head to the Howlers and introduce myself to them. To see if there was anything they needed.¡±

    ¡°The Howlers?¡± Matthew repeated. ¡°Why would he bother with them, don¡¯t they only own ten percent of AJ Entertainment, the documents said most of the buyout was from a single person.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but you should especially know who the Howlers are, and why Ash decided to make a deal with them. Besides, it seems the investor and Howlers work rtively close together, but the real one we need to worry about is the Howlers.¡±

    The director scoffed at this.

    ¡°Worrying about another gang, sure they are strong, but they must be rtively weak after taking over Notsburg, and we have our own pride in the first ce. Remember, this whole thing is a partnership, so when you see them, don¡¯t be grovelling at their feet.¡±

    Neville knew that Matthew always acted this way, he was always more suited for the gang scene rather than the entertainment business. The thing was, they all knew about the Howlers as well, and the aplishments they had managed to make.

    No one, not even Matthew, would want to tangle with a dangerous gang, but he needed to keep up the act of the strong guy in the room.

    --------

    The producer had left, and it didn¡¯t take him long to enter Slough. He was travelling with a couple of guards from AJ Entertainment but didn¡¯te with arge group of people, since this was meant to be a friendly meeting in the first ce.

    Neville was surprised by everything he could see around him, but at the same time not so much.

    ¡®I guess this is what happens when a tier-3 town takes over one of the wealthiest tier-2 cities. They must have more money then they know what to do with.¡¯ Neville thought.

    ¡®I can see why Ash made a deal with them. He must be aware that Matthew has been trying to get more people on his side to try to eventually take over everything, but that would be a difficult thing to do now that most of thepany is sold to an outsider, especially one that Matthew can¡¯t really touch either because of their strength.

    ¡®The problem is, I''m stuck in the middle of all of this doing both of their bidding, and trying to y on both sides. I can¡¯t believe what Matthew asked of me from before.¡¯

    Eventually, Neville reached the hotel, and the three of them were guided inside, he could immediately see many men in ck and gold clothing, but it was strange because there didn¡¯t seem to be any guests at all, just these members in ck and gold.

    Soon entering the reception, were three people wearing strange masks over their faces.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much, we booked out the whole hotel for this meeting.¡± The voice said, and a scarred jaw could be seen. The voice was of Kai himself.

    Gesturing, Kai allowed for Neville to sit in the reception where there were plenty of sofas and seats. At the same time, there were perhaps around fifty or so gang members from the Howlers that were also present and were standing off to the side.

    ¡®Did he call the whole gang here or something to intimdate me?¡¯ Neville thought, if ti was or wasn¡¯t the case, it was working.

    ¡°I was sent here by Ash to inform you of what we will be spending your investments on, and with a business n for when you will start to see a return on your investment.¡± Neville said, handing over the documents.

    His hand was shaking, he didn¡¯t know why, but the masked people were making him incredibly nervous and it was hard for him to breathe. The documentsid there on the table, and Kai didn¡¯t touch them.

    ¡°Thank you for those, I have a question to ask, how is AJ Entertainment, is everything running smoothly is there any problems that we should be aware of?¡± Kai asked.

    Neville was sweating more than before, did they already know about the infighting in AJ Entertainment, or was this a general question? The truth was Kai was just trying to find out if Gary had caused any problems like he usually had.

    ¡°Everything is fine, if there is anything you are concerned about, you can always contact me or Ash.¡± Neville stated.

    His body was still shaking and in the end, the words of the director rang through his head. They shouldn''t be so intimidated, they both were the same level, he wasn¡¯t in front of a King from a Tier-1, so why did he have to feel this way.

    ¡°I have to ask, we have been very open, I have evene here in person showing you my face. Yet, you cover yours with a mask, don¡¯t you think it''s polite to at least see the face of the leader we are doing business with?¡± Neville asked.

    The blonde man in the mask started tough.

    ¡°This is a rule we have, and the deal has already been made, so that means you have agreed to follow our rules, and besides, I think I should make something clear. Even if you were to see my face, you wouldn¡¯t be seeing the leader, because he is¡­ having fun somewhere.¡± Kai smiled.

    ****

    *****

 Chapter 628 Avoiding The Problem

    The meeting hade to an end, and when it did, Neville was free to leave the building and as he did not a single person or member followed him.

    "What the f*ck was that all about!" Neville shouted, as he kicked the air. "They don''t respect us at all, they don''t even respect me or see us as any type of threat."

    Neville turned to the two guards, who were members of the Ashen Gang.

    "Do you think they were afraid of us, afraid of our power? It was clear as day that they think they are above us, and after Ie all the way here to meet them in person, they don''t even send out their leader.

    "Having fun, what does he even think he''s doing!"

    Neville continued toin, more and more, eventually kicking arge trash can outside of the hotel. It fell over and caused a mess everywhere on the street.

    "Ha!" Nevilleughed. "Let''s just have this as a parting gift, of this sh*t town called Slough. Come on, let''s get out of here."

    Entering the car they came in, which was a rtivelyrge van, one of the ones that many of their stars used. Neville couldn''t wait to get back home. The vehicle started up, and went about a metre, before itpletely stopped.

    It felt like someone had mmed on the brakes causing Neville to nearly fly out his seat. He had managed to put his arms in front of him in time, stopping himself from getting his face crushed.

    "Why did you stop so suddenly!" Neville shouted. "I didn''t even have my seat belt on!"

    "Sir, I didn''t stop, I think we have a problem." The driver said.

    Getting up, Neville went to see what the problem exactly was, and when he could see through the windshield, he somewhat figured what had happened. Standing in front of the car was a man in a mask, one of the masked men that were in the meeting. A muscr man with a single hand on the bo of the car.

    "He came out of nowhere and just ced his hand on the car stopping it dead." The driver said.

    Running through Neville''s head was a number of thoughts, for one, something like this wouldn''t have been possible for a normal human, and no one would have the guts just to jump in front of a car, unless they were confident. It was clear that this person was an Altered.

    "Hey!" The masked man shouted. "You should clean up the mess you made before you leave. We don''te to your house and make a load of sh*t, unless you don''t want to get out of the car."

    With a single hand, the person crushed the top of the bo, and started to lift the vehicle in the air. Neville nearly fell to the floor, and the vehicle quickly sat out on the floor again.

    "I understand, we''ll clean it up." Neville stated.

    His one visit to the town of Slough, and to see the Howlers, he never wanted to run into them again after this. This was his train of thought as he sadly picked up trash from the ground and ced it back into the bin.

    ------

    The programme had been nned for the new stars of AJ Entertainment, and just as stated, it looked like the producer was doing everything he could to make sure that Gary got as little limelight as possible.

    They went to multiple locations in the current city as well as surrounding locations, but nearly no questions were directly asked of Gary, nor were there any instructions given to him.

    nor felt bad for Gary, she was the one that invited him, she thought she could make him into a big star, but since he had gotten on the wrong side of the producer it looked like the dream would be over.

    At the same time, it wasn''t just the producer that seemed to be shunning out Gary, but quite a lot of the others as well. All of them weren''t speaking to Gary, and that included Clem.

    Currently, the group were at a beach, where they were getting the girls in bikinis, as well as the boys with their tops off, revealing all. They were to do a set of challenges while answering questions that the public wanted to hear.

    It was a tiring day, and constantly there were things that were annoying Gary.

    "Cut, we''re going to have to do that shot again! You covered your arse in thatst shot! You know what the people want!" Neville shouted out.

    There were multiplements like this, and it was quite clear that this was practically a soft porn shoot. Perhaps a lot of what was being filmed wouldn''t even be aired but was just for the perv''s pleasure.

    At least, this was what Gary thought, but he held his tongue because of what the others asked of himst time. The day hade to an end, and they were staying at a beach house, which was directly on the beach.

    One could walk out the front door, down a few steps and they would be standing on the beach. He went and sat down in the sand looking at the sky.

    "The sea smells nice." Garymented.

    "Really, it smells a bit musty to me." A female voice said, as she went and sat down right next to Gary.

    Still in her bikini, but with arge towel around herself, was none other than Clem.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Is it okay if I sit here?" Clem asked.

    "It''s fine with me, but is it fine with you?" Gary replied, having noticed that all of them were avoiding him.

    "I wanted toe and apologise, Gary." Clem said. "You know, I like you¡­ and it''s not just me, Rachel, and Tyson seem to really like you as well. As for Spring, well I can''t really say anything, but the point is I want to say sorry for avoiding you.

    "It''s just, you know how important this is for us, and for some reason the producer has it out for you. If we, hang around you, there is a good chance it will ruin our chance as well. It''s only for a week, in fact only a few more days now.

    "I just hope that if we meet after this, that we can still talk, and still be friends with each other."

    Gary smiled as he looked toward her.

    "I understand¡­ Don''t worry, I''m not taking it too personally. How can Iin when I''m on a beach like this, with pretty girls all around me. I''m used to pretty girls avoiding me anyway, so it''s not like much has changed."

    Clem started to blush a little as she remembered the body of Gary today she had seen on the beach. She found it hard that Gary didn''t have girls around him all the time. But she didn''t know what he looked like before, before the big change in his life.

    After hanging around for a while, the two of them stood up, and started to head inside.

    "You head in first, afterall, it might be a problem if you''re seen with me, right?" Gary said.

    "It should be fine." Clem replied. "I came out because the producer called Spring to his room, so I knew he wouldn''t be watching me."

    Gary paused for a second, why would the producer call Spring to his room? He started to remember the words of Big Dave, the guard with them. Stating that they should watch out for the director, but in his eyes both of them were scum anyway.

    When entering therge beach house, there was a central living room that went off to all of the rooms. There was no one there, but with Gary''s ears he was listening in to everything around him, and he was able to listen in on a certain conversation.

    "What did you say!" Spring almost shouted but didn''t just in case the others heard.

    "Come one, you should understand." Neville stated. "You want to be the lead of your own drama show right? With this I can guarantee it for you. All you need to do is spend one night with the Director Matthew, and I''m sure you know he''s not just going to talk to you all night."

    Spring''s heart started to beat faster, and she instinctively took a step back. She didn''t know what to say. Getting a role, through an act like this.

    "I¡­ can''t¡­ I can''t do it. I will get a drama through my own skills." Spring said.

    Neville stood up, frustrated by the answer.

    "Get a role through your own talents, but you are doing so. Being pretty and sexy is one of your talents! Think about it, do you know how many people would happily sleep with the director to just get a role, never mind the lead role!

    "Do you think you''re someone special, I''m sure even your mother did something like this!"

    "Shut up! I''m not doing it!" Spring shouted back, and was heading towards the exit of the room.

    "If you leave this room, the director has the power to kick you out of AJ Entertainment, we can spread rumours about you to make sure no agency ever picks you up. Your whole acting career will be over. Just because you didn''t want to spread your legs a little."

    Spring stopped, her head held down, and tears flowing down her cheek. She didn''t know what to do, and she was unable to move. That was until she heard a loud crack from the door in front, the lock door was broken.

    "You, what the f*ck are you doing in here!" Neville shouted.

    "What I should have done when I first met you." Gary made a fist and swung it forward hitting Neville right in the side of his face. It was so hard that a tooth was seen flying out of his mouth, as his body hit the floor.

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 629 Revenge taste sweet

    Chapter 629 Revenge taste sweet

    Blood was running onto the floor from the gap from the producer''s mouth. Neville¡¯s eyes looked as if they had rolled into the back of his head.

    ¡®Crap¡­ I really need to start learning to control my strength even in an angry situation. I can¡¯t even me the fact that it''s close to a full moon.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Gary¡­¡± Spring said, her hand shaking over her mouth, not knowing what to do. It was hard to believe the situation she was in before, or the current situation she was in now.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I did this, this is all my choice, not anyone else¡¯s, it was my choice that I hit him and I won¡¯t let it affect you in any way.¡±

    Walking over, Gary then lifted the producer by the scruff of his neck and started to shake him a little. Soon his eyes opened and his mind wereing to, immediately seeing Gary he tried to kick and push him away, but Gary¡¯s strength was enough to hold him there.

    ¡°Stop moving!¡± Gary almost growled at him, and after suffering a great hit from before, the producer had stopped there and then. ¡°You areshole, how can a business like this even operate with you asking a person to do such a thing?"

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want what I heard to get out to the public. So let¡¯s make a deal, you forget about everything that just happened right now. You will never ask any of the girls to do anything like this again, that goes for you and the director.

    ¡°If you do, then I will use everything in my power to bring you down and it will hurt a lot more than it did today. Do you understand?¡±

    The producer almost snarled at Gary as he looked at him, never in his life had someone dared to treat him this way, due to who was behind him. The Ashen gang, based on his word, would move to get rid of this guy.

    At the same time, because of that, the producer had never been hit before. Since he didn¡¯t answer Gary raised up his fist, and this time, it was starting to transform and fur was appearing as well as sharp ws.

    It was causing every cell in the producer''s body to shiver.

    ¡°I understand, nothing happened, this will never happen again, just let me go and don¡¯t hit me!¡± Neville cried.

    Letting go, Neville fell to the floor, his body had forgotten how to work properly, he was so stunned with fear. At the same time, nor and the others swung the door open and rushed in.

    Nearly all of them were in their pajamas getting ready for bed, but had woken up because of themotion.

    ¡°What happened here¡­ Gary, did you hit the producer?¡± nor¡¯s voice was shaky. More worried for Gary than anything.

    Turning around, he headed out of the room.

    ¡°He tripped and banged his teeth on the floor, you can ask the producer if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Gary answered.

    No one wanted to get in his way, as even Tyson stood to the side. While the rest of them tried to figure out what happened.

    ----

    That night, Neville had told everyone to just clear out of his room, that he wasn¡¯t willing to see anyone. They never heard Neville¡¯s side of the story, but there was another way the others could get the story of what happened, since all of the girls were staying in the same room.

    ¡°What happened, Spring, what happened that made Gary hit the producer. Did he say something to Gary?¡± Clem asked.

    Spring shook her head.

    ¡°Spring you haven''t said anything since you came back in here.¡± nor wasining. ¡°You have to tell us what really happened. Look, this might cause a big problem for you and Gary, and if so, I need to know.¡±

    ¡°I think¡­ it''s going to be okay.¡± Spring said, and got into bed, pulling the nket over her head. Making it clear that she didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone. The reason as to why she couldn¡¯t speak about what happened, was because she was clearly confused herself.

    She wanted to shout at Gary, me him for possibly ruining her chance, but at the same time, the feeling she had, she never wanted to be in that situation again with such a man, and Gary had saved her from it. Which was why she was unable to clear her thoughts just yet.

    When waking up, the group were surprised, and not so surprised at the same time, that Neville had already left. Apparently he had sent a message to nor, exining that he would go ahead without her, and decide the next final two days of programming ahead of time.

    It was nearly the end of their journey. With this, there was an awkward ride back in the van, and when Spring and Gary met eyes, she weirdly asked him a question.

    ¡°Are¡­ you okay?¡± Spring asked.

    ¡°I was going to ask you the same thing.¡± Gary replied, to which Spring nodded and they just sat down in their seats.

    ¡°ARGHHH!!¡± Clem screamed, almost pulling her hair out, ''just what happened yesterday''.

    --------

    Inside AJ Entertainment, Neville had asked for an emergency meeting, not with Ash, but with Matthew. Because exining what happened to Ash would be hard to do, and most likely he wouldn''t act on it.

    Neville wanted payback, and the right person to do that for him, was always going to be Matthew.

    ¡°So that''s what happened!¡± Matthew mmed his hand on the table. ¡°That damned kid from the AFA, he thinks he¡¯s hot crap just because he¡¯s a trained fighter. That kid wouldn¡¯t survive a second in the underworld.¡±

    ¡°What should we do, should we kick him out of the programme?¡± Neville asked.

    ¡°No, that would be too light of a punishment, and it would be quite difficult to edit him out without giving a proper reason. For thest day, let''s give him his own special programme, one that he won¡¯t being back from.

    ¡°And, let¡¯s see him try to protect these girls of his. I want all three of them in front of me. It will be a first, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be up to the task.¡± Matthew licked his lips once again.

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 630 Where have I seen this before?

    Chapter 630 Where have I seen this before?

    The threat that Gary had imposed on Neville hadn''t worked for a second. Spreading rumours about what the director and producer were doing? This wasn''t the first time they had done things like this and word had never gotten out.

    AJ Entertainment had a pretty good hold on the news and media outlets, and this was because they had to, due to the nature of their business. There would be time after time where one of their stars would be involved in a scandal.

    Sometimes it was small, othersrge, but whether AJ Entertainment would try to keep hush about it was based on how much it affected the business. At times, the group being run by a gang, it meant that they weren¡¯t so shy about getting physical either.

    For the final two days, the group were told that there would mostly be one on one interviews, where they would ask them questions about their experience, what they had learned from the programme and more.

    They would even ask some of them to do some voice overs here and there for the programme at certain times. It was pretty standard stuff and it was made clear that the group were done with moving to locations, and there was no need for them to travel together anymore.

    Which was why Gary hadn''t met up with the others either. When the next day arrived, nor hade into his room to talk to Gary.

    ¡°Gary, I was told by the producer that you have to do some reshoots. Don''t worry they should be small, they want you in studio five, which is based on floor one on the outside. After you''re done with this, they said you could finally head back to the AFA as well.¡± nor exined.

    When speaking, she sounded as if she was relieved of this fact and she was. During thest two days, she was worried that something woulde up. Maybe even fake articles of Gary in an attempt to ruin his outside life.

    After visiting his hometown she knew he was a good person, and perhaps too good, which was why he needed to get away from the producer as soon as possible.

    ¡°I have to go and inform the girls of something as well. It''s a shame that we won¡¯t all be able to say goodbye to each other, but I think it''s for the best if you just head back.¡± nor said with a smile, as she mouthed the word ''sorry'' and left.

    There were no hard feelings on Gary¡¯s mind. nor was just doing her job, she and neither did he have any idea that things were going to work out this way.

    Gary was heading to the studio which he had been to before so he knew the way. It was one where stages would be made and were rolled in and out. A live crowd was also able to watch.

    When they were here before they were using it as a set, to record some of the scenes for the programme. When Gary entered, he could see the normal workers wearing ck and a beret type hat on their head.

    ¡®There seems to be a lot of workers here today.¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°nor told me¡­ that I was toe here to wrap up some filming, is there somewhere I need to be?¡± Gary asked out loud, not shy at all.

    ¡°Sure, just head to the set, and stand there until further instructions.¡± One of the men behind the camera shouted.

    Gary did as he was told, the set behind him was currently a restaurant. There were tables, chairs and a dinner of sorts. He grazed his hand over the table, when he could hear the sound of footsteps, multiple footsteps.

    ¡°Ah, what a surprise for myst day.¡± Gary smiled at himself, as he looked in front of him, all of the men were wearing baggy ck clothes, dressed like workers on the studio set. However, it was quite clear that they weren¡¯t workers at all.

    They had weapons held in their hands, and there were around thirty of them as well. All of them were different shapes and sizes.

    ¡°We know about you.¡± A female voice said, walking to the front, and behind her she had a tail swinging. It was clear she was an Altered. ¡°The Ashen gang has been ordered to get rid of you. It looks like you have upset someone.¡±

    It was easy to figure out who was behind this, but what Gary was even more excited about, was the fact that there was an Altered here.

    [New Quest received]

    [The Ashen Gang have underestimated you. Sending a bunch of crooks and a single Altered]

    [Challenge yourself: Finish them in less than 30 minutes.]

    -------

    At the same time, nor had entered the room where the rest of the stars of the programme had been ced. The truth was, only Gary had been split up, as even Tyson was in the same dressing room as the girls.

    ¡°Hi there everyone, as it is your final day, it seems like the director would like to meet with you all.¡± nor stated.

    -------

    Somewhere else in AJ Entertainment, Neville was smirking to himself happily, already imagining the trouble that Gary had to be going through right now. He was in the editing room, and was looking at the programme as a whole, and deciding what to cut and what not to cut.

    ¡°I guess, when the news of what happened to the AFA Stares out, we are going to have to cut a lot of him out, to be respectful to him.¡± Neville smirked at himself.

    Looking through the videos, and the documents attached to him, it was then that Neville noticed something.

    ¡°The group went to Slough¡­¡±

    The town¡¯s name was familiar and for more reasons than one. Neville quickly remembered why he had been sent there, because of the gang that now had a part in AJ Entertainment, and the horrible feeling that left his mouth when leaving there.

    ¡°But, why would they head to Slough?¡±

    Reading the side notes, he soon realised that it was due to a certain membering from Slough¡­ Gary.

    ¡°Gary is from Slough, and he¡¯s an Altered as well, is this a coincidence?¡±

    Neville¡¯s heart started to beat slightly faster. He tried to ignore it and started to watch the footage that had been captured carefully, and that''s when he was seeing certain things. The group, they were all being treated overly nicely.

    While at the same time, in the background, those that were wearing ck and Gold coloured clothing, they were spotted everywhere almost as if they were looking over the group.

    Neville¡¯s hand was starting to shake, as he continued to go through the clips.

    ¡°Why would the gang be looking over such a person?¡±

    Looking into it more, there were certain things that he had found. For one, Gary¡¯s sponsor in the AFA, where the Howlers gang themselves, but on top of that it was the name, Gary Dem.

    ¡®The memo I got this morning about the public shareholders...¡¯

    Naville''s entire body started to shake, as he fell out of his seat and onto the ground.

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 631 Stop the project (Part 1)

    Chapter 631 Stop the project (Part 1)

    Director Matthew had asked nor to call in the other four stars that were part of the programme, and they were swiftly making their way to his room. A lot of them had many thoughts going through their head.

    They believed that it was to discuss what projects each of them would be working on next, and see if they had any proposals for them. However, there was one that was quite nervous looking down at the ground at her feet, taking one step at a time.

    ¡®We¡¯re meeting the director again¡­ but the producer... He said that the director was the one that asked him¡­ whether I would sleep with him or not, to get a lead role in my own programme.¡¯ Spring thought.

    Spring had met the director before, but that was before she was aware of what he was like. There was a chance that the producer had made the request up, but for some reason, she didn¡¯t think that was the case.

    ¡®I¡¯ll be okay right? He won¡¯t ask for the same thing again. Gary had stopped itst time, the producer would never be confident enough to do the same thing again.¡¯

    Spring had never told the others about what had happened that day, and she was contemting whether to tell them now. In the end, she went against it, because there was one thought she was confident in.

    ¡®I¡¯m not meeting the director alone, the others are with me, so he can¡¯t request something from me, even if he isn¡¯t here.¡¯ For a second Spring had looked back, hoping she would see a green haired boy, but he wasn¡¯t there.

    The group had entered the office the same as they did before, each of them lined up, about a metre apart from each other and were standing there politely. nor stood at the back, and had somewhat noticed the strange look that Spring had.

    On top of that, there were a few other strange things that she noticed that were in the office as well. One of them was that there was arge bed there, and there had been a few cameras set up as well.

    Since this was an Entertainmentpany that did a few filmings here and there, it wasn¡¯tpletely out of ce in the building, but it was a bit strange.

    ¡°nor, there is no need for you to be here, I would like to talk to the young ones on my own, and make sure you don¡¯te back inside.¡± Matthew ordered with arge smile on his face.

    There was a certain look in his eyes that was causing nor¡¯s stomach to twirl and hurl. She felt like throwing up, but if she stayed longer, she was fearful something was about to happen to her.

    Doing as she was told she left the room. She waited by the door, until a few momentster she had heard a click.

    ¡®Did he just lock the door?¡¯ All of her instincts were telling her that something was up. The rumours about what the Producer and Mathew had done before wereing to her mind. In the past though, a case with those that she looked after had never arrived. That was until now¡­

    ¡®Maybe¡­ I should just go see Ash, and see if he knows what is happening.¡¯ nor thought as she rushed toward the elevator.

    Back in the room, Matthew had quickly rushed to the door to lock it behind them. Spring¡¯s heart was starting to beat faster than it did before, but the others were still unaware of what was happening.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just have an important proposal to make to you all while you''re here.¡± Matthew said, still standing by the door with a strange smile.

    ¡°I have a special announcement to make to you all. You see, due to the recent funding we have received, we have room to develop many projects, and I have decided that it is best that we create a project for each and every one of you.

    ¡°We will be trying our best to promote all of our new stars.¡±

    The smiles on all of their faces were beaming, all apart from Spring that was.

    ¡°You see, I¡¯m sure you have all heard this saying before. There is no such thing as a free lunch. In order for each of these projects to go ahead, each of you will be sleeping with me.¡±

    For a second, they all thought they had misheard. Even Tyson was quite confused.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯m not into boys.¡± Matthew started licking his lips.

    This sentence made it clear that they hadn¡¯t misheard the director.

    ¡°It''s true¡­ it''s true¡­ he really does want us to sleep with him.¡± Spring said as she grabbed her hair and fell to her knees.

    ¡°D¡­ Director¡­ this has to be a joke right? I mean, something like this can¡¯t be legal?¡± Clem stated.

    ¡°The bed has been set up, and the cameras are there. This will be proof that the deed has been done, and of course if any of you think about telling the world what has happened, well the video will be spread, without my face of course.

    ¡°And even if you try to go to the media, the news will be crushed just like all of you.¡±

    ¡°What if we refuse!¡± Rachel shouted. ¡°What if we leave AJ Entertainment, and we don¡¯t tell anyone about what happened, will you let us go then?¡±

    Rachel was on the verge of tears as she said these words, she was practically already pleading with the director.

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason why the door has been locked, and it won¡¯t open¡­ until I¡¯ve finished doing what I want with every single one of you.¡± Matthew answered.

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 632 Stop the Project (Part 2)

    Chapter 632 Stop the Project (Part 2)

    The director began to lick his lips intensely as he looked at all three of the girls, from head to toe. He didn¡¯t care that they had eyes of fear, instead this just got him more excited than it usually would have.

    ¡°Now, which one of you girls wishes to go first? I promise to be gentle to the first one.¡± Matthew said.

    None of them were in their right state of mind to respond, but there was one person who did.

    ¡°F*ck you!¡± Tyson shouted as he stood forward in front of the girls. ¡°You disgusting man, do you think just because I''m under your management that I would allow you to do something like this!¡±

    Tyson started to run forward, and his body started to transform. After all, he was an Altered, one that was talented since he was young which was why he had been picked up.

    His face started to puff out a bit and red fur could be seen by the sides, his ears changed slightly and a round-like tail hade out from his bottom. Tyson, was an Altered from a beast that was simr to that of the famous Red Panda.

    This was the Altered form that brought him to fame, the red panda was already a loved animal, so when learning there was an Altered out there like it, AJ Entertainment snatched him up immediately.

    Despite his appearance though, just like the red panda they have sharp teeth ws, and were powerful creatures that packed quite a punch. With his hand transformed, Tyson threw out a hit right towards the director.

    ¡°I never thought I would be doing this, but you are someone that deserves it!¡± Tyson shouted.

    That was until his fist had been stopped, grabbed by Matthew, and before Tyson could do anything else, he quickly kicked Tyson hard in the stomach causing him to fall to the ground. While he was hurt, he then shoved Tyson¡¯s face into the floor, breaking it, and keeping his hand on top of his head.

    ¡°You people know nothing about the real me do you?¡± Matthew said. ¡°Do you even know that AJ Entertainment is really run by a gang, a gang that I¡¯m in charge of? In order to have gotten to the position that we are in now in the first ce, there were a lot of things that I needed to do.

    ¡°Wiping out thepetition was one of them, and I was pretty good at it. Just like you, I¡¯m an Altered as well, and one who had to fight to survive, not just be a star and have a cushy lifestyle.

    different industry than you would have liked.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°The reason why you guys can live like you are now in the first ce, is because of the things I had to do. So don¡¯t you think it''s only right that I get to do what I want?¡±

    Matthew lifted Tyson¡¯s face off the floor, and there were pieces of tiles left on his face, while he had blood dripping down from his forehead.

    ¡°You probably wondered why I invited him in this room as well.¡± Matthew eximed. ¡°It was simple, because I wanted to show you what can happen to you, if you don¡¯t listen to what I say.

    ¡°This is what I can do to an Altered, without even transforming myself. So just imagine what I could do to you, who aren¡¯t even an Altered.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t get away with this.¡± Spring shouted, lifting her head. ¡°I¡¯ll tell my family, they have more power than you think!¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, the famous daughter of a star. The one who lives in a tier one city.¡± Matthew replied. ¡°It''s okay, because I¡¯m sure once this video gets out there, you will get plenty of roles. It just might be in a different industry than you would have liked.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the AJ Entertainment building, nor had finally arrived on the top floor, and had managed to get a meeting with Ash. She had asked if they could speak in private and the rest leave the room, which he had done due to how panicked she looked.

    In the end, she had told him her concern about the girls and what was happening down below.

    ¡°I¡¯m worried¡­¡± nor said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the rumours.¡±

    Ash looked conflicted as he reached in under his desk, and ced a file on his table.

    ¡°I have.¡± Ash replied. ¡°I was gathering a case file of all the victims. I was trying to get evidence and was eventually going to pass this onto White Rose. If they found out an Altered was abusing their power like so, then they woulde here in no time.

    ¡°I just needed to make sure I had enough, and that Matthew didn¡¯t find out. The thing is, if he¡¯s acting this confidently, then that means, he¡¯s confident enough that he now has enough supporters of the Ashen gang to overthrow me.¡±

    Ash felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard ce. His power right now was practically useless, if he went down there now, he wouldn''t be able to overpower Matthew and who knows how long White Rose would take to jump on this case.

    In the end, he pulled out his phone, and he called a particr number. It rang a few times before there was an answer on the other end of the phone.

    ¡°I apologise for calling you out of the blue, but I am in a pretty tricky situation. I honestly never imagined I would be calling you so soon for this type of help.¡± Ash said.

    nor wondered who it was Ash had called so suddenly, who he had confidence in resolving this situation.

    ¡°Trouble always seems to follow us, so this isn¡¯t so much of a surprise, so tell us what you want.¡± The voice replied.

    Ash was honest as he went on to exin the infighting situation at AJ Entertainment. It stated that this didn¡¯t affect their deal too much, but Matthew did own 20 percent of thepany, and it would be better to get rid of someone of this character.

    ¡°I see, you will be happy to know, that I agree with you.¡± The person on the other end replied. ¡°The Dark Side of AJ entertainment needs to be plucked by its roots, so it doesn''t affect us, nor our investor, we will deal with this.¡±

    From overhearing the conversation, nor had assumed that this was the buyer, the group that had recently taken over AJ Entertainment, and had to have a strong backing for AJ to put so much trust in them, but there was just one problem.

    ¡°We need help now!¡± Eleanor said. ¡°Right now, those girls and Tyson, they''re in there with that monster. How are they meant to help us now?¡±

    It truly felt hopeless as if there was nothing they could do in the current situation. That was until the voice on the phone spoke up, overhearing nor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We already have someone on the inside of AJ Entertainment, and he¡¯s very strong.¡±

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 633 Interrupted Fight

    Gary didn''t want to admit it, but he had been in this type of situation more so than he would have liked. Surrounded by people that were attempting to take him out, although unlike the times before, he didn''t quite feel like his life was on the line with this one.

    One of the men in the ck work uniform threw out what looked like a thick chain aiming to go across Gary. With his hand held out, he caught it with ease, and then pulled on it with such strength that the man fell over as it ripped through his hands, ripping some of the skin off, and his face nted right into the floor.

    "Be careful, remember he''s an Altered from the AFA, so he''s quite skilled!" The others shouted, as they all came rushing in. Some of them even had the electrified batons, Anti Altered weapons on them.

    Three of them ran towards his side, and Gary quickly kicked the table sliding it across the floor and crashing right into their knees. The next second he was on the table performing a kick midair.

    His leg had hit all three right in the face, causing their heads to crash into each other. It was a loud hit that knocked nearly all of them out instantly.

    ''I just have to knock these guys out, I don''t need to kill them if I don''t have to.'' Gary thought as he jumped, performing a backflip, avoiding some more strikes from the others.

    He was now behind a couple of members and grabbed the back of their heads knocking them into each other, as he did he could almost feel the inside of their skulls crush.

    ''Control your strength, Gary!''

    It was one of the biggest things with him gaining power so fast, and going up against other Altered so much that were able to take the hits.

    Turning around, he lifted his hand blocking the electrified baton. It activated, shocking his whole body, but it had done next to nothing, as he kicked the man in the stomach and sent him crashing into the tables and chairs and knocking a few of the others over.

    Another man went to kick Gary, as he moved to the side and grabbed the leg, with his own leg, Gary kicked the side of his knee popping the bone out.

    ''I won''t kill you, but that doesn''t mean I won''t hold back in hurting you.'' Gary thought.

    After breaking the man''s leg, he lifted him up with his sheer strength and swung it into another group of peopleing towards him.

    "How are we meant to even get this person¡­ he''s just too fast and strong, are all the guys from the AFA like this?"

    These weren''t just employees but gang members of a tier-2 city. They had to have a certain level of strength to even be in the gang, and their weapons were better than most, and yet they were still unable to even do any damage against Gary.

    The next to strike Gary though, was the Altered woman who had whiskers on her face, and her hands had grown into what looked likerge paws. She struck at Gary, giving off fast jabs.

    Moving his head side to side, Gary was able to avoid it all, and even in the middle of fighting the Altered, he went ahead and kicked one of the men that tried toe up to him from his side.

    It was as if he had eyes all over his head.

    Gary was ready to throw a hit back, but just as he was, he felt something vibrate in his pocket. Of all times, it seemed as if he was getting a phone call. Since his opponents weren''t too much of a big deal, while continuing to dodge hits, Gary jumped up on a table and pulled the phone out of his pocket.

    "Kai is actually calling me, it might be important." Gary said as he answered the call.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    This frustrated the cat, like Altered, that continued to try and hit Gary, but Gary, almost like he was the one that had cat-like reflexes, was avoiding each of the punches.

    "Ah Gary, are you still at AJ Entertainment?" Kai asked.

    "I am¡­ it seems that I have angered someone here though, and I''m a bit busy at the moment." Gary answered.

    "Angered someone? Well then it might be best if you listen to this, as this is somewhat important." Kai continued.

    "Pay attention!!" The cat-like Altered elongated her ws and went to swipe at Gary, leaning back, he avoided the strike once again. Even without his Altered form, Gary was far superior to the person in front of him.

    "Listen, AJ Entertainment are in a bit of a pickle and they have asked me for our help." Kai exined.

    "Our help, why would they ask for our help?" Gary replied.

    On the other end Kai started to smile.

    "There is a lot I need to tell you. The Howlers, and Gary the Business Tycoon, have been busy, but I will give you the rundown, as you need to move quickly."

    It was then and there that Kai had told Gary everything, how they had invested in AJ Entertainment, and at the same time what trouble they were currently facing.

    It was then that Gary stood still, and the catdy''s w scratched the side of Gary''s face drawing blood.

    "I''ll deal with it." Gary said, hanging up the phone. His head was held down, and the woman Altered went in for another strike. Lifting his hand, Gary grabbed her by the wrist. His hand started to transform and so did the rest of his body.

    "I''m in a bit of a rush now, so I''m sorry but this is going to hurt."

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 634 Who is he?

    Chapter 634 Who is he?

    Tyson¡¯s body was limp in the director¡¯s hand. He was clearly knocked out and his injuries looked pretty bad as he continued to bleed from his head. The only saving grace was the fact that he was an Altered so it was unlikely that he would die from this type of wound.

    Carrying his body with one hand, the director threw it to the side, in the corner of therge office.

    ¡°Now that the only person who can break the lock is dealt with, it''s time for us to get started.¡± Matthew said.

    He walked over to all three girls, each of them were shaking, they were grabbing onto their own arms hugging themselves as they looked to the floor not wanting to believe the situation. In their minds they were repeating a phrase over and over again.

    ¡®Please, don¡¯t pick me¡­ don¡¯t pick me¡­ don¡¯t pick me.¡¯

    ¡°AHHH!¡± The girls heard a scream, and when the other two looked up, they could see that Matthew was carrying Spring over his shoulder.

    She was kicking and screaming, punching Matthew¡¯s back until the bottom of her fists were raw, but it was doing nothing at all. She truly felt helpless in that situation. Immediately she was thrown on the bed with ease, to the point where her body bounced on it.

    ¡°You better be good.¡± Matthew said. ¡°Otherwise, you will be in a lot worse state than him over there.¡±

    Crawling onto the bed, Matthew ced his body on top of hers. A shadow was cast, and a piece of his saliva fell from his mouth, as he stared down at her.

    ¡°I have been waiting for this for a while now. You were always going to be my first pick.¡± Matthew imed. ¡°As for the rest of you, you can all me Gary for getting you involved. It would have only been her if he didn¡¯t try and cause so much trouble.¡±

    ¡°HELLLP!¡± Rachel screamed at the top of her lungs. Usually, she would have never done something like this. She was a singer, and needed to protect her voice, but if there was any hope out there, maybe someone would be able to hear them.

    ¡°PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!!!¡± Rachel continued to scream.

    Clem, also not wanting to just do nothing, ran up to the door, and started to pull at the handle with all her might, but it was solid. A high quality heavy door with a good locking mechanism didn''t budge at all.

    Matthew started tough at the pathetic attempts and continued to unbutton his shirt, while something hard was felt below hitting Spring.

    ¡®Please¡­someone, anyone¡­ help me.¡¯ Spring cried tears as she had this thought in her head.

    Continuing to try and open the door, Clem had eventually heard an unlocking sound from the other end. Her eyes lit up as there was hope, and Matthew turned his head to see who it was.

    After the door was unlocked, bursting into the room and knocking Clem over, was the producer Neville. He was frantic and quickly went to lock the door behind him.

    Clem thought that maybe the producer could help, but after taking one look at him, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t shocked by the scene in front of them at all.

    ¡°Director, Sir¡­ you have to listen, we''re in big trouble!¡± Neville shouted.

    Matthew was moments away from enjoying his pleasure, so it was safe to say that he wasn¡¯t happy about this, as he got off the bed and looked at Neville.

    ¡°This better be important.¡± Matthew satted.

    ¡°It is, I promise.¡± Neville quickly replied, still panicked. ¡°We messed up, we really messed up. Gary Dem, the student from the AFA, you see I was doing some research into him.

    ¡°Gary Dem from the AFA, is from Slough, which is also where the Howlers are from, and on top of that, is also where the business man is from as well.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± Matthew asked, scrunching his face.

    ¡°So¡­ don¡¯t you see, Gary Dem, from the AFA, is the same Gary Dem from Slough. He is the person who bought out AJ Entertainment. He is the one that owns the majority of the shares of AJ Entertainment single handedly, and to top it off, it seems like he has a close rtionship with the Howlers gang, the gang that took out NOTSBURG!¡± Neville was practically screaming at this point, his fear wasing through.

    Matthew also was quite stunned by this, and the girls were trying to make sense of what was being said. The Gary, that was travelling with them this whole time and who lived in that tiny apartment from the poor town of Slough, owned most of AJ Entertainment, how was that even possible?

    After processing the information though, Matthew¡¯s initial shock had calmed down a little.

    ¡°So what? So what if he¡¯s from the AFA. It''s not like they support him.¡± Matthew said. ¡°And, so what if he is some rich buisness man. Do you think he has the power to really make it so the Howlers gang starts a war with us?

    ¡°Do you really think a gang would be at the beck and call of a single business man, all for some sh*tty girls!¡± Matthew eximed.

    Lying on the floor, at that moment a memory had returned in Clem¡¯s head, in the restaurant when she asked him a question about who he really is. She stood up from the floor and a smirk appeared.

    ¡°Gary¡­ he didn¡¯t lie to me back then. He doesn¡¯t just have a close rtionship with the Howlers gang. He¡¯s the leader.¡±

    ¡°ARGHHHH!¡± A scream was hearding from the other side of the door, and before they knew it a loud bang had followed.

    A dent was seen in the thick door, as the lock was broken and the door went flying, hitting Neville right in the face, and walking through was the very Green haired boy they were all talking about.

    ¡°What the f*ck do you guys think you''re doing?¡± Gary asked.

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 635 The Fall of Ashen (Part 1)

    Chapter 635 The Fall of Ashen (Part 1)

    The door to therge office had flung off its hinge, luckily Clem was still on the floor from earlier, otherwise the door would havended right on her, but instead it hit the producer Neville right on the back of his head, nearly knocking him out.

    In a daze, he managed to crawl out from under the broken door onto the floor. Turning his head, he had to rub his eyes a few times, his heart was beating fast, and he was struggling to get the words toe out of his mouth as lips were quivering.

    ¡°You¡­ y¡­ you¡­ it''s really you¡­ it¡¯s Gary Dem, I told you it''s Gary Dem!¡± Neville shouted as if his name was some type of curse.

    Gary was full of energy, he had just finished fighting andpleting the quest he had received before, and went up through the elevator. After learning what was going on from Kai, it nearly took all of his will to not pry open the elevator doors and just climb the way up himself.

    When he eventually reached the floor, the smell of the girl''s perfume that he hade to be familiar with had wafted into his nose, knowing that he was in the right ce. All of the frustration hade out in one punch right as the door.

    ¡°What the f*ck do you guys think you''re doing?¡± Gary asked.

    He looked around the room, Rachel and Clem, both looked like they had lost several years from their life, their eyes puffy, their hands somewhat bleeding. Clem had tried so hard to open the door she had cut herself, and Rachel felt like she might never get her voice back again.

    Then, there was Spring lying there on the bed, she had a pillow covering her, and her whole body was shaking even now.

    ¡°A camera¡­ I guess I don¡¯t even need to ask.¡± Gary tensed his fist and turned to Neville pointing his finger right at him.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I warn you? I said, that you were to not touch the girls, and never try this type of sh*t again! Otherwise you would learn what would happen to you.¡±

    Neville scurried off the floor, and got up, shaking his head. The anger was being directed towards him, and the look in Gary¡¯s eyes told him that this was the most dangerous person he had ever met before.

    Turning around, Neville attempted to run away, where to, no one really knew since there was only one entrance and exit, and it was where Gary hade from, but after taking a single step, Gary reached out and already held onto his curly hair.

    His head was yanked back by the force and it felt like the top of his scalp was going to be removed from his head. Now Neville was just staring at the ceiling.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­ please. I¡¯ll do anything, I¡¯ll leave AJ Entertainment, and go into hiding, I¡¯ll give you whatever you want!¡± Neville stated.

    Looking at this whole scene, Matthew wasn¡¯t afraid. He thought something like this would happen one day. There was a reason why Neville did everything he said, and that was because he was a person that was easily influenced by fear. It was how Matthew got Neville on his side in the first ce.

    Because Neville was more afraid of him then he was off Ash, but the way he was acting now, it made it clear, at least in this moment, he was more afraid of Gary.

    Huffing and panting, the noise of someone else could be heard entering the room. With his hands on his knees he took a deep breath.

    ¡°I told you, you should have waited for me.¡± Ash said, as he looked up, and now his eyes were upon the same scene as Gary had.

    A feeling had ovee his stomach, it was swirling about and he felt like he would throw up at any second.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, something like this was going on at mypany, the ce I made¡­¡± Ash said out loud to himself.

    ¡°Matthew, how did you ever think you could get away with something like this!¡± Ash shouted.

    Since Neville continued to fiddle about and was moving, Gary pulled on his hair harder, ripping it from his head, and with his hand raised, he then threw it down, hitting him right on his Adam''s apple. His whole body hit the floor, and he had been knocked out.

    Perhaps if it was any other situation, Clem and Rachel would have been concerned for the producer, he was so still it didn¡¯t look like he was alive anymore, but they honestly couldn¡¯t care less about what happened to him, and they wished it was worse.

    ¡°Everything that you¡¯ve done is going to be reported to the White Rose, and they will hunt you down, and make sure you never get out of a cell for the rest of your life!¡± Ash stated.

    Hearing this, Matthew just started tough.

    ¡°Is this really you speaking Ash? Is this the Ash that started the Ashen gang together with me? Did you forget everything that we have been through together? Did you really throw your past away, and change so much now that you have apany?

    ¡°Meanwhile, you thought it was fine for me to continue doing the dirty work, but where¡¯s the line? Is this too far? I was right, you aren''t fit to be head of the Ashen gang anymore, and it seems like a lot of people agree with me.

    ¡°Get rid of me, you make meugh. I will be the one getting rid of you two. I¡¯ll force the two of you to hand thepany over. It''s time to do things the old fashioned way!¡±

    Matthew started to rip off his shirt revealing arge wide muscr upper body frame, and at the same time, his nose started to transform into what looked like a horn. While his skin colour was turning slightly grey.

    Gary then stood in front of Ashen, looking at the partially transformed Matthew.

    ¡°You¡­ are weak¡­ you''re useless, and you''re a waste of space on this.¡± Gary said. ¡°Even now, you''re so useless, you didn¡¯t even give me a quest.¡± Gary said. ¡°There is no reason for you¡­ to be here.¡±

    Gary¡¯s body started to transform, his arms, his leg¡¯s, he wasn¡¯t going to hold back because he wanted to inflict as much pain as possible.

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 636 The Fall of Ashen (Part 2)

    Chapter 636 The Fall of Ashen (Part 2)

    Gary hadn¡¯t known the girls for long, and he didn¡¯t even know them that well, but his rage was unmatchedpared to past situations, and there was a simple reason for this. There were two women in his life that were extremely important to him.

    His sister and his mother. For his mother, he wasn¡¯t there, he wasn¡¯t able to protect her in time in the past, and he just imagined that the same thing could have happened to these girls. Someone could have never turned up, and they would have had a scar for the rest of their life, one that couldn''t be seen on the surface and was unable to be removed.

    Matthew¡¯s upper body was evenrger than before as he had perfectly round shoulders and a rough texture to his skin. From the looks of things, he almost looked like a Rhino man.

    ¡°Taste my strength!¡± Mathew shouted as his feet ran across the floor at a great speed pushing off. He had his head slightly forward with his weight shifted towards the front, and swung his hand over his head.

    At the same time, Gary braced himself, in his head, the image of the fisting towards him, it was almost the same as the bag he would hit at the academy. At the right time, he twisted his foot, twisted his hips and threw out a punch perfectly.

    Gary¡¯s werewolf hand hadnded on Matthew¡¯s rhino hand, shing against each other, and a slight cracking noise was heard, as he pulled back.

    ¡°My hand!¡± Matthew screamed. ¡°How can this be¡­ my Altered form, it''s one that focuses on pure power!¡±

    Clem, lying down who was watching it, the punch Gary delivered, it had also reminded her of the special program they had filmed at the AFA.

    ¡®Gary¡­ he¡¯s one of the strongest Altered the AFA have ever had as a debut student¡­ he¡¯s just stronger.¡¯

    Pushing forward Gary was quickly on Matthew, faster than his movements. Out of desperation, with his uninjured hand, Matthew threw that out attempting to hit Gary, but Gary was one step ahead with his own fist.

    Matthew was only able to swing it around ten centimetres through the air before Gary¡¯s own fist pummelled the Altered¡¯s fist back. This time, Matthew didn¡¯t just think the bones in his hand were broken, he knew they were.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Matthew shouted as he stumbled. ¡°How¡­ I am the strongest in a tier-2 gang, I¡¯m an Altered and I''m getting toyed around with by a boy!¡±

    Ash who was also watching was in disbelief. He never thought it would be so one sided.

    ¡®This¡­ is the power of Gary Dem from the AFA, I guess he¡¯s not just a businessman.¡¯

    Watching this disy, it suddenly clicked in Ash¡¯s head. He had never met the leader of the Howlers before, Kai had stated that several times, and yet, they trusted this unknown businessman so much.

    They supported Gary Dem in the AFA, someone who was so strong, and had this much charisma. No, this person in front of them, was the leader of the Howlers.

    While stumbling, with his hand Gary went and grabbed onto the horn.

    ¡°This is nothingpared to what you made them feel like!¡± Gary screamed as he used all the grip strength he could in his hand, and eventually snapped the horn off to the side.

    It was bent at a right angle and blood was now pouring out from Matthews nose. The pain, the panic, it was making him fight worse than he had before but it didn;t matter, as Gary continued to punch him on his body one hit after the other.

    Each blow was definitely strong, and each of them were filled with anger as Gary screamed, hitting him, and pushing him back.

    ¡°Sto-¡±

    A punch to the face stopped him from speaking, and sent him back into the wall, it looked as if Matthew could barely stand at this point.

    With a w hand, instead of a fist, Gary went and swung it, but rather than at his chest it struck down below, ripping off part of his trousers, and there was now something left dangling in ce.

    ¡°Killing you¡­ would be too easy for you. It wouldn¡¯t teach you a lesson, you would just simply forget about everything you have done. So I need to give you a reminder, for the rest of your life.¡±

    With a wed hand Gary swung it, and in one go ¡®It¡¯ was sliced off. The whole thing fell to the floor, and blood was pouring out once again. Seeing the sight of his manhood on the floor, almost immediately Matthew had fainted, and had done so falling on ¡®it¡¯.

    ¡°You will never be able to do something like this again.¡± Gary stated as his body started to transform back to normal, and blood could be seen on his hands.

    Everyone was stunned into silence as they looked at Gary, as they wondered what had just happened. They thought about thanking him, they thought about saying something, but the words wouldn¡¯te out of their mouths because at that moment and time, they feared him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave him to you.¡± Gary said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for everything that happened to you all, and I wish you all good luck in the future.¡±

    They all watched Gary walk out of the room, still unable to say anything, and when he finally left, they all felt like they could breathe. They all felt like it was really finally over.

    ¡°Gary¡­¡± Ash said. ¡°You saved thispany, but there is still a lot to be done.¡±

    Ash¡¯s pocket started to vibrate, and when he went to take a look, it was from the Howlers. They were calling him.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 637 Never Again

    Chapter 637 Never Again

    The incident with AJ Entertainment hade to an end. Apparently, news had travelled fast in the agency as to what had happened. Several ambnces had arrived at the scene, all of them to take the girls to safety.

    This caused rumours to swirl around and quickly those working in the industry found out that the producer and director had something to do with the incident. There was no news of what actually happened to the girls, just rumours, but there was one thing that had spread around more so as a fact, and it was that Ash was the one that resolved everything.

    He had somehow managed to find out what Matthew was doing and put a stop to it. The fact that no one could get a hold of Matthew or Neville made them believe that this was the case, but the real truth was something that was only known between a few.

    Still, due to this it made those that had supported Matthew quiet down within thepany. People knew that Ash wasn¡¯t strong enough to take out Matthew on his own, and they assumed that he had done so with some new help.

    Regardless, Ash didn¡¯t care because he was going to get to the root of it all and make sure anyone who tried to go against him would be cleared out of thepany. He would just have to do it slowly.

    Right now, Ash himself was in the hospital, he looked at the room number and had a bunch of flowers in his hands. Forcing a smile on his face he gave a quick knock before opening the door.

    ¡°I hope you guys like flowers, because I bought a lot of them.¡± Ash said.

    The second he entered the room, the girls along with Tyson sat up right in their beds. They made sure their hair looked nice, among other things. It was the normal reaction when they met the head of AJ Entertainment.

    ¡°I guess old habits die hard, but you don¡¯t have to do that.¡± Ash said, as he walked around handing out flowers to all of the girls.

    They looked fine, they didn¡¯t have any severe injuries on their bodies, apart from Tyson who had mostly already healed up, but they were here for mental evaluations as well.

    ¡°Thank you¡­ you didn¡¯t have toe out here.¡± Clem said.

    ¡°No, please don¡¯t say that.¡± Ash replied. ¡°You girls experienced something that none of you should have ever had to in thepany.¡±

    At that moment, Ash got down on his knees and ced his head on the cold hard surface of the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have looked out for those that worked for me. Something like that should have never happened. Even now, all I can do is put my head on the floor and ask for your forgiveness.¡±

    The scene was something none of them expected to see. Since Ash wasn¡¯t the direct cause of the trauma they went through they found it hard to me him in any way, but they knew it was better to not tell him that, so it was good for the both of them.

    After a while Ash finally got up from the floor, and started to ask them all about their injuries. The marks on Clem¡¯s hand, the sore throat from Rachel, and if Tyson was okay. Finally thest person that Ash went to talk to was Spring, the person that was affected most by it all.

    Before Ash could say anything, Spring was the first one to speak.

    ¡°Is it true about Gary?¡± She asked. ¡°That he is the one that bought out AJ Entertainment?¡±

    For all of them, they hadn¡¯t seen Gary since he saved them, and there was a lot they wanted to ask him, and say to him, but they were unable to, and the frustration of not being able to¡­ So, Ash was the next best thing.

    ¡°It¡¯s true¡­ but honestly I didn¡¯t know much about it either.¡± Ash said. ¡°I knew that it was someone named Gary but never thought it would be him. I did think something was up when I saw his suit though.¡±

    They sat there for a while in disbelief, thinking about the way they talked to him, thinking about when they went to Slough. In their heads it was starting to make sense. The way he didn¡¯t care about money, why everyone was thanking him back then, and the realtionship to others in his hometown.

    Meanwhile Clem and Ash were having other thoughts, because the two of them knew a little more, the fact that Gary was actually the leader of the Howlers gang. They thought it was best to keep this a secret, as it wasn''t an important fact of what happened to them.

    Another knock was heard on the door and they wondered who it could be, and guessed it was probably nor, but when the door opened, they could see a shade of green past the door.

    ¡°Gary!¡± Clem called out.

    Walking into the room, soon all of them were calling his name.

    ¡°Gary, it''s really you!¡±

    ¡°It seems that you all must be feeling well, if you''re feeling this energetic.¡± Garymented.

    They were all smiling, joy was filling their bodies as they wanted to tell Gary how thankful they were, but before they could, they could hear sobbinging from the corner.

    ¡°I¡¯m so¡­ so¡­ sorry!¡± Spring cried. ¡°I treated you so much like shit, and you still¡­ you¡­ you¡­ saved me.¡±

    She was reminded of all the unjust treatment, the judgement she had given Gary, yet it was because of him that she was saved.

    ¡°It''s okay¡­ I¡¯m just happy I was able to get there in time.¡± Gary answered.

    The group talked for a bit, asking Gary a number of questions. How he managed to get his hands on so much money and why did he even buy AJ Entertainment in the first ce. Why was he even keeping it a secret he owned half of it.

    It was hard for him to answer all the questions, and he was looking for a way out.

    ¡°Look, the important thing is that none of you have to worry. Ash will continue to take care of things, and me and him half talked. We will try our best to look after you and give you as much promotion as we can.¡± Gary said.

    After those words, it looked as if he was about to leave the room. They imagined he had to be a busy man, and now they somewhat felt like Gary was part of a different worldpared to them.

    ¡°Gary¡­ will we ever see you again?¡± Clem asked.

    With a half smile looking towards the floor he gave an answer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, probably not. I have a feeling that I might get pretty busy soon, and it''s best if you all don¡¯t get to know me too well.¡±

    Clem and Ash understood the real reasons behind those words and Gary had left the room. A short while after, everyone in the hospital felt almost as if a part of them were missing, as if they had said goodbye to a dear friend.

    Getting up out of his bed, Tyson went toward the window and drew the curtain, and there he could see Gary walking towards a car.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t that¡­ the same car we saw in Slough?¡¯ Tyson thought.

    Not only that, but there were several people in ck and gold outfits, the same as the gang they saw all over Slough. As Gary approached the car, the door was opened for him.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Boss.¡± Kai smiled.

    ¡°Holy Sh*t!¡± Tyson''s heart thumped, as he came to a realisation just how special Gary was.

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 638 The Howlers growth

    638 The Howlers growth

    After leaving AJ Entertainment, Gary unexpectedly found himself back in Slough, his hometown he hadn''t anticipated returning to so soon. However, a series of events had led him back.

    When Ash had called for the Howlers'' help, Kai had already been on his way after informing Gary, just in case anything happened, or more specifically in case there was a need to cleaning up the aftermath. After all, Kai knew how messy things could get.

    With the situation resolved, the two of them decided to head back to Slough and return to the Wolf''s Pool Club for a little chat.

    "So, tell me, how did you enjoy your week as a star?" Kai asked with a broad smile, sitting in hisfortable chair. "Of course, none of what happened at the end will be released to the public, but I heard they¡¯ve filmed enough to go ahead with the program after the editing isplete."

    Gary gave Kai a look that somewhat exined the feelings he currently felt. "Why didn''t you tell me that you had bought the majority of AJ Entertainment and mainly used my name?" Gary pped his forehead.

    He imagined that with that information, things would have been way easier to deal with on the inside.

    For one, he would have easily been able to have the producer fired without having to take any action.

    "It was a deal with someone I barely knew. I had a good feeling from Ash, but their gang isn¡¯t the same as ours, and from what I found it they were divided. I didn¡¯t want to risk that information falling in the wrong hands, and what¡¯s better than having a spy on the inside who doesn¡¯t even know he¡¯s a spy?" Kai exined with a chuckle.

    Shaking his head, Gary didn¡¯t approve of being used in this way, but he knew that part of the reason Kai kept quiet was because he trusted him. The most important thing was that everything turned out mostly okay. Some people were hurt by these events, but Gary also felt that him taking action should be for the best. If these things hadn''t been uncovered, who knows what would have happened.

    "Fine, but in the future I think I would prefer knowing these things. Speaking of, what''s your next step in all of this? You seem to be doing a lot, and my time in the AFA is almost up," Gary asked.

    "Could it be¡­ you think I was waiting for your return to do something big?" Kai asked. "If so, I have to disappoint you. We have been very busy in the background, and a lot of it is thanks to you. There¡¯s a lot of business in Nottsburg, though it¡¯s being handled by Midwak.

    "We¡¯ve also have entered alliances with your friends in the AFA, and even the deal made with the Ashen Gang and Ash. The Howlers'' power is growing by the day. Truth be told, we might have grown a bit too much too fast, so it''s best that we don''t get involved in any more trouble and focus on increasinf our gang''s strength for now.

    "On that topic, what do you think about us working with apany like NIRV?"

    Hearing that name, all sorts of thoughts were brought up in Gary''s head. He remembered how he had ended the lesson on the wrong foot. At the same time, there was the contract where he had to help out whenever they requested.

    "As the gang leader, I¡¯m strongly against. There''s something strange about them. If you want anything from them, I think it''s best if we talked to Tom, even though I don''t want to put him in that situation," Gary replied.

    "I thought you might have some issues, but fortunately there are more organizations than just NIRV alone. I agree with your assessment, apany that has ties to most if not all Tier-1 gangs is definitely suspicious. Then again, I have also picked out rumours that im that NIRV has been set up by the Kings. Either way, getting involved with them would mean unnecessary trouble.

    "Still, with the remaining funds, I have asked the others to bring forward the most loyal members of the Howlers. At the next Dark Guild auction, we will be buying as many Altered solutions as we can, improving the strength of the Howlers once again.

    Gary was finding it hard to believe; the Howlers certainly hade a long way.

    "And I have to thank you for something else as well. The Altered won''t just be cannon fodder, either, thanks to your teacher, Crowley. Right now, his only Altered student is Austin, but from the way things are looking, he''s sure to have more soon."

    Gary had considered visiting his old teacher to see how he was doing, but was happy to hear that he had found a ce in Slough. He decided to wait until after his debut match in the AFA before paying him a visit.

    "I guess if that''s the case, then it should be my time to leave, and I''ll be back after my debut match in the AFA," Gary stated. "But before I go, what about Marie and Innu? I haven''t seen them around much."

    "Marie is doing well. She has been training directly under Olivia and attending some of Crowley''s sses. She''s beening back with fewer wounds on her body, as I''ve noticed. I think even you might be

    impressed by the progress she has made."

    Being a Werewolf, one did have exceptional growthpared to Altered, but Gary''s growth with the system was always beyond what others thought. Even through the small interactions and the Quest he hadpleted back at AJ Entertainment, his skills had grown.

    [5 Pawn Points have been awarded]

    [25 Pawn points in total]

    "As for Innu, I haven''t seen him much. I did check in on him. I gave him funds to set up a new ck Rock Orphanage, sponsored by Business Tycoon Gary Dem, of course.

    "When I went around, I met up with Kevin, who said Innu had beening homete. He hasn''t been at the Wolf''s Pool Club or hanging around with any of the others, so I''m a little concerned about him. Before you go, I would appreciate if you could meet up with him."

    Gary thought it wasn''t a bad idea; it wouldn''t take long just to drop by. But just as he was about to, his phone vibrated with a ping, receiving a text message.

    "What is it?" Kai asked, seeing the look on Gary''s face.

    "It''s the AFA. They said my debut match has been set... but the date is two days from the next full moon," Gary answered.

    Resting his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands, Kai thought something like this would happen. Fight dates were quite hard to change due to the number of people and money involved.

    "We can''t keep running from this situation forever. I''ve been meaning to do this for a while, but I think it''s time that we have another serious talk with Midwak. As someone who belonged to a Pack of Werewolves, I¡¯m sure he has to have a way to stop this transformation."

 Chapter 639 A strugling member

    Chapter 639 A strugling member

    In the town of Slough, despite numerous improvements, there were still ces where one could hide from others. In the alleyway behind a few restaurants, standing at the back was a single dark-skinned boy. His arms were wrapped from his knuckles all the way to his elbow, while he wore the ck and gold clothing of his gang. His eyes were closed as he stood alone in the alleyway.

    He wasn''t letting anything distract him, unlike the times before he had entered the alleyway. The echoes of noise from moving animals or the sound of passing vehicles, as well as the rancid smell from leftover food, used to fill his head every time he came here in the past. But now, he was only focusing on one thing.

    There was plenty of rubbish and debris on the ground, including leaves that had flown in. They were light, and slowly they started to lift in the air as if being carried. Rather than swaying around, they were slowly levitating in ce. The leaves that were moving were only around the boy while the rest just rustled slightly across the floor. The moment Innu opened his eyes, the leaves started to fall to the floor being carried by the air.

    Reaching from his back, he grabbed the handle of the axe and hurled it in the air. It was a strong, powerful throw. The axe had lit up slightly as he had ced his energy inside. It was slicing through the air with ease and going at a fast speed.

    In the alleyway, on the wall that was around twenty meters away, there were drawn targets, from red spray paint. Next to the markings, there were several chips in the brickwork. As the axe flew straight, it started to veer slightly to the right andnded right in the center of the target.

    Clenching his fists, his whole body was shaking as he jumped up in the air. "I did it, I finally did it!" Innu cheered for himself.

    The reason for his absence from home and from the Wolf''s Pool Club was because of this. After his teacher had left, showing him his strange powers, Innu was relentless in his training.

    His teacher had only shown him a few things and taught him a couple of things since he seemed to be low on time, but after that, he just left. But the image of what he could do with this power never left his mind.

    Innu was focusing on two types of training. The first was the mysterious power of Qi that the teacher had talked about. This was a power that Innu had harnessed himself by ident before, the power that he felt through his body at times when fighting, and at one point had supplemented it into the weapon.

    He had learned to control this energy and input a smaller amount into the axe, so it was still more powerful, while also not allowing it topletely drain him. But what he was more interested in was the mysterious telekinesis power he seemed to have. Light objects he was able to lift off the ground slightly like leaves, but that would be useless in a fight. The important thing was that it showed him that it was possible for him to learn this power.

    It wasn''t something out of a fantasy; the power was real. The next step was learning how to use the power while not in a state ofplete focus. At first, he could only use it when closing his eyes, but he got better and better.

    Even still, he wanted to practice using his power in a practical way, and one way would be when throwing his axes if he could influence the direction his axes went. This would trick the enemy and allow him to be more versatile in his attacks.

    Several marks on the wall showed that he was able to influence the axe, but not exactly how he wanted. Now he could throw an axe and change its direction with good control to within reason.

    "It''s still not where I want it to be. The next step will be to curve the axepletely. If I can do that, maybe I can move it at thest second if someone tries to block it. Then there is the final step. If I can throw the axe and use its power for it toe back into my hand, that would be ideal."

    Throwing the weapon wasn''t always the best thing in the fight since he obtained power from the weapons themselves when holding them. The power would stay in his body a little while after it left, but if stuck in a wall or in the enemy, then that wasn''t good either. Right now, the skill was meant to be a more sure kill tactic for him.

    "I wonder if I will ever meet the teacher again. If I went to the Altered Hunter''s Association or one of their meetings, surely I would see him around then. Unless he''s on an important mission." Innu thought. "I bet he would be surprised at what I showed him, and maybe he can give me a few tips."

    Innu was smiling to himself as he imagined the situation, and with great timing, he had received a text.

    [This is ke. It looks like there is a meeting, and they want you toe as well. This will be good to introduce you to us and also allow you to pick some equipment for yourself as well.]

    [Warning, they might ask us to go somewhere. You are still an apprentice, but at times when they really need people, they ask the apprentices as well. So it''s best if you make some excuse to the others that you might be away for a while.]

    The text ended there, and it looked like Innu would be going to one of the Hunter''s Association bases earlier than he thought.

    "I guess it should be okay. Things have been quiet in Slough for a while, so it might be the perfect time. I just hope no Howler''s stuff happens while I''m doing my Altered Hunter stuff. Living a double life is already tiring." Innu thought.

    He took a deep breath and looked around the alleyway, taking in the familiar surroundings. He knew that this was only the beginning of his journey and that there was still so much more to learn. But for now, he had to focus on the task at hand and prepare for the uing meeting. With a determined expression on his face, Innu headed out of the alleyway, ready to face whatever challengesy ahead.

    ******

 Chapter 640 Upgrading The Group

    Kai knew that Gary''s time was precious at the moment. He couldn''t spend long with the group, and the AFA would be wondering just where he was, especially with his debut match booked.

    So he decided there and then to send a text out to everyone that he wished toe with him, telling them that they were heading to Notsburg. Of these people, it was truly only the Werewolf members of the gang, Marie and Olivia.

    "Alright, they should all be here in about 30 minutes, and then we''ll head off," Kai stated.

    The good news was the night sky was out, so Gary was currently getting a buff. Meeting Midwak again was always an unpleasant and worrying feeling for Gary.

    He knew that the Werewolf was the type that would challenge him every month and would do so without fail for him to get to the position he needed to be. Gary originally thought it was a good idea so he could push his own strength to new heights, that way he would always be a step forwardpared to his senior Werewolf.

    The only thing was, since thest time they had met, how much had he improved? He had gained a few stats from the special lesson after eating the crystal. On top of that, he had learned how to use his skills more in an effective way, utilising the night sky.

    Yet, there hadn''t been a drastic change. In fact, Gary guessed if the two of them were to go up against each other now, if the sun was out, he would certainly lose. It wasn''t as if he could set the time that Midwak could fight him.

    ''I only just beat Midwak at night, and the current ss allows me to essentially get twice as strong. Does that mean I have to double my strength in the remaining amount of time?''

    There was one saving grace in all of this, there was still time. It hadn''t been a month since the two of them had fought, so Midwak wasn''t able to challenge him. So it was maybe the best time for the two of them to meet.

    "Before we go, there is one thing I want to do," Gary said, as he walked over and ced his hand on Kai''s shoulder. His head was facing the floor, so the other was unable to see his expression. "I''m sorry."

    "Why don''t your words match your expression right now?" Kai asked, as he saw a smile on Gary''s face.

    Suddenly, Kai could feel a pain through his body, a jolt in his legs that caused him to fall to the floor.

    "Oh, I thought it might not do this since it''s not an evolution," Garymented, looking at the struggling Kai.

    With 26 Pawn points from beating Midwak, taking over Notsburg, and an additional five frompleting the timed quest in the AJ Entertainment, Gary had plenty of pawn points to spare but not enough for him to go to the next rank.

    So he decided that it was best to rank up one of the others instead. Although the benefits of ranking up weren''t much for Gary. For one, the ranking up system seemed to be a way to create a stronger force.

    If Gary had several high-ranking Werewolves underneath him who were going out there turning others, then they would be able to produce a higher quality of werewolves. Since one was only able to create the same or lower rank than them.

    On top of that, for each Werewolf created and part of the Howlers, he himself would gain an additional pawn point. It almost felt like a pyramid scheme with Gary at the very top experiencing most of the benefits

    The only thing was, the Howlers weren''t out there trying to increase their pack size, so this benefit was practically nil. There were times when Gary thought of it because pawn points could also be converted into stat points, which would allow him to grow in the quickest way possible, and from the sound of things, the other Alpha already had an army of his own.

    But it was the fact that a turn wasn''t a 100 percent guaranteed, and in most likely terms, it meant death to the other person. It wasn''t that Gary wouldn''t kill, but killing for no reason apart from his own benefit didn''t sit well with him. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Still, he used the points on Kai because he wanted to see if he would go through another evolution. There were two limits it seemed like to Gary evolving, one was the level and the other was the rank.

    The thing was, the other Werewolves at least ording to the system didn''t have a level. So the least he could do was improve their rank, and as they got stronger, they were likely to unlock better sses.

    The best way to increase the Howlers'' strength was by bringing everyone up. He had a few people to choose from, Marie was a new Werewolf, she did cross his mind because he wanted to protect her more, but felt like a way of protecting was to increase their offense.

    There was also Olivia, the first person to join the Howlers. Her hunter ss felt like it was incredibly reliable, and he could only imagine the useful things a ss evolution would do with that.

    Then there was Kai. He had been affected the most from the attack by Midwak and worked the hardest for the Howlers. These things had swayed Gary to pick him.

    [Your Beta Werewolf''s rank has gone up!]

    [Knight >>>> Bishop]

    [A new ss upgrade is avable]

    [There is only one ss to choose from]

    [ss upgrade is beginning]

    Kai while on the floor screamed in even more pain than before.

    "Kai, this is all for a good cause," Gary smiled.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 641 A Team Upgrade

    Kai writhed in agony, rolling on the floor as he hit the side of his desk, causing a cascade of papers to fall. Gary was concerned for his friend, but he knew there was nothing he could do to alleviate Kai''s suffering. As such, he did the only thing he could do and started to pick up the scattered papers.

    "I''m sorry, Kai, I wish there was something I could do to make the process better, but I really have no control over it. Still, I can promise you one thing, you wille out of this better!" Gary said in an attempt to cheer him up, but all he got was a deathly re from Kai.

    Coincidentally, by the time he was done picking up all the paper, the screams of the blonde teenager also came to an end. His hand could be seen mming the edge of the table as he lifted himself off.

    You bastard!" Kai seethed, struggling to his feet. "What the hell did you do to me this time, and where the hell do you get off acting so casual about it?" he spat, his eyes zing with anger. Among the Howlers, Kai was usually the most calm and collected member, but Gary''s actions had pushed him to his limits.

    "Remember how I grew stronger before fighting Midwak?" Gary questioned, confusing Kai as to why he would mention this at such a time. "Well, I did what I did because I could feel that just like me the power inside of you had umted to a point you could get stronger.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin, but it seems to be a perk I have as Alpha, simr to like how I can let out howls to make you feel stronger. I could tell that your body was ready to evolve to the next stage so I kinda¡­ willed it, I guess."

    Gary had never shared the details about the Werewolf System with Kai before, mostly because it was too confusing even for him. After all, filled in a world with Altered, and apparently Werewolves and allegedly Vampires, the existence of his System seemed to be even more magical. It might also be unique to him, though he would have to question Midwak about it at some point.

    "Since the painful part is over, do you feel any different?" Gary asked while using the system to check out what had just changed.

    [Superior Grey Werewolf Shapeshifter]

    ''When Kai got turned, he received the Unique ss of Grey Werewolf Shapeshifter. I still don¡¯t know whether he just had the right physique or aptitude to receive an optimal ss choice, or if my Alpha Bite was the reason for. Unlike me, he didn''t have any evolution paths, though perhaps as a Unique ss his path is predetermined.''

    Once more Gary wished that his system would havee with instructions, but up until now the trend was that for every new thing he learned on his own, more and more questions would appear. He was slightly hoping for some type of skill that might answer at least some of those questions, but so far the Skill Shop sadly offered no such thing.

    p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® All the information he had was the name of the new ss. As a Superior Grey Shapeshifter perhaps Kai could now shapeshift into something besides a wolf, that or perhaps his wolf form had been strengthened. Another possibility was that the inherent trait of a Grey Werewolf had been enhanced by the chance.

    In a rare instance of his Werewolf System not keeping mum, it had informed Gary about the trait of Grey Werewolf to grow stronger when in thepany of other Werewolves, not necessarily from their own Pack even.

    ''Shoot, we never really experimented with that, so there¡¯s no way to find out if it got improved. This time, we should definitely try to find out just how big the boost of power of a single Werewolf is. There is a good chance, if we ever have to sh against one of the other Alpha and their pack, that Kai could be a big part of this all.''

    "The pain is gradually subsiding," Kai said, rousing Gary from his thoughts. The Beta Werewolf clenched his hand into a fist. "You were right. I can feel the surge of power flowing through me, and it''s even stronger than before. It''s almost like when I first transformed from human to Werewolf."

    The power of a Werewolf amazed him, but even now as Gary looked at Kai, he could see the scar on his jaw. A reminder of what a moment of weakness could mean for them all. Kai suddenly turned his head, looking at the stairs.

    "Seems like the others have arrived."

    Gary was caught off guard by thement, as he couldn''t smell the others at the moment. After a couple of seconds, the scent of them finally wafted into his nose, causing a smile to form on his face. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''He was able to tell their whereabouts before me¡­ His senses appear to be even sharper than mine after this evolution, but should I be happy for him or jealous?''

    The footsteps could be hearding down the stairs, and the person in front wearing the tight-fitting gold and ck uniform turned out to be Olivia. As usual, she had zipped up her jacket right up to herrge breasts but not the whole way, still showing off the top of her body.

    What was more surprising for Gary, though, was the person who followed after her.

    "Ma¡­ Marie?" Gary called out as if to make sure he got the right person.

    As soon as he saw her, he was taken aback by how different she looked from thest time they had met. Her hair was no longer in childish pigtails, but rather was elegantly tied back in a single ponytail that ran straight down her back. The new hairstyle seemed to suit her well, giving her a more mature and serious look thatplemented her piercing eyes, leaving nothing of her old self that used to remind him of a ck-haired version of his sister.

    He also noticed a change in her demeanour, as if she had be more focused and aware of her surroundings. The way her body had transformed as well, gaining noticeable muscle mass in all the right ces without looking bulky. Instead, she now had a toned and athletic build that made her appear stronger and more confident than ever before. Just like Olivia, the suit now hugged tight to her skin in a lot of areas.

    ¡®If I didn''t know any better, I would believe they were sisters,¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    Kai noticed Gary''s expression and couldn''t resist teasing him. "You''re not wrong, Olivia has certainly rubbed off on our Marie," he said with a chuckle.

    "Shut up," Marie replied. "I just don''t want things to be like before, and now I don''t think they will be."

    "It''s nice to meet you again, Gary." Marie greeted him with a smile.

    With all four Werewolves gathered together and the car already waiting for them outside, it was time for them to pay Midwak a visit. Hopefully had a way to stop their full moon transformation, otherwise the town of Slough would have four deadly Werewolves to deal with.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 642 The one with answers

    Chapter 642 The one with answers

    The group had returned to Nottsburg under the cover of darkness, and the city''s lights twinkled in the distance. While Gary wasn''t eager to engage in a direct confrontation with Midwak, he believed in being prepared for any eventuality.

    The car pulled up in front of the casino, its grandeur as striking as thest time they had visited. The bridge leading up to it and the building''s exterior had been restored to their original state, showcasing the owner''s wealth and power.

    ¡°How long do you want me to wait for you guys?¡± Tyler asked as the other four were heading off into the distance.

    ¡°We will update you via phone of what''s going on. If you don¡¯t hear from us, and it''s been four hours or more, then it might be best that you just get out of here,¡± Kai ordered.

    Tyler''s heart sank at Kai''s words. At first, he thought it was a joke because of how light-hearted Kai had made thement, but as he looked into his eyes, he realized how serious he was. Tyler understood that if there was any force strong enough to take on the four of them, the way they were now, then he and the rest of the Howlers wouldn''t stand a chance.

    As they stepped inside the opulent casino, the Howler members were struck by the blinding lights and deafening sounds of slot machines and chatter. They kept their eyes peeled for any sign of trouble, scanning the crowds of gamblers and guards alike. The masks on their faces concealed their identities, though at the same time they informed the Notsburg members that VIPs had just arrived. One of them was quick to approach them, bowing and addressing them with utmost respect. He led the group through the maze of tables and corridors, avoiding the prying eyes of security cameras.

    Carrying on their walk through the casino, there were long, hard stares from the customers. They could see the four masked individuals being escorted, treated as if they were royals. This was standard because the group owned the very casino everyone was gambling in.

    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a chance that Midwak would betray us?¡± Marie asked, not caring about the guide, who stopped for a moment as he listened in on their conversation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t sense anyone else with him, but Fox and Hunter might be better at noticing if someone is in here,¡± Gary replied, using the code names to make sure their identities would remain hidden.

    Kai had proven earlier that his senses were now sharper than his own, though Gary wasn¡¯t sure how Kai would farepared to Olivia''s Hunter ss, which was specialised in sensing others. Thinking about it made him wonder whether Marie had uncovered any abilities granted to her by her Werewolf ss.

    ¡°Betrayal isn''t in his best interest,¡± Kai replied confidently. ¡°He certainly doesn¡¯t like us, but he''s the type to swallow his pride for the sake of revenge. He''s aplished every task I''ve given him so far, and based on our previous conversations, I can tell that he hates their group far more than ours. As long as we remain his best bet to achieve that revenge, he should at least cooperate with us.¡±

    As they approached the hallway leading to the office, Kai motioned for the guide to leave, and the man eagerlyplied.

    Memories for everyone started to enter their minds as they entered the office they had fought in. It looked a bit differentpared to before, not just due to ack of corpses.

    The decorations of shy jewels and such had been reced with a monochrome ck and white theme. There were also a ton of olden equipment inside, such as swords, shields, and ancient weapons that looked hundreds of years old.

    ¡°I see you have been using the budget that I allocated you quite well?¡± Kaimented, looking at the stuff.

    Midwak looked almost bored as he sat in his chair, in front of his desk. At first, he didn¡¯t even acknowledge their arrival, which settled Gary¡¯s heart a little, as he took it as a sign that the other wasn¡¯t looking for a way to get back at their group.

    When Midwak finally looked up, his eyes rested on Marie, and a sly smile spread across his face. ¡°I see that you took my advice about increasing the size of your Pack,¡± he said, his gaze flickering over the rest of the group before settling back on her. ¡°This will be great for when I be the Alpha, though I have to question your choice. If it were me, I would have started with the ck kid¡­ could it be that him not being means you failed to turn him?¡±

    Kai and Gary both made sure that there was nobody else around to overhear what they were nning to discuss.

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why you came here. I should have guessed by your current entourage.¡± Midwak sighed. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen or heard any signs of anyone else daring to attack us or Slough, which means you¡¯re here because of a personal problem.

    ¡°Go ahead, just tell me what you want. Not like I can stop you from forcing the information out of me anyway, but I do warn you all, things will be much different when I¡¯m in charge.¡±

    Gary''s mind was in turmoil. On one hand, he knew that as the Alpha, he had the authority to alter the Pack Rules in a way to force Midwak to speak the truth, but on the other hand, he couldn''t shake the feeling that something was off.

    Had Midwak truly epted his fate so easily, or was there something else going on? Gary knew that he couldn''t let his guard down, especially since they were dealing with a cunning opponent like Midwak. Despite the Beta''s assurance, Gary remained wary and kept a close eye on the situation. He was determined to uncover any secrets that Midwak might be hiding.

    ¡°Given that you have been a Werewolf for far longer than any of us, Kai was the one to address Midwak, since Gary chose to remain silent for now. "ording to what you have told us, Werewolves have existed for a much longer time than we could ever imagine, yet they have managed to stay hidden from the public eye. It''s difficult for me to believe that their existence has remained a secret if there were mass killings every full moon."

    ¡°As such, there should be a way to prevent us from actin up on the full moon, and I bet you know what it is.¡±

    In the worst-case scenario, they could always fall back on the method they had usedst time. Unfortunately, it was truly excruciating to endure. Moreover, as their Werewolf family continued to expand, there was an increasing possibility that someone would be unable to control or contain themselves, leaving them with no one to me but themselves.

    Midwak finally stood up from his seat and started to walk over to their group, making them flinch for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s it? Shit, if that¡¯s all you wanted to know, this might as well have been a call. Of course, I know a way. However, I have a feeling that you might not like what you are about to hear.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 643 The requirements

    Chapter 643 The requirements

    While in the car on the way to Notsburg, the others talked about what was toe. For one, they had to be careful about the information given by Midwak. Even though Gary could force him to tell the truth, there was a chance that he might miss out on things or phrase them in a certain way that would seem like the truth.

    So they were all ready for Midwak to try to frighten them out of this whole thing, and there was a chance that this whole thing would be too dangerous for them to do anything in the first ce.

    "There are a lot of things that people don''t know about werewolves that aren''t written in books," Midwak stated. "A lot of what I''m about to tell you, there is no way to confirm whether it''s true or not. Because I am simply passing on information."

    And with those words, all the credibility Midwak had was thrown out of the window. Either way, they would still listen to what he had to say.

    Midwak looked at his arm for a second, and in an instant, it started to change as fur grew all over it, and his hand grewrger.

    "The fact that we humans can turn into these types of creatures, don''t you think it''s strange in the first ce? The fact that we are influenced by the moon. What exactly is it that is giving us power, or what exactly is it that is drawing it out?

    "None of it makes sense. Say if there were life on others where there is more than one moon, what would happen then? I''m sure many of you have had these questions on your mind."

    Gary was a little embarrassed because he hadn''t thought of these things, and what Midwak said had just blown his mind a little.

    ¡°Themon consensus is that this was a type of punishment from above that was brought down on a single human. Could you imagine, in the past, where families and friends lived close together in a confined space? They would have to live with the fact that once a month they would be forced to kill those closest to them. It is perhaps one of the cruellest forms of punishment one can have.¡±

    The group was struggling with this already. They could only imagine what would have happened if they had never found out about Gary¡¯s method. What lengths they would have had to go to try and stop themselves.

    ¡°However, this punishment was meant only for one man. So, is it fair that the rest of us, who have a part of him, should suffer the same fate? No, and the truth is not every Werewolf suffers the same fate. For me, for example, I have never once had trouble controlling myself on the full moon. Apart from feeling more powerful, I can stay in my human form and am not forced to hunt.¡±

    Everyone''s eyes widened when they heard this. Was Midwak telling the truth? If he never had a problem with control, then did that also mean he didn''t have an answer for them?

    Seeing the look on their faces, Midwak couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°HAHAHA! I can see the hope in your eyes vanish. I wish I could leave it at that, but the story doesn''t end there.

    ¡°What I just told you is no lie, but as I said before, there is something that is passed down from leader to leader, or I should say, Alpha to Alpha. There is a ritual that can be performed.

    ¡°In this said ritual, one is able tomunicate with the one from above. The guess is, it is the one that originally put this punishment and caused us all to be the way we are.

    ¡°When making contact with said person, one must make a new vow. A promise between the Alpha and the greater power. Whatever this vow or promise is, not just he, but the rest of his pack must keep it and never break it.

    ¡°When the ritual isplete, all of those belonging to your pack, whether born into it or forced to join, will no longer have a problem. As this new vow is linked to your pack and only your pack. This is the way to break the punishment given to Werewolves and a responsibility of a Werewolf.¡±

    The group was in silence, and they were, in a way, waiting for Gary to answer. Based on the information they had gained, a lot of it was riding on his shoulders as to what could happen.

    In some ways, Gary was also pleased that the way to control oneself was fairly easy. There was no giant task, a trial of some sort, or something that every Werewolf would have to go through. After this, none of them would have to deal with this problem again.

    ¡°This vow.¡± Marie finally spoke up. ¡°You said it¡¯s a promise that must never be broken. What happens then, what happens if the person breaks the promise.¡±

    Midwak went to sit back in his seat, and in doing so, the grin couldn¡¯t be removed from his face, and his shoulders were shaking up and down.

    ¡°I have never seen it happen during my time. Some Alphas even choose to keep the vow a secret. Otherwise, there might be those unruly ones like myself that try and break it, in order to punish the rest of the Werewolves, but I can tell you the rumours.

    ¡°They say one of two things can ur, and it is entirely dependent on what it thinks is worse for the one involved. Either the pack will lose its status, losing its power as a werewolf. They will never be able to transform again no matter what they do, nor be turned by others. They will remember everything they once had, but it will all be lost, and everything taken away from them.

    "In some ways, some would think of this as a cure and would be pleasurable for them. Which is why I think there is also another rumour that is spread. They will be forced to receive punishment for every second of their life. They will permanently be in a full moon Werewolf state, with a blood lust impossible to be quenched.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 644 Starting the ritual?

    Chapter 644 Starting the ritual?

    After hearing the entire exnation from Midwak, Gary was unsure whether he should be happy or not. There were a number of reasons to be frightened by this whole thing. The punishment for breaking a vow seemed quite high.

    On both ends, it wouldn''t do them any favours. The reason why Gary had survived in the Underworld and had gotten this far was due to his Werewolf form, so if that was suddenly to be taken away, then what would he do?

    Old enemies such as Ben Clove would be able to take him down, and new ones as well that would always be trying to uproot his position. Then again, the other option didn''t sound delightful either.

    Essentially, it was no different from a Crazed Altered. When one was unable to turn back and he was sure that the blood lust wouldn''t be good either.

    "I''m sure the vow with this upper being can''t be something as simple as never eating sweets again either, and the more I think about it, even that would be impossible to maintain." Gary said, scratching his head.

    "I would be on the edge of my seat every day wondering if someone would eat a sweet by ident, and if I told them about eating sweets, then Midwak would dangle that in front of me.

    "He could threaten me to force a change the pack rules; otherwise, he would eat the sweets."

    Shaking his head, the expression on Gary''s face was constantly changing as he went through made-up scenarios, and the others were a little concerned for him.

    "What was the vow for your old pack?" Kai asked.

    Knowing this would give them an idea of what type of promise they would need to make, and the other would allow them to get the upper hand on other Werewolves.

    Midwak shrugged his shoulders. "I don''t know. The Alpha never told us, and we never asked. Whatever it was, no one had ever broken it in our pack, and as for those before I can only say they have been rumours but all of that is before my time.

    "I don''t see why you''re all struggling so much. Is it really a big deal to go a bit wild once a month?"

    Kai was seriously considering this option. Right now, it was a problem they dealt with monthly, and they did have a solution, but making a vow would cause a permanent problem they would always have to worry about.

    "Weren''t you an Omega wolf for a while?" Olivia suddenly asked as it popped into her head. "If you were kicked out of your pack, did you still have control of yourself, or are you just like us?"

    "You got me!" Midwak kissed his teeth and threw his hands up in the air. It was one of the questions he was hoping they wouldn''t ask.

    "I said before, from birth I have been in control of my Werewolf self, but just as you stated, when I became an Omega wolf, I was affected just like everyone else. The first turning I had experienced beforeing to Notsburg wasn''t too much trouble, but I am a problem solver.

    "Even when joining the Scatterbugs, I had my ways of not causing trouble."

    Again, the others felt like it might not be best to ask, but maybe it was a better solution than starving themselves.

    "What was it? What did you do every full moon? Did you lock yourself up?" Marie asked. She was the most worried out of everyone.

    She had yet to experience a full moon as a Werewolf but had been there on the other end when they had attempted to stop the others. In her mind, if the will of the others wasn''t strong enough, then what about hers?

    Midwak started tough again.

    ¡°It was an easy solution, at least for me it was,¡± Midwak said. ¡°I just went down to the lower tier cities. The tier 4 and tier 5 for a little trip once a month. No one would care, nor would they really notice if they disappeared.¡±

    Midwak continued tough, and as for Gary, he started to walk straight toward Midwalk while clenching his fist.

    ¡°Stopughing,¡± Gary mumbled.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Midwak replied.

    Bending his front knee, Gary went to throw a fist from underneath and hit Midwak right in the chin. It lifted his body in the air before hended on the ground. Midwak wasn¡¯t stunned but was surprised as he rubbed his chin.

    ¡°You f*ck!¡± Midwak shouted. ¡°Youe here and ask me for help, and when I tell you things you don¡®t want to hear, you take it out on me! I¡¯m going to rip you to shreds when I get the chance!¡±

    Something had clicked in Gary when he heard that, and it was his own situation. Him and his family were so close to not being able to live in a tier 3 town and were close to moving down to tier 4. And from there, maybe their situation would have gotten worse and they would have lived in a tier 5.

    The way Midwak was talking, it was as if their lives were worth less than the others. If he hadn¡¯t had a stroke of luck, it was possible that he would be living in fear, scared of someone like Midwak roaming around.

    ¡°You guys are screwed anyway!¡± Midwak shouted. ¡°I know about the ritual, but do you think I even know how to do a ritual in the first ce? That is something only Alphas know, and someone like you, who knows even less than me about Werewolves, will never figure out how to do one.

    ¡°So good luck on trying to go down your righteous path.¡±

    Standing there, they all felt like Midwak was right. There was now no one to turn to. So what would Gary do with his uing AFA match? That was until a ding was heard.

    [The User has gained knowledge about the Werewolf Vow ritual]

    [Would you like to perform the ritual?]

    ¡®Ah, system, I''m starting to like you more and more these days,¡¯ Gary smiled.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 645 The Ritual Begins

    The system that was always shrouded in mystery, that sometimes gave Gary quests he never wanted to do at the beginning, and at other times appeared to challenge him, hade through.

    ¡®The trip wasn¡¯t wasted though, it looks like the information from Midwak was what allowed the ritual to be unlocked,¡¯ Gary thought.

    The others, looking like they had gotten all the answers they could from Midwak, were ready to leave. Knowing full well that they hadn¡¯t gotten what they came for, Midwak was smug in his smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Gary smiled. ¡°I know how to do the ritual.¡±

    For a second, everyone was surprised, including Midwak, but he soon shook his head in disbelief. It had to be a bluff, after all, it made no sense that Gary would know the ritual. Unfortunately, the others thought the same.

    Maybe Gary had just spoken out of annoyance, or maybe he just didn¡¯t want to see Midwak so happy. It was understandable, as none of them did.

    Rather than exining, Gary thought it was a lot better to show. Heading back into the centre of the room, away from the others, he stood there.

    [Ritual is being activated]

    Gary¡¯s eyes lit up red, a fierce red, and at the same time, everyone else in the room seemed to react as well. The colour of their eyes changed to their blue when using their powers. It hade over all of them; they could feel it, including Midwak as well.

    ¡®Damn it, I¡¯m not sure if this is the ritual or not¡­ but he¡¯s doing something? What is this?¡¯ Midwak said, confused.

    A circle started to light up around Gary, and inside, there were multiple shapes starting to appear. They were of different colours, red, blue, and yellow. The patterns spiralled and started to move about. A foreign energying from the circle started to flow out and enter Gary¡¯s body, and with it, an image appeared in his mind.

    ¡®What is this¡­ is this the higher being that Midwak talked about? My stomach¡­ it''s hurting so much, and the hair on all of my body is standing up!¡¯

    The image that was appearing in Gary¡¯s head wasn¡¯t clear. It was almost a sinister ck smog, where only eyes could be seen, but the feeling around it, the ce it was in, was filled with death. Screams, and pain, images of torment were going through Gary¡¯s head, and he was unsure how much longer he could keep this up.

    ¡°A connection¡­ but not a strong one.¡± The voice spoke.

    From the outside, the others could also faintly hear the voice but were unable to hear what Gary could hear.

    Not wanting to waste any time, Gary decided to get right to the point.

    ¡°I have activated this ritual to speak with you. I want to make a vow, a promise, and in return for not breaking that promise, to stop our bloodlust and forced turning on the day of the full moon.¡± Gary asked.

    When he spoke out like this, Gary realised that a lot of the Werewolf beliefs that held them together were based on rules. Gary could make a promise with others to mark them. There were pact rules as well, and now this.

    ¡°It¡¯s as expected¡­ It has been a while. I can do that, so state your promise,¡± the voice replied.

    Gary probably should have thought about this a bit more before he made the ritual, but he wanted to shock Midwak. What came to mind was a promise that he had made before with Kai, to get to the top of the Underworld.

    Would this suffice? Probably not because it needed to be something that couldn¡¯t be broken. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°What type of vow do you ept, what have the others promised before you?¡± Gary asked, thinking maybe they could learn what the other werewolves knew.

    ¡°Vowse in all shapes and sizes. I have been promised to always go against the vampires, a sacrificial vow, an entire kingdom within a set time, and so on through the years. However, in return for you having such power from me, you need difficulty in your life.

    ¡°This world needs a bnce, and there needs to be a bnce to your power. Taking the turning away, something equal to it needs to be reced, and for you, I think it needs to be even more difficult.¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure if he was imagining it or not, but the voice seemed to be almost angry with him for some reason. The tone of voice sounded as if he had done something to annoy it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I annoyed you with my questions. What if I promised to be one of the current kings in the country within the next five years?¡± Gary answered.

    The voice seemed to be thinking about it.

    ¡°That would certainly be a difficult task, and if you broke the promise, then it would mean you would lose everything, and in attempting to do the task, you would make many enemies. I will ept this vow, but for you, for your family line, you will need toe up with an additional vow.

    ¡°Your family has already broken a vow in the past.¡±

    Gary hadn¡¯t been imagining things. It was true. He really was angry with him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand my family, my current pack?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± The voice replied. ¡°Did you really think you became a werewolf by chance, when there wasn¡¯t even a bite on you? You, the Dem family, have had werewolf blood running in your veins long before you managed to unlock your powers.

    ¡°For breaking the vow, I sealed your family''s powers away, and yet here you are, in front of me again. After getting your powers back, you have the guts to ask to make another promise with me!¡±

    There was no reply from Gary because he was too stunned by what he had just learned. What was the Dem family? Who knew about this? And what the hell was in that briefcase then?

    *****

    *****

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 646 An Important Quest!

    Important: The paperback copy of "My Werewolf System" is now avable on A.m.a.z.o.n. Search for "My Werewolf System" and you can get a physical copy. There is also an official audiobook version! Please help out and leave a review on the series.

    For Each Review of the book, I will be releasing 1 extra Chapter!

    ******

    Gary had never felt like his family was surrounded in mystery. They had lived an ordinary life without much happening, heck, even their father leaving them had be the norm among families living in poverty.

    Now though, with learning this information, learning that there had always been Werewolf blood running through his body, he started to think, did his father know more? Was there more to him running away, and maybe there was much more significance in the letter that had been sent to Amy.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know about this,¡± Gary replied. ¡°So you''re saying that I''m the one being punished for someone else¡¯s mistake, when I didn¡¯t even know about it. Does that sound right to you?¡±

    At first, when Gary saw the dark image in his head, he was unable to talk back like this, but knowing about his family, and only learning about the truth now, had spurred this anger in him.

    It was clear that this Werewolf blood had toe from his mother or father¡¯s side, and he assumed it had to be his father. Their mother had always been quite honest with them. Although who knew now, maybe even she knew about all of this but was keeping it a secret.

    The fact was, though, that he had turned into a Werewolf and had to deal with all these troubles, but there was a chance that the same thing could have happened to Amy. If it did, he wondered just what she would have gone through, the dangers she would have faced, and even if she would have survived.

    ¡°I am the one that is in control, I am the one that''s in charge,¡± the voice replied. ¡°You were the one that came to me, remember, so it''s only right that I decide the rules. So I have made up my mind.¡±

    Now it felt like Gary no longer had any leverage in the discussion, and whatever this thing was, it was going to decide the deal for him, and he was right.

    ¡°The deal stated before, the race of the Werewolves was made so there would only be one that led all! There should only ever exist one Alpha, andpetition amongst each other is how one grows. In five years'' time, there shall only be one Alpha!¡± The voice angrily stated.

    Hearing this, it meant that Gary''s task was now even harder than the vow from before. He had to promise not only to be a king but to top the other Alpha as well. In his mind, while there was no bad blood between the two, there was a chance that maybe they wouldn''t have to fight, maybe they could work out something together, but that didn''t seem to be the case anymore.

    "On top of that, for the second condition. Let¡¯s make you suffer a little bit," the voice stated. "I want you to remember at any point and time I can take your power away, and in order for you to remember that, once a month on the day of the full moon, you or your pack are not allowed to transform into your Werewolf selves!"

    When the voice spoke, the vow was omitted from the others. The conversation had been made private, so they were unable to hear about Gary''s original bloodline or the vows that had taken ce.

    There was now a big problem with the deal though, wasn''t it just changing the problem into another problem? Now they were unable to change on the full moon.

    "Wait!" Gary shouted out, but the power and color from his eyes started to fade.

    The circle that was beneath his feet started to disappear, and the heavy feeling that surrounded the room was going. Everyone felt less sick; they felt as if they could breathe the clear air once again.

    "I guess you weren''t joking," Midwak said, standing up with an angry look on his face. He did not enjoy that, whatever that was.

    Everyone was taking a few moments to themselves, to shake off the strange feeling, while Gary was left with the promises in his head. Looking at the system, he could see that they had turned into a status.

    Two had turned into a quest. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [New Quest received]

    [Objective 1: Be one of the King''s of the country, controlling a tier-1 city]

    [Objective 2: Be the only Alpha]

    [Time limit 5 years]

    As for the other one, there was a simple message stating the promise.

    [A vow has been made]

    [The user and members of the pact must not turn into their Werewolf form on the night of the full moon]

    "Based on the words here, it''s not saying that we can''t fight on the night of the full moon but just not transform. Either way, this will greatly diminish our strength. If anyone were to find out about this fact, then they could target us, and it''s the same if the other Alpha found this out as well."

    "How was it?" Kai said. "Was it a sess, did you manage to stop it? Did you manage to make a vow?"

    Kai was just looking for a simple answer; he didn''t need to know what the Vow was because there was a good chance that a certain someone could use it against them. The problem was, Gary had to reveal the truth to everyone.

    Because if he didn''t, this was a vow that could easily be broken.

    "We...don''t have to worry about turning on the full moon," Gary answered.

    The faces of all of those around him had full joy, but Kai could tell there was something else Gary wanted to say, and there wasn''t a happy look on his face.

    "But on the night of the full moon, we have promised that we won''t turn into our Werewolf selves. Instead, if we do, then there is a good chance that we might never be able to turn again," Gary answered.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not to busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 647 An important task

    Chapter 647 An important task

    EVENT: For every review on the a.m.a.z.o.n store, between now and the 9th of May, it will = 1 extra chapter mass release. Support the story and get a physical copy on a.m.a.z.o.n

    Gary had stunned the others into silence with his actions before, and he had done it again with histest statement. They were left speechless, struggling toprehend the weight of his words.

    Midwak''s outburst broke the silence that had hung in the air, and he took a step forward, his fists clenched in anger. "This is a joke, right?" he spat out, his voice thick with disbelief. But as he closed in on Gary, something strange happened. Midwak''s eyes began to glow an eerie shade of blue, and his movements became unsteady. It was as if some unseen force was taking hold of him, causing him to hesitate in his tracks.

    Even if he used all his will, the Beta Werewolf¡¯s body wouldn¡¯t allow him to hit the Alpha, not until he was able to challenge him for his position again.

    Gary''s voice was steady as he spoke, his eyes meeting Midwak''s in a direct gaze. "I''m not joking," he replied firmly. "The vow wasn''t one I made, but one that being decided on. From here on out, we¡¯re not to turn on the night of the full moon.¡±

    Hearing the news once again, Midwak jumped from his feet back to where his desk was. Both of his hands were covered in fur as he transformed and mmed them down onto the desk, breaking it in half.

    ¡°Do you have any idea what you have done? Thanks to you, ALL of us are in even worse situationpared to before!¡± Midwak shouted. ¡°If the other Alpha finds out about this, then they have a perfect day to attack us all! Just because you couldn¡¯t handle one night of bloodlust, you have gone ahead and doomed us all!¡±

    Honestly, Gary wasn¡¯t too happy about this either, but it was more so for other reasons. Now that this deal had been made, what did it mean for his family? If there was Werewolf blood running through him, didn¡¯t it mean it was also running through Amy?

    ording to this being, their family had already been punished for breaking a vow in the past. However, seeing that it had agreed to make a vow with him, would he have to worry about his sister now also being able to turn?

    For now, he kept these worries to himself, just like he hid the fact that there was also a second promise, which was to get rid of the Alpha in five years. Things were just starting to look good for the Howlers, so now didn¡¯t seem like the perfect time to add additional pressure.

    ¡°Will you calm down?!¡± Marie shouted. ¡°You''re acting like a wild animal. Did you not hear what he said? He wasn¡¯t the one who chose to make that vow, it was forced on him!¡±

    Midwak''s anger boiled over. "And why do you think that was the case, huh, missy?" he snarled, his words dripping with venom. "Let me tell you, it was given to him because he''s a giant piece of shit!" His eyes narrowed as he red at Gary, his fists shaking with rage. "I promise you, the first thing I''m going to do when I be Alpha is get rid of this ridiculous vow!"

    As Midwak continued to shout obscenities in the air, his words filled with rage and bitterness, the rest of the group watched on in silence. They knew that nothing they could say or do would calm him down in his current state. Finally, one by one, they began to make their way out of the room.

    ¡°Hey Gary, don¡¯t kick yourself so much.¡± Kai rested his hand on his shoulder after they left. ¡°We got what we came for, now you can fight in your debut match without having to worry about it. Heck, all of us can eat as much as we want now without having to worry.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and think about it, Gary. Only those in the room know about this. Even without transforming we¡¯re strong enough to fight against anyone who isn¡¯t an altered and because it affects all of us, we would never say anything that would put us at a disadvantage,¡± Marie said, thinking that even Midwak wouldn¡¯t tell the enemy a weakness he had as well.

    ¡°Besides, it''s one day a month, so that''s 12 days a year when we just have to avoid fighting. It''s not like we''re mas that attract trouble.¡±

    As Olivia followed the group, she listened intently to Marie''s words. For the most part, she agreed, nodding along in silent agreement. However, there was one part of Marie''s statement that didn''t sit right with her. Olivia had never been part of a gang that got involved in so much trouble in such a short amount of time before, and while things had quieted down somewhat, she felt that the danger was always lurking in the shadows for the Howlers.

    During the drive back, Gary sat in silence, lost in his own thoughts. The others in the car exchanged nces, unsure of what was going on in his mind. They assumed that he was still preupied with the vow that had been made, but little did they know that there was so much more weighing on his mind. The vow was just a small part of arger puzzle that he was trying to put together.

    Tyler just silently did his just and dropped them off at their desired destination. Marie and Olivia got off at Burnham Food Street first, before they continued towards the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    The two of them headed inside and down to into Kai¡¯s office.

    ¡°So, now that¡¯s just the two of us again, what¡¯s on your mind?¡± Kai asked as he looked over the papers Gary had collected during his transformation.

    ¡°There are a few things that I want to request from you, but I can¡¯t really exin why at the moment.¡± Gary answered. ¡°First, I need you to keep an eye on Amy. I mean more so than you have been doing already. Tell White to be careful and that she needs to report if she notices anything unusual about Amy. In that case, contact me straight away.¡±

    ¡°That can easily be done,¡± Kai answered. ¡°And for the other requests.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s finally time to find out more about the briefcase that started it all. We need to find out where it came from and who Damion nned to deliver it to.¡±.

    Kai didn¡¯t say anything, because he had already been looking into this himself. He had a few guesses in mind, but he didn¡¯t want to give Gary an answer until he knew for certain. His guesses were all dangerous people, and sticking their nose in the business of uninvolved parties was just asking for trouble.

    "As for my final request," Gary said, his voice steady butced with emotion. "I need you to use all of the resources at our disposal to find someone very important to me. Contact our allies and ask for their assistance in locating Dean Dem."

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 648 Gather The Altered Hunters

    Chapter 648 Gather The Altered Hunters

    EVENT: 9 reviews so far = 9 Chapters for the mass release. All reviews from now till the 9th of May will count towards a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on Amazon.

    With Innu being called to head to the Altered Hunters Association''s base, he thought it only made sense to go with the one who knew all about him, and the other Altered Hunter from Slough. After all, he was meant to be his apprentice following under him.

    Right now, Innu was waiting for ke to get ready outside of his house. He wasn¡¯t wearing his gang uniform like he usually would, because he didn¡¯t want anyone noticing him.

    Truthfully, he would only wear the mask at meet-ups and meetings, but everywhere else he could wear the Howlers uniform, and they would just think he was a simple member. At the same time, he had what looked like a pool stick¡¯s bag carrier on his back and was where his axes were being carried because it wasn¡¯t something that could just be carried out in the open.

    ¡®What is taking the man so long?¡¯ Innu thought irritated. ¡®Is he taking a massive sh*t or something?¡¯

    Innu was impatient, and he had every right to be. It was the first time he would be heading to an Altered Hunters Association base, where he would meet many others that were just like ke, who had killed many Altereds.

    Although it wasn¡¯t all bad, pumping his fist, Innu couldn¡¯t wait to meet Ashen, the five-star hunter who had assessed him, and whom he had be a personal student of. He wanted to show him all of the improvements he had made.

    Finally, therge wooden gate started to slide, and that was when ke could be seen pushing along a jet-ck motorcycle. He had a helmet under his arm, while another one was hanging on the wing mirror.

    ¡°Here.¡± ke said, throwing it towards Innu.

    ¡°Wait a second.¡± Innu said, catching the helmet. ¡°We''re going on that thing, that death trap?¡±

    ¡°Death trap?¡± ke repeated, looking at his motorcycle. ¡°You risk your life fighting every day, and you¡¯re scared of going on this thing.¡± He had nearlyughed.

    Innu had the outer appearance of someone who wasn¡¯t frightened of anything, but often times there were things that worried him greatly.

    ¡°You need to get used to this; a lot of Altered Hunters ride motorcycles.¡± ke exined. ¡°In a world where most of the poption are in condensed cities, the traffic can be pretty horrible around here.

    ¡°Imagine you need to get somewhere fast to support someone; you don¡¯t want to be stuck in a car. With this, you can get where you need to at the drop of a hat.¡±

    Putting on his helmet, Innu climbed onto the back and held onto ke¡¯s waist pretty tightly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re happy to see me or just nervous.¡± ke said as he was getting ready to set off.

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Innu replied. ¡°Anyway, this meeting, what exactly is going on, what is going to happen to me?¡±

    ¡°Honestly?¡± ke replied. ¡°I have no idea. Usually, with you being my apprentice, I can take you to the base to get your weapon whenever you want, but this time they have called everyone over.

    ¡°So it must be something big that¡¯s going on. We¡¯ll just have to see.¡±

    Revving the bike, ke set off, and Innu gripped on even tighter, making sure he wasn¡¯t going to fall off.

    ¡®I guess everyone has their fears.¡¯ ke thought. ¡®Still, I wonder if I¡¯ll see father. Ever since Ashen came, there is a lot that I have managed to learn.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The Altered Hunter Association was a group that had several captains who helped run the ce. The captains had to be at least five stars. Above them, there was a single head who would be in charge of the Altered Hunters in that specific country.

    That meant that there were several heads in other countries as well, but the leader of the Altered Hunter Association, the one who had started it all, the one who had originally funded the Altered Hunters with the equipment they needed, was a big unknown to them.

    In one country, the captains and the head, known as Edvard, had decided to gather. They were in a rtively dark room, stood around a stone table, and despite it being dark with a few light sources here and there, Edvard still wore sunsses covering his eyes.

    ¡°The reports of Crazed Altered are only increasing, and we still don¡¯t have an idea of who is behind this.¡± One of the captains dered. ¡°The only thing we can assume is one of the big corporations is testing a new type of solution in the lower-tiered cities.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Another captain added. ¡°Yes, the solution has been discovered in several ces as well. Inside NIRV, the Dark Guild, and more. The traits of those who be crazed are all the same. It is not like the natural crazed altereds.¡±

    ¡°At first, they were weak, but we are getting more reports of them growing stronger, and our people dying. We have toe up with a solution to solve this.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I called this meeting.¡± Edvard said. ¡°The situation is getting quite desperate, so much so that White Rose is finally getting involved even though in the past they have been very slow to realize these things.

    ¡°There is an easy way for us to increase our strength. I believe that we have many skilled Altered hunters, but they currently don¡¯t have the equipment to back it up. The star system is good motivation for those to grow and gain strength.

    ¡°It also allows those that can do better to have the equipment needed in their hands, but it''s too slow, with the current situation we have, which is why I have invited everyone here today. There will be a star assessment.

    ¡°Those that do well will be rewarded for it. Let¡¯s try to find the talented ones in our group.¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS, and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 649 Gather Hunters!

    EVENT: 15 reviews so far = 15 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on Amazon.

    The ride on the motorcycle took longer than Innu thought. Maybe it was because he was fearing for his life while holding on. Every second he just wanted to get off sooner, and it also seemed like ke didn¡¯t care as he was whizzing past other cars.

    Eventually, though, they had stopped. They were in an area that was between cities. They had ridden to the top of a mountain, and the bike was parked on the side where one could see the pathway they hade from.

    It was a windy, dirt-like road, and there was a lot of greenery. Out here, it felt like it was the middle of nowhere.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll be happy about this, but we have to walk the rest of the way,¡± ke said.

    Rather than going further down, they had to carry on going up. Here they passed by a gate, where there were a few men standing guard, each of them wearing ck masks that only showed their eye holes.

    ¡®I guess since we¡¯re now seeing Altered Hunters in public, we¡¯re in the right ce.¡¯

    During their walk up the mountain, they could see others making the climb as well. It was a mix of different people. Some chose to wear their hunter masks, hiding their faces, while others didn¡¯t care.

    For ke and Innu, the two of them didn¡¯t have masks on either. Seeing this, Innu realized it was really hard to pick out who was and who wasn¡¯t a hunter from the general public.

    They were young, old, female, and male. Some looked fit and ready, but there were a few with beer bellies and seemed incredibly average. In a gang, nearly everyone was strong and had some level of athleticism. To be an Altered, one had to be the top of the top, but it was different here.

    Reaching the top, Innu didn¡¯t know what he was expecting up here. He just didn¡¯t think there would be this.

    ¡°It¡¯s an entire building all the way up here in the mountains.¡± Innu said out loud.

    The building wasn¡¯t small by any means and was built into the mountains itself. The outside was sturdy with grey concrete andrge pirs. It was a modern-day fortress.

    ¡°A lot of our bases are like this, so don¡¯t be surprised. There arergendmarks that aren¡¯t even on the map or any GPS,¡± ke exined. ¡°This is one of the bigger ones, I guess because everyone has been called here.¡±

    Looking around, there were thousands of people going in through these tunnel-like entrances, all heading inside. Innu and ke did the same, and when stepping through the doors, they felt like they had entered arge grand pce.

    It was an empty room with almost nothing in it, but the floor seemed to be made of a type of smooth rock. It was somehow cold inside as well. The top of the ceiling was nearly impossible to see because the darkness of the room reached it before one''s eyes did.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to see that you are still looking strong, even with my absence.¡±

    The two of them had heard a voice and turned around. Innu hadn¡¯t even felt someone approach them or get so close to them. It was strange because the sound of footsteps was echoing when they walked.

    ¡°Father, it is good to see you are in good health as well.¡± ke bowed down.

    Innu, seeing what ke was doing, bowed down as well. ¡®Is this how ke acts in front of his father? It doesn¡¯t seem like so much of a father and son rtionship. Not that I would know much about that. Still, it could just be an Altered Hunter thing.¡¯

    When Innu lifted his head, he could see the old man¡¯s eyes staring at him, almost piercing right through him.

    ¡°I can guess that this is your apprentice. I had heard the news that you managed to get one, but I just never expected him to be so young,¡± Ozacas said.

    There was a reason why Ozacas was being sceptical because Altered Hunters, if recruited so young like ke was, usually were through the family. It was rare to find a person that was so talented at a young age without the right amount of training.

    ¡°He has passed the assessment,¡± ke stated. ¡°He will not disappoint or tarnish our name.¡±

    This is what ke assumed his father was worried about. Because Innu was an apprentice of ke, his actions would affect their position and trust in the family.

    ¡°Anyway, today there will be something unexpected,¡± Ozacas said. ¡°This is not just a normal meeting. I can¡¯t say any more, otherwise you will have an unfair advantage over the others, but I will say this¡­ you must think of everyone who is in this room aspetition.¡±

    With only those words, Ozacas was off. They hadn¡¯t seen each other in a long time. His father hadn¡¯t been home in a while, and yet the only thing they had talked to each other about was that. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Innu had caught a nce of ke¡¯s pained face, expressing these concerns. ¡®I guess everyone has their own family issues, and I need to fight for mine.¡¯

    More people were starting toe into the grand hall, and it was starting to get cramped a bit.

    ¡°Hey, I think I''m going to try to go and look for Ashen and say hi,¡± Innu stated. ¡°We might get lost if we split up, so just stay here, and I¡¯lle back when this big meeting starts.¡±

    Before ke could say anything, Innu was already running off. Looking through the crowd, he could see that most were wearing sleeveless shirts, this way they could show off the number of stars they had on their arms.

    He knew Ashen was a five-star hunter, so he thought it would be rtively easy. That¡¯s when Innu spotted someone.

    A small framed man, who was wearing a ck sleeveless hoodie and had two swords on his back. At the same time, he wore a mask that just covered the bottom of his face like he was some kind of ninja.

    Innu didn¡¯t care about any of that, though. He mostly noticed the five stars.

    ¡°Excuse me, sir,¡± Innu said, bowing down and lifting his head. ¡°I was wondering if you could help me look for someone.¡±

    The man nced at Innu, surprised that someone he didn¡¯t recognize woulde up to him like so.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you before. Are you fairly new? How many stars do you have?¡± The man asked back.

    ¡°Um¡­I¡¯m just an apprentice, so I have no stars,¡± Innu said.

    Just then, the man felt like he was ready to be on his way, and Innu could see this.

    ¡°Wait, the one I¡¯m looking for, I¡¯m sure you would know him. He¡¯s a five-star hunter as well, Ashen.¡±

    This name had caught the man¡¯s attention, and he turned back around to look at Innu again.

    ¡°What business would you have with Ashen?¡±

    ¡°Well, he kinda taught me for a bit, so I wanted to speak to him and ask him how he thought I was progressing,¡± Innu answered honestly. He saw no harm in his answer because they were all Altered Hunters here.

    ¡®Ashen having his own student¡­ I never heard of that before,¡¯ the man thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be the one to tell you this, kid, but Ashen is dead.¡±

    (Note: I didn¡¯t realise that I used the same name for Ashen Gang, and Ashen the Altered Hunter. These two are not rted nor are they the same person.)

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 650 Passing The Baton

    EVENT: 19 reviews so far = 19 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on A.m.a.z.o.n.

    Innu wondered whether the five-star hunter was ying a trick on him. After all, Ashen had demonstrated glimpses of his formidable power - not only was he skilled and possessed great strength in Qi, but he also had a supernatural ability. Although he had only seen a glimpse of it, as a five-star Hunter he must have acquired a wealth of experience and taken down hundreds of Altered, but then how could someone of that calibre die without it causing a stir in the news?

    The public was no fan of Altered Hunter and whenever one got captured or killed they would make it on TV. The more experienced they were, the longer the media would talk about them afterwards.

    Unfortunately, as Innu looked at the hunter''s face, he could only see the pain and sorrow in his eyes, as though he had just lost a beloved family member. It was a look that Innu had grown ustomed to seeing and recognized all too well - he had often seen it on Kevin and Susan¡¯s faces ever since the Crazed Altered incident.

    ¡°How¡­how can that be¡­did an Altered get him?¡± Innu asked.

    Although Innu hadn''t known Ashen for a long time, he still considered him somewhat of a mentor. Ashen had shown him a way how to get stronger so that he would notck behind his friends, He felt that the least he could do was try to avenge him, even though he doubted he had the strength to take on someone who had defeated Ashen¡­ yet.

    The dressed ninja man shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. do you really think an Altered out there would be able to kill someone like him?¡±

    ¡°Then how, how did he die!?¡± Innu yelled.

    The others nearby started to turn and look, noticing not Innu but the person next to him. ¡°Isn¡¯t that THE Fang? Is that brat crazy talking to him like that?¡±

    ¡°He must have asked him for an autograph just to get rejected.¡±

    It was expected for a five-star Hunter to be well-known in the Altered Huntermunity, but Innu didn¡¯t care, he just wanted answers.

    "Interesting. It seems like you and Ashen had a close rtionship if he didn''t even tell you about himself. That''s ssic Ashen," Fangmented with a glint in his eyes, shrugging off Innu''s angry tone.

    ¡°All of us Altered Hunters know that we might die one day in the line of duty, but Ashen knew he was going to die before he ever became one of us. He has been diagnosed with a brain tumour from a young age, something that the doctors had been unable to do anything about. Perhaps he should have died sooner, but I believe that his body and his skills have allowed him to live longer.

    ¡°Unfortunately, his condition worsened over the years. The only way he could have possibly survived was by turning into an Altered. As an Altered, his body would have had a natural fighting chance to get rid of the brain tumour. But, of course, Ashen would have never agreed to that. He believed that bing an Altered was not worth the risk, and he wanted to live out his life as a human.¡±

    Of all the ways for Ashen to die, Innu was shocked that it wasn''t during his dangerous job as an Altered Hunter. He had no idea where to channel his frustration, as there was no clear enemy or target to me. All he could do was keep the anger inside.

    As he tried to process his emotions, memories of his brief time with Ashen started flooding back, and he began to connect the dots. The signs were always there, but he had never paid enough attention to them before.

    ¡®He kept talking about how he was running out of time. I thought he just meant our training¡­ but was he actually talking about himself?¡¯

    Another memory shed in Innu¡¯s head, of blood on his sleeve. Originally, Innu thought that must have just been due to the fights he had gotten into on the way to them.

    Thinking about it, though, the blood looked slightly wet, a bit fresh, so that would have been possible. It made him wonder, how much pain he was in at the time, how much was he holding in, just to teach Innu a little bit longer, and why of all people, did he decide to spend some of his final moments with him.

    ¡°Did Ashen have any family or rtives?¡± Innu asked his head held down.

    ¡°None,¡± Fang replied, shaking his head. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Knowing there weren¡¯t any more questions that he could answer for the young one, Fang went ahead to the front of the room, where there was a small stage that had been set up.

    The meeting was about to start, evident from the arrival of Edvard, once again sporting his sunsses indoors. He stood tall at the end of the expansive hall, nked by six five-star Hunters, including Fang.

    In front of them lined up were the four-star Hunters. There seemed to be around fifty or so of them, and they were in two rows spread out across the room that included ke¡¯s father.

    ¡°Did you find out what you wanted?¡± ke asked the returning Innu.

    ¡°Not what I wanted¡­ Ashen is dead.¡± Innu replied.

    ke himself was shocked to hear this. He was as baffled as Innu, as he too wanted to thank the Altered Hunter for helping them out.

    "It''s maddening, isn''t it? A brain tumour of all things," Innu eximed, his frustration evident in his voice. "How can I seek revenge when there''s no enemy to fight, no target to take down?"

    "There is something you can still do," ke replied, his voice calm and steady. "Why don''t you honour Ashen''s memory by sharing his teachings with others? Albeit briefly, you were still his apprentice. He must have taught you something that could benefit others. Think about it: by passing on his legacy, you''ll keep a part of him alive in the hearts and minds of many."

    ke had no idea what Innu had learned, and Innu was meant to keep it a secret, but with Ashen gone, he might really be the only person that knew of this power. Maybe it was something he could pass on.

    ¡°Thanks, ke, I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re more than just a pretty boy.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you think of me as a pretty boy?¡± ke asked jokingly. The response caused Innu to punch him on the arm. How could he not know based on all the attention he got?

    ¡°Alright everyone!¡± Edvard shouted so loud it almost burst several eardrums. It showed how much power he carried in just his voice.

    ¡°Today will be a very eventful day for the Altered Hunters, one that might even be ingrained in our history forever, So I want you all to listen carefully,¡± Edvard dered.

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 651 Edvards Power

    EVENT: 21 reviews so far = 21 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on A.m.a.z.o.n.

    The Altered Hunters were fully engaged, their attention fixed on Edvard as he spoke. The abnormality of the situation was apparent, prompting them to hang on his every word.

    "The number of Altered in our world is increasing by the day!" eximed Edvard. "Scientists and researchers are discovering new methods to create even more Altered individuals. It''s a trend that shows no sign of slowing down."

    "By now, I''m certain that you''re all aware of the ck liquid that''s spreading throughout the lower-tier cities. Some of you may have even had the unfortunate experience of encountering this new breed of Crazed Altered that has emerged as a result.

    "Given the urgency of the situation, we have determined that the Altered Hunters must be put on a fast track to elerate your progress," Edvard announced. The Hunters exchanged anxious nces, eager to hear what he had in mind.

    "We will be seeking out the most exceptional among you, those with natural talents and abilities that set them apart. We will closely monitor your progress, with the aim of helping you be pirs that support the Altered Hunters of tomorrow," Edvard exined.

    "Today, I¡¯ve called you all to undergo a series of tests and assessments. Regardless of your current status, whether you have no stars or three stars, you will all be treated as equals. We will evaluate each of you based on your potential to excel as an Altered Hunter."

    Murmurs and whispers rippled through the group. The stars were everything to an Altered Hunter. They represented their hard work and dedication to the cause, so how could their leader dismiss them so easily with his words?

    "Now, now, I understand that all of you take pride in the stars you have earned up until now, and I¡¯m not saying that we¡¯re abandoning the systempletely. In fact, at the end of the tests, we will give you your new evaluation." Edvard exined. "With enough dedication and hard work, it''s fully possible that any apprentice might make it as a three-star Hunter."

    "However, if you fall behind your peers or show that you aren''t deserving of your star rank, you¡¯ll only have yourself to me. I assure you that this is all in the the best interest of the Hunters. It¡¯s an essential step to prepare for the looming war," he continued.

    "In the uing conflict, we need to ensure that the best among us receive the support they need to seed. Those who are close to bing four-star Hunters will take an operative assessment with the four-star Hunters, with the potential to advance to five stars."

    "After the assessments, you will be allowed to select weapons and armour from the Armory, equivalent to your new star grade. In the case your star rank has worsened, nobody is going to take back your current equipment. The shame in knowing that you aren¡¯t deemed worthy of it will hopefully serve as enough motivation to do better in the future," Edvard concluded.

    Innu scanned the room, taking note of the other hunters'' reactions to the news. As a neer with no stars, he had little to lose in this assessment, which allowed him to approach it with a sense of ease.

    Many of the hunters with lower star ratings seemed highly motivated to prove themselves. ke, in particr, had a glint of determination in his eyes, eager to demonstrate his worth.

    Meanwhile, the more experienced hunters with three stars or more looked more uneasy than Innu had expected, likely feeling the pressure to maintain their status.

    "This is my chance...my chance to stand by my father''s side," ke thought to himself, feeling a sense of determination wash over him.

    ------

    The assembled Altered Hunters trailed behind their leader and the five-star Hunters until they were eventually divided into two groups. Therger of the two groupsprised hunters with two stars or less, including Innu and ke, and numbered in the thousands. They followed their leaders into a massive building that seemed to be carved into the mountain.

    The ceiling was shrouded in darkness, providing no source of light to gauge the size of the room, but the dampness in the air hinted at its enormity. Innu followed the others, his hand brushing against the rocky wall, feeling the sharp edges and the moistness that clung to them.

    Finally, they entered anotherrge hall and were told to spread out. A few small light sources were attached to the wall, so they at least knew where the edge was, but even the Hunters kept bumping into each other.

    Three five-star Hunters had entered the room with them: Fang, the ninja-like Hunter that Innu had talked with, Edvard the head, as well as arge man with a huge back who looked like a giant standing next to the other two. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Everyone, throw your personal belongings on the floor in front of you, including any armour or hunter gear you have on your body," Edvard shouted.

    Everyone did as they were told, and Innu even put his axes on the floor. Based on what he had learned about Anti-Altered equipment, he imagined this was a precaution to stop them from drawing the powers from their weapons.

    "Alright, for the first test, I want everyone to get into this position," Edvard announced, gesturing to Fang who then demonstrated the proper form. The position was rtively straightforward: a squat with legs shoulder-width apart, knees bent, and buttocks hovering as if sitting on an invisible chair.

    "Everyone hold your position! Remember, this is apetition, so don''t give up easily," Edvard reminded them. With that, he signalled for the test to begin.

    Without hesitation, the Hunters got into position, legs shoulder-width apart, and began to squat. Many of them had trained their bodies extensively and found the exercise rtively easy. However, Innu, a master at using his legs and training his leg muscles, found it particrly effortless and was sure that he could hold the position for an incredibly long time.

    Ten minutes passed until the first started to drop out, though many of those who remained were sweating from the exercise.

    Hugo, the towering five-star hunter,mented on their performance, "They''re holding up pretty well."

    Fang, who had previously demonstrated the position, looked towards Innu as he spoke, "We¡¯re not here to look for ¡®pretty well¡¯. This is merely the first assessment, and we''re searching for the truly talented among them."

    "I see someone has caught your eye, Fang. There are a few in this group that have caught mine as well," Edvard stated. "We don''t need this to take all day, so why don''t we speed this up a bit?"

    Edvard walked over to one of the Hunters who were sweating, focusing, trying to ignore the pain. Edvard stood right in front of him and then tilted his sses down, revealing a pair of red glowing eyes. They twinkled slightly in the dark.

    "Sit down," Edvard ordered the name.

    As soon as the Hunter heard those words, it was almost as if he was possessed. He could feel something take over his body, and immediately he sat down on the floor and was out of the assessment.

    "Let''s keep this going," Edvard smiled, cing his sunsses back on and walking to the next student.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 652 A power over the mind

    Chapter 652 A power over the mind

    EVENT: 21 reviews so far = 21 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on A.m.a.z.o.n.

    Edvard went from one Hunter to another, executing the same mysterious move. From their perspective, all they could see was the leader of their country¡¯s Altered Hunter Association stand in front of their peers for one second, before they would copse to their knees, powerless to resist.

    Before, all the Hunters had to do was to endure the slowly increasing pain in their muscles, holding on until this part of the assessment was over. Now, they felt the pressure of knowing that their leader would eventuallye over to them, testing them in his strange way.

    The visible failure of others right in front of them was taking a toll on the Hunters'' focus and concentration. They found themselves lost in their thoughts, unable to shake off the distracting mental images of their fellow participants copsing before them. The impact was so significant that some participants failed before Edvard had a chance to get to them, their concentration broken beyond repair.

    ''Just what is going on? He isn''t touching any of them, so why are they falling like dominos?'' Innu racked his brain to make sense of the scene before him. ''Is this some sort of superpower like Ashen had, or could it be that Qi thing that he talked about.

    ''I practised a bit of that energy, but it was mainly when using my weapons and not just through my body and on its own. Should I practise a bit now before he reaches me? Maybe it''s better to just focus until it''s my turn?''

    The physical aspect of the assessment was a breeze for Innu, and he didn''t need to put much mental effort into it. However, the presence of Edvard was causing him immense pressure. Innu was a doer, not a thinker, and he worried that there might be a hidden trick that he was supposed to uncover. If that were the case, he feared that he might fail at the very first hurdle.

    For ke he was trying to assess the situation more calmly.

    ''So far about 1 in every ten that Edvard approaches doesn''t fall. There has to be a reason for that. Is it their ranking? The ones that passed are mostly three star hunters, but there are one star hunters that have passed while some two star hunters have fallen as well.

    ke tried to remain calm as he assessed the situation. ¡®It seems like only one in ten participants manage to resist Edvard''s move,¡¯ he observed. ¡®There has to be a reason for that. Most of the Hunters who pass are three-star, but there are also one-star Hunters who made it through, while some two-star Hunters failed.¡¯ ke was trying to analyze the pattern and find a logical exnation for why some seeded while others failed.

    ¡®If the ranking isn''t the determining factor, then it must be something that the higher-star Hunters have likely experienced before.¡¯ As he pondered over the possibilities, it was finally his turn, and Edvard walked over towards him. ke tried to remainposed as their eyes met, and Edvard gave him a reassuring smile. The smile momentarily eased ke''s nerves, and he took a deep breath, ready to face whatevery ahead.

    The two had met before, even talked for a short while, and although Edvard knew he wasn¡¯t supposed to show any favouritism, he was hoping that ke wouldn¡¯t disappoint him.

    "Try your best." Edvard whispered to the point that only the teenager before him could hear him as he pulled his sses down.

    ke''s gaze was immediately fixated on Edvard''s piercing, red eyes, unable to look away. The darkness of the room only intensified their glow, making it seem as though he was being drawn into a vortex. However, he felt no other sensations until Edvard uttered a few specific words, which caused a sudden jolt of recognition to surge through him.

    "Sit."

    As soon as he heard themand, ke felt a strange sensation in his legs. They were moving without his ord.

    ''What is happening to me? Is this some type of mind control?!!!'' ke was slightly panicking as he felt his legs start to move on their own. His brain was telling his legs to stop what they were doing, but they showed no signs of listening to him. He understood that he was about to join all the others who were sitting on the floor.

    ''I can''t fail here!''

    Drawing on the internal energy he had discovered during his training sessions, ke felt a warmth emanating from his belly, which he channelled down to his legs. Since his conscious mind seemed to have lost control of his body, he focused all his attention on forcefully directing the energy into his legs, determined to remain standing.

    His feet dug into the ground a little and his position stayed strong.

    "I had faith in your abilities, you can take a breather now," Edvard whispered with a knowing tone.

    The next moment he put his sses back on, ke did as he said, and stopped using the internal energy. He had yet to really master it, and it was draining his stamina far more so than the exercise. Nevertheless, he had done it, he had sessfully passed.

    After passing Edvard''s assessment, Fang met with each sessful student to inform them that they were through to the next round. However, they were still required to wait in the room until all the other studentspleted their assessments.

    ''Innu, I know you are strong and skilled¡­ but I¡¯m afraid to pass his test you need more than physical strength.'' ke worried about Innu¡¯s chances.

    Innu, however, felt more determined than ever after seeing ke pass.

    ¡®If he can do it, so can I. I won''t fall behind,¡¯ he thought to himself. Still, that confidence started to waver with the increasing number of participants failing afterward.

    Just before it was his turn, Edvard stood before a particrlyrge man. It was obvious that he was having no trouble with the exercise on its own, and his bulging muscles made even the likes of Austin look normal inparison.

    s, as soon as Edvard looked the man in the eyes, he sat down on the floor before Innu even had the chance to blink. Unlike those before him, there was no resistance at all this time.

    ''For weak-minded three-star Hunter like him, it¡¯s best if they fail here. They are not ready to make the jump. Giving them a position higher than they deserve will only serve as a quick way to send them to their death.'' Edvard thought to himself, as he went over to the next person.

    He paused for a slight moment as he looked at Innu. ''This was the one that Fang took an interest in. Let''s see if his interest in this newbie is warranted.''

    ¡°Sit.¡±

    Hearing themand, Innu felt the same sensation as ke. He imagined he had the axe in his hands¡­ but for some reason he was unable to draw out the power of the Qi. It just wasn¡¯t working, and his right knee was getting ever closer to the floor.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 653 Willpower

    Chapter 653 Willpower

    Right now, Innu was experiencing a sensation he had never felt before. His legs weren''t listening to him. They were moving on their own, and no matter how much his brainmanded them to stop what they were doing, they weren¡¯t listening.

    ¡®What the crap is this?!¡¯ Innu screamed internally. ¡®No, I have to keep calm, there has to be a way out of this. After all, ke managed to pass, and so did a bunch of others. If I fail at the first test, doesn¡¯t that mean everything I went through, everything that I learned... all the pain, all the training, and suffering was for nothing?¡¯

    Edvard could see it Innu''s bottom was heading downward, and there was almost no sign of resistance at all. In this case, it meant that the student would fail.

    ¡®I won''t be beaten by this!¡¯ Innu refused to give up. All the pressure in his body felt like it was rising to the top of his head. The veins on his neck were showing as he tensed up, and he wasn''t even taking in a breath of air.

    Forcing his body, he bit down on the bottom of his lip until blood started to flow. At the same time, Innu clenched his hands so hard that his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand.

    "I''m sorry, but I''m not following your order... sir!" Innu shouted out. His legs spread out in a sumo stance. It lookedical, yet it was enough to prevent his bottom from touching the floor.

    Everyone heard his angry shout, and as they saw the teenager still standing, a smile spread across their faces. Despite the grunts and struggles of pain that he endured, Innu had managed to pass the challenge in a way that none of the others had been able to.

    So far, it seemed to vary in terms of struggling - either they would get through it with ease, with a little bit of struggling like ke, or there would be no resistance at all. Seeing someone like Innu pass in this unusual way filled them with hope for their own challenge.

    Edvard ced his sses back on and looked at Innu in front of him. He could see the blood drip from his hands onto the ground and down from his lip. He hadn''t even wiped it away.

    ¡®Did he just ovee the influence power with sheer will?¡¯ Edvard thought. ¡®I¡¯m certain that adjusted the level of Influence to match those in the room, so I guess it would be possible, but to have such strength, he is a special one.¡¯

    Edvard then went close to Innu and ced his hand on his shoulder. He was the first Hunter he had done this to.

    "Congrattions, you pass," Edvard said, cing his hand on the teenager''s shoulder. Innu felt a rush of tion, particrly since he was the only one to receive such open praise from their leader. Lost in his joy, he didn''t even notice the other giving him a quick sniff before pulling away. "You should "That was the strangest test I¡¯ve ever experienced," Innu noted, as he sat down next to ke. "Is that something that all the five-star Hunters learn or something?"

    clean yourself up," Edvard continued, "Follow Fang and he''ll get you patched up. Blood is not a pretty sight."

    With Innu passing, he and ke gave each other a thumbs up, and all those who passed were following Fang into another area. In that area, they noticed several people who didn''t look like Hunters. They were wearing peculiar nurse outfits with white masks covering their faces.

    The two weren¡¯t sure if it was a coincidence, but all of them were women. Without asking any questions, one of them went towards Innu and started patching him up.

    The room was somewhat like a locker room at a gym, with several benches for people to sit on, and they waited and waited for others to join them.

    "That was the strangest test I¡¯ve ever experienced," Innu noted, as he sat down next to ke. "Is that something that all the five-star Hunters learn or something?"

    ke shrugged his shoulders. "That was the first time I experienced that myself. It was like I lost control of my whole body."

    Innu was happy to hear that ke had a simr experience to his. He would have been disheartened if he hadn''t, but it was still clear that ke had gotten through it easier than him. Just as he opened his mouth to ask more question, another Hunter walked past.

    "Oh, hey, you''re that guy that screamed at the top of his lungs, right?" The Hunter looked to be in his twenties. He had a clean face free of scars or marks, and his hair was swept back and brown. With such a clean face, Innu was actually reminded of Kai a bit, which immediately gave him a knee-jerk reaction not to trust this guy too much.

    "Ah, yeah, that was me. The assessment was a bit harder than what I thought," Innu nervouslyughed.

    "Hard?" The man replied. "Well, I was here to check out thepetition, but if you thought that was hard, then I guess there''s no hope for you. ke, I look forward to seeing who is the better of us two."

    With just those words, the young man walked off and carried on, annoying a few other people as well.

    "Who was that jerk?" Innu asked.

    "He''s called Rad. He''s a two-star Hunter. I don''t know why, but it seems like he has always been trying topete with me," ke answered.

    "Probably because he''s scared of you. I mean, you are pretty skillful," Innu stated.

    "So are you, Innu. Unlike me, you haven¡¯t been trained to be an Altered Hunter from a young age, and yet you have won the acknowledgement of Ashen," ke encouraged him.

    For some reason, after thest assessment, he felt a bit disheartened and didn''t believe that fully, but there was his trump card, the skill he had learned from Ashen that he wasn''t allowed to show anyone.

    "Anyway, I wonder what the next assessment will be?"

    -------

    Edvard was talking to a few of the four-star Hunters. Their assessment would happen another time, so for today, he had asked them to help him set up the next stage for ke, Innu and the others. After exining everything, Edvard called out one of the four-star hunters to talk to them in private.

    "I want you to do me a favour," Edvard whispered. "Keep an eye on the ck-skinned boy with blonde hair. He has the smell of a mutt on him."

    *****

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 Chapter 654 The second Assessment

    Chapter 654 The second Assessment

    EVENT: 22 reviews so far = 22 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on A.m.a.z.o.n.

    At the beginning of the assessment, the room was packed with thousands of Altered Hunters. However, after the first test, the number of remaining participants dwindled down to only a few hundred. The once-crowded room now appeared nearly empty, with barely a hundred people left to continue the evaluation.

    After getting a few refreshments and touch-ups, the group was asked to follow Edvard, the other two five-star Hunters, as well as the ten four-star Hunters who were helping out. They all continued through the strange, cave-like ce until eventually, they had reached arge hole. The exit of the car shone a bright light on them all.

    It strained the eyes of a few contestants as it was a great contrast to what they had been in so far, but when their eyes adjusted, the sight in front of them looked beautiful.

    "This was on the other side of the mountain!" one of the Hunters eximed in amazement.

    "It''s a ce that is only known to a few," Edvard exined. "But believe me when I say this, not everything is as it seems."

    Everyone couldn''t help but stare out. It was a beautiful sight, giving off the feeling of a forgotten piece ofnd that was covered by other mountains. Arge mass ofnd with giant green trees, running waterfalls,rgekes, and more. It was as if they were in apletely different world.

    At the same time, it looked like the only way to get to such a ce was either by climbing one of therge mountains oring through the mountain like they had done.

    What was surprising to Innu, though, was the reaction of the other Hunters. It was understandable for him and ke to not know anything about this, but some of the Hunters next to them already had three stars, especially the older looking ones should have known about this ce¡­

    If not, then what was the reason for the leader and the other higher-ups to keep it a secret?

    "You have all done well to pass the first assessment," Edvard began. "Those that have failed will be taking additional tests to further evaluate their position, but for all of you, you have been deemed as having the talent we are looking for."

    The Hunters looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Some of them enjoyed the praise more so than others.

    "However, as you should know, just because a person has talent doesn''t mean they will grow into someone great," Edvard continued. "They may getzy, too big-headed, or overconfident. Usually, one might get humbled by others like them out there. s, in our line of duty getting humbled is often apanied by death."

    Those who were smiling just moments ago quickly straightened up their act, knowing full well that the head of the Hunters was talking about them.

    "Down below, there are things that you would never have even imagined," Edvard revealed. "Down there, you will find out the reason why we Altered Hunters exist. You all know that Alterede from the ancient beasts of the past, and in this task, it will be your job to face them."

    Everyone started to look at each other, wondering what the head was talking about. Were there perhaps Altered that had been captured and locked away down there? If that was the case, it certainly sounded cruel. Hearing this, a certain diary came to ke¡¯s mind. A diary of the origins of the Altered and how they used to face the deadly beasts.

    Edvard clicked his fingers, and in a tight steel cage, four Altered Hunters were seen carrying something out. Several loud growls could be heard; they were violent and constantly whatever was inside was crashing against the cage.

    cing it on the ground, now all of them could see clearly what was in front of them.

    "What we have here are known as beasts. This is what some of your weapons are made out of; this is what Altered are made out of as well. As you can see, they are vicious things that kill humans on sight."

    The beast was ck-skinned in colour, muscr in size on all fours. It had razor-sharp teeth and narrow eyes. Constantly, it was bearing its teeth at the Hunters, banging against the cage, and there was something about it that activated an instinct in every human whoid eyes on it. It was kill or be killed.

    "Are they saying that in that ce, there are more of those¡­ things?" one of the Hunters couldn¡¯t believe it0.

    "Correct," Edvard answered. "The Altered Hunters have created several breeding grounds, and down below is one of them. Many of you should be aware of this fact, and some lucky ones may have even experienced it, while Anti-Altered weapons help us deal with Altered, they don¡¯t hold a candlepared to beast weapons.

    ¡°To create those, we need the crystals that grow inside those beasts. This is why we keep them contained in a certain area, and why they are still alive. It''s ironic that we must use them to get rid of them, but it is a fact that we must ept.

    "For all of you, though, the next stage of the ascent will begin below. The beasts are not of high level; you are to kill five of them and bring back five crystals that reside in them.

    "If you are sessful, you will pass this stage and move onto the final stage. The four-star Altered Hunters will be out there observing you in case you end up overestimating your abilities.

    "But remember, there are only a thirteen of us, while there are over a hundred of you. Although we are skillful, and will do our best to keep you alive, it is impossible for us to keep an eye on all of you, so make you do not meet your end here.

    "In the end, you are the one in charge of your own life. You have five minutes to prepare. Grab your equipment, use what you can, and we will head down below."

    Innu was starting to wonder just what type of world he had gotten himself into.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

 Chapter 655 The first beast

    Chapter 655 The first beast

    EVENT: 26 reviews so far = 26 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on A.m.a.z.o.n.

    My apologies for the mistake. Here''s the edited version with the same paragraph spacing:

    With focused determination, they readied themselves by donning the necessary equipment. Simultaneously, their eyes remained fixed on the captive beast, scouring for any subtle indications of potential weak points. While many among them had confronted Altered in the past, there was an undeniable disparity when it came to facing this new type of creature that had been presumed extinct mere minutes earlier. A distinct air of uncertainty hung in the atmosphere, underscoring the gravity of the situation and reflecting in their collective gaze.

    For those thatcked decent equipment, they were handed out basic Anti-Altered equipment of their choosing. One of the four-star hunters approached Innu, who had refused since he had his pair of red axes. The moment he took them out of the bag, they caught the attention of many Hunters, even those around Edvard.

    The weapons stood out conspicuously, defying the notion of being basic in any way, leaving everyone pondering the significant cost one would incur to possess such extraordinary armaments. Even more astonishing was the realization that these formidable weapons were in the possession of a no-star Hunter, shattering any preconceived notions of the corrtion between rank and equipment prowess.

    ¡®Alright, I feel a lot morefortable now that I¡¯m holding these two.¡¯ Innu smiled, which was something he thought he would have never said. In the past, he had relied on nothing but his own body, but the ability to draw out energy from his axes was something he didn¡¯t want to miss during this assessment. As he observed his surroundings, Innu tuned in to the conversations of his fellow Hunters. There was still some time left before they were required to descend, allowing for further discussion and preparation.

    ¡°So, what do you think the best way to handle this is?¡± one of the Hunters asked his peer.

    deserved to be here.

    ¡°None of us have any idea how to deal with them, so I suggest we treat this as if we were hunting Altered and group up. There is nothing in the rules that prevents us from doing so, and it should make it safer for all of us.¡±

    Most of the Hunters seemed to agree with this approach and in a matter of seconds small groups started to band together, the strong three-star Hunters grouped up in pairs of two or three, whereas the weaker Hunters created groups of five and more.

    Unsurprisingly, there were also some that decided to stay on their own. Among them was Rad, the student who once again gave Innu a conceited look when he noticed the teenager looking at him.

    ¡®I bet you¡¯re just on your own because nobody wants to work with a stuck up guy like you,¡¯ Innu thought to himself.

    Innu''s gaze shifted towards ke, considering the possibility of coborating with him, but it quickly became apparent that the young Altered Hunter was immersed in his own preparations. It dawned on Innu that ke was determined to seize this moment and shine independently, not desiring to share the spotlight with anyone else, and he respected that about him.

    Without exchanging words, they silently conveyed their well-wishes, acknowledging each other''s presence but understanding that they would not be joining forces. Each intended to face the challenges ahead on their own terms, driven by a desire to prove their mettle and show off that they deserved to be here.

    ¡°There is one problem,¡± one of the Hunters suddenly realised. ¡°They said as soon as someone takes out five beasts, that they are to head back immediately without helping anyone else. So if we¡¯re in arge group, no matter what, we¡¯ll eventually have to take out of one of them by ourselves.¡±

    "Alright," Edvard pped his hands to signal that time was up. "The assessment will now begin."

    Lifting the top of the cage, the fierce beast rushed out toward them all. It was an unexpected act, and they had never dealt with something so aggressive before. The beast immediately jumped up andnded on one of the Hunters. Its heavy weight and strength pushed down its target and it used its sharp teeth to bite into the poor man¡¯s forearm, making him drop his weapon.

    "Help, someone, help me!" the Hunter cried for help.

    One of his teammates charged in, but with a swing of the beast¡¯s w, the charging Hunter was hit in the stomach and went flying away. Seeing this made the others Hunters realise that the beast was stronger than they had anticipated.

    In the first ce, most of the time when the Hunters fought against Altered, it was through surprise attacks and in groups. This was different from the way they were used to fighting. At the moment, no one wanted to approach the beast, and it looked like one of the four-star Hunters would have to step in.

    "Ahhh, help!" the trapped Hunter screamed as the beast¡¯s teeth went through the armour and hit flesh. The struggling then stopped, blood covering the student''s face, and looking at the beast, it was still as if a sharp sword had been lodged right through its neck. Pulling the sword out, then kicking the beast away, the bodyy on the side, revealing ke stood there with a bloody ck sword.

    ¡®He managed to cut through the beast''s hide rtively easily. I don''t think it was the weapon. As I expected, he has full control over his strength. I knew he was special,¡¯ Edvard inwardly smiled.

    When all the other Hunters were frozen in fear, only one of them acted when it really mattered, and that was ke. Some, seeing this, were jealous. After seeing how easily the beast was defeated, they thought they could havee in and done the same thing.

    Looking at the beast, though, ke soon noticed something, and another person was walking toward it.

    ¡®What is that doing there?¡¯ ke wondered.

    The student came over and pulled out the red axe from the side of the head, and smiled while an announcement was made.

    "The first point for this assessment goes towards our Apprentice Hunter," Fang announced, pointing at Innu.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 656 Beasts Jungle

    Chapter 656 Beasts'' Jungle

    EVENT: 30 reviews so far = 30 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on A.m.a.z.o.n.

    When ke caught sight of the red axe, he was certain it belonged to Innu. Its familiarity was too uncanny to belong to anyone else. But the question that lingered in his mind was when exactly Innu had thrown it. Unbeknownst to him, there was actually yet another individual who had taken action simultaneously.

    With a firm grip on the axe, Innu tapped into its inherent energy, allowing it to surge through him. This time, however, he went a step further, infusing his own energy into the weapon. It mirrored the technique he had been diligently practising, the very same method that had allowed him to throw the axe and strike Midwak with precision.

    Innu took advantage of the fact that the beast was consumed by its bloodlust, fixated on the single unfortunate Hunter it was trying to devour. Its immobility only bolstered his confidence, as he became increasingly certain that he could seize this opportunity to strike it down. With his axe charged and brimming with energy, he hurled it forward.

    The weapon had sailed through the air, bypassing the motionless Hunters who remained frozen in awe, their senses temporarily paralysed by the sheer ferocity of the beast. The only one who had noticed this was Fang that, and that was solely due to him paying extra close attention to Innu after finding out that Ashen had taken him as his student.

    Around the same time, ke had moved and lifted his sword to thrust it through the back of the beast''s neck, but the axe had already hit the beast¡¯s side of the head, digging in deep enough to reach the brain. Out of the two of them, Innu¡¯s attack was faster, leading Fang to announce the kill as his achievement.

    ¡°That makes no sense,¡± Radmented, holding a spear in his hand. ¡°He struggled so much in thest assessment, but he can do something like that. Maybe he just swung his axe and prayed. I guess that''s the real part of this test, if you have the guts to fight.¡±

    ¡°We''re surrounded, there are like six of them here!¡±

    ¡°It looks like they can smell us¡­ we''re not the ones hunting them, they''re the ones hunting us!¡±

    ¡°What are you all standing around for?¡± Edvard shouted, waking the other Hunters from their stupor. ¡°The first Hunter has managed to get a point. If you want to pass this assessment, you better get down there and do the same.¡±

    The Hunters were still nervous. If anything, they were even more nervous after seeing the viciousness of just a single beast. They had confidence having fought Altered, but all of that was thrown out of the window.

    There was a winding pathway that went down the mountain to the special ce below. At a fast walking pace, it would take around thirty minutes to get from where they were to the bottom.

    Most went off in groups into the jungle, while the four-star Hunters had split up, following them at a distance behind to help minimise the risk of casualties. It didn¡¯t take long for the groups to encounter their first beasts in therge jungle-like space. s, despite grouping up their courage seemed to have disappeared after the earlier show.

    ¡®Why is my body shaking so much? I¡¯ve taken out a few Altered before, so this should be no problem!¡¯ One of them asked herself while trying to stop from shaking. Her group could still be considered to be lucky, as other groups were encountering groups of beasts, and not all of them were the same as the one that had been in the cage.

    ¡°We''re surrounded, there are like six of them here!¡±

    ¡°It looks like they can smell us¡­ we''re not the ones hunting them, they''re the ones hunting us!¡±

    A group of five Altered Hunters were surrounded by a mixture of monkey and wolf-like beasts. The beasts went in at the same time, and the Hunters fought back, but they were unable to fight the way they usually would. Their movements proved sluggish, and their minds were hesitant about the right moves.

    In the end, the beasts were winning out. Most of the Hunters got injured during the first sh, with parts of their armour cut up and ripped, and they could barely stand. The wolf-like beast charged in once again until a Hunter wearing a mask came out and, with a swing of his sword, sliced the neck of the beast, killing it in one go.

    ¡°Now that I have gotten involved, you should know that you have all failed,¡± the Hunter pointed out the obvious. He continued to take out the beasts one after the other, and the others watched in awe. Putting his sword away, he walked up to them.

    ¡°All of you have fought Altered, so it should have posed little problem for you to take down those beasts who are physically weaker. You could have easily used your group¡¯s strength to win.¡±

    ¡°What? That can¡¯t be true,¡± one of the Hunters cried out in disbelief.

    ¡°Why should I lie to you at this point? You see, the real test of this assessment isn¡¯t whether or not you can defeat five beasts. It''s if you can ovee the feeling these beasts produce, bloodlust. There are Altered out there that can emit the same amount of bloodlust as these beasts, so it''s an important step for you to improve.¡±

    The Hunters'' task was to ovee the overwhelming feeling of bloodlust, but there were those in this assessment who had already ovee arger amount of bloodlust, so for them, it was a walk in the park.

    ¡®Two more, and I¡¯m done,¡¯ ke thought. ¡®I wonder if I¡¯m faster than Innu.¡¯

    Innu had just finished killing his second beast, giving him a total of two points. He was by a river with arge bed of rocks to its side. The beasty bloody on the ground, along with his axe.

    In the jungle, up on one of the trees, a distance away, one of the Hunters had carefully been watching him.

    ¡®I guess it would make sense. If he has been around a Werewolf or seen a Werewolf before, then these beasts will mean nothing to him. I wonder what his connection is,¡¯ the Hunter thought.

    Turning his head, Innu heard rustling from the trees and lifted his two axes in a defensive stance.

    ¡°Look who I managed to run into,¡± Rad greeted him with a huge smile on his face. ¡°I was really looking for your friend, but I guess you will have to do. I can¡¯t wait to see his face when he finds out his friend failed the task.¡±

    ¡®All I wanted to do was join the Hunters¡­ amidst fighting living beasts why do I now have to deal with this psycho,¡¯ Innu inwardly sighed as he understood that it would be impossible to leave without fighting Rad.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 657 Finishing The Job

    EVENT: Last day of the event! 31 reviews so far = 31 Chapters for the mass release. WOO! Let¡¯s keep these reviewsing! All reviews from now till 9th of May will count toward a mass release. Search ¡®My Werewolf System¡¯ on A.m.a.z.o.n.

    "Are you sure you want to do this?" Innu asked, holding both axes in his hands and getting into a fighting stance. "Don''t you think it''s better if you just focus on getting the crystals like the original task was?"

    Rad chuckled, holding the spear in his hand. It wasn''t the basic Anti-Altered equipment, where the spear would light up with a bit of electricity. This one, just like Innu''s axes, looked like it was made from beasts.

    The spear itself was a faded white, almost like a bone colour, while having several parts that were wrapped in a brown, woolly-type material. The sharp end even looked more like a tooth, as the spear curled slightly.

    "There''s no time limit for this assessment," Rad answered. "As long as I''m still able to fight, it will be okay, and there''s nothing against the rules of fighting against each other."

    Finishing his sentence, Rad ced the spear under his arm and pointed it forward. He then shifted his position forward. The spear cut the air, and Rad was able to dash therge distance of ten metres in one leap towards him.

    Yet Innu was still ready. As he poured energy into the axe, he moved to the side, avoiding it, and swung, hitting the side. The blow was a heavy one, far heavier than Rad expected. His whole body was moved to the side along with the spear.

    Trying to recover, Rad swung the spear in a sweeping motion, and Innu had jumped over the entire spear. The second his feetnded back on the ground, it was Innu''s turn to dash forward, and their two faces were right next to each other.

    "If he hits me with that axe, I''m done for!" Rad thought, his eyes glued to the sharp edge.

    The axe never came down, though, and instead, Innu swiped his sharp elbow to the side, flicking it and hitting the right side of Rad''s face. His head had been hit, and his vision was a little blurry.

    When he could finally see again, Rad could see a foot right in front of his face. It smashed into his nose, and his whole body hit back as hended on the floor.

    "All these hits, they really hurt!" Rad thought. "But I''ve been hit and hurt badly before. I just need to fight through it and get through this. This person, who has no stars, they can''t be stronger than an Altered. That''s impossible."

    Pushing off the ground with one foot, Rad slid across the floor, and then using his own spear, he pushed it into the ground to help him get up. He wiped the blood from his nose with the sleeve of his hand while taking a second look at Innu.

    "You''re a bit more resilient than I thought you would be. I''ll give you that," Innu said. "But you''re not as good as I thought you would be either."

    With both of the red axes, Innu threw them into the ground. They were stuck upright with the sharp edge inside.

    "I can just use my body to beat you," Innu said.

    This clearly angered Rad as he scrunched up his face and charged in once again with his spear.

    "If you think you can make a fool of me like this, then you will pay with your life!"

    When Rad got close, the stabbing motion became a sweeping motion, and the spear went right toward the side of Innu. A loud snapping noise was made as the spear hadn''t hit the rib but instead hit the leg of Innu. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    In a defensive motion, Innu had lifted up his leg, so the spear hit the shin instead.

    "How can you even take a hit like that? Is your leg made out of iron or something?" Rad shouted.

    Innu started to fight in again, the spearing towards him, and each time he would avoid it. If it was going to hit his body, he would block with his forearms or his legs and continue forward.

    "You have no idea¡­ you have no idea how much I trained to make my body as hard as it could be. For you, getting stronger might have been for fun, but for me, it was the way of putting food on the table, and not just for me, but for all of those in my family and in the orphanage as well!"

    Getting close to Rad, Innu went for a punch and hit him straight in the stomach. Rad was still holding onto his weapon for dear life and had no way to block the attack. Moreover, he couldn''t; he had always used his spear to fight.

    His body bent forward from the hit, and as his head went down with his chin wide open, Innu went to knee him. It hit perfectly, sending his whole body in the air once more, and for Rad tond right on his back.

    "I''ve experienced quite a lot recently in a short amount of time," Innu said, looking at Rad, who still had his eyes open, staring straight at Innu.

    "I know that look in your eyes. Right now, if I don''t do anything about you, you will juste back for me again, and will be an even bigger problem. I have to get rid of you now."

    Innu lifted his leg up high, up to almost his head, and with the heel of his foot, he swung down with all of his weight heading right for Rad''s head. Moments before it reached it though, a hand grabbed onto Innu''s foot.

    It was stopped dead, with almost no resistance at all. Looking at who had stopped it, it was none other than one of the four-star hunter helpers.

    "I''m afraid I can''t let you do that." The man was wearing a ck mask, but for a second, Innu wasn''t too sure, but he thought he could see a slight glow in their eyes.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 658 The Last Assessment

    My Werewolf system is now out on A.m.a.z.o.n, as an Ebook for $4 or audible book format as well. I know everyone has already read the series, but if you could show your support so we can get Werewolf to Rank 1 in the LitRPG category to show your love that would be amazing.

    Event: In the end, there were a total of 33 reviews which means a mass release of 33 Chapters. due to the mass amount of reviews the mass release might have to be split into two, and the dates of the mass release will soon follow.

    *******

    Innu lifted his leg away from the examiner. He had somewhat expected that this might be the result. Although in a ce like this, there seemed to be a plentiful number of Altered hunters, in truth, there weren''t many that would be willing to take up the role, and losses in their members were a big hit to them.

    Innu could only hope that the fact he would follow through with this, that Rad would back off because if this were to happen again, and outside the Altered Hunters'' protection, then the ending might have been a different story.

    "These four-star Altered hunters are no joke," Innu thought. "He stopped my kick, and there was almost no give at all. I guess it''s to be expected these guys are only a step down from Ashen, and I think he would have been able to do the same.

    "I wonder if I stay in the Altered hunter group like this, would my strength be able to grow to the same level as theirs?"

    The hunter started to look after Rad, and after a few moments, he was back on his feet again. The injuries that had been received on his body didn''t seem to be too bad.

    "I will leave it up to you; it''s your decision to make. You can either drop out of the assessment or continue in the current condition you''re in," the four-star hunter exined. "But if your injuries cause you major trouble until the point you are in a dangerous situation, I will have to take you out of the assessment.

    "You have to remember, this was your decision to start this fight, and you now have to go through with that."

    The decision seemed quite fair, and while the instructor was busy giving Rad some type of lecture, Innu decided to go off in search of beasts again.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The rest of the assessment went on, with some hunters finding it hard, some finding it easy, and others managing to ovee the task and grow as intended during the assessment. ke was the first person who had managed to pass the test.

    He had climbed back up the mountain, where the opening was seen and where Edvard was waiting. All one had to do was then show the crystals, and they would have been considered to have passed.

    As for the students that failed, they were taken further and back to the rest of the Altered hunters.

    "You did well, I''m sure your father will be proud of you," Edvard stated.

    Time continued to pass, and students were seen climbing the tower area bit by bit. What had surprised ke was the fact that so far, a few had arrived but not one of them was Innu.

    "Did something happen to him during the assessment? No, that can''t be possible," ke thought. "I know his skill level. He should have no problem taking out beasts with his skill."

    He waited and waited, and after five other students came up, the man with the bright red axes on his back could be seen.

    "What''s that look on your face for, did you really think that your apprentice would fail?" Innu said, handing over the crystals to Edvard.

    Edvard had also expected this result, after catching a particr smell on him, and he couldn''t wait to hear what the report had to say. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Standing next to ke, they now all needed to wait for the others to either finish the task and pass or fail. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, a whole day had passed. The group had been given food while some were still fighting.

    They even managed to see hunters return withrge injuries on them and be rushed straight off. Finally, there were 21 of them that had passed the test.

    "Is this everyone?" One of the hunters asked.

    "No, there was one more of you," Edvard answered.

    This surprised the others because the hunters were quite a distance away from Edvard, and when asking the question, they were talking to their friends and had spoken in a rtively quiet voice, and yet somehow Edvard was able to hear them and answer them.

    "Who could thest student be?"

    Innu knew the answer to this because he had been keeping an eye on all of those that went in and out. Finally, thest student could be heard walking up the staircase. They needed to see if they had passed or not.

    Coming up with ripped clothing, bloody hands, and using his spear to walk was none other than Rad.

    "Here are the stupid rocks," Rad said, taking them from his waist bag and handing them over. Rad had passed, and with that, it meant there were a total of 22 students that would move on to the final assessment.

    They had all been gathered with the sun shining behind them, and Edvard standing towards them with his back against the outside.

    "All of you here have done well. You have shown the talent needed to progress, and for the Hunter''s Association to put their time and resources into you," Edvard exined. "After passing this task, all of those that were non-stars, 1 star, or 2 stars, will now have three stars ced on their body."

    The smiles on the faces of all of those around were huge, nearly from ear to ear. They had done it. There were those that were already three stars, so this news meant nothing to them, but they were still happy that they had proven they were better than the others and knew there was still one assessment to go.

    "As a reward, all of you may ess the hunters barracks and select whatever items you wish from it!" Edvard dered. "As for the final assessment, as I have said, you have proven yourself as the most talented hunters that we need to look after.

    "Which is why we want to take you all directly under our wing and have you stay with the main group for an entire year."

    Innu''s heart thumped slightly because he wasn''t sure he heard that right. By staying with the main group, did that mean away from the Howlers, from all of the others?

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 659 The Final Assessment

    The final part of the third assessment had been revealed to the 22 Hunters that were currently there, and it wasn''t what any of them expected, especially not Innu. After hearing the news, he immediately raised his hand to ask a question.

    "I''m sorry, but when you say ¡®work directly under the Altered Hunters¡¯, what do you exactly mean by that?" Innu asked.

    Edvard responded, "It''s precisely as it sounds. We have assessed that among all the new Hunters, you who have passed, possess the most remarkable talents to forge ahead. Once we¡¯re done polishing your skills, you will be significant pirs within the Altered Hunter Association.¡±

    "Considering the significance of this endeavour, it would be imprudent to allow you to roam freely without guidance. The optimal approach is for us to provide you with direct guidance, enabling you to reach the pinnacle of your potential," Edvard emphasized.

    The others appeared content, considering it an honour to rise in the organisation, and most of them already had family ties to the Altered Hunter Association, so this type of arrangement would have little impact on their lives.

    Unfortunately, Innu¡¯s situation waspletely different from theirs ¡°Does that mean you want us to remain in here for an entire year?¡±

    Edvard chuckled reassuringly, dismissing the teenager¡¯s misconception. "You appear to have been a bit too engrossed in one of those cultivation stories. Progressing significantly won''t happen by merely staying in a cave like this one. Each of you will be paired with a seasoned hunter."

    He continued, "You''ll embark on a journey across the country, moving from one base to another, actively participating in addressing the Altered situation. During your travels, your assigned mentors will provide guidance, training, and support to facilitate your growth."

    Edvard further exined, "Although a year may appear lengthy to you young ones, I assure you it will pass by much faster than anticipated. By the end of this period, the Association will be in a favourable position to take action.¡±

    Innu''s head was spinning a little, because his worst fear wasing true. He had never been interested in hunting down Altered, and his main reason for joining them was just to get stronger, not follow their ideologies. After all, his true loyalty was with the Howlers.

    It was only because he had been surrounded with strong people, surrounded by Ashen that he thought he was in the right ce to grow, and so far he felt like he was, but he was getting in a little too deep.

    In a hushed tone, ke leaned in closer to Innu, expressing his concern. "I''m sorry, Innu, but leaving at this point isn''t an option. You possess crucial information about the base''s location and you have seen the faces of many high-ranking Hunters. If you attempt to withdraw now, it could lead to significant trouble."

    ke could sense Innu¡¯s panic, and he understood that his reason for joining them today was different from theirs. He didn¡¯t want him to say anything wrong in that state and as his supposed mentor, he yed the role of reassuring his former apprentice.

    "Are we at least able to go home?" Innu eventually asked. His previous tone reced by a different demeanour, seeking a favour from those around him. "I have people waiting for me who would be worried sick if I suddenly went missing."

    Edvard didn''t reply straight away, looking around to see if there was anyone else who had simr issues. He could see that a few of them were pondering about the same issue. After all, none of them had expected to be three-star Hunter this very day.

    The leader finally responded with a soft tone. "We haven''t yet provided any details about our ns for today, so it''s understandable that some of you feel unprepared to leave everything behind. Everyone will have a few days to return and attend to their personal matters. Additionally, I rmend that you gather and bring any necessary belongings with you."

    Innu''s spirits lifted upon hearing the news. The final assessment had been temporarily halted, but before they departed, they all headed towards the barracks. Nobody wanted to miss out on the opportunity to select a weapon or armour of their choice. With the avability of three-star equipment, a multitude of upgrades awaited them.

    ke was there to guide Innu, and rmended various items he considered to be useful for thetter, including the general better armour and mask that the Hunters used.

    Although the armour used by Hunters looked simr they were actually different with small details and materials used. Innu could tell upon touch that just like his axes they also had a power he could draw from them that improved his strength.

    ke selected another pair of swords, one ck and the other purple in colour, he still kept his red des as well that he had picked upst time. He would keep two down by his side and two on his back, just in case he ever needed a spare during a fight. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I think your axes are better weapons than anything you can get in a three-star room." kemented. Innu examined the avable weapons and found himself agreeing with that assessment. However, he also recognized that the three-star equipment came close in quality to his axes. He couldn''t help but imagine the calibre of weaponry essible to the four and five-star Hunters, which intrigued him.

    After picking up everything they needed, the two of them left the barracks with a smile on their face, and started to head out of therge building to the original entrance they hade through.

    "Wow, I still can''t believe it. This feels surreal. Did we really fight beasts earlier?" Innu questioned it all. "I have no idea how I''m going to exin any of this to the guys."

    "I''m sorry." ke let out a sigh. "I really had no idea that this would happen. Such a reform has basically been unheard of in the history of the Hunters."

    When the two of them finally left, they were about to head down the long trail to where their bike was parked, but a figurended right in front of the two of them.

    When turning around, they could see a man standing there with sunsses on his head and wearing a shirt that was unbuttoned on the top.

    "Edvard...Sir!" ke immediately bowed down, and Innu followed.

    "There''s no need for that. Anyway, I¡¯vee to collect you so we can start our journey." Edvard exined.

    Innu and ke looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

    "What do you mean, sir, didn''t you say we could go home?" ke asked.

    "I did, but I just talked with your father who agreed to take care with any school matters that might trouble you." Edvard stated. "As I told you, each student will have to follow an experienced hunter, and in your case that experienced hunter is me.

    "There still hasn''t been one assigned to Innu yet, but since the two of you are both heading back to the same ce, I shall apany you. Feel free to deal with any matters that your father might be unable to."

    None of them could refute the Altered Hunter leader, who had decided to apany them back to Slough.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 660 The Search For One Man

    In the small town of Slough, the Howlers gang was back to the constant developing they had been doing so far. They worked around the city, protected and helped the people, and improved their image with the locals.

    It was a n set up by Kai, and it was working well. In some ways, the local people who lived in Slough were seeing the business tycoon known as Gary Dem and the Howlers Corporation as the ones who ran the city.

    The general standard of living had improved for all. Crime rates were down, and even employment as well as immigration from other towns were on the rise. These were all things that the Mayor had promised, but none of them were the result of the Mayor.

    For the core members of the Howlers, though, the mood was a little somber. For the first time in a while, all the core members were at the Wolf''s Pool Club. Well, not all, as Gary had already left, and for some reason, Innu hadn''t arrived even though he had been invited.

    "What has that guy been doing these days?" Austin asked. "I mean, heck, even Olivia is here. She''s beening here more often these days, and we''ve been seeing Innu less and less."

    "Do you not like Olivia being here or something?" Kai smirked.

    "Originally, no," Austin replied. "But after meeting Midwak, I have the feeling that she is the lesser of the two evils, and I guess the fact that she has gotten closer with Marie isn''t so much of a bad thing."

    It was due to Olivia being close with Marie that the two of them were appearing more often together and that Olivia was attending more of the events.

    As for the reason for the get-together, everyone had felt a little strange after meeting Midwak. They had managed to solve one of the bigger problems they had, but therger issues at hand were still there.

    Because of this, all of them wanted Gary to stay for a bit. It was hard for them to exin, even though Gary didn''t seem to do much and wasn''t in charge of leader-like things. They were motivated by him just being around. Maybe it was because he was so motivated to keep moving forward and was the type to never rest.

    Regardless, they thought that Gary would have stayed for a little longer, maybe at least until the next full moon, so they could be sure that the Vow had worked, but he had returned to the Altered Academy.

    He had been away for a long time and needed to get back. Once he was done, he would return to the others anyway. They were just getting a little impatient.

    "Have you been looking into that other request I asked?" Kai said.

    Austin took a big gulp of his drink, finishing it on the spot before cing it back down on the table.

    "We practically know everything there is about Slough. We have asked all the members to inquire about him. They''ve talked to local businesses, and we even looked through card transactions. There''s no one that goes by that name. Heck, I even asked all of those at the schools if they had ever heard of this person.

    "The whole thing is strange. If he used to live in this town, then someone should know about him, right? And that letter that Amy got, we found out it was hand-delivered, which means someone must have done it in person, maybe the one you''re looking for."

    The person they were talking about was Gary''s father. Ideally, Kai would have liked to have gotten some information by the time Gary had returned, and he was finding it very hard to believe that they were unable to find one person.

    "Usually, in a case like this, if it''s so hard to find someone, it means that they don''t want to be found, but I wonder why? Just who is Gary''s father¡­ to be on the run, and from whom and what."

    "There is one person in Slough that we still haven''t asked who might know something," Kai suggested. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Austin thought about it for a while, but a name didn''te to mind.

    "He''s useless in most situations, but I have a feeling that he might be handy."

    Upon hearing this sentence and the word ''useless,'' someone dide to mind.

    "The Mayor?"

    "Bingo!" Kai smiled, and the two of themughed for a bit.

    "I''ll go pay a visit to the Mayor. I''m sure he''ll be happy to see me."

    Austin was confident he could deal with the Mayor on his own. What surprised him, as well as the others, was the fact that the Mayor had never retaliated since thest time. Was it because he realised the Howlers were doing a better job than him, or was he just biding his time? Either way, Kai didn''t think he was a big enough problem to worry about, especially as they would enter the next phase of their n.

    What they did have to be careful of was making too many enemies. Right now, there were enemies working for them, such as Midwak and Ben Clove, but at any point in time, if they turned around while the enemy was attacking them as well, it could be disastrous for the Howlers.

    "We need to find as many people who are loyal to the Howlers, and only to the Howlers. That is how we will be able to create a gang that rises to the top."

    There were a few people that came to mind, people he would like to invite to live in Slough. Recent individuals that Gary had be quite close to.

    In the middle of their conversation, Kai felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out, he read the message and was surprised at who it was from.

    "It looks like we might actually get to see Innu today. Maybe he will tell us what he''s been doing this whole time," Kai stated.

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 661 A Strong Smell

    Innu and ke had both returned using the motorbike they hade on, while Edvard had followed on a motorcycle of his own, but it was in a chopper style rather than a sports bike like the one ke used. It suited the sunsses and the bright-coloured shirt he used, and unusually for an Altered hunter, he stood out quite a bit, which was usually the opposite of what Altered hunters would be like.

    Somewhere along the way, they had managed to lose Edvard as well, although it wasn''t on purpose. It was just one moment ke could see him in the wing mirror, and the next he wasn''t there.

    When theynded in Slough, ke had dropped Innu off at his house and invited him in while they put the bike away. In the meantime, Innu had a lot to say because there was a lot on his mind.

    "What is going on? My head really hurts," Innu said, grabbing his head.

    "It''s the same for me as well. I''m still confused. Where did Edvard go? I mean, there are road signs to Slough and GPS. He couldn''t have gotten lost, and he even said that he would be following me," ke said. "Should I go back and try to find him? Should I report to the other hunters?"

    The whole situation was stressing out ke, who was usually calm-minded, but it was because it involved one of the most important people to the association in the country. He was imagining he would be called in any second to ask what had happened to the leader.

    "What are you worried about that for? If he didn''t make his way here, then that would be great!" Innu replied back. "Don''t you realize, we thought it was trouble when a five-star hunter wasing to Slough, and now the leader is here.

    "If he finds out about the others, what sort of trouble do you think he''s going to cause!" Innu said. "I mean, what the fuck is he going to do? Just how strong is Edvard?"

    ke was so caught up in his own worries he had somewhat forgotten about the Howlers. Maybe it was a good thing that Edvard wasn''t here.

    "I mean... Edvard, I haven''t really seen him fight or heard any stories about him, but you saw what he could do at the assessment, right? I can''t imagine he''s any less than the other five-star hunters.

    "There''s a good chance that he might be even stronger than them."

    After leaving with that scary thought, Innu hoped for the best that Edvard wouldn''t arrive. Little did he know that even right now, Edvard was watching them. A few rooftops away, on top of another house, Edvard was listening in to every word they said.

    "It was a good thing to give them the slip earlier. Hopefully, this will give them the chance to drop their guard a little. This is already getting interesting, though. It seems that they know a few Altered... makes me wonder, what is their rtion to them?"

    "ording to what we know, they haven''t spread their influence this far yet. They might be moving more than I originally thought."

    Looking at the house, Edvard could see Innu was finally leaving, and in doing so, he was on his phone sending a few messages out to the others. Since the smell that caught Edvard''s interest was on Innu, he had decided to follow him rather than ke.

    With his skills, it was easy for him to blend in and follow without getting caught. Edvard was confident in his abilities.

    While following Innu, he was surprised. He saw him enter an apartment building, and he was there for an hour or so. Listening in, he heard a few cries here and there. It looked like Innu really was doing as he said, saying his goodbyes.

    Continuing to follow Innu, he left with the young boy as well as the woman, and they headed to an orphanage. There, he learned that Innu was funding the orphanage, at least in a way, as he asked many questions about what they needed and stated that if there was anything, they should not hesitate to contact him or this Kai person. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Once again, more tears were shed, and this time, Innu had left the building on his own.

    "It''s not usually my thing to eavesdrop on our fellow hunters. I have learned more than I would have liked to about this Innu. He is a good person and has a strong reason for fighting. I think he will do well to grow."

    There was a part of Edvard in that moment which felt like he was doing something wrong, and he thought about leaving Innu alone. But he decided that he would tail him to just one more location, and they eventually arrived at the Wolf''s Pool Club.

    Standing outside, Innu didn''t enter straight away and just looked at the sign above.

    "What... do I say to them? What do I tell them? It was hard enough telling the others that I had to go away on a trip for a year.

    "But I told them I had to leave due to something to do with the Howlers. However, what can I lie about to these guys? I can''t think of anything, and Kai, he''s so smart. I feel like if I don''t just go out there and tell the truth, then he''s going to know something is up.

    "I mean, these guys, they don''t treat ke like crap, and if I exin myself, it will be all okay, right?"

    Taking in another deep breath, Innu finally entered the Wolf''s Pool Club.

    "Hey... guys," Innu said to all the faces staring back at him.

    Back outside the Wolf''s Pool Club, standing on the pathway on the opposite side, Edvard''s eyes were glowing.

    "This ce... it stinks."

    ******

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 662 Training Duo

    Inside the Wolf''s pool club, Innu was finding it hard to make eye contact with the rest of his group. They were staring at him, and not in a pleasant way as if they had been waiting to see someone for a long time.

    It wasn''t the same warm wee they had given Gary after not seeing him for a long time. So he wondered why there was such a difference in treatment.

    "Come on, guys, I''ve been really busy," Innu stated, still looking up and looking away. For some reason, it was Marie''s eyes that were the most fierce when looking at him.

    "You could have given us a single text?" Marie replied, folding her arms. "We had no clue what you were doing. At least we knew exactly what Gary was doing."

    The tone of voice, Innu knew that he had somewhat hurt Marie by not keeping them in the loop, but honestly, he never expected to be away for so long, to go through so much. In a way, he was having his own journey.

    "I''m sorry... I really am. You know, I see the Howlers as a second family. You guys have helped those I care about, helped me, and that''s why I''m willing to do anything I can to help all of you as well.

    "There are just some things... I find it hard to talk about," Innu said softly, unsure how to break it to the others. He was still unsure whether or not he should tell the others the truth or not.

    That was when he felt arge hand fall on his shoulder.

    "It''s okay, we all have things that we have to keep to ourselves sometimes. If anything, we should be happy you''re back," Austinmented.

    Of all people to say such a thing, Innu was surprised it was Austin, and although Marie still didn''t look happy, she felt like she was unable to press Innu anymore.

    The group decided to have a few drinks while ying a few games as a catch-up. As they did, they talked about what had happened with them and Midwak. How Gary had managed to make a certain deal.

    "Seriously!" Innu said with his mouth open, still finding it hard to believe. "I guess it''s a good thing that we have people like us then. The two of us are going to have to deal with any trouble thates our way."

    Saying these words, Innu was looking at Austin.

    "That''s if there is any trouble; it''s unlikely that we will have trouble on an actual day," Kai stated. "But, we have to make sure to keep this information tight."

    The group continued to talk, and soon the conversation went toward Gary. They talked about his uing match and wondered how he would do. They were all pretty sure that Gary would win; it was more of a discussion of which way Gary would win, and perhaps he would be a bigger star than he already was soon.

    "Alright, it''s time," Olviva finally said.

    So far, she hadn''t said much or been involved in the conversations, just sitting in the back staring at her watch once in a while, and now it looked like it had reached a certain time.

    "Really, do we have to do it today as well?" Marie asked. Her face looked tired, just from hearing, almost as if she was asking not just for this one day, but eventually the stare-down from Olivia had won over.

    With her head held down, Marie followed Olviva out of the ce and headed out of the door.

    "What is going on right now?" Innu asked, looking at the others.

    "It''s training time for the two of them," Kai answered. "They train every day, without fail, ever since Marie became a Werewolf." <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    For a second, Innu imagined what the two of them would be like training. "I guess I''m not the only one that''s working hard. Everyone else in the group as well."

    Thinking about what Marie was going through and how hard they were working, Innu had made his decision.

    "Look, guys, you''re not going to like what I''m about to say," Innu said, his voice shaky. "I... I..."

    The others wondered what Innu was trying to say that would make him so nervous with his words.

    "I... I joined the Altered Hunters."

    Hearing these words, Kai and Austin were frozen still. They were almost unable to breathe because they couldn''t quite believe what they had just heard.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Outside, Marie was following Olviva. The two of them were walking through the city and soon started to run. Olviva started off slow and then picked up the speed, and slowly Marie wasn''t too far behind her.

    "Do you really think I can''t keep up with you anymore?" Marie asked.

    "You think I''m going full speed? I''m just trying not to waste my time too much longer with you," Olivia stated.

    The two continued to follow each other until they had reached the woods. There were plenty of wooded areas around, next to the driveways and motorways, that they could use, but in particr, they chose this spot because it wasn''t too far away from the Wolf''s pool club.

    After entering the deep forest, they came to a stop, and the two of them stood opposite each other. Many of the tree branches were destroyed, and there wererge scratch marks on the trunks of the trees.

    "Alright, let me know when you¡ª" Olviva''s voice trailed off as she looked up and soon noticed someone standing in the trees.

    "Ah, your senses aren''t too dull after all." The man jumped off the tree andnded right in the middle. He was wearing an Altered Hunters mask that covered his entire face. "You made it a little too easy for meing all the way out here, though, don''t you think, Werewolves?"

    *****

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not to busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 663 The hunters hunt

    Chapter 663 The hunters hunt

    Webtoon announcement: My Dragon System Webtoon is out on webnovel! If you haven¡¯t read Dragon System, it contains the main character Ray. So this is your chance to experience it inic form. Just search on webnovel through theic section of the app! Read the series that started it all!

    *****

    Normally, Olivia wouldn''t be one who hesitated to act. In fact, as soon as she saw the personnd from above, she had already transformed her arms into deadly ws that could kill most humans with a single swipe.

    Marie on the other side was a bit more hesitant, still wondering who the person was or how they had even got here.

    However, there were reasons why Olivia hadn''t moved in. Her instincts as a hunter made her more aware of certain details. Things that she had managed to notice.

    "That man, he fell from up there. These trees are pretty high up," Olivia thought. "A normal person would at least make some sort of reaction falling from that height or even hurt themselves, but there wasn''t even a slight bend in his knees."

    Observing the man more, the mask and some of the clothes he was wearing greatly resembled those of the Altered Hunters. Of all ces, it looked like they had been followed.

    "I''ve heard of some hunters being like this. Even though they aren''t Altered''s they have super human strength. We still have to get the first attack. Even if this is a skilled Altered Hunter, there''s a good chance he doesn''t know what we can do, and we aren''t Altered in the first ce."

    Olivia, being the faster of the two, felt like she should move in first, be the first to attack. But when the man opened his mouth, she froze in ce once more.

    "You made it a little too easy for meing all the way out here, don''t you think, Werewolves?" Edvard said.

    "How?" Marie''s mouth was left wide open. She was struck with extreme confusion. The world didn''t know about Werewolves, and even if someone did know about them, how would they know that these two were Werewolves?

    Even though Olivia had transformed her arms, there were many Altered with sharp ws that looked like that.

    Hearing this alone, Marie started to worry. There was something in her gut telling her that this situation was dangerous, more so than just meeting an Altered Hunter.

    "Should I go back to Kai... but that means Olivia will be left on her own, and she might need my help."

    In the midst of these thoughts, Olivia decided to act in the end, and she wasn''t pulling any punches. She fully transformed instead of a partial transformation. Her legs grew in size along with the rest of her body and long arms.

    Running across the floor, she made the person in front of her a target and leapt up in the air.

    "If you know what I am, then I shouldn''t have to hide anything!"

    Olivia swung her paw right toward Edvard, ready to w the side of his face. Yet, Edvard didn''t look scared, and casually lifted his hand, moving inward and hitting the side of Olivia''s arm just before the ws could reach him.

    "He blocked my attack... even if he is an Altered Hunter, this person didn''t even flinch."

    Edvard then moved his hand back slightly, pulling it back for a punch. In that moment, shivers were sent right down Olivia''s spine as she jumped back.

    "Oh?" Edvard replied. "You have good instincts, but I''m afraid your instincts won''t save you here."

    It looked as if Edvard was about to do something, but he soon could hear someone approaching from behind. When he turned around, he saw two ws lifted right above his head.

    Lifting both of his hands up, he managed to grab the ck-furred Werewolf right by the wrists.

    "Brace yourself!" Edvard said, as he threw one of therge heavy arms away, then pulled his arm back once again.

    "Marie!" Olivia shouted, throwing out her whip. It wrapped around Edvard''s arms a few times, and she pulled with all her might. Yet there was no give; Edvard''s arm hadn''t moved at all.

    "How... not even Midwak was this strong. Who could possibly have such strength?"

    Olivia was desperate, pulling with all her weight and strength, but it was doing nothing. Throwing his arm out, it mmed right into the centre of Marie''s Werewolf form''s abs. She skidded across the floor for around ten metres, standing there in ce.

    "Oh, that body was a lot more solid than I thought," Edvard said, looking at his hand.

    That was because Marie was of the Protector ss, and bracing herself, she had used the Ironbody skill, allowing her to take the most powerful blows. Yet she hadn''t moved since getting hit.

    A secondter, she coughed, opening her mouth, and arge amount of blood poured out onto the ground. She fell to her knees, and her body was starting to revert back to normal. A single punch, one that didn''t have much momentum and was being held back by Olivia, had taken Marie out of the fight.

    "She''s just a child. Why would you do that!" Olivia screamed, running forward, swinging her ws out at Edvard.

    He would move just enough so the ws missed his body, stepping away, ducking down and to the side. And when she missed anotherrge attack again, Edvard ran in and ced his hand on top of Olivia''s head, pushing down hard, shoving it right into the ground.

    Her feet lifted into the air, her mouth was mmed shut as her jaw crashed into the mud.

    "Now tell me," Edvard said, his eyes glowing red. "Why have you Werewolves left your city? What are you doing all the way out here? Why are you trying to expand?"

    ******

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 664 Kings of the North

    Chapter 664 King''s of the North

    Webtoon announcement: My Dragon System Webtoon is out on webnovel! If you haven¡¯t read Dragon System, it contains the main character Ray. So this is your chance to experience it inic form. Just search on webnovel through theic section of the app! Read the series that started it all!

    *****

    Olivia had been damaged from the simple m on top of the head. It wasn¡¯t that much force was used, it was almost as if just the right amount of force had been applied, enough to tip her off bnce.

    Struggling, she ced both hands on the ground by the side of her head, and tried to push herself up off the floor. However, Edvard continued to push down, and the two positions weren¡¯t budging at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you now, it''s best that you answer my question!¡± Edvard said, shoving her head into the ground with more force again before lifting it slightly. Her head was still near the ground in case Edvard chose to shove it in again.

    ¡°What are you Werewolves doing here, why have you left the city and what are you nning?¡± Edvard asked.

    Olivia was still slightly dazed, shocked even at the situation. Even if this was an Altered Hunter, could a human really have such strength, such speed and not be an Altered? It seemed like an impossible feat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean¡­ this has always been our city.¡± Olivia finally answered. As her head was starting to clear, she began to think of a possible answer.

    Who else would know about the Werewolves'' existence, and be this strong? At one point there was a warning, just due to their existence, that they would be after them at some point. It was quite possible, what they were dealing with right now, was a vampire.

    From the small interactions they already had, Olivia already knew she could never win against such an opponent no matter how persistent she was, so she only had one chance.

    ¡®If this really is a vampire¡­ maybe he has the situation confused. Maybe they don¡¯t know about us. Telling them the truth might be the only way to survive¡­ or it might just be a quicker way to our deaths.¡¯ Olivia thought, but they were now in a forced situation, where she needed to do anything.

    ¡°Why are you avoiding the question?¡± Edvard said, as he lifted Olivia right by her head. She was still in her Werewolf form so many of her wounds on her body had already healed, but Edvard quickly punched her in the stomach.

    It was a heavy blow just like that on Marie, and blood sttered right out of Olivia¡¯s mouth immediately. She coughed a few more times, and when lifting her head, she looked through the mask.

    Right there, she could see it through the two eyeholes, the red glowing eyes staring right at her.

    ¡°Now tell me, why are you here?¡± Edvard asked, tightening his grip around her head at the same time.

    What Edvard was using right now, was his influence powers. A vampire was able to use their powers to force the other to do their bidding. They could givemands, instructions and the other would follow.

    There were those that were more resistant to this influencepared to others and at the same time there were those that had stronger influence powers. For a vampire living among humans this was their bread and butter, for living in the current world.

    ¡°We are not expanding, we are from Slough!¡± Olivia answered. ¡°You have the wrong people.¡±

    For a second, Edvard loosened his grip on Olivia¡¯s head. He was sure that his Influence skill was working, so then why had the answer been like so? But what if what she was saying was the truth, what would that mean?

    ¡°Answer my question!¡± Edvard shouted at Olivia once more. ¡°Your Alpha, the leader of the pack, are they the Kings that rule the north?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Olivia answered.

    Edvard¡¯s eyes widened, this was new information that they had yet to obtain. What did this mean, how was this possible, and how long had it been since something like this had happened? He couldn¡¯t get too excited though, because he needed to make sure.

    ¡°Then¡­ who is your Alpha?¡± Edvard asked.

    ¡°He is¡­ Gary Dem¡­ the one who rules Slough.¡±

    Immediately, Edvard dropped Olivia there and then, and she fell to the floor. She had quite possibly revealed the worst information possible for her gang. In the current world, one of the most important things one must never do was reveal their leader''s name, and she had done just that.

    ¡®What was that¡­ it was as if information was being forced out of my brain,¡¯ Olivia thought, but if the others learned about this, they would find it hard to believe her.

    ¡°A second Alpha hase, and of all things it''s a Dem? No matter how long I live, history always seems to be repeating itself,¡± Edvard said.

    He looked around at the two injured and tried to judge their strength while thinking about what to do, and eventually had somewhate up with an answer.

    ¡®With this information, we might be able to time things. A golden opportunity might arise out of all of this, but if they are like this, they won¡¯t be useful to us at all.¡¯

    ¡°If you want to survive out there, then the way you are now, you are far too weak. I have no clue about the rest of your pack and what their strength is, but if you were to go up against those in the North now, you would have already been killed."

    ¡°Until you are ready, don¡¯t mess with the Kings in the North. That will be the best for both of us!¡±

    Olivia just blinked, and just like that Edvard had disappeared right from her sight, letting her and Marie live.

    ¡°Marie¡­ Olivia!¡± Running through the forest, Kai was shouting their names heading straight for their location.

    *****

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 665 Mystery guest

    Chapter 665 Mystery guest

    Webtoon announcement: My Dragon System Webtoon is out on webnovel! If you haven¡¯t read Dragon System, it contains the main character Ray. So this is your chance to experience it inic form. Just search on webnovel through theic section of the app! Read the series that started it all!

    *******

    After learning from Innu that he had decided to be an Altered Hunter, the group stated that they needed details, and Innu had to exin himself fairly quickly because Austin wasn''t giving him the best of smiles.

    After all, Austin was an Altered, and Innu was now an Altered Hunter, which would mean the two of them were enemies in some way.

    He exined his reasoning, that he wished to get stronger and how he had joined through ke''s rmendation as an apprentice. So far, they understood Innu''s intention and how he had nned to stay in the Howlers, not really doing any Altered Hunter duties.

    However, the tone and tension in the room started to change when Innu went on with his story, how he had been invited to an Altered Hunters meeting, and the assessments that followed. Finally, it was time for him to tell the others the hardest part, that he would have to leave Slough and be under the Altered Hunters'' wing for an entire year.

    "This is crazy¡­ This is crazy. Why didn''t you think about these things before joining them?" Austin asked. "Did you think that they would just teach you what they knew, give you the equipment you wanted, and never contact you again?"

    Of all people, it hurt Innu a bit that what Austin said made sense. Although Innu never saw himself as the smartest in the group, he had always put himself in front of the wall of muscle Austin, but his reasoning was if ke could do it, then why couldn''t he.

    "Look, it was just bad timing. You know I have a lot of connections to Slough other than just you guys. I don''t want to be gone for a year, but now I''m stuck in a really tough situation. Honestly, I''m just d that only you guys are here. Otherwise, if Marie or Gary were here, this would be a lot harder."

    Kai was taking in everything Innu was saying, but unlike Austin, who had an instant dislike for the whole thing, Kai was thinking about how they could use this to their advantage.

    "You''re right. If Gary were here, he might even try to fight against the Altered Hunters to stop you from joining them," Kai stated. "But I don''t think the situation is as bad as we think. ke helped us a lot at thest auction. If it wasn''t for him, we would have had a much more difficult time getting out of there. No one knows the full strength of the Altered Hunters, but some assume it''s at the level of one of the kings, if not even more powerful.

    "If it wasn''t for White Rose trying to go after them, maybe they would be more active. So I think having someone on the inside, observing the movements of such a strong force, is a good thing. As we rise up, I''m sure we''ll gather the attention of the Altered Hunters anyway, if we haven''t already caught their attention."

    Innu was worried that maybe Kai would be concerned about his loyalty. Joining such an organisation and being with them for an entire year. At his age, a year was a significant part of his life. It would mean he would be part of the Altered Hunters for as long as he had been a part of the Howlers.

    Yet Kai didn''t worry about any of those things. His connection to the Howlers and Slough was strong, mainly due to Gary, who had saved thest few members of the old ck Rock Orphanage group, and because of the new ck Rock Orphanage group.

    Betraying the Howlers would mean betraying them.

    Thinking about what Kai had said, it reminded Innu of something, and he immediately pped his head a few times.

    "Crap, there was something else I needed to tell you. Honestly, I''m not sure if it''s something we have to worry about or not, but..."

    Seeing Innu struggle to get the words out more than anything else he had said, Kai started to worry a little.

    "The head of the Altered Hunters Association is in Slough."

    Unlike before, Kai wasn''t calm; his eyes widened.

    "You idiot, why didn''t you say that first? If someone like that is in Slough and they found out about any one of us, we could be in serious trouble!"

    Immediately, Kai headed out to where Marie and Olivia would be. It was a precaution, but he needed to be extra careful.

    All of that led the others to discover an injured Marie and Olivia in the woods. Kai was the fastest of the group and ran straight past Olivia, heading directly for Marie. She was on her knees, trying to get up, but the pain in her stomach was still there.

    "Are you okay? You have blood on your mouth. We need to take you to the hospital!" Kai panicked.

    "It''s okay. It doesn''t hurt too much anymore. My body will heal itself," Marie answered. "Olivia, how is she? Is she okay?"

    Austin and Innu were taking a look at Olivia. There appeared to be no serious wounds, but internally, they had been somewhat injured.

    "Do you think it was the head Altered Hunter?" Austin asked. "For someone to be able to fight two werewolves at once and for them not to be here, they have to be at least that strong, right?"

    "I''m really not sure," Innu answered, feeling guilty and like it was all his fault.

    "I don''t know if he was the head Altered Hunter or not," Olivia answered, being helped off the ground by Austin. "But I have a feeling in my gut, something that''s telling me he was a vampire."

    *****

    *****

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 666 A Big Day (Part 1)

    It was early morning, and the core members of the Howlers had decided to meet at their usual location, the Wolf''s Pool Club. However, the ce looked vastly different from how it usually would.

    For one, all of the pool tables had been moved, and in their ce were regr tables, seats, and chairs.

    There was also a significant upgrade, with severalrge TVs ced everywhere, including arge screen projector disying onto one of the establishment walls. The venue was not open to the public at the moment due to the meeting taking ce.

    Instead of meeting downstairs in Kai''s office, the rest of the members were sitting on the main floor at a table arranged in a rectangr formation. Kai and Austin sat on one side, while Marie and Olivia were on the other.

    "There''s a lot of important things we need to talk about, I guess, but let''s start this whole thing with some positive news," Kai stated.

    "The day of the full moon passed without any troubles urring at all. Despite us eating what we normally would have, none of us reported feeling an urge to transform. At the same time, there were no troubles with any other groups."

    "All of this is good news for the future, and we just need to make sure not to get involved in any troubles on a certain day in particr."

    Just like the time before, all of the werewolves in the Howlers had locked themselves up and waited. The only difference was that they ate what they wished rather than starving themselves, and in the end, it looked like Gary''s deal had worked.

    There was one problem, though, and that was trying to avoid breaking the vow. However, Kai was pretty adamant that Midwak wouldn''t do such a thing. If there was anyone afraid of losing their powers, it was him, and since nothing had happened, it seemed to be true.

    "Lucky for you, Marie," Olivia patted her on the back. "You will never have to feel the lust and pain to consume someone, unlike the rest of us."

    There was a little worry in Kai''s mind. Since it was Marie''s first time, he wondered what would happen, but it looked like he had nothing to worry about. He was happy that they could resolve this situation before her first moon.

    "Now, let''s move on to the more gritty stuff," Kai said. "Innu... Innu has left us for the time being. I made you all aware of thatst time. He has joined the Altered Hunters but only in name. Whenever he can, he will contact us."

    "We are to treat him no differently. No matter what, he is a true member of the Howlers, but we have to be prepared if we see any chance of him changing or acting differently around us. We have to be ready."

    Marie gulped. She was unsure if Kai was seriously suggesting something¡ªsuggesting that if Innu became a true Altered Hunter, they would have to get rid of him or at least confront him.

    "Do you really think Innu would do such a thing?" Marie asked.

    "Who knows," Kai replied. "You have to remember that Altered Hunters have be hunters for a reason, whether it''s due to their family or something happening to them. The fact is, not all Altereds out there are good people."

    "In a way, you could argue that more of them are bad than good, with many concentrated in gangs. With Innu going away for a year, there''s a chance he will see more of the bad side than the good. And with everyone around him having a deep hatred for Altereds as well, it''s easy for an echo chamber to be created around him."

    "To be honest, I would be more surprised if Innu doesn''te back from all of this a little different than before. But he is a strong person, so in the worst case, he will be someone like ke, who still has close ties to the Howlers." <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Marie and Austin looked a bit down upon hearing the news. When the Howlers had started, all of them were there from the beginning, and now one of them had left. It felt like a family member was leaving them.

    "Are the Altered Hunters really just out there to hunt Altereds?" Olivia asked, folding her arms.

    They all knew what Olivia was referring to. It had happened about a week ago, when Innu was still with them. She and Marie had been attacked by one of the heads of the Hunter''s Association.

    After the attack and seeing that they were all okay, the group discussed the events. What surprised them was the news that Innu had shared about the things Edvard was capable of.

    "There''s still no way to confirm whether or not what you two faced was a vampire," Kai replied. "I wanted to talk to Midwak about it, to get his thoughts, but I''m unsure if that''s the right thing to do."

    "Honestly, mind control abilities, superior strength to a werewolf, speed, and red eyes? On top of that, they knew about werewolves. Although we only have fictional information on vampires, I would say most of it points to your guess being right."

    "However, Innu has gone now, and so has the head of the Altered Association. There was no trouble from him even after knowing that you two were vampires. Which means I can only assume that we weren''t their target, and perhaps the other werewolf group was."

    "I guess it would make sense for someone like the head to know about werewolves as well," Marie added. "Still, all of this is getting crazy. I can''t believe so much is happening from when we were just in school."

    "In my mind, based on what he said to you, Olivia, there might be something else we have to worry about eventually. His warning was that we weren''t strong enough to deal with the Kings of the North." Kai said.

    "If ''Kings'' is referring to those who control the Tier One cities, then we can assume the Kings in the North are the other werewolves, as in the other Alphas," Kai stated.

    Marie looked deep into Kai''s eyes when he said those words. Was there something about the Kings of the North that Kai was interested in? Was it just the fact that they were other werewolves? Either way, she could see the look in his eyes, someone who was ready for a fight.

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply.

 Chapter 667 A Big Day (Part 2)

    My Dragon System Webtoon already has 28 chapters on webnovel! If you haven¡¯t read Dragon System, it contains the main character Ray. So this is your chance to experience it inic form. Just search on web novel through theic section of the app!

    *****

    While the others were busy discussing a few matters, there was a knock on the outside door.

    "Oh, I guess it''s time to open up soon then. The time went by quicker than I thought," Mariemented.

    Getting up from her seat, she walked along the wooden floor and pulled the door open. To her surprise, it wasn''t just any regr customers, but a few familiar faces they had seen before.

    "I thought you might have wanted to stay home today," Marie said.

    "Well, White wanted toe here anyway, and it would be good to be with everyone," Amy replied.

    Two girls walked into the Wolf''s pool club side by side, their arms linked. Amy and White knew all the members of the Wolf''s pool club, and although Amy didn''t have the full scope of what was going on, she did know a few things.

    She knew that Gary was part of the new gang called Howlers, and so were all the others in this ce. She just didn''t really know how high up everyone was. There were times when living with White that Amy tried to get information out of her, but she had a tight mouth and eventually gave up.

    At first, she was worried about the whole thing, and who wouldn''t be, but for one, White told her that there was no need to worry, and secondly, the Howlers seemed to be doing good things for the town.

    Of all the gangs for Gary to have joined, at least it was one like this, she thought. This was why, even though she didn''t have anything against Kai and the others, she still felt a little reluctant to hang out with them so much.

    "Kai has always gone above and beyond to make me feel safe, though. Whenever I have a problem at the apartmentplex or any issues in general he sorts them out. He and my brother both seem close to each other, so maybe I should start getting closer to him as well."

    Kai took the twodies over to a dedicated spot for them, pointing directly at therge projector.

    Soon after White and Amy had settled in, more people started to appear at the Wolf''s pool club. They kepting in. It was a busy night for them, with members of the Howler gang, the general public, and students all filtering through the door.

    On top of that, even Mr. Crowley, who had finally settled into Slough, hade in as well.

    "I thought you would be here," Kai said, walking over to the teacher.

    At first, Crowley had no idea who Kai was, since when they had first met, Kai had disguised himself. But the voice on the phone, as well as the voice in person, matched up perfectly. It didn''t take long for Crowley to figure out he was working for a gang.

    In all honesty, he perhaps knew it from the beginning but was just lying to himself. But what confused him was Kai''s position. Kai had talked to Crowley as if he was the decision-maker, as if anything he said could happen.

    It was clear that Kai acted like a leader but clearly stated that he wasn''t the leader. This somewhat made sense to Crowley because he couldn''t imagine someone who could only just legally drink running a whole gang crime organization.

    "Of course, I''m here. It''s a big day after all," Crowley replied. "You know I was in the AFA beforeing here, but what you might not know is that I looked after Gary while being there." <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Kai nodded along, making facial expressions as if he was surprised.

    ¡®Of course I knew. Gary was also the one who asked me to give you a job,¡¯ Kai thought.

    "I never directly taught him," Crowley continued. "But I do feel like I yed a part in his sess, so I wouldn''t miss his debut fight."

    This was the main reason for all the changes in the Wolf''s pool club, the extra seating, as well as the additional guests. Everyone was here to watch the big match. Gary had be a sort of town hero after his broadcast on TV.

    Everyone in Slough knew his name, and it didn''t take long for them to realize that this Gary Dem was the same Gary Dem who had been funding so many developments around town.

    Because Gary had this great status, everyone knew about his big event. The streets were almost empty in Slough as everyone tried to either gather or watch the big match at home to support their town hero.

    Luckily, the event itself had been moved. Originally, it was scheduled for a period close to the full moon. That was part of the reason why they went to see Midwak in the first ce, as Gary wanted toe up with a solution to prevent himself from transforming near the event.

    In the end, it seemed like it didn''t matter. Gary''s original opponent he was going to face had been injured, and as a result, they moved the event back a bit.

    It wasn''t dyed by a significant amount because, after all, his opponent was an Altered, and it never took them long to heal. After confirming that everything was okay, the fight had been set up once more, and even more people were aware of what was going on.

    "I wonder how Gary will win this one," Crowleymented.

    "Oh, how are you so confident he will win?" Kai replied.

    "Ha, Gary is one of the very best students that have evere through the AFA. He is special. The fact that this small ce is full of people supporting him shows it. I wouldn''t be surprised if Gary quickly entered the top 50 and went even further beyond."

    "He has a really bright future in the AFA, and if all goes well, he would never have to work a day in his life again."

    Hearing these words, for a second, Kai felt a bit saddened by them, but the sound of the TV turning on snapped him out of it, as the big event was about to start.

    ******

    For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 668 Debut Match (Part 1)

    Today''s AFC fight was gaining more attention than anyone expected. It wasn''t a championship fight, it wasn''t a match between two top rankers, and yet it was pulling in the same numbers.

    This was all due to people watching the match from all over. There were those in the AFA themselves. Izzy, Ian, Numba, and their respective families were all watching the bout. They would usually have a high interest in the AFA anyway due to their children, but there was an even more special connection now.

    Then there were the others, the students who generally watched the debut matches that happened, but these students included the likes of Apollo, Snow, and Wu. They were all predicted to be the next debut students.

    Then there were even those that were no longer a part of the AFA. Xin, who had already moved into a top team, along with Ryan, who had faced Gary head to head when he had be a permanent student.

    There were also those that Gary had helped along the way, such as those at Ashen Entertainment, and today, they had actually decided to use their own money. Ash had paid for all of them toe and watch the show.

    "Wow!" Rachel turned around in amazement, staring at the seats behind them. "Are there usually this many people at these things?"

    The group had front-row seats with the cage just meters away from them. Part of dried-up blood could even be seen on the floor below; they were that close. At the moment, there was no one in the ring, though.

    "The tickets weren''t too expensive since this isn''t a major event, but honestly, I''m quite surprised about the turnout myself. I guess Clem did a really good job presenting Gary." Ash smiled.

    Sitting next to Clem, Spring had her arms folded. She could hear many in the crowd spot and notice Clem, yet not a single one had recognized her. There were even a few that recognized Tyson as well.

    "Well, Gary, we''ve all turned up for your debut match, so you better not embarrass yourself and lose." Tyson pumped his fist.

    The lights started to dim as the first few matches were about to start.

    -----

    Gary was sitting down on the bench in his changing room. He was wearing the AFA uniform as was standard for those having their debut match. They were to represent which academy they came from.

    "Are you nervous?" Eddie asked.

    Eddie was his teacher during this whole time, but he hadn''t really taught Gary much, stating that he was already beyond readypared to the others.

    "I''m okay, I just have a lot I''m thinking about," Gary replied.

    Eddie then ced both hands on Gary''s shoulders before he started to shake them violently.

    "You should be nervous! Why is your head filled with other things apart from the fight?" Eddie said. He then let go of Gary and let out a big sigh. He was worried about this match for more reasons than one.

    "Look, you know that a match like this isn''t usually the main event, yet your fight today is. Do you remember why that is?" Eddie asked.

    "Because of those TV interviews I did?" Gary answered, his tone changing at the end as he was unsure.

    Eddie pped the side of his face. "That might have yed some part in it, but it''s because of your opponent. Usually, in a debut match, they would put you up against something called a Journeyman. An opponent who has had a few fights and also has had a few losses. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Someone that they are almost certain you will win against but at the same time show a level of your skill. This will allow you to build up your reputation and get your eyes on some scouts to make you a star.

    "Maybe it''s because in many eyes you already have the upbringing of a star, but your opponent today is not a Journeyman."

    Usually, before a fight, one would study their opponent diligently. Gary used to do it when watching his favourite Altered fights to try to figure out who would win. The problem was, there were no videos on his opponent, so Gary was unable to do this, but there was a reason why there were no videos.

    "Your opponent this time, it''s their debut match, just like yours. They''re from the Fighting Bruiser Academy. I''m sure you know they''re apetitor of ours."

    Gary certainly did know them. The AFA was the most well-known fighting academy but wasn''t the only one out there. The Bruiser Academy would often bepared to the AFA, and some would say they produced morepetent fighters on average, while the AFA was criticized for only focusing on talent.

    "I''m sure they''re upset about the amount of attention we receivedst time, so they must have pulled some strings to organize the fight. The AFC thought this was a golden opportunity, and it seems right, judging by the amount of people outside.

    "Either way, they will have sent out their best, so I need you to be on top of your game and not have your mind filled with useless thoughts right now!" Eddie shouted.

    ---

    On the opposite side of the venue, in another changing room, Gary''s opponent was also sitting down. He had short hair that was razor-thin with a few stripes on the side, thick ck eyshes, and a focused stare. This was Haze Brunt, Gary''s opponent and the number one student at Bruiser Academy.

    "Do you have everything ready?" His coach asked him.

    Haze looked up and rubbed the side of his mouth. He could feel something tied to the top part of his tooth, a pill that had a ck coating all around it.

    "I do... but I don''t want the same thing to happen again. I felt like I nearly had be a crazed Altered," Haze replied.

    "It all worked out in the end, didn''t it? Besides, that was a gift from our sponsors who want to make sure we win, no matter the cost." The man smiled.

    Inside the capsule, inside Haze''s mouth, a dark energy was swirling around.

    ----

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instgram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not to busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 669 Debut Match (Part 2)

    For those asking, Mass release will be toward the end of the month.

    ****

    The first couple of fights before the main event had started consisted of fighters who had a few wins and losses under their belt. They weren¡¯t anything special¡­ but that only applied by using the AFC standards. These were still skilled Altered, the best of the best that only a few could ever be strong enough to be selected to take part. Going through an academy that had links with the AFC was just one way to enter.

    "Holy crap!" Tyson shouted, lifting his hands up to protect his face out of instinct after a man had just been hurled towards the cage. He could clearly see the zigzagging pattern from that cage.

    "Why would anyone willingly get in the ring if they know they''re going to get hurt like that?" Spring asked.

    Watching an Altered fight on the screen and in person were twopletely different experiences. Only thetter could allow the spectator to really feel that it was real and how dangerous the fighters were. Every hit they heard, the groans they let out elevated the whole experience.

    They could even smell the sweat and blooding off from the two in front of them, showing off the determination for one person to win over the other.

    "Because that¡¯s what it takes for them to proim themselves to be the best," Ash answered. "Simr to how you wish to be on the screen and have the whole world acknowledge your acting talent, it''s the same for all of them. They are showing off their skills that they practised for weeks, months or even years.

    "In the ring, they¡¯re up against another who has gone through the same as them. Only through a direct confrontation can the two determine who can move faster, who is stronger, who can best adapt to their opponent. Ultimately, if they to the top, they¡¯ll be able to im that not a single person on the is stronger than them and could beat them in a fight, and that truly is a powerful thing."

    Some of them listening to Ash speak could understand, but others couldn''t. They just didn''t understand why you would want to hurt the other for fun. What drove them to this point?

    "You have to remember this is a lot safer than fighting back in the day," Tyson pointed out. "Although this looks dangerous, Altered are pretty hard to kill. Even if they are on the brink of death or have a hole through their body, they would survive.

    "After a couple of days rest, these guys will be all healed up and can fight again. This is one of the reasons why Altered fights have gained such huge poprity. They can rise fairly quickly, taking up fights every week if they wish to do so.

    The starting fights had finallye to an end, and it was time for the main event. The ring was cleaned up, and the lights were dimmed once more for the two to make their entrance to the caged ring.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have a very special event for you all. As two of the top contenders from the two top academies of the country have agreed to go face to face.

    "This is a first, where two debut students from each academy will be fighting it out with everything on the line. The winner of this fight is bound to go on and do amazing things. So, this is one to watch. Without further ado, please wee, from the Bruiser academy, HAAAZE BRUUUNT!"

    Heavy metal music started to y as Haze walked out from his side of the venue. The crowd cheered him on as there was mutual respect for anyone who stepped inside the ring, and it appeared that he had his fair share of supporters as well.

    As he walked, arge blue glittery hood was covering his face, but when he finally got to the ring, he ced his hood down, and everyone could see his determined focused look.

    "Do you know anything about Gary''s opponent?" Rachel asked.

    "Yeah," Clem replied. "We did some research before deciding to go with Gary. Honestly, we only went to the AFA due to the performance of thest AFA students. They were the hot news at the time.

    "However, Haze also had quite a bit of a reputation at the time. He was regarded as a brute, sending every opponent he went against in practice to the hospital."

    This was a bigger deal than it sounded because Haze wasn''t sending regr people to the hospital; he was sending other Altered.

    "And now, the new rising star of the Altered Fighting Academy. Due to the recent documentaries about him, he is one who needs no further introduction. Let¡¯s wee in, GAAAAARY DEEEEEEM!"

    Same as Haze, Gary¡¯s walk was apanied by muic. It was a tune some were surprisingly familiar with because it was a slightly remixed version of the tune that Kirk Summerfield used to walk out to. Since the two of them were from Slough, people figured that it was some type of homage to the former Rookie champion.

    "Is Gary okay? He looks a bit... lost," Tyson asked. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The others noticed it as well. Rather than looking at his opponent, Gary was just staring around, looking aimlessly at the people, not interacting with them at all.

    ¡®I can''t believe that I''m really here, walking down this aisle. The screen that I used to watch, the people that I used to see... I always thought and wondered what they felt like. Is this what they felt like?

    ¡®It feels like just yesterday I was watching Kirk walk down here and enter the ring. So much has happened in such a short amount of time.¡¯

    Gary had entered the ring, with his body on disy and his funky green hair. The cheers from the crowd were a lot louder for him. He was the favourite to win, but it wasn''t by a lot.

    While in the ring, Gary noticed a few things he didn''t before. One was that there was no one in the ring other than the two of them. There was no ref, but stationed outside the ring were high rankers.

    Two people within the top fifty who woulde in to stop the fight if it looked like one of the attacks might turn lethal. It was one of the duties of being part of the AFC.

    ¡®The ring... it feels a lot smaller than when I was practising.¡¯

    *DING*

    The bell went off, signalling the start of the fight, and immediately from Haze''s side, several limbs came out from his body. They were long and sharp like that of a spider, three on each side.

    Meanwhile, Gary hadn''t transformed at all.

    "Gary, snap out of it!" Clem and the others started to shout.

    "You shouldn''t daydream in a big fight like this!"

    Haze was running straight for Gary, unwilling to give him any time to react.

    "It''s a shame," Gary let out a sight. "I wanted to spend a bit more time in the ring."

    Shifting his feet, Gary pushed off his toes, instantly moving from his position right next to Haze, and before the Altered knew it, he could see a fist right next to his face. The punchnded squarely on his face, cracking his nose and other bones as he was sent flying back.

    Haze¡¯s body hit the cage, and immediately he fell face-first into the canvas, leaving the crown who had just cheered in utter silence.

    *****

    ****

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 Chapter 670 The Dark Outcome

    670 The Dark oue

    Haze Brunt continued lying on the canvas,pletely still. It didn''t even look like he was breathing, making some of the audience specte that he might have been killed in that one attack.

    The shocking turn of events left everyone stunned and unable toprehend what had just transpired. Even thementators had been rendered speechless.

    Just a moment ago, they had been ready toment on the fighting technique of the two youngsters, hyping up the predicted tough fight and portray it as a true test to both of them. They had spent a lot of time researching background information on Haze as he had been the clear favourite to win this, so what had just happened?

    "Ladies and gentlemen, we are just as stunned as all of you," the malementator was the first one to speak up. "From the look of things, Haze has been knocked out cold, was all with a single punch!"

    Upon hearing thementator''s revtion, the crowd erupted into a deafening cheer that reverberated throughout the stadium. They weren''t angry that the fight had concluded in one attack, rather they were over the moon that they had witnessed history in the making.

    In the ring itself, one of the referees at the side entered the ring and checked on Haze''s condition. The Altered fighter waspletely out, so the man waved to the officials on the side confirming that the match was over.

    "That''s it, folks. It has just been decided that Gary Dem is our WINNER!" the femalementator announced, prompting another round of cheers from the crowd. "That has to be the fastest knockout in AFC history. It¡¯s undoubtedly a new record!"

    Such urrences were unprecedented in AFC fights, as Altered were known to endure significant blows from their opponents. What made it even more surprising was the apparent mismatch between the two fighters. Could it really be possible for the level of two debuting students to be that far apart?

    "Gary won, and it was so easy," Clem remarked.

    "Yeah, I mean, is Gary just that strong, or was his opponent weak?" Spring wondered.

    "I don''t think his opponent was weak," Tyson chimed in. "That was just the difference between the two."

    ---

    All around, those watching the match were cheering, amazed at Gary¡¯s performance, including at the Wolf''s Pool Club

    "Your brother didn''t even transform. He must have gotten a lot stronger," White imed.

    "I had no idea..." Amy said, but her dazed state soon turned to happiness. She was proud of her brother.

    ---

    Elsewhere, Jayden was in a training room, looking at the TV, unable to stop grinning from ear to ear.

    "Haha, what a show-off! Did he have to win the fight like that? He could''ve at least got some rounds in to test fighting in the AFC. Still, what an amazing achievement! It looks like Xin has her work cut out for her."

    ---

    For Xin, who was watching the fight along with Ryan, her face showed next to no expression. She just had her arms folded as she continued to stare at the screen.

    "Xin... Xin... Xin!" Ryan called out, but she wasn''t replying. It looked like even she was shocked but in her own way. That was because they all had an idea of how good Haze Brunt was meant to be.

    During one of his sparring sessions, he had visited the new club where Xin and Ryan trained and had sparred against a professional fighter. While not against one of the top prospects, the fighters at their club were skilled, yet Haze had delivered such an impressive performance that their coach had been prepared to offer him a contract after his debut match.

    In contrast, their coach had dismissed Gary as mere hype. They had only seen him hit a bag and nothing more. Undoubtedly, he was now regretting his words, though he was likely not alone in that regard.

    ---

    At the ringside itself, the coach for the Bruiser Academy had veins showing all over his forehead. Both of his hands were clenched, banging on the side of the cage.

    "How could you embarrass us like this? Get up, get up!" the coach yelled at the top of his lungs, his frustration and disappointment palpable.

    Yet, what truly unnerved everyone was the eerie dark mist that enveloped Haze, along with his eyes

    which were now almost entirely ck.

    Although the fight had already been dered over, the sight of Haze lying motionless on the ground without having aplished anything in his fight was a profound source of embarrassment for the coach. All he wanted was to leave the arena, unable to bear witness to the humiliation any longer. His words seemed to prate Haze''s consciousness as he slowly opened his eyes.

    "My face, it fucking hurts," Haze muttered, lifting a hand to touch his aching nose. He saw the referee standing nearby, while Gary stood confidently in the centre of the ring, observing him.

    "What happened... I can''t remember much... wait, I was in my debut match. So why am I on the ground?" Haze''s memory gradually returned, apanied by the sting of pain as blood trickled from his nose onto the canvas floor.

    "Haze, you finally woke up, you idiot! You lost, just get out of the ring and head back!" The coach shouted once more.

    "I... I lost?" Haze repeated, disbelief etched on his face.

    Struggling to his feet, Haze surveyed his surroundings. The dream he had pursued relentlessly, the years of dedication and training at the academy, all came crashing down within a matter of seconds.

    "I lost to him... no, that''s impossible. I didn''t even get to fight. I didn''t even get to use everything I had. It''s impossible that I lost!" Frustration and anger swelled within Haze, and he moved his tongue to get the pill hidden in his teeth. Clenching down, he bit into the pill with determination.

    "I refuse to ept such a bullshit result!" Haze shouted, his voice filled with an intense resolve.

    Gary turned to Haze, whose body started to transform. It wasn''t a partial transformation this time. iHis body was growing in size, nearly doubling. His head had two w marksing out from its mouth, multiple red eyes, and his arms expanded like a spider''s legs.

    Yet, what truly unnerved everyone was the eerie dark mist that enveloped Haze, along with his eyes which were now almost entirely ck.

    [An infected Altered has appeared]

    ****

    ****

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 Chapter 671 The Infected Fighter (Part 1)

    The system message had appeared, and recently, the system messages didn''t appear around Gary much. Only when it felt like it, the system would warrant giving him any type of exp for the challenge he would face.

    In fact, that was partially the reason why Gary knew he had nothing to worry about when he met Haze, just like other Altereds he came across, there was no quest when it came to defeating him.

    It did make Gary wonder, though, at what level would one have to be in the AFC for Gary to gain exp? Had he now reached the same level as Jayden? In his mind, he hadn''t. He could maybe put up a fight at nighttime if he used everything he had, but that was all, putting up a fight.

    There wasn''t even the chance of him winningpared to what had urredst time. So if he wanted to gain exp through the AFC, then he would have to rise up the ranks fairly quickly.

    Right now, though, Gary was more concerned with the content of the message as he looked at the Altered in front of him. Haze no longer looked like himself. He had undergone aplete transformation.

    Gary took a slight step back. There were screams heard in the crowd, clearly unsure of what was going on. However, there were also those that were excited and jumping for joy.

    Thinking that they were about to get more than they paid for, as Haze was causing drama beyond the decision result.

    ''Infected Altered... thest time I saw something like this. Wasn''t it in Slough? When all those kids from the orphanage had taken that strange stuff from the syringe,'' Gary thought. ''I have the same feelinging from Haze right now. Did he take something simr to make him this way? That might be the case, but there''s a clear difference between the two of them.

    ''Back then, the kids, the red-haired twins, neither of them were Altereds. The solution had turned them into Crazed Altereds, but here Haze is already an Altered, and with whatever he took, this could turn out to be quite a dangerousbination,'' Gary thought.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that Haze was not happy with the verdict that was given right now and is attempting to take down Gary right here!" thementator said.

    Just as thementator said those words, straight out of Haze''s mouth, sticky webs were shot out. Gary swiftly avoided each one of them, moving out of the way. The web substance hit the back of the cage and spread out like a web.

    Gary, with his speed, continued to avoid all of the sticky web substances, but it looked like Haze was never going to run out as he continued to spit from his mouth. It covered the entire cage back wall.

    Eventually, Gary''s foot was caught in one of the webs on the ground. He was stuck and tried to pull away. The webs stretched slightly, but they weren''t breaking.

    ''What are these things made of?'' Gary thought, thinking back to how he was able to easily break spider webs as a kid by ident when running through trees and such. Now he felt like he was getting paid back a little for what he had done in the past.

    Haze leapt in the air with his powerful new body. A giant object wasing toward him. Green bubbles started to form at the mouth, particrly around its two w-like fangs.

    "I don''t want to know what''s going to happen if he hits me with those," Gary said.

    Transforming his fingertips, Gary''s nails elongated, and with a swipe, he cut through the web and rolled on the ground. A loud crash was heard behind him. Turning his head, he saw that the floor of the arena had been ripped apart.

    The sharp legs had pierced the ground, along with the green foam that had melted part of the stage.

    Haze''s coach by the side looked nervous when he saw this. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What is going on? He wasn''t like this thest time he took the pill. Sure, he was a bit more wild, but this ispletely different. Have the doses of the two pills made him this way? The strength he is producing and the skills... I''ve never seen Haze be able to do something like this before."

    Many were shocked at the sight of this, and they started to realise that something serious was going on. The fighting cage was sturdy. It had to be because it needed to survive the strength of other Altereds fighting in it.

    When top contenders fought, there were times when they would reinforce the ring, but this wasn''t one of them. They never expected anyone to be able to cause this much damage.

    "What are the two refs doing? Why haven''t they gotten involved yet?" Clem shouted from the sides.

    Many, including thementators, were wondering the same thing. In this type of situation, they would have jumped in and subdued the contender. They were, after all, in the top fifty of the AFC, so surely they would have the power.

    Yet the two of them were just standing side by side outside of the cage, as if they were continuing to watch the show.

    "This is starting to look a little dangerous," Gullenmented with a nervous look on his face.

    It was the first time for Gullen judging one of these events, so he decided to let all the decision making fall on his senior named Pinky. Pinky had his hands in his pants pockets while he continued to blow arge piece of pink bubble gum.

    "We didn''t get to see enough before," Pinky replied. "Aren''t you interested in seeing just how strong this new guy is?" Pinky smiled.

    Having been trapped in the strange sticky web and seeing the damage Haze was able to do, Gary could no longer take it easy.

    "I didn''t want to transform... because this is being broadcasted. I''m sure the other Alpha is already aware of us... but things have gotten quiteplicated."

    ****

    ****

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 Chapter 672 The Infected fighter (Part 2)

    Chapter 672 The Infected fighter (Part 2)

    Ray¡¯s story, My Dragon System has a Webtoon, which already has 30 chapters on Webnovel! This is your chance to experience his story inic form. Just use the app to search through webnovel¡¯sic section!

    *****

    That thing right in front of Gary was practically arge beast that he would have expected to find in those special lessons he had attended at the AFA. Haze¡¯s current form was frighteningly powerful and was using advanced skills such as web-based shooting from its mouth, as well as strange green acid it could produce.

    ording to the rules and the contracts that Gary had signed before his match, certain skills weren''t allowed to be used in AFC matches. Although not specifacally named as such, the teenager understood that they referred to those type of elementalized attacks like Jayden¡¯s windstrike, which was also the reason why the Altered fighter had never publicly shown that ability of his. Altered were only allowed to showcase the powers that were naturally part of their body, like the pincers in Haze¡¯s mouth, or Gary¡¯s sharp ws.

    Unfortunately, at this point in time, rules seemed to be out of the window. As long as nobody interfered, the Crazed Altered was free to use whatever he wished without suffering any consequences. That was why Gary was considering turning into a big beast himself.

    Before he could make up his mind, Haze swung six of his arms. Gary jumped back, but the sharp ends of the spider legs managed to rip through his shirt and scratch his skin. Now blood was on the floor, but he had avoided most of the strike.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t there some way for me to defeat this guy without transforming fully?¡¯ Gary wondered. He moved his head to the side, avoiding another hit from the white web. It stuck to the back of the cage again, and the Werewolf started to move, running around the arena.

    ¡®I''ve been relying on this Werewolf System to solve my problems whenever it got dangerous. Were it not for the new ss, I would have likely lost bitterly against Midwak. Even then, I mostly managed to beat him thanks to the Last Stand skill. Do I really want to get myself in the same situation over and over?¡¯

    While running, Haze leapt with his strong legs like a spring straight toward Gary. Shifting his feet, he phased Haze and ran toward him. At thest moment, he slid underneath the Altered, allowing therge body to go right over his head.

    ¡®In the future, I¡¯ll have to fight Midwak for the title of the Alpha. He won¡¯t be so dumb to attack me at night, so how am I supposed to defeat that guy if I¡¯m already faltering against a mere Altered? Come on, Gary, use your head, this guy has to have a weak point.¡¯

    Dodging another attack, he thought back to when he would sit in front of hisptop screen and watch Altered fights online. Just like any kid, he had dreamed about being in the ring himself one day, imagining how he would beat his opponents.

    With seemingly too much free time on his hands, the young Gary would watch the fights over and over, analysing every miniscule movement of the opponents, judging the right time to strike and what were the right moves to counter.

    ¡®I used to do that even back in school. ¡­ just why did I stop? Why aren''t I fighting like that these days?¡¯

    Gary charged full speed ahead, and Haze turned around to face his opponent. Part of the cage had been destroyed in his full-body attack. The closest members of the crowd seeing this had started to run away, trying to break out of the ce, while a few of the braver ones of the audience stayed to watch and film every part of what was happening. It was their luck that Haze seemed fixated on dealing with Gary over paying them any heed.

    When the Crazed Altered turned around, Gary was already right by his feet. He lifted his leg up, propping it on the knee and using it as a foothold, then jumped off with explosive power. Gary''s knee bashed right into the chin of therge spider head.

    While Haze''s head was flung back, Gary grabbed the wide neck of the spider beast and swung his legs out to the side. He shifted his body to give him momentum, allowing him to get behind Haze, and now he was right on his back.

    ¡®I¡¯ve been relying solely on this Werewolf side of me!¡¯ Gary chided himself, yet he was happy that he had realised this. ¡®I need to start relying on my own skills as well!¡¯

    Gary lifted his elbows up and started swinging them down, bashing them on top of Haze''s head. Each blow had tremendous power behind it, and Gary''s bones were strong enough to withstand the impact. If Innu was watching him now, he would be proud.

    Haze was in a daze as he was getting hit over and over, and his long spider limbs were able to stretch behind him. Letting go, Gary dropped down and then, gathering all the strength in his leg, he swung it as hard and fast as he could with all his power.

    It mmed into Haze''s leg, knocking one leg into the other. Therge Alteredpletely capsized as it fell over on its side. Midway through the fall, Gary lifted his hand and threw an overhead strike with full force, hitting Haze right in the stomach.

    The blow sent Haze shooting down into the canvas, blood sttering out of the Altered''s mouth, and a crash was heard. His body was unmoving, stuck in arge hole that was made through the canvas of the arena. Gary¡¯s gaze remained on the unconscious body, ready to react in case he were to stand up again. However, after half a minute passed without any signs of Haze waking up, he wiped the sweat from his head.

    "Alright, it looks like the threat has been dealt with." Gary smiled once again, facing an audience that was stunned into silence.

    ***

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 Chapter 673 The captain

    Chapter 673 The captain

    Some in the crowd had already exited from the fighting arena in fear for their lives, as they noticed something was wrong. Most guessed that Haze had turned into a crazed Altered. It had happened a few times in an AFC match before, when one was pushed too far, this one just seemed more out of the blue.

    Still, the majority stayed watching the fight, because they knew that they had nothing to fear, because if it ever became serious then the two top ranked assistants would have gotten involved. If the crowd saw them two get a beat down, then maybe they would have panicked a little.

    Those that did get to stay, were happy they did, very happy.

    ¡°Did you--Di-Di Did you see that rookie!¡± Thementator stuttered. ¡°Without transforming, Gary Dem managed to take out Haze Brunt and in style as well!¡±

    ¡°You mean, take him out for a second time!¡± The othermentator added.

    Everyone knew it was an impressive feat, because of the destructive powers utilised by Haze that everyone had witnessed. They all knew they had witnessed something special as they continued to chant Gary Dem¡¯s name.

    ¡°Ga-ry! Ga-ry!¡±

    Pinky, one of the Ref¡¯s, turned to Gullen chewing his pink bubble gum.

    ¡°See, what did I tell you, there was no need for us to get involved and it looks like this rookie is something else.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right about that. This person, I can see him breaking into the top fifty in no time, we don¡¯t even know what his Altered form can do. It appears that this person wasn¡¯t so much of a hype job after all.¡± Gullen replied.

    Through the sounds of chanting, some of the crowd started to hear noises from outside, noises that everyone where familiar with.

    ¡°It¡¯s the police, someone from outside must have called them.¡±

    ¡°Or the organisers of the event, when there¡¯s a Crazed Altered it''s standard protocol to call them.¡±

    Just as expected, several police men and a police woman stormed into the ce. Immediately they were trying to control the crowd as they asked them to leave, but the police weren''t the only ones that were there. Entering after them were five people, dressed in white and gold.

    Each figure stood out, as the individuals looked different from each other, all different shapes and sizes, and all of them with their intimidating aura. Although they wereing in as a group they didn¡¯t look like a solid working unit like the police.

    These were the special White Rose Unit, dispatched to deal with cases revolving around the Altered and the Altered Hunters. A group that were Altered themselves.

    At the front of the group, one of the tallernky men bent his knees, and jumped up in the air. He had cleared therge wall of the ring for the fighters with ease beforending on the canvas itself.

    Gary stared at the man¡¯s long orange hair that went past his shoulders at the back, but his hair at the front was short like a Wolf¡¯s cut. He noticed the emblem on his clothes, and instinctively turned his head away.

    ¡®Wait a second, I have no reason to be worried about White Rose. They don¡¯t care about Altereds, only the ones that they think are causing trouble, and I¡¯m not a suspect like I was in the past.¡¯

    Although Gary thought these things, he did realise the fact that he was a gang leader, and had done some pretty hical things, that if White Rose ever did find out about him, they would be paying him a visit.

    The orange haired man was Kanu Rightfelt. He wasn¡¯t just any member of White Rose, but was actually one of the division''s captains. The current fight was taking ce in a tier-2 city. One that was close to the AFA, and not too far from the bruiser''s academy.

    Kanu and his squad were dealing with another case in the city when they had gotten the call toe out here. Usually high profile White Rose members were sent out to deal with these cases, due to those involved.

    A Crazed Altered from the AFC, someone who was a trained fighter and did nothing but attempt to be the strongest, it was a very dangerous thing, and many people witnessed that today.

    Kanu looked at the body, it had reverted back to a human form. Haze¡¯s heart was still beating, but there was arge red mark on his stomach where he had been hit, and therge hole in the canvas.

    ¡°You did this, kid?¡± Kanu asked, tilting his head to the side, while he was still in a crouched position.

    Gary looked around at first, but it was clear that their was no one else next to him.

    ¡°Yeah, I was just trying to protect myself, it was self defence.¡± Gary answered quickly.

    ¡°Calm down.¡± Kanu said, as he knelt forward and lifted Haze out of the hole, cing him on his shoulder. The way it was done was so effortlessly, like it was a small weightless doll.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here to interrogate you, you did good. If you ever get bored of this, children¡¯s fighting game, then you shoulde join us.¡± Kanu stated.

    With Haze on his back, he bent his knees again, and jumped over the cage, leaving it just as easy as he got in.

    ¡°Wait, what are you doing!¡± The coach from the Bruisers team shouted. ¡°That¡¯s my student, where are you taking him?¡±

    ¡°We got reports that an AFC fighter was showing signs of turning into a Crazed Altered, nothing more, nothing less. We will run an investigation into this, and ask for statements from all those involved, including you sir.

    ¡°If your student turns out not to be a Crazed Altered, then I¡¯m sure you will be seeing him soon, but if he is, we need to deal with the facts. Who knows, maybe there could be something else at y here, perhaps a dark pill?¡±

    The coach¡¯s heart sank hearing those words. It was clear that the White Rose knew something about those pills and an investigation could quickly lead right back to him. Sweat was running down both sides of his face.

    ¡°Or it could be nothing.¡± Kanu added. ¡°Whatever the case, we will make sure to not leave a single stone unturned.¡±

    The White Rose agents were on their way out, meanwhile the police were continuing to escort the crowd out of the ce. Surprisingly, they allowed the rest of the event to still continue. This meant, all of the reporters and journalists were able to go to the after-fight press conference.

    Usually this is where Haze and Gary would talk about the fight, and what their current ns for the future were. Everyone was preparing, but before going up onto the stage, Clem who was going to be one of those asking questions to Gary approached him.

    ¡°Are you sure about this Gary, are you going to go through with what we talked about before?¡± Clem asked.

    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t be more positive than ever, after what happened today.¡± Gary replied, as he walked away, heading to the press conference table.

    *****

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 Chapter 674 A shock to the world

    Chapter 674 A shock to the world

    The room was filled with journalists, bloggers, and the press. Each of them with their devices ready to capture every moment that was to be said. There was big news to be disyed and things to talk about.

    Gary had taken a seat on a stage with a table in front of him. By his side was Eddie. There were two microphones in front of him. On the other table, there was meant to be Haze and his coach, but only his coach was sitting at his table for obvious reasons.

    Standing in the centre, though, was a bald-headed man in a bright white suit. It was shining like a wedding dress and wasn''t something one would typically wear to these types of conferences.

    This man was Buzz Tole. He was one of the PR managers for the AFC, and he was known for always standing out with his bright white suit.

    "Everyone, before this press conference begins, I have to warn you that you are to stick to questions regarding the fighters themselves, the actual fight itself, and not what urred after the fight," Buzz announced.

    This was pretty standard procedure when a case like this urred. Crazed Altered in the ring did happen; it was bound to happen when one person was pushed to their limits, but the AFC was practically the selling point of why everyone should try and be an Altered.

    They had to keep up a good image of Altereds and didn''t want anything getting out to the public that would ruin that image.

    After Buzz sat down, nearly every reporter''s hand in the room was raised, and it was Eddie''s job to select whose questions to answer. There was one, though, one that didn''t have their hand up, and that was Clem. Her notepad wasid there on herp, and she didn''t particrly look happy.

    Eddie had decided to pick one at random, a scruffy-haired man with sses.

    "Congrattions on your win, Gary Dem. It was a great victory tonight, and you had managed to defeat Haze, one of the top students from Bruisers Academy, without even the need to transform into your Altered state!

    "What I wanted to ask was whether this was part of your n, as a way for you to impress those watching you tonight. I''m sure there are many clubs with their eyes on you and wondered which one of them you nned on joining?"

    It was a standard question for any fighter making their debut. From here, they would join a top club that focused on training the best Altereds for the AFC. Some would even have one in mind, wishing to follow their stars.

    On top of that, it was the usual style for AFA students to fight their debut match without having to transform. The thing was, due to who Gary''s opponent was, no one would have med him if he had transformed, and yet he still hadn''t.

    Before answering the question, Gary looked straight ahead and cleared his throat, hardening his resolve as he brought his mouth closer to the mic.

    "I know many of you have questions for me," Gary stated. "But I want to be fair and not waste anyone''s time. That''s why I have an announcement to make before you ask me any more questions."

    The reporters looked at each other, and even Eddie appeared confused as he shrugged his shoulders toward them.

    "I have decided that the best thing for me to do is to take a hiatus from the AFC," Gary said.

    The reporters immediately started taking photos, murmuring, and jotting down notes. This was huge news. The rookie with arge amount of potential had suddenly announced a hiatus.

    This wasn''t just a break; a hiatus essentially meant that Gary didn''t know when he would return, and there was a chance he might nevere back.

    "I''m sure you all might be wondering why," Gary continued. "I have to say that it was a tough decision to make, and I can''t give you the full details. All I can say is that I believe it''s unfair to the rest of the fighters in the AFC.

    "In the AFC, there are fighters who do everything they can to train and be at the very top. It''s their sole focus, their whole life. But for me, right now, it''s unable to be. That''s why I made this announcement."

    What Gary said was true. He had thought about fighters like Xin who were giving their all for the AFC. But for him, he had other things to focus on. The only part he didn''t tell the reporters were the other reasons behind his decision.

    For one, being broadcasted live as he fought tougher opponents would eventually require him to transform into his Altered state, at least if he wanted to fight at his very best.

    With vampires and werewolves after him, it wasn''t the best course of action. It would put a clear target on his back.

    Then there was also the gang. The Howlers were going through a tough phase, and as their leader, how could he be out here pursuing these things? With all these thoughts, he had eventuallye to a decision.

    Gary looked at Clem once more and pulled the mic close to his mouth, ready to speak again.

    "From a young age, it has always been a dream of mine to enter the AFC. I never thought it would happen, but suddenly, here I am. Honestly, I think I made the decision to leave the AFC a while ago.

    "I didn''t think it was fair for me to take another student''s ce. But because I had this dream, this dream of joining the AFC, I wanted to live it, even if it was only for a short moment. I wanted to experience that dream, and I have done that today.

    "I''m sorry, everyone, for being selfish."

    Gary stood up, deciding not to answer any more questions, and started to walk away. As he did, he grabbed his phone and sent off a text.

    "I''ming back."

    *****

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 675 Creating A Legacy

    Mass release! The mass release will be split into three parts, at separate times as I simply can¡¯t write 33 chapters ahead.

    *****

    The reporters were left confused talking amongst each other. They had already had ideas in their minds as to what the next article would be, and they felt like they could continue to follow Gary for a while hyping him up as the next big thing.

    However, this news was even bigger, and soon they would pop up with questions, such as why had Gary decided to no longer be part of the AFA? It led to questions such as, just who was Gary Dem and what about his past?

    At the moment, everyone was in research mode, and they were looking at one in particr for answers.

    Buzz was breaking out in a sweat at all the questions that were thrown at him.

    ¡°Everyone should know that we don¡¯t force our contestants to participate. Everyone has their own lives, and we should respect the decision of Gary Dem.¡±

    Although Buzz was saying all of this, the questions continued to be hurled at him. At the end of the day this was his job but he couldn''t help but feel slight anger at the AFA.

    ¡®A little heads up would have been nice, there''s a reason why we need to talk about these things. If you think the AFC is something that you can just join and leave when you want, then you have a lot to learn.¡¯

    Behind the stage, Gary was walking through the back area, a secret exit where reporters weren''t allowed. It would allow the contestants to safely leave the area. Gary was only a couple of steps from the oval spinning door when someone called out to him.

    ¡°Gary wait!¡± Eddie said with his hands on his knees. He was out of breath, but not because he was tired, it was more from the shock of everything going on that he was forgetting to breathe.

    ¡°I had no idea this was what you were nning to do. Are you sure this is what you really want? After everything you went through in the AFA, to get here and just leave like this!¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t give an answer straight away, he was trying to find the words for Eddie.

    ¡°I really thought that you were someone who could leave a legacy behind. Someone who could shake up the AFC, to see you go like this, it would be a waste!¡±

    ¡°There are other talented students in the AFC from the AFA other than me. Take Xin for example. She is someone who is a lot more deserving of all of this attention than me. If you want to build a legacy through the AFC, then I think someone like her would be better.¡±

    Gary turned around heading to the door again.

    Eddie knew Xin was great, she was one of his pupils as well, but there was something different about the two of them. Whenever Eddie looked at Gary there was this strong drive behind his eyes.

    There was a lot of weight behind the reason as to why he needed to get stronger. Everyone had their reasons for climbing the ranks in the AFC, and when looking at Gary he had never seen such heavy shoulders.

    It was as if the weight of the whole world was on them, and he continued to strive forward. Some would buckle under that kind of pressure, yet he didn¡¯t. Even if Eddie stopped teaching him, he knew that Gary was the type of person to get stronger on his own.

    In his eyes, he was the one, the one that could possibly reach the top.

    ¡°Can you at least tell me?¡± Eddie asked. ¡°Can you at least tell me why you are leaving the AFC, I know there is a reason why you won¡¯t tell the world, but can you at least give me an answer.¡± <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Gary didn¡¯t turn around as he gave a reply.

    ¡°The AFA, I believe the contract states after my debut match, I¡¯m no longer with them and I¡¯m free to go wherever I want, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Eddie answered.

    ¡°So that would mean you no longer have a connection with me.¡± Gary said, turning his head, and a big smile was seen. ¡°That¡¯s good, because I like you Eddie. You not having a connection with me is for the best.

    ¡°The reason I''m leaving is because I want to look after those I care about. To stop them from getting hurt again. I got involved in all of this, and I can¡¯t just ignore my position. I know my actions, what I do, all of it can have a ripple effect.

    ¡°I was the one that got involved, and I know I have a responsibility to look after it all. I can¡¯t just do what I want. I have people that rely on me.¡±

    The words Gary spoke, Eddie felt like they weren¡¯t wordsing from a teenager. There were multiple times when Eddie kept a close eye on Gary, he felt like he was a hot headed kid.

    Doing what he wanted, but just then, he sounded mature beyond his age.

    ¡®Just what did that kid go through?¡¯ Eddie thought.

    Gary left through the revolving doors, and Eddie continued to follow him, he wanted to see him off, as he left therge arena. On the driveway leading up to the back entrance, he could see arge limo-like car, and standing by it was a young adult.

    ¡°Here''s your jacket boss!¡± Tyler said, cing it over Gary¡¯s shoulders. It was the ck and gold uniform, now over the AFA uniform.

    Tyler opened the door for him, letting him head inside and Tyler looked up at Eddie, before entering himself and driving off.

    ¡®Gary¡­ who are you?¡¯ Eddie thought. Thinking that, just maybe, Gary was still going to make his own legacy, just not in the AFC.

    *****

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 676 A Special Gift

    Mass release! The mass release will be split into three parts, at separate times as I simply can¡¯t write 33 chapters ahead.

    ******

    The surprise party for Gary had been cancelled. After what happened, when he returned to Slough, the others assumed that he would want to rest most of all. He had arrived at the apartment building block in Cipen.

    It was in the upscale end of Slough, and the block of apartments he was staying at was where his sister, White, and Crawley were staying. Before driving off and leaving Gary be, Tyler handed over two sets of keys.

    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Kai told me to hand them off to you.¡± Tyler answered. ¡°One is your apartment. It''s on the top floor, you have the entire floor to yourself. It''s been renovated with some funds. He tried his best to decorate it for you, and try to make it feel like home.¡±

    It was strange to hear those words, for a while now Gary felt like he didn¡¯t have a home. There was still the apartment block he lived in with his mother, but it was quite clear why he could no longer live there.

    The security wasx and Gary had be a big name in Slough and out of it as well. Although the staff were annoying at this ce, they did try and make sure only those that lived there as well as guests were allowed inside.

    Still, Gary had been moving so much since his time at the AFA, that he didn¡¯t really have a ce to call home, and he didn¡¯t want to disturb Amy, especially since she was settling in with White.

    Finally, this ce was somewhere he would stay for a while. The good thing was, it was the same building as Amy, so if she ever did need him for something it wouldn''t be too hard for him to help. Although, he didn¡¯t know how he felt about Kai decorating the ce.

    ¡°And the other key?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°That is your vehicle. You''re 17 now and don¡¯t really have any excuses not to learn to drive. There will be times where I¡¯m too busy, and I can¡¯t drive you somewhere but you need to get there.

    ¡°So, of course, you need your own car. It''s locked at the moment in the underground parking lot.¡±

    With those things done, Tyler went off, leaving Gary to run his finger over the key. Even the keychain looked fancy as it was dressed in ck and gold, the gang¡¯s colours.

    ¡®This feels a bit too fancy¡­¡¯ Gary thought.

    Before heading up to his room, he thought it was best to check out the car first. When he entered the lobby, immediately there were a few people that recognised Gary. They started to point and whisper about him, and through his hearing he could hear it all.

    ¡°Hey, it''s the AFC fighter! Did you see his match?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Gary, so he¡¯s back in Slough now?¡±

    ¡°Did you hear the news about what happened at the press conference, apparently he quit the AFC.¡±

    The onlookers were just excited more than anything else, so Gary decided not to pay them any attention. When he went up to the desk, immediately one of the workers in the suit came out. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°How may I be of service to you Gary Dem.¡± The man said.

    It felt strange to Gary, that someone he had never met before would know his name, but it was something he had to get used to.

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem, I was just going to head down to the parking lot, and then up to my room.¡± Gary answered and carried on.

    The treatment he was receiving from strangers was vastly different nowpared to before. He was starting to think that it might be better if he wore a disguise. His every move would be followed and there were a lot of secrets that Gary wanted to keep.

    Right now, he was still wearing the golden and ck over coat. Tyler exined that it would be fine because in the first ce when Gary had entered the AFC he had done so under the guise that he was being supported by the Howlers.

    Although no one really knew who the Howlers were, they would soon know as they looked into Gary a bit more, and the Howlers themselves were growing.

    Seeing him in the uniform would give people the impression of two things. One that Gary Dem was under the protection of the Howlers so it was best not to mess with him. Two, that the Howler¡¯s themselves must not be so bad.

    It was only a matter of time until everyone figured out that Gary Dem the business Tycoon, the AFA Star, and the Howlers were all linked as many of the deals done had these things involved.

    Just because Gary wore the uniform wouldn¡¯t make them think he was a gang member, and even if they did, they would never think he was the leader, just someone like Austin who worked for the gang.

    Eventually, he had reached the parking lot, and wondered how long it would take him to find the car. There weren''t really any instructions for where it was ced, but it didn¡¯t take long for Gary to spot it at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ this is the car?¡± Gary said, as he got closer to it.

    It was a sports car, a car that was rtively low close to the floor, and it was gold in colour as well. It was one of the new electric Torche Baycan¡¯s that could go 0-60 in under two seconds.

    ¡°How the hell am I meant to drive something like this around without people noticing me.¡± Gary thought.

    Pressing the button on the key, a small beep was made as the car unlocked. He was right, the car was his.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 677 A Special Gift (Part 2)

    Mass release! The mass release will be split into three parts, at separate times as I simply can¡¯t write 33 chapters ahead.

    ******

    Gary never had an appreciation for cars, he was too poor to even dream about owning anything luxurious. When he was younger he thought that as long as he got anything that would help him get from A to B, then it would be fine.

    Although he knew nothing about cars, he could tell that this was expensive. He hardly saw any of these on the road in the first ce, let alone a gold one.

    ¡°If people see mee out of this thing, then everyone in the town is going to know where I am!¡± Gary thought.

    Heading towards the door, he opened it, and the lights and multiple screens inside the car turned on. Looking down on the floor he could even see the logo of the car projected outward.

    He took a seat in the car, and after closing the door, the seat he was in started to massage his back. While he looked at all of the wee screens.

    ¡®This is all a bit too much.¡¯ Gary thought, but he didn¡¯t realise it. He had a big smile on his face. Anyone would, sitting in a vehicle like this, it was just surreal to him.

    Looking at the passenger seat, there was a small envelope on the side. Picking it up he tore it open and could see it was a message from Kai.

    ¡°I never got to get you a gift for your 17th birthday and thought this was perfect since now you are of legal age to drive. So, why don¡¯t you go ahead and take one of those intensive courses, pass, and take her out for a spin!

    ¡°You might be wondering why I got you this type of car, and well, Gary the business tycoon can¡¯t just be driving around in anything. You need to fit the part and the image. Don¡¯t worry when you need to go somewhere more discreet, then Tyler can still pick you up.¡±

    Gary just couldn''t stop shaking his head, he could even see in the head rest that the name Gary Dem was stitched into them. Since it was personalised to him, and Kai had gone through so much effort, then that meant it was impossible to return it, right?

    ¡®I should at least enjoy this luxury, let''s just not think about how much this costs for once.¡¯

    For the first time, it felt like Gary was going against his morals of spending money. The penny pincher gave his seal of approval.

    Leaving the car, with such a big surprise of the car, Gary didn¡¯t expect much of the apartment. He went in, and there was a small tag on the key. This allowed him to select the very top floor.

    Without the key, or tag, then no one could press the button to the top floor. As soon as the elevator opened, that was it, Gary was straight there in his apartment.

    It opened up into argebination area. The end of the wall in front of him felt like it was at least 30 metres till the other end. To his right, a top of the range kitchen with an ind and multiple appliances, and to his right arge living area.

    The ceiling was incredibly high with multiple chandeliers dangling from above. Then there was a hallway to countless different rooms. It took a while for Gary to explore the ce, but it had its own gym, swimming pool, sauna and every room waspletely furnished <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡®This is somewhere that 30 people should live in, not just one¡­ it''s a good thing I''m an altered, otherwise my legs would hurt just getting out of the ce.¡¯

    The good thing was, it did have everything Gary ever needed, he never had to leave the ce and the elevator went straight to his room.

    There were some things that Gary didn¡¯t like. He felt like the naked statues of people ced everywhere was a bit strange, and when looking at his cutlery it was covered in jewels. It felt wrong to even eat using them.

    ¡®I guess these are the little add ons of decoration that Kai tried adding on.¡¯

    Looking through the multiple rooms, there was one ce where all of his and his mother''s belongings were stored. Everything out of the old house, including the furniture. Although it was tacky, Gary was happy that Kai kept these things. The smell of everything was very familiar and it slightly smelled like home.

    Another thing that Kai had done, was get all of the mail rerouted to this address, anything that was sent to the old address would be sent here instead. This way if anyone did try to contact him, there was no need for him to leave the house, but he would still check out the house once in a while.

    Over the next couple of day¡¯s Gary rested, and did as Kai suggested. He took an intensive course where they tried to teach you how to drive in a few days. Heading out, he needed to wear a disguise, and when he met with others he would wear a face mask to hide the bottom of his face.

    Another thing that he noticed in Slough was an influx of reporters and journalists. All of them asking the citizens of slough what they thought about Gary, trying to make the next hit piece.

    He had even gotten a text from Ash, asking if they could do a piece on him, which he had to decline in the end.

    Eventually though, Kai felt like Gary had enough rest on his own, and sent out a text.

    ¡°Everyone''s waiting for you, at the pool club.¡± Kai sent.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 678 Sibling Bond

    Mass release! The mass release will be split into three parts, at separate times as I simply can¡¯t write 33 chapters ahead.

    *****

    As Kai had expected the reporters had managed to gather quite a bit of information on Gary. First, it was the fact that his sponsor was the Howlers. Research into the Howlers hade out, and information about them being a gang was broadcasted.

    Inte articles, TV reports and more. With this, rumours came about iming that Gary might have been forced to leave the AFC, in order to help out the gang more. However, more information started toe about.

    Those that lived in Slough started to write about how much better life has been since the Howlers had taken over. This seemed bizarre to those from the outside. How could a gang make them feel safer, it just made no sense.

    Soon, it was revealed that Gary Dem was also a person that worked with the Howlers to invest heavily in the town of Slough. Using his money for improvements in multiple areas. He had multiple projects he was running at the same time.

    A lot started to think this was the reason why Gary had left, because he wished to help the people of his hometown. For the general public, this had divided opinion. That the money that had been used was dirty money.

    While others believed it was still improving the lives of others and there was no proof that Gary¡¯s money was dirty money.

    All of this led to many of the reportersing to Slough, wanting to ask the Howlers and Gary questions, questions the public wanted answering.

    That evening, when it was a bit quieter outside, Gary left the building and quickly entered a vehicle with the usual driver, Tyler.

    ¡°It''s been pretty crazy since thest time we met, huh?¡± Tyler said with a nervous smile.

    ¡°You''re telling me, even at this time. They¡¯ve been camping outside of the apartment block. It''s a good thing that the staff kicked them out.¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°It''s not just you either. They¡¯ve been questioning nearly everyone in Slough to try and find out about you, even me. This is crazy!¡±

    Gary certainly did find it crazy, he was just a simple rookie, so why did they care so much? It was simple, the afterfight of Gary defeating Haze had spread around more than the fight itself.

    It was clear to everyone that Gary was special, and just like Eddie they all had this feeling, that this was an Altered that deserved to be and should be in the AFC.

    Eventually, they had reached the Wolf¡¯s Pool club which had been closed and both Tyler and Gary headed inside. It was one of the few ces that had next to no reporters. It seemed that Kai¡¯s thinking of making the base of operations something not too shy was a good idea, as no reporter ever expected Gary or the Howlers meeting ce to be here.

    ¡°Wee back, it seems like you were here only yesterday, but a lot of things have happened.¡± Kai said, putting his arm around Gary¡¯s shoulder and walking him in. ¡°Anyway, what did you think about your gifts?¡±

    In the room were Austin, Marie, Miss Degrace, Olivia and Tyler. It was the core members of the group and they all had a lot to talk about to each other.

    Kai had been keeping Gary out of the loop, mainly because he wanted him to focus on his own fight. Which was why two pieces of information had not been delivered to him yet. One of them being about Innu, leaving them for the time being to join the Altered Hunters.

    Gary of course was surprised and he felt a little hurt inside. Wondering why Innu never told him how he felt. He was one of the first to join the group and thought they were close enough to share these feelings he had.

    ¡°I wouldn''t take it to heart too much. He didn¡¯t tell any of us, and we understood him. All of us felt the same way, heck Marie felt that way so much that she got turned into a Werewolf without telling you.¡±

    Marie was embarrassed by thisment and looked away. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°Anyway, for him, you might be the hardest one for him to talk to, because he thinks so much of you. He probably couldn¡¯t stand to see the look on your face.¡±

    After thinking about it a bit more, since Gary understood the reasons behind it, and thought how ke was still quite neutral with the group. He thought it would all turn out well in the end.

    It was just a shame that he wouldn''t be able to visit Innu wherever he was. With the way he was, visiting them would be one of the most dangerous things in the world.

    ¡°There''s more that I need to tell you as well¡­¡±

    Another fact that they had hidden from Gary, was that Marie and Olivia had run into what possibly could have been a vampire. From Innu they had learned that it was one of the heads of the Altered Hunters Association, but that didn¡¯t make it better, it just made the situation worse in Gary¡¯s mind.

    There and then Gary asked if Marie and Olivia were alright, to which they said they were fine, and they haven''t run into him or anyone like him since. It had been a while, so they would consider it a matter resolved.

    Kai imed the best thing to do was to talk with Midwak, but after meeting him recently they didn¡¯t want to visit him again so soon.

    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t believe it. It really was the right thing to do in the end, to leave the AFC.¡± Gary said.

    The rest went quiet, because they knew how much Gary loved the AFC. Even when he was around them in the club he would watch the matches, always keeping up with thetest news.

    ¡°I wanted to ask¡­ how did you know I would leave the AFC? You even had Tyler there ready to pick me up?¡± Gary asked.

    Kai smiled.

    ¡°I knew you woulde around.¡± Kai replied. ¡°You''re smarter than you look with your green hair, you always have been. When pushes to shove you make the right decision as leader."

    ¡°You are the perfect leader, I could see that from day one with you, and that''s because you im responsibility for those you get involved with. You never run away from anything and see it through to the end."

    ¡°I¡­ wanted you to enjoy the AFC though, I wanted you to live your life a bit, but that''s also when I thought you would eventually realise.¡±

    It was always amazing how Kai was able to see these things, and Gary wouldn''t want anyone else by his side, but the talk about taking responsibility, it did make him think of one thing.

    There was someone in his life that he had kept distant for a while, but it perhaps wasn¡¯t the right thing to do. Especially with the information he was learning. It was time, he spoke to Amy.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 679 Sibling Bond (Part 2)

    Mass release! The mass release will be split into three parts, at separate times as I simply can¡¯t write 33 chapters ahead.

    ******

    The main group spent most of the night together, and Gary was starting to see a friendlier side to Olivia. The fact that a few months had gone past and she hadn¡¯t bothered to challenge him was also a good sign.

    There was a thought in him that maybe she was trying to use Marie, but based on their interactions and what had happened when they met the vampire that day, Gary no longer felt like that.

    The group went on to talk about general things and Gary¡¯s time in the AFA, and of course the subject of vampires was brought up a lot. Each of them wondered how their strengthpared to the mythical beasts.

    If the head of the Altered Hunters Association was anything to go by, then they certainly were stronger. However, Kai had a feeling that Edvard might be a special case.

    ¡°Ah, if Tom was here he would have loved to have heard this conversation, he was always into things like this.¡± Gary stated.

    Tom was also another that Gary had no time to catch up with, due to his own job at NIRV. Still, it was good out of all ces that he was still able to meet up with him at the AFA.

    In the future, he was sure they would be able to catch up again.

    The day hade to an end, with Kai telling Gary that he should continue in pursuit of his driver''s licence and rest for a few more days. There wasn¡¯t a lot for him to do at the Howlers anyway.

    Only paperwork stuff that he wanted to update him on, but it wasn¡¯t urgent nor was itpletely important that Gary knew these things, especially if he had Kai, but that¡¯s when Kai had mentioned something strange.

    ¡°Gary¡­ there might be a day when I disappear, or maybe I get killed. If that happens, you should at least know the state of your own gang.¡±

    It made Gary think, was Kai thinking of leaving the group, was he worried for his life for some reason. Maybe it was just because he had nearly lost his life to Midwak, that he felt this way.

    Without Kai, Gary couldn''t think of continuing to run the group. Regardless, he decided to listen to Kai and learn about the gang more.

    After resting at home, the next day, Gary got dressed wearing a hoodie and his face mask. It reminded him a lot of the days when he used to try and hide from the Underdogs. The good thing was he had experience in doing so.

    On top of that, now with his super hearing and sense of smell he could tell if there were those around the corner.

    It was extremely important for this, that he didn¡¯t get seen, this was something that Kai had managed to keep a big secret, and from getting out to the public.

    The sound of beeping and coughing was heard from all over. The sound of crying could be heard in the distance as well.

    Gary stood in front of a door, looking at it, before he slid it open. His face dropped to a gentle expression.

    ¡°It looks like your still sleeping mum.¡± Gary said, entering the room.

    All of the equipment showed that his mother was stable. Her heart rate, her skin and even her body. She didn¡¯t look so frail as she did before as she was taking in the nutrients provided through the IV and such well.

    Taking a seat Gary sat by her side and started talking away. He mentioned everything that he had gone through at the AFA.

    ¡°I managed to make some pretty good friends there as well.¡± Gary exined. ¡°I think if you met them you would think they were great. Especially Izzy, she¡¯s a bit too smart and notices things straight away. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°I bet if it was her¡­ if it was her, she would have already figured out who it was that put you in this mess.¡±

    Gary clenched his fist as he allowed a tear to drop from his face, creating a dark patch on his trousers.

    Gary was embarrassed that he still had no leads as to who had attacked his mother. He had been so busy with other things, and now it was simply toote to try and get any type of clue.

    Too much time had passed, and they already asked everyone they thought would have seen something but no one said anything.

    ¡®I have a feeling that you won¡¯t wake up¡­ that you won¡¯t wake up until I find the people that have done this to you. When I do, I will drag them here, and make them apologise right in front of you¡­ then I¡¯ll make them suffer the same way you did.¡¯

    Without knowing it, Gary¡¯s eyes had changed shape and colour slightly.

    There was a polite knock on the door, and before anyone answered the door slid open. Footsteps were heard walking right up to Gary¡¯s side until a hand was felt on his shoulder.

    ¡°She looks really peaceful, huh.¡± Amy said. ¡°I can only imagine, she must be having a long sleep finally. Now that she no longer has to work and look after us two, she can finally sleep.¡±

    Amy''s words were clearly words offort, but she had no idea how Gary felt. For some reason, being involved in all of this gang mess, he felt like he was to me for some of this.

    There was a reason why Gary had asked Amy to meet him here, it was to remind him for something like this not to happen again, and the best way was some honesty.

    ¡°Amy, I¡¯m sure you have heard a lot of things about metely, and I want to speak to you.¡±

    Amy sat down in the chair next to him, turning it so she was faced toward Gary.

    ¡°Is this about why you left the AFC?¡±

    Gary nooded.

    ¡°Yes¡­ and there¡¯s a lot more I need to tell you.¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 680 Sibling Bond (Part 3)

    There were a number of times where Gary wished to tell his sister the truth. The two of them, although maybe not as close with each other as best friends were, were still quite close as a family.

    Both of them had gone through a lot, with their father leaving them and sharing a room together. They hardly everined about it, because they always knew their mother was trying her best, so in their own way they would constantly help each other out.

    No matter what situation the other was in, they both knew that they would try their damned hardest to help the other, and Gary had done so on a particr asion. Although he had at times told parts, he had never exined the whole thing, leaving her to fill in her own gaps.

    Now he had summoned up the will to tell her the truth, and that included finding out what he really was.

    ¡°Amy¡­ there is a lot I need to tell you, and for all of it to make sense, I should start at the beginning. Over the summer school holidays, in order to help the family out, I decided to take a job¡­¡±

    Gary went on, to exin his transporter job for the Underdogs, and what had happened to him with the mysterious package. As he told the story, Amy was holding up her hand by her mouth, she let outrge gasps and even a few tears dropped by the side of her face.

    She could only imagine the struggles that Gary had gone through, not just him but with all the others by his side as well. As he told each story in detail, Amy was starting to understand why everyone was so close, and how they had managed to build such arge empire.

    The hardest parts for Gary to talk about, was him being a Werewolf, he didn¡¯t go into much deep detail but did inform her that it wasn¡¯t like an Altered as she thought. However, in the story the biggest shock wasn¡¯t that Gary was a Werewolf.

    No, it was the fact that Gary stated he was the actual leader of the Howlers. Amy started to think, everything in Slough that the Howlers owned, all the reports she read about them, all of that was Gary.

    It was starting to make sense, how she had a luxurious apartment. Why it felt like she was almost always being looked out for while in the town.

    At the same time, why would a gang do such a thing? Thinking about it all, the two sat in silence for a bit to let her take it all in.

    In the end arge smile appeared on her face.

    ¡®Seriously, only my brother, would be bold headed enough to make such a change in this town. He did all of that.¡¯

    The image of the bloody clothes appeared in her head. She remembered back in the karaoke ce with her friend. She always wondered what might have happened to certain people. She wanted to ask, but decided against it.

    Thest thing she wanted to do was make Gary feel guilty for simply helping her out when she was in trouble.

    ¡°There is a reason why I decided to tell you everything.¡± Gary said taking a big gulp. ¡°Because, for one, due to you being rted to me. There is a chance that you might be thrown into all of this.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there have already been some reporters that might have nagged you, asking you questions about me. But, when I say being dragged into this, I¡¯m not talking about the business with the Howlers, but all of this Werewolf stuff.¡±

    Amy leaned back in her seat, surprised to hear this, was there something about Werewolves that would affect her as well.

    ¡°I¡­ I only found out about this recently, and it''s quite confusing how but it seems that I might have not be a Werewolf from that package that day.¡± Gary exined. ¡°There is a chance that in our bloodline, I already had Werewolf blood in me, and if that''s the case, there is a good chance that you do as well.¡±

    Amy felt her heart beat louder for a second. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°Of course, nothing has happened to you yet, so I don¡¯t think anything will happen anytime soon.¡± Gary continued. ¡°But there is a chance. I¡¯m looking for dad, I¡¯m hoping that he will have some answers about this, but if you do notice anything weird, or anything at all, I want you to contact me straight away. I¡¯ve dealt with all of this now, so I can help you.¡±

    Her hands started to shake. She realised that after hearing Gary¡¯s story, if she had to go through what he had to, would she be able to handle it? The thing was, what Gary had done, for the most part he was alone.

    He onlyter had Tom by his side and the others to help him. Soon, she started to feelfort that Gary would be there as well.

    ¡°You''re a good brother Gary.¡± Amy said.

    ¡°You''re a good sister.¡± Gary replied.

    The two of them stayed there looking over at their mother for a while, talking about useless things.

    ¡°So¡­ what do you eat as a Werewolf?¡± Amy asked.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Another day had passed, and Gary continued to take his driving lessons. He was a quick learner, and the instructor had his suspicions that Gary might be an Altered. Apparently Altered learned a lot fasterpared to regr humans.

    Reflexes with enhanced memory and senses. It just made driving almost second nature, especially since his car was an electric one, there wasn¡¯t much for him to learn.

    So he had decided to take his test and manage to pass. With that, the rest of the day was free.

    ¡°I know Kai wanted me to rx a bit more, but I¡¯ve done enough rxing, and I don¡¯t have that much longer¡­ until I have to face Midwak again.¡¯

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 681 Moving Forward

    I wanted to give some type of mass release before the month ended. With this, there were 7 Chapters. With my wedding around the corner and nning and prep, it has been more difficult getting these chapters out, but a promise is a promise and I will get you those chapters. There is still an owed 25 chapters.

    *****

    Every meeting the Howlers had so far, had all been called by Kai. He was somewhat the strategist of the group and whenever he called the others over it was always to discuss something, but this time, a meeting had been called at the Wolf¡¯s Pool club and that meeting was called by Gary himself.

    Of course, not a single person was against it, but they were all quite surprised, and wondered what he had to say. A short whileter, and everyone had promptly arrived at the Wolf¡¯s Pool club.

    He told the others to sit while he remained standing looking at them all. It made the others a little nervous as to why this meeting was called.

    ¡°I wanted to ask everyone, what were their ns for the next couple of weeks?¡± Gary asked seemingly out of the blue.

    They looked at each other and Marie was the first to speak.

    ¡°Me and Olivia were just nning to continue our training. We increased the intensity ever since ourst encounter. We¡­ don¡¯t want anything like that to happen again."

    Austin sat back rxed in his seat.

    ¡°I have no ns.¡±

    ¡°There are a few meetings here and there, but actually the next Dark Guild location has been released, and I was nning to attend it. We were going to get as much Altered DNA as we can.

    ¡°We believe that most of those that are loyal to us have been selected.¡±

    This was an important project for the Howlers, and after hearing what happenedst time, Gary was a little concerned that they might run into trouble this time.

    ¡°Are you sure everything is going to be alright? Won¡¯t a lot of the tier 2 gangs and tier 1¡¯s have their eyes on us?¡± Marie asked.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to worry too much about that.¡± Kai replied. ¡°The n is to purchase the Altered DNA through Ash. The reason why I want us to go is two fold. The first is to show that we Howlers aren¡¯t afraid.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t turn up, there might be those that think they can mess with us. Thankfully Midwak has done a good job detering any attackers. Second, we will be going to protect the Ashen Gang.

    ¡°If they buy a lot of Altered DNA, they are sure to be targeted by some sort of group, and who knows maybe the Altered Hunters will appear again, although I doubt that based on what I already know from Innu.¡±

    Hearing what Kai had to say, Gary looked a little down.

    ¡°What''s the problem?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°It''s just that¡­ it''s nearly been a month since Midwak joined us.¡± Gary stated. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you all. The way I am now, if Midwak is able to attack me during the day, then I¡¯m not sure I would be able to beat him.¡±

    ¡°But, I thought he couldn''t leave the city due to the pack rules?¡± Austin asked. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°That''s true, but I¡¯m not sure what will happen on the day he can challenge for his position. If none of the pack rules apply to him that day, even if he is unable to find me, it means he can leave the city and who knows what he¡¯ll try to do to get my attention.¡±

    Midwak was certainly a double edged sword to have around.

    ¡°My original n was getting stronger through the AFC. I was going to take as many fights as possible, but it would take too long to reach the fights that would really make me improve and then there are all the risks associated with it.¡± Gary exined.

    ¡°I see.¡± Kai snapped his fingers. ¡°You called us all over because you hade up with some idea to get stronger, but it seems like the Dark Guild auction has conflicted with that.¡±

    Kai ced his finger on his chin while looking around the room.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be at the auction. I¡¯m sure your presence might even ruffle some feathers. If someone tries to demask you and finds out who you are, it would cause a bigger mess.

    ¡°Only now have some of the reporters decided to finally head home. I will take Olivia and Marie, the two of them will be enough support and strong enough.¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t too sure about that, but in the first ce, the Auction houses weren¡¯t meant to be dangerous ces. The Dark Guild themselves were strong, and would stop any conflict happening on their grounds.

    The bigger cities were unlikely to act and risk souring the rtionship with the Dark Guild. Outside partnering up with an Altered DNApany like NIRV, the Dark Guild was most¡¯s best bet for Altered DNA.

    ¡°So¡­ what did you have in mind?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°When we spoke to Midwak, he had mentioned something to us. Something he used to do on the night of the full moon.¡± Gary exined, and there were worried faces around the room, because they remembered exactly what Midwak said.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s been a lot of cases of Crazed Altered in the lower tier cities. I want to go to the tier 5, 4 and 3. Make the ces better for the people, and while thire, get stronger, strong enough to defeat Midwak, and anyone else who gets in our way in the future.¡±

    There was another thought in the back of Gary¡¯s mind. There was also a possibility the reason they were struggling to find their father so much was because he was in the depths of the lower tiers.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 682 The World Wide Group

    White Rose was a global organization with departments operating in various countries, coborating closely with local police forces and governments. Recognizing their expertise in dealing with Altered cases, the United Nations had granted them special privileges. Privileges that only they had above the police force.

    Initially, the first Altered that appeared were primarily involved in sports events and simr events. Due to the extravagant costs involved in the process, the number of Altered had been very limited in that era.

    However, over time, Altered solutions became a lot more essible, be it legally through bigpanies selling them, or illegally through the ck market.

    When this ured, this was when the first problems started to appear.

    Consequently, every country began to face significant challenges, with local governments losing control of the streets to criminal gangs. This problem persisted in many areas despite attempts to recruit Altered individuals into the police force. Unfortunately, due to the inherent dangers and inadequatepensation, very few Altered epted.

    Why would they when they could easily earn more money through advertising, the AFC or by joining a gang?

    Given this situation, the world came together and established a public fund to create the organization now known as White Rose. Those unable to contribute financially were denied the privileges associated with the White Rose''s power.

    In each contributing country, a main White Rose base was established to provide assistance as needed. These strategic location allowed agents to travel across the country for investigations efficiently.

    In Ennd, the White Rose base was situated in the central city, Centrefield. Thanks to the base, it had be the country¡¯s safest city. Their presence alone had ensured that aside from some petty crimes, the nearby towns also had no gang presence.

    To ensure the safety of high-profile political figures and create a secure environment, parliament had been relocated from the capital to Centrefield. However, this shift had the unintended consequence of making the city an expensive ce to live, essible only to the wealthy and influential.

    Some people criticised that this made White Rose no better than any other gang controlled Tier-1 city, though the officials involved vehemently refuted that im. White Rose insisted that they were merely stationed there to protect the important people that made society work, and unlike gangs their personal followed strictws.

    Despite the White Rose''s influence, local governments remained responsible for dealing with issues in separate towns and cities. Consequently, they had little to no control, resulting in the current state of affairs.

    In the centre of Centrefield, there was arge oval building which looked somewhat like a mix between a pce and a prison. All the outside of the buildings were white in colour simr to their uniform, and this one wasrge and round like a colossus.

    Outside the main building, there were three walls that one had to get through before they could even reach the base. Constructed with thick steel, only specific sections of the walls had essible entry points, each requiring a different security clearance.

    In between the walls, it was like a paradise, there was a lot of greenery cut to perfection. Rivers flowing through, heading all the way to the main building.

    Having walked through thest gate, two White Rose Agents were walking down a stone pathway toward the main building, in their bright uniforms.

    ¡°It''s been a while since we werest here.¡± Frank remarked.

    "Yes, and it seems like things have finally settled down a bit," Sadie responded. "We were constantly being assigned to one case after another."

    ¡°Yeah, but at least everything is good now. I was worried about you when you lost your Altered form.¡±

    When Frank said those words, Sadie instinctively touched the back of her ankle. It no longer hurt, and the wound had long since healed. Although the medical staff and researchers found no corrtion between that wound and her loss of powers, she was convinced that it had to have been the cause of it all.

    At first, it hadn¡¯t been too much of a problem, she had merely regarded it as a nasty wound that needed more time to heal. Unfortunately, Sadie had quickly found out that it was more than that. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Since the Crazed Altered attack, Sadie had been gued with issues concerning her Altered form. It was the first time she had encountered such difficulties. From that point onward, her transformations became increasingly unreliable. Sometimes she would achieve a full transformation, other times only a partial one, and frustratingly, there were asions when her Altered abilities failed to manifest at all.

    Even when she did manage to transform, the loss of control was a constant battle. Parts of her body would revert to their human form, defying her attempts to maintain the full manifestation of her Altered abilities. The struggle to maintainmand over her Altered form had be a frustrating and unpredictable aspect of her existence.

    Following the incidents, Sadie''s Altered form vanished entirely. For an agonizing week, she found herself unable to undergo any transformation, feeling disconnected from the very essence of her abilities.

    Then, inexplicably, as if by some miraculous intervention, her powers resurfaced without warning, as if the week-long absence had never urred. Simultaneously, she noticed the wound around her ankle had begun to heal at a normal pace, as if responding to the restoration of her Altered nature.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of an Altered being able to do something like that.¡± Sadie said.

    ¡°That whole case bugs me,¡± Frank added. ¡°Speaking about it, did you see thetest news? That green-haired kid we called in, he¡¯s all over the television as the next big up-anding Altered fighter, but I was sure that when we tested him, he showed no signs of being an Altered.¡±

    Sadie knew what Frank was getting at, if their test had failed at the time, there was a chance that the kid was somehow involved in that whole mess. Unfortunately for them, the case had been deemed solved after the discovery of the deceased Altered Billy, along with substantial evidence.

    ¡°If you want to argue with the team who created the test kit, be my guest. No, it¡¯s far more likely that he became an Altered after that whole incident,¡± Sadie spected.

    "Yeah, it''s definitely odd, isn''t it?" Frank mused, a perplexed expression crossing his face. "I mean, growing that powerful in such a short time frame? It''s not something you see every day. Even kids from wealthy families who be Altered at a young age aren''t guaranteed a shot at being AFC fighters."

    He leaned back, deep in thought. "And let''s not forget how strange it is that he even became an Altered in the first ce. Didn''t we dig into his background? Came from a no-name family, barely had two pennies to rub together, and went to a regr school. It''s not exactly the typical profile you''d expect for someone like him."

    Sadie nodded, acknowledging Frank''s observation. "You''re right, it''s not unheard of for a candidate to be chosen from a school like that, but it is indeed very rare. There''s something about that town, Slough. It feels like there''s a lot more going on beneath the surface."

    She hesitated for a moment, contemting the potential implications. "But honestly, I don''t think we should delve too deeply into it. There have been minimal reports and requests for assistance from Slough. It seems like the higher-ups have chosen not to prioritize it. So, for now, I think it''s best if we follow orders and avoid unnecessarily poking our noses into matters that might not concern us."

    "Ah, yes," Frank interjected, his tone shifting to a more serious note. ¡°Well, there might not be anything to do in Slough, but the opponent that Gary kid went against, he¡¯s being brought in today. They suspect that after he got knocked unconscious that he took something akin to the ck liquid stuff. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s a chance that this could be a big catch for us.¡±

    Sadie sighed. ¡°It looks like we might get pretty busy soon.¡±

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 683 White Rose Structure

    Entering the Centrefield building, Frank and Sadie made their way directly to their office, where their squad was located. As they entered, they exchanged brief waves with their fellow teammates before settling down at their desks, eager to get an update on the current situation within the base.

    "Whoa!" Frank exime, his eyes glued to the screen. "Take a look at this, Sadie. Viper got promoted to Captain. Can you believe it?"

    Sadie felt a vein on the side of her head begin to throb. She and Viper had started out in the same year, and up until now they had been holding the same rank. After being hired as official members, the rivalry between the two had continued.

    Unfortunately, despite having Viper beat in every test and assessment, ever since she had entered her squad, Sadie had been unable to show any significant achievement. It wasn''t just her, either, but the whole squad felt that somehow they only ever received the cookie-cutter cases with not much to do.

    "Don''t worry, Sadie," reassured Sam, a young man with bright orange hair and thick square sses. "I heard that Captain Kanu will be joining us today. As long as we find out something meaningful, this could finally be a breakthrough for our squad."

    "If the captain gets promoted to the chief position, that will leave a vacancy. Although it¡¯s not guaranteed but usually the higher-ups like to like to pick someone from within the squad itself, and given your performance in the past you have a good chance, Sadie."

    Each squad consisted of twenty members, with four non-field agents providing support while the remaining sixteen, including the captain, were field agents like Frank and Sadie.

    Sam was one of the non-field agents who worked behind the scenes, gathering information and checking in with the police, among other things.

    The captain of their current squad was Captain Kanu, and he was also recently the one who had been sent to deal with the AFC situation involving Haze.

    In most cases, agents worked in pairs to handle assignments, but depending on the severity, a whole squad or even multiple squads could be deployed.

    Sadie was a high achiever, so she wanted to reach the rank of Captain as soon as possible. Now that Viper had beaten her to it, she had yet another reason for wanting to get promoted. Unfortunately, a position which she had considered to be reachable in a matter of time had be more and more elusive, something she partially med Captain Kanu for, as their superior was more on the rxed side.

    "Thatzy ginger beard!" Sadie couldn¡¯t contain her frustration. "It¡¯s just my luck that I got assigned to the one man, nicknamed the sloth. Aaarrrgh how can someone in White Roseck the necessary ambition and passion to get promoted?!"

    The position above Captain was Chief. They were the ones in charge of the Captains within a certain area. Above them would be the Superintendent. The Superintendent was a special position because they were more in charge of disciplining internal members.

    Even for those with positions higher than Chief, they would deal with the matter personally if they needed to but weren''t directly in control of any groups.

    At the very top, three positions ¡ª Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, and Chief Constable ¡ª ran the entire White Rose organization within the country.

    These positions were based on achievements rather than raw strength, although the two often went hand in hand. Those in high-ranking positions faced threats from assassins and anti-White Rose groups, requiring strength to survive.

    s, in rare circumstances some strong Altered found themselves unable to gather noteworthy achievement, causing them to stay in the same position for years toe. And it was the very squad that Sadie was in, along with their captain, Kanu.

    "I can tell that the next joint assessment is going to be fun. Well, at least you have your powers back now and have nothing to worry about," Frank said and quickly covered up his mouth. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Powers back?" Sam raised an eyebrow, curious about what Frank might imply with that statement.

    Sadie had naturally kept her personal problems with her Altered form a secret from everyone but Frank. Even the medical team had merely checked her for any injuries following that bite.

    If they found out she was missing her powers, she would have been taken off the field for a while until they found out the cause or reason, and she didn''t want that to happen. It would have push off her already unlikely promotion into the far future.

    "Speaking of the AFC fighter," Sadie swiftly changed the subject. "What about the coach? Surely we should consider the possibility of him being involved. In fact, he might even be the one to have given him whatever substance he took as a failsafe measure so he can impress the judges during his debut."

    Sam began typing on hisputer, pulling up the reports.

    "Says here that after the blood tests confirmed a foreign substance in Haze¡¯s bloodstream, they went to speak to the coach¡­ who was nowhere to be found. The Bruiser Academy has no idea where he is, at least that¡¯s what they im, but so does everyone else he has any connection to. It seems he has just gone missing."

    "Well, it''s quite obvious that someone doesn''t want us to find out about anything," Frank remarked, frustration evident in his voice. "Were it me, I would have just taken in the coach right then and there."

    "And that¡¯s why it¡¯s good that you aren¡¯t in charge," a voice echoed from the doorway. Entering was their orange-bearded leader with his iconic wolf-like haircut. "Even if he was involved, he would only be the one to get the stuff, and he would be unlikely to spill anything that could help us find the true culprit.

    "Initially, we had him under watch, well, the police did. The idea was to track him to his source. Unfortunately, they managed to lose track of him. If I were to guess, he''s most likely dead.

    ¡°Which means our only lead now is Haze. Sadie, Frank, I want you two toe with me to interrogation. We''re going to get something out of this guy."

    Both of them stood up straight from their seats, ready to go.

    "Yes, sir!"

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instgram: Jksmanga

    P.a.t.r.e.o.n jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not to busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 684 The integration (Part 1)

    Chapter 684 The integration (Part 1)

    Kanu, Sadie, and Frank strolled down the hallway together, a rare invitation from the Captain for an assignment. Intrigued, Sadie couldn''t resist asking the question that was on her mind.

    "Sir, howe you chose us to apany you? Neither me nor Frank mind, but the two of us just returned," she inquired.

    When Kanu was assigned a task, he had his preferred individuals whom he would select. The reasons behind his choices were shrouded in mystery, and people simply assumed it was because they were the strongest in the squad. Since squad members didn''tpete against one another, there was no definitive way to assess that.

    "Here I thought you would be delighted at the opportunity to seize some credit," Captain Kanu replied with an amused tone, before getting more serious. ¡°My gut is telling me that this case might have some connection to the one you were assigned to back in Slough. The incident was captured on video and circted widely on the inte.

    "I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ve watched it already, but this wasn''t the usual case of a Crazed Altered. We suspect it might be a more evolved version of the ck liquid, perhaps the first of its kind.

    "Seeing that our suspect fought against Gary Dem, who happens to be the same youngster the two of you tested during your time in Slough, it seemed even more appropriate to involve you.

    ¡°As far as we know that town might very well be the origin of the ck liquid, though it¡¯s too early to tell. The likelier scenario is that it was used as a hub point and the Crazed Altered from the time were either a batch of it having ended up in the wrong hands¡­ or someone had deliberately done it to test the form.¡±

    Sadie was left speechless. Her perception of their Captain as a total cker, someone who couldn''t be bothered to read reports, began to crumble. While reading reports was technically mandatory, she doubted other Captains would invest time in reports that had ¡°Inconclusive¡± written on that. Nevertheless, Kanu had not only taken note of Gary''s presence on the White Rose agents'' radar, despite the negative test result, but he also seemed well-informed about it.

    "What''s with the silence? Were you expecting me to say I chose you two because I thought you were the brightest and the ones with the most potential?" Kanu asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "No, Sir! Thank you for rifying, Sir!" Sadie responded.

    As they entered through a door, the group found themselves in the interrogation room. It had all the ssic elements ¡ª a one-way mirror, recording equipment, and monitoring consoles manned by two engineers.

    On the other side, they could see Haze. The Altered was tied up, strapped to a chair with metal restraints around his arms and legs. It didn''t look like there were any signs of struggle.

    "Has he said anything?" Kanu asked one of the engineers, who was sipping away at his coffee.

    "No one''s been inside to ask him anything yet, Sir. We¡¯ve received orders to wait for the interrogation until two Captains are present," the man replied.

    "Another captain? Isn''t that excessive for a single individual?" Kanu remarked.

    The door burst open wide with a heavy hand, to the point where it banged into the wall. Arge man with a square hat on his head walked through the door. His uniform was quite tight on his body, but not in a good way.

    "They called me here for a reason, Kanu!" the man dered. "You brought him in, so they''ve given this one to you. However, they fear you might botch it. Your track record isn''t exactly impressive!"

    The man who had just burst through the door was Captain Hiru. He was the Captain with the most achievements in Ennd and the one closest to being promoted to Chief. Although he didn''t look like the type of person to be quick, he was quick to move in on cases when he felt they were hot.

    He had earned a notorious reputation among the other Captains for meddling in their cases and stealing their credit. Unfortunately, the higher-ups hadn¡¯t reprimanded him in any way, rather he only got praised for being someone who got the job done.

    Behind him, there were two other agents belonging to his squad. They looked small standing next to Hiru but still stood out in their own way. One had a scar over his eye, while the other was strangely walking with a limp.

    "Why is he restrained like that? We''re treating him like a criminal before confirming anything," Kanu questioned the procedure. With six active White Rose agents it seemed excessive to treat him like that.

    ¡°That the other reason why I was brought into this case," Hiru responded. "You''ve arrived at a time when he''s rtively stable. The kid is still fluctuating between his normal and a crazed state. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any particr trigger, but he can snap at any moment.

    ¡°They''re certain he''s a lost cause, so they want us to extract information before hepletely loses his mind. If he does snap, you''re going to be d he has those restraints on. Apparently, while transporting him here, he had another episode. It was a struggle, but they finally got him subdued. In the process, he knocked out one of the White Rose agents while injuring several others.

    "He''s undoubtedly a skilled AFC Altered fighter."

    Kanu smirked upon hearing this. If Haze was skilled, then what did that make Gary Dem? The one who took out the Altered in a crazed state without even needing to transform. White Rose could really use an agent with that kind of power. Should their paths cross, the Captain intended to try and recruit him.

    "Alright, let''s head in and find out the origin of this ck liquid. I''ve been reading, there have been more and more cases of this stuff every day in the lower-tier towns, especially in Tier-4 and Tier-5 towns.

    "Headquarters usually leaves matters in the hands of lower-tier cities, but if we don''t halt the root cause, it could escte into a major problem. We don¡¯t need a repeat of what happened in Slough."

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 685 The interrogation (Part 2)

    Chapter 685 The interrogation (Part 2)

    All six of the White Rose agents entered the interrogation room, with the two captains leading the way. When inside the room, there was a table with two seats, Kanu was the first to sit down followed by Hiru.

    After that, the two regr agents from each squad went to stand by the wall, two by the normal in grey wall and the other two standing by the mirror. Sadie looked ahead as she stood opposite the man with the scar on his face.

    He was standing one step ahead of his partner, and didn¡¯t have his back right up against the wall. He quickly corrected himself though taking a step back and standing up straight.

    It wasn¡¯t too strange, it wasn¡¯t as if they studied interrogation etiquette a lot in their training sessions, nor was it something they did a lot, so a mistake would be made now and then, it was just Sadie noticed these things.

    ¡°Hi Haze, I¡¯m captain Kanu, I brought you here from the AFC match you had. I¡¯m sorry for the way they have handled your situation, but I hope you understand it''s to protect you and us. The more you do, and the more out of control you are, then the charges will just keep adding up, you understand?¡± Kanu asked.

    The young boy looked nervous, making Kanu feel bad. A kid like him, shouldn¡¯t have been restrained in such a way. The stress of the situation probably didn''t help whatever it was inside him from trying to gain control.

    ¡°So let me ask you, from what we have understood, you have taken a substance through a pill that you stated before came from your coach. So we want to ask, how did you, or your coach get your hands on this pill?¡± Kanu asked.

    Haze thought about it for a while, but eventually answered.

    ¡°I honestly don''t know. The coach, he just said that he had this pill that would enhance me, make me stronger in the ring. Before my debut match, I had used it once before, in a practice match, and it really worked.

    ¡°I just felt stronger, there weren''t any signs of me¡­ me¡­ losing control.¡± Haze answered.

    During the speaking, Sadie continued to look at the agent opposite her, she could see he was moving slightly backwards and forwards, his toes.

    ¡®Can¡¯t that person just stand still¡­ this is so irritating.¡¯ She thought.

    ¡°In the AFC match, that was the second time I had used the pill¡­ and you know what happened after that, but I have no idea where he got that pill. You should be questioning the coach not me!¡±

    ¡°And we will.¡± Kanu answered.

    He didn¡¯t want to make the kid aware that the coach was currently missing, otherwise it might startle him even more, maybe make him fear for his life.

    ¡°Alright, I believe you, I believe you know next to nothing about that pill you used. So instead I¡¯m going to ask you a question you do know.¡± Kanu said. ¡°You already said that this was the second time you had taken the pill, can you describe to me how it felt, and what do you think was different this timepared to thest?¡±

    Haze started to think back to when he bit down on the pill.

    ¡°There was this anger rising in me, as I got angry, a power went through me. Just like when you''re about to fight. It feels like adrenaline, but it''s more than that, I can actually feel the power rising through me.

    ¡°But as the power rises, so does the anger. My mind gets muddled, and before I knew it I had fully transformed.¡±

    While exining Haze continued to move his hands, it was as if he was reliving that moment.

    ¡°As for what was different the second time¡­ it felt like there was a voice in my head, a voice controlling my emotions, showing me images, telling me that I was better, I could get stronger If I just reached out.

    ¡°I know this sounds strange, because it''s just a voice in my head¡­ but that voice, it didn¡¯t sound like my own, it sounded like another''s voice.¡±

    ¡°So, when you take the pill, do you almost feel like you had a type of connection with something? Maybe whoever it is that is giving you this power, the pill allows you to have a connection with them.¡± Kanu asked.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Hiruughed. ¡°What type of voodoo magic do you think this is?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s exactly what I feel like we might be dealing with, voodoo magic. Haze, I want to tell you, that you aren¡¯t the first one to consume, or be involved with this power. I¡¯m just trying to make a connection with it all.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you something, something you might not be able to do, or might not want to do but it will help me out. And, I assure you, whatever happens, you won¡¯t get in trouble for this, or at least not in anymore trouble.¡±

    Haze gulped, wondering what Kanu was going to ask.

    ¡°Is it possible, are you able to draw out that power now, a part of it? I heard that you are still going into a crazed state once in a while. Is it because you are fighting it, even now? That seems to be the case, but just for a few seconds, could you let it take over¡­ I would like to talk to it.¡±

    Hiru looked at Kanu like he was a mad man, but Haze was contemting it. Maybe he could make some type of deal where he could get out of here.

    Meanwhile, Sadie continued to look at the agent in front of her, the man¡¯s fidgeting was beyond annoying her, but that¡¯s when she noticed something. The man''s hands were behind his back, and in the reflection of the mirror, she could see.

    ¡®Are¡­ his hands transformed¡­ why would they be transformed?¡¯ Sadie thought.

    ¡°Sir!¡± Sadie shouted. ¡°We have a traitor!¡±

    At that moment the White Rose agent moved from the window, heading right for Haze.

    *******

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 Chapter 686 Figured Out

    Since entering the room, Sadie had been keeping an eye on the other White Rose agent. His actions seemed a little too strange and annoying, but truthfully, she didn''t think much of it.

    She just kept her eye on him because his actions were bothering her. As it turned out, her vignt behaviour led her to realize that her fellow agent had transformed his hand.

    "Traitor!" Sadie eximed urgently, as there was no time to waste.

    At that moment, the White Rose agent abandoned his position by the window and made a beeline towards Haze, a long stringer protruding from his finger. It seemed he disregarded everything else, fixated solely on impaling Haze''s head.

    Haze''s eyes widened in terror as he could see his life sh before his eyes. Despite being a trained fighter and the attack being quite obvious, his current condition made it impossible for him to move out of the way.

    The stinger approached the side of his temple, but before it reached, a hand swung down, breaking it off.

    "You¡¯re an idiot if you think we¡¯ll just watch you kill him!" Kanu growled, baring his teeth. The two canine-like teeth elongated ¡ª they were long and thick ¡ª and there was a fierce look in his eyes as the pupils slightly narrowed.

    Kanu seized the man''s arm, effortlessly flinging him over his shoulder. The sound of the White Rose agent''s shoulder popping echoed through the room as he collided with the sturdy wall, causing bricks to cascade down upon him. Knocked unconscious, he would remain incapacitated for some time.

    "Hiru! What¡¯s the meaning of this?" Kanu demanded an exnation.

    Hiru was startled. Having jumped out of his seat, he was unable to act properly and just kept looking at his own agent on the floor and everything around him.

    "I... I''m just as confused as you. Tomas has been an agent for six years. He''s been a part of my squad for four! This is the first time he has done anything of this sort, and it¡¯s not like he has a grudge against this guy¡­" Hiru stammered, but after taking a deep breath he figured that the best course of action was to apprehend his agent for the time being and ask question himter.

    While kneeling down to handcuff the unconscious Tomas, rage built up in Captain Hiru as he realized the repercussion this incident might have on himself, his position, and his goal to be the next Chief.

    "You better hope you''re dead! Because if you wake up, I will ensure you endure a hundred hells!" Hiru seethed.

    Observing the scene, Kanu concluded that Hiru''s reactions were genuine. Either that, or he was might switch careers to be an actor. The former seemed far more likely, especially considering how much his colleague cared about rising through the ranks.

    "That was a good call, Sadie," Kanumended his own agent, heading over to her and tapping her on the shoulder. "I knew it was a good thing to bring you on this, but how did you manage to call it? You acted before he did, which might have very well saved his life."

    "Oper!" Hiru bellowed from the ground. "Get over here and make sure this traitor doesn''t go anywhere. I need to go contact someone about this."

    The other White Rose agent did as told and walked over.

    "Thank you, sir," Sadie replied, somewhat proud of herself as her face blushed a little. "I actually noticed that he had been acting strange since the beginning, but that''s when I saw in the reflection of the mirror that he had transformed part of his hand. Since Haze has been cooperating so far and without entering a crazed state, there should have been no reason for him to transform, so I called it out." <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Stroking his chin, Kanu sensed a discrepancy. "The mirror! Why didn''t the engineers notice Tomas''s hand transformation? Could it be that there are others involved in this scheme?"

    Kanu quickly turned his head, but he was toote. Oper, who had been walking toward Hiru to help him out, had his hand on top of Haze''s forehead. Blood dripped out from his ears, mouth, and eyes. His head was held up only by the restraint.

    It was clear that there was no saving Haze.

    "The White Rose does not hold sway over anything, and all of you are delusional if you believe otherwise!" Oper grinned.

    Before he realized it, Kanu was right next to him, in a bent-over position. It was as if he had teleported. Swinging his arm from a bent position, it mmed right into the stomach of Oper, bending his body inward like a closed book.

    He went flying, crashing not only into the wall but directly through the wall. Standing up straight, Kanu breathed heavily. His arms were bulkier than before and slightly longer as well.

    "Our duty was to protect him. A White Rose base is meant to be the epitome of security, yet he died in fear... we failed him. The least I can do is exact vengeance upon the one who took his life," Kanu dered.

    Sadie and Frank had been unable to see their Captain take action. It was also the first time they had seen him so enraged. It was undeniable that neither one of them had any clear idea about his true strength.

    As Kanu walked forward, Hiru quickly stood in his way.

    "Stop, Kanu!" Hiru ordered. "I can¡¯t let you do that. Haze is already dead, but there is a chance that Oper could be the only one who can give us the information we need."

    Advancing a step, Kanu abruptly veered to the side, leaving Hiru struggling to keep up as Kanu swiftly closed the distance. With one hand, Kanu lifted Oper off the ground.

    "We have Tomas and the engineers to question, which means we don¡¯t necessarily need him," Kanu answered. Using his fingers alone, a click was heard, and Oper''s lifeless body dropped to the floor.

    *****

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 Chapter 687 White Rose A Mess

    Sadie and Frank were back in the office, along with the others in their squad, but both of them were acting stranger than usual. Sadie was pacing back and forth while biting her fingernails, while Frank was just nkly staring at his screen, which wasn''t even on.

    "Will you two calm down!" Sam shouted. "You''re making us all worry."

    "Sorry," Sadie said, sitting down. "But you don''t understand, this is serious. Kanu got called up to go see the superintendent... for killing another White Rose member! If they were going to let it slip, then they would have just let hime back with us."

    The news had already spread around most of the squads and offices. It wasn''t something that could be hidden, especially since there was more to the case than they first realized.

    For one, the engineers that were in the interrogation room at the time weren''t even White Rose members, so no one knew how they got in. They had been captured and were being dealt with by another team. As for Tomas, he had been escorted straight to an Altered holding cell, and they would decide what to do with himter.

    For some reason, which Sadie didn''t quite understand, they had felt like it was more important to figure out what to do with Kanu. He had been called by the superintendent, an investigation was run, and they would decide what his punishment would be.

    "If only I''d noticed sooner, then all of this could have been avoided," Sadie said.

    "Don''t say that," Frank said from his seat. "No one else noticed something was up, and that includes me. At least you did notice something and managed to stop the first attack."

    "Look, the way I see it, we have nothing to worry about," Sam said. "You already said it, they were traitors, spies working for someone else. If that''s the case, I can hardly see why they would punish him for that."

    Although that was the case, both Frank and Sadie saw it. Oper was already knocked out, unable to fight back. Kanu had killed him out of anger.

    ---

    Kanu had been called into an office where the superintendent, as well as two chiefs of staff, were present. But Kanu wasn''t alone; Hiru was there too as a witness.

    "You hardly ever do anything, and then when you do something, you be a big headache for me," the superintendent said, shaking his head.

    "Look, it was clear that something had gone wrong, and you guys acted, which I should bemending you on. But you had decided to use excessive force. Is there any reason for that?" the superintendent asked.

    Kanu sat up straight as he gave his reply.

    "We failed to protect the young one," Kanu answered. "At White Rose, I see us as a group that deals with all matters rted to Altered. Haze was just a young person who had been misguided.

    "He wasn''t a hardened criminal, and thanks to Gary Dem, he had done no harm to anyone. There was a chance that we could have helped him. We brought him into this ce, and it was our duty to protect him, but we failed.

    "And we failed not just anywhere, but directly in the White Rose Headquarters... I was angry and let my emotions get the better of me."

    Once again, the superintendent felt like Kanu was giving him a headache. He could have given a simpler answer. He could have said he felt his life was threatened, as well as the lives of his colleagues, but instead, Kanu told the truth that would only put him in more trouble. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "The fact that you acted like that makes you no better than a crazed Altered yourself," one of the chiefsmented.

    "There is one more thing. We have yet to confirm if Oper was even a spy because you have killed him. We only have your word. Killing a White Rose agent won''t just get you expelled from the organisation but put you in a cell yourself!" the other chief stated.

    "Oper was a traitor," Hiru spoke up. "I saw it with my own eyes. Oper, who was from my squad, was the one that killed Haze, and Tomas had made an attempt on his life."

    Everyone was stunned into silence for a moment because Hiru had stood up for Kanu. It would have been the perfect chance to get rid of fellowpetition, and at the same time, admitting that the traitors were from his squad. This would surely look bad on his record. Yet he still chose to speak up.

    "I see... unfortunately, we still need to take some action," the superintendent stated. "Due to using excessive force on a spy that we could have used in our investigation, you are hereby suspended for one week without pay!"

    The news spread quickly, and each squad was conducting internal investigations. Meanwhile, Kanu himself was off for an entire week.

    He was on his way home, driving on the motorway.

    "What do I do now?" Kanu thought. "I guess... I could visit that ce. I haven''t been there in a long time."

    Driving along, Kanu eventually reached his destination. Getting out of the car, he grabbed the flowers he had bought on his way from the passenger seat. He walked down the gravel path, passing the many graves.

    It was a graveyard, filled with graves all over the nice clean greenery. Surprisingly, it was a nice day as the sun was out, and the flowers had blossomed all over the ce.

    The graveyard looked peaceful with the decorated trees and such. As Kanu continued to walk, he was heading to one grave in particr, but up ahead, he could see someone standing right where he needed to be.

    "What are the chances? It''s nice to meet you again, Jayden," Kanu said with a smile.

    *******

    *****

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 Chapter 688 Jaydens anger

    Chapter 688 Jayden''s anger

    Hearing his name being called out, Jayden gave a nce at the White Rose agent and then went back to looking at the grave as he had done before. His hands were slightly wet from having just ced down the flowers in his hands.

    1

    Kanu had walked up to the same gravestone and looked at it for a while. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before kneeling and cing his own flowers that he had brought in front of the grave.

    After wiping his hands on his uniform, he went into his inner jacket and pulled out a cigarette, and started to light it.

    "You''re still smoking those?" Jayden said. "You know those are bad for you."

    1

    "They''re bad for humans." Kanu let out arge puff of smoke, and a smile appeared on his face. "For us Altered, they do next to nothing. Our bodies will repair any damage these things can do. Unlike you, I don''t have to keep up a clean image."

    A light chuckle came out from Jayden. "Could anyone imagine a White Rose agent saying that?" Jayden replied. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn''t you be busy on a case? Wait, don''t tell me you were suspended again."

    Caught in the act, Kanu had dropped his cigarette on the floor by ident. Was it really thatmon, he thought to himself, scratching his beard.

    "There was a recent incident, and I am free for the time being, which is why I came here. But what about you? Aren''t you too busy yourself? How often do you stille here?" Kanu asked.

    "Once every two weeks." Jayden instantly replied.

    There was more silence between the two, and Kanu took a deep look at Jayden, seeing the pain on his face.

    "You''re hurting a lot more than I am. I would tell you to move on, but when I haven''t moved on myself, then it wouldn''t exactly be fair. Still, don''t you have someone else yet... or maybe you should spend more time with your family?" Kanu suggested.

    "I don''t have a lot of time. I''ve been busy doing the usual. As for family, Xin is strong on her own. I don''t think she needs much guidance. I just hope that she doesn''t get caught up in the same crap as me.

    "If I had to make a visit to more than one grave, I don''t think I could handle it."

    Jayden''s fists were clenched hard, just as hard as Kanu had seen him on that day. People often said as time passed, feelings would start to diminish, but that clearly wasn''t the case with Jayden.

    The thing was, for Kanu, it was hard to see him this way. He remembered how happy and easygoing Jayden used to be. On TV interviews and during his AFC matches, he still portrayed the same Jayden he always was.

    However, whenever Kanu watched those clips of him, he could see the pain in his eyes. It was all fake, none of it was genuine.

    "Why don''t you join the White Rose? We could use someone like you, and we could work on it together?" Kanu asked.

    "If I joined, I would just be filled with work all the time, just like there isn''t much you can do right now, is there?" Jayden replied. "It''s okay, you don''t have to worry about me. I know what I''m doing."

    Kanu started to scratch his head fast as he was getting annoyed. "You know, she said that to me as well. She said the same thing before she... before she... Well, you know where she is now. With just the two of us, we can''t do much. If you joined the White Rose, at least if we had some evidence, we could run an investigation.

    "The way it is now, with just the two of us, we really can''t do much. You know most likely, our enemy behind this whole thing is far bigger than what we can handle."

    Jayden was taking in Kanu''s words because he knew he was right. It made him think back to when he had visited the academy. He had called to talk to Gary on the rooftop. At the time, he was very close to telling Gary everything... and asking him for help.

    He had grown so much and had helped him save Xin before, but getting him involved in his mess wasn''t right. It wasn''t right for him to put his life on the line. But with the way Gary was going, if he continued climbing like he had been doing, then eventually he would run into the same problem anyway.

    "It seems like you have some people in mind," Kanu said. "I''m surprised you managed to make some friends."

    For the first time, Jayden smiled, and it was a real smile as well. "What about you? Have you gotten close to anyone, anyone that can help us?"

    In Kanu''s mind, Sadie and Frank appeared. The way they had acted, the reports, they were two very just people in the White Rose. If they thought the White Rose was the one in the wrong, they would go against them.

    It was still too early to tell, though. He needed to spend more time in this world.

    1

    "I will continue with my path for now... I need to keep rising," Jayden stated. "But don''t worry, I won''t ever forget. There are three things in this world that I hate the most... Gangs, NIRV, and the AFC."

    "Right, and you won''t rest until they are all taken down. I know, I know... maybe I can do something with these days off."

    "Although..." Jayden continued. "I''m starting to think, not all gangs are bad."

    Once again, there was the same real smile on Jayden''s face, and it made Kanu wonder who could get him to do such a thing.

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 689 A tier 4 1

    Chapter 689 A tier 4

    1

    In the country, there were several cities that if one were to look from the outside, were nearly impossible to see. This was due to the thick smog that covered most of them; these were the cities known as Tier 4.

    1

    The thing was, with ces that were regarded as Tier 4, all of them were cities. Tier 3 ces could be a mixture of towns and cities, but all of the ces ssified as Tier 4 wererge cities.

    The simple reason for this was because they were the country''s factories. Although there were factories in the Tier 3 cities, they weren''t enough to pump outrge amounts of smog in their cities.

    Most of them, as well, weren''t those types of factories that would produce so much pollution in the first ce.

    However, all of the Tier 4 cities were essentially factories. They made parts for the bigger corporations'' businesses, the Tier 2 and the Tier 1s. Most of it was hard gruellingbour, and they were paid next to nothing.

    There were schools in Tier 4 cities, just like any other ce, but next to no one paid attention in them. They constantly fought, nonstop, just caring about who was stronger than the other.

    There wasn''t much of a police force either that could help these ces, so they were filled with crime, making those who lived in a Tier 4 be somewhat stuck in it forever. Very few who were born there managed to break out of the loop and rise up.

    A bus was seen driving through town; it was bouncing up and down It had been patched up with sellotape, and half of the windows had been smashed out.

    as the wheels went over several potholes. It was a surprise that the tires didn''t burst, but it was also a surprise the bus was able to run in the first ce.

    It had been patched up with sellotape, and half of the windows had been smashed out.

    "This stop is Run Vile End!" the bus driver shouted before spitting out the window, and off he went to the next stop.

    Having exited the bus, two people were standing on the pavement, each of them with ck masks on their faces. It wasmon to see those in the city wearing face masks due to the high pollution so they didn''t stand out.

    "You were right, everyone wears these things," Austin said. "So do you have any idea where you want to go?"

    "I''m¡­ not quite sure. Why don''t we just walk around for now? Maybe something wille up," Gary replied.

    1

    He was somewhat hoping that his system would trigger if he met with some trouble, giving him quests and more experience.

    The reason the two of them were here in the first ce was because he wanted to level up and get stronger before the fight with Midwak. As for where the others were, they were getting ready to head to the next big auction by the Dark Guild.

    It was important for the group as they wished to buy as many Altered solutions as possible in hopes to grow the gang. Gary just hoped everything would go smoothly this time.

    1

    In turn, though, Kai suggested that Austin go with Gary. Ever since he had be an Altered, he was quite a strong ally to have by one''s side.

    While walking through the city, the two of them looked at the local people. There were next to no smiles; there were some that looked to be on the verge of starving. Then there were those with holes in their clothes.

    What they also spotted from time to time were young secondary school kids that would just hang around a corner shop. Then when people came out, they would harass them, sometimes to the point where they would take their food.

    "I don''t think we came here to deal with high school kids. Shouldn''t there be a gang or something?" Austin asked.

    "My guess is, the gangs would be linked to therge factories," Gary replied. "So I''m just heading in the direction of one. Most likely, they hired the gang that runs this city to protect them and recruit workers."

    "And what are we going to do once we beat them up? We have disguises on at the moment, and you said not to mention that we''re from the Howlers."

    "I just want to get some fighting experience." Gary smiled, thinking he had made a clever pun, but it was one only he would understand.

    "Yes, but if you take out the gang of this city, then another one will juste and take over. Unless someone that no one wants to go against takes control, like us," Austin imed.

    "You might be right, but we don''t want to gather attention by iming that the Howlers are going around to the Tier 4 and 5 cities, cleaning up the ce," Gary replied back.

    1

    This was just one of the many ces that Gary wanted to go to. Maybe as their information and reputation increased, the higher-tier cities would send someone a little stronger to try and defend them, and Gary would beat them with his disguise on.

    If it became too big of a mess, though, they could always leave since this wasn''t their city.

    In a warehouse located next to one of therge factories, a meeting was taking ce. A man stood in front of around thirty or so members, all carrying some sort of makeshift weapons, such as baseball bats and bike chains.

    Meanwhile, the leader of the gang, Smithin, who had a rat-like face with tworge front teeth, looked at them all.

    "Our production has managed to increase by 100 percent this month!" Smithin shouted to all of them. "This is all due to our hard work of finding the right talent and showing them how they can be productive!

    "As a thanks, one of our buyers has sent us a little gift."

    Smithin, as well as the two next to him, opened up a briefcase. Inside each briefcase, there were five syringes with a dark-coloured liquid inside. It was the same for the other two cases as well, making a total of 15 solutions they had on them.

    "With this¡­ we will rise out of here!" Smithin yelled, lifting the briefcase up in the air.

    2

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 690 A STALKER!

    690 A STALKER!

    The two continued to aimlessly walk around the city, heading towards one of the factories on the street. What they didn''t know was that someone had spotted the two strangers a while ago.

    Sitting opposite the bus stop, in a ck t-shirt and jeans, was a young middle-aged man named Elijah. He brushed his hair to the side, making sure it was intact, before grabbing his pencil and continuing to write notes.

    It was his regr spot since he had entered the city, and he had been jotting down notes on many people who walked past. But these two caught his eye. For one, Austin was arge individual, with a strong build and a good set of muscles.

    Then there was the green-haired kid he could see. He couldn''t see the mask, but based on their clothes, he assumed they were young, with an athletic build. But it wasn''t that which stood out to him.

    It was the fact that they were walking through the streets sofortably. They looked quite out of ce.

    "Are they from out of town? But then, what would a bunch of youngsters like them possibly want toe here for?"

    1

    In the end, his curiosity peaked, and closing his notebook, he decided to follow them. He stayed on the opposite side of the street, keeping a distance of around 100 metres. He couldn''t hear what they were talking about, but he was curious to see where they would go.

    ------

    Suddenly, Austin stopped, and Gary turned around.

    "What''s wrong?" Gary asked.

    "Well, I was just thinking. You want to train, right?" Austin asked. "Then don''t you think it''s better if the two of us split up? I mean, I doubt anyone will be able to cause me or you trouble. I can explore the ce a little, try to find something interesting, and you can do the same.

    "Besides, when you''re on your own, I feel like you''re more likely to run into trouble anyway."

    1

    cing his finger on his chin, Gary started to think. He felt like Austin did have a point. Maybe if he did run into trouble because Austin was by his side, the system would still think everything was too easy for him to gain experience.

    He was thinking back to the situation when he was at AJ Entertainment. Although the opponents weren''t difficult, he still received a quest due to the particr situation.

    "I think you''re right, and besides, it''s not like the two of us can''t contact each other. I mean, we have our phones, right? We can just send a message if one of us is in serious trouble," Gary said.

    Austin agreed, giving a nod.

    "Where are you nning on going?" Gary asked.

    "Since you''re heading to the factories already, I might go around a few of the schools here. I''ve never been to a Tier 4 city before. Maybe the kids here have more bite in thempared to the ones in Slough."

    It would be a lie if Gary said he wasn''t a little nervous. Austin was already stronger than most kids before he had turned into an Altered, but surprisingly,pared to Austin''s looks, he was usually quite sensible.

    "Alright, remember, write to me if anything happens," Gary said.

    With that, the two of them decided to split ways. Austin walked back in the direction they came from, while Gary continued forward toward the factory.

    Elijah, who saw this, was unsure of what to do.

    "The two of them split up? Are they looking for something? Well, the question is, who do I follow?" Elijah thought.

    Flipping a coin in his mind, he decided to follow the green-haired teenager instead. He continued to tail him until there was a man in a hoodie standing by the side of one of the alleyways.

    "That man..." Elijah thought. "The colour of his hood... I recognize him. He was the one who attacked me on the first day I was here!"

    It was so unexpected that Elijah hadn''t even reacted, but in the end, he had lost precious items.

    "Hey, kid," the man in the hoodie called out. "Do you know what time it is?"

    1

    Gary thought it was a simple question, and unlike Kai, he didn''t have a watch. So instead, he decided to pull out his phone to look at the time.

    "It''s 4:34," Gary answered, but when he looked up, the phone was snatched out of his hand, and the man was already running in the other direction.

    Gary looked at theck of a phone in his hand for a second, his eyes twitching. "Did I just... get robbed? The phone... I need that phone!" Gary thought to himself.

    2

    Not wanting the thief to get away, Gary ran after him, and with great speed, he caught up to the man almost instantly. He leapt up in the air andtched onto the man''s back. They tumbled to the ground, stopping the man right then and there.

    "Hey, you bastard! You shouldn''t steal from people. If you do that, then who is going to want toe to this city? You''re giving it a bad reputation!" Gary shouted, but the man had stars in his eyes as the weight of Gary smashed his chin into the ground, knocking him out.

    "Ah, this is not worth my time," Gary thought as he went to retrieve the phone from the man''s hand. However, when he looked at the phone, the screen waspletely cracked. He tapped it a few times, trying his best to get it to work, but nothing was responding.

    "Crap... Now how are Austin and I meant to get in touch with each other? Well, let''s just hope nothing happens."

    1

    Elijah was ready to go after the thief. After all, his phone should still be with him, but it was unlikely unless it was pawned away. With no other choice, Elijah bought a new phone. However, Gary was fast¡ª incredibly fast.

    "That was too fast for a human... He must be the one I''m looking for," Elijah thought.

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 691 Thinking the same thing

    Chapter 691 Thinking the same thing

    Elijah brought out his little notebook and pulled the pencil from his ear. He started to write down notes immediately.

    "Green-haired, possibly an Altered. Too confident. What are they doing in a Tier-4 area? Are they from another gang?"

    These notes were added to what he had previously written down.

    "From the looks of things, it''s clear that he''s not from this city. But then, why would a higher city Alterede down here? There is only one answer for that: he must be part of a gang!" Elijah smiled to himself, grinning from ear to ear.

    But if he wanted to get more information, he would have to try another approach. So he started to walk up to the green-haired teenager. He quickly crossed the road and, to act natural, made his way as if nothing had happened. The teenager was far too focused on the phone in his hand anyway.

    "Hey, is everything all right? It looks like you''ve got a problem there," Elijah asked.

    Gary took one look at the stranger approaching him. Unlike the others he had seen so far, there was colour in his face and his clothes. Although they looked old, it was almost as if they didn''t quite suit him. So far, while outside, not a single person had approached them, and from the look of the people in the city, he could somewhat understand.

    So why was this person approaching him all of a sudden?

    "If he''s this confident to just approach a stranger like me... then it''s quite possible that he could be in a gang!" Gary thought to himself. There was a good chance this was the one he was looking for.

    "Ah, yeah, well, my phone kinda broke when I was trying to catch this thief. It looks like I might need to get a recement," Gary said. It was true. He and Austin didn''t know the city, so for the two of them to blindly search for each other, it was unlikely they would ever meet.

    "Worst case, maybe I should just cause such a bigmotion that Austin will know where I am," Gary thought.

    "Argh, yeah, not only has the screen cracked, but it looks like the phone even got bent a bit. You must have hit him pretty hard for him to fall like that," Elijahughed. "It looks like you''re going to have to get a whole new phone altogether.

    "You don''t seem like you''re from around here. Why don''t I take you to a phone shop I know, and you can get a new one?" Elijah rmended.

    In most cases, it wasn''t as if someone could just buy a new phone out of the blue, but Gary did have the money. The other thing was that he noticed there was ack of electronics shops in the first ce, and he would have no idea where to go. Besides all of that, he thought he had the person he needed right in front of him.

    "Sure... thanks for the help. My name''s Ga... Gaba," Gary answered.

    Gary was amon name, so he didn''t think it was too much of a problem. But if there were those who thought they recognized him and then realised he had the same name as the Altered Star who had been gaining a lot of attention recently, they would put two and two together fairly quickly. In a rush, he hade up with a name a baby might havee up with.

    "Alright, Gaba! Follow me," Elijah said.

    Following Elijah for around ten minutes, they eventually came to one of the very few phone shops in the entire city. Unlike in Slough, where thetest handsets would be disyed at the front, there were several burner phones instead. Old phones that didn''t even have a touch screen on them. Gary assumed it was because most of the people who lived here bought those phones.

    "Oh, good sir!" The man behind the counter rubbed his hands together as he rushed over to them. "Are you looking to do business with us again?"

    Seeing this interaction, Gary inwardly smiled. ''I knew it. He even knows the local workers here. He has to be someone big in this part of town,'' Gary thought to himself.

    "It''s for my new friend here. He seems to have broken his phone. I don''t suppose you can get one for him, can you?" Elijah asked.

    "Certainly. What is your budget? What type of phone were you looking for?" The man asked.

    Gary pulled out his phone and ced it on top of the ss counter. "If you can just get do so in this city was even rarer.

    With these thoughts, Elijah''s own phone started to ring. He checked who it was and me the exact recement of this, please."

    The worker looked at the phone. It was one of thetest models. It was his lucky day. He retrieved the phone immediately with a big grin on his face.

    "And would you be looking to take out a contract with us?" The man asked.

    "No, I''ll just buy it outright. But can you try to move the contacts over for me? It''s quite important," Gary asked.

    "I can try my best," the man replied and got right to processing the whole transaction.

    Watching all of this, Elijah felt like he was on the ball more and more. He was sure of it. Not just anyone could buy a phone outright that cost more than a thousand, and to do so in this city was even rarer.

    With these thoughts, Elijah''s own phone started to ring. He checked who it was and started to panic a little. "Sorry, I just need to take this call. I''ll be back."

    Elijah made sure to leave the store and close the door behind him, ensuring that no one was listening in on their conversation. He knew Gaba was an Altered, so there was a chance he had good hearing as well.

    "Hello, sir. Yes, sir!" Elijah answered the call. "...I believe I am on a lead now. A gang member from another city has paid a visit. We will be close to getting a link from where the ck liquid ising from."

    The call ended, and Elijah let out a big sigh. "It''s tough work, working for White Rose."

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 692 Austins strength

    Chapter 692 Austin''s strength

    Austin had always been considered a pretty wild child. His parents didn''t mind what he did, nor did they care about his grades, as long as he was healthy. They saw other kids getting into fights and thought it was normal, so they didn''t worry too much. Austin rarely returned badly beaten because most of the time, he was the one doing the beating. Even when he dide home with a few marks, he never needed to go hospital.

    Given his disposition, it was no surprise that at some point he would join a gang to make some ie. When the opportunity came up with Gary, everything fell into ce for him. The excitement he felt was simr to when he rose to the top of his school, bing the best among his peers. Now, as part of the Howlers, they were rising up, striving to be the best gangpared to all the others.

    However, Austin was only seventeen years old. Although he looked older due to his frame and face, he would still be in school if he hadn''t dropped out to join the Howlers. As he stood outside the gates of a school, he couldn''t help but feel a strange mix of nostalgia and unfamiliarity. The rusty bars and slightly bent frame of the gate would be moved aside when school opened and closed.

    The outer walls of the school were rtively dirty, and even the graffiti on the outside walls was visible. It reminded Austin of some strange memories. Back in school, when he fought for the top position, he had been ambushed on the rooftop by the current top dog and his crew. There were six of them in total.

    It was one of Austin''s toughest fights, but he emerged victorious, beating all of them. Blood trickled from the corner of his head as he stood there, huffing and panting.

    "I never knew you would try to y this dirty," Austin said. "Anyway, this school belongs to me now. If you try any crap like that again, I will make sure your life is hell."

    After somewhat recovering, the others eventually left, and Austin stayed on the school rooftop, looking out at the rest of the school and the entire city. The sound of the door opening behind him made a creak. He turned his head, expecting more students, but to his surprise, it was a teacher.

    "Oh, I guess you were the one who dealt with those boys before," the teacher said, reaching out for a cigarette from his jacket. Teachers weren''t allowed to smoke on campus, which was why he hade to the roof, away from the prying eyes of the other teachers.

    "What was that?" the teacher said, taking a puff from his cigarette. "The battle for who''s the school''s top? I mean, you must be pretty strong if you managed to take those guys down. What''s your n?"

    "To take out the other schools next," Austin replied, not looking at the teacher.

    "I see. Well, with your strength, you might be able to do that. But I think it''s pretty pointless. You know, the schools in this city are nothing like the schools in Tier 4 cities" the teachermented. "I used to be from there and managed to escape that hellhole."

    "Let me tell you, if you fought for the top position at one of the schools in a Tier 4 city, then being the top in this no-name Tier 3 town is useless to have."

    -----

    Austin didn''t pay much attention to the teacher''s words back then. He never thought he would leave a Tier 3 city, but now that he was here, his interest had certainly been piqued.

    "I mean, if Gary is here for some training, then there''s no harm in me doing the same thing," Austin thought. "Besides, they say the stronger you are in your human form, the stronger you are as an Altered, so this will go well."

    -----

    Gary received his new phone from the shop worker, and everything seemed to be going well. However, a major issue soon arose. Gary hadn''t saved his contacts to the SIM card but on the phone itself.

    The shopkeeper logged into his ounts, hoping there would be some sort of backup, but Gary always skipped everything and disabled many of the phone''s features.

    "Maybe it came from my days when I was running away from the Underdogs. I would disable most things in case there was a way to find me," Gary thought. "So even though I now have a new phone, I still don''t have Austin''s number."

    "Crap... at times like this, I wish I still had that burner phone," Gary muttered to himself.

    During his time when he was being chased by the Underdogs, Kai had given him a separate phone to contact him on, but that was no longer needed. It looked like Gary would have to leave the shop ande up with another solution.

    As he exited the shop, Elijah had just put his phone away.

    "Oh, are you all done? Where are you nning on going now?" "I''m really not s-"

    "Hey, you two!" A strange man covered in jewellery around his neck Elijah asked.

    "I''m really not s-"

    "Hey, you two!" A strange man covered in jewellery around his neck and some in his teeth approached them. "Wow, I''ve never seen two people look so strong before. I bet you guys are good at lifting things, right?"

    "I guess," Gary answered the shady man who was even wearing sunsses to cover his eyes.

    "Well, I have a job offer for the two of you at one of the factories. They''re looking for workers, and I think you two would be a perfect fit... and they pay a really good starting bonus, the best in the city!" the man excitedly said.

    This could be it. This could be Gary''s way into the factory and finding his path to those beyond.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 693 The top dog

    Chapter 693 The top dog

    Walking onto the school grounds, Austin certainly did feel like there was a strange atmosphere. For one, there were no teachers, usually there would be teachers out front or walking around as they prepared for their lessons but he could see none.

    Instead, a few times already, Austin had seen a group of kids wearing a ck zer. They would be smoking, or just chatting but when he looked at them, they would stare back at him, eyeing him up and rolling their eyes up and down.

    ¡®I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to walk into the school so easily¡­ actually with the way things are around here maybe I could, even without a school uniform.¡¯ Austin thought.

    Walking up by the side of the school, Austin was taking a deeper look into the graffiti at the side, just above was a window into one of the school¡¯s sses, and he could see a shadow gettingrger by the second.

    ¡°What the¡­¡±

    A whole body smashed right through the ss window. Just doing what was natural to him, Austin had caught the person in mid air. He looked down at the student and could see he had quite a badly beaten and bruised face, that was swelling up and getting bigger by the second.

    ¡°Yeah, haha look at that, I think that was my strongest punch yet.¡±

    Looking through the window, Austin was looking into a ssroom. There was a student with a few marks on his face and blood on his clothes. The others around him were cheering out from their seats and the teacher in the back looked terrified and was just shaking his head.

    ¡°Who the f*ck is that!¡± The student with the blood on his clothes said. ¡°A big tub ofrd just caught my prey.¡±

    ¡°Whoa, he''s holding him up like he weighs nothing, he must be pretty strong, but I¡¯ve never seen him before, does he go to our school?¡± Another student called out.

    Hearing the word strong had piqued the first student''s interest. Running forward he jumped through the window like a ball as he ced his hands and knees onto himself to avoid the ss.

    Once passing the window he stretched his limbs out andnded perfectly on the ground, making it safely to the other side. His wild blonde hair that was flying about everywhere suited his wild personality.

    ¡°Hey you, new kid, or adult, or pig, whatever you, let go of that guy, he¡¯s my prey.¡±

    The person who was in Austin¡¯s hand started toe to, and Austin gently put him down.

    ¡°What happened, my mouth, and head really hurts.¡± The kid said. He looked up at the shadow that was cast over him, and almost had a heart attack while scurrying away on the ground.

    Looking in front of him, that¡¯s when the student saw Carvey, the person who had attacked him in the first ce. He jumped back again and felt like he was in between a rock and a hard ce.

    His head fell to the ground and now he was just looking at the sky.

    ¡®What did I do¡­ to deserve all of this.¡¯ d thought to himself. ¡®I just wanted to study, to get a good job and get me and my family out of this ce. So then why does this keep happening, why am I the one that gets beaten every day.¡¯

    Clenching his fist, d had taken some of the dirt off the ground.

    ¡®This has been my life almost every day, for as long as I can remember. I even tried to fight back once¡­ and everything, it just got worse¡­ even for my family. Why, I should have never attempted to fight back that day, never!¡¯

    ¡°Are you from another school?¡± Carvey asked.

    Austin didn¡¯t know what to answer, if he said he was from another city, would it bring him even more attention. At first, Austin thought he might have to get into a fight discreetly, but there was nothing discrete about the current situation in front of him, and it looked like the teacher was going to do nothing.

    Carvey eventually walked closer to take a look at Austin, he was interested to see what was under that mask, as he did, he didn¡¯t even step to the side, and walkedpletely over d, his footnding on his face, and when he got on his chest he stood there, staying on top of it.

    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t breathe!¡± d was saying. He was a small person in the first ce, with a weak body constitution, it didn¡¯t look like he was saying it just to get Carvey off him.

    ¡°Just stay still you stupid dog!¡± Carvey shouted at the individual beneath him.

    d could hardly take it and lifting his hands he grabbed Carvey''s ankles, trying to push him away.

    ¡°Are you touching me right now? Who gave you permission to touch me!¡± Carvey shouted as he lifted his foot and stomped down hard on his chest. A big cough came out from d.

    ¡°You''re going to kill him.¡± Austin said.

    ¡°And, who cares? Who is going to stop me? Do you see anyone trying to stop me, no¡­ because this entire city is like a jungle. Everyone''s for themselves, and only listen to those who are stronger than them."

    Austin loved fighting, he loved proving his strength, but there was one thing he never did. He never got involved with those that didn¡¯t wish to get involved. The students who wanted to study, those that weren¡¯t part of the gang life.

    There were many gangs and groups like this that never got involved with the public. Carvey, the person who was in front of him right now, he was the type of person Austin loved beating.

    ¡°Thank you, for showing me what type of person you are, because now, I don¡¯t have to feel bad about beating you!¡±

    Austin charged forward, and seeing this, Carvey was confident going in for a counter punch. When it was thrown out, it had hit nothing but the air, and Austin¡¯s eyes could be seen right in front of his.

    ¡°Go back to ss!¡± Austin¡¯s fistnded cleanly in Carvey¡¯s face, lifting his feet off from d¡¯s body. His whole body was sent flying back through the window he came through, until he had slid across the floor and his back had hit the wall. Blood could be dripping from his face.

    ¡°Now tell me.¡± Austin said, walking up to the window.

    The students were stunned, they were no longer causing amotion,ughing, or anything. They were shivering on the inside as they looked at Austin¡¯srge figure.

    ¡°Which one of you guys is the top dog around here? I need to have a few words with him.¡± Austin asked.

    At that moment, everyone had turned their heads to look at the passed out Carvey.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 694 The Phantom Brawl

    After recalling the memories of what his teacher said, Austin truly thought he was going to have a tough time, but to find out he had just knocked out the top fighter of a school in a tier-4 city with a single blow, it was starting to seem extremely disappointing.

    "Am I too strong... since I became an Altered? Can I really now just go against other Altereds if I want to challenge myself? If I''m having a problem trying to find someone worthwhile to fight, then I wonder how Gary is going to be doing in this ce."

    Shaking his head, he could see the others starting to whisper, wondering who Austin was.

    "Is it a new student, or a student from another school?"

    "Since he took out Carvey, no doubt there are going to be others looking for him. What do we tell them? Some big guy with a mask took him out."

    "Yeah, we''ll just have to say Big Mask took him out. Sh*t, Carvey''s going to kill us for not going after this guy when he wakes up, but I don''t want to go up against Big Mask."

    Austin, trying to calm the situation down, walked up to the broken window. Some thought he was going to jump in there and then start beating on the rest of the kids, so they flinched and moved back a bit, including the teacher.

    "You guys suck at fighting," Austin suddenly said. "And I mean really suck at fighting. You won''t get anywhere in life with your fighting skills. So you should drop all that crap and start listening to your teacher and studying; otherwise, you''ll never get somewhere.

    "Because if you guys just leave this school and go into some sort of gang, all that''s going to happen to you guys is getting your ass beat every day, and that''s the best-case scenario. Worst case, you end up dead. So study, unless you want to get beat up."

    Those were thest words of Austin as he started to walk away, and the kids in the ss were left confused. It was often that the strong kids beat up the ones who were trying to study, for whatever reason, but here they had the man they named ''Big Mask'' telling them to study.

    As d wasing to a realisation of everything that had happened, he took in what Austin said.

    "Someone strong... wants us to study..." d thought.

    Looking at Austin''s back, he could see something. He felt something. Admiration for one of those who were strong.

    d shook his head, which still hurt somewhat.

    "I have to warn him... he could be in serious trouble."

    d took off running straight after Austin. He hadn''t gone far; Austin had just gone around the corner of the school, where there was a type of street filled with trees and benches.

    It was just another side of the school, and just like the rest of it, there were crude words and drawings written on the side of the walls. His pacing was low, due to the disappointment he felt so far.

    "Wait!" d called out.

    Austin turned around to see the bruised kid''s face catching up to him. He stopped and was breathing heavily. It was clear he wanted to speak, but he was unable to until he got his breath back.

    "Finally," d said, taking in a deep breath. "I wanted to thank you for beating Carvey back there. I know you didn''t hit him because of me, but still, it helped me regardless. You did what I wanted to do for so long, and it was so satisfying to see."

    "Anyway, I know you''re not from around here, so I wanted to warn you."

    "Warn me?" Austin repeated back.

    If he had just defeated the top school''s fighter, then what did he have to worry about? <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Man, how long have you been in this city? Did you juste up from a tier-5 or something?" d asked.

    "Something like that," Austin mumbled.

    "Anyway, there are two things that you need to worry about. The first one, although Carvey isn''t that strong, he has connections to the local gangs. He is still the strongest in our school, but that''s why even other schools don''t decide to mess with him."

    Inwardly, Austin was smiling. Without realising it, he was probably quickly now going the route of what Gary wished for.

    "Not only that, but word around this city spreads fast. Since you beat the top guy, now all the other schools are going to know about you. They might start toe after you, trying to challenge you since you beat him. But there''s also the fact that the Phantom Brawl ising up."

    "The Phantom Brawl?" Austin replied.

    "It''s this event that the gangs host. They pit the strongest against each other, and I have a feeling that Carvey was meant to enter, so the gang might definitely be looking for you. Because you beat up one guy, now there will be a whole heap of people after you."

    This time, Austin was unable to hold the smile on his face. An underground fighting tournament, gangs after him, it was exactly what he was after. The excitement in a tier-4 town might be better than he originally thought.

    "Thanks for the information and your concern. You''re a good person caring for a stranger like me," Austin said, as he was ready to walk off again.

    "If you need anything, let me know. I owe you!" d shouted.

    Later that day, Austin tried to text Gary a few times. He thought the two could meet up again and go over what they thought. Besides, Gary was the one with all the money and would be paying for everything. Eventually, he had a reply.

    "Sorry, I''m busy working tonight. I''m guessing this is Austin. I think it''s best if we don''t stay together tonight. Will exinter!"

    In some ways, Austin felt like he had just been abandoned. With no money, he would have to ask Kai to cover him, send him some cash over. But Kai always seemed to keep a tab on these things and would ask for big favours in return, which was something he didn''t want hanging over him.

    Austin waited outside the school gate that he was at before, and as expected, when sses ended, one of the first people out of the doors was d. He stepped in front of him, blocking his path, and startled d a bit, but it soon turned into a smile when he saw who it was.

    "I think I''m going to have to ask for that favour. Do you have a ce I can stay?" Austin asked.

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 695 Working in the factory

    <h2>695 Working in the factory</h2>

    Strangely d had happily epted Austin''s request and he didn''t ask too many questions either. Which was strange, if d was Austin''s kid, he definitely would have taught him that it was wrong to just trust strangers so much.

    In the first ce, d knew nothing about Austin or why he had next to no money on him. Of course, he had enough money for food, but the business card, as Kai described it, was left with Gary.

    d lived on his own, in a two story t. There was a row of rooms on the bottom floor and then a row on top. It was extremely basic, and the outside was somewhat falling apart. The wall looked to be covered partially with mold, while the stairs creaked so much Austin wouldn''t have been surprised if his foot fell right through. When they got to the room though, it was in better condition than he thought. A clean living room with a desk. There was a double bed and enough space for a small table in the centre. There was then a table in the corner with a desk and books.

    Lastly, there was a toilet off to the side. It wasn''t the biggest space, and there seemed to be no kitchen. Just a sink on the outside near the bed.

    "I have an extra nket, for when my family stays over, I''ll sleep on the floor and you can take the bed!" d smiled.

    Austin felt bad, after all, he was the one that was intruding on the kids personal space, and to then make him sleep on the floor. However, the floor space wasn''trge enough for his broad shoulders, and he could tell that d still wanted to repay him for what he had done.

    As Austin was setting up, and getting on the bed, he couldn''t help but have a few questions for d.

    "So where are your parents, aren''t you still in school, shouldn''t they be looking after you?" Austin asked.

    "My parents work in one of the factories. I''m sure you''ve noticed them, they''re spewing out all that crap over the city the whole time:" d conveniently coughed, as if the thought was making his throat tickle.

    "The factories... are where most of the kids'' parents work, maybe that''s why the situation is how it is now. You see, the workers are forced to live in the factory, on site. They are allowed toe home on their holidays of course, but there''s a big check to make sure they don''t take anything with them. "So my parents tend to visit around once a month, and I imagine it''s the same with most of the kids?"

    Austin couldn''t believe it, how could one be forced to live where they worked. If this was the case with all of the kids, were they then raised with practically no parents. If it really was the case for most of the city, then it was no wonder the kids acted like they did.

    There was essentially no one to discipline them. If they did badly in school, they would get horrible grades, and then those in the tier-4 cities only had two routes. Work for the gangs, or work for the factories that were controlled by the gangs.

    Before the two were to get some sleep, there was one more question on Austin''s mind.

    "Now tell me about this Phantom Brawl again, because I want to take part:''

    Both Gary and Elijah had been offered a job from a random stranger on the street. What took Elijah by surprise was the fact that Gary had agreed to doing the job, and in the moment, he had gone along with him.

    Now the two of them were taking a tour of the ce, while Elijah was wondering how he had gotten into this situation.

    ''I don''t understand, I thought I was following some big wig from another city?'' Elijah thought. So, why is he just taking a normal job in the factory... unless, is he here to spy on his potential partners? That might make sense''

    Apparently, there were many different types of factories, but the one that they worked at felt more like a mine. It was built into the side of a mountain and it was incredibly hot inside with people working away. Luggingrge wheelbarrows full of dirt.

    They would then get smashed to pieces, sorted and ced on a conveyor belt, where there would be a group of people sorting them out into different piles. It was unclear what these items would be used for, but they imagined that they contained some special metals that others might need.

    Both of them were handed a pickaxe and soon after were handed off to an old man wearing a hard hat. The old man was quite thin but he had well defined muscles all over his body. His name was Earny.

    "The job is quite simple, we take turns switching roles every hour or so, that way our muscles get some rest doing the different jobs, you two just get swinging, and load the chunks of rock into the wheelbarrows.

    Earny walked them into arge tunnel and it was even hotter inside than it was outside in the main factory.

    "Alright you two get to work!" Earny said.

    Looking at the others, they were swinging the pickaxe several times into a particr spot of the rock, they would then continue down the same line making a crack. They would then do the same at another point, and when the two cracks reached, they would have one solid piece of rock.

    Gary lifted up the pickaxe and swung it down, hitting the piece of rock. It created arge crack going through straight to the bottom. Swinging the pickaxe again in one strike Gary had knocked out arge chunk from the stone wall.

    "This is perfect!" Gary said to himself proudly.

    Elijah just pped his head, still wondering what on earth was he and this man doing here. He had followed him out of interest but was starting to think that he could just be an idiot.

    Gary went ahead to lift therge piece and put it into the wheelbarrow but when he did, the system''s screen had popped up.

    [The material in your hands has been analysed.]

    [A beast crystal has been detected]

    *******

 Chapter 696 A system upgrade?

    <h2>696 A system upgrade?</h2>

    Before cing therge piece of rock that Gary had in his hands, he turned it on all sides, examining it closely. Despite its size, he handled it with ease, rotating it effortlessly.

    Observing this, Elijah began to wonder if Gaba was even trying to hide the fact that he was an Altered. Did he believe that the other members wouldn''t take any action if they found out? Elijah started to consider the possibility that this encounter might just be with a random Altered who had somehow ended up in the city by ident, unrted to the local gangs.

    Regardless, Elijah was in the right ce to gather the information he needed.

    Gary ced therge rock on the ground and picked up his pickaxe. The rock was toorge to fit in the wheelbarrow, so breaking it into smaller pieces would not raise suspicion. As he swung the pickaxe, he split the big rock into four smaller pieces. The inside of the rock sparkled with different colours, and Gary''s eyes focused on arge crystal protruding from one area.

    "That''s it... it looks the same, the same as the crystal I hadst time. That''s a beast crystal!"

    As soon as Garyid eyes on the crystal, something strange happened with the system as well.

    [Ancient knowledge is being unlocked.]

    [The system has ess to new information received from ancient knowledge.]

    [Beast tiers unlocked.]

    [Would you like to learn about beast crystals?]

    From an outside perspective, Gary appeared to be standing there, staring at the pieces of therge rock. But in reality, he was absorbing all the information the system was presenting to him.

    [Yes]

    [Beast crystals are crystals from ancient beasts that can be found across the universe, but were once creatures on Earth as well. Beast crystals have different tiers depending on the amount of energy contained within them. Higher-tier crystals tend toe from stronger and more powerful beasts, as they possess more energy to draw from.]

    [The following are the tiers]

    [Basic tier]

    [Intermediate tier]

    [Advanced tier]

    [King tier]

    [Emperor tier]

    [Legendary tier]

    [Demi-god tier]

    [Demon tier]

    ''I remember, those people at NIRV, were exining how they knew a certain beast''s strength was equal to the crystal they produced, and that would also determine how good of an Altered solution they made.

    ''However, they said it was quite difficult for them to pinpoint what was what. With the system, do I have the ability to do that now?''

    Gary thought.

    He touched the crystaling out from the rock, and sure enough another screen had popped up.

    [Intermediate tier beast crystal]

    ''This is amazing, it makes me wonder, if I was to see Altered solutions, could I tell what tier they are at. It would make sense since Altered solutions are made from crystals. Wouldn''t this also help out at the auction.

    ''We could know which Altered solutions are better than others, and it wouldn''t just be a shot in the dark. Gary was already getting excited at all of the possibilities.

    Still, it did make him wonder, just what was this ce? Turning his head he looked at the sorting group. After therge rocks were broken down on the conveyor belt there were several parts going through being sorted into differentrge buckets.

    They would then be loaded up onto lorries that were driven off. When looking closely at the buckets, that''s when Gary could see it. Some of them did have minerals and materials for electronicponents, but there was also a container for beast crystals.

    ''Is that what this ce really is, is it just a disguise to get beast crystals? But how are beast crystals even in this ce?'' Gary thought.

    ''If I remember from what Tom told me. NIRV has a special crystal that they use on the old fossils that they find. Then that creates a beast, after they kill the beast like we did in the special sses, they drop a crystal that allows Altered solution to be made.

    ''But then, if there is a mine with crystals in it, maybe that has been lost for years. Is this another way to get crystals as well? A secret that they have been hiding from everyone. I guess most people have never even seen a beast crystal before, and I doubt anyone in a tier 4 will have ever seen one''

    "What have you been staring at for so long?" Elijah eventually asked.

    "Ahm, I was just looking at the rocks, they''re kind of shiny!" Gary replied. "Do you think they''re worth a lot?"

    Elijah looked at the crystal that Gary was talking about, but as he looked at it more, there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. He had never seen anything like it, and wondered why the green haired was so curious about it.

    "I wouldn''t try and steal it if I was you" Elijah said.

    Gary''s hand was already on the crystal, he had gripped hard and just after Elijah had finished his sentence he had pulled it out of the rock with his bare hands.

    "They check us every night, in case someone steals those things. I''m not sure if they''re worth a lot, or worth the trouble of angering the gang in the area:'' Gary somewhat agreed, because right now, he felt like he was in a gold mine. He was able to get beast crystals, without the need to risk his life. At first he hade to the city, expecting to fight to gain exp, in order to best Midwak. Now though, was that really needed, with the crystals here, he could gain strength bit by bit. "Don''t worry!" Gary said as he stood up with his back facing away from Elijah, and took a big bite out of the crystal with his teeth. ''They''ll never find the crystal: 1

    [Intermediate Beast crystal consumed]

 Chapter 697 A growing strength

    697 A growing strength

    Gary continued his mining work, and if he wasn¡¯t working hard before, he definitely was working super hard now. He was crushingrge pieces, taking chunks out with just a couple of swings and then would ce his hands on them for a few moments.

    Depending on whether the system screen would pop up or not would depend on whether Gary would break it down into smaller pieces, before secretly pulling out what he needed from it. He continued this, looking for specific types of crystals, and of course, he wouldn''t take every crystal.

    The actions looked a bit strange, as they couldn''tprehend why he would break some pieces down and not the others. Besides, there was a machine that would crumble therger pieces into smaller pieces.

    It was just their job to get it off this piece of rock, or mountain, whatever it was.

    Gary wiped the sweat from his forehead as it was hot inside, but he still didn¡¯t slow down. He had great endurance, one of the best after all.

    "If you''re so hot, why don¡¯t you take off that mask?" Elijah asked, who was casually working next to him. He was keeping a pace that was the same as the other workers.

    "It''s dusty in here, you know, really dusty," Gary answered, as he picked up the piece he had just broken off.

    [Beast crystal has been found]

    [Basic tier beast crystal]

    "The intermediate crystals give me one stat point, in fact, sometimes it hasn''t even done that. I guess it has something to do with my stats being too high, or my level being too high in the first ce. So I doubt the basic tier crystal will do anything. Besides, I can''t take every crystal I find."

    "Hey kid, you''ve made this barrel too heavy, I can''t move it!" One of the older men shouted. He too, was covered in sweat and mud. His body was rtively thin. All of these guys in here were hard workers, mostly men.

    While they allowed the women to work on the assembly line sorting out the crystals.

    "It''s okay, I''ll take it," Gary said, grabbing hold of the two iron bars and rushing off to the sorter machine.

    The old man who had shown them the ropes and what to do, couldn''t help but smile as he saw Gary.

    "Ah, when I was his age I was just as strong," Earny said. "Your friend, if he carries on like that he might get noticed by the higher-ups. They like to bring the stronger ones into their group."

    "Oh, really," Elijah said, as he held the handle of the pickaxe more firmly, he lifted it above his head and swung it down. When it hit the rock, it was cutting through it like butter. It wasn''t a single crack that went to the bottom, almost the whole pickaxe touched the floor, cutting arge piece of it off.

    "I guess I should work a bit harder then," Elijah said.

    When Gary returned, he could see Elijah working away, and at a speed that nearly matched his.

    "Oh, did something light a fire in your belly?" Garymented.

    "I''m just trying not to fall behind," Elijah said, with a big smile on his face.

    The rest of the workers continued to watch the two at work, and due to them being so impressive, they could rx a bit. They weren''t directly being supervised in the mine. The owners of the factory would onlye in once in a while to make sure everyone was doing what they needed.

    However, they did have a quota of weight that the group had to meet each day. Some days it was harder to reach that quota than others, due tock of energy or just hitting a rough patch in the mine, but with this, they felt like they might get to rx a little.

    Most of the crystals that Gary had found were intermediate crystals, but he did find one advanced-tier crystal. If he was honest, he would have liked to have taken this back. Maybe someone, even Tom, could have turned it into Altered solution for the gang, or he was sure it could sell for a high price on the market. But it was too risky, causing trouble this early on, because Gary had another idea, an even better idea.

    ''These basic-tier crystals, although they might not help me anymore, what about the others? They''re werewolves as well, so their bodies should have the same effect. Each one of them can get stronger... but I can''t take the crystals out of here. Still, there is something I can do.'' Gary was smiling due to how much of a genius he felt he was right now.

    Gary

    Grade: Rook

    ss: Dark Warrior

    Level 28

    [Health 300]

    [Energy 500]

    [Strength 67]

    [Dexterity 53]

    [Endurance 57]

    Gary''s stats were improving. Consuming the crystals didn''t give him exp, so his level stayed the same, but he only wished to increase his level in the first ce to improve his stats.

    Continuing like this, he wondered how far he could go. How many crystals could he eat until his stats stopped improving? There was also another factor; surely his stats weren''t limitless either, so at some point, his strength would have to stop.

    His werewolf body already felt strong, but what about those that were beyond Midwak? So far on his journey, he had been just trying to get stronger than Midwak, but there was an even bigger goal beyond him. The other werewolves and the vampires.

    ''I''m going to continue to get stronger, not just stronger than Midwak, but strong enough to stop anyone from hurting my family again. And then, Mum, when you wake up, you can live the peaceful life you always wanted!''

    Picking up another crystal, Gary crunched down, thinking about the future.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 698 Garys plan

    698 Gary''s n

    The day hade to an end, but he had already gained over 5 stat points in total. He imagined that after staying here for a while, he would be ready to face Midwak again.

    The workers were to stay on-site in the factory. There was a dorm building that was built onto the side of the factory, and it could only be essed from the inside. There were even strict guards standing on the outside.

    Before they were allowed to enter the dorms, everyone was searched to see if they had anything else on them other than their personal belongings. Then they were finally let into their rooms.

    The rooms were shared by six people. There were mattressesid out on the floor with all the basic necessities, and then there were toilets at the end of the hallway, including the showers. In each of the rooms, there was one cooking area that they were all to share, but no ce to eat other than the floor.

    The older men immediately started cooking, and the smell wafted into Gary''s nose, making his stomach rumble loudly.

    "It looks like someone is hungry," Earny said. "Did you forget to bring some food?"

    "I worked harder than I thought," Gary answered. Although the rocks gave him strength and a rise in energy, they still weren''t a recement for real food.

    "I''ll share some of mine with you," Earny said.

    "Hey, hey, are you sure you''re going to be okay?" another man said. "You have your own family to pay for as well. You can''t keep helping out strangers."

    "It''s okay. I have a son who is probably only a little younger than them," Earny said, and everyone had a look on their face as if they had heard this story before. "We know how much you love your son, Earny, which is why we''re telling you that you should eat as well."

    Earny was busy cooking away, and it looked like he was making some type of noodles. Both Elijah and Gary were at the back of the room, staying out of the way, as it looked like they had it sorted and under control.

    "You better pay that man back tenfold for giving you some of his food," Elijah said.

    "What do you mean?" Gary replied.

    "Can''t you tell by their conversations? They''re giving you part of what little they have," Elijah exined. "This isn''t like other cities where maybe you can order food and it will get delivered to you. Next to no one can offer that here.

    "So they have to buy and cook all the ingredients themselves, but even then, working in this factory, most likely the pay they get will only be enough to cover one person. But as you heard, they all have families, so the money they get goes to raising others. Which is why they barely have enough food for themselves. Did you not wonder why, when they work so hard in this type of job, their body frames are so small, unlike yours?

    ¡°This is life for the average person in a Tier-4. I don¡¯t know what you''re doing here, but the one thing I want you to be is thankful for those who help you out.¡±

    Elijah had given up on finding out who Gary was. It seemed like in this city, he was a nobody, so perhaps he was just trying to see what a Tier-4 city was like.

    The food was set out on the table, and the old man from hisrge bowl had poured the noodles into two separate bowls, making his size extremely small. When Gary looked at his bowl, Earny had clearly given him even more than he had, and Elijah''s words were starting to hit him somewhat.

    ¡°Earny,¡± Gary said, looking at the bowl of soup with his head down. ¡°Why, when you guys don¡¯t have much food, why are you giving me some? We''ve only known each other for one day?¡±

    Earny smiled as he looked at everyone else at the table.

    ¡°Isn''t it natural to help each other out? We are all in the same situation, and we should at least be able to eat together. For me, because you are here, I will treat you no less than like family, so how could I let a family member go hungry on the first day?¡±

    Gary''s heart sank at the old man''s kindness, but he didn¡¯t want to show it as he pulled his face away and gulped down the lump that was in his throat.

    ¡°Well said, Earny! We won¡¯t let you go hungry either!¡±

    The other men eating their meals each went ahead and put part of their food in Earny''s, Gary''s, and Elijah''s bowls, filling them up as they ate a little less for themselves that day.

    Gary ate the meal as slowly as he had ever done before. It hadn''t filled his stomach, but for some reason, it felt very fulfilling.

    After eating the meal, joking andughing, listening to others telling stories, and Earny talking about his son all night, it was time to go to bed. They were exhausted from working all day, meanwhile, Gary was still up next to Elijah in the corner.

    He was on his phone. He wanted to check if Austin was okay, and he had a few texts from others as well during the meal.

    [Hey, I heard you lost or broke your phone, you idiot. So here''s my number, it''s Kai. Contact me if you need anything, and update me on the situation if it gets a bit hairy.]

    Thankfully, although Gary didn¡¯t know their numbers, they all still had his, so now he could at least contact Austin and Kai when needed.

    ¡°Hey, Elijah,¡± Gary whispered. ¡°Do you think this ce could change?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Anything can change. It''s just that people have to take action rather than just saying things,¡± Elijahmented.

    ¡°Well, do you think these guys, do you think this city could change to the point where they no longer have to worry about food?¡± Gary asked.

    Elijah nearlyughed out loud hearing that.

    ¡°I''m sorry, I didn''t realize you were thinking like that. This city, and the people inside it, have been abandoned by everyone. The White Rose has other matters and cares more about the bigger cities where the bigwigs are. They won''t get involved in this.

    ¡°The local government here, they might as well not exist as everything is controlled by the gangs. So, who is going to help them? The people, will they rise and try to revolt? The gangs who have the power and those behind them will just knock them back down.

    ¡°Do you think they don¡¯t have the food to feed the people? Do you know how much money is being made from these minerals we are mining? The reason why they do this is because they want to keep them alive but not strong enough for them to fight back. So who¡¯s going to help them, another gang? They will just do the same.¡±

    From the few conversations Gary had with Elijah, he could tell that he was a smart person, which is why he had asked him that question, and from it, he had gotten the answer he needed.

    He had already thought about doing this before, as the crystals would be beneficial to their group, but now that he could help out a bunch of people as well, that would just be a bonus.

    Gary started to write away on his phone, sending out a message.

    [Kai, I need your help. I wanted to know if we have enough funds to buy a factory in this city I¡¯m in.]

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too bus, I tend to reply back

 Chapter 699 A big backer

    Chapter 699 A big backer

    No one quite knew how long Gary would be away for, but it was presumed that he might take at least a week to cause some trouble. Some of the others predicted that it might even be sooner than that.

    Either way, he wouldn''t be back in time for the Dark Guild Auction, which was what Kai was currently making preparations for. He was pulling out a lot of the profits from every corner they had, and they had quite a few revenue streams now.

    Their portfolio included businesses in Slough, such as restaurants, nightclubs, construction, hotels, and more. They also had business partners in several other cities. Harry Cardnez dealt with most of these, as he was still expanding Cardnez Electronics and knew how to navigate the business world well.

    There was also AJ Entertainment, run by Ash, which dealt with thetest and newest uing stars.

    Finally, they had Nottsburg, which was already running on high profit as a well-known gambling establishment filled with different venues and top hotels where people from all over came.

    It was a diverse portfolio where all the businesses were seeing great sess, so it was safe to say that the ie the Howlers were getting wasn''t small by any means. They had money that could possiblypete with that of tier 1 cities.

    Especially if they didn''t spend too much on redevelopment and improvement in Slough, but in turn, that was an investment in itself. Kai was already a step ahead, buying a lot ofnd and buildings in Slough.

    As more people moved to Slough, the apartments, houses, and thend itself would rise in value due to all the developments they were doing. That''s why when Gary surprisingly asked him to buy the factory, he thought it would be no problem at all.

    "I wonder what''s got him so excited. He''s never asked us to make a move before," Kai said to himself at his desk. He was looking at the numbers and wondering how much money they should set aside or how much would be enough to buy the factory in the first ce.

    There were a few more texts sent by Gary after.

    [You have to trust me, getting this factory is quite important.]

    Although Gary was never the one to be the smartest when it came to financial decisions, he was hardly involved in any of it at all. Seeing him this passionate, Kai crossed out the original number he had put down.

    "I should listen to the boss and try to get this, no matter what."

    Research was done on the Tier-4 city that Gary had gone to, a city called Crustpool. It was close to the coast, where there were multiplerge hills and mountains. That''s why several mining factories had been set up in the area.

    Obtaining information about the factory was rtively easy, and making a phone call as well, but Kai knew that it would get harder.

    "Look, I am very sorry, but I don''t wish to waste any more of both our time," the man on the other end of the phone said.

    Kai had managed to reach awyer who represented all the factories in the city.

    "We don''t n on selling up at all," the man said.

    "Really? What if I was to give you a bid right now and let you know that the ones interested are the Howlers?" Kai said, and soon after, he gave a number that was in the seven figures.

    For the first time, Kai had decided to use the Howlers'' name. Their reputation should have grown, and other ces should at least know who ran Nottsburg now.

    "I will get back in touch with you," the man said, ending the call there.

    Kai waited a few moments. He imagined he would soon be getting a call, but it was unlikely to be the people he wanted. It would be the middleman in this whole situation.

    "I''ve revealed my cards about who we are, but will the real ones behind all of this do the same?"

    A vibrating noise on the table could be heard, and Kai let it ring a few times before answering. He couldn''t make it seem like they were too desperate.

    "Hey, hey, hey, so is this the fool who thinks he can use their name to buy us?" the voice on the other side immediately said.

    Kai thought it was quite brave for someone from a Tier-4 to act like this suddenly on the phone.

    "That''s right, I am a representative from the Howlers, and we are interested in buying out one of your factories."

    Sometimes they were looking for partnerships, but in this case, Kai wanted to buy them out, not partner. It would allow him to understand the situation a bit more. If they were happy to just get a lump sum of cash, then the gang in Crustpool was just working for other gangs and not directly under them. Depending on how the around like that. Otherwise, you''re going to end up stepping on the toes of someone far bigger than you can handle.

    rest of the call went, he would switch tactics as he went.

    "Hahaha, that makes meugh," the man said. "Look, I came to warn you that you shouldn''t be going around trying to throw your weight around like that. Otherwise, you''re going to end up stepping on the toes of someone far bigger than you can handle.

    "I''vee to reject your offer, and before you even think about making any other offer, consider them rejected as well. Trust me, whatever you offered won''t be enough. I know who you guys are, just stay in yourne. Otherwise, the gang known as the Howlers will cease to exist."

    The call abruptly hung up, without Kai being able to say anything else. cing the phone on the table, he shook his head.

    "I guess it''s impossible to buy that factory. A regr person in charge of a Tier-4 would never act like that, especially if they knew our name. Which means they have a strong backing, maybe one of the kings or someone with a boatload of money."

    With that, Kai had to deliver the bad news to Gary.

    "I was unable to purchase the factory. It seems these guys have a pretty big backing. My advice would be not to cause trouble and definitely make sure they don''t find out you''re from the Howlers."

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 700 The Shadow fighter (Part 1)

    Chapter 700 The Shadow fighter (Part 1)

    Austin had slept better than he originally thought he would have, he was after all in a stranger''s ce, yet for some reason he felt safe around d. If it wasn''t the fact that d had to get up to go back to school, maybe he would have slept in for even longer.

    He took a quick peek at his phone, and saw there were practically no messages from Gary. Whatever he was doing, he had to be quite absorbed in it all.

    ¡°Hey, let me walk with you to school.¡± Austin stated.

    While walking down the streets, Austin continued to wear the mask on his face. d did find it a bit strange since he had seen Austin without it when they were in his home. He thought maybe he was some type of secret celebrity from the city, but when looking at his face, it waspletely normal.

    Austin was thinking back to the conversation the two of them hadst night.

    ¡°So, about this Phantom Brawl, how exactly do I take part in it?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t actually know the location of it. Only those that are participants, or the local gang members, know about it. There are two ways I can think of though, one, is going back to Carvey. I doubt he would have openly told his gang, the one that was looking out for him, about his defeat.

    ¡°But you could always ask him for more information, or the news will eventually reach them. The second way is to make a name for yourself, like you have been doing. Go around taking out the top of the other schools.

    ¡°At the end of the day, they are meant to be participating in the Phantom Brawl, so if you take them out before the big tournament, a gang has to approach you, right?¡±

    What d said made a lot of sense, but Austin wasn¡¯t from around here, and he doubted that they would all be as easy as Carvey.

    ¡°With the second option, there is another problem though. If you be a name among the schools, then that will bring in the attention of the shadow fighter.¡±

    ¡°The shadow fighter?¡± Austin raised an eyebrow. He was starting to wonder whatic book city he had entered, and who wasing up with these names. Shadow fighter, and Phantom Brawl?

    Austin would have said something, but he didn¡¯t want to dampen the excitement in d¡¯s voice as he was exining who the Shadow fighter was.

    ¡°You see, the shadow fighter is rumoured to be the strongest fighter in this city!¡± Vald continued to exin.

    ¡°So is he going to be at the Phantom Brawl, and why should I worry about him?¡±

    d cleared his throat before he started to exin.

    ¡°The shadow fighter is a person that tries to clear up all the bad kids from school. If someone starts to make a name for themselves or a new top dog appears, he appears, disguised as a type of ninja and beats them up!

    ¡°That¡¯s why it''s clear that he is the strongest, I don¡¯t think he has lost a single fight. But the identity is a secret due to the clothes they wear, and they have never bothered with entering the Phantom Brawl.¡±

    ¡°A vignte?¡± Austin wondered. ¡°So has this shadow fighter even beaten up Carvey before?¡±

    d nodded enthusiastically, with stars in his eyes.

    ¡°I actually thought that you might have been the shadow fighter at one point, but then I realised¡­ I realised¡­¡± d looked Austin up and down. ¡°That you are far too big. I¡¯m not calling you fat, it''s just the Shadow fighter has a small frame.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Vald went into a bit more detail after that, about how the shadow fighter would only beat up those that were wreaking havoc on those in the schools, which made sense as to why he idolised him.

    However, whatever they were doing, it was quite clear that it wasn¡¯t working, because none of the schools changed. In a way, because this person remained secret and would only beat up the top dog once, nothing would change.

    d did have his own theory as to why this was, most likely the shadow fighter was a high school student as well. Someone who wanted to act, but didn¡¯t want to catch the attention of the gangs.

    Anyone strong, would be forced into a gang, so this was the only thing they could do.

    ¡°Oh crap!¡± d was heard saying out loud.

    Getting out of the thoughts in his head, he looked up to see just what d was reacting to.

    There was a group of kids, with multi coloured hair and piercings, heading toward them. A group of five.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s the Punks!¡± d said.

    Once again, it seemed like Austin was stuck in some sort ofic book.

    ¡°Hey, so this is the infamous Big Mask people have been talking about.¡± The man in the centre asked, putting out his tongue, revealing that it was split in two parts. ¡°I heard you took down Carvey, which means you have to be somewhat strong right?¡±

    d was ready to move, so he was out of the way of what was going to happen next, but as he went he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck, by the split tongue man.

    ¡°Hey you little sh*t we need a witness, a witness to show that Killer was the one that took out Big Mask!¡± The leader, the top dog of another school, named Killer, wasughing.

    What d had warned Austin about was starting to happen, as others were interested in him.

    ¡°Hey, so if I beat these guys up, that¡¯s going to increase my chance into this Phantom Brawl thing right? Then let¡¯s take these guys out.¡± Austin said as he moved forward.

    Those by Killer¡¯s side were the first to move in, and before one could reach him, Austin threw out his leg kicking him with his heel, in his stomach. The food he ate for breakfast came out from his mouth and he felt like he was suffocating when falling to the floor, he had never felt such pain in his life before.

    As another came forward, swinging his hand, Austin went from a fist to a p. He knew the unnatural strength he carried, and he didn¡¯t want to kill them. As his hand hit the person''s face, their whole body lifted off the ground before they were sent to the floor.

    One of the students managed to get close and threw a bunch to the side, aiming for Austin¡¯s ribs, but when his hand hit, he felt like his knuckles and bones were broken. Austin just turned to look at him, and that caused the kid to fall over on his backside, hurting himself again.

    ¡°This guy¡­ his body is made out of rocks or something!¡±

    The confident Killer wasn''t so confident anymore, but he still had one more trick up his sleeve as he pulled out a knife from behind his back.

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason for my name!¡± killer said, as he spun the knife around his fingers and caught it by the handle.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Austin said, as he moved forward. ¡°Let me ask you, Killer, have you ever killed someone before?¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 701 The Shadow fighter (Part 2)

    Chapter 701 The Shadow fighter (Part 2)

    A lot of the top fighters from other schools, the ones that essentially made the rules in their school, had nicknames for themselves. Some were based on their personality, their looks or their strength.

    As for Killer, he had decided his name due to his skillful use of weapons, he decided to spread his own nickname ¡®Killer¡¯. It made sense, if one was using deadly weapons that could kill, then he wanted a name that would strike fear in those he faced, because when he pulled out his weapon, they would believe that there was a chance his name meant that he was a real killer.

    One wouldn''t put it past a student in a tier-4, there were plenty that had done so before, but for Austin, he could see through this. He could see through his fancy tricks with a de.

    If one really had been in a life or death battle, they wouldn¡¯t bother showing off, spinning the weapon, and holding it so loosely in his hand.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Austin said, walking over. His hands weren¡¯t even raised to protect himself. ¡°I was just like you guys, at the moment the schools mean everything to you, but trust me, the fake gangs you guys are ying are nothing like the real thing.¡±

    Images appeared in Austin¡¯s head of when he himself had nearly experienced death due to Midwak, and at the same time, there were images of those he had to fight against, those he had to kill, due to the situation. The gang world, it was either kill or be killed, but the situation he was in right now. This wasn''t one of them.

    Throwing out his hand, Austin grabbed onto the edge of the knife, it dug into his skin, but he had held on so tight that even with Killer pulling on the handle was unable to pull it out.

    ¡°Who are you¡­ what are you!¡± Killer shouted in fear.

    d had never seen anything like it, he had seen people get beaten up by those stronger than them. Heck, d experienced it daily from many in his school, but the fear in Killer¡¯s eyes,pared to the confidence Austin had, it was indescribable.

    Slowly, d was creating a new idol in his mind, one other than the shadow fighter.

    ¡°Brace yourself.¡± Austin said, as he pulled back his fist and punched it directly into Killer¡¯s mouth. His front two teeth were sent flying onto the ground along with the back of his head.

    ¡°If you threaten to kill someone, then you at least deserve a proper punch.¡± Austinmented.

    Blown away by everything that had happened, d had stumbled and fell on his backside in amazement. Those that were on the ground were too hurt to get up any time soon. Austin, seeing d on the floor, thought he must have been dropped or hurt by Killer so he started to walk over to give his hand.

    He reached out, when suddenly the sound of footsteps could be heard, running from the side.

    ¡°Get away from him!¡± A voice shouted.

    Both d and Austin turned their heads, and d''s mouth was wide open, both hands raised towards his mouth. He wanted to say something but the words wouldn''te out.

    The person was quick on their feet and had already jumped up in the air with a kick. Austin covered his head with one arm. The kicknded and it was quite a solid blow, but not enough to move his big body.

    When the personnded back down, they seemed to be surprised by the fact that Austin hadn¡¯t even budged an inch.

    ¡°A new one in town, you must be the one people are calling Big Mask!¡± The person shouted. ¡°Why¡­ Why must you guys alwayse in, and try to prove who¡¯s the best?¡±

    Now that Austin wasn¡¯t blocking an attack, he could get a better look at the person who had just attacked him out of the blue.

    They were dressed in all ck clothing, their frame was rtively small, simr to that of d¡¯s and on their head, they wore a bva, only showing their eyes.

    ¡°It''s¡­ it''s the shadow fighter!¡± d pumped his fists, he almost fainted from the excitement, and he started to hyperventte. Never in his life did he think he would see the person up so close, and of all things they hade to rescue him.

    It was a misunderstanding, but d was too excited to say anything.

    ¡®So this person is the shadow fighter, huh?¡¯ Austin thought. ¡®Well, it''s no wonder he thought the shadow fighter couldn''t be me, but how can someone so small be considered the strongest?¡¯

    The shadow fighter was quick to act, as they started to run forward, they quickly raised their leg aiming for Austin¡¯s ¡¯s side, it had hit his rib, but he didn¡¯t try to block the attack. Instead he threw one out on his own at the same time.

    However, the shadow fighter was able to slip in on the inside, and quickly turned to the side, throwing out another kick, right to his other rib. They quickly moved behind Austin and kicked him on the back of his leg, right where his knee was and he jolted a bit.

    He wasn¡¯t going to fall to such a weak attack, and as he braced himself to stand up, he felt a kicknd right to the side of his head. It stung a bit, but once again,. He still hadn''t moved.

    ¡®What is this person, he''s like a big rock, no matter how many times I hit him, it looks like nothing is hurting him.¡¯ The shadow fighter thought.

    Meanwhile Austin was also incredibly impressed.

    ¡®I doubt this person is an altered, but they''re so fast, nimble and flexible, they have a good sense of timing as well. This is what I was looking for, this is the type of challenge I needed!¡¯ Austin thought.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 702 The Shadow fighter (Part 3)

    Chapter 702 The Shadow fighter (Part 3)

    Excitement was brewing inside Austin, ever since he had be an Altered there were next to no challenges for him, and fighting against Midwak was quite an extreme jump, so if he wanted to improve himself, he needed more situations like this.

    ¡°Maybe it''s time I crank this up just a little bit more!¡± Austin said, he clenched his fist, harder than he had done the times before. The veins down his forearm could be seen, as well as on top of his hands.

    It wasn''t a normal sight at all, and seeing how a regr punch had taken out Killer, d was worried what would happen if that was to hit the shadow fighter.

    ¡°Wait! d shouted, getting up off the ground.

    Ausitn had already thrown his punch and rather than retreating, the shadow fighter went forward.

    ¡®With people like this, who can¡¯t get knocked down by my strength, then I just have to use their own strength against them and throw in a counter!¡¯

    It was a dangerous move, because they were moving in as well, if they got hit they would take twice the damage, but if the counter puncher managed to get a hit in, it should hurt twice as much as well.

    When the shadow fighter threw out their fist, they could see a smile on Austin''s face despite him missing.

    ¡®What is he up to?¡¯ the shadow fighter was confused, and surprisingly from the right, they could see someone entering right in the middle of the two of them.

    Using all the strength she could, the Shadow fighter had to pull back, she ducked onto the ground and rolled out of the way, while there was a displeased look on Austin''s face, as he looked at d who had intervened.

    ¡°Hey look, the two of you shouldn''t be fighting each other.¡± d tried to exin. ¡°Both of you are trying to do the right thing, my friend here, Big Mask, he wasn''t attacking me, he was the one protecting me from these guys.¡±

    The shadow fighter was assessing the situation a bit more, she had originally thought that the ones on the floor were part of a group with Big Mask, but now that she looked closer, for one there was Killer, who they had given a beat down in the past before.

    ¡®Crap, did I rush into this situation, now that I think about it. Who else would have beaten all these guys up, it wouldn¡¯t have been the sses kid¡­ I just saw the situation that I see too much these days and rushed forward.¡¯

    ¡°Please.¡± d said. ¡°Thest thing I want is for you two to fight.¡±

    d turned around to look at Austin, and in that brief moment when he went to look, the shadow fighter had disappeared running off into the distance.

    ¡°Damn it, and there goes my only fun in this city.¡± Austin said.

    Looking at the situation around him, he had another idea that hade to mind though. Heading over to Killer who wasing to, and holding onto his bloody mouth. Austin grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him off the ground.

    ¡°I bet it hurts a bit for you to speak, and if you don¡¯t want to have trouble eating, then I suggest you answer my questions.¡± Austin said.

    Killer immediately nodded, he didn¡¯t want to ever feel a punch like that again. It wasn''t as if Killer had never lost any fights before, but he had never been so afraid, even when dealing with other gang members.

    ¡°Alright, so I assume you know about this Phantom Brawl?¡± Austin asked.

    Killer nodded up and down a few times.

    ¡°Good, then I want to find a way to take part in it, think¡­ is there any way someone like me can get some introduction of some sort?¡± Austin asked.

    Killer was silent for a bit, and in order to make him think quicker, Austin just started to move his other hand, he didn¡¯t make a fist but any movement shook Killer to his very core.

    ¡°Today!¡± Killer shouted a bit unclearly as blood came out from his mouth. ¡°Today, there is an underground fight. I was meant to take part¡­ It was practice for the Phantom Brawl. The gang¡­ that is supporting me, linked to our school will be there.

    ¡°If you go in my ce, and do a good job, then I¡¯m sure that they will invite you.¡±

    It looked like there was no reason for d to go meet Carvey after all, as he had his in now.

    ¡°Good, it looks like me and you have a date tonight.¡± Austin smiled.

    ¡ª¡ª

    That morning, Gary had received a message from Kai. Informing him that the purchase of the factory didn¡¯t go well. Even more so, a warning was sent out, that it was probably best that Gary didn¡¯t try and cause trouble with the local gangs, not unless he wanted to find out who they were connected to.

    At this point and time, it would be too much for their gang to handle.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t just want to purchase the factory for the beast crystals, but I also wanted to help out Earny and the others, give them a better life¡­ but I should listen to Kai. I can still stay here for a while, and eat the crystals I do get, making myself stronger than I was before.¡¯

    The work started the same as the night before, with them busy mining away, hitting the rocks. Gary was still focused on getting what beast crystals he could. cing some still in the container so things wouldn''t look too suspicious.

    At the moment, he was working with Elijah, who was next to Earny, and a topic that Gary was very interested in, came up.

    ¡°So¡­ about the guys we are working for, who exactly are they, and why are we doing this mindless task.¡± Elijah asked.

    It was time, since Elijah knew he wasn¡¯t going to get anything from Gary, it was time for him to continue his job, as a member of the White Rose, and search for the ck liquid.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 703 The controller

    Chapter 703 The controller

    Gary had scooted over a bit, working closer to Elijah and Earny. Although he had great hearing and could usually hear from a great distance, with all the banging from the pickaxes and heavy machinery, it was hard to concentrate on just a single area of noise.

    The question he was interested in was just who was behind all of these factories.

    ¡°It depends what you''re asking.¡± Earny said, as he continued to hammer away. ¡°If it''s who we are working for, or who owns these factories. You see this city was even worse off when it was before. It was essentially one big dump site.

    ¡°We were a tier-5, and if you have ever been to those sorts of ces, you know what they''re like.¡±

    Gary hadn¡¯t but he heard the rumours. They were essentially the country''s tips. All sorts of broken cars, materials, anything that wasn¡¯t wanted would go to these cities and that included people.

    ¡°Still, just like every ce, we had those that ran the ce. A gang that called themselves the Scavengers. They were a big group, and they controlled several little small scavenger groups that would sell to the other cities, parts that might still be needed.

    ¡°Somehow though, the Scavengers were able to make a deal. These minerals were found, and factories were built somewhat overnight. The Scavengers were in charge of these factories but how they got the money to build such things, no one really knows but it had toe from somewhere.¡±

    A gang that wasrge enough to stop even the Howlers from buying the factory, or a group, this was what Kai had said as well. It looked like perhaps the Scavengers were the only ones that would know the answer.

    ¡°We thought it was a good thing, new moneying into our city. They even used it to invest in some schools. With the factories we were able to be a tier-4 and other groups from outside started to use us.

    ¡°However, the Scavengers have set up things so it all benefits them in the end.¡± Earny continued. ¡°You see, there are multiple gangs in this city, but they all eventually lead to the Scavengers. As for the other gang¡¯s duties, all it boils down to is getting new recruits to either work in the factories or be part of the gangs.

    ¡°The gangs are already extremely involved in the schools'' delinquents and in a city like this, that''s over 90 percent of the students. In their eyes the top of the food chain is the Scavengers, so that¡¯s what they aim for.

    ¡°I honestly wish I could take my kid out of this city. If I had the money I would do so, but this here, for someone weak like me, is the only job I can get. I could never be a gang member, and be useful enough to them, and even if you are, do you really think you could leave.¡±

    Hearing Earny exin everything, it looked like the Scavengers had set up one bug trap for the people of the city, with no way of them leaving at all to better the lives of those within.

    Gary felt like his family were in a simr situation, a debt spiral, but at least students could still rise to the top and work their way out of it, but here, was that even possible for them?

    Elijah felt bad for the man and those in the city, but fixing the city, or making the people''s lives better by getting rid of corruption or other things wasn¡¯t his job. The White Rose were told many times to not get too involved or put their heart too much into cases.

    They were to only deal with Altered issues, which was what the world government paid them to do.

    He continued to hammer away, and he had been working just as hard as Gary had been doing. Since he heard those that do a good job get noticed, he felt like this was his in. When he was in the Scavengers then he could perhaps find the real people backing them, and they were also the most likely behind spreading of the ck Liquid.

    With all of this though, he needed evidence.

    Gary was even more disheartened that he was unabel to helpo Earny and the others, but he thought it was best to lsiten to Kai¡¯s words. Maybe in the future he coudl do soemthign. When he and Kaipelted thier promise of being at the top of this world, they could go back and change things like this.

    In the mean time, he had to focus on the current goal in fornt of him, getting storng neough to defeat Midwak. The only reason why he was still doing this job, was due to the sweet crystals he could munch on that would gradulley allow him to grow stornger and stronger.

    [Strength 68]

    [Dexterity 55]

    [Endurance 60]

    Gary was finding that the basic tier crystal were no longer having an effect on him, but he woudl find quite a few intermediate crystals as well.

    All in all, hsi stats had imporved a lot quicker than when he wwas levelling up, and a few more days of doing this, he was sure he would be storng enough to beat Midwak. Coming to the tier-4 city wans¡¯t a waist of time after all.

    With a smile on his face, Gary was ready to crh down on another crystal, when a straneg rm soudn was heard. It wans¡¯t like a fire rm, but more like a horn that soudned three times.

    All of the workers were seen putting thier pickaxe¡¯s down.

    ¡°What¡¯s that, what¡¯s happening?¡± Elijah saked.

    ¡°Its inspection time.¡± Earny said, sweat runnign down the side of his face, and he had a frown. ¡°They usuelly don¡¯t have one so soon after thest one, I wonder if somethign is happening.¡±

    If they were havign an inspection then Gary was hoping he owudln¡¯t be caught out, it would be impsoiible with him consuming the crystals, right?

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be abel to see it there frist, and you can reach out to me. If im not to busy I tend to reply back

 Chapter 704 A Nasty Inspection

    ?

    The inspection was more strict than Gary could ever imagine. First, there were about five men who were nicely dressed and looked well built who hade into the mining area.

    Gary noticed this because there was a stark difference between their bodies, faces, and so onpared to the workers. Everyone was told to get out of the mining area, and instead were now in the sorting area.

    Here was where therge pieces of rock would be ced into the machine for processing and to be broken down even more, before more workers would sort out all the materials. It was now that Gary was starting to realise how big of an operation everything was.

    There were thirty or so manualborers. They were in charge of the mining and moving the materials from area to area. Then out of the sorters, there were around another thirty or so.

    Also, not everyone worked at the factory every day, so Gary imagined that the ce must have employed around 100 people. Although that sounded like a lot, for the amount of work they were doing, there should have been more.

    It also seemed like the type of work one couldn''t do for a long time, otherwise they would have to deal with multiple injuries.

    All of the workers were lined up one after the other, and Gary was standing next to Elijah who was standing next to Earny and the rest that were in their group.

    ¡°Wow, they''re really searching everyone top to bottom one by one.¡± Gary whispered.

    What was surprising was how crude they were in their search. After giving a pat down, those that they suspected might be hiding some sort of crystals, they told them to take off all of their clothes, right there and then, in front of everyone.

    The thing was, there was no difference whether it was a female or male worker. One of the gang members had looked a younger woman up and down a few times, his cheeks were getting a shade redder as thoughts ran through his head.

    ¡°Hey, I think this one might be hiding some crystals, especially in this area, it looks particrly big.¡± The man said, pointing at her chest.

    The other men seemed to nod, and she knew what she needed to do, she started to undress there and then on the spot. The other gang members started to whistle and howl as they saw this, while the woman was breaking down into tears.

    ¡°What the f*ck is wrong with them.¡± Gary said, clenching his fist, it looked like he was about to move, that was until Elijah grabbed him by the wrist.

    ¡°You beating them up isn¡¯t going to do anyone any good.¡± Elijah said. ¡°Think about it, do you really think that woman wants to take off her clothes? No, but she¡¯s doing it, for the same reason as everyone else in here, they need the money.

    ¡°If you act out, they might just use it as an excuse to punish everyone, then everything that they¡¯ve done will have been for nothing. Never mind the gang being on your back.¡±

    Elijah¡¯s cool headedness allowed Gary to take in a deep breath. Thest thing he wanted was to hurt those who he wanted to help.

    Finally, the gang member that was doing the inspections came across Gary, the first thing he noticed was his good body build and bright green hair, but there was something else as well.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the mask?¡± the man asked.

    Gary had to bite down hard on his back teeth just to reply to this man. Just looking at him was making his anger grow.

    ¡°The air here, it isn¡¯t the best. I don¡¯t want to get sick.¡± Gary answered. ¡°It''s not like I could hide anything under my mask anyway.¡±

    The man looked at Gary suspiciously for a second, until he had made his choice.

    ¡°You''re right, but that doesn''t go for the rest of you, now strip.¡±

    Gary did as the man asked, lifting his shirt up from the bottom. Immediately everyone could see his chiselled abs on disy. His defined arms, triceps and every part of him. There was next to no fat on him, and as the man stared at Gary¡¯s body it was almost shining at him.

    The men who had been working with Gary, had expected as much. Seeing how hard he worked, and how easily he could do things, the body matched his output.

    After taking off the rest of his clothes, and confirming that there wasn¡¯t anything else, he went onto the next person, he didn''t believe Elijah was hiding anything so he continued, and continued until everyone had been seen and not a single crystal had been found.

    The five gang members lined up standing next to each other, they still didn¡¯t look satisfied by the results.

    ¡°Look here!¡± The man who was doing the inspections from before stood forward. ¡°We know that something is going on. You see that big machine over there, it sorts out materials per 1kg of rock you put in there.

    ¡°We roughly have a kind idea of how many minerals we get from each piece of rock.¡±

    The man then walked over and picked up one of the beast crystals.

    ¡°And it just so happens, that the mineral that we have been getting less of recently, these crystals, which are the most expensive thing that one can get from these rocks has suddenly lessened, and not just by a small amount either.¡±

    ¡°Couldn''t it just be a coincidence?¡± Earny asked. ¡°I mean, we could just hit a part that iscking those crystals. Besides, we have been sorting through more than before, surpassing the quota.¡±

    The man smiled.

    ¡°You''re right, it could be coincidence, but if there is any chance that any one of you has been stealing crystals, well, we need to make a clear example of them right? Until we''re a hundred percent sure that none of you are taking our product, then we will continue the search. Search their rooms!¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 705 Planted Evidence

    Chapter 705 nted Evidence

    Two of the five gang members went to the living quarters in the factory, while the other three kept watch on those outside. They were keeping a close eye for two reasons: to see if anyone would suddenly act out or run away, or if anyone looked suspicious.

    ''Shit, shit, shit!'' Gary thought in his head, while his face on the outside was cool as a cucumber. ''They''re having this inspection because of me. They realised that the amount of crystals they were getting were less.

    ''What type of advanced technology are they using in those machines? The damn factory can''t afford to install cameras but they can do that.''

    It made Gary realise that the equipment must be from the backers, rather than the gang itself, and perhaps only the outer shell of the factory belonged to the gang known as the scavengers.

    ''It will be okay, right? They said that it could all just be a coincidence, so if they don''t find anything, then that means it''s going to be alright.''

    Inside the living area, the three scavenger members were going through everything. They were chucking up the mattresses on the floor, throwing sheets in the corner, not caring about anyone''s equipment.

    They would pull every cupboard and drawer, moving the food that they all had brought, or just chucking it out and leaving it on the floor.

    They were making a big mess in every room they went in, and from the outside, everyone could hear it as well. There was pain in their eyes each time they all heard a loud noise.

    The people were wondering if their items, food, all of it was going to be fine. Some of them even had their hands together as if they were praying.

    Gary wanted to say something, but Elijah''s words went through his head, causing him to bite his tongue.

    "Are you going to rece everything that''s broken in there?" A voice said.

    Gary thought that the words hade out of his own mouth, but when looking, he realised that they had actuallye from Elijah, the very person that told him not to act. On a closer look, arge vein could be seen at the side of his head.

    ''I guess I wasn''t the only one that was angered by these guys'' actions.''

    The man who had been doing the inspections was named Dazza and seemed to be in charge of this small group of gang members. He smiled, revealing a small diamond on his canine. It looked tacky to most, but perhaps to him, he was very proud of this. So much so that the man smiled in a certain way that would reveal his tooth.

    Some guessed this was how he got his nickname Dazza in the first ce.

    "Everything that was bought in there or that is in there is because of us in the first ce," Dazza answered. "We are the ones that pay them, so all in all, it all belongs to us. If you don''t like it, then you are free toin. Let me just check with HR what they say about that... Oh wait, that''s me as well, and I don''t give a shit!"

    Elijah''s whole body looked like it was tensing up, and at that moment, Gary had in his head that if he went in on him, then Gary would go in and back the person up a hundred percent... but Elijah took a deep breath and managed to calm down. In the end, nothing happened.

    Inside the rooms, the inspections were done, and Dazza had been called over to the other three to give him the news.

    "You mean there was nothing?" Dazza said. "Not even one speck of dust, a rock, or anything!"

    "No, sir," one of the men answered. "Everyone already knows our reputation after the first few cases we had. I guess everyone is too scared to do something like that."

    The answer clearly wasn''t what Dazza was looking for as he went and kicked a mattress, flinging it onto the wall. The mattresses were light and thin in the first ce; otherwise, a regr human wouldn''t be able to do such a thing.

    "We need something big, a big catch to show we''re doing our job, and then Hadie will give us one of the Altered solutions he got his hands ontely."

    "Well, if there''s nothing here, there''s nothing we can bring them in for."

    A light bulb clicked in Dazza''s head as he went and pulled a crystal out from the side of his pocket, one that he had picked up earlier and dropped onto the ground. He started tough at himself as he saw it.

    Then he knelt down and went ahead to pick it up.

    "Well, well, look what we have here. It looks like someone has been hiding a crystal here, after all."

    Dazza, along with all the others, came out, and the big smile on his face didn''t instil confidence in the people.

    "Alright, everyone who was in room 9,e forward now!" Dazza shouted.

    The mumbling from the other workers already started. It was clear as day that Dazza had found something. It had been a while since there was such an incident, and they were starting to imagine what was going to happen next.

    As for which room was room 9, Earny, Gary, Elijah, and the five other men that were with them all stepped forward; they were part of room 9.

    "Now look at this crystal I have in my hand," Dazza said. "It appears that it was found in room 9, so you know what that means. One of you guys has attempted to hide crystals. Now, it''s simple. I can either punish just one of you guys if the culprites forward, or all of you will be punished from room 9."

    Inwardly, Dazza was smiling because he knew, of course, that no one woulde forward because none of them had the crystal. At the same time, this would pit them against each other.

    "Juste forward," one of the men said. "We all understand why you might steal the crystals. We''re all in the same situation, but there is no need toe forward, so just do it."

    However, none of them came forward, and soon they were starting to suspect each other.

    "Hey, if anything, it has to be one of the new guys, right? We''ve all seen the type of punishment we can get into. The day the new guyse in, they just happen to find a crystal. It can''t be a coincidence."

    Gary could see where this was going. He had no clue where the crystal hade from, but if he needed to take the mepared to the others, then he would be happy to.

    "I-"

    "It was me." The older man stood forward, Earny, who had shared his food with the others. "I was the one who hid the crystal."

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 706 Bring on the punishment

    Chapter 706 Bring on the punishment

    Earny had just said some brave words, and the thing was, the other workers who were standing by the side didn''t even know how brave they were. In the first ce, none of them had stolen any crystals, yet he had still decided to step forward and take the me.

    Why? The answer was simple. It was because of the bickering between the group. Earny, as he stepped forward, turned to those who were from his room.

    "Come on, guys. Let''s not argue amongst ourselves. We spent a good time together, sharing food, right?" Earny said as he stopped, around two meters ahead of everyone else, standing straight.

    "No way," one of the older men said. "There is no chance that Earny was the one who hid those crystals. I would bet my right testicle on it!"

    "Specifically the right one. What''s better about the right onepared to the left one?" Gary mumbled.

    "Of course, Earny didn''t do it," another said. "He understands the rules better than anyone, and there have been a few times..."

    The man stopped speaking there because he wasn''t too sure what he was about to say would get the rest of them in trouble. But there were a few times when some of the men in the room were tempted to take stuff from the factory, and the one who stopped them was Earny.

    That was why all of them strongly believed that Earny was taking the me for someone else. The most obvious choice was that it was the neers'' doing, and they couldn''t help but give a death stare to the two of them. That was until they heard Earny''s words.

    They remembered just yesterday how much fun they were having with them. There was no worry. They were all just humans sharing food and stories together, and now they were put in this situation where they had to go against each other.

    Dazza smiled and held out his hand. One of the men had run off somewhere and soon returned with a box in his hand. The box was rtively long and ced on the floor in front of Dazza.

    "Alright, it seems like it''s been a while since you guys have received your punishment, and you know things aren''t exactly normal around here," Dazza exined. "Usually, the punishment would be done in private, but to make sure that you guys know what happens to you if you dare try to steal something from us again, I will bemencing the punishment right here and now."

    Using his feet, Dazza kicked the top of the box open, and then reached in and pulled out arge ck whip. It looked brand new, it was impressive, but not as impressive as a certain whip Gary had seen someone else use.

    "Tenshes. If you can survive tenshes without falling to the ground, then we will see your debt as cleared," Dazza smiled.

    Just from the smile alone, Elijah could tell what type of person Dazza was. He had seen many of them. There were those that got a rise out of doing things like this. When a person could control one''s life with ease, get them to do whatever they wished, they felt unstoppable and powerful, and they wanted to constantly push the boundaries and just see how far they could go.

    "Ten whips, will Earny be okay?" one of the men asked.

    Even Earny himself looked concerned. Perhaps if he was in good condition and hadn''t been hungry for thest few days, he would have been brave enough to take on the whips. But in his current condition, and depending on how hard Dazza went, this punishment had the possibility of being fatal.

    Earny took a deep breath and reassured himself as he stepped forward again. But he soon felt someone grab him by the wrist and pull him back.

    "This ain''t right."

    Looking in front of him, Earny could see the green-haired boy.

    "You said ten whips, right? I will take on the whips instead. That should be fine, right?" Gary said.

    The others felt Gary''s bravery. Even if they did believe he was the original one to take the crystal, they still couldn''t believe that after knowing what the punishment was, he willingly volunteered himself now.

    "Hmm... I think that will be fine, but I don''t think it''s very fair," Dazza said. "For one, I am doing you a favor when this should be a punishment, and I would say it''s quite clear that you have a stronger physique than him.

    "I set the bar low at ten whips because I felt bad for Earny. After all, we don''t want to be killing our workers. So let''s say if I allow you to take his ce, then you will need to survive a hundred whips."

    The words that hade out of Dazza''s mouth were so shocking that the workers even gasped when they were meant to remain silent.

    Without saying anything else, Gary removed his shirt, cing it in Earny''s hands.

    "Keep it safe for me. I''ll being back for it."

    He walked forward and then turned around, his back faced toward Dazza.

    "Alright, tough guy!" Dazza said as he gripped the handle of the whip tightly. "You asked for it."

    Without holding back, Dazza swung the whip. It shed right across Gary''s back, leaving a red mark and a loud bang followed. The others flinched as they imagined the pain Gary was in right now. But that was what was strange about the whole thing¡ªGary''s face was showing no such pain.

    "Oh, a tough one! So you won''t even scream? Then let''s see how long youst!" Dazza shouted as he swung the whip again and again.

    It continually hit Gary''s back, doing the same as before, but no noise left Gary''s mouth, and no blood was drawn on his back, only a hint of it turning slightly red. It was clear something was up. This had never happened before.

    As the workers continued to watch Gary, though, they couldn''t help but be amazed and silently cheer for him from within.

    ''Of course, this is going to do nothing. It looks like my guess was true after all. He is an Altered,'' Elijah thought, smiling to himself.

    At this point, Dazza had already hit Gary around eighty times. His shoulders were feeling sore, he was out of breath, yet Gary waspletely fine.

    If one person were to take a look at the two of them, it was hard to tell which one was being punished.

    "Come on... just 12 more!" Gary shouted, having counted each hit.

    "Alright, you fool!" Dazza shouted, swinging it again. The loud bang followed, but it was nowhere near as loud as the first one. One could tell he was weak, and Dazza could see that Gary would not fall.

    Which was why his eyes had fallen on an older man next to

    him. ''I may not be able to do anything to you, but I still have ten whips to give to someone else!'' Dazza swung the whip once more.

    Hearing it, Gary somewhat braced himself like he had done the time before. But as the loud sound went off, he didn''t feel anything on his back.

    "ARGHHH!"

    A loud scream was heard to his right. Looking, Gary could see blood flying up in the air. The whip had hit Earny right across the chest, and he was falling back.

    ''That... Bastard!'' Gary turned his head. He was unable to control his anger, as his eyes had already somewhat changed.

    Dazza, ignoring this, swung the whip again, aiming to hit Earny. It went through the air.

    Elijah had run forward, catching Earny before he fell on his back. And that''s when he saw right in front of him, Gary standing there with a whip held in his hand.

    "I''m sorry, Earny," Gary said. "I wanted to do well. I didn''t want anyone to get hurt, and yet you still did... It''s clear I need to do something about this ce."

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 707 Rebel attack

    Chapter 707 Rebel attack

    The lightning fast whip had been caught in Gary¡¯s hand. When Dazza would use the weapon, the others couldn''t even see the end of it, only hearing the loud noise that woulde after. Which made them wonder, how was Gary able to keep track of it, and how could he be so fearless to grab it.

    ¡°Hey, do you think you could do something like that?¡±

    ¡°Not even if I had a full stomach do I think I could do something like that.¡±

    ¡°Is Earny okay though, I think I saw blood.¡±

    ¡°We might have to worry about a lot more than just Earny, just what does the green haired kid think he¡¯s going to do, he caught the whip, now what?¡±

    Dazza attempted to pull the whip out of Gary¡¯s hand, but his grip was so tight that he was unable to do anything. Feeling such strength, there was a small bead of sweating from Dazza¡¯s forehead, and it wasn¡¯t from him overworking himself with the whip from before.

    ¡°What are you doing? Dazza asked, his voice not as angry as it was from before. ¡°We still have nine whips left, that was part of the deal right?¡±

    Gary tugged on the whip slightly. Rather than holding it in the air, he pulled it down to his right side, thus pulling Dazza forward since he was still holding onto the other end. Dazza stumbled a little and was wondering if holding onto the whip was such a good idea.

    ¡°You have pretty sh*t aim, you hit the old man.¡± Gary said. ¡°Or is it, you have a very good aim and were actually going for him on purpose?¡±

    Dazza noticed that his hand was shaking, he grabbed it with his other arm, to stabilise it.

    ¡®What is going on, why am I so scared? I am a member of the Scavengers in a ce like this, and I have the others around me¡­ it''s because of the way he¡¯s looking at me, he¡¯s looking at me, like a disobedient dog!¡¯

    ¡°Hey, Miguel!¡± Dazza shouted. ¡°Call the head office, and let them know that we have a rebellion going on in this factory. Say all of the workers have decided to go a bit wild.¡±

    There were nervous looks on the faces of the workers behind them. How was this going to affect them, did this mean all of them would no longer have a job?

    ¡°What rebellion!¡± One woman shouted. ¡°We haven¡¯t done anything, we did everything you said, we allowed you to search us, and we never took any crystals, why are you punishing us!¡±

    ¡°If anything, it should only be Earny and the green haired that get punished¡­ we need our jobs, we need to live!¡± Another shouted.

    ¡°Hey, Greeny!¡± Elijah shouted. ¡°I know the situation isn¡¯t the best right now, with people turning on you, but the old man, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s doing too well, we''re going to have to take him to a hospital or something.¡±

    Dazza was nowughing at the whole situation.

    ¡°Haha look at this, I don''t care what you say. Do you think your jobs were irreceable? That we couldn''t find others to do the same things as you? No, we have countless people outside that are lining up to do your jobs.

    ¡°You guys can me yourselves for not stopping one of you, for looking at me with such wild eyes, and when I¡¯m done with him, feel free to do whatever you want with him.¡±

    Some of the workers fell to their knees in shock, while others continued to shout at Gary, Earny and Elijah for stepping forward, for going against the gang.

    ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Gary said at the top of his lungs, that echoed throughout the factory and silenced everyone in the room. ¡°That old man Earny, who looked after us, and has been working by your side for how long, is dying, and you still stick up for these people.

    ¡°You still want to work for them? These people that treat you worse than animals, that say all of you are receable, you really want to help and stick up for people like that.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice!¡± One of the women screamed. ¡° What choice do we have?¡±

    Gary lifted his head and looked straight toward Dazza, he then shifted his feet as he leapt across the room at great speed, he clenched his fist and threw it out hitting Dazza right in the head. He was unable to do anything as his teeth were seen falling out and his body flying in the air crashing into one the machines behind him.

    Smoke poured out from the machine while some wires started to spark.

    ¡°You said, there are nine whips left right, then let me do thest whips!¡± Gary swung the whip that was in his hand, hitting the other men in the face, one after the other. Deep cuts appeared on their faces as they screamed in pain.

    ¡°I understand you don¡¯t have a choice, so I will give you one. I wanted to buy this factory but failed to do so, so instead, I¡¯ll give you the choice to leave this city, ande work for me. I promise I¡¯ll treat you all well.¡±

    For Gary to say those words, they wondered who he was, from the way he dealt with the five gang members he couldn''t be an ordinary individual, but he was also too young, could they trust this person?

    ¡°We need to do something fast, no doubt the other gang members are going to be here at any moment. I know you beat those five but do you really think you can take on a whole gang by yourself!¡± Elijah asked.

    Perhaps if it was just the Scavengers, then Gary would have answered yes, but depending on who was backing them, then probably not. When looking around the room though he saw that there were crates filled with minerals and filled with beast crystals.

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to go on a little feast first, and then I¡¯ll deal with whoeveres through that door.¡±

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 708 Making bonds

    Chapter 708 Making bonds

    Originally, Austin thought it was time for him and d to part. After all, he had already stayed at his house, and gotten a lot of information from him, but what he was looking to do would be extremely dangerous, especially for a normal person like d.

    However, when he and Killer had split up, Austin had made a simple mistake, how was he meant to find Killer? Without Killer, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to find the gang or where this underground fight was going to be.

    Which was why, once again, Austin was waiting outside the school d went to. While waiting, he couldn''t help but continue to think about the Shadow fighter.

    ¡®The Shadow Fighter was fast and nimble, and skilled at fighting a bit like Innu. Only the movements were faster and tried to hit vital points that would do more damage. Judging from the small frame the Shadow Fighter didn¡¯t have a lot of strength. Which just makes it more impressive because usually those types would be scared.¡¯

    The other thing that came to mind, was why the need to hide one¡¯s identity. What benefit did it have? Wouldn¡¯t they be able to control the crap that goes in schools more if people knew their face, and if they had a big gang backing them.

    The school bell rang and as the students walked out, they couldn''t help but point, stare, and whisper about Austin. Many recognised him and heard the stories about Big Mask seeing how he returned, many thought that he had returned to cause more trouble.

    It didn''t take long for d to hear these rumours which caused him to rush out, and run to where Austin was.

    ¡°Come on, let''s get out of here, before another problem happens.¡± d said.

    As the two walked away, Austin exined his conundrum, and of course d knew where to find Killer, he also insisted oning with Austin and wouldn¡¯t tell him where, unless he was brought along.

    ¡°Alright, but for someone who isn¡¯t a fighter himself, you seem to be really involved in all of this fighter stuff.¡± Austin said.

    d embarrassingly rubbed his head.

    ¡°Maybe it''s because I can¡¯t fight, I¡¯ve always been fascinated by those that can, I mean sometimes I imagine if I could fight, what I would do, maybe I would be someone like the Shadow Fighter.¡±

    d and Austin had entered a row of corner shops that would sell drinks, cigarettes, newspapers and the odd snack here and there. The outside walls were covered with spray paint, and to no one''s surprise it looked like d was on the ball because Killer was right there, just outside of the shop.

    HIs face was still very swollen from what had happened earlier in the day.

    ¡°I can¡¯t even eat anything, my mouth hurts so much, where did that big ape evene from, I couldn''t find any information on him.¡± Killerined. ¡°I guess he wasn¡¯t serious about that gang stuff, I hope I never have to see him again.¡±

    Arge shadow was cast over Killer, he was sitting down on a low hanging wall behind some bushes, and turning his head up, he looked at the person that was blocking the sunlight with a stare, but that stare quickly changed to a shiver.

    ¡°You''re here, it''s Big Mask!¡± Killer said, falling backward off the small ledge and into the bushes. His other so called friends had already walked off, not wanting to get involved or hurt.

    A hand was offered as Austin pulled him out of the push with ease. It was the first time Killer had been handled so easily. He wasn¡¯t heavy by any means, but still it was unusual for him to be chucked around so easily.

    ¡°Right, so it looks like you remembered that we have that event tonight, and I was supposed to introduce you right, sure, sure,e on let¡¯s go, we wouldn¡¯t want to bete.¡± Killer said, already walking off.

    Inside he felt despair, because how was he meant to exin all of this to his leader, Herbert.

    Austin had been to his fair share of underground fights, so he wondered where this one was going to be, that¡¯s why when they had gone up to the hills in the countryside, he was fairly surprised. To get there, Killer had used his motorbike, and handed one of his friend''s motorbikes for Austin to use.

    Since his friends had ditched him, Killer didn¡¯t really care what happened to the bike, and he doubted he wouldin when he knew it was Big Mask who took it.

    Upon arriving, the crowd was a lotrger than Austin was expecting, there seemed to be around a 1000 people here, if not more, and unlike those in the city, they all looked well fed and dressed.

    ¡°Is it usually this busy?¡± d asked.

    ¡°No¡­ I mean, the Phantom Brawl would draw in a big crowd, but this was meant to just be kind of practice for that.¡± Killer said.

    Parking up, they started to move and could see a makeshift cage, it looked quite official, simr to the one in the AFA. As they got closer, a bald headed man with ck leather jacket noticed Killer and ran over.

    ¡°There you are!¡± The man said, grabbing Killer by both arms. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t going to turn up. Today is a big day we really need to impr¡ª¡± The man¡¯s speech started to slow, because he noticed that Killer was badly hurt, swollen and bruised all over the ce.

    ¡°What happened to you, Killer¡­ what happened!¡±

    The man shouting was Herbert and was the leader of one of the small gangs in the city and Killer was his student that was meant to enter the Phantom Brawl.

    ¡°You idiot, how could you do this, today of all days. The Scavenger''s daughters are here! This could be a big deal for all of us!¡± Herbert said.

    After the shaking was done, Killer finally got some space to give some answer.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ but I found a recement for myself, he will be taking part instead.¡± Killer pointed at therge Austin.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 709 The life of a tier-4

    709 The life of a tier-4

    Update: Lack of chapters is due to it being my wedding month this month on July 20th.

    So sorry for the dy¡¯s its a once in a life time event for me. Will be writing when I can, and starting the mass release after all wedding stuff is done.

    I also want to note, that all of this was originally meant to be part of the mass release. This Gary getting stronger saga, before the start of the next major arc, so although this does seem slow, it just means that when the mass releasees out it will be during one of the major arcs of Werewolf, so thank you all for your patience.

    ******

    At first Herbert had smiled at Killer thinking that this was some type of joke, but Killer was acting awfully sheepishly since he had arrived, and it was even hard for him to maintain eye contact.

    ¡®What the hell happened to this kid, he was my golden goose!¡¯ Herbert thought. ¡®He had this perfect wild side to him that would allow him to do anything. A strange confidence as if he could take on the world, and now look at him.

    ¡®He¡¯s even more shook up than when he lost to that shadow fighter. It took me a while to teach him the skills and bring his confidence back up, and now it¡¯s been shattered again.¡¯

    Turning to look at Austin, he could see he was well built for his age. Although he was a young teen about to be an adult, he already had the body of a well established adult that had been working out for at least ten years.

    Herbert knew that a body wasn''t everything though. There were plenty of big guys that looked good and would lose in the fight.

    ¡°Well, if you''re all I''ve got, then we''re just going to have to go with the flow. Alright big guy, you''re my fighter, but you better not disappoint me, today is a big day.¡± Herbert stated.

    ¡°I promise sir, he won¡¯t disappoint.¡± Killer said, bowing down, knowing full well that if Austin didn''t do well then it would fall on him. ¡°But why is today so important, what do you mean the Scavenger''s daughters are here?¡±

    The group walked towards the fighting area. It was crowded and full of different types of people from different gangs as along with some students that helped work for the gangs. Usually Killer would also bring a few friends with him when he came to these types of ces to fight, just not today.

    What stood out though was one group in particr. Everyone was standing away from them, they had somehow brought quite a luxurious limo up in these hills, and they were the only ones that were sitting on chairs.

    They were a group of five females, all looking between the ages of 16 and 18. All of the women there had some simrities yet also differences at the same time. It was hard to tell whether they were rted or not.

    Then there were those around them, standing at the back of the group was a single man with a ck bucket hat and oddly strange bright white gloves.

    ¡°You should know this already Killer, that all of the local gangs, they get paid and ultimately work for the Scavengers. They are the guys who run the factories while we are just the muscle that gets the dirty jobs here and there.

    ¡°The Scavengers themselves, along with their leader, only usually appear at the Phantom Brawl, and there is more interest than usual due to the rumoured prize. I don¡¯t really know why their daughters would be at a ce like this¡­ but we should watch ourselves.

    ¡°Impressing them could be a good way to get closer to the Scavengers. So big boy, I¡¯m counting on you, if you do well, this could be a big pay day for you, you can go ahead and get anything you wish for in this city.¡±

    Thinking about it, Austin was wondering if there was anything he wanted. Due to his position in the Howlers, he was given a nice ce to live, he had a good monthly wage that he wasn''t even able to spend and had even received a top model Harby motorbike he had always wished for.

    He had big doubts that Herbert could give him more than the Howlers but he would just remain quiet for now.

    Herbert went off with Austin to the side, and they had somewhat registered at a makeshift table. There wasn''t much to registering, apart from just appearing and giving their ring name.

    ¡°Hey you, what name do you go by?¡± Herbert asked.

    Thinking about it, he couldn¡¯t give his real name. However, since d had decided to stay by Austin, he had an idea for a name.

    ¡°What about Big Mask, that¡¯s what all the kids are calling him.¡± x said.

    It was the name that was eventually put down. Now all they needed to do was wait until it was their turn to put up a fight as they walked to get a good position near the arena.

    The Scavenger''s daughters, as they were called, all seemed to stare in Austin¡¯s direction. Some of them pointed at him, while giggling andughing, while there were those that would just stare hard toward him.

    ¡®They really do live a different lifepared to the rest.¡¯ Austin thought.

    As they got ready the first event was starting of the day. Two gangs pushed forward their fighters, one was a small fighter called Muddy. He had patches of different coloured skin on his face.

    It was hard to know if it was burn marks, or perhaps some type of condition he had. Then there was his opponent, Sharkey.

    It was arger man that looked to be around the same size of Austin. What Austin noticed was that both of them were able to wear their own clothes as they entered the ring.

    For Sharkey, he had his top off, disying his hard worked body, while keeping on a pair of camp trousers. For Muddy, he kept all of his clothes on including his Jaket as well.

    ¡°Alright, time to fight!¡± One of the men shouted and the cheering had begun. The two in the centre of the arena rushed towards each other.

    Sharkey went for a grab, but Muddy was quick and nimble as he ducked under and gave a few hits to the side of Sharkey''s body. However, they had bounced off his solid hard body doing next to nothing.

    Arge swing from Sharkey¡¯s hand had knocked the side of Muddy, flinging him into the side of the cage. His body hit the metal side and he winced in pain.

    From these small interactions it was quite clear who would win the fight, or at least, that¡¯s what Austin thought.

    As Sharkey chased down his prey, Muddy took off his jacket and threw it directly in his face. Then running forward he pulled something that was hidden under his waist. It was shiny, but hard to see clearly due to it being nighttime.

    A sharp pain was felt in Sharkey¡¯s side, and that¡¯s when everyone could see what had been used. It was a fairlyrge knife, or more so a dagger like one that the military would use. It had gone right through the side of Sharkey''s body cleanly.

    The crowd cheered as they saw this, and Austin¡¯s eyes were opened wide.

    ¡°Did he just get stabbed!¡± d said. ¡°Is that even fair?¡±

    ¡°This Phantom Brawl isn''t like any underground fight that you have entered before.¡± Killer exined. ¡°Even the use of weapons is allowed¡­ at the end of today and the Phantom Brawl, more than likely, there will be those that you will never hear of again.¡±

    The world of a tier-4 city was extremely cruel, where the lives of even teenagers were on the line for the sake of the adults'' entertainment, something that they needed to do just to survive in the current world.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back

 Chapter 710 All Of It Is Wrong

    ?

    The horror was setting in for d and Austin that were watching the underground fight. They had just seen the contestant Muddy stab Sharkey in his side with a type of knife. The thing was, both of these guys were just teenangers who were still in school.

    What was even more shocking was that not a single person had batted an eyelid. They continued to cheer and shout and the fight looked like it was going to continue on despite therge injury.

    The two of them were learning the reality of how the gangs and those that wished to join operated, because it didn¡¯t look like Killer was shocked at all by this, and now it was starting to make some sense why he was practising how to use a weapon.

    ¡°Ah!¡± One of the five girls that were watching by the side screamed, lifting her hands up, to cover her face, while her red pigtails swung in the air, as she swung her head side to side.

    ¡°Dora, it''s just a bit of blood.¡± Rence said, kissing her teeth. She was tired that her sister Dora would have the same reaction each time they came to one of these events. How was she of all people the daughter of a gang leader?

    As she got agitated, her long purple fingernails were dragging the edge of her chair.

    ¡°This is excitement! This is what we came for, you heard what dad said right, we have to try and pick one that catches our eye, and for me, they at least have to be willing to do everything they can to get on top!¡± Vivi said, as she punched herrge fist into the palm of her hand. She was thergest by sizepared to all the other daughters.

    ¡°This whole thing is stupid.¡± Vivi said, her face leaning over the palm of her hand. Her short hair from a distance would make some mistake her for a boy, but when up close due to her elegant long eyshes and soft skin, one could see she was more of a natural beauty.

    However, out of all the sisters, the one that was clearlybelled the beauty of them all was Vere. Who sat up right in her chair, not having said a word or moved as the fight between them continued.

    These were the five daughters belonging to the single leader of the Scavengers and who everyone was trying to impress tonight.

    Inside the cage, Sharkey was holding onto his side, he was pressing into the wound hard, he had no clue if a vital ce was hit or what, but he just wanted to stop himself from bleeding.

    He looked to his right through the cage, looking at his mentor and one of the gang leaders.

    ¡°The quicker you beat him, the quicker you¡¯ll be able to go to a hospital.¡± The man said, without a hint of caring.

    It was as if Sharkey knew that his words were true, so rather thanining to his leader, instead he looked right at Muddy and ran forward yelling in the air.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Sharkey swung his fist wide, wanting to finish the fight in a single blow.

    ¡°That punch, it''s too obvious.¡± Austinmented.

    Muddy ducked under the hit and went in, rather than a stab, he went for a sh across his stomach creating a stinging cut. Another wild swing of the arm came from Sharkey trying to ignore the pain, but just as Austin said, the swings were so wild and started from so far back that anyone could see where a punch wasing from.

    Sharkey had great strength but it wasn¡¯t as if he was the fastest guy, so as long as one remained calm, they would be able to see exactly where each hit wasing from, and in this situation there was one far more calmer than the other.

    Muddy continued to sh up Sharkey hit after hit, but the stab wound was what was affecting him most, and it almost looked like he was starting to be pale.

    ¡°If no one helps him or calls an ambnce, he¡¯s going to die.¡± Austin said.

    ¡°Hey Big Mask, you must be new to this whole thing.¡± Herbert said, shaking his head. He wasn¡¯t having any confidence after hearing what had juste out of the kid¡¯s mouth. ¡°Do you know how many people die a day in this town?

    ¡°Kids die all the time, messing with people they shouldn''t be messing with, taking things they shouldn''t be taking. There are those that die from overworking in the factories, and then those that die because they can¡¯t even afford their next meal.

    ¡°You see us bringing you guys here, is a chance to break you out of that cycle. Everyone can see it, the gangs here, are all well fed and live a good life.¡±

    Turning his head away, Austin was avoiding Herbert catching his smile. This was a good life, they had no idea what living a good life being in a gang was. He imagined that these guys were forced to do work from those above.

    Whereas in the Howlers, with Gary in charge, they weren¡¯t told what to do, instead they wanted to help the gang, the members wanted to help Gary.

    Thinking about this and the whole situation, Austin didn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± Herbert asked, as he could see Austin walking away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it, I don¡¯t like seeing a junior of mine, someone close to me give up his life like this.¡±

    Austin walked up to the entrance of the door, some of the outsiders looked at him wondering what he was trying to do, the door was locked anyway, so he wasn¡¯t able to get in, but with a pull, the lock came right off and the door swung right open.

    Sharkey looked like he was on the verge of copsing, as blood was all over the canvas. Running towards him was Muddy, focused on finishing the fight, going for a stab rather than a sh.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you fall!¡± Muddy shouted.

    From his right side, arge hand came out and pped Muddy right on the hand, the knife flew out of his hand and fell to the floor.

    ¡°This fight is over.¡± Austin said. ¡°I¡¯m taking him to a hospital.¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck does he think he¡¯s doing!" Herbert shouted, nearly pulling his hair out.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back

 Chapter 711 A Powerful Mask

    ?

    The sisters'' reactions off to the side were mixed, as some had raised eyebrows, smiles on their faces and generally just curious looks. It was the first time they had seen something like this, someone trying to disturb one of their events.

    In the past, they had heard stories of things like this happening before, but due to what had urred, there weren''t many experiences after that.

    ¡°Who is this f*cker who decided to enter the ring!¡± One of the other gang leader¡¯s shouted.

    In particr the one that was in charge of Muddy was the most vocal.

    ¡°Hey, the match is still going on, someone get this guy out of here, who brought him here.¡±

    From the side, Herbert was giving Killer a nce of death. There was no way, in front of all these angry gang members, he was going to admit that he had brought this person along, and he was trying to tell Killer to shut up as well.

    It was best to just let everything take its course.

    Muddy, ran across to pick up his weapon that had been pped out of his hand, and was pointing it toward Austin.

    ¡°Hey, do you really want to be responsible for someone¡¯s death?¡± Austin asked. ¡°At your age. I mean, if you had a valid reason maybe you could go on and live with it, but what¡¯s your reason for taking it this far?

    ¡°Because someone told you? I¡¯m telling you right now, attacking me is a bad idea.¡±

    For a second it looked like Muddy was actually having second thoughts about it all, that was until he heard the words from his gang leader.

    ¡°I''ll pay you double if you get rid of that intruder and Sharkey!¡±

    No more words needed to be said, and as if something changed, Muddy ran forward. Seeing Austin¡¯srge size, he thought he would just need to beat him the same way as he had done Sharkey.

    He was going to rely on his speed. When close, he went to sh the knife across, but it had hit nothing but air, and arge hand wasing right towards his face. A loud p hit Muddy, right in the face, it was vibrating the muscles at a great spread before his body went flying back in the other direction.

    ¡°I did give you a warning.¡± Austin said.

    ¡°Get him!¡± One of the gang leaders shouted.

    Soon, men from each of the respective small gangs started to rush into the cage. They didn''t hold back as they pulled out batons, pieces of wood, metal pipes, and more weapons that they had hidden.

    They rushed forward, expecting everything to go smoothly with their numbers, they had great confidence and even d was whining at the sight.

    ¡®Damn it, I should have never told him about all of this, he¡¯s gotten involved all because of me.¡¯ d thought.

    One of them was swinging down a metal pipe, Austin grabbed it in the air, before throwing out his fist, and hitting the man straight in the face. His body flew just as far as Muddy¡¯s had done.

    Staying in the position he was in, a wooden baseball bat was swung next and lifting his hand, the baseball bat snapped in half as it hit his forearm. After which Austin grabbed the man by the scruff of his shirt and lifted his entire body with one hand, and hurled him into the others.

    It wasn''t a soft throw either as those that were hit by the body had fallen and mmed on the ground.

    ¡°What the¡­ what is going on?¡± Herbert thought watching this. ¡°Who is this kid, where the heck did you find him?¡±

    Right now, Herbert was imagining how much of a gold mine this Big Mask was, or could have been. He could have taken him to multiple fights, this was a true talent, so why did he have to go and ruin it by going in like this.

    ¡®If he actually manages to take out everyone here, I could have a real yer on my hands, I should have said he was mine.¡¯ Suddenly a big smile appeared on Herbert¡¯s face as he was thinking of all the possibilities and wrapped his arm around Killer.

    ¡°You brought a real one this time, how do you even know a guy like that?¡± Herbert asked.

    Killer didn''t want to answer that he was beaten by Austin, but even he was amazed by Austin. How was he beating grown adults with weapons with such ease? He was flinging people like they were flies, their bodies were literally flying into the back of the cage as they got hit one by one.

    ¡°Crap, can¡¯t you guys do anything, it''s one guy!¡± The leader of the gang that was in charge of Muddy shouted.

    More and more were entering the ring, while at the same time the ring was being filled with unconscious people.

    The sisters were still gobsmacked at what they were seeing, and that''s when the man behind them decided to step forward.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorrydies, it appeared that it is unsafe for you to be here.¡± The man said. ¡°It is time you all gather in the vehicle and leave.¡±

    ¡°What, are you serious?¡± Rence asked. ¡°Sure that guy¡¯s doing well, but it looks like he¡¯se on his own. Eventually, he will tire out or get hit too hard. What is there to worry about?¡±

    ¡°My duty is to protect you, and I believe thier is a chance that he coulde out of this.¡±

    The sisters wanted to argue to stay, but in the end they knew they needed toply and got up. They turned around to head back into the car, when Vivi¡¯s eyes were glued to the action in the cage.

    ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t think he would attack us. It seemed like he entered to protect that guy.¡± Vivi said, before her hand was dragged along and all of them got into the car. The car quickly drove away from the scene, leaving all of the others.

    Back in the cage, it looked like the attackers were no longer as confident as they were before, they weren''t charging forward because they were afraid they would get hit, which was when Austin decided to pick up Sharkey and ce him over his shoulder.

    It was a strange sight because Sharkey was nearly as big as Austin, yet he was carrying him over his shoulder with ease.

    ¡°Alright, now that you guys aren¡¯t attacking me as much as before, are you going to get out of my way?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him leave!¡± A voice said from behind.

    When the gang members turned, they could see that it was the special guard, the man that was protecting the Scavenger''s daughters. Seeing this, they all started to smirk and chuckle.

    ¡°We need to bring him in, and teach him a lesson at all costs.¡±

    The man had said this from outside of the cage, and was ready to enter. As he took a step forward though, a knife came flying out hitting the floor of the arena right in front of him.

    From the edge of the cage a figure was seen and had jumped down,nding not far from Austin.

    ¡°Oh my gosh!¡± d¡¯s eyes sparkled as he saw who it was. ¡°It¡¯s the Shadow Fighter!¡±

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 712 The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend

    ?

    Author note: My wedding 20th July and birthday are finally over 23rd of July. So I will be back to writing, and getting into my normal routine. I have not forgotten about the mass release. My family is still visiting from abroad, but should at least be back to daily chapters. Thank you all for your patience and support.

    *****

    In the centre of the ring, d had to do a double take as he pinched the side of his cheek, he had pinched rtively hard that it started to turn a shade redder, but it was clear that this wasn¡¯t a dream, the Shadow Fighter was in the ring, and was standing rtively close next to Austin.

    The others had stopped their advance for a second at the notice of a surprise guest entering the ring.

    ¡°Who the heck is the superhero that¡¯s entered the ring!¡± One of the gang members shouted.

    Although the Shadow Fighter was well known among the high schools and those that attended the schools, the same wasn¡¯t true for the upper gangs of the city. The Shadow Fighter hardly got involved in any of their misdoings.

    It was the first time they had seen the Shadow Fighter appear in an event like this. One of the men, who were closest in the ring, was still afraid of the brute strength from the Big Mask, so the man decided to go right after the new fighter.

    ¡®With that small of a frame, and that stupid costume, taking him out, will get me noticed!¡¯ Jumping from his position, he swung his arm out, but the Shadow Fighter easily pushed the arm out of the way.

    Bending his body down, he lifted his leg up and the footnded right in the man¡¯s face, knocking him back down onto the ground. Soon another came to attack, and the Shadow Fighter leaned back avoiding the hit, then grabbed the person¡¯s arm, pulling the person forward by their sleeve, and chucked him until he crashed into the cage behind them.

    ¡°Crap, who the heck is this person, they''re so nimble and fast!¡± One of the fighters shouted.

    ¡°Why the hell is someone even interfering with this, do people not care about the Scavengers name anymore!¡± One of the men shouted.

    Austin was watching the Shadow Fighter carefully because at any moment, he thought that he might turn on him, after all during theirst meeting he had attacked him out of the blue.

    Since he hadn¡¯t attacked him just yet, and were attacking the other gang members, he was starting to think the Shadow Fighter had another gender.

    ¡°Is this the case that the enemy of my enemy is my friend?¡± Austin asked.

    Austin had picked up the injured Sharkey who had already passed out, and was holding him over his shoulder. He knew he was still alive, but he wasn¡¯t quite sure how much longer he would have if he didn¡¯t get to the hospital soon.

    ¡°I was wrong about you.¡± The Shadow Fighter eventually answered. ¡°I never expected to see anyone at one of these events jump in, in the middle of all of this, to save another person¡¯s life.

    ¡°Even for me, it would be something that I would have to turn a blind eye to, I can¡¯t let two people like this, in a city like this, where there are rotten people all around die right in front of me.¡±

    The Shadow Fighter tensed his fists as he said these words.

    ¡®It was as I expected.¡¯ Austin thought. ¡®Based on all of the stories d told me, the shadow fighter isn''t a bad person. He was always going against the other school gangs, and when he fought against me, he just thought that I was like them.¡¯

    Regardless of this point, Austin was still curious as to who this Shadow Fighter was, for him to be so skilled, and even have the strength and the mental capacity to face real gangsters with weapons.

    ¡°Does it look like I was about to die?¡± Austin replied back.

    The man who had entered from before, had taken off most of his clothing. Ripping off his top revealing his chiselled body under and only leaving on his trousers. It was the man who was with the daughters of the scavengers.

    ¡°If you were just going up against all of these scraps, then I would have never stepped in.¡± The Shadow Fighter said. ¡°But now that he has entered, even with the two of us, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to take him on.¡±

    Austin looked at the man, sure his body was impressive, but there had to be another reason why the Shadow Fighter was worried.

    The man¡¯s whole body started to change. The side of his neck was getting thicker, spreading out, while his arms were changingpletely along with scales on his face. His hands now had a head on it, one that looked like that of a snake, while having tworge fangsing out of them, and it was the same for his head as well. In total there were three heads of a snake on one body along with the two arms.

    ¡°I see why you''re worried now, it¡¯s an Altered.¡± Austin said.

    ¡°Vixen has been the family guard for two generations. He is the leader''s right hand man, and looks after the daughters whenever he is needed. Even though he should be protecting the others, the fact that he has stayed here means you have caught his attention and that¡¯s bad news.

    ¡°Now that an Altered is involved, it''s impossible for us to win this fight. The best thing we can do is run away.¡± The Shadow Fighter suggested.

    Austin wasn¡¯t afraid though, because he too was an Altered as well. Perhaps it would be the first fight that would make it so he had to use a fraction of his power sinceing here.

    Shifting his feet, he was ready to go up ahead, as the other members had taken a step back believing that Vixen could solve everything.

    ¡°Even if we can hold off Vixen for a while, others wille.¡± The Shadow Fighter said, seeing Austin step forward. ¡°Maybe I was wrong about you as well. I thought you had stepped in because you wanted to save that person¡¯s life on your shoulder. If you fight now, then it will only lower the chances of us saving him.¡±

    In the middle of Austin thinking about what to do, Vixen made the first move, as he jumped up, and swung his arm forward, it started to stretch out with its tworge viper fangsing right at him.

    Sticking hisrge hand out, the viper fangs bit down right on the palm of his hand.

    ¡°You''re right, so I¡¯ll need to finish this fight in one hit.¡±

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 713 Strongest Venom

    Chapter 713 Strongest Venom

    The mini underground fighting tournament was taking ce in the middle of several hills. They had found a nice low point that covered the area well, but due to its tricky terrain, people had to do one of two things to get to the location.

    One, either park their car on a ttened area, that wasn¡¯t so much covered in grass and mud, and had a little gravel instead or, take their motorbikes. In most cases, a car was a great luxury for those in a tier 4 city in the first ce, which was why most of the gang members opted for thetter choice.

    However, one group of people had arrived by car, the Scavengers'' daughters. After being told by Vixen, their guard, the sisters hurried to the vehicle and rushed off with their driver.

    Due to the tough terrain they were driving rtively slow through the hills. The car hadn¡¯t travelled far, when the driver had noticed the car tilting to one side, and struggling to go up the hill. The warning signalsing up on the dashboard had confirmed his suspicions.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorrydies, but it looks like we might have a t tire.¡± The man nervously said.

    ¡°A t tire, does that mean we''re stuck here!¡± Vivi shouted as she pulled the shoulder of the driver.

    Already the other daughters were exiting out of the car.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, every car has a spare tire of sorts, or at least a repair kit.¡± Rence said. ¡°Once the driver reces the tire, then we can be on our way out.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we might as well head back, we can see what¡¯s going on.¡± Vivi excitedly said, and was looking around to drag some of her sisters with her, but that¡¯s when she noticed that they had already gone.

    ¡°Where did Dora, Imelda and Vere go?¡± Vivi asked. ¡°Did they already head back without us, without even telling us. What¡¯s wrong with them¡­ ahhh, wait for me!¡±

    It was then that Vivi had run off as well. The driver looked incredibly nervous, sweat running down his face. If anything happened to the daughters, or they were to go missing, then it would all be on his head, and he was pretty sure he wouldn''t have a head left either.

    Letting out a big sigh, he knew he could never catch up to them, or convince them to stay.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will get them toe back.¡± Rence said. ¡°You just focus on fixing the car.¡±

    With that, none of the daughters were left by the car and the driver was left all on his own. Letting out another sigh, he rolled up his sleeves and felt like it was time to get to work.

    ¡°What the!¡± The driver rubbed his hands against the tire. ¡°This isn¡¯t just a normal puncture, it''s arge hole in the side. Did someone sh the tires¡­ but then wouldn''t we have felt it pop? Either way, I wonder who did this?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The tier 4 city didn''t have many Altereds that were living in it. In fact many, including those that were in the gangs, thought no one had one, which was why the transformation of Vixen hade as a surprise, but to the onlookers it just cemented in their mind why the Scavengers were once again the top gang, and one that no one would attempt to betray.

    Vixen¡¯s arm had extended out, heading straight to Austin, the snake¡¯s fangs opened wide and green liquid could be seen alreadying out of the fangs. Sticking his hand out, Austin showed no fear as it bit down and ripped through his skin.

    His face showed next to no expression of pain, even though some of the onlookers had winced, imagining that it had to feel like two knives going through one¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Vixenughed. ¡°You, you''re just a big idiot aren¡¯t you. Is your strong body the only thing you have? You might be able to handle a bit of pain, but you have no idea how strong my venom is.

    ¡°A king cobra can take out an adult sized elephant in a matter of hours, yet my Altered form is based off of an ancient snake whose venom is even more powerful. My guess is a human like you, you might only have a few seconds to live.¡±

    ¡°A few seconds is all I need!¡± Austin said. With his other hand he grabbed the neck of the snake which was Vixen¡¯s arm.

    Using his legs and positioning himself, he yanked on the arm pulling Vixen in. It was with such strength that he was unable to resist as his whole body went flying through the air, and was heading straight towards Austin who had his fist ready for him.

    At the right time, his fist was let loose and smashed Vixen right in the face. One of the fangs on his mouth had broken and he was sent flying back as his body crashed into the cage.

    Everyone was left speechless and stunned because it looked like a regr human had just beaten an Altered. It didn¡¯t make sense, even if Austin was an Altered, surely he would have had to have transformed at least halfway into his form to beat an Altered like Vixen.

    This was all because Austin¡¯s Altered form was a little differentpared to others. Altereds tended to have three types of transformations, their human form, their half Altered form where they still looked human with Altered features, and then a full Altered form, which would be more based on the beast they got their Altered forms on.

    Of course, skilled Altereds could also just transform part of their bodies. For Austin though, his Altered form was based on a minotaur, something that in its full form was half human anyway. So if Austin wanted to draw out the power of his Altered form, just looked like a regr human.

    Having crashed into the cage, Vixen was starting to get up off the ground.

    ¡°Oh, he is actually getting up. I guess he is quite strong after all.¡± Austin mumbled to himself looking at the wound on his hand. He was wondering how much the venom would actually affect him.

    ¡°Hey Big Mask!¡± The Shadow Fighter shouted. ¡°We need to get out of here now, this is the perfect chance. I don¡¯t think that guy on your shoulder is going tost much longer and more of them will be on the way! Follow me.¡±

    The Shadow Fighter rushed ahead, and two gang members approached him, jumping up in the air, he did a split kick, hitting both of the attackers at the same time.

    Seeing as this was the best option, Austin started to charge forward like a bull, and not a single person wished to get in their way. It didn¡¯t take long before the two of them had escaped out of the cage, and stolen two motorbikes and were off.

    Some thought about giving chase, but after seeing what happened to all the others that had attacked, including the Altered, they hesitated and it was toote by then.

    Vixen had gotten up, his form reverting back to its usual self, he didn¡¯t look to be hurt from the hit, or too bothered about them escaping.

    ¡°The Scavengers own everything in this city, they have nowhere to run.¡± Vixen said. ¡°And if that doesn''t work, we have a way to force them.¡±

    Vixen ran from the cage and jumped in the air, his hand reached out and grabbed someone by the back of the neck, lifting them in the air. ¡°You, you hade with them, so I¡¯m going to guess you''re their friend.¡±

    In all themotion, d couldn''t find a good opportunity to escape, and now he was in the hands of one of the strongest members of the Scavengers, and he was about to learn that the rumours about them were too kind.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 714 The life of a tier 4

    Chapter 714 The life of a tier 4

    Riding on the stolen motorbikes, Austin could see that there wasn''t anyone chasing them, and the shadow fighter was leading the way, but as he saw there were no pursuers, he suddenly mmed on the brakes after escaping the hilly areas and was now on the road.

    The loud screech from the tires and brakes caused the shadow fighter to turn around. They could see Austin just there in the middle of the road, and the fighter known as Sharkey was still hanging on with his arms around his back.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The shadow fighter asked, pulling up right next to Austin.

    ¡°d, I left that damned kid back there. That Killer guy and his boss, they know that he came with me. Who knows what they''re going to do to him. I have to go back and get him.¡± Ausitn said, twisting the throttle of the bike, revving it up.

    ¡°Wait!¡± The shadow fighter shouted. ¡°It¡¯s already toote. The backup from the Scavengers gang will have already arrived by now, and if you go back, how are you going to deal with that person that¡¯s on your back.¡±

    ¡°You take him.¡± Ausitn said, already pulling him off from his back. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, that kid is not a fighter. He¡¯s only involved in all of this crap because of me. If something happened to him, how the heck am I meant to live that down.¡±

    Underneath the mask of the shadow fighter, the mouth was moving quite a bit, and their eyebrows were furrowed.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take him.¡± The shadow fighter stated. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have any money. In this city, because of the situation, they ask everyone to pay upfront before they will even treat anyone.

    ¡°Guys like that, they¡¯ll just end up being left for the dead. Look, I¡¯ll head back, and I¡¯ll do everything I can to make sure your friend survives, I promise it. When you think that guy¡¯s safe on your back,e to this location.¡±

    Grabbing out a pen and a piece of paper, they wrote down a few instructions before throwing over a piece of card to Austin, who had caught it in his hands.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±

    Before Austin could say anything, the shadow fighter was already heading back in the direction they hade from, leaving Austin extremely worried for a number of reasons.

    ¡®Why would they do so much for a stranger.¡¯ Austin thought. ¡®They don¡¯t even know the d kid, they don¡¯t have to feel responsible like me, and honestly although the shadow fighter is strong, if they have to go up against that Viper guy, I don¡¯t think they would win.¡¯

    Looking at Sharkey on his back though, he had no time to waste himself, and hurried off looking for the nearest hospital, with a thought at the back of his mind. How the hell was he going to pay for the operation?

    Arriving at the hospital, Austin had parked right in front of it, where the ambnces were meant to arrive. He immediately got off and didn¡¯t care as he rushed in carrying Sharkey on his back.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Austin shouted in the waiting room at the top of his lungs, causing everyone to freeze in the hospital. ¡°I have a dying man here, someone get over here and help him!¡±

    Several of the nurses were quick to work, as they got the necessary equipment to treat him and took Sharkey off his hands, but that was when a particr person, not a nurse but a doctor in white robes, approached Austin.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know the rules, judging by the several wounds he has on his body and the condition he is in. He will require emergency help, which can be quite costly. You have the funds to pay for this?¡± The doctor asked, looking at Austin up and down.

    Even though Austin looked older for his age, at most he could be ssed as a university student, and what student would have the money to do such a thing.

    ¡°F*CK!¡± Ausitn said. ¡°Someone is about to die, and all you care about is money!¡±

    Ausitn was extremely frustrated, and he could see the doctor was already on his way to order the other nurses to stop. How could a ce be so cruel? A sh of red entered his mind as he thought of threatening and forcing the doctors to work, but wondered what kind of situation that would create.

    Instead he pulled out his phone, and made a call to a certain individual. When the phone answered, Ausitn said a few words.

    ¡°Kai¡­ I need to pay for a hospital bill.¡±

    Austin thought about saying more, about exining the situation, but he couldn¡¯t think properly at the time and no words wereing out. What he didn¡¯t realise was that his tone of voice and his few words made Kai aware of how important the situation was.

    ¡°Pass the phone to whoever needs paying.¡± Kai said.

    Ausitn did as said, and the doctor nodded his head a few times. A few words were passed back and forth, and the doctor eventually heard his phone ping, a notification from his bank.

    When looking at his phone, his eyes nearly exploded out of his skull.

    ¡°Quickly, take that patient to the VIP room, we have to save him at all costs!¡±

    With the problem sorted, the phone had been handed back over to Austin, and Kai could be heard on the other end.

    ¡°Hey, do you need any help? If you need the Howlers involved in any of this, just let me know. The gang is for all of us, we all help each other out.¡± Kai said.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Austin said. ¡°But I¡¯ll deal with this on my own.¡±

    ******

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 715 Who is the Shadow fighter?

    Chapter 715 Who is the Shadow fighter?

    With the fee sorted at the hospital, there wasn''t much Austin could do, and just hanging around wouldn''t change anything. He did have a few words with the doctor from before who agreed that no matter who came through that door, that they would pretend that they had never received such a patient.

    ¡®Money can really change people, huh, I wonder what exactly Kai said to that guy.¡¯ Austin thought, as he looked at the card he had received from the shadow fighter.

    ¡®I can¡¯t head to d¡¯s ce, not without him, and if I stay around here, I¡¯m sure those gang members wille looking for him. I¡¯m not afraid of going toe to toe with them, but that¡¯s going to get me nowhere.¡¯

    Right now, strangely the only lead and person he could somewhat trust in this new city that could help him in this situation was the shadow fighter. Putting the location in on his phone, he was on his way.

    The night sky was still out and it was a little past midnight, a part of Austin felt like he should maybe message Gary to at least inform him of what was going on, but he decided against it. In his mind, it was still a level of problem that he could deal with himself.

    Of all ces, the location had led him to a set of basketball courts. There were six of them side by side in a grid-like formation divided by gates. The area waspletely void of people, most likely due to the time of night it was.

    Even kids who were misbehaving wouldn''t stay out thiste, and not at a run down ce like this. Most of the hoops were bent out of shape or ripped offpletely. Entering one of the basketball courts, Austin stood in the middle.

    ¡®Now what, I don¡¯t even know when the shadow fighter will get here. We didn¡¯t exactly organise a time to meet or anything. They just said that they would deal with the d situation somehow.¡¯

    In the end, Austin decided that he would try to get some shut eye, even on the hard concrete surface. He went up against the fence andid down looking at the night sky. It was hard to see anything, not even any stars in the city due to the thick smog that covered it due to all of the factories.

    ¡®Things will bepletely different tomorrow. Although I wore the mask to cover my face, everyone will recognise me just by my body shape. If I can, I want to sort all of this out by tomorrow.¡¯ Austin thought, as he closed his eyes.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, you must be the only person who could do something like this.¡± A voice was heard.

    Slowly, Austin started to open his eyes, and a heavily clothed figure that covered their face apart from their eyes was right in front of him, it was the shadow fighter. Rather than being alert, Austin just slowly lifted his upper body off the ground.

    ¡°Seriously, you must be the most wanted person by the Scavengers and yet you can sleep out in the open after everything that happened just like that?¡± The shadow fighter continued.

    After taking a few moments to wake up, Austin stood up and looked at the shadow fighter. They didn¡¯t seem to have any wounds or such on thier body, but more so Austin was looking to see if d was with them.

    ¡°You said you would deal with it, where is d?¡± Austin asked in an irritated voice. He was already feeling a little grumpy since he had just woken up.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to get to him.¡± The shadow fighter answered and before Austin couldin, they added a few more words. ¡°But he¡¯s safe. They''re keeping him alive, but the gangs that were there, means he will most likely be in the hands of the Scavengers at the moment.¡±

    ¡°You keep talking about these Scavengers, who are they, why are they such a big deal, andstly what does this mean for d?¡± Austin asked.

    Giving out a big sigh, the shadow fighter went to exin in detail. What the schools were used for, how the Scavengers were the gang in charge of the factories as well as the ones who would be running the Phantom Brawl.

    Austin knew a few things as he was piecing things together, but now he had theplete and clear picture of what was going on, fully.

    ¡°From what you are saying, then I have even more reason to go and stop these guys. If he¡¯s in the hands of these Scavengers won¡¯t he be ripped apart. If they own the city, they could force him to do anything.¡±

    ¡°And how exactly do you expect to find the Scavengers, are you just going to go and beat up whoever you can find?¡± The shadow fighter replied back. They were hoping that their words would have dissuaded Austin but it looked to have done the opposite.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s the Phantom Brawl right?¡± Austin replied. ¡°If they''re in charge of that, then they will definitely be there.¡±

    The shadow fighter was quite surprised that the big brute had worked that one out but was also surprised he would do something so stupid.

    ¡°Yeah, an event where all the gangs gather and the strongest are invited to watch. You would just be walking into your own death.¡± The shadow fighter stated. ¡°You remember that Vixen guy, he¡¯s an Altered¡­¡±

    The shadow fighter paused for a second and looked at Austin¡¯s hand. They were sure that they saw him get bit. Yet he was unaffected by the poison, and the wound had even disappeared. Could it have been just that they were seeing things.

    ¡°My point is, you¡¯ll need a better n to rescue d. There¡¯s not just Vixen but recently the Scavengers have gotten their hands on fifteen Altered solutions.¡±

    Austin was quite alert after hearing this. Fifteen Altered solutions, no matter what grade they were at, would cost quite a bomb. Only a tier-2 city or a city like Slough now would be able to have the wealth to buy that many solutions. Certainly not a tier-4 city like the one they were in.

    ¡°10 of the Altered solutions have already been handed out to those loyal and strong in the gang. While the other five, are meant to be prizes in the Phantom Brawl.¡± The shadow fighter continued to exin.

    Hearing all of this Austin was quite curious about something.

    ¡°I thought you were a high school student who just beat up delinquents in the area. How do you know so much about the Scavengers including what this grand prize is? Even the other¡¯s didn¡¯t seem to know about this.¡±

    The shadow fighter immediately turned away, facing away from Austin.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you ask after hearing all of this, does that even matter? After everything I¡¯ve told you, do you still n to go in and save d? Do you think this is something you can still do on your own?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Asutin answered quickly and confidently. 15 Altereds might be a bit much, but he was sure he coulde up with a n on the go and there was something else as well.

    ¡°If I can¡¯t do it on my own. I can call for help, I know someone who could deal with them all.¡± Austin replied.

    The shadow fighter couldn''t help butugh.

    ¡°You know someone who could deal with 15 Altered on their own, they would have to be the AFC champion or something to do that.¡± I really don¡¯t know where you get your confidence from, big mask, when you couldn''t even beat me in a fight.¡±

    The shadow fighter was a good fighter, and they had managed to get the slip from Austin. Moving into the centre of the basketball court, Austin then took a fighting stance.

    ¡°I believe our fight was cut shortst time.¡± Austin said. ¡°If you really think you''re strong enough to beat me, then why don¡¯t you give it a go. We have a ring of sorts we can use as well.¡±

    The shadow fighter looked to be thinking about an answer for a while, and started to enter the basketball court and stood on the opposite side of Austin, around two metres away.

    ¡°I¡¯ve beaten big guys like you multiple times you know, so why don¡¯t we make this interesting. If I win, then you give up on saving d and don''t get involved with the Scavengers, I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure he gets away from them.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Austin agreed. ¡°Then if I win, you have to help me take down the Scavengers, and tell me who you are.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 716 A different way to fight

    Chapter 716 A different way to fight

    Once again, Austin found himself in a situation where he was going up against the shadow fighter. He started to think back to his first few exchanges he had with the said person. Being an Altered, it meant that Austin was naturally faster and more powerful than he usually would have been.

    His Altered form wasn¡¯t based on speed or anything, but he still would have somewhat of a natural boost just for being an Altered, yet he was still unable to hit the shadow fighter. This was all due to them being nimble, slippery, agile and flexible at the same time.

    ¡®I doubt this person is an Altered, otherwise they wouldn''t have reacted the way they had when they were going up against that Vixen guy that protected the Scavenger¡¯s daughters, and I can tell whenever they talk about the other Altered they have slight fear in their voice.

    ¡®If I was toe up against someone like this, who was an Altered that enhanced these traits in a person, then I would lose. I need to figure out a way on how to beat this person.¡¯

    ¡°Come on, are you really just going to stand there and wait for me to make the first move?¡± The shadow fighter said, with their hand out gesturing for the other toe at them.

    Taking on this challenge and being the only Altered in the fight, he thought it was only fair. He charged forward from his position using the explosive powers in his legs. From the reaction, he could tell that even the shadow fighter hadn¡¯t expected the big guy to be so fast.

    ¡®He¡¯s fast and this strong? I saw what he did to Vixen. If I get hit by this guy, even once, then this fight is over. I might even die!¡¯ The shadow fighter leaned backward, so much that their back was nearly making a ny degree angle and avoided the punchpletely.

    While close to the ground, using their hands they flipped back and used their feet to kick Austin right in the chin, and eventually came up right. They could see that the kick to the chin did little to affect Austin as he continued to charge forward swinging his fists.

    The shadow fighter avoided both swings and then when a third swing came, went in and matched a punch hitting Austin right in the face. His weight and his own speed was being used against him, but it wasn¡¯t enough to knock him down.

    Going for a grab, the shadow fighter was able to duck underneath his arm and create distance between the two again.

    ¡®My fist is throbbing from that punch, is his face made of a rock or something?¡¯ The shadow fighter thought, holding onto their wrist. ¡®If my punches are doing nothing, then I need to figure out another way to beat him.¡¯

    Austin didn¡¯t go charge in to attack again because so far he was the only one that had been hit. He needed to think about his next attack rather than just hoping for a lucky hit.

    ¡®Eventually the shadow fighter will tire out, before I do most likely, and then when they slow down my hits will be able to hit them, but I don¡¯t want to win that way. If I was going up against another werewolf, that isn¡¯t a strategy that I can rely on.¡¯ Austin thought.

    This time the first one to act was the shadow fighter, who started to run forward. They were light on their feet.

    ¡°Do you think this is the first time I''ve gone against someone your size!¡± The shadow fighter said.

    When they had just gotten in range, Austin had timed it perfectly. Timing was the key to the fight, this was how the shadow fighter was able to create perfect hits at the right time, so then he would just do the same. The thing was, somehow the shadow fighter had predicted this.

    Just as they got within range, they hade to a sudden stop avoiding the punch again. The shadow fighter then moved to the side, and could see that Austin had over stretched, he was off bnce on his back foot.

    Using all the strength they could muster, they went ahead and kicked the back foot. This is what they had done in multiple fights before, and once their opponent fell and they were on the ground, the rest was rtively easy from there.

    When the kicknded on the back foot, the smile and all the nning of what to do next went out of the window.

    ¡®Just how solid is this guy¡¯s foundation, even off bnce I can¡¯t knock him down. It¡¯s almost as if I¡¯m trying to knock down arge tree or something. Have I epted a fight that I can¡¯t even win.l?¡¯

    Thinking about it more, and how Austin was able to withstand the venom from Vixen, she was starting to have a certain thought as to why Austin might have been so confident about everything.

    ------

    In the rundown tier-4 city, there was one particr ce that stood out, and a ce that most avoided. Arge restaurant that had thick double red doors on the outside.

    The reason for avoiding the restaurant was due to the people they had seen enter and leave, they had only seen other gang members, those that were in charge of the factory and more. Everyone knew it was trouble, but not many knew that it was the main hang out and base for the Scavengers gang.

    On the main floor, there were several round tables that were highly decorated, there was no food nor customers because of the current time, the restaurant was closed for the moment. Yet, there were people waiting inside.

    Two men standing up, while one man in particr, a bald headed man with a snake tattoo that went up his neck and swirled to the top of his bald head.

    The double doors mmed open, Vixen had entered, walking through the restaurant while dragging a particr person in his hand. When he was close enough, he threw the said person who tumbled across the floor.

    On the ground, d slowly lifted his head, to look at the bald headed man, his face was already beaten by Vixen a little.

    ¡°As I informed you over the phone, there was a recent disturbance in one of our underground fights.¡± Vixen said. ¡°This one, is one of the students that had arrived with him. I brought him as requested, Sir Nox.¡±

    Nox, the leader of the Scavengers, was staring down at the student on the ground that was next to him. Before d could even say cheek to grind against the inside of his tooth.

    ¡°A person that even managed to escape you Vixen, I find that hard anything, he lifted his foot and mmed it on his face, forcing his cheek to grind against the inside of his tooth.

    ¡°A person that even managed to escape you Vixen, I find that hard to believe, and why would someone that strong associate themselves with a student of all things.¡± Nox continued to twist his foot, while d grunted and moaned in pain.

    ¡°Oh well, we will be sure to get the answers we are looking for from this one, and while we''re at it, let''s send out a clear message to everyone so this never happens again.¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 717 An awakening

    Chapter 717 An awakening

    Fast, agile, nimble, flexible, and a brilliant sense of timing. These were all traits of the shadow fighter that allowed them to win every fight they had. The question that ran through Austin''s mind was how was one meant to defeat someone like this.

    Sure, he could bully his way to victory, using hisrge size and endurance to tire out his opponent and win the fight, but that wouldn''t work in every situation.

    A high kick aimed at his head, and raising one hand, he managed to block the kick just in time. Though the attacks didn''t really hurt him, his face was feeling a bit sore due to the constant hits.

    Immediately Austin threw a blind attack back, but didn''t feel his fist connect with anything. The shadow fighter was already by his side and delivered a strong kick to his ribs.

    "If I keep hammering away, you will eventually fall, right?" The shadow fighter asked, letting out a nervousugh, as they themselves were not so sure.

    ''Focus, focus!'' Austin thought to himself.

    Having never been trained in any fighting style before, he had no guard, nor had he learned any fighting techniques that would help him deal with the situation. Carefully, he watched everything the shadow fighter was doing and, without realizing it, he had be obsessed like a wild beast.

    As the shadow fighter moved to the side to get into a better position, Austin didn''t move forward or backward. Instead, he pivoted from his position, making sure his front was always facing his opponent.

    He was moving perfectly; there was next to no dy in his movements.

    ''How...how is he able to keep up with me? It''s almost as if he knows where I''m going to move even before I do.''

    The shadow fighter even tried to purposefully change their position to get Austin to fumble and then go in, but it wasn''t working.

    This was all due to Austin being a natural at fighting. He didn''t realize it himself but he was picking up on every movement in his opponent''s body. People, when fighting, telegraphed their moves, from kicks to punches and more. This was also true for professionals.

    Some were great at hiding it, but it also meant there were those that were great at reading it as well.

    The shadow fighter moved in, and as they did, Austin threw out another punch. This time, it was in the direction of where the Shadow fighter was going rather than where they were. Still, due to their flexible movements, they were able to twist their head, allowing them to avoid the hit.

    They spun their body and went to kick with the back of their heel. It was a fast and fluid movement as if it was nned, but the shadow fighter was just a good improviser. It hit and made a solid connection, only it was with the back of Austin''s other hand.

    "I finally got your timing down," Austin smiled, his hand tightly gripping the foot. Only then did he realize how small the person''s foot was. Focused on winning the match, he pushed forward.

    The shadow fighter tumbled to the ground, and Austin quickly fell on top of them, pinning them down.

    "You... you win," the shadow fighter said, huffing and panting.

    With the difference in weight and strength, they knew there was no way for them to escape the current situation. The match was over.

    "Hey, did you hear me? I said the match is over. You can get off me now, unless you really want to give me one, because of all the hits Inded on you!" The shadow fighter shouted.

    Even in defeat, it seemed like the shadow fighter was still a feisty one. Austin quickly rose from the fighter and started to reflect on the fight they had.

    He was extremely focused. Although he couldn''t be as fast, nimble, or flexible as the shadow fighter, one thing he could do was improve his timing. Spot the openings, read his opponent, and use that to strike at the perfect moment.

    These were skills that would take years to master, yet Austin was able to learn them in one fight. It made him think; this was probably the first time he had tried to learn something during a fight.

    After getting up off the floor, the shadow fighter brushed the dirt off themselves a few times.

    "Alright, a deal is a deal. I will help you with the whole Phantom Brawl situation," the shadow fighter said. "But we need to do it my way. I don¡¯t want to end up getting killed because of all this. I hope you can understand. I''m not sure about taking on all of the Scavengers.

    "But, I can figure out a way for us to get in and get d out of this whole situation."

    "Isn''t there one more promise that you''re forgetting?" Austin said. "I thought you were going to exin who you were and how you know so much."

    "What about you? Don''t you think you should also take off your mask, unless you''re just hiding an ugly mug under there."

    Austin quickly removed his mask; there wasn¡¯t much for him to hide in the first ce. It was just that if they did anything to ruffle a few feathers, people wouldn''t associate them with the Howlers.

    "I guess you''re not that ugly after all," the shadow fighter said, throwing another small object towards Austin.

    With quick reactions, he caught it and realized that it was a type of credit card.

    "2223 is the pin number," the shadow fighter said. "Use that to stay at the Merlin Hotel. Every night at 9:00 pm,e down to the lobby. I might not be there, but eventually I will and we can go from there."

    With that said and done, the shadow fighter rushed off, running away.

    "Wait a second... I didn¡¯t even get to see who they were or find out their identity," Austin said. "And to trust me so much with a card? Anyway, one thing¡¯s for sure." Austin looked at his hand.

    When he had fallen on top of the shadow fighter, his hand had slipped to a certain soft ce. "I''m a hundred percent sure now, the shadow fighter is a woman."

    *****

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 Chapter 718 I believe you

    Chapter 718 I believe you

    Inside of the elegantly decorated restaurant that acted as the Scavengers'' base, Vixen was giving a full report of what had happened at the underground fight to Vox, the leader of the Scavengers. He had already heard a little bit about what had urred over the phone.

    He was angry then and that was the reason why he told Vixen to bring his captive straight to him. Now that he was hearing everything in person though, his anger was rising even more than before.

    ¡°I see, I see,¡± Vox said, his hands held together. A few momentster someone hade in from the back, and started to whisper into his ear.

    ¡°Alright, it looks like we have found everything we need, d Epison,¡± Vox said standing up.

    This whole time, d hadn¡¯t mentioned his name once. To be honest, he thought that they would ask him all sorts of questions about Austin and who he was or where he hade from but they hadn¡¯t said a word. The fact that they knew his name without him saying anything, he had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go for a little drive.¡± Vox walked right past d, and one of the men that were by his side in a suit lifted d easily up off the ground with one hand. He was pushing him along with his body and d had no choice but to continue to follow.

    Outside of the establishment, there was a car waiting for them. Vox got in the front seat next to the driver, while d was practically thrown in the back. He was then squished in the middle between one of the guards and Vixen on the other side.

    ''What¡­ what is going to happen to me¡­ what¡­'' His mind was breaking, he felt incredibly sick and even the inside of the car was twisting and swirling around.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know Big Mask!¡± d eventually blurted out. The fact that he didn¡¯t know what was going to happen but he was in a car with all these dangerous people, he had to say something.

    ¡°He just appeared at my school one day, and knocked out one of the bullies. He did me a favour and asked for a ce to stay, so I let him stay at mine¡­ he said he was looking for some people to fight, and Killer was the one that introduced us to the underground tournament.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I know¡­ Ah, I know his name is Austin as well, but why he¡¯s here or what city he¡¯s from, I really have no idea," d said.

    All the men in the car had no reaction to what d was saying. Eventually, the car hade to a stop, and looking out the window, he could see that it was one of the factories. It was night so most of the lights were switched off.

    ''Shit! Shit! Are they going to kill me, and put me in one of those barrels, bury my body here so no one can find me!'' d thought.

    ¡°I really told you everything I know!¡± d said.

    The doors opened, and both Vixen and the guard still stood by his side.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I believe you,¡± Vox said. ¡°You made our job a little easier, but there is something else we need to deal with.¡±

    The group entered the factory and rather than entering the main part of it, they headed to the side where there was a two-floor makeshift building. Heading up the metal stairs they eventually came to a door, and opened it without any introduction whatsoever.

    The first thing Vox did was turn on the lights. Multiple people in the room reacted to the light, squinting open their eyes. There were several mattresses justid out on the floor with nkets; it was where the workers would stay.

    When they eventually saw who was at the door, they sprung up, and stood right by their beds, waking up from their drowsy state immediately. However, there was one person that needed to blink twice as there was an unexpected guest.

    ¡°d¡­ d, you''re hurt, what are you doing here!¡± It was an older gentleman with grey hair at the side of his head and the middle centre missing. He was thin and frail like most of the workers at the factory.

    Seeing his son in a particr state, he was already moving before he knew it.

    ¡°Get back!¡± Vixen shouted, as he pushed the old man in the chest. Immediately, the strength used sent him tumbling to the floor, and he coughed as he held his chest in pain.

    ¡°DAD!¡± d shouted. ¡°What are you guys doing? I already told you everything. I¡¯ll do whatever you want, just don¡¯t hurt my dad.¡±

    ¡°I already told you we came here for another reason,¡± Vox said, walking over to where Vixen was. The guard then held both of d¡¯s wrists behind his back so he was unable to move, and when he started to struggle, kicked him hard in his legs.

    ¡°You see, we run a tight ship around this city. Everything we do is extremely important for the sake of the workers and the rest of us. The truth is though, there are only so many people we have in our group,¡± Vox tried to exin. ¡°The only reason why things work so well is because we are respected, respected enough that not a single person dares to try to go against us.

    ¡°Yet, after all this time, someone has. Now I¡¯m sure by tomorrow, there will be rumours spread around how someone went loose at one of our events, maybe people will start to talk about how the Scavengers don¡¯t have as tight a leash around the city as they thought, and when that happens it causes problems for us.

    ¡°But there is an easier way to solve the problem, to create another rumour that will be spread around. One that will make sure they know the Scavengers haven''t lost any power at all.¡±

    Vox nodded towards Vixen. The Altered''s hand started to transform into that partly of a snake. As it did the fangs opened up and bit right down into the forearm of d¡¯s father.

    ¡°DAD NOOO!¡± d screamed and tried to reach out, but the guard kicked his legs again sending him right to the ground. d looked up, as he could see the colour going away from his face.

    His father wanted to speak, he wanted to say something as he started to move his mouth, but everything in his body was starting to slow down. He was being paralyzed, every part including his heart, and eventually everything stopped, even his breath.

    His dad fell over backwards, falling to the floor lifeless in the centre of the room.

    ¡°I already told you, I believed everything you said.¡± Vox looked back at d as he was leaving the room. ¡°You''re free to do what you want.¡±

    With that, the rest of the Scavengers left the room, leaving d with his father, and the rest of the onlookers and workers to spread word of what happened that day.

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 719 Crystal Feast

    Chapter 719 Crystal Feast

    Inside one of the many factories throughout the tier-4 city, an unexpected event had urred that shook all of the workers to their very core. It was something they had never expected and had no clue how to deal with.

    It was hard for them to tell what time of day it was, as their routine had been broken, since the windows had been cked out inside of the factory and the mines had no sense of daylight either.

    It was hard to tell why exactly the factory did this, maybe as a form of control. Their phones during working time would be taken away from them as well. They were easy for them all to get to, but they were afraid of breaking any more rules.

    The first thing that Elijah along with a few of the other workers did was apply first aid treatment to the old man Earny. He had been hurt pretty badly. Thankfully Elijah, due to his kind of work, knew how to treat someone and there were adequate tools in the building.

    ¡®His temperature has gone down a bit and his heart is beating quite strongly. With everything we¡¯ve done so far, he shouldn''t get an infection from his wounds but there''s always a chance. It would still be best to get him to a hospital as soon as possible, but for now his life is not in any immediate danger.¡¯ Elijah thought standing up, and looking at the panicked workers.

    Most of them didn¡¯t know what to do and they still hadn¡¯t moved from their position. Thankfully, Gary along with the other friends of Earny had helped tie up the gang members that had been beaten with some zip ties, tying them to therge machinery.

    Their mouths were also gagged so they wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything else that might frighten the workers into doing something stupid. All of this was on Elijah¡¯s orders of course, going through everything he had been taught in White Rose.

    ¡®How did I get myself in this situation?¡¯ Elijah had his hand on his forehead. ¡®I had one simple job, and I haven¡¯t even been able to achieve anything so far. Instead, now I¡¯m in this mess all because I decided to follow the green haired punk!¡¯

    Although Elijah was upset, at the same time he couldn¡¯t be truly angry with Gary, because he had done the right thing in the end. If he hadn¡¯t stepped in, maybe a life would have been lost.

    ¡°Alright everyone, the best thing to do for now is to wait in your rooms if you don¡¯t want to be involved in any of this.¡± Elijah said to the others. ¡°We don¡¯t know when the others wille here.

    ¡°But hopefully if they can see that you weren¡¯t doing anything, then you won¡¯t get the me.¡±

    Elijah wasn¡¯t too sure he was doing the right thing even now, thinking that maybe he should just leave the factory before other gang members showed up. However, then it would mean Gary would have to face all of them on his own. With the two of them, maybe they would be able to do something.

    ¡°We want to help out as well!¡± Some of the old men shouted. ¡°We are sick of the way they treat us, and they nearly killed Earny, if it''s him now, it could be us next!¡±

    Although some of the workers felt this way, not all of them did. Truthfully though, Elijah felt like the workers would just get in their way if they attempted to fight, they were all just too frail and old.

    ¡°Guys, I¡¯m telling you now, there is no need for all of us to get into trouble. The best thing you can do now is look after Earny.¡± With those words, Elijah went off looking for Gary.

    Maybe the two of them could talk and figure out how to deal with this situation.

    Walking around the factory, it didn¡¯t take long for Elijah to find Gary, but he was in the strangest of ces.

    He was in the sorting section, where they would separate the minerals into differentrge containers for different parts, and Gary was standing in front of one of the containers.

    ¡®Why is he here at a time like this?¡¯ Elijah thought.

    In Gary¡¯s hand he had a crystal, one of the crystals that woulde from therge rocks that they broke off. He saw it in the air and the next thing he did blew Elijah¡¯s mind.

    Pulling his mask slightly down, Gary¡¯s mouth opened wide, and with his teeth he bit down on the crystal. It broke into pieces easily, and Gary continued to bite the crystal, eating it away until it waspletely gone.

    ¡°What¡­ what are you doing!¡± Elijah shouted out of shock.

    Seeing who it was, Gary quickly pulled up his mask.

    When Elijah ran over, he could see that there were crumbs of crystal all over the ce, and the container was half empty.

    ¡°Have you just been eating these crystals this whole time¡­ why¡­ is this what you do when you''re nervous or something?¡± Elijah asked.

    How was Gary meant to exin himself out of this one, in the end he was unable toe up with a good lie so he thought the truth was the best way.

    ¡°These crystals, if I eat them, they make me stronger,¡± Gary answered.

    Inside Elijah¡¯s mind, he still felt like Gary was crazy but then remembered that Gary was an Altered, and this factory had to have these crystals for some reason. Was it due to Gary¡¯s Altered form that required these crystals, or was it all Altereds?

    Picking up one of the crystals Elijah wondered if it would work with him. He saw Gary pick up another crystal and turn his head to the side as if he was embarrassed about eating.

    ¡®I know Gray is a little crazy, but he can¡¯t bepletely crazy¡­ right?¡¯ Elijah thought as he opened wide, wondering if his teeth and jaw were even strong enough to eat the crystal.

    Surprisingly when he bit down, the crystal broke easier than he thought. It crumbled into his mouth but the texture wasn¡¯t nice, it almost felt like he had just put a bunch of sand in his mouth.

    He powered through swallowing the crystal, and when he did, he was unable to feel anything, in fact he ced his hand on his stomach as he felt a little queasy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the stomach for this.¡±

    Looking at Elijah, Gary could also tell that he was an Altered. His movement speed was too fast when they worked together in the mine, but Gary didn¡¯t care for who he was.

    ¡®I guess, not all Altered can get stronger eating these crystals, I still would like to test it on the other werewolves though.¡¯ Gary thought.

    Either way, Gary continued feasting on the crystals that he had gathered increasing his stats bit by bit, ready for whatever wasing for him.

    Gary

    Grade: Rook

    ss: Dark Warrior

    Level 28

    [Health 300]

    [Energy 500]

    [Strength 68 >>> 72]

    [Dexterity 55 >>> 63]

    [Endurance 60 >>> 66]

    Gary weas getting stronger.

    ****

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 Chapter 720 Getting in my way?

    Chapter 720 Getting in my way?

    After eating the crystals for a while, as expected, Gary¡¯s stats had increased. Before it was something that could only rise with certain quests or levelling up, but now he was gaining stats without either of those things happening.

    Seeing as he had found a way to increase his stats, he felt like he was right to use the points from before on increasing his energy or his health. However, he did notice something else.

    The crystals that stated they were at the basic tier were no longer doing anything for him. Before he would have to eat a few and he would gain a few stat points here and there, but now there was no increase after eating five of the crystals in a row.

    The intermediate crystals he found would still give him stat points, but they were extremely rare with him only finding two of them.

    ¡®I guess I should stop with the crystal eating for now. There is still a crate full of these things, and I can¡¯t imagine how many more could be mined from this ce. For now, I should just put them all in one box, and give it to the other guys when I get back.¡¯

    That was exactly what Gary was doing. Elijah watched him carefully stop eating crystals and move them all to one container, honestly Elijah had almost given up trying to figure out what Gary was doing or why he was doing crazy things, he was more worried about the current situation.

    ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± An older gentleman shouted as he ran through the front door of the warehouse. It was one of Earny¡¯s friends who had been keeping guard outside. Seeing the cars arrive meant that the backup that the others had called for was finally here.

    Fiverge vans had pulled up outside of the factory. The door slid open and each of them had around six men who hade out all dressed in ck and holding weapons in their hands.

    They were standing by the fence not yet heading in, as they were waiting for one more person. A man came out from the front of one of the vans, with raggy purple hair that looked a bit like a mop.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe workers rebelled in a ce like this, I thought everyone was already too scared of us to act that I would have stoppeding out like this.¡± Rex said. ¡°Let¡¯s just deal with this whole situation before Nox finds out.¡±

    Back inside the factory, the old man who had seen just how many gang members there were outside was shaking. He had gone into detail of what he had seen and everyone else had heard as well.

    The few that were willing to fight from before, weren''t so willing to fight. Going against thirty or so armed gang members was suicidal in their minds.

    ¡°From the sounds of it, the one that¡¯se with them is one of the squad leaders, Rex.¡± Elijah mumbled to himself. Before joining the factory he had done research on the local gangs and of course the Scavengers came up.

    Since there was so much to run on top of the factories, the Scavengers were split up into squads and assigned a leader that knew how to fight. Elijah wasn¡¯t too worried, he was an Altered and one from White Rose.

    However, with that many people, he would perhaps have to transform into his Altered form, and doing so would out his identity and he would fail the mission. The door to the factory was bust open and torn off its hinges.

    Immediately running through the door were several men with mainly bats but a few others had handheld weapons as well. They lined up and looked at what was in front of them. They were hoping to see a number of factory workers having set up ready to fight but that wasn¡¯t the case at all.

    Instead, they could just see two men standing in the centre of the room. All of the workers had gone to their rooms and were leaning with their faces up against the square windows looking and wondering what was going to happen.

    Earny had also been moved to one of the rooms as well, out of harm''s way.

    ¡°Only the two of you, what the heck is going on?¡± Rex asked, as he entered. ¡°Where is everyone, why the heck are they hiding, peeking their heads out of the window.¡±

    Soon Rex could see the tied up gang members. It seemed like the rebellion was true, but it was still strange as to why there were only two people out in the open and even more so he could see one of them wasn¡¯t worried at all.

    ¡°Do you think we''re ying games here?¡± Rex said, touching his head as if he was in pain as a sudden headache hade on.

    Stepping forward was Gary. Elijah let him go, he was hoping they would have more time to talk to each other about the n, but they had no time at all, so he would just have to go with the flow and support him.

    ¡°Are you the boss around here?¡± Gary asked. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you are, since you''re the one doing all the talking.¡±

    Rex was still taken aback, how could someone talk so forward to him while being surrounded by so many people.

    ¡°I promised these people that I wouldn¡¯t let them get hurt, and get them out of here to look after them. So I¡¯m going to ask you, are you nning on getting in my way?¡± Gary asked.

    Arge smile appeared on Rex¡¯s face. This masked man, who did they think they were? He was a squad leader of the Scavengers. All the people that worked in these factories were basically ves, how did they ever get the thought of trying to rebel.

    ¡°Get in your way, of course I''m going to stop you all, and I¡¯m going to fu*king break you-¡±

    Rex stopped speaking midway, because right in front of him, up in the air, he could suddenly see Gary with his fist.

    ¡®How did he manage to get here so fast, it¡¯s almost like he teleported?¡¯

    That was thest thought Rex had before Gary¡¯s fist mmed right into Rex¡¯s face. His body lifted in the air, and he was sent flying right through his own men.

    Garynded on his feet, and stood up straight in the middle of all the gang members.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to ask the rest of you the same question, are you going to get in my way?¡± Gary asked.

    Elijah was stunned. He hadn¡¯t moved, he barely saw Gary move from his position and to head straight in there and take out their leader, the only thing he could think was he was with a crazy person, but he was d this crazy person was on his side.

    ******

    *****

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 Chapter 721 A strong duo

    Chapter 721 A strong duo

    The factory workers, in a sense, had a better view. From their rooms they were a floor higher but through the windows, they were able to have a look at the factory ground floor and see everything that was going on.

    A lot of them, although they felt a strong sense when they heard Gary¡¯s words, it was hard for them to believe a stranger could do such a thing. What did one even mean when they said that they would get them out of this ce safely and create a new life for them all.

    Even if there was a person that could do all of that, why would they do that for them? All their lives they had been less fortunate, just for having been born in a city like this. They had long epted their fate, yet now for some reason they were looking at someone who was fighting for them.

    Yet they still couldn''t believe it. Gary had moved, jumping from his position, it was so quick and by the time he hadnded or they had registered in their heads that he had moved, he had already knocked the squad leader onto the ground, who was now lying on the floor.

    In the room itself, Earny was finally opening up his eyes. He was feeling better but his body was still in a lot of pain, especially the wounds that had been made on his back.

    ¡°Hey, the old man is waking up!¡± One of the workers said.

    ¡°Earny!¡± An old friend ran by his side. He had started working at the factory around the same time as Earny.

    ¡°Barret, what''s happening, why am I back in here?¡± Earny asked, and could see all the other workers were pressed up against the window. Curious about what they were looking up he tried to get up, but the pain from his wounds were a little too much.

    ¡°Stop, you''re an old man now, we don¡¯t heal as quickly as we used to, if you move, there is a good chance that you could die.¡± Barret replied.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on though, didn¡¯t the factory ownerse in¡­ and, why is everyone staring out the window?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Well, you know that kid, the green haired one, Gary, he¡¯s fighting them¡­ right now.¡±

    Earny¡¯s eyes widened, he had stepped up due to the stolen crystal with the thought that no one else would get punished, if he was fighting them, then now a kid that was less than half his age was getting punished for this. Forcing himself through the pain, Earny attempted to stand up once again.

    Knowing how his friend would be, Barret decided to give him his shoulder and help him up, taking him to the window.

    ¡°You stubborn old man, anyway, I¡¯m telling you now, you''re going to be surprised by what you''re about to see. None of us can believe our own eyes.¡± Barret said, and he was right.

    Earny could see several men, all standing there, yet for some reason they were doing nothing, none of them were going after Gary, at least not yet. They too were in too much of a shock, the situation was unprecedented.

    ¡°He¡¯s fighting against them?¡± Earny said, his mouth staying wide open.

    ¡°Yeah, and he already beat up those other guys that hit you from before. Honestly, this kid, I think he might be able to do something.¡±

    Now that the others had heard Barret out loud, they realised this was the thought they all had, at least they were hoping that maybe he could do something.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± One of the Scavengers members shouted. ¡°This kid, he''s taking the p*ss, out of all of us. How dare hend a cheap shot on Rex!¡±

    To many, it certainly seemed that way, since none of them had seen the attack, and the shout had snapped them into action. The men closest charged in with their bats, one of them swinging it wide.

    Gary quikly ducked under the bat swing, and went in close hitting the man in the chin and lifting him in the air. As another came close, Gary stretched out his leg and kicked the other in the stomach sending him in the air skidding across the ground.

    One had managed to throw a long metal chain that had hit Gary in the back. When it did though, Gary didn¡¯t flinch or move. Instead he turned around, picking up the chain and pulling it, yanking it out of the man¡¯s hands and causing him to fall over.

    ¡°He¡¯s doing it!¡± Barret said. ¡°He¡¯s taking all of them out.¡±

    Running from behind, several men with knives started to run up. Swinging his fist around, Gary hit one man right in the face, breaking his jaw as he was knocked out and sent to the floor.

    ¡°I thought I could hear the footsteps of more of them?¡± Gary thought.

    When looking up, he noticed that the other two men with knives had been beaten as well, and the one standing next to them was Elijah.

    ¡°You think I was just going to stand there and watch you fight on your own against 30 or something guys?¡± Elijah said. ¡°I¡¯ve decided with the two of us we can take on this trash.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, at the same time, the two of them turned to their right, they avoided a hit from their attackers and threw out a fist knocking out the enemy straight away.

    The two of them were going through each of the gang members, one by one, and at a fast pace. If they got hit it was light work, especially for Gary who seemed to not feel a thing as bats would bash against his forearm and break.

    It didn¡¯t take long until eventually the two of them had run out of things to hit. Everyone was on the floor, while Gary and Elijah were the only two left standing in the factory.

    ¡°Those guys, they did it, they really did it, just the two of them, knocked out nearly thirty guys with weapons from the Scavengers gang! Who the heck are they!¡± The workers shouted.,

    They were cheering in their rooms as they saw this, but the cheers started to die down.

    ¡°This still doesn¡¯t change anything.¡± One of the women in the room said. ¡°Now that they have hurt more of the Scavengers, they will just send more people, and even if they take care of them, what about us, our jobs, the factory? All of this is just a dream!¡± she shouted, causing the room to go silent, as they still were hit with the reality.

    As Gary was heading over to Elijah, he noticed something.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Elijah said, as he put his hand on Gary¡¯s shoulder and pointed at one of the men on the floor, it was none other than Rex that he knocked out.

    ¡°That hurt you b*stard!¡± Rex said, getting up off the floor, and using his hand to fix his jaw that had been dislocated, a loud click was heard, and strangely there was strange swirling ck smoke that seemed to be emitting from his body a little.

    When he lifted up his face, one of his eyes, the white had turned purple.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been looking for.¡± Elijah said. ¡°He¡¯s an infected Altered.¡±

    ******

    *****

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 Chapter 722 A One Shot Quest

    ?

    Elijah was a member of White Rose and there was a reason why he had been sent out to this tier 4 city. He and many other members of White Rose had been sent in search for the cause of the infected Altered as they had been named.

    There had been many cases of infected Altered appearing all over the ce, not just in tier-4 and 5 cities. However, those had the most reported cases. It seemed like someone was using them as a testing ground.

    Because of this, Elijah was to do research into where the infected Altered wereing from and where the ck Altered solution was. They knew that the first ones to get their hands on it would be the gangs, but they needed to know who was supplying it to them in the first ce.

    Because it was clear that this wasn¡¯t just an operation by some tier 4 or 5 city, it had to be something much bigger than that. So far, he had gathered no clues on the infected Altered or the infected solution.

    Before he could even try and do research into who could be protecting the gang, he had to confirm that they even had doses of the ck solution. There had been no reports of it yet in the current city, which was why he was sent out here, and now he had seen the first case of it with his own eyes.

    ¡®It looks like someone really has supplied the Scavengers with the infected Altered solution after all. It looks like I¡¯ll need to get to the bottom of this somehow.¡¯ Elijah thought. ¡®But first, we need to get out of this situation. From what we know, there are three forms of the infected solution that we have found, and the way they can be used.

    ¡®One is to impart a part of the solution to as many people as possible. They will, in turn, get the strength of a regr Altered. However, in this case nearly 9 times out of 10, the Altered that is created bes a Crazed Altered attacking everything in sight.

    ¡®The second form of the infected Altered solution we have seen was in the form of a pill. This seems to have only been used on those that are already an Altered. If given, it can increase the performance of an Altered dramatically. The issue is that some remain in control, while others have a tendency to be a Crazed Altered as well.

    ¡®If they do be a Crazed Altered this way, then their strength is still beyond what they were capable of before. It''s like the current Altered themselves have been supercharged or doped up.

    ¡®Then, there is the final way. If an entire infected Altered solution is given to someone, that will make the person be an infected Altered. When Rex came in here, he seemed totally fine, so I doubt it''s the first case scenario.

    ¡®In a tier 4 city like this, for there to be someone like him as an Altered, one that no one knows about, it''s unlikely. So the most likely case is thest situation, but if that¡¯s the case, just how many Infected Altered solutions do the Scavengers have to be able to give one to a small squad leader like this?¡¯

    Rex stood up on his feet, and soon his whole body started to transform. The dark leather clothes he was wearing ripped apart. Arsh flesh pink tail came out from his back, the two front teeth grew incrediblyrge in size along with the head, and the two arms became more w-like and bent down.

    There was a part of his body that was now covered in light grey fur, but it was patchy all over the body, and there were purple parts of the skin that could be seen. Almost looking somewhat like an infected wound.

    These were clearly the traits of an infected Altered.

    ¡°Is that a Rat Altered¡­ and I thought I had it bad.¡± Gary said to himself.

    The Rat altered known as Rex has also grown in size, now around eight feet he was a lot taller than the other two.

    ¡°Wait, did he call himself Rex, because he thought he looked like a T-rex or something?¡± Gary rised.

    [An infected Altered has been discovered]

    [new quest has been received]

    [¡­.]

    ¡°A new quest, and one like this, now that is interesting.¡± Gary said to himself.

    ¡°Hey Gary, I know you are strong, but I don¡¯t think it''s time for either of us to hold back right now. We need to transform.¡± Elijah said.

    It confirmed Gary¡¯s thoughts that Elijah was an Altered, but Gary wasn¡¯t worried.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t your typical Altered, it¡¯s infected so it''s stronger than usual.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it''s not the first time I¡¯ve gone up against one of these.¡± Gary said. ¡°And, thest one was a lot stronger!¡±

    Gary rushed forward, faster than he had moved before, a foot imprint was left on the ground. It was hard for Elijah to believe because he thought he had already seen Gary¡¯s top speed.

    Right, when he was close enough, Gary activated two skills.

    [Controlled transformation has been activated]

    His right hand had transformed, covered in fur and ws with his muscles bulging, and then there was one more thing he needed to do.

    [Skill Pounce]

    Immediately, he moved from his position, and with his wed hand he went straight for Rex¡¯s transformed throat. His ws ripped arge chunk right out of the neck, and Garynded on the floor.

    The Rat Altered, Rex, was taken out. He was bleeding and his tail was wiggling all over the ce. It went for ast attack on Gary, but he didn¡¯t move, he didn¡¯t want to touch the rat Altered because of the quest.

    [Your skill levels are too far apart]

    [Show the infected Altered who¡¯s the real boss.]

    [Defeat the infected Altered with one attack]

    Gary didn¡¯t want to move because he was worried if he did, then it would count as him failing the quest. As the tail moved, it brushed Gary¡¯s face but the rat was no longer moving.

    [Questplete]

    [5 pawn points have been awarded]

    Gary was over the moon, while everyone else was still stunned by what happened. All of the folloevents, seeing an Altered appear and then one person take it out with ease, just who was this person?

    ¡°Gary¡­ how did you?¡± Elijah, being part of White Rose, knew exactly how impressive that was. He knew strength levels well and it was hard toprehend even for him, so he couldn''t imagine what the workers felt seeing all of this, and possibly figuring out that Gary was an Altered.

    ¡°I told you I would handle it, didn¡¯t I!¡± Gary said, smiling as he turned around. When he did, he had no mask on his face, it had fallen to the floor. Thest attack by the Rat Altered, its tail had sliced his mask in half, and when turning around only then could it be felt.

    Now, his face was on full view to everyone.

    ¡°Wait a second¡­ You look familiar.¡± Elijah said. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you Gary Dem, that famous Altered rookie!¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 723 The Superstar Gary

    Gary was over the moon with being granted the pawn points. He could use these to either upgrade the stats that couldn''t be upgraded through the crystals, evolve his subordinates, or use it to unlock new skills as well.

    It was the reason why he had entered the tier-4 city in the first ce. In hopes that he would get quests to help him grow. The fact that he had found beast crystals was an extra bonus.

    On top of that, he was able to test out his new strength. He could feel his body bing lighter, his movements moving with ease, and his mind syncing up more so with his body. It was hard for Gary to exin, but when he transformed as a werewolf, although he could move faster than he ever could in this form, there were times where he just thought the body was stillgging behind the thoughts in his mind.

    As he grew stronger, the dy between what he wanted to do and his boy was getting shorter. It was perhaps because of this that Gary actually hardly struggled with adjusting to his werewolf body and using it.

    Because, his mind was already well ahead of what his body was capable of.

    ¡°Are you, Gary Dem?¡± Elijah asked.

    Lifting up his hands, Gary went to touch his face and could feel his fingers bounce off of his soft skin. The mask had fallen, his disguise was now gone.

    ¡°Oh c*ap!¡± Gary looked on the floor and could see the mask on the floor in two pieces.

    There were two reasons for Gary wearing the mask. One of them was if he was to act and beat up a few people from the gangs then they would have no way to try and link the attack back to the Howlers.

    If news got out that the recent tier-3 gang that had been very active was going around messing with the lesser cities, there was no doubt that the other gangs would act. Even though they had been doing the same thing secretly and behind the scenes for a long time.

    As for the second reason, Gary¡¯s face was just too well known and popr. After the TV segment about up anding Altered, and then his debut match. He was a face that many had seen in recent times.

    Maybe after a few months people would forget about him, but it hadn¡¯t been too long since the recent incidents, and it was why Elijah had recognised him. In one of the most recent reports, Gary¡¯s opponent from the AFC was involved.

    ¡°Hey isn¡¯t that¡­ yeah it is, it''s Gary Dem, that rookie AFC fighter!¡± one of the workers said, jumping up and down. Soon quite a few started to recognise Gary as well, but not all of them.

    ¡°AFC fighter, what do you mean, who is he?¡± Earny asked.

    ¡°Come on Earny, you must of heard of the AFC?¡± Barret said, to which Earny shook his head, of course he knew of them but didn¡¯t really follow what they did. So he was only familiar with the top of the AFC whose images and photos would be posted all over the ce.

    ¡°Gary Dem, was an up anding rookie that everyone had their eye on, yet for some reason he decided to pull out of the AFC immediately after his debut. So he was talked about quite a bit. It makes me wonder, why is he here of all ces?¡±

    Now all the workers had understood how a person could defeat all of the gang members, it made sense for an AFC fighter to be so skilled and it was clear as day that Gary was an Altered, they just couldn''t figure out why he was here, and that was the same for Elijah.

    ¡°Crap, what do I do now?¡± Gary mumbled to himself, his hand squishing the skin on his forehead together. It was clear he was meaning to keep his identity a secret.

    ¡®Gary Dem, what are you doing here?¡¯ Elijah thought. ¡®We did some research on Gary after the fact. I didn¡¯t look at his file fully, but wasn¡¯t he affiliated with the tier-3 gang, the Howlers? Perhaps him dropping out of the AFC in the first ce is rted to the gang, and there is a good chance it could be the reason why he¡¯s here.¡¯

    While thinking all of these thoughts, Gary started to move, rather than trying to exin his way out of the situation, instead he went to go and grab a big nket, andid it over the top of the dead Rex.

    ¡®Considering the system knew this guy would be easy work, and it hasn¡¯t given me the usual quest to consume him to get stronger, it won¡¯t do much of anything. If I was to eat him, and do it in front of everyone, it would just scare them anyway. So far now the best thing I can do is just cover him up.¡¯

    Seeing these actions, no matter what his background was or who he really was, Elijah was remembering thest couple of days he had spent with Gary and his actions back then, they were all of a good person.

    ¡°Hey, Gary!¡± Elijah asked as he came over to his side, walking past the groaning men that were still on the ground.

    When Gary turned around he looked nervous, having still note up with a good excuse as to why he was here.

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t really care why you are here, but the fact is, we''re quite deeply involved in this mess right now. About what you said earlier, I want to know if you were really serious, are you serious about not letting these guys get hurt by the Scavengers? You know after having done what you¡¯ve done now, there¡¯s only one way to do that right?¡± Elijah said.

    It was clear, having gone this far to the point of killing one of their Altered, it meant that they wouldn''t stop now. After Kai told him not to get in trouble, the only way out of the current situation was to take out the Scavengers.

    ¡°I am.¡± Gary said. ¡°I¡¯ll get these people out of here.¡±

    ¡°I thought you might have said that. Look I know you might have the backing of a gang.¡± Elijah said, which shocked Gary a little, but he continued listening to what he had to say. ¡°But the infected Altered, it''s clear that this case isn¡¯t normal.

    ¡°The infected Altered is a solution that ising from somewhere else, it''s not these weak Scavengers, if you take them out, then most likely you will get the attention of those that are even higher than them. It could be the Dark Guild, or another tier-1 gang.¡±

    There was another suspect that Elijah had, but he didn¡¯t say the name out loud in front of Gary.

    ¡°You might have a strong backing from your gang now, but when they learn who they might be involved with, they¡¯ll leave you behind.¡±

    There was a reason Elijah was saying all of this, because after seeing Gary act and the way he was, he felt like he was more suited somewhere else.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you¡­ why don¡¯t you join the White Rose, if you do that, we can protect you.¡± Elijah said

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 724 Dead Eyes

    ?

    Austin did as he was told, while staying at the hotel he would head down to the reception room. It wasn¡¯trge by any means, there were a couple of sofas here and there and a bar where no one was there to serve you. He knew the Shadow Fighter wouldn¡¯t turn up tonight since it was the same day they had left each other but he just wanted to check the ce out.

    The ce waspletely empty, so he was sure if he would recognise the Shadow Fighter if they were to appear or not.

    ¡®Wait, will I actually get to see what the Shadow Fighter looks like? They wouldn¡¯te up in their get up here, right?¡¯ Austin thought.

    The mask he wore made sense, since a few people would wear them if they were sick, but the whole ninja get up certainly stood out, even in a tier 4 ce like so. In the end no one arrived and it soon was the next day.

    ¡°Hmm, I still haven¡¯t received any text from Gary or anything like that, I guess he¡¯s doing fine, and no one was able to find me in this ce, so what the heck do I do now?¡± Austin thought.

    The hotel room wasn''t the best of ces, it was dark even with the light on, and if one was to draw the curtains and look out the window the view was just another building, where if one was to reach out of they would be able to touch the wall.

    Attempting to turn on the TV, the channels were fuzzy which was hard for Austin to believe because he thought everything had turned digital, or at least you could watch something with a TV connection. Yet there was no Wifi, fuzzy TV and nothing to do.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Austin said, jumping out of the bed he was lying on. ¡°Screw this.¡±

    Going to the door he opened it white and shut it behind him, as he did the door broke off its hinge slightly, he turned around to look at it for a few moments.

    ¡®Was that me using too much of my strength, or this crappy hotel¡­ oh well it should be fine right¡­ if I have to pay for it.¡¯

    A shiver ran down his neck imagining what Kai would say to him, but it was a problem he would have to deal withter. For now, he would roam the streets, if he ran into other gang members then so be it, it was far more interesting than staying up in a hotel room all day.

    While walking the streets, Austin was aware as he turned his head. He walked past several beggars that would be on the street, and was worried they might be disguised, yet no one had approached him.

    Before he knew it, he had ended up back at the school, the school where the first incident had urred.

    ¡®d, that kid, he helped me out so much, and right now, I have no clue where he even is, or if he¡¯s even alright.¡¯ Asutin thought. ¡®This, just doing nothing and allowing that to happen, it''s not the way I roll.¡¯

    Rather than entering the school, Austin decided to turn away, thest thing he wanted to do was get another bystander involved, that was until he heard a voice call out to him.

    ¡°Austin!¡± A voice shouted out.

    There weren¡¯t many that would know his name, especially in a city like this, and when he turned around, Austin was stunned at who it was.

    ¡°V..d!¡± Austin said, with a raised eyebrow.

    The reason for his slight stutter was because although it looked like d, he lookedpletely different. His face was extremely swollen on the side, and his eye was ck. He had been hurt.

    ¡°d!¡± Austin ran up to him and grabbed him by his shoulders. He winced in pain, causing Austin to let go immediately.

    ¡°Sorry, was it those guys, the Scavengers, they had to have done this to you!¡± Austin said.

    When speaking and looking at d there was something else about him though, the look in his eyes. It looked like he hadn¡¯t slept, and he was staring straight ahead.

    ¡°What did they¡­ do to you?¡± Austin said.

    d didn¡¯t speak for a while, but eventually words came out from his mouth.

    ¡°Can we¡­ errg¡­ go to a nearby park¡­ I need to ask you something?¡± d asked.

    Right now seeing the way the kid was, Austin would have done anything for him, just the sight of him made him feel extremely guilty and as he thought about it more, anger was starting to build up.

    ¡®These damn Scavengers, they''re worse than the delinquents. They''re a gang that needs to be taken care of, otherwise they might continue to torment d, and eventually we''re going to have to leave this city¡­ maybe I should ask Gary if we can do something. If the Howlers can take over this ce or something.¡¯ Austin thought.

    However, it was a big ask, did Austin have the right to ask Gary for something like that. For now, he shook off the thought and entered the park.

    It was hard to call it a park, there was grass here and there but it certainly wasn¡¯t an area for ying in. There were piles of rubbish all over the ce that were taller than humans, spread out. It looked more like a junkyard than a park, it was no wonder that there was no one in a ce like this.

    d eventually stopped walking, and turned around to look at Austin, he still had that look as if he wasn¡¯t staring at anything.

    ¡°What did you want to tell me?¡± Austin asked.

    d didn¡¯t say anything, instead he started to take a few steps back, and then behind the piles of junk and trash,ughter was heard as full grown adults started to walk out.

    ¡°It looks like the boss was right, if we let this kid go, then he would lead us right to the person we''re looking for.¡± One of the men said, holding onto a baseball bat.

    On top of one of the piles, a man jumped up an extraordinary height, far higher than what a human was capable of, andnded right in front of d. The people here weren¡¯t any of the ones that Austin had seen from before, and there were at least fifteen of them.

    ¡°Well they led us to one, we still need to find out where the other one is as well.¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 725 A challenge?

    <h4>Chapter 725 A challenge?</h4>

    ¡°How are thingsing along for the Phantom Brawl?¡± Nox was looking down from the second balcony of the restaurant. There were customers today, while the second floor was closed off with the excuse that it had already been booked out for the day.

    Since Nox was the leader of the Scavengers that owned the ce, they could do as they wished, even close the restaurant, since it wasn¡¯t a core business of theirs in the first ce.

    Standing by his side with his hands behind his back and his dark ck clothing on his body, Vixen replied. ¡°The Phantom Brawl has been brought forward as you said, and the prize for the event has already been announced. They are looking to please the Scavengers as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Nox said. ¡°And has Pan¡¯s squad updated you on anything yet?¡±

    ¡°They did as you asked, and released the kid. We predict that by the end of the day he will be found.¡± Vixen answered, but there was something that was on his mind. ¡°Sir, why didn¡¯t you let me deal with the situation myself, instead of sending out Pan¡¯s group?¡±

    Nox ced a gentle hand on Vixen¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I know you might want to get revenge for him slipping through your fingers, but I would much rather have you focus on the Phantom Brawl, it''s our yearly grand event. Besides, Pan had taken one of the solutions already, he should be enough with his group, and we need to test our new Altered and see what they can do.¡±

    It was clear that Nox was treating the attackers as no big deal, even though Vixen had given a full report. No, perhaps Nox was dealing with it appropriately by sending a whole squad as well as an Altered after just two people.

    However, at the back of Vixen¡¯s mind, he was still incredibly worried.

    ¡®I bit into his hand that day, and I injected arge amount of venom. The way he chucked me as well... I¡¯m not a hundred percent sure, but there is a good chance that the kid is an Altered.¡¯

    If they were an Altered, what were they doing here? How could someone so young even be one without being a well-known figure? There were a lot of questions but the most pressing one was whether or not he was dead.

    ¡®Even an Altered, having that much venom injected into them, they would be dead in a few hours. There¡¯s still the Shadow Fighter to deal with, but if the other one is still alive, it means he¡¯s not just any old Altered.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    At the park that looked more like a junkyard, Austin was able to get an idea of the current situation fairly quickly.

    ¡®They must have forced d into doing something like this,¡¯ Austin thought. ¡®It would make sense, since we came to that event together, they would guess that we had some type of rtionship, when in reality d would have never been able to find me, if I didn¡¯t go to that school.¡¯

    It made Austin wonder if the Shadow Fighter had predicted this as well, and why they had told him to stay put.

    Austin looked up as the group of people wasted no time rushing towards him. A man swung a bat, but he stood out of the way, grabbing his arm out in a locked position. Then with his own hand, he hit right on the elbow making a crunching sound.

    Kicking the man in the chest with a level of strength, the man was lifted off his feet and knocked into two more of the attackers.

    ¡®This is a good thing though, if d didn¡¯t run into me, who knows what these guys would have done to him.¡¯

    From behind, one of the men had picked up a broken chair from the mess around them and mmed it on Austin¡¯s back, it broke into pieces, but Austin didn¡¯t even turn around as he focused on punching another one of the attackers in the face.

    ¡°I guess the mess that you caused at the underground fight wasn¡¯t exaggerated after all,¡± Pan said, "I guess that¡¯s why they called me."

    Pan was ready to test the waters of his new Altered self, and taking a step forward he wished to take on Austin on his own, until he heard something whispering in his ear.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Pan turned around, but he could see nothing there.

    When he turned back to look at Austin continuously taking out the other members, he felt something crawling across his eyeballs. He reached up trying to scratch it but stopped himself realising what he was going to do.

    ¡°What is going on, hey kid, kid, what is happening to me... is there something on my face?¡± Pan asked, running up to d.

    There was nothing on Pan¡¯s face but it was his eyes. Slowly from one whole eye being ck it looked as if it was crawling across, changing his other eye. Fearful, d stepped back until his back had hit one of the piles of rubbish.

    Pan¡¯s body started to change drastically, his muscles were growing in size but building strangely at parts that made him look more like a monster than a human. Both of his hands held the side of his head, and not being able to take it anymore, his fingernails had dug into his skin and it was starting to rip.

    The screams and groans of pain were starting to get the attention of the other gang members who looked behind them, and the Pan they were looking at now had ck-coloured tentaclesing out from his back.

    ¡°Arghh, what is this!¡± Pan shouted. ¡°This voice, get it out of my head, get it out, get it out!!!¡±

    The tentacles wiggled in the air until two of them went and grabbed the gang member closest. It pulled at its head and legs.

    ¡°No! It hurts, it hurts, please!¡± The gang member shouted until his body was ripped apart in two.

    ---

    For updates for MVS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 726 Tell me what you want!

    <h4>Chapter 726 Tell me what you want!</h4>

    "It looks like I might have found the challenge I was looking for," Austin thought, as he got into a fighting stance.

    While going up against all the other gang members before, he still preferred his natural way of fighting, as he acted on instinct, moving and throwing punches at the right time. Now that it was clear his opponent was an Altered, he thought he should step it up a gear.

    "I''ve fought against other Altereds before, but what the heck even is that thing?" Austin looked at the dark ck eyes and the six wriggling ck tentacles behind his back. The man still looked to be in pain, as the tentacles on his back were moving out of control, and there was the dead body on the ground.

    The one that had been killed was a fellow gang member, and it didn¡¯t seem like the Altered had done it on purpose.

    One of the gang members was stuttering as he stepped backward.

    ¡°The boss, he''s gone crazy, he-he¡¯s turned into a Crazed Altered!¡±

    It was the normal conclusion toe to in this situation and in order not to be the next piece of meat on the floor, the gang members started to bolt away from the scene. One of the men closest had been grabbed by his leg by one of the tentacles.

    It lifted him in the air by his ankle, before throwing him into an abandoned bridge. His body had knocked the door so hard that arge dent was made before the fridge door broke and he fell on the floor, unmoving.

    The rest of the gang members that hadn¡¯t been beaten by Austin yet, or were still able to move, had made their escape, running straight past the target they were going after. Their life was more important than just catching some kid.

    Looking at the scene, there was one person that had yet to leave.

    "Damn it, d is still here, he needs to get out of the ce, why does he still look like a lost little sheep?"

    The young boy, although could see the strange Altered, he almost had no reaction. He just stared at the creature wondering if this was his time, if this was simply what was meant to happen to him.

    Acting fast, Austin charged ahead, as he ran toward Pan. One of the tentacles came out toward him and grabbed his right arm.

    "This isn¡¯t enough to hold me back!"

    Although the tentacle was wrapped around Austin¡¯s arm, he could still run at full strength. When he got in close, Austin went for a direct hit right into Pan¡¯s stomach. The grip on the tentacle loosened as he went flying, falling into a pile of rubbish.

    "d, what are you doing? Get out of here, get out now!"

    d, somewhat hearing Austin¡¯s voice, had snapped out of it, as he ran past Austin. Austin knew that the Altered wouldn¡¯t be taken down with a hit like that. He could somewhat tell when his opponents were down for the fight, it was a type of instinct one had after being in so many fights, and this Altered still had a lot in him.

    Pan was buried deep in the rubbish but his tentacles broke through, throwing pieces left, right, and centre.

    "Now the question is, do I try and finish this as quickly as possible so no one else gets hurt, or do I use this as a training opportunity?" Austin thought.

    While deciding what to do, Pan had lifted himself off the rubbish and was standing on the mound. No longer did he look in pain, grabbing his head; instead, his eyeballs werepletely ck. Part of his eyes looked like they were leaking as ck ink was falling down them.

    "Alright, let''s do th-"

    A dull pain could be felt on Austin''s back. It felt like a pinch on his skin. When turning around to see what it was, he could see that it was d, standing there with a small knife in his hands.

    d¡¯s eyes were opened wide, his hands were shaking, as he held the de with blood all over it.

    "What did I¡­ what did I..." d kept repeating. "No¡­ it''s your fault, it''s your fault!"

    Having turned around, Austin was now looking at d. The wound that had been made on his back had already healed. Maybe before he was an Altered something like this would have done something to him, but it didn¡¯t.

    "d," Austin said, in a soft voice. He wasn''t angry that he had just been attacked, he was wondering what had driven a kind kid, a happy person like him, to do this.

    "It''s your fault! If I never met you, if we never went to that fighting club, then my father would have never been killed by them!" d shouted, tears rolling down his face.

    Hearing this, Austin clenched hard on both of his fists and he started to grind his teeth.

    "They¡­ killed your father?" Austin asked.

    Before he knew it, the tentacles had wrapped around one of his wrists, and then soon wrapped around the other, but Austin didn¡¯t turn away; he didn''t look at d.

    Lifting his head, d was stunned. Why wasn''t Austin doing anything? Was Austin now going to die as well? But wasn''t that what he wanted? Wasn''t that what he just tried to do?

    "I''m sorry," Austin said, the strength of the tentacles pulling him across the ground, while Austin still remained unmoving.

    Seeing Austin in this state, because of him, because of what he did, d realised the mistake he made.

    "No... I should be the one saying sorry!" d shouted. "You didn''t kill him; it was the Scavengers! I WAS SO UPSET, I WAS SO ANGRY WHEN I SAW THEM KILL HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES!

    "But¡­ What am I meant to do? Someone like me would never be able to get revenge on them, and then I started to me you instead. I started to me you for everything, and when I saw your back open, I thought if I get rid of you, then I would have avenged my father.

    "But the truth is, I was just running away. I decided to go after you because I thought it was easier. I''m sorry, Austin, this isn''t what I wanted. I didn¡¯t want you to get hurt!"

    Two more tentacles wrapped around Austin¡¯s legs, and he was being dragged back further, until Austin leant forward, moving his strong legs and took a step forward.

    "You want revenge!" Austin said, pushing his feet in the ground, fighting back against the tentacles. "Tell me what you want, tell me what you want to do, d!"

    d was wiping his tears with the palm of his hand, wondering what Austin meant by this.

    "What does he mean? Why is Austin doing this, when he''s on death''s door?" d thought.

    "Say it¡­ just tell me what you want!" Austin shouted again.

    "I¡­ I," d thought back to that night, back to his father''s face, and the way they all looked at him. "I want them all dead! I want to get rid of every single one of the Scavengers! I want revenge!" d screamed.

    Taking another step forward, there was a big smile on Austin''s face.

    "That¡¯s what I wanted to hear," Austin smiled. "I¡¯ll do it, I¡¯ll be the one to get your revenge!¡±

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 727 Permission from the Boss

    Chapter 727 Permission from the Boss

    d¡¯s mind felt a little clearer now that he had shouted his frustrations out. Before he felt clouded with rage, guilt, and was unsure about what to do, and in his haste he had attacked a person who had nothing to do with what was going on.

    How could he me someone like Austin for the actions of other people in the city. When recalling back, Austin had even told him many times that he was not toe with him, yet he was the one that had insisted on going with him.

    Now that his mind was clear, the current situation that he was in, it was starting to be a reality. Moments ago, it felt like the world was ck and white, with everything just plodding along like a movie.

    Now he could see everything, and his eyes and face were in shock as he saw that Austin had been captured by a monster.

    ¡®Crap¡­ crap, this is all my fault!¡¯ Vald looked at the Altered, it had strange tentacles from its back wrapped around each of Austin¡¯s limbs, it was pulling him back towards it, towards the crazed Altered.

    ¡°I¡­ I have to do something!¡± d stood up from the ground, ready to sprint over.

    ¡°Stay there!¡± Austin snapped. ¡°I told you, I would help you get your revenge right, and I¡¯ll start right here with this person!¡±

    Austin¡¯s body started to change, his muscles were growing in size. It looked like water was being injected into his body as the muscles all over were swelling up. A light fur started to grow on his arms and body, and his face started to change in shape.

    His nostrils grewrger while horns started to grow out from the top of his head. They weren''t small horns either, they were thick andrge in size, and finally Austin had finished his full transformation.

    ¡°You¡¯re a¡­ You¡¯re an Altered.¡± d said, with his mouth left open wide and him looking up at Austin¡¯s face.

    The extreme strength, the stamina, the fearlessness, it all was making sense to d now how he was so strong. He was an Altered, but his opponent was one as well. It didn¡¯t mean he was out of the woods yet.

    Austin tensed his body with all his limbs bringing them forward. Due to how hard the Altered''s tentacles were holding onto him, all of the ends snapped at that moment. There was such arge amount of raw power that had been used.

    Quickly, Austin turned around and at the broken end of one of the tentacles, he grabbed the end and yanked it forward. The entire body of the Altered was lifted into the air and came towards him.

    With his strong hooves, he pushed off the floor, and Austin¡¯s heavyrge body was in the air. The Altered was flying toward him while Austin leapt towards Pan. He held onto both of his hands, lifted them in the air, and mmed them down towards the ground right on the Altered¡¯s spine.

    A shockwave was sent out as soon as the blow had hit, and Pan¡¯s body was sent right into the ground, cracking the very floor beneath him. The cracks spread out far and wide even reaching where d was standing.

    Landing on the floor, Austin looked at the Altered. It was unmoving, blood was pouring out of its mouth, but Austin still lifted his head up above his head.

    ¡°You tried to take my life, and you guys killed someone who didn¡¯t need to be killed. If we don¡¯t get rid of people like you, you¡¯ll just end up causing more pain for everyone else.¡± Austin mmed his foot down, crushing Pan¡¯s head.

    There was no chance of himing back from something like that. d was still frozen in ce as he witnessed everything. As a teenanger, he of course watched multiple Altered fights. He watched the AFC on the regr urrence, and when hepared Austin to many of the fighters on the screen, he had overwhelming power.

    ¡®Just how strong is Austin¡­ Why is someone like him here in our city?¡¯ d thought.

    Austin''s form started to revert back to normal. His body was shrinking in size and when he was back to the way he was, he started to walk over to d. His clothes were quite badly ripped from his transformation.

    He wasn¡¯t wearing the special uniform the Howler¡¯s wore, because this was an undercover assignment. He never expected that he would fully transform either.

    ¡°d, I want you to tell me everything that these bastards did to you.¡± Austin asked.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The two of them walked away from the situation. Although there seemed to be no police that would arrive even if a case like this was to appear, who knew what would happen to them.

    In the end, the two of them arrived underneath an old bridge by a river. They stayed on the underpass where there was no one around and d told Austin about everything that happened, everyst detail of what they had done.

    ¡°Those guys!¡± Austin''s fist was clenched so hard the veins could be seen popping through his entire hand. After seeing what he could do, d was a little worried that if he was to hit the bottom of the bridge it might copse.

    ¡°I know you''re strong Austin¡­ and I want to take out all those b*stard¡¯s, I don¡¯t want my father¡¯s death to be meaningless, but can we do it?¡± d asked.

    ¡°I promised you.¡± Austin said, as he took out his phone. ¡°I was already nning to deal with these guys, but now after touching you and your family they have made this more personal than they can imagine.¡±

    d¡¯s chest was choking up. No one but his father had treated him with this much care before, and now a stranger had done so. So many times while at school, going through all the crap he had been through, he just hoped someone woulde and change it all.

    Or at least there would be someone he could go to when he was in trouble, when he needed help. His father was already doing everything he could working for them. How could he tell his father about his troubles and worry him more? Now he didn¡¯t have a father to even talk to.

    Austin dialled a certain number and ced the phone next to his ear, it rang a few times before it was eventually answered on the other end.

    ¡°I have something to ask.¡¯ Austin said. ¡°I know we weren''t meant to cause trouble, we weren''t meant to make too much of a big scene, but something has happened on my end. I¡¯m going to this thing, it''s called the Phantom Brawl¡­ I need your permission, Boss. Is it okay for me to get rid of the Scavengers?¡±

    d was able to hear Austin¡¯s every word, and now knew that the one who he was on the phone with was his boss. It was expected that someone so young to be an Altered had a backing of some kind, but it made d just wonder who they were.

    ¡°Of course, you go crazy.¡± Gary replied. ¡°I think we''re in this too deep already.¡±

    ******

    *****

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 Chapter 728 The Real Shadow fighter

    Chapter 728 The Real Shadow fighter

    It had been a long and eventful day for Austin, so much so that rather than continuing to explore around the city due to him being bored, he had actually decided to willingly head back to the hotel room.

    So much had happened in a short amount of time, and who knew what the consequences were for his actions. He was an outsider here, they didn¡¯t have the power they did in Slough. If something like this had ured back home, a simple call to Kai would deal with the issue.

    They did have the mayor in their back pocket after all, allowing them to stop something like this before it even reached White Rose to do an investigation. Which was why for the remainder of the day he did practically nothing.

    That was until it was the meeting time. He headed down and was sitting on the one of four sofas that were in the hotel lobby. Once again there was no staff behind the bar, nor did there seem to be any guests.

    The odd person woulde in and out of the entrance, but they would head straight up to their room. There was no one to serve them after all even if they did want a drink.

    ¡®I practically got Gary¡¯s support to do what I want in this city.¡¯ Austin thought back to his phone conversation. ¡®But he seemed busy with something. He said if I couldn''t deal with it, then he woulde and help when he was done with his own business.¡¯

    Austin was trying to think what Gary could have possibly gotten up to. He hadn¡¯t heard anything around the city and such, but he couldn''t imagine it was worse than the current situation he was in.

    had already gone, but he knew Gary would then stop what he was doing and rush over. This was Austin¡¯s mess and he wanted to deal Austin actually wanted to exin to Gary just how far everything had already gone, but he knew Gary would then stop what he was doing and rush over. This was Austin¡¯s mess and he wanted to deal with it.

    In the middle of his thoughts, footsteps were heard from his right, he ignored them as he thought another person was justing in. Eventually they sat down on the sofa opposite him.

    Austin¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but be maised towards the person. He was looking at their long slender legs which had a pair of ck boots. They went up toward the thigh where they wrapped around revealing gentle soft looking skin and a pair of ck shorts.

    From there, the woman¡¯s midriff was on disy, it was well toned, and the skin again was smooth without a single blemish. The woman¡¯s top was all ck in colour as well and when his eyes reached the breasts, Austin felt like it was around a handful in the size department.

    It actually brought back a certain memory in his head, when he had fallen on the Shadow Fighter, making his face blush a little. Finally his eyesnded on her face. She had perfectly straight ck hair that dropped down to the sides, with big eyes.

    She didn¡¯t wear a lot of makeup, or any at all from what Austin could tell, but she was beautiful. In his eyes it was the perfect girl.

    ¡®Actually, the perfect girl for me would be one that could take care of herself. With the type of job I''m doing now, I would want one that could fight and that I wouldn''t have to look after.¡¯ Austin nodded to himself.

    ¡°Big Mask?¡± The woman said suddenly and nothing else.

    Austin opened his eyes, and his ears were feeling slightly itchy.

    ¡®Did she just say "Big Mask", why would a random person just say those words?¡¯

    ¡°I thought the way you were looking at me you had already figured it out, you are Big Mask, right?¡± The woman said once again.

    For some reason, Austin looked at the woman''s breasts once again, and with his hand, he squished the air a few times, and that was when it clicked in his mind.

    ¡°Wait a second, you''re ¡­you''re the Shadow Fighter!¡± Austin almost shouted out loud.

    The woman crossed her legs and had a dissatisfied look on her face.

    ¡°Yes, why don¡¯t you just tell the whole world. Luckily there seems to be no one here.¡±

    Austin never imagined he would be able to see the face of the Shadow Fighter. They had finally revealed themselves to him, when no one else had any idea what they looked like. One thing he had confirmed, which he pretty much knew already, was that the Shadow Fighter was a woman.

    ¡°Since we will be doing things seriously from now on, I thought it was important that you know what I look like, and the reason why I also want to take down the Scavengers.¡± The woman stated.

    The sound of a hand dryer was hearding from just behind where the woman was sitting. The door pped open as someone exited from the toilet doors and started to walk towards the two.

    ¡°Hey Austin, I¡¯m a bit tired so I think I¡¯m going to head up to the room.¡± The boy said.

    The woman turned her head to look at the young boy and when she saw who it was.

    ¡°Wait, d!¡± She shouted. ¡°How¡­ How is he here, wait, when did you find him? Is he staying at this hotel with you, just what is going on?¡±

    d looked at the beauty in front of him, he was staring her up and down and was wondering why someone would know his name. If they did, then surely he would know her as well, right?

    The face, it certainly looked recognisable to him, and that¡¯s when it clicked for him as well.

    ¡°Wait you''re¡­ you''re Vere!¡± He shouted and took a step back. ¡°One of the daughters of the Scavengers'' leader!¡±

    *****

    *****

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 Chapter 729 The Sisters lives

    Chapter 729 The Sisters'' lives

    d waspletely stunned, his hand was held over his mouth and he continued to take steps backwards. At the same time though, it wasn¡¯t as if the woman, known as Vere as well as the Shadow Fighter was okay herself.

    She had been doing everything she could to gather information on what d was doing and whether he was safe or not, in the end, the only thing she had been able to gather was that the Scavengers had killed his father. She had an idea why the gang had resorted to such methods, but she had no idea what they would do with the young kid.

    After all, a student was next to no threat to them, no matter what they went out and told the world, and that was if they were stupid enough to try and head out and ¡®tell the truth to everyone.¡¯ Yet here he was, right next to anotherrge troublemaker.

    Thoughts were going through her head as to what Austin could have possibly done in order to get him back.

    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Austin said, trying to get a handle on the situation. ¡°You know her, how do you know her?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± d replied back. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember that day we went to that underground fight. The five sisters were sitting, watching, and were guarded by that Vixen guy. She is one of the five daughters of that killer Nox!¡±

    The more d thought about it, the more his emotions were starting to change. Originally he was quite fearful of the person being here, but wasn¡¯t this a chance for him? This was the daughter of his father¡¯s killer, this could be the start of his revenge and for a simple woman like this, he could deal with it, with his own two hands.

    That¡¯s why he had decided to act. Tensing his fist, he leapt across pushing in front of Austin. A punch was thrown out and it was headed right for Vere¡¯s face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a crap if you''re a woman, scum is still scum!¡± d shouted.

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not going to work.¡± Austin managed to say, but he was a little toote.

    d was the one screaming in pain, as he had been grabbed by the wrist, using her body as leverage, she had pulled it forward and was pushing her weight against the wrist, nearly breaking it.

    d was on the floor on one knee in pain.

    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s not going to work.¡± Austin started again. ¡°This person, she¡¯s the Shadow Fighter.¡±

    d felt his heart miss a beat out of sheer shock. The Shadow Fighter he admired, the one that he followed. She was a woman? And not only that, but she was one of the daughters of Nox.

    If d heard one more shocking fact he was sure he would faint on the spot.

    ¡°I guess I have a lot of exining to do.¡± Vere replied, letting go of d¡¯s wrist. ¡°As you said, I am one of the five daughters of Nox, but let¡¯s make this clear, I hate the Scavengers and Nox himself just as much as you do.¡±

    The two boys could see Vere¡¯s body shaking with anger, and her eyes were getting slightly bloodshot just thinking about a past memory that haunted her.

    The group had decided to move from the reception area to the room that Austin currently was in. They didn¡¯t want anyone to overhear their conversation especially since it contained important details.

    Vere had gone to sit on the bed, so naturally the two boys felt like they had to stand up. They waited patiently for the Shadow Fighter to exin herself. Eventually after a few moments of silence she let out a big sigh.

    ¡°I guess I should just get it all out.¡± Vere said. ¡°As you know, people call us the daughters of the Scavengers or in some cases they even refer to us as the sisters, and although that may be the case, the truth is, all of us are half sisters.¡±

    When looking at their appearance, they all certainly did seem to be drastically different, and not only that strangely many of them were of simr age, but when d thought of this it made his face turn a shade redder.

    ¡°I see you figured it out.¡± Vere said. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that my father liked to spread his seed about quite a bit. Rumours have it that he was trying to get a strong boy, yet every single one of them turned out to be a girl.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why he was an angry abusive d*ck all the time. Or maybe that¡¯s just his personality. The point is, the Scavengers, including Nox of course, do extremely dangerous things.

    ¡°And since none of us were sons we most of the time were just raised by our mothers. I was practically raised as a single child, only seeing my father once in a while. Naturally through the abuse, you can imagine my mother and father didn¡¯t have a loving rtionship, and it didn¡¯t seem to be the case with any of the other mothers of my sisters.

    ¡°However, my mother did something that she maybe should have never done. She fell in love.¡± Vere said. ¡°She found someone who wanted to look after her, and look after me. To work hard and do whatever he could to provide for us.

    ¡°But you see, that wasn¡¯t allowed, my mother was property of the Scavengers. She was not to be touched by others, and in return Nox killed that man, and he killed my mother. That¡¯s when I learned that day that I too am just property of the Scavengers.¡±

    Both d and Austin were in disbelief. They don''t know what to say. They now understood why anyone would have a strong hatred for the Scavengers and their father after that

    The words that hurt the most though, were the words that Austin had heard at the end, that she was still part of the Scavengers. She was in a situation that she was unable to escape.

    ¡°I¡­ I became the Shadow Fighter, nning to do something. I just was so angry, I needed to do something. So I beat up those future gang members, tried to disrupt any idea of them joining the gang, but it did next to nothing.

    ¡°Right now though, it might have just been a small thing, but to me, any small thing just to annoy, or make life harder for my father, like he had mine, I would be happy to do it.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I''m prepared. To crash this damn Phantom Brawl he¡¯s so proud of!¡± Vere said, standing up.

    The three of them had strong reasons to take on the Scavengers but Austin wanted to add something else to thatst line.

    ¡°We''re not just going to disrupt the Phantom Brawl, I n to get rid of the Scavengers.¡± Austin dered.

    *****

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 Chapter 730 Join the White Rose

    Chapter 730 Join the White Rose

    Back at the factory, Gary had just faced one of the squad leaders of the Scavengers. He turned out to be an Infected Altered but with the use of some controlled transformation along with his new strength after eating the beast crystals in the facility, he was able to make quick work of his opponent.

    In the end, during his battle his mask had been ripped off, and in the process everyone had seen his face. With the bright green hair, and handsome looks he had gained since transforming, he was as easy to spot as a bar of gold amongst a pile of silver.

    HIs identity had been found out, and the workers were simply mumbling away, wondering why such a person woulde to save them. In the meantime, Elijah and Gary were busy cleaning up.

    Tying up the injured that were still alive, while covering up the dead body. It wasn¡¯t a pretty sight. In the middle of it all though, Elijah had made a proposal, asking if Gary would join the White Rose.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Gary let out with a smile. ¡°If you''re asking me to join the White Rose, then that means you must be someone that has the power to actually let me in the White Rose, right? So what are you, an undercover agent or something.¡±

    Gary was ready to carry on with his work, until he saw Elijah nodding.

    ¡°I was sent here to look into the Infected Altered. Solutions seem to be passed around in tier-4 and 5 cities, so we are trying to locate the source. I can¡¯t tell you more than that.¡± Elijah stated.

    Gary¡¯s eyes popped open, he had only said such words on a limb, as a joke, but never thought Elijah would just say things like this. It was making sense now, otherwise, why would another Altered be here.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gary realised, pressing his finger on his forehead. ¡°Does this mean, you''re serious about the offer, about me joining White Rose?¡±

    Once again Elijah nodded, and started to walk forward pushing the two of them a bit further away from the workers. Now that the fighting hade to an end, a few of them started to leave their rooms, getting a closer look at everything that had happened.

    ¡°I¡¯m dead serious. You''re a talented Altered fighter, and from my time being with you, I know that you have a good sense of justice. Look I don¡¯t know why you''re being backed by that Howlers Gang, or what they have on you, but if you join the White Rose, we can help and we can protect you from your gang as well.¡±

    ¡®Protect me from myself!¡¯ Gary thought in his head.

    Thinking about the offer seriously for a moment, he knew that Elijah was a good person. Now that he knew he was actually in the White Rose, his offer seemed to be a good deal to Gary.

    A way to protect him from all this mess, but Gary would never join the White Rose. For one, they were a group of Altered. The White Rose had already tested him once before, and he had failed, proving that he wasn¡¯t an Altered like the others.

    He had already been through a series of problems when he had joined the AFA having to fake his blood sample, so joining a force like the White Rose, would just cause him even more problems and if he was discovered, the consequences would most likely be even higher than that.

    At the end of the day, joining the White Rose, it would mean being apart from the Howlers. The group he had created with Kai, a group of people that helped him and he helped them back, he wouldn¡¯t abandon them. Thinking about this, he had another thought as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gary answered. ¡°But I can¡¯t join the White Rose. Not just to save my own behind, and besides I owe the Howlers a lot.

    ¡°There are things that they can do, and ways they can help, that the White Rose can¡¯t.¡± Gary looked at the workers, who were frail and thin. Some were even kicking some of the gang members that were tied up.

    A couple of them had been abused during their time working here, so it was time for them to get a little revenge. Thankfully, there were more sensible ones in the group that would stop the other workers before things got out of hand.

    ¡°Although you can protect me, are you able to protect all of them from the Scavengers?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Can you give them a good life, and get rid of the bad in this ce?¡±

    The look of inner struggle appeared on Elijah¡¯s face, the White Rose wasn¡¯t able to help them. Although they were a special Altered force supported by multiple nations, and worked hand in hand with the local police forces, they still had to go by the country''sws and rules.

    They didn¡¯t have the power to just do as they wished. They needed to find evidence before they took action and even then, when they knew and had evidence that certain cities had high Altered action and deaths rted incidences due to Altered, they were unable to act or were told not to act.

    The White Rose was an organisation that answered to the top people of the countries that ran the ce, and they were heavily influenced by the higher powers, the tier-1 city leaders.

    If the White Rose acted against the gangs, the other cities, they would suffer from the wrath of all of them banding together and the White Rose would be wiped out. In a way, they had to act as if they were one of the great powers, like the tier-1 city, but not a group that was bigger than them.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Elijah said. ¡°But who knows how the gang really thinks about you. Your boss, he might not really care about you. If he does, well, if you speak to him, he will understand this is better for you. I¡¯m just asking you to think about it.¡±

    Gary smirked as he turned his head, he couldn¡¯t help but smile at thement.

    ¡®Ah yes, let me just go speak to my boss myself and ask him. The boss says to do what you want.¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    Pulling out his phone, Gary went to make a call to a certain someone. Only one person that could help get him out of the current situation. Kai answered and Gary gave a quick rundown of the situation.

    ¡°I see.¡± Kai said. ¡°I understand, based on the situation, it sounds like it couldn¡¯t be helped. Tell the workers to stay in the factory. I will send a group and vehicles to the city, we will pick them up and transport them here.

    ¡°Exin to them that we will help relocate their families as well, but at the moment, we need to protect them first. As long as you don¡¯t let anyone leave the factory and the workers stay put, then it will be a while before the Scavengers find out about this.

    ¡°Just wait for us toe and get you, boss.¡± Kai smiled and hung up the phone on the other end.

    Leaning back in his chair, Kai was rubbing the top of his two eyebrows.

    ¡°I expected for this to happen, it looks like we might have a big fight on our hands. Still, it''s something we need to do. I need to try and find out who is behind this tier-4 city, because we could really be going to war with them.¡±

    *****

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 Chapter 731 It starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 1)

    Chapter 731 It starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 1)

    A couple of days had gone past since the meeting between Vere, one of the daughters of Nox, the leader of the Scavengers, d, a high school student whose father worked at one of the factories owned by the Scavengers and had unfortunately met a cruel death, andstly Austin.

    A mysterious member to the other two, but they knew a couple of things about him, one was that he was incredibly strong, and the second was the fact that he was an Altered. Although Vere hadn¡¯t seen his Altered form, Austin did reveal the fact and it gave a slight boost in confidence in their n

    After the next couple of days, with Vere being on the inside of the group, they were able to coordinate their movements, and it was finally the day, the day of the Phantom Brawl. The sun was setting outside, Austin sat on the edge of his bed looking out of the window.

    ¡°It¡¯s 6 PM.¡± d said, looking at the time on the corner of the TV screen. ¡°We should start moving, the first fight is at 10 PM.¡±

    Austin looked at his phone once more, he was checking if there were any messages from Kai and Gary. He hadn¡¯t heard much from them after he had asked permission to deal with the situation.

    There was a text from Gary saying if they needed him in an emergency to call him, if not he would be done with whatever he needed by the end of today.

    ¡®The end of today, that¡¯s kinda vague?¡¯ Austin thought. ¡®I mean, it''s 6 PM now, does that mean he¡¯s done, or does he mean midnight. I don¡¯t think anything would go wrong, and it would be a bit embarrassing after iming I would deal with it myself, but it should be fine right? This is just a tier-4 gang after all.¡¯

    Thinking this in his head, he followed d out of the room, and they were now outside on the streets. The two of them weren''t in their normal get ups. For one, Austin didn¡¯t have his pompadour hairstyle, it was ttened out to the sides and his hair was a lot longer than anyone would have thought, reaching his shoulders.

    d had dyed his hair a different colour, it was now a bright blonde, and the two of them were wearing halloween masks. Austin as skeleton, with d as a type of zombie. It wasn¡¯t so strange for the younger ones who would go around causing trouble to wear masks, so they fit in quite well.

    Of course, Vere, being able to move outside freely, had gotten the equipment for them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it''s a little strange.¡± d said, biting his nails, it was clear he was nervous and his footsteps were getting weaker as they moved closer to the location they were heading to. ¡°I mean, you took out one of the squad leader¡¯s, one of them who was an Altered and they''re still continuing on with this Phantom Brawl?¡±

    The two had been in their hotel room and hadn¡¯t gone further than the reception area for thest couple of days, so they didn¡¯t really know what the situation was on the outside. They could only rely on Vere for information, but the fact that a squad leader had been defeated didn¡¯t get a big reaction out of them.

    ¡°Well ording to her, this Phantom Brawl is a big deal for a few reasons. Some of the other tier-4 gangs get invited as well as the local gangs. This is a chance for them to show their strength, and also they want to show some of the Altereds they have obtained tonight.

    ¡°The tier-4 city, it looks like the gang is trying to grow, and it''s doing so by building up its influence and stating that they are stronger than all the others around them. They either join them or face the consequences.

    ¡°At the same time, due to the bets that get made from the other members, it''s a big ie earner for the gang.¡±

    d had seen it, it wasn''t just the wealthy that gambled, if anything the poor gambled even more. Putting all they had for a chance to improve their situation. Forcing them to continue the cycle of working for the Scavengers.

    Even at the small time events, there would be some Scavengers that would hand out loans and d felt like it would be no different here.

    Eventually the two stopped, as Austin pointed at the bright convenience store sign up ahead.

    ¡°Vere¡¯s information is right, it looks like he¡¯s here.¡±

    Vere would be at the event as a spectator and she would do what needed to be done when the time was right, but the main issue with the Phantom Brawl was that it was an invitation only event.

    Those invited could bring others with them, but the person with the invite would have to at least verify those they brought in, so it was impossible for d and Austin to just walk up.

    That¡¯s when a certain individual had walked out of the convenience store, and started to walk away. Lifting his hands above his head he started to stretch.

    ¡°Alright¡­ I guess it''s time for me¡­¡±

    The individual could feel a presence behind him, and when he turned around, he could see two men dressed in masks.

    ¡°Ah! What the f*ck are you doing, do you know who you''re trying to mess with!¡± immediately the man went to reach for something by his side but before he could, Austin grabbed his wrist.

    ¡°No, not that this time.¡± Austin said, with his other hand free he lifted the mask, revealing part of his face, and so had d.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Killer said. ¡°You two, what do you want¡­ Why do you guys have to keep ruining my life?¡±

    With Austin no longer being Killer¡¯s recement in the tournament, it meant that he would still have to take part, so this was their in. Vere was good at tracking delinquent students, it''s what she had been doing for a while before she would give them a beating as the Shadow Fighter.

    So she knew their patterns well, including Killer. There were a few back up ns in case this didn¡¯t work out, but things seemed to be working out perfectly.

    ¡°We need you, you''re taking us to the Phantom Brawl.¡± Austin said.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 732 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 2)

    Chapter 732 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 2)

    Killer was seriously wondering what he had done in his past life to deserve all of this. Or maybe it was some acts in his current life, some of the students he had cut up and left scars on. It was honestly making him second guess the decision he had made to live this type of lifestyle, because before this, things were clear sailing for him.

    Now he had already been badly beaten, and then got an earful from his boss Herbert about bringing Austin to thest underground fight.

    They had caused such amotion in thest event that they even thought they wouldn''t have been brought along to the Phantom Brawl, luckily it seemed like the me had been shifted to d.

    With everything happening, Killer had assumed both of them had been buried deep in some forest somewhere, never to be found again, yet here they were in front of him, trying to ruin his life just as it was getting back on track.

    Austin quickly wrapped his arm around Killer¡¯s neck before he could attempt to make a bolt for it, and he could feel the strength within him. He had already tried to fight this guy once and the fight wasn¡¯t even close.

    ¡°You want to go to the Phantom Brawl, are you guys crazy!¡± Killer said. ¡°You should damn well know that everyone will be looking for you. Do you have a death wish?¡±

    ¡°Do you?¡± Asutin said, pulling Killer¡¯s head even tighter.

    ¡°Does it really matter why we want to go to the Phantom Brawl? We just know that you have an in and we need to go, and don¡¯t worry we don¡¯t n for there to be anyone left to punish you once we''re done.¡±

    Killer¡¯s instincts were telling him that these two people were crazy, how could two teenegrs single handedly go against an entire gang and would do so while there were multiple other gangs watching.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll help you!¡± Killer said and could feel pressure being relieved from the back of his neck. ¡°But¡­ it''s not me you have to convince. The fighters don¡¯t get the invitations personally, the gang leaders do, so we''re going to have to speak to my boss Herbert, do you remember him?¡±

    Austin did since he was introduced to him briefly as Killer¡¯s recement. With a hand pointed in front, he was suggesting for Killer to lead the way. With a spit on the floor, Killer walked ahead mumbling a few words under his breath.

    Killer was already meeting up with Herbert and his gang, their location of choice was out in the fields on the side of the highway. One would have to wait until there were no cars before bolting over to the other side.

    Then once they were there, they would have to go through the high grass that went up to one¡¯s knees. The view from the motorway was blocked byrger trees so no one could really see them.

    Then about a few hundred metres away from the car highway, there were several worn out sofas, seats, chairs and a few barrels with fires lit. There were around ten members including Herbert himself that were getting ready for the event.

    They would often be drinking at this time, but instead they were trying to gather as much money as they could between them, in order to make a few bets on the event tonight.

    ¡°Killer, you''rete!¡± Herbert shouted with a stack of money in his hand, passing it to the other as he counted how many bills he had. ¡°And who the heck did you bring with you? After thest time, I don¡¯t like strangersing around this ce.¡±

    Killer didn¡¯t even want to say a word, and his legs were already buckling. Thankfully, Austin was the one that walked ahead and as he did, he was taking his mask off.

    ¡°I¡¯m only going to ask nicely one time, because I really don''t have time to be messing around.¡± Austin said, the mask was now off and everyone quickly realised who it was.

    Now, they could see his whole face, not just the bottom of it, but with his body structure, it was clearly Big Mask.

    ¡°I need you to get me into the Phantom Brawl, as one of your guests.¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°And why would I do something like that?¡± Herbert asked. ¡°If I do you any type of favour, the Scavengers will kill me, stupid idiot.¡±

    Herbert went back to counting the money in his hand, and he was going to order the others to catch him. Bringing Austin to the Scavengers, they would surely reward him nicely, but the second he looked down, Austin was right in his face.

    Austin lifted him in the air with one hand by the scruff of his neck, and his body started to change. His shoulders, his muscles and most importantly his face. He was using his full transformation.

    ¡°Holy sh*t!¡± Killer said, stepping back, and he felt like a dribble of pee had wet his underwear from the sheer sight of the person in front of him.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t take me to the Phantom Brawl, then I¡¯ll be the one to kill you!¡± Austin''s voice was deep, with his full transformation, and it came out with such power.

    Not a single one of the others that wereughing up till this point, wanted to get close to him to even try and stop him. The Scavengers had rooted fear deep into their minds, but it was different from being faced with a literal monster right in front of them.

    Letting go of his shirt, Herbert dropped down, but Austin quickly closed his hand, gripping around Herbert¡¯s neck with just his fingers. It was covering it entirely.

    ¡°A single squeeze and you''re dead, so now tell me, are you going to take me to the Phantom Brawl?¡± Austin asked.

    A stench could be smelleding from down below, and liquid from under his trousers started to fall.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Herbert answered.

    Immediately he was dropped, falling into the pool of his own mess that he had made.

    ¡°Tell the Shadow Fighter, we were sessful.¡± Austin said.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 733 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 3)

    Chapter 733 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 3)

    The group was on the move, now having been forced to bring two more of them along. Herbert had already organised a minibus for them and their group to head to the venue. Apparently it wasn¡¯t a ce one could just walk to, as it was done a little outside of the main parts of the city and away from most of the factories.

    Now, they were on the bus, and it would be around an hour or so drive to the vicinity. Everyone was sitting inside, and d had already gone around collecting everyone¡¯s phones so they weren¡¯t able to contact anyone ahead of time.

    Austin sat in the front, next to the driver, while the rest sat at the back. The two of them weren¡¯t wearing their masks at the moment, as they were a bit ufy so they took it off for now. Besides, everyone on the bus already knew what their faces looked like.

    ¡°Hey kid!¡± Herbert shouted out frustrated, looking at d.

    Austin immediately turned around and gave a look at Herbert making him flinch. It was a warning for him not to try anything.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m just telling you guys, what you''re doing isn¡¯t a smart idea okay!¡± Herbert stated. ¡°You should know that better than anyone. I know who you are, word already spread around about you.

    ¡°Well not you, but about your father. The Scavengers wanted to give a clear message, if anyone wants to mess with them, then they¡¯ll do the same to them. It''s not just you that will get hurt in this, it¡¯s you and your whole family.¡±

    Thinking about the situation, d gripped his trousers so hard. Austin had actually told him he didn¡¯t have toe. At the end of the day, it was very likely that they would try to use him again.

    Maybe take him as a hostage, if it came to it, Austin would continue fighting, he had to, otherwise it would increase their chances of losing this whole thing. But, d wanted to be there, he wanted to see first hand the destruction of the Scavengers, and especially of Nox.

    ¡°I guess you''re not afraid now you have your big Altered bodyguard, but you guys have no idea what you''re running into.¡± Herbert exined. ¡°The Scavengers ain''t your normal tier-4 gang. They already had an Altered in their gang which is strange in the first ce.

    ¡°Do you think they could afford that sh*t! No, that Vixen guy was handed to them, and now, all the squad leaders are Altereds as well. They have 11 Altereds, you''re just one and if you think you can go against that, then you''re dreaming. What happened to your father, is going to happen to all of us because we brought you there.

    ¡°If you decide to turn back now, we¡¯ll go to the Phantom Brawl and pretend we never saw you.¡±

    Austin would have answered for d, but he felt like it was his decision to make. To leave things as they were, or to put everything at risk, and put his hope in Austin.

    ¡°I know I¡¯m being selfish, but I have nothing else, and I trust Austin. It¡¯s a selfish request to rely on him, when I can¡¯t do anything¡­ but I want this anger in me to go away!¡± d answered.

    What Herbert didn¡¯t know at the moment, was that there were actually only nine Altered. Austin having already defeated one, and another having fallen in a factory somewhere.

    Eventually, they had reached their location. It appeared as if they were in the middle of the countryside, as they could just see fields and it looked like they were at a farm. A parking area had been made in part of the fields, and it was filled with a number of cars, around thirty to fifty of them.

    Then there was the venue itself, it wasrge in size as if five or six barns had been put together, but it had been renovated. It was, after all, the same location that was used for the Phantom Brawl all the time.

    Putting on the masks, the group exited out of the vehicle and walked to the entrance. Here they had eight guards on the outside, all of them members of the Scavengers. An envelope was pulled out by Herbert, and Austin stood close to him.

    ¡°All of these guys are with me.¡± Herbert stated, giving a motion with his finger in a circle. The guard looked at the invitation a second time, and then stood to the side as he slid the door open to them.

    Finally, they had all entered the Phantom Brawl. It felt as big as a stadium inside, but was a lot more luxurious and grand. One of the most notable things was the flooring in the ce was marble.

    In the centre of the room, there was a ring at least twice the size of the one at the underground fight Austin had appeared at. Then there were a number of tables with fancy cutlery and china spread all over the ce.

    There was also a stage at the back, with arge screen ced so people could get a better view of what was going on inside the ring. The set up, it wasn''t at the level of a tier-4 city, but more like that of a high production tier-2 set.

    Many guests had already arrived, they were sitting at their tables all dressed rtively differently. Some of them were in rough rugged clothing. Others were in hoodies and a few were in suits.

    They weren''t all part of the Scavengers and the gangs within the current city, but some of these were gangs that had appeared outside the city. The group moved to one of the empty tables, and all sat down on the round chairs.

    There were a few friendly waves and such between the other gangs and a couple hade to talk to Herbert, but Austin kept a close eye the whole time in case there was anything suspicious said and done.

    Then finally, out near the stage, the table that was rtively close to the fighting area, the five sisters had entered the room. Everyone¡¯s heads turned as they all came out in stunning dresses that were tight fitting to the body, revealing all the curves and well toned body they had.

    Vere hade out in a sparkling ck dress, and when she sat down in her seat, she looked over to Austin, who had his mouth opened as he continued to stare away.

    ¡®Tonight is the night.¡¯ Vere thought.

    She thought Austin was on the same wavelength as he looked that way, but he had another thought in his head.

    ¡®She¡¯s beautiful.¡¯

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 734 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 4)

    Chapter 734 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 4)

    Austin''s eyes were unable to be kept off Vere, no matter how hard he tried. He even knew he was staring to the point where when he started to look away, his eyes kept moving and ncing to where she was.

    ''Alright, calm down.'' Vere thought. ''People are going to know we''re working together.''

    She was oblivious to the real reason for Austin''s stares.

    The room had been filled as much as possible but it wasn''t packed with people. It was a special event at the end of the day, and with the main squad members of the Scavengers group along with the other invited guests, the room number was around two hundred.

    Seeing all of this, d¡¯s legs were rattling up and down.

    "Are you getting cold feet?" Killer whispered by his side. "Are you sure just you and the big guy can handle it, because I''m telling you now, I won''t be helping you guys out.''

    It wasn''t just the two of them but even d had to admit for three of them to take on this many it would be a tall order for anyone.

    "Wee everyone to the Phantom Brawl!" A voice shouted, emitting through the speakers.

    The recognizable voice had immediately caused d''s entire body to shiver, it was a voice he would never forget.

    At the back of the stage, Nox in a ck suit had appeared, and behind him Vixen stood by his side.

    ''There''s n 1 in the gutter.'' Austin thought.

    For a second he thought if he could rush the stage and grab Nox it would avoid the need for fighting everyone, but they were far back in the venue.

    The moment Austin got up from his seat he would be met by the squads that were conveniently ced in-between the stage and him.

    "Tonight''s Phantom Brawl is a spectacr event, one that is more special than any of you can imagine.

    "As you know, today is about disying the strength of our uing talent. Our new recruits from all corners of the city. It will be a night of great entertainment.

    "So please enjoy drinking and of course betting and enjoying your vast fortunes."

    The crowd was smiling away and many of the leaders of the other gangs had already started drinking, although the other members by their side remained sober.

    "As I said, this event is a special one and it wouldn''t be special with some grand prizes!"

    Our from the back is the stage, two squad leaders of the avengers came walking out with suitcases held in their hands.

    Once on stage they got into ce and opened them up revealing four syringes, two in each suitcase.

    Those drinking some spat out their drinks at the sight, while others stood up as they turned to look at each other wondering if they were really real.

    The respective gangs that had arrived were from other tier 4 cities. Most didn''t even have one Altered and here they just showed four altered syringes.

    If they knew that the Scavengers had already used ten of them some would have fainted on the spot.

    "I can see I''ve gotten your attention." Nox said. "Well, you will be d to know that only the grand winner will be receiving one of the Altered solutions meaning there will be three more up for grabs.

    "This event will also mark the uprising of the Scavengers, after today we will no longer just be a gang from a tier-4 city. We will be expanding our operations and it''s up to you guys what you want to do.

    "But don''t make your decision now, make it after you witness the strength of our new talent."

    The faces of those in the room had drastically changed. Some smirked, thinking that the future could be exciting, while others frowned.

    It was clear the Scavengers were the top tier 4 gang in the area with this statement made. If they didn''t join or submit to them they would be the first ones to be swallowed up and they could see that from the look on Nox''s face.

    The suitcases were packed away along with the two guards that held them. They hadn''te back out staying behind the scenes.

    "Let''s get this event started!"

    Two names were called out and two high school students entered the ring. The format was simr to most underground fights, with the odds being disyed on the big screen once in a while.

    Nox, enjoying the fights, went to sit with his daughters while Vixen sat at the same table as them.

    "Keep your eyes peeled girls, one of these boys could be the future star of the Scavengers." Nox said. "We need more power in the gang."

    "If only they could be strong and not look like an elephant in the process." Vivimented with a sulk.

    As the fight went on, the other members continued to drink and they would end in a brutal fashion.

    Unlikest time, it didn''t feel like the contestants'' lives were on the line and Austin wouldn''t intervene.

    The n was to allow the other members to get a little drunk before they put on their show, that way it would be easier to deal with them.

    The second fight was on the way and Vere had gotten up from her seat.

    "Hey, you''re going to miss the next fight?" Nox said.

    "Don''t worry, I''m just going to the toilet now, that way I don''t miss anything when the main event starts." Vere answered.

    "Ah I need to go as well!" Vivi said, popping up from her seat and following her sister.

    It was clearly unexpected, but if anyone could deal with it, Austin had confidence in the Shadow Fighter.

    "Man, I just hope you guys get started before it''s my turn." Killer said. "When the heck are you guys going to do something?"

    A couple of minutes had passed since Vere had left the venue and a message had been sent from her phone.

    "I''ve found them, let''s go."

    -----

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back

 Chapter 735 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 5)

    Chapter 735 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 5)

    The converted barn which really couldn¡¯t be called a barn anymore was quiterge. With several rooms having been set up at the back. There were offices, changing rooms, toilets for guests, and Vere wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there were sleeping areas either.

    The issue was, it wasn¡¯t really a ce that she would visit often, so she didn¡¯t know her way around. Right now she was walking through the halls, trying to find the best ce where the solutions would be kept.

    ¡®Right now, there are nine Altered that the others have to go against.¡¯ Vere thought. ¡®We can¡¯t have them using the Altered solutions in a desperate attempt, so the best thing to do is get rid of them first¡­ then if we can, take them out one at a time, while they have no clue what was going on.¡¯

    While in the human state, although they were stronger, it would be tough for anyone to deal with arge unexpected blow seemingly out of nowhere.

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t the toilets over here?¡± Vivi said, pointing to her side. She had seen Vere walk right past it.

    ¡°Ah, you''re right, I must havepletely missed it.¡± Vere smiled, as she returned and headed inside the toilet with her sister.

    Heading inside, her sister was retouching her makeup and lipstick as she looked at the mirror, while Vere headed back in the stall to send a text out.

    ¡®It won¡¯t be long until I find what I need, I¡¯ll just text them the location after but it would be good if they could be on the move.¡¯ Vere thought.

    Once she had heard the stall door next to hers close, she quickly opened her door up.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to head back to the fight, I don¡¯t want to miss anything so don¡¯t wait up for me.¡± Vere stated.

    Exiting out of the toilet, she started to run down the hallway. How much time did she have, she opened the door, one after the other, but found nothing, until she had finally opened the door to one of the offices.

    Inside she could see two men standing at a table by the side of the two suitcases. They were both staring at the TV in the room which was broadcasting the fights that were happening outside, but they were alert as they stared at the door that had just opened.

    ¡°Vere, you''re not allowed in here, even you.¡± One of the men said.

    She recognized them, they were both squad leaders, both of them having taken Altered solutions already.

    ¡°Sorry, I was just looking for the toilet, this ce is so big.¡± Vere smiled, as she went to close the door.

    Since it was someone they knew, the squad leaders paid no harm, as the door closed. She looked to her left and right noting how many doors down the room was, and another text was sent once again to the boys, it was time for the two of them to act.

    While heading back, Vere took a turn down the hallway, back where the toilets were, and to her surprise she could see a man walking her way. It wasn¡¯t just any man, but one of the other squad leaders, Bruno.

    He was one of those that wore sunsses even when they were in doors, and there was no sun out, and on top of that¡­ There were other troublesome things about him.

    ¡°Oh, who would have thought that my sweet baby girl would be down here of all ces.¡± Brunomented while licking his lips. ¡°And that dress, are you trying to get me to rip it off?¡±

    Ignoring hisments, Vere went to walk straight past him, and as she did, she felt a smack right on her back side. Immediately she felt heat rise in her cheeks as she turned around.

    ¡°What the f*ck do you think you''re doing, you know who I am right?¡± Vere shouted.

    ¡°And you know who I am right?¡± Bruno replied. ¡°You know, the crap with you being Nox¡¯s daughter only works on those lower guys that know nothing. I know he doesn''t give a shit about any of you. He just wants to use you to get strong people like me. So if it ever bes between me and you.¡±

    Bruno went out and reached his arm, pulling Vere in closer.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m confident that he will pick someone strong like me.¡±

    Vere pulled her face away from Bruno, but he had just done too much at that point that made her click.

    Immediately jumping up, the top of her head smashed right into Burno¡¯s chin. While he was startled, she swung her leg hitting him right in the side of his head. Then his head banged off the wall.

    Before his body could even slide down she spun and delivered another kick right to the head. Finally, Bruno¡¯s body slid to the floor. It was hard to tell whether or not he was unconscious or had been killed from those hits.

    ¡°Ah yes, let¡¯s see who¡¯s stronger shall we, I guess we see that you lost that one. I can¡¯t believe Nox made someone as useless and disgusting as you an Altered.¡± Vere mumbled to herself.

    If she was going to start taking out the squad leaders anyway, then at least this would be a good start, but there was a problem.

    Having sent the text earlier she knew that Austin and d were on their way, as she heard footsteps, it seemed they were right on cue, and quickly ran over to where they were.

    ¡°Holy crap, you took one of them out!¡± d said. ¡°It''s a good thing we were the first ones to arrive.¡±

    ¡°I know, nowe on and help me put this body somewhere before people see it.¡± Vere said.

    Austin lifted the body with ease, over his shoulder.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put him in the girls'' rooms. There¡¯s only us daughters that are at this event, so if we lock him in a cubicle no one should find out.¡±

    The three of them nodded, with them all heading inside. As Vere stepped in first to see if everything was clear, she crashed and bumped right into Vivi.

    ¡°Ah¡­ what the¡­ what!¡± Vivi said, looking at the situation.

    Vere was inwardly shaking her head.

    ¡®Who takes so long to go to the toilet!¡¯

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 736 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 6)

    Chapter 736 It Starts! The Phantom Brawl (Part 6)

    Vere stood there staring at her sister for a few moments. She had to blink a few times as she was truly grasping the situation. Multiple excuses wereing and going out of her head, yet not a single word wasing out of her mouth.

    ¡®What has she been doing this whole time? Was she just applying her makeup, I thought she would have been done by now?¡¯ Vere thought.

    It was taking a while for Vivi to catch her bearings as well, she looked at the two men in strange masks with a body carried over his shoulder. Squinting, she soon thought she recognized the face.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that squad leader Bruno, what are they doing with him!¡± Vivi pointed.

    Before the situation got any worse, Vere ran right up to her sister and ced her hand over her mouth. She then forcefully dragged Vivi back into the toilet, while Austin and d followed.

    When inside, Vere kept her hand over Vivi¡¯s mouth as she was struggling.

    ¡°Just get him in that toilet, let me deal with her!¡± Vere shouted.

    She looked her sister in the eye as she pushed her back up to the sink.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t scream, don''t shout, I don¡¯t want to hurt you. I don¡¯t want to hurt any of us that don¡¯t deserve it, especially us who have been through the same crap. Do you understand?¡±

    Slowly Vivi nodded her head, and Vere pulled her hand away.

    ¡°Are you crazy!¡± Vivi said in a hushed whisper. ¡°What are you doing, if dad finds out about this, he¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    ¡°Dad?¡± Vereughed. ¡°Do you think what you''re saying right now is normal? The fact that, if he saw this, that he would kill his own daughter. That¡¯s exactly the reason why I¡¯m doing this.

    ¡°Our lives Vivi, none of them are our own. Everyday he talks about selling us off, finding us someone strong to be with. Everything revolves around the gang, and the ones that do care about us, our mothers, look how they got treated.¡±

    Unlike Vere¡¯s mother, the others were still alive, but they didn¡¯t have the best of lives either, at least not one of happiness.

    ¡°Is that why you''re doing this, because of what happened to your mum?¡± Vivi asked.

    ¡°No.¡± Vere answered. ¡°I¡¯m doing this because I don¡¯t want what happened to me, to happen to anyone else, and that includes you and the rest of our sisters.¡±

    The sisters had never spoken with each other so directly before. Vivi could feel a welling up of emotions inside her. The reason why she never mentioned anything, orined about her situation, was because she was afraid.

    What if one of the others told on her, then her life in the Scavengers, including that of her mother''s, would be hell, they would be seen as traitors.

    Vivi then went ahead and grabbed onto both of Vere¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Vere you can¡¯t do this though, what do you three expect to do, you¡¯ll die. After knowing everything you''re doing for us, how can I just let you go and kill yourself!¡±

    Both Austin and d hade out of the toilet cubicle at that point, to a scene of the two girls crying away.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already gone too far.¡± Vere exined. ¡°There¡¯s no reason for you to get in trouble because of this, wipe your tears away, redo your makeup and pretend that you saw nothing, okay. If you want to help me, and you don¡¯t want me to get in trouble, then just do that for me, okay.¡±

    Sniffing up her emotions, Vivi answered with an ¡°Okay.¡± As she turned her mirror to fix herself up a bit.

    ¡°You two, continue with the job.¡± Vere said.

    Exiting out of the room, they followed the instructions from Vere, they took a right down the hallway and after counting three doors, they now knew they were in front of the right door.

    ¡°d, I just need you to distract one of them for a few seconds, that all.¡± Austin said as his arm was already in the middle of transforming. His forearm had bulged sorge that it ripped through the clothes.

    Opening the door, they quickly closed it behind them.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The gang members said.

    There was no response, instead the two of them charged forward. Austin threw an overhead punch with all his strength. It mmed right into the member''s face cleanly, and he had grabbed onto the man¡¯s hand before his body went flying into the wall crashing into it and making a bunch of noise.

    Due to him holding onto the man¡¯s hand, the force from the punch had caused him to dislocate his shoulder, but the single punch was also enough to cave the man¡¯s skull in. There was no scream, because the man had already met his end with a single hit.

    Turning to his right, he could see that d had rugby tackled the other gang member. But it wasn''t doing much. Lifting up his hands, he mmed them on d¡¯s back, sending him to the floor.

    The gang member lifted his leg up, but before he could m it down, Austin was there again, throwing a punch, hitting the member right in the head, and grabbing his body before it went flying into the wall.

    ¡°You did a good job.¡± Austin said, flinging his hand so the blood would fall from his fist to the floor.

    That was three Altereds they had taken down, before they managed to transform. Now increasing their whole chances of surviving this event.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take the suitcases and bring them back to Vere.¡± Austin said as he grabbed one.

    d slowly got up from the floor, in pain, as he went to grab the suitcase, the top part flipped open, and the syringes spilled out falling onto the floor.

    ¡®Ah crap!¡¯ d thought, as he knelt down to put them back in. ¡®Can I not do anything right? I hardly kept thatst guy busy, and now I¡¯m fumbling all over the ce. Was there any reason for meing? I can''t help.¡¯

    As d picked up the syringe off the floor to put it back in the suitcase, he hesitated for a moment.

    ¡®Wait a second, isn¡¯t this an Altered solution. We¡¯re getting these to stop the others from using it, but if I were to inject this into myself, wouldn¡¯t I be an Altered¡­ if I inject this, I can be someone that can help.¡¯

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 737 The ones behind it all

    Chapter 737 The one''s behind it all

    Travelling from Slough, en route to a different city, were multiple vehicles. There were threerge vehicles coloured in ck, while also behind them were a couple of minibuses on top of that.

    In one of the cars, arge SUV type vehicle that looked to be fortified and could survive a thrashing or two, was Tyler along with the core members of the Howlers.

    ¡°Hey, are you sure this is the right thing to do?¡± Olivia asked. ¡°I thought you said we were getting ready for the next Dark Guild Auction. We¡¯ve already cut back quite a bit on our spending, and you told us all toy low, heading to another city isn¡¯t exactlyying low, and you know as well as I do, that these cities have groups backing them. If they know the Howlers are involved, then it will be easy for them to target us.¡±

    The main reason why Kai and the other¡¯s didn¡¯t join Gary was so this wouldn''t be considered the Howlers'' involvement. With the more of them going, the more chance they had of getting found out.

    At the same time, the group were meant to go ahead with the Dark Guild''s Auction. If a group found out the Howlers gang messed with them, then at the next auction it would be very difficult.

    They would try to use their power to stop the Howlers any way they could. The auction was important to them because the group was at their growing stage. They weren¡¯t strong enough yet to deal with the situation of arger group.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t going there to take over the city.¡± Kai answered. ¡°At the moment the n remains the same. Gary just asked us to pull out some workers. If we head in and leave, I don''t think that¡¯s enough for a group to target us.

    ¡°However, we have to prepare just in case, who knows what¡¯s going to happen. In an emergency we might need to pull Gary out of his situation, and that all depends on who is behind this gang.¡±

    The fact that Kai was unable to get information on them through normal means, he had a deep worry in the back of his mind, but the quickest way to find out something was to do so directly, and this was another reason why he and Olivia were headed to the city.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Alright everyone, it''s all down to you.¡± Gary said.

    All of the workers hade out of their living areas and were now on the factory floor. This included the injured Earny, who was still being held up by his friends. Gary had informed them he had an important message for them all.

    ¡°I¡¯ve called in a big favour from a friend of mine, and they will get you out of this ce.¡± Gary exined. ¡°They will pick you and relocate you to the city of Slough, where I am originally from.

    ¡°Once there, they will provide you with housing for you and your family, and a job that won¡¯t break your body. It might take you a while to settle in, or for you to get a job, but my friends will make sure you have what you need, and a better life than you have here.¡±

    The workers turned their heads as they talked to their colleagues by their side. Was this real, someone was offering them a free upgrade to a city above? They would give them a ce to live, not a single room where they would have to cram together and work.

    ¡°But this is Gary Dem, an AFA star! Why would he do that, wouldn''t it ruin his reputation.¡±

    ¡°Maybe this is all a big scam, it has to be. Why would he help us? They are probably going to take us to some warehouse and then harvest our organs.¡±

    ¡°But this is Gary Dem, an AFA star! Why would he do that, wouldn''t it ruin his reputation.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know, all AFA stars have behind them some type of gang. Who do you think these friends of his are?¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I saw the programme.¡± Another added. ¡°Gary, he had given those people his money, and even now he had protected us and Earny. He doesn¡¯t seem like the type of person to do that.¡±

    The group were clearly conflicted on what to do. Such a sudden change was hard for them to believe, but right now, they were practically in a prison and this was a small ray of hope.

    ¡°What about our families!¡± One asked.

    ¡°After you have been picked up, I will ask my friends to get them as well, but only direct family members. No friends, and they need to be ready when the car arrives. We also can¡¯t have anyone knowing about this.

    ¡°Remember if the gang catches wind of this, it will be bad for you as well. I¡¯m not forcing any of you toe, I just want to help.¡±

    A few had already started to make their decision, and they were already texting their family members to get ready. It only took one or two of them to act, until the rest started to follow and they started to pack their things.

    ¡°Are youing as well?¡± Gary asked Elijah.

    ¡°I have my own way out of here, you don¡¯t have to worry, and besides I still have part of my job to do.¡± Elijah replied.

    The time they had spent together was short, but it seemed like they were to part ways here, before they were to go, Gary had a question on his mind.

    ¡°You said you were researching this ce right, what do you know about an event called the Phantom Brawl?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°The Phantom Brawl?¡± Elijah replied. ¡°I know a bit about it, it was actually my next move to try and get into it. It''s a yearly fighting event that the Scavengers have. Apparently they invite other gangs from other cities, while they show off their up anding talent of fighters. Is there a reason why you ask?¡±

    ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing it''s quite a dangerous ce then?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Very dangerous, the whole Scavengers gang will be there, including other gangs.¡± With Elijah''s great mind of deduction he felt like he had figured out why Gary was asking.

    ¡°Is this about your partner, don¡¯t tell me he is at the Phantom Brawl!¡± Elijah said.

    ¡°He is, but I wouldn''t worry about him, that guy is strong, even if the Scavengers had ten of these guys, I think he would be able to handle it himself.¡± Gary smiled.

    Elijah had seen Gary¡¯s strength first hand, but he had no clue about his partner. If he was this confident, then it had to mean that his partner was an Altered as well.

    ¡®The Howlers gang, it might be a group that we need to keep our eye on in the future. Although if they''re filled with people like Gary, we might not have to worry so much.¡¯ Elijah inwardly smiled.

    While waiting for an update from Kai about when the vehicles would be here, he soon saw a text pop up on his phone.

    [Gary, I found out who is behind the Scavenger gang. This is not good news, once we pick you and Austin up, we need to get out of here before they find out anything. Its NIRV!]

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 738 The Darkness sets in

    Chapter 738 The Darkness sets in

    Everything around d was fading in the background, it felt like he was alone and it was just him and the Altered solution in his hands. He looked at the deep colour, it was dark and the solution was moving.

    ¡®Is this what an Altered solution normally looks like?¡¯ d thought. ¡®Why does it feel so alive?¡¯

    The Altered solution was a new way to turn one into an Altered. As in the past Altereds would have to go through a specific process in ab. It was only recently that an injection had be avable.

    It was the first time d had ever seen or held an Altered solution in his hand, so he had no clue if it was meant to look this way, but there was something about it that was drawing him to the solution.

    ¡®If I inject this inside me, then I¡¯ll be an Altered right? It will be just as easy as that.¡¯ d continued to look at the solution and part of the liquid was moving up to the top of the ss. It was moving around as if it wanted toe toward d.

    ¡®If I was an Altered, if I had this back then, would I have been able to stop him?¡¯ Images of that night shed into d¡¯s head. Him being stopped while his father was being held.

    ¡®If I had this, I could have killed them all¡­ if I have this now, I can help, I can do something.¡¯

    ¡®Yes you can!¡¯ A voice resounded in d¡¯s head. Taking the injection he mmed into the side of his arm and pushed down.

    ¡°Come on d, let¡¯s get out of he-¡± Austin turned around, and he could see it, the liquid from the syringe going right into d. He reached out to stop him, but the syringe was already empty before he could do anything.

    ¡°d, those solutions, they''re¡­¡± Austin remembered a few things from the meetings he had with the other Altereds. How Gary had learned information on the infected Altered, and how it was being passed around.

    He remembered Gary¡¯s debut fight, the craziness seen in that one¡¯s eyes, it was the same as the Scavengers members had. It was just a theory he had, but he didn¡¯t think these solutions that the Scavengers had were the real deal.

    ¡°This is it.¡± d said, with arge smile on his face. He turned to look at Austin, revealing that one of his eyes was alreadypletely ck. ¡°Austin, I can help, I can help, I can finally do something, and get rid of those guys! I¡¯ll kill them, I¡¯ll kill them all with my own two hands!¡±

    The ck was spreading; it was going into the other eye extremely quick.

    ¡®What is going on? The Scavengers, even though they were Altereds, they still seemed normal until they transformed.¡¯

    ¡°d¡­ it''s okay, we will get revenge, remember I promised you that, but if we do this now, there¡¯s a chance a lot of people could get hurt, including Vere!¡± Austin shouted out.

    He was wondering if he should restrain him, hold him back, it was a tough decision to make, but d was already transforming.

    Small little dark brown horns sprouted from the top of his head. Transparent wings came out from his back in pairs, making four in total, and his arms and forearms grew in size, the colour matching the brown horns he had.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill them all!¡± A shadowy mist looked to being off from d¡¯s body in the air around him, and parts of his skin, even the Altered parts, were patchy in areas. The next moment, he flew straight forward and right into the wall crashing through it. d continued forward, breaking through all of the walls and it was quite clear where he was heading.

    ¡°Holy crap¡­ what the heck is going to happen now¡­ what do I do, what¡¯s the n?¡± Austin said to himself. ¡°Ah screw it, what n, we just take out the Scavengers and protect the ones I care about, I need to protect the kid, this is my fault that he¡¯s be like this!¡±

    Ausitn thought as he ran through the holes in the wall that d had already created.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Nox, including the others, were continuing to watch the show that was taking ce. Vere had already returned with her sister Vivi. There was ament about the two of them taking so long but since they came back together no one really found it suspicious.

    ¡®Things are going smoothly, if they manage to take out two of them, then that means there are only six Altered including Vixen left that the Scavengers have. Once Austin joins the stage and disys his power taking one of them out, then the other gang members will be hesitant to join in.

    ¡®In the meantime, I¡¯ll change ande in and stop Nox before he can escape.¡¯

    There was a little hup with Vivi, but that was solved and she was hoping that would be the one bad thing that came their way.

    ¡°Next up, we have the young star who has extraordinary skills with the knife, Killer!¡± The announcer shouted.

    Killer got up from his seat, and he was quite frustrated as he looked around.

    ¡®What the f*ck, those two went off somewhere, and then they did nothing. I was hoping they would make some type of grand entrance before it was my turn, crap¡­ and what¡¯s the deal with this text?¡¯

    Killer looked down on his phone to a message he had received a little while ago.

    [Pack your belongings and make sure you have everything ready. We will be leaving this ce, so don¡¯t bete by a second!]

    It was the strangest text he had ever gotten, and what could he do with the situation he was in now. Killer sighed as he walked toward the stage, when a loud bang went off.

    It was almost like an explosion, as concrete was chucked out and onto the stage.

    ¡°NOOOX!¡± d shouted, as he burst through the wall. ¡°Where are you! Let me get rid of you painfully, just like you did my father!¡±

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 739 The biggest enemy?

    Chapter 739 The biggest enemy?

    Gary¡¯s hand was shaking as he looked at his phone. He had to be a bit careful in case he gripped around it too hard, otherwise that would be the second one he had thrown down the gutter.

    ¡®What is this, NIRV are the ones behind the gang, they are the ones that have been hoarding and iming all of these beast crystals?¡¯ Gary thought.

    It was starting to make sense. Without the system, Gary also wouldn''t have known the value of the crystals, and there would only be a few people who would, one of them being apany based around turning people into Altered in the first ce.

    The thing was, he didn¡¯t have fond memories about NIRV. He remembered when he had met a few of their scientists while he was in the AFA. The way they acted, the way they treated the students, it was as if only what they were doing was the most important.

    ¡®I remember that contract I signed as well. It allowed them to call me for any special reason, as a retriever was it? If I remember correctly, past students of the AFA are retrievers as well, and who knows how many people they made sign a simr contract with, in order to get their hands on some Altered solutions.¡¯

    Gary was no fool, with a big corporation like NRIV, they were working with multiple big tier cities and gangs as a form of protection. They also had the retrievers at their call, and of course, they were likely to have kept some of the best Altered solutions that they made for themselves.

    ¡®Kai was right, we really didn¡¯t have a clue who we were dealing with, and now we''re having to pay for it!¡¯

    Immediately, Gary turned to Elijah who was still by his side.

    ¡°Did you know about this?¡± Gary asked, shoving the phone in his face, but he had done it so forcefully and wasn''t keeping it still, so Elijah couldn''t even see what was written on the phone.

    ¡°Hey calm down, I have no clue what you''re talking about, what happened?¡± Elijah asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about how the Scavengers gang, these factories, all of it is owned by NIRV! You said you were investigating them right, you had to have known about this?¡± Gary asked.

    Anger was starting to fill his mind, but it wasn''t because he was actually angry, it was because he was worried, what consequence would this put the others in.

    ¡°NIRV?¡± Eliajh¡¯s eyes widened. It was one of the suspects, and now somehow Gary had said the name of the very samepany it couldn''t have just been a coincidence.

    From the look that Elijah was pulling, Gary knew that he had no idea.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡± Elijah said. ¡°Crap, of all people, why did it have to be them?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gary said. ¡°I thought you came to investigate who was supplying the infected Altered solutions. It''s obvious that NIRV are using these guys as guinea pigs, using the gang to see how well their product will do.¡±

    ¡°You might be right, but everything you''re saying will just be hearsay and, the higher ups at White Rose will say the same thing.¡± Elijah replied. ¡°If the White Rose were to go up against NIRV, they would have to use the entire headquarters.

    ¡°Do you think, with just a guess, or somethings that add up, that White Rose would be willing to make that move. We need more evidence, and knowing they won¡¯t want to go after the whole corporation, NIRV is just too big. They will want to just try and pin it on a single person.

    ¡°State that it was a rogue employee, have a scapegoat, and just continue on as usual. Out of all the people it could be, this is the worst result¡­ If I tell White Rose now, about what we found, they¡¯ll just tell me to head back.¡±

    Gary was grinding his teeth, he couldn''t believe it. Such a thing was happening, and the forces that were meant to stop this, were just going to sit back and do nothing. Is this what it meant to be at the top, is this what it means to have so much power that one could do as they liked.

    ¡°Screw it, I need to get out of here.¡± Gary said, turning around.

    ¡°Wait, what are you going to do?¡± Elijah asked.

    ¡°I called over my friends, they will be here to pick up the workers and will continue to take them to Slough.¡± Gary answered. ¡°No one¡¯se after us for a while, probably because the whole gang is too obsessed about this Phantom Brawl thing, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be in safe hands.

    ¡°But my friend, he¡¯s at the Phantom Brawl right now. If it was just the Scavengers I would have to worry about, then it would be fine, but if it''s NIRV¡­ I don¡¯t know what will happen, I have to go!¡±

    Gary quickly went ahead and borrowed one of the masks from the other workers, they had plenty due to the fumes the factories would produce anyway. The mask itself didn¡¯t do much but Gary was to cover his face still.

    The Scavengers still had no clue that this was the Howlers'' work, and now he wanted to keep it this way as much as he possibly could.

    After exining everything to the others, telling them that it would be okay, Gary was ready to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Elijah shouted, and he picked up a mask from the side, and ced it on his face. ¡°I¡¯ming with you, to help, not as a member of White Rose, but as Elijah¡­¡±

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 740 Make the call

    Chapter 740 Make the call

    Bursting through part of the stage on one side of the room, an Altered could be seen in its full form. Looking like a mix between a giant insect and a beast, while covered in a mist of shadows that lingered on its body.

    Immediately seeing this, the other gang leaders, who were watching by the side, had little reaction.

    ¡°What is going on, is this part of the show, to show us how strong their Altered are?¡± One of the leadersmented.

    ¡°It better be if this is part of the act, otherwise it will show how ipetent Nox is, how could he allow such a thing to happen right in front of us. Either way, it should be dealt with quickly.¡±

    Unlike the other leaders, both Herbert and Killer knew exactly what was going on, as they looked at the Altered in front of them.

    ¡®So this was their big n?¡¯ Killer thought. ¡®No way was that kid an Altered before. They must have stolen one of the solutions.¡¯

    Immediately, d was looking at the table where Nox was, sitting with the others. Vere was trying to figure out what had happened because it clearly wasn¡¯t part of the n, before she could even do anything though, d started to hover in ce using his wings, they were pping rapidly and those by the sides could feel the winding off his wings.

    Right after, he dived heading straight for the table with both of his fists out.

    ¡°NOOOXXX!¡± d screamed, causing Nox to jump up from his seat.

    ¡°Everyone get out of the way!¡± Vere shouted, grabbing Vivi¡¯s hand and leading her away from them.

    d crashed into the table breaking it into pieces, sending it flying all over, and screams from the other sisters were heard. As he turned his head, he was in the middle of looking for Nox, but instead of Nox, he saw something unwinding and heading toward him.

    It was spiralling its way towards his face, d lifted his arm and whacked it away, causing it to m against the ground. Now he could see, it was clearly the head of the snake. It started to retract itself, toward Vixen who stood there with his hands as two deadly snake heads.

    ¡®Crap, something is definitely up with d.¡¯ Vere thought, as she looked at him from the ground. She had dragged and dived out of the way with her sister trying to protect her from harm. ¡®He didn¡¯t care about hurting us at all, and based on the anger I can feel from him, this is not the soft d that I know.¡¯

    Right now though, she was thinking if this was an opportunity to get Nox, or should she try and focus on helping bring d back, if that was even a possibility, because the situation was starting to change.

    All of the squad leaders that had been sitting watching the show from the side, had now flocked over.

    ¡°That idiot!¡± Nox shouted. ¡°How did he manage to even get in here? He must have stolen one of the solutions as well¡­ it¡¯s that damned kid from before.¡±

    Nox recognised him, he did stand on his face a few times after all.

    ¡°All of you, get rid of him, whoever does can have an extra Altered solution for themselves!¡± Nox dered.

    Even though they were already an Altered, the solution itself could be sold for a hefty sum so it was something that was definitely worth them fighting for.

    ¡®Even as an Altered, a Crazed one, there''s no way that d can take all of these guy¡¯s on!¡¯

    The five squad leaders started to transform, changing their bodies. Most of them had transformed into a half state, turning only half of their bodies. They had ws of beasts, some had tails sticking out from their back, while others'' whole faces had changed into something that was unrecognisable, hard to distinguish a type of animal it was but definitely not looking like any human they had seen.

    Although there was a ck mist that seemed to linger above their transformations, it wasn¡¯t close to the amount that hovered over d.

    It was at that moment as well, that even Nox was noticing something.

    ¡®What is happening to these guys, all of them, they have the slight appearance of a Crazed Altered, what did NIRV give me, are things going to be okay? And where the heck are the others!¡¯

    For now, things seemed to be okay, as the squad members were focused on d only. One with a strange face spat out a blue coloured liquid. d¡¯s body moved out of the way, allowing it to hit the floor.

    As it did, the ground formed into ice. When d moved, from behind, another one of the Altereds had grabbed onto him. This Altered had extremely strong ws that had gripped into d¡¯s stomach.

    He tried to struggle away but it was difficult, then another one of the Altereds with a sharp horn on top of its head was running right toward d ready to impale him in his stomach.

    ¡°I won¡¯t die¡­ I won¡¯t die from this, not until I kill both of them, that damned snake and Nox!¡± d struggled, but his struggling was doing little to help.

    In the air, arge figure was seen from above. It started to fly down, and with a heavy fist, it bashed right on top of the Altered¡¯s head, sending it straight into the ground, cracking it before it could reach d.

    ¡°Right now we have the same goal, we can worry about you going crazyter.¡± Austin said, with the head of a bull, he had fully transformed at that point.

    Panic was starting to set into Nox, who had immediately pulled out his phone, and started to dial away. It didn¡¯t take long for the other side to pick up.

    ¡°We¡¯re in deep sh*t right now!¡± Nox shouted. ¡°Altereds are appearing out of nowhere, and someone stole one of the solutions and has be a Crazed Altered. You said if we had any trouble to voice spoke back.

    08:18

    inform you, and you would be here at the drop of the hat, soe here right now, before I reveal to everyone in this room, that you guys have been giving me some sh*t!¡±

    There was silence on the other end for a few moments, until the voice spoke back.

    ¡°Very well, help will be on the way.¡± The NIRV employee said.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 741 NIRV Headquarters

    Chapter 741 NIRV Headquarters

    In one of thergest and most expensive buildings in the world, a tower that stood at a great height, taller than any other building, in a tier one city, a man was sitting in his office chair.

    He was surrounded by ss on all sides giving him great views all around. He ced the phone down by his side, and ced both of his hands together. His deep sunken eyes were looking ahead while thinking of something else.

    This man was the current Chairman of NIRV, and in front of his desk the name te stated who he was clearly, Rickle Epmen. Not only was he the current Chairman but also the founder of NIRV and had been at the head for as long as it existed.

    The timeline for which corporation, which country was the first to create Altered was fairly vague. It seemed like quite a fewpanies had managed to have a breakthrough at the same time.

    However, it was clear that NIRV was one of the leadingpanies. Havinge up with great advancements, such as the injected Altered solution. Keeping them a step ahead of thepetition.

    Their great growth also allowed them to build a number ofbs, bases, and factories in different cities, despite them being run by different gangs. They had their hands almost everywhere, including ces people were unaware of.

    ¡°A call at this time, surely that can only mean trouble?¡± ced in front of the desk, there was arge grand table that was oval like in shape, with several seats dotted around. The seats weren¡¯t full, there were only a couple of people present.

    The one who had just spoken, a man with straight ck hair, andrge square sses on his face. A NIRV employee higher up, who went by the name Tinth.

    ¡°It seems the Scavengers are in a pretty sticky situation.¡± Rickle exined. ¡°From the sound of things, our Altered solutions we handed them have made a few into Crazed Altered, on top of that, it looks like other Altereds are attacking them.¡±

    ¡°Hey hey hey!¡± Arge muscr man, withrge boulder shoulders, and orange coloured hair swept only in the middle stood up. The NIRV executive Rumper Karn, ¡°Isn¡¯t that where one of our mining factories is? If someone is attacking it, doesn''t that mean someone knows what we''re doing.¡±

    ¡°It could be one of ourpetitors. Maybe they were doing research and are looking to disrupt our business.¡± Tinth suggested.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, they wouldn''t move themselves. They would try to dissociate themselves. Most likely they are backing up a gang to do the dirty work for them. Of course, all this could be aplete coincidence, but it''s better to be safe than sorry.¡± Rickle said.

    Therge man with the boulder shoulders, started to tap away at therge table. A screen directly appeared in front of him as he went on to do his search.

    ¡°Either way, we need to stop them. I guess we will be sending a Retriver team to stop them. What about sending a group of neers. It should be a good test to see how they would do?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think they might start to ask a few questions about what they are doing? I suppose we could always state they are there to help us get some product back and deal with the Crazed Altered.

    ¡°It could cause a situation where the two groups will battle, but we have no idea the strength of those there. The strength of new recruits is unpredictable as well.¡±

    Rickle stood up from his seat as it looked like he had made a decision.

    ¡°We don''t have to worry about asking questions. All of the retrievers are fully aware of the contract they signed. I¡¯m sure they know the consequences if they were to talk to others, and you know me.

    ¡°I am one to make sure none of our secrets get out there, which is why we have yet to have an incident. Although I don¡¯t think sending the new recruits is a bad idea, it will simply take too long for them to form.

    ¡°We need someone close to the city and will answer for us without any second questions.¡±

    Karn started to type away on the table, as he was gathering information, and quite a few faces pulled up.

    ¡°There are two full-time Retriver teams nearby.¡± Karn said.

    When using the word, full-time Retriever team, it meant that their only job was working as a Retriever for NIRV. They weren¡¯t the strongest Retrievers, but the most loyal. Most of the time they spent helping with trouble at the bases all over.

    The strongest Retriever teams were those that contained the leader of gangs, mercenaries and such, which would only be called when big problems arose.

    ¡°There is also a new recruit in a town nearby that we could call. Gary Dem?¡± Rumper suggested. ¡°But since you were against the idea of using the new ones¡­ Ah here, there is also one more, an S Rank Retriever, but he is on his own. There are no other single Retrievers nearby.¡±

    ¡°What are the ranks of the retriever teams?¡± Rickle asked.

    ¡°We have one Rank B team, and one Rank A team.¡± Rumper answered.

    This was only a tier-4 city, and the fact that the Scavengers had enough time to call them. They could only assume that it wasn¡¯t arge-scale attack. So those that were attacking couldn''t have been too strong, or weren''t a veryrge force.

    ¡°A B rank team should be enough to deal with them.¡± Rickle asked. ¡°Just in case, make sure the S rank Retriever is on standby.¡±

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 742 Stop Everyone!

    Chapter 742 Stop Everyone!

    Author Note: With the wedding over and Level up Zombie¡¯s end around the corner, I will be working on stockpiling for the nned MWS Mass release. Most likely their will be one this month and another next month, but no solid date¡¯s yet! Just keeping you updated.

    ****

    The entire Phantom Brawl was chucked into chaos. At first, many of those that had been watching were still extremely calm about the whole situation. Believing it might just be an act and even if it wasn¡¯t an act that it would be dealt with quickly.

    It seemed to be the case with the intruder being grabbed and teamed up on by the many Altereds. The other gangs were starting to see the strength of the Scavengers, and they had made a decision in their heads that they wouldn''t try and go against them, it would be their death if they did.

    That was until arge bull looking Altered had seemingly appeared from the sky, to pound one of the Altered¡¯s head so hard that their head was now stuck in the ground soaking in its own blood.

    Whether the Altered was dead or not, they were unsure, but it was clear that they were no longer moving.

    ¡°Crap! Someone has a grudge against the Scavengers, we''re all going to die!¡± One of the gang members shouted.

    The whole room felt the same way, as they tried to escape, but the Scavengers members had locked the doors. They didn¡¯t want them to escape, the intruders needed to be dealt with and they thought this was a problem that they could still solve themselves.

    So instead the gang members had propped up their tables, turning them on their side, along with the chairs trying to move to the edge of the room, and this included Killer and the others.

    ¡®Holy crap!¡¯ Killer thought. ¡®I knew he was an Altered but what type of Altered is that? He can kill another in one hit¡­ this is crazy!¡¯

    The Altered that had been restraining d from before, with its strange ws that came out from its ribcage, jumped, trying to grab onto Austin.

    With hisrge arms he had no fear as he allowed the ws to dig into his hands, but his amazing strength was able to stop them from mping on and holding onto him.

    ¡°Try not to let go!¡± Austin shouted, as he gripped on and ran along with the Altered. He was heading straight for the cage and when they reached the cage he and the Altered ripped right through the metal wiring beforending on the Canvas on top of the Altered.

    The grip of the Altered started to loosen, and blood poured out of the Altered¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone crazy?¡± Austin asked the Altered who was seriously hurt and on the ground.

    Only part of his eye was covered in the strange ck substance, unlike d¡¯s, where the white couldn''t be seen in his eyes. Austin was thinking back to the other Altered they hade across, the other squad member outside.

    He too had turned into a fully Crazed Altered yet why hadn''t these guys?

    He was looking at the current Altered who had taken the same solution for an Altered solution, but the man in front of him had passed out. From the side, severalrge chunks of liquid came out toward him.

    Austin managed to roll in time using the bounciness of the canvas floor. As the liquid hit the floor it started to ice up once again.

    Through the hole they had made, the four remaining Altered had entered the ring.

    ¡°I¡¯m hoping one of you guys can give me an answer to my question, although it might mean I need to beat you guys a little harder.¡± Austin said, as he snorted, letting out visible hot air from his nose.

    Austin rarely used his full Altered transformation, but right now it was acting as a disguise, and he was feeling something, his blood was slowly pumping, building up, and it felt like he was getting slightly more energised as the fight was going on.

    He was unaware if this was a trait of his Altered form, or was it just a feeling he had with everything going on.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    d, having broken out of the situation he was in, was now staring at a person that was getting in the way, between him and Nox, it was Vixen.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I needed to get to you anyway!¡± d shouted. ¡°I¡¯m going to make your death a painful one, just like you did my father!¡±

    d flew directly toward Vixen, who at the right time, jumped over d doing a type of somersault, as he did, the mouths on his two hands fired out green liquid. It hit the back of d¡¯s wings and it appeared to be melting them on the spot.

    ¡°There are a number of things I can do kid.¡± Vixen said. ¡°And I think it¡¯s time I started doing my job, otherwise they could get a little annoyed at me.¡±

    Nox was watching the oue of the fight, and he didn''t like the look of the situation.

    ¡®Vixen '' was sent to me by NIRV, as a type of gift for looking after the factories that they handled. A tier-4 gang like us could never get an Altered.

    ¡®He¡¯s saved my back a few times, but this might be too much for him. Crap, how long will it be until NIRV appears with some help.¡¯

    It wasn''t d that was concerning him, but more so Austin. He had so far beaten anyone he hade across with ease.

    ¡®Screw it, I need to get out of here!¡¯ Nox thought.

    He looked to the stage, and there was an emergency back exit through the hallways. A fire exit. While everyone was busy and worried, he made a dash, going through the hole that Austin had made.

    He looked around, continuing to run through the hallway, until a figure stood in front of him.

    ¡°Who the f*ck are you!¡± Nox said.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­. the Shadow¡­ fi..¡± Vere couldn''t say it out loud, not in this situation but she was wearing her uniform to cover up who she was. ¡°I knew scum like you would abandon everyone. I''m here to make sure you get what¡¯sing to you¡­¡±

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 743 Seeing your face

    Chapter 743 Seeing your face

    The Shadow Fighter was blocking Nox¡¯s way from escape, but he had no clue who this person was. He wouldn''t involve himself with the affairs of kids, even the recruitment of the delinquent students were handled by the other gangs that were under the Scavengers.

    So he had no clue who the Shadow Fighter was, or anything about them, but from looking at their uniform, a memory did enter his mind.

    ¡°Oh, I see, you were one of the ones that interrupted thest fighting tournament. I did get a report of that, what is wrong with you people? Why do you have a grudge against me!¡± Nox shouted.

    ¡°Do you want money, are you one of the factory workers! I¡¯ll let you go and give you what you want, just get out of my way!¡± Nox shouted.

    Frustrated, Vere ran forward and went in for a strong kick toward Nox¡¯s head, but he had swiftly avoided it as he ducked down, and then with his own leg kicked the Shadow Fighter in the centre of her body causing her to stumble and fall over.

    Rolling from the ground, Vere was quick to get up, but didn¡¯t go in so rashly this time. They were in a hallway, so the two were more direct against each other, so it was harder for her to use her agility.

    ¡°Did you think that I couldn''t fight or something?¡± Nox said. ¡°Look, there¡¯s a reason why I¡¯m the leader of the Scavengers!¡±

    Out from his belt, Nox pulled out a small de. He dashed forward and Vere thought he was going to use it as a weapon but instead he hurled it toward her. Vere avoided it, but a fist was soon thrown out right at her face.

    It hit the side rtively heavily, but at the same time she managed to lift her leg up and kick the side of Nox¡¯s head. It had hit him in the temple, and as his body moved to the side he tried to grab onto Vere but instead had just grabbed onto the cloth around her face.

    As he fell, he pulled and the cloth hade off, revealing who it was underneath.

    Adjusting her jaw, Vere looked straight at Nox, even with the mask off, she wasn''t worried nor did she falter.

    ¡°It''s you¡­ you!¡± Nox said, surprised at first, but then filled with anger. ¡°What the f*ck, my own daughter, why are you doing this¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Nox smiled. ¡°It¡¯s because of your b*tch off a mother. I¡¯m surprised you were so attached to her from a young age! You knew what she did wrong, haha, she tried to go out with another man, when her eyes are only meant for me!¡±

    ¡°You disgusting creep!¡± Vere shouted, as she went in for another kick but Nox moved out of the way, she had done so this time as well not wanting to get hit badly a second time.

    ¡°You''re allowed to have multiple women, and when you throw my mom out like trash, she isn¡¯t allowed to find someone¡­ so you kill her, you have that right, to take someone so important out of my life!¡± Vere shouted.

    ¡°You¡­ I hate the fact that you''re my father and your blood runs through my veins. I¡¯m just happy you''re going to see the face that gives you a beating!¡±

    Nox started to let out a maniacalughter.

    ¡°F*ck it, I¡¯ll just kill you here, and the rest of your sisters before they can do something stupid like you. You are too emotional and ¡°And this is why I hate women. You know, I never wanted to have a daughter, but all you women kept giving me girls, five girls and not a single boy! I know, women will never understand, especially little girls like you.

    ¡°F*ck it, I¡¯ll just kill you here, and the rest of your sisters before they can do something stupid like you. You are too emotional and don¡¯t even understand my actions!¡±

    Nox decided to use his natural strength. He felt like since he was a man he would be able to overpower Vere, so he just charged in ready to rugby tackle her down. Seeing this at the right time, Vere jumped and shoved her knee right into his face.

    His head was knocked up and blood started to spew out. Before Nox could recover, she threw out another kick, hitting at the side of the head again, causing him to fall to the floor.

    ¡°Did you think I did nothing this whole time?¡± Vere said. ¡°Do you have any idea how hard I worked, how many fights I¡¯ve been through to get to this point. I¡¯m going to enjoy this!¡± Vere eximed.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Just outside, Austin was gearing up in the ring. The Altered with the strange looking fish head continued to spit out liquid, but he carefully kept an eye on each of them. Rather than just avoiding the strike outright, Austin moved in a zig zag shape, timing it so he could get closer to his opponent.

    ¡®I learned a lot when fighting with Vere, how timing and watching the opponent works!¡¯ Austin thought.

    Before everything was done with just a feeling, but Austin did have good instincts, without paying attention he would know when to avoid attacks or when one was nning to do a big hit of sorts.

    Now that he was thinking about the process as well, or thinking about what to do, things were bing a lot clearer. One of the Altered had leapt toward Austin.

    Seeing the timing, Austin used his strong legs to push him forward and he grabbed the strange creature right by the neck. The other squad leader had fired out his spit.

    Using the body in Austin¡¯s hand he moved it, blocking the attack and the body started to freeze over from the back, and soon Austin was right next to the strange faced Altered.

    He smashed through the frozen body with his fist, breaking it into pieces and the fist continued on forward hitting the Altered in the face. His head swung to the side and wacked into the side of the cage before sliding down onto the floor.

    ¡°Now, there¡¯s only one.¡± Austin said, looking at thest squad leader Altered that was in the ring.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 744 Infected power

    Chapter 744 Infected power

    Vixen and d were face to face with each other. For d, he had been hit by an acidic green liquid from Vixen''s hands. It looked like they could do a lot more than just inject venom and stretch.

    However, gritting his teeth, the liquid burning through his body just exploded memories in his head, memories of how much pain his father must have been in. Standing up, the energy was channelling through his body.

    His eyes turned a shade darker, and with it, his back wings started to repair themselves. Although when finished, they didn¡¯t look the same as before. They looked mangled with parts of the wings missing as well.

    ¡°What interesting results, it looks like this has been quite a nice little experiment for NIRV.¡± Vixen said to himself, as he stretched out both of his hands.

    d tried to move as he pped his wings, he had a short burst of speed in one direction but it was only momentary and the snake hands were going after him, like they were some type of homing device.

    Turning his head, the deadly fangs could be seen as the snake¡¯s mouth opened wide.

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± d shouted as he pped the neck part of the snake head, which was Vixen¡¯s wrist.

    The hit was fairly hard causing it to bounce off the floor, and before Vixen could retract it, d stepped on it with his feet. They started to transform while squeezing the snake head, turning almost w-like.

    His toes had curled and dug into the skin of the snake keeping it in ce.

    d had his eyes locked on Vixen and as he moved forward the snake arm¡¯s head was being lifted up, still stuck to his foot. So focused though, he was unable to see the other snake hand that hit him right in the side attaching to his neck.

    ¡°Got ya!¡± Vixen said. ¡°Did you really think an amatuer Altered who has a broken product would really be able to best me?¡±

    The venom was going through the fangs and was now being injected directly into d¡¯s neck. It was one of the most fatal parts. Although his venom hadn''t worked on hisst opponent for some reason.

    This time he was sure it was a done deal, usually that was the case with his venom form.

    Both of d¡¯s arm¡¯s were shaking as he moved them toward the snake head on his neck. He then grabbed it as close up to the head as he could and squeezed as hard as possible with his hands.

    With his other hand free, it was now underneath the snake. His hand started to transform, changing from arge insect like shape, to a small stinger. It wasn''trge in size, perhaps a little bigger than a finger, but it was incredibly sharp.

    Thrusting it upward, the stinger pierced the underside of the snake, drawing out blood. The tip couldn''t be seening through the other end, because the snake was too thick, but d quickly pulled out the stinger and started to thrust it again,

    It was creating small holes in the snake¡¯s underbelly each time, and these small holes were adding up as they were making a bigger cut on the snake. They were joining up, more blood was spilling and eventually the entire bottom half had been shredded by the single stinger.

    Thrusting it again and again, now the stinger was going through the topyer of skin, and as it weakened, d¡¯s hand transformed back, and grabbed onto one half of the snake¡¯s body and pulled it away,

    The skin had been weakened with so many holes inside it and ripped open spilling blood all over the ce as well as some green liquid had appeared from its belly.

    The snake head was still stuck on d¡¯s neck, but with both of his hands he now grabbed the top and bottom half, ripping it open and throwing the head on the ground. Blood and part of the green liquid drizzled from his wound, but his blood was ck in colour.

    ¡°You should be dead, let alone be able to stand, so how on earth were you able to do that!¡± Vixen shouted.

    d was more infected by the Altered solution than anyone could have realised, and not everyone in the world knew exactly how it worked yet. At first the venom was taking effect, but it was almost as if there was already something more deadly inside d¡¯s body, that had fought back the venom, getting rid of it bit by bit, until it no longer affected him at all.

    Jumping up, d let go of the other snake head, and his wings fluttered fast sending him right toward Vixen. His wings only needed to work for a short time span as he built up speed and gave a devastating punch right on Vixen¡¯s face sending him to the ground.

    Before he could move away, d then mmed his wed foot right in his chest piercing his body.

    ¡°Time¡­ to get my revenge!¡± d dered.

    A loud bang was heard from the side, and turning to look for a moment, d could see a part of the wall had been broken, close to the stage. Dust was gathering, but through the dust a figure was thrown right onto the floor.

    ¡°Vere?¡± d said, recognising the person.

    ¡°Alright¡­ so are you guys the trouble makers that caused us to get called in all of this.¡± A voice said.

    There wasn¡¯t just one person that was appearing through the dust. When it settled, he could now see that there were five.

    ¡°Vixen, I thought if you were here we wouldn''t get called, didn¡¯t you used to be a C rank retriever, how could they have done this to you?¡± A man standing at the front of the group smiled.

    The B Rank retrievers from NIRV had arrived.

    *****

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 745 Howlers arrive

    Chapter 745 Howler''s arrive

    At the factory, the workers were getting a little impatient. A lot of them were pacing back and forth, on their phones frantically contacting their family members, and some were biting their nails.

    Minutes felt like they were taking hours to pass as their sense of time disappeared. Now with both Gary and Elijah gone, any moment they felt like members of the Scavengers were going toe in and punish them for what they had done.

    The sound of the front door was heard creaking, and some of the workers screamed as they quickly moved and went into hiding.

    Going first through the door, they could see a blonde haired young adult, wearing a face mask. It was a normal face mask that one would wear when they were sick. Just from what they could see and mainly from his eyes, one could tell he was a pretty boy.

    ¡°Ie here on behalf of a troublesome green haired teenager!¡± Kai said, entering the room, and he wasn¡¯t alone.

    Olivia was by his side along with Marie, and entering the room behind them, were a few more of the Howlers gang members. All of them dressed in in ck clothing rather than their gang uniforms and each of them were wearing the same type of mask.

    After all, the Howlers were there today just as helpers.

    Marie had walked over to the workers, and with her gentle approach and kind eyes she started to exin how the vehicles were ready outside, and that they should get a move on as quickly as possible.

    For those who wished for the rest of their family members to be picked up, they were toe to her and they would make a list of the locations they would need to stop by.

    While she was sorting it out, Kai was looking around the room, because there was a certain someone he couldn¡¯t see.

    ¡°Are you looking for Gary?¡± Earny, the old injured man said, as he walked over with his friend holding him up. ¡°He told us that someone woulde to help us¡­ I still can¡¯t believe this is happening, that all of this is true.¡±

    It still felt somewhat like a trick. As if they were going from the hands of one into another, and after being under the control of the Scavengers for so long, they seemed a lot more scary than those in front of them.

    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t see him anywhere?¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°I heard him and another youngd talking.¡± Earny replied. ¡°The two of them, they headed to something called the Phantom Brawl, I believe he went searching for his friend.¡±

    Kai had tried to call both Austin and Gary a few times and neither of them had picked up. It was making him worry a bit about what was going on. After finding out that NIRV was the ones behind this, Kai was extremely worried.

    It was one of the few groups that, if they really wanted to, could crush them. If they found out the Howlers had tried to take over this city, or the factories that they were working at, then clearly there would be a war on their hands, and it was a war they wouldn''t be able to win.

    He could already see NIRV sending the surrounding gangs towards them, stopping them from buying anything at the Dark Guild auction. They would stunt their growth first and then take over everything they owned bit by bit.

    ¡°Tell me, what is this Phantom Brawl, do you know anything about it, or where it takes ce?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°I know a little bit.¡± Earny replied. ¡°But I think my son actually might know more. I actually told him to get ready but he hasn¡¯t replied. I can try to contact him on the matter.¡±

    ¡°If you can, it would be a big help, as you know this matter concerns Gary as well, and his safety. This gang business is dangerous.¡± Kai said with a smile.

    Earny sent a few texts to his son, and tried to get through calling as well. Meanwhile Kai was looking at the factory and the situation around them. It was quite an operation they had here and they had so many workers as well.

    ¡®Why would NIRV take over a tier four city and set up factories in a ce like this? Even Gary said that it would be extremely beneficial to the gang¡­ so why is it so important?¡¯ Kai thought, looking around.

    If it was something NIRV wanted. Then it was something he wanted as well, but there was no chance they could take over this city now like they had done in Notsburg. Not without retaliation happening.

    Walking over, Olivia had finished exploring the ce a bit further than Kai.

    ¡°Did you find anything?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°It looks like they were just mining some crystals.¡± Olivia replied. ¡°There are a couple of boxes that are empty, but there are a few crates filled with the stuff. Some of them are just your standard gems that can be sold for a pretty penny or two, but nothing that I could see worth setting up this big of an operation for.

    ¡°However, there are some crates filled with crystals that I¡¯ve never seen before as well.¡±

    Kai thought about it for a while. It looked like the workers had boarded fairly quickly onto the minibuses that had arrived, and it was their cue to get out of here.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not leave empty handed, pack a couple of those crates onto the buses. I have a feeling that they might be more important than we realise.¡± Kai said.

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 746 Completing the Revenge

    Chapter 746 Completing the Revenge

    The team had burst out from a wall close to the back stage, and had made quite the entrance as they had thrown the Shadow Fighter onto the floor. The clothes that the person was wearing was well known, and all of the fighters who were school students knew it well.

    ¡°What the, hey isn''t that the Shadow Fighter? Were they here as well?¡±

    ¡°I guess they finally decided to show up at one of these things, man I''m d to see that guy got his arse beat. He would go around just beating up on everyone thinking they were hot shit.¡±

    Nearly all of the students were talking about the Shadow Fighter which just showed how infamous this person was, and it seemed to be news to their bosses. The students from other schools didn¡¯t exactly inform them that they had been beaten.

    From the group that hade in, a man with straight ck hair that was parted to the side stepped forward. He was dressed inplete ck from head to toe, with only a ck leather jacket that revealed his abs.

    It wasn''t just him though, the rest of the group were also in simr clothing, all ck, with a few essories here or there and that included their hair as well. There were three boys and two girls in the group of all shapes and sizes but their faces shared simr traits, and that was because they were all rted.

    This was the B rank retriever team that worked exclusively for NIRV. They weren¡¯t part of any gang, but were strong enough to deal with any situation that would arise. In some cases they would even be sent to the tier 2 cities to help deal with some troublesome gangs that didn¡¯t agree with them.

    This group was known as the Strike force, and their leader, with the straight ck hair, Kon was one who always got the job done. He walked over to Vere who had just been thrown onto the ground, her arm was twisted in an unnatural shape, clearly broken, but her face was facing the ground.

    With his foot, Kon kicked her until she was on her front and ced his foot on top of her stomach.

    ¡°Hey, it looks like they''re talking about you? I didn¡¯t realise you were someone famous? It¡¯s quite a surprise the reputation you have with how weak you are.¡±

    Having been kicked over, now everyone was able to see the face of the Shadow Fighter.

    ¡°Wait, it was a girl!¡±

    ¡°Heck, you said you guys got done in by her, by a girl. How useless are you guys?¡±

    Some of the gang members wereughing at the students who had just admitted their defeat and now seeing who it was, but the ones that had been beaten weren¡¯tughing; they knew how strong she was.

    ¡°She''s not just a girl, look at who it is¡­ isn¡¯t she one of the five sisters!¡±

    Her face recognisable by them all, the Shadow Fighter being a prime family member. No one understood what was going on, and her sisters were left staring at her face, unable to do anything.

    Out from behind them, there was a swollen lipped man that could be seening through the crack. As soon as the others saw him, they noticed who it was.

    ¡°Boss!¡± the Scavenger members shouted.

    ¡°Go away all of you!¡± Nox shouted back before they coulde to his side. ¡°You were all useless, you managed to let this little crap slip by and attack me. If it wasn¡¯t for the Retriever team¡­¡± Nox stopped there as he realised what he was saying made him sound quite bad.

    He couldn''t even beat a girl, and it was his own daughter at that. If she was an Altered it would be understandable. At least that¡¯s what Nox thought.

    For a moment, d had hesitated as he looked at Vere who was on the floor, being trampled, the position she was in right now, was the same one that d had put Vixen in.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± Kon said. ¡°If you try to off his head, then I¡¯ll off her¡¯s right away.¡±

    d had decided to look away from the two of them, and stared down at Vixen instead. Both of his fists lifted up, and he threw them down, they both mmed right into Vixen¡¯s face not once but multiple times like a gun going off.

    Blood was sttering all over the ce, and d continued to punch.

    ¡°My father¡­ my father felt more pain than this! I wish I could kill your whole family in front of you!¡± d shouted.

    ¡°I guess, it¡¯s to bad for you, he made his choice.¡± Kon shrugged his shoulders. Lifting his own arm up his body started to transform, his eyes were bing big, bug-like shaped, two antennas stuck out from his head, and had grownrge with a hard ck casing on the outside.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± Vivi screamed, as she got up off the ground and ran over ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her¡­ she¡¯s¡­ she¡¯s my sister!¡±

    In what Vere felt like were herst moments, she who thought she had already lost all her family, lost everyone that she cared about, to hear those words and someone crying tears for her, it was a beautiful sight, but it caused her to well up inside.

    Before Vivi could interfere, one of the females from the Strike force was suddenly in front of her and had punched her right in the gut. It was a hard blow that caused blood toe up her throat and out of her mouth sending her to her knees.

    ¡°Crap!¡± The other sisters wanted to run by her side, but they were too afraid after seeing what had happened.

    The scream had caused a distraction for Kon, but it would only take a moment anyway. That was until he could feel something moving through the air. Looking up, a body was hurled right towards him. Not moving from his position, Kon used hisrge hand to hit the body away and deflected it, causing it to crash right through the bar.

    The counter top had been destroyed and the body was unmoving.

    ¡°Who is trying to meddle with our work?¡± Kon said.

    Steam blowing out of his nose, Austin was standing by d and ced his hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead¡­ he¡¯s dead.¡± Austin said. ¡°But the one you want, is hiding behind those people.¡±

    Although d seemed to be out of his mind, Austin had realised that his goal still stayed true. d stopped attacking Vixen, who now appeared to have no head at all. Turning around, he looked toward the Strike force.

    ¡°We were told that some people had managed to get their hands on our product and were misusing it.¡± Kon said. ¡±We have only been asked for two things, to bring the bodies of the Altered back and to protect Nox, but they didn¡¯t say the bodies needed to be alive.¡±

    *****

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 747 Strike Squad

    Chapter 747 Strike Squad

    It felt a little ufortable as Austin was standing next to d. The strange smoke that wasing off his body, as it touched his skin it was giving him a slight tingling sensation, but from looking at the new group of people that had arrived, d thought that they might need as much help as they could get.

    ¡®Vere doesn''t look like she¡¯s in any condition to help, but it doesn''t matter. I said that I would be the one to solve this thing, so I¡¯ll solve it!¡¯

    Austin charged forward, steaming out of his nose, and his speed was explosive when doing so. With each step there was great strength. The steps were heavy and anyone who was within a few meters could feel it.

    ¡°Are you some type of rampaging bull?¡± Kon smiled. ¡°I guess you''re pretty confident in your strength, but so are we!¡±

    Kon¡¯s body had already transformed, with the two antennas on his head, his eyes bing bigger in size, and his forearms bingrger with a dark brown outer skeleton on it that looked almost ck.

    Then, out from his back, simr to d, thin wings spread out from his back, and he flew forward at a fast speed. Both of them, as they approached each other, threw out their fists.

    They collided knuckle to knuckle, seemingly not one being a winner or loser, until it looked like Kon was actually being pushed back. His wings started to p faster, trying to give him more power but it wasn¡¯t working as Austin took another step.

    ¡°I have to admit you''re stronger than I thought.¡± Kon said, as he quickly pulled his hands back, and swung them out again, changing from a fist to grabbing onto them. It allowed Austin to push forward, but he didn¡¯t get a hit off.

    ¡°You''re not a bull are you, could it really be, is this already your full Altered form? Are you a Mythical type Altered?¡± Kon smiled because it didn¡¯t matter.

    From the back, two of the retriever members flew in and pushed right into Kon¡¯s shoulder giving him a boost of power, pushing him forward. With the three of them, they had greater strength than Austin and he was now the one that was being pushed back.

    ¡®This is a first for me.¡¯ Austin thought. ¡®I¡¯m losing in a battle of power and strength?¡¯

    ¡°You idiot, behind you!¡± Vere shouted, holding onto her side of her rib. She only had the upper half of her body off the ground.

    Turning his head, it was toote, another one of the retrievers was already by his side and delivered a powerful fist right to Austin¡¯s face. It swung to the side, and at the same time, Kon let go.

    ¡°It¡¯s an old fashioned beat down!¡± Kon said with a smile and all three of them started to punch Austin at an incredible speed. Their hands were going back and forth like some type of machine as they hit Austin in the head, the body and all over.

    The hits weren¡¯t weak by any means, as they hit Austin¡¯s body, loud bangs were heard making it sound like a gun was going off in the room. The hits were hurting and in a desperate attempt, Austin threw out a fist trying to hit something but he just hit the air and than the people before you, let¡¯s see how long your able tost!¡± Kon said.

    then was quickly hit by two more.

    His face, even in its minotaur and bull-like appearance, was starting to swell up.

    ¡°A mythical type certainly is fun! You are alreadysting a lot longer than the people before you, let¡¯s see how long your able tost!¡± Kon said.

    The four retrievers were flying in and out from different directions, they had Austin surrounded and would hit him from one side or the other. Once in a while Austin would throw out a punch but he was unable to do anything.

    ¡°Freaking hell.¡± Killer said, watching the whole thing from behind the table they had propped up on the side. ¡°Who are these guys¡­ they''re a lot stronger than the other Altered. Big Mask had dealt with all the Altered from before with ease, but he can¡¯t evennd a hit on them.¡±

    Killer didn¡¯t know why, but he actually felt a little disappointed. It was almost as if the one he was rooting for was Austin.

    ¡®What is wrong with me, do I like getting beaten up by that guy or something?¡¯ Killer shook his head. ¡®It''s not that, this just feels unfair. I saw his strength from before. If he was to take them on one on one, then I¡¯m sure he would be able to find a way to beat them, but their teamwork is crazy.¡¯

    The Strike force was one of the very few retriever teams that always worked together. Retriever groups were usually a mix of people all from different cities that would get called in at times to fight the dangerous beasts.

    However, with the Strike squad working for NIRV directly, they always did tasks together. Each one of them had even received the same type of Altered solution, and when together. It would be harder than fighting most B rank groups.

    Killer looked around the room, because there was one person who was by his side that should have been able to help, it was d. However, d had ignored what was happening to Austin, and had gone straight for Nox.

    One of the retrievers had stayed by his side, and was now in battle with d. Simrly though, the fight wasn¡¯t going d¡¯s way. It felt like he was a step slower, the two seemed to have simr Altered base types, but the retriever was faster, stronger, and more skilled at fighting, allowing them to give d a beatdown.

    The only thing was, every time d would be knocked on his back, he would get up immediately as if he hadn''t been hit at all. Almost like an obsessed zombie.

    ¡®Crap, the two of them are getting a pounding, I have to do something to help, but my whole body, it hurts too much.¡¯ Vere bit the bottom of her lip, as she felt hopeless in this situation, everything was going so well and now it was going so wrong.

    The pounding continued on Austin, the hits were getting to him and he felt the walls of muscle on his body breaking down, and the shock was going to his very bones.

    Kon flew in and threw a deep below right into his gut, pushing forward, nearly tearing his insides out. Blood spilt from his mouth, shooting out onto the floor. Austin went to grab Kon, but he missed again.

    ¡°Haha, this is amazing, you¡¯vested so long. I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s ever stayed standing for this long, we should begin making out bets!¡±

    The pounding continued from the others while Kon was looking for a more vital blow.

    Vere, still watching, couldn''t stand it anymore.

    ¡®I have to¡­ I have to get up!¡¯

    The sound of rapid footsteps was heard from her side. She nced in the direction of where they wereing from, but a blur had soon gone past her.

    One of the female retrievers was flying in, going for a kick toward the back of Austin¡¯s head. While mid air though, she felt something grab onto the back of her head.

    A wholerge hand, with sharp fingernails, appeared at the side of her face.

    [Lethal pounce]

    The retriever''s face was mmed into the marble flooring, her teeth shooting off into the air and the marble breaking underneath.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch him!¡± Gary said, his eyes narrowing and glowing red.

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 748 Crashing into the Phantom Brawl

    Chapter 748 Crashing into the Phantom Brawl

    Crashing into the middle of the scene, Gary was enraged as soon as he saw Austin being beaten to a pulp. Who were they going up against, who was it that were attacking him, none of this mattered to Gary. The only thing that mattered was that his friend was being hit and he needed to do something to help him.

    His legs were boosted with a transformation and as soon as he got close, he used the lethal pounce move, crushing one of the Retrievers head into the ground.

    [The night sky is out]

    [The effect of the Dark Warrior ss has been activated]

    [Energy is doubled]

    [All skills have been increased by 1 level]

    It was the perfect time for Gary not to reserve his energy either.

    ¡®Crap, crap, crap!¡¯ Elijah thought as he had rushed in just before Gray. The two of them were wearing masks covering their faces, but this was not the n he had in mind. They needed to see what was going on first, and if NIRV were behind it, to see if they had arrived, or if there was anyone on the inside.

    ¡°Are you okay, Bull?¡± Gary said, not wanting to give away the name of his team member.

    ¡°Haha, no.¡± Austin replied with a smile, his face transforming back to that of a human, but hisrge size was still there as he was partially transformed. ¡°I said that I would do this on my own, and now that you''re here, I¡¯m going to have to share a little.¡±

    The onlookers had decided to take a step back, hugging the wall closer than they did before. The situation was getting crazier by the ¡°Do this on your own, it looks like to me you were getting your arse kicked.¡± Gary joked.

    The onlookers had decided to take a step back, hugging the wall closer than they did before. The situation was getting crazier by the second, they didn¡¯t even know who was fighting any more, or why they were fighting.

    Gary had gone to check on Austin staying by his side, what he didn¡¯t expect was the person''s head that he had just smashed in, to get up and suddenly start flying about. She quickly went to regroup with the rest of the Strike force which was no longer in the air.

    Arge strike had hit d in the stomach that sent him tumbling to the other¡¯s location as well.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t die from your attack?¡± Austin said.

    Gary was gritting his teeth, because if he had been paying attention he should have known that as well. For one, his system hadn¡¯te up with anything for him having beaten the Altered.

    Usually there would be some type of exp, and there was something else, when he had entered the room, a quest had popped up.

    [A group of powerful Altered have appeared]

    [When together they are stronger than they seem.]

    [Defeat all five of the Altered known as the Strike Force]

    One of the things Gary would use to somewhat gauge whether his enemies were strong was the system. He hade out to the city to find a way to grow stronger hoping the system would give him quests and now it had done so.

    It wouldn''t have been so easy if he could just beat a person in one hit.

    ¡°Leriisa, is everything okay?¡± Kon asked.

    She tilted her head, cracking it to the side, and scratched her face a bit.

    ¡°That guy, I didn¡¯t see him, he¡¯s really fast and really strong. This has just gotten a bit more difficult. Now it makes sense why they called a rank B team like us in.¡±

    Elijah had slid in with the mask on his face joining up with the others, and stood in front of them all.

    ¡°Who¡­ is this guy, a new member?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a member!¡± Elijkah quickly said. ¡°I¡¯m just a mysterious helper for now.¡±

    Austin was starting to think this city truly attracted strange people, who for one reason or another loved to wear disguises.

    ¡°Look, this isn¡¯t good, the people in front of us are the infamous Strike force.¡± Elijah exined. ¡°It looks like NIRV are really behind this after all.¡±

    Elijah didn¡¯t say anymore after that to not give away his identity, but there were times where the White Rose were meant to deal with cases, but the Strike force had already dealt with it, and with NIRV¡¯s pressure they were told to back down from the case.

    From what Elijah knew, a squad of the White Rose had gotten into a scuffle with the Strike force at one point, and it wasn¡¯t a pretty sight for the White Rose. It had put them somewhat in their ce, and was one of the reasons the White Rose and NIRV tried to stay away from each other.

    ¡°I see, now with the numbers evened out, you think you can take us-¡±

    Kon was interrupted in the middle of his speech, because rushing forward with his wings pping was d. Heading straight for the five.

    ¡®That guy.¡¯ Elijah noticed. ¡®His wings, the misting off his body.¡¯

    ¡°Is that kid infected?¡± Elijah asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now, we need to protect him, I promised¡­ I promised I would!¡± Austin said, already charging forward but it would be impossible to catch up at this rate.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Gary said, rushing straight ahead.

    ¡®Did Gary get faster? And not just a little faster either.¡¯ Austin thought.

    [Lethal pounce level 2]

    A sudden jump to his right side, and then the second jump was right at his target. It put him right in front of d, who was about to be struck by two of the retrievers. With his hands, he knocked two of them away.

    ¡°You''re annoying!¡± Kon shouted, throwing a punch out right into his stomach, a strong hit.

    [-25 Hp]

    [275 HP]

    ¡°You''re going to have to hit me a lot more to take me out!¡± Gary said, as he jumped up and threw both of his legs out kicking Kon and sending him off in the distance. ¡°And I hit harder than you.¡±

    The other retrievers were on him, but Austin had tackled one of them at full speed knocking it out of the way, and Elijah¡¯s hand had transformed into a strange rocky grey substance, stopping the hit in its tracks.

    Gary got up straight off the floor, as there were still Retrievers that were fighting, one had gone to hit d, andnded a hit but before they could throw a punch again, Gary had grabbed their hand.

    His own had transformed into a w.

    [w drain]

    Swiping it across the chest of the Retriever, it tore through its clothing and through its hard ck casing, blood dripping from their chest.

    [+4 HP]

    Seeing Gary holding onto their friend, another punched Gary in the side of the face.

    [-12Hp]

    But the hit wasn''t as hard as their leader''s.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Gary said, as he lifted one of the retrievers'' body, and swung it, hitting it into the other, causing them both to crash into each other.

    Everyone was stunned watching the sight, and even Vere could believe her own eyes.

    ¡®Who is that guy¡­ he¡¯s taking on three of them at once.¡¯

    ****

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 Chapter 749 Attack 1

    Chapter 749 Attack 1

    Author message: Webnovel is having a character contest, if you can vote for Quinn it would mean a lot and help me out!

    ------

    All five of the retrievers, although they had desperately been hit, and one even wed by Gary, were recovering well and didn¡¯t seem to be overly injured. They were still hovering in the air with their wings, and looked more annoyed than anything.

    ¡®This certainly has be a lot more difficult with him joining the fight. We need to start thinking of an easier way to deal with the situation.¡¯

    For a moment Kon took a back seat, and he looked at the others. HIs antenna on top of his head twitched a bit, and the other¡¯s nced at him for a second. Now two of the retrievers had gone over to Gary, they were circling him, trying to bait him to attack rather than attacking themselves.

    As for the other two, they had gone to Elijah, Austin and d. Although Austin was a big threat initially, he had slowed down after taking a ratherrge beating from all five of them, it was the same for d as well.

    The only one that was trouble out of that group, was the neer with the mask. His Altered form allowed him to harden his body into a grey type of stone. Even with the retrievers'' strength, when they hit with full force, his body didn¡¯t even budge. He was more solidpared to even Austin.

    fighting.

    However, they had yet to see himnd a sessful hit, as he swung his arms out, the retrievers were just too fast. However when they tried to attack, he was quite quick. His arms were able to grow sideways, forming a type of shield. It was clear that he was used to fighting.

    ¡®Alright, I¡¯ve figured out a n to do this.¡¯ Kon thought. The antenna on the top of his head started to move, and soon after so had the others.

    They immediately flew back to where he was, and a split secondter they all started to swirl around Quinn.

    ¡®All of them are aiming for me now?¡¯ Gary noticed. ¡®Do I use lethal pounce, but If I do, andtch onto one of them, all four will start to hit me, although I am strong I don¡¯t know how long I wouldst, and usingst stand in a situation like so, it means I have to be confident in taking them out within that time, and with the way they¡¯ve gotten up after each hit, I¡¯m not very confident.¡¯

    Although Gary wasn¡¯t afraid for his life, even with these five, he was finding the situation a little difficult.

    ¡®Crap, if I¡¯m stuck in a situation like this, then how the heck am I meant to beat Midwak!¡¯

    He could see Kon going towards him and all the others. If this was how it was going to be, then he would fully transform and try to rip one of their heads off. If he could do that, then surely they wouldn''t be able to get up again.

    ¡®At the end of the day, this is the gang business. All of these people, all of those in the factory. I can¡¯t imagine how many have died already because of all of this. I need to get rid of these!¡¯ Gary¡¯s eyes were filled with fury and he was ready to attack.

    That was until at thest moment, Kon had made a change in course, and the rest had as well. They all were flying toward Austin, who had readied himself but they soon swept past him at a quick speed as well and had missed Elijah.

    ¡®Crap, they''re going for the kid!¡¯ Gary noticed and started to run ahead but it was toote.

    They were already moving at full speed by the time Gary realised and as they went past all five of them delivered a strong blow, one to the body, one to the arm, to the leg, and Kon delivered arge one right to his face, causing d¡¯s whole body to lift up into the air.

    His transformation was starting to turn back as he fell to the ground and his eyes rolled all over the ce.

    ¡°Crap, you f*cks!¡± Austin shouted while rushing over. The retrievers had already run away like small little bugs.

    ¡°Why don''t you just fight us evenly instead of fighting us all at once, all five of us!¡± Austin shouted, as he looked at d he was in a serious situation, and the way he was now they could use him as well.

    ¡°Oh, is this a gang member trying to talk to us about fairness? Maybe you guys shouldn¡¯t have gotten involved with something if you weren''t prepared to risk your lives!¡±

    Kon couldn''t believe it, if it was like this, it would be easy. They could just continue to attack d, and their mind would be in too much of a mess to focus. There was a reason why Kon had told them all to hold back with their hits, because they were going to use d as a distraction.

    Targeting him, or targeting one of the others, and slowly they would get rid of all of the attackers one by one.

    ¡°Hey big guy. We need to get this guy out of here.¡¯ Elijah whispered. ¡°I know how these guys work. They''re going to just keep targeting him, now that they¡¯ve found our weak spot, get him out of here.¡± Elijah said.

    Nodding, Austin decided to lift d over his shoulder, but there was one more person he was worried about as well. He went over towards her and before Vere could say anything, lifted her up on his back.

    She wanted toin but when she saw Austin heading towards the door, she decided to stay quiet knowing what he was nning.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine by us.¡± Kon said, his antenna moving and all five of them started to swirl around Gary once more. One of the retrievers dived straight ahead, and lifting both of his hands, Gary smashed them on their back sending them into the ground.

    However at the same time, two had hit him side by side, punching his cheeks in

    [-36]

    ¡®Fuck that really hurt!¡¯ Gary thought, and he could see that they had torn the side of his mask and it was starting to fall off.

    ¡®Sh*t, if my mask falls off and these guys are from NIRV, they¡¯ll recognize me, and there''s so many in the room¡­ I guess this is the only way.¡¯

    [Full transformation activated.]

    ****

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 750 A mind connection

    Chapter 750 A mind connection

    Judging by how strong this group was, and the fact that all of them were Altered, Gary had an inkling that they had to be from NIRV. He took Kai¡¯s warning well, and knew the dangers of therge corporation.

    Just thinking about it, nearly all of the top fighters in the AFC were from the AFA, and the very best were put through the special lessons that Gary had gone through, which meant they had signed an agreement.

    Even those like himself that were no longer part of the AFC, due to the contract, would have to work for NIRV If they called on them. This was just one of the things that NIRV did that made them so dangerous.

    If they saw his face, they might target and even attempt to eliminate Slough, so he had no choice but to activate his full transformation.

    [Full transformation activated]

    Gary¡¯s face quickly changed, creating arge snout, his eyes sinking in slightly deeper, and fur appearing all over his body were visible. His clothing was already somewhat torn up from his transformation that he had gone through before, since he wasn¡¯t wearing the Howlers'' uniform, but his size was muchrger thanpared to his human self.

    ¡®This is looking pretty dangerous.¡¯ Kon thought and he was right.

    Immediately, Gary grabbed onto the arms of the two that had hit him side by side. Their wings were pping as they tried to pull away, but Gary¡¯s strength was just too much for them.

    Swinging them by the arm, Gary mmed them both into the ground, breaking the floor beneath. The moment Gary had flung the two down, Kon was right in front of him.

    ground, breaking the floor beneath. The moment Gary had flung the two down, Kon was right in front of him.

    He no longer had the calm look on his face from before, as he was taking this thing seriously. He punched, giving two blows to the stomach and one to the face, pushing him back slightly.

    However, the attacks were less effective than before.

    [-4 HP]

    [-6 HP]

    [-8 HP]

    In his full transformation, his muscles grewrger and his werewolf skin gave him a thick hide. Making his endurance even better than it was when he was a human.

    Unfazed, Gary went to sh his w out, but Kon was still able to move away fast enough, and another one of the Retrievers came from the side, kicking Gary in the face.

    ¡®These guys, even in my fully transformed state, I can¡¯t get them because it''s almost impossible to focus on just one of them!¡¯ Gary thought, getting angry by the second. ¡®They are perfectly able to coordinate with each other, giving me no chance to use my skills!¡¯

    It wasn''t just that, even the two Gary had smashed onto the ground had gotten up from the floor already. Gary hadn¡¯t held back.

    ¡®We are one of the most resistant Altered forms out there!¡¯ Kon thought in his mind. ¡®He¡¯ll have to take our heart out, or rip off our heads to kill us. We are as strong as a cockroach who can survive even a nuclear st!¡¯

    [Lethal pounce]

    Gary quickly jumped from his position, moving out from the attacks that wereing his way, and then pounced on the nearest Retriever who was still mid air. Hisrge body crashed into the Retriever, pinning them to the ground.

    His strength and weight was far more superior, and in this position there was nothing the Retriever could do to get away.

    ¡®If I get hit, then I¡¯ll just gain my health back!¡¯

    Gary¡¯s ws elongated slightly as he had the darkness on his side, he would use his abilities over and over.

    [w drain level 2]

    At level 2 the effectssted longerpared to before, not that he had to worry.

    [+3 HP]

    [+5 HP]

    [+2 HP]

    Gary¡¯s ws were digging into the hard outer skin of the Altered and blood was sttered to the side as he continued to swing.

    At the same time, the other four all flew towards Gary, and each of them hit Gary at the same time right in his chest, managing to push him off the other.

    Austin was running with Elijah, he had given d to him, while he was carrying Vere, but he couldn''t help but look back at what was happening. He could see that although Gary wasn¡¯t in danger, he was having trouble.

    ¡®If he just had one more person to help him out, he would do well.¡¯ Austin thought.

    ¡®We need to go back and help him, but we need to make sure these two are safe.¡¯

    That¡¯s when his eye had caught someone else in the room, someone they could use. Immediately Austin started to run over to them, and Elijah followed wondering what he had spotted.

    ¡°Hey what are you doinging to us, we don¡¯t know you!¡± Killer said with a nervous look, as the other gang members started to move away from them. Thinking the enemy wasing to give them a beating.

    ¡°You take d and get him out of here, take him to the front and leave this ce!¡± Austin ordered.

    He then looked at Herbert as well.

    ¡°And you, take Vere and make sure she is safe. Get out of here and leave.¡±

    Although Vere was conscious, she was in no condition to walk from the beating she had received from the others.

    ¡°Do it now, or I¡¯ll kill you both!¡± Austin shouted, which caused the two to spring up to their feet and quickly take the people off their shoulders. Immediately they started to head to the door.

    It looked like some of the gang members were ready to stop them but a single look from Austin had stopped any idea of that. While the two went back to Gary¡¯s aid, Killer was mumbling under his breath, still wondering how he had even got in this situation.

    They had reached the iron door, and with one hand started to pull at the bolts, pushing them to the side. Finally he pushed the door open, but to his surprise there was someone else on the other side.

    ¡°Is this the Phantom Brawl?¡± A blonde haired man asked, with a mask covering his face.

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 751 A change of quest

    Chapter 751 A change of quest

    Standing by the door, Killer just stared at the man and the woman who was next to him, who were both wearing masks. They weren¡¯t wearing any yful masks, but the same medical masks that Gary and Big Mask had been wearing when they first came in.

    At this point, it had already be a realisation that all of those that wore this type of mask, probably belonged to the same type of people.

    ¡°Look, I really don''t want any trouble, I¡¯m just following the order of Big Mask. Pease can I stop getting hit, and my life threatened.¡± Killer said.

    Of course, the two of them had no clue who Big Mask was, so it made no sense for them, but with Kai taking a peek past the open door, he could see a full werewolf boy in action.

    ¡°Olivia, you head inside and help the boss out.¡± Kai said. ¡°But don¡¯t transform and don¡¯t use your whip.¡±

    Kai was still being very cautious about the whole situation. They had an auction to go to, and now really wasn''t the time for them to be making enemies. Unfortunately, thier group had appeared on a couple of TV broadcasts, and the gangs that had done their research would know what their Altered forms were or what weapons they used.

    Listening to the order, she rushed in, and could immediately see Austin¡¯s back as well.

    ¡°You said someone asked you about these two people right, bring them with me, and put them in the car. Meanwhile, I want you to answer all of my questions otherwise you will receive a beating.¡± Kai siad.

    Some of the minibus vehicles were already on their way back to Slough, along with the other Howlers members that had arrived with them. Kai had onlye with a small group of people, and some of the workers on board.

    Honestly, if he could, he wanted to do a drive-by, pick Gary and Austin up and leave this ce, but it appeared they were in the middle of everything.

    When they had eventually reached the car, Killer had given a quick low down on everything that happened. Who Big Mask was, what they had done at the event, and even a green haired person interrupting the fight, wearing the same mask.

    Based on the texts he had received, and information that Kai knew he was quickly painting a picture of the situation.

    ¡®Was it Austin that was the one that caused more trouble this time, but then again Gary had already caused the scene at the factory, so one way or another we would have been put in this pickle.

    The back of the minibus door opened up, and they ced d in first, after that they ced Vere in as well.

    ¡°Wait, I need to head inside, I need to make sure that Nox is taken care of!¡± Vere shouted.

    ¡°From the sound of things you were already close to death, and for some reason my teammates have been dragged into this whole thing. I¡¯m not ming you, but the situation has gotten too dangerous, now that they are involved.¡±

    It was hard for Vere to argue back with that. It was clear to those members that her father was making some type of deal with a bigger organisation than that of the Scavengers.

    ¡®What is going to happen to me now though. These people are with Austin right? Just who is Austin, how are they able to pull off something this big?¡¯ Vere thought, looking behind her. ¡®If I stay in this town and Nox is still alive though, then I can¡¯t live here, he¡¯ll kill me in a heartbeat. I¡­ I have to leave.¡¯

    Just as Killer and Herbert were ready to head back into the establishment before people branded them as traitors, an old man ran to the end of the minibus.

    ¡°Kain!¡± the man shouted.

    Turning around, Killer was wondering who the heck would call him by his real name. When he saw who it was, his eyeballs nearly popped out of his head.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Killer shouted out.

    ¡°Kain, you were here all along!¡± The old man jumped from the back of the car and hugged his son, when Killer went to hug him back the man squealed in pain from the wounds he had on his body.

    Because the old man in question was Earny from the factory, the man who had been whipped and then saved by Gary.

    ¡°What happened to you, dad, is everything all right?¡± Killer asked.

    ¡°It will be.¡± Earny said. ¡°These people, they''re helping us, they''re taking us out of this city once and for all, and giving us all a better life. We can finally escape from this ce. I was so worried that you didn¡¯t get my text. We went and stopped by our house, but you weren¡¯t there.¡±

    Earny knew nothing about Killer¡¯s life, what he did outside from home. Since his father worked at the factory and lived at the factory, Killer hardly saw his father but on the day¡¯s he would return, he would head back and y the good son image for the day.

    ¡°Wait, but how can we trust these people!¡± Killer asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that.¡± Kai answered for Earny. ¡°You''re going to have to make a decision fast, because we''re leaving this ce.¡±

    Kai ran from his position, his footsteps deep in the grass, and banged the metal door open. He was now in the Phantom Brawl arena and could see everything going on.

    For one, it looked like Olivia waspletely confused about what to do, without transforming and her whip, she was struggling to get any of the Retrievers. There was someone by Austin''s side that looked to be trying something to trap them down, and Gary, well he had pinned down one of the Retrievers and was shing at them.

    Now he could rely on his teammates to keep the others busy. However, there was no good situation that coulde out killing those in NIRV and the longer they all spent in here the more trouble Kai could see.

    ¡°BOSS, EVERYONE!¡± Kai shouted. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here now!¡±

    Gary heard the words, and when he turned his head he wondered why Kai had turned up.

    ¡°We have everyone Boss, it¡¯s time to leave!¡± Kai shouted again.

    At that moment, a quest had popped up.

    [An optional new quest has been received]

    [If you ept this quest, the previous quest will be deleted]

    [You will unlock a temporary new skill: w swipe]

    [Quest details: Escape from the Strike force using the new skill ¡®w swipe¡¯]

    [Quest reward: unlock new skill ¡®w swipe¡¯]

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 752 Claw Swipe

    Chapter 752 w Swipe

    A new quest hadnded in front of Gary during a difficult time, but not only that but it was the first of its kind he had ever received before. A temporary skill was in his possession, it was somewhat giving him a taste of his powers.

    Looking around him, he knew the voice hade from Kai, and he could see Olivia by his side as well. With all of them, it was most likely that they could take down this new strike force, but was it worth it?

    ¡®In situations like this, I have to trust that Kai is the one with a much calmer head on his shoulders!¡¯ Gary thought.

    One of the retrievers was going for Olivia, and she seemed to be struggling a bit, running in close, Gary activated his skill.

    [Lethal pounce]

    He jumped to the side avoiding one of the other retrievers and thennded, jumping right on one of them before they rushed to attack another.

    ¡°All of you!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°Listen to what he said, get out of here now, and I¡¯ll hold the rest of them back.¡±

    Olivia had only arrived, and she was quite frustrated she had been toyed with a couple of times by the retriever that was in front of her. Without using her weapon or her transformation, of course they got the upper hand.

    ¡°If I ever see them again, I¡¯ll rip their head off!¡± Olivia snarled, and started to run towards the exit.

    ¡°They''re trying to escape!¡± Kon shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t let them!¡±

    ¡®We''re trying to escape!¡¯ Olivia thought, looking behind her. ¡®These guys are idiots. They have no idea that we''re the ones letting them live!¡¯

    She was in her right mind to just turn around and transform there and then taking at least one of them out, but could see Kai was keeping an eye on them all from the door.

    Still, that didn¡¯t stop the fact that one of the retrievers had flown right past Gary, not caring about the one that he had pinned down, and was heading straight for Olivia. Wanting to do something, his grip loosened and the retriever had flown out of his grasp.

    It seemed like nothing was going right for the Howlers at the moment. The retriever was on her, until from the side, with an explosive power, Austin, fully transformed, bashed into the retriever with his shoulder.

    It sent the Altered flying and breaking right through the tables and knocking down some of the gang members on the side with it.

    Immediately, Austin¡¯s transformation started to end and revert back to normal. He was exhausted, he had already been fighting for a long time, and had received a beating from the entire group. He had used up thest of his energy there and then.

    ¡°That¡¯s twice that you¡¯ve tried to help me in a pinch.¡± Olivia said, as she rushed over and allowed for Austin to lean on her shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s follow the bosses orders for now.¡±

    Austin epted the help, but looked back at Gary. He wanted to help him, but now he was trying to do this on his own. This was his mess and once again Gary was the one getting them out of It.

    ¡°He¡¯s a good boss.¡± Austin stated.

    ¡°Why do you think I haven¡¯t betrayed you guys yet.¡± Olivia smiled back

    Just like all the times before, no matter how many times the retrievers were hit, wed, or beaten they seemed to get up, ready to fight again.

    ¡°You''re running after putting up such a strong fight?¡± Kon said. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, you don¡¯t want any of your friends to get hurt?¡±

    ¡°That''s right.¡± Gary answered. ¡°We got the people we needed, we did what we needed to do, so it¡¯s time for us to leave. If you continue to try and stop us, you¡¯ll regret it.¡±

    Gary was waiting for the right chance to use his new move, because there was arge energy cost in using it.

    [- 50 energy]

    He wasn¡¯t quite sure what it did, but even with the night sky out and how many skills he already had used, he still had to be careful.

    While Kon and the other retrievers were floating around Gary waiting for the perfect chance to attack, Elijah was the only person that had stayed close to him, and he had spotted something.

    ¡®Is that the infected Altered solution!¡¯ Elijah thought.

    He could see a suitcase on the floor, opened up. There was only one syringe inside, as the other looked like it had been used, but it must have been dropped at some point in the fight.

    Everyone was too focused on what was happening to care.

    ¡®If I get my hands on that, maybe we can start building a case from there?¡¯

    Elijah decided to make a dash for it while everyone was focused, he ran forward until he could see a hand reaching for it. It was none other than the leader of the Scavenger''s, Nox.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t, that suitcase is mine!¡± Elijah threw his leg forward, and mid swing it started to transform, encasing itself in grey rock. It hit Nox, straight in the head, and the impact felt like he had been whacked with a metal bat.

    His head was flung back and his eyeballs were rolling towards the back of his skull before he fell to the ground.

    ¡°Alright, now it¡¯s time to get out of here.¡± Elijah picked up the suitcase and was ready to run, that was until he could see another retrievering towards him.

    ¡°You b*stard¡¯s using the same technique over and over!¡± Gary shouted.

    Elijah was too far, though, for him to reach, and Elijah with the case in his hand was going to be too slow to react.

    ¡®Alright new skill, show me what you got!¡¯

    [w swipe]

    Gary activated the skill, swinging his hand in the air, making a swipe, and out from his wed hand a condensed visible energy was seen going through the air. Markings just like that of his ws went through the air.

    It looked like a giant hand had created the marking based on its size, it went out fast and hit the retriever right in the back. The marking sliced through its wings and a deep wound cut into its body. Blood was pouring from the back, and caused the retriever to fall down. It didn¡¯t look like it was getting up from this injury.

    ****

    *****

 Chapter 753 Leaving the city

    Chapter 753 Leaving the city

    Even though the attack hade out from his own hands, Gary was left staring at it. He couldn''t believe what had just happened; the attack he had just used was unlike any of the other attacks he had before.

    ¡®This... What was that? It''s almost like one of those powers that the different Altered have.¡¯ Gary thought. In particr, he was thinking of the attack Jayden was able to produce, but his Altered form had given him some type of power of the wind.

    This didn¡¯t feel like a wind attack; it felt like the energy that would usually be in his body hade out from his literal fingertips. Not only that, but the radius of the attack was evenrger than his whole hand, allowing him to make arger wound just like he had done on the Altered.

    The retriever was on the floor, its wings on its back had been ripped apart, its body was shaking as it was attempting to get up but was unable to do so. Kon and the group had no clue what to do, meanwhile, Elijah himself was stunned.

    ¡°Get out of here! There¡¯s a car waiting for us in the back!¡± Gary shouted.

    It snapped Elijah out of his daze.

    ¡®Damn it, now I owe him one as well,¡¯ Elijah thought, as he started to run.

    Although he was an Altered and was a bit faster than most, his Altered form didn¡¯t focus on speed, so he would be caught in no time, and he knew that himself as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them, and don¡¯t look back!¡± Gary shouted again.

    ¡®What do you mean, don¡¯t look back!¡¯ Elijah thought. ¡®You weren¡¯t able to stop them when it was just you on your own; they¡¯ll just target me again.¡¯

    However, a second thought started to go through Elijah¡¯s mind. He had just witnessed Gary do something incredible; perhaps this wasn¡¯t the end of the incredible things that he could do.

    Just as expected, the retrievers didn¡¯t want Elijah to get away; Nox, with a bloody nose, holding onto it, stopping the blood from dripping over his clothes.

    ¡°He¡¯s getting away with the product; you have to stop him!¡±

    Kon¡¯s antennae started to move, giving the others the signal, while he wanted to check on the wounds of his teammate from the Strike force. They were heading straight for Elijah, but in that moment, something had forced them all to turn away.

    ¡°AWHOOOO!¡± Gary howled with his head in the air.

    [Maic Howl has been activated]

    Something inside nearly all of them there made them turn their aggression and their anger straight to Gary. Even Kon found himself going toward him. Each of them was flying directly at him.

    With his knees bent down, Gary had his w ready and a smile on his face showing his razor-sharp teeth by his side.

    [w swipe]

    Gary swung his arm across his body this time, letting out arge w mark that would hit them all. Itnded perfectly, cutting all of them up. Wounds appeared across their whole body.

    Some of them had crashed into the ground immediately after feeling the deep wounds they had received, while others had tried to defend from the attack by lifting their arms up but still receiving deep wounds.

    ¡®What was that?¡¯ Elijah thought. ¡®Never mind, I guess he really did have a n.¡¯

    Exiting out from the metal door, Elijah was sprinting across the field, and he could see the back of the minibus open, while a blond-haired figure was standing in front of it, waving his hand for them all to get inside.

    Elijah didn¡¯t have time to think; it was time for him to get himself out of this town any way he could, and he would figure out if these guys were enemiester on or not.

    Jumping up, he looked back to see where Gary was, and could see him running on all fours towards the vehicles.

    ¡°Go, go, go!¡± Gary shouted, his face transforming back to his normal self. Kai listened and quickly jumped in the car; the engine was started, and it was on its way revving up.

    Gary had leapt andnded on the roof, using his ws to dig in and stop him from slipping off. The car was on its way out from the area and out from the city.

    ¡°F*ck, F*ck!¡± Killer said, staring out the window. ¡°What the heck is going on! And, I think they''re still following us!¡±

    The car had to be careful since they weren¡¯t in the best area. There were no set roads; they were out in the middle of nowhere, and if the car broke down, then they would have no choice but to fight back.

    The Strike Force, having somewhat recovered from the initial hit, had flown out and were heading straight to the vehicle.

    Elijah, Vere, Austin, Earny, Killer, Herbert, all of these people were now involved in this and were wondering just what was going to happen next.

    ¡°I gave you a warning; if you follow us, then I¡¯ll have to kill you!¡± Gary shouted as he swung his fist out again.

    [w swipe]

    The attack went through the air, but due to the distance, they were able to avoid it this time, but it was quite narrow as well.

    ¡®Damn it, with all the energy I¡¯ve used up, I can only use the w swipe two more times; otherwise, I¡¯m going to be in trouble unless I eat something,¡¯ Gary thought.

    It was right after the attack though that the retrievers had stopped. They stopped following the Howlers and hovered in ce as they watched the car.

    ¡°Boss, are you sure this is the right thing to do?¡± One of the female retrievers asked.

    ¡°That attack, I was hoping it was a one-timest resort he had, but he just used it a few more times.¡± Kon answered. ¡°If we get hit with that thing, then it could be the death of us, and I don¡¯t want anyone to die over a useless Tier-4 city like this.

    ¡°We have no choice, contact NIRV, and ask for support, ask them to send an S Rank to deal with this.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 754 S Rank Retriever

    Chapter 754 S Rank Retriever

    Kon and his group had finished making the call to NIRV, and he didn''t have the best expression on his face. The others could tell based on his whole demeanor that they weren''t happy that they were unable to finish the job and that they needed support.

    However, Kon didn''t care; he cared about his team more than he did NIRV. With the car off in the distance, the group decided that they had to head back inside.

    "Is the S-rank retrievering to this city?" one of them asked.

    "Yes, when he arrives, he will be here to support us. NIRV doesn''t want any of what happened today getting out, and they want us to find out who was behind the real attack," Kon replied. "While we''re waiting, it''s best if we do research into just what the goal was for those guys."

    It didn''t make much sense to the retrievers, apart from one thing they had witnessed: one of them going ahead and collecting the Altered solutions.

    The most likely answer at the moment was that they werepetitors of NIRV who had hired another gang to do their business. Most likely, they didn''t have a clue what they were getting into. Taking out a Tier-4 gang and taking something that belonged to NIRV were two entirely different things.

    "They were strong, though, a lot stronger than I thought. There can''t be many gangs that have members that are that strong. That limits our numbers down a bit," Kon thought.

    Entering back into the Phantom Brawl, the whole ce looked a mess. Altered had been killed and left on the ground. Some of them were just badly injured, and Vixen, who was originally a retriever working for NIRV, had been taken care of as well.

    "Round up all the Altered, and get Nox to stand with the rest of them," Kon ordered. "And make sure no one leaves this ce."

    The steel doors were closed behind them with one of the retrievers standing by. It was the retriever who had been injured most by Gary, taking a direct attack on his own. The fact that he was standing strong made none of the gang members want to try and test if they could break free or not.

    Doing as Kon ordered, the Scavenger squad leaders had been lined up, and that included Nox, who was following everything he was told. Meanwhile, the sisters, as well as the onlookers, were told to just stay standing by the side.

    Kon walked up to the lineup and turned his head to look at the others.

    "As you might have guessed, we have been sent here by NIRV!" Kon shouted so everybody could hear. "Nox here was taking care of the city for us, and in turn, we gave him quite a few valuable gifts: the Altered. Yet, today, he failed us."

    Swinging out his hand, Kon mmed it right into Nox''s face and stopped. The force of the punch was powerful, and since it was just in one area and Nox was a normal human, his skull was smashed, and his head exploded before he fell dead to the ground.

    "I hope you know not to speak of what happened today to anyone, and I hope in the future, that we can work together."

    Kon clicked his fingers, and the other retrievers immediately went full force into the injured Altered. They swung their fists repeatedly and quickly until they were no longer moving.

    "All of you are free to leave now!" Kon smiled, and he looked over at the four sisters who were shaking, swollen-eyed, and their minds a little broken from everything that had happened.

    "Between the four of you, one of you decide who''s going to be the next one to run the Scavengers; NIRV will be in touch," Kon said.

    The ce had been cleared out, and reports had been given through phone calls about what had urred in the city before they had arrived. Still, it was making even less sense to them all as they were finding out information.

    Around an hourter, arge knock was heard on the metal door. One of the retrievers slid it open, and in front of them was the S-rank.

    "Jayden Clove, reporting in," the man said, as he walked past and entered the room.

    Jayden Clove was Jayden''s real name, and it was what NIRV had him documented as. So they clearly knew who his family and connections were, unlike the rest of the world.

    Due to his skills, not just inside the AFC, but outside, he was considered S-rank, being one of the top 50 AFC fighters. However, S-ranks weren''t the highest rank retrievers; there was SS and SSS. However, if these retrievers were to be called, there would be a country-wide issue happening for them to be involved.

    "I hear that they left not too long ago, so if we want to track them down, then we need as much information as possible. Did you find anything out?" Jayden asked, as he walked over to the others who were sitting at a table.

    They had propped up one of the fallen tables and brought chairs over for them all. The retriever that was by the door flew in and sat down with the rest of them.

    "Everything has been strange; we can''t find out the reason for their attack," Kon answered. "They started out at the factory, yet they didn''t destroy it, nor did they take anything ofrge significance. Instead, they took the workers, of all things."

    "Then joining this underground fighting and Phantom Brawl. It doesn''t add up, apart from that some Altered solution was taken. They should have known that Nox was just a figurehead, yet they still went after him."

    They sat around the table, and all of them were thinking for a bit until one of the retrievers spoke up.

    "I think I know who that Wolf Altered is," they said. "Before he transformed, I knocked off his mask, and I saw his face, the green hair and the transformation. I was looking into it; I think it''s Gary Dem!"

    Some didn''t know the name, while others had reacted, and for Jayden, his heart beat even faster.

    "I''m sure of it. I was looking into him, and it appears he''s connected with a gang called the Howlers. I''m pretty sure these were the guys who were hired, but I don''t understand why they would steal the workers. The Scavengers could always just rece them with more people."

    Everyone was waiting for an answer, and that¡¯s when Jayden just smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s a good guy.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, what did you say?¡± Kon moved closer thinking he might have misheard.

    ¡°And you guys aren¡¯t.¡± Jayden¡¯s eyes had changed and only in that moment had Kon managed to catch it, but it was toote.

    Jayden¡¯s hand had transformed into a w and smashed Kon¡¯s head right through the table. His ws had dug halfway through Kon¡¯s head.

    Continuing his transformation, Jayden was getting ready to deal with the rest of them as well.

    ¡°Why are you doing this, aren¡¯t you with us!¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Jayden replied. ¡°No, I hate NIRV.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 755 A new life

    Chapter 755 A new life

    Inside the minivan, there wasn''t much talk among those who were inside. Everything that had happened felt somewhat like a dream. It was unbelievable what they had gone through and what they were going through now. Never could they imagine that today would be the day when everything changed for them.

    Looking outside the window, the workers were saying their goodbyes to the city that they had spent most of their lives in, and strangely, Killer, along with Herbert, was still in the car as well, wondering what they were going to do now.

    Meanwhile, the rest were resting, resting as the adrenaline was starting to settle down, and they wondered what the oue of this whole thing would be.

    When the group arrived in Slough, the minivan had made a stop at one of the construction sites in a part of Slough called Salt Hill. It was an area that was mostly empty, filled withnd andrge parks.

    The initial idea of the area was for children to hang out, since there were skateparks, tennis courts, and basketball courts, all for young youths to enjoy their time. However, because of this, it had quickly be a hangout spot for the color gangs.

    A lot had changed now that the Howlers had taken over. The n was to integrate the parks, upgrading the facilities while building new housing apartments and developments. The Howlers members had already gotten rid of the color gangs, and the young were starting to use the facilities for what they were actually designed for.

    Most of the area was still under construction, but there were threerge tall standing apartment blocks that had been finished, and arriving through the front gate that had security on the outside, the minivan drove in, meeting up with the others that had already arrived.

    The Howlers members were looking after the residents who were amazed at everything around them. The ce was beautiful in their eyes. There was green grass, trees, and freshly made flooring.

    Was this really the ce they were going to hold up people that they didn''t even know in? Moving to a tier higher city, they thought they would still be living in the same conditions as before, but this was night and day.

    Kai, getting off the minibus, stretched his arms, and soon the others followed, along with Gary and so on. d was still passed out andid in the back of the bus, so Austin had stayed with him inside, just in case anything happened.

    But, Vere, Killer, Elijah, and Herbert, all of them had exited the bus, wanting to see what this town of Slough was and what they had nned to do with the residents.

    "Hello, everyone, and thank you for being patient about our arrival," Kai announced. "I know things must be quite shocking for you all. This sudden change won''t be easy on anyone, but we will try our best to make youfortable while you are here.

    "My colleagues will each hand you a key, along with the number attached to the room that you will be staying in. These will be your apartments to live in while you stay here. We can''t just outright give you these apartments.

    "Since this whole development actually belongs to our own tycoon of Slough, Gary Dem."

    There were a few whispers andrge smiles on their faces when they heard that name, which made Kai feel strange inside, wondering what he had done to make such an impression on them.

    "However, you are now citizens of Slough. Work hard, save up money, and buy a ce of your own if you wish, but there is no pressure. For the first week of your stay here, you can settle in, explore what Slough has to offer.

    "I have arranged for a minibus to arrive with supplies for food and basic necessities in the morning. As they arrive, they will run some surveys of the skills you currently have, and we will try to help you get jobs ording to your respective fields.

    "Failing that, Slough also has a good connection with Cardenez Electronics, who are in need of workers, and they are happy to take on more workers. We will work hard to build a rtionship between the two of you."

    Kai finished his speech there, and they were all dumbfounded. Could this really be true? Were there really people this nice in the world? Who would offer such benefits to people like them? Maybe top students at a university, or the country''s most skilled workers, but them, who had a bad education and had only learned to do the basics.

    It was only natural that, with this much generosity, tears were starting to flow out of their eyes, and that''s when the group started to walk up to the green-haired teenager.

    He was still wearing the mask on his face, so Killer and the others still didn''t know who he was, but the workers in the factory did.

    They all bowed down at the same time. "Thank you so much for your generosity; you don''t even know how much this means to us!"

    They all started to say several words of praise, and some of them even thanked him by saying his name. Saying thank you to Gary Dem.

    "Wait, Gary Dem!" Killer said. "Isn''t that the AFC fighter, the one on the program, what the? Who are these guys, and that Big Mask knew him as well."

    Things were confusing for them, and it would be for a while. Now that the workers had been dealt with, it was time for them to decide what to do next.

    What were they to do with Killer, Herbert, Vere, Elijah, and d, who was still an infected Altered? All of these high-profile people who hade to Slough.

    ****

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 756 Joining the Howlers

    Chapter 756 Joining the Howlers

    The neers in Slough had stayed for a couple of days and they were starting to settle down. Killer, along with his father Earny, had pretty much made their decision that they would be staying here.

    The ce was far better than thest area they were in, and for Killer, the most he would be losing was his friends, with whom he didn''t feel very close. Outside of school, he would only hang around with the other gang members, trying to get a position in a lower division gang of the Scavengers. Going back wasn''t an option, and he didn''t want to go back when staying in a city like this.

    As for Herbert, the leader of the small gang that was in charge of recruiting the kids, he too knew that there was no going back. Finding out that the Scavengers were being run by a stronger corporation, they would wring him dry, asking for information about the Howlers, and even if he gave it, he felt like his life was still on the line.

    In the current city he felt safe, but unlike the others, because he was a former gang member, they couldn''t just allow him in the city. They gave him a choice: either leave or join the Howlers, and he had decided on thetter, joining one of the many squads. It was a far cushier job than he had imagined, so he had next to noints.

    Then there were the rest. The group had been staying in the same apartment block as the workers. They were currently outside on the patch of green grass, sitting on a bench.

    Vere, Elijah, and d were there as well. The three were ufortable, just passing awkward smiles at each other. During their stay, they hadn''t really talked to each other and were just reflecting on everything that had happened.

    As for d, although he and Vere had talked in the past, he hadn''t said a word since he had woken up, and Elijah, knowing full well, had been keeping an eye on him. In fact, even now, there were members of the Howlers in the park, in ck and gold uniforms, keeping an eye.

    Eventually, arge limo went through the front gate and drove along the path to the front of the apartment buildings. There was no parking allowed in this area, but they were a special exception, of course.

    Getting out of the car, three men were seen, of different heights but each one of them was wearing the ck and gold Howlers uniform, with a mask covering their entire face.

    As they walked onto the grass and passed many of the other Howlers members, they bowed down towards the three, and didn''t lift their heads until they had fully passed them.

    Reaching the bench, the three sat down on opposite sides.

    "Austin?" Vere called out. "What''s with the mask? I know what you look like and there''s no member of the Scavengers here."

    "Today we are here to meet you three as members of the Howlers," Kai answered. "And I don''t mean the corporation, but the gang that runs Slough, Notsburg, and has alliances throughout the tier three cities."

    Although their faces werepletely covered, Elijah could tell who therge figure was, Gary, due to his green hair, and the blonde one that had helped them out.

    ''It seems like Gary might hold quite a high position in this gang after all. No wonder he trusted them so much,'' Elijah thought. Not only that, but based on the smiles he could see on the faces of the workers and how much they helped them, it was hard to use the word "gang" for this group because it waspletely different from what he had seen other gangs do.

    "Although you guys might know who we are, the Howlers'' members do not," Kai exined. "Our identity is a secret to the whole organization, and those that wear the mask are the ones that run things behind the scenes."

    Vere was thinking back to what the blonde man had said before, how they were a gang that had taken over multiple cities. It was no wonder they had this strength, and seeing Austin here with his mask meant he had to be in a high position as well.

    "We wish to talk to you all officially because we believe every single one of you can benefit the Howlers greatly. Someone from the White Rose, a talented woman who still has connections to a gang rted to NIRV, and an Altered that can have a fresh look on life.

    "We gave you a couple of days to decide what you want to do, and now we are here to listen to your answers."

    The group looked at d, thinking that he would be the first to speak. Since he had nothing left, it was a no-brainer, but his eyes, the life in them, was lost. So instead, Elijah cleared his throat, and he was the first to speak.

    "I am a member of the White Rose, and I must go back to them," Elijah exined. "I am truly thankful for your group and everything you have done. I would have never been able to get my hands on the Altered solution without your help.

    "Because of that, when I return, I want to do my best to help you. I don''t know if NIRV knows that you guys were behind the attack or not. If they do, they will be all over you. With the solution, I will try my best to convince White Rose to run an investigation on them.

    "Although I don''t think there will be any final oue, they will at least feel some pressure from White Rose, maybe enough for them to dy in finding out about all of this. I can''t promise this though."

    Kai nodded as he understood, and it was probably the most expected result. That was why he slid a small ck card that had a number printed out in gold writing.

    "We should stay in contact; there might be a time where you need our help in the future."

    Elijah took the card, smiling, and thinking to himself that he never imagined he would be acquainted with a gang leader.

    "I have something else I would like to suggest; I think I should take d with me back to White Rose."

    *****

 Chapter 757 Ask the boss

    Chapter 757 Ask the boss

    The original task that had been set for Elijah was to find out about the infected solution. He needed as much proof as possible regarding what NIRV was doing to put pressure on therge corporation.

    The main reason why NIRV used other gangs in the first ce was because they could wipe their hands clean of everything. Even now, Elijah was pretty sure there would be no links left behind, or at least no one with knowledge. With d, there would at least be a bit of proof, and they could investigate further into just what the solution did.

    Unlike before, it was clear that the infected solutions were getting better and not driving the host mad as they would do before. Everyone had turned to d, expecting him to answer, to speak up about what he thought about the whole thing, but there was silence on his end.

    "Are you sure you''re able to protect him if we did that?" Kai asked. "I have a feeling that if you did bring him in, then it would be under the guise that he was a criminal, which is not the case at all.

    "You said it yourself just now, he is someone that is very important to you. So I doubt you would ever let him step foot out of the White Rose base. For a kid so young, do you think that''s the kind of life he should live?"

    Elijah was tensing his face because Kai had hit the nail on the head. He wasn''t confident in protecting d, and he had thought about his goal in the White Rose rather than d''s own situation in all of this.

    "I apologize for what I said and what I am about to say," Elijah stated. "Things are difficult, but he is an infected Altered, which shows the same signs as a crazed Altered. He might be okay now, but there is a chance that his situation could get worse. White Rose has the expertise for someone to look after him, can you guys do the same?"

    The question was reversed to their group now. Were White Rose able to protect him? Probably not, but they had a chance to help him unlike the Howlers.

    "Wait?" Gary said. "Actually, I think we do have someone who could help d out. It will be as good as someone practically having someone at NIRV, and he''s a very close friend of mine."

    Leaning into Kai''s ear, he whispered the name. "Tom."

    At the moment, Tom was working for NIRV, and he had already seen some of the things that they had done, and knowing the type of person Tom was, he didn''t agree with them at all. His dream job turned out to be a shambles.

    At the moment, they didn''t have enough funds to ever build a corporation like that of NIRV, but perhaps they could at least get Tom to check on d and find a way to remove the infected solution.

    If they needed some money to build a smallb for one Altered, then that would be fine as well. It was good to have Tom in NIRV to know their secrets, but at the same time, it was dangerous. He was Gary''s best friend, and if they found out who Gary was and what he had done, he had no doubt that they wouldn''t give it a second thought and try to use him.

    "Maybe I should try and convince Tom to leave NIRV sooner rather thanter," Gary thought.

    Kai was smiling as he was thinking the same things as Gary after hearing the name. Tom would indeed be a great addition to the team, but he also liked the idea of having ears and eyes in different ces.

    With Elijah with White Rose, Tom with NIRV, and even Innu and ke with the Altered Hunters, they were in a good position to protect themselves from an attack on all sides.

    "I see, it seems I underestimated this gang of yours. With that, I think that my presence is no longer needed," Elijah said, standing up. "Good luck to the two of you." Elijah bowed, and then turned to Gary. "It was good meeting you as well, and you managed to show me what it''s like to act on your own, to act when you think it''s the right thing to do.

    "It''s quite amazing that you can do that. I''m quite jealous at how free you feel here; now I understand why you like your group so much."

    With that said, Elijah gave another bow before he walked off and made his own way, while the other two had remained at the table.

    "So I guess it''s just you now," Austin said, his voice breaking a little. "Have you decided what you are going to do, Vere?"

    "Do I have a choice?" Vere gave a half smile. "I''ve been keeping in contact with Vivi; she updated me. Nox is dead. A representative from NIRV was sent, and they want to make one of my sisters their next point of contact.

    "Although I could probably go back, if I did, it would be in hiding. If Nox was still alive as well, I probably would have made it my goal to head back and get the job done, but now, what can I do? If I go back, it will just be a harder life for me."

    "You don''t have to join the gang," Austin said. "You can stay here and just work like the others and can live a normal life."

    Vere tilted her head back and started tough again. "You know, part of the reason why I beat up those school kids back in the city was because I enjoyed it. So don''t go counting me out or trying to protect me just because I''m a girl. I can handle myself. Which means I have decided that I''ll join the Howlers."

    She then straightened herself the way she was sitting and looked straight ahead. "So is this how it works, right? I just have to officially ask the boss if I can join?" Vere asked. "I wish to join the Howlers gang and promise to be loyal and a valuable member to you!"

    She said the words strong and loud, while looking right ahead at Kai the whole time.

    "I think you''ve made a bit of a mistake here," Kai said. "I''m not the boss of this group."

    Both Austin and Kai''s eyes moved toward Gary, who was sitting at the end, and Vere''s mouth was left hanging wide open.

    "Wee to the team," Gary smiled.

    *****

 Chapter 758 The next move

    Chapter 758 The next move

    Vere continued to stare back and forth between all three who were in front of her: therge Austin, the charismatic Kai, and then there was just Gary. She had seen his disy of strength against the other Altered, but she just thought there would be more to the leader.

    "Sorry!" Vere apologized immediately and lowered her head. She had been quiet for a while now due to the shock and realized that it coulde across as quite rude. "If you please allow me to, I wish to join the Howlers. I promise that I will be a useful and valuable member to you in any way possible."

    "No worries; Austin already told me everything you did to him. Maybe you can train some of our restless youngsters as well," Gary replied back.

    "I know our idiot may not seem capable," Austin butted in, which seemed out of the blue after the conversation was over. But judging by Vere¡¯s reaction, Austin felt like he needed to say something. "But our leader is the most capable person there is.

    "I, and the rest of the Howlers members, truly trust him with our lives. You might not see it at first, but as time goes on, I''m sure he will grow on you."

    "Hey! Do I really give off that bad of an impression?" Garyined back.

    The group started tough; this is what Gary liked. He liked being with his friends, having nothing to worry about, while his family and the rest were able to enjoy their lives.

    A few days had passed, and there was no news of what was happening with NIRV. It seemed like they weren''t on their backs, and with this, Kai was satisfied that if they were to attend the next auction held by the Dark Guild, they would be able to buy as many Altered solutions as necessary.

    However, before that, they needed to decide what to do with something else. In the Wolf''s Club underneath where Kai''s office would be, three young teenagers, close to being adults now, were looking at arge crate.

    "I still can''t believe it," Gary said. "You actually managed to get the crate of these things. The whole reason I wanted to get the factory in the first ce is because of these."

    Gary took one of the crystals from the crate, and when he lifted it up, his system had confirmed that it was a beast crystal. After eating so many of the basic-tier beast crystals, he knew they had no effect on his growth anymore, but he thought that they could use them for something else instead.

    "So do you think you can do something with them, smart guy?" Kai smiled, as he patted Tom on the shoulder.

    After epting d into the group, they thought that it might be best that they got Tom on the case as soon as possible. They knew that he might be busy, but even then, he would at least get some days off, and it was always good to have an excuse to see each other again.

    "I can''t believe it as well. You guys really did manage to get your hands on raw beast crystals," Tom said. "I''ll be honest though, this is way above my level of expertise. Even if you did buy some equipment on the ck market, I would be worried that I could never turn this stuff into Altered solutions for you guys to use.

    "I''ll look into it though, and try to get a mentor that can teach me. For now though, I think it might be best if you just sold them through the auction. I''m sure NIRV or some otherpany will be interested in buying them up. Although crystals gathered from the same area tend to be the same type.

    "So that would cause them some suspicion if they did find out."

    "We can''t exclude certain people from buying these crystals either," Kai mumbled, troubled by what he had in front of him. He had a gold mine, but one that he was unable to use. "I could try to go to the other groups privately, but I''m worried that they would target us trying to find a source as well."

    "I did have another idea about what we could do with them," Gary said. "I originally thought the same thing as you, but if we can''t use them like that, then how about eating them."

    The look on both Tom and Kai¡¯s faces were in disbelief. They were thinking that Gary had gone mad.

    "I know it sounds crazy, but I''ve eaten these crystals before. I think it might be something only werewolves can do, but when you eat them, you''ll feel your body growing stronger. Elijah could vouch for me, but when he tried to do the same thing, it looked like it had no effect. Which is why I think it might just be a werewolf thing."

    Kai picked up one of the crystals; he was thinking how crazy Gary was sounding right now, but would he have believed Gary if he had originally told him he was a werewolf? The whole situation was crazy, so opening his mouth and, transforming his jaw slightly, he bit down on the crystal.

    It was a strange, crunchy texture, like putting a pile of rocks in one''s mouth, but his powerful jaws made it easy for him to swallow. It didn¡¯t take long after for him to feel the energy surging all around him.

    Just gripping his hand tightly, Kai could feel the strength in his fist increasing.

    "I can''t believe it, Gary; this is going to change the whole gangpletely. Me, Olivia, and Marie, we can be more stable than before."

    Kai was already thinking about everything going their way, and with the Altered solutions, soon they would have an army strong enough to go against 2-tier cities multiple times and would be close to being able to take on a tier-1.

    "There is something else I wanted to tell you as well," Gary said. "I think I''m ready. I want to... I want to take on Midwak during the day, and I n to do it tomorrow."

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 759 A Loyal Wolf In The Making

    Chapter 759 A Loyal Wolf In The Making

    Kai was a bit taken back by Gary¡¯s words. He knew he was quite impulsive at times, but so far his impulsiveness led to great results. Even this time, in some way, him heading to a tier-4 city could have been disastrous for the group, but it all ended up working out in the end, but with this, Notsburg was already dealt with, it was already in their hands.

    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s a good idea?¡± Kai asked. ¡°I mean, I know you might have gotten stronger from all of this, and eaten these crystals to power yourself up, but you still have some time before you have to fight him, right?¡±

    Kai only knew small details about how the whole pack thing worked. It wasn¡¯t a question he asked Gary, about how he knew the final details, since he would just answer with ''a feeling'', but he knew that all werewolves were able to challenge the Alpha once a month for their position.

    It hadn¡¯t been a month yet, so in Kai¡¯s mind, it would make sense to try to get as strong as possible until thest moment.

    However, Gary had gained more than just a boost in stat points. He had also gained a powerful new skill. Havingpleted the quest, he now had the w swipe at his disposal, perhaps the biggest win he had taken from this journey.

    ¡°It¡¯s about stopping the need for this happening again.¡± Gary answered. ¡°It might seem a bit strange, but I think I understand how Midwak works in a way. If I was to just beat him using pure power, and strength he won¡¯t give up.

    ¡°He knows that werewolves have the potential to grow stronger, and he will believe that there is still a chance that he can take me out and take the position away from me one day. But, if I was to beat him with my skill, while the two of us are at the same level of strength, to prove that even then, I am still stronger than him and he will never catch up, I think it will change his view.¡±

    Gary knew it would be a tough fight, especially since he wanted to battle Midwak during the day, so he didn¡¯t have the advantage of the night likest time. It was risky but he was also hiding that the fight would allow him to grow as well.

    Running into NIRV this time, there was a chance in the future that they could run into far more dangerous people.

    ¡°But still, why the risk? I understand, but what¡¯s so wrong with just overpowering him, growing to the point where he can''t catch up.¡±

    ¡°Because, I want him to be loyal.¡± Gary answered.

    Of course, Kai thought if Midwak was loyal it would be a giant asset to the group, but he just could never see that happening with his personality.

    ¡°Maybe loyal isn¡¯t the right word, but he should at least be submissive.¡± Gary answered. ¡°If I manage to beat him with skill, and he sees that it¡¯s harder to top me rather than to join me, then he will figure out that the only way he can get his revenge is by working with us. And you have to remember, it''s important for us as well, because regardless, we have to face the other Alpha at some point, due to the deal I made.¡±

    After listening to everything and taking it all in, Kai was nodding his head up and down and arge smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°You have grown a lot Gary, and not just in strength but in using your head more and more.¡± Kai stated. ¡°I knew when I saw you, I had a feeling that you were the right person to be our leader. I like being right, and you are just proving me right by the day.¡±

    After the meeting was over, the crystals were distributed to Olivia, Marie and Kai evenly, allowing nearly all of them to grow in strength significantly. Marie had gotten the biggest boost from this, perhaps because she was the weakest out of the group.

    They didn¡¯t consume them all, leaving 10 basic tier crystals. There were two reasons for doing this.

    One was in case the group ever needed some funds, they would sell the crystals to another organisation. When they were confident enough to deal with the consequences, they could do this. The other reason was because the crystals could be used to be turned into Altered solution.

    The quickest way to grow their gang¡¯s power was by having more Altereds and they even had the perfect teacher in Crowley to train them. But they would have to rely on Tom for this, waiting for him to grow in knowledge.

    Then finally, the next day, the group was on the move. Austin, Olivia, Marie and Kai. They were a few shortpared to thest time they came here, but it was still the core group of the Howlers that were arriving in Notsburg.

    When they entered therge hotel, it was just as extravagant as before. They were treated by countless gang members in the casino, but the ce waspletely empty. There was no one on the slot machines, at the poker tables there were only the workers, and they were lined up leading them to where they needed to be.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be weed like this, this time.¡± Marie said. ¡°But it¡¯s a bit scary at the same time. If Gary loses, doesn''t that mean that Midwak will have control over all of us, we will have to do what he says¡­ anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that, Gary won¡¯t lose.¡± Austin replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m just being realistic, I don¡¯t think Gary will lose either, but it did take all of us to take him downst time.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we can all jump him at the end.¡± Olivia said. ¡°If things are looking rough. Although I dislike Gary, I would have to say that being in the control of the other is far worse, and I would rather be dead.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t jump in.¡± Gary answered. ¡°That¡¯s an order to all of you, whatever the oue of this, don¡¯t jump in.¡±

    After entering an elevator they went to the very top floor and exiting out, they went through therge double doors heading to the main office that Midwak was in.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Midwak said, jumping out of his seat and jumping from the table using his foot andnding in the centre of the room. ¡°When you had informed me that you would be arriving, I thought you might have backed out but here you are. Are you ready to lose?"

    ¡°You know I haven¡¯t just been sitting around doing nothing.¡±

    Gary walked forward, and walked out the centre of the room, the others stayed close by the door.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me, didn¡¯t you wonder why I would call for a battle so early.¡± Gary replied. ¡°It¡¯s because I can take you out. Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    Gary took off the jacket of the Howlers group, throwing it behind him, which Marie had caught. Although the fabric could be stretched in his Werewolf form, he didn¡¯t want it to be cut up by MIdwak¡¯s attacks.

    ¡°Very well, I will soon be the next alpha, and then I will be the only one in this world!¡± Midwak shouted, his eyes glowing and his body transforming.

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 760 The fight between the strongest

    Chapter 760 The fight between the strongest

    Listening to Gary¡¯s words, the others had made their resolve not to get involved in this fight between the two werewolves. They took a step back and stood by the door, away from everything that was about to happen.

    Midwak was by far the hardest opponent that any of them had ever faced, and unlike some Altered or enemies that had reached the peak of their strength, he, being a werewolf, was determined to get stronger. He wouldn''t be the same person that they had all fought against, and now Gary was going up against him alone, and the night sky wasn''t out. Because of all of this, Gary had received an unexpected quest.

    [You have taken the initiative as a leader to face a member of your pack who is close to your level. Due to your bravery, if youplete the task, you will be rewarded.]

    [Skill Upgrade: w Drain Level 2 >>>> w Drain Level 3]

    Gary knew full well the importance of skills, and the great thing was that the higher his skills were, it would mean when it was nighttime, they would increase to the next level.

    [Full Transformation Activated]

    Gary had gone ahead, turning into his full werewolf form just as Midwak did. It wasn''t time for him to hold back or test the waters. If he faltered for a moment, there was a high chance for him to lose this fight.

    ''Without the night sky, my skills don''t increase, and my energy doesn''t double, but this is something that I have to do!''

    Midwak ced his hand out toward the charging Gary. "You''re either very brave or very stupid!"

    From his fingertips, his fingernails shot out. Immediately, Gary moved to the side, jumping, and the nails followed him. When he got close, he slid across the ground, and with his hand, swiped at Midwak''s leg.

    However, it didn''t hit as Midwak had jumped up in the air, avoiding the expected strike, and with his other hand out, he shot out his nails toward the ground where Gary was at. Lifting his arms up, Gary took the hit, and they pierced his skin.

    When Midwak went tond on the ground, though, Gary opened up his guard and threw an overhand right. Midwak had prepared to block the hit, lifting both arms and taking the powerful blow that sent him back.

    ''This is a lot stronger thanst time!'' Midwak thought. ''His hits are stronger, and his movements are faster than before. It hasn''t been that long. What has this kid done to get so strong so fast? He couldn''t have eaten that many Altered, and he isn''t the type to be increasing his pack just to get stronger, so how!''

    Midwak was about to take another peek but Gary hadn''t stopped there.

    [Lethal Pounce]

    He leapt toward Midwak and threw another overhand, hitting him in the gut and sending him far back, crashing into the wall.

    As quick as he crashed into the wall, he had gotten out, and there was a furious look in his eye as he charged forward.

    [Lethal Pounce!]

    Gary''s body went and leapt to its closest target, but for the first time since using the skill, Midwak had dodged right under it. He didn''t retreat as he saw Gary charging at him; he charged forward, and because he didn''t hesitate, he could avoid the skill.

    As Gary went past, he grabbed the back of Gary''s leg right by his ankle and flung him, mming him right into the ground. The floor tiles cracked, and the others flinched seeing this.

    Not stopping there, Midwak went to strike with another fist, until out from the ground, arge visible line of energy hade out.

    [w Strike]

    It hit Midwak, sending him flying back and scratching across his chest, drawing blood. Gary had gotten up off the floor and leapt back, stumbling a bit from the hit.

    ''Damn this werewolf. He''s as strong as ever!'' Gary thought, spitting out the blood that had formed in his mouth.

    ¡°Hahah!¡± Midwakughed. ¡°I see that you have learned some new tricks. ¡°You have gotten better and so much stronger in such a short amount of time. You haven¡¯t even been a werewolf for a long time. I truly don¡¯t know how you do it."

    ¡°Maybe I won''t kill you after all, and that way, you can tell me your secrets. I just have to beat you into submission after all, and then everything you have will be mine.¡±

    The w Strike and the Lethal Pounce moves used up arge amount of energy, and without the night sky, he had to be cautious about their use as well. His body would heal, and in this state, it all was consuming a lot of energy.

    ¡°Is Gary winning this thing?¡± Marie asked.

    ¡°Of course, he is,¡± Austin replied. ¡°He will win this thing; he is our boss, and he will forever be¡­ he will win this because he''s not just fighting for himself, but fighting for the rest of us as well.¡±

    Gary and Midwak looked at each other, huffing and panting, and they both charged together at the same time.

    The result of the fight had brought about a change within the Howlers. Everything started to move at a fast pace. After all, the entire group was going against the time limit, and everyone seemed to be making a move.

    The Tier-1 gangs, that were known as the Kings. NIRV, the biggest corporation for Altered solutions. White Rose, the Altered division that was created to protect the governments of the world, the Altered Hunters who would do whatever it took to rid the world of the Altereds, and finally, the other Werewolf Alpha.

    A year had passed, and a big change wasing to the world as they knew it.

    END OF PART 2

    Author''s Note: In my head, this book is split into 4 major parts of the story. The end of the Underdogs was part 1, and here we have part 2. Now we will be moving into the final 2 parts of the story. These parts could be longer or shorter than the current parts, so don''t take it as a guess as to when the book will end.

    For updates on MVS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

 Chapter 761 1 year later

    Chapter 761 1 yearter

    A year had gone by since the fight between Gary and Midwak for the battle over who would be the Alpha of the Howlers'' pack. In turn, whoever won this fight would have control of the other Beta Werewolves, which included Kai, Olivia, and Maria.

    It wasn''t just the Howlers'' pack, but more so the entirety of the Howlers'' corporation that was on the line. Thankfully, Gary had managed to win. It wasn''t an overwhelming victory, but it was a victory that had been achieved during the day.

    It showed that Gary now had the strength to defeat a powerful Omega wolf at Midwak''s level without using the ss skills he had obtained. The reason for him doing this had worked out as well.

    Midwak, although able to challenge Gary once every month, had never challenged for the position again, nor did he seem toin about the tasks he was given by Kai.

    This was all because a promise between the two after that fight had been made, and although Midwak was still wild and hard to control, he seemed to be keeping to the promise that had been made between the two.

    Progress was fast for the Howlers and what used to be the town of Slough. Slough was now considered a city rather than a town, and not just any city; it was officially recognized as a tier-2 city.

    This was mainly due to the connections that it had brought in with Cardenez Electronics and AJ Entertainment. The city grew, absorbing the surrounding towns as well, and the ce looked nothing like it did in the past.

    Large grand buildings, business offices, freshly paved roads, and sidewalks all appeared in the area. There was a high level of skill and workforce that was constantlying into Slough.

    To the outside world, there were two groups of people responsible for this. One was the famous investor and ex-AFC fighter, Gary Dem. The rumors stated that using the money from his short-lived AFC career, he had made a few sessful investments and continued to rapidly expand from there.

    Although this wasn''t the case because Gary had already invested in multiple projects under his name before he even made his debut. However, the public knew next to nothing about that, so the rumor that fit the better narrative was the one that was spread in the end.

    Then the second group was the Howlers Corporation, which was just a gang under disguise. The other gangs knew this and knew they had to have a high level of strength since the Howlers also were in charge of Notsburg, another tier-2 city.

    For many gangs that were too focused on themselves, they had felt like the rise of the Howlers was overnight, and if anyone was to try and mess with them, they would lose too much in the process. They were now too big to just wipe off the map.

    There were multiple reasons for this. One was that the number of Altereds in the Howlers'' group had increased.

    Kai was sessful in obtaining Altered solutions from the auction. In turn, they had given the solution out to the squads within the Howlers'' group, to those who were most loyal to the Howlers and were willing to go to Notsburg that day with Gary.

    These Altereds were then trained by the ex-AFA teacher Crowley. He hade to terms that he was working for a gang, but for the things he had seen the Howlers do in the time he had been here, his impression of them was a good one. Kai had even had a direct talk with him exining the full scope of the situation and invited him on board as an official member of the Howlers.

    His answer was a no, but he stated that he would always protect his students, and if there was a situation where he felt another was in the wrong, he would help. So he continued to teach the students. Despite knowing about the Howlers, Crowley still had no clue that the leader was Gary, only that Gary was a part of the gang.

    Crowley training the Altereds had a big impact on the gang''s strength, and he wasn''t the only addition that helped them grow. Surprisingly, there was Vere as well. She had kept upmunication with her tier-4 roots.

    Later on, it was found out that Vivi had taken over the role ofmunicating between the factories and the NIRV. Because of this, a scheme had been set up where they would take a small amount of each delivery of beast crystals, and it would be handed to the Howlers without NIRV knowing about it.

    They were kept for research as Tom would drop by every now and then. A facility was still in the early stages of being built for the Howlers to make their own Altered solutions. If they did, then it was safe to say that they could even match up to the kings.

    There were some unexpected things that had happened though. For one, ke and Innu had yet to return from the Altered Hunters. Innu did keep in contact with them from time to time, through letters of all things.

    But it seemed whatever he was doing, it was taking longer than they thought. The fact that letters were still being sent on a monthly basis showed that Innu still cared quite a bit.

    Which led to today. Gary was walking down a street with a fairlyrge overcoat covering his body. He had grown taller and filled out his shoulders, making him look a lot more like an adult.

    If one was to nce at him, they would think he was in his mid-20s, not a boy turning close to eighteen. His green hair was in the same state it always was, flowing in the wind, unchanging though.

    Stopping for a moment, Gary looked up. "This city really has changed a lot." Gary stood in front of a giant centerpiece of the city. It was arge round tower-styled building, and at the top, there was a circr revolving restaurant that would allow one to view the entire city.

    "When mum wakes up, she''s going to think she''s traveled into the future or something."

    Gary continued to walk, entering through the door. The entrance was busy and packed with people. They were waiting to be seated at the bottom floor restaurant, all dressed up for the evening.

    One of the men at the door greeted him, to which Gary reached in his coat pocket and handed a nk ck card with a golden trim on the outside.

    "Please follow us, sir, we will take you right to the top floor."

    "Hey, wait, did he just cut the queue!" One of those who were waiting said.

    "Hey, shut up, don''t you know who that is? That''s Gary Dem?"

    "Wait, what, that''s the Gary Dem! Ah crap, I''m sorry," the man said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed.

    Entering the elevator, it shot up right to the top floor. The floor with the revolving restaurant, which was booked out 6 months in advance. As he stepped out the doors though, the floor was practically empty. That was because the entire ce had been reserved for Gary.

    Walking forward, there was a seat that was right by the window, and a female with stunning grey hair was sitting looking out.

    "Were you waiting long?" Gary asked.

    "Long time no see," Xin smiled.

    *****

 Chapter 762 The black and gold card

    Chapter 762 The ck and gold card

    Gary sat down in his seat and pulled the chair closer to the table. As he lifted his head, he looked into Xin''s eyes. They were as beautiful as ever. What had started out originally as just a simple crush had grown stronger in Gary''s heart.

    The two of them, although having spent little time in total together, he still had yet to find someone who made his heart beat faster or gave him the feeling of butterflies when he saw them in person.

    It had been over a year now since the two had met in person, and yet here he was in front of her, getting those same feelings again.

    "It''s been a long time since I''vee back to this hometown of mine," Xin said. "It really has changed a lot, and look at you as well, you lookpletely different. No, there is something different about you."

    Gary smirked as the courses came out and were delivered to the table. They were small in size but with several smaller tes, allowing a person to get a true taste of everything. It was a fine dining experience which Gary wasn''t really fond of, but he thought it would be a nice treat.

    "I mean look at this, who would have thought from school you would have be so sessful. I''ve heard that you invested in so many projects and now you''re fancy enough to book out the whole floor to yourself?" Xin said as she dug in.

    Gary did feel a bit guilty about taking over the restaurant, and the amount that needed to be spent nearly made his heart break in two. It was only because he wanted somewherepletely quiet for the two of them, and for their first meeting in such a long time, he didn''t want to take her to the Wolf''s Pool Club.

    "The city has changed thanks to your father. He has been a good mayor," Garymented.

    "Oh please," Xin replied. "You know that''s all a charade, do you think I was born yesterday? It''s thanks to the Howlers and I guess you as well. I wanted to ask Gary, why did you leave the AFC?"

    It was a question that had been ying on Xin''s mind for the longest of times, so much that she had done research into Gary. He was supported by the Howlers organization, which was a gang in disguise.

    She knew the two had to be working closely together because a lot of the projects in Slough that made it what it was today were spearheaded by the Howlers Corp and Gary''s name.

    So she could only guess that it might have something to do with the gang.

    "I''ve been busier, and I felt disingenuous. My goal was never to be part of the AFC; it was a dream but it wasn''t a goal," Gary answered. "I just wanted a good ce for my family to live. Amy has that now, but my mother, she''s still... asleep."

    Xin still didn''t get the information she wanted, but she also felt wrong to push him because the answer felt like a genuine one.

    "I heard your next fight is a ranked one. If you win it, you''ll enter the top 50. It''s an important step for you, right?" Gary asked.

    Finishing their third course, it was time for dessert. Strangely, what had arrived was a chocte brownie with some ice cream. To which Gary had pushed over toward Xin, stating that she could have it.

    "That reminds me of when I first met you. Weren''t you sick all over? I thought it was because of the chocte at the time," Xinmented.

    "Haha, it was," Gary replied. "I''m allergic, so you go ahead and eat up."

    After taking a few scoops of the dessert and tasting the sweetness in her mouth, she started to speak again.

    "Yeah, the next match is a big one. If I get in, I can finally fulfill my promise with my father. I can then go around and do what I want. I''ll be strong enough to be free and independent."

    After waiting for Xin to finish her dessert, Gary then went into his suit pocket and pulled out a ck and gold card, sliding it over to Xin.

    She picked it up and looked at it, but she could see nothing on it; it was just a ck and gold card, nothing else.

    "What is this?" Xin asked.

    "I asked for this meeting because I knew you wereing back before your big break. I really did want to meet and catch up with you, Xin," Gary exined. "The truth is, though, that there is also an ulterior motive to calling you here. That card is from the Howlers group.

    "It''s a formal invitation. I heard that a lot ofpanies and groups have approached you, and you denied them all. I don''t know what your reason is, but I was hoping since the two of us are close with each other, you would ept this invite."

    Xin held onto the card for a while; she was ying with it. When she looked at Gary, she was almost upset by him.

    "Gary, I know that the Howlers are a gang. The reason why I rejected those offers is because I''m about to finally be free from my father''s control. I don''t want to go ahead and join a gang and then be under their control.

    "I don''t know what your situation is with the Howlers, but I respect your decision. But I can''t just ept being sponsored by a group I know nothing about, or have them force me to do things I don''t agree with. I''m sorry."

    Xin went to hand the card back, but Gary stopped her by pushing it toward her.

    "I''m asking you, Xin, to join us. We will simply sponsor you; you won''t be under us, but we will be partners. You know as well as I do, you can''t keep rejecting them forever.

    "Those at the top will force you to join, just like they did with your brother. If he couldn''t escape it, neither can you. But if you join the Howlers, then I can help you in some way, and I promise, we won''t ever make you do something that you don''t wish to do."

    Gary was smooth with his words, but it was still extremely difficult for her to do so, even though she knew Gary was right. She went to give the card back one more time before Gary stopped her again.

    "Gary, don''t make this harder than it has to be; how can you even make a promise like that?" Xin asked.

    "I''m making a promise, Xin, not just on behalf of the Howlers but also from me, Gary Dem, the leader of the Howlers group and corporation. The leader of the Howlers gang."

    ***

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 763 Accepting the invite

    Chapter 763 epting the invite

    Almost immediately after hearing the words that Gary had said, Xin dropped her fork, which she was using to enjoy her dessert, onto the ground. It took her a moment or two, and she only reacted when Gary was the one who went to pick it up.

    The two of them slid under the table and reached to get the fork.

    "It''s okay, I''ll get it," Xin said, as she ced it back on her te and sat there in silence, looking at Gary until she eventually smiled.

    "Haha, that''s quite the funny joke, Gary," Xin chuckled. "I mean, it''s a good way to try and convince me, but it''s kinda cruel, don''t you think? You know, growing up, all I would hear were the bad news and stories about gangs from my father, even though he was quite the big hypocrite."

    It wasn''t just her father, but even during the time she had lived with her brother, the two of them would always consider those working for gangs as scum. Yet, everywhere Xin''s father, Ben Clove went, he would work closely with a gang to get what he wanted. This time, it appeared that things in Slough hadn''t worked his way, since the Howlers had taken over everything and had ced Ben as a figurehead.

    Gary took a moment, looked directly into her eyes, and didn''t falter for a moment as he spoke again. "I''m not joking, Xin. I am really the leader of the Howlers Gang, the corporation. I''m in charge of it all."

    The shock still hit Xin the same way. She almost had forgotten to breathe for a moment and took in a sudden deep breath.

    "I''m not lying to you," Gary added. "I''m sure you''ve heard the rumor as well. That I earned money from my time in the AFC, and I used that money to invest, and that''s how I became a sessful business tycoon. But you should know, of all people, how unbelievable that is. We don''t make much money from fights, let alone a debut match. Nearly all of it is from sponsors. Everything I invested and now own, all of it was through the Howlers gang."

    "You really are serious, aren''t you?" Xin asked. "When... when did this happen, how did it happen, how is it even possible?"

    It was quite the story for Gary to tell, but he decided to be somewhat truthful. He exined how he was originally in the Underdogs gang, working as a transporter. He had an ident with a delivery, and that was how he had originally be an Altered.

    From there, he went on to exin his connection to Kai and the continuing spiraling and growing of the whole gang. What he did leave out, though, was all the parts to do with him being a werewolf. This was a secret that the whole world didn''t know, and back then, there were multiple frightening things that had urred, those to do with Billy and so on.

    "I can''t believe it, I can''t believe you were going through all that... I thought something was up when you and my brother came to save me, but honestly, I didn''t know much. I thought the Howlers were already an established gang, but for you to have raised it from the ground up," Xin continued, amazed.

    "Honestly, although we call ourselves a gang, that is just to protect ourselves from others getting involved in Slough," Gary exined. "I hope that you would know me well enough to know that I wouldn''t try to do anything underhanded."

    Immediately, Xin couldn''t say anything bad about the Howlers, just a single look at how much the city had changed showed that. Once in a while, when she talked with her father, she would hear himining, but that seemed to lessen as time went on as well, as even he saw the benefits to it all.

    "It''s still really hard to believe that you were the boss of this whole thing. Wait! Does that mean you also had a run-in with my father?"

    Gary was a little nervous to admit it, but he nodded and gave a nervous smile. "We had our differences, but things are fine now. I know you disliked your father, but I''m sure you care about him as well. You should know I wouldn''t do anything to hurt you."

    Both of their cheeks turned a shade redder after hearing those words, and in order to change the subject, Gary started to tap the card that wasid out on the table.

    "So about the sponsor, as I said, it would being from a genuine position. I wanted to offer this to help you. If you ept, then all those annoying offers from other groups will go away. If someone wants to get to you, they wille through us. You won''t be part of the Howlers, just working with us."

    Xin picked up the card again and started to rotate it, pushing its edge against the table, continuously flipping it over and over. She had to admit that this was a good deal in more ways than one. She was originally either just going to go with the best deal one of the corporations offered or go with one that wasn''t so shy, in hopes they wouldn''t ask much of her.

    "I want to say yes, I like you, Gary, I like you a lot, and you are actually one of the few people who knows what''s important to me and puts me first. I now understand why you left the AFC. I had no idea you had such big things going on. Now that I know who you are, it might be selfish of me to ask this, but I can''t help but do so because I have no one else I can ask," Xin said.

    "If I ept your sponsor, I want you to look into a situation. It''s to do with Jayden, something is wrong."

    ****

    For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 764 Help Jayden?

    Chapter 764 Help Jayden?

    It was unexpected words that hade out from Xin''s mouth for Gary honestly. For one, Jayden always seemed like this powerful figure who was above him, almost like a teacher. It was hard to imagine him having any type of trouble.

    But, since Xin was concerned, he wanted to hear her out, more so than that, he would have been willing to help Jayden out as well if he asked for it.

    "What''s wrong?" Gary asked. "Isn''t everything fine? I saw that he just recently entered the top 25 in the AFC. Hasn''t he been doing really well?"

    Gary had been keeping track of all of his fights. Going from top 50 to top 25 was quite a feat in the AFC, and Jayden had done so by continuously taking on fights.

    There was a rule in the AFC, and that was that Altereds weren''t allowed to use active skills or powers. They were allowed to use anything that their bodies transformed into, but that was it.

    This gave a slight advantage to those who were more physically altered and relied on their bodies transforming. Yet, Jayden had gotten out of the rut he was in by using his pure skill and strength by studying and allowing his skills to grow to the next level.

    "That''s even more reason as to why I''m worried," Xin said. "Before, Jayden always used to have a happy face, even when fighting. There were at times when I would catch him looking down now and again... but I never knew the reason why."

    "When I see him fight on the screen now, it''s almost scary. I tried to get in contact with Jayden as well, but he''s not replying to me."

    Gary wondered why Jayden would do such a thing. He seemed to care about his sister dearly, and he would know that not getting in contact with Xin would worry her. The only thing Gary could think about was thest time he had met with Jayden.

    ''It was after that special lesson, where we all had to go up against him,'' Gary smiled to himself but looked down so Xin didn''t think he was smiling at the situation. ''He then visited me on the rooftop, back then it felt like he wanted to tell me something, but he just couldn''t.''

    ''I wonder what it was that he wanted to tell me. He said he would do so when I was strong enough? Am I strong enough to help him now.''

    Gary

    Grade: Rook

    ss: Dark Warrior

    Level 33

    [Health 300]

    [Energy 500] (1000 during The Night)

    [Strength 75]

    [Dexterity 65]

    [Endurance 68]

    In the year that had gone past, Gary hadn''t leveled up much. There weren''t many opportunities where Gary could gain exp. At the same time, he didn''t have many quests that would appear either. Just like in games, the higher Gary''s level, the harder it was to level up due to the exp.

    He still did his best to try to find opportunities when he could, which was why he had even increased in strength by this much. What was more apparent was his skills that he had gained, which had leveled up. He still had no idea what the cap a skill level could get to, but with each level up the effects of the skills improved greatly.

    [w drain Level 3]

    [Last stand: Level 1]

    [Howling force: Level 1]

    [Maic Howl: Level 1]

    [Lethal Pounce: Level 1]

    [w strike: Level 1]

    Skills could be upgraded via pawn points, or it seemed like repeated use of a skill or a quest could also upgrade them. Since they could be upgraded from repeated use, it was hard for Gary tomit any pawn points to upgrading the skills, but he knew how valuable they were.

    "Do you think there is a reason behind his strange actions?" Gary asked.

    Xin shook her head. "I don''t know much, but honestly, I was thinking that maybe my dad would know something. I was too young at the time, but there was a change around my brother at some point. He acted differently for an entire year. I don''t know why, and my father won''t tell me, but with your position, maybe you could find something out or try to contact him through other means."

    It was worth a shot, and in Gary''s mind, it was worth it if he could ease Xin''s worry even for a bit.

    "I''ll try my best, but I can''t make any promises. I will update you when I can; it will be easy to get in contact with you if you''re one we sponsor." Gary winked.

    Hearing this, Xin couldn''t help but chuckle. "Since when were you such a good salesman? I will sign the contract. I''ll be staying at the Mar Hotel while I''m here; you have my number, so get in touch when you need me."

    Gary now had a task set out to do, and with everything being so peaceful, he didn''t mind looking into it. Little did he know, at that moment, on the same day, something big was starting to go on in the city of Notsburg.

    Bursting through therge red doors of the casino, arge man stood there with a red hood over his head.

    "Hey, what are you doing making amotion like that?" One of the gang members who worked as bodyguards at the casino said. He went towards the strange man to apprehend him. As he did, the intruder grabbed his arm and twisted it.

    Then, with his other arm free, he mmed it down, breaking it on the spot and kicking him away.

    Immediately, all of the guests were on high alert, and so were the other guards who had surrounded the individual.

    "This has been a long timeing," the intruder said, hisrge smile and teeth visible just under his hood. "It''s time to get rid of the Howlers!"

    *****

 Chapter 765 Growing Pack

    Chapter 765 Growing Pack

    The man was remarkablyrge in size. One could tell even though he was wearing arge green hoodie. It was tight around his body, showing his well-developed shoulders and muscles. What hade as a surprise was how someone so muscr was able to move that fast.

    He had made quite an impression on his entrance. The guards pulled out batons from their backs, and as they tapped the bottom, they started to light up.

    "Oh, Anti-Altered weapons!" Therge man said. "It looks like quite a bit of money has been spent on the protection of this ce, huh."

    With the weapons in their hands, the men had confidence as they charged in. They swung the baton down, but he swiftly avoided it and kicked the guard in the stomach, sending him flying.

    He then grabbed the baton in the air that he had dropped and swung it, hitting another guard right on top of the head. It had been swung with so much force that the baton itself had broken.

    From the very back, though, a small arrow was fired. It hit therge man in the chest and started to spark up. Blue electricity went all over the outside of his body.

    Yet the big smile could still be seen on his face as he pulled it from his chest and threw it back,nding right in the center of one of the guards'' heads.

    "ARGHHH!"

    The guests were screaming at this point. When the intruder hade in, they originally thought the matter would be dealt with. It wasn''t the first time the casino had to deal with such problems. Many of the guests were regrs and quite enjoyed the show that would be put on as the guards fought against the unruly guests. This time it was clearly different, as one of them had even died in front of their eyes.

    "Everyone, the Casino is closed, everyone is to exit out of the ce immediately!" one of the guards shouted at the top of his lungs.

    The guests started to run out from the emergency exits by the side, and even the main entrance as they made their way around the intruder. If there was one good thing, it seemed like the intruder didn''t care about the guests and was only focused on the others.

    "That guy, he took the Anti Altered weapon like it was nothing!" the guard said. "It means he must be an Altered, right, and not just anyone, a strong one as well."

    Some strong humans could take hits from the weapons; it was just based on him having next to no reaction at all. It was safe to guess that it was the case.

    It was then,ing down the stairs from the second floor, two bald-headed average-sized men with ck sunsses covering their eyes hade down. They were wearing clean suits but hadn''t buttoned up their white shirts all the way, leaving it open at the top, revealing some of their chest.

    "It''s Bardolph and Bardo!" The guards shouted. "They must have heard the chaos."

    The two bald-headed figures that walked forward both straightened their suits. It was almost impossible to tell who was who. Some would think they were twins, but they weren''t. They just dressed the same and looked rather simr to each other.

    Bardo started to sniff the air, his nostrils ring.

    "It wasn''t the noise, it was the smell of blood."

    "An Altered attacking us?" Bardolph smiled. "Do you even know what type of group you''re attacking? I heard what you said earlier, you''re after the Howlers, yet for some reason, you decided to attack here first. Is it because you thought Notsburg would be easy."

    "No," the man answered in a deep voice, and he was grinding his teeth back and forth to the point where nearly everyone could hear it. "It was to send a message. We like to y a little fairpared to others.

    "And to show that you guys don''t stand a chance."

    Both of the bald-headed men started tough.

    "We don''t stand a chance? You have no clue what we even are."

    Both of them proceeded to take off their jackets and threw them on the floor. The moment they did, their bodies started to change and grow in size. Fur started to appear on their arms and legs, and on their noses started to stretch out like arge snout.

    The clothes were ripped, and their deadly ws and razor-sharp teeth were on disy. These weren''t Altered; they were Werewolves.

    These two were Werewolves that had been changed by Midwak, and not Gary himself. As time went on within the year, Gary had broken the restrictions of the Pack rules that kept him at bay because it truly felt like he wasmitting to the cause of building a pack strong enough to defeat the other Alpha.

    However, time and time again, Midwak would mention the need for growing the pack. This was something that Gary had fought against for the longest time. There were a lot of risks involved with making other people Werewolves.

    Sure, they no longer had to suffer under the curse of the full moon, but there was still a chance that the turning wouldn''t work, resulting in death.

    In the end, Kai was the one that had to convince Gary. And he had stated as long as those that were taking part in it knew the risks, then he would let Midwak do as he wished.

    The pack would grow, giving Gary more pawn points to use to grow his strength. Even those made by Midwak, anyway, would still be part of the Howlers'' pack and loyal to him.

    The two werewolves charged forward, running on all fours. One of them leapt up in the air, while the other swung from below. Therge man ran forward and leapt up, avoiding the one on the groundpletely, and with his fist, he mmed it right into the werewolf''s face, sending him back across the room and crashing into the slot machines.

    "You dogs don''t scare me."

    *****

 Chapter 766 A bigger problem

    Chapter 766 A bigger problem

    The werewolf that had crashed into the slot machines was Bardo. He quickly got up from the hit, as coins fell off his body. He had been hit quite cleanly, but he didn''t look to be majorly injured.

    "Damn, that guy packs quite a punch, and he hasn''t even changed into his Altered form. Just who is this person?" Bardo thought.

    The two had even dealt with Alteredsing to attack them before. Once in a while, other cities seemed to run tests on just how good the protection of Notsburg was. They would hire other gangs and send their Altereds to attack. Having been hit so far and so cleanly in one go was a first.

    Bardolph, who was on the ground, went ahead and fully tackled the man in the waist as soon as hended.

    He saw therge man lift his hands, ready to m them down, but before they had done, Bardolph swung to the side and got right behind therge man. His attack had missed and hit nothing but the air.

    With his werewolf strength, he lifted the man by the waist into the air, ready to m him, performing a suplex. Mid-swing, therge man wasn''t phased. While he was spun in the air, he carefully ced his legs on the ground first, breaking his fall, and then lifted the werewolf by the waist instead. He had him around his neck before he mmed the werewolf''s back right into the ground.

    It was a reverse suplex, and the sheer power had crushed the groundpletely. "Damn¡­ who are you?" Bardolph said.

    The hit was strong, and he needed to wait for his supernatural body to heal a bit. Before therge man could finish him off, though, Bardo was already on him, his ws were out, and he swung them rapidly and widely from side to side.

    "You really rely too much on that Altered body of yours, that you don''t even know the basics? Were you even a fighter? Why would they select someone like you?"

    Therge man avoided the swipe and quickly, with his hand, threw it out, pping the werewolf right on the side of the face. It made arge impact, and the sound vibrated through the ce.

    Bardo, annoyed by this, continued to swipe, trying to move his hands faster and wider. Still, therge man avoided each one, and carefully as he avoided a swing, he could quickly go in and p the werewolf right on the face again.

    "Is this all the Howlers have?" The man said as he continued to p Bardo again and again. It was to the point now where the hits were building up and taking their toll somewhat. His movements were slowing down.

    And therge man went in, giving him two fast ps from each side of the face now. "I can''t believe that you''re all this weak. You wouldn''t stand a chance against anyone in our group. Why did we wait so long to act?"

    The sound of heavy footsteps was heard from behind, as Bardolph had recovered. Just like how his fellow teammate helped him, he was now going to help the other. The two of them worked best together, but due to therge surprise, they hadn''t been able to.

    It was a sneak attack from behind, but as if he had eyes at the back of his head, therge man lifted his leg and side kicked the werewolf, sending him right back where he came from, through the doors and entrance of the casino right outside, falling onto the concrete.

    The other guards that were standing by the side were speechless. They had been watching the fight so far and didn''t know how this was happening.

    "How can someone be so strong without using their Altered form? How could they take out Bardo and Bardolph just like that?"

    When therge man turned to look back at Bardo, he lost track of him, and he was out of his sight. Turning to his right, he could see the w swipe aiming right from his head. He lifted his arm up, blocking the attack, and the ws had ripped through his skin, drawing blood, but the attack had been stopped.

    "Although you''re weak, you guys are some of the most interesting Altereds I''ve ever met. You heal incredibly fast, and it seems like no matter how hard of a beating you take, you just seem to keep getting back up!"

    With another fist, this time therge man twisted it as it hit the werewolf right in its face. Its snout looked as if it bent inward as the bones cracked. Bardo was sent flying off again, and when hended this time, his werewolf form wasing to an end.

    "It''s a shame everything had to end so early, but I guess it''s time I take over this ce, and then it''s time to prepare to move on to the next area."

    The guards took a step back as they saw therge man step forward. Even with their anti-Altered weapons, they felt afraid. That was until walking down the stairs, his hands in his pocket with an open ck and gold jacket revealing his abs, and wild hair, a man had appeared.

    "Which idiot decided to mess up this ce so bad that I had toe down? Do you have any idea how much this all costs?" Midwak said.

    "Does it matter?" therge man replied. "It will soon all be ours anyway."

    "Oh yeah?" Midwak ran forward across the ground. He had yet to transform, but when he got close, his legs changed, his arm and his whole body. Therge man threw an overhand, but Midwak was faster,ing right in and tensing his fist, it mmed right into therge man''s face.

    Now it was his turn to go flying in the air and crash on the ground.

    "I could do with a snack," Midwak said, licking his lips.

    ****

    ****

 Chapter 767 Midwakâ€™s fight

    Chapter 767 Midwak¡¯s fight

    Therge man was lying on the floor, his shoulders were shaking. His hand lifted to the top of his hood and he pulled it down. The only thing one could see was therge grin on his face and hisrge pearly white teeth.

    Using the momentum of only his legs, he jumped up from the ground. The workers that were watching felt like the hit had to have had some sort of effect on therge man. After all, who wouldn¡¯t after being thrown in the air like that, and from Midwak of all people.

    When standing, he looked like he had next to no trouble at all.

    ¡°This is what I was expecting, this is the type of power I was expecting from a tier-2. You must hook quite the high potion in the Howers gang. It¡¯s a shame for you, that it won¡¯t be enough.¡±

    Midwak pointed both of his hands out, and nails started to fire out from them. Therge man quickly spun his body, avoiding all of them and charged forward at the same time.

    ¡°You''re fast for a big guy!¡± MIdwak said. ¡°But I¡¯m faster!¡±

    Jumping in the air, Midwak transformed his legs and kicked therge man with both his legs right in the face. As he was leaning back he used his arms to punch him back up again, and swung his arm giving a hard punch right to his head.

    Midwak continued, as he went for hit after hit, he did so from side to side, again and again. Therge man¡¯s head was swinging rapidly as steps back were taken.

    ¡®Why¡­ why does it feel like none of my punches are fully connecting!¡¯ Midwak thought. ncing at his opponent, he could see under the hood that there was a smile on his face.

    Midwak soon could tell, other than the first initial hit he had done at the beginning, none of these hits had the full force of his weight behind them. Therge man was predicting where he was going to hit, and was going with the flow as he swung his head side to side.

    Therge man swung his body again, but this time when Midwak went to strike, he swung back and his arm shed against Midwak''s. The two of them collided in the air with neither of them losing out in terms of strength.

    ¡®What type of Altered is this guy even, he¡¯s able to withstand my strength!¡¯ Midwak was getting annoyed. The veins on his head were growing and his eyes started to narrow.

    ¡°If I eat you, I guess I¡¯ll get a nice little boost in strength!¡± Midwak dered.

    His whole body started to transform. His legs, his arms, and his size started to grow along with the rest of his fur. With his hand pointed out, Midwak fired out his nails again. They pierced the man¡¯s chest and blood was dripping from his wound.

    Now having fully transformed as well, Midwak swung his arm overpowering therge man, and went to swing with a wed hand.

    Just in time, therge man was able to lift both of his hands. The ws ripped through his hoodie sleeve, and cut the skin on his arms. He was sent a few meters back, skidding on the ground and then jumped a couple of times to make sure he was away.

    The man noticed that the speed of Midwak had increased along with his strength.

    ¡°I should have expected?¡± The man lifted up his arms, blood dripping down them. ¡°They said that I should have been able to do this job without having to transform, but I had an inkling that they were wrong. You guys are stronger than I thought, but you will never be able to go up against us.

    Therge Altered started to change, his whole body was growingrge in size, he had finally activated his Altered from. Midwak was staring at the turn that was happening in front of him.

    His eyes were continually looking up higher and higher as the change continued and a shadow had been cast over his whole body.

    ¡°You''re one ugly F*ck.¡± Midwak said.

    The other workers at this point had decided it was time for them to leave, and had run out of the casino, abandoning their position, while the two other werewolves had gotten up, heading toward the back of the establishment.

    ¡°We can¡¯t leave Midwak to deal with that thing!¡± Bardo shouted.

    ¡°If we stay, we¡¯ll die.¡± Bardolph replied.

    ¡ª¡ª-

    Gary had finished his meeting with Xin, he wanted to do more with her, spend some time with her, but he felt somewhat bad that he was hanging around with her while she was worrying about her brother.

    So the first thing he decided to do, after leaving the hotel, was to head to the Wolf¡¯s Pool club in order to meet Kai.

    Standing outside the hotel looking at the city lights, Gary could see the eyes of others looking at him. He smiled and gave them a wave. While in public he was Gary Dem, the business tycoon.

    Only when he had the mask on, was he the leader of the Howlers, but the Howlers gang still treated him with respect as well, as they knew Gary Dem worked closely with the gang.

    They treated him just as nicely as they would any of the core members, on the orders of Kai of course.

    ¡®Ah, things aren¡¯t quite like the past, he could be busy, held up somewhere or working on some project. I should give him a call, just in case he isn¡¯t there.¡¯ Gary thought pulling out his phone.

    ¡°Oh, Gary, I was actually just about to call you.¡± Kai said, answering.

    It was strange because Kai rarely called him unless it was something big, otherwise he would always much rather just send a message, so it concerned him a little.

    ¡°It¡¯s about Midwak, he¡¯s in the hospital.¡±

    *****

    ****

 Chapter 768 Who Attacked us?

    Chapter 768 Who Attacked us?

    Due to the severity of the situation, all of the core members of the Howlers had been called. Kai, Marie, Olivia, Austin, and of course, Gary were present. Innu was still considered a core member, but contact with him was limited due to his current situation.

    All of them were now traveling in the regr limo, making their way to Notsburg.

    "Are those really the only details we know so far?" Marie asked. "Don''t you think it''s strange that someone would attack the casino, the base, but not go after the rest of the city or any of the other gang members?"

    "Do you remember when Midwak attacked us?" Kai replied. His elbow was ced on the edge of the car, and he had the window open ever so slightly, just enough for two fingers to fit through.

    "He attacked me at the time because he wanted to send a message," Kai exined. "It''s often in cases like this that they show their power, so we see that there''s no point in an all-out fight. They had managed to take out Midwak, who was a powerful ally of ours, which goes to show what type of enemy we might go up against."

    At the time, Midwak had certainly shown his power. Many groups perhaps would have chosen not to fight after learning what had happened but Gary was filled with rage at the time instead.

    Gary''s heart was racing slightly. He remembered beating Midwak originally, and since then he had gone on to beat him a couple of times more, but each time they fought, the word "weak" would have never entered his head. He was certainly strong, and whoever took him out, it meant they were a serious enemy that they needed to consider. The real question was just who it was.

    Eventually, they reached Notsburg. They pulled up at arge sized hospital. The building had several floors and had arches around with trees and greenery. It was one of the best hospitals in Notsburg.

    "Did you guys have to build everything in Notsburg so shy?" Austin asked.

    "You have to admit, it does fit the scenery," Olivia replied. "With all the shy casinos and the shy billboards, the hospital fits in."

    Entering the hospital, the group did so with their masks, and the staff surprised them by being quite polite, bowing down. There were also several gang members in suits, all of them wearing the same colors as the Howlers, ck and gold. At first, since the gangs in Notsburg were made up from the remnants of the old gang and mostly followed Midwak, they were against it, but as the Howlers became a bigger name, wearing the uniform had be their pride, and in turn, they had learned to greatly respect the leader of the Howlers. After all, they were their bosses that filled their pockets with cash.

    A doctor came to greet the group, and they soon followed him up the elevator, which led to one of the top floors. They walked pastrge doors with a significant amount of space between each one. The rooms they were walking past were the VIP rooms, and eventually, they opened the door of one. The group walked in to the sound of small bleeps and clicks as they heard all of the machinery going off.

    When inside, they could see Midwak lying t on a bed, attached to a number of different types of machinery. Inside the room, there were not only a few other nurses but Tom was there as well.

    "Do you mind?" Kai asked.

    It was the signal for the rest to leave the room, and that''s exactly what they did.

    "I''ve looked over him like you asked, but I''m not sure why his body''s not healing so well," Tom answered. "I gave him plenty of meat, but his state is like this, as you can see."

    They could only see bandages and casts over most of Midwak''s body; he even had a brace around his neck. It was certainly a strange sight for a werewolf of all things, since they were good healers as long as they had meat. With his eyes, though, they could see Midwak was fine, and it appeared his mouth could move as well.

    "I bet you guys are over the moon, seeing me in a state like this," Midwak smiled, but he quickly stopped and winced in pain slightly.

    "We aren''t happy about any member of the Howlers being hurt," Gary said. "And you are not only a member of the Howlers but our pack as well. Who was it that did this? Was it the other Alpha?"

    "No, it wasn''t the other Alpha. Do you think they would have left me in this state? They wouldn''t have let me live," Midwak replied.

    "Then, was it the Altered Hunters? No, it couldn''t have been them; they wouldn''t have let him live either," Marie mumbled to herself.

    "Maybe it was a vampire, like the one that went after us that time," Olivia stated.

    "No," Midwak said again. "I didn''t want to admit it, because to me it''s embarrassing, but it was just an Altered. They were just another Altered."

    An Altered that was powerful enough to take on Midwak. There shouldn''t be many that could be counted.

    "Gary, I have a message for you," Midwak said. "Right now, the way you are, you would lose to him as well. So you need to stop being all friendly with everyone and get stronger! Otherwise, you will lose everything that you managed to build up."

    Judging by the words said and what Kai had said before, he felt like this could only mean one thing.

    "Our enemy this time, it''s a gang that belongs to a tier 1 city. It has to be one of the Kings," Kai stated.

    ****

    ****

 Chapter 769 Attacking in a different way

    Chapter 769 Attacking in a different way

    The group had left Midwak in Notsburg. They had thought about taking him back to Slough with them, but he himself didn''t want to do that. He said he was fine, and with a bit more food, he would be back to normal. Gary was inclined to believe him.

    The damage was just more than what he could take. On the drive back, though, the group couldn''t help but worry, wondering who did that to him.

    "Are we going to be okay?" Marie asked. "Midwak was pretty strong. He probably is just under Gary in terms of strength."

    "Hey," Olivia said. "We have been working hard training together. Don''t go putting your hard work down the drain like that. Besides, style makes up fights."

    "I think the real shocker in all of this is that it just took one person to take Midwak down," Austin stated. "I would have expected a whole gang toe."

    "Hey!" Kai pped his hands loudly together. "We shouldn''t think like this. This is exactly what they wanted. They wanted to startle us by taking down one of our strongest with a single person. You guys having these thoughts is exactly their n. What we need to do is find out who did this and figure out their next move."

    Gary was silent about the whole thing. Before, in his mind, he needed to get stronger than Midwak. He had achieved that, and in turn, had stayed on top of him, making sure he never grew stronger than him. Yet now, there was an enemy that just took him out like that? Either way, he had been focusing on his development for a while now because he knew eventually he would have to go up against the other Alpha.

    When the group had returned back to Slough, Kai was ready to give them all a few orders. In order to get to the bottom of what was happening. But that''s when he received a call.

    He answered it, not saying much. He was mostly listening and ended the call with few words. "I''ll be right there," Kai said.

    Heading toward the car, Kai opened it with a concerned look on his face. "Everyone, stay in Slough and report to me if anything happens. Stay in contact with your squads and make sure they''re on high alert!"

    The others nodded, knowing something was up. They could feel the blood pumping in their bodies. "Gary, youe with me; we need to head out now!"

    Entering the car, the two of them had eventually ended up back in a tier-3 city they had visited before. The car quickly rushed off and stopped just outside arge, wide mansion of sorts that had heavily eastern influences.

    As they entered, several men greeted them wearing strange clown costumes, and eventually, they were inside. Sitting at a table was Harry Cardenez and Numba Cardenez, the head of Cardenez Electronics.

    They had apany base in Slough as well, but the factories remained in their old city, as well as where the Cardenez family lived. At the same time, they had expanded work and connections with several other cities as well, all under the protection of the Howlers.

    "It is a shame that we have to meet under such conditions. I would have preferred it if we only met when there is good news to share, not bad news," Harry stated.

    "The situation can''t be helped; please can you exin the details?" Kai said, sitting down along with Gary.

    "We got the call that an intruder had arrived at one of our factories," Numba exined. "I was in the area, so I had decided to head there myself. When I arrived, though, so much destruction had already been caused."

    "I managed to catch a glimpse of the person, but they were too fast, even in my Altered form. I was unable to catch up with them." Numba exined. It was clear he was upset by the fact.

    What Numba''s story made clear, though, was that the person had to also be an Altered.

    "They had destroyed our shipment and one of our factories just before arge order. We have had to apologize to our customer, but based on the timing of the attack, I''m sure it wasn''t a coincidence."

    Both Gary and Kai looked at each other concerned. It certainly didn''t seem that way, especially after Midwak had been attacked as well.

    In the middle of their conversation as well, Kai had received a text. "I apologize, but there is somewhere else I need to be. Whatever help you need, we will support you, and I would suggest you stay on guard for the time being. They could be targeting other factories as well."

    Gary didn''t have time to see how Numba had been doing, especially since he had left the academy. Because as quickly as they came, they were leaving again.

    Driving in the car, it didn''t take long until they had reached their next destination: Aj Entertainment. Entering therge, tall ss building, they hade to the top floor, and that was where they had met with Ashen, the head of the entertainment block and industry.

    Heading inside their office, AJ didn''t have a smile on his face. "I wasn''t expecting you toe over today, but I guess it is an important matter," AJ said as he handed over some documents to Kai. "There''s apany that is trying to poach our stars.

    "They''re offering to pay for the contract-breaking fee and better terms. Honestly, it''s a really good deal, one that makes no sense. If apany was to do this, they wouldn''t be able tost a year, even if someone is bankrolling them. However, for the stars, it''s almost too good of an offer for them to refuse."

    "A lot of our stars are willing to stay with us because they have treated us so nicely, but I have to admit some will be tempted by this. So we might have to put in counteroffers soon."

    "So you''re asking for more money?" Kai replied.

    "At the end of the day, it''s something that we might need to do, or AJ Entertainment will cease to exist."

    Sweat was starting to run down the side of Kai''s head. It was the first time Gary had seen it. Kai was so uneasy; he was clearly startled by everything.

    "Gary, can you see what''s happening?" Kai said. "Our enemy, they''re taking out all of our gang''s revenue streams. AJ Entertainment, the Casino, and the factories. They produce the most ie for us, other than property."

    "Whoever is behind this, they''re trying to take us out without even fighting us."

    It was a type of battle that they had never been in before. Usually, they would just fight with their fists, deal with their enemy, and that would be that. However, they were going up against a group that hadrger resources than even them.

    The state of Howlers had now be public knowledge; all of their businesses were known to the outside world. Yet, an attack like this, Kai just never expected it to happen, not without them antagonizing or upsetting one of the kings.

    "Gary... I don''t know what to do," Kai said for the first time since the two of them had teamed up together.

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 770 The Kings but who?

    Chapter 770 The Kings but who?

    Gary and Kai had just left the main office after their talk with Ashen, having learned what was going on and all the problems the Howlers were dealing with. Gary had seen Kai fall to his knees.

    He looked straight ahead, staring at the hallway that led to only the elevators as he proimed he had no idea what to do.

    It was the first time, the first time Gary had seen Kai like this.

    "Kai, you''ve always been strong, always doing everything for the gang behind the scenes and have never been able to rest.

    "As things have gotten bigger, you continued to take on that burden each time. It must have been getting to you, but we never saw it. And now with everything being attacked at once, you don''t even know where to start."

    Walking over, Gary ced his hand on his shoulder.

    "The answer is simple," Gary said with a smile. "We just need to find out who''s behind this and pay them back ten times more. We don''t have to worry about anything else."

    Gary''s simple view allowed for a light to be seen inside Kai''s mind because it really was that simple.

    He had thought about how to protect the many things the Howlers hade to earn. He was wondering what the best solution would be.

    But if they got rid of the one causing all of the problems, then they would be okay.

    "Think, I''m sure you can find out a way to find out who was behind this, right? And then I''ll be the one to take them out."

    Letting out a big breath, Kai started to think. With the level of power they had now, who would be willing to be their enemy?

    He had already narrowed it down to one of the Kings. It couldn''t be the other Alpha; they would have sent a werewolf to deal with Midwak. It would have been a much more powerful message. Out of the others, it was unlikely to be the Dark Guild. They were a good customer of theirs, having purchased many of their solutions.

    Other than that, there was still quite a list for them to go through.

    Heading back to Slough, Kai''s phone continued to vibrate. He had been getting messages non-stop asking about what they should do.

    For now, he would ignore them all and ask Harry, the head of Cardenez Electronics, to deal with it all.

    He was one of the more trusted allies they worked with and had a good head on his shoulders. He trusted him to make the best financial decisions with the current situation at hand.

    Meanwhile, Kai''s brain needed to be used and focused on something else.

    When in Slough, he and Gary went downstairs to his office where he had pulled out arge whiteboard and a red marker and started to write a number of things down.

    ¡°From what we know, there are four major powerhouses that currently control the state of this country, and nearly every other country is set up the same way,¡± Kai exined as he drew four words and circled them.

    ¡°You have White Rose, which is funded by the local governments all over the world. Although they are a force that ims to be against Altered, they mostly remain neutral unless serious problems ur. They wouldn''t touch those like the Kings unless they had a good reason to.

    ¡°I also spoke to Elijah, and he confirms they have no involvement in any of this. The next are the Altered Hunters. They are against Altered as a whole in general, but they would either make a move against small gangs or try something big against one of the Kings, not us, a tier 2 gang,¡± Kai continued to exin, crossing both of them out.

    ¡°Then we go to NIRV. Although they are not a gang per se, they have the retrievers. Contracts with those connected to all sorts of gangs out there, and those in the AFC. They even categorize their retriever groups via sses, going all the way up to triple SSS, which includes the Kings. You could say they have the most power.¡±

    ¡°But can they really utilize them all?¡± Gary replied. ¡°For instance, if they ever tried to use a retriever group with one of the Kings to attack another city, would they even ept?¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Kai replied. ¡°They are aware of this as well. They are somewhat like a bridge that connects all the gangs together. Actually, almost like a spider web with them in the center. But if they ever find out a reason for eliminating one of these gangs, I can imagine it will be very easy for them to cut one of the threads off and force all the others to go after them.

    ¡°After all, the reason why the Kings don¡¯t attack each other is because there would be great loss on their side, and then they would go after each other.¡±

    NIRV, White Rose, and the Altered Hunters. It was clear where Kai was going with this; it had to be one of the Kings that were messing with them.

    ¡°There are five tier 1 cities in this country, meaning there are five Kings in total. First, the Dark Guild, who run the auction houses. They are on the best terms with nearly all the gangs due to their ck market houses they run; we see how good the rtionship is between them due to the auctions, so we can rule them out.

    ¡°So with that, we have our suspects, but we have to know why one of them would target us? There¡¯s the Bree Gang. They are more of a family rather than a gang and arge one at that.

    ¡°They have members of their family running gangs all over the. So they aren¡¯t justrge here but all over the ce as well. They do have the power to do this to us, but I honestly can¡¯t see why they would. Or any reason for them to, unless they are just testing the waters.

    ¡°Then we have the Lupus group,¡± Kai exined. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you this before, but if I¡¯m honest with you, this is my guess as to who the other Alpha and Pack are.¡±

    Gary¡¯s heart thudded when he heard this; it was the first time Kai had mentioned such a thing.

    ¡°Why do you think that?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Because of the other options. The other two, the leaders are public and well-known. We have Havor Ego, from the One n. Havor isn¡¯t just the leader and a King, but is also the number one ranked AFC fighter out there.

    ¡°Then finally, we have Sin Ignis. The most brutal of the Kings, who does whatever he wishes, and also the closest to Slough.¡±

    Looking at the list, there were three possibilities.

    The One n, led by Havor Ego

    The Phoenix Gang led by Sin Ignis

    Or the Bree Family with gangs all over the world.

    One of these three was their enemy, and Gary didn¡¯t know who he would have preferred.

 Chapter 771 Finding the one

    Chapter 771 Finding the one

    Going up against any of the kings wasn¡¯t going to be good for them, and there was another worry in this battle. After fighting against a king, how would they recover, that was even if they won.

    Surely the other kings would be watching and waiting, ready to pounce on the opportunity to take the city and its resources; fighting against one of them wasn¡¯t just fighting against one of them.

    "They had to have made this move now before we got any bigger," Kai said, rubbing the side of his chin. It was where the scar was from when he had been hurt by Midwak. It was something he often did when he felt a little stressed by the situation.

    "So we need to find out why any of these guys would attack us, right? From the standpoint of them just worrying about us getting bigger, wouldn¡¯t Sin Ignis be the first choice since we''re the closest city?" Gary asked.

    For the first time, Gary and Kai were thinking along the same lines.

    "It¡¯s not just about who we think, though we need to know for certain. Say we decided to go against Sin, perhaps this is exactly what another gang wants, and then they can eliminate us from behind or get rid of two birds with one stone. We can¡¯t rule out a gang just using us either."

    Thinking about it hard, once again Gary was the one who had thought of a solution as he snapped his fingers.

    "What about Midwak? Isn¡¯t he our best bet? He fought against this person, and he was close enough to even smell him," Gary pointed to his nose, his nostrils ring slightly. "If we visited these cities, I¡¯m sure that Midwak would be able to smell them out."

    "That¡¯s the best idea we have, but I¡¯m not sure it''s the best idea," Kai replied. "Are you sure that you can work with Midwak, and that he would want to work with you? We can¡¯t send everyone to these cities; it would be obvious, so there¡¯s a good chance it might just be you and him, and it would have to be you. I don¡¯t think anyone can handle that guy."

    Now Kai was grabbing the bottom of his chin. It was fair to say that although Kai wasn¡¯t scared of Midwak like he was in the past, he still didn¡¯t like being next to him.

    "I have another idea as well that we can try before that; let¡¯s use Tom," Kai pulled out his phone and was already dialing.

    "Tom, why Tom?" Gary thought.

    Tom was still in Notsburg looking over Midwak¡¯s condition. It was quite amazing; the werewolf¡¯s healing capabilities were more amazing than any Altered he had dealt with before, as long as they had something to eat.

    With the condition he was in, even an Altered would take about a week to fully recover, but Midwak would be ready to go in a couple of days.

    Answering the phone, Tom was a little surprised to see who was calling after they had left not too long ago. Answering it, he listened and gave a few nods here and there.

    "I see, I think it could work, but you know if it wasn¡¯t a solution by NIRV, there¡¯s nothing that we can do, but I¡¯ll get started on it right away," Tom said.

    Hanging up the phone, Tom looked at Midwak.

    "Do you mind answering a few questions about the Altered you saw? I need you to describe everything you can about him."

    Midwak was surprisingly quite cooperative with Tom, perhaps it was because he was the one feeding him or administering the drugs that made him feel better. Either way, it allowed him to write down the notes on hisptop.

    The n was, based on the descriptions that Midwak gave, Tom would search through the database of NIRV. In doing so, he would try to see if anything matched up with the description of Midwak¡¯s attacker.

    If it did, then Tom would also be able to tell who NIRV had sold the supply to, but of course, there were other organizations that sold Altered solutions, and there was the ck market. It was still worth a try though.

    Writing in the details, Tom wasn¡¯t able to get a match, but he didn¡¯t want to give up there, so he decided to make a call himself.

    "Dad, sorry for the unexpected call," Tom said with a pleasant greeting.

    "No, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s always nice to hear your voice. So what¡¯s up?" His Dad asked.

    "I¡¯m going to be sending you a few details of an Altered; you have higher clearance than me. I was just wondering if you could do a check to see if you can find any matches," Tom asked.

    There was silence on the other side of the phone for a few moments until his dad finally replied.

    "You''re not doing anything dangerous are you?"

    "No, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not in the line of danger. I¡¯m just helping some friends."

    The phone call had ended, and Tom continued on with his day, checking a few work things here and there. It was only a short while that he had managed to get a call back from his father.

    "Son, are you sure you''re not doing anything dangerous?" His Dad asked, not saying anything else.

    "I¡¯m perfectly safe, I promise. I¡¯m just looking into a few things, and they need this information so they can be safe as well," Tom answered.

    Once again after a few seconds, it looked like his father had given in and was willing to give him an answer.

    "There was a match concerning the description of the Altered you gave me. The thing was it wasn¡¯t in the normal database. It was in the corrupted Altered solution sections. It was an infected Altered solution that theb was still working on. However, the reports state that it was stolen from theb."

    "Stolen, and an infected solution, why would they do that?"

    "I don¡¯t know, and we have no clue why, but I want you to be careful. It was two infected solutions that had been stolen, and both of them were recorded as Mythical Type Altered solutions."

    *****

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 Chapter 772 The king behind it all.

    Chapter 772 The king behind it all.

    The information that Tom had found out was passed onto Kai, and now it was bing clearer as to why Midwak and even Numba had struggled to catch whoever it was that had attacked them.

    Still, the main issue had persisted; they had no clue who was behind the attacks in the first ce.

    "This group." Kai tensed his fist, slowly banging it on the table. He had kept his anger in; otherwise, it would have been smashed in half. "The group is crazy enough to even do this to someone like NIRV. They must be confident that even if they were caught, they could handle the consequences."

    "Mythical type Altereds," Gary repeated, trying to remember the information he knew about them. "Most Altered forms are based on ancient beasts that used to live on earth, right? In turn, a lot of them look simr to the animals we still have on earth but aren''t quite the same. But as for Mythical types, that''s something more on the lines of what Austin has?"

    Gary knew his fair share about Altered''s, that was because of his heavy interest in the AFC, but mythical types weren''t something even seen in the AFC much. But after learning the truth about the AFC and how Altereds weren''t allowed to use certain skills, it might just be that they were hiding their true power, and there were more mythical types than one imagined. An example of this is Austin, who was also a mythical type. Some might think he was from a bull-type beast when, in reality, he was from the mythical monster known as a minotaur.

    "Not all mythical type Altereds are technically strong," Kai stated. "In a sense, some would just call an Altered type beast that is extinct or we have no knowledge of as a mythical type, but we don''t.

    "When people talk about mythical type beasts, they are referring to beasts that even we know that have been passed down in legends. Creatures that were so strong that we still know about them, such as Dragons, Phoenixes, Minotaurs, and so on. There is a reason why the names of these frightening things have be legends, and it''s because of their power."

    "The way NIRV ssifies mythical types is in this category, which means they are certainly strong. As for why they weren''t selling them or keeping it for themselves entirely would be because they were infected. I fear, Gary, that what Midwak had said was true. That maybe the members of this gang are extremely strong."

    On the coast of the country, there was arge house made mostly of ss that was built slightly on a cliffside. The view allowed the person to see the entire sea in its full glory. Sitting outside on the balcony on the nice sunny day was a man dressed in dark red clothing.

    He had a pair of bronze-tinted shades on his head, which went well with his youthful skin and red hair. If one were to see this person on the street like so, he would be talked about in seconds because it was none other than the King, Sin Ignis.

    "The sun is shining nice as always, giving me a nice prickly heat on my skin," Sin said, picking up his ss of red wine and taking a small sip before cing it back down.

    "You two didn''t mess up. I thought you would have done so, but it seems like you did your research," Sin continued.

    Stepping forward was a top-heavy man with a hood above his head. He had broad, round shoulders, and the red hoodie he was wearing wasn''t too tight, yet one could still see the muscles bulging on their body.

    "Gil, you did a fine job in taking out the leader of Notsburg. I can already imagine them being in a panic!" Sin said as he stood up from his seat and looked at the two people.

    "I invested a lot in both of you, and it turned out to be quite the grand investment. So, Gil, how was it, going up against the Howlers gang? I heard that Notsburg had someone that was quite strong."

    "Strong?" Gilughed. "No, he wasn''t strong, he wasn''t anything special. If the rest of them are like that, then I have no trouble in taking them all out, and I can''t wait to head to Slough and take out Gary himself!"

    Gil''s life had taken a drastic turn, and in his mind, it was all when he hade across Gary Dem. A man that had made quite the name for himself in the town of Slough.

    Sin had been doing some research, wondering who it was that had disrupted his deal with the Underdogs, and he hade to learn that it was the Howlers.

    He wouldn''t act straight away, though, because Sin needed to find out if there was anyone backing them and their strength. After all, it was strange to see a gang rise so fast.

    After doing their research, including research that had been done through Gil and the other person by his side, they had found out there wasn''t any. Enough time had been spent waiting, and they were going to do their best to take out the Howlers, take over their small empire they had been building, so they could boost their strength rather than weakening it in an all-out fight.

    "Hey, I thought we had an agreement," the voice said from the side. Unlike Gil, this person was tall and slender in frame. They had dark purple-colored hair, and even bags that appeared under their eyes.

    He wore a type of red vest, where his arms went through with his ck shirt, wearing the colors of the Phoenix gang''s uniform.

    "I will get back at Gary Dem, the one who killed my brother, no matter the cost!" Raven eximed.

    *****

    *****

    ****

 Chapter 773 Friends of Friends

    Chapter 773 Friends of Friends

    Both Kai and Gary were working hard toe up with a n, but with the current n, they would need to rely on Midwak, and he was still out ofmission at this time.

    Instead, for the time being, Gary was focusing on a few things. For one, his sister Amy, as well as his mother. He had asked for increased security around his mother, and he would secretly keep an eye on his sister in the meantime.

    Since they were hitting everything that belonged to the Howlers, they would also assume that Gary Dem, a business tycoon that worked for them and an ex AFC fighter, would be on their list of targets.

    However, there was a chance that they wouldn''te for them directly and instead would target those around him.

    Amy was living a good life now; she had finished school and was getting ready to go to university. Surprisingly, White had chosen the same course as her inputer engineering.

    It was hard to say if this was Kai''s doing, to have someone around her at all times protecting her or not, but Amy was just happy that a friend was staying around her.

    ---

    In the city of Slough, on Burnham food street, a new luxury seafood restaurant had opened up. There was ss all around, and the fish were swimming around the guests as they ate.

    The idea was to make the customer feel like they were dining under the sea while eating their seafood. It was quite the hit, and since Burnham was bing more well-known as a ce for new restaurants to appear, there were those who came from outside of the city just to experience the food.

    The restaurant, due to its poprity, was already fully booked for the next three months, and it had only just opened.

    Sitting on one of the seats on the edge, right up against the ss, was arge man with a pompadour hairstyle. He was dressed up in a nice white dress shirt that almost sparkled as it had hints of glitter. It wasn''t buttoned up to the top, as the top button was undone, allowing the cor to re out. The person who was dressed up was none other than Austin. If those from his school saw him now, they would have had to take a second look to make sure it was the right person.

    As for the reason why he was dressed up so nicely, it was due to the person who was sitting opposite him, one that he hade to know quite well over the past year, Vere.

    She was in a long elegant ck dress that slit by the legs and just about touching the floor.

    "The dress you''re wearing, it reminds me a lot of the Phantom Brawl," Austin said.

    "Ohe on, let''s not talk about that on a day like this," Vere replied. "You finally managed to have the nerve to ask me out and then brought me to a nice ce like this. So let''s enjoy ourselves and not think so much about the past."

    Vere picked up her drink, and the two of them nged their sses together. Austin took a few more gulps down than he usually would have done and was rubbing his leg a few times.

    ''He''s nervous, but it''s kind of cute,'' Vere thought. ''I should help ease him in a little.''

    "So you managed to get a booking at this ce even though it waspletely full. Tell me, did you use your connections, Mr. Big Shot?" Vere asked.

    The Howlers had their hands in everything in Slough at this time, so knocking off a few people for them to get reservations was expected. Vere was part of the Howlers as well, but she wasn''t in as high of a position as Austin, who was a masked member as she came to know.

    "Of course not!" Austin eximed. "I rang up as soon as I heard this ce was ready, as I wanted to show you I could work hard."

    Just then, a curly-haired dark-skinned woman came along and gave a little sweet treat for the two of them.

    "How is everything then, Austin?" The woman asked.

    "Oh, you know him on a first-name basis?" Vere raised an eyebrow, as she had never seen this woman before.

    "Ah, well, Gary did introduce the two of us. Since he had asked me for a favor to give one of his friends a reservation. It''s nice to meet you; I''m Izzy, the owner of this restaurant," Izzy imed as she ced her hand out.

    Izzy was one of the students that Gary had made an alliance with a while back. Her family had owned a chain of restaurants across other tier-3 cities. With their partnership, they had decided to work closer in Slough, and her mother had sent her out to look after the new restaurant.

    "Oh really, nice to meet you, Izzy," Vere said, shaking her hand and looking at Austin with a cheeky smile.

    Having been caught in a lie, Austin was now somewhat sweating.

    "Well, please, I hope you two enjoy your meal; the two of you look great together," Izzymented. "If you need anything at all, then give me a call, and I hope I get invited to the wedding."

    Walking off, Izzy was ready to leave the two alone, but she noticed something odd. Several of the guests in the room had suddenly stood up from their seats. It wouldn''t have seemed like such an odd thing, apart from the fact that they stood straight like a bamboo shoot, unmoving, and it was all at the same time, as if it was coordinated.

    At the same time, they took off their uniforms, revealing dark red-colored clothing underneath their shirts.

    One of the men in the center of the group had half his hair dyed red while the other half was ck, and he had a sinister smile on his face as he started tough.

    "We are here to get rid of the Howlers! We will burn everything to the ground!"

    *****

 Chapter 774 Not The Same Gang

    Chapter 774 Not The Same Gang

    The restaurant was a rtivelyrge space that could seat around five hundred diners, and the venue was fully booked up. Scattered around the area, there appeared to be around fifteen different people who were standing up at different tables.

    One of the men immediately noticed one of the guests trying to get up and leave, a woman. He promptly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back, mming the back of her head right through the table. It was clear that the strength of a human hadn''t been used; it was something much more than that.

    "Get rid of everyone that''s in here!" The half-dyed red-haired man shouted.

    The man was known as Stunker, and he was one of the upper members of the Phoenix gang.

    "Everyone will soon know that the Howlers gang isn''t even strong enough to protect the people inside it!"

    Listening to Stunker''s orders, all of them started to act, and not just that, nearly all fifteen of them began to transform into their Altered forms. One of the members had grown a thick tail like that of a monkey''s, but at the very end of it, there was a me that would constantly be alight.

    Using the tail, he hit one of the men who were dining at the restaurant, and the fire had started to burn his clothes. It wasn''t just him; another gang member''s hair had burst into mes and spread right down his back.

    Swinging it, he was hitting guests and setting the whole ce aze.

    As for another gang member, he had jumped up on the bar counter and started to shoot out small mes of fire. As they hit the floor and other areas, the damage was quickly spreading all over the ce.

    "Don''t mess with my restaurant!" Izzy shouted. Her hair had extended out and wrapped around the man on the counter. She soon pulled him, causing his body and back to m on the edge of the counter. Then, picking him up, she threw him right into the corner of the room.

    People continued to run, and the Phoenix members continued to try to harm them in any way possible. However, there were more who were stepping up to the table. Members in the room dressed in ck and gold stood in the way of the attacks. Some of them pulled out anti-Altered weapons and struck away the limbs of the other gang''s members.

    "A useless effort," Stunker said to himself. "The whole ce will be nothing but mes soon."

    Austin''s fist was shaking as he saw everything that was happening. It was clear to him that it was a gang''s doing, and they had decided to attack the Howlers in their very own territory, and on such an important day.

    "I''ll kill them!" Austin shouted. "I''ll kill them all!"

    Not holding back, his body started to transform as well. His nose red up and grew in size, while tworge horns wereing out from the top of his head. His legs were beginning to change, and his nicely worn shirt was starting to rip.

    "Damn it, I forgot I wasn''t wearing the Howler''s uniform. I spent so much time and effort picking out this shirt!" The anger was building up, and even through his bull-like face, red could be seen, especially in his eyes.

    "Wait!" Vere shouted. "The fire, it''s spreading everywhere. Forget about them; we need to do something about this. It''s going to reach the exit soon, and then no one will have a way to get out."

    Turning her head, she hade up with a solution, and it was a rtively easy one.

    "Break the ss!" Vere shouted. "Break the ss and get rid of the fire."

    "But... won''t that then drown everyone?" Austin replied back.

    "There''s not enough water for that; the volume of the tank as well as the floor here will be added either way. Just break the tank!"

    Austin didn''t need to be told twice; he trusted Vere, who was far smarter than him. With a kick of his feet, he charged forward and smashed right into the ss. Cracks had started to appear, giving it a shattered appearance, but the ss itself hadn''t broken. It was reinforced so it wouldn''t be easily broken in the first ce.

    "I need to charge up again!" Austin said as he decided to run a bit further back, giving him more momentum for the next attack.

    "Stop him!" Stunker shouted, noticing what was going on.

    Two of the closest members with ming metal wsing out from their hands jumped forward and rushed right after Austin.

    "Just keep going and ignore them; I''ll deal with it!" Stretching out her arm, it too started to grow in size. Her dress already revealed her arms, so it didn''t break any part of it, but it did allow for a change in her skin color, as it turned quite white, with patches of ck spots.

    The man struck with his fiery w; moving her head, she avoided it and threw out a strong fist, hitting him right in the face. The man spun twice beforending on the ground.

    As for the next one, she turned and realized it was already dealt with; the person was being constantly smacked by several tentacles.

    The man was being hit constantly again and again, then pulled in by the tentacles to be hit in the face once more.

    "d, that''s enough!" Vere shouted.

    d had soon stopped. He was always nearby, as he had been ordered, to protect and act at a moment''s notice when Vere needed. He was in a strange transformed Altered state, looking somewhat like a bug with his sharp wings but having four strange tentacles that were thick on his back. On top of that, he was still infected, but he would always listen to the voice of Vere and Austin no matter what they said.

    Finishing his charge, Austin crashed into the window, breaking it apart, and a gush of water came flowing out in waves.

    "You guys made a big mistake!" Austin said as he stood there, not moving from his spot as the water tried to push him. "We aren''t just a simple gang like we used to be; there are plenty of us who are strong!"

    *****

    *****

    ****

 Chapter 775 Attack the Howlers

    Chapter 775 Attack the Howlers

    The restaurant had a lot of money put behind it, a lot of thought went into the architectural design. Even the ss was expensive that had been used, meant to even withstand regr Anti-Altered weapons.

    This was meant to be Izzy¡¯s first sess and everything was going well. Her hard work was paying off and now she was seeing it go up in mes, and soon afterwards being drowned. The wood, the furniture, none of it could be reused now.

    But she understood Austin had only done what needed to be done. As the water drenched everything in the room, it started to sink down into drains even lowerpared to before.

    It was a safety mechanism that had been designed but the water was still going down at a slow rate and was reaching just below most of their knees.

    ¡°I want every single one of their heads!¡± Izzy shouted. Her hair was transforming, stretching out like a frenzy going up against one of the attackers.

    It was the man with the ming tale. He swung his tail creating a wall of fire, stopping the attack in its tracks and jumped back now next to Stunker.

    ¡°Sir, it seems there are more Altered than we expected, and they''re not exactly weak.¡± The man stated.

    Stunker could see that, even the small movements from the strange haired Altered, it was almost as if she was trained. Not just that but the others, they weren''t just regr gang members either.

    What was annoying Stunker more was the purpose of the attack, it was meant to be a hit and run. They were to attack the guests and as soon as the Howlers turned up, they were to get out of there.

    They would just barge and fight their way though, but why were there so many Altereds in one ce?

    ¡°Are you hurt!¡± Austin shouted out as he went by Vere¡¯s side.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, remember I could still take care of you most of the time even when I wasn¡¯t an Altered.¡± Vere answered. ¡°So thing¡¯s are a lot easier this time.¡±

    The public were dragging their feet through the water continuing to run out, and with the recent attack it seemed like both groups were waiting for one or the other to act.

    There was a reason for this, as Vere and Izzy were both thinking along the same line.

    ¡®Right now, we''re in Burnham food street. The panic of the people will reach outside and they will know something is up, if that¡¯s the case then she will being here.¡¯

    They were outnumbered and although Izzy was confident in her skills, from the small interactions she had, a few of these guys were good, good enough to even be in the AFC.

    ¡°What are you waiting for people, attack, or do you want to get pricked by me!¡± Stunker shouted and a heat came off from his back. Even the water around him was starting to evaporate partially from the ground.

    Immediately they got to work, the fire tailed Altered jumped up, doing a sort of flip and as he did he swung his tail. Doing so, mes were bursting around him and Izzy was finding it hard to find an opening.

    She tried to grab him from the side with her hair, but the tail whacked her hand down into the water.

    ¡®The tail¡­ it¡¯s not just got fire, it''s incredibly strong.¡¯

    Immediately a foot was raised up right to her face. She used her hair to block the attack but was hit and fell to the ground in the water. She quickly pushed herself up using her hair, to get distance between the two of them again.

    As for the rest, they were all charging right toward the other three.

    ¡°d, attack anyone that tries to hurt you, protect yourself at all costs!¡± Vere shouted.

    Most of the Altered in the group seemed to be the same type, able to produce strange ws from their hands that could emit mes. They came running at them with their hands looking as if they were on fire.

    A couple of them struck, and d was mostly dodging, as he moved back one of his tentacles even hit the water, Cushing it over one of them. Vere saw this as the perfect opportunity and pounced on one of them.

    Her cow-like fist had clobbered right into the man¡¯s face, nearly causing a dent in it as he fell to the ground. His body fell into the water and it didn¡¯t look like he was going to get back up.

    Right now, they weren''t going to care for the other side though, because it was clear this was a fight to the death.

    With Austin, he had done the same, he had avoided one of the w hits and with perfect timing through an almighty punch. As he did a man was sent flying back. The water on the floor had split as if it was trying to divide it into two waves.

    He continued until his back had hit the bar, right where Stunker was now standing on top of.

    ¡°Do I really have to get involved with a tier-2 gang, what is this!¡± Stunker thought.

    Out from his back, he had pulled out a metal pack, and in the pack there were several darts inside made of metal. Pulling it out, he held one of them firmly in his hands.

    ¡°Now which one of this lot is going to cause me the most trouble?¡±

    Stunker could see Izzy and his right hand man going against each other, it seemed like he had the upper hand so it didn¡¯t matter too much over there. It was the others that were struggling.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see how you deal with this.¡± Stunker smiled.

    Austin waited for the right moment, and when he was ready, he swung his fist again. All he had to do was get rid of these guys one at a time and then he would get rid of their leader.

    In the middle of swinging his fist through,ing right at him like a bullet on fire, he saw something pass his eye, and it hit him right in the chest. A ming dart pierced his skin, and it was bruising, igniting with power.

    It was a strong hit as well causing him to flush and miss his punch entirely, the member then with his ming hand had punched Austin right on the chin. It made a cut and a searing sensation below.

    Ignoring it, Ausitn lifted both hands and swung them down on top of the man. His legs were crushed as he fell back into the water, but right after that move, several more ming darts came out, hitting Austin in the chest one after the other.

    The heat was rising on his skin, and the blood was dripping from his body.

    ¡°AUSTIN!!!!¡± Vere screamed.

    ******

 Chapter 776 Saving Everyone

    <h4>Chapter 776 Saving Everyone</h4>

    The ming dart thrown by Stunker did something strange the moment it hit Austin. The fire burned brightly and started to spiral around as if it were being controlled, and when it did, the darts were going deeper into Austin''s chest.

    Because of this, the darts were almost ripping apart his flesh, and blood was flowing out rather quickly from his body, causingrge rm bells to go off in Vere''s head.

    "AUSTIN!" she screamed.

    She tried to run to his side, but as she did, a hot w came right at her face. She managed to pull back in time and lift her leg, her foot having transformed into a hoof. It whacked the man right on the chin, sending him back, but he managed to catch himself.

    Even with the strong hits and timing that Vere was able to pull off, these Altered were stronger than your average ones, and they should be, since they hade from a tier one city of all ces.

    "ARGHHH!" A loud roar came from Austin''s mouth, and as he puffed his nose, his muscles expanded. When they grew in size, the ming darts that had entered his body shot out, falling into the water.

    Now in his body, therge wounds could be seen, and as the water continued to drainpletely to the ground, he could see the darts on the ground. They didn''t look like normal darts, as there was a rotor in them.

    "Ah, you''re still alive. Now that really is surprising," Stunker said, looking at him. "These things are made with thetest Anti-Altered technology. Even with a simple throw, they would pierce right through a body.

    "Then if you add my Altered strength and my abilities to it, that should have definitely gone right through even a big guy like you!"

    What Stunker was saying was correct, but he had no idea just how strong Austin was, nor what type of Altered he was, but either way, he was still unfazed by the whole thing. In his mind, the task had just be a little more difficultpared to before.

    "Alright, I wanted to take down the most troublesome one first, but if I can''t do that, then I''ll just have to take out the rest one by one."

    Stunker looked around the room, and as he did, his eyes were set on Vere. She was moving agilely and packed quite a punch with her hits and kicks, but with her body, he was sure that this could work.

    At the right time, Stunker threw the dart from below, and the me activated, swirling around it and heading straight for her.

    "No!"

    Austin moved. As he jumped in the way, he stretched out his arm, and the dart pierced right through his skin, more so than before. When it reached it, it started to spin, and the mes ignited, causing a searing pain to be felt over his body.

    Since he had stopped the dart but it was still moving, he moved his hand, and then the dart spun until itpletely went through his skin and fell onto the floor. Now there was a small hole right through Austin''s arm.

    "Austin! You need help, we need to get you out of here!" Vere shouted.

    She now wasn''t avoiding hits as carefully as she was before. Instead, she would take small scratches against her skin in order to hit the attackers.

    However, Stunker didn''t stop there. As he continued to throw out the darts again, and as he did, they went towards d this time. He rushed to where the dart was heading, and with his open palm, Austin had caught the dart.

    He could feel the rotor spinning, trying to get through his hand. It had pierced the skin, but with his strength, he had decided to crush the dartpletely, pushing the dart through his skin.

    "You! Attacking from the back like that, do you have no shame!" Austin said, as he decided to charge forward. His hand was bloody from thest attack, and there were two men in his way, but this was perfect for him.

    Austin reached in and ignored their slicing hands as they stabbed him in the body. He picked the two up and threw them right at where Stunker was.

    Each body, Stunker was able to avoid as he moved on the counter top, but right behind them was none other than Austin. He crashed into the counter, shaking the whole ce, leaving Stunker unstable.

    "Crap, how did he get here so fast, and how were those Altered not even able to stop him?" Stunker thought, but he had even bigger problems to worry about.

    He held five darts between his fingers, and all of them activated as Austin was right below him.

    Before he could throw them though, Austin had grabbed his legs, pulling them out from underneath him. Stunker fell onto the counter at that moment. Then, with his legs, Austin lifted him in the air, and turned his body around, aiming it right toward the floor.

    "F*cking die!" Austin screamed as he swung down with all of his force.

    In a desperate attempt, Stunker threw all five of the darts he had left, each of them hitting Austin. But it didn''t stop him as the body crashed into the ground and a loud cracking noise was felt all down Stunker''s spine. A loud bang sounded in the entire area, like someone had fallen from the tenth floor, and blood poured out of his mouth.

    Austin said in a faint voice, "You scum. How could you guys get regr people involved in all of this?"

    Austin''s eyes were weak, and each of the darts had pierced his chest. Even though Stunker was out, they were still spinning, ripping apart his skin.

    The sudden sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs could be heard, and entering the room were several people in ck and gold, and one person in particr with a whip in her hand.

    She could see Izzy struggling, and throwing out the whip, she had grabbed the Altered, and lifted him up, bringing him towards her. As his body was flung, she transformed her hand, creating fur around it, and mmed it right into the man''s face, causing teeth to go flying all over the ce.

    After finally arriving and saving Izzy who was struggling greatly, "Vere!" Olivia screamed. "Help Austin."

    Olivia had just attacked the first person she had seen, so she had yet to fully gauge the situation.

    That''s when she could see Austin standing in the middle of the room, with several strange objects and fire spiraling around his chest.

    He looked at them all, and a weak smile appeared on his face.

    "Tell Gary to get rid of these bastards for me."

    The rotor continued to spin, and each of them went right through Austin''s body. A nging sound was made as they hit the bar on the other end, and hisrge body swayed from side to side and copsed, falling onto the floor, blood pouring from his wounds.

    ****

 Chapter 777 Well loved man

    <h4>Chapter 777 Well loved man</h4>

    In Slough, one of the hospitals in Cipen had been rebuilt. It had been upgraded, allowing for state-of-the-art equipment to be ced in it. It was something that needed to be done to attract well-known doctors with great skills.

    The one thing that was missing from Slough right now was arge well-known university, so they could funnel students into the workforce. However, with the way things were, they needed to attract as many talents as they could outside of Slough, and convince them that it was the ce to be.

    They had been doing a good job of that in many areas, but the hospital, in particr, was an important area for the Howlers gang. This was because Gary had a particr person that he was looking after, someone who had been asleep for a while now.

    Today, Gary was visiting the hospital along with Kai. The sun had risen as it was the start of the new day, but he wasn¡¯t here to visit his mother, he was here to see someone else.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would being here to see someone else,¡± Gary stated.

    ¡°Come on, keep your head held high¡­ you can¡¯t show your face like this, otherwise what will the others think,¡± Kai said.

    They walked across the stone pathway among greenery to the left and right. Nurses were out pushing patients, giving them a sense of fresh air and helping them with their needs.

    Then they had finally entered the front entrance of therge building. They knew where they needed to head, it was the top floor. Taking the elevator, there was a nurse that wasing along with them, guiding them.

    ¡°I should warn you, that there are quite a few people waiting in the waiting area,¡± the nurse exined.

    ¡°Really, didn¡¯t we state to not let anyone visit?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± the nurse nervously answered. She didn¡¯t know exactly who Kai was, but did know Gary Dem beside him, who had put a lot of seed money into developing the hospital in the first ce. So she was treading on eggshells around them.

    ¡°We did as you asked, only allowing those that could prove that they were part of the Howlers¡­ but many hade here.¡±

    When the elevator door pinged, it slid open, and the two of them could see exactly what she meant.

    Inside the room, filling the seats, there were around fifty people all dressed in ck and gold uniforms waiting. Most of them were men, looking a little rough around the edges. Bruises and marks on their faces. They were loud as they talked to each other, and even had the wildest hairstyles.

    ¡°Are all of these guys¡­ here for Austin?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Kai replied as he walked forward. A few people looked at the two of them here and there but none of them said anything just yet.

    ¡°These guys were the ones that were under Austin. Most of them joined the gang either after dropping out of high school or when they finished. You know Austin had a big following before he was even invited to the gang."

    ¡°They are quite the loyal bunch and continued to follow him here as well, and then he built even a bigger following because of those under him.¡±

    Hearing about this, it reminded Gary of when he and Austin had first met as well, on the school rooftop, he certainly did have a strong-headed personality.

    When Gary and Kai had walked past the others, there were a few disgruntled looks at the two of them. Since they weren''t wearing their masks, they hadn¡¯te as the leaders of the Howlers, and it was safe to say they were a little annoyed as to why those two got to go ahead.

    Both of them were escorted to a sliding door, and Gary took a deep breath before opening it himself. Immediately the sound of a steady slow beat was heard in his ears, and a horrid sight was right in front of him.

    Austin was hooked up to more machinery than he had ever seen. Gary didn¡¯t even know what their uses were. His chest was encased in some metal type of armor, with clear ss above it so one could see on the inside.

    But worse of all, was the fact that Austin¡¯s eyes were closed and they weren¡¯t opening. There was no reaction from him when the two of them had entered the room.

    ¡®Why am I in the same situation as I was before?¡¯ Gary thought to himself. ¡®I got stronger, I built everything up for the gang because of what happened, but I still wasn¡¯t able to stop this from happening.¡¯

    Kai walked over to his side, looking at him. They weren¡¯t the only ones that were in the room, Vere was sitting in a chair by the side of his bed. She had acknowledged the two of them with a smile but continued to look at Gary, not saying a word.

    d was standing by the wall still like a statue, and then there was Olivia along with Marie as well. The two of them hadn¡¯t said anything yet, because when they had entered, they were going through the same set of feelings.

    Unlike with Midwak, who could still speak and wasn¡¯t particrly close to them all, this waspletely different for them. It felt like a part of their own body was lost, sealed away in front of them.

    Even Kai seemed at a loss for words, his mind was mixed. Was there anything he could have done to prevent this?

    ¡°Should I havee up with measures to try and stop this?¡± Kai mumbled to himself.

    ¡°Kai,¡± Gary said, tensing his fist, his whole body shaking. ¡°They attacked us in Slough this time, they attacked us on our own turf. They invaded our home¡­ F*ck them¡­ F*ck them! When you were hurt, Austin and everyone else marched right into Notsburg."

    ¡°We can¡¯t run away from this, we can¡¯t hide, we have to face them head-on to stop them. This is F*cking war!¡± Gary shouted.

    A smile appeared on Olivia¡¯s face when she heard this as she stepped forward.

    ¡°Good, because I know exactly who was behind this.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 778 You Failed US

    <h4>Chapter 778 You Failed US</h4>

    All eyes were on Olivia. It was a big question on their minds as to just who the enemy was that they needed to go against. There was arge amount of anger filling the room as one of their own had been badly hurt; they wanted to know where exactly to channel all of this anger.

    "Wait, you can''t go in there!" A voice was heard from outside. Gary remembered that it was the nurse who had brought them there.

    Momentster, the door slid open, and forcing themselves into the room were three young adults, ones that Gary had seen a few times before.

    "What were you guys doing, where were you?" Bo shouted. "You guys are meant to be the leaders of this gang, so why the heck was Austin fighting on his own!"

    The three men who hade through the door were Bo, Felix, and Alfie. These were the three who would follow Austin everywhere when he was in school, and they continued to do so.

    They were some of the first members of the Howlers gang and even had worked at the Wolf''s pool club for a while. It was safe to say that they were among the very few who actually knew the real identity of the Howlers gang leaders.

    "Austin," Alfie said as he walked over, looking at his body. "Who did this to you, man? I thought you were a boulder, a rock that no one could push."

    Meanwhile, Felix was holding Bo back, trying to refrain him from hitting anyone, not that anyone in the room couldn''t just move and avoid the attack anyway.

    "Say something then, where were you guys! I heard even the public were injured as well! How the heck can you call this a gang? How can you call yourselves leaders when you can''t even protect anyone?"

    Gary didn''t get upset by the remarks; he didn''t say anything back to him because he felt the same way. Bo continued to shout, and when it finally sounded like he was out of breath, Gary spoke.

    "You''re right," Gary said. "I failed as a leader, the only thing I wanted to do by creating this gang is to look after the people I care about, and it seems like I failed that. We''re the people who were hurt as well, right? Are rumors starting to spread that our gang isn''tpetent?"

    Gary looked at Kai when he heard this question, and he nodded.

    "Very well. You know when I came into the position of the leader, I took it quite lightly," Gary exined. "I guess it was because it never felt like something I wanted to create, and I just went along with the flow."

    "This whole thing has be a lot bigger than I ever envisioned, to the point that now we are having trouble with even more trouble. Olivia, tell us, who are we going against?"

    When Gary was speaking, everyone was silent for a moment as they listened to him. They could tell when his words felt heavy.

    "We rounded up those in Burnham food street, and we found their leader had a tattoo of a ming bird, the one Austin killed just before he ended up in this state," Olivia answered.

    The anger from Bo''s fist started to leave at that moment; it dropped down to his side, and he felt a lump in his throat. Not one of sadness but one from fear.

    "Did you say a Phoenix? Does this mean... one of the kings, was it Sin Ignis, from the Phoenix gang!"

    "What''s this?" Marie said. "You were all talk earlier,ining about how Gary should do something and wasn''t acting like a leader, but you''re not so brave now that you know who we''re up against?"

    It was true; the fear of the kings was just too much and too overwhelming for a gang like theirs that hadn''t had any significant fights. Especially since the one against Notsburg was dealt with by so few people.

    But could the same thing happen again, or would more be involved from the gang?

    "So it is one of the kings?" Gary said. "Then let me ask you, Kai, how would one of the kings react in this situation if they were attacked."

    "If they were attacked like this?" Kai stated. "With one of their main members getting hurt. Well, they would attack straight back; a war would start, just like you said before. Now you know our enemy; have you changed your mind?"

    "No," Gary smirked. "If we''re up against the kings, then we should act like the kings. Let me know when Midwak is ready; I''m sure he will be excited for some payback."

    The group all smiled and were confident, already on the move, while the three friends that stayed in the room looked over Gary. It wasn''t just them, though; Vere had also stood up, and d walked not too far behind them.

    "Hey," Vere said. "Look after him while we''re away. We''re not just going to sit here and talk about what could have happened; we''re going to do something about it, and so is Gary."

    While walking down the hallway, now knowing who their target was, Gary was getting ready to act, but just as he was about to, he received a text on his phone. He would have ignored it if it wasn''t from a certain individual.

    ''Amy, what''s she doing texting me now?''

    Reading the message, Gary stopped in his footsteps.

    ''Gary, I don''t want to worry you or anything, but I just found out, do you remember Stacy, my friend who had been killed... her whole family, every single one of them was murdered... it''s pretty scary.''

    Stacy, it was a person who Gary was unable to save, but her parents'' death¡­ was it a coincidence at a time like this, or was the whole thing rted? He was unsure and didn''t have a good feeling about all of this.

    ****

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 Chapter 779 A Cruel Death

    <h4>Chapter 779 A Cruel Death</h4>

    In an old, run-down apartment in a tier-3 city, an urrence had taken ce that had happened one too many times before. It was a death, a killing. The police were already on the scene, taking photos, sweeping the area for any chance at some clues.

    As for the victims, there were two of them, an adult male and an adult female. However, this wasn''t a normal murder like those in the building might have thought. The easiest telltale sign of this was the fact that two members from the White Rose had arrived.

    Sadie, a woman with dark red hair, entered the scene, showing her identity to the relevant people, and behind her was none other than her partner, Frank.

    "Why is it always the lower-tier cities where stuff like this happens?" Frank asked as he looked at the scene in front of him.

    The whole ce was trashed, broken chairs, dirt on the floor, rubbish everywhere. From the looks of things, it didn''t seem to be a struggle; instead, it was just how the two parents had lived.

    "You know it''s not the case; Altered cases are more frequent in the higher-tier cities because there are more Altered. It''s just that we get less involved in that," Sadie replied. "Did you read the file?"

    While asking this question with a pair of white gloves, Sadie picked up a photo. It was of a family of three, a young high school girl and her mum and dad, all of them smiling. Next to it, there were incense sticks.

    "Ah yeah, this is quite theplicated one, isn''t it? It seemed like the parents had split up," Frank went on to continue. "They had moved apart once in the city of Slough, but when their daughter passed away due to some type of ident, the parents had oddly gotten back together."

    "Seems like they were shocked by their daughter''s death. They since moved out of Slough and moved to another tier-3 city of Renning."

    Sadie then ced the photo down, and they soon moved into the main room, the room where the killings had taken ce. It was the kitchen. Both of them were tied up onto chairs, and several of their body parts had been torn, ripped, and were bloody.

    Judging from the report, they had eventually died from blood loss, a cruel way to go as they felt every single thing before it, rather than ending their suffering.

    "The two of them had drowned themselves in sorrow already; you can tell by the state of the apartment," Sadie stated. "Judging by the markings of torture, it looks like an Altered, and if we were to guess, this wasn''t an impulsive thing. Whoever the attacker is either wanted information or wanted these two to suffer."

    Frank couldn''t wrap his head around it; hadn''t these two already suffered enough? Judging from the file they already had nothing. Did they anger someone recently, or get into a bad deal? It was the only thing he could think of.

    "I was looking over their daughter''s file in Slough. That city, strange things always happened in it one after the other. It''s been close to two years now since we''ve been there. When I was checking over their daughter''s death, Stacy, it seemed to be wrapped and involved in some strange things as well. The file was marked stating it was a drug overdose."

    "What''s so strange about that?" Frank asked.

    "It''s just strange the circumstances before that. Why did her parents suddenly move from Slough? They lived in a nice area. It''s almost as if they were scared of something."

    "Are you saying whoever got their daughter might have got these guys as well?" Frank replied.

    "I''m saying it is a possibility that the two matters could be rted, and might be something we should look into, but I''ve heard Slough has be a different ce entirely now."

    The two continued their investigation, but there wasn''t really much they could gather just from the bodies. If it wasn''t due to the signs of torture, it would have quite possibly been deemed a robbery killing.

    The killer could have left no markings, especially if they were an Altered, leaving them to think they wanted to be noticed. After a long, tiring day, with the night sky out, Sadie and Frank decided to head back.

    "Things seem to not change with this job at times," Sadie said as she walked down one of the streets in a rough area, hardly any lighting and trash littered on the ground in front of them. It was the typical sight they would see.

    "You say this nearly every time we''re on a case," Frank replied.

    "But it''s true, right? No matter how many bad Altereds we catch, the situation here doesn''t change. Look at this ce; why does all the money go to the top, while the others have to struggle?" Sadie stated.

    "You have a point, but do you think it''s because of Altereds that this has happened? Otherwise, you''re going to start thinking like the Altered Hunters," Frank joked. "I mean, even without the Altereds, things would still be the same; it''s just human nature to have things set up this way."

    Sadie stopped in her tracks while walking down the pathway, and Frank soon followed. They could see someone standing in the middle of the street wearing a hoodie. He had both hands in his pockets and was just staring ahead.

    It stood out to both of them.

    "Are you okay, sir?" Sadie asked.

    Even if it was a rough neighborhood, with both of them being Altereds, they weren''t really afraid.

    "Around 2 years ago, in a town called Slough, in a Karaoke bar, three young men had gonepletely missing. Their bodies were never found. At the same time, the White Rose were in Slough investigating a possible Altered killer. A man named Billy was your suspect that had been dealt with by the Altered Hunters. But that''s not the truth, if the two of you had done your job properly from the beginning and had caught him, then my brother would still be alive."

    Walking forward, he took down his hood, and right after, his body started to change.

    ****

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 Chapter 780 One Of The Mythical Types

    <h4>Chapter 780 One Of The Mythical Types</h4>

    Immediately seeing that the person in front of the two from White Rose was an Altered, they started to transform immediately as well. Large wings had sprouted from both of their backs, breaking through a slit made in their uniforms. It was designed specifically for asions like this.

    "Don''t you think the two of us fully transforming against one is a bit overkill?" Frank asked.

    "Do you think that about someone hase out of their way to go against us?" Sadie replied. "It must mean they were pretty sure of who we were, the fact that we are White Rose agents, and they were confident enough that they could beat us in a fight."

    The mysterious hood of the man was taken down, but he had transformed too fast for them to get a proper look at what he looked like. His head started to split into several strands, all around the same size, and his neck started to grow.

    His skin started to change as it gained scales on its body, and as for the heads themselves, they looked like something in between that of a snake and a dragon, especially with its sharp glowing eyes and thin tongue that woulde out of its mouth.

    "Hey, hey, are you seeing what I''m seeing?" Frank asked. "That''s a Hydra, the thing Hercules had to take down."

    Immediately, Sadie acted as she threw out her feathers which would straighten up and harden. They came out fast like bullets toward the Altered.

    Raven had five heads in total, and two of them had quickly caught onto the feathers, biting them. When opening its mouth, the feathers fell to the floor.

    "It''s quite fast," Sadie said as she flew up in the air but kept her eyes locked onto it. "I''ll support from up here; you fight hand to hand with them below!"

    Frank was a bit cautious, but he knew that her abilities to harden part of her feathers were better for distantbat, while for him, he had strong w-like hands. They were already dark blue in color and had tworge hardened nails to hook on.

    ''Ah man, this is a mythical type. I thought things would get easier for us the higher up we went in White Rose, but we just keep meeting crazier and crazier Altered!''

    Shaking his head, Frank decided to charge in. He rushed ahead, having faced countless numbers of Altered before, he had done so with next to no fear.

    Immediately, one of therge heads went to attack him, but he managed to block it with the force of his powerful wing. With a push of his legs, he went ahead and tried to swing his w at one of the heads, but they had swiveled and bit hard into his arm.

    "Crap, that hurts!" Frank shouted.

    "You should have investigated more into the deaths of the Altered! You should have matched up the clues! Why am I the one that is doing the job for you!" With one of the head''s fangs attached to Frank, it lifted him up in the air and mmed him down on the ground.

    The rest of the heads were ready to bite down on him until a rain of hardened feathers hit Raven several times on the back of his neck. They had managed to pierce him and draw blood.

    Using this moment and a flinch of pain, Frank leapt up, kicking off the ground with his wings and legs, and used his w to grab one of the necks. His deadly ws were directly on them. He squeezed down with all of his force, and then when the nails were several inches deep in, he pulled with all of his strength, detaching one of the heads from the rest of its body. Immediately, the ck blood started to spill all over the ce. Frank had moved his wing to block it from falling on his face, but the moment blood hit his wings, he started to feel an incredible pain like acid.

    "ARGHH! Crap, that really hurts!" The pain had caused him to drop a part of the head onto the floor. With one down, it was time for him to go for the next four; he was sure at least one of the heads would be the real one and taking that out would stop the others from attacking.

    When he opened his wings, though, right through the head he had ripped off, he could see something growing, and soon, out from the sprouted end, two heads appeared, and now in total, there were six heads, all of them the same size.

    Immediately, two had bit onto the top of Frank''s wings, and with its massive amount of strength, it lifted him into the air and started to pull at him. The pain was immense as he felt the wings trying to detach themselves from his body.

    "For a detective, you are quitecking in knowledge, don''t you know anything about the mythical Hydra?" Raven asked. "If you take out one head, then two grow back in its ce. With my Altered form, it''s a permanent feature, so thank you for helping me grow stronger!"

    He was pulling the wings even more, and Sadie needed to do something desperately. She started to gather several feathers, and as they hardened, she held them as if it was some type of sword. In her hand, she dived down heading right for the Hydra.

    She was ready to sh at him when one of the heads extended out and opened its mouth wide. Sadie did the instinctive thing, and stabbed right through it, splitting it in half and then taking her de out. The blood was pouring on her face, causing her skin to burn, while at the same time, parts of the blood were oozing out, destroying its own head. Parts of it were falling, and quickly, two more were growing in its ce.

    In the middle of their growth, it swung and hit Sadie in the side, sending her crashing to the ground.

    Two talented White Rose agents were no match for the Mythical Type Altered, who was only getting stronger.

    ****

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 Chapter 781 The Mythical type Altered

    <h4>Chapter 781 The Mythical type Altered</h4>

    Frank was being held by two of the Hydra¡¯s heads, while Sadie was slowly getting up from the ground. She soon saw multiple of the heads stretching out and heading right towards her.

    She quickly rolled on the ground, as the heads opened their mouths biting right into the ground. Large chunks of it had been taken out with the bites leaving big holes in the road.

    As soon as Sadie got up, she threw her feathers again, aiming for those that were tied to Frank. They actually had hit their target, piercing the skin but not going right through the strong muscles of the Hydra.

    ¡°Crap, if I don¡¯t do something fast, then Frank''s going to die!¡± Sadie thought.

    The wings were being pulled and from his back they were being detached from his body, slowly blood was seeping from his wounds. If he reverted his transformation, the wings going back into his body would just push them back in more, and it was possible they would rip off, and he wasn¡¯t so sure if he could heal from the injury, because he had never had his wings torn off before.

    ¡°AHHH!¡± Frank continued to scream.

    At that moment, whizzing past all of them, running at a great speed, a scruffy orange coloured hair man with a light orange beard, jumped through and with a fist, punched Raven right in the stomach.

    The force flung Raven¡¯s body away, and off the ground, but the razor sharp teeth were still dug into Frank¡¯s body pulling him along.

    While he was in the air, the older man quickly swung his arms up, and in doing so the necks were sliced in half. In doing this the body continued to fly away while two more heads were starting to grow from the wounds that had just been made.

    Frank tumbled to the ground, falling for a few moments, and slowly got up, having two detached heads still stuck on his wings.

    ¡°Well, this is freaky as well, but thankfully I still have my wings.¡± He mumbled to himself, as he looked at who had just saved him. ¡°Kanu! What are you doing here?¡±

    Kanu was the leader of the squad of which both Sadie and Frank belonged to. He was one of the strongest squad leaders, the White Rose head, and some believed he was more deserving of a higher position, it was just due to his difficult personality that he never really took it, or got promoted ahead of others.

    ¡°You two are always a ma for trouble. We are doing this case as a unit, yet what took you two so long to get back? You weren''t answering my texts so I decided toe over, I just never expected to see this.¡± Kanu said.

    He could see the Hydra standing up again, with more heads than before, and all of the menacing eyes were looking right at the three of them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with this one!¡± Kanu charged in again, jumping off his feet, his body hadn''t transformed as he looked to be in his normal Altered form.

    A couple of the heads came at him but he was able to avoid them, but when he came in close. Two of the Hydra heads had bit down, biting on him hard and attaching to his body drawing blood.

    Ignoring itpletely, Kanu gave anotherrge devastating blow, punching him, causing arge sonic book to go off. Due to Raven holding onto him, the two of them went flying together into one of the buildings off to the side.

    It was several stories tall and looked like an abandoned car park of sorts. Both Sadia and Frank got up, but they were unable to see anything. Still the two of them could hear the consonant sounds.

    There were struggles, the sound of explosions and destruction going off, as several floors started to break. The whole floor was rumbling around them, several small pieces of dust were falling from the building.

    ¡°Do you think the boss will be okay?¡± Frank asked.

    ¡°What, do you think he¡¯ll lose?¡± Sadie replied back.

    ¡°You weren''t the one that nearly got your wings ripped apart by him.¡±

    In the middle of their conversation a row of explosion sounds went off, one after the other. The floors were being ripped apart. Whatever was happening, it seemed like the fight was far more intense then the one that they were having.

    Eventually, the whole building was starting to shake and soon the floors were copsing in on one another. Sadie and Frank had to move and jump back as they saw the building falling to pieces in front of them.

    The rumbling had stopped and in front of them all they could see was the abandoned car parkpletely destroyed, with concrete over concrete and nothing else. That was until part of the rubble moved, and tworge concrete bs moved over the ce.

    Kanu had blood dripping from the side of his head, and bite marks all over him as he walked back to the others.

    ¡°Did you get rid of him, boss?¡± Frank asked.

    ¡°No, he managed to get away just in time. One thing is for sure, whoever that was, they were an extremely strong person, just what did you guys do to get on his bad side?¡± Kanu asked.

    Right then, Sadie pointed behind them, as they could see a man standing on top of the rubble. They had several heads that were all moving down to one, and now just a single man stood there, unchanged in a normal human form.

    ¡°Gary Dem!¡± Raven shouted. ¡°He was the one that caused the death of my brother, and he is the one that caused so many problems in the past. You guys should have stopped him when you had the chance, now I¡¯m going to have to do it for you, and I don¡¯t care how many people die in the process.¡±

    With those words said, Raven had left them with those words to think about.

    *****

    ****

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 Chapter 782 The power to Change

    <h4>Chapter 782 The power to Change</h4>

    Arge mechanical vehicle, slightlyrger than that of a bus, was driving down the highway. It stood out because it was reinforced on the outside, somewhat simr to an armored military vehicle, and it had this special coat of red paint.

    The inside of the vehicle was a lot more luxurious than the outside, as it was covered in red velvet and a strange fluffy material, while it had TV screens, seating areas, and consoles for entertainment.

    This vehicle was the primary mode of transport for the Phoenix gang, and it would only move when there was a certain individual inside, Sin. Unlike the other kings who liked to hide their identity as to who exactly was the leader.

    It was different for Sin, who was a well-known, wild figure who wished to do as he liked. He was also one who constantly showed disys of his power to the others, making sure that they didn''t attempt to attack him.

    "So who are we meeting exactly?" Raven asked.

    Inside the vehicle, there were several members who belonged to the group. They weren''t just any members, though; these were the ones who had been with Sin from the beginning, from the creation of the gang.

    There was Glutton, arge giant man who was close to seven feet tall. Althoughrge in size, it wasn''t from muscle. Instead, it appeared to be more of a blubber. He had rolls and rolls of fat on him and wore a thin red tank top.

    To his side, there were two more members, one named Garbo, who was theplete opposite of Glutton. Small and skinny to the point where people wouldpare him to a twig, but he had something strange about him. While sitting down, his leg was moving up and down constantly, and once in a while, he would have an odd twitch.

    Then there was Greed, a man who was also wearing a red sleeveless top, but his arms were covered in scars to the point it looked like tattoos on his skin. Whenever one of these men had gotten involved with troubles rted to the Phoenix gang in the past, the fighting would stop. Even if it was against the other kings, they realized it had gone too far, and they chose to pull back. They had a reputation that was almost just as big as Sin himself. Quite easily, every single one of them could have be leaders of tier 2 gangs in their own right, but instead, they were working under Sin.

    On the bus, there weren''t just them, as two more guests had joined them, Raven and Gil. It was the first time they were in the vehicle.

    "You two have done well so far; you managed to do a better job than Stunker. I can''t believe he got taken out and was the only one to fail, while you two seeded," Sin exined. "That is why I invited the two of you."

    Sin smiled as he swung his red fluffy scarf over his neck. He wasn''t even wearing a top and only had the fluffy scarf on his body. When turning around, arge tattoo that covered his whole back, that of a phoenix, could be seen.

    "What''s this meeting about, is it getting rid of the Howlers?" Raven asked.

    "Hahaha," Sin started tough. "I suspect it is, but if you want to live, then I should tell you now, it''s best if you keep your mouth shut around these guys because they have just as much power as me."

    Raven caught on fairly quickly. The only people that would have as much power as him were one of the Kings. But then why were they meeting with each other? All of the Kings should be against each other, or at least, staying on neutral terms. There was no news of two of the Kings being close to one another.

    The bus had gone off the motorway and started to head down some countrynes. It was a bumpy ride, but they had eventuallye across what looked like an abandoned castle in the middle of a field. Part of its walls, as well as other areas, had been destroyed, with bricks having fallen off it.

    What was strange was the fact that there were no vehicles present. But when looking out the window, they could see a group of people. There were around ten of them, all wearing hooded clothing that covered their heads, making it hard to see their faces clearly.

    For a moment, Raven''s eyes had caught with one of them, and a shiver was sent through his whole body. His hand couldn''t stop shaking, and he needed to hold it steady.

    ''Even after taking the Mythical serum, I still feel like this,'' Raven thought. As he stood up, he went to touch the side of his head, and Gil was ready to leave as well until he noticed what was happening.

    "I''ve been getting headaches too," Gil said. "The more I turn into our Altered forms, the more headaches I get, but I can bear through the pain."

    Raven nodded as he was in agreement. This pain was nothing for him to achieve his goal, but he did wonder, was it normal for other Altereds to feel the same type of pain.

    Sin descended down, along with his three men, while Gil and Raven stayed at the back. The other group was sitting among the rubble, and at the very back, a wide-shouldered man was sitting on top of a pile of rocks, holding one in his hand and staring at the rest.

    "I''m not in a good mood, Sin," the hooded man in the back said, his voice low, almost like a growl. All of them could feel the bass of his voice even though they were standing several meters away.

    "Sorry to hear that, Lupis; let''s see if we can make your day better," Sin smiled.

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 783 The Start of It All

    <h4>Chapter 783 The Start of It All</h4>

    At first, Raven thought that this might be a friendly visit between two of the kings. To the general public who knew about the gang world, none of them were on good terms, but then why meet?

    Perhaps the two gangs were working secretly together, giving them a chance to overthrow the others. At the same time, it would allow them to do arge-scale operation such as taking out one of the other kings.

    If one of the kings had their back while doing so, then they would have an advantage over all of the others, and it would change the scope of everything! But now that they were here, Raven could see it clear as day: the two weren''t on friendly terms whatsoever, and the tensions were high.

    It was no wonder that Sin had brought his top men with him.

    "Does that mean he considers us his top men by his side as well?" Raven thought. "When he gave us those strange Altered serums, I thought he was using us as an experiment, but to think that both of them were mythical types.

    "It still makes no sense for him to bring us to something like this, right?" He started to think.

    The man referred to as Lupis just gave a small growl in response to Sin''s shenanigans.

    "Do you think I don''t have information on what you''ve been doing?" Lupis asked. "This is the second time that a job I have given you hasn''t beenpleted."

    Raven made sure to note the word "second" time. Judging from their meeting now, he didn''t assume this was the first time.

    "Hey, you know, I was the one that offered to deal with the Howlers," Sin exined. "I already have a grudge against that whole city for what they had done."

    Sin spit on the ground, and his spit started to evaporate into the air.

    "I had the Underdogs and that city under my control, and then they went and messed it up! Right now, both of our wants line up, but if you really want to, then go ahead and deal with them yourselves."

    Lupis didn''t seem to like thatment. From underneath his hood, Raven caught a glimpse of his upper lip raising, and his sharp teeth being revealed underneath it.

    "You owe us one," Lupis snarled. "The whole reason why the Howlers have been able to rise to the position they are in now is because you allowed someone to get that package!"

    His voice shook the ground, and even the rubble beneath started to move. Instinctively, Sin and all of the others took a step back. The only ones that didn''t move were the ones with Lupis.

    "I see," Sin said, his voice a little shaky. It was the first time he felt like this in a long time; his entire body was shaking. He couldn''t even remember thest time he had felt such a thing, and Lupis seemed to be in a worse mood than he was previously.

    "As I said, that is part of the reason why we are dealing with this mess."

    Raven, who was listening in on everything, was trying to put the pieces together based on what he had known about the Phoenix gang. Because it was strange to him, what did another King need from Sin that he couldn''t do himself?

    That''s when he remembered how the Phoenix group had gotten their solutions themselves. Compared to other kings, the Phoenix gang were well-connected in areas outside their city. They had several ins at NIRV. Using this, they had managed to steal the Altered solutions they had obtained.

    ''Did they ask Sin to steal something from NIRV that they couldn''t get their hands on, and that it had to have been shipped using the Underdog group? Was it more Altered solutions? Is that what changed Gary and the others that came from the Howlers?''

    Raven was slowly piecing all of it together. Now it made sense what the failed mission was and why Sin was getting involved in this. So far, though, it was just a small problem that they had to deal with.

    "The situation for us is a bit tense ourselves," Lupis exined. "It seems that the Altered Hunters have chosen to target our cities more than any others, and we are dealing with unique problems. We don''t have the capacity to deal with something like this, and since you owe us one, this will be down to you.

    "Use everything you have at your disposal to get rid of them, and if you fail, then I will have to take the time myself to get rid of you first, not them."

    Lupis had raised his hand, where a long, dangling sharp fingernail pointed out.

    Sin had gained some of his confidence back as he rolled his shoulders a few times.

    "Hey, there''s a reason why I have remained a king myself. Remember what I said before; I''m doing this because I owe you one for that failure from before. I will use everything I can to get rid of them, don''t worry about that."

    Sin then turned around and started to walk away.

    "You guys just worry about the Altered Hunters; I hear they are quite strong and growing these days. Who knows, if you get too weak, the next thing you know, it might be your city and you guys who are gone."

    The others turned around, and all headed back to the bus, leaving their conversation there. While leaving, Raven did wonder something, though: why were the Altered Hunters concentrating on the Lupis gangpared to the other gangs?

    Was there something about them that no one else knew about? Surely they wouldn''t be the easiest group to go after?

    ''There are too many things surrounding the kings that we don''t know about. I should just focus on getting Gary,'' Raven thought.

    *****

 Chapter 784 Gather The Howlers

    <h4>Chapter 784 Gather The Howlers</h4>

    The setup on the Howlers'' end was underway. Gary had stated that their group would go on the attack. Rather than waiting for what was going to happen, he would take arge group of them and head over to the Phoenix Gang to take them out and stop this all.

    The Howlers'' situation was tense as word had been passed around the squad as to what was taking ce. The members of the Howlers themselves had been told whether they would join the attack or not.

    If they didn''t, then they could no longer call themselves members of the Howlers. This was Kai''s orders.

    The members were experiencing the benefit of being in the gang. Having a good life, a good wage while being in a city where they were protected and didn''t have to fear the troubles from other gangs for a while now.

    Now, when the gang was in trouble, going to war against the others, with a gang asrge as the Phoenix, they needed everybody, and it wasn''t fair for the members to back out now or choose not to fight.

    They needed to y their part and not just have their cake and eat it. Still, it didn''t stop the members from talking among themselves.

    "Hey, are we really going to go up against one of the Kings? I mean, that''s crazy; this is practically suicide for us, right?"

    "Do we really have a choice? The Phoenix gang were the ones that attacked us! I heard they didn''t just attack other gang members but they attacked the public as well, and Sin is one crazy king. If he is to fight in Slough, do you think he would take us in as members? No, he would burn us all alive."

    "Like you said, it doesn''t look like we have a choice, but is fighting really the right thing to do right now? Going to them, why don''t we just stay back and, you know, try to negotiate?"

    "Hey, how long have you been in the Howlers for? Don''t you think they would have already tried something like that? The fact that they attacked the general public, it was thest straw; we Howlers have to do something."

    Most of the members agreed to fight, with only a few deciding to quit at the risk of their own lives. At the same time, not everyone was involved in the n to go.

    Crowley, the teacher of the Altered, and someone who had somewhat be an official member, would be staying.

    Kai was careful to choose those that were staying behind. Based on Crowley''s nature, he would help out the public no matter what urred.

    Besides them, there were also other surprising Altered that would act if trouble came. The mayor, Ben Clove, and even Xin Clove were currently present as well.

    If the city became a warzone while they were attacking the other area, it wouldn''t be as easy to take out Slough as the Phoenix gang thought.

    One of therge hotels had been booked out as no guests were allowed in it for the day. The Howlers members had gathered around two hundred of them in total.

    Some carried Anti-Altered weapons, some carried normal weapons, while others were Altered themselves. All of them were wearing the ck and gold uniform of the gang.

    Soon arriving into the ring of people, there were four people wearing masks. They knew these as the leaders of the Howlers, but they noticed something strange.

    Although they would only see the leaders in these strange masks, they wondered why did some of them look different, and why wasn''t everyone present.

    Of course, some knew the reason; for one, one of the leaders hadn''t been seen for over a year now. This was Innu, who was still with the Altered Hunters.

    Then there was Austin; many knew about him, the real him, and how he was one of the leaders. Many had already guessed it because there weren''t many that matched his size and posture.

    However, now on the stage, there was one person they didn''t notice. Under the masks, Kai, Maria, and Olivia were there, but there was another woman, and oddly a scrawny young boy wearing sses behind her.

    ''While Austin is out of it, I will take his ce for now,'' Vere thought to herself. She was determined to get revenge. She hadn''t been invited as a core member.

    However, due to her importance linking to the city, Kai wanted to keep a close eye on her. He didn''t want her to fight, but there were too many strong emotions behind it all.

    Finally, as they waited, three more were walking through the crowd; these three wore no masks, but everyone noticed them instantly.

    "Why is everyone looking at me like I''m some type of dead person?" Midwak said with a smile. "I''m very much alive, and I will get my payback."

    Gary had been waiting for Midwak to get better and to travel from Notsburg. He hadn''te alone either, bringing two of his turned Werewolves, Bardo and Bardolph.

    ''Now those are his two right-hand men. They''re in the system since whatever Beta wolves Midwak createse under my umbre as Alpha. Either way, we are going to need everything we can get.''

    Not saying much, Gary started to move forward. "Let''s move out!" Gary dered with his hand in the air.

    The rest cheered and followed, heading outside.

    Waiting for them were several buses, a fewrge five-seater SUVs, and the limo that they would often take. All of them fortified to take Altered attacks to some degree.

    The members quickly rushed on board, and Midwak, along with his two Werewolves, came with Gary and the others, heading into the limo, heading straight for the City belonging to one of the Kings.

    "Let''s go to Inferno City," Kai stated.

    At the same time, Sin and the others had just returned to his home in Inferno City, when a particr person had a question for him.

    "So, what are we going to do?" Glutton asked. "Are we going to listen to Lupis and attack the Howlers? I feel like they have already figured us out by now from thest attack."

    Sin started tough loudly as he heard this. "So what if they have figured out who we are?" Sin replied back. "Don''t worry; I wasn''t lying when I said we would use everything we have at our disposal, and don''t worry about a thing. They won''t even make it to our city. I''m sure soon they will lose the will to do anything before they even reach here."

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 785 Highway trouble

    <h4>Chapter 785 Highway trouble</h4>

    The situation was tense in the main limo as the members of the Howlers were all ready for what was about to happen. They were on the attack, and it was the most straightforward n they had evere up with because it was Gary''s order.

    The Phoenix had hit them from all angles; they had secretly even attacked from the inside. Rather than ying their games and trying to pay them back in unique ways, Gary was going to head straight in and deal with the situation.

    "Hey!" Midwak called out to Gary; his legs were jumping up and down. "You, you''re a failure of an Alpha, you know that, right?"

    Thement seemed toe out of nowhere, but then again, Midwak and Gary were never on good terms with each other.

    "What are you trying to say?" Gary replied.

    "I told you before," Midwak replied. "That a werewolf''s strength is in its pack. In thest year or so, how many people did you end up turning¡­ I know the answer already because it''s you; it was 0, right?

    "Meanwhile, I had turned five," Midwak stated.

    Although only Bardo and Bardolph wereing along, Midwak had turned quite a few people. He hadn''t gone crazy in the turning process because there was something that had urred.

    One of the people he had tried to turn had ended up dead. Midwak needed to be careful with who he turned because he needed them to be loyal and stay close to him.

    After all, they could easily spread the news or maybe even betray them by going to the other Werewolves. Although there were pack rules, there were always secret ways to bypass them. Nothing was absolute.

    "You should know, right, therger your pack is, the stronger you are as an Alpha. Although you''re stronger than me, you aren''t strong enough to do this.

    "The Phoenix are full of strong people. They already took me and one of your right-hand men out, and we haven''t even met their leader yet. Yet here you are making this move? Your naivety to save everyone is going to get everyone else killed.

    "If you had turned more people, you would have grown in strength, and then you would have had enough power to protect this gang of yours."

    "Hey, will you shut up," Marie eventually gathered the nerve to say. "If you don''t trust Gary so much, then why the heck are you even on this ride in the first ce."

    Midwak clicked his tongue as he turned away to look on the outside. There was a reason why Midwak was saying this because he didn''t want to lose no matter what.

    He needed Gary to see the way to get stronger, and Gary knew what Midwak was saying as well.

    For each person turned, Gary gained a pawn point; the pawn points could be used to unlock skills and even give himself stat points. On top of that, he could use it to help the others'' strength grow as well.

    He seemed to remember as well that Kai was a special shapeshifter-type werewolf that got stronger the more Werewolves were around them, so it would be a big benefit.

    Yet he was worried; the fact that a bite had the chance of killing someone, and he would be doing so to someone who was willing to help him, to someone he bore no grudge against and while he was conscious, it was a hard ask, even after everything he had gone through.

    Suddenly, in the middle of his thoughts, the car mmed on the brakes. Loud screeching wasing off, and the car started to spin on its side. It wasn''t just one vehicle; it was several of the others ahead and the same behind.

    One of therge buses had spun on its side and managed to just stop before hitting anything.

    The members started to get out of the cars, wondering what was going on, and it was the same for those ahead.

    "What''s going on?" Kai asked.

    "Up ahead, there''s a blockade," Tyler answered. "It looks like it''s the police."

    The Howlers started to get out of their cars one by one, along with all the others, to see themotion, and the two hundred people with weapons and fierce looks on their faces hade out.

    The police had around six cars set up. They had only a few anti-altered weapons on them and were stood behind their cars. As they saw the mass amount of people, they couldn''t help but gulp.

    "Hey¡­ hey¡­ what are we going to do if they attack?" One of the officers said. "We can''t hold them all down?"

    "Hello!" One of the men said through the microphone; his voice was clearly shaky and hardly able to reach the others.

    That was when a man snatched the microphone out of his hand.

    "Give me that," the man said and cleared his throat.

    "This is an operation being conducted by the police and the special division, The White Rose!" The voice shouted.

    Standing there was one of the White Rose Squad leaders, Kanu, and he wasn''t alone; there was Sadie, Frank, as well as two more of the strike force members.

    It was only one squad from the White Rose unit, but it was a rarity to see so many in one area.

    However, they had no clue how many Altered they might be going up against if this was to turn into a full battle.

    "We know you are the group known as the Howlers organization," Kanu shouted. "We have no wish to fight with any of you. We are here for one reason only, and one person only."

    An uneasy feeling was growing in Kai''s stomach. How did the police even know they were there? How did they manage to set up this blockade ahead of time?

    "The man known as Gary Dem is to be taken in for investigation; this is an order of the White Rose!"

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not to busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 786 Turn Yourself In

    <h4>Chapter 786 Turn Yourself In</h4>

    The message from the police force and the White Rose group was loud and clear, they wanted one person, and that was Gary Dem, but that begged the question to all of them, why?

    Why would they want Gary Dem in all of this, he still wasn''t publicly known as the Howlers¡¯ leader, and even if he was they would have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get him.

    ¡°We say this again!¡± Kanu shouted through the megaphone again. ¡°We only want Gary Dem. We know that he has been working closely with the Howlers, if he is not with you now, then you are to get him toe here, without retreating. If you refuse toply you will be an enemy of the White Rose.¡±

    The police officers were still nervous as they saw all of the gang members that were standing outside with their weapons, all of them giving them menacing looks. Even if they were Altered they wondered how Kanu could have such confidence saying these words.

    The core members decided to huddle up by the car as they debated what they should do.

    ¡°Why have theye and stopped us here?¡± Marie said. ¡°It can¡¯t be a coincidence, it must be rted to the Phoenix gang. This is the shortest route to get to the tier one city. They were waiting for us.¡±

    Kai was inclined to agree, more than anything he was surprised that Sin would have this much foresight to know their next move. Either that, or he had people even within the Howlers gang that were reporting to him in terms of what to do.

    ¡°The issue is, right now we aren¡¯t dealing with Sin, we¡¯re dealing with the White Rose, arge organization that has the backing of the local government. Although Sin might have had a hand in this, they would actually need to try and charge Gary with something to try and take him in, so I¡¯m wondering what they''re even using him of.¡±

    Looking far off into the distance, Gary could see a great distance due to his werewolf self, and he noticed the White Rose members. He reagonsied Kanu from the Altered fighting tournament but more so Sadie and Frank, because they had nearly caught him back then.

    Multiple thoughts started to run through his head as to why they could be here.

    ¡°I think the best thing, might be to go back to Slough, if we head back to the city, we can hide you a lot easier. Even if the White Rose runs an investigation.¡± Kai suggested.

    Just then, several loud propeller sounds and sirens were hearding at them. Flying right past were two helicopters in the air, white with gold in colour. After that, from behind, several police vehicles had appeared trapping them in.

    They had quickly set up a border, and while above from the helicopters, jumping down were those in the white and gold clothing. There were more members of the White Rose unit, and their route of turning back and escaping had lessened.

    They could still give it a go, but in the process they would lose arge number of members, and this was before their nned scuffle with Sin.

    ¡°Can they do this?¡± Marie asked. ¡°I mean, they''re just trying to bring in one person, and they don¡¯t even know he¡¯s the leader. Don¡¯t you think this is a bit much for one person?¡±

    Maybe it was, but Gary Dem was a well known Altered fighter, a promising rookie, so they had to treat him as potentially more dangerouspared to other Altereds. On top of that, they knew he had connections to the Howlers, and the White Rose along with the police force were preparing for the worst, preparing to go against the whole gang if they needed to.

    ¡°The White Rose can operate differently than the regr police force.¡± Olivia exined. ¡°As long as they believe there is an Altered involved in one of their cases. There is no need for a warrant, and they can act first before asking questions.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the threat of an Altered is incredibly dangerous,pared to that of a regr person. So they treat you as if you''re guilty first.¡±

    Kai looked nervous, a bead of sweat was running down the side of his head. He was trying to think of what was best in this situation. IF they were to fight against White Rose, they would lose too many for them to go against Sin as well.

    If they were to give up Gary, then who knew what would happen to him? What they were to do to him. They would be without their leader, one of the strongest forces they had.

    Without a leader, even if all the Police and White Rose members went away, how were they to do this without him? How could they face the gang that already took down Midwak and Austin.

    ¡°They want me.¡± Gary answered. ¡°The answer is clear. There is no point fighting and making another enemy. Kai, don¡¯t me yourself for this. This is the first time that we¡¯ve ever gone up against one of the kings, we never knew that they would have this kind of power.¡±

    ¡°We never knew they would also be able to influence the doings of the White Rose, but don¡¯t worry too much. I¡¯ll be back. I won¡¯t give up on the Howlers or Slough, and remember, we have our own contacts in the White Rose.¡±

    After saying those words, Gary went back into the limo, and took off his mask. In doing so he scooted back out making it appear as if he hade out of the vehicle, and started to walk forward.

    The others watched his back, unsure if this was the right thing, but what else could they do.

    Gary, then walked past the gang members with his hand held up, heading to the front.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, I was the one that you were looking for right?¡± Gary said. ¡°As you said you only want me.¡±

    Kanu nodded toward Sadie and Frank who moved forward. Gary stayed still not reacting, and grabbed him by the wrist, cing a pair of heavy iron bound cuffs on the back of his hands.

    It also had a special activation mode that would send out a strong shock to the user. Special cuffs designed to be used against Altered.

    ¡°We will be taking you to the White Rose main base.¡± Kanu exined. ¡°And as promised, the rest of us will leave.¡±

    The White Rose members from before, propelled back up the helicopter, the police officers headed back in their cars along with Gary, and soon they all drove off, leaving the Howlers members in the middle of the highway just standing there.

    ¡°AHHHHHHH!!!¡± Kai screamed up into the sky as loud as he could at the top of his lungs, getting all of his frustration out. He felt like he had failed Gary, and failed the whole of the Howlers, what were they to do now.

    *****

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 Chapter 787 No Help

    <h4>Chapter 787 No Help</h4>

    Most of the Howler members had no clue what was going on, even though they had seen Gary Dem turn himself in. To them, he was somewhat of an outsider of the gang who was treated really well.

    He was close with the core members and supported them with his money and investments. Gary Dem, the business tycoon, also happened to be a strong Altered.

    If he wasing along for this fight, they had assumed it was because the real leader had taken him. They had witnessed him giving himself up, but then what?

    So they lost an ally, but they were still ready to attack the Phoenix Gang; they needed to, after all. Otherwise, the Phoenix Gang would continue to attack the Howlers as well as the citizens of Slough. If they didn''t act now, they were doomed.

    At least, this was all of which they had been told. Which was why, although they had quite the shock that the White Rose and the Police force had appeared out of the blue, with them gone, they could continue on with the attack.

    So then why did Kai order a retreat and for all of them to head back to Slough? The Howler gang was left confused, conflicted, and somewhat felt like they were disorganized.

    All they had been told was to stay on high alert for anything to happen back in the now city of Slough at any time. After everyone had returned, the core members, including Midwak, had returned to the Wolf''s pool club.

    Kai was frantic in his office as he was sorting through a number of papers while making arge amount of calls. He had contacted the regr Howlers¡¯wyer that was used to dealing with the gang''s troublesome situations.

    After that, he went on to contact all the other contacts they had within the different cities, and he even contacted Ben Clove, the mayor, to see if he could do anything, but all of them said the same thing.

    That there was nothing they could do, none of them had power within the White Rose to influence the situation.

    "Kai," Marie said, as she could see him gripping the phone tightly in his hand; any harder, and the thing would just snap apart. "You did the right thing; we couldn''t attack the tier 1 gang without Gary.

    "I know the members don''t understand what''s going on, but the best thing we can do is wait and solve the situation. Didn''t you say you had someone in the White Rose on the inside that could help as well?"

    That they did, which was Kai''s next call to action. The phone rang for a while, and on the other end, Elijah had picked up. A connection they had made with White Rose around a year ago.

    They didn''t talk much since there weren''t any problems between White Rose and other organizations. From time to time, they would just inform each other what they knew about the Dark Altered substance, and if anything, it was Tom and Elijah who would talk more often together.

    "I know why you''re calling," Elijah said immediately. "I''ll tell you what I do know. This is a real investigation looking into Gary Dem at the moment. He''s wanted for Altered cases that started in Slough a while ago. Apparently, they have some strong evidence against him.

    "Why it was brought out now after all this time I can''t be so sure. The other strange thing is how many of the White Rose are involved in this case. Even if Gary Dem is a rookie Altered, there are far too many high-level White Rose members that are being brought in on this case... it seems like someone is pulling a few strings behind the scenes in that department.

    "However, because it''s an official case, there isn''t much I can do, other than to keep you updated."

    "Alright, thanks; thanks for nothing!" Kai shouted down the phone and hung up, his breathing heavy.

    The room was silent. They had never seen Kai act like that. He didn''t even try to converse with Elijah or get more information. Instead, his rage had taken over, and he was the one who hung up.

    After pacing back and forth, Kai sat back down in his office chair, with his fingertips crossing through his blonde hair.

    "If we can''t do anything, then are we just going to sit here?" Kai said. "Are we meant to just let Gary get taken away? It''s clear that this is the Phoenix Gang''s doing, but what I''m worried about more than anything is what they''re going to do next."

    At that moment, several messages and alerts started to ping on Kai''s phone. He took one nce at it, and they wereing from squad leaders as well as Tom, telling him to turn on the TV and switch to the channel 1 news channel.

    Kai did as they said, taking the remote out from his drawer, and went straight to the news channel. There wererge letters underneath stating the words "Gary Dem, Taken in by White Rose."

    There was a woman dressed up in a suit, with images of Gary Dem on screen in handcuffs while two White Rose members stood by his side.

    "Gary Dem from the town of Slough has been taken in for questioning by White Rose. The group that deals with cases involving Altered. As you may remember, over a year ago, Gary Dem had his debut match in the AFC, where he showed great strength, yet he also decided to retire on the same day.

    "No news yet hase out as to what exactly the White Rose wants with him, however, many have gone to take their guesses since the involvement of the White Rose."

    "It''s being covered on the news!" Marie shouted. "Gary''s face is being shown everywhere, and they''re already treating him like a criminal."

    "It''s the power... the power of one of the kings," Oliviamented.

    At the same time, the news channel was being viewed far and wide, as several people were all learning at the same time what was happening to Gary. Numba, Izzy, Apollo, all of those at the Altered Academy.

    There were those that had spent time with Gary at AJ entertainment, and there were also those that lived in Slough.

    Soon they could see opinion being split on Gary Dem as thements rolled in.

    "I can''t believe it. I''m starting to lose faith in the Alteredmunity; I thought Gary was one of the good ones."

    "He is one of the good ones; we can''t nder him yet until he''s been charged. I''m sure there''s some type of mistake."

    "Yet for him to be involved in a mistake in the first ce isn''t that strange; the whole him quitting the AFC was weird in the first ce."

    "Screw Altereds!"

    "If he''s being taken in, then he had to have done something bad. He was just one of those guys that were hiding it, faking a good side to the public."

    At the same time, Xin had seen the news report as well. She was staying at a hotel, and when she rushed and looked right in front of the TV, she wasn''t the only Clove family member who had seen this.

    In a dimly lit room, on his mobile phone, Jayden clicked his tongue.

    "Sh*t, did they manage to get to you, Gary."

    ****

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 788 School Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 788 School Reunion</h4>

    Xin had decided to stay in the city of Slough for a while. She was on a break from her regr training before she would take on a big match. She wanted to spend time with her family and in this short period try to find any news on her brother as possible.

    It was why she would constantly browse through the news channels, and would be on several at the same time. Her phone was going through articles, her tablet was set up to news live streams, and the TV was on the more focused traditional media when she saw it, the news of Gary having been taken in.

    ''What is going on!'' She jumped out of her seat and got within inches of the screen, trying to confirm that the Gary on the TV was the same as the one she thought of, and without a shadow of a doubt it was him.

    ''How did this happen, how did it even¡­ is it because of the request I made?'' Xin started to think. ''No, it can''t be that, it must be something else.''

    She started to think back about the recent information she had found out about Gary, how he was secretly a gang leader. She didn''t know the ins and outs of the whole underworld business, but perhaps this whole thing was a set-up.

    Looking at her phone, she was wondering who to contact, but she had no one. She wasn''t heavily involved in Gary''s life, having left it shortly after. She had even broken her phone a few times, on ident, during training sessions.

    So all the numbers she had from the time they were in school were gone. It was Gary who had contacted her and kept in touch with her once in a while, which was why she was able to keep his number.

    ''Isn''t there Tom, or that blonde-haired guy that''s always around him, what was his name again? Gosh, it''s been so long.'' Xin said to herself. She was now pacing back and forth in her hotel room.

    It wasn''t just the passage of time that had passed, but she couldn''t exactly think straight with everything that was going on either.

    ''I should try and help with what I can, maybe I can do something. I wasn''t able to help Jayden, but I should at least be able to help Gary.'' Xin thought as she went ahead, grabbing her phone, and heading out of her room.

    It had been a while since she had roamed the streets of Slough. She was still amazed by how much it had changed, from a town, now evolving into a city, filled with people walking the streets.

    There was a sense of uneasiness going on though, and every once in a while she could see people looking at their phones, in shock as they were all discussing the news of Gary.

    ''You did a lot for Slough, Gary, and more than people realized. It seems that others are feeling the effects of what is going on already.''

    Since she had no clue on the way to reach the blonde-haired man or get in touch with the gang members of the Howlers, instead she had decided to take a more typical approach.

    Down the high street of Cipen, which was full of designer-styled shops, Xin noticed men walking up and down the street in ck and gold clothing. It was the Howler Gang''s colors.

    Just like the people, they seemed a little agitated as well, but regardless she had to show no fear as she went up to a group of three of them standing outside one of the shops.

    "Sorry to bother you guys, but I have some business with the Howlers," Xin exined. "Is it possible that you could get in contact, or if there was someone I could speak to?"

    "Huh?" One of them turned around, his eyebrows furrowed at her. "Who is asking to meet one of our bosses randomly on the street? Do you really think that we would just say yes."

    As the other two turned around to look at the woman, one of the men started to tap his friend on the shoulder.

    "Hey, hey, it''s her!! It''s her, she''s the AFC fighter, the one that''s about to enter the top 50 rankings. Xin Clove, they said she came from Slough, I can''t believe she''s actually here."

    Upon closer inspection, all three of them soon recognized Xin. It was normal for gang members who enjoyed fighting to watch the AFC, so meeting Xin was somewhat like meeting a minor celebrity.

    "It really is her, and they want to meet the bosses, get in contact with them straight away, and hurry!" The guy said as the others pulled out their phones.

    Xin couldn''t help but be ttered; she wasn''t quite used to this treatment and smiled a bit.

    As she waited for them to make contact, one of the men''s eyes started to bulge.

    "Look out!" He shouted as he pushed her out of the way to the side.

    Immediately something crashed where the group were, the brick tiles breaking on the floor. Dust started to appear, and several screams were heard as they were shocked by the sound of what just happened.

    The man quickly let go of Xin, and could see his friends were okay, as well as she. They stared into the spot where they just stood, and when the dust started to settle, they could see arge muscr figure with a hood on.

    "Hey, doesn''t that guy match the reports!" One of the men said.

    "Ah yeah, arge hooded muscr figure, they told us to report if we saw anything, that must have been the guy who attacked Notsburg!"

    On their phones, the report was quickly going in.

    Meanwhile, the hooded man started straight in Xin''s direction.

    "Ah, seeing you here is bringing back memories of school, what a reunion we are having, right?" The hooded man stated.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 789 A Tough Face off (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 789 A Tough Face off (Part 1)</h4>

    Xin heard a voice that wasn''t familiar, but there was a big clue in his words. When he talked about school, she could only think about the high school she had gone to.

    Who would have had a grudge against her, though? There were many of the girls that disliked her, but she couldn''t imagine the boys getting in her way, and a grudge from so long ago.

    "Hey, I don''t think you chose the right person," Xin replied as she got up off the floor and brushed off her clothes. She had changed from her elegant dress she was wearing and was now dressed in sporty clothes, with jogging bottoms and a stretchy sports jumper.

    If she couldn''t find any clues to Gary or those in the Howlers, she had nned to go for a run.

    "The right person? I''m pretty sure you''re the one I''ve been looking for, Xin," the hooded man said again.

    One of the men by the side swung a baton, hitting the hooded figure and sending sparks all over his body. There was no reaction from him, not even a small whimper.

    Grabbing the baton, the hooded man quickly hit the man, and he went flying through the air,nding on the ground. Following his fall, the street was filled with screams as people started to run away at the sight of what was going on. At the same time, the other Howlers members that were on the street started to head in the direction of where people were running from, trying to deal with the issue.

    "That''s right, sir, I believe it''s the same person that attacked us at Notsburg!" One of the Howlers gang members shouted on the phone.

    The hooded man lunged from his position, heading straight for the one on the phone. The other gang members had surrounded the street, making a sort of circle, but they were too far to get involved, and now anti-altered weapons wouldn''t work. They weren''t quite sure what was going on.

    The man on the phone panicked upon seeing the hooded figure, but that''s when Xin dived right in. She avoided the punch to the side, twisted her foot from below, and threw a devastating uppercut, hitting the man right in the chin. His whole head and body flew back, lifting off the ground. When hended on the floor, his hood fell back, revealing his face. He had streaks of gelled-back bright blonde hair. His face looked like that of a young adult, a little rough around the edges, and under his eyes, there were bags.

    "When I said you got the wrong person, I didn''t mean I''m not who you think you are, but I''m not an easy target like you might have first thought. I am not just the rookie Champion but the next person to get into the top fifty of the AFC," Xin dered.

    Now that her opponent had her hood off, she took a closer look at who he was. He certainly had a familiar feeling to him, but at the same time, it wasn''t someone she instantly recognized. If they did bear a grudge, wouldn''t she have noticed him straight away?

    Before Xin could act, the rest of the Howlers members brought out their long-ranged Anti-Alter weapons and fired bolts into Gil on the ground, arge shock hitting him, nearly three times bigger than before. Sparks were even hitting the floor next to him.

    "Hahaha!" The hooded manughed and got up off the floor as if nothing had happened. "Of course, I never expected you to know me; we hardly met after all, only caught a glimpse of each other now and again. But you are quite important to me because I can tell that you are important to someone else."

    "Do you know a Gary Dem?"

    During this time while speaking, the hooded man was still getting shocked, and it had no effect on him. He didn''t even stutter as he spoke.

    "I know you know him; I have been following Gary Dem''s movements for a while, gathering information on him. Unfortunately, someone else bears a bigger grudge against him than I do, so I will leave that to him!"

    Xin clicked her fingers as it came to her.

    "Your Bil! I saw you on the rugby team!"

    "Gil!" Gil corrected her instantly with a sharp tone in his voice.

    "So Gil, you''re attacking me because you think it will upset Gary. What the heck did he do to you? Did he score against you, get you kicked off the team or what?" Xin replied.

    Gil thought back to what happened to him. When he met Gary, the look in his eyes, the fear he could feel that something was going to happen to him, as if he was going to be eaten. He had even attempted to stab that monster, to get rid of him on the spot, yet it did nothing. He was a true monster disguised in human skin, and Gil, in the end, had to join a gang for protection over it. His life had taken a deep turn. He would have just continued to enjoy ying sports if he had never met up with Gary.

    As time went by, he had built up in his head, that everything had urred because of his involvement with one person.

    "That doesn''t matter because I''m going to get rid of you, just like I did those other mutts before!" Gil shouted, and his body started to transform. Hisrge size was growing even bigger, casting a shadow over Xin. All of the protruded objects in his body from the anti-altered weapons fell to the ground. Gil was one of the others who had received the Mythical type infected solution, and it wasn''t going to be an easy fight for Xin.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 790 An Ancient Power.

    <h4>Chapter 790 An Ancient Power.</h4>

    Gil''s body was starting to transform; it was gettingrger by the second and growing in size. The corners of the hoodie he was wearing were being stretched incredibly thin, meanwhile, his face was changing.

    A snout was starting to extend out, with arge ck nose; his eyes were bing fiercer, while the color of his skin was turning dark, almost a dark purple. He now was around two times bigger than he previously was, as the face of a Jackal looked over him.

    "This is... I''ve seen this before," Xin thought to herself. "This looks like one of the ancient Egyptian gods. It''s Anubis! That means he has to be a mythical-type Altered."

    Xin knew quite a bit about Altered due to her being an Altered herself and studying them. The mythical type beasts, beasts that were passed down in legend and name, that they even had tales and stories about them.

    It was assumed that stories were told of these creatures due to the great power they held during their time of reign on Earth. What Xin didn''t expect was for Gil to be so big in size.

    Looking down, Gil smirked as he ced both hands together, his fingers interlocking, and swung them down. Xin managed to dive out of the way, as she did, the fists crashed into the ground.

    Arge dent in the ground was made, and the vibrations shook the entire area. The ss in all of the shops that were nearby shattered. Thankfully, most of the public had already run away, and it appeared none were harmed, but some of the Howlers members that were standing close fell to their feet.

    "All of you, get out of here!" Xin shouted. "Your weapons are doing nothing, and it appears that he''s here for me!"

    Some of the Howlers members had already left, realizing the situation. While others were hesitant, they were meant to protect this ce; they knew an attack was going to happen, and now they were trusting someone who wasn''t even part of the Howlers currently.

    "Keep him busy!" one of the men that originally had met Xin shouted. "If you can''t kick his arse, then someone from the Howlers will be here soon, I promise!"

    The man shouted and retreated back into one of the shops, looking out from behind a few of the clothes racks. He and the others weren''t further away; most of them decided to break away, while others continued to watch.

    They didn''t get too close, as they knew now that any involvement from them would be useless. If anything, they would just get in her way.

    Xin looked at the destruction that was caused by the hit on the ground. ''If I get hit by that, it''s going to hurt quite a bit. I wonder if his Altered form with his sheer size is his strength, or is he hiding something else!''

    Immediately, Gil turned around and swung his arm, to which Xin had timed it perfectly as she jumped up, avoiding the hit. When shended, she grabbed onto the hand that had just been swung at her.

    Both of her hands started to light up, and holding on tight, yellow sparks of electricity came shocking from her body and hitting Gil''s arm. It went straight through his body, and he could feel a deep burning sensation go through his entire body.

    Soon after, Xin then kicked off, electric zapping off her foot; she appeared right in front of Gil''s face, and now she had a fist that was sparking yellow.

    "This shock is a bit more effective than those anti-altered weapons, right?" Xin eximed as she smashed her hand right into his face. Large circles of yellow sparks filled the air in that moment, breaking out everywhere and hitting parts of the floor.

    However, unlike thest hit, Gil''s head didn''t swing back; it hadn''t even moved an inch. Instead, his entire body was coated in a strange purple glow.

    "Your powers are quite strong. I almost forgot that the AFC doesn''t allow you to do these things, so you are even stronger than you are on TV. But you have no idea what I can do, do you?"

    Gil swung both of his hands together, trying to p them, but Xin zapped her way out of there. As quickly as she got in, she quickly got out and was on the back on the ground.

    When Gil''s hands crashed into each other, a loud bang vibrated through the area, shaking the ground slightly once again.

    When Xin looked up, she could see something strange; the purple energy that once surrounded his body was now moving to his legs, or in particr, his feet. It coated the area, and that''s when Gil''srge body almost looked like it disappeared.

    "Got ya!" Gil said, appearing right in front of Xin. He threw his fist that covered nearly the upper half of her body and head. It pounded right into her. At the same time, arge force of yellow electric power went flying in the air like a force field, but it didn''t matter, as Xin went flying and crashed right into one of the pirs of the shop.

    Rubble had fallen on her, and she could tell that a few of her bones had broken. ''How... did he move so fast?'' Xin wiped some of the blood from her mouth.

    She was able to deflect away arge chunk of the powerful attack, but it still had damaged her quite a bit.

    ''That strange purple power, I thought it reinforced his skin. Which was why my punch didn''t get through, but then when he moved it to his legs. This is going to be hard when I don''t know much about my opponent, but he doesn''t know much about me either.''

    Xin got out from the rubble and was ready to fight again, but amotion was urring from the side, as a man started to walk through, with a fox-like mask on his face, and behind the mask was blonde swept-back hair.

    "You people just don''t give up; you keep attacking our city. We managed to capture this ce from the Underdogs and are making it into a kingdom for all to live. So you guys just get the heck out of here, because I''m not in the mood!" Kai shouted as he grabbed onto his mask and pulled it off his face, beginning his transformation.

    ****

    *****

 Chapter 791 The Second Leader

    <h4>Chapter 791 The Second Leader</h4>

    Kai was one of the main group members of the Howlers. He was pretty much second inmand to everyone after Gary. In some cases, many saw him more as the leader. On top of that, he was one of the first to have been turned into a werewolf.

    In the past, he and Olivia used to train on the side, as Kai knew how important strength was in his position. He didn''t want what happened to him when he had been beaten by Midwak to happen again.

    However, as time went on, Olivia started to focus more on her rtionship and her strength with Marie, leaving little time for them to train. Instead, he had asionally been secretly meeting someone else.

    As Kai''s body transformed, it didn''t turn into his werewolf form. Instead, he transformed into a light grey-furred wolf that sprinted across the tracks. Then, he leapt up, and Gil, in his altered form as Anbus, could barely react. He swung at the wolfing towards him, but the wolf form was agile, moving him to the side.

    He leapt up again, and as he did, Kai''s body transformed into his werewolf form, and he dug his nails into Gil''s right arm. He sunk his ws in and punched forward, creating a deep cut on his back as hended right on the floor.

    Immediately after, he transformed into his wolf form again, being straight on the move.

    Xin, who had been thrown into the wall before, was managing to recover. She soon ran out onto the ground to see what was happening, and she could see an amazing sight.

    "Is that the same type of Altered as Gary?" Xin thought. "No, it''s slightly different. He can transform into a full wolf as well. His hybrid form almost looks more like Gary''s full form."

    She could see Kai changing back and forth, from his wolf form to his werewolf form, and each time he was making arge attack. Even when Gil used the power of Anbus to increase his speed, like he had done against Xin, Kai''s wolf form wouldn''t lose out in terms of speed.

    "I learned how to use both of my transformation skills more frequently in a fight. They both have their advantages. On top of that, I''ve honed my skills and senses to be aware of anything I see."

    "Any small intention of movement, the twitch of the muscles. All of the training I''ve been doing with Midwak is paying off."

    The one person who Kai knew would allow him to better himself as a fighter, perhaps a person that was second in strength to Gary, was Midwak. It was a hard task to do, even Kai, being as strong-minded as he was, could feel his body react when in front of Midwak.

    He always put on a brave face, but allowing the two of them to spar against each other, his fear was starting to lessen, and he knew it was for the best so these types of situations couldn''t happen again.

    "Just because we don''t have Gary, just because we don''t have our leader, we are not useless!" Kai thought in his head as he went ahead to make another scratch, this time aiming for a vital point in his neck.

    Something strange had urred, though. A thick, eerie aura started to gather and went over the entirety of Gil''s body. Xin had seen this before, and the purple-like skin had almost darkened. It was still purple in color but closer to ck.

    When Kai swiped his hand with all of his strength, his ws were unable to pierce the surface of Gil''s skin, and instead, it felt like they were going against a type of rock.

    "He might not be able to do this alone. I still haven''t quite figured out the mythical beast''s power," Xin thought to herself. She then rushed off, creating sparks in her feet as she moved.

    The purple aura had moved to Gil''s feet as he took a step back. Arge gust of wind was felt as he rushed past Xin, ignoring her, and it looked like he had moved away themselves," thinking this, Kai''s eyes widened as he knew there was someone else he from Kai as well.

    Since it was a strange move, even Kai didn''t decide to give chase. He stayed in his wolf form for a bit, huffing and panting. He was quite tired after the constant attacks.

    "With the two of you and the rest of the gang, I''m sure more of you annoying flies will start to show up," Gil said, speaking in a loud voice that carried over to their side.

    "I didn''t quite get to finish the job, but I''m sure that this is enough," Gil imed as he took one big deep breath and then roared into the air. "Everything that belongs to the Howlers'' group, and everything that Gary Dem cares about, will be taken from him, including the Howlers'' gang itself."

    "Everything is pointless for you all!"

    The purple aura had moved to his feet, and as quickly as he hade, he disappeared. He bent his knees, taking arge jump, clearing the area, leaving everyone alone and perplexed, with his words.

    Kai soon rushed to where he had thrown his mask and picked it up with his teeth. He started to change back and ced the mask on his face. He didn¡¯t want the others to see him, too much information was being leaked out somehow and he needed to be more careful than before.

    cing the mask firmly on his face he started to think about the words spoken.

    "Everything that Gary cares about... why have they been targeting Gary so much? A lot of this feels like a personal grudge against him rather than the Howlers themselves," thinking this, Kai''s eyes widened as he knew there was someone else he needed to worry about. "Amy!!"

    ****

 Chapter 792 Amyâ€™s Struggle

    <h4>Chapter 792 Amy¡¯s Struggle</h4>

    "Although the town of Slough wasn''t known for its grand universities and education scene, it still had the standard facilities that would allow one to progress into a career like a job if possible.

    For many young people, the situation was tough, as even having a degree wasn''t a guarantee of a job, and many were aware of this fact. Due to fiercepetition, even the choice of university became a deciding factor in job opportunities.

    The students knew this, which was why many who attended the University in the old town of Slough, now a city, knew there was next to no hope for them. Often, heading to the university was either ast-ditch effort or simply a way to buy time until they were forced to find a job in the harsh outside environment.

    That''s why many students had joined color gangs to pass the time or, perhaps, pursue a future in a different direction, leading them into a life of crime. However, things weren''t the same in Slough now.

    They were attempting to clean up that reputation, and that included the university itself. Two of those attending Slough University were Amy and White.

    They were in thest ss of the day, in a room that could hold around two hundred students or so, but the room was only about a quarter full, and some of those inside were even asleep.

    Not many chose economics given the current state of the world, especially since they saw more value in other things such as Altered ranks, power, and other things that were somewhat harder to gauge.

    Yet, Amy had chosen it, with the hope of a better future in her sights and her love for math. Sitting by her side in the lecture hall was White, someone who had strangely chosen every single course that she had.

    Amy didn''t mind this; in fact, she liked it due to her friendship with White. But it just felt like White was living a life that wasn''t her own, and at times she was like a bodyguard. It made her wonder if the two of them would still be friends if this wasn''t the case.

    "Hey," White called out, reaching over and shaking Amy''s arm. She had been dozing off, nearly looking at the ceiling rather than the professor who was teaching in the room. "I told you that we shouldn''t havee in today; I knew your mind would be preupied with the news report."

    "And I knew that if I didn''te in, you would have stayed in the dorm anyway," Amy replied.

    "Well, how would I have been able to concentrate when I see you here like this?"

    "I''m not a child," Amy replied back, almost snappy. "I can make my own decisions and do as I wish. I know you mean well, but too many things have been happening too fast."

    Amy had learned the details of her previous best friend''s parents'' death. A short whileter, a report came out that her brother had been taken in by the White Rose. Due to how high profile her brother had be, or at least how famous he was a year ago, it was quite the article.

    The only saving grace was that next to no one knew that Amy Dem was rted to Gary Dem; they just shared the samest name. In the end, Amy just couldn''t get into the lesson, and as it came to an end, she picked herself up and started to head out of the university hall.

    Before heading back, she stopped by the vending machine, looking at the snacks and drinks. She had the money to buy stuff, but she didn''t feel hungry or thirsty at all.

    "It''s strange, right?" Amyughed as she could see her face''s reflection on the ss. "Before, I would have never dreamed of using a vending machine to get food. They jack up the pricespared to the supermarkets, and even then, we would go at a certain time of day to wait until the items were discounted on the shelves.¡±

    "I used to get jealous of those who could waste money on buying expensive items from these machines, not caring about the extra cost. I thought I couldn''t wait to live a life like that. Now, because of Gary''s help, I could buy every item in the machine, and I would be fine.¡±

    "Yet now... I would give everything, I would give every little thing, to live the life I had before when I was with Gary and my mom, when we were all together."

    Amy turned to look at White, her eyes welling up with tears. "Is this happening because I wished for a better life? Is all of this happening because now I can buy what I want from this freaking vending machine!" Amy turned around and threw out the side of her hand, hitting the ss.

    The machine shook slightly, but it didn''t break, nor did anything drop from it. Instead, in that moment, White just held Amy tightly, letting her sob it all out.

    "This is not your fault, Amy, trust me," White replied. "You know, sometimes we think we have the power to influence things because we see the world from our own view. But the reality is that everyone is a little piece in the grand scheme of things. There are only a few who can really make an impact.¡±

    "You wishing for a better life didn''t cause this. It was just the decisions of several selfish people that went on to cause this, and your brother, he was just trying to change it. But I wouldn''t worry. Your brother, he has a way of sorting things out. Look at how nice he has been to those in the city, and he even helped me out as well. It will all work out in the end."

    White wasn''t the best atforting people, but she had been in an even more desperate situation in the past. During this time, she had kind of felt like Amy was part of her family as well due to how much time they had spent together.

    As she continued to hold her tightly, she opened her eyes and looked ahead. Right at that moment she could see something in the reflection of the vending machine.

    Immediately, she grabbed Amy, and the two of them swung around, rolling to the side and falling to the floor. Momentster, a loud crash was heard, with pieces of ss falling to the ground.

    "What was that?" Amy asked as she looked up, and she could see a person holding onto a baseball bat, and he wasn''t alone either.

    "Who cares, run!" White shouted.

    *****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 793 Self Defence Lesson 1: Run!

    <h4>Chapter 793 Self Defence Lesson 1: Run!</h4>

    The man who had attacked was holding onto a baseball bat, and the others who were gathering around had different types of weapons in their hands. What was frightening was the fact that every single one of them looked like regr university students.

    There was something off a bit about them, the way they wore their clothing, or the fact that on closer inspection, they were perhaps a little too old to be university students, but from a nce or walking by, they looked like they belonged.

    White grabbed hard onto Amy''s wrist as she dragged her back through the halls. The night sky was already out, but they were at a university; surely they would run into someone who would be able to help them.

    "Why are they attacking us?" Amy asked.

    White didn''t reply since she was too focused on running and trying to find the next emergency exit. However, based on her actions, she doubted that they were after both of them, and the real target was Amy.

    There was an inkling that maybe this whole deal that what was going on with Gary was going to affect her as well.

    The sign for the emergency exit could be seen, and White wasn''t really paying attention to where she was; she was just following the signs until she could see the exit, and eventually, she could see a pair of double doors with ss, leading to the outside.

    "Through here!" White shouted as she pushed the bar, opening the door, and immediately when she turned her head, she had crashed into what felt like a solid wall. She had stumbled backward and let go of Amy''s hand, not wanting to drag her down with her.

    When looking up, they could see a man standing above with headphones over his head, listening to music, and a messenger bag hanging from his side.

    "Please, you have to help us!" Amy quickly shouted. "There are people chasing after us; can you call the police or something?"

    It was only then that Amy realized herself; she was too busy running with panic that she hadn''t thought to call anyone, and immediately she went to pull out her phone. Rather than contact the police, though, her first port of call was her brother, yet she remembered on the news what had happened to her brother; it would be useless to try and contact him.

    ''Brother always did say that if I had a problem, he would help me out!'' Amy went to click on Kai''s name, and as she did, she felt her phone forcefully snatched from her hands.

    The man wearing headphones in front of her had a smile on his face as he then chucked the phone right on the ground, breaking it into several pieces.

    "Amy, he''s one of them!" White shouted.

    Her mind was at a loss about what to do. It was already filled with thoughts of worry about her brother, and now this was happening.

    ''Is it going to be the same again, just like the situation at the karaoke club?'' Amy thought to herself.

    The man was readying his hand to grab her, but before he did, Amy readied herself, her eyebrows furrowed.

    ''No¡­ I can''t let that happen; if I can''t rely on Gary or his friends, then I just have to rely on myself. Gary is too busy to be worrying about his little sister!''

    Throwing her leg out, she kicked the man right on the shin just below the knee. Great pain was felt as he flinched, and with that, she saw an opportunity, as she punched straight ahead, hitting him right in his private parts.

    This was no time to be worried about fighting fair or dirty, and she remembered the lessons that she had received from Crowley. She as well as White and the other Howlers members had been taking self-defense sses and had been doing so for a while now.

    Right after the man bent over, White saw the opportunity as well, as she pushed Amy''s upper body down.

    "Duck!" White shouted, throwing out a kick and hitting the man right in the side of the face.

    "Come on, we still have to get out of here!" White shouted, and the two of them knew that was true.

    Both of their body frames were small. They weren''t Altered like the others, nor had they grown up fighting. The man''s muscle density with bone structure was just too much for them to ovee, even with a year''s of training.

    As they ran forward, the girls were starting to be aware of their surroundings. They were in a center part of the campus. It was an area that branched off to different buildings and had a staircase to the upper floors. Here kids would usually hang out on the staircase eating their lunch meals, rxing, and talking.

    It wasn''t thatte, and yet there wasn''t a single student that was out. However, what was even more worrying was that they would need to reach the top of the staircase and then run ahead to get to the closest entrance to be out on the street.

    "We have no choice." Amy turned her head, and could see a group of around 6 ruffians with weapons, spotting them and running after them.

    Immediately, Amy started to run forward and took off her shoes, hurling them behind her, trying to slow the guys down from behind. White did the same as they continued to climb the steps as quickly as possible.

    However, it felt like a lost cause, for every two steps they would take, the others would take three, and eventually, it was clear that they would catch up.

    "If we just make it up these stairs, then head across the street, we can get some help!" White shouted.

    The two of them were exhausted, but they needed to keep pushing themselves, and that they did. They could almost feel the breath of the enemy on their backs as they reached thest staircase.

    When both Amy and White had climbed thest step, their exhaustion had gotten to them, as they copsed on the floor. They wanted to move and tried to get up, but it was difficult.

    And that''s when White could see a shadow cast from above.

    "I guess I should have added more stamina drills to the routine. It is a good thing to note that as there is quite a difference between Altered and humans."

    Both Amy and White looked up at the cast shadow. They had assumed it was another enemy, another person getting in their way, but instead, it was a different voice, one they had heard many times and had thought of recently.

    "Teacher Crowley!"

    "I will handle this; don''t you worry," Crowley stated, as he looked ahead, his eyes narrowing, and part of his arm starting to transform. "This is my city now as well, and I will protect its citizens!"

    ****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 794 Meeting of the old and new

    <h4>Chapter 794 Meeting of the old and new</h4>

    The ex-teacher of the AFA had arrived, and he transformed his hand, which was nowpletely covered in ck feathers. Swinging his arm out, several feathers left his hand, and each one of them hit the pursuers urately, flinging them back down the staircase and onto the ground.

    It was a hard, heavy hit, and as they tumbled to the floor, they couldn''t help but roll in pain.

    "You two did well; my lessons were meant for cases like this, but I never thought you would be in such a dire situation where there would be gangs of young men after you with weapons," Crowleymented. "I didn''t realize the youth of today were so obsessed with, what''s the word, chasing ass?"

    The two girls thought thements from their self-defense teacher were a little strange, but they were still busy catching their breath. They wanted to correct him, as it was clear that these men weren''t romantic pursuers, but either way, he had saved them.

    Out of all those who stumbled, one of them started to lift themselves off the ground, and as they did, their face started to change. Fur was growing on their back, red in color, and heat was being produced off the top of his head, emitting partially visible steam.

    "An Altered, this is more than I thought. In a city like this, I thought I knew all of the Altereds that were in this city. I guess that would mean that you are outsiders, and it''s time to make you minders," Crowley jumped up and almost looked like he was floating in the air with how much time it took him tond on the ground.

    "The first one to attack has the advantage." Crowley swung out his hand again, and ck feathers shot out. They pierced the Altered''s body like bullets but didn''t go right through him.

    With a yell from the Altered, his skin heated up, burning off the feathers from his body. The back of his clothes looked to be on fire as they ran forward, lighting up the air.

    "Ah, a hot-headed one, looks like this will be some fun." Crowley waited as the opponent swung his fists through the air, but he easily avoided the punches.

    He moved back further and further, and then he noticed that oddly the Altered turned around. As he did, his back, which was covered in mes, expanded out aiming to light up Crowleypletely.

    However, ck feathers formed in front of him and were withstanding the fire. Soon feathers started to flock together, but it seemed as if it was in front of the Altered instead, and now Crowley had appeared in front of him, throwing out a fist of his own.

    Itnded square in the Altered''s face, and the strength of the attack was beyond normal, as the whole Altered''s face, along with its body, moved straight into the ground, mming onto the floor and almost bouncing.

    The Altered''s body immediately started to revert back to that of a human.

    "Your ns, your hits, everything about your attacks were obvious. You might have a strong Altered form, but that is wasted on you. Perhaps you would have been better if you had gone to an Altered Academy and learned a few basics."

    Crowley hadn''t killed the attackers; it wasn''t something that he was willing to do unless necessary. But he didn''t want to just leave them on the ground like so, afraid that these men might go ahead and do something even more dubious to others.

    Before that though, he needed to check to see if the girls were okay. Jumping back up to the tform, he could see that the girls had somewhat had color return to their faces as they were no longer as frightened as they were before.

    "Come on, let''s get you two out of here and back home," Crowley said.

    The two girls agreed, and with him, they continued to walk forward through the university entrances. They had entered through one side and were unable to see the receptionist anywhere.

    They continued through the reception area, exiting out of the other side, and now were on Main Street. Just as Crowley was going to take the two girls back, they saw several cars turning around the corner.

    They came screeching right in front of the university, all stopping one after the other, ck in color. Immediately, the doors opened, and those dressed in ck and gold came out of the vehicles.

    And one of them had a mask covering most of his face, who immediately went and called out to the two girls.

    "Amy, are you okay?" Kai asked as he rushed over.

    Crowley had immediately recognized the voice, since it was of the person who had initially hired him. He had originally thought was the leader but found outter wasn''t, but it was clear he was still in a high position in the gang itself.

    Kai had also recognized the teacher, and seeing that he was with him, he was a little relieved.

    "That''s strange; there were some attackers. I left them just in the university center; you can do what you wish with them. Be careful though, one of them is an Altered," Crowley exined.

    Kai snapped his fingers, and several of the men ran through the university''s doors to head down, while Kai continued to look at Amy and White to see if the both of them were okay.

    "You''re not hurt anywhere are you?" Kai asked.

    "No, we''re safe thanks to Crowley," Amy replied.

    "How did you know they were in trouble, what were you doing at the university?" Kai asked.

    "I just happened to be in the area," Crowley answered. "I have sensitive hearing, so I could tell something was going on."

    Hearing this, Kai was disappointed in himself once again. This time the girls were saved due to a coincidence, but in truth, he was a step toote. If they were injured after what happened to Gary, how would he have been able to face his own boss?

    A little whileter, another grey-haired female was seen approaching from behind.

    "Amy, I''m happy to hear that you''re alright," Xinmented.

    Amy''s eyes lit up when she saw Xin. The two hadn''t really met each other, but each of them knew of each other due to some words that were spoken by another from time to time.

    "I can''t remember if we met, but Gary spoke a lot about you from time to time," Xinmented.

    Amy was a little shy as she heard these words, drawn in by her beauty. Amy had also seen her a few times since she was quite popr and a rising star in the AFC.

    "What I am surprised to see is you, Crowley. I didn''t know you lived here or worked in Slough. When did that happen?" Xin asked.

 Chapter 795 Pay for your crimes

    <h4>Chapter 795 Pay for your crimes</h4>

    Between the cities of Inferno and Slough, Gary had been taken in by the White Rose members. More specifically, the ones who had brought them in were part of Kanu''s squad, and by his side were Frank and Sadie. There was the driver up front but he was just a normal officer.

    Since this raid on Gary was between the regr police force and the White Rose.

    They were all in arge van, with the three of them up front and Gary on his own in the back, wearing special cuffs designed for Altered individuals. Although they weren''t entirely sure if these cuffs would work effectively on Gary, as some Altereds were simply too powerful to be contained.

    Regardless, even if he tried to escape, there were several cars escorting them out of the area, filled with other White Rose members.

    To them, they had managed to capture a rtively strong Altered, and in such cases, it wasmon for the Altered individual to attempt an escape.

    ¡°To think after so long, that we would be back in this situation,¡± Frankmented. He knew Gary could hear him, as there was a small envelope-sized gap between them, allowing them to talk to each other. However, it wasn''t big enough for someone to reach out and attack. If anyone tried, a strong electrical current would pass through, zapping the other person.

    ¡°Did you fool us back then as well?¡± Frank asked. ¡°When we tested to see if you were an Altered, did you somehow trick us? Are you the one behind the other deaths as well?¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t say anything, understanding what Frank was talking about. Back then, it wasn''t him who hadmitted the killings, but another werewolf named Billy. However, it was because of Gary''s bite mark, inflicted during a fight they had, that Billy had turned into a werewolf, leading to the deaths of both of his parents and a few others. In a way, it was Gary''s fault, which was why he was finding it hard to muster the courage to speak.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Kanu interrupted Frank''s barrage of questions. ¡°I know we don''t operate exactly like the police force, but they still need all the information, and you shouting abuse at him might not help with the ongoing investigation.¡±

    Upon hearing the word "investigation," Gary wondered what he was being brought in for. There were so many possibilities, and he was about to say something when Sadie spoke up.

    ¡°Gary... I believed you back then,¡± Sadiemented. ¡°I believed a lot of what you said, and from what we could see and from your reports, you seemed to be a good person.

    ¡°ording to your file, you''re affiliated with the Howlers gang. That''s quite normal for Altereds these days, and I saw your report where you helped those people.

    ¡°I don''t know if it was out of guilt for some of your crimes or not that you havemitted. I''m sure you''re confused right now, but I will mention one thing.

    ¡°We, the White Rose, don''t get involved in most cases, even if it''s an Altered against another Altered. If it''s gang against gang, we see it as just scum getting rid of other scum, so that doesn''t bother us.

    ¡°However, we do get involved when an Altered case involves the killings of humans, and it seems that you are involved in something that has spiraled into something bigger.¡±

    Sadie was thinking about the family she had recently visited. The daughter they had lost and then the parents'' lives taken shortly after. Could all of this be because of Gary? If that were the case, she needed to erase the image of him being a good person from her mind, and the same went for the others.

    The group waited for a response, wanting to hear what Gary had to say.

    ¡°I don¡¯t involve the innocent,¡± Gary answered, saying nothing more. In this type of situation, Kai would have told him not to say a word until his attorney arrived and had a handle on the situation.

    Kanu sat with his arms folded, looking out as they approached the central White Rose base in the country. Itsrge base could be seen from a distance as they got closer. The gleaming white building with gold ents matched their uniforms.

    ¡®This whole thing is a little strange. After meeting that Altered the other day, we sent in the report, including what was said, and soon after, they decided to go after Gary based on this little information?

    ¡®I''ve examined the files as well, and it seems like someone is conducting an investigation on the case and has built a file against him. But the evidence that has been brought in is all strange.

    ¡®This situation may involve those higher up than me, so even if I report it, I doubt anything will happen. My question isn''t the same as the others.

    ¡®I don''t care if youmitted those crimes or not. What I want to know, Gary, is who did you upset for them to mobilize the White Rose against you.¡¯

    Therge steel doors began to open, and the cars entered. They continued to drive into the site, and soon they all parked. Waiting on the other side was another squad captain, along with other White Rose strike force members.

    The doors to the back of the vehicle were opened, and Gary was taken out. The bright light hit his eyes, and the massive tower-like building, white with gold ents, loomed over him.

    ¡°What is happening to me right now?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Follow us, Gary,¡± Kanu said, as the White Rose members formed a protective formation around him, somewhat like an arrow with members on all sides, just in case he tried to escape.

    ¡°Right now, they are putting you on trial for your crimes,¡± Kanu answered, still uncertain about the situation. Everything was moving too quickly.

    ****

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not to busy I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 796 Standing Before The Judge

    <h4>Chapter 796 Standing Before The Judge</h4>

    Hearing that he was going to go to trial, Gary realized it was a serious matter. It meant right here and then, they would decide his future fate, taking in whether or not he was a criminal or not.

    "Wait a second!" Gary called out. "Don''t I get to have awyer or something? Someone who will help me fight my case. I don''t even fully know what is happening; you just brought me in, I didn''t resist, and now you''re just going to take me to trial."

    It was quite clear with the way things were going that if Gary did reach that trial stand, the verdict had already been set.

    "Have you watched too many TV shows?" Arge man with what looked like a giant hammer on his back started to walk forward. He was built like a giant brick house with his huge muscles on disy.

    It was hard to visually see his face because he had a ck beard, which was graying in areas, covering nearly all of it. Seeing this man in person, Gary immediately felt intimidated; it was the first time in a while that he felt such raw power in front of him. Thest time it was Midwak.

    "The matter concerning Altered is extremely different due to how much threat they can have for the general public," therge man exined. On his clothing, Gary could see a badge, and he could see that it stated Chief Jones.

    It was a position that was higher than that of the squad leader Kanu. Which was closer to the top of the whole White Rose operation.

    ''Chiefs, a couple of captains, and it looks like they have at least 10 regr Altered field agents that are surrounding me. Even if I wanted to fight my way out of this situation, it would be impossible,'' Gary thought to himself.

    "I wouldn''t attempt to escape if I were you," John said as he looked at Gary''s shifting eyes. He could see that the captive was trying to figure out a way to break out, seeing who to attack first, who would be the biggest threat. When a lot of criminals are brought in, John could see that they lost hope, they lost the will to fight, or they were filled with anger.

    Although Gary''s eyes seemed to be filled with anger, it was more so focus; he wasn''t afraid of the situation itself; he still was trying to find a way back.

    "All of us will be present for the trial," John stated. "Based on the result, we will see what happens to you next."

    The group started to walk together, with several Altered gridlocked around Gary. They were heading to therge oval building. Which was bigger than three Olympic stadiums; it was sorge.

    Gary had read about the White Rose base. It was built in Centerfield, a city where the top politicians and central government worked from. It was a way to try and deter gangs and other such things from attacking the important international figures.

    Not only that, but the base itself also acted like a prison. There weren''t many that could contain strong Altered that had been captured.

    The White Rose was the only group that contained that power that was still under the influence of the central government.

    "Why do you look so down, Kanu?" John asked. "This is your case. Once it''s dealt with and he is charged, it means that you will have earned a great achievement, you can finally get that promotion to the Chief position."

    Despite the words from the chief, Kanu still didn''t seem too pleased with everything. The conversation, though, was being overheard by two that were close by.

    Frank then gave Sadie a little nudge as he leaned in to whisper. "See, things are looking up after all. If Kanu gets promoted to Chief, then that means that the Squad Captain position is open for you."

    Sadie didn''t look too pleased either because she was in deep thought, thinking along the same lines as her Captain.

    Something was strange; although what the Chief said was true, in a lot of cases Altered were brought straight into trial. Those were extremely high case profiles.

    Where Altered were going on mass murders, or they were already Crazed Altered so a real trial couldn''t really be conducted. It was pretty much already a done deal when an Altered became crazed.

    Yet Gary''s crimes weren''t confirmed; they were based on hearsay so far, along with some circumstantial evidence. Some courts, if it wasn''t in the White Rose base, would have thrown the trial out before it even reached to this point.

    So why had they been able to push so much for Gary.

    They had finally reached the area; off the side of therge oval building, there was a standard Victorian styled building on the side. It hadrge ss in windows that would let in arge amount of light.

    This room was where all cases with the Altered to do with the White Rose went through.

    They entered through the double doors, and it seemed like there were already others present in the room. Sitting in a seat at the stand was a man in a ck robe and had a small mallet by his side.

    Then, off to the side, there were some non-field Agent White Rose members. They hadputers in front of them, as they continued to type away.

    The group continued to walk until they had reached a barriered door. John and Kanu stood side by side next to Gary. While half of the Altered that came with them stood behind Gary and the other half went to stand in front between the judge and himself.

    "The trial for the person Gary Dem, an Altered in our society, will nowmence," the judge stated.

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 797 The Verdict Is In

    <h4>Chapter 797 The Verdict Is In</h4>

    The matter was bing more serious by the second. When Gary first appeared at Centerfield, the White Rose base, he was still somewhat hoping that a call would be made. As time went on, though, he was starting to realize that this was a situation that maybe even Kai couldn''t get him out of.

    Which was why he was thinking about fighting his way out, but even that seemed like an impossibility. Now the reality was getting closer and closer, that Gary could very well end up in prison.

    "This court is a special court that deals with Altered cases that need the involvement of the White Rose. Due to the severity of the situation, this case has been expedited to the highest manner," the judge stated.

    "You are not just any Altered, but one that has their finances intertwined with a high-profile gang that has its hands in many cities and profiles of important businesses. On top of that, you were once considered a rookie favorite of the AFC.¡±

    "Because of all of these things, a case involving you had to have the involvement with so much severity," the judge exined.

    Exining all of this, Gary was waiting for the next part; when would he get to refute the crimes they were charging him with? Was it a good idea in the first ce; wouldn''t that mean he was admitting to what he had done as well? Was the best thing to just stay silent.

    "We have brought you here today to charge you with the death of a particr student, more precisely, the death of a minor," the judge continued. "A student named Hawk Bagins. On top of that, we have been able to link this crime along with several others.¡±

    "Including that of a man named Daimon Hawk in the town of Slough. If we look into this matter, there are chances that your involvement and crimes go as far back as Notsburg as well."

    The judge then went and mmed a pile of papers on the table. "Here details a number of pieces of evidence that have been brought in. Video evidence, witness statements, recordings, and more. The evidence is so overwhelming that it would take quite some time to get through it all.¡±

    "We have deemed you too dangerous of a person to be let out on the streets, but we have to admit that nearly all the information that has been brought isn''t concrete enough. However, due to your status, we have no choice but to sentence you to prison until the investigation can bepleted. You are too much of a risk to the public if what these things state here are true."

    Gary was left with his mouth slightly open. This was it; this is what he had feared. It wasn''t a trial, but much more a sentencing, and an odd one at that. If it was in human terms, he would be under house arrest while the investigation continued.

    However, house arrest for an Altered was too dangerous, which was why he would have to go to prison instead. A ce where Altered criminals were sent to.

    The judge mmed the hammer down, confirming the sentence, and out through the back doors, several more Altered in white clothing hade out. Both Kanu and Josh allowed for their prisoner to be taken away, as he would be escorted into the prison.

    "Did you submit that evidence in?" Frank asked.

    "No, we looked into things a little, and I submitted information about the missing students from the Karaoke bar. However, even then we couldn''t find any links to Gary. We tried to find the bodies of those three that had entered but were unable to find anyone.¡±

    "If anything, there''s nothing that points at him for it," Sadie replied.

    "Well, maybe one of the other investigation teams found out the information," Frank replied.

    The two of them wanted an answer because when they were told to go fetch Gary Dem, they had assumed someone else had managed to gather certain evidence on another crime, or something else that allowed them to bring him in.

    Yet what was suspicious more than anything was the amount of evidence that had been brought in. It had only been a few days; could someone really gather all of that information? It was almost as if they had it ready beforehand.

    "I''m not too sure we should get involved in this," Kanu replied as he turned around to his two squad members. "If things are moving like this, it could involve one of the Chiefs or even higher than that. Which is above our grade."

    Just then, a small ping and a vibration were felt in his pocket. Reaching in, he had pulled out his phone, and there was a text with a name written on the top.

    [Brother Inw]

    [Do whatever you can to make sure Gary Dem is safe.]

    Seeing the text, Kanu couldn''t help but let out a big sigh.

    "It looks like I might have to get more involved in this than I originally wanted."

    Just as Gary was about to be taken away through the double doors, he started to burst out in a crazy mechanicalughter.

    "Hahaha! Hahaha!" Garyughed. "So this has to be the work of the Phoenix Gang, right? They''re doing this to keep me away. Well, fine then, take me to prison, but I promise all of you in this room now.¡±

    "If my people, if the Howlers, are hurt, if any of them die, then I will go after every single one of you in this room!" Gary eximed.

    At that moment as he was moved through the double doors, to head down the long hallway that would send him to the prison, a system message had activated.

    [You have been sentenced to the White Rose Prison. Escape has never been done before, and your Pack is in danger, do what you need to do.]

    [New Quest: Break Out of White Rose Prison]

    [Reward: Promotion From Rook ¡ª to Queen]

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 798 A Country Wide Bounty

    <h4>Chapter 798 A Country Wide Bounty</h4>

    In the city of Slough, in Cipen, the area was filled with fancy hotels for the guests who woulde and go from Slough. Since it was a newly developed city and was getting its name out there, more and more visitors wereing to the town of Slough.

    With the recent news of what was going on, though, it came as no surprise that many businesses and events that were to happen at the hotel had been canceled.

    At one of these hotels, in particr, standing outside, on guard, were several men in ck and gold clothing. Just outside, parked in front, where cars weren''t meant to be parked, were severalrge ck vehicles.

    The hotel had special meeting rooms, as they would for business events, and in one meeting room, Kai had brought all of the others along with him. The door was shut to those on the outside as he took his mask off and mmed it on the table, revealing his face to everyone else in the room.

    "This situation is getting out of hand," Kai said as he ran his fingers through his blonde hair.

    Mai and Olivia were in the room as well. They still kept their masks on, unlike Kai, who had broken this rule. It was a rule set by Kai, so they wondered why he broke this rule himself. Because there were those in the room who didn''t know about them.

    Xin, Crowley, Amy, and White had been brought from where they were to here.

    His actions probably went to show the desperate situation they were in, because what did it matter if he hid his identity if they were all going to end up dead.

    "I''m sorry that the two of you got attacked," Kai finally said as he lifted his head. "I didn''t know that they would go after you, and all of our focus has been on Gary since he left.

    "Because of your involvement, I want to be honest with all of you in this room," Kai stated. "And for us to help our people and this town, I''m going to need some of your help.

    "The truth is, the loss of Gary is a big deal for our organization and group, not just because he is strong, but he was our leader as well."

    Some around the room tried to act surprised, but Xin had already known this since she had been told directly. Amy always had an inkling, but the most surprised by far was Crowley.

    "He''s what?" Crowley said. "That AFA student is the leader of the entire gang? You''re talking about the whole Howlers group that owns AJ Entertainment, as well as Notsburg!"

    Kai nodded as he said this.

    For a long time, Crowley felt like he was in debt to the leader of the group because it allowed him to have a nice job that paid well, and he even had a ce to live. When he thought he might have lost his purpose, he had gained it back.

    To think that it was someone he knew directly, now he wouldn''t know how to act when he saw him.

    "This is why I think the two of you have been targeted as well because you''re close to Gary," Kai exined. "The way I see it, there are two things, either the Phoenix Gang knows that Gray is our real leader, or someone has a grudge against him. Either way, they are hurting us a lot more than they probably realize, which is making it hard for us to act. Which is why, Xin and Crowley, I know both of you aren''t official members of the Howlers gang, but at this time while Gary is away, I want to ask, can we rely on your strength to help us?"

    It didn''t take long for the two to answer. Xin had already made an agreement with Gary, and as for Crowley, he was even more sure after learning this fact.

    "Of course, I will do whatever I can to aid you and the people in this city. But why are the Phoenix Gang after you?" Crowley asked.

    "That, I''m not too sure," Kai replied. "Maybe they saw us rising and they think we''re an easy target, or it could involve something else to do with the past gang that was once here. I had learned that the Underdogs were working with them.¡±

    "Either way, with them taking out Gary like this, I can feel it; I know that they will act soon and bigger than just going after Amy and Xin. For them right now, it''s the perfect opportunity to strike."

    "Yet, every time they have struck Slough, they have almost always done it indirectly," Mariemented. "I think they''re almost trying to wear us down bit by bit. To elongate the fight and then deal with us when they think we''re weak enough."

    Kai had to agree, as he was thinking along the same lines as Marie, and it seemed to be working. His main issue was, what was the next move from them, though.

    Olivia had immediately gone to look at her phone as several messages started to ping toward her. Kai turned his head, looking at her. He could feel his heart wanting to jump out of his throat.

    "It''s not good news," Oliviamented.

    "I didn''t think it would be; just give it to us straight," Kai answered.

    "The war between the Howlers and the Phoenix Gang seems to have been made somewhat public," Olivia exined. "On the underground hit market, they have offered up a bounty. 10 grand for every Howler member that gets brought in.

    "And 1 million for every leader with a mask. With this, it won''t just be the Phoenix Gang we have to worry about, but every gang close to Slough."

    ******

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 799 Broken Slough (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 799 Broken Slough (Part 1)</h4>

    Across the country, across all different types of electrical devices that one would hold, they were receiving a number of messages. A bounty had been ced out, and it had been done so by none other than the Phoenix Gang.

    It was a special type of bounty as well since this wasn''t against a single individual, but instead, it was against an entire gang. For each member taken out, there would be a reward.

    In the small towns that were close, as soon as they received the message, a smile appeared on their faces.

    "That crazy bastard Sin! I can''t believe he''s giving the whole world his wealth! This is it, everyone, let''s round up!" One of the men shouted as he pulled out a baseball bat full of nails.

    The room was filled with other gang members, running to get on their motorcycles as they started to rev them up, ready to go.

    "Boss, are you sure about this? This is a tier 2 gang! We''re just a tier 4 gang. This group took out Notsburg," one of the members called out.

    "Hey, do you think we''re going to be the only ones that have gone after this bounty? It''s a free contract, meaning anyone can pick it up, and besides, we don''t have to take out the entire gang, we can just take out a few of the members, and then we''ll be over and done with it."

    Everyone was ready on their motorcycles as the boss hopped onto one of his own and lifted his bat in the air.

    "TO SLOUGH!" He shouted.

    They weren''t the only group as many more were all making their way as they headed out to Slough.

    On the outskirts of Slough, a border had been set up. This was ced in a way to inform them when other gangs might be attacking or when the Phoenix Gang would make its move.

    Behind the natural barriers by the toll road, there were several of the Howlers cars parked up, and members casually chatting among themselves in their ck and gold clothing.

    Just then, nearly all of them had received a ping on their phones as well.

    [This is an urgent message from the leaders of the Howlers Gang. Gangs from all over will be out to attack us. Stay close together, stay in a big group, or head to Burnham Food Street, or Cipen!]

    The message had been sent out by Kai, and for the reason for selecting those two ces, it was where the concentrated members of the Howlers were. Cipen was where Amy and most of the members who had received houses currently lived.

    Where Burnham food street had been growing with more and more members since Olivia and Izzy had joined the ce. Right now, there was an issue in a way, Slough had be too big.

    Too big for the impactful members to go to each ce and try to protect its members, so it was best to bring them in close.

    "What is with the message from the bosses? Things are feeling strange around heretely," the member said as he ced his phone away. "I mean we were all ready to take out the Phoenix Gang to bring the fight to them, and then Gary gets taken away, and even before that, I heard from the other guys that one of the Core members got taken out as well."

    "Hey!" The other member called out. "Did you forget how much better our lives and the whole of Slough is because of the Howlers, because of us and them? If another ganges in here and takes over again, then it will be just like it was in the past."

    The sound of an engine revving was heard by all of them. Turning their heads, they could see a car speeding along. It didn''t slow down as it crashed through the barrier, breaking it off to the side.

    The car continued forward, heading right for them, and the group of people had no choice but to dive out of the way. As they had done, the car rammed right into their car.

    "Crap, did some crazy guy really just try to run us over?" The member said, rubbing the back of his head. When looking at the car though, the airbags had been deployed but from what he could see, there didn''t seem to be any driver on the inside.

    Just then, the sound of more vehicles was heard, and several bikes had entered the area. They drove past the Howlers members and with a bat whacked the back of the member''s head.

    Immediately he fell to the floor, blood was soaking the ground at that moment.

    "F*ck, F*ck, we got to get out of here, listen to the group''s orders, we need to head to Cipen or Burnham!" The man shouted.

    It was a rush among the crazy motorcyclists to get to a working car. More had been hit on the way, unable to do anything. While some had made it into the vehicles.

    They were heading toward the main area of the city, while doing so they got on the phone, making a call, it was to their squad leader, one of the core members.

    "Boss, boss, we''re being attacked! It doesn''t look like the Phoenix Gang, but there are so many of them, there''s a group of at least fifteen chasing us on motorcycles, and we don''t know about the others; there were cars as well!"

    There was clear panic in the voice, but the order remained the same, get back to Cipen and Burnham as soon as possible.

    This chaos that was happening was starting in every section of the city, and more and more gangs were starting to enter the streets of Slough, all looking for the Howler members.

    *****

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 800 Broken Slough (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 800 Broken Slough (Part 2)</h4>

    It didn''t take long for the town of Slough to be thrown into chaos. Small-time gangs with as few as fifteen or so members had joined in the hunt. However, in these towns, there were often multiple gangs.

    In total, there were at least thirty different gangs that had entered, and they were causing a mess everywhere they went. Entering buildings, entering factories, members would attack the machinery, they would attack the equipment, even hurting civilians in ces.

    It had be quite apparent that attacking the local people seemed to do the trick, as that''s when the members woulde and fight back.

    A swing of a baseball bat, and one of the members had ducked underneath it, and mmed a fist right into the other''s face.

    "We are the Howlers Gang, and we aren''t just some pieces of crap that don''t know how to fight!"

    The Howlers were putting up a good resistance to these no-name gangs. They had been trained by Crowley for over a year and had been using everything in their arsenal to fight back.

    It was clear that those who were attacking didn''t expect this either, and not only that, but some of the men, the general public that had been hit, were picking up anything they could to fight back as well.

    Picking up machinery work and hurling it at their attackers. "The Howlers have protected us! They''ve helped us out and are protecting us now; we need to do the same!"

    The message that Kai had sent out was slowly going around, and it had turned from the Howlers members to anyone who wished to stay safe; they needed to head to Cipen and Burnham Food street.

    At the moment, Kai was practically traveling in one of the cars on his own while having a different driver than usual.

    "I have dispatched the other members to go and help deal with the problems wherever they can. Since it isn''t the Phoenix Gang that is attacking us. They should all be okay to deal with situations on their own," Kai said to himself.

    In the past, he would have had to worry about Marie, but now with her being a werewolf, she could inflict quite a bit of damage. On top of that, the Howlers also now had many Altered among their ranks that they had purchased solutions for.

    These attackers were surely going to be in for a surprise. ''What I''m worried about is after this. It''s clear that they''re wearing us down, doing whatever they can¡­ it''s the next attack. I''ve failed to look ahead at what they''re nning to do, and all I''ve been able to do so far is react.''

    At the moment, it was the best thing they could do. Kai had contacted all of the hotels in Cipen, telling them to allow the local people of Slough in from other areas. They were also to set up extra spaces and beds for those who were worried about what was going to happen.

    If they didn''t want to leave their home, then they were encouraged to lock the doors and stay inside, to halt going out for work or groceries of the sorts while all of this chaos was going on. ''I need to think, think of a way to get back at them!''

    Just then while driving along, through the window, Kai could see fighting that was going on taking ce. It was outside of a park; the members of the Howlers were bloody, having been cut up by knives and other equipment.

    At the same time, they had put up a good fight, having taken out a few of the attackers, but they were surrounded by a group of thirty or so.

    "Give me that sweet, sweet money!" Arge man said as he swung a chain around rapidly and swung it right toward a Howlers member''s face. It was heavy and made of metal. It was sure to break a few teeth if not kill the person.

    As the chain swung out, a hand was lifted up and grabbed onto it. "What is this!" Kai shouted, and pulled on the chain, as he did, the man flung toward him and with a fist, Kai smashed his face until all of his teeth were dislodged from his mouth, and he fell to the floor.

    Not wasting any time, Kai then transformed both of his hands into ws, and he ran between all of them; he didn''t hesitate as he went and shed his hand right at their neck. His sharp ws and nails cutting through, causing them to bleed and fall to the ground as if a sword had cut them through.

    "Is it really worth it?" Kai stated. "Are you guys really willing to risk your life over meaningless money, just for a small payday?"

    Just as he said those words, a transformed Altered that had the appearance of a Rat had jumped from behind. Immediately though, Kai moved to the side, and the strike hadpletely missed him.

    He then grabbed onto the Rat Altered behind, and with his muscr strength pushed at the side so the back of his neck was wide open. His mouth started to transform, and Kai ripped through flesh, pulling it out and spitting it to the side.

    He then lifted the Rat Altered''s body and mmed it onto the ground before stomping it with his foot.

    Right now, he was fighting like a wild beast. His anger, it had been growing since the start of all of this mess that was going on, and the more hopeless he felt, the more it was all turning into anger for him.

    "I think I''ve found a way, a way to get back at you. If you''re going to use others to aid you in this fight, then we will just have to do the same, it''s the only way we can win this!" Kai said as he pulled out his phone, making contact with someone he hadn''t done so in a long while.

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 801 An Old Face

    <h4>Chapter 801 An Old Face</h4>

    The city was bing a bloodbath as the gangs rampaged in certain areas. However, the fights weren''t one-sided. That was thanks to the Howlers members acting out themselves.

    Still, all this did was add to the bloodshed as the fighting progressed in each of the areas. Many had done as Kai stated, either stayed locked in the rooms or had headed to the two areas.

    With the condensed members, they were able to protect themselves. A couple of gangs had tried to enter Cipen, but they were quickly disappointed as they were overwhelmed with strength.

    Having seen this, they didn''t quite call it a day but instead were almost circling in the city, trying to find another opportunity where they could strike because for them, the opportunity just was too good.

    Inside one of the hotels, the upper floors acted as apartment buildings, and in here Amy and White were currently in their room pacing back and forth.

    A loud explosion was heard from afar, and smoke could be seen. Some of the gangs had resorted to drastic measures in trying to stop the Howlers froming out, including burning certain establishments.

    Amy had the TV on, but there was no news of what was going on in Slough. Seemingly, it was almost as if everyone was ignoring it; the only thing that was showing consistently was Gary.

    "We just have received some news that Gary Dem will be ced in prison while the investigation for his case is ongoing," the news reporter read out.

    The dread was filling Amy''s heart. Right now, the entire situation, it felt like she was in a living nightmare. Worse news wasing out about her brother and the state of the city.

    White was sitting at the kitchen counter breakfast top; she had her phone out. Although the news channels weren''t reporting on things, it didn''t mean that the news of what was happening in Slough wasn''t getting out there.

    Multiple people had started live streams, showing the ferocious gangs¡¯ attacks. There were videos of the fights that were going on. The world wasn''t oblivious to everything that was happening.

    "Are the Phoenix Gang also covering up what is happening to us? I guess this is the power, the power of one of the kings," Whitemented.

    "Why can this happen to us, and why isn''t anyone helping us! Or helping Gary!" Amy called out.

    It wasn''t the case that no one was helping them; in fact, many of the connections that Gary had made outside of the city, they were trying their best to help, but they had been hit already.

    AJ Entertainment was trying to run several articles, but no broadcasters would show it on their channels, refusing to buy anything to do with the situation in Slough. Even offering it for free, they wouldn''t broadcast it.

    It was simple; the power that Phoenix Gang had managed to gather over the years was just more influential than that of the Howlers Gang.

    While in the middle of their deep thoughts, a knock was heard on the door. Both Amy and White looked at each other, their hearts skipping a beat. Their apartment was in Cipen, so it should have been a safe ce.

    Was there really anywhere safe for them though?

    "It''s me, Xin, open up Amy!" Xin asked.

    Looking through the peephole, Amy could see the gray hair and opened the door up. Her legs were a little shaky.

    "I know you''re startled and frightened, but we have to go. These are Kai''s orders; he asked me to take you two to the hospital and to hold up there. You guys don''t have to worry; I''m pretty strong, so if anything does happen, I can protect you," Xin answered.

    The hospital in Cipen was the best hospital that Slough had, but there was a reason why Kai wanted the two girls to move there because there was already a high number of Howlers members that were currently protecting the ce.

    He wanted to move the high risk or members to be attacked the most out from where the locals would be and ce them in a different area. As for why the hospital was high risk, it was because there was another family member of the Dem Family that was currently there.

    Nodding ahead, Amy understood, and the two of them left with Xin. They got in a ck car and quickly drove around Slough. As they drove the streets, they could see queues of people and those walking towards the hotels.

    Some of them had blotches of blood and ripped clothes on their bodies, leaving Amy only to imagine what they had been through to get to where they were now, to a safe area.

    "How could people do this? It doesn''t just affect one or two lives, but they''re affecting the lives of many. Did we really do something this bad to deserve this?" Amy asked.

    "Wars happen all the time across countries, and gangs are just like a big government structure in the first ce. Which is why sometimes, we have to do things that will allow us to protect ourselves," Xin answered.

    Eventually, the vehicle pulled up, and they had arrived at therge hospital. Just outside, there was a barricade of cars that had been made to make it harder for those that tried to force their way in.

    Behind the barricade of cars, there were a number of gang members as well. "This whole thing, it feels like a scene out of an apocalyptic movie," Whitemented.

    Heading inside the hospital, the workers were working as normal, just there were a lot more men and women dressed in ck and gold. Taking the elevator, the three of them headed up; while she was here, she wanted to see her mother, to see if she was okay.

    The door dinged open, and the three of them walked past multiple private rooms until they had reached the room they were looking for. Taking a turn, the door was already open, and to her surprise, she could see someone else in the room.

    A male''s back was facing away from them, wearing arge ck trenchcoat, staring over their mother. Hearing the footsteps enter the room, therge man turned to look at them. It was the face of an old man, in his fifties with arge scruffy beard.

    "Amy..." The man called out.

    Hearing her name, she tried to look at the man closer, wondering if she recognized him or not; he felt familiar, yet she couldn''t quite recognize his face.

    "I guess it''s quite normal since I''ve been away for so long. It''s normal you don''t recognize your father."

    ****

    *****

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 Chapter 802 A New Life

    <h4>Chapter 802 A New Life</h4>

    Going down the hallway, the White Rose agents that were with Gary weren''t exactly being the nicest. They had shoved him into a room, closing the door right behind.

    Gary turned around to look at the door; it was made out of thick steel, at least a meter wide. He had never seen such a well-designed wall before. Even if he had a running start and tried to attack with all his strength, he wasn''t so sure he could break through such a thing. Just imagining himself failing at an attempted breakout made him slightly sick to his stomach.

    "I''m weak... I''m f*cking weak," Gary inwardly said as he looked at the clothing presented.

    It was a in white-colored uniform that had the appearance more like pajamas. It was the prison uniform that they were to wear. He did as was ordered and ced it on.

    He noticed that the material had quite a bit of stretch to it. ''Is it made out of the same stuff as the Howlers'' uniform? I guess I am going to an Altered prison after all. They can''t stop us from turning into Altered, and it would be a pain for them to have to keep recing our uniforms.''

    After putting on the clothes, Gary then had to wait, and the door was opened once again. Four White Rose agents were there to escort him, and they continued to take him down a long hallway, where it led to, he could only guess in all honesty.

    ''I still can''t believe it. They''re going to be keeping me in prison this entire time, while everything is happening to the Howlers. They took my phone away, and I have no ess to the news or the inte, so I have no idea what is going on right now.''

    Just while walking down the hallway alone, several times Gary had tensed his fist, the veins in his neck showing once in a while. He was imagining the worst, his mind ying tricks on him as to what the possibility could be out there.

    "Let me tell you a few things about the ce that you will be going to," one of the White Rose agents stated. "This is a ce where others just like you are present.

    "Not just your everyday criminals but Altered criminals. Those that have done things that are unheard of and have been chosen to be locked up for life.

    "Many when theye into here, think that they are big and bad, that they are the top dog, but this ce quickly humbles them.

    "Because let me let you in on a little secret," the guard whispered. "We don''t care if you die. Society doesn''t like that we give you the death penalty, but if you fight and kill each other in there, that''s no bother to us; that''s just more of you scum off the street.

    "You Altered, are the ones that are ruining it for the rest of us, giving us a bad name, so I couldn''t care less what happens to you."

    They had finally reached anotherrge steel door; this one seemed to have been bolted in strange ways as well. It was even more lockedpared to the other one he was in before.

    "I won''t die," Gary replied back.

    "Well good luck, but you''re unlikely to make it before your investigation is even over," the White Rose agent said as the door opened.

    Immediately, a muscr woman was seen on the other side of the door. She was wearing a jet ck uniform with a crooked hat on top of her head and a badge that had the words "Warden" written on them. Next to her, there were a pair of men dressed in the same ck uniform, attached to their waist were a number of Anti-Altered weapons, although none of them looked powerful enough to hold Gary back.

    What surprised him, though, was the Warden, who assumed was the one that was entirely in charge of the ce, had no Anti-Altered weapons on her.

    "If you''re thinking of trying anything, it''s best you don''t," the warden said as the steel door was shut behind him. "If you cause any trouble with those dressed in ck, or I hear your name from their ears, then that isn''t good because it means you will be having to meet me, and I don''t like to do work," the warden replied.

    "The best thing for both of us is to do as you wish but not to mess with those in ck, the guards."

    Gary was in what looked more like an office; there were tables stationed out and paperwork, as well as another door. There were no windows anywhere though, so Gary had no clue; was he underground, over ground on an ind of sorts, or what? Judging by the hallway, he couldn''t have gone far from the main White Rose base.

    "In this prison, there is only ess to food and water, no TV, no inte, and no means of contact with the outside world. Visitors are permitted once a week only, but that is none of your concern, since it''s all rted to what those do on the outside."

    Gary didn''t quite understand what she meant by this, but he had a feeling that it meant he wasn''t going to be getting any visitors anytime soon.

    "A word of warning to you my friend, if you think your name and status will do something for you in here, it won''t. These people, they haven''t had ess to information from the outside world for a while, so no one knows who you are, so be ready for anything.

    "Now, take him to a cell, to meet his new roommate."

    The guards stood by Gary''s side, unafraid even though they were regr humans, and started to escort him away.

    "I don''t care what anyone says, no matter what, I''m getting out of this ce, and when I do, I''ll get rid of the entire Phoenix Gang!"

    *****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 803 The Rules Of The Jungle

    <h4>Chapter 803 The Rules Of The Jungle</h4>

    Walking around with the prison guards, Gary found himself in arge open-spaced area. It was farrger than he imagined after going through all the hallways he had been in.

    When looking ahead, he could barely see the other side of the wall, and looking to his right and left, he was unable to see the end of the hallways.

    What caught Gary''s attention the most was the number of prisoners inside wearing the same uniform. It was a little strange sight to see.

    There weren''t any benches or tables for one to sit at. Since they were dealing with Altered individuals, nearly anything could be used as a weapon. Instead, they had built-in natural seating areas with the architecture of the building.

    The ground was raised up in areas, giving a ce for those to sit at. Some areas just looked like giant steps, that a group of other prisoners were seated at.

    In terms of the prisoners themselves, there appeared to be different groups of Altered that had gathered up in one or two areas. A group was sitting by the stairs.

    Another group was hanging around a single cell door, then there were those that were just on their own, wandering about. While some were able to strut aroundfortably, there were also those that looked nervous, their eyes darting around everywhere, wondering when they would get attacked.

    "This is the open area where most of the prisoners spend most of their time," the guard stated. "At the same time, this is where most of the trouble is caused. If something happens here, I''m sure the warden already told you, we won''t get involved.¡±

    "There''s only one time where we want you topletely stay out of trouble, and that is mealtime. They are set three times a day, and nothing else; if anyone causes trouble, that means no food for you.¡±

    "You will see most of the guards during mealtime, and we don''t want any problems. I''m sure you''re not thinking of escaping either; this entire prison is located in the base of the White Rose.¡±

    "Captains, Chiefs, and even those that are higher rank than them are all stationed above, but thankfully, there never has been a case where they have had to be called because if someone does cause a big enough mess in here, the warden gets involved, and she is strong enough to deal with any of you guys in here."

    The guard walked around, and Gary could immediately see the others looking at him. He didn''t look away; instead, he was thinking about how they got in here. Just what crimes had theymitted to be ced in the same ce as him?

    Maybe, there were many that were like him as well, who were in here because they had upset someone with quite a bit of power.

    What he also noticed, the white-colored uniforms, some of them were heavily stained with blood. Some of the stains looked to have been worn in for some time, washed multiple times but the blood clearly hadn''te out.

    While others appeared a little fresher.

    "We guards are quite respected on the inside," the guard continued to talk while he was leading the way, presumably to Gary''s cell. "The prisoners listen to us because they know there is a line of order to Evr-"

    In the middle of his sentence, he felt someone pull back on his shirt. The guard''s body was slightly pulled back to where Gary was, and he could see that it was Gary himself who had pulled him.

    "What do you think you''re doing!" The guard shouted.

    Momentster, right behind him, arge body crashed into the wall. It was bloody from head to toe, and was starting to shrink. It was an Altered. When looking at the direction where the man hade from, there was arge giant tail sticking out from the prisoner''s back, with a stinger on the end.

    It was starting to shrink as well, and there was a crowd that had formed behind him.

    "What on earth are you doing, Stinger? That could have hit me!" The guard shouted back.

    The group of menughed as they heard this. "Ah, you know there isn''t much to do in terms of fun for us, and one of the most entertaining things is always when someone new joins, and seeing where they are on the pecking order."

    The guard then looked at the man who had crashed into the wall and was sliding down onto the floor. His bald-headed appearance, of course, he would have remembered it.

    "If you need any more proof that this ce is a dangerous one, then look no further," the guard said. "The person who is lying on the floor right now was the newest person to enter this prison. It''s only been a week, and look at the state he is in."

    Gary looked at him on the ground; his instincts were telling him to offer the man a hand up. That''s what he would do in a normal situation, but he had to remember something; these weren''t normal people in here; every single one of them was most likely convicted criminals.

    "Who was he?" Gary asked.

    "Oh, what, you think that matters? You want to see how strong you arepared to the others?" The guard asked. "He was a Tier 2 gang member. Most likely someone who took the fall for those in an even higher position. Since everyone in here is an Altered, nearly every single one has a connection to a gang in some way."

    "He''s right." Stinger said as he started to walk over and ced his foot on top of the bald man''s head. "Even in here, some of us need to worry about who we offend out there, so I have to ask, young one, what''s your affiliation to get you in here, what gang are you from?"

    Not hesitating, saying the name loud and proud, Gary gave an answer. "I''m from the Howlers Gang."

    Stinger chuckled. "Never heard of it. Which means you''re going to get a lot of attention in here."

    ******

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below:

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 Chapter 804 Room mate

    <h4>Chapter 804 Room mate</h4>

    Gary didn''t say much more to Stinger; he just gave him a single look as he continued to walk away and followed the guard to his cell room. It did make him think back a bit, about how much his life had changed.

    He remembered when he was frightened of gangs, being chased by the Underdogs and in fear for his life, yet so much had changed. Here, he was in a prison full of hardened criminals, yet he wasn''t scared for some reason. He guessed it was because he didn''t have the time to be scared, not when he wanted to help everyone in the Howlers.

    Stinger continued to look at the back of Gary as he walked off with a smile on his face, and when they were far enough to the point where the others wouldn''t be able to hear him, he spoke up.

    "Hey, ask around and see if anyone knows anything about this Howlers gang," Stinger stated. "It might be some new group, so try looking at those that went in recently. I want to know if he''s someone we can mess with or not."

    The man who had been defeated by Stinger was being dragged. He was mostly passed out, unable to fight back, but he did overhear the conversation the two had, and the prisoner couldn''t help but think.

    "The Howlers... I''m sure I''ve heard of them before¡­ But I can''t think straight because my head hurts. Oh well, I hope this damned Stinger gets what he deserves."

    The guard and Gary took a turn down one of the hallways that branched out to therge main room. As they walked down, on either side, there were steel doors with small slits that could fit something like a food tray inside, but too small for any person to get out.

    "Those guys from before, Stinger is their leader," the guard went on to exin. "He''s probably the most active member and group out of those that are here, but you know, just because one barks the loudest doesn''t mean they are the strongest.¡±

    "I hear he was some gang leader or something, so he''s able to rile up people well. The other groups ignore him because for the rest of them, he''s a good testing point for a new person thates in.¡±

    "So I''m sure at some point you''ll get hurt."

    The guard then stopped in front of one cell door that was marked with the number 23.

    "Look, I''m telling you this because you helped me out back there. As quickly as you can, gain favor with someone, a group of some kind. If you do that, the longer you spend in here, the safer you will be. Don''t be a lone wolf; they get killed in here."

    The man unlocked the cell door and opened it up. Inside the room, there were two beds, one on the left and the other on the right. Other than that, the room was barren of everything else.

    "Even a toilet can be used as a weapon," the guardmented. "So if you need to, just find one of us, and we''ll take you there. We used to have public toilets, but too many times they get trashed. Remember what I said."

    "Don''t worry," Gary said before the guard shut the door. "I already have my own pack; I don''t need to be making a new one in here. I just need to get back to them."

    The guard closed the door and shook his head, wondering if he would see the young one again.

    When the door shut, Gary went to look at his bed. It was in, with nothing but bed sheets. Judging by the door being shut behind, he could tell that it was locked. Since he had seen so many outside and judging by the schedule the guard had told him about, right now it was a free period.

    They could stay in their cells and rx, or they could go to the center where all the other members and groups he had walked past were seen.

    In the room, his roommate was present. He noticed Gary''s presence and turned around to have a look. A man with a scar on the bottom of his chin and wild ck hair. Ignoring him, Gary went to have some rest; his mind was full, and he needed to think about what the best course of action for him would be.

    "Hey, what are you doing?" the man said. "Did you grow up on a farm or something? Did no one teach you any manners? You''re just going to go make your bed before talking to me?"

    The man sat up and was on the edge of his bed looking out at Gary.

    "You need to introduce yourself when you''re in a cell; that''s the rule. Name, affiliation with the outside, who you are, and why you''re in here."

    Gary wondered if every person he met was going to be like this, and considering the ce he was in, it might be the case. Not wanting to have constant fights with his roommate, he reluctantly gave an answer anyway.

    "Gary Dem, part of the Howlers gang, in here under investigation, so temporarily," Gary answered.

    This gave the other man augh.

    "Ha, temporarily; do you really think that''s the case? I think the shortest time I''ve spent in here was five years. Anyway, who the f*ck are the Howlers? I''m from the Pipping Gang; I was one of their members for a while, so my position is higher than you.

    "At lunch, give me half of your food from now on; I need it more than your scrawny self-body. If you disagree, then I''m happy to fight about it."

    At that moment, a ping was heard in Gary''s head.

    [System message]

    [Your cell mate is being a bully, and he thinks he''s better than you. Show him what you got, and you will get rewarded with the exp that you so desire.]

    Gary stopped making his bed and turned around to the man. Immediately he kicked off from his foot and grabbed him by his face; he lifted his entire body and mmed him right into the wall. A loud bang and vibration was heard through several of the other cell rooms.

    The man''s eyes had rolled into the back of his head.

    [12,500 exp granted]

    "The reason why the Howlers are going through the situation they are going through now is because I was weak. I need to get stronger, and I''m not going to show any weakness while I''m here.¡±

    "You touched the one thing that I need in this ce to keep fighting, and that''s food!"

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I''m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 805 The Prison Order

    <h4>Chapter 805 The Prison Order</h4>

    Slowly, Zig''s eyes started to open; his head was aching, as he felt like he had just been smashed by a truck hurtling at full speed. He didn''t know why he felt this way, and for a moment, he was unable to remember anything.

    ''Did I get whacked by one of the other groups or something... but I was sure I was in my cell,'' Zig thought.

    His blurred vision wasing back into focus, and he could see someone lying in the bed that was ced opposite to him. It was a bed that had remained empty for a while now, so why would someone be in it, and what was with the green hair?

    When Zig''s vision finally cleared, he started to remember, as he could see the young boy who had practically been sleeping away. He remembered thest moments; there were fierce eyes staring at him, they had sharpened and were slightly glowing red.

    Before Zig could react at all, his entire head had been mmed into the wall. Quickly he turned around, and sure enough, he could see a blood mark and a slight indent on the wall.

    ''All of these cells are made of reinforced thick steel, and there''s a dent in it, just how hard did he hit me?''

    Zig went to touch the back of his head; it was still bleeding slightly and still very sore. If anything, he realized that he might be lucky to even be alive; he was thankful for being the type of Altered he was.

    ''This kid, he must be really strong, F*ck, but he said he''s from the Howlers gang. A gang that has an Altered this strong, that''s unheard of, is that possible?''

    ''Well, while he''s asleep, this may be the best time to get rid of him.'' Zig went to move slightly, shifting on his bed, trying to get in the perfect position for his payback, but the moment he made the slightest bit of movement¡­

    Gary''s eyes snapped open, and his head turned to look at him.

    ''He heard that...'' Zig gulped.

    Slowly Gary got off his bed, now that the other was awake. Even though he was asleep, his ears were always extra sensitive. It was something he realized he could do; he could set it so his ears were alert while sleeping, allowing him to snap awake at any point if he wished to.

    Perhaps it was a trait of the wolves that are outside.

    "There are a few questions that I would like to ask you," Gary said as he sat at the edge of the bed, and leaned forward with both of his elbows on his thighs. He was quite close to Zig now, looking at him.

    All the intentions of possibly getting payback had pretty much gone out of Zig''s head right there and then.

    "Hey, you know about that food thing, I was just kidding about that, we''re cellmates, all is good, all is good," Zig jokingly said, still feeling a throbbing pain at the back of his head just from speaking alone.

    "I want to know what''s the deal with this prison, the current situation, the set up between groups, who''s going to be after me in here, and if there''s anyone that can help me get out," Gary asked.

    "Get out!" Zig shouted as he turned his head left and right. "I think you''re taking your whole prison sentence lightly. No one escapes from here; no one has the power to do it because of the warden. The only way to get out of here is to beat her down. No one has been able to do that in here, and even if you did, then the White Rose agents from above would be alerted and woulde in a heartbeat. If the Warden catches word of what you''re thinking, then you better be prepared for a fight."

    Gary looked at his fist; he didn''t think this was going to be easy. He was prepared to at least have to fight his way out of here.

    "If your life depended on it, on escaping, then just tell me what you would do," Gary asked again.

    Zig let out a big sigh, wondering what he had done to get such a rough roommate. Couldn''t he have had it easy by giving someone he could bully around and get some extra food? He just wanted some more food; was that so much to ask?

    "Your first question, there are three major groups in this prison that you need to look out for. You have Stinger''s gang; his group is thergest of the three. He''s quite active in disciplining the other prisoners that don''t want to join any sides at all.¡±

    "And he causes the most ruckus between people. However, the other two groups somewhat see him as neutral even if he gets into scuffles with their lower members since he''s good to have in a way. I am also part of Stinger''s group myself.¡±

    "There''s then the north and south gang. These two gangs during free time are stationed at the north side of the facility and south side of the facility, hence their names. These two gangs are at each other''s throats, including their members. Joining them means you''re willing to take on the other side.¡±

    "I don''t know why these two leaders have trouble with each other or what, but that''s just been the way it has since I''ve been on the inside. If you want to stay safe in this ce and not have people attacking you, then join one of these three groups.¡±

    "In terms of people you need to look out for, there are two more.

    "There''s one called Ice; he spends most of his time in his cell. A powerful individual that both the North and South have tried to recruit, but he does his own thing. He''s so strong that the others respect his decision of not joining, and people tend to leave him alone.¡±

    "As for the other individual, his name is ck Jack. Just like Ice, he''s extremely powerful to the point where the other gangs leave him alone. About the question you asked me, about if I wanted to escape this ce, then I would talk to him.¡±

    "ck Jack is the only person who has tried to escape from this ce and had fought against the Warden. It was a fight that everyone saw, and everyone realized at that moment that they didn''t have the strength to leave this ce."

    It looked like Gary had his person of contact, but he had no reference; he had no idea how strong these people were. Was the Warden someone he could beat, and what about all the other gang members; would it be safe just to join one of these groups for the time being?

    While thinking about this, Stinger was sitting as he waited on the staircase; he sat on the highest stair, which was around four up, until one of the other gang members hade over.

    "Stinger, we did our research, but we can''t seem to find anyone that knows anything about the Howlers," the member imed.

    "I see," Stinger said with a smile. "Then it means we can y about with him before he goes running to one of the other groups."

    ****

    *****

 Chapter 806 Donâ€™t mess with my food!

    <h4>Chapter 806 Don''t mess with my food!</h4>

    A short but single loud rm rang throughout the rooms and the open area. It was the signal that it was time to serve food, one of the three times in the day when they would bring food out.

    For Gary, he had missed breakfast beforeing here, and now it was time for them all to have lunch. As they walked out, Zig wasted no time in practically running away from Gary and going ahead to join the others.

    To which Gary just shook his head.

    ''Maybe I should have kept him on a tighter leash,'' Gary thought. ''I wanted to use him so I could find out who this ck Jack guy is. It''s not like these prisoners have their names tattooed on their foreheads.''

    At the same time, Gary didn''t even know who was part of what two groups that were mentioned either; those that were with the north and south. In the meantime, it was best for him to just avoid any groups in general.

    When lining up, there seemed to be an order of things. Gary had witnessed the line of people reshuffling their order, making way for a few members on the side. Even though he was quite close to the front in the position, Gary had eventually ended up shuffling further and further back.

    The only person he could recognize was in Stinger''s group, and they weren''t even at the front of the line to grab lunch food. Zig was in the line along with them, so at least Gary now knew who the Stinger group were.

    ''The least important people in here honestly, yet they act the loudest, quite typical.''

    The line was moving along fairly quickly, and after gathering their food, they would proceed to eat on long benches sitting either side of each other. Just like the guard had mentioned as well, during food hours was the time he could see most of them. There were at least fifty of the guards spread out in the room alone. After the first two groups had been served, it looked like it was finally Stinger''s turn, that was until, a tallnky pale man had walked by the side.

    His skin was incredibly faint, reminding Gary of White somewhat. He continued forward with his lightly grey-colored hair, and Stinger said no word as he stood in front of him and proceeded to grab some food. After doing so, the tallnky man went ahead, sitting on an empty bench on his own.

    ''If I were to take any guesses, then that man is Ice. I wonder how strong he is, or what he did to make it so everyone avoided him.''

    Things were proceeding as Stinger got his food and sat with hisrge group of men, and he couldn''t help but keep his eyes on the young green-haired boy.

    "That guy stands out too much; he doesn''t even seem to be scared or annoyed by the entire situation. I thought he would have at leaste begging to ask to join us by now," Stingermented, and turned to look at Zig.

    "I heard that you were his roommate; did you give him the normal shit?" Stinger asked.

    Zig didn''t really want to answer. What happened was embarrassing, and of course, he was scared of Stinger, but how could he say he was scared of the newbie as well. That would just make him go further down in the group.

    "I told him the deal," Zig replied. "And then he said he didn''t care about any of my crap. Just when I was about to teach him a lesson, the rm went off telling us all toe to lunch."

    "I see, so he really thinks he''s some untouchable crap in here. There''s been a lot of guys like that, even some of you guys were like that when you first came in here. Thinking that''s the best course of action, but you were quickly humbled, and it''s my job to humble the neers.¡±

    "You guys, go just tease him for a bit now; you know we can''t cause real trouble in here."

    Gary had sessfully collected his food, and although the food didn''t look entirely repulsive, it was more so that it just wasn''t enough for him. Due to him being a Werewolf, to gather his energy, he needed a lot.

    The main issue was if Gary needed to fight at full strength; he would quickly need food for him to recover as well.

    While looking at the food, he saw a shadow cast in front of him. It almost looked like someone was about to crash until Gary quickly spun to the side, avoiding the person. It was a fast movement, and all of the food was kept intact still in his hands.

    "You should look up instead of walking straight into people; otherwise, I would have said you owed me some food," Garymented.

    The other prisoner was dumbfounded, wondering what just happened, as he looked in front of him, and there was no one there.

    As Gary was ready to move forward again, he saw a handing toward him, but it wasn''t aiming for his face; instead, it was aiming for his tray, to which Gary had lifted it in time, causing the hand topletely miss.

    "Why is everyone trying to go after my food? I''m warning you guys; if something happens to my food, and I can''t eat it. You''re going to get me a new one," Garymented again.

    Gary was ready to continue to walk forward, and just as he had taken a few steps more from the side of one of the tables, one of the prisoners had transformed their face, giving themrge lips and a funnel of sorts.

    Out from his mouth, a sharp giant ball of spit went flying and hadnded cleanly on Gary''s food, unable to avoid it this time. He stopped in his tracks with the tray of food in his hand, and they were slightly shaking.

    Seeing what had happened, the North and South Gangs were waiting to see what type of action he would take.

    ''These people are more annoying than those that were at the AFA,'' Gary thought.

 Chapter 807 I remember who you are

    <h4>Chapter 807 I remember who you are</h4>

    Looking at the tray in Gary¡¯s hand, there was arge amount of spit all over it. It wasn¡¯t like a regr person¡¯s spit; otherwise, Gary might have just removed the part that had been affected and ate around it.

    Food was food, and he came from a ce where food was precious, and he was thankful that he would just be able to eat another meal that filled his belly. With his special Altered case, being a werewolf, he got hungry more often, and with the food all around him, his stomach was rumbling.

    Which was why right now, he was trying everything possible to keep his rage in, and not just go over there and smash the tray right over the face of the person who had ruined his food.

    "I remember what the guard said, the only ce that I can''t cause trouble is in here. Clearly, it seems that there are some liberties people can take, though."

    Finally deciding what to do, Gary had turned and started to walk toward Stinger and his group, along with the one that had spat on his food.

    "Hey, do you really think the new guy''s going to do it? Is he going to act out on the first day?" One of the members of the South gang asked, talking to his leader by the side, who had short spiked hair that looked to be a simr shade of his skin, giving it the appearance that it all blended in.

    "It happens; people ignore the warnings of the guards. After all, the guards are all human. So what can they do, right? They just don''t know if they act, that''s what brings out the warden."

    Heading over, Stinger and the rest of his men couldn''t help but continue to smirk, and they were bracing themselves to take a hit. It had been a while since they had seen the warden fighting against someone, so they thought the matter would be quite exciting.

    Which was why they were slightly confused when Gary walked past Stinger and the spitter and stopped right at a certain individual. Gary then ced his tray on the table and grabbed Zig''s tray of food.

    "You said in the cell that I needed to give you my food, right? So here you go," Garymented. "Enjoy."

    Gary walked away with Zig''s tray of food, and he was unable to do anything. His body wouldn''t let him due to what had happenedst time. The mention of food hadpletely frozen him up.

    "Zig, what the F*ck, you just let him take your food. You didn''t even grab your tray or say anything. What was that?" Another member asked.

    "I''m sorry; I just didn''t expect him to do that. I was just a bit frozen and didn''t know what to do."

    "Well, one thing''s clear," Stinger said. "He doesn''t respect us. For him to do something like that right in front of me. After we sent him a nice warning gift as well, I guess we just have to teach him a lesson."

    Gary went ahead and sat on a table where prisoners were spread apart. None of them looked like the famed ck Jack he was looking for. Instead, these prisoners looked like those who had been rejected from the other groups and had to live in fear every day.

    Either way, it wasn''t something Gary had to worry about.

    After food was done, everyone started to exit from the main lunch hall and entered therge area. This included Gary.

    As he got out, he started to look around; he didn''t want to just waste his time in the ce.

    "Now, if I had a name like ck Jack or was so strong that others left me alone, where would I be?" Gary thought.

    While looking at the faces of others, he could see many of them looking his way and smiling. He had no idea why, but soon he noticed that they had sat by therge seats, they had lent up against the wall.

    From the south and north, multiple people wereing over but not too close. That was until a certain individual hade over, with a group of ten people with him. It was none other than Stinger.

    "I didn''t think it woulde to this," Stingermented. "We gave you plenty of opportunities so that it wouldn''t have toe to this. But you forced your hand; you disrespected us so it means we need to teach you and show you your ce, just like the one before you."

    Gary had half-expected this, and if there was at least one thing to take out of this, at least he would get some experience.

    ---

    By the staircase that was stationed a bit behind Stinger and his group, there was a man who was beaten and bruised; his body hurt all over. They had him lying on top of the highest staircase.

    This was the newest prison member before Gary had arrived and the person they had made work of just before. He had been recovering nearly this entire time, and keeping watch over him were two other members of Stinger''s group.

    As he turned his head to the side, he could see what was about to happen, and what stood out to him was the green-colored hair. Seeing it, now he was the one with a big smile on his face.

    "Now I remember, the Howlers gang... and I''m sure of it, that guy, he''s Gary Dem," the man chuckled.

    The two guarding him turned their heads in annoyance.

    "Just shut up, and watch the new guy take a beating."

    The sound of small, painedughter appeared behind them.

    "You guys don''t understand, do you? The gang that kid''s from, the Howlers Gang, they managed to take out Notsburg and are rumored to be the strongest tier 2 gang in the country."

    The others turned to look at him like he was a madman.

    "You''re crazy; if that gang was so big, then surely we would have heard of them."

    "And how long have you guys been in this facility before? That gang rose to the top quicker than any group before; that''s what''s so scary about them, and you guys don''t even know who you''re about to mess with because that guy, Gary Dem, he''s the famous AFC Rookie who had suddenly disappeared. He''s going to kick Stinger''s and the entirety of your group''s arse!"

    *****

 Chapter 808 A Wild Prisoner

    <h4>Chapter 808 A Wild Prisoner</h4>

    Gary was surrounded in the open space, and rather than it look like anyone wasing round to help him, instead, it just looked like all the others were there to watch a show.

    [You have been surrounded by a group of prisoners being led by a man named Stinger]

    [New Quest received: defeat the group and get stronger, aiding you on your journey out of here.]

    If there was one saving grace about the whole thing, it was the fact that Gary was getting something out of it. It wasn''t the same as when he went up against random gang members on the street; all of these were Altered, which meant they were somewhat worth fighting.

    "Attack him!" Stinger shouted.

    Immediately, the man from before with his pursed lips spat out several spitballs, to which Gary moved his head from side to side, avoiding them all.

    Another prisoner had transformed, with his skin turning slightly green, and started to throw slime towards Gary, to which he shifted his feet, moving a few times, avoiding them all.

    When the gooey substance hit the floor, Gary could see that it was somewhat stuck on the ground. After unsessful attempts at getting him from far range, a few others had decided to charge forward.

    One had practically sprinted right at Gary, transforming his legs into a type of animal, but once again, Gary had ducked the attack, making it avoid him, and the man overshot, running ahead and nearly crashing into a wall.

    "This guy, does he have some type of sixth sense? He''s avoiding everything!" Stingerined.

    This was when one of Stinger''s best-performing men, who had been at the prison nearly as long as him, had acted. He charged forward, and when he threw out his hand, it started to extend.

    His arm had transformed into a type of javelin spear with arge stinger that hade out, rtively thick, right towards Gary.

    The force and speed of the strike were quite differentpared to everything before.

    Seeing this, Gary then lifted his hand, and it started to transform; the brown fur was appearing, and right then, he grabbed onto the stinger, stopping it right in its tracks.

    The man tried to move it, he tried to pull it back out, but Gary had a firm, strong grip on the stinger that had attacked him.

    At that moment, the Altered that had attacked had a slight worry going through his mind.

    ''This guy, he''s not just fast, but he''s incredibly strong as well, and just his arm transforming... I just noticed, but he avoided all those attacks before, without even transforming... does this mean he''s not just stronger than us, he''s actually on a whole other level.''

    "What is wrong with you guys today? Did you all drink out of the funky juice, or something!" Stinger shouted, annoyed at his group''s performance.

    This one person was practically humiliating him, and he could see that the eyes of the other groups were looking at them.

    Just then, though, from the staircase, one of the men came running down to Stinger''s side.

    "We just got news from the old new guy we beat up," the man said in a loud whisper. "It turns out that the Howlers are a tier 2 gang! And he said something about them being the strongest tier 2 gang out there."

    Almost immediately, Stinger felt his heart sink slightly. He was a leader of a tier 3 gang in the past, in just a regr tier 3 town, it was nothing special, but in the prison, he was in quite a high position.

    "That''s crazy, howe we never heard about them before!" Stinger argued back.

    "Apparently, they rose out of nowhere showing their strength."

    "Ah well, just because he''s a part of that gang, doesn''t mean he''s strong himself." Stinger retorted.

    "Actually, about that," the man said nervously, looking right into Gary''s eyes.

    Right there and then, Gary pulled the stinger forward, and the man felt his entire body leap toward him. With a fist, Gary nted it right in the man''s face, making his body flip in the air several times.

    [Lethal pounce]

    Before the body evennded, Gary activated another skill, making him jump from one position; he then shed right at one of the attackers, causing a deep mark right across the man''s chest, sending him off into the distance.

    However, it wasn''t nighttime, so the effects of his ss weren''t into y yet, but Gary still had moved again, pouncing toward another target. That was because his skill had already evolved; all of his skills during the time had grown strongerpared to before.

    He shed above, cutting off the lips of the man who had spat on his food, then kicked him right in the stomach. The man went flying back as his back hit the staircase, and a loud cracking noise was made.

    Just like that, Gary had dealt with three of the attackers. The original man Gary had attacked had finally fallen on the floor. All three of those that Gary had hit, none of them were getting up again.

    Gary stood there looking toward Stinger, who still had around ten men or so around him. All of them looking nervous, a little afraid to move forward.

    Some watching from the sides, in the shadows, were quite amazed by the performance they had seen.

    ''The neer, he seems to be a little wild, huh.''

    Gary

    Grade: Rook

    ss: Dark Warrior

    Level 33

    [Health: 300]

    [Energy: 500]

    [Strength: 75]

    [Dexterity: 65]

    [Endurance: 68]

    Werewolf Skills

    [w Drain: Level 3]

    [Last Stand: Level 2]

    [Lethal Pounce: Level 2]

    [Maic Howl: Level 2]

    [w Strike: Level 1]

    Alpha Skills

    [Howling Force]

    [Alpha Bite]

    The man standing next to Stinger was sure of it now after seeing everything.

    "He said that he was an uing rookie in the AFC... one of the best and that he disappeared into nowhere. It looks like all those things were true."

    *****

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 809 Dragged in blood

    <h4>Chapter 809 Dragged in blood</h4>

    Being an Altered already put one aheadpared to the regr people on the outside, with their super strength, speed, lifespan, health, and overall transformation capabilities.

    The thing was, being in the AFC also did the same, because it was a ce where those who weren''t just Altered but also skilled at fighting entered.

    Of course, there would be strong Altered members of gangs and such who just never bothered to enter the AFC, but on aparison as a whole, those who entered the AFC were extremely skilled at using their powers.

    For Gary, he wasn''t just someone who had entered the AFC, but someone who was pinned to be a new top 50, a superstar rookie in the making. It was why, without even transforming, Gary was able to topple most of the members that came his way.

    "I heard a little rumor¡­" Gary stated as he started to walk towards Stinger and his group.

    They were startled and hunched together, but soon one of them started to fidget, and in the end, they broke from their group, running forward. Their faces had started to transform.

    Right in front of their eyes, Gary had disappeared from their sight, and a fist wasing from the side, ready to hit the Altered''s temple. It smashed it, sending him flying and skidding across the ground.

    "It would have hit some of the prisoners who were standing and watching, but they managed to move away just in time."

    "In this ce, they said that killing was allowed," Gary stated. "With this attack of yours, if I didn''t join your group, did you n to kill me?"

    Right on cue after Gary said those words, Stinger just said the words that naturally came to his mouth.

    "Kill him!" Stinger shouted.

    Immediately, the nine remaining members all ran forward, and even Stinger had transformed quickly. Out from his backside, arge scorpion-like tail curled up and hovered over his head.

    All of the others started to transform, but before one could finish, Gary had lifted both of his hands and mmed them on top of one of the Altered, sending him crashing to the ground.

    Right at that moment, a solid leg came out, hitting Gary right in the stomach. It shifted his feet back slightly and took the wind out of him, but he was mostly fine.

    Getting his footing, he charged forward at the attacker, and grabbed onto them, lifting their body up. He could see Stinger''s stinging down at him, and at the right time, Gary ced the body in front of him.

    Stinger had pierced right through Stinger''s own ally, hurting him in the process.

    Gary then let go of the body, moving to the next group that was next to him. They threw out fists, which he managed to avoid, and transforming part of his mouth, Gary then chomped down right between the attacker''s neck and shoulder. Arge chunk came out, but Gary didn''t spit it out onto the floor; instead, he swallowed it down.

    "I can tell, every single one of these guys, when they''re attacking me, they''re attacking with the intent to kill!"

    A sharp wed hand had sliced right at Gary''s chest. He had leaned back, avoiding most of the hit, but arge cut and blood still came out from his clothing.

    [w drain.]

    In response, Gary then hurled forward and swung his own w, cutting right across his opponent''s chest. Due to the skill being used, Gary''s own wound started to heal right there and then.

    Two strong hits from Altered''s bashed him in the chest, but Gary took them well. He lifted them from the back by digging his ws in and then throwing them off to the side.

    His legs and arms had transformed even morepared to before, and rather than reverting back, he stayed in his transformed state and went ahead to bulldoze straight toward Stinger.

    The others at this point, after seeing the full rampage that Gary could do, had decided to step out of the way.

    One brave prisoner, whose fist transformed into a type of giant rock, threw it out to hit Gary. In response, Gary went to throw out his own fist. When both of them connected, the man was still lifted up off his feet, the stone hand cracking and bleeding in ces as it fell to the floor.

    Immediately after, Stinger came swooping down from the side. It hit Gary in his ribs and was dragging him across the ce. Wrapping his arm around Stinger, he held on tight. Then he lifted his hand.

    [w drain.]

    Gary repeatedly struck Stinger with his w again and again, blood was dripping on the floor from the open wound. He continued to w at the same spot as blood was filling the entire area.

    Until the stinger had finally fallen apart.

    [Lethal pounce]

    Jumping from his position, he moved to the right, and thenunched,nding right on top of Stinger. Both of their hands were locked in ce, Stinger on the floor doing what he could to try and push Gary off.

    "I''m a leader of a tier 3 gang, I''m one of the main ones in charge of this ce, you have no idea what you''re doing!" Stinger grunted as he tried to push back.

    "F*ck you and your gangs!" Gary shouted. "I''m getting out of here!"

    Gary''s face had fully transformed into its Werewolf form, and opened his mouth wide, digging his sharp teeth right into Stinger''s neck.

    "ARGHHH!" Stinger screamed in pain, and the strength in his hands had almost disappeared.

    Feeling this, Gary finally stood up, huffing and panting, standing in ce. There was blood all over the ce where they were fighting. Injured men and blood.

    Some were just too shocked and scared, lying on the floor, still worried to get up or make any type of movement.

    The onlookers didn''t even know what they had seen, even though they were right there.

    "As for that rule, it''s alright to kill people in here. Well, you guys tried taking my life, I need to take yours, in order to save some that I care about."

    [76,500 Exp gained]

    [Congrattions, you have leveled up!]

    [You have sessfully defeated one of the three groups]

    [5 pawn points have been awarded]

    [1 stat point has been awarded]

    [You are now level 34]

    Gary then looked at Stinger; there were many looking around still, and there would be those who would think he was crazy, so it was better for him to do it in silence.

    Gary knelt down and picked Stinger up by the bottom of his leg, and started to drag him away. No one dared ask what he was about to do or got in his way.

    For Gary, though, he wouldn''t waste any of this chance. He needed to grow stronger; his opponent was the type of person who was able to put him in this ce, so he needed to consume them to be able to match them.

    Gary had slid Stinger halfway across the room, ready to head back through his hallway to his cell, but before he could, a guard had arrived.

    "Gary!" The guard shouted; he started to stutter slightly, seeing the blood on Gary''s clothes and the area around. "You¡­ you have a visitor."

    ***

    *****

 Chapter 810 The North Group

    <h4>Chapter 810 The North Group</h4>

    A nightmare, a striking pain, humiliation,ughter followed by anger. These were the emotions that were rolling all through Stinger''s head while he was facing the strange wolf-type Altered that had recently joined the prison.

    Darkness had filled his eyes, with a pain that was coursing through his entire body. However, that pain subsided; it was disappearing, and he could feel his body working in other ways.

    Then finally, his eyes started to open bit by bit, and he could see a face staring directly back at him. A man with a short gray beard and white hair. He had wrinkles behind the eyes but broad shoulders and a deep look in them.

    "Calvin Muller!" Stinger said, his voice shaky.

    He was wondering right now, why, why could he see the North group leader of all things. Wasn''t he just facing the green-haired boy moments ago?

    Calvin slowly pulled away his head and went back to sitting on the ground. When Stinger looked around, he noticed that he was on the north side of the prison. The north and south sides being run by the tworgest groups in the prison, no one ventured to either side unless there was a reason for them to.

    That included Stinger as well. It had been a long time since he was here. He could see several men standing by the side, just outside the multiple hallways that would lead to the cells.

    They were standing there almost like guards. Then, right where Calvin, the leader, was sitting, there were all different-shaped and sized men who were looking right at Stinger. When looking around at the floor though, Stinger noticed that his men, who had also been attacked, were on the floor as well.

    Only they looked betterpared to before. The wounds on their bodies were pretty much healed. They hadn''te to yet, but they were fine, apart from the blood that was on their clothes.

    "You might be a little confused, but I saved you," Calvin stated, lifting up his hand and shaking it slightly.

    "Right," Stinger mumbled. "You''re Calvin the Miracle Worker; you must have used your Altered powers to heal us."

    "Exactly," Calvin smiled. "But I have to say that this time was a lot harder than my usual jobs. All of you were close to death, especially you, Stinger. If you were left there on the ground, then you would have bled out to death."

    shes of the fight reappeared in Stinger''s mind. He couldn''t remember much of it, other than panicking, but he did remember one thing, a stinging pain between his shoulder and neck.

    He lifted his hand to touch it, and once again, arge stinging pain returned, and it was throbbing this time.

    "Ah, be careful; I didn''t get to finish exining," Calvin added. "You see, this is a first for me. I can usually heal someone back to their peak condition, or nothing at all. If you were dead, well, that would have been the end of it.¡±

    "Yet for some reason, the wound by your neck won''t heal, and it''s not just you. But the other one that Gary Dem bit from your gang, the same wound is unable to heal on him as well."

    Altered heal quicker than regr people, so Stinger didn''t think much of it, just that it was a wound that would take more time. Calvin must have just been overconfident in his abilities, which many Altered in here were.

    "So¡­ why save me? We''re not part of the same group, and you know I remain neutral between both groups. If you left me, then that would be one less problem to deal with."

    The group members started tough, including Calvin himself.

    "You don''t honestly believe that, do you? You know that neither of our groups has ever seen you as a problem. If anything, you are a good obstacle for both of us and a way to weed out the useless ones.

    "But you see, it seems that a useful one has joined. Another person that is able to turn the tide in this ce. However, as we have found out with you. This person is quite dangerous, in fact, they are very dangerous.¡±

    "What I want to know is why such a dangerous person is in here, find out why they are here."

    Now Stinger found out the reason why he and his group were saved. They were using his group to gather information. That way, his group didn''t weaken if there were any idents while trying to find out about Gary.

    Even if they were confident they could beat Gary, after his disy, it was clear that he could make a big dent in the entire group if he were to fight against them.

    "Information, you''re going to try to use the outside information as a way to bring him to your side," Stinger replied.

    "And here I thought you had no brain on you. If you know what I want, take your men and get to it."

    After being called by the guard, Gary followed him carefully, his body shaking slightly. He had used quite a bit of energy, and worst of all, because he hadn''t eaten, it meant that his energy hadn''t recovered.

    The good news was that he hadn''tpletely transformed in the fight, so he still had a lot of energy, but who knew what was going to happen when he got back.

    Eventually, Gary was led to a door, and it was opened for him. Inside, he could see an area full of seats and dividers. In between reinforced ss, with a small speaker on either side of the room.

    This was where visitors woulde. The guard led Gary to his seat, and when he reached his divider, he could see who was here to visit him.

    "Elijah!" Gary''s eyebrows raised.

    "It''s been a long time." Elijah, the White Rose Agent from the Tier 4 city that Gary had be acquainted with, was here, and ever since then, Elijah had stayed in contact with the Howlers gang.

    ****

 Chapter 811 Someone on the Inside

    <h4>Chapter 811 Someone on the Inside</h4>

    Gary and Elijah had met when thetter was running an undercover operation trying to find the source of the ck substance. In the end, it looked like the substance was linked to NIRV in one way or another.

    An organization that was incrediblyrge and seemed to have its hands in everything, including those at White Rose. Because of it, Elijah knew that it would be hard for him to pursue things further unless more evidence was able to be gathered.

    The thing was, Elijah was restricted to doing things by the books and only doing work that would be handed to him by White Rose themselves. That was why he had agreed to stay in contact with Kai and the Howlers.

    A win-win situation for both groups as they would share information rted to matters that would help them along. Unfortunately, there wasn''t much in terms of information about the dark solution to go on.

    However, the contact between the two still stayed somewhat frequent, and even now, while Elijah was at White Rose, he had been contacted by Kai on more than one asion.

    "I guess you should tell me now, whether or not I should get my hopes up," Gary asked as he went ahead and took a seat.

    Elijah then looked to the guard and gave him a slight nod. After which, the guard had decided to leave the room and close the door behind them. Now the only ones that were currently there were Elijah and Gary.

    "I had to pull a lot of strings to get this meeting, Gary," Elijah exined. "I had to use a lot of one-time favors that I won''t ever get to use again, but to answer your questions, I don''t want you to get your hopes up fully."

    Gary clenched his fist. He was hoping, although small, that maybe he could get him out of this ce, just so he could help out the others.

    "Gary, I wanted to let you know when I heard about what happened and read the reports. I don''t think you''re the type of person to do something like this. The whole thing, from what I know, it seems like a setup," Elijah said.

    There was silence between the two of them for a while, that was until Gary finally answered.

    "That''s the thing though, Elijah. The truth is, I did do those things. I did what they''re using me of."

    Elijah wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet as he knew there was more that Gary wanted to say.

    "You remember the situation we were in; it was quite simr. I''m not like the other gang members. I try not to be; I hate that type of life, but I do what I have to do in situations where it''s needed.¡±

    "I needed to protect someone I cared about, so I had to do those things. And right now, I feel like I''m in a simr situation again, where I''m forced to do things I don''t like to do in order to help the people I care about."

    Elijah was thinking back to when he saw Gary step up for someone who was practically a stranger. The two of them worked side by side in the mine, and even he, who was supposed to be on the side of justice, didn''t step up.

    Someone like Gary, he knew he was a good person, to the point where Elijah was questioning his own morals. Just because one was in the White Rose didn''t mean they were good, and just because one was in a gang didn''t mean they were bad. Gary was the one that opened his eyes to that.

    "Let''s put that to rest for now. Either way, these matters happen all the time and get swept under the rug. The truth is, there isn''t even enough evidence for them to put you in or lock you down in a ce like this.¡±

    "It clearly has something to do with those at the top. I wanted to let you know that I''m on your side in all of this. That you do have someone that is trying to help you, but at the end of the day, I''m just a field agent; there''s not much I can do."

    Even if Elijah found out who was the one that allowed things to get this far, Elijah could imagine himself being brought down at the first hurdle. When evidence was submitted, it would be stopped before it even reached the superintendents.

    They were the only group that would be able to impose punishments on those within. A separate group in the White Rose organization that was to deal with internal affairs, having just as much power as the Chiefs.

    It was created to make the White Rose less corrupt, but he would need the help of someone higher if they were to solve this.

    "Thank you," Gary said. "Are you able to meet with me again?"

    "I should be able to. If there is anything you need or anything I can help you with, let me know," Elijah said.

    Gary thought about it for a while¡­ requests that Elijah could perhaps help him with, and two thoughts came to his mind.

    "When you can, tell me everything that is happening to Slough and the Howlers. Get in contact with Kai, tell him to give you an update and pass on the information."

    Elijah nodded; that should be easy enough. And the favors he had called in to get this meeting, after knowing that there was no trouble, they would be more inclined to allow him to do this again.

    "As for the second request, I need you to get me food and meat, lots and lots of meat."

    Gary was unable to rely on Elijah''s help; the conversation made that clear. So it looked like the only other option avable for him was that he needed to beat those in the Prison, get stronger, level up, improve his stats, and break out of this ce.

    *****

    *****

 Chapter 812 Outside Information

    <h4>Chapter 812 Outside Information</h4>

    No matter what Stinger did, he was unable to get rid of the throbbing pain from his shoulder. Once in a while, the pain would shoot through his body, and it was putting him in a bad mood.

    It wasn''t just that, though; it was also the frequent stares that he would get from the other prisoners. Once in a while, they would give him smirks, even those that were part of no group, thinking that they were all that.

    Stinger had eventually returned to his group''s hangout spot, by the giant staircase. When he headed there, the rest of his gang was currently there as well, including the ones that had been hurt.

    They were all better now, back in action, and a couple of them had already gotten in a few scuffles as because of the treatment that Stinger was getting, the other members were getting it as well.

    Those part of no group felt a little more confident and had decided to fight back, but it didn''t end well for the others. Stinger''s group was strong, just not inparison to Gary.

    Dragging his feet along, Stinger eventually reached the top step, and here, he made eye contact with their prisoner of sorts, or theirtest recruit that they were trying to break in.

    "So, my friend told me you know a bit about this guy that attacked us, the green head, his name is Gary Dem apparently, right? Well, I need to know more about him. Tell me everything you know and why is he in here?" Stinger asked.

    The man on the staircase was almost permanently bruised because whenever his body was close to healing up, Stinger and his group would continue to clobber him, cing him back in the same situation.

    They did this on repeat until the person would join them. Stinger had his eye on this neer because he was quite brave and had some strengthpared to the rest of them, nowhere near that of his recent attacker though.

    "It was good seeing all of you get beaten up as well," the manughed.

    The response earned a fist being held right against the man''s face, which led to a gulp.

    "Look, I told the guy from before everything that I know. Gary Dem is meant to be this rich tycoon that supports the Howlers Gang. They came out of nowhere taking over a town called Slough, which was only a tier 3.

    "Then they moved on from there and took over Notsburg, a tier-2. After which, Slough developed, and now it is one of the biggest tier 2 cities, along with the Howlers Gang being one of the most feared.¡±

    "Anyone who has been in here more than 2 years, heck, even a year won''t know much about them. As for Gary Dem, not only is he some rich tycoon but he was in the AFC as well. He had one fight, and then just disappeared from the scene.¡±

    "I remember it well because they made a pretty big deal about it."

    Stinger was honestly surprised that there was so much history to do with this one person and that so many people didn''t know about him. However, what the man said made sense.

    It was due to the timeline of things.

    "Well, if he''s such a big shot, then howe he''s in here? He has money, a good gang protecting him; those types of people don''t end up in here."

    It was true; although strong Altered who worked alone ended up in this ce or those in minor gangs, and those that took the fall for the bigger gangs. Those that were too high up were untouchable.

    They couldn''t be ced somewhere like this, and Stinger would have ced Gary on that list based on what he had heard from him.

    "How am I meant to know? I''ve been in here for around a month," the man replied. "And at the time, I was more worried about my own case. I wasn''t trying to follow what was happening. Maybe he upset someone at White Rose."

    By the second, Stinger was getting more frustrated because this whole thing wasn''t going to be as easy as he thought. He was hoping it would be a straightforward case.

    ''Calvin won''t let mee back with just this information. It''s too basic. Calvin wants me to find everything out about him. Crap, I owe him a favor, and if I don''t repay it, he can easily take my life as well.''

    Scratching his head, Stinger almost tore the skin from his scalp; he was that worried about the whole situation. Things hadn''t been this way in a long time, not since Ice and ckjack had joined.

    ''If he''s in this ce, then it has to be something recent. No one in the prison is going to know. So I need to get information from the outside.''

    When thinking about this, there was a thought that came to mind almost instantly. He knew someone that was well-known in gathering information from the outside. A skill that not many people had, connections inside the prison, the flow of information that allowed for a person in particr to be a leader of another group.

    "The South Group leader, Carter," Stinger mumbled.

    "Boss, you''re not going to get involved with them, are you?" One of Stinger''s menmented. "I mean, we already have the North Group on our back. If we deal with the South Group as well, we could be gone in a couple of days."

    Thinking about this, maybe this was Calvin''s n all along. Stinger doing one wrong thing to upset the South group, and there would be a fight on their hands. He would weaken the South group, giving a chance for the North group to act.

    "I don''t think I have a choice, and it''s just a talk; everything will be alright," Stinger replied, sounding unconfident.

    Just then, a guard entered the prison, and following in from behind was none other than Gary Dem. All eyes were on him as he was the hot subject in the prison.

    *****

 Chapter 813 The South group

    <h4>Chapter 813 The South group</h4>

    Stinger was on his way to the south side of the prison, and he was venturing there alone. He didn''t want to bring his group with him because he needed to make it clear that he was going alone. Brining other''s some would think he was starting a fight.

    As he was making his way there, he froze for a second. Turning his head to his right, he could see the guard entering with none other than Gary Dem behind him. The two of them caught eyes for a moment, but quickly Gary just looked away.

    ''That b*stard, I bet he''s surprised to see me alive,'' Stinger thought in his head as he continued his way to the south side.

    Simr to the north side, there was a part of the prison where one knew they were in the south side because there were several members that would be guarding the area. However, it was unlike the north side where the members would stand by the hallways.

    The south members strangely sat down every ten meters or so, and they made it quite clear they knew Stinger was there based on the looks they had given.

    ''Alright, I haven''t had much time to think about this, but how am I going to get Carter to give me the information I need?'' Stinger thought. ''No doubt, he''s going to ask for a favor from me as well.¡¯

    ''But I don''t even know what he could ask, or what I have to offer, maybe to be used if the North shes with the South. That''s the only thing I can think of. If that is the case, then the one thing I need to make sure to do is that he doesn''t find out that I''m doing all of this on behalf of Calvin in the first ce.'' Stinger thought.

    Finally, Stinger had made his way to the other side. It had been a long time since he had been here, and a lot had changed. For one, Carter, arge round-bellied man who somehow had different clothing than everyone else in here, was sitting on a chair.

    His clothing was different in that he wore a ck piece of cloth instead of white. The reasoning the guards gave was because they didn''t have his size, but enough time had passed now that they could have made his size clothing.

    To put it simply, this was a way for Carter to show he was above everyone in this prison, that he had privileges that the others didn''t have, including the chair his fat ass was sitting on as well.

    "Are you here to talk about your humiliating defeat to the neer?" Carter asked. "We all saw it, how he single handedly took you all out. If you were thinking of asking us for help, well, you better be prepared to have something very special ready."

    Stinger''s hands were sweating slightly. He didn''t know if it was from the throbbing pain or due to how nervous he felt in front of Carter. It was a different feeling. Carter gave off arge amount of pressure.

    While Calvin had this sense of calmness that made one feel like he could do anything. Maybe because they were so different, they both were naturally at each other''s throats all the time.

    And it was because of their personalities that they were able to draw people into their side.

    "I wouldn''t ask you to do my dirtyundry," Stinger replied. "What I want to know is who is that guy. How can a guy like thate in here, unknown and unheard of, and do all of that? I want to find everything out about him and make him pay."

    It was easy for Stinger to put on this performance, and that was because it was truly how he felt as well.

    "I see, that makes sense, but what doesn''t make sense is why I need to give this information to you. As you know, I am perhaps the only person that is quite well-connected to those on the outside of this prison.¡±

    "I could find the information you are looking for, but there is no need to share it with you."

    This was what Stinger was worried about.

    "What do you want?" Stinger asked.

    Carter raised an eyebrow and at the same time, the corner of his mouth rose slightly.

    "You are a quick learner. With this new person inside, and not knowing what he will do, things are heating up. I think it''s time we turn the tides slightly.¡±

    "Bring Ice, ckjack, or Gary over to our side in our fight against the North. If you are able to convince them, then I will give you your information. Although, we can ignore thest one since we all know that''s not happening."

    "How am I meant to do that?" Stinger retorted.

    "That is your problem to figure out," Carter replied and waved his hand.

    The men by his side started to move, and Stinger knew that was his cue to get out of there unless she nned to stay there and get in another fight.

    Turning around, Stinger had a bad taste left in his mouth as he headed back to the center of the prison where his group was based.

    ''We can forget getting Gary; he would never join, and if I go talk to him, he might even finish the job, and besides, the North wants information on Gary so talking to him directly is not going to do much.

    ''Ice is even harder to talk to. I heard he froze thest person that approached him, and just heading to his cell feels cold. I guess that only leaves one person.¡¯

    ''I guess I''ll need to talk to ckjack, but how the heck am I going to convince him to join?'' Stinger thought.

    ****

    *****

 Chapter 814 Meeting Blackjack

    <h4>Chapter 814 Meeting ckjack</h4>

    ckjack, not much was actually known about the prisoner, yet everyone who was in the prison knew his name, and the reason for it was simple. Right in the center of the prison, everyone had witnessed him taking on the Warden and attempting to escape.

    Many had tried to escape before, and the Warden had quickly dealt with them all. It didn''t take much for everyone to quickly figure out that they had no chance against the Warden.

    On top of that, the Warden made it quite clear, even if they could make it past her, what were they going to do then? Go past the hundreds of White Rose Agents that were in the base.

    Escape was impossible from the Prison, which is why most of those in the prison made it their whole way of life.

    As for ckjack, his name was spread because everyone had witnessed the fight he had with the Warden. It was the first time they had seen the Warden on the back foot. Eventually, just like all those that had gone against the Warden, ckjack ended up losing, but people thought it was close.

    So close that they thought that ckjack might attempt another escape or another match against the Warden, but he never did. It had been years since then, and still not another attempt.

    Simrly, no one had attempted to go against ckjack either. After watching the fight, they all had an idea of his strength. Both the North and South groups had attempted to recruit him, but his answer was always the same.

    ''He didn''t want anything to do with their stupid games.''

    ckjack''s actions felt strange to most of the prisoners. He didn''t want to better his life in prison, climb to the top, nor was he trying to escape again, so what was he doing? Was he just biding his time until his sentence was up, or until he died in this ce.

    That was not how most people wanted to live their lives.

    Stinger, going through the prison, knew exactly where ckjack would be. He was always in the same ce ny percent of the time, in his cell.

    Walking down the wide hallway, Stinger walked past several of the prisoners that would just stay in their cell, but further down, he could hear a bunch of noise and cheering going on.

    "Hey, so that means tomorrow, you need to give me your meat from your meals, alright!" A voice said.

    Stinger took a turn, and he looked into the cell. The bed had been moved into the center of the room, and there were four people inside. There were cards on the bed that the group had been ying with.

    When they saw who was standing by the cell door, three of the four men stood up and almost immediately left.

    ''It looks like I still have some reputation in this ce,'' Stinger thought.

    "Do you care to tell me why you came here and soured the room and atmosphere in here, you smell like sh*t," ckjackmented as he started to pile the cards together.

    ckjack looked like a middle-aged man. He had his top off and was covered in body hair from head to toe. Strangely, he had almost no facial hair, since all of his hair seemed to go all over his body.

    Stinger didn''t know how one could have the confidence to walk around with their clothes off with a body like his.

    "If you keep staring at me like that, I''m going to have to charge you," ckjack said as he looked around the cell and found his top, slowly putting it on.

    "Look, I''m here on important business," Stinger exined.

    "From Carter or Calvin?"

    "Carter," Stinger replied. "With the new guy here, he''s starting to think about making moves. I''ve agreed to help Carter out when it gets messy in here. If the two groups sh, you know it will be too big for you not to get involved.

    "At the same time, whichever group wins will absorb the other, then there will only be one group in this ce. They will be too big for anyone to do anything, including you and Ice. So I think you should join the South group. Join the winning side, and you can continue living in your peaceful cell.

    "If you don''t do anything, then when the South rules the whole prison, Carter won''t speak to you as nice as he does now."

    This was the n Stinger hade up with, and he was quite impressed with himself. He felt like he was quite convincing in a lot of ways. Still, he knew it wouldn''t be easy convincing ckjack.

    "All right," ckjack replied. "I''ll join."

    Stinger''s eyes nearly popped out of his head; he was so surprised to hear the answer. The other groups had tried for so long; did they just never give a convincing reason for him to join them.

    "On one condition, you need to just call this correct, heads or tails," ckjack answered, holding onto a coin.

    Before Stinger could say how ridiculous it was, ckjack had already flicked the coin in the air.

    "Heads!" Stinger shouted out.

    ckjack stepped, letting the coinnd on the floor and then stepped on it. Moving his foot off, the result could clearly be seen.

    "Unlucky, it''s tails; that was a 50/50 chance, better luck next time," ckjack said.

    "Are you messing with me!" Stinger shouted. "Clearly, you did some dirty trick to make itnd on tails. If you didn''t want to join, then just say so; you don''t have to cheat!"

    ckjack threw one of the cards he had in his hand that skimmed right past Stinger''s face, cutting his cheek.

    "I never cheat," ckjack said.

    A trickle could be felt down the side of Stinger''s face; it was blood, and his rage had reached boiling point.

    "I''ll kill you and force you to join!" Stinger shouted, as he started to transform; his tail was growing out from behind, but when it grew, momentster, it retracted back in, and the throbbing pain in his shoulder was felt.

    "What the¡­"

    *****

 Chapter 815 What Type of Altered are you?

    <h4>Chapter 815 What Type of Altered are you?</h4>

    Stinger was confused; he was trying to summon his tail, his main weapon that he had used a number of times. Yet, when he tried, it was almost as if his own body wasn''t listening to him, and the throbbing pain that was felt on his shoulder was returning.

    It was taking over his body, not allowing him to do almost anything. At times, when he was low on energy, or had just gotten out of a big fight, he wouldn''t be able to transform, but apart from the throbbing pain, he felt fine, so why wasn''t it working?

    "Get out!" Stinger shouted, and forced the tail out of his body. He was covered in sweat but even more so, he was frustrated at everything that was happening.

    With his stinger, he turned around and stabbed it right toward where ckjack currently was. It looked like a perfect hit, but when it managed to go right through his body, it had exploded into what was seemingly dust; it was an afterimage.

    Right after that, Stinger was trying to keep track of where ckjack was, but he was nothing but a blur that was moving at an incredible speed from side to side.

    Digging his tail out of the wall, he tried to stab him time and time again in the small room, but no matter what he did, he was unable to attack him.

    With cards in his hand, ckjack threw them out again, and as he did, they went right for Stinger''s stomach. Seeing this, Stinger was ready to react, to change part of his center body into the hard outer casing of a scorpion.

    Part of the skin on his face started to change, but just like with the tail, it started to go away again, as if it was reverting back.

    The cards continued and dug right into Stinger''s stomach, drawing blood as if knives had been stabbed into his body.

    "What is wrong with me, what is wrong with my body, what happened!" Stinger was shouting and asking himself.

    Before he knew it, he could see ckjack right in front of him. Out of desperation, Stinger threw out a few punches. Due to his Altered type, he also had considerable strength even whenpared to other Altereds.

    Yet, ckjack was able to knock the attacks away to the side with ease, and with the final hit, he had caught Stinger''s strike with an open hand and clenched down.

    "Did you think because I haven''t fought in so long that you could best me? Most knew after that day to leave me alone, but you decided to attack me?" ckjack asked, and as he did, he used his other hand to grab right at Stinger''s throat.

    Stinger felt it; once again, he thought his life was going to disappear right in front of his eyes. He had lost two times in a row. Doing favors for the other groups. It was his life in here. The only way he could survive was by being a middleman.

    A person who didn''t have much strength, but wasn''t weak. It was how he felt on the outside and the same with how he was on the inside.

    ''I pushed beyond my means back then as well. When we were in the gang, I thought we could expand a little¡­ then people got involved, and I had no choice but to get rid of them. To leave no witnesses, and that''s how I got put in a ce like this, I guess it''s only right that I die.''

    If there was one thing Stinger wanted to do, it was to look in the eye of the person that was going to end his life, and curse him for taking his life.

    Stinger was finding it hard to breathe, and when he opened his eyes, he looked directly into ckjack''s eyes, and that''s when he could see they were glowing slightly red of all things.

    He was sure that his eyes didn''t look like this before. The glow of them, it was unnatural, something he had never seen before.

    "Tell me, what''s going on with you right now! What''s happening to your body?" ckjack asked.

    Instantly the words that were spoken, they were being repeated in Stinger''s head again and again. He felt his mind going numb searching for an answer. He could feel the grip loosening from ckjack, yet almost as if he wasn''t in control of his own body, he had given out an answer.

    "I don''t know what''s happening. My body isn''t listening to me. When I try to transform into my altered form, a throbbing pain in my shoulder extends out to my body, and my transformation reverts," Stinger answered.

    Stinger was conscious of what he was doing, but he didn''t feel like he was in control. It was almost as if ckjack had used some type of mind control spell on him.

    After hearing the answer, ckjack had let go of Stinger, and his body dropped to the floor. ckjack had turned away heading back into his cell somewhat. When he turned around to look at Stinger.

    Stinger was expecting to see the glowing red eyes, but they were no longer there.

    "These issues you have been having, have they been urring since you fought with the green-haired guy?" ckjack asked.

    "I guess you could say that, but it''s only been a few hours. I think I might just be exhausted." After experiencing everything Stinger had gone through, he was in no mood to try and fight again, so he was morepliant with ckjack''s questions.

    "I need you to do me a favor." ckjack asked. "There was another one that was bitten other than you in your group. We need to find out if he''s experiencing the same thing, and over the next few days, update me on how you''re doing, see if this problem gets worse or better."

    Once again, Stinger was forced to do another favor for someone, and he was wondering when it would stop. At the same time, though, he was wondering what type of Altered ckjack was. Was there one that could do those types of things?

    Leaving an afterimage, being super fast, super strong, and able to control people''s minds?

    *****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 816 A New Comer

    <h4>Chapter 816 A New Comer</h4>

    A couple of days had passed in the prison with not much happening. There were the normal scuffles that would ur here and there, but there wasn''t anythingrge and eventful like there was before.

    Stinger and his group were back to doing their usual hanging out on the staircase, trying to act big in front of all the other prisoners that weren''t in a group. The south and north groups kept separate from each other, with a few members getting in trouble with each other here and there.

    If there was one change, it was just that ckjack started toe out of his cell more, scanning the open areas. To everyone, there seemed to be no reason for this.

    For Gary, he too had mostly stayed in his cell but hade out and was pacing back and forth in the open area, no one saying a word to him.

    ¡®It''s been three days in total since I got here. A lot could happen in three days with the Howlers,¡¯ Gary thought to himself. ¡®I thought Elijah would havee back by now with some news of what is going on in Slough.¡¯

    ¡®Am I just overthinking? The system, I can see that the others are still fine. That they''re okay, but how much longer can I just stay here? I need to act; I need to figure a way out of here.¡¯

    Gary''s go-to was gathering a little bit of information. He originally wanted to see this ckjack person, but whenever Gary tried, he could never get a hold of him. He had visited his cell to find no one was there.

    He went to the open area and was walking around, asking others; they would have stated they had just seen him and he had left. It was certainly strange. It was almost like, to Gary, that this person didn''t exist.

    He was a made-up figure because he didn''t even catch a nce of him anywhere, like a ghost.

    ¡®If I can''t rely on ckjack, then I need to continue getting stronger. If I fight against the north or south groups, it will increase my exp... and then.¡¯

    In the middle of his thoughts, a metal door had been mmed, and it wasn''t from the usual areas. It was from the single opening that led to the Warden''s office, and near where prisoners would be escorted in and out.

    Arge man with boulder shoulders, no hair on his head but arge scar that split down the center had entered. He looked fierce, frightening, and he gazed at everyone who walked in.

    The guard was doing the same as he had done with Gary, exining the rules and giving him a little pep talk. When they got to the staircase seating area, Stinger looked at him but didn''t act out.

    After what happenedst time, starting in on the newbie, he was being a little more cautious with the neers. After which, the man was taken down a hallway to be ced in his cell.

    Everyone seemed to be interested in the new person, and while he was heading to his cell, Gary could see themotion. Those from the north group and south group were immediately talking to each other.

    They were asking certain questions, if anyone recognized him, what gang or organization was he from, and what crime did hemit to fall into such a ce in the first ce.

    "Did all of these guys do this when I first arrived as well?" Gary thought. "I guess they really care about the new ones that enter."

    Just in case there was any information he could use, Gary was listening in as well as he continued to pace backward and forward.

    "Alright, so did any of you guys recognize him?" Stinger asked. "The guy was unique, so I''m pretty sure if someone saw him before they would recognize him."

    "I know!" One of Stinger''s members answered. "His nickname was ¡®The Boulder¡¯. He worked as a hired hitman for corporations. He didn''t really have a city or ce to call his own, but many gangs in the Tier 3 and below areas would hire him to help them out.¡±

    "It wasn''t just gangs, but even corporations; if they needed someone, they would hire him."

    "So he has no affiliation with any groups, and he was strong enough to even be hired by other well-known gangs. Well, it looks like we got our perfect match for someone to join our group," Stinger replied.

    "I''m not too sure, because that was in the past," the member continued. "I heard he went on a couple of rampages. He wouldn''t just kill his target, but would kill the family members as well.¡±

    "This happened more than once, and I heard he was on the run from White Rose because of it. I guess they eventually managed to catch him. He''s quite the loose cannon."

    Stinger still smiled. There were plenty of loose cannons that were in the prison, yet the strong managed to get them under control. At the threat of one''s life, they alwaysplied.

    Heavy footsteps were heard from one of the hallways. The guard had finished giving his little tour that he would always give, anding out of the hallway was the man they called ¡®The Boulder¡¯.

    He looked around, and he could feel all the stares directed at him.

    "It looks like they want to test me; well, I''ll show them what I''ve got."

    The Boulder walked to his left and carried on forward. He could see someone, someone small, young, and an easy target in front of him.

    "You want to see how strong I am, then I''ll show you how strong I am!" The Boulder shouted as he threw an unexpected fist right out at the prisoner.

    It was sent with full force, his hand transforming into what looked like solid rock. The fistnded, hitting the person dead straight.

    That was when The Boulder was confused; usually, his opponents would go flying. When he looked down, he could see the Green Haired target holding right onto his fist. He hadn''t budged an inch.

    "Oh f*ck!" Stinger said. "It looks like The Boulder''s dead!"

    *****

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 Chapter 817 The Truth Of Gary

    <h4>Chapter 817 The Truth Of Gary</h4>

    When Gary was pacing back and forth, he had been listening to everything the other prisoners had said about the new arrival. He had heard what he had done in his past, how he killed not just those who had been dered a target but their families as well.

    Just while listening to the story, Gary was reminded of his own family, his mother who had ended up in the situation she was currently in. He still had no idea who was responsible for it.

    One thing he was sure of: it was in the middle of the Color Gang attack, and it was because of people like Boulder that those in his family got hurt. What Gary didn''t expect was for Boulder to try and attack him out of the blue.

    "What the f*ck, how is this scrawny man stopping my attack?" Boulder shouted.

    Desperate, Boulder tried to move his hands, but he couldn''t. He started to feel a stinging sensation in his knuckles. He could see the deep ws digging into hisrge fist. It felt like it was impossible for him to pull it out.

    In desperation, he swung his other fist, transforming it into arge rock again. Gary quickly pulled his hand free and then dodged the attack.

    "If it''s you, I won''t feel bad about it!" Gary avoided the swing cleanly and then, with his hand transformed, swiped right at Boulder''s neck.

    It had cut cleanly through his neck; blood was dripping out, and the life was escaping from Boulder''s eyes. A few momentster, a thud was heard as the heavy body fell on the ground.

    The room was left in silence once again.

    "He killed him, he killed the new recruit?" Stinger said under his breath. He didn''t want to say the words too loudly for fear he would anger Gary, but it came as a surprise.

    Many just beat others until theyplied with them in the prison. There were cases of death in the open area, and the guards did nothing about it. It didn''t seem to affect their sentence either. This was because it was hard to keep track of things. When you had a group of strong Altered fighting all the time, how could one know if the other wasn''t simply trying to fight for their own life in self-defense?

    These were deadly creatures in the eyes of the world. However, Gary was new, so for him to kill like he had just done, it was unexpected.

    Right there and then, though, Gary didn''t say anything else; instead, he started to drag Boulder to his cell. He walked down his hallway, and no one followed until he had entered his cell room.

    The body was on the ground in front of him.

    ''I''m running out of time to help the others, and I need the strength to get out of this ce. Boulder, you will be part of my strength.''

    Gary transformed his mouth and opened wide, as he started his feast, ripping and chewing down part of the Altered''s flesh.

    He had done this before in desperate times when fighting against Midwak and when needing to hide evidence, as well as when killing someone he looked up to. Right now, he had to swallow all his feelings of guilt about what he was doing.

    All for the sake of getting stronger and helping those that were alive.

    ''If I didn''t get rid of him, he would have just killed more people; it''s fine,'' Gary told himself.

    [5,400 exp granted] Level 34 [Health 300] [Energy 500] [Strength 75] [Dexterity 65 >>> 66] [Endurance 68 >>> 74]

    ''Eating the bodies gives me exp as well and gives me extra stat points. I won''t use up the stat points just yet, and as for the pawn points, there might be something else I can do to try and help the others,'' Gary thought.

    At the same time, the South leader, Carter, had interest in Gary for a few reasons. Thinking he could use him as his ally or perhaps use his wild side to pit him against the North group somehow, one way or another.

    He had done this type of thing before, getting information from the outside; one could ckmail the other into joining his group because he could find what a person cared about. Since he had connections to the outside, it also meant he could still send orders to the outside as well. So if someone didn''t do as he said, then he could take those things away.

    If they didn''t have someone they cared about, they usually had some form of revenge that they wished toplete, and using his same connections, Carter could do the same so they owed him a favor.

    Information was extremely powerful, and when dealing with a bunch of criminals, it was important to find out everything you could about a certain individual.

    A few moments ago, one of the guards had approached Carter and had told him everything he needed to know. Rather than satisfied with the news, though, he looked a bit unsure about what to do.

    ''That kid, how did he manage to make an enemy out of the Phoenix Gang?'' Carter thought. ''It''s no wonder that he''s no ordinary prisoner, but even seeing how strong he is, against them, he stands no chance.¡¯

    ''I better put out the order anyway that no one should touch Gary Dem or try to befriend him or even work with him in any way possible. It''s best we stay away from him no matter what. Unless, all of us in here no longer want to exist.¡¯

    ''I am still a little bit interested, though, did they think you were so dangerous that they would rather lock you up in here than face you? Or is it just a way for the gang to y with you?''

    ****

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 Chapter 818 A Way Out Of The Prison

    <h4>Chapter 818 A Way Out Of The Prison</h4>

    Boulder was never seen again. He had managed to survive for a total of around thirty minutes in the prison, making the others aware of how dangerous the ce could be.

    Before, many of them thought they were safe, harboring in their groups. They did nearly anything to join one of the groups just so they could feel safe, and now it almost felt like they had something else to worry about.

    It was that day that everyone had respectfully decided that Gary was now another one of the loners in the prison who was too dangerous to touch. He hadn''t done much, only getting in two fights since being here.

    Ice had done far more damage before people had stopped trying toe after him, and ckjack had achieved a feat no one had done before. The reason why Gary was up there with the other two, in their minds, was because of the mysteriousness and how quickly it felt like the whole ce had changed since he had entered.

    "The tension in this entire area, it doesn''t feel the same as before," ckjack was leaning against a wall, with a coin in his hand, passing them through his knuckles back and forth, flipping the coin again and again.

    "I can feel it; my luck is starting to turn around. This could be the moment I''ve been waiting for; I need to act."

    Opening the palm of his hand, like a magic trick, the coin hadpletely disappeared, and ckjack had started to make his way over to the south side. No one said anything to him as he walked past those who were sitting on the floor.

    Then, when he reached the other end, he could see Carter sitting in his chair, in his ck clothing.

    "I hope youring here is good news," Carter said. "Although, I''m not hopeful that useless scorpion of a man can really do anything."

    "Actually, he was quite convincing," ckjack replied. "I have agreed to join your group; I am willing to act with you when the timees and you decide to do something, but I do have a condition of my own. I want to know everything you know about the Green Head."

    Carter smiled and started to tut. "It''s always the Green Head. So many people want to know about the neer. Well, I don''t mind telling you because once I do, I''m sure you''ll lose interest in him, unless you want to lose your life and your whole gang."

    Carter had arge interest in ckjack from day one, and there was a good reason for this. Whenever someone powerful or someone who caught Carter''s eye woulde into the prison, he would do his research on the person.

    He had found out information about everyone, including Gary, but there was one person he couldn''t find a single thing about, not even his real name, and that was ckjack. He was a mysterious individual in more ways than one.

    One would think someone who had as much power as him would at least be known in the outside world, but he was like a ghost.

    "Don''t worry," ckjack answered. ''My group works in the shadows and could take down anyone they wanted to if they wished,'' he thought to himself.

    "Very well."

    Carter shared the information in private with ckjack about who Gary was, what gang he was from, and the ones that were after him. It was interesting, but there was one thing that surprised him; it was the gang.

    "Thank you for the information; when you need me, you know where to find me," ckjack said, walking away, with deep thoughts in his head.

    ''It figures why he''s in here now, but there''s something that surprised me. I thought he would have been in the Lupis Gang, but he''s in the Howlers Gang. I don''t have much information about them; it might be something to look into, but before that.''

    ckjack had reached his second location, and that was the staircase; he looked at Stinger, and immediately thetter got up from his seat and started to walk down the stairs, meeting with ckjack.

    "So it''s been three days, close to four since you got that bite mark, I can see it still hasn''t healed," ckjackmented. "Any news?"

    Stinger didn''t look in the best of moods, andtely, he had been keeping his mouth shut more so than usual.

    "It''s like before, but it''s been getting worse. I can hardly transform my body at all now. It''s almost like I''ve lost my Altered powers," Stinger answered.

    ckjack''s eyes were lighting up slightly, but he had one more question to ask. "And the other one that was bit in the group, is he going through the same thing?"

    It was strange; things were ying out exactly like ckjack had predicted, and Stinger didn''t like it. If anyone found out he lost his powers, even those within his own group, might attack him.

    "It''s true; it''s the same for him as well," Stinger replied.

    ckjack didn''t say thanks or anything else; instead, he had decided to walk back and head to his cell as he usually did. Sniffing the air, though, he realized that there was a visitor who was stopping by his cell.

    ''No, not yet, not yet, we two can''t meet just yet. Otherwise, we might just be at each other''s throats,'' ckjack thought as he took a quick turn away.

    ''I need your power to get out of here. The warden, she is too strong. Far stronger than I imagined, but we don''t need to beat her in a fight. All we need to do is fight her once and bite her; then when she''s lost her powers, we can get out of here, but we need to figure out more.¡¯

    ''Getting past the Warden is just one half of the problem. But I can see it; our escape is falling into ce.''

    ****

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 Chapter 819 An Inside Team

    <h4>Chapter 819 An Inside Team</h4>

    Inside therge White Rose base, one of the field agents was in an office along with his squad. Elijah was bunkered down at his desk and continuously looked around to see if anyone was paying any attention to what he was doing.

    He had been searching for a while now on other cases that had turned out like this: those that had been brought in and locked up with next to no evidence.

    The issue was, Altereds, the White Rose, the whole thing was a rtively young operation in the grand scheme of things. They had around 70 years of history, so there weren''t many cases to look at.

    Frustrated by the whole thing, Elijah ced both of his hands by the side of his head and was almost ripping out his hair.

    ¡®This whole thing is clearly corrupt from above. I can try to do some deeper research into who was responsible for submitting the further evidence and appointing the judge, but that would require me to have captain-level ess.¡¯

    ¡®I don''t even know if I can trust my own captain, though, or he might just tell me to stay out of it, like he did when we found out about NIRV being behind the ck substance as well.¡¯

    White Rose got multiple cases rted to the ck substance, but it seemed like they were stopping those using the substance or had it on hand.

    It didn''t feel like they were trying to stop it at its source. When speaking to his captain about it, he just said they werepiling evidence so they could take down NIRV in one swoop.

    If they tried to bring them in now, they would be the ones that suffered.

    ¡®They make a load of fake evidence on Gary, but they can''t do the same for NIRV? The more I look into other cases as well, what I have found are cases that have been thrown out.¡¯

    In particr, Elijah found out that a lot of cases involving the tier one gangs were thrown out. However, by far, the cases rted to the Phoenix Gang were stopped at the submission stage.

    The field agents would bring something in, and then it wouldn''t go further than that.

    ¡®This whole thing is making me second-guess the reason why I even joined the White Rose in the first ce. Gary, back then when you stood up for those people.¡¯

    ¡®Honestly, what you did was more of something that I wanted to do. I wanted to protect the people who were unable to protect themselves. Yet, as part of White Rose, I''m unable to do that.¡¯

    ¡®You who are part of a gang could do those things. And now, with everything that''s happening in Slough, all the chaos that''s going on, including the public being hurt.¡¯

    ¡®We''ve been told to just stand back. Let the filth get rid of the filth, and then we will swoop in at the end for clean-up duty. The feeling makes me sick to my stomach. I''m useless in my position, and I can''t even help your friends.¡¯

    There was one thing Elijah could do, and he had put in a request for another visit with Gary. He would update him on the situation, but honestly, he wanted to give him some good news before doing so.

    As he was typing away and clicked the send button, he stopped for a moment.

    ¡®That''s it, If I''m going to leave the White Rose, then I might as well get kicked out for helping Gary!¡¯

    Elijah got up from his seat and started to head to the door. Just when his captain was going to ask where he was going, the automatic door slid open, and standing on the other side was a man with an orange scruffy beard.

    Elijah recognized him because he was one of the squad captains.

    "Ah, you''re just the person I''m looking for, hey, Don, do you mind if I take one of your field agents with me? He has information on a case I''m linked with."

    Elijah''s squad captain Don just waved his hand as if he didn''t have a care in the world.

    After which Elijah had been brought out, and the two of them stepped into the hallway.

    When they did, Elijah noticed that there were two other White Rose members as well, a woman and a man.

    ''Crap¡­ has someone found out that I''ve been snooping around, or that I used my favors to go and meet Gary.¡¯

    ''They might havee to target me now as well. I knew that this might end up like this.''

    "You recently had a meeting with one of the Altered prisoners, that goes by the name Gary Dem, right?" Kanu asked.

    The palms of Elijah''s hands were starting to sweat. They were clearly asking a question that they already knew the answer to, so what was the point of trying to hide it? If he did, it could end up worse for him.

    "I did, he was involved in a case that I was working on in the past," Elijah answered.

    Kanu looked around before pping him a couple of times on the back.

    "You don''t have to be so worried about us. Look, we''re on your side?"

    Elijah wondered what he meant by the words "his side," in what way, and what about?

    "You see, my brother¡­ or I guess you could say a friend of mine, has asked me to help Gary Dem get out of this situation no matter what.¡±

    "And as for these two behind me, well, they believe in justice a little too much and think this entire situation stinks."

    Hearing these words, Elijah couldn''t quite believe it. A captain, other people in the White Rose were looking into this case as well.

    He wasn''t the only one. Maybe with the help of others and a captain, things wouldn''t be so hard if he wasn''t on his own.

    "So, we have decided, let''s get Gary out of there."

    ****

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 Chapter 820 The lost Father

    <h4>Chapter 820 The lost Father</h4>

    In Slough, the attacks continued. They were constant from the other cities and surrounding gangs, but now that the Howlers members had huddled up closer together, they were doing well at defending themselves.

    They were suffering from fewer losses, focusing on only protecting two ces: Cipen and Burnham food street. When areas would be attacked outside of these two, from time to time, Kai would go out with a team to try to deal with the unruly ones.

    Sometimes they could get there in time, others the whole buildings had been burnt before they even arrived. It was frustrating; everything Slough had built up over thest two years was crumbling right in front of them.

    And for what reason? For money? The rebuilding of the city would cost far more than what these guys were being paid, and out of frustration, if they were unable to get their bounty, they would just destroy the city instead.

    As temporary relief, there was one area that didn''t stand out as much as the others, where Kai and his team could somewhat meet, and that was the Wolf''s pool club. He had just finished getting off the phone.

    "I will just have to hope they can do what''s needed with the information I gave," Kai said, holding his hand like it was a ray of hope. "About the bounties that are on the ck Market, is there any way we can take them off, use funds of our own?"

    It was something Kai didn''t want to do, knowing already how much it would cost to rebuild the city, but he needed to stop the damage.

    "I doubt it... unless you want even more people to go after us," Olivia replied. "You can get rid of the bounty by just paying the amount off, but the Phoenix Gang would then just raise the amount, and in turn, the amount we would need to pay would rise.¡±

    "Do you think we have more funds than the Phoenix Gang?"

    That solution was out of the question for now, so Kai just needed to keep doing what he had been doing.

    "I need to get in contact with the hospital, make sure Amy, White, and Xin are all okay. Austin is staying there for now as well; I don''t know how long it will take him to recover, but if hees back, then that will add more firepower because the one thing I''m worried about is that the Phoenix Gang themselves haven''t made a move yet."

    Amy had originally entered the room on her own. She wanted to pay a visit to her mother, and Xin and White had decided to give her some space. That was until Amy had let out a loud gasp that almost sounded like a scream.

    "What are you doing here?" Amy almost shouted, but it wasn''t quite a shout. Her voice crumbled towards the end, slightly cracking.

    Right after, Xin and White had entered the room, and they could see the tall man standing there. He was dressed in a fairly thick ck trenchcoat, wearing ck trousers, and his eyes; they looked quite aged, tired, as if he hadn''t had any sleep for a while.

    His scruffy beard wasn''t shaven or kept tidy, looking like a person who would live on the streets.

    If it wasn''t for his tired looks, perhaps one might even think he was handsome and well-built.

    "Amy, is everything okay? Do you need help?" Xin skidded across the floor and stood in front of Amy, getting ready to fight; she got into a stance quickly. Yet, the man didn''t react.

    "You seem to have good people looking after you. I''m happy to know that," the man said.

    Hearing those words, Amy just went into a full sob, falling to her knees. She didn''t remember much about her father. She only had one or two memories since he had left around the time she was 4 years old.

    For Gary, he was a little older, but they were both young. Gary had just started school, and the timing couldn''t have been worse. The thing they both remembered most was the amount of pressure that was ced on their mother at the time.

    She had to work, feed, and try to get two kids through school, and what about their father? For a while, their mother had stated he was dead, but sheter told them the truth.

    Knowing that he was out there and had done nothing, Neither Gary nor Amy ever went looking for him. Why would they go looking for someone who didn''t care about them or the struggles they were going through?

    "Where have you been?" Amy managed to ask as she wiped away her tears. This was an important time, and she needed to know why now of all times had he decided to return.

    "Do you even know what''s going on, with Gary... and with mom, and this whole town? Why would youe back now, and just make things even harder?" Amy said, trying not to break down into tears.

    Her father looked at her for a few moments and took a step back to show he was not a threat to the two girls that were staring him down.

    "I know what''s happening. I know more than you think. I know Gary''s currently stuck at the White Rose Prison. I know the trouble he has been going through with his new Altered Self as well.

    "What I didn''t know about... was what happened to your mother, at least not until recently. There are a lot of reasons why I couldn''te back, or why I was away, but right now, what you need to know is I came back because of everything that is going on, and I came back to help you."

    ****

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 Chapter 821 A solution to a problem

    <h4>Chapter 821 A solution to a problem</h4>

    Help was a strong word to be used in the current times they were in. They were sure that many people who lived in the city of Slough, who were part of the Howlers, were saying these words, asking for help.

    When it came from such a strong figure, those words really reached out, but for Amy, they were also painful.

    "We... we needed help so many times as a family, we needed your help, Dad, but you weren''t there for us, and now you''re saying you understand everything and are here to help! How can I even believe that?" Amy said.

    The one person that had always helped her in these situations, who was still here for her, was Gary, and she wished he was by her side right now.

    Her father reached into his pocket; the moment he did, Xin reacted again. She had heard Amy call her father, and now that she looked at the man more, he did resemble a version of Gary. A worn-out version, as if he was older and a bit more scruffy. However, the fact that his presence was making Amy upset, causing her to react as well, made her realize she couldn''t trust someone just because they were one person''s or another''s father. She could just use her own father as an example for that. She hade to learn of the things he had done as she got older.

    The man had one hand held up, to continue showing he was peaceful, and then out from his other pocket, he pulled out a syringe that had a fairly thick tube filled with liquid. It looked like an Altered turning Syringe, only it had a different consistency and color than the usual vibrant ones of the Altered or the infected solution.

    "When I heard about what happened to your mother and how long she had been in this state before I even came here, I wanted to have a solution that would help her," the man exined. "I had to call in a few favors, but I have their certainty that this had a 90 percent chance of waking her up, and she will be back to the way she was before."

    After finishing his exnation, the man went to turn around as if he was already ready to stick the syringe in, but Xin called out.

    "Wait! Stop! We have no idea what''s in that syringe!" Xin shouted. "Amy, this is your family affairs, so I''ll go with whatever you want to do, but I want you to think about it.¡±

    "We''re being attacked from all ends right now; your brother got taken in by the White Rose. Right now, we have no clue who is really on our side and who isn''t, who the Phoenix Gang has in their hands.¡±

    "Your father, you say, but he''s been away for so long, and doing what? Why couldn''t he meet you before? Why has hee now? Sure, it could be to help, but it could be because of the Phoenix Gang asking him to do a job for them.¡±

    "Your brother spent so much money trying to look after your mother. I mean, look at this hospital that you''re in; it''s all because of him. You think he wouldn''t have gone searching for a solution, some magic spell that could wake your mother up? It all sounds a bit too good to be true."

    After listening to Xin''s words, Amy was a bit hesitant. The news that her mother could wake up, someone she hadn''t spoken to for years, someone she missed the voice of and would visit regrly. The answer was easy for her, but now she was having doubts. There had already been those who targeted her and Xin, and now there could be someone who was asked to target their mother as well.

    "The world is moreplex than you think. Although Gary has done well to rise in this world, there are many things that he still doesn''t understand. He is scraping the tip of the iceberg, and this is what happens when he doesn''t fully understand it!" the man replied. "I know he''s trying to do his best, and he''s done better than any parent could hope for, especially with no guidance from adults who should be looking after him. I feel guilty for that, but as I said before, I''m here to help, but as your friend said, I won''t stick this syringe in unless you want me to. You have more rights than I do."

    Amy felt her head spinning slightly as she went back and forth with her feelings. All she wanted to do was call Gary and ask him what he would do in this situation, what she should do.

    ¡®But Gary isn''t here. So I need to make the call. I still remember... I still remember you, Dad. Even though I was so young, why can I still remember you? Why did it hurt so much to think that you abandoned us...? It was because you were so nice to us at the time, so loving... I will bet on those few memories I have of you.¡¯

    Finally, Amy spoke the words out of her mouth.

    "Please... help Mother."

    Knowing that Amy had made the decision she wanted, Xin decided to take a step back. The man turned around and carefully ced the syringe in the shoulder of her arm. The fluid was injected, and then they all waited patiently.

    The signal of the heartbeat monitor was still continuing on the side; things looked all well, and it almost felt like everything was going to stay the same, as if it hadn''t worked.

    That was until the heartbeat monitor had a slight uptick. It was beating only ever so slightly faster, and slowly her eyes started to open.

    "Mum!" Amy cried out. "You''re awake!"

    ****

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 Chapter 822 2 Years in a slumber

    <h4>Chapter 822 2 Years in a slumber</h4>

    The first thing Amy''s mother saw and felt as she opened her eyes was her daughter. Clinging onto her hand, tears continuously sobbing all over her. She wanted to say something, to ask what was happening, what was going on, but she let Amy cry out her tears and gently lifted her hand as she stroked the top of her head.

    "Mum, I never thought you were going to wake up. I thought you might have stayed like that forever. I''m sorry, I''m sorry for being a bad kid, I''m sorry for shouting at you all those times when we didn''t have enough food, or you weren''t able to buy me things for school.¡±

    "I hate the fact that I was such a spoiled brat. All I wanted was to tell you this, I wanted to say sorry to you, but I wasn''t sure if you heard me or not."

    Mrs. Dem continued to brush the hair of her daughter, and slowly she started to look around. There were kids, those that looked around Gary''s age, or a bit older, closer to being young adults who were standing there. None that she had recognized. It made her wonder, starting to think back as to what happened, and that''s when she remembered, thest thing, the shop where she worked, it had been attacked.

    She was hurt badly; she remembered everything before that, but she had no idea what was going on, or just how long she had been asleep, and then her eyes had set on a particr man.

    "Dean, is that you? What are you doing here? You said that you didn''t know when you would be back?"

    "Maya," Dean, Amy''s father, replied. "Things have gotten better on my end... and I only just found out what happened to you. I had to return because the most important thing of all is our family, you know how much it means to me."

    Amy was constantly moving her head to the left and right; she thought that her mother would be furious at their father. For leaving them when they were young, for putting so much pressure on their family and living the life they did, but instead, the two of them seemed to be understanding of each other. Not just that, when she looked at her mother''s face, she saw the softest smile appear on her face. It was clear she was genuinely happy.

    As the group were taking in the moment in rtive silence, a loud explosion went off in the distance. Looking out the window, smoke could be seen rising from a particr building.

    "What was that?" Maya asked.

    And slowly, she was starting to notice things that seemed out of the ordinary. The room she was in, it was a grand hospital room, she had arge bed, and even the ground and furniture all around, it was things she would have never dreamed of.

    "A lot has happened, and a lot of things will be quite a bit of shock to you," Deanmented. "First, we need to check that you''re okay; do one of you girls mind fetching the doctor to run some tests?"

    White agreed with a nod and ran off, and before the doctor arrived, Dean had some questions.

    "Do you remember what happened to you, how you ended up in here?" Dean asked.

    To which, Maya nodded. "There was an attack at the supermarket. There were these people, wearing all sorts of different colors, they looked like university or high school students. I was trying to protect someone, and I ended up like this.¡±

    "I remember what the person looked like, but I''ll be honest, I don''t really know who they were."

    Amy had looked into what happened that day and how it was a color gang that had attacked, but she didn''t know the finer details about who was in control of the color gang at the time. So she had no clue who it was either. Rather than being focused on revenge though, she much rather wanted her mother just to get better.

    "It''s okay; when things are better, we can try to go to the police and try to find out who that is," Amy stated.

    Once again, a loud explosion urred off in the distance, and out of the window, more smoke was seen. One explosion was already a rare urrence, but for two to happen in a short period of time¡­

    Maya was starting to get worried; something was up, and judging by the fact that no one else was reacting to these explosions in the same way, it had been like this for a while.

    "How long?" Maya asked. "How long have I been out?"

    Amy held onto her mother''s hand, and she looked directly into her eyes. When doing so, her mother was noticing her daughter''s features; she had aged quite a bit.

    "Mum, I don''t want you to worry; we have been living a really good life, we''ve been looking after and visiting you all the time, but you''ve been like this, in aa, for 2 years."

    Maya''s heart sank. She dreaded to think what her kids had to go through while she was away. She was the only one that looked after them, so what did they do during this time? What did they do for school? How did they manage to feed themselves and get money, and what about the time lost between them!

    "I told you not to worry," Amy said, rubbing her hand.

    "Did your father look after you?" Maya asked.

    "No," Dean answered immediately. "I only just got here today as well. I will not take credit for something I didn''t do. The one that looked after Amy, and has been looking after everyone and this whole city, is our boy, Gary.¡±

    "He has been up to some crazy things," Dean said with a smile.

    Maya started to look around the room until she asked the question she had been thinking.

    "Where is Gary?"

    ****

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 Chapter 823 Using everything we have

    <h4>Chapter 823 Using everything we have</h4>

    Just outside of one of the shopping malls that had been newly built in the Chavley area, several cars were parked up outside. That included a long limousine. On top of that, there were also several motorcycles as well.

    The shopping mall was quiterge, filled with bright white light, marble flooring, and went up several floors. On the third floor of the mall, Kai was wearing his ck and gold fox-like mask. His clothes had patches of blood on them, and he was constantly looking around. His ears started to vibrate slightly. He could hear the sound of ss being smashed and a group of men talking.

    Quickly, Kai started to run down the esctor, and mid-run, he started to take off his jacket. As he did, his body started to transform as grey fur covered his body, and he went on all fours. He hadn''t transformed into his Werewolf form but had transformed into the form of a Wolf.

    He quickly then leapt while still only halfway down the esctor and had reached the second floor of the mall. Quickly, he sprinted towards the noise and could see the group of around five men who were looting an electronics store. They were carrying speakers, heavy equipment, among other items.

    Kai rushed over and leapt up. He was too fast for any of them to react, and immediately he bit at one of the throats of the looters. Instantly, he fell to the floor, and now Kai''s mouth was full of blood.

    "What the heck is that? It''s a giant wolf! What''s that doing in a shopping mall?"

    "It''s obviously an Altered, you idiot!" The other shouted as he dropped the speaker he had in his hands onto the ground and pulled out an electric baton. By the time his baton was ready, he could no longer see the wolf. Instead, he felt a sharp pain on his foot, and then his whole vision of the entire shopping mall went strange. His friends could see what was happening to him.

    The wolf had bitten him by the leg and was now dragging him through the air. With a fling of his mouth, Kai let go, and the man went flying over the bannister, falling to the floor below.

    Leaping to the next ones, Kai started to transform back into that of a more human shape. He swung his fists, slicing both of their throats, and then with thest one, pierced through its stomach.

    "You guys should have treasured your lives a lot more. Anyone whoes to Slough on some bounty hunt or on the orders of another gang, they are going to learn their lesson. We broke free from the Underdogs'' rule, and we don''t n to be put under someone else''s."

    Kai looked down on the bottom floor, and he could see several other Howlers members having gathered together. He quickly jumped down from his position, and whennding on the ground, proceeded to put back on his Howlers Jacket.

    "The shopping mall has been cleared up, with checked the rest of the floors," Crowley informed. "Are you sure it''s okay for us to be out like this, away from the city?"

    "Yeah, it''s fine," Kai answered. "In Burnham food street, we have Marie, Olivia and Izzy. She''s called for help from her friends, and it looks like Ian and Numba have joined her. You should know of them, but they''re great talents that are in the AFC now.

    "As for Cipen, Xin is at the hospital where Austin and Gary''s family are currently based. She''s one of the strongest in our group based on my evaluation of her matches. The rest of Cipen, we have Vere, who was a strong fighter before she became Altered. There''s the bodyguard which follows her everywhere as well.

    "And there''s the rest of the Altered that you trained during your time here. So we''re not the only strike force that''s out at the moment, doing what we can so people like these guys don''t destroy the whole city."

    "Don''t you think it might be best for you to stay near Cipen?" Crowley asked. "You''re essentially the leader in this situation. Rather than fighting, you should be giving out orders to the others."

    "I have already given out my orders, and each of our people in those areas is capable of handling themselves and working on the situation when needed. Besides, we''re not the only strike force."

    There was one more group of people, Midwak and his two other Werewolves. They weren''t reporting to Kai, but he knew they were going around the city and attacking several of the gangs. He was getting constant reports about it. For once, he was happy to have someone crazy and up for fighting on their side.

    Kai felt his phone vibrate, and when he saw who it was, he immediately answered. "I see... I see, I''ll pass on the information, maybe it will do something, give him some hope."

    "What was that?" Crowley asked.

    "It''s Gary''s mother. It looks like she''s woken up at the hospital. I''ll pass the information onto Elijah. Apparently, Gary''s been asking about an update here. I don''t know what''s going on with his situation, and we don''t even have time to help. So all I can do is hope he and Elijah can work something out. Maybe the truth of the situation will urge Gary to take some drastic measures. Also, they said someone wanted to meet me, but it''s not important right now."

    Just then, Kai''s phone started to go off again and again. When he saw the message, his heart sunk slightly. He had set up a couple of people to look far out into the several entrances into the city because he was waiting for a particr move, and it was starting.

    "We need to get ready; the Phoenix Gang is here."

    ****

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 Chapter 824 Sin Strikes

    <h4>Chapter 824 Sin Strikes</h4>

    Unlike before, when entering Slough, there were borders. People could usuallye in and out of the city as they liked, but Kai had set up a border so they could tell when others woulde to attack them. This had worked, at least with the first waves of attacks, but now that the attacks were so brutal, there were only a few people that had been set up further out, keeping an eye on the vehicles that wereing in and out.

    That was when severalrge buses were seen turning in; they were red in color and had arge feather imprint design on the side. It was quite clear who these people were, and the report was sent instantly.

    When they entered the edge of the city where therge buildings had started, the buses spun to their side, blocking the road. As the doors opened, a flood of those dressed in dark red clothing came out from the vehicles.

    With one of the buses in particr, slowly wearing arge red coat that dragged across the floor, with a furry white hood, was none other than Sin. As he exited, he looked around at the buildings, the broken ss in the shops, and more.

    "Ah, it seems like this city has had quite the work done to them. It''s hard to believe that this ce even is a tier 2 city with all this mess around," Sinmented. "But that leaves the question to be asked, where is everyone? Isn''t it a bit too quiet?"

    Following off from the same bus as Sin were Sin''smanders, those that were the strongest in the Phoenix Gang: Glutton, Greed, and Garbo had exited, each of them with a focused look, ready for what was ahead of them.

    Finally, two more had exited out of the bus, and that was Raven and Gil.

    "What does it feel like to finally be home?" Sin asked.

    "We''ve been here before, though," Gilmented.

    "I think what Gil means is it doesn''t feel like home. It''s not the same ce as when we left it permanently; everything''s changed because of them," Raven added.

    Sin looked to his right, in the distance he could see a fueling station, around 500 meters away from him. He twirled his hand in the air and flung it. In doing so, a ball of fire quickly hit the station. It had perfectly set it alight, and a few momentster after burning, there was arge explosion in the ce.

    "You two, find out what''s going on; where are the people? I understand the gang members have run back and hunched up in their buildings or cities, but why does this whole ce feel like a ghost town?" Sin ordered.

    It would have made sense if he could see a number of bodies, but there was next to nothing. The Phoenix Gang spanned out, with Gil and Raven going further out. They had found a few Howlers members already beaten, killed by those that hade before them. There were some of those in the general public that seemed to be hurt as well, but still far too few people.

    While waiting for the others to gather some news, Sin thought he had another idea, to bring those out that were in hiding, and that''s when he decided to set off another explosion. It wasn''t hard for him to do, and the loud bang was heard throughout the city. The dark smoke could be seen entering the sky, covering a certain part of the city, for everyone to see.

    Those that were staying in the hotels and areas of Burnham and Cipen, they could see the smoke, and with it, they started to feel a slight dread. The city they lived in, the houses they paid for, the life that they had made, it was all going away. Even if they managed to survive this attack, how long would it take for them to rebuild it all, to get their lives back to the way it was?

    "What is the Mayor doing, what are the police, the White Rose doing? The whole city is being overrun by gangs, and no one is doing anything!"

    Due to therge number of people, there were around 10 or so people in each hotel room, staring out of their windows.

    "This is what happens; haven''t you heard? The police, the government authorities, all they are, in front of the gangs, is a simple clean-up crew. They will just pick up the leftovers to make it look like they''re doing their job. The only ones that we can rely on for helping us, are the Howlers."

    Many still remembered the generous things the Howlers had done for them, and even now on the way here, they had seen the fellow gang members risk their lives to protect them from getting hurt. They didn''t have distaste or me them for what was happening, at least not the majority. It just felt like, as soon as a ce was having a taste of what those in the higher cities had, that someone wasing to crush them down and take it away.

    Back in the streets of Slough, Raven and Gil hade back, and they had done with a report.

    "It seems that the general public, as well as the Howlers gang, have moved to two areas," Raven replied. "Burnham and Cipen. Most of the gang in Burnham is located on a strip; it''s a food street of sorts. They can fortify the areas quite easily for thoseing in and out. Whereas Cipen, it''s a bitrger of an area, barriers of cars have been set up, and the Howlers members are on the lookout."

    Sin smiled upon learning of this news. "That''s good, that means we don''t have to go around the entire city trying to chase them out. Glutton, Greed, Garbo, you guys head to Burnham food street; as for you two, you''reing with me to Cipen. Also, don''t get too involved just yet; let the other boys have some fun. They need to keep active; it''s their first time fighting in a while."

    ****

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 Chapter 825 Why We Exist

    <h4>Chapter 825 Why We Exist</h4>

    Kai had been doing research into Sin''s teams, so he knew who the main people were that he needed to worry about. Apart from just Sin himself, there were the three who were always by his side: Glutton, Greed, and Garbo. Regrly, Sin would use these three to do the majority of therge dirty work for him¡ªdealing with upromising local gangs and even when having trouble with neighboring Tier 1 cities, the other kings.

    Of course, Sin himself would regrly appear as well, showing off a shy disy of his powers, which was why he hade to be known as the most active of the kings. Now, he had received news that all of them had arrived.

    "Crap!" Kai shouted at himself. He had moved from the Wolf''s Pool Club and had returned to Cipen. He was at one of thergest areas of open road, where they had set up a barrier of cars.

    He had learned this small trick from Harry Cardenez when they had dealt with their problems. With therge buildings in the way, the easiest way for them toe to the ce was through the roads, and now the roads would be heavily guarded and funneled in.

    "The reports I''ve gotten, they''ve lost sight of Sin and the rest of his group," Kai said.

    "Do you want me to go check it out?" Crowley asked. "I can survey the whole area from above."

    Crowley''s Altered powers were like that of a dark ck crow. Kai knew that it would be helpful in their situation, but there was something he was worried about.

    "I''m not sure that''s for the best. I have reports that the actual members of the Phoenix Gang areing towards here and Burnham. Although we don''t have track of their leaders, it''s best we deal with this situation right now," Kai answered.

    "You mean, you aren''t nning on just defending here?" Crowley replied.

    "No, we need to attack. We really need to attack. Get the Altered that you trained ready; they''ll be here in about ten minutes, and we need to meet them head-on!" Kai ordered.

    Crowley nodded. He wasn''t sure it was the best idea, but he wasn''t so sure he knew better either. He was a teacher that taught one of the best ways to defend oneself and use their Altered abilities to the fullest. He wasn''t a strategist when it came to fights like this. The uneasy feeling, the way they were trapped in the city, it felt somewhat like a war to him.

    Kai moved along and positioned several men in the alleyways between the streets just ahead of the main road. Crowley was on watch, having flown on top of one of the buildings, looking down below.

    Then standing in front of the cars was Kai himself, and several men stood just behind it.

    "No one is allowed to get into Cipen. We have people to protect, those who can''t fight. Our family members, school teachers, doctors, and the ones that cook the food and feed us every day!" Kai shouted.

    "I know sometimes we can feel distant in this world. Everythinges to us as is. We manage to go to the shops every day and pick out what we like. We can drive on the streets with no bumps in the road and enjoy a drink here and there with each other.¡±

    "That''s all because of the hardworking people in Slough. It''s because of everything they do that we can do this. But what about us? Those of you who joined the Howlers Gang. You joined because you knew there was nothing for you to do.¡±

    "Maybe you were bad in school, got kicked out, or had one too many fights on the street. Maybe you''re quick to lose your temper and just can''t take being ordered around, so you joined the Howlers!¡±

    "Well, now it''s time for us to do something for all the people that helped us in this city. We are the protectors; we know how to fight, so use it and don''t let them in!"

    After Kai''s resounding speech, everyone behind him cheered. He needed to get them ready; just before battle, he could feel that some of them were nervous and intense. There was a reason why Kai needed to meet the attackers head-on.

    From his observation, the Phoenix Gang used plenty of other gangs to do their work for them, but it wasn''t as if the Phoenix Gang didn''t have low-ranking members. So why not use them? Was it just a case of what was easier for them? No, the reason was that nearly all of those in the Phoenix Gang had some fire-

    based Altered abilities, and fire was very destructive.

    It could ruin entire buildings, burn up the products they needed, and destroy evidence to be used against them. If fighting started in Cipen and Burnham, then they could say goodbye to the town of Slough as they knew it.

    Right there and then, Kai could see it; he could see the crowd of peopleing towards him. There were at least thirty of them dressed in the Phoenix Gang clothing, and they were charging right ahead.

    Kai took off his Howlers uniform, revealing his body above. He then tied it around his waist. It was something he had gotten used to doing. Right after, he started to run, and in the middle of his run, his body started to transform. His hands touched the ground, and he was in his Wolf form.

    He dashed ahead and leaped right in, aiming to bite at the neck of one of the others. But the attacker had lifted up his arm, and Kai''s fangs sank deep into his arm instead.

    "Everyone!" Crowley ordered, lifting his hand. "Move in!"

    From the alleyways behind the Phoenix Gang, those in the ck and gold uniforms came rushing in. It was an all-out war between the Howlers and the Phoenix Gang.

    ****

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 Chapter 826 A Harder Battle Than I thought

    <h4>Chapter 826 A Harder Battle Than I thought</h4>

    The Howlers from behind weren''t just regr members of the gang. Their bodies started to morph and transform, changing into parts of beasts. Those who didn''t transform were holding onto Anti-Altered weapons.

    These people were a special group within the Howlers. Nearly all of the Howlers, including non-Altered members, were trained by Crowley. He had daily lessons that would run three times a day, each time with a different group.

    However, Kai had told him to pay special attention to a particr group because they were all Altered. With the funds they received, they bought up all the Altered solutions they could from the ck market, making themselves stronger.

    They also had Tom trying to work on a way of making his own Altered solutions. He was close, but it wasn''t possible just yet. Either way, those most loyal to the Howlers had been selected, the ones that worked under the core leaders.

    One person in particr, Park, had an arm that started to transform into a hard shell that was white in color, with a w at the end that reached out and went to mp down on one of the Phoenix members. In return, though, the Phoenix Gang member''s cheeks started to blow up like a balloon, pushing out, blowing out air, and arge stream of fire came out to hit Park, forcing him to let go and stumble as he moved the heat from his eyes.

    "Back then, I offered to go to Notsburg, but our leaders decided to go back themselves! Everything I have now, the life I have is thanks to the Howlers, and I have to pay them back!" Park shouted as he charged back in.

    Park had always been more than loyal to the Howlers. They had given him responsibility, a job, and saved him from having to move down to a Tier 4 city at the time. He still remembered the time when he had fought against Gary Dem. At the time, he didn''t know he had an important rtion to the Howlers gang.

    The fight was intense, and Kai had jumped in with a sh, but as he did, a gang member with a burning tail had jumped and whacked his hand onto the floor. It was powerful and didn''t do much damage, but it stopped Kai from hurting them.

    "I hate to admit it, but these guys, they know how to fight. We should have expected it from a Tier 1 gang, and no wonder Austin and Midwak had so much trouble against them."

    Kai was trying to look at the scene, and it was difficult for him to watch. Although the Howlers members were holding out, he could see that they were getting hit more than the others were.

    "Altered bodies are strong and can take a thrashing and heal rtively quickly, but not like this!" Kai ground his teeth and grabbed onto one of the ming tails. It was hot, but he didn''t care, as he swung the man by the tail and mmed them right into the ground.

    "Duck!" A voice shouted out, and the words were spoken by none other than Crowley.

    As if by instinct, as the others heard his voice, they reacted. All of the Howlers members bent down, and right after, Anti-Altered arrows came out. They hit the Phoenix Gang members and started to electrocute them on the spot.

    This gave an opening and a chance for the members to strike back.

    Kai looked to his right, and he could see Crowley standing on top of the barrier of cars, and with him were the other Howlers members, all with Anti-Altered equipment in their hands.

    ''Crowley moved from above to the back; he said he wasn''t a goodmander for fights like these, but he seems to be doing pretty well.''

    After being stuck, the Phoenix Gang members received a few good solid hits that sent them to the floor or gave them a wound or two. They were still rtively strong, and the arrows would only cause them to flinch.

    It was also something that wouldn''t work as well a second time, but it still was swaying the momentum and giving the Howlers Gang strength, and that''s when something odd started to happen.

    The Phoenix Gang members, it almost looked like they were running away.

    "Don''t give chase!" Park shouted. "Remember our job is to protect Cipen."

    None of the Phoenix Gang had been beaten or hurt to the point where they had to stop fighting. If anything, the Howlers Gang had suffered more, so Kai was wondering why they were running away.

    And that''s when they saw something else. From the same alleyways they hade from, and from the main street, more gang members wereing. These weren''t the Phoenix Gang, but the gangs from all over that were still in Slough, all after that bounty.

    "Are they going toe in waves... just how long can we survive something like this!" Kai thought as he could feel his phone vibrating. Seeing Xin calling him, he quickly picked it up, worried they might be in trouble.

    "Tell him I can''te; I''m a little busy right now," Kai said, after Xin had said a few words on the other side.

    "Kai, I really think you shoulde; he says he can help with this entire situation. He says he can help us beat the Phoenix Gang."

    Right now, Kai just had one n to beat the Phoenix Gang, and he wasn''t sure if it would work or not. He was more worried that it wouldn''t work, so to hear that there was something else.

    "Go," Crowley said. "I will cover this area; there are some trustworthy ones, and the gang you have built up is a good one. Trust them and head over there. As the current leader of this whole thing, I don''t think you should be on the battlefield anyway."

    Nodding, Kai thought it was the right thing to do. They were already on the edge of Cipen, so it wouldn''t take long to get there. Just as Kai was about to transform and run through the streets, he turned to look at Crowley.

    "When our actual leader is here, you''ll see, he''s a lot crazier than me."

    ***

 Chapter 827 A meeting with the Warden

    <h4>Chapter 827 A meeting with the Warden</h4>

    The prison was always full of fighting. It was an everyday urrence, but it wasn¡¯t often that a person would go so far as to take it to death. When it did ur, not much was done about it in the prison.

    The guards turned their heads and reported it as a casualty that couldn¡¯t be stopped. What would ur, though, was whoever was responsible would get another blotch on their record, and currently, Gary had been called back to the Warden¡¯s office.

    She was seated in her chair, dressed in a heavy ck uniform with a t hat on top of her head. She had long painted nails, the tips colored ck, simr to her thick ck eyeliner.

    If there was one thing that was clear, the Warden liked the color ck.

    ¡°Gary Dem, do I need to remind you that your case hasn¡¯t even fully been filed yet?¡± the Warden stated. ¡°You are in here in the meantime while your case is being investigated, and because of what you have done, this will be added to your file, added to your crimes.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t reply. With how long he had been in here already, and after listening to Elijah, whoever it was that wanted him in here would keep him in here until they got what he wanted, and he needed to get out before then.

    ¡®Is the Warden really that strong?¡¯ Gary thought as he started to eye her up and down. It was hard to tell, and even more so, his system hadn¡¯t given him any type of quest, but she could very well be linked to the ¡®escape the prison¡¯ quest.

    It might be her which was the reason as to why the quest reward was another Rank upgrade.

    ¡°Well, I just wanted to let you know. Yes, Altered¡¯s die in the prison, but if your crimes are light and you ever want to get out of here, it¡¯s best you don¡¯t do anything, and remember, never get the guards involved in your dirty affairs.¡±

    It sounded like it was the cue for their little meeting to be over, and with it, Gary stood up and gave a little polite bow before walking away, being escorted by the guard.

    When he finally left the room, Warden Synca let out a big sigh.

    ¡°Why do all the cute innocent-looking ones turn out to be so rough?¡±

    ¡°Based on what I read about him, he seemed to be a good person,¡± one of her guards by the side said.

    ¡°Oh, what do you mean by that?¡± Synca replied.

    ¡°Well, I heard that the White Rose has had multiple requests. From corporations, different cities¡¯panies, all asking us to release Gary. In their statements, they have talked about how he¡¯s helped them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s standard for all these guys with quite a big backing. I heard that the gang he was linked to was quite arge tier 2 one, so you can ignore most of those,¡± Synca replied. ¡°Do you really think someone so good would kill a neer on their first day?¡±

    The guard didn¡¯t say more, but he wanted to. A lot of the reports they had gotten, it wasn¡¯t just from corporations, but they were also from the general public. People from the AFA, public citizens from Slough, to a bakery shop owner, and just the local residents.

    It was something that had never happened before, and the guard in question had looked into it because he still remembered when Gary had pulled him back, just before that body would have mmed into him.

    ---

    On the prison floor itself, ckjack had been appearing more often. He had to since he had decided to make rtions with one of the groups, or at least make it seem that way, but he was carefully waiting for the right time, and he had finally decided.

    ¡®Alright, it¡¯s time to make my move,¡¯ ckjack said. ¡®I need to talk to that damn mutt. With him, the two of us can definitely get out of here, but I am a little worried. I mean, if he knows what I am, then what if a big fight breaks out?¡¯

    ¡®Is he stronger than me? I saw some of his strength, but I wasn¡¯t able to gauge his full powers. It could be difficult if he was.¡¯

    Either way, he couldn¡¯t be scared in this situation, but as ckjack went around the ce, he was unable to find Gary, no matter where he went.

    ¡°Oh, the green-haired guy?¡± one of the prisoners said. ¡°The Warden called him into her office, but that was a while ago, I thought he would have been back by now. You know, usually it''s just the standard stuff, an extension on your record, etc.¡±

    ckjack did find it weird, wondering where he was.

    Gary, after his meeting with the Warden, the guard actually escorted him off to a different area. The hallways, he had been down them before, so he had an idea of where he was going. He was wondering what it would all be about, but upon opening the door, he could see he was in the visitors'' room again.

    There was no one inside, but on the other side of the ss, Gary could see Elijah was there again, and was on his own.

    When Gary went to sit down, the guards on Elijah¡¯s and Gary¡¯s side both went away, allowing the two of them to talk in private.

    ¡°Thanks for doing this,¡± Gary said immediately. ¡°You don¡¯t have to risk yourself, with your position and everything, yet you¡¯reing here to see me.¡±

    Elijah smiled for a moment, but it quickly went away as he wanted to get down to business.

    ¡°I got what you asked me for, an update on the situation. It¡¯s not looking too good.¡±

    Elijah went ahead to exin the details to Gary, how the members of Slough had a bounty put on them. So the city was being attacked by the local gangs in the area as well.

    He then went on to exin how the Howlers were still there and the city where they were holding off, but the Phoenix Gang had made their move and now had entered Slough as well.

    ¡°Kai is smart,¡± Elijah continued. ¡°It will be a long time until they take over Slough; you still have some time, we still have some time.¡±

    Elijah wanted to tell him about how he had help, how they nned to get him out of here, but he didn¡¯t want to say anything that would also give away their position, so he would leave it be for now.

    ¡°There is one more thing that I need to tell you. Kai wanted me to specifically make sure you get this message, and it¡¯s up to you how to deal with it. First, your mother, she¡¯s awake¡­ and it seems like there is a visitor, your father has returned to Slough.¡±

    ---

 Chapter 828 An Annoying Smell

    828 An Annoying Smell

    Immediately after hearing the news, Gary felt something strange happening to his body. His hands, they wouldn''t stop shaking. They were moving on their own. When he looked down, he also noticed his own fingernails; they were growing.

    They were turning into the deadly ws they would do when he used his controlled transformation, but he wasn¡¯t using it right now. At the same time, they started to revert back, going back to his usual hands.

    The only thing that was staying consistent was that they wouldn¡¯t stop shaking.

    ¡°My mother, she¡¯s... she¡¯s awake, after all this time she¡¯s finally awake,¡± Gary repeated. The words, the reality, it didn¡¯t feel real. He would visit her often whenever he got the chance to.

    Often he was too busy, but not a single day had gone by in his life where he wouldn¡¯t think about his mother. What would she think when she woke up, what would she think of what he had be, or what he had made?

    He was sure she would be in for a number of surprises, their nice new home, the fact that they didn¡¯t have to worry about bills anymore, and that he was even part of the AFC at one point.

    But the time she had woken up, perhaps would have been the worst.

    ¡°I¡¯m... a bad kid,¡± Gary said in a soft voice to himself.

    He wanted to be there when she woke up. He wanted to see her more than anything andfort her. But instead, she would just be delivered shocking news. He was sure she would learn that her son was now in prison and that the town that they lived in was now being destroyed left, right, and center. From the news, even the public didn¡¯t seem to be safe, and that included his mother.

    ¡°Gary... what¡¯s happening, you can¡¯t me yourself for it. I know what you''re like,¡± Elijah said, he had to say something, he didn¡¯t like seeing Gary this way. He still remembered when he stuck up for the old man.

    If he was like that withplete strangers, then he could only imagine what he would be like with his own mother.

    ¡°Your mother, she was the one that raised you right. She¡¯s a special person, who raised a great kid like you, so I imagine she must be really great as well.¡±

    ¡°She is,¡± Gary answered, and his hands had stopped shaking, but after thinking about his mother, knowing she was safe for the time being along with Amy, another thought came into his head, and it was his father.

    Now, Elijah could see Gary¡¯s eyes going out of control. They narrowed, turning thin like a slit, and a slight red tinge started toe into his eyes.

    ¡°My father, what is he doing there? After all this time he¡¯s been away, he¡¯s there with them! What is he ying at! Is he trying to trick them!¡±

    Too many thoughts were going through Gary¡¯s head. Unlike Amy, Gary was a little older, and rather than images of his father having good times with him, in his head appeared instead, all the difficulties right after he left with his mother. That man, Gary, was happy if he never met him again. He had no right toe back into their lives right now.

    But Gary couldn¡¯t just think of his family troubles, from everything he heard, it sounded like the whole of Slough was in trouble. Kai was doing his best with what he had, but could they reallyst that much longer without him?

    ¡°Elijah,¡± Gary said in a snapping tone that had caught his attention. ¡°If you can¡¯t do anything to get me out of here, then if you can, I want you to try and do everything in your power to help the Howlers, do whatever you can to keep them safe. I will get out of here no matter what!¡±

    Elijah nodded after hearing Gary¡¯s words, and the guards, hearing themotion from outside the door, had decided toe in. Time was up for them anyway, so Gary willingly left, and so did Elijah.

    ¡®Gary, just wait a little longer, we''re getting there, but there are more people on your side than you think. Trust in your teammates to do well.¡¯

    ---

    When Gary exited from the visitors'' room, he had finally returned back to the prison, and he was still in a sour mood, but he knew what he needed to do.

    ¡®The System, it gives exp for everyone I take down in here, and if I consume the Altered¡¯s, then I get even more stats. There are the south and the north group that I can deal with.

    ¡®If I deal with both of them. I might not be able to take them out at the same time, but if I deal with both of them eventually, then I should be a lot stronger, strong enough to break out of here.¡¯

    As Gary was figuring out how he should do this, taking out one at a time or going to the other side to help them fight first, that was when a particr person had bumped into him.

    ¡°Oh, so we finally meet. I¡¯ve been looking for you everywhere,¡± the man said in a confident voice.

    Looking directly at the bearded man, Gary was wondering if he recognized him. Maybe he was part of Stinger¡¯s group, but his face didn¡¯t ring a bell.

    ¡°I heard that you had been looking for me, and you see, well, I¡¯ve been looking for you as well,¡± the man in question was ckjack, but in the middle of his speech, he noticed something.

    Gary started to sniff the air slightly. It was a wafting from the man in front of him, a smell that he had never smelt before, for some reason, it was agitating Gary slightly.

    ¡°The smell, it¡¯sing from you, why do you smell different from everyone else?¡± Gary asked.

    ---

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 829 An Unlikely Combo

    829 An Unlikely Combo

    It was a strange sensation that Gary couldn''t quite shake off, a persistent urge that kept him sniffing the air. The scent was unmistakably emanating from the person in front of him. While not unpleasant, it was irritating, akin to the sneeze-inducing irritation one feels when sniffing pepper.

    The tingling in his nose grew more intense,pelling him to cut the conversation short with this enigmatic stranger. Despite his difort, his curiosity was piqued, leading him to address the issue directly.

    ¡°The smell, it¡¯sing from you, why do you smell different from everyone else?¡± Gary inquired, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

    ckjack, slightly taken aback by thement, noticed Gary¡¯s incessant nose-rubbing and squinting. It was evident that Gary could smell him, and with no means to mask his scent, ckjack had anticipated this moment.

    ¡®Well, I guess this confirms what he is,¡¯ ckjack thought, pondering Gary''s unique ability. ¡®But then, why doesn¡¯t he know about me? If he can smell me, shouldn¡¯t he know? Is he some young fledgling, or an omega that was made away from the main group in secret? This is a better situation than I thought.¡¯

    Trying to alleviate the situation, ckjack waved his hand in front of him, futilely attempting to disperse the scent, which did nothing to alleviate Gary''s difort.

    ¡°I¡¯m ckjack,¡± he introduced himself. ¡°I was told that you hade to my cell a few times while I was away, and that you wanted to speak to me. So, I decided toe to you.¡±

    ckjack had decided to leave out the fact that through his own sense of smell, he was actually avoiding Gary for the time being, because he wanted to confirm a few things first. Otherwise this conversation wouldn''t have happened and would have ended with a lot of blood.

    Choosing to momentarily ignore the strange smell, Gary took a quick nce at ckjack. This was the individual rumored to be strong enough to confront the warden, and one of the two who remained untouched by the three major groups within the prison. Based solely on his appearance, it was challenging to gauge his strength, but Gary knew better than to judge a book by its cover.

    ¡®I was initially seeking out ckjack, considering he had opposed the warden. I thought he could advise me on her powers, equipping me with the knowledge to break out of this ce.¡¯

    ¡°I wanted to speak to you about your fight against the Warden,¡± Gary said, getting straight to the point.

    ¡°Ah, it looks like we havee to each other at the right time, then,¡± ckjack replied, acknowledging Gary''s inquiry. ¡°I have heard about your feats while you were in here as well. From my guess, it looks like you want to get out of here. Who would have thought of such an unlikelybo teaming up.¡±

    Gary found ckjack¡¯s response somewhat odd but chose to overlook it for now. ckjack, meanwhile, pondered whether to mention Gary¡¯s power and how it weakened the Warden. Revealing this would mean exining how he knew about it, and there were still a few more things he wanted to get done.

    ¡°The Warden is incredibly strong, a mythical type Altered. Her powers are close to one of the kings out there, or someone in the top ten in the AFC, just to give you an idea. It¡¯s a fight that I¡¯m not sure we can win. I fought her and lost, and honestly, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone stronger than me in here. Still, if you want to give it a go, trying to fight against the Warden, then you are free to be my guest,¡± ckjack shared candidly.

    ¡°How would I even fight the Warden? And even if we got past her, how would we escape?¡± Gary questioned, contemting the logistics of such a confrontation.

    ¡°I have my ways. If we are able to weaken her, then I am able to get her to show us the exit of this ce. As for getting her down here, we would need to start argemotion. Getting into trouble with either the south or north group should do,¡± ckjack exined, outlining a possible strategy.

    Gary was not averse to this n, as he intended to confront these groups anyway to gain the experience and strength needed. The prospect of facing the Warden alone seemed daunting unless he leveled up significantly.

    ¡°And what if the two of us teamed up? If it was us two against the Warden, couldn¡¯t we do something then?¡± Gary suggested, exploring the possibility of a partnership.

    ¡°Me fight again? I feel like if I got involved and we failed, she might kill me for trying again. I was let offst time after everything that happened. I suppose I would be more inclined to try again if I was sure we could win. But right now, I don¡¯t even know how strong you are,¡± ckjack responded, expressing his reservations.

    The two exchanged a deep, probing look, their fingers twitching slightly as if ready for a sudden confrontation. Both men could sense the tension rising, the hairs on the back of ckjack''s neck standing on end.

    ¡°I should tell you something else,¡± ckjack added. ¡°Us two, I think we should avoid being close to each other for long periods. Otherwise, it could turn out a little unwell. If we''re fighting together, it¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was going to say, there is a way I can test out my strength with you if you wanted to,¡± Gary proposed, hinting at a potential challenge.

    ¡°Hey!¡± ckjack snapped back sharply. ¡°If you''re thinking about what I think you''re thinking about, then one of us might die in the process, and I¡¯m telling you now, I¡¯m an incredibly lucky person.¡±

    ****

    ************

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 830 Working With The Worst

    <h4>Chapter 830 Working With The Worst</h4>

    ckjack, a prisoner who was full of mystery, spent most of his time gambling with the other fellow inmates. During his time here, he hadn''t made anyone he could really call friends to rely on, nor had he joined any group.

    There was just one fact that everyone did know, and that was the fact that he was strong. Now it seemed like he was about to fight one of the strong neers head to head.

    Both Gary and ckjack had their eyes locked on each other. Thetter had approached Gary thinking it was the right time, the time to use the other''s powers to help him, but he just needed to see a little more from him before he could put all of his hope into this stranger. Especially since they were part of that group of people, and now, it felt like they were ready to sh at any moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you now,¡± ckjack said once again, the tone of his voice shifting, condescending as if he was speaking to a dog. His eyes were slightly changing color. ¡°I order you to stand down; this is not a fight that the two of us need to have.¡±

    Gary looked back at ckjack and noticed the shift, the change of colors in his eyes. Was this part of his Altered transformation that was about to happen?

    ¡®Who is this guy to talk to me like that? My blood is just boiling with him standing in front of me!¡¯ Gary''s jaw was tensing, but at the same time, images of what was happening outside appeared in his head.

    His mother¡ªif the two of them were to fight and it was to get out of hand, it could dy his queue to get out of the ce.

    ¡°Alright, if you weren''t talking about fighting against you, then what did you mean by you needed to test me?¡± Gary asked, doing his best to ignore the disrespect.

    Rather than replying straight away, ckjack was left confused for a moment, staring at Gary.

    ¡®Did my influence work on him? I don¡¯t quite understand what happened. That wasn¡¯t the normal reaction. I know our skills don¡¯t work on them as strongly as it doespared to others, but I was quite proud of my ability. I thought I could at least be able to control him; why didn¡¯t it work?¡¯

    ¡°Hey, are you going to talk, or am I just wasting my time, because if you want to fight, we can fight!¡± Gary asked, thinking at least he could get some experience out of the whole thing.

    ckjack quickly shook his head. The reason for his ''influence'' not working he could figure out another time. Right now, the green-haired kid was agreeing to follow along.

    ¡°Right, right. Look in here, we need to both be at a certain level of strength if we want to take on the Warden. I told you before, we need to create chaos if we want to get the Warden down here, but then what?¡±

    ¡°We still have the rest of the guards, as well as the White Rose to deal with. We can¡¯t just deal with the Warden; we have to deal with her quickly and get out of here quickly. Even if all of the prisoners were on our side, it would be impossible to take on the White Rose, you should know that, right?¡±

    Gary had to agree with this fact. What he was more worried about was how hard the White Rose would chase him down. Would they do so going all the way back to Slough?

    If that was the case, would escaping even do anything? Or if Gary reached Slough with all the fighting going on, would they stop for a few moments to think about it?

    ¡°I can see you understand what I¡¯m getting at. I have calcted just how much strength we need to escape from this ce. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t have confidence you can beat the South or North Leaders; I believe you can. But if I thought we could escape with one of them, well, I would have already approached them.¡±

    ¡°I assume that you have heard of a person named Ice?¡±

    Gary shook his head; his roommate had informed him. There were two people who were strong enough to the point where the groups in the prison left them alone.

    ¡±So if you know about him, I¡¯m sure you know what I¡¯m getting at. I already told you, if I knew there was someone strong enough to help me get out of this ce, I would have already teamed up with him.¡±

    ¡°So, Ice is not strong enough. I need someone stronger than him. So if you want to prove your worth to me, then go ahead and fight him.¡±

    Starting fights with strangers he had no history with, or that did no wrong to him, was not Gary¡¯s style, but he needed to win fights to get rewarded by the system, and he needed to fight strong opponents. He also had to remind himself of what type of ce he was in; it was a prison, and most likely everyone who was in here had done something that was worth putting them in.

    When Gary turned around, about to look for Ice, he turned to look back at ckjack again.

    ¡°I wonder, how did someone like you got stuck in here?¡± Gary asked.

    To which ckjack just shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I guess I was just in the wrong ce at the wrong time. Gary, none of us are good people in here.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Gary replied as he walked off to find Ice. ¡°Which is why I was starting to wonder what kind of person it was that I was teaming up with, and who am I helping break free.¡±

    As ckjack watched Gary walk away, he had a glimmer of hope for what was toe, which was followed by arge, sick feeling in his stomach.

    ¡®If anyone found out who I was meeting up with, my head would be rolling on the floor.¡¯

 Chapter 831 A Cold Chill

    <h4>Chapter 831 A Cold Chill</h4>

    Walking around the prison, Gary knew where he was heading, where he would find this person known as Ice. While looking for ckjack, he had actually stumbled upon the area before.

    The prison was essentially split into three different areas: North, South, and the middle section whererge steps, which worked as seating areas for the prison, resided. This was where Stinger and his group would reside as well.

    However, everyone at night would have to go down through the hallways and cross paths to head to their rooms, which were stationed all over the area. It was during this time when most fights would ur as everyone headed back to their rooms, and those from different groups would end up in a scuffle.

    Before, it was a little difficult for Gary to move, but now as he was heading through the North side, the members seemed to ignore him.

    ¡®I guess after what I did with Stinger, and that other guy, the other groups are less likely to get involved with me. It¡¯s alright for now¡­ but I need to attack them eventually, because I need to get exp and level up from the system,¡¯ Gary thought to himself.

    The reason why he was entering the North side was because there was a certain hallway that was chillier than others. When just walking past, a cool breeze could be felt on one¡¯s skin, giving them the shivers.

    This was all due to a certain individual, the man known as Ice. Gary stepped through the cold hallway and started to make his way down, and this didn¡¯t go unnoticed by the North Gang. The news had quickly spread until it had eventually reached Calvin¡¯s ears.

    ¡°So, the new guy is heading to Ice, are they looking to face each other?¡± Calvin said to himself. ¡°This is an interesting development. I thought for sure Carter would be the one to start the big bang that went off in this prison.¡±

    ¡°Maybe this is a result of his actions, but this might be a good time to get one of them on our side. Whoever is badly hurt in this match, we can bring them over, just like we did with Stinger.¡±

    ¡°Keep a close eye on what¡¯s happening.¡±

    As Gary walked deeper down the hallway, the chillier it got. The sides of the concrete walls were covered in frost. What was even more apparent was the other prisoners that were in their cells.

    Ice wasn¡¯t the only one that stayed here; there were other prisoners as well. They had to suffer through the cold, with chattering teeth. In a way, it was a sacrifice they had to make.

    Gary recognized that these people weren¡¯t a part of the three main gangs. Staying here, near the man named Ice, meant they were under protection.

    Gary delved deeper until he had reached the end, thest cell on the right, its doors held right open, the bottom of the door encased in ice, as if the door was never shut.

    In a way, it showed how much power Ice had; even the guards didn¡¯t bother to close his door at night¡ªit was an impossible task in the first ce.

    Walking in, Gary could see therge man, with broad shoulders and rounded muscles, a giant in a lot of senses, just sitting on the ground rather than lying on his bed.

    ¡°The Green-haired one, I have heard a lot about you,¡± Ice said, looking up. ¡°I have done nothing to anger you or be involved with you, so why are you here?¡±

    Ice wasn¡¯t baring his teeth, nor was he on the attack straight away. This felt a little difficult for Gary because for once, he needed to be the one that initiated the attack.

    ¡°I heard you¡¯re strong,¡± Gary said. ¡°Strength is something I need because I¡¯m looking to get out of this ce.¡±

    ¡°Strength is something you need?¡± Ice replied. ¡°Are you looking to prove yourself by fighting against me, or are you asking me to join you in a useless task? I figure what you¡¯re nning to do; you want to escape this ce, but escape is impossible.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to get out?¡± Gary asked. ¡°And I haven¡¯t tried escaping myself yet, so it¡¯s not impossible to me¡­¡±

    Gary needed to convince Ice to fight him, but what if he could do so in another way.

    ¡°If I prove to you I¡¯m strong enough to beat you, then how about it? How about you join me?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Join you, in your little breakout, or do you mean join you on the outside as well?¡± Ice replied.

    Gary thought about it for a while before he answered.

    ¡°I need help, both inside and outside. It¡¯s up to you what you want to do; I just wanted to make the offer. You say it¡¯s impossible to escape; is it because our enemies, or the people here, are too strong?¡±

    ¡°So I have an offer: fight me, let me show you my strength, and then you can decide if they¡¯re too strong or not, or what to do. If you want to join me in getting out of here after, then you can do so.¡±

    Ice looked hesitant until he finally stood up from his position. It was only then that Gary noticed how tall he was, as his head almost scraped the top of the ceiling.

    ¡°You want a prisoner to join you? This is a ce where people are in here for their crimes. They have backstabbed, killed, and murdered more than you know. This is not a ce to work with others, and it¡¯s the same for you as well,¡± Ice stated.

    ¡°The people in here, they deserve to stay in here. Everyone deserves to stay in here and never get let out; otherwise, the people will suffer.¡±

    Gary tensed his fist; he needed to get out because people were suffering right now; he needed to stop it.

    ¡°And what about you? Is it the same for you?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you in here because of what you did?¡±

    ¡°Exactly right,¡± Ice said, his eyes shining a bright blue. ¡°I am in here because of those I have hurt and killed. It¡¯s best for me to stay in here so no more have to get hurt, and I will do the same to you¡­ now that I know you¡¯re nning to leave, I have to stop you!¡±

    ****

 Chapter 832 Ice Powers

    <h4>Chapter 832 Ice Powers</h4>

    Gary had thought of a number of things to get Ice to fight him, but depending on what type of person he was, allowed him to decide whether or not he would beat him and consume his body for the sake of his own strength, or just beat him to satisfy ckjack¡¯s requirements.

    However, it seemed like Ice was a bit stubborn, and it would be hard for him to fight with Gary. But that all seemingly changed when he started to mention that he was nning to escape.

    ¡®That riled him up for some reason, but I need to get ready to fight him. I know he has ice powers; I think anyone can guess that just based on his name and the situation we are in right now!¡¯ Gary thought as he spread his legs further apart.

    [You might have messed with the wrong one this time! Defeat the opponent in the confrontation with the Mythical Type Altered.]

    ¡®A Mythical Type Altered?¡¯ Gary raised his eyebrow at the system message in front of him. He knew of Mythical Type Altereds, and they were one of the rarest types of Altered solutions out there.

    Which begged the question: Just what type of Mythical creature was he facing right now?

    ¡°You will not leave this ce. I will make sure no one escapes from this prison!¡± Ice eximed as he extended his hand out.

    Although Ice wasrge in size, Gary thought this movement was a little ridiculous considering how far away he was. That was until out from the palm of his hand, an ice pir extended out. It was fast and crashed into Gary¡¯s body, pushing him out of the open cell door and continued on until Gary¡¯s back mmed into another cell¡¯s bars. The ice, as it hit him, started to spread and encased his arms, legs, and the rest of his body.

    ¡°Crap, crap, crap!¡± Those that were resting in the nearby cells hade out to see themotion, and they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    ¡°The new guy, the green-haired guy, and Ice are fighting. We have to get out of here; otherwise, the rest of us will get caught up in it!¡±

    The prisoners could already feel themselves getting slightly colder. Immediately, they started to run out of the hallway and into the main prison area. This caused quite the reaction from the rest of the prisoners, as they were now aware something big was starting.

    Ice ced his hand down by his side; the ice stream that was going from him to Gary had seemingly disappeared, and now there was just arge block of ice holding Gary in ce against the cell bars.

    This was a first for Gary. He had fought against many Altereds in the past, but with most Altereds, the strength came from when their bodies would transform and the traits their bodies gave them.

    However, it didn¡¯t even look like Ice had transformed, and yet his strength, his power, it was purely elemental and incredibly strong.

    ¡°You seem to be pretty adamant in letting the criminals stay in this ce when you¡¯re a criminal yourself!¡± Gary shouted back.

    ¡°Exactly. I know how much of a danger I can be to the people around me, which is why it¡¯s best we just stay in here. I¡¯ve shown you my strength; it¡¯s not like those that you fought. I heard you took part in the AFC. Well, you might have been strong in there, but it¡¯s not the same in the real world.¡±

    Gary knew what he meant. In the AFC, elemental powers like this were banned, and only part of one¡¯s transformed state could be used. Fighting someone who was strong in this way, it wasn¡¯t the norm for Gary.

    ¡°It¡¯s best you just leave,¡± Ice stated as he turned around.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not just going to leave,¡± Gary stated, his body starting to transform. His face was turning slightly, his hair extending down his sideburns, and especially his arms. As he pushed against the ice, it started to crack. The cracks were growingrger bit by bit until Gary cracked through the ice and broke himself free. He still hadn¡¯t fully transformed, but his legs and arms were full of hair.

    ¡°You broke out of that; I guess it¡¯s true, you are not like the others,¡± Ice eximed.

    His eyes were glowing again as he looked at Gary; the two of them were staring at each other for a while until Gary made the first move¡ªhe charged forward, his hand ready.

    Right then, he leapt toward Ice. ¡®This guy could be really helpful against the Phoenix gang; it¡¯s best if I don¡¯t kill him!¡¯

    Gary thought as he swung his fist. Right in front of Ice, arge shield had formed, and Gary had managed to crash his hand through it. The shield was broken by Gary¡¯s strength, turning it into nothing but parts of ice. It shattered like ss.

    But that wasn¡¯t the aim of Ice in the first ce; he didn¡¯t need a solid shield, just something to stop Gary for a short while. With his other hand, he swung it, and in the middle of his swing, he had formed a giant ice club. The club hit Gary right in his side, it was a powerful swing, harder than Gary had been hit before. The club had shattered as it hit Gary¡¯s body, and he was soon sent flying in the air.

    He was lifted off his feet and was flying through the hallway. He continued until he hadnded back in the center of the main area and was lying on the ground, looking at the ceiling.

    To the other prisoners, all they could see was Gary on the floor, covered in parts of ice.

    ¡°It¡¯s true; that guy¡¯s going up against Ice. What is going on in this ce? Why are crazy things happening?¡±

    The onlookers were surprised and started to spread out, going against the side of the prison, not wanting to get in the way of what was toe.

    Meanwhile, ckjack was watching it all.

    ¡°Come on, did you think he would be an easy opponent? This is someone that you will have to use your full strength against. It would be best if you just transformed now.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 833 Strong Ice Man

    <h4>Chapter 833 Strong Ice Man</h4>

    It was quite clear that Gary had been going about this fight the wrong way. Although he knew Ice would be strong, since he had beaten Stinger with ease, he thought that the other prisoners would be like that as well, but this person waspletely differentpared to those from before.

    Immediately, Gary had gotten up from his feet, lifting himself athletically off the floor, and he could see Ice already charging his way.

    ¡°It looks like you still have some hope in your eyes of getting out of this ce, which means I¡¯m afraid I will have to keep giving you a pummeling!¡± Ice had a newrge club made out of ice in his hands.

    He swung it down to hit Gary.

    [Lethal Pounce]

    Gary¡¯s body jumped to the side, and right after, he had leapt to the side of Ice where he was wide open. The club had hit the ground, cracking the floor beneath it while also freezing it in ces.

    [w Drain!]

    Gary¡¯s fingernails started to extend as well, turningrge and deadly, as he swung his whole arm, his fingernails pierced right through Ice and hit his body. All of his strength pushed him across, causing him to skid across the ground, but he had only moved about a foot.

    ¡®What the?¡¯

    It was an odd sight for Gary because he was used to seeing his opponents go flying when using all his strength, but even with the hit itself, it felt like he was moving something incredibly heavy.

    ¡®At least I gained some health back from the w Drain skill, but I¡¯m going to have to fight a lot harder than that if I want to win!¡¯ Gary thought.

    Equally, it currently wasn¡¯t night either, so Gary¡¯s energy, as well as his skills, were half and a level lower than they usually would be.

    When Gary tried to move his feet though, he noticed something; they were stuck. Looking down at his feet, they were frozen in ce, including the floor around him; they were frozen all the way up to his knees.

    ¡°I know you''re strong enough to break them, but I just needed you to stay still for a moment!¡± Ice eximed as he swung his club down hard.

    Gary¡¯s feet broke free from it using his strength, but he was smashed on top of the head again; his whole body came crashing down onto the floor.

    [-45 HP] [230/300 HP]

    ¡®This guy, not only is his ice abilities strong, but he seems to hit strong as well.¡¯

    On top of that, the club this time hadn¡¯t smashed when it hit Gary on top of his head, and instead, it was starting to freeze the entirety of his upper body. While Gary was struggling to break free, Ice had gotten his club ready again and swung it wide like a baseball bat.

    It smashed into Gary¡¯s side, and he went flying towards the staircase this time; he had crashed into it, breaking several parts of the staircase, andrge amounts of blood wereing out from his mouth.

    [-62 HP] [168/300 HP]

    When was thest time Gary remembered getting beat this bad, being humiliated like this? He hadn¡¯t fully transformed yet, but that was because he hadn¡¯t even had the chance; he was just doing his best to escape from the situation.

    Even now, before Gary could fully get up, he saw arge ice stakee out from the corner, and pierce right through his shoulder. It had gone through his hard thick skin and pinned him to therge staircase structure.

    ¡°Arghh!¡±

    Right where the ice spear had pierced Gary, the area was starting to freeze over, pinning him even more so to the ground.

    [-44 HP] [124/300 HP]

    Carter, the South Gang leader, as well as everyone else watching, were quite surprised.

    ¡°I knew Ice was strong, and I knew that new green-haired kid was strong, but I think it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen Ice fighting like this; he¡¯s going all out. There is toorge of a level difference between the two of them,¡± Cartermented.

    At the same time, ckjack was squinting as he continued to watch what was ying out. ¡®I was watching his fight so far; he hasn¡¯t shown anything impressive. At this rate, even if he fights against the Warden, he might not even be able to get a bite on her. I was trying to figure out what type of werewolf he was or what ss he was.

    ¡®I can¡¯t see anything, but I guess it¡¯s pointless now as well.¡¯

    As Gary tried to lift himself up, three more ice pirs came out, and there wasn¡¯t a thing Gary could do. One after the other, he had been pierced in the other shoulder, and they had pierced through his thighs as well.

    [-33 HP] [-24 HP] [-46 HP] [21/300 HP]

    Just like that, it seemed like Gary didn¡¯t even have the chance to fight at his fullest, because his opponent was able to overwhelm him. He still had plenty of energy left to use his skills and fight back, but he was already close to being dead.

    ¡°I purposely didn¡¯t aim for any of your vitals and have brought you to near your death,¡± Ice stated. ¡°I hope now this means you ept this loss and that you will stop thinking about escaping.¡±

    To everyone watching, it seemed the fight was over, and even more so, Gary had been humiliated. Ice hadn¡¯t even killed him, beating him in a way he would purposely not die.

    For Carter, he was just shaking his head. ¡°He¡¯s safer in here; with the Phoenix Gang going after him, this would be the same result if he was to go up against Sin.¡±

    ¡°Sin.¡± Gary softly said. Images, cries, blood, the shing images were appearing in Gary¡¯s head. The sight of Slough, what it had been in the past, and what it could be now.

    ¡°I need to stop him!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°I need to get out of here, no matter what the cost!¡±

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Gary screamed at the top of his lungs as his body started to change.

    [Full body transformation activated.]

    [Last stand, Level 2 Activated]

    ***

 Chapter 834 The Mythical Altered

    <h4>Chapter 834 The Mythical Altered</h4>

    In the past year, while the Howlers and Slough were going through a peaceful period, advancing the city to be what it was today, Gary didn¡¯t sit around doing nothing.

    The main aim of his was always to grow in strength, he knew he had a timer on him, a limit set by whoever it was that had made the Werewolves in the first ce.

    During the time, he was unable to raise his level byrge amounts because the system wouldn¡¯t give him exp based on what he was doing. There were no tough opponents for him to face, and he hadn¡¯t gone around just starting fights with the other gangs in the area.

    He didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for the entire group after all, while everything was going well. However, through his training, he did manage to do some things, that was improving the basis of the skills he used.

    The skills were able to level up, and while the night sky was out, Gary¡¯s skills would level up due to his ss type, he didn¡¯t always have the privilege of fighting at night. On top of that, surely if his skills grew stronger at night, then if he was to train them up they would only rise even further.

    Still, there was one skill, a skill that didn¡¯t level up during the effect of the night sky, and that wasst stand. A skill that allowed Gary to consume as much damage as possible, while being on one HP.

    The question was how would he increase the level of this skill and was it even possible? Without leveling up there were no stat points, and without quests or turning people there were also no pawn points.

    The pawn points could be used to advance skills, but could they be evolved naturally as well? For Gary, it seemed like it had to be possible because not every werewolf had the system.

    He knew from meeting Midwak, that he didn¡¯t have a same system type like him, it wasn¡¯t the train of the Werewolves yet he knew skills, and it was the same for the others they could grow in strength as well.

    It had to be possible for him to improve himself. It took a lot of work to improve such a skill since it was based off one being near death, and it needed a lot of help from those around him, but his perseverance had paid off.

    Now it was the time to use it, in this situation he had done it activating thest stand level 2 skill, not only that but no longer conserving himself, he had used the full transformation skill.

    Turning around, Ice could see Gary¡¯s height growing, his body thickening in size. His arms bulking and fur growing all over his body. His front nose snout extended out, and saliva from his mouth couldn¡¯t help but drip to the floor, as his upper lip curled revealing his sharp teeth.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve decided to enter your full Altered mode, it looks like you''re taking this seriously, I guess, I shouldn¡¯t hold back either!¡± Ice replied.

    Soon his body was changing, it didn¡¯t particrly growrger in size since Ice was already arge person to begin with, but simr to Gary his body was thickening in areas, his arms were goingrger and his thighs were growing as they expanded looking like tworge tree trunks.

    Simrly, a fur started to cover Ice¡¯s body as well, including that of his face, the only areas that weren¡¯t so much covered in fur, were his wide light blue-skinned feet and his hands.

    In his hand, Ice had formed the club again, and in his other hand, a shield of Ice had been formed.

    ¡°I knew he was a mythical type Altered, but I¡¯ve never seen his full form before he looks like a monster!¡± Stinger shouted, he was surprised just as much as the rest of the guests were as well.

    ¡°A mythical type boss!¡± One of his subordinates called out. ¡°But what type of Mythical type beast is that, something that uses ice powers and is covered in fur, are there any monsters out there like that.¡±

    ¡°If I was to take a guess I could think of two. The creature that has haunted travelers up and down the mountains in the past, arge Yeti, or with that club in his hand, I can also think of a Troll. With both of these creatures, there is so much mystery surrounding them.

    ¡°You know, mythical creatures are just that, creatures that are based on human myth, but it turned out that they were real, beasts that used to live on earth from the past, and the stories were passed down till we thought they weren¡¯t real.

    ¡°Honestly, due to those stories, a lot could be lost, it could be possible whatever beast Ice is based off, is actually abination of the two.¡± Stinger exined.

    It was a frightening thought, not only did he have strong ice powers, but the strength of Ice, and his skin, it was extremely powerful.

    ¡°Then what about Gary, is he based on a mythical creature as well?¡± One of the men asked.

    When looking at Gary, his size was menacing, but to most, although they knew of the mythical creature the Werewolf. In their minds, they could only think of him as an Altered, and the Werewolves and beasts were different things in nature.

    To them, Gary just looked like a Wolf-based beast Altered.

    ¡°He¡¯s done well, but I¡¯m not sure this is a fight he can win.¡± Stingermented having faced him, and his wound on his shoulder was starting to hurt again.

    ¡°Right now though, it looks like two colossal monsters are about to face off in this ce! I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be a lot of blood spilt.¡±

 Chapter 835 The Myth vs the Old

    <h4>Chapter 835 The Myth vs the Old</h4>

    For a split moment, after the two were finished transforming, Gary looked into the eyes of Ice, but a second after, he charged in fast. With his full transformation and speed, as well as using thest stand skill, he was on limited time.

    When Gary was close, he jumped up in the air, pushed off in the air, and drop-kicked therge shield that was in front of him. The strength was immense causing Ice to stumble back.

    ¡®That¡­ moved me¡­ even in my full Altered form¡­ his form, it¡¯s no joke.¡¯ Ice thought.

    The force and heaviness from Ice had pushed Gary back as well, but as soon as he got back to his position, he lifted his hands in the air and swiped them.

    [w sh]

    Right out from Gary¡¯s hands was a singlerge line of power. Everyone¡¯s eyeballs nearly popped out of their head. Gary¡¯s physical form, his Altered form, it looked physical. That seemed to be its main trait, so what type of power was this that was leaving his hands?

    Therge w marks left Gary¡¯s hands and scratched up part of the floor. When Ice lifted his shield to block it, the first attack had cracked the ice shield and the second one, on impact, had shattered the shield altogether.

    Right through the shield, Gary was already right there, in front of him, with a fist ready to bash in his head.

    Ice reacted fast as he swung his club and hit Gary¡¯s side, but he took the hit. Blood dripped out of his mouth, but Gary didn¡¯t seem to care as he swung full force hitting Ice on the side of his head.

    Right after, Gary was in the air and had lifted both of his hands, mming it down on top of his head. Ice still hadn¡¯t fallen down to his knees, he just seemed to have stumbled. However, Gary hadn¡¯t stopped his attacks.

    After hitting Ice a few times, he noticed that his hands were covered in ice, but activating his w Drain skill, his ws ripped through the ice, cracking it apart, and he swung them across Ice¡¯s thick chest drawing blood.

    It had ripped through his skin and drew blood, soaking his white color from the front. Seeing this, Ice stomped the ground, and arge ice pir appeared from the floor hitting Gary right in the chin.

    It sent him stumbling back, then in Ice¡¯s hands were the ice spikes from before. He hurled it towards Gary, and it prated his shoulder. It continued again, but Gary seemed to ignore it, as he continued to charge forward.

    ¡°Are you not afraid of death!¡± Ice asked.

    Throwing both of his hands up, two w shes were made and both of them hit deep across Ice¡¯s chest leavingrger marks and blood to stter in the air again.

    ¡®With thest stand level 2 skill, there is a big difference. During this time, not only will my HP not go below 1, but my energy as well, it¡¯s unlimited. So I can fight you with everything I have.¡¯ Gary thought to himself as he swung his arms wildly, the shes hitting his opponent''s body again and again.

    Taking the hits, Ice gritted his teeth and decided to create arger ice spear in his hand, then hurling it towards Gary again, he thought as long as this hit him there was no way for him to get back and attack.

    Although the spear wasrge in size it still was grabbable. Spinning to the side Gary allowed the spear to miss him, then with his own hand he grabbed onto it wide. He used his ws to grip into it.

    ¡°Take it back!¡± Gary shouted as he hurled the ice spear.

    Lifting up his fist, Ice could do nothing as the spear crashed into him. It hadn¡¯t pierced his hand as he had covered it all with hardened ice, but it was still ready to do some damage.

    ¡®It¡¯s like I¡¯m fighting against apletely different person. Was he holding back the whole time? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been on the back foot before.¡¯

    The club had formed in Ice''s hand once more. His body was weakening due to all the w shes he had suffered from. The giant club swung to hit Gary right on his side, but before it hit him, Gary had lifted up his foot, and mmed it right on the club, sending it to the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting out of this ce, no matter what, and I¡¯m not going to let you stop me!¡±

    [Lethal Pounce]

    [w sh]

    [Lethal Pounce]

    [w sh]

    [Lethal Pounce]

    [w sh]

    Gary¡¯s body was moving at a fast speeding from all angles and each time he was throwing out a w sh. It was the same set of moves he had used against Midwak, but this time he had a new skill to use.

    He continued to use it again and again, shing at hitting Ice nonstop. He wasn''t staying still, no matter what Ice powers he formed in front of him, he would be hurt by the attacks. Blood was dripping onto the floor, and it looked like the only thing that was holding him up were the other w sh attacks.

    Finally, the w shes hade to an end, and Ice fell to his knees. They had hit the ground, and his form was starting to turn back. Meanwhile, Gary was standing there right in front of him.

    ¡°It¡­ looks like¡­ you won this one.¡± Ice replied, his body still wavering. ¡°You should kill me because if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll try and stop you again.¡±

    Gary¡¯s body started to revert back to the way it was as well and when his face returned to normal.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a killer, and you don¡¯t seem to be either. I have no hatred towards you, and if you try and stop me, I¡¯ll just have to do the same again.¡± Gary smiled.

    Right after those words, Ice¡¯s body fell to the floor, lying there on the ground defeated. That day, the prison had witnessed one of the untouchables get defeated by one of the others. It was a sign of change, a big change that was happening in the prison.

    *****

 Chapter 836 A Deadly Trio

    <h4>Chapter 836 A Deadly Trio</h4>

    Therge battle hade to an end, with one person left standing, while the other was lying t out on the floor. Ice had passed out, and to those watching, there was a clear victor. The only thing was, those watching had no clue just how close the match really was.

    To them, Gary, while taking the hits non-stop from Ice, looked like someone who was invincible and had an unlimited amount of stamina. That was because for that short period of time, those two things were certainly true.

    ¡®You were incredibly strong, more so than I could ever imagine. You also helped me see what it¡¯s like to fight against someone that has strong elemental powers, and you also showed that I¡¯m still not strong enough,¡¯ Gary thought to himself, trying to clench his fist.

    In doing so, his fingers, his whole fist, was weak, but one thing did ur, and that was a ding sound from his system.

    [Questplete] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!]

    [Level 34 >>> 36]

    It was the first time in a while since defeating one opponent that Gary had leveled up more than once. Which was nice for him to see; with it, he would gain two stat points he could use as well. They were handy, since the higher level he was, the fewer stat points he would receive even from consuming Altered and beasts.

    But on top of that, there was a little more in terms of rewards he had received.

    [You have received 2 pawn points] [Total pawn points: 7]

    ¡®I still have 7 pawn points I can use. I can use these to upgrade my other stats or see how much is required to upgrade my skills as well. I can also use them to unlock new skills if they''re avable. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been keeping them for the time being, and there¡¯s another reason as well,¡¯ Gary thought as he looked at the points building up. He needed to think about what was the best situation in all of this and what he could do, but before that, he needed to figure things out himself.

    He raised his hand, hitting the top of his forehead; his vision was quite blurry.

    [1HP/300 HP]

    ¡®I¡¯m in a critical state right now¡­the thing I need¡­I need¡­is food.¡¯

    No one had approached Gary or Ice yet. They were still unsure of what could happen to them; some of them even feared if they went forward they would still be attacked by either due to the mode they were in.

    What they were amazed at was Gary right now. Even though he was standing upright, he had done so in a pool of blood. They remembered all the hits he had taken with his body and the strong hits from Ice. It was a miracle that he was still alive.

    It was the same for ckjack, who had been watching the fight carefully.

    ¡®So you managed to do it, you managed to defeat Ice, but to me, it looks like it was done by the skin of your teeth. Luckily, I don¡¯t need you to defeat the warden, but just to get a bite on her. Still, after seeing everything though, I can¡¯t figure out what type of Werewolf he is.¡¯

    Thinking back to the fight, there was also something else he noticed when Gary had used his full transformation, but he was unsure about it.

    ¡®Did his eyes glow red?¡¯ ckjack thought. ¡®No, that¡¯s impossible, in a ce like this, and to be that weak, it just doesn¡¯t make any sense, right?¡¯

    Still standing there, Gary¡¯s legs were starting to feel weak. In these situations, there would at least be someone for him to consume, but it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. For now, the best thing for him was to get out of there.

    Looking around, he was wondering where to go, to head to his cell or try and bust open into the canteen to eat something. He took a step forward, and they were a bit shaky.

    This didn¡¯t go unnoticed by a certain leader either.

    ¡°He¡¯s hurt, then now¡¯s our chance.¡±

    A signal was given, a hand raised in the air, and they knew what to do.

    One of the men that were watching everything so far didn¡¯t act on the order straight away; instead, he looked around for a few moments before he broke from the wall and charged forward at Gary. His hand had transformed into a sharp reptile-skinned point, and he was heading right for Gary.

    ¡®Sh*t!¡¯ Gary thought as he saw this. ¡®I can hardly move, and if I get hit by that, I¡¯m dead!¡¯

    The downside of using thest stand skill was that one needed to get rid of everyone before using it, otherwise, they would be in a really bad position, just like what Gary was in now.

    The person came closer and closer, that was until a man appeared in front of the two of them. He grabbed onto the stinger, and a card was thrown out right at the attacker¡¯s neck.

    Letting go of the stinger, the man fell to the floor with the card lodged into his throat.

    ¡°ckjack! ckjack just saved the new guy, wait why would he do that!¡± The prisoners asked.

    "Hey, more like why did someone try to attack Gary, did they think this was the perfect chance to get rid of him?"

    Right then, Gary¡¯s eyes were seen closing, and it looked like he was about to fall to the floor. Right before he did, ckjack held out his hand, catching him. He then lifted him, cing him over his shoulder.

    No one dared to step forward again, and right after that, ckjack knelt down and lifted Ice from the ground, cing him above his shoulder as well. He was carrying them as if they were weightless and with such ease even though he was smaller than both of them.

    ¡°These two, don¡¯t touch them, they belong to me,¡± ckjack answered with a smile and began to walk away.

    ***

 Chapter 837 A kind Soul in A Prison

    <h4>Chapter 837 A kind Soul in A Prison</h4>

    Carrying the two of them on his shoulders, ckjack had reached his cell. He didn¡¯t need to say anything; the prisoners he walked past, who were still in their cells, had quickly left to enter the main area, and not a single person remained in their cell rooms apart from the three.

    Ice wasid on the floor on one side, and the same was done to Gary. Finally taking in a big breath, ckjack leaned against the wall and just waited patiently.

    ¡°I wonder who¡¯s going to wake up first, and what¡¯s going to happen when they wake up?¡± ckjack thought to himself as he smiled away. ¡°I never thought I would be in a situation like this.¡±

    After waiting a while, there was finally movement from one of them. A chill was starting to be felt in the room as therge man lifted himself up.

    ¡°Oh, and it looks like we have a winner,¡± ckjack stated.

    Ice was holding onto his head; his whole body was extremely sore, and he was looking around the room of where he was. His eyesid on ckjack, and thenid on Gary.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t kill me?¡± Ice thought. ¡°That was a mistake on his part¡­ but what happened to him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, this one, I think he has a bit of a light heart sometimes,¡± ckjackmented. ¡°You know, I was the one that told him to beat you. I didn¡¯t give him instructions to kill you, but it seems that if he has no anger or reason to get rid of you, then he will only go as far as necessary.¡±

    ¡°Quite an odd trait, considering what he is.¡±

    Ice was a bit cautious of ckjack knowing who he was, but since the two of them had never had any trouble in the past, and the fact that he didn¡¯t feel like he was in any danger right now, he had decided to leave it.

    ¡°I assume you are the one that protected us after our fight, thank you,¡± Ice stated, as he continued to look at Gary.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re a pretty strange one as well,¡± ckjack replied. ¡°I can see you keep on looking at him. I can¡¯t believe two people that fought so much and so hard can worry about each other.¡±

    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s nearly lunch, and I need to keep my eye on this one in case anyone else tries to hurt him. So if you want to see that he¡¯s alright, it¡¯s best if you can grab some food, oh and grab a lot of it,¡± ckjack smiled.

    Ice didn¡¯t quite understand how food would be so important in this situation, but ckjack was right about them needing to protect themselves.

    With Ice¡¯s body, he stood up and headed off to the canteen. Everyone knew he got special privileges in the canteen, so with those special privileges, he was able to get almost a whole container of food.

    Carrying it back, Ice returned to the cell, and when he did, Gary¡¯s nose was starting to twitch. It twitched and twitched until eventually his eyes opened up. He lifted his body.

    Gary, for a second, looked at the situation. He stared at ckjack and Ice in the room and somewhat gathered what might have happened.

    ¡°Before anything, let me get some food first,¡± Gary stated as he went over to the container and started to gobble it up.

    With food, his energy would return, and with energy, his health could be restored, and he would be able to go back to normal, but in particr, he needed a lot of meat.

    The food was sufficient for now, but not enough for him to get back to a hundred percent, but enough so he was no longer on shaky legs oring in and out of consciousness.

    Enjoying his meal, though, Gary went back down to where he was, and he decided to break the ice in the conversation.

    ¡°You were really strong,¡± Gary said. ¡°I think it was one of the toughest fights I¡¯ve had. Did you think about what I asked before, about joining me, well I should say joining us? You know that we n to break out, me and ckjack, that is.¡±

    ¡°I already told you, breaking out would mean others could break out as well, and someone as dangerous as us shouldn¡¯t be allowed outside,¡± Ice answered.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a prisoner in here have such a high sense of justice,¡± ckjackmented. ¡°What¡¯s your story? Why are you in here if you''re like that? You seem more suited to be a White Rose member.¡±

    Gary was d that ckjack asked because he felt the same way. Although Gary wasn¡¯t exactly the bringer of justice, he was more selfish in his needs but wouldn¡¯t go out and harm others for no reason.

    Ice was going out of his way to even stop people from leaving this ce.

    ¡°I was an Altered that belonged to a gang that no longer exists,¡± Ice answered. ¡°A small group that luckily happened to have connections with a scientist from NIRV. The gang, which was like a family to me, allowed me to be an Altered and I went through the process.¡±

    ¡°However, when our group was in trouble, I fought with everything I had. I managed to kill the attackers and stop them, but due to the outburst of my powers, I ended up killing my own members as well, and hurt them.¡±

    ¡°In the end, I turned myself in.¡±

    Gary never thought of how elemental powers like so could be out of hand.

    ¡°You seem to have a lot better control of your powers now, though,¡± Gary answered. ¡°The same thing won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°But I took the lives of those that I care about, so it¡¯s only right that I stay in here and serve my time, while stopping those from getting out and taking more lives,¡± Ice answered.

    Hearing this, Gary started to grind the back of his teeth.

    ¡°And that¡¯s exactly why I need to get out of here as well. I want to stop those close to me from dying. Those that are close to me are still alive, but if I stay in here, I¡¯m not sure how much longer they will survive.¡±

    ckjack could see Gary¡¯s blood boiling. Everyone had a reason to get out, but Ice had one to stay in.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you''re doing too little?¡± ckjack asked. ¡°I mean, instead of just serving your time, why don¡¯t you use your powers to save lives instead. I think that would be much more meaningful.¡±

    ¡°The decision is up to you to make, but me and Gary, we will both be breaking out of this ce. It¡¯s up to you to decide.¡±

    Outside of the cell, both the North and South leaders were worried, as well as the rest of the inmates. The three powerhouses had been gone for a while now. So far since they had been here they had worked indefinitely, but what would happen if all three of them were to team up?

    What state would the prison be in then? They felt like they needed to do something, or they would lose everything.

 Chapter 838 A New Friend

    <h4>Chapter 838 A New Friend</h4>

    Ice was thinking about what ckjack said, and in the end, he had just got up from where he was sitting and had decided to leave the others. He wasn''t worried about Gary anymore; he seemed to be doing fine, and since he had a rtionship with ckjack, he knew that he would be safe.

    Just before he was about to leave, though, ckjack had one more word for him. "Be careful out there, they might try and get you, since they saw you lose and all," ckjackmented.

    Ice smiled. "If anything, after that fight, I think I will be a lot safer around here."

    In some ways, it was quite true. Because although the others had seen Ice fight once or twice when there were others that had attacked him, they had never seen him disy strength to that level, especially with his full transformation skill. It was a first.

    It was quite clear that next to no one had a chance when it came to facing him. Well, other than those that he had just talked to.

    After Ice left, it didn''t take long for Gary to get straight into business. "I did as you asked, I fought Ice and won, so are we going to try and get out of this ce then?" Gary asked.

    "Sure, sure, but you need to be at 100 percent. I reckon a couple more days should do, right, unless you''re willing to get your energy back some other way," ckjack mentioned.

    Gary wasn''t so sure what he meant by this. His words, they were strange but they had caused Gary to have a thought. Another way for him to regain his energy was to consume one of the other prisoners.

    Otherwise, he would just have to wait until the next day and try to fill himself up on some canteen food.

    ¡®But it can''t be that he would know that, about filling up my energy, right?¡¯ Gary thought and decided to shake the thought.

    "After that, I told you before, we need to create a mess, and a big one as well," ckjack exined. "Think about it, even after your fight with Ice, no one turned up. So you need to create an even bigger scene than that."

    Just imagining what was toe, Gary was getting a little nervous, but he couldn''t get cold feet now; he had to remember why he was doing everything and the time frame that they were up against.

    "To do that, we either need to fight against the North group, or the South group, feel free to take your pick, I mean if you want to go up against them both as well. If you cause enough disruption, and injure enough of them, then I''m sure she will be willing toe out.¡±

    "At that point, you need to fight against the Warden, and use everything at your disposal to get her as weak as possible. When she''s weak enough, I''ll jump in and finish the job."

    "So, you''re making me do most of the work?" Garyined.

    In a way, he didn''t mind that though. Going up against the two groups, it would give him more exp to level up, and it was the same if he was to face the Warden. If his system didn''t work in this way though, he would have thought he was getting the worst part of the deal in all of this.

    Havinge to an agreement, Gary needed to try and see which group he wanted to face first, or try to gauge their strength. He decided to rest for most of the day and wait till breakfast.

    When Gary was sitting down eating his meal, Ice strangely hade over, and in doing so had brought over anotherrge container of food.

    People knew for some reason he had an in with the guards and gained certain privileges. This wasn''t just because of his strength but was because he had helped them settle some matters before.

    Either rowdy prisoners or situations that would be too difficult for them to handle. Before Gary could say anything, he had already left, and not wasting food Gary had gobbled it all up.

    "That guy is too nice to be in here," Gary thought.

    Aftering to a conclusion, Gary decided it didn''t matter which group he was going to attack first. He was just going to walk to one side and see what happened, but before that, he paid ckjack another visit in his cell.

    "I just wanted to inform you that I''m going to act, so I need you to be ready. Also, I''m trusting you on this one quite a bit. If I use all my strength taking on the Warden, then I need you to carry my body, and protect me to get out of here, alright?" Gary asked.

    He couldn''t believe he was trusting a stranger in all of this. One that he had no reason to trust, but what else could he do at this moment.

    "I will do that for you," a voice said from behind.

    Turning around, Gary could see that Ice was standing by ckjack''s cell door.

    "Ice¡­ what are you doing here, are you here to stop us?" ckjack asked, a little annoyed and on his toes to react.

    "No, as I said, I will help you Gary," Ice replied. "If ites to it, and you can no longer move after the fight with the Warden, I will make sure to carry your body out of here, and take you to where you need to be.

    "I have been thinking about what was said, and about what you said. I want to see this. I want to see the people that you wish to save, and why it is so important to you. So once we are out of this prison, I will also help you with your goal."

 Chapter 839 An all out Prison Rush

    <h4>Chapter 839 An all out Prison Rush</h4>

    ckjack never thought that he would be in this situation. Ice didn¡¯t seem like a person that could be convinced, which was one of the reasons ckjack never even tried, yet somehow, through a fight, they had managed to get Ice on their side.

    Gary was now energized as well, which meant today was the day that they went with their n. None of them stayed in the same cell; they all stayed in their respective cells but a time was set.

    Gary walked out into the main open area; no one got close to him, and he waited by the side of the prison walls. Then, he could see that ckjack hade out of his cell on the opposite side and was doing the same, and finally, there was Ice, who was a bit further down, who hade out of his cell.

    It was a strange reaction from the prisoners. Usually both ckjack and Ice would stay in their cells, yet both of them were out. They were wondering what was going to happen, yet they just stayed by the side of the wall doing nothing.

    ¡®They''re both waiting for me to act, the decision-making is down to me, I guess. There are two leaders, South and North, there¡¯s not really much to it, I guess I just got to pick one.¡¯

    In the end, Gary had decided to head toward the south side. This was where the leader Carter was present. The man who was able to get knowledge from outside of the prison. There was a reason he had chosen this.

    ¡®If I beat Carter, I can try and use his information-gathering skills to help me know what''s going on, I can¡¯t just keep relying on Elijah. Not that I n to stay in here very long anyway.¡¯

    Gary started to walk forward, and when he headed into the south side, he could see all of the members looking at him from the side. They were staring down at him quite hard.

    ¡®I have to remember, these guys will try and kill me without a second thought. If I hold back or hesitate it will mean the death of me as well.¡¯

    Just as Gary finished his thought, he heard the sound of footstepsing from the side. He turned his head, and he could see one of the prisoners, an Altered, had transformed his hand.

    It was split into several parts and extended out right to Gary; he moved to the side and with full force punched and hit the man away, sending him back into the air and crashing into the side of the wall.

    Arge indent was made, cracking it. Right after, Gary could see several more were surrounding him and had already transformed.

    ¡®It looks like I didn¡¯t even have to start the attack myself,¡¯ Gary smiled.

    From the other end, Carter was off in the distance. It was still a long way until Gary would reach him, and he was already being attacked, but he could hear the sound of fighting.

    ¡°The show has already started,¡± Carter said. ¡°I knew he woulde here and fight against us.¡±

    ¡°You were right, sir, but do you think we can stop him before he reaches us?¡± The man by his side said.

    ¡°umtive damage, at some point he will get hit or worn out, and as he goes in deeper, the level of the opponents that are ready to face him will be harder as well,¡± Carter exined. ¡°As time goes on things won¡¯t get easier and if he finally reaches us, do you know what that will mean¡­ it means he will have to face the strongest while he is at his weakest, and besides we have a nice surprise for him as well.¡±

    Gary had to be cautious; there were all different types of Altered, and he didn¡¯t want to run out of energy. It wasn¡¯t like he had time to just eat someone in the middle of his fighting either.

    Then there was thest battle; after causing a mess, that was when the Warden would appear.

    Sliding across the ground, Gary then reached another attacker and hit him right on his chin in the air. While the man was in the air, he grabbed his body and flung him toward the others that wereing towards him.

    Right when Gary thought he could have a breather of sorts, he saw sharp spikes being thrown his way that were brown in color. He avoided them but noticed something; they hade from the north side.

    ¡°What the¡­¡±

    Staring towards the north, behind him, he could see arge group of people making their way toward him. Gary didn¡¯t recognize them, but one thing was clear, these people weren¡¯t part of the south group.

    They soon stood there with smiles on their faces.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? I thought your two groups were enemies with each other?¡± Gary asked.

    To which, those from the steps in the center, their members started to move forward as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t me us,¡± one of the men said. ¡°You left us with no choice; with you getting friendly with Ice and ckjack, you guys were nning to take over this ce, weren¡¯t you.¡±

    Gary wanted to say they were wrong, and although they weren¡¯t nning to take over the ce, he was nning to beat them all.

    ¡°You brought this on yourselves; the only way to beat you guys was if all of us worked together, so we came to the conclusion this was the right choice.¡±

    For a moment, Gary looked at Stinger who turned away. It felt like he was forced into this alliance that they were having.

    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t have that now, can we,¡± a voice said, and out dashing quickly from the group, ckjack had appeared and was now standing right by Gary¡¯s side.

    Right after, people were pushed away, and then Ice had appeared after knocking and freezing over a couple of people and was next to Gary.

    ¡°If you teamed up to go against us three, then shouldn¡¯t you face all three of us?¡± Ice asked.

    The situation was extremely tense, but Gary couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    ¡°We''re practically going up against the whole prison at once now. If we get rid of all of these guys, do you think that¡¯s a big enough mess to get the Warden toe out?¡±

    ¡°Oh, most definitely,¡± ckjack answered.

 Chapter 840 A Plan To Win It Back

    <h4>Chapter 840 A n To Win It Back</h4>

    The situation was rough all over the ce, in the areas of Cipen and Burnham. The two areas seemed to be under attack, not just from the hired gangs from the surrounding areas, those after bounties, but even the Phoenix Gang themselves had finallye out.

    In the middle of all of this mess, Kai was trying to get a handle on the situation, and now he was being called to the hospital in Cipen. It wasn¡¯t too far from where he was and was within the protected area, so he decided to just run there.

    When traveling fast, it was easiest for him to transform into his wolf form. Doing this, he would take off his ck and gold zer jacket and wrap it around his waist, leaving his chest bare.

    There wasn¡¯t much he could do with his trousers, but due to the special material, they stretched out anyway and returned rtively back to normal after transformation.

    In his wolf form, he was running between alleys as fast as he could.

    ¡®Who is at the hospital that wants to see me, that can help out with this war? Is it one of the other Kings? But why would they get involved?¡¯

    The only reason why he had decided to bother with this in the first ce was because it was Xin who was saying these words. If she didn¡¯t think that this person could help, he knew she wouldn¡¯t bother giving him a call.

    Going through one of the alleys, his sensitive ears had picked up some noise. Quickly, he took a right turn following the noise. Through the alleyway, he could see a woman with her son.

    The son was a teenager, his head covered in blood. His mother was cornered up against a wall.

    ¡®The citizens of Slough are being affected by this as well. What are these people doing, attacking normal people!¡¯

    Kai charged full force, and when he was close to exiting out of the alleyway, he jumped to the sides one after the other before giving himself a strong final push off the wall. Immediately his body banged into one of the attackers, sending him crashing into the wall.

    His nose had cracked, and he immediately passed out. Before the others could react, Kai quickly bit their throats and jumped on top of another one doing the same, ripping out his throat.

    His teeth covered in blood, he quickly transformed his mouth slightly, making it easier to talk.

    ¡°Hurry, head to the main areas of Cipen, the Howlers will protect you,¡± Kai stated.

    The teenager quickly picked his mother up by her hand, and the two rushed off.

    ¡°Was that a talking giant wolf just now?¡± the mother asked.

    ¡°Does it matter? It saved us, and now we need to get out of here,¡± the teenager replied back.

    After seeing the two heading in the right direction, Kai continued on his way to the hospital.

    ¡®Now is not the time to hide our identity and who is who or what. We need to win this war of ours as quickly as possible; otherwise, normal people will be hurt.¡¯

    For a moment, an image of Kai¡¯s mother appeared in his head, allowing him to pick up speed that bit more.

    ¡®If this person really can help us, then I¡¯m happy to ept a deal with the devil himself!¡¯

    Finally, after running for a while, Kai had reached the hospital. He could see that there were members of the Howlers still standing guard. It looked like the area hadn¡¯t been hit yet.

    Transforming back to his normal state, Kai guessed where they would be. He was rushing up and up until he had finally reached the correct floor. Here he could see Xin standing outside, and she wasn¡¯t alone; there was a tall man by her side.

    When Kai got closer, he was trying to see if he recognized the person.

    ¡®He¡¯s not one of the Kings that I recognize,¡¯ Kai thought.

    ¡°I can see that you are quite surprised to see me. You are Kai, correct? Xin has told me about you and your position within the Howlers Gang,¡± the man stated.

    The man had ced his hand out for a formal shake, and usually in this situation, Kai would take it. He was one for manners, but with everything going on, thest thing he wanted to do was waste his time.

    ¡°Who are you, cut to the chase, and exin to me, what do you mean you can help us win this fight? You know we¡¯re going up against the Phoenix Gang, right?¡± Kai mentioned.

    ¡°Correct, firstly, the name is Dean, Dean Dem.¡±

    ¡°Dem,¡± Kai muttered, as he was starting to realize who this might be. Now that the name had been mentioned, he could see some of the simrities.

    ¡°I must thank you for looking after my son and helping him on his journey,¡± Dean mentioned. ¡°From the looks of it, he seems to have changed you as well.¡±

    Kai was trying to figure out what he meant by that. Changed Kai, in what way, and that¡¯s when he could only think of one thing, the fact that Kai was now a werewolf. That was the major change Gary had done to him.

    ¡°You know about what happened, but how... are you the same?¡± Kai asked.

    Xin wasn¡¯t following along because she didn¡¯t really understand everything that had urred either.

    ¡°That is aplicated matter,¡± Dean replied. ¡°One that would take too long to exin. Right now, you are in trouble and against one of the biggest gangs out there. If you want to beat them, then you will have to go through extraordinary measures.¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, you will lose everyone and will lose everything. To win this fight, I suggest that you and everyone else like you start adding to your pack as much as possible. Turn your regr fighters into monsters; that is how you will win this fight.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 841 The Choice Of A Werewolf

    <h4>Chapter 841 The Choice Of A Werewolf</h4>

    The conversation between Kai and Dean seemed to be leaking out bigger secrets than he would like, and it seemed the two of them would need to have a further conversation than he originally thought. Getting here, he imagined himself just leaving instantly.

    ¡°Xin, can you make sure Gary¡¯s family is alright, protect them at all costs, I know you can do it,¡± Kai asked without even turning to look at her. Instead, his eyes were just fixed on therge man in front of him.

    ¡°I will,¡± Xin answered, knowing it was her cue to leave, she knew this by the fact that she didn¡¯t understand everything that was being said. When she headed back into the room, there was a thought lingering in her mind.

    ¡®Is Gary still hiding something from me, something bigger than being a gang leader.¡¯ It was a crazy thought to have, but with his family turning up like so, it might very well have been the case.

    Kai started to walk over, heading into one of the empty VIP rooms; he was sure it wouldn¡¯t be empty for long. He had already given the order for the hospital to try and treat as many people as possible.

    They would foot the bill for all the hard work that was ced into it, but that was if the Howlers would still exist after this to even pay off such a thing.

    After entering the room, Kai made sure the door was shut before continuing his talk with Dean.

    ¡°You said before that you weren¡¯t like Gary, you weren¡¯t like me, but you seem to know a lot about the whole situation, and how could you even suggest something like that!¡± Kai asked, moving his hand; he was furious.

    ¡°I already said before that my matter is aplicated one, but yes, I know that Gary is a werewolf and I know that you are one as well. You should be able to tell from my smell what I am anyway.¡±

    Kai sniffed the air a couple of times and he was right, the smelling from Dean suggested that he waspletely human. This was more mind-boggling for Kai, but it wasn¡¯t the important matter at hand.

    ¡°If you do know about the werewolves and everything that it¡¯s like being one, how could you suggest something. Gary would never do such a thing!¡± Kai stated.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, Gary would probably take it into his own hands, try to fight as long as possible. It¡¯s worked out for him so far because his enemy was small in number but never something like this, and right now, Gary isn¡¯t here, you need to look at the situation fully.

    ¡°You¡¯re a smart kid, I¡¯m sure this option has entered your mind a few times.¡±

    Dean was right, Kai, who was one to go through all of the options possible at their disposal, had of course thought of this. However, with him not being the gang leader, nor the one that was originally a werewolf, he thought it wasn¡¯t his ce, it was something that Gary should have decided.

    He would have never had this power without Gary, so he didn¡¯t want to use it hazardly.

    ¡°You¡¯re a werewolf, and I¡¯m sure Gary has already turned others as well. If you gather them up and turn as many people as you can, that is your power and chance to win this war,¡± Dean suggested.

    ¡°Do you know what makes a Werewolf stronger? It¡¯s their pack. Therger their pack is, the more power the leader is as well as the rest of you. Werewolves were meant to hunt together, not split apart.¡±

    Gritting his teeth, Kai was thinking about it more, more about the suggestion on hand.

    ¡°But the power, the responsibility of being a werewolf is a strong one. The hunger we have, the urge to keep it inside us. If that power gets out to those that we can¡¯t trust, then there is a chance they could use it to hurt others.¡±

    ¡°Not if the pack rules have been set,¡± Dean stated. ¡°I know Gary, in his rules he probably has it that normal people can¡¯t be hurt, right. All of them will have to follow the rules.

    ¡°Therger issue at hand is¡­¡±

    It looked like Dean wanted to say something else but had decided to keep it in anyway.

    ¡°The way I see it, you have two options: you either go ahead, turn those in the Howlers and fight back, or lose everything that you built up to the Phoenix group. They haven¡¯t even started to attack you at full force yet.

    ¡°You¡¯re going up against one of the Kings, so you can¡¯t afford to hold back your punches!¡±

    Dean¡¯s voice was booming with strength. He sounded like a strongmander, and a person that had been in this situation himself before.

    Thinking about the options, Kai started to imagine what was happening around Slough, the people he had met on his way here; he was sure there were even more of them getting hurt.

    ¡®If we turn the more loyal ones like Park, then things can work out, we can still keep it a secret. We just need more power right now, and it doesn¡¯t look like Gary is going to get out any time soon.¡¯

    ¡°But you know, right, turning people, there is a chance that they might die,¡± Kai stated.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t do this, even more will die,¡± Dean said. ¡°Gather up the people who you trust, and you¡¯re willing to turn. It¡¯s gettingte; even your attackers will need to rest and regroup.

    ¡°During the night, that is our chance. Bring the rest of the werewolves, and we will turn as much as you can, but just turning them will be useless. Bring them to me, and I will train them to use their deadly instincts against the enemy, and they will be what they need to be to win this war,¡± Dean stated, with a special glow in his eye.

    ¡®Is Gary¡¯s father really not a Werewolf, because right now, he¡¯s giving me even more pressure than one. I guess, his family are just like this,¡¯ Kai thought clenching both of his fists.

    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s the only choice we have.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 842 Gather Loyal Followers Of The Howlers

    Surprisingly, it was just as Dean had stated, the attacks on Slough including Cipen and Burnham had started to slow down as it gotter in the night. If Kai had a clear mind, he would have noticed it as well.

    Even their attackers had to sleep at some point. Although they wererge in number in terms of fighting power, they were all used to their own routine, so they couldn¡¯t just attack non-stop.

    Still, there were the smaller groups and such that were still making trouble, which was why some gang members still had to keep guard in certain areas, but it gave Kai the opportunity to do what was needed.

    A text message was sent out to the core members, and through them, it was sent out to the squad leaders, those like Park.

    The squad leaders that had been picked were quite loyal, but the other thing was they had mostly already been turned into Altered. Reward for their loyalty, the syringes they had been able to get their hands on they had used. So they now had to go based on their rmendations.

    After which, everyone was told to meet at the hospital. At the front of the hospital, Marie and Olivia were present; the two of them were keeping track of all the people and were funneling them to the back of the hospital.

    This area was the open field. It was mostly grass with pathways, lighting, and a few nice trees. It was an area where nurses would take patients out who were stuck inside for a while for a nice piece of fresh air.

    Now it had quickly been converted to a different area entirely. Large tents were set up, and they were blockaded from different areas. One of the tents had a doctor and a team of nurses on standby in case anything went wrong, but the area was separate from another one.

    It was aplicated process, one that Kai had set up because they needed to keep this secret away from the others.

    Eventually, all the people that were rmended, those that were seen as loyal by the squad leaders, had arrived. Kai had still been waiting inside the main reception hall. There were normal folks as well as gang members here getting treated in the reception because they had run out of space.

    Eventually, Olivia and Marie had arrived together, both of them wearing their masks.

    ¡°Everyone has gathered as requested, you said you wanted to have a talk with them right?¡± Olivia asked.

    ¡°Yeah, all of them should be aware as to what can happen to them, and the risks involved, and then make a choice from there, we have already lost a lot, but we shouldn¡¯t force them,¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°Well, if it was up to me, this is something that we should have done a long time ago anyway. We would have saved a lot of money as well doing this rather than having Altered,¡± Olivia stated.

    ¡°About Midwak, we couldn¡¯t get a hold of him, it seems he¡¯s still going around Slough attacking whoever he can see, I think he¡¯s also looking for someone in particr,¡± Marie informed.

    ¡°Probably out there trying to get revenge, it¡¯s good for us. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s having an impact on them not attacking us, and he has a lot of energy so he won¡¯t tire easily.¡± With that said, Kai and the others were on the move.

    When they had entered the outside area, they had moved into arge ck tent, where around thirty members wearing ck and gold were waiting inside. Some of their clothing was ripped and their faces beaten and bruised.

    It was clear that they had been fighting until this very moment.

    ¡®There¡¯s a few people that I recognize myself.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s Bo, Felix, and Alfie. Them three have been following Austin since his days as a school leader. They¡¯ve been fighting hard ever since what happened to Austin. It¡¯s not a surprise that they came. All of them are quite good fighters, but what would Austin feel like if he knew we were taking these risks.¡¯

    Then searching through the crowd, there was another.

    ¡°Tyler, what are you doing here, you are our driver,¡± Kai stated.

    ¡°Yeah, but the text said to gather those that truly believe in the Howler Gang and want to help out in this situation, at the risk of their own lives. I think I fit that bill, don¡¯t I?¡±

    Honestly, Kai was quite surprised. Tyler had been their driver for a long time and knew the identities of the real core members. He was brought in by Gary, but in every situation, he seemed frightened.

    Willing to risk their lives for the Howlers, he never would have thought about putting Tyler on the list of that.

    Through the crowd of people, Kai could see that there was one person that was a little shorter than the others, and upon looking at his face, he seemed a bit young. Quickly Kai started to walk through the others.

    The person seemed to notice what was happening and turned around, but before they could even run away, Kai ced his hand on their shoulder.

    ¡°What are you doing here, kid, shouldn¡¯t you be at home?¡± Kai asked.

    Immediately the young one turned around hitting Kai¡¯s arm away, or at least attempted to but it was still held on firmly due to Kai¡¯s unnatural strength.

    ¡°Why, why can¡¯t I take part as well. I¡¯ve been helping the Howlers for a while now. I¡¯m a good fighter as well! And I¡¯ve seen a lot, when this happenedst time, I was unable to help anyone, I couldn¡¯t, and it¡¯s happening again, I want to help this time,¡± Kevin said.

    The young boy was the only survivor from the ckRock orphanage, and was a dear friend to Innu. The issue was, right now he was around 14 years old. To risk his life at such a young age.

    That was the world that they currently lived in.

    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t,¡± Kai said, thinking about Innu. All of this, it was too much for him. He felt like he was risking their lives to help themselves.

    That was until his shoulder was touched.

    ¡°Let the people make their own choice in this. They have their own will, and remember, the Howlers are no longer just you and the others, and you don¡¯t own this city, the people do. So let them choose, young one. It¡¯s time to tell them the risks and let them choose for themselves,¡± Dean stated.

    ****

 Chapter 843 One Deadly Bite

    <h4>Chapter 843 One Deadly Bite</h4>

    The words of Dean may have sounded powerful and just, but when looking at Kevin and the others around, Kai began to notice something, arge pattern within the group. The truth was that a lot of the Howlers Gang and those loyal to the cause were young.

    They were those who had juste out of school, not going to university. Some of them had even dropped out of high school to pursue joining a gang. This was the norm, but Kai didn¡¯t want their gang to be like the norm.

    Due to the size of the Howlers and howrge it had gotten, he was unable to keep a close eye on everything that was going on.

    ¡®All of them, even those like Kevin, are prepared to fight to their death. As those responsible at these times, we have to make a decision for them as well, when we can see they''re being unreasonable.¡¯

    ¡°You are too young to make your own choices,¡± Kai said directly to Kevin.

    After saying those words, there was a huge look of disappointment on Kevin¡¯s face, and Dean¡¯s hand even slipped away, because he too had realized what Kai was getting at. The adults should have done more, so it didn¡¯t get to this situation.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something fair to say, yourself,¡± Tyler said, starting to speak up. ¡°It¡¯s not fair for you to say that to us.¡±

    ¡°You should know, when the Underdogs were in control of this city, even though we were too young, we had to listen and obey. To live what life we could just hoping that something would happen to them to change it.¡±

    ¡°And then it changed, everything changed, and we, everyone here I¡¯m sure, wanted to help the people that changed our lives. We had nothing before this; Slough was nothing and was degrading close into a tier 4 city.¡±

    ¡°People were too worried to leave their houses; they were unable to open their businesses, and the only choice we had once we finished school was working at some convenience store or a life of crime.¡±

    ¡°The Howlers is what changed that; now we have something to protect. So don¡¯t go forcing our choices on us now, just like they did back then, alright!¡± Tyler said with his chest uplifted.

    It was the first time Kai had seen him so confident. It showed it was something that he deeply had strong feelings for. All those feelings, Kai knew them well, working directly under the Underdogs, under his father, so he couldn¡¯t do the same to them.

    ¡°Very well,¡± Kai said walking to the front, with Marie, Olivia, and Dean standing by his side while he looked out to the others.

    ¡°All of you have been called here because of your loyalty to the Howlers. As you know, we are fighting against the Phoenix Gang, a tier 1 gang and one of the Kings, Sin,¡± Kai exined.

    ¡°A lot of people are getting hurt in this fight; even their cries and screams, their shivering will be heard now. Because of the Phoenix Gang, there will be plenty of those who are unable to get a good night''s sleep.¡±

    ¡°We are doing everything we can to try and fight back the Phoenix Gang, but it appears that even more needs to be done.¡±

    Kai took a big breath before going onto the next part of his speech. ¡°We have managed to discover a way to give all of you here great strength, the same strength that an Altered has, and more specifically,¡± Kai raised his hand, and it slightly grew in size and was covered in fur. ¡°The same strength that I have.¡±

    ¡°We standing here are a special type of Altered, one that can pass on and change other Altereds just like us. We can do this all through a bite.¡±

    The Howler members looked at each other. It sounded unbelievable, and they had never heard of such a thing before. Many of them followed the news, and were sure this would be a breakout sess if it was spread.

    For Kai, he thought it was the best way to exin things for now, and thenter they could go into detail. The fewer questions, the better.

    ¡°But here is the important part, I mentioned it in the text before. Getting our power, ites at a risk,¡± Kai exined. ¡°There is a chance that if our power doesn¡¯t get shared to you, or your body rejects it, then you will die.¡±

    The curious whispers and gossip among each of them had gone deadly silent for a moment. Even though the test had made things quite clear, they thought it was a figure of speech.

    When people go into battle, happy to risk their life, they had that determination, but they felt more in control. Here based on what Kai was saying, it was almost just rolling the dice.

    ¡°For those of you that are sessful, Dean here will teach you how to use your powers, and upon using your powers, we will bring the fight directly to the Phoenix Gang, and they won¡¯t have a single idea what hit them.¡±

    Kai¡¯s speech had ended strong, but the shock from before was still there; it was still present with most of them.

    ¡°If you wish to leave now knowing everything, then I won¡¯t stop you,¡± Kai stated.

    Some of them looked at each other, and eventually, one person had left the tent, moving away. He found it hard to look at the others, but soon more started to follow.

    Five in total had left, and from the look on their faces, there were still those that were on the fence.

    ¡°It¡¯s not too bad, right? I mean, it¡¯s risking it to be an Altered. I think most people would take those odds!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, think about how many people want to be an Altered, and now we¡¯re getting the chance to as well.¡±

    ¡°Also, if we don¡¯t do anything, then what¡¯s going to happen? I saw the powers those guys had; if I fight the way I am now, then it will be for nothing.¡±

    The group started to hype each other up as they started to talk, changing the glum prospect, into a positive.

    ¡°You have some good people here,¡± Dean said. ¡°Now it¡¯s time to do the dirty work.¡±

 Chapter 844 The Pack Grows

    <h4>Chapter 844 The Pack Grows</h4>

    The first one out of all of those currently there had volunteered himself for the task, was none other than Tyler.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready, I¡¯m ready, I¡¯m ready,¡± Tyler continuously repeated, his teeth chattering away.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this, you know?¡± Kai said. He felt kind of bad based on how Tyler was acting, as if he was doing something against a person¡¯s will.

    ¡°Just do it as quickly as possible, alright? Whatever it is, as you know, I¡¯m scared of needles,¡± Tyler exined.

    The thing was, a needle wasn¡¯t exactly what would be happening. Before meeting up with the others, Kai had gotten information from Dean on how they were meant to turn others under their control.

    If it was something as simple as a bite mark, then they would be doomed, he stated. Wolf¡¯s mouths were one of their weapons, and they wouldn¡¯t turn everyone they fought with into one of them.

    It was a feeling; one had to harness the energy from above and try to surge the energy in their body. The same energy they felt when they forced a transformation, into their bite.

    Not the energy of anger, but the same feeling they used to turn their bodies; they had to imagine it with just their teeth. A sure way to get this done as well was, while imagining this, to hold on to a bite for five seconds.

    If they were talented and learned how to do this properly, then it would be second nature for them. To give a bite that would turn others, or to give a bite just that was going to cause damage.

    There were also some of those that naturally knew how to do this, and will was an important factor in it. If someone went to bite one with the intention of turning them, then the result would usually be the case.

    This was what had urred between Olivia and Marie as well.

    There was also something else; this inner energy, the closer to the full moon date, the more it woulde out through their bite. Giving a higher chance for them to turn people. Kai mentioned somewhat they didn¡¯t have to worry about that anymore.

    It was ament that had gone over Dean¡¯s head a bit.

    Holding out Tyler¡¯s arm, Kai grabbed the wrist and the elbow slightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is going to hurt more than a needle,¡± Kai said.

    ¡°Why would you tell me that!¡± Tyler''s heart was racing as he looked and could see Kai¡¯s face transforming. His mouth moved out and he bit down, his teeth sinking into Tyler¡¯s forearm.

    It was held down firmly; Tyler wanted to move away, but before he could, Dean shouted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move away!¡±

    Hearing these words, Tylerined but stayed still; then when the five seconds had passed, Kai let go. He did as instructed.

    ¡®That felt right¡­ I could feel something going through my teeth,¡¯ Kai thought.

    The veins on Tyler¡¯s arm started to pulsate. The bleeding on his arm, it was stopping fairly quickly. Soon the veins on the rest of Tyler¡¯s body started to bulge, and he felt an intense amount of pressure on his body.

    He fell to his knees, and had both of his hands held down by his side. All of his muscles were tensing up.

    ¡°Arghh! It freaking hurts!¡± Tyler couldn¡¯t help but shout.

    The pain was continuing to go through his body, and then momentster, all of his muscles rxed, and he fell to the floor, passing out.

    Quickly, Kai went down to the ground.

    ¡®Is this is how it¡¯s going to be, are we going to lose someone right off the bat of trying this damned thing!¡¯ Kai thought.

    But when closer, he could hear Tyler¡¯s heartbeat; he was breathing as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a sess. Give him a few minutes and he will be up in no time,¡± Dean exined. ¡°Now it¡¯s time to do the others, and I think you two should join in to speed up this whole thing.¡±

    Dean was talking to the two girls.

    After what pain they had seen Tyler go through, the others were reluctant to volunteer, but Kai had just gone to the person closest and held out their arm bare, asking them a few words.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Kai asking these words just before he was about to proceed seemed to strengthen their resolve quite a bit. Opening his mouth wide, he went from one person to the next doing the same thing.

    ¡°Whatever you do, you can¡¯t change the result of what is going to happen, so you might as well get it over and done with,¡± Dean exined.

    For some reason though, some of the guys started to shuffle forward in front of the two girls as they waited to be bitten by their teeth.

    ¡°Men, a bunch of pervs they are,¡± Oliviamented. ¡°If you want me to bite you that hard, then be my guest!¡±

    Olivia had no trouble, but Marie had to talk to the member for a few moments before she bit someone. With three of them doing this, they had gotten through around ten people fairly quickly, and based on what had happened so far, all of them had sustained their lives. They were breathing well and had sessfully been turned.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this; it seems like it hurts quite a bit,¡± Mariemented.

    The man just nodded along, and like that, Marie transformed and bit down. She did so and held it down, and just like the others, he had the same reaction.

    His muscles were tensing, the veins were bulging all over, but then his eyes, they were bing increasingly bloodshot. Blood started to drip out of his nose, and then it beganing out of his mouth.

    Suddenly, his heartbeat had stopped, and he had fallen onto the floor, lying there dead.

    It was the first Howlers member in the room, who had ended up dead in the process, and Marie, the one who had bit him, just stood there looking at him.

    ****

 Chapter 845 Give Me One Day

    <h4>Chapter 845 Give Me One Day</h4>

    Marie was staring at the body on the floor, and everyone in the room had frozen for a moment. Some were just about to get bit by Olivia or Kai, but now they were busy looking at the dead person on the ground.

    Lifeless. Being in the industry they were in, there were times where they had seen people sent to the hospital or a death happened right in front of their eyes, but it was usually in the middle of a struggle.

    For this, it was a person that just wanted to change something. Someone who wanted to do better and help the town, and now they had lost their life at a young age.

    All of these thoughts were going through Marie¡¯s head as well. Immediately, Kai had stopped what he was doing and picked up the body; he walked out of the tent. As he carried the body, he was moving it to the tent next to the one that was set up.

    A tent with doctors and nurses on standby to try to help whatever was going to happen, but as Kai carried the body, he didn¡¯t have a lot of hope.

    ¡®Damn it, damn it all! The Phoenix Gang, they pushed us so far that we had to do this. They can never be forgiven. We didn¡¯t have to do it like this. What the heck did we do to you guys?¡¯ Kai thought, cing the body on one of the beds.

    The nurses and doctors did their best to see if there was anything they could do, but momentster, it was confirmed that he had passed, and there was no chance of bringing him back.

    When Kai returned back to the tent with the others, they looked at him. He could tell that they were hoping for some good news. Instead, he just shook his head at them all.

    ¡°This is a reminder of the risks we are taking,¡± Kai stated. ¡°But also, remember, the reason why we are all doing this. I promise I will fight the Phoenix Gang until myst breath.¡±

    Kai moved to the next person, waiting for them toe to him. He could see that the others were startled now after what had happened. The small percentage or small chance of one dying when turning into a werewolf hadn¡¯t just be a statistic; it was now a reality.

    In the end, though, they could hear the sounds, cries, and screams from the hospital buildings that weren¡¯t too far from them, pushing them to give it another go. They rolled up their sleeves and proceeded again.

    The only thing was, the next person that had been presented to Marie was none other than the young Kevin.

    She looked at his small arm, his smaller bodypared to the rest. After the strong fighter from before died, she only imagined what could happen to him.

    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t do it,¡± Marie said.

    ¡°What!¡± Kevin shouted. ¡°I thought we had this conversation before. I¡¯m ready, I need to protect my family, I need to protect my friends, I don¡¯t want to lose anything anymore.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t the reason she couldn¡¯t do it though; it was that she couldn¡¯t be responsible for another death.

    ¡°Hey, get a grip,¡± Olivia said, pping Marie on the back; it was quite a loud hit as it was heard in the tent. ¡°Look at the one in front of you; they''re the one that is taking the risk. If you have no confidence in doing such a thing, think about how you¡¯re going to make them feel.¡±

    Marie looked into Kevin¡¯s eyes once again.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, someone just failed before you right, so my chances are better now. It¡¯s unlikely to happen two times in a row,¡± Kevin replied.

    It was something he told himself. The truth was they didn¡¯t know if a strong body or strong mind was needed. Or the reason why some would turn and others would not. Was it just potluck?

    If it was, then there was nothing she could do.

    ¡°Do you remember when you came to me, the feelings you had? I didn¡¯t reject you, so don¡¯t reject this kid either,¡± Olivia said.

    Trying not to worry anymore, Marie got to it. At first, she closed her eyes. But that wasn¡¯t right. She needed to leave them open and face this thing head-on. She looked at Kevin and opened her mouth wide.

    With determination, she thought about her transformation and focused on her teeth, biting down into Kevin¡¯s arm; they waited a few seconds, and finally, she let go.

    Kevin could feel immediate pain through his muscles; he knelt over and had stuck his head right into the ground. Everything was hurting, and he was wailing and screaming a lot more than the others.

    He started to punch the ground again and again, all of this just worrying Marie even more. The punching had stopped, his head stayed in position, and his body was still.

    ¡°No,¡± Marie said softly, until Kevin lifted his head.

    He wiped away some blood that was on his mouth and then fell to the ground.

    She quickly went and knelt by Kevin¡¯s side.

    ¡°No!¡± She shouted this time, but when she held his body, she could feel a heartbeat.

    She turned him over and could see the blood was just from him biting his own lip; perhaps the pain was too much. Kevin was okay, and now he was one of them.

    The process continued until all 23 people that had remained were bitten. In the end, there were 2 deaths in total. The group mourned their loss of the two, and they all agreed after making it out of this, they wouldn¡¯t forget their brave sacrifice.

    Slowly, those that had passed out and were sessfully made a werewolf were starting to wake up.

    ¡°The rest is up to you now, right?¡± Kai asked. ¡°So how long do you need with them?¡±

    ¡°Give me a day,¡± Dean replied. ¡°Survive the next day on your own, and we¡¯ll be ready to fight them back.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 846 Send In The Big Flame

    <h4>Chapter 846 Send In The Big me</h4>

    It was a long night for the people in Slough. Although they felt safer in the areas of Burnham and Cipen, what they had gone through was frightening for them. For most of the general public, it brought them back to the days when the Underdogs were in control.

    Frightening things like this would happen from time to time, but hardly to this level. It was the first time that such an attack had urred on such a wide scale. When they tried to sleep, they couldn¡¯t help but wake up every hour, worried about what could happen to them.

    The truth was that the two areas were holding out well. There were a couple of attacks here and there, but those that were awake had managed to fend off the areas, and finally, the sun started to rise again.

    Crowley stood in front of the blockade of cars in one of the areas of Slough, looking out at the street in front of him. It was partly destroyed due to the fighting that was happening before.

    Park, one of the squad leaders in the Howlers, hade running over.

    ¡°I¡¯ve woken up the majority of our fighting force. I sent over the other Altereds to keep an eye on the blockades in the different areas.¡±

    ¡°Each area has around twenty ground forces that can help them fight, and that includes this area as well,¡± Park reported.

    Twenty people; it sounded like a lot, but in truth, it wasn¡¯t arge number for who they were going up against. It reminded Crowley of how many people they had to have lost already.

    It was hard, though, since they couldn¡¯t just fight head-on; they needed to defend every open area of Cipen and even then split their people between the two areas.

    ¡°Another thing, sir,¡± Park said as he gulped. ¡°I got word from our Vice-leader that they won¡¯t be able to send in more support until another whole day. His orders were just to survive one more day and we can win this.¡±

    This was the message that was sent out by Kai to everyone. The Howlers gang members knew that some of the stronger fighters and those that had been in the Howlers for a while had been taken somewhere.

    No one had a clue why, but now they were given the order to hold out for an entire day.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best, but what he¡¯s asking for, I think, is a miracle,¡± Crowley looked ahead, and he could see it, a group of people heading their way.

    Holding onto wooden boards, iron pipes, bike chains, and small knives. All of them with arge grin on their faces. These people, they weren¡¯t even members of the Phoenix Gang, but gangs in the local area who were after the bounty on their heads and for favor with one of the kings.

    ¡°We still have plenty of Anti-Altered weapons, right?¡± Crowley asked.

    To which Park nodded.

    ¡°Then, go talk to the civilians quickly, gather anyone who is willing to fight for the city and hand them a weapon. If Kai wants us to survive this, then they are going to have to fight as well.¡±

    Park quickly rushed in, doing as they said, and he was quite surprised by the response. More people volunteered than he realized. Some of them looked to have been crying, perhaps those that had already lost so much in this fight.

    Even if they could rebuild, the memories, their homes, precious items, all of that would have disappeared, and they were sure there were quite a few deaths as well.

    As they were given weapons, those with ranged weapons were told to hurry; they were quickly shown how to use them and then they climbed on top of the cars.

    ¡°Get out of our city!¡± One of the men shouted as he fired the crossbow. It had hit the floor missing one of the gang members, but soon after, another arrow came out, hitting the gangster right in the chest.

    As it hit him, his entire body started to electrify, hurting him on the spot.

    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t waste your energy just yet; I¡¯ll get rid of the small fry, save your energy!¡± Crowley ordered as he walked out.

    Appearing in his hand was a ck feather; he threw it out hitting one of the men right in the head. His whole body lifted in the air as if he had been hit with an iron ball, and he was dead in an instant.

    Crowley continued to move forward, and the arrows from behind him, he would avoid. He allowed them to go past him and hit the gangsters dead on. It was as if he had eyes on the back of his head.

    He had told them not to worry, to fire at will because he would avoid every single one of them.

    Grabbing the gang member¡¯s face, he threw one of them smashing into the others. Sliding across the floor, he did a sweeping kick, tripping others before stomping on them, making sure that they wouldn¡¯t get back up.

    ¡°Come on, I know this is just to wear us out; are they not tired of ying this game yet, or are they going to do the same as yesterday, after fighting for the whole day, then they¡¯ll send out those from the Phoenix Gang!¡± Crowley stood there, and there wasn¡¯t a single gang member left; all of them lying on the floor.

    The crowd and civilians, seeing this, cheered in response. Seeing someone so strong protect them was giving them hope.

    From the top of one of the taller buildings in Slough, from a distance with a pair of binocrs, Sin was observing everything. The Phoenix Gang was staying at a hotel of all ces, one they had taken over and not destroyed so he and his members could get a good night''s sleep.

    He was taking the whole thing awfully casually.

    ¡°It looks like the Howlers have some annoying people in their group,¡± Sinmented. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to up the heat a bit. Take a squad each of the Phoenix Gang; let¡¯s see how our new blood will do.¡±

    ¡°Raven, you head to Burnham and deal with the mess there. Gil¡­ let¡¯s attack them where it hurts; why don¡¯t you head to the hospital, and Glutton, take out this bird man for me, and don¡¯t fail. Green and Garbo, us three will be on standby, but I hope we don¡¯t have to get involved,¡± Sin ordered.

 Chapter 847 The Man Called Glutton

    Chapter 847 The Man Called Glutton

    Crowley was ready as he stared out. Was it going to be another wave of the lower-tier gangs out here to get them, or would the Phoenix Gang feel like they had done enough? There was always a limit to wearing a group down.

    As they sessfully would defend from more and more attacks, the morale of the Howlers would grow with strength as they would start to believe they could actually win the fight. It was the perfect time, just now as the public were starting to feel safe, to crush their morale.

    ¡®It looks like I was right,¡¯ Crowley thought, looking ahead. ¡®This is the turn in the fight, where we really need to start to show our might.¡¯

    A habit of Crowley was his rhyming schemes; it was something that he did unconsciously when he was nervous. It was why when he was teaching the AFA students just before the special lessons he would go into rhyme.

    Seeing the army of those in dark red clothing, walking down the street was worrying. There was a group of what looked like 25. It was clearly not the whole of the Phoenix Gang, which was worrying Crowley even more.

    ¡®Are the other areas being attacked, possibly harder than what we will face here?¡¯ Crowley thought, as he stretched out his hands; in doing so, two ck feathers could be seen.

    The group that had been walking towards them started to charge ahead. Some of them grew tails out of their behinds that started to me up; others had ws grow out from their knuckles.

    They looked like pieces of steel but even they ignited with heat. In a tier 1 gang, one of the Kings, nearly every member of the gang was an Altered, and in the case of the Phoenix Gang, nearly all of them had me properties.

    Crowley hurled the feathers at one of the members. This time the gang member flipped in the air over it, while the other had been hit on the shoulder. He had been hurt but hadn¡¯t gone flying over.

    Instead, he pulled out the tip of the feather, and in his hand, the feather had burned and ignited on the spot.

    The fire from behind Crowley continued from the general public, but they were mostly able to avoid or hit away the arrows.

    Seeing as nothing was working, there was only one choice, Crowley would have to go in hand to hand. Extending his hands out, his tworge ck wings had appeared. He took a step forward and swept right towards one of the gang members.

    He swung his hand, which was now shaped like a bird¡¯s w. It bashed against the ignited w, but the sheer power had caused the man to nearly copse onto the ground.

    Right there and then another tried to twist and whack Crowley with their ming tail. With his other hand, he had caught it and gripped on tightly.

    ¡°Idiot, do you think you can hold onto fire!¡± The man shouted.

    The mes grew right onto his hand, and a wave of heat hit him in the face, but Crowley didn¡¯t let go.

    ¡°If it¡¯s only for a short while and weak mes like this!¡± Crowley then lifted the man by the tail and hurled him to the side. The others got out of the way in time which meant his body continued to fly outward until it had crashed into a light pole, bending it.

    The others were hesitant at this point; they could see that Crowley had a lot of power. He was skilled at fighting as well and wasn¡¯t your typical Altered.

    As he was looking for his next opponent, a bowling ball-sized fireball came shooting out. When looking at it, oddly it wasn¡¯t just made of fire, but looked more like a scrap of metal that was covered in fire.

    Crowley closed his wing, but when it hit him, it exploded into mes and sent Crowley back until he fell over on his back.

    With his other wing on the floor, he quickly propped himself up, but looking at the wing that had been hit. The feathers were ruffled, scorched, and part of the inner muscles could be seen.

    It was stinging with pain, but Crowley didn¡¯t let it show on his face.

    ¡°You heard the boss, he knew this one was strong, so he told me to deal with this one.¡± The voice was loud and booming and walking through at the back of the rest of the group. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Was arge man, with a big belly; his red coat could hardly fit on him, only going around his shoulders but still showing the giant potbelly. This was one of the main members of the Phoenix Gang, the man known as Glutton.

    Right then, Glutton moved to one of the cars, and he opened his mouth. It opened extremely wide as if his jaw was detached, and his teeth had changed into hundreds of small razor-sharp objects.

    When he bit down on the car, it had next to no resistance at all, and there were melting marks of metal by the edges of where he bit.

    Glutton was seen chewing therge piece of metal for a while, and then, he spat out arge ball of mes again. The ball of me and metal wasrger than what he had bitten, and just like before it wasing right at Crowley.

    He went to move to the side, but there were four Phoenix Gang members there ready to stop him and get in his way. They looked at him with smiles until fists came flying out, hitting them away.

    Crowley was able to move to the side and avoid the attack just in time. The mes continued and hit the cars bursting. The heat was felt by those standing at the top.

    ¡°Get off and retreat back!¡± Crowley shouted and ordered to the civilians, but he noticed something; the Howlers members that were on standby, they weren¡¯t currently there.

    That was because they were now fighting with the other Phoenix Gang members. All twenty of them hade out with weapons or transforming, doing their best to fight against them.

    ¡°Let us deal with these guys!¡± Park said as he knocked the hand away of a w and then punched the attacker right in the face. ¡°You, take out the ming spitting giant!¡±

    Although the Howlers members might have been doing okay now, Crowley knew they wouldn¡¯tst. Not everyone in the Howlers was Altered like that in the Phoenix Gang, and the Phoenix Gang members were skilled as well.

    ¡®I was trying to deal with everything myself, but with this big guy that¡¯s quite impossible. I will have to rely on them and try to make this quick,¡¯ Crowley thought as he stretched his wings out again.

    ¡°During my time, I never thought I would be going against one of the core members of the Phoenix Gang, but you never know what life throws your way.¡±

    **** ****

 Chapter 848 The Black Crows Power

    Chapter 848 The ck Crow''s Power

    Readying himself for a tough fight, Crowley had spread his wings rtively wide. The support from the attacks from the back had stopped. After thest attack from Glutton had hit the cars, the order was to stay back.

    The citizens were realizing, by them taking part in this whole thing, there was a chance that they could get hurt as well. Still, they couldn¡¯t help but peek through the gaps, watch from the sides, as there was a group of people fighting to defend them.

    Crowley could hear the sound of the other Howlers members fighting. There were screams of pain,rge hits, but the Howlers members continued to get up again and again.

    ¡°I need to finish this fast, and that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯ll do to you!¡± Crowley jumped from his position and narrowed his wings in. He was like an arrow as he shot out directly toward Glutton.

    Seeing this, Glutton opened his mouth and shot out another ball of fire metal. He did so more than once and several fireballs wereing his way.

    Although Crowley was diving ahead fast, he was still able to change direction ever so slightly, twisting and turning his body, and the metal chunks of fire just hit the ground, melting the floor beneath them and chucking parts of melted metal left and right.

    Crowley continued forward, and when he was close, his whole head transformed into a sharp beak. The point bashed right into Glutton¡¯srge stomach.

    The fat on his body ripped several times before his legs lifted into the air, and his heavy body was sent flying and crashing into one of the cars.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Glutton said, looking at his belly. Part of his skin was slightly pierced, and he was bleeding, but it was a small scratch of all things.

    ¡°That kind of hurt a bit, bird man,¡± Glutton said as he got himself out of the indented car, then with his hands he gripped onto the door, his fingernails breaking through the metal, and hurled it right at Crowley.

    Crowley was ready to avoid the door, but as he was about to, he realized something.

    ¡®The metal door, it¡¯s going to hit the other members that are fighting behind me!¡¯ Crowley thought. ¡®His own team members are fighting; it will hit them as well, doesn¡¯t this person care!¡¯

    Using his hands, Crowley tried to catch the door. His ws had pierced the metal frame, and his wings were pushing it back. The strength of the throw had caused him to skid across the ground slightly before he ced it on the ground.

    ¡®This man, he¡¯s not just got strong elemental powers, he has great strength, and that attack from before, it seemed like it hardly hurt him. He has strong resistance as well. Now I know what it¡¯s like to fight one of the main members of the Phoenix Gang, this really isn¡¯t going to be a walk in the park.¡¯

    In the middle of his thoughts, he could see that Glutton was eating parts of the metal, chewing it up. The metal was being gulped down as it looked to be stored in his belly. It looked like multiple shots were going to being his way.

    ¡®The longer this fight goes on, the higher chance there is that others will get hurt, so let¡¯s end this!¡¯

    Spreading out his wings again, a strange thing started to ur. The ck feathers from Crowley all started to detach themselves from his wings and were floating about in the air.

    As quickly as the feathers would drop from his wings, they would regrow again. And soon a flurry of feathers was floating all over the ce. They were spinning in the air, like a tornado that surrounded Glutton.

    Glutton himself was noticing what was happening, and he could no longer see where Crowley even was. It was a wave of feathers that allowed him to see gaps of buildings and the area around him.

    The feathers were constantly twirling around him. Seeing this, he leaned his head back and then chucked it forward. A giant fireball came out, hitting the wave of feathers. They lit up fairly quickly, but just as quickly as the area of feathers burnt up, they seemed to be reced just as quickly.

    The fireballs continued out of Glutton¡¯s mouth but he was failing to make an opening.

    ¡°Prepare for some wear and tear!¡± Crowley''s voice boomed. At that moment, some of the feathers that were surrounding him started to go right toward Glutton. They hit his body hard, crashing into him.

    The feathers were consistent and fast, hitting him one after the other, and small prick marks of blood were appearing all over Glutton¡¯s body as he was being hit by the feathers consistently, one after the other.

    Glutton, in a panic, continued to fire fireballs out. ¡°As long as I end up hitting you, this whole little circus act will end. I will burn you to a crisp, bird man, and then eat you up, like a chicken!¡±

    However, the tornado of feathers were justing closer and closer to Glutton; they were hitting him more and more, and there were no signs of it letting up. Eventually, the tornado of feathers had covered his whole body.

    From the outside, Crowley was watching the dark sphere covering Glutton¡¯s body. He himself was exhausted; his wings were a quarter of the size, sticking out from his back.

    ¡®That skill used up a lot of power¡­ I hope that is the end of him,¡¯ Crowley said, wiping his forehead full of sweat. That was when he realized something; the area, it was getting hot.

    Heat was growing by the moment. The feathers that had covered Glutton in a sphere were burning up, falling to the ground by the second, and as all of the feathers disappeared. For a moment, Crowley had to cover his face from the wave of heat that hade out. Looking at Glutton now, he could see that his body hadpletely changed.

    All of his clothes of the Phoenix Gang had been burnt to ashes. Now, hisrge belly was on disy, and he had thick red fur covering his arms and the bottom part of his legs. He had a curly tail that was med at the end, and his nostrils had grown in size.

    Part of his skin could be seen, but it was yellow in color like that on his belly. Covering his back, there were more mes that were constantly burning. Right now, Glutton looked like a raging pig-man beast.

    ¡®So he transformed into his Altered form finally¡­ haha just when I thought it was over, I should have known it wouldn¡¯t be that easy.¡¯ N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ring his nostrils, mes came right out from Glutton as he looked toward Crowley and smiled. It was clear out of the two which one had more energy.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ you did well so far, you¡¯ve done better than I imagined for a teacher,¡± a voice said, walking by the side.

    Looking at him, Crowley could see the blonde hair; it was the young man, Kai, who had arrived on the scene.

    ¡°The support is not ready yet, but I¡¯ll do my best to get rid of as much scum as I can before they do,¡± Kai said, his arm covered in grey fur and his ws growing from his fingertips.

    ****

 Chapter 849 A Rematch

    Chapter 849 A Rematch

    After the Howlers members were sessfully turned, the group had to wait for all of them to wake up. Fairly quickly after that, someone needed to make them aware of their situation and teach them how to use their newfound powers pretty fast.

    How to transform, how to fight, how to just use controlled transformation, and what it meant to be a werewolf. Converting energy, and consuming targets to continue to grow. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    To not let one¡¯s hunger get to a dictatorial point where they would even eat their own allies. It would be a lot to take in, and a lot to learn, but Dean was confident after a full day that he could do it.

    These were the details that he and Kai were in the middle of sorting out.

    ¡°They¡¯re getting their rest right now, and we have managed to collect a lot of food from Burnham food street, primarily meat, and are shipping it here,¡± Kai exined.

    There wererge vehicles filled to the brim. Since the attacks at night were less frequent, it allowed for the Howlers to move more freely during the night.

    ¡°This is good. Once they have gotten their rest, I will order your men toe with me; we will take them to the nearby forest. It will be the best area for them to get used to their behaviors and their skills rather quickly.

    ¡°The food will keep their energy up, and they will be ready to go into action straight away,¡± Dean noted.

    With everything done, it meant that Kai no longer needed to be there; he could finally get some rest himself. He didn¡¯t know when the Phoenix Gang would attack, and he would have to decide in the early morning where the best ce for him to arrive was.

    Since they were at the hospital, there would be plenty of beds for him to get some sleep as well.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need your number. The Phoenix Gang isrge, and there might be multiple areas where they will attack from. Since we¡¯re apart when the training is done, I need to inform you what the best ce to send our members to will be,¡± Kai stated as he brought out his phone.

    He was waiting to hear a few numbers being read out, but when they didn¡¯te, he looked up to look at the man, who wasn¡¯t saying a word and just scratching the side of his face.

    ¡°The thing is, I don¡¯t have a number. I mean, I don¡¯t even have a phone,¡± Dean said.

    It was hard to believe a person didn¡¯t have a phone, but then again, since Kai had never seen Gary¡¯s father before this and he stated he had his reasons, it somewhat made sense.

    ¡®Maybe it¡¯s because of whoever he has been hiding from until this moment. If he¡¯s worried that they can track him from his phone, they must have some high connections.¡¯

    From his pocket, Kai pulled out another burner phone and chucked it over.

    ¡°This phone has only my number saved, and I have that number. I have a lot of these, so don¡¯t worry. You can throw it away after this is all done, but stay in contact,¡± Kai ordered.

    Dean nodded, and the two of them went off to do their own things. Kai went to rest, while Dean waited for the others to wake up, and he would start his transportation to the forest.

    Early morning the next day, Kai was getting reports on the situation, and he had learned that Cipen was in trouble, where he had left Crowley. There was a strong member of the Phoenix Gang.

    Seeing this, he had decided to head there to give him the support. He still hadn¡¯t received any news from Dean, but he did state that he would need the whole day; at best, they would be ready for him at night, at worst, perhaps the next morning.

    ¡®We need to survive this night¡­ I¡¯m not confident that we can beat them the way we are, but we should be able to at least hold them off!¡¯ With that, Kai had left the hospital.

    ¡ª¡ª-

    It had been a while since Kai had left the hospital, leaving around 10 members of the Howlers standing outside guarding the ce. Dean had already left with the others as well.

    This left only the staff, the Howlers members protecting it, and the civilians as well as gang members who had been hurt inside.

    Xin stayed upstairs along with Amy and White. The three of them were taking turns taking care of Gary¡¯s mother. She still hadn¡¯t gotten out of bed yet. With her being in aa for so long, it was a little hard for her to get used to moving.

    Outside the hospital, the guards were standing firm, waiting for something, and that¡¯s when they saw a fairlyrge man, built with a strong upper body, arrive.

    ¡°Hey, hey, how did they get past the barrier, they don¡¯t look like a member of the Howlers!¡± one of the members shouted. He then stretched out his hand, a baton extended out and started to electrify the area.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s fairly easy for someone to do,¡± the man replied. ¡°at least for an Altered like me.¡±

    The Howlers member ran forward and went to strike therger man across the chest. It hit and started to spark, but had done next to nothing. Right after that, using his hand, the man had picked up the Howlers member by the face.

    Then, lifting him in the air by his head, he hurled him through the air. His body went flying and crashed through the sliding hospital doors. ss was broken apart, and the man continued to slide, leaving a bloody trail onto the reception floor of the hospital.

    Those being treated in the reception, and the nurses, could see this, and terror started to appear in their hearts.

    ¡°Everyone, move quickly to the higher floors!¡± a nurse ordered. ¡°Clear the area before more starting in!¡±

    The people did as they were told, trying to move as much as possible. For Xin, who was on the top floor, the screams were so horrifying that they were able to hear them even from above.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± Amy asked. ¡°Are they attacking the hospital?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Xin replied. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look at it. Don¡¯t worry; with me here, things will be okay. I¡¯m a top Altered fighter after all.¡±

    The two girls smiled, knowing Xin was trying to give them confidence, but it was a worrying situation for them all.

    Xin hurried down as quickly as she could, and she could see the others running about. Then she finally reached the bottom floor. As she got into the reception area, it was already empty and void of people, but on the ground, she could see a member in ck and gold clothing covered in blood.

    Part of the chairs in the reception were already destroyed, and standing in front, she could see therge man.

    ¡°It¡¯s you again,¡± Xin said as she immediately got into a fighting stance.

    ¡°Ah, I see. I guess it was fate that I was sent here. I didn¡¯t have the chance to finish you off thest time, and now I do,¡± Gil said with a smile.

    *****

 Chapter 850 Support From All Corners

    Chapter 850 Support From All Corners

    One of the main areas being protected by the Howlers was Burnham Food Street. Right now, Olivia was walking through the street with Marie by her side. The two of them were looking at therge number of restaurants on either side.

    Some of them had their windows smashed in. Others had part of their signage above the restaurant destroyed and had fallen to the ground.

    Before they had fully been able to secure the area, it had been damaged as well, but now, the only ones on the street itself were the citizens of Slough and the Howlers members.

    The people were taking up shelter inside the restaurants themselves. A system was being put up, where the chairs and tables were cleared while sleeping bags among other items were provided for the general public to sleep.

    If there was one thing they didn¡¯t have to worry about, it was food and water. The supplies in Burnham Food Street wouldst them a while, and they had arge number of chefs that would be willing to cook for the frightened people.

    With the chairs and tables, they had loaded them out, and out of the entrances of Burnham Food Street, they had made barriers. There were two main entrances to Burnham Food Street.

    The start and end of the street which were now covered with dining tables and chairs made of all different materials. There wasn¡¯t just wood but marble and ss as well, due to the different restaurant furnishings.

    Then there were also barriers set up in the alleyways just in case an attack would ur from that side as well.

    While walking, Marie could see an elderly woman being helped; she soon rushed over giving her shoulder and helped her inside one of the restaurants close by. Next, she witnessed another carrying something heavy, n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Arge crate of medical supplies, bandages, and more that had been delivered from the main part of the cities. Since it was delivered by vehicle, she had to jump over the barrier, then lifting the heavy crate overhead she jumped back.

    Everyone witnessing it was quite amazed, but they had also gathered that she was most likely an Altered.

    ¡°You''re doing a little too much, don¡¯t you think?¡± Olivia said.

    ¡°What do you mean, shouldn¡¯t we help out the people?¡± Marie replied back.

    ¡°But you will wear yourself out the way you are going. Yes, you can help people, but you''re going out of your way even more so than you should. You will tire yourself out.¡± Olivia replied as she looked at her phone.

    ¡°The Phoenix Gang, they are already attacking the other areas, Burnham Food Street will certainly be another ce targeted. If you want to help out the people then we need to do what we''re meant to do.¡±

    ¡°Kick the Phoenix Gang''s backside so bad that they don¡¯te back anymore. That¡¯s what we need to do, alright.¡±

    Marie understood. It was just after what happened before she was a little confused. She thought she was hurting others rather than helping them, and she hadn¡¯t really been much help in a fight so far either.

    ¡°Look at you two huh, when do I get one of those gold uniforms and masks?¡± Izzy asked as she had appreciated the two of them.

    Izzy, a member of the AFA and had shortly joined the AFC, but she had decided to quit after getting some recognition to help her family business. A chain of restaurants located mostly in tier 3 cities and towns.

    With her close connections to Gary, she had eventually decided to open her own shop right here in Burnham Food Street, and it was the first one she would take charge of. Everything seemed to be going well, that was until the Phoenix Gang had attacked, and as a result, Austin was currently in the hospital.

    ¡°If you wear one of these you will be the first on the hit list of the Phoenix Gang.¡± Olivia replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re the only one on mine, which is all of those damn crooks, and I¡¯m going to make sure they pay for every penny that they took from my restaurant!¡± Izzy eximed.

    ¡°I have some news, from the attacks that have urred so far, it seems that the enemy will onlye from one direction. Either they''re stubborn, think that we''re that easy, or just craving for a fight, who knows.¡± Izzy shrugged her shoulders.

    ¡°My guess is, their only goal is to eliminate the Howlers.¡±

    ¡°Then why get the public involved? When attacks for other gangs have happened elsewhere, they strictly only attack gang members, and they take them out area by area.¡± Marie replied.

    ¡°There can be a few things, it could be to draw us out from everywhere we are, but I think the main thing is to scramble us into a panic like the way we are now.¡± Izzy replied. ¡°Think about it, their first move in all of this was to attack the Howlers allies.

    ¡°They attacked each of the areas trying to disrupt all the business that you guys do. After that, do they face Gary head-on, no, they get the White Rose to get him. This is a person that does everything to make sure he has a certain victory, I think we have to remember that.¡±

    ¡°I also wanted to mention something else, Burnham Food Street has the second highest poption of people. I wasn¡¯t so sure that we would be able to handle everything that came our way on our own, so I asked Kai if he could give us some support.¡±

    ¡°If we need to hold this ce for a day, I¡¯m not sure just us and some regr gang members are going to do much.¡±

    With a smile on her face, Izzy looked behind the two. Both Marie and Izzy could be seen turning around, and there were two people in their sight that they had seen a couple of times before.

    ¡°We are the support you guys need; you helped us before, now it¡¯s time for us to help you.¡± Numba said with a big smile.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just here to go with the flow.¡± Ian replied.

    ****

 Chapter 851 A Hot Blaze

    Chapter 851 A Hot ze

    Ian, Numba, and Izzy had reunited. The three of them were part of the AFC during the era when Gary had joined as well. They had stuck close together, including with Gary, and had been through a lot.

    Just like Izzy, though, after having a few matches in the AFC, their fame was enough to give their group the recognition they needed, and their families realized that there was more benefit for them if they stayed close to Gary and the Howlers along with their growth.

    Meaning there was no reason for them to be in the AFC anymore. Each of them had left to help with their family businesses. However, they had kept their habits of training and using their Altered forms, allowing them to continue to grow stronger.

    ¡°Wait, is it okay for you to be here?¡± Marie asked. ¡°I thought Cardenez Electronics was under attack.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, we were. That was the start of a lot of this mess, right?¡± Numba replied. ¡°But it seems the attacks have lessened since Slough is now the main aim. The Cardenez group is stronger than you think.¡±

    ¡°My father has a number of measures in ce in case anything happens, and besides, he was the one who told me toe here in the first ce. If Slough falls, if the Howlers lose this war, then what happens to Cardenez Electronics?¡±

    ¡°Will the Phoenix Gang take over by force? The Howlers losing is the same as us, and that¡¯s why we''re here for support.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Olivia weed the help. Having already fought with some of the Phoenix Gang, she knew they needed as many Altered as possible, and she didn¡¯t think they had seen the worst of it just yet.

    ¡°Attack, attack! They¡¯reing from the North Entrance; they''re attacking!¡± A Howlers member started to shout.

    Immediately, all of them were on the move. As they ran through the street, several Howlers members dressed in ck and gold were grabbing weapons as they made their way to the front as well.

    As they were rushing forward, disaster had struck them slightly right in front of their eyes.

    ¡°What idiots are these? They just put a whole load of mmable wood in front of us, for us to light up, did they want to trap and kill themselves!¡± Large numbers of voices were heard from the other side.

    The Howlers members that had reached the area were covering themselves from the intense heat in front of them. Nearly everything was set on fire and fairly quickly, next to no one coulde close.

    Right there and then, a person was seen charging through the mes. With them being me-like Altered, they were more resistant to the fire.

    Immediately as they came through, one stabbed a member of the Howlers with its w-like hands.

    As they went to attack another, a spike came flying in the air, piercing him right in the stomach. Right after that, Ian was in front of him with two spikes in his hand and had stabbed him right through the head.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a time where we can mess around, right? Everyone is fighting for their lives so we can¡¯t hesitate!¡± Ian shouted.

    Looking at the dead Howlers member on the floor and the dead Phoenix Gang member, he had been in this situation a few times now, so he knew what needed to be done.

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the mes,¡± Olivia said as she swung her arm, and the whip came out. It wrapped around the bulk base of one of therge tables; after that, she lifted it in the air and hurled it over to the other side.

    She had no clue what it was hitting, or if it was hurting the others, but for now, she would keep on hurling the mes away in the other direction.

    Olivia continued to do this, getting rid of it, piece by piece. What she didn¡¯t realize was most of the time she was chucking the pieces of furniture so fast that the mes would dwindle out as they hit the ground.

    On the ground itself, Marie, Ian, Numba, and Izzy were doing a number on the Phoenix Gang members that were deciding to jump through.

    Numba charged forward and with horns sticking out of his head, hit one of the men right in the center, sending him flying back into a ming table. Part of the wooden edge was sharp which had pierced his body.

    Marie, she avoided a couple of hits from the metal ws, and then, with ws of her own, swiped at the man¡¯s neck and throat.

    ¡®My training with Olivia this whole time, these guys are a lot slower than her, we can deal with this situation.¡¯

    Izzy with herrge hair was able to snakily grab some of the members, pulling them from their legs, and then stopping them with her own foot.

    Although the situation seemed panicky at the beginning to them all, the other Howler members were left with nothing to do as they watched this perfect team of Altereds get rid of the attackers one by one.

    If they couldn¡¯t do that, then they could at least do something else. They rushed and got the fire extinguishers from the restaurants nearby. They were plentiful due to the nature of the establishment.

    As they got out, they used them on the furniture on the side, extinguishing the mes. Most of the center of the barricade they had built up, it had disappeared thanks to Olivia¡¯s throwing, and now there was arge opening in the center of the street.

    Two whole wide trucks could fit through, and that¡¯s when both sides could see each other.

    ¡°I see now.¡± A man with dark purple hair stated. ¡°I was wondering why they were having so much trouble. It seems that Slough has many, many secrets that I wasn¡¯t aware of during my time here.¡± Raven said. ¡°My job is to clear this area, and I can¡¯t wait to see the look on his face when he returns here and everything he cared for is gone.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 852 Aiming For The Throne

    Chapter 852 Aiming For The Throne

    Standing on the edge of the Cipen border on a hotel roof, Sin held his arms in the air. He was allowing the wind to drag through his clothing behind him. He took in a deep breath through his nostrils and then out of his mouth.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you smell it, that ashy, mucky smell. This city is burning,¡± Sin stated. ¡°The city won¡¯tst much longer, at most all of this will be done by tomorrow.¡±

    Certain areas of the city hadpletely burned down with nothing left to burn. A lot of therge structures had been destroyed. It was clear that what was built up; nearly all of it was gone. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    If someone was to pay the city a visit in the state it was in now, they would assume it was a tier 4 city. No one would be able to guess how prosperous it was.

    ¡°I thought you would have wanted to take this city for yourself,¡± Greed said with his bulky muscr arms folded. ¡°The reason the Howlers were able to grow so quickly was because of their hands in so many sessful businesses.¡±

    Sin turned around and smiled, looking at his fellow gang member.

    ¡°Your greed never ceases to amaze me. That¡¯s why I gave you your nickname Greed. You see, money is a concept that was created by the governments as a way to control the people.¡±

    ¡°Even then, the way the money is funneled up, it¡¯s all about a sense of control, a sense of freedom, but you should know that it means nothing in the grand scheme of things, that it¡¯s just something made of paper.¡±

    ¡°What we have is power. We take what we want, and we do what we want otherwise; they will have to face the consequences. We don¡¯t need to pay anyone anything; they will simply do as they are told because we said so.¡±

    ¡°The bounties, if we don¡¯t pay it, the underground market, what is going to happen then? Do you think they wille after us? Of course not, because no one wants to touch us. You know why? Because we are one of the Kings!¡± Sin shouted this almost with his arms raised up.

    ¡°I also wanted to ask something about that as well. You didn¡¯t have to get involved, did you, in something like this?¡± Garbo stated. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have dealt with it, not so personally? If you did, then it would show our power.¡±

    Sin shook his head several times.

    ¡°No, that isn¡¯t enough; I couldn¡¯t leave this to you guys. This city has a personal grudge against me. The Underdogs that were here before, they messed things up for me. Now, we have that damned Lupus Gang on our back.¡±

    ¡°I needed to make sure this job is done right, and we need to make sure an incident like this never happens again. We won¡¯t take over this city, but we will destroy itpletely and everyone linked to them, that way, something like this won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    The twomanders of the Phoenix Gang looked at each other and smiled.

    ¡°Well, at least it gives us a chance to fight; it has been a while. I hope that the gang doesn¡¯t fall over too easily with Glutton being involved,¡± Greedmented.

    ¡°I guess that depends on how well the neers do then, right?¡± Garbo asked.

    ¡°Right, the neers,¡± Greed said, rubbing his chin. ¡°I haven¡¯t really been able to test their strength myself or seen the full extent of it, but the two missions you sent them on, they seemed to do well.¡±

    ¡°Why did you send them off on their own like that; do you think they can take on a tier 2 city all on their own?¡±

    Sin was observing the situation and looking at his phone constantly. He seemed to be getting updates from the gang members. A team that wasn¡¯t to take part in fights but just update him on the situation that was unfolding.

    After looking at the messages, Sin had a few words to say.

    ¡°The two new guys, they are an interesting variable. Both of them have been injected with Mythical type serums, but you know that they¡¯re not like us.¡±

    The two of them raised an eyebrow; they didn¡¯t quite understand what Sin meant.

    ¡°The two of them are a ticking time bomb. The serums that we stole from NIRV, they were infected Serums, they may seem fine now, but who knows what¡¯s going to happen.¡±

    ¡°Besides, the two of them have a personal history with this city. I¡¯m counting on that, and even if they do lose their fights, I¡¯m nning for the two bombs to go off, finishing this city off.¡±

    ¡°Then, when I¡¯m done with them, I¡¯ll deal with Lupus as well.¡±

    This is why many had chosen to follow Sin. Because they were drawn to his ambitions. Even though he was already a King, the strongest, he wanted to be the only one to sit at the top of that throne.

    He didn¡¯t want to share it with others, and they wanted to be there with him when he had done so. To them, this whole thing, it felt a bit like a side quest to them.

    ¡°I am surprised though,¡± Sin said looking at his phone. ¡°It appears, all of those that have been sent out, they have all run into some trouble. The Howlers are putting up a better fight than I thought.¡±

    ¡°It appears that Glutton is facing the most trouble at the moment. The core members, as the Howlers call them, have arrived and I keep thinking that something else might appear as well.¡±

    ¡°Greed, go help Glutton and deal with this mess. You have till midnight today to solve everything. If not, then I will deal with everything myself,¡± Sin imed.

    ****

    ***

 Chapter 853 Duo Werewolf Strike

    Chapter 853 Duo Werewolf Strike

    A single mysterious man stood at the end of Burnham food street. Unlike the other members, he wasn¡¯t dressed in all red; instead, he had a grey jacket on top of his shirt along with a pair of ck trousers.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Ravenughed as he ced his hand on top of his face. Through his fingers, he was peeking at those on the other side.

    ¡°Who is that guy, why is heughing so much?¡± Numba asked.

    Unlike the other members of the Phoenix Gang who they had attacked at first sight, Ian, Numba, and Izzy were cautious about this person. The way they were standing, it was too confident. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As if even if they came right at him and tried to attack, he could defend himself from it. Spending time at the AFA they got used to people like this; Apollo, the top student, was one of them, and the same energy wasing off from this individual.

    Olivia, with her whip, was staring intensely at the man in front. She hadn¡¯t bothered wearing her mask for a while now; it was the same for Marie as well. The core members of the Howlers, since the start of this mess, had stopped.

    Orders were still being sent via Kai¡¯s text messages, and in general, people could figure out who the core members were just by the strength alone when they came to help. If it was any other time, maybe they would have been surprised by the young age of someone like Marie, but that didn¡¯t matter at a time like this.

    ¡°Olivia, I can¡¯t believe that you have no pride,¡± Raven stated. ¡°You used to own all of this. You were a feared member of the Pincer¡¯s Gang, and you were untouchable due to all the dirt you had on the other groups, politicians, and more¡­¡±

    ¡°Yet what, you gave all of that up, and now you work under this pathetic gang, the Howlers?¡±

    The voice had sparked a memory in Olivia; now she knew exactly who it was.

    ¡°Raven¡­ from the Grey Elephants?¡± Olivia asked.

    Since the Grey Elephants were one of the top gangs in Slough along with the Underdogs, it was normal for someone like her, who was infamous in Slough, to know him as well. They had a few run-ins together, but they didn¡¯t really know each other.

    ¡°Haha, can you really criticize me?¡± Olivia asked. ¡°You ran away from this city because you were too scared to fight, and what did you do, join one of the Kings? Do you really think that¡¯s honorable?¡±

    ¡°Let me ask you, what have you done to help the Kings get in the position that they are in? For me, sure the Pincers were disbanded, but I became part of the Howlers, and it grew into what it is today; I was part of its growth, but you, you¡¯re nothing but a dog!¡±

    Ian leaned in to whisper to Izzy at that moment.

    ¡°Hey, this woman is good with her words; do you think she has a partner?¡±

    ¡°Not for an idiot like you,¡± Izzy pped the back of his head.

    ¡°What have I done for the Phoenix Gang?¡± Raven couldn¡¯t help but continue tough. ¡°I¡¯ve done a lot more than you could have imagined. Tell me, I don¡¯t see a particr person here, the one that helped strike down the Underdogs.¡±

    ¡°What was his name Gary Dem? Don¡¯t you think his disappearance was a bit strange? I was the one who set up this whole damned war to begin with!¡± Raven shouted and started to charge in.

    At the same time, the Phoenix Gang members by his side had charged in as well as transforming their bodies.

    Seeing this, Ian jumped in and ducked under a ming tail, then punched the Phoenix Gang member hard in the face. He was startled but not defeated as he came charging in again.

    Izzy as well went to help out the other Howlers members that were now taking part in the fight, using her abilities to pull them out of tough situations. One member was going to be shed in his face, and with her hair, she pulled him back just in time.

    Leaving three people to go right in the center, Olivia, Marie, and Numba. Out of all of them, Numba was the first; when he got close, exploding from his position, his horns grew, and he went straight out with an almighty punch.

    That punch was soon caught right by Raven, not even moving him an inch back.

    ¡°You have a lot of power for an Altered, but you guys have no idea!¡± Raven said, his anger brewing, and part of his eye was turning ck.

    He lifted his hand ready to punch Numba but before he could, a whip wrapped around it. It was pulling his arm away.

    Turning his head, he could see that Olivia no longer looked the same as she did before; she had transformed into a Wolf type Altered.

    ¡°I see, it seems that you have changed quite a bit as well,¡± Ravenmented.

    That¡¯s when a heavy strike was felt right in his back. Marie had transformed herself as well, and with her two ws, she thrusted them forward, piercing the back of Raven¡¯s skin.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to do that; it¡¯s quite dangerous,¡± Ravenmented.

    Momentster, Marie let out a short scream.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Marie''s fingers felt like they were burning as she pulled them out.

    Her nails that had dug into Raven¡¯s back, they had melted while her fingertips were burning with a strange thick green substance on them.

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one that has changed. I will get rid of everything in Slough, and then rip Gary apart with my own two hands!¡± Raven kicked Numba right in the stomach, sending him flying back, and Raven¡¯s body started to change.

    His head had split open, growingrger by the moment. Separately, five heads had appeared, dragon-like in feature with a long tongue and in the air. Those that could see him could now guess what type of Altered he was.

    ¡°A mythical type Altered, this is going to be hard,¡± Mariemented.

    ***

 Chapter 854 A Fallen Bird\

    Chapter 854 A Fallen Bird

    The situation was heating up in all parts of Slough, but the first area that had made contact with the opponent was none other than Cipen. Crowley had been fighting Glutton, one of the strong leaders that belonged to the Phoenix Gang.

    The civilians behind him, and the gang members that he taught every day for over a year now, were getting hurt, which was why he thought it was best for him to use all his strength to go all out and defeat the opponent as quickly as possible.

    Using a lot of his strength, he thought he had Glutton surrounded and done for, but now he had finally transformed into his Altered state, and it was a hot mess.

    ¡°It looks like I got ahead of myself a little bit. I¡¯ve used up half my power, and here it looks like he¡¯s just getting started,¡± Crowley said, trying to exin the situation to his new helper by his side.

    ¡°I thought they would send the most troublesome one to this ce. I can imagine all ces are being hit pretty hard right now, so let¡¯s deal with this!¡± Kai said as he began to transform into his Wolf form.

    Immediately, Glutton in his new form started to open his mouth and fire away. Three fireballs came out from his mouth at the same time, but Kai was too fast in his current form. He was able to avoid them all as he continued to run around.

    Seeing an opportunity, Crowley wasted no time as he threw his ck feathers toward Glutton. When they hit his body, it looked like it had next to no effect. The tip had hit him, piercing his skin, but in moments, the heat from his body had turned the feather into ashes.

    ¡°My feathers are no normal feathers; he must have an incredibly hot body right now in his Altered form. Will we even be able to hurt him the way he is?¡±

    Kai had seen what happened to the feathers, so he thought of something fairly quickly. He ran towards a vehicle and midway started to transform into his Werewolf form. Right after, he lifted the car with his strength and then hurled it right at Glutton.

    It came out fast, hitting his body and crushing him. The edge started to melt, but he still felt the impact of the car being thrown at him. Opening his mouth wide, Glutton was ready to unleash a breath of fire.

    In doing so, he would melt the car directly, but before he could even do that, Crowley was in the air with his smaller wings and had flown right into the metal car and kicked it with his leg with all the strength he had, pushing it further into his body.

    At that point, Glutton¡¯srge body fell onto the ground, the heat spreading out onto the floor. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You did good,¡± Kai said as Crowleynded next to him.

    ¡°I just borrowed from your idea,¡± Crowley replied.

    ¡°Well if you hadn¡¯t thrown your feathers at him, I wouldn¡¯t have known it would be hard to touch him,¡± Kai answered.

    The two of them were confident. With their skills and quick thinking, they knew they could work together to take this one down.

    Immediately, as Glutton was getting up, Crowley flew from his position and he was looking at the streetlight. With his w, he cut it from the bottom, and just as it was about to fall, he managed to catch it.

    With the streetlight, he then threw it into the air. At this point, Glutton had just gotten up from the floor, when looking up, he could see a Wolf Altered heading his way, and in the air, he had grabbed onto a streetlight with both hands.

    Kai swung the streetmp down hard, hitting the top of Glutton¡¯s head. Therge impact made an echoing sound, and Glutton¡¯s head was squashed into his body, but even the metal streetmp started to melt as well.

    ¡°This is frustrating!¡± Glutton shouted, and small drops of mes went off from his body in all different areas. They quickly diminished as they hadn¡¯t anything to stay lit on.

    ¡°This guy can take quite a beating huh?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°I have been trying for a while before you got here, but one can¡¯t stay in an Altered form forever; it uses up a lot of energy. Maybe we just need to continue what we''re doing until his Altered form disappears.

    ¡°When he¡¯s back in his human form, that¡¯s when we can finish him.¡±

    Getting rid of one of the main members of the Phoenix Gang would be a big win for the group, and it was exactly what they needed with the way everything had been going for them so far.

    Right then, Crowley went flying in the air again; if they could continue this double barrage from above and below, things were working out. Both of them were too fast for Glutton. He might have had destructive power and a high resistance, but the opponents he was going against were the worst for him.

    As he was looking down at Glutton though, something caught the right of his eye. There was a man on the roof, running towards him. He had a sleeveless red shirt on, and when he reached the edge, he jumped in the air.

    Pulling out from his back were two swords that looked to be red burning hot. The leap was arge one, and he had perfectlynded right on top of Crowley.

    The moment he did, he swung down the two swords, stabbing Crowley through his stomach. A burst of mes came out from them, and the two of them went hurtling to the floor like a meteorite.

    ¡°Crowley!¡± Kai shouted out as he looked at the dust, at his ally.

    ¡°Damn you, Glutton, couldn¡¯t you finish things by yourself?¡± Greed said.

    ****

 Chapter 855 The Sun Is The Timer

    Chapter 855 The Sun Is The Timer

    Crowley was a reliable Altered in the Howlers. Kai was over the moon when he heard the news that they would have a talented AFA teachere to join the group. He hadn¡¯t joined the Howlers officially but still had helped grow the Howlers'' strength to what it was.

    It was safe to say that without Crowley, the Howlers wouldn¡¯t havested as long as they had. Although Kai hadn¡¯t spoken to Crowley much, he was pleased when he officially decided to help with the defense of Slough.

    Fighting side by side, Kai was happy to have someone on the same wavelength as him, and now he was witnessing hisst moments. He didn¡¯t even see where the opponent hade from.

    A loud bang with an intense amount of heat was all that Kai was able to witness. When the mes died down, he could see a powerful man standing there. Tworge swords had been pulled out, and their edges were covered in blood.

    ¡°Greed, do you think I can¡¯t handle this by myself?¡± Gluttonined. ¡°And you took one out by surprise, the bird man. He was annoying, and you didn¡¯t even get to experience his annoyance.¡±

    Kai couldn¡¯t believe it, a strong ally of theirs, another one was taken out. He med himself partly for what had happened to Austin, and now there was another one.

    Immediately, Kai¡¯s body had transformed back into his Wolf form. He started to run ahead, on top of the broken cars, down the side of the streets. Glutton was unable to keep up with his target, and Greed wasn¡¯t ready for something like this.

    He hadn¡¯t expected his opponent to be so fast. As Kai continued to sprint though, he ran right around Greed who was heating up his two swords ready for another sh. Instead, Kai had gone behind him, and with his mouth, gently bit the body of Crowley.

    In his mouth, he gently flung him to his back as he ran quickly back to the barrier of vehicles that had been made.

    ¡°Do whatever you can to patch him up; I don¡¯t care if you say it¡¯s useless, we need to make sure he¡¯s alright!¡± Kai shouted at the civilians that were there, and they quickly nodded, taking him off his hands. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Turning back around and jumping back over the barrier of vehicles, Kai was looking at the situation. Some of the Howlers members had fallen, killed by the squad, and in front of him were two powerful members of the Phoenix Gang.

    ¡®We¡¯ve been going about this the wrong way; right now, there is only one thing that we can do.¡¯

    Kai then brought out his phone there and then and held down the record button, a voice message that was to be sent out to everyone in the group.

    ¡°This is a message for everyone to hear and abide by. I know it hurts seeing what our town is going through, I know we want to fight back and win this fight. Right now, everyone is fighting with the intent to win.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m giving you all an order right now. Give up on winning. Give up on winning; the only thing that we need to do right now is survive, just survive, that is the one order, survive and wait and we will win this!¡±

    The message had ended, and Kai was looking up at the two in front of him. The message to survive. Don¡¯t waste energy attacking, don¡¯t waste energy trying to win, but just surviving, if they did that, then something woulde out of it.

    In Burnham food street, Olivia had listened to the message, it yed out well and loud.

    ¡®I guess they''re struggling at the other areas, and it¡¯s the same for us as well. Does that mean Kai is relying on the others in the forest, or is he relying on something else to happen.¡¯

    The opponent they were facing was extremely difficult, and Olivia didn¡¯t know, even with their help and powers, whether or not they could win this.

    ¡°You heard the order, everyone survive!¡± Olivia shouted.

    At the same time in the hospital, Marie was on the back of therge Gil. He was in his Anubis form havingpletely transformed. She tried to shock him as she ced both hands on his body, but it was doing nothing, as she flipped herself off andnded back at the hospital reception.

    ¡°In this giant form, he has great strength and durability¡­ he was a real pain to fight thest time. I need him to transform into his smaller form to defeat him but then he¡¯s too fast!¡± Xin thought.

    That was until the message had yed in her pocket, giving her the order out loud.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t think I can do that Kai; I¡¯m not really the type that canst long in a fight, and If I lose, then all of the people at the hospital will suffer.

    ¡°I have to win this, what¡¯s the point of being in the top fifty in the AFC, if I can¡¯t take down one gangster!¡± Xin shouted.

    ¡°Haha, this is the real world of fighting, not some fake fighting in a cage with all cameras everywhere. Let¡¯s rumble!¡± Gil said as he charged forward ready to rugby tackle Xin away.

    Three different areas of Slough were facing off in a big battle. Doing what they could to pull through this. Nearly all of them realizing that they were unable to win the fight, and Gary was still locked away in prison.

    A change in the direction of wind was needed for the Howlers.

    ¡°Time is ticking, at midnight, we join in,¡± Sin said.

    The sun was rising hard, and there wasn''t a doubt in Sin''s mind that they would get through this.

    *****

 Chapter 856 Rumble In The Prison

    Chapter 856 Rumble In The Prison

    Inside the prison located underneath the base for the White Rose was none other than the prison created for Altereds. It was the only area that could guarantee the safety of the public.

    There weren¡¯t many that could keep dangerous Altereds in a single ce, so they had decided to ce them under the White Rose base, filled with the strongest agents aimed at the goal of Justice.

    However, there was always a worry, for the White Rose base was also stationed in the area where the country''s top politicians lived. There was always the worry that something would happen one day, that a breakout would ur, but to this date, not a single person had ever escaped from the prison.

    Inside that very prison, there was an event that was urring that had never happened before. The power struggle had reached a boiling point. The three main groups of the prison had decided to team up.

    Stinger had a group of wild Altereds that loved to fight, mostly preying on neers. Calvin was the leader of the North Group; he had a powerful healing ability due to his Altered form. Many had joined his side after he had helped them, but not many actually knew his individual strength.

    Then there was the South Group led by Carter, a man who still was able to get information from the outside. Due to his connections, he had brought on many strong individuals to his side, promising them help for those they might have still cared about, or getting them a few bites of messages that they wanted.

    All three of the groups, although against each other, had yet to have a spark or sh against each other, but the tension was always high. Which was why the individuals themselves never thought what had urred would ever happen.

    The three of them teaming up together to fight, but it was a choice that they felt like they didn¡¯t have because the three powerful individuals that had been left alone so far had been seen talking to each other constantly.

    If these three were teaming up, then they all knew that their groups didn¡¯t stand a chance against them. They could break up the groups that existed, and thevish life they managed to live would start to fall apart, so it hade to this.

    Nearly all of the prisoners had surrounded Gary, Ice, and ckjack in the center of the room.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to go through this again?¡± Gary asked, looking at Stinger.

    ¡°I have no choice,¡± Stinger said as he stepped back, allowing the other Altereds toe forward.

    Immediately, everyone''s bodies started to change in the area, and several attacks came out towards the group. Ice formed arge shield in his hand, bigger than the one he had used against Gary.

    Several strange substances as well as physical items had hit his shield, and the attack had been stopped. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, both Gary and ckjack had avoided the attacks and had dived straight in.

    ckjack went to the one closest to him and threw out several fists to one individual, hitting him in the stomach several times. As if he had eyes at the back of his head, he avoided an attack from behind and then threw a card straight out.

    It had hit one of the men so deep in the head he had fallen to the floor as if he had taken a bullet. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Gary, going close to one of the men, had transformed his legs and burst forward with his strength hitting them with the side of his body. It had caused a domino effect almost as the men fell and were being pushed back one after the other.

    Another came close, and Gary was able to kick one to the point he flew in the air, and his back had hit the wall.

    They were realizing something as they were going up against Gary; he had incredible strength as well as being agile, but it wasn¡¯t just that.

    With how many Altereds there were around them, he would be hit a few times. But as one Altered went to attack his back, he felt like his attack didn¡¯t even go through his hard rough skin, and Gary had almost not felt it at all.

    Instead, Gary had turned around with a sharp w and left arge cut across his arm.

    The fight was continuing on, with all three of them attacking non-stop. Ice was using his giant mallet to bash anyone who got in his way, one after the other, and those that got close felt their feet freezing.

    As Gary was continuing to fight as well, his screen kept popping up with information. He was gaining exp for nearly every Altered that he was beating, and not just that, about every five men he would defeat he would also gain a pawn point as well.

    ¡®This is it, this is exactly what I needed, a situation like this to grow strong, and then when I get out of here, I¡¯ll put a stop to the Phoenix Gang!¡¯

    ¡°Hey¡­ can we really win this?¡± One of the prisoners asked standing next to Calvin.

    The men were losing morale as they were seeing their own side fall one after the other.

    ¡°Of course, we can. No one can continue to fight on forever. Their Altered forms will tire them out eventually, and we have the edge when ites to that.¡±

    Through the crowd of Altereds that were attacking the others, some had brought over the injured that had been hurt. At that point, Calvin got to work, as he began healing those that were injured, and once they were healed, they would soon be back in the fight.

    There was one person that could hear the voice of the others, even throughout all of the fighting. Although Gary¡¯s hearing was strong, he found it hard especially when fighting to pinpoint conversations, but that wasn¡¯t the same for ckjack.

    ¡®You think that guy will tire out?¡¯ ckjack looked over at Gary. ¡®You have no idea what you¡¯re up against.¡¯

    ***

 Chapter 857 Big Bad Wolf

    Chapter 857 Big Bad Wolf

    The fight continued with all three of them continuing to fight against the Alteredsing their way. Although most of them were rtively easy to deal with, there were a few tough ones.

    Those that knew how to fight either waited for the right time to strike and got a good hit in or were harder than just a single hit or two to take out. When this was the case, Gary would use one of his skills.

    He would use his Lethal Pounce, w Drain, and even once in a while, he even used his w Strike to attack them from surprise. When this was used, it seemed like next to no one could stop it.

    ckjack had been keeping an eye on things that were happening around him, and when this happened, he would focus on just avoiding blows that he was able to do with ease.

    ¡®Is he conserving his strength?¡¯ ckjack thought. ¡®That¡¯s surprising. I don¡¯t see many Werewolves fight like that. Is it because he¡¯s worried about when he has to go up against the Warden? No, that can¡¯t be it.¡¯

    With a keener eye, ckjack then noticed something as Gary went to attack one individual; his hand could have easily sliced at an attacker¡¯s throat, but instead, it had shed across his chest.

    The Altered was down for the count, but then something else was happening. The bodies on the floor, they were being dragged away by another Altered. As they were being dragged, that was when Calvin was healing them back up, making them join back in the fight.

    ¡°Ice, just go a little harder for a moment on this side!¡± ckjack said, jumping in the air. He threw out five cards that hit several of the prisoners in different spots. Some hitting their legs, some in their heads, taking them out instantly.

    Finally, ckjack was by the side of where Gary was fighting.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡± ckjack said as he avoided a punch and then hit one of the attackers by the head from his chin. He then flipped the person onto the ground and with his foot stomped on the back of his neck.

    ¡°You need to finish them off, not just injure them, and you of all people shouldn¡¯t worry about conserving your strength!¡± ckjack stated.

    ckjack knew what Gary was, and knowing that, he knew Werewolves were able to have an unlimited source of stamina. They did this by consuming what they killed. They could digest food at an incredibly fast rate, and it would be added as raw energy.

    As long as there were enemies around, a Werewolf could continue to fight on forever; it was perfect in the type of situation they were in. But if Gary wasn¡¯t willing to kill, then they would keep getting healed up, and his energy as well as everyone else¡¯s would continue to drop.

    ¡°Are you listening to me!¡± ckjack said. ¡°You are a fool. We are in a prison with the worst right now. Not everyone is like you; you should be able to tell, all of these guys are attacking you with the intention of killing you right now.

    ¡°Not everyone will be like Ice either; you just happened to meet a nice one, but trust me, for what you are doing right now, if you don¡¯t finish them and these people get out, they will harm everyone you care about!¡±

    Hearing these words, it was there and then that Gary, frustrated, his mouth grew. He opened wide and took a big bite out of an attacker''s shoulder, ripping it to shreds. Blood covered his mouth for a moment, and he soon swallowed down the piece of flesh.

    In almost an instant, he could feel his energying back to him, but the look in his eyes, it was of pure focus.

    ¡®He¡¯s right¡­ how many people must be dying right now, and here I am caring about a bunch of criminals!¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®I need to do what I can do to get stronger.¡¯

    With each person Gary killed, he would get the option to consume the Altered body, allowing him to grow. He couldn¡¯t do it in the middle of a fight, but eating parts of their flesh would restore parts of his stamina.

    ¡®Now, he¡¯s fighting a bit more like the Werewolves I know, but there are still other problems at hand as well.¡¯ ckjack thought, as he went and punched an Altered in the face who he had hurt before for the second time.

    It was hard to finish people off in a single hit when another person would attack him right after, so if he wanted to ease up the situation they were in, then there was a certain person he would have to go for.

    ¡°Alright, I think we¡¯ve caused enough attention to get the Warden toe down here; they are probably just waiting for the situation to quiet down!¡± ckjack said. ¡°Now, you go after the South Gang Leader Carter!¡±

    Although they were still fighting in the center, with Gary¡¯s ws, he could easily climb on the side of the walls, or above. If he got to Carter and finished him off, then it would cause a lot of the attackers to stop, unsure what to do.

    This was part of ckjack¡¯s n.

    ¡°As for me, I¡¯ll go after their little support character, healing everyone!¡± ckjack announced as he was going to take out Carter from the south side.

    Ice, pounded his feet on the ground several times and Ice grew out attaching to those that were attempting to run away.

    ¡°As for you Ice, that means you have the most important job, carry on in the center and cause chaos, attack so much that they have to pay attention to you because if they don¡¯t, they¡¯ll regret it! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ***n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 858 Calvin The North Leader

    Chapter 858 Calvin The North Leader

    ckjack was on the move to the North side. He was quickly going past the Altereds that were trying to attack him, ducking and weaving through them all at a fast speed. At one point, he leaned back, and one of the prisoners identally attacked another.

    ¡®It¡¯s a good lucky day today, I knew it would all go well today.¡¯ ckjack smiled as he progressed further and deeper inside. As he finally got near the end, he threw out thest of his cards.

    They came out sharp, hitting four of his opponents on the head, causing them to fall to the floor, and that¡¯s when he could see Calvin sitting on the floor, healing one of the prisoners.

    ¡°Calvin, it has been a while, right?¡± ckjack asked. ¡°I¡¯m surprised to see that you teamed up with the South Group. After going against them for so long, it resorted to this.¡±

    ¡°I had invited you several times to join my side,¡± Calvin stated. ¡°I had even healed your body after the fight with the Warden, and yet you still refused. So what else was I supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± ckjack said, touching his arm, remembering the pain he had suffered from back then. ¡°But my body is a little more specialpared to others; I could have healed on my own without your help.¡±

    ¡°You said the same thing back then, I remember, which is why I am even more curious about your body,¡± Calvin said as he finally started to stand up from the floor, stretching out both of his hands from the side.

    ¡°You know, there is one thing about you that I never understood, and it¡¯s the fact that I have never seen your Altered form. No matter how hard you struggle,¡± Calvin stated.

    ¡°You know, for me, it¡¯s the same. I¡¯ve never seen yours either. What type of Altered has healing capabilities? It doesn¡¯t make much sense. And that¡¯s when I figured it out; your healing capabilities have nothing to do with your Altered self, right? It must just be something that you could do,¡± ckjack asked.

    A smirk appeared on Calvin¡¯s face.

    ¡°You¡¯re the first person to have ever noticed it, but my Altered form did enhance my powers beyond what I could imagine. I¡¯m different from others, a family line that has told me to keep the knowledge I know a secret.¡±

    ¡°Before all of these Altereds were about, people would have called me a miracle worker, and now look at them all everywhere thinking they¡¯re so special.¡±

    ¡°I always wondered. Why would someone like you care about the struggle in this prison so much?¡± ckjack said. ¡°Now I know, you hate Altereds, don¡¯t you? This ce is perfect for you to take them down.¡±

    ¡°Some higher being. You¡¯re really making my head hurt as you sound like some people I know, and as for keeping a secret, trust me, I know all about that.¡±

    ckjackunched himself from where he was; Calvin tried to react by slicing his hand, but it had gone through nothing but the air. His body and arm were transforming, but before it could finish transforming, ckjack already had grabbed Calvin by the throat and bashed him up against the wall.

    ckjack looked deep into the other¡¯s eyes as his started to glow red.

    ¡°You said you had never seen me transform before, right?¡± The intensity of ckjack¡¯s eyes turned redder; meanwhile, as he had his mouth open, his two canine-like teeth were extending out and growing.

    They were turning sharp and elongated.

    ¡°Then before you die, I guess I can show you what I am¡­ I¡¯m a vampire,¡± ckjack said in a hushed voice so the others wouldn¡¯t hear.

    He opened his mouth wide and chomped down at the side of his neck. Blood was being drawn from Calvin, and he felt like he could do next to nothing.

    He looked at his special healing hands; he had done next to nothing with his powers as his family had told him to keep it a secret. His powers were meant for healing, but when those that needed him most, his family, he was unable to help them.

    He was unable to heal the dead, so he did what was needed. Calvin went to the local gangs and took them out one by one. It was a long tiresome process as he would heal himself with his own powers so he could fight again.

    He would get better at fighting, and any wounds he did receive, he would heal himself, and after taking out the gang in question, he had finally received a special serum that they had been hiding.

    Taking the serum, he had be an Altered himself. With his newfound power, he went on the search for his family¡¯s killer and gave them ten times the payback that he had received; by the time White Rose were called to the scene, they were already toote.

    They could just see Calvin in a field of dead. They had taken him and locked him away, cing him where he was currently with a sentence for life. He had gotten his payback but felt so empty.

    When he had joined the prison, a fight had broken out as it always had done; one was far more injured than the other. It was the first time he had used his powers in a way to heal the other.

    The person he had saved was thankful, to the point that they were willing to do anything for him. It was a nice feeling to have, so using this power Calvin had created his family surrounding him.

    It was a new family he had created with his powers, but just like in the past, he was so afraid of losing it again. So rather than lose his family, he would team up with his enemy and try to take out those that might disturb it, but this was the result.

    As Calvin¡¯s body fell to the floor, he could see ckjack going to each one of them, taking them out there and then.

    ***

 Chapter 859 Garys Secret

    In the center of the prison, many had backed away from Ice standing in the middle. He felt like an unstoppable giant. No matter what attacksnded on him, they barely left a mark; if they did, it was almost as if it didn''t affect him at all.

    His giant club was hitting the physical-type Altereds and overpowering them with his strength. Even those that were fast and could get closer were affected by his strong ice powers.

    He could block attacks with his ice, freeze those who came close to him, and create a number of unique attacks of his own. When a group of prisoners approached him, he mmed his foot on the ground. Ice grew from the floor in several sharp spikes, piercing those who took a step too far. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "What are we meant to do, Stinger? This guy is too strong!" one of the prisoners eximed.

    They looked around, waiting for an answer, but the prisoners themselves were struggling to even see Stinger. That was because he had hidden himself among the crowd of prisoners, waiting for an attack.

    "It''s impossible to take down that ice giant. I don¡¯t even have my powers back yet. All we can do is wait until they tire out. Calvin will continually heal people, and eventually, he will run out of strength, then we should rush in!" Stinger thought.

    Little did he know, and many in the prison, that Calvin was already down for the count. Their n of relying on him would fail, but there was still one more in the prison they could rely on, and that was Carter, the other man behind this whole operation.

    As Ice continued to attack, he had been watching the situation unfold with Gary. He lifted up his club and mmed it on the top of the head of a prisoner. Instantly, he fell to the ground, most likely dead.

    "I saw, Gary was hesitant to kill even these people that are inside here. He''s not like those that are here; he''s different. He only changed after talking to ckjack. He''s not like the scum in here, who aren''t hesitating to kill me with every strike, so I won¡¯t hesitate back!" Ice thought, swinging his club around furiously, hitting one after the other.

    Gary, with a change of heart, was ripping through the prisoners that were moving towards him. His arms and legs were using the controlled transformation, and he wasn¡¯t holding back with his skills.

    The w sh was used frequently to create some space as it would hit or push back those close to him. Then he would use his Lethal Pounce skill, jumping from side to side and using his w Drain to cut apart those next to him.

    To keep his energy up, Gary would leap on top of one of the Altereds and bite part of their body, ripping the flesh from them. It was an easy thing to do with his strong jaws.

    This way of fighting waspletely different from what they had seen him do before. It was frightening them beyond belief; it was as if they were fighting with a wild animal, one that they had no idea how to stop.

    Although Gary was eating parts of Altereds, he had already grown too much in stats for it to affect him. If he wanted stats, then he would have to consume entire bodies, which he didn''t have time for in this fight.

    Before he realized it, though, due to his fighting style, the attackers stoppeding his way. He stood there, his hands and mouth soaked in blood, and now there was a direct path to Carter in front of him, who was sitting on his chair in his specially made clothes.

    "I didn¡¯t think it woulde to this," Carter said as he could see Gary walking towards him. Before he realized it, his hand was shaking. He needed to grab one with the other just to stop it.

    "I can give you what you want in this prison. A lot of the guards owe me favors. You can live a good life in here," Carter said.

    "A good life in here?" Gary repeated as his face had transformed back to its regr self. "The whole reason I¡¯m doing all of this is because I can¡¯t stay in here!"

    "Then how about I help you? I have connections with the outside. I can¡ª" Carter stopped himself in the middle of his sentence as he realized something.

    His trump card was what he could do to affect the outside world. He had strong connections with gangs and politicians. So if someone ended up in prison and they needed to keep their family safe or get rid of their family, then he could do it, but this wasn¡¯t true for Gary.

    "You know, don¡¯t you? You know the people that I am facing, and you realize that you don¡¯t have the power to do anything about them," Gary imed.

    A man came jumping out from Carter¡¯s side, but Gary pulled back quickly and spun his body. With the spin on his body, he mmed his fist right down onto his face. The whole prisoner''s body crashed into the ground and then bounced back up.

    Carter knew it before, but seeing this happen right in front of him, he knew that going against this person was a fight that he couldn¡¯t win, and with no one else willing to help him, what could he do?

    "You''re right," Carter stated. "I do know who is against you, and the question is, do those two that are helping you know who it is that trapped you in here? Who it is that wishes for you to stay here and never get out.¡±

    "It¡¯s the Phoenix Gang!"

    The name had caught the attention of quite a few of the prisoners, and the words were shouted so loud that Ice and ckjack, who was returning to the center, had heard it.

    "That¡¯s right, the person you are helping has been marked by the Phoenix Gang. If you help him get out of this ce, or you help him right now, then they will get rid of every single one of you! They will kill all of us, for letting a person that was meant to stay in here get out!"

    This was Carter¡¯s final ace, the only thing he could do, turn his two allies against him.

    "Well, what does it matter?" ckjack said, moving forward. "If the Phoenix Gang wants to keep him in here rather than take him out, doesn''t that mean they see him as a threat, onerge enough to take on the Phoenix Gang himself?"

    ---

 Chapter 860 A Big Power UP

    Chapter 860 A Big Power UP

    The final n that Carter had, to try and turn those who had allied up against each other, had failed. Carter already knew about Ice¡¯s past; there wasn¡¯t much he could do with that.

    He was one of the few prisoners who knew what they had done. Through the extent of his own powers in a sh, he had killed those around him that had no involvement. He wanted to stay in the prison, but he suddenly had a change of heart.

    Then, there was ckjack, the first man Carter was unable to get any information about, so he only had Gary, and now even that hadn¡¯t worked. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What were you going to do?¡± Gary asked as he moved forward. ¡°I bet if I was in here, and the Phoenix Gang wasn¡¯t already targeting me, you would threaten my friends, my family, that are on the outside.¡±

    ¡°You are a cruel person in this ce; those that are already trapped, you force them to do your bidding by trapping them even more in this ce. I can safely say that you are a person that I don¡¯t mind getting rid of.¡±

    Gary no longer walked forward and instead exploded from his feet forward, and grabbed Carter right by his head and lifted him out of his seat; he could feel his entire body shaking.

    ¡°You¡¯re making the wrong decision, I can-¡±

    Before Carter could finish his sentence, Gary had ripped out the side of his throat, killing him on the spot, and right then, while his back was turned away, he started to eat part of his body bit by bit.

    ¡®I have to get stronger, I have to consume other Altered to get out of this ce, I have to defeat the Warden, there is no time now, I have to do it.¡¯ With these thoughts in his head, Gary continued to bite away.

    It wasn¡¯t the first time he had to resort to doing this; he had done it with the fight against Midwak as well. Each time, it was getting slightly easier, and that was what was worrying him slightly ¡ª that he was losing his humanity. But to get out of this ce, he needed to get rid of it all.

    After finishing consuming Carter, he stood up from where he was, and the prisoners that could still move took a step back. As if possessed and focused, Gary looked at the next body that was on the ground, a victim from his own ughter, and he went over doing the same.

    ¡®If the body and person are already dead¡­ then they need to at least be of some use.¡¯

    The prisoners had to look away, and every bone in their body was shaking at the sight they were seeing. An Altered that was consuming people, one that was eating their own; they didn¡¯t know such a thing existed.

    ¡°Why is he eating them¡­ they''re already dead, right¡­ Does he have to go that far? Can¡¯t he at least let their bodies be buried?¡±

    ¡°Crap, crap, why did we go along with what they said; I didn¡¯t know we were going to go up against monsters!¡± another prisoner spoke.

    Not only were they witnessing what Gary was doing in front of them, news was spreading of the deaths of the North and South group leaders; the only one left alive was Stinger, and he had no intention to fight.

    At the same time, Gary, with his quick digestion, strong teeth, and will to just swallow and move forward, had consumed all of the dead that were left on the ground. Without releasing it, he had even gone over to the center and then to the other side.

    Consuming those which Ice had killed as well as what ckjack had killed. The only thing that had stopped him and made him realize what had happened was actually the ding from the system.

    [You havepleted all Bonus optional objectives]

    [Consume those which you have killed, waste not want not!]

    [Total amount of Pawn points earned: 25]

    [Current amount of pawn points: 32]

    [You have leveled up!]

    [You have leveled up!]

    [You have leveled up!]

    [Current level 36 >>> 39]

    [3 stat points gained]

    [Total number of stat points avable 5 stat points]

    [Your stats have improved]

    [Strength 75 >>>> 85]

    [Dexterity 66 >>> 81]

    [Endurance 74 >>> 88]

    [Congrattions your body has grown very well! Pawn points can no longer be used on standard Stats.]

    [Pawn points can still be used on the following Stats. (Health) (Energy)]

    After all of the messages were done, Gary couldn¡¯t help but look at what had happened. It was the first time he had such an increase in everything that he had. His stats had increased due to him consuming the others.

    As time went on, it took more and more stronger Altered to increase his stats, but the sheer amount he had defeated and consumed was quite a lot, and they weren¡¯t regr Altered by any means.

    To top it off, he had also increased his level, which had required arge amount of exp points.

    ¡®But what do I do with all of these pawn points; at the moment, there¡¯s no need to increase my current grade from Rook to Queen. The quest of getting out of here will give me that anyway.¡¯

    ¡®The skills now require an incrediblyrge amount of pawn points to level them up, so I would be better off using them on health and energy. But those two are already high¡­ is there a need to increase them a lot?¡¯

    Then, looking through everything his system had to offer, he realized that there was something he could use his stat points on. The system allowed him to use it on things other than himself.

    ¡®Right now, I¡¯m not there with you¡­ but maybe, I can help you all out somehow even though I¡¯m not there.¡¯ Gary¡¯s eyes were focused as he brought up the screen in front of him.

    Meanwhile, Ice, ckjack, and everyone around were wondering just what he was staring at in the air so hard.

    ****

 Chapter 861 Distributing Strength

    Chapter 861 Distributing Strength

    There were a lot of decisions to make with the new stats and pawn points that Gary had managed to achieve, and it was best if he used them now because at any moment, he felt like something wasing.

    The fight against Ice was far tougher than the fight against the North and the South leader, but all of this was for more toe.

    ¡®First, I will allocate the stat points,¡¯ Gary thought as he tapped his system, giving himself a few points in two areas.

    The first was his endurance.

    [Endurance 88 >>> 90]

    ¡®The strength difference at every ten is increased, but as the numbers get higher, the difference isn¡¯t felt as much. Either way, as I¡¯m fighting tougher enemies like that of Ice, Endurance seems to be a big factor in getting hurt less.¡¯

    [Dexterity 82 >>> 85]

    ¡®With that, rather than being able to hit harder, I need to be able to hit more and get my attacks in, so I¡¯ll increase my dexterity.¡¯

    As for the pawn points, Gary then went ahead and used two of them on his health. Each pawn point at this stage only gave him an additional 10 HP, now giving him a total of 320 HP.

    He didn¡¯t have issues running out of energy during fights, but he had gotten quite low with his fight with Ice, so it made sense for him to increase that as well. Due to the current message, he could no longer use pawn points to increase his regr stats either.

    Still, there was a reason why he had kept 30 pawn points because there was someone else he could use them for, the rest of the Werewolves on his team.

    ¡®I can¡¯t see their stats like I can do myself, but I know, from increasing Olivia¡¯s rank to that of a Knight and Kai¡¯s Bishop rank, the two of them were able to grow stronger. They surpassed the limit that their bodies were capable of, and it even allowed them to have an evolution.

    ¡®With these points, I can do the same for the others, but the question is whose strength do I increase this time. I don¡¯t know the situation outside, so I¡¯m just going to have to gamble.¡¯ Gary thought as he started tapping away.

    ¡®I hope they''re not in a situation where this will affect them, and rather a situation where they need support!¡¯ Gary thought, recalling thest time he had done something like this and the pain they had felt during that time.

    With all said and done, Gary had made his decision, and now he could see that Ice and ckjack had approached him while nearly all of the prisoners had cowered away, either into their cells or were peeking out of the hallways into the main area.

    ¡°You back with us?¡± ckjack asked. ¡°It felt like you were away for a moment, you know, away from us and all of this?¡±

    The truth was Gary was too focused on the system and his decision-making. He was sure this was something that would be impossible to exin to others unless they wanted to think he was a madman, and there was no reason for him to exin either.

    ¡°So with everything going on, do you think this is enough to call out the Warden?¡± Gary asked.

    Both Ice and ckjack looked at the dead on the ground, the bones on the floor that still had parts of flesh on them from Gary¡¯s carnage.

    ¡°If this isn¡¯t enough, I don¡¯t know what is,¡± Icemented.

    ¡°It should be enough. Do you see the guards, or do you see any guards in here?¡± ckjack answered.

    Looking around, it was true, there were no guards; they had left and were observing elsewhere as soon as the fighting was getting out of hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the news has reached her.¡±

    ckjack was very right about his prediction. The guards had already run to inform the Warden, but she was currently out of the base slightly, having a meeting with some of the White Rose members.

    She was never too far away, though, so it didn¡¯t take her long to return. She had heard some of the news, but now she was getting an updated report in her office from the other guards.

    ¡°Arge-scale fight involving 90 percent of the prison had urred, ma''am,¡± the guard reported. ¡°The three groups that we have been keeping an eye on, they seem to have teamed up, to try and eliminate three individuals.¡±

    ¡°They all teamed up to just eliminate three individuals, they must be quite the strong ones then,¡± the Warden replied.

    ¡°Indeed, we have identified the three individuals. The neer Gary Dem who had recently arrived, Robert Tonner, who goes by the name of Ice, and the man that we know nothing about apart from his name, ckjack.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When thest name was mentioned, the Warden¡¯s eyes lit up for a moment.

    ¡°He has stayed really quiet since thest time I dealt with him, but he¡¯s making a mess now as well? Report to me when the majority of the fighting is over; then I wille in and deal with it.¡± She waved her hand.

    However, the guards were still there as they had more to report.

    ¡°Ma''am, the fighting between the prisoners already ended. ckjack, Ice, and Gary Dem. The three of them managed to defeat the South and North leaders and eliminated over fifty percent of the prisoners.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean eliminated!¡± The Warden asked, mming her hand on the desk.

    ¡°This wasn¡¯t a simple fight, ma''am. What had urred today was a bloodbath, caused by those three.¡±

    After hearing those words, the Warden stood up from her seat.

    ¡°This is not something that I can just sit by. I have to deal with this matter properly and give out punishment.¡±

    ***

 Chapter 862 Top 50 In The AFC

    Chapter 862 Top 50 In The AFC

    The message sent out by Kai was heard loud and clear by everyone in the Howlers, and some of them took it to heart. Instead of trying to win their fights, they now were trying tost as long as possible.

    Raven had transformed his body;rge heads had appeared and were in the air. Numba had been picked up by one of the Hydra Altered¡¯s heads, its teeth biting down on his stomach and flinging him to the side until he hit a wall.

    ¡°This Altered¡¯s strength is crazy; does he have the same strength in each head?¡± Numba thought as he tried to get back up.

    Charging in were both Marie and Olivia at the same time. They struck from two sides, trying to hit the heads, but weren¡¯t fullymitting. They were carefully waiting for a strike and moved from side to side.

    Marie had avoided attacks from one of the Hydra¡¯s long winding heads, while Olivia, as she jumped back, swung her hands and used her whip. It was effective in hitting the Hydra, but she didn¡¯t dare try to wrap it around its head due to its strength.

    Meanwhile, Ian and Izzy were together; Ian was growing spikes from his body and hurling them at the right time to try and stop an attack once in a while. He wasn¡¯t used to ying a supportive role, but against a target or enemy like this, it was the only thing he could really do.

    Izzt was the one most at a loss, since her powers worked simr to the Hydra¡¯s in a way. Her Altered form focused on strengthening part of her hairs to wrap around, pull, drag, and hit its target, but the Hydra¡¯s head was far stronger than all of her power together.

    Instead, she had decided to focus on the Phoenix Gang members who were getting up from the ground or now charging in for the attack. Some of the Howlers'' members were supporting her from behind as they got closer and closer into Burnham food street.

    ¡±You told us to wait, Kai, so we¡¯re waiting, but I¡¯m not sure waiting, for whatever, is going to help us beat this guy!¡± Olivia thought as she was looking at her own whip. She didn¡¯t realize it until now, but it was somehow beginning to wear out as well.

    With all of them going up against Raven, they were doing okay holding him off now, but with one of them gone, then it would be over for them all.

    In the hospital, the room had be a mess. The chairs that were attached to the tiled flooring had been ripped apart to shreds. Part of the walls werepletely destroyed, crumbling with parts of them falling on the floor.

    ¡°This guy is too much; hisrge form is incredibly durable, and not just that, he seems to have some strange gravitational power in his hits which make them even harder!¡± Xin thought.

    ¡®I haven¡¯t been directly hit from above, but if I am, I¡¯m done for.¡¯

    Xin was lucky that in his durable form, Gil was slower, but his strikes were incredibly powerful. He had transformed into his smaller form, and she hated to admit it, but he was perhaps just a little faster than even her, making it almost impossible for her tond a hit.

    She had been hit a few times in his fast form already, but they weren¡¯t enough to take her down. But wearing her down bit by bit, Gil would transform into hisrge form and go for an attack just like he did now.

    ¡°The order sent by Kai told me to hold you off for as long as possible, but I¡¯m not going to do that; I¡¯m going to win this fight!¡± Xin thought. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She stretched out her hands and started to take in a deep breath. As she exhaled, sparks of electricity came out like a cold breath.

    This was the start, the start of her Altered transformation.

    Her hands had slightly changed; they were jagged in shape, looking something like feathers, but all of them were hard and solid, not soft.

    This jagged feather-like pattern was bright yellow in color and went halfway up her arm, stopping just shy of her elbow. Sparks were continually going off between each of the feathers, and Xin¡¯s eyes were slightly narrowed as well. The iris of them glowing with a yellow color.

    The rest of her body had remained intact; this was a practical transformation of her Altered form, rather than a full one, but something she felt like she needed to win the fight.

    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen you like this!¡± Gil said withughter. His face was like that of a jackal, and his size was incrediblyrge to the point his head nearly touched the ceiling.

    ¡°I heard even in the AFC they had never seen you transform into your Altered form. You managed to get to the top fifty with skill alone. Some thought that you might be some mythical humanoid type-based beast, but we can see that¡¯s not true now, right? Not like mine, based on the god Anubis!

    ¡°I am now a god of death, and I will bring you great Death!¡± Gil was punching both of his fist¡¯s together. Each time the power would ring through the hospital. The people above could feel shaking from above, and were slight worried that the floor might copse underneath them.

    ¡±There¡¯s something else you forgot as well,¡± Xin said as she started to crouch down while in her position.

    ¡±In the AFC, we aren¡¯t allowed to use our elemental powers. We can just use our Altered forms; the reason why this form has never been seen in the AFC before is because I can¡¯t control its power!¡±

 Chapter 863 Xins Transformation

    Chapter 863 Xin''s Transformation

    Sparks from Xin¡¯s Altered form couldn''t stop flying off from her body. The strange hardened feathers constantly were shooting off small bolts of energy from one to the other. Even just standing still, her elemental power was activating.

    ¡°You think things are going to change just because your appearance is now a little different!¡± Gil shouted as he lifted both of his hands up, locking them together. He was in hisrge form, having shifted from the smaller one.

    Doing so allowed him to pick up more strength than he usually would. The attack was going to be a big one. Gil¡¯s hands smashed against the ground, and the whole building started to shake again.

    The people from above fell from their seats. Shelves tumbled down from the vibration, and it looked like the building was warping from within itself. However, the shaking had eventually stopped. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With it stopping, the people on the second floor could see that they were now okay, and it was the same for Amy and White, who were close to the top floor.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± Amy asked.

    ¡°Most likely, the Phoenix Gang has reached this area as well,¡± White answered.

    The two of them were looking at Maya Dem, Gary¡¯s mother. She was wide awake but still bedridden. While in her bed, she was constantly moving her hands, sping them, trying to get the feeling toe back to her body.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit dangerous where we are, should we move?¡± Amy asked.

    ¡°If we move down, then we¡¯ll be closer to the fight,¡± White answered. ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s safer there, but at the same time, if we stay up here, and the whole building copses, then we are the most likely to get hurt.¡±

    ¡°Amy, I can¡¯t have you hurt because of me, or your friend,¡± Maya said. ¡°You have a full life ahead of you. If the situation bes dire, just leave me be.¡±

    ¡°Stop talking crazy, after all this time you finally wake up, and you''re telling me to leave!¡± Amy shouted back. ¡°No, it¡¯s not happening.¡±

    With the state that Maya was in, the full extent of the situation wasn¡¯t still fully exined to her. She needed time to adjust to things, which was why Amy was hating the fact that all of this was happening now, why did it have to happen now, why couldn¡¯t her father have returned earlier?

    Down below, on the first floor, Gil had mmed both of his fists into the ground, destroying the tiles on the floor and even breaking those that he hadn¡¯t touched away from the floor with his powerful attack.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Gil thought, lifting his hands, as there wasn¡¯t a certain person underneath it.

    ¡°Do you think you''re the only one that can get faster!¡± Xin shouted from behind. She let out a fierce punch that was electrified,ing out incredibly fast. It smashed on Gil¡¯s back and sent his heavy body crashing into the floor.

    His body had bounced, but Xin wasn¡¯t going to stop there. She kicked off the floor, and now above in the air, sparksing off from her feet. Spinning down, she started to spin several times with her legs one after the other and came down shooting like a lightning bolt crashing right into the back of Gil¡¯s spine.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Gil screamed in pain as his whole body lit up. He swung his hand desperately trying to hit Xin, but it hadn¡¯t hit anything but the empty air.

    Quickly, Gil had rolled up onto his feet and his body was shrinking in size. He wasn¡¯t badly hurt from the attacks, but unlike before, these attacks were certainly hurting him. If he wanted to do something, then he needed to use his smaller form to increase his speed and fight back.

    When he got up though, he was staring straight ahead at Xin, and she looked even more differentpared to before. Out from one side of her back was a single wing. It was giant in size, it was fairly small looking just like another arm of hers, but the sparks were growing in size more and more.

    ¡°I need to stop her!¡± Gil thought as he charged ahead. His body elerated forward.

    At the same time, when Xin left her position, she had already reached him with an open fistnding directly on his face. The power was immense as a pulsing shockwave of lightning had gone through the area.

    Those on the floor above could feel a slight shock underneath them, like a strong sense of static hitting them all.

    As for Gil, he had gone flying through the air backwards, crashing through the wall, and was back at the front of the hospital.

    Xin carefully walked out through the front as lightning continued to spark off her body and finally left the ce.

    ¡°I got him out of here, I got him out of the hospital, now I know the others are safe at least,¡± Xin said to herself.

    She was breathing in deeper as she walked forward rtively quickly and with deep breaths.

    ¡®Using my Altered form, the only way I know how to use it properly is by holding my breath. Attacking with all my power and lightning, I can¡¯t even concentrate on breathing. So I can¡¯t just keep attacking attack after attack.¡¯

    ¡®Thankfully though, my attacks are strong enough to hurt him and keep him down. I was a little worried when I saw him change form that I might not be able to hit him, but I¡¯m faster than him still!¡¯ Xin thought.

    ¡°You little b*tch!¡± Gil shouted as he got up. His face, the front of it looked to have beenpletely broken as it was bent to its side and blood was dripping from his mouth.

    With his hand, Gil had pressed against it, and snapped it back into ce. A loud cracking noise followed. It was the most hurt he had been in a fight since he had received his new Altered form.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t like this the first time we fought, you could have used your Altered form back then and yet you didn¡¯t!¡± Gil shouted. After just saying those words, he was heavily breathing in and out.

    His voice was slightly louder as well when he spoke.

    ¡°I told you before, I can¡¯t control this power,¡± Xin answered. Sparks came off from her hands and hit the floor a few times, as well as her single wing on her back. ¡°If I had used it back then, there was a chance others would get hurt.¡±

    ¡°And now, I need to stop you, so you don¡¯t hurt any more either.¡± Xin¡¯s single wing started to spark more and more until it encased and looked evenrger. From behind the wing, an electrical yellow streak was just wavering about in the air, looking somewhat like mes.

    Meanwhile, Gil saw this, he just lifted his head and smiled.

    ¡°You want to help me,¡± Gil said to himself. ¡°Very well, then help me.¡±

    At that moment, when Gil lifted his head, a strange purple darkness covered both of his eyes, turning them almost ck, and a hovering dark smoke appeared out from his body.

    ****

    ****

 Chapter 864 Mythical Battle

    Chapter 864 Mythical Battle

    With Xin being who she was, she had faced many different types of Altered, but going up against Gil was the most unique one yet. For one, he was a rare Mythical type. There were some of these in the AFA, but she hardly got to see the full extent of their power. The Mythical types had great power and a chance of great elemental ability as well.

    Not only that, but she had seen something somewhat unique to an Altered which she hadn¡¯t seen before. The fact that Gil was able to transform his body, and in doing so, it affected his powers.

    Beingrge in size, he was strong and durable, while being smaller in size he had incredible speed. It was because of these transformations that Xin had felt like she had already seen it all.

    They had been fighting for a while now, so he had to have used either his partial or full transformation. There was nothing left for him to show, with no surprises, it was time for her to finish off the fight herself.

    The one wing that extended out from her back, the same size as a hand, was covered in yellow sparks that continually went off. They were condensed in size, growing behind her to the point it was nearly three times the size it was before.

    She bent her knees slightly, ready to shoot off, giving it her all in this attack. That¡¯s when she noticed something strange urring with Gil himself.

    ¡®What is this!¡¯ Xin thought. ¡®His eyes, they¡¯ve gotten darker, and this strange smoke that¡¯sing off from his body.¡¯ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She could feel her fingertips shaking slightly just from this change. His outer appearance had changed much. His body was just reverting from its smaller self back to its bigger self.

    ¡®So you know you can¡¯t beat me with speed, so you¡¯re going to try and take me out with power, then bring it on!¡¯ Xin thought.

    She had heard Gil mumble a few words to himself. He was speaking in a low voice, but all of it she needed to ignore and just focus on the fight.

    ¡°Die!¡± Xin shouted.

    The wing on her back had caused a lightning strike to ur, starting from the wing it shot up in the air. Like a bang, her whole body moved straight forward. While moving through the air, she was met directly with arge object that met right in front of her.

    Her entire body had crashed into a heavy weight, and the sparks went out, hitting the nearby trees and destroying some of the windows in the hospital behind her. More importantly, though, she was wondering what had just happened.

    ¡°How¡­how are you still in front of me!¡± Xin shouted.

    She was looking directly into Gil¡¯s eyes; they were pitch ck, with a smile. Gil was in hisrge form, but he wasn¡¯t in the same ce as he was before; he had managed to meet her in the middle, matching her speed and not just her speed, her strength as well.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, I don¡¯t know why I was fighting it for so long when I could have been this strong!¡± Gil imed as he lifted Xin up trying to grab her.

    Still in her form, she could move lightning fast, and she started to kick the air. With each kick, she could hover and move in ce for a moment. She had moved to the ground to above, and then came to the side, delivering a kick across Gil¡¯s face.

    It had hit, turning his head slightly, but he stood still in ce like a mighty boulder. Xin continued, though, moving through the air and striking different points again and again all over.

    While doing this, she was holding her breath, making each of the movements.

    ¡®How can this be, he¡¯s not moving fast now, but before, even though he was in hisrge size, he managed to meet me. Not just that, I¡¯m sure hisrger form has be more durable than before.

    ¡®Even in his big form, if I hit him, he would have been drastically hurt.¡¯

    With Xin running out of breath, she needed to think of something fast, but before she could even think of anything, moving his hand from his side, Gil had grabbed onto her leg and threw her right into the floor.

    ¡°Stay down!¡± Gil said with his deep voice.

    A darkness that surrounded him had begun to move from his body and seeped to where Xin was. She had been hit hard by the attack; her side was hurting, maybe a few bones broken, but that wasn¡¯t it.

    This strange power that was seeping out of Gil, it was keeping her tied down. It felt like an invisible force was on top of her.

    ¡°This is¡­your strange power¡­but it¡¯s stronger than before.¡±

    Gil had his hand raised, and he was using his special elemental power. A power that gave him slight control of gravity in a certain area. Arge force of power was being felt on top of Xin, to the point where she could no longer move.

    ¡°I should have epted his offer a long time ago,¡± Gil said with a smile. He pulled his hand away, but his power was still in effect, and then lifting his hand, he threw it right down.

    In the middle of throwing his fist down, a loud bang came from his side. It was heavy, and Gil was lifted off his feet and fell to the floor. A strong force in the state he was in now, he thought nothing could hit him so hard.

    As he tumbled to the ground, Xin could feel the strange power no longer working on her, and she quickly tried to get up. That¡¯s when she could see what had happened.

    ¡°Austin!¡± Xin called out, remembering his name but not really having spoken to him much before.

    ¡°There was a lot of noise, the whole building was shaking, and I could even feel an electric shock,¡± Austin replied, as he stood, bandages hanging from his arms. He had already transformed into his own Mythical form, that of the Minotaur.

    His legs of that of a beast, his head and part of his arms covered in fur. His size was just asrge as Gil.

    Gil stared at the window of the hospital; he could see that it was broken, one of the levels that were high up.

    ¡°Did this guy jump from there, these annoying flies. They keeping from everywhere. Two on one, five on one, I don¡¯t care, bring on everyone, I will burn this whole city that ruined my life to the ground!¡± Gil screamed as the immense power seeped out from his body.

    Austin was grunting slightly, his body still in pain and not having fully recovered. Xin standing next to him had an idea of that but didn¡¯t say anything. How could she when they both needed to fight with their lives on the line to take out what was in front of them.

    *****

    ****

 Chapter 865 Fight Like Adults

    Chapter 865 Fight Like Adults

    Xin had already expended a lot of energy in her Altered form, and holding her breath during herbat had worn her out quite a bit. Her single wing sticking out from her back was still there, but the lightning power that sparked from it was dwindling.

    ¡°Big guy, be careful; this one¡¯s tough,¡± Xinmented.

    Austin stood strong, looking at Gil getting up on his feet. As he did, Gil¡¯s body muscles were flexing in and out. The smoke that was lingering from his body was starting to grow as well.

    ¡°I know. I hit him with a pretty big shot, and I know I¡¯m not weak,¡± Austin replied.

    After just getting back out from the hospital and recovering, the first thing Austin didn¡¯t expect was that he was going to have to get into a fight, but from a single look, he could tell this person was strong.

    Not wasting any time, he had jumped out of the window and knew what he needed to do.

    ¡°You''re a bigger hitter than me, so I¡¯m going to have to support you!¡± Xin said.

    As soon as she finished her sentence, Gil had moved from his position at an extreme speed with both his hands out. Austin was far slower than Gil, but the moment he felt the first strike on his stomach, he went and grabbed both of them, holding them in ce.

    He attempted to lift Gil off the ground, and there was sess, but it was only for a moment as energy seeped out from his body, pushing him back down.

    ¡°My powers can¡¯t just be used on my opponents but can be used on myself as well!¡± Gil shouted.

    ¡°Good, so stay where you are!¡± Xin screamed as she spun herself in the air several times until shended a heavy kick right on Gil¡¯s face. It caused him to let go, and now Austin, with his fist, swung it around like a hook.

    It smashed right against Gil¡¯s face, sending him slightly tumbling to the side. Punching was what Austin was good at, and he was ready to follow up with another, twisting his body and throwing his hand out again.

    Before he could hit, though, Gil had blocked it and then grabbed onto Austin¡¯s shoulder, pulling him in. When he pulled his body in, Austin¡¯s body lit up as Xin¡¯s hand was now touching Austin, electrifying him on the spot.

    ¡°Do you think two injured clowns can really do so much against me?¡± Gil kicked the back of Austin, sending him tumbling back across the ground. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He then was tracking Xin as she was moving constantly in the air again. Until he moved with her and mmed her with both of his hands to the ground. His power seeped from his body, and she was stuck in the same ce once more.

    Gil lifted up his foot, ready to crush her like a little bug. He went to stomp the ground, but before he could, Austin was back, tackling him in the center of his body.

    ¡°All of this is useless. You¡¯re meant to be some type of Mythical creature, yet you can¡¯t do anything!¡± Gil lifted Austin off his body by the back of his head.

    He swung his hand up, hitting him right in the face, making his whole head flip back, and then Gil let out a flurry of punches hitting Austin¡¯s body one after the other in quick session. They weren¡¯t just fast hits, but all of them were heavy with their full strength.

    ¡°Nooo!¡± Xin shouted. The effect was no longer affecting her body, but she was already hurt, to the point that her Altered form was starting to fade away. Her single wing was retracting back into her body.

    Her transformed arms were pulling back slightly; only halfway down her forearm was now transformed.

    ¡®Austin has a strong durable body due to his mythical form, but after already being hurt badly and now this, I¡¯m not sure how much he can take!¡¯ She thought.

    She wanted to help anyway she could. She was a talented AFC fighter. She had trained and trained to be the best at fighting, and now, some gang member she had lost to, and in front of her very eyes, she was going to lose someone else as well.

    Austin could feel each hit smashing against his body; his heart was pumping, blood was dripping out of his mouth, but heat was beaming out from his nostrils. Literal steam seemed to be appearing.

    ¡°Just give me a moment,¡± Austin mumbled as he raised both hands above him, trying to block some of the hits, but they were still getting in. ¡°Just give me a moment to wake up!¡±

    Austin desperately took the hits as he threw one out of his own, but it had managed to hit nothing but the air. Gil then nted a fist right in his face, sending Austin to the ground, and his Altered form started to revert back.

    ¡°Ah, your face¡­ I know you; you¡¯re Austin, right?¡± Gil said with a smile. ¡°I had heard a lot about you, leader of some school gang. The strongest in the whole city. Who would have thought you would be here?¡±

    ¡°Who would have thought you would have lost to someone like me.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t a fair fight from the beginning. Austin was perhaps at fifty percent of what he usually would have been at. Sure, he was never going to catch up to Gil¡¯s speed, but maybe he could have done something.

    With the way he was, all he could do was help out Xin to the best of his abilities.

    ¡®Crap¡­ I wanted to see Gary again¡­ and the others. I never thought, this is what I would be thinking in a moment like this.¡¯

    Austin was tensing his fist; he wanted to gather his energy, and part of his Altered state was turning back. His size was growing, but it was shrinking at the same time. It was almost as if his body wasn¡¯t listening to him.

    ¡°You were ying with kid¡¯s stuff; it¡¯s time for you to y with grown-up stuff now,¡± Gil said, his smile only growing bigger, turning into a smallugh.

    In the middle of hisughter, he felt something hit him, bounce off his back. It didn¡¯t hurt, but it was a small feeling. When looking to his right at what it was, he could see.

    ¡°Is that a body?¡± Gil asked. No doubt it was a human body, but it had been ripped to shreds, part of it missing. Not only that, but it had a uniform on, a red one as well, a member of the Phoenix Gang.

    ¡°I think your words are very true,¡± a voice said from behind.

    Gil immediately turned his head, and he could see someoneing out from the forest in front of the hospital. A man with blood covering his mouth, and in his hand, he was dragging another body of one more member of the Phoenix Gang.

    ¡°This is all kid stuff, so deal with one of the adults,¡± Midwak said.

 Chapter 866 The Fight Just Got Harder

    Chapter 866 The Fight Just Got Harder

    Raven had fully transformed into his Hydra form. Splitting from his head, winding from his shoulders were several long necks, and at the end of them, heads of a dangerous beast that looked like that of a dragon.

    Not only that, but there were several members of the Phoenix Gang as well. Izzy was busy trying to deal with most of them, along with other members of the Howlers, while Numba and Ian were trying to provide support to the two Werewolves they were battling along with. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Marie, it¡¯s time you start getting your head in the game!¡± Olivia shouted. ¡°You need to fight the way you were meant to fight!¡±

    Marie knew that was the case. Right now, they were just defending as Kai had ordered, but the strength of Raven was too much for them. It was impossible for them to just defend, and they were soon going to wear out.

    ¡°You''re right!¡± Marie said. ¡°Everyone, get behind me!¡±

    Marie''s body started to fully transform. Her fur was dark ck in color, but what was most notable was her shape. Compared to Olivia, who had longer limbs on her legs and arms, Marie was more of a block shape withrge shoulders.

    Both Ian and Numba were hurt, but they thought that this might be the only situation where they could do something. So rather than battling with the heads they had gone against, they all moved and gathered behind Marie.

    ¡°All of you are in one ce?¡± Raven said, transforming one of his heads back to his regr self. He still had many heads on his body transformed into the Hydra, but on one of them, there was a head that looked very human, still being able to speak.

    It was creepy to look at since the head size was very smallpared to that of the neck.

    ¡±You are just making it easy for me!¡± Raven eximed as he sent in the heads.

    With Marie getting closer to the heads at the front, she could see it opening its mouth wide.

    ¡®Don¡¯t be afraid, don¡¯t be afraid, don¡¯t be afraid!¡¯ Marie screamed in her head as she leapt forward.

    In doing so, a change was urring in her body. Her bones felt like they were thickening, and her fur was fluffing up. The sharp teeth of the Hydra had dug into her skin, and part of the saliva that was acidic was burning her skin.

    Marie bore the pain, and the strong jaws of the Hydra were unable to pierce much further than just a few inches of the skin. Another head went and bit her on the side, and it was the same.

    ¡°Good job!¡± Olivia shouted as she reached her ws out and ran across, skidding down from the head, trying to reach the body. The skin of the Hydra was being ripped out, but the liquid was burning her ws as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay because what I really was going for was the body!¡± Olivia jumped ahead, and two of the heads went right for her.

    At that moment though, Ian jumped to one side, with Numba jumping to the other. Both of them were in their fully transformed state. Ian''s whole body was filled with bristles, as the Hydra bit down, his bristles went right through the Hydra¡¯s head.

    At the same time, Numba''s full force hit was powerful as it perfectly hit the chin of the Hydra¡¯s mouth, snapping it shut. This allowed Olivia to finally reach the main body, and with her ws, she twisted her hand, ready to pierce him right in the stomach.

    As she was ready to hit though, she saw something drop down from her side; it was one of the Hydra¡¯s heads, it had fallen to the floor.

    ¡®What the..¡¯ right after that, she saw a mass amount of green liquid dropping in front of her.

    She pulled back her hand quickly from the body and quickly moved to the side. When she got up, she could see what had urred. One of the Hydra¡¯s heads that was above the body had been ripped off and apart.

    It had caused a mass amount of blood to fall close to Olivia before she could strike. As for how the head hade off though, one of the other Hydra heads had eaten the other, destroying itpletely.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the saying, whatever doesn¡¯t kill me, makes me stronger, well, that is very, very true for my Altered form.¡± Raven, dangling floating head, imed.

    Out from the damaged head, the end of it was building, healing up, until bursting out from it was not one but two heads that had split. They were equal in size and staring down at the group.

    Ian had also exploded the bristles from his back and quickly got away. In doing so, another head was destroyed, but from it, the same thing was urring as two heads had appeared.

    Ian quickly tumbled to the ground to reposition himself as they all went and stared at the many heads that were now looking down at them.

    ¡°This has just gotten a lot harder, hasn¡¯t it,¡± Ian eximed. ¡°What, do each of us have to take on like 4 heads now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that!¡± Izzy shouted as she threw one of the Phoenix Gang members crashing into the ground. ¡°We need to target the body; otherwise, this will just get a lot harder for us!¡±

    Olivia had retreated back to Marie, who had mostly healed up from her wounds. She was durable and stronger than a typical werewolf because she was the protector ss .

    This ss allowed her to strengthen her fur as well as the bones inside of her body, making it hard for attacks to damage her fatally while in this state. On top of that, her wounds would heal quicker than the typical werewolf.

    The protector werewolves worked more as a support, so thebination between a werewolf ss of a hunter and protector worked quite well, as long as the protector was brave enough to take the hits.

    This had worked, but now things had gotten harder, and they still needed to get to Raven somehow.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you¡­ I¡¯m out of ideas,¡± Olivia said. ¡°I guess all we can do now is wait for that help that Kia spoke about.¡± Oliviamented. ¡°I just want to say that you did well, young one; this wasn¡¯t your fault, it¡¯s just we¡¯re going up against a rather big ugly bastard.¡±

    Marie didn¡¯t want to give up; surely if they kept trying, then something would ur, right? As she had these deep feelings and was ready to try charging in again. She felt arge thump in her chest. The muscles in her body were tightening up, and she fell to the ground.

    ¡°Marie, are you all right?¡± Olivia asked, as she went to go toward her, but in that moment, the same thing had urred to her.

    Her chest thumped loudly, pain started to spread through her whole body, and the veins were visible. Both of their werewolf forms had disappeared in an instant, and now they were rolling around on the floor in pain.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± Izzy asked as she rushed over but had no clue what to do.

    Olivia, then using what strength she had, grabbed Izzy¡¯s shirt.

    ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ felt this before,¡± Olivia managed to say. ¡°Just protect us¡­ just protect us¡­ for a short while¡­ and we¡¯ll get this guy.¡±

 Chapter 867 Bad Timing

    Chapter 867 Bad Timing

    The pain that Olivia and Marie were going through, Olivia remembered feeling this type of pain once before. She cursed the person who had put her through this thest time, and it was onlyter that she found out who was responsible.

    "This is you, Gary, right!" Olivia was scratching the floor in pain. "Just likest time. I don¡¯t know how he does it, but after thest time going through this pain, my body felt different. It felt lighter than before and faster than before, so he¡¯s doing the same thing again right now."

    Olivia could see her and Marie going through the same thing, and it meant once they got through this short burst of pain then both of them would be different from what they were before; it would be an upgrade for them.

    The main issue was, why did it have to happen now of all times? In the middle of a fight, and it wasn¡¯t even one they were winning; it was a fight that they already were fighting close to death.

    ¡°She said to protect them, so that¡¯s what we need to do!¡± Izzy imed as she quickly went over and picked up the two of them from the floor. She wrapped them with her hair using her Altered powers and was holding them in the air.

    Right after, a swing of a ming tail came right at her. She quickly avoided it, but it was hard for her to throw a hit back while holding onto the two of them.

    ¡°We need to help Izzy!¡± Ian imed as he pulled out a bristle and was ready to throw it.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Numba shouted, as he tackled his own friend to the side, and a head came crashing down in the ce they were in.

    Getting up off the floor, the bristle was stuck in Numba¡¯s shoulder; he had quickly pulled it out of him and dropped it to the floor.

    ¡°We need to look after ourselves for now, the only thing we can do in this situation¡­ is run!¡± Numba eximed and started to run back deeper into Burnham street.

    Izzy, holding the other two, was already doing the same thing, and Ian quickly reacted too. The Howlers Gang members, who were inbat, seeing this had done the same as they started to run down the street as well.

    Burnham street was a rtively long street, and with them being Altered, they would be able to run pretty fast. As soon as they set off, the Phoenix Gang members started to follow them, that was until they had received an order from behind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t chase!¡± Raven shouted.

    The Phoenix Gang members stopped for a moment. "Huh, why aren¡¯t we chasing, we can catch up to them easily. They''re getting away. If they get away they could heal up and attack us again."

    ¡°Yeah, and didn¡¯t you hear their orders from before, they are just trying to buy some time, we need to get rid of them.¡±

    The gang members were confused, and after much deliberating between themselves, one of them had decided to make their move.

    ¡°You''re not even really a member of our gang, who are we to listen to you!¡± The man said as he started to run.

    Immediately though, a towering move came over to him, and snapped him from the middle of his body. A couple more bites and the other gang members had witnessed Raven swallow one of their men whole just like that in front of him.

    ¡°I am part of the Phoenix Gang, and Sin told you to listen to me!¡± Raven imed, as the Hydra head with that of a face floated down to where the others currently were. ¡°All of you need to start using your heads a bit more. There is no reason for us to give chase.¡±

    After saying those words, one of the Hydra heads crashed into one of the restaurants at the side, breaking through the wall. Another of the Hydra¡¯s heads did the same on the other side smashing through ss.

    The heads quickly swirled out and hovered in the air, with something in both of their mouths.

    ¡°AHHHH!¡± Screams were heard towering in the air, anding from the restaurants that had been broken into.

    They didn¡¯t stop because right now, in the mouths of the Hydra was none other than the people from the restaurant. They hadn¡¯t been chewed up yet but were being held there.

    As soon as the group heard the screams they stopped running and turned around.

    ¡°Crap is he¡­ using the people as hostages!¡± Numba grumbled, tensing his fists.

    ¡°That guy, he¡¯s sick!¡± Ian replied.

    ¡°Sick, we came here to get rid of this city and all of its supporters that includes the public that put their trust in you.¡± Raven said. ¡°There is nothing sick about this, this is just what we do, we are in a gang. We''re not the government, we''re not the protectors of some country.¡±

    ¡°We do things that benefit those in our group, and ours alone, and right now, what benefits me, is getting rid of everyone in this city that covered up my brother''s death!¡± Raven eximed, his voice filled with anger.

    Slowly he started to calm down, and the smile returned to his face. ¡°If Olivia was in charge, I know what she would do, but I can tell, the rest of you guys aren¡¯t gang members.¡±

    The three of them were stumped, Olivia and Marie were still in pain. They seemed to be easing up, but they were in no condition to fight. If they ran, they were sure with no doubt that Raven would bite through and start killing people one after the other.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let people just die, we have to fight, we just have tost a few moments, we can at least do that, right?¡± Ian asked. It was clear he was unsure of himself, but he felt like he had to do something, that he had to act.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± Numba said.

    The two of them turning around started to charge forward. They could see several giant heads towering above them, all ready to strike at any moment. They had no n on how to win this fight, but were just going to take part in the fight.

    While running, Izzy was looking from behind when she noticed something. Running on top of the rooftops, there were several blurs that were moving quite fast.

    Then when they got to the position where Raven was, they leaped from the rooftops. There were at least six of them. Two hadnded, hitting the heads that held the people. The sheer pain caused Raven to drop them, and they were soon falling to the ground.

    As that had urred, one skidded down the side of another building and then jumped, catching the civilians. After they quickly moved, the civilians were back in the restaurant and went to join Numba and Ian, who were frozen in ce.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Raven asked.

    To be honest, even Numba and Ian were confused as well. ¡°They all¡­ kinda look like Gary,¡± Ianmented. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°And they¡¯re wearing the Howlers'' uniforms.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 868 The Real Battle starts Now!

    Chapter 868 The Real Battle starts Now!

    Izzy was staring at the others from the back, she was the furthest away, reluctant to move forward because of the two that she was carrying, so she could see them all in detail from behind.

    Numba and Ian had frozen in ce because now by their side, there were three in the Howlers uniform at either side of them, totaling six new people that hade to help. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Are they all Altered belonging to the Howlers Gang?¡± Izzy thought.

    She soon remembered seeing the Howlers gang fight before. She had witnessed a few of them having the same type of Altered solution. Even Marie and Olivia both appeared to have the same Altered solution.

    This was on a mass scale now, mass-produced, and it wasn¡¯t the end of it; two more hade to join them, a little slower than the others, and now there were eight members of the Howlers.

    They weren¡¯t Altered, though, like Izzy guessed; all of them were Werewolves. They had dark-colored fur, close to ck, some of them slightly darker or lighter shade than the others. They were fairly lean Werewolves in their transformed state.

    The Howlers'' uniform stretched out on their bodies, working the way it was intended to.

    Seeing so many Altered from the Howlers had suddenly made the Phoenix Gang stop for a moment. Because they weren¡¯t just them to deal with, but the regr Howler members with Altered equipment as well from the sides.

    ¡°We are the support that Kai sent!¡± One of the men spoke, transforming the tip of his mouth so it was easier to speak. ¡°We will protect this city because it is our city, and get rid of the Phoenix Gang!¡±

    In an instant, all of them started to charge forward, running on all fours, aiming for Raven that was in front of them. A pack of Werewolves going up against the deadly mythical beast, the Hydra, it was a sight to see.

    ---

    Kai was now battling against not just one, but two of the leaders from the Phoenix Gang. He was already having a hard time just going against Glutton, but now Greed had joined and almost in an instant, he hadnded arge attack right on Crowley.

    Taking his own advice to buy time, Kai transformed into his Wolf form and started to run around. Glutton was continuing to fire out fireballs, hitting and destroying the buildings nearby, but Kai was too fast.

    ¡°Are you going to do something, Greed, or are you just going to sit there and look pretty?¡± Gluttonined.

    ¡°I already have done a lot for you; I took out that annoying bird man the moment I was here!¡± Greed said and struck his sword in the ground.

    A line of heat lit on the floor and wasing right for Kai. He jumped from his position, as heat of mes shot up from the floor.

    Greed wasn¡¯t just skillful with his weapons but with his added elemental power, he was incredibly dangerous.

    Even in his Wolf form, Kai was huffing and panting. His tongue was sticking out. ¡®I¡¯m getting tired; this form takes up even more energy than my Werewolf form since it focuses on speed... but if I fight, I have no doubt I¡¯m going to lose.¡¯

    Looking up at the sky, Kai could see that the sun was starting to set. It had been a long time since he had left the others, but it had yet to be an entire day. Could a person evenst an entire day?

    In the middle of his thoughts, another ball of mes came toward him. Kai jumped on all fours onto the top of a car, and a heating sword came shing right at him. Quickly Kai had transformed his body as he slimmed down and bent his back to avoid the sword.

    He saw it just go over his head, and could feel the heat from the de. Immediately Kai kicked himself away and made his way back to where the others were.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting tired, young one, and you have a lot on your shoulders!¡± Greed said. ¡°You know it¡¯s only a matter of time until you die, and then we''ll get every single person behind you.¡±

    Kai¡¯s own words to everyone were to defend, and he started to imagine those in tough situations. In Burnham, Gary in the prison, and those at the hospital. His ears could even hear the citizens wishing him well, wishing for Kai to do something.

    As these thoughts filled his head, he could feel an energy rising in him. The powering from below, his fatigue was starting to fade away.

    ¡®Wait¡­ no, my body is actually getting stronger, this is not just an emotional feeling, I am being re-energized.¡¯

    It was hard to exin because Kai had no clue how this was happening. He wasn¡¯t eating, nor was his body in pain, so it couldn¡¯t be another evolution like he had gone through before.

    That was when it hit him; Kai had this feeling before, it was when there were those like him around. Due to his special trait as a shapeshifter who got stronger as more of them were in ce.

    Eyes were glowing from the alleyways down the side; they were glowing on the rooftops as well, and finally, jumping up on the cars, there were two more members of the Howlers in the ck and gold clothing.

    ¡°Our training ended a little early, I hope you don¡¯t mind if we get involved?¡±

    Turning his head, Kai set eyes on a person he never thought he would be happy to see in a fighting situation. It was Tyler, their driver, and on the other side, there was a young boy, his fists wrapped up.

    ¡°I said I wanted to help,¡± Kevin answered. ¡°And I will protect this city, for Innu.¡±

    Kai could feel it, the werewolves had arrived, and now it felt like it; the real battle of the Howlers against the Phoenix Gang had started.

    ****

 Chapter 869 A World Wide Show

    Chapter 869 A World Wide Show

    AJ Entertainment was one of the up-anding entertainment industries, leading the world in new stars. They focused on influencers of all sorts, amateur actors, singers, idols, and more.

    They were breaking into the industry, transitioning those popr on new media types and bringing them into the light of traditional media, helping them grow. What many people didn¡¯t know was the fact that the Howlers owned the majority shares in AJ Entertainment.

    In the past, it was an equal split, but after what had urred within thepany, now the Howlers were the majority shareholders. However, Ash, the director of AJ Entertainment, was still running things.

    He was impressed with what the Howlers did. They didn¡¯t just be the majority shareholder to take a slice of the profits, but also invested heavily to improve their programs that they would run, broadcasts, and more. They were bing a big name.

    However, when the battle between the Phoenix Gang and the Howlers had begun, AJ Entertainment was hit hard. In this industry, it relied heavily on contacts.

    Several contracts that were in ce with their stars were being canceled, business was being affected massively with no answer or reason as to why this was happening.

    Still, Ash knew the truth; he had heard what was happening from Kai and was told that it would be a rough ride for a while but to hold on as long as possible.

    Currently, Ash was sitting at his desk staring at hisputer. His eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at the screen and continued clicking away.

    ¡®The staff are panicking from within slightly, as well as some of our stars. They have threatened to try to break the contracts with us because of the situation that is happening.¡¯

    ¡®Some have already left; others I have been able to keep on by using my personal finances. Then there are thankfully those that are loyal to us and believe in us.¡¯

    Once again, Ash was clicking on several stories and links. What he was currently watching was a video on the matter at hand. It had next to no views, about one or two viewers, and it was the carnage of what was going on in Slough.

    The videos showed housespletely destroyed, burnt up. Burn marks that some of the victims had, and the cries and pain that people were in.

    ¡®There are quite a few of these videos when I directly search up incidents in Slough, yet next to none of them are getting any views. Even the live streams aren¡¯t doing well.

    ¡¯When I look up reports as well, not a single news outlet, even the small ones, are reporting on this matter. It¡¯s impossible to be a case of no one knowing about it. Most likely the small ones have been told not to, threatened by the Phoenix Gang.

    ¡®Therger ones are in the pocket of the Phoenix Gang as well, and then they¡¯ve somehow got connections with the video sites and live streaming services to shadow ban the video and services.¡¯

    In the situation Ash was in, he felt helpless. His wholepany was saved because of Gary, and if there was one news article that he could see was always circting, it was Gary being ced in White Rose Prison.

    Ash had no doubt that they were behind that as well. ¡®If there was some way the world could find out what was happening in Slough. The general public are affected by this; it''s arge matter. A lot of pressure will be put on the White Rose and the central government to act or do something.¡¯

    ¡®Even if the Howlers end up losing this war, it will still hit the Phoenix Gang hard if we can get public opinion on our side. It¡¯s the only thing we can do.¡¯

    Just then, mming open into the room, a female walked in. She was shining bright with her blonde curled hair and in a colorful dress. All her makeup was done; she was one of the stars, a presenter of sorts that had been making arge name for herself, Clem.

    ¡°We have to do something; have you seen all the videos and everything? No one is seeing them!¡± Clem shouted, holding up her phone.

    Raising his fingers, Ash started to push against his nose. ¡°I know, I know, I¡¯ve been trying toe up with something all day, but I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    That¡¯s when Clem gave off a big smile. ¡°I have a n... didn¡¯t we have a live streaming tform in the works for our own stars at the moment?¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°We do... but no one knows about it,¡± Ash replied. ¡°If we broadcasted on that, we wouldn¡¯t have anyone watching either, and we can¡¯t even pay our staff, never mind push for advertising.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, for now, we just need a big push,¡± Clem said. ¡°I¡¯ll be the first on our AJ live-streaming app. Get all of the stars in AJ Entertainment to push with a link to follow me. Use all the tforms out there to follow me on AJ live-streaming. I¡¯ll do the same as well.

    ¡°We won¡¯t post anything about what¡¯s happening in Slough, just telling them to follow me. They might find out about what we¡¯re doing eventually and shut them down, but by then enough people will have seen what was happening, and the word will start to spread.¡±

    Ash didn¡¯t think it was a bad idea. Certainly, with all their stars'' presence, they could reach at least 100,000 viewers. Their services could handle the load, especially if it was just one streamer.

    However, would they just listen to Clem talking about what was happening in Slough? No, they needed to do more; the bacsh against the Phoenix Gang needed to be bigger.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send the order to all our staff to tell our stars to do as you said. I¡¯ll get a link set up. As for us two, I¡¯ll tell them to get the helicopter ready.¡±

    ¡°Helicopter?¡± Clem gulped.

    ¡°Yeah, we''re going to Slough, and going to show the whole world what is happening,¡± Ash said with a clenched fist.

    *****

 Chapter 870 All Cards On Show

    Chapter 870 All Cards On Show

    Kai had been fighting for a long time now. He had been fighting the day before, and now, ever since Glutton had shown up, he had been facing him head-on. Then, he had been going up against two of the main members from the Phoenix Gang.

    With Crowley badly hurt, maybe even dead, Kai did everything he could to avoid getting a fatal hit from the two main members, but it was proving tough. He wasn¡¯t just physically exhausted but mentally as well.

    That was when a sudden boost of power had risen in him. He could feel his energy growing, and it wasn¡¯t just his stamina that wasing back; he could feel himself growing stronger.

    It was when he remembered something that Gary had told him at one point in passing.

    ¡®My Grey Werewolf form is differentpared to others. Out of the other werewolves, I¡¯m the only one that can shapeshift into this form.

    ¡®On top of that, my strength rises depending on how many werewolves there are around me, whether that be friend or foe.¡¯

    It was because of that, Kai had a pretty good idea of what was going on. In the shadows, the blue glowing eyes could be seen. Jumping up on the two cars behind him was none other than Tyler, a dedicated driver to the Howlers Gang, and Kevin.

    One of the youngest members of the Howlers, who was part of the same orphanage group as Innu. One of the only survivors of the ck Rock Orphanage.

    ¡°You guys came just in time. I thought I would need to hold out a bit longer,¡± Kai said.

    ¡°What can I say,¡± Kevin replied, wiping his nose, with his chest lifted up. ¡°We were quick learners. Let¡¯s get this over with and get ready to rumble!¡±

    Kevin¡¯s body started to transform, his fur growing for him on the spot. It was the same for Tyler, and at that moment, from the shadows, the other werewolves hade out and were shing against the Phoenix Gang members.

    The sheer strength from their attacks had taken the Phoenix Gang members by surprise, even though they were Altered as well. Arge w woulde crashing down on them, and when using their ming ws, their hands would be hit away.

    Not just that, but the fighting was wilder than one could imagine. The werewolves would climb up on the side of the building using all fours then leap off the side, using their mouths and hands to attack.

    Quickly they would avoid attacks by climbing up other objects andshing out as they dived towards their opponent.

    It wasn¡¯t like how Kai, Marie, or any of the other werewolves before them would fight. It was as if someone told them to get rid of all the fighting knowledge they knew and just let their inner animal act.

    Kai, feeling his surge in power, didn¡¯t let up as he transformed his body as well. Into his standing werewolf form rather than his Wolf form and went right ahead. He charged toward Greed who still held out his two des.

    When he got close, Greed swung his weapons towards Kai who was able to narrowly avoid them as he took steps back and went to swipe towards his stomach, but Greed was also quite fast in his movement as well as he moved back.

    At that moment though, both Tyler and Kevin had run to the side and used cars that were on the side of the road to push off against andunch themselves at Greed. Both of them went forward digging their ws into his side.

    Twirling the sword in his hands, he took the pain and was ready to stab down on top of their heads, but Kai had jumped up and delivered a kick right to his head sending him back.

    Greed¡¯s body didn¡¯t go far though, as he hadnded into Glutton¡¯s belly who held onto him. Glutton then opened his mouth and started to fire fireballs straight at the group. They all quickly avoided them.

    Tyler had moved behind a car, but as the fireball had crashed into the car, it had caused arge explosion to unfold and sent him skidding across the floor. He was hurt but not badly injured as he got back up on his feet quickly.

    Kai was behind him, pulling him up on his feet and regrouping with the other two. The werewolves that were fighting the other members were making quick work of the Phoenix Gang, and it would only be a matter of time before they would be able to help as well.

    ¡°Out of the two of them, the one known as Greed seems to be more skillful, but he hasn¡¯t revealed his Altered form yet. I¡¯m worried about him, but that Glutton guy has arge sheer amount of firepower.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been fighting for a while as well. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s tiring out, and he¡¯s slow, incredibly slowpared to me.¡±

    Kai wanted to say something, but how could he? These people, they had already risked a lot by just allowing themselves to be turned into the same monsters as them for the sake of the gang.

    Not just that, but Crowley was already hurt from what happened.

    ¡°You want to take out that big guy, right?¡± Tyler answered. ¡°I know what you''re nning. We''ll hold off Greed; you go for the big guy. Just make it quick so you can help us out, and we''re not as weak as you think. We had a lot of training!¡± Tyler stated as his eyes were glowing a fiercer blue along with the smaller build of Tyler.

    Listening to these words, he smiled. It was for the best situation. This was a case of just win or lose; there were going to be losses. Kai strived forward turning into his Wolf form, and he whizzed past Greed.

    At the same time, Greed could see two of the werewolves going after him. It was quite clear what their n was.

    ¡°To think of all things, a tier 2 gang that came out of nowhere would give us trouble. That¡¯s just not possible!¡± Greed shouted as he swung both of his swords down.

    They hit the floor, and mes erupted from the ground. At the same time, from his back, a single spike was starting to grow. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At the top of the building, Sin had been observing the main fight that was taking ce in Cipen. He hadn¡¯t heard much from Burnham food street or the hospital. Things were taking longer than he expected.

    ¡°So many tricks up their sleeves one after the other. The city is heating up,¡± Sin said. ¡°From the looks of things, Glutton doesn¡¯t know how much trouble he¡¯s in; that blonde kid has been doing fairly well.¡±

    ¡°Garbo, go out and help Glutton and Greed. I know they will be annoyed, but we can¡¯t afford to lose any of our core members. Otherwise, one of the other kings might act¡­ and I''m sure I don¡¯t have to say this, but make sure I don¡¯t have to get involved,¡± Sin ordered.

    Garbo didn¡¯t say much and started to head down, as he was getting ready to join the fight.

    ¡°The Howlers Gang managed to do all of this, even after taking out their leader. How different would things have been if you were still here, Gary? Would I have to get involved?¡±

 Chapter 871 Werewolves Stronger As A Pack

    Chapter 871 Werewolves Stronger As A Pack

    The new pack of werewolves were dealing with the Phoenix Gang members easier than anyone would have expected. Because the Phoenix Gang members weren¡¯t just Altered, but being in a tier 1 gang, they were skilled at fighting as well.

    That was perhaps their downfall, as they weren¡¯t used to this type of fighting. At the moment, Tyler and Kevin were going up against Greed together.

    Kevin was smaller and a little more nimble; he went to attack down below at the legs of Greed, shing at them.

    Yet Greed was able to move away rtively fast as he pulled back and swung his heated sword down at the same time. Tyler came running from above with a sh to the chest, but he was met straight on with the side of the sword rather than the edge.

    It mmed into his body, sending him back and crashing into a car. The sword was heated, leaving a straight mark down his face as well.

    ¡°This is harder than I thought,¡± Tyler groaned with pain. ¡°Just because we¡¯re now Altered doesn¡¯t mean we can suddenly take on one of the top Altered in the Phoenix Gang.¡±

    Right now, Tyler was watching Kevin practically running away as the sword was swung, and streaks of mes erupted from the ground. However, from behind, two werewolves could be seen approaching and went ahead and shed right at Greed¡¯s back.

    They left w marks and blood spattered. Quickly, as theynded on the ground, they went to turn away and went forward again.

    ¡°All of you are so annoying!¡± Greed shouted as another spike grew from his back. He threw both swords onto the ground rather than swinging them down. They pierced the floor slightly, and an eruption of mes spewed out.

    It hit both of the werewolves that were attacking from below. The force of the mes wasrge as they were even propelled into the air and fell to the ground burning in mes.

    They stood there looking at the two rolling on the ground, howling in pain.

    They hadnded not too far from where Kevin and Tyler were, and now they were looking at their fellow Howlers teammates, having kicked the dust. Werewolves were resilient; they could survive a lot and heal, but the sheer power of one of the main members when in anger was enough to take them out.

    ¡°Crap¡­ crap!¡± Kevin screamed, looking at the dead bodies of his fellow colleagues.

    They didn¡¯t have time to mourn their friends because if they weren¡¯t focused and made one small mistake, then it would be them that would be in the same position.

    Standing by the side of Greed, there were three more werewolves circling him who had finished dealing with the Phoenix Gang members, and there was Tyler and Kevin as well; there were five of them.

    ¡°We have to remember what Dean told us; for us, the best way for us to fight is in a pack!¡± Tyler stated as he rushed, charging in.

    Greed was ready as he had pulled his swords out from the ground and ced them by his side.

    Tyler had slid in, targeting the feet. Greed went to slice down at his target, but one of the werewolves grabbed him by his wrist, pulling him to his side, while the other one struck him right in the face.

    Tyler¡¯s quick hit managed to take out his legs, causing his body to lift up in the air and fall to the ground, which allowed Kevin to quickly jump on top of him.

    Two of the werewolves now had each of his hands held down underneath their feet as they stomped on his wrists. It was Kevin¡¯s turn; he was relentless as he went to punch continuously in Greed¡¯s face, fist after fist, as hard as he could.

    The blows were extremely strong as the back of the head of Greed was breaking part of the ground beneath him with each hit.

    Trying to move his arms was hard, trying to move his legs was difficult as well, but as he got hit more and more, Greed was grinding his teeth more and more as well.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe, a bunch of weaklings, are pinning me down!¡± Greed managed to get out these words of anger through the onught of punches that he was receiving, and his body was starting to change.

    Four spikes grew right out from his back, piercing the ground, and not just the swords on his hand, but his whole body started to heat up. At the same time, something was growing from underneath him.

    It dangled in the air, with a pointed end and went and quickly moved as it stabbed right through one of the werewolves that had him pinned down. The tail had pierced the werewolf''s chest, causing the person to slowly transform back into their human self.

    After Greed used the tail and swung it, the man¡¯s body slipped off his tail, and he bounced across the floor. Now Greed had his hand free as well, and went to pick up his sword.

    The other werewolves that had been holding Greed down panicked and jumped off of his body.

    Seeing this, Tyler felt like they had no choice as he pulled Kevin as well off from Greed¡¯s body, and the two of them retreated back. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Now no one was holding Greed down, and there were only four werewolves left to fight Greed.

    Getting up from the floor, Greed had his two swords held in his hand and was now in his Altered state. Small scales could be seen climbing up his neck, his eyes were narrowed. Out from his back, there were four spikes sticking out.

    However, the biggest change was the tail growing from behind him, with a sharp pointed edge that could heat up just like his swords.

    ¡°This is embarrassing, having to use this form for someone like you guys, but you managed to annoy me enough,¡± Greed said.

 Chapter 872 Dont Look Back

    Chapter 872 Don''t Look Back

    Knowing full well what the others could be going through behind him, Kai knew he needed to take out Glutton as quickly as possible. Right now, he had transformed into his wolf form and was running circles around Glutton.

    Glutton, in response, was spitting outrge balls of fire trying to hit Kai, but each one was missing him. Even before, Glutton was struggling to go against Kai¡¯s speed; it was only with Greed¡¯s help that they were able to get close hits to Kai, and now, Kai had the extra energy from the werewolves around him and was even faster than before.

    Right then, Kai changed his course and headed straight for Glutton. The one thing that he noticed was Glutton had to eat something before he could fire out balls of fire. So once in a while, he would stop firing out from his stomach and try to look for something to eat; this was his moment.

    As he sprinted full force on all fours, he leapt up and started to transform into his wolf form, gathering his fist he punched hard right in the stomach. He pushed deep with his fist and twisted it more and more.

    ¡°Aarghh!¡± Glutton shouted in pain; part of vomit came out of his mouth as the vomit touched the floor it started to burn the insides slightly.

    Glutton was lifted off his feet, and he fell crashing to the floor. After arge amount of pain was felt, the whole of Glutton¡¯s body was heating up, so Kai made a quick retreat as he went back to his Wolf form and started to run about again.

    It took some time for Glutton to get up, and he found a car nearby that he started to eat on. He was moving slower than before that was clear. After Glutton finished eating part of the vehicle, he started to spit out fireballs again and again.

    ¡®This Altered has great elemental power and a great level of endurance but he¡¯s been fighting for a while now,¡¯ Kai thought as he continued to avoid the attacks one after the other. ¡®The other problem with him that¡¯s making this fight a lot easier than it should be, is his simple mind.¡¯

    ¡®He doesn¡¯t know what to do! It would be a different story if someone wasmanding him, or if he was support for the rest of the gang.¡¯ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Images shed in Kai¡¯s head. What if all of the Core Members had just attacked from the beginning, transforming into their Altered selves? The Howlers would have been massacred. In a way, the carnage that Sin had tried to cause, on trying to take out the whole city and splitting up their forces, due to them being overconfident, was giving them a chance.

    There and then, Kai went in again, and two for two, he was able to deliver another powerful blow right in the stomach. This time, Kai hit more so from underneath, so when Glutton¡¯s body was hit, he was lifted into the air.

    This allowed him to perform a second kick, hitting him in the face before he crashed onto the ground now on his belly rather than on his back.

    ¡®I have to finish this fast, I can¡¯t hope that the others will be able to defeat Greed, only dy him, but that is good enough for now,¡¯ Kai thought.

    It was then as he was standing there, that Kai began to feel something odd, part of his energy, it was diminishing. He could only think of one reason as to why this was happening.

    ¡®The boost I got, it¡¯s still there but it¡¯s weakened. I don¡¯t want to turn around and distract myself from what is happening; I have to trust the others, and I need to start taking risks as well!¡¯ Kai thought.

    One of the major issues with Glutton¡¯s body was the fact that it was covered in mes; using his speed and extra strength, Kai was just taking part of the pain as he hit Glutton''s body.

    Deciding that he needed to do more, quickly he went to one of the street lights, he cut it down with his w at the base, and then started to cut the single street light into several different poles as well.

    Jumping in the air, he could see that Glutton had finally turned over. Not wanting him to get up though, Kai hurled the metal pole as hard as he could and it pierced right through Glutton¡¯s hand.

    He did the same, throwing the poles one after the other, hitting him in his legs and more. The poles pierced through the mes and his skin, but they were melting away and it would only be a matter of time until he got up again.

    Still having one of the poles in his hands, he fell towards the ground andnded on top of a vehicle, and then jumped up in the air once more. As he came tumbling down, Kai started to spin the body with the pole in his hand.

    ¡°If I want to finish you off, then what¡¯s needed is a blow right to the head!¡± Kai screamed and howled at the top of his lungs.

    The pole smashed right through Glutton¡¯s head and cracked through the ground. Kai could feel his body burning up as his fur was touching the rest of the body, but the heat was starting to diminish.

    When Kai looked at the head, it was mangled, the sight was unrecognizable and no longer could a person tell who they were.

    ¡°That¡¯s one down¡­ he had been fighting for a quite a while and Crowley managed to help me with it, but we finally managed to take one of their leaders down¡­ we now need to go for another one,¡± Kai was huffing and panting.

    Sure, he got an energy boost from the other Werewolves but it was an energy boost with an increase in strength; he still had been fighting for a while.

    Just as Kai had moved from the body, that¡¯s when he saw something leap right at him. Immediately Kai dodged and rolled on the ground. As arge figure, what looked like a beast, had jumped right over him.

    It skidded across the ground and turned giving an almighty roar. Kai looked at what had just gone past him and he could see it was something resembling a lion, but had a ring of fire around his neck.

    The lion me beast started to transform back into what looked like a human. There was next to no clothes on the man apart from his long red trousers; oddly the fur around his neck was still present, and it was still burning right under his face.

    It was an odd sight to see, that anyone would imagine was quite painful.

    ¡°Another one¡­ has joined¡­ now,¡± Kaimented. He could tell at a nce this one was strong.

    Not only that, but Greed had also noticed the neer who had arrived.

    ¡°They took out Glutton, but now Garbo is here, he¡¯s a bit more reliable; I won¡¯t have to worry about him.¡±

 Chapter 873 His Last Words

    Chapter 873 His Last Words

    A new opponent had emerged from the Phoenix Gang, and after just getting rid of one, it appeared as if another powerful leader was now in front of Kai. Being who he was, he had done his research into the Phoenix Gang; he knew how many powerful leaders the group had. So in his mind, as he saw this person, he couldn¡¯t help but have a smile on his face.

    "Your gang, they''re getting a bit desperate right?" Kai asked as he stood there staring at Garbo, his ring of fire underneath his neck still burning away.

    "Us the desperate ones? Aren¡¯t you all just fighting with everything you have just to hold on? Even your backup that had finally arrived seems to be failing," Garbo replied.

    "Right," Kai replied as he transformed his body into his werewolf form. "But you never thought that we would defeat one of your leaders and push you back this far!"

    Kai ran forward, although he was low on energy after fighting with Gutton, he still had a rise in strength because of the other werewolves around him, and as time went on, he feared that rise would disappear.

    Stretching out his hands, Garbo had sharp wse out of his fingertips. They stretched out simr to that of a werewolf, and even his teeth growing in size was quite simr.

    Swinging his hands, two fire-marked w marks went right through the air. It wasn¡¯t a single strike like Greed''s, so it was harder for him to avoid. Since two of them wereing across, Kai was at a loss of what to do.

    Transforming his body, he had gone into his wolf form to move to the side and avoid the strike. As he did though, another four-legged beast had hopped right on top of him and grabbed his shoulders with his paws.

    Now that Kai was close to the beast, he could see the same ring of fire on its neck that Garbo had on him.

    "This is Garbo¡¯s full Altered form; the two of us were quite simr!" Kai thought.

    The two of them crashed onto the ground, and Garbo was still on top of him in his beast form.

    "I know what you¡¯re thinking, but you''re wrong; we''re not simr, I¡¯m much stronger than you!" Garbo answered, transforming back into his human form and lifting up his leg, mming it down right into Kai¡¯s stomach.

    The other werewolves had been struggling with their fight against Greed. Working together, they thought they had him close to the edge, and they might have been right. In the end, this had caused Greed to reveal his transformation.

    He now had a long sharp tail that was a scorching hot red. The air above where the tail was distorted. It was the same from the spikesing out of his back.

    "All of you are so very¡­ very¡­ annoying."

    Greed leapt forward and went to one of the werewolves that was closest to him. In a desperate attempt to fight back, the werewolf swung its arm, but Greed was far faster as he had thrown his sword down, slicing it right through the elbow.

    The werewolf''s arm was lying there on the floor. Not sitting around, the others had decided to attack.

    "We have to go in as well!" Tyler said to Kevin by his side. "It¡¯s the only way we''re going to beat him. Individually, we stand no chance."

    As Tyler had gone in, so did Kevin, in hopes that they could do something. As the four remaining werewolves had hopped in, attacking Greed, he had stayed in his position. He watched one of the werewolves with his tail hitting them far back and into one of the buildings at the side.

    Another, his sword had shed with their ws. He had hit them up, and then with the next de, he stabbed right through their heart.

    "He¡¯s killing everyone, everyone that risked their lives to protect the gang, the gang that Gary and Kai built up!" Tyler screamed. "We have to get rid of him."

    With Kevin¡¯s small frame, he had gone down, staying low toward the legs. He skidded on the floor and went for a swipe. As he did though, Greed had lifted his leg without even looking, avoiding the attackpletely.

    Then turning around, with both of his des, he was ready to stab them down at Kevin right there and then.

    "Go to hell!" Tyler screamed at the top of his lungs as he came from above andnded right on Greed¡¯s back. With both of his hands, he started to hit Greed¡¯s head one after the other, blow after blow.

    The impact wasrge, but as he kept hitting and hitting, Kevin, who was on the floor, could see something rising behind him.

    "Watch out!" Kevin shouted.

    It was a little toote. The heated tail end swept and had pierced through Tyler¡¯s back. Arge hole was created, and Tyler¡¯s body had slipped halfway down his tail. Blood started to fill from his mouth as he was lifted in the air.

    His eyes looking at Kevin on the ground.

    "I¡¯m sorry," Tyler managed to let out a few words as everything in his body started to cease to work. "I ¡­ I just wanted to¡­. I just wanted to make more memories¡­ with the rest of you."

    Memories of Tyler working in the convenience store shed through Tyler''s mind. When Gary had asked him to be his driver, when he had asked him to join their group, and the number of tough trials they had been through.

    Sure, he was only a driver to the gang, but he had felt like a big part of the start of the Howlers. He was happy, and he wanted to protect that happiness.

    "I hope¡­ the Howlers make it out of this one." Were Tyler¡¯sst words, as his body was flung from his tail and into another building.

    "TYLER!" Kevin screamed. The two of them had be werewolves together, nning to join the gang and help change the city from the fate that awaited them, and now he had seen his fellowrade perish right in front of him.

    It was then that Greed had turned to Kevin. He swung one of his swords into the ground, creating a wall of fire on one side, then swung the sword on the other, creating another wall of fire.

    "Now there is nowhere for you to hide. Once I¡¯m done with you, I will go after that other wolf, and all will be done," Greed said with a smile.

    He walked, approaching Kevin closer and closer, and at that point, Kevin had already lost the will to fight. It was impossible to go up against the Phoenix Gang leaders.

    "Who¡­ did I think I was," Kevin thought.

    The sword was lifted in the air, and was swung down aiming right for Kevin. In the middle of its swing, an object was spinning in the air. It had ripped through the mes and had crashed into the two swords.

    The object was heavy, moving the entirety of Greed¡¯s arms to the side; he had nearly dropped his weapons. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "What was that?" Greed asked as he could see the object continue to go past.

    Kevin, with his new sensitive hearing, could hear footsteps behind him. A man was approaching him, and reaching out his arm, he had caught the object.

    "You have grown up a lot... you''ve been doing the job that I was meant to do. I''m so sorry that I''mte," the voice said.

    To Kevin, as soon as he heard the voice, tears had filled his eyes. He knew who it was instantly, a voice he had been waiting to hear for a while now.

    "INNU!" Kevin screamed at the top of his lungs.

 Chapter 874 Unexpected Ally

    Chapter 874 Unexpected Ally

    Garbo had bested Kai in every way during their fight, and now back in his human form, he had lifted his leg and mmed it right down into Kai¡¯s stomach. Fortunately, Kai was able to use his hands to try and stop it and had grabbed onto the foot, but the powerful force of the attack had still damaged him.

    ¡°Grghhh! Did I get on your nerves!¡± Kai gritted through his teeth. He could taste iron in his mouth; he had received more of the blow than stopped it.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing how you can still talk with so much confidence. You must have realized it by now though, right?¡± Garbo asked. ¡°That our entire gang is based on those with fire elemental powers. This was all curated and done purposely by our leader, Sin.

    ¡°Because, Fire was one of the first discoveries by man that set us differentpared to our counterparts. It gives us the power to do many things, and the power to take it away.¡±

    Garbo was twisting his foot, and as he did, the heat of the ring around his neck intensified while at the same time, the bottom of his foot was heating up. Like a sizzling stake, noises wereing from where he had Kai pressed onto the floor.

    Kai was trying to push off with all his might, but equally, he could feel Garbo pushing down with more force.

    ¡°Not so talkative now!¡± Garboughed. ¡°You will soon be cooked like an egg right underneath my foot!¡±

    Stuck in the situation, what could Kai now do? He felt hopeless. He couldn¡¯t rely on people; they were the ones that were relying on him, so he had to do something. However, rather than an increase in energy, at that point, Kai felt a decrease in his energy.

    It was going down, which could only mean that more of the Howlers, of the Werewolf pack that had been created, were losing their lives.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Kai shouted, screaming. He opened his eyes, and that¡¯s when he could see something. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Two sharp des wereing across; Garbo had only just reacted in time, pulling back, but the swords had still cut across his chest. It had caused Garbo to move off from his body.

    ¡°Who are you to get involved!¡± Garbo shouted as he shed his ws in the air at his attacker. The ws of mes hade forward. Yet the new intruder didn¡¯t try to run or hide away.

    Instead, he swung his des right down at the attack and spun his body, destroying the attack right there and then. It was a clean hit, and the mes that did touch him, his body seemed protected.

    Kai quickly got up off the floor, taking this chance, and then had a look at who had just arrived. They were covered in strange ck armor. It was hard cased across a man¡¯s chest. On his face, there was a ck mask, and his dark hair was tied up.

    However, his shoulders were on disy as he only had the armored vest on, and at the top of his shoulder, four stars could be seen.

    ¡°An Altered Hunter!¡± Kai called out. ¡°And a four-star one as well.¡±

    Four stars were high-ranking for an Altered Hunter, since their group only went up to five stars.

    ¡°You said you needed a little help, didn¡¯t you? Sorry we werete to this whole thing,¡± the voice said.

    The voice, Kai¡¯s sensitive ears were able to pick it up even through the mask he was wearing. When looking around at the situation, there was one person who had bandages around his arms and had two axes in his hand as well. This one wasn¡¯t wearing a mask but had three stars on his shoulder instead.

    ¡°It¡¯s Innu¡­ you made it, and if that¡¯s Innu, then the other one is¡­¡± Kai didn¡¯t say the name out loud, but he was sure of it; the other one was ke.

    Over a year ago now, Innu had decided to join up with the Altered Hunters in hopes that he could get strong. The Altered Hunters had equipment that was far superior to that which could be bought in the market.

    On top of that, both Innu and ke had both set out on a journey to try and learn a special power known as Qi. Unfortunately, through joining the Altered Hunters, the leader had tasked them with a year¡¯s worth of training.

    Innu had to take a break from his life in the gang, but Kai just saw this as an advantage to have his ears everywhere. When the attacks had first started, Kai didn¡¯t waste any time in contacting Innu, iming that he needed their help.

    This was Kai¡¯s backup n. Before he even knew about Gary¡¯s dad and the werewolves, he had nned for the Altered Hunters toe and help. Those that hated Altered had the chance to take out one of the top gangs; all he needed was for Innu and ke to do some convincing.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,¡± ke said. ¡°But unfortunately, the Altered Hunters have something bigger to deal with, so for now it¡¯s just us two, but we¡¯ll be enough.¡±

    Both Garbo and Greed had noticed the stars on the shoulders of those who hade to interrupt them. They were getting annoyed as more flies were just joining the fight one after the other.

    ¡°What is it with all you flies, why are you interrupting us!¡± Greed shouted.

    ¡°This makes no sense,¡± Garbo said. ¡°Why would the Altered Hunters even help another gang, especially one full of Altereds? How can you have a connection with them?¡±

    Innu readied his two red axes, while ke did the same with his two swords. Both of them were beaming with energy, drawing it from their weapons, cultivating their power into them, and at the same time, they gave their answer.

    ¡°Because, this is our home!¡± The two shouted in unison.

 Chapter 875 A Strong Upgrade

    Chapter 875 A Strong Upgrade

    The pack of Werewolves that had been trained by Dean hadn¡¯t just arrived where Kai was; they had split in two, focusing on the key areas that needed the most help: arriving in Cipen, and they had also arrived at Burnham.

    Just as Numba and Ian thought they would be running into certain death going up against the mythical Hydra beast, they had help appear by their side. The glowing eyes appeared from above, appeared from the side, and immediately charged forward, having no fear as they went against the mythical beast.

    Right now, a pack of Werewolves were dealing with the Hydra as best as they could as they continued to attack every area they knew. They were wild in their movement, as they slithered between the heads, nimble and were using their sharp ws where they could.

    ¡°Come on, we have to help as well, you know that just attacking the heads isn¡¯t going to do anything, even if they manage to rip it apart, it¡¯s just going to grow back again, we need to get rid of the main body!¡± Numba suggested.

    Ian agreed and started to charge forward; the two of them were running down the center, and one of the heads was whipping through the air heading their way. It was frightening because they knew the heads had an enormous amount of sheer power, strange green blood and liquid that could melt almost anything, and then there were the sharp, deadly teeth as well.

    They continued to run forward, Ian activating the bristles on his body andrge horns that had grown from Numba¡¯s head.

    As the head was diving towards them, though, one of the Werewolves that was on top of another head had jumped down,nding right on top of the head, causing it to crash into the concrete.

    ¡°Keep going!¡± The Werewolf shouted, half in a growl as it was fighting against the ferocious head that was trying to swing it off its body.

    ¡°These wolf guys are good, huh,¡± Ianmented. ¡°I guess we really need to pull through, based on how much they''re sacrificing.¡±

    The reason Ian said this was because not all of the Werewolves were having a good time against the Hydra¡¯s head. For instance, one had been thrown violently into a building.

    Another had sessfully cut part of the Hydra¡¯s body but got acid on its arm. It had withered down into nothing but a stump, but they were still fighting.

    Although the Werewolves were arge amount of help, Numba and Ian felt like they could only help them for a short amount of time; they needed to finish this.

    ¡°Hey, your spikes that you make, can you make one with a t end?¡± Numba asked.

    ¡°I think I might be able to improvise something,¡± Ian brought one spike out from the palm of his hand, golden in color but sharp on both ends. He then produced the same from the other end with his other hand and held them both.

    ¡°You know that thing, where the only thing sharp enough to cut diamonds is another diamond, we¡¯ll just use that!¡± Ian said as he lifted one hand and swung it down, trying to chop off the bottom. A mark was made on it, but it wasn¡¯t enough to cut the sharp end off.

    ¡°You know that thing with diamonds, do you know how much force you need?¡± Numba replied as he grabbed the sharp brisket from Ian and lifted it in the air. He then swung it down even faster and harder, hitting it on the exact point, cutting off one end and making a smooth circr bottom. ¡°You need a lot of force.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, show off, use that damned strength to beat this guy then!¡± Ian said, as he knew the two of them were getting close.

    Thest time they had gotten close, Raven was ready for them with an unheralded tactic. Although most of the heads were distracted, there was a chance it could happen again, and it looked like they were right.

    Raven had used one of his heads to rip off one of his own, and a waterfall of green blood had dropped down in front of him.

    ¡°I expected you to do that; Ian, throw the damn thing!¡± Numba ordered.

    Ian threw it right at Raven, and in doing so, Numba quickly sted off using his explosive strength to catch up to the sharp bristle. Then, with a fist, he hammered the bottom part of it as hard as he could, giving it even more strength.

    It propelled forward, going through the green liquid. It smashed right into Raven¡¯s body, and his whole body was lifted in the air from the force. The Hydra heads that were in the middle of battling with the other Werewolves were dragged back along with the body.

    It was a strange sight to see suchrge heads suddenly go flying back as they were dragged in the air. Eventually, Raven fell to the floor off in the distance.

    ¡°Did we do it¡­ did we kill him?¡± Ian asked.

    ¡°As long as you aimed for the heart, I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s dead,¡± Numba replied, huffing and panting. They had been fighting for a long time, and he had to give it his all to catch up with the bristle throw. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In the distance, though, the heads that were lying t on the floor started to move; they were rising in the air, and a strange sight had bewildered them.

    Using the heads as if they were legs, they pushed off the ground, and now, Raven¡¯s body was seen floating in the air, along with the other Hydra heads, and the Hydra head with Raven¡¯s actual face floating.

    With his hands, the bristle with a blunt end could be seen; he had been hit in the chest. It was a powerful blow that drew blood from his mouth, but when it went through the green liquid, it had be blunt, and the Hydra¡¯s hard skin had made it so it failed to pierce his body.

    ¡°Why is everyone just trying to stop me from getting my justice? I guess this is what Heroes face when in a struggle and they must do whatever they can to triumph,¡± Raven spoke.

    ¡°Hero, did you hear this guy, he thinks he¡¯s a freaking hero,¡± Ianmented.

    ¡°They do say victors write history books, and right now, I¡¯m not sure we¡¯re going to be the ones to win this,¡± Numba replied.

    Because he could see what Raven was doing, his Hydra heads were biting off and ripping the heads off others. As he ripped part of his body and they fell to the floor, two more heads started to generate.

    He was continually doing this, to the point where the multiple Hydra heads in the sky were blocking out the sky, casting a shadow over them. They no longer even knew how many heads there were.

    ¡°F*ck,¡± Ianmented; it was the only word he could feel as he saw this sight.

    However, what they were unaware of was the two individuals had gotten up from behind them and were walking up from behind.

    ¡°Did you have to go and make him a harder fight for us?¡±

    Turning their heads, they could see the two females. They looked the same as before in their human form, but something was different about them as they stood there strongly.

    [You have sessfully evolved into your new ss]

    [Hunter ss has been upgraded to = Apex Hunter ss]

    [You have sessfully evolved into your new ss]

    [Protector ss has been upgraded to = Titan Vanguard]

    ****

 Chapter 876 A Class Upgrade

    Chapter 876 A ss Upgrade

    MWS Chapter

    Gary had received arge amount of pawn points after his rampage in the prison. Due to his stats that had increased from consuming the Altered that were inside, the system had imed that pawn points could no longer be used to increase his stats.

    If that was the case, then it meant that his pawn points were no longer as valuable to him. But in the situation he was in, how could he use them to help the others? The answer was simple.

    He would use them on the loyal members of the Howlers. Thest time he had used it on the others, a ss notification had appeared for them. While Gary¡¯s ascension, though grating, didn¡¯t mean much to him personally, it meant a lot for the pack.

    For instance, those in the pack could never be a higher grade than Gary. Which was why he needed to upgrade his own grade to bring Midwak into the pack. He always wondered, other than turning and allowing those to join, what was the point of him increasing his ranking system that was based on the game of chess.

    That was when he remembered, increasing the ranking for the others had allowed them to evolve. Kai was now a unique ss, a shape shifter. Olivia was a hunter ss, and Marie a protector ss.

    These were the basic sses that one could choose, but a person could go beyond these sses. For instance, Gary himself was no longer just a Warrior ss, but instead was a Dark Warrior ss, a unique type.

    Upgrading the other rankings, this was what allowed them to evolve. Using his pawn points, he had first ranked up Olivia, moving her from the Knight Rank to the Bishop Rank. Although Gary wasn¡¯t one to pick favorites, she was a better fighter than Marie.

    She didn¡¯t hold back and was the type of person that a gang needed in a situation when they were attacked. However, Gary quickly realized he had more pawn points than he thought.

    He hadn¡¯t just gained pawn points from his mayhem in the prison but also gained quite a bit before then. The only other way for him to gain pawn points was by him or those in the gang turning others in the pack.

    With these pawn points, he had used them on Marie as well, upgrading her to the Bishop Rank. With that, both of them had a ss evolution, a change in their powers.

    [You have sessfully evolved into your new ss]

    [Hunter ss has been upgraded to = Apex Hunter ss]

    [You have sessfully evolved into your new ss]

    [Protector ss has been upgraded to = Titan Vanguard]

    Marie and Olivia had recovered; Izzy had done a good job in protecting them both, and now it was their time to act out. The other Werewolves had stopped their attack and had gathered by the side, all of them standing in a line as if some type of team, ready to attack.

    They looked up at the giant monster in the sky, using four of his heads as footing on the ground, his body hardly noticeable against the backdrop of who knew how many long necks and heads.

    Only one head stuck out with his face on it.

    ¡°I know we now have help back on our side, but I can¡¯t help but feel we are all about to go up against some type of demon god,¡± Ianmented.

    The sheer size of the thing in front of them. It was nothing like the Altered they knew of or they had learned about or seen on TV. They all felt like they were out of their depth.

    ¡°Just think about it, if we don¡¯t take down that thing, it¡¯s going to be unleashed not just on this country, but the whole world,¡± Mariemented.

    Right then, Raven was tired just looking at them, and he moved in closer quite fast using his own necks and heads as feet, and all of the heads in the air spiraled out before they went through the air,ing down at them.

    They looked like giant vines alling at them with razor-sharp teeth. Ian and Numba were getting ready to charge forward, and so were the other Werewolves when they noticed one person had already gone ahead.

    And that person was none other than Marie. She had already transformed her legs, and her size was increasing. She was growingrger, bigger than the standard werewolf by about four times.

    Eventually, her height looked like it was reaching that of ten meters, making her seem more like that of a giant monster of sorts.

    She reached out her hands and managed to grab two of the heads. She was pushed back, her feet breaking the concrete behind her as she slid, but she only had moved back a meter or so before the heads could no longer push her back.

    Two more heads went to bite her by her side; the sharp teeth pierced the skin, but almost no blood was being drawn. So the head tried to lift Marie up, but that seemed impossible as well. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I am the protector of the group, so that¡¯s what I need to do!¡± Marie threw the heads into the ground, and then quickly pounded them with both of her fists.

    From her position, she soon jumped and had gone several feet in the air, throwing out her fist and hitting one of the other heads away. It was strange to see the small girl turn into such a giant monster, and this wasn¡¯t even the extent of all her capabilities.

    So far, they had witnessed her grow in size as well as being more resilient and powerfulpared to before.

    ¡°We can¡¯t just sit back; we have to join in this as well,¡± Olivia said with a smile as her body started to transform.

 Chapter 877 Apex Predator

    Chapter 877 Apex Predator

    Unlike Gary, the other Werewolves, when evolving into their new ss, they didn¡¯t have a system that would exin every detail of what they were capable of. A lot of what they had to go through woulde through instincts.

    When in a tough situation, their minds acted on their own, and their bodies reacted to it. In some cases, it was as if they had always known how to do something and were acting out on that fact.

    This was how Marie knew she could grow in size. She knew she had the strength to defend against the attacks that wereing her way. In some cases, there were more difficult powers unlocked by sses that one wouldn¡¯t know about.

    For instance, even Gary¡¯s Dark Warrior ss, the main advantage of the ss wasn¡¯t figured out until nightfall came.

    Having watched Marie do so well, it was time for Olivia to act as well. Her body was changing, and she was going into her full transformation. For her outward appearance, she looked simr to how she did before.

    Covered in ck fur with her leg limbs and arm limbs slightly longer than that of the warrior or standard Werewolves, she ran forward ahead, and the rest started to follow.

    ¡°Just because they have joined in, doesn¡¯t mean we can just rx,e on let¡¯s get in there!¡± Numba shouted as he charged forward, smashing his fist against one of the heads. He had pushed it back, but the head quickly moved and was going towards him again.

    Therge mouth opened and tried to chomp down on Numba, but before it could, Ian moved in the way and shot out several bristles from his back. It pierced the upper skin in several ces of the mouth, and the green blood-like liquid started to ooze out of the Hydra¡¯s mouth.

    The two of them moved quickly and could see the chaos going on as the heads were moving about everywhere and the Werewolves were trying to deal with it. They were mostly avoiding head-on confrontations and just jumping up on their heads.

    There were just too many for them to deal with. While Ian and Numba thought they had survived death, they could see other headsing towards them.

    Olivia had jumped down in front of them and had grabbed them with one hand; she then jumped up, and they were running along one of the necks of the Hydra. She had let them go to run by themselves, but they could see more trouble as Hydra necks and heads were everywhere, and they knew that Raven wasn¡¯t afraid of damaging his own body.

    Holding out her hand, her fingernails exploded off and stabbed right through one of the Hydra head¡¯s, causing it to flinch; she used her other hand and did the same, firing out fingernails to the other side, through the Hydra.

    Once her fingernails came off, they were starting to grow back at a rate that could be seen quickly by the human eye.

    ¡°Those nails pack quite a punch, and she can just fire them out¡­ she couldn¡¯t do that before, right?¡± Ian asked.

    Watching her, in some ways, it almost looked like her nails were more effective than when he fired out his bristles, but on closer inspection, it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. It was more so she was hitting the Hydra¡¯s either through the mouth or right at where its eyes were to cause it to flinch.

    Each time she was hitting the weak spot perfectly. This was one of the traits of the Apex Predator ss, naturally knowing the weak points.

    However, there were still more heads than she could handle, and she witnessed oneing right at her. She ced both of her long limbs by her side, and rather than shooting out her fingernails, they started to grow longer in size, until they were touching the floor.

    When the mouth was close, she scraped her nails across the floor and swung them out. Her nails had extended even further and hadpletely cut through the Hydra¡¯s skin and head; it had been sliced apart.

    The green blood from the Hydra was burning through Olivia¡¯s nails, but what did it matter; she had shot the remainder of the nails on the ground, and new ones were growing in their ce.

    Olivia had found a way for her to not worry about the blood. Now she knew she could go right for the main body and not have to worry about anything else.

    Marie was continuing to attack and crash into the heads, tackling them to the ground. But during her battle, she also noticed something else as well. At one point, she was too slow to reach one of the Werewolves. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They were struggling as they were pushing back against the teeth of one of the Hydra¡¯s that were trying to eat them up.

    When she came over, there was an instinct inside her; she could see green liquid from the Hydraing out from its teeth, hurting the Werewolf and its bloody hands.

    At that moment, instead of attacking the Hydra, she had dug her own nails into the back of her fellow Werewolf. In doing so, the Werewolf could feel its own hide thickening and parts of its body healing up.

    The Werewolf felt a slight strength increase and was able to push the mouth off from its hands, and Marie bashed it away before it could do more damage.

    Temporarily she could buff other Werewolves near her, to have simr traits to her new Titan Vanguard ss.

    Olivia was keeping an eye on everything, and now she didn¡¯t have to worry.

    ¡°The other Werewolves, right now all they can do is distract. It¡¯s too hard to ask them to try an attack and it¡¯s useful. Marie¡¯s evolution and strong hide allow her to be protected from this green mess, and now I can attack freely. It looks like he chose the wrong opponents to choose today! Raven, I never did like you much, so it¡¯s time to get rid of you!¡±

    *****

 Chapter 878 The Power Of New Classes!

    Chapter 878 The Power Of New sses!

    Jumping back and forth, Olivia was using her newly trained body to avoid confrontation with most of the heads. Although more heads for attacking might have seemed better for Raven at first, it was now starting to work against him.

    There were too many that would get in the way of each other. They would intertwine and tangle up at times, and he would have to unravel them. Seeing this, Olivia thought it was best that she continued to avoid the oing attacks while waiting for an opportunity.

    ¡®Although now I¡¯m confident that I will be able to reach him and damage him in some way, he might not think the same,¡¯ Olivia thought. ¡®Right now, even though we are holding on, he doesn¡¯t seem to be changing his attack pattern.

    ¡®If anything, he¡¯s confident in his Altered powers, too confident, but I need to wait for the right opportunity. While he is like this, there might just be one chance to take him out!¡¯

    Numba and Ian had originally felt the same way, which was how they were able to get an attack on Raven. By showing something that he had never seen before and using great strength. This was Olivia¡¯s n as well, and out of all of those that would make the opportunity work for them, she was looking to Marie for the answer.

    Marie, having just stabbed one of her allies with her nails, could feel somethinge from her own body. It felt somewhat like when a person would sneeze but the sensation was through her fingertips.

    As for the result, it had improved the other Werewolf that was fighting alongside her. Another head came towards her in the middle of her thoughts, and she had jumped up,nding on top of the head with herrge size.

    The head skidded through the ground until it crashed into a shop, and she had quickly gotten off from the Hydra.

    ¡°Maybe, with this, we can make a big push!¡± She thought, clenching her fist.

    ¡°Everyone!¡± Marie shouted. ¡°Those from the Howlers gang, gather near me!¡± She had sent out the order.

    The Werewolf she had helped before had a pretty good idea of what she was going to do and was the first to gather. Soon after, the rest started to follow. As they arrived one by one, she quickly would stab each one in the back for less than a second.

    All of them could feel the power inside them rising bit by bit, and now they were all ready to go against the Hydra again.

    ¡°So, just charging at you single-handedly isn¡¯t enough, huh?¡± Raven said, looking at the Werewolves grouped up. ¡°Well, this just makes it easier to take you down.¡±

    The Hydra heads had lifted up in the air, and now they were directly above where Marie and the others were.

    ¡°Battering ram time!¡± Raven smiled.

    The Hydra heads swung down as if they were giant arms, one after the other, right where Marie and the others were. She and the group had been hit, the ground was sinking beneath their feet. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The whole area was shaking with each hit of the Hydra heads. Not only that, but as they were swung down so hard onto the floor one after the other, blood was filling up their mouths and dropping down them.

    ¡®Now!¡¯ Olivia thought. ¡®While he has most of his attacks focused, I have to finish him off now!¡¯

    Olivia was running down the side of the wall at a fast speed. Digging her feet and ws into the structures, then from the side when she could see Raven in sight, she leaped from her position and was aiming straight for Raven¡¯s body.

    Looking to his right, Raven could see her, but his heads were too outstretched toe and help. There were a couple of heads he had kept close, but while in the air, Olivia had shot out her nails, hitting them directly in the eye, stopping them.

    ¡®I can¡¯t worry about Marie right now because we have to take out this thingpletely; if we want to live, this is the only thing we can do!¡¯

    While leaping through the air, her nails had just grown back in time. Thrusting them forwards, she had stabbed them right into Raven¡¯s chest. His whole body stumbled, but the heads he was using as legs kept him up.

    While her nails were inside Raven¡¯s body, though, she noticed something; even the blood on his body, it was made out of the same acidic green stuff. Her nails inside were melting.

    Taking them out quickly, she shot the remainder of them away and needed them to grow back quickly. She then grew her nails out again and scratched them against his chest, hitting him one after the other.

    Each time her nails would start to fade away, she had to shoot them out for them to regrow. Being so close and having her legs wrapped around his body to stay where she was, Olivia then shot the nails into his chest, hoping they would reach his heart, but it wasn¡¯t working.

    There was only one thing left to do; she then reached out her hand, and her nails started to extend out further and further.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just die, die!¡± Olivia screamed.

    The heads that were bombarding the ground and where Marie and the others were, they had stopped. Marie and the rest of the Werewolves, they were rtively hurt from the attack, but they had managed to survive due to their newfound strength.

    They could see Olivia, on the main body, and with her extra-long nails, she stabbed him through the chest. Her nails pierced through the skin and were reaching further and further in, but at the same time, with the single head that was floating out, with the face of Raven, that¡¯s when something drastic had urred.

    The color in his eyes hadpletely turned ck, and a purple smog was starting toe out from his body. Olivia¡¯s nails hadpletely melted before they had reached the heart.

 Chapter 879 Unable To Win

    Chapter 879 Unable To Win

    Olivia had been striking Raven with everything she had. She was unaware that the blood even inside his body had the same acidic nature as the rest of the Hydra, but she didn¡¯t let that stop her.

    Because, even though her nails would disintegrate because of his blood, she was still able to pierce and hurt him. So she just needed more time. Extending her hand out, she allowed for her nails to grow super strong. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She was confident with this; she would be able to pierce through Raven¡¯s heart. Just moments before her nails ripped through his skin though, the neck that was dangling with the head high above, Raven¡¯s eyes had turned ck.

    From the infected Altered solution, his strong will, now that his body was weak from the constant attacks, was starting to fade.

    ¡°I can¡¯t die, I can¡¯t die until I destroy everyone and everything involved with my brother!¡± Raven shouted.

    The infected solution, his Altered self was taking over, and it was making the powers in his entire body rise. The acidic nature of his blood had be even more potent, destroying her nails as soon as they went into his body.

    Right after that, with his regr hands on his body, a punch was delivered sending Olivia right back into the ground, her body crashing into the concrete floor, creating arge crater where she hadnded.

    ¡°Olivia!¡± Marie shouted.

    Due to her ss, her body had just about recovered, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for the other werewolves. When she jumped to Olivia¡¯s side, she looked at her hand. Part of her fingertips were burnt away, and she seemed to have been hurt quite a bit by the singr punch.

    ¡°This should help you heal up and get you back up on your feet.¡± Marie stuck her nails directly into Olivia¡¯s back. It didn¡¯t take long for therge amount of energy to course through her body.

    The pain was fading away, and her fingertips were already looking better.

    ¡°You''re¡­ like a giant healer Werewolf,¡± Oliviamented.

    ¡°Yes¡­ but I¡¯m worried it might not be enough for us to take him out!¡± Marie said as she looked at the creature in front of her.

    ck smog was seen above each of the Hydra¡¯s heads. It was clear something had happened, something was differentpared to before. She didn¡¯t want to admit it, but Olivia had a sinking feeling in her stomach, worried that the person in front of them might have just gotten stronger.

    ¡°After our own power-up, he just goes ahead and has another one of his own¡­ and now, we don¡¯t have the element of surprise left either,¡± Oliviained as she looked up.

    Multiple heads were covering the sky; some of the heads had even crashed into parts of the restaurants on the side, causing them to tumble onto the main street.

    While the head of Raven was continuing to float.

    ¡°This city took my brother, so I¡¯m going to take everything away from it now!¡±

    One of the heads hade out, and as it had done before, it came out even faster than they did before. It opened its mouth wide towards one of the werewolves and snapped down at it.

    The werewolf had lifted its hands trying to stop it, but the mouth snapped shut, and half of its body could be seen falling to the ground while the other half had disappearedpletely.

    Izzy, who was standing at the back of the thing, was constantly shaking her head.

    ¡°No. No, that thing has gotten faster and it¡¯s stronger than before, there¡¯s nothing else we can do, nothing else we can do! Everyone, we have to run, no matter what!¡±

    Ian and Numba had heard the words, but they didn¡¯t want to run away; it felt wrong to them, but before they could even do anything, they felt the hair strands from Izzy drag their feet, and they were getting out of the area.

    Seeing them leave, a lot of those that were hiding in the restaurants started to make a run for it as well.

    The mouths continued to go down, and went for the werewolves, crushing them. Not only was it the werewolves though, even the remaining members of the Phoenix Gang, they were being bitten up as well.

    Then finally, therge heads went straight for Olivia and Marie. Marie went in headfirst and ced both of her hands up, stopping one of the mouths from hitting them. At the same time, Olivia had extended out her nails to pierce through the top of the mouth trying to stop it from consuming them.

    They were struggling as both of them were fighting against the closing of the mouth. This wasn¡¯t just a slight increase in strength, but it was a major increase in strength.

    ¡°Marie, I just want to say something to you; you grew up real quick in this dangerous world, and I felt like I was part of what made this world dangerous, you know¡­ and now, everything ising to bite me back for what I¡¯ve done.¡±

    ¡°It feels like what¡¯s happened right now, this is my punishment, but for you¡­ this shouldn¡¯t be the end for you, yet, I was the one that dragged you into this.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Marie shouted as she pushed open the mouth wider, to the point the jaw had broken and split apart. ¡°Don¡¯t talk like you¡¯re dying, because we¡¯re not dead yet!¡±

    Just as she finished her sentence though, arge head swung its body bashing into the two of them from the side. They were lifted off their feet crashing into the wall, and right after that, several of the heads dived into the building, biting apart parts of it and melting it downpletely.

    Izzy, running off with the two boys to help, was only able to witness the scene that had urred just then.

    "This is¡­ a loss for the Howlers gang¡­ we have lost this fight, and lost Burnham Food Street." Izzy gulped down her sorrow, but she feared since they weren¡¯t able to stop Raven, what would be of the rest now?

 Chapter 880 The Suspect All Along

    Chapter 880 The Suspect All Along

    Movement wasing slowly back to Maya Dem, the mother of both Amy and Gary Dem. Having been in aa for a long time, she was regaining her movements, but her muscles still weren''t listening to her.

    Right now, White was on one side, and Amy was on the other, both of them pushing and lifting her up together. As they did, they managed to settle her into a wheelchair carefully.

    ¡°Did I gain weight while I was in the hospital?¡± Maya joked, seeing the two huffing and panting.

    ¡°No, we''re just not used to this stuff. If anything, you look like you¡¯ve gotten lighter, Mum,¡± Amy answered, which was true based on her inability to eat a decent meal for a long time.

    Once again, a loud sound could be heard, and the floor started to shake. They were unsure if it was noise from the outside or from within. It wasn¡¯t as bad as thest shake they had felt, but it was still worrying.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think staying on the top floor is safe. We have to get you down lower with the others and see if we can find a nurse who can still check up on you,¡± Amy suggested.

    Pushing her mother, White held the door open as they went into the hallway. It was aplete mess. There were abandoned medical carts, fallen-over potted nts that had been smashed, and even some of the lights were broken.

    Pushing her mother, White held the door open as they went into the hallway. It was aplete mess. There were abandoned medical carts, fallen-over potted nts that had been smashed, and even some of the lights were broken.

    They had experienced a couple of heavy shakes. Seeing all of this just confirmed that it was better for them to go lower.

    ¡°If this whole building copses, we''re going to be in serious trouble,¡± Amy said.

    ¡°Wait, but are we going to take your mum down the stairs? That¡¯s ten floors. Can we actually do that?¡± White replied. ¡°You know in situations like these, taking the elevator is even more dangerous.¡±

    At this point, hearing the two girls squabble over her, Maya wanted to tell them to just leave her, but thest time she said those words, Amy had gotten very angry at her, and she didn¡¯t want to see her daughter upset.

    Looking around, Amy was trying to see if there was anything they could use or perhaps an easier way down. Her eyes lingered on one of the other rooms, and that¡¯s when she realized something.

    ¡°Crap, isn¡¯t Austin on this floor as well? We can¡¯t just leave him here!¡± Amy said. ¡°He¡¯s an important friend of my brother¡¯s.¡±

    She was already rushing to the room, and White was now following her as she pushed her mother along.

    ¡°Wait, we¡¯re already struggling with how to take one person down the stairs, and now you want us to take two... and Austin... is a bit on the big side!¡± White shouted.

    Regardless, the three had entered the room, and when they had done so, they were stunned for a moment at what they could see. The hospital bed they were looking at, there was nothing left but an imprint of his body.

    There was no person in the bed, but that wasn¡¯t the only shocking thing. Arge breeze had hit the girls, and they needed to cover their faces. A breeze in a room so high was unheard of because the windows were sealed shut and thick with multipleyers of ss to prevent easy breakage, yet there was arge crack in the window.

    Amy walked forward slowly towards therge crack. She was a little worried that the gust of wind would pull her away. As she moved closer though, sounds could be heard from outside.

    It was clear what was going on. There was fighting.

    ¡°Careful!¡± White called out as she moved closer but even slower than Amy. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It¡¯s Austin... he¡¯s fighting outside against the attacker, and it looks like Xin as well,¡± Amy said, watching the chaos unfold and keeping an eye on the enemy fighting against them.

    As White came closer, finally, the two of them were able to see who was attacking them as well, and an audible gasp escaped from Maya¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Mum, what¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s going on? Is everything okay?¡± Amy called out, looking at her mother, who was shaken up. Holding onto her hand, she could feel that it had gone cold.

    ¡°That one, the face... even though it¡¯s different, I can recognize it,¡± Maya said, pointing at the jackal-looking Altered. To White and Amy, the two of them couldn¡¯t recognize him, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for Maya.

    Scenes shed in her head of when she was in the supermarket, when she was protecting that poor young girl. Thest thing she remembered before ending up in this ce.

    ¡°That¡¯s the person who attacked me... that¡¯s the person who attacked me before I passed out,¡± Maya answered.

    ¡°It was him!¡± Amy turned her head and was gritting her teeth as she looked at them. Of all people to attack them now, why was the person who had put her in this position, why had they returned?

    She was extremely angry. She wanted to ask the person who had done this to their mother all sorts of questions. Why attack her? Why, when her mother hadn¡¯t done anything to harm anyone.

    However, now, realizing that he was part of a gang that was causing a rampage in Slough once again, it felt like there wasn¡¯t really an answer. Her mother was just one of the unlucky ones.

    That still didn¡¯t quell her anger though... if she could, she would love to have hit this attacker herself, if she had the power to.

    ¡°Come on, we have to get out of here,¡± White said. ¡°Austin is down below, so we don''t have to worry about him, but who knows how much damage their fight will cause.¡±

    There was something else as well. As White turned away, she had never seen Amy make an expression like that, and it was scaring her. It reminded her of the first time White had seen her brother, on the day that she was saved.

    ****

    ****

 Chapter 881 The Most Dangerous Member Of The Howlers

    Chapter 881 The Most Dangerous Member Of The Howlers

    Xin had originally been battling with Gil, a young teenager, now a young man who used to be a part of Slough. His life had been turned upside down when he had gotten involved with one particr student, Gary Dem.

    After a chain of events, he had no choice but to leave Slough and had happened to run into Raven, a person who seemed to be in the same situation as himself. As the two of them left Slough, they had fallen into the hands of the Phoenix Gang.

    Little did they know that the leader of the Phoenix Gang had already set Slough in their sights and the Howlers gang. Everything seemed to be connected to a particr group. Because of their information, they were invited to the top, and Sin had given them a lifeline.

    Both of them were handed Altered solutions, not just any Altered solutions but Mythical Type Altered solutions that had devastating power. They didn¡¯t follow the usual traits of the Phoenix Gang, but they were too good to give up.

    However, there was a catch with these Mythical type Altered solutions. They had been marked by NIRV as defective solutions¡ªsolutions that were infected and had a high chance of making an Altered go Crazed and giving them other traits as well.

    While fighting against Gil, Xin had been able to push her opponent to the point where he had given in. Rather than using his own power, he had decided to draw more power from his Altered form.

    The infection had taken over, making his eyes ck and a strange purple smoke appear over his body. Not only that, no longer did Gil have to transform his body to different sizes to make it durable or strong; now his body was both, and he had great gravitational powers to add to it. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Thankfully, during her fight, she had Austine and help, but that still wasn¡¯t enough. The extent of Gil¡¯s powers was beyond what anyone was expecting.

    With Austin still not fully recovered and Xin having already exhausted most of her power, the two of them thought it was only a matter of time until they were defeated. That was until a figure soaked in blood emerged from the forest.

    In his hand, he was dragging a man dressed in Phoenix Gang clothing.

    ¡°This is all kid stuff, so deal with one of the adults,¡± Midwak said.

    Xin didn¡¯t really have any idea who this man was, but for Austin, memories were flying in his head of the past.

    ¡°You think just because there is one more of you, I can¡¯t take you down!¡± Gil shouted at the top of his lungs, ignoring Austin and Xin as he dashed toward Midwak. ¡°I took you downst time; you think I can¡¯t take you down again!¡±

    Without hesitation, though, Midwak lifted the body with one hand and hurled it right toward Gil. As fast as Gil was going at his speed, when the body made impact, it ripped apart, exploding guts all over him.

    The blood covered his eyes, and as soon as they were opened, he felt something climb right on the back of him. Midwak wastched onto his back in his full werewolf form. His body looked muscr and more refinedpared to thest time Austin had seen him.

    There was less fur on his body, making him look almost human. With arge fist, Midwak punched the back of Gil''s head, sending him right to the ground. The area was destroyed underneath him.

    Immediately, Midwak then jumped off his back and into the air. He flicked two of his fine nails from his thumb, hitting directly into Gil. After that, he swung both of his hands in the air.

    A giant X mark came out from his hands and floated through the air. It was a visible attack that was rippling the air, which even Xin and Austin could see. The attack crashed into Gil¡¯s body, slicing apart his thick dark skin, causing blood to be drawn out over his body.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Gil screamed as he lifted himself, rubble falling off his body. He could see Midwak moving towards him, and as Midwak was falling, Gil threw out arge fist of his own, hitting him cleanly on his side.

    Midwak¡¯s body tumbled onto the floor, but immediately, he got up and pushed off the ground heading right for Gil. He then grabbed straight onto his waist. The veins and muscles on his body were bulging as he lifted Gil up into the air.

    He threw him using the strength of his waist, and quickly following up, he jumped up and grabbed Gil right by the neck. With full force and all of his weight, he threw Gil right back into the ground.

    The whole area was shaking violently; the hospital nearby was shaking once again, and Midwak was seen standing there.

    ¡°Right, you did beat mest time, did you think I just did nothing after losing?¡± Midwak said as he stood there and walked over, lifting up his leg, he started to stomp on Gil¡¯s body, again and again.

    ¡°All the crap you inflicted on me, I¡¯m going to make sure you feel ten times worse!¡±

    Midwak was never the type of person to rely on getting strength from others, and he never believed that Gary or the others would be able to take this person down. He needed to get revenge himself, so Midwak went to grow stronger.

    He was used to doing it by himself. Not only that, but he had been going around the city quelling the aggression of the Phoenix Gang and other gangs because it would allow him to feast on the Altered all over, and with each Altered consumed, the stronger Midwak had be.

    ¡°You will pay, you hear me? Do you have any idea what you are doing by destroying this town!¡± Midwak shouted as he continued to stomp with all his strength and weight. ¡°You¡¯re killing my troops. This is the gang that I¡¯m going to take over, so I can¡¯t have you guys messing this up!¡±

    Xin was just staring in disbelief.

    ¡°Austin¡­who is that guy?¡±

    ¡°That guy¡­he¡¯s the person that took the whole of the Howlers Gang to take out. For once, I¡¯m happy that he¡¯s on our side,¡± Austin answered.

 Chapter 882 Not Worth Eating

    Chapter 882 Not Worth Eating

    Midwak, out of a fit of rage, was continuously stomping Gil¡¯s body, one after the other. Now that Gil could use his great speed and strength at the same time, his body was in a smaller statepared to what it was before.

    With Gil being a big person in the first ce, with a prime body to y rugby, his size was still big while Midwak was more on the leaner side of things. Regardless, Midwak¡¯s foot was digging into Gil¡¯s stomach again and again, as if he was attempting to pound something out of his body.

    ¡°You said you beat mest time, you''re proud of the person you beat back then huh! Well, a lesson learned, in the future, you should finish off your enemies!¡± Seeing how the stomping wasn¡¯t killing Gil, Midwak decided to sh him right by his throat.

    As Midwak went to reach down, he was grabbed by the wrist; secondster, his entire body was picked up and mmed onto the floor. Gil continuously mmed Midwak¡¯s body on the floor, side to side, from one to the other.

    While this was happening, Midwak didn¡¯t give up, and with his nails, fired them away into the side of Gil. The nails would dig into his skin and draw blood, but they would protrude out.

    They were still visible to the eye and hadn¡¯t entered inside of his body. Right after Gil grabbed Midwak with both hands, throwing him deep into the ground, creating anotherrge crater and causing a rumbling of the entire ce.

    The smoke behind him started to rise, and looking at where Midwak was, arge amount of pressure was put in ce.

    ¡°You''re right, I should have finished you off properly, but at the time, I needed you to stay alive because we wanted to create fear into the Howlers Gang, to send a big message that we wereing for you. Well, now that we are here, I don¡¯t have to worry about that anymore. 38 times¡­ I was counting how many times you stomped on me, now let¡¯s see if you can survive the same,¡± Gil said.

    Gil was using his special gravitational powers. Having held Midwak for a long time, he could magnify the gravity in that area, and now Midwak was stuck.

    With Xin and Austin having experienced this, they were watching what was about to unfold.

    ¡°We have to help him!¡± Xin eximed.

    Austin looked at himself. He had been beaten so bad that his transformation had undone itself. Did he even have the energy to transform? The wound he had, it had opened up, and blood was soaking out of it.

    ¡°With him, it''s the only chance we have to win this fight. Without him, we¡¯re going to lose. We¡­ we have to do something,¡± Xin eximed.

    At that point, Austin had made up his resolve; he knew that she was right.

    ¡°You''re right, we need him to win¡­ so do me a favor¡­ and just distract him for a bit longer!¡± Austin asked as he ran forward. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Gil could hear the heavy footstepsing from behind him. When he turned, he could see Austin had jumped up in the air, ready to make a punch. Gil was ready to counter this, but before he did, a spark of electricity had hit him.

    Xin had moved at her fast speed one more time and grabbed onto his arm, while twisting her legs around his head, shaking his entire body.

    Austin, who had taken a leap, lowered his fist down, and when he hit the ground, he rolled down slightly. While Xin was holding onto Gil, this was his chance. He rushed to behind where Gil was standing and stepped into the crater; immediately, he felt arge amount of pressure on his body, causing him to fall to his knees.

    ¡®Crap¡­ what is this, even just getting close to him, I¡¯m affected by his powers as well! I thought I would have had to have been touched.¡¯

    Austin was looking at Midwak who was turning his head toward Austin. Moving his mouth, he did so every so slowly.

    ¡°What¡­ did¡­ you¡­ think¡­ you could save me¡­ you couldn¡¯t even beat me!¡± Midwak uttered.

    His words, though, his taunts, it had sparked something inside of Austin; he could feel his body rising as he started to transform. The bottom part of his legs, his face, and nose. He ced his hands on his thighs, pushing himself up with his mighty strength.

    ¡°I know I¡¯m weaker than you,¡± Austin said as he took a step forward, the sheer weight still trying to push him down. He continued on, until he had eventually reached Midwak.

    Right now, Xin had broken away from Gil; she needed to unless she wanted to be seriously hurt, and she knew that she was only able to catch him by surprise because of Austin.

    Right now, the two of their speeds; it was the same as before.

    ¡°You have been annoying from the beginning, I¡¯m going to crush you!¡± Gil screamed.

    Austin then ced both of his hands on Midwak, his muscles bulging. He was holding on tight to his body.

    ¡°This is why I need you to win this fight, so what the heck are you doing stuck here? Show him how strong you are!¡±

    Fighting against the heavy weight, Austin lifted Midwak and hurled him right out of the crater-like area. As soon as Midwak¡¯s body left, he suddenly could feel much lighter going through the air.

    "It¡¯s not through touch; the gravity powers he has can only be controlled in a certain area¡­ not that it matters because I¡¯m going to kill this bastard!¡± Midwaknded right on Gil¡¯s back before he could deliver a punch to Xin.

    Opening his mouth wide, he bit down on the side of Gil¡¯s neck, tearing off part of the flesh and spitting it out onto the floor.

    ¡°You taste disgusting, you''re not even worth eating,¡± Midwak eximed.

 Chapter 883 The End Of A Myth

    Chapter 883 The End Of A Myth

    The sour taste of the flesh was still left in Midwak¡¯s mouth. He wasn¡¯t lying when he said that Gil had tasted disgusting, and it was a first for him. It was a foul taste as if food had been left to rot for a long time.

    This was surprising for werewolves since they were considered to be able to eat anything, and Midwak hadn¡¯t found something he couldn¡¯t eat. On top of that, he had nned that by eating Gil that he would be an extremely powerful werewolf.

    ¡°Even if you taste bad I¡¯m still going to take you down!¡± Midwak screamed as he lifted his hand and shoved it deep into the bite mark he had made, twisting it into the wound.

    Gil screamed in pain and was ready to grab and chuck Midwak off from him, but before he could, Xin had gathered up what strength she had and charged forward, hitting him in the stomach.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t hur¡ª¡± Gil was cut off in the middle of his words because Midwak had once again lifted his hand and shoved it into the wound again, and using his mouth he decided to try biting further into his neck, damaging him even more.

    When Gil went to move again, he felt a great force grabbing him right by his leg.

    ¡°I might be slower than you, but the one thing I know I am, is strong!¡± Austin shouted.

    After saving Midwak from the gravitational field, he had decided toe over as soon as he could. There was no doubt in Austin''s mind that Gil was going to be an extremely hard Altered to deal with, and all of them would have to take part in this.

    Austin then yanked Gil right from under, pulling his leg causing him to fall, with his flexible and fast body, Midwak jumped off from Gil and didn¡¯t let up on his attacks.

    He flicked his nails, digging into his skin, and then, charged forward again jumping up in the air. He ced both of his hands together and swung them down with all his might, crashing right into Gil¡¯s face.

    The ground cracked beneath them, and a heavy rumble was felt close to the hospital. The one on top of Gil¡¯s body, Midwak, didn¡¯t stop there as he wildly continued to swing his fists, and it wasn¡¯t just him.

    Xin came, lighting up her hands, delivering fast punches as strong as she could, while Austin was delivering his heavy hitters. All three of them were consistently pounding the same area over and over.

    They were cracking more of the ground and the shaking hadn¡¯t stopped. The dust from the concrete and floor made it hard for them to even see what was going on, but from the feeling in their fists they could feel that Gil¡¯s body was weakening.

    It was shrinking as he was reverting back from his Altered form.

    The punches didn¡¯t stop, even though both of Xin¡¯s and Austin¡¯s arms felt incredibly heavy. They were covered in sweat but wouldn¡¯t stop; right now could be their only chance to take out the person in front of them.

    ¡°STOP!¡± A loud voice shouted from behind.

    When Xin turned to look at who it was, she could see the person that was running toward them, it was none other than Amy.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous!¡± Xin called out. ¡°Wait!¡±

    ¡°Actually, I think we might be fine,¡± Austin said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Amy had finally reached where the others were, and she was now standing on the edge of a deep crater that had been created from the onught of punches. As she looked down she could see a person that no longer looked like their former self.

    Blood was sttered on the ground around them. Nearly every bone in their body was disfigured, and even their face was unrecognizable.

    ¡°Is he still alive?¡± Xin asked.

    Midwak had stopped hitting the one in front of him as well, but as he carefully listened with his ears, he transformed his arm and elongated his finger nails.

    ¡°I can still hear his heartbeat!¡±

    ¡°Wait, stop!¡± Amy shouted out again. ¡°Please... can you not kill him, and leave this one to us. He has a lot to answer for... and I want Gary to be here when we deal with him.¡±

    Altereds had fast healing capabilities, but there was always a point where if one was injured to a grave extent it would take them a long time to heal, just like Austin. Looking at Gil, it seemed to be the case with this individual.

    He wasn¡¯t someone that they needed to worry about anymore.

    ¡°It should be fine, we could look over him as well if he wakes up. With him like this, I¡¯m confident we can deal with him after some rest,¡± Xin exined.

    Austin nodded, but what they were wondering about was how Midwak would react. While fighting he seemed to have a lot of anger as well.

    ¡°Do what you want with him, I got my revenge, and he tastes bad, so he¡¯s not even worth eating anyway,¡± Midwak answered as he started to walk up out of the crater and was heading away from the hospital.

    ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°Me?¡± Midwak replied. ¡°Since this one has gone bad, I need to get some more energy, there are still plenty of people attacking, and besides, did you think this weakling was the strongest person they had?¡±

    ¡°With these guys getting taken out one by one, I¡¯m sure that their leader will make their move soon, and that¡¯s when I need toe in and take him out, leader to leader,¡± Midwak said with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re not our leader!¡± Austin immediately said, as he fell to his knee. He was more hurt than he realized.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see that green-haired punk anywhere, and I was the one that saved you guys,¡± Midwak answered. ¡°When I take out Sin, while Gary is rotting away in a cell, then you guys will change your tune. So you better get ready for change around here.¡±

    Finishing his words, Midwak jumped off into the forest heading for who knew where.

    ¡°Wait, did he say Gary is rotting in a cell?¡± Austin replied.

    ¡°I guess I should catch you up on some things,¡± Xin replied. ¡°And in the meantime, tell me about that crazy wolf guy. Let¡¯s bring Gil in, and we can see if the others are okay. In this battle, the hospital might end up bing a very important ce for everyone.¡±

    With the help of Midwak, Xin and Austin had got through arge battle with one of the Mythical type Altered that was strengthened by the infection. They had managed to protect the hospital and arge number of citizens of Slough and hade out with a victory.

    While Austin carried Gil on his back, a whirling sound in the air could be heard, and as they looked up, they could see a helicopter in the air.

 Chapter 884 The Phoenix Gang To The World

    Chapter 884 The Phoenix Gang To The World

    After everything the Howlers had done for AJ Entertainment, Ash wanted to do what he could to help them. He was troubled with how to help them. He didn¡¯t have a massive amount of finances.

    His connections would be less than the Phoenix Gang''s, and he wasn¡¯t an Altered who could join the fight, but through him and Clem, a famous up anding presenter with millions of followers across her tforms, they hade up with a n.

    Currently, the two of them were flying in Ash¡¯s helicopter. He had taken lessons in his spare time, and not wishing to get anyone else involved the only two aboard were him and Clem.

    ¡°How are things going!¡± Ash shouted, trying to get his voice over the loud propeller des.

    ¡°It¡¯s good!¡± Clem shouted back. ¡°We currently have over a million people watching the stream!¡±

    Right now, the helicopter was slowly cruising over Slough. With just her phone, Clem was filming the damage that had been done to the city, and the current gangs that were destroying it even more.

    With the help of not just her, but all of her followers, they had promoted their new live streaming app. That was controlled by their own services and tform. This way, all that could happen would be requests to get the app taken down or to cancel the live stream.

    Due to this, word of mouth was spreading, and the whole world was learning of the chaos that was happening in one of the uing cities.

    Constantly as Ash was flying, he felt his phone vibrate. He was getting a number of calls and messages, all telling him to end the livestream, but he ignored them and continued to do what he felt was right.

    ¡°Can you see all of this?¡± Clem said, as she talked into the microphone clipped attached to her shirt. ¡°Everything you are seeing here is the result of the Phoenix Gang. We all know that there is a dark side to the city we live in.¡±

    ¡°But we continue on and ignore it because it doesn¡¯t affect our lives, but now, no matter what problems are going on between these two groups, the Phoenix Gang has decided to cause harm to not just the gang but essentially destroy the whole city. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°We at AJ Entertainment wish to inform the people of what our world ising to. I¡¯m sure you guys had no clue this was going on because everything was being suppressed by the Phoenix Gang, who control Inferno City!¡±

    Thements on the stream were constantlying in, faster than Clem could even read them, if she was able to.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t do this, Clem! You¡¯re going to get silenced. Say it now, ¡®I¡¯m not suicidal,¡¯ that way we will know what happens if you go missing!¡±

    ¡°Crap, I knew the gangs had a lot of power but this much, I haven¡¯t seen this anywhere.¡±

    ¡°It could be fake, I mean all CGI.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s real. I have a cousin who lives there and has been texting me about the situation. It''s crazy what they are doing, everyone spread the word #saveSlough.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, wasn¡¯t there something else serious in the news about Slough recently as well? That infamous retired AFC fighter, he was sent to prison right.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to make this some type of conspiracy theory right now! Do you think they''re linked?¡±

    This was exactly the type of thing Clem was hoping for. With her time of being an influencer, she knew the inte would do its thing. They would take the smallest details and make a story out of it themselves.

    Sometimes people managed to catch the truth more than they thought, others would be wild spections that would just hurt the user, she knew this herself, but right now, she wanted to use the inte to push the Phoenix Gang.

    If people see what could happen to them next, they might finally start to act, and if not, she still wanted to at least show the suffering Slough was going through.

    ¡°I think we need to head down, let¡¯s get to the main area, where the fighting is taking ce, I think it¡¯s over there!¡± Clem pointed.

    The area that she had pointed to was Cipen and was where the current fight was taking ce.

    ---

    Due to the loud sound of the helicopter, it had drawn a lot of attention from a lot of people, and that included Sin, who was still standing on the rooftop of one of the buildings also overlooking what was happening in Cipen.

    He had grabbed his phone and had also tuned into the livestream. He had already received multiple notifications from others about what was going on. Somepanies already choosing to pull their support.

    They were worried that this would affect theirpany base if they were seen supporting such a vicious gang. To this, Sin couldn¡¯t help but justugh.

    ¡°So the whole world is seeing me as a viin,¡± Sin stated. ¡°Even though I have yet to do anything myself. Those idiots, don¡¯t they know if I really wanted to, I could burn them out of the sky right now.¡±

    Sin was tracking the helicopter with his eyes, and the thought had crossed his mind, but he ced his hand down and looked at the floor instead.

    ¡°Very well, then I will be the viin that everyone sees me as,¡± Sin imed. ¡°They better film everything, and show just how I wipe out this entire city, and then after I¡¯m done with this city, everyone who decided to go against me will be wiped out as well.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s broadcast to the world just how powerful I am!¡± Sin said as he jumped down, and mes started to extend out of his whole body. Landing on the floor the area beneath him started to melt. "let''s turn up the heat."

 Chapter 885 Prison Break The Warden

    Chapter 885 Prison Break The Warden

    Located underneath the main base of the White Rose headquarters was a prison designed to keep dangerous Altereds out from the outside world. No one had ever escaped before, and even if they managed to escape, they were surrounded by the White Rose agents.

    Just the thought of such a thing seemed impossible. Yet, a single person, Gary, was determined to get out no matter what. He would do anything, and his system had even granted him a quest to do the impossible.

    During his journey, he had met another who was determined to get out of this ce, a man that went by the name of ckjack. Later, they had recruited a new person to their group, one of the strongest Altereds in the prison, a Mythical type Altered that went by the name of Ice.

    These three were a powerful force to be reckoned with, to the point where the other groups that had formed within the prison felt like they had no choice but to take them out.

    Unfortunately for them, it didn¡¯t work out well. Both leaders of the North and South groups were eliminated, only one leader remained which was Stinger, and after seeing what had urred, he decided to stay out of it.

    Gary, in his fight, was wild. As he defeated his opponents, he consumed them, pushing himself to grow stronger, and in turn, he had earned several pawn points, using them on his fellow teammates, hoping to help them in the fight.

    After consuming the others, Gary was no weaker despite having fought for a long time, and if anything, he felt the strongest he had ever been for a while.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± ckjack asked, reuniting with his teammate. The other prisoners no longer wished to fight, they pushed themselves against the wall and didn¡¯t charge in anymore.

    The bnce that was in the prison was ruined, and they were at a loss of what to do from this day onward, but Gary didn¡¯t care about that because he was just looking forward and straight ahead at what was needed to do next.

    ¡®I just got to take one down, I just have to take one more person down,¡¯ Gary repeated in his head. ¡®And after that, I need to rush to Slough as quickly as possible, I need to do what we can.¡¯

    However, ckjack, his partner, didn¡¯t have the same thoughts running through his head.

    ¡®The Warden is impossible to beat, she¡¯s just too strong, but during the fight, if Gary can get one good bite on her, then after some time has passed she will lose her Altered powers, that is the time to escape and the only time to escape.¡¯

    ¡®Maybe¡­ with the three of us, we could beat the Warden, but then how would we progress further, the whole White Rose, and their squad captains, would be after us. We need to escape this prison with our full strength to get out of here.¡¯

    Meanwhile, Ice was just following Gary to see what type of person he was. How much he could achieve with his will of wishing to help his friends. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As they stared at the end of one hall, they saw the thick steel door open up on the second floor. Immediately, several guards came through dressed in ck, with their Altered gear drawn.

    They ran down the metal staircase that led to the second floor, and were lining up on either side. While the guards ran forward, they couldn¡¯t help but look at the carnage, the amount of dead bodies, blood and wreckage the prison was in.

    They had never seen it like this before.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Why aren¡¯t the guards doing anything, I thought they would lunge at us!¡±

    Going through the aftermath, was the tall Warden with a ck beret on top of her head tilted to the side. Her tall body was seen stepping through, and slowly she walked down the stairs in her ck-colored clothing.

    Confidently, she walked down the stairs as if it was something she did every day, not even paying attention to the dead bodies.

    ¡°Why would they do anything, they are confident that they only need one person to deal with all of this,¡± ckjack answered. ¡°That¡¯s how confident they are in this person, we need to be ready at all costs.¡±

    Unlike Gary, both Ice and ckjack had used a considerable amount of strength during their fight. They weren¡¯t feeling stronger than before, so they were a little cautious.

    ¡°I never saw your fight against the Warden,¡± Ice answered. ¡°Do you think you could give us some advice, what type of Altered even is she?¡±

    Since Ice never had any intention of escaping the ce and stayed in his cell most of the time, he hadn¡¯t witnessed the event that made people wary of ckjack. At the same time, he had no idea of the strength of the Warden and never cared to learn until today.

    ¡°That woman¡­ is a Mythical Type Altered like you, one of the strongest types of Altered that exist, as you should know,¡± ckjack answered.

    ¡°Look at you,¡± the Warden spoke, interrupting the conversation between the three. She was now standing in front of the other guards, and the prisoners had shifted to the other side of the prison, while Gary and his teammates were ced in the center of the room.

    ¡°Look at the mess you have created, I never thought that you would do this again, causing such a big mess, ckjack, and this time it looks like you¡¯ve rallied together some allies, but that won¡¯t change a thing, because no one escapes my prison!¡± The Warden imed.

    ckjack got ready as he prepared himself.

    ¡°This might not sound frightening but trust me she is the hardest opponent I have gone against, her Altered form is based on the Mythical creature known as the unicorn.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 886 The living Anti Altered Weapon

    Chapter 886 The living Anti Altered Weapon

    The Unicorn was, of course, a mythical beast that Gary had heard of. Just like the tales of Werewolves, these were also talked about to children. However, there was arge difference in how both of these tales were told.

    Unicorns were seen as a beautiful, elegant creature with magical powers. They weren¡¯t often what one would imagine when thinking of a strong, powerful being. Whereas Werewolves were mostly seen as vicious creatures that had great strength and power.

    ¡®I have to be on my guard still though. Mythical creatures are mythical because we learned that these fairy tale stories came from somewhere, and they came from the beasts of the past that used to roam on Earth.¡¯

    ¡®Beasts that were so strong that their stories were still passed on to this day. I have to be cautious and not think of the image in my head, they could be able to do anything.¡¯

    Gary readied himself, standing in front of the other two with his arms split apart. Fur was starting to grow on both of them and thickening as he used his partial transformation.

    At the same time, he wasn¡¯t the only one not ying games; the Warden was also transforming from the start. She lifted her hand and threw the beret hat onto the floor, and from her forehead, a spiraling horn started to grow.

    The horn itself was covered with a thick twirling groove that could be visible; it continued to extend until it was around thirty centimeters out of her head and it stopped.

    It was the only physical change they could see about the Warden, the horn and nothing else. She looked hardly more frightening than when she was before, but just like Gary, she stood there with her arms open and a smile on her face, showing an enormous amount of confidence.

    ¡°Come on then,¡± the Warden said. ¡°Remember it¡¯s you guys that are looking to break out of here, you need to get through me, not I get through you.¡±

    ¡°Fine, and I will get rid of anyone getting in my way!¡± Gary kicked off from his position, destroying the hardened concrete floor beneath him. His newfound power after absorbing the others had grown a considerable amount, whether it was enough for the Warden or not he was unsure, but he wasn¡¯t going to take any chances. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The moment hended right in front of the Warden, he could see her ready to swing right at him, but Gary was fully aware of this.

    [Lethal Pounce Level 2]

    The moment Gary¡¯s feet touched the ground, he used one of his strongest skills, but one that used up arge amount of energy. He disappeared right in front of the Warden¡¯s eyes, zapping away.

    ¡®He¡¯s fast¡­ he¡¯s really fast!¡¯ The Warden¡¯s eyes widened. The easy task that she thought this was going to be, it wasn¡¯t going to be the case at all.

    Right after Gary¡¯s feet touched the ground again, his body moved at an incredibly fast speed and crashed right into the Warden. Her body was flung, and a loud bang followed.

    Gary was the only person that could be seen right where the Warden was. When the others turned their heads, they could see arge part of the wall destroyed and the Warden covered in rubble.

    ¡°He¡¯s strong,¡± Icemented, cing his ice club over his shoulder. He was ready to join the fight but hadn¡¯t even gotten the chance to. ¡°The speed he¡¯s moving at, and the strength of the hit, I think he¡¯s stronger than when he fought against me.¡±

    Ice wasn¡¯t wrong with his evaluation either, because Gary did have a strong boost from all the Altered he had eaten.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but do you really think that I couldn¡¯t take care of someone like that?¡± ckjack replied, still on guard.

    Gary didn¡¯t let up; after turning his head, he could see the direction that the Warden was hit in, and he swung both of his arms, letting out two w Strkes through the air.

    [w Strike level 1]

    The attack crashed right where the Warden was, part of it slicing through the concrete walls. Seeing what they had done to the walls, the prisoners and guards that were watching were worried for the Warden.

    ¡°Get ready,¡± ckjack said.

    He could see through the dust, a slight glow. When the dust started to settle, they could now tell that the glow wasing from the horn on the Warden¡¯s head.

    She stood up from the ground and started to wipe some of the grey dust from her clothes. While standing there, Gary and the others could see it, therge cut across her chest, her broken bones on the side.

    The horn was glowing, and all of it was healing right in front of their eyes. Her body was back in tip-top shape apart from therge w marks on her uniform.

    ¡°If you wanted to undress me, then there were easier ways to do such a thing,¡± the Warden replied.

    The glowing horn didn¡¯t stop glowing there, and soon sparks started to appear from the horn itself. Sparks that were blue in color.

    From the horn, the sparks grew and then hit the entirety of the Warden¡¯s body. The bright light had startled them all.

    ¡°Now¡­ is the real fight,¡± ckjack said. ¡°We all will need to do our best to survive. I¡¯m sure you guys have known that a lot of the Anti Altered equipment that is used has electricity running through them.

    ¡°Because it¡¯s been found that these types of attacks are most effective against Altered transformations. Well, the reason for their existence, and why we know about that today, is all thanks to the person in front of you right now.¡±

    ¡°The one known as the Warden is the most deadly Anti Altered weapon that exists!¡±

    *****

 Chapter 887 The Third One Joins

    Chapter 887 The Third One Joins

    Sparks were electrifying the Warden¡¯s body, concentrated at the top of the horn. They were going through her entire self as she stood there looking at the others. For a regr human, just touching the Warden, it felt like they would die in an instant, or feel as if they were struck by a lightning bolt.

    Gary was bracing himself, still using his partial transformation rather than his full transformation. Although he had, in some way, tried to finish off the fight quickly, he still needed to be careful.

    He had no idea of the full extent of what his opponent could do, and it was a good idea, as the Warden was revealing their strength.

    ¡®Jayden told me about Altereds with special powers obtained from the beasts, the basis of their Altered. It brings them into another tier altogether. The world doesn¡¯t know much about these Altereds because what you see on the AFC is just the physical powers.¡¯

    ¡®But right now, this unicorn-based Altered, it appears as if it has more than just one power. Healing and some type of Lightning.¡¯

    Gary was being extremely wary; his instincts were telling him to be. He wanted to test the waters and wondered what the best way was, that was until Ice made the first move.

    He had a shield in hand, and an ice club in the other. He stomped with his right foot hard on the ground, and a trail of ice appeared heading right for the Warden. The ice powers were fast, and as it touched where she stood, the ice started to encase her feet, rising up the rest of her body fast.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if she has more than one power or not. We have our own powers as well!¡± Ice charged forward. In a way, he felt like his Mythical Altered form had more than one type of power as well.

    Not only did he have strong ice powers, but he also had extreme strength to go with his endurance. Gary knew that well after fighting him.

    With the club in his hand, as long as he could get a direct hit on the Warden, he was sure that he would cause arge amount of damage.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± Ice charged in.

    The horn on the Warden lit up again, and in doing so, the ice on her body started to melt right off. Right after the ice had melted, Ice gave out a big swing with his club.

    The horn electrified itself and her whole body; the next moment, she was gone. The club swung but hit nothing but the air. A heavy sweeping sound was heard, showing the great strength of Ice.

    Right after that though, sharp sparks of lights could be seen in the corner of Ice¡¯s eye, and before he knew it, he was hit with a heavy hand right across his face.

    His body was lifted from the ground, and he stumbled right across the floor. Again, the Warden charged in, moving incredibly fast, and lifted her leg ready to kick Ice.

    Before she hit, though, Gary hade in to defend Ice and knocked her leg away with his hand. The Warden regained herposure though and was able to continue with her attacks.

    She went to kick and punch, while Gary carefully blocked each one, looking carefully. While blocking the attacks, the Warden¡¯s horn would light up again, and she woulde from the side.

    Thankfully, Gary could keep up with her, and he covered himself, lifting his knee and arm up. A loud hit crashed right into Gary, sending a pulsating wave through his body and sending a shock back through the entire prison.

    All of the prisoners felt a jolt go through their body, even causing some of them to flip.

    ¡®Crap, even though I can block her hits, and keep up with her, each of the hits although they don¡¯t seem to be hurting me, I can tell they¡¯re all doing damage.¡¯

    [253/300 HP]

    It wasn¡¯trge amounts, but with each hit, Gary was getting hurt from the inside; he could feel his body turning more numb by the moment. Not only that, but due to the great speed that the Warden could produce, she was hitting him with a lot of hits as well.

    [Lethal Pounce]

    Gary used what he could and leaped from his position, as he moved he managed to pounce on top of her body and delivered a strong punch right into her stomach. Not letting her get away, with his other hand rather than a fist, he swiped at her, cutting part of her clothing and digging his nails through her skin again.

    [Lethal pounce]

    Using his lethal pounce skill again, Gary had pinned her to the ground and wanted to finish the fight, until he could see her horn lighting up again.

    ¡®This is bad!¡¯

    Gary rolled back, and the entirety of the Warden¡¯s body lit up again, shocking the whole area. Gary had gotten out of the way just in the nick of time.

    As he jumped back,rge ice spikes flew through the air and went straight to the Warden. She jumped from the ground and avoided all of the ice attacks, moving her body until one had hit her on the shoulder.

    Pulling it out, she threw it to the ground, and her horn lit up again, healing the wound on her stomach and the wound on her shoulder as well.

    After doing some damage, looking at her, they felt like they were back at square one.

    ¡°Did you think because you had a number advantage that you could defeat me? If that was the case then what about the prisoners that you had dealt with?¡± The Warden asked.

    The main thing they needed to worry about was the healing factor. If they couldn¡¯t figure out how it worked or how to ovee it, then they would be done for. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Are you going to join this fight or just watch?¡± Ice asked.

    ¡°Sorry, I was just evaluating things¡­ it seems like you will need my help,¡± ckjack said as his eyes started to glow slightly red.

 Chapter 888 Blackjacks Position

    Chapter 888 ckjack''s Position

    ckjack hadn¡¯t gotten involved just yet. He was true to his word when he said that he was observing the situation. Thest time he had fought with the Warden, she had done the same thing but had yed with his mind a lot more.

    He had constantly attacked her and was fighting against her, and each time he would do a significant amount of damage, then the Warden would just heal it up. After that, she started to use the second power of her horn, the lightning power that would appear all over her body.

    Her body was hard to even touch because of this, and her speed, strength, skill, everything seemed to increase at the same time. In the end, ckjack had no way of defeating her, but there was one thing that was clear.

    A great amount of her strength was from her Altered form, which was why ckjack thought it was a great opportunity to have Gary here. The issue was after watching her for a while, ckjack had figured out something.

    ¡®It¡¯s hard to believe, but the Warden has gotten strongerpared to our fight fromst time. It''s hard to believe, and in the meantime, I¡¯ve just been withering about in this ce¡­ have they forgotten about me?¡¯ ckjack thought.

    With this in mind, there was no choice, all he could do now was join in the fight ande up with an opportunity to fight.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get the most annoying one first.¡± The Warden eximed and sparked moving from her position. The person she was aiming for was Ice.

    However, Gary had lifted his hands both above his head and blocked the punch. At the same time, Ice somewhat knew this was going to happen and went to swing his club to hit her.

    However, she had moved to the side and zapped away again. As this urred though, there was one person already waiting for her.

    ¡°Did you forget that there is someone that can keep up with your speed!¡± ckjack said as he went to swipe his hands. As he did, arge pulsating red power left his hands and hit the Warden.

    The attack cut up the ground simrly to Gary¡¯s and pushed her even further than that. Landing on the floor, ckjack moved in and threw several cards out that were covered in the same red energy.

    Before they hit the Warden though, lightning came out from her horn and exploded out from her body, stopping the cards from piercing her and falling onto the floor. However, at that moment, Gary hadtched onto her position and held onto her from behind.

    [Your body is continuously being struck; your health is decreasing by the second.]

    Gary tightened his grip around the Warden harder than ever.

    ¡°If you can get rid of the Ice, then we¡¯ll just have toe up with another n to keep you still!¡±

    Right then, Ice swung his club as hard as he could and hit the Warden straight in the stomach. The blow was extremely heavy that it lifted both Gary and the Warden off the ground.

    The strange lightning powers had increased, and Gary''s body was no longer reacting how he wanted it to, forcing him to let go. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His transformation was acting slightly weird as well as it was reverting back. As he fell to the floor, he felt like he had more control of himself.

    [175/300 HP]

    ¡®I¡¯m not extremely low on health; I can still fight, but the lightning it¡¯s also draining my energy as well. This fight is proving tough even with all three of us.¡¯

    Ice was trying to follow up with more attacks, but the Warden had already moved away, and in the middle of moving away and wiping her mouth, the horn was glowing once again, healing her bodypletely.

    ¡°What is going on, she¡¯s standing again like nothing has hit her!¡± Garyined and was frustrated. ¡°Does her power never run out?¡±

    ¡°When I went against her, this was the problem that I had as well,¡± ckjack said, appearing by their side. ¡°In this sense, no matter how lucky I was, I still wasn¡¯t able to best her.¡±

    This was ckjack¡¯s worry: did the Warden¡¯s power even run out? They had to fight as if they assumed it didn¡¯t, and now he had nothing else he could do but one thing: rely on Gary.

    ¡°You need to bite her,¡± ckjack whispered. ¡°If you want to win this fight and take this person out, then you need to fully transform and bite her, and that will take her powers away.¡±

    Gary was a bit stunned¡­ he could take her powers away? From a bite, if he remembered Midwak had stated something simr, but it wasn¡¯t a permanent ability. The thing was, how would ckjack even know that?

    ¡°What are you¡­ how?¡± Gary was a bit stumbled and was thinking back to the powers he had seen him use so far. There hadn¡¯t been a single transformation from him. His body features hadn¡¯t changed, but when he sensed his power, there was a strong urge in him.

    ¡°I know what you are, Gary, and I confirmed it when you bit Stinger before. You can take away her powers, and we can live to fight against her another day. She won¡¯t kill us; that¡¯s how confident she is in her own strength. We have to be smart about this,¡± ckjack answered.

    Waiting, though, wasn¡¯t an option for Gary. Even if he bit her and she lost her powerster on, it would mean even longer for them.

    ¡°As for the question you asked as to what I am, I am a member of the Fortuna Family. A knight of the 9th family!¡± ckjack answered as he started to unleash his power; his eyes were glowing more, and his teeth were elongating.

    ****

 Chapter 889 Give Her A Bite!

    Chapter 889 Give Her A Bite!

    Since Gary was currently positioned behind ckjack, he was unable to see the changes that were urring in his body, but he heard his words well.

    ¡®He¡¯s some kind of Knight, like those people in the past that usedrge swords¡­that makes no sense?¡¯ Gary thought with a raised eyebrow. It also didn¡¯t fit with the standardness of an Altered, and neither did his powers.

    ¡®Either way, if he¡¯s taking this fight more seriously, that will be good for the rest of us.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ckjack moved from his position, and he was fast, perhaps just as fast as Gary at this point. The strange red energy had gathered around his fists, and he began to clobber them against the Warden.

    His fists were hitting her in the sides, and in all the right ces, and each time he would hit, a strange red aura would burst out, giving the hit more power.

    Something strange was happening as well; at times, it looked like the Warden could see where the attack wasing from. She was trying to defend and protect herself from it, but the attacks would still fit in, not just that, they were hurting more than a normal attack usually would.

    ¡®I can¡¯t just sit back and watch; I need to act as well. If it¡¯s going this well, it¡¯s quite possible we can win this fight.¡¯

    Gary charged forward, and rather than using his full transformed form, he was still using his partial transformation. The main reason why was so he could use more of his skills. His full Werewolf form gave him the edge on stats but would take up more energy being in that form.

    However, saving that energy, he could use it in his skills instead. Gary came charging in and punched the Warden right in the stomach as hard as he could; with his other hand, he used a w sh, cutting her up.

    Both ckjack and Gary were hitting the Warden one after the other. Her horn was starting to glow and spark. At that point, Gary pushed off both of his feet, hitting her hard in the stomach.

    The attack was so powerful it pushed the Warden away from the two of them, and the Warden crashed against the prison wall.

    ¡°Ice!¡± Gary shouted.

    ¡°I¡¯m already here!¡± Ice swung hisrge club once again and bashed it right into the Warden¡¯s face. The hard horn had pierced through his club, but the hit had sunk the Warden¡¯s head deep into the wall.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡± ckjack said, baring his teeth at Gary. ¡°I already told you what to do; why does your kind never listen!¡±

    ¡°If we can beat her here and now, then the quicker we get out of this ce!¡± Gary shouted back.

    The two''s focuses werepletely different. ckjack was thinking ahead; maybe if they somehow pulled off beating the Warden, then what? With no energy left, how were they to escape?

    It was best to take out the Warden with ease and move on from there. Now, the two of them were ring at each other, and in the middle of their ring, they could see the sparkse out from the corner of their eyes.

    The club had broken apart, shattering onto the floor. Ice lifted up his shield to protect him at that point, but the Warden quickly used her speed to move to the side, and an electrified fist bashed right into his side.

    She continued to move, hitting Ice in the head, the side, and all over. Both Gary and ckjack, seeing this, decided to charge forward. They went to hit the Warden, but the Warden didn¡¯t even look away.

    Gary¡¯s fist hit her in the side, ckjack hit her from the other side, but the Warden continued, never giving up as she got up again and again, hitting Ice over and over, non-stop.

    His whole body was getting electrocuted, making it hard to move. Then with arge hit, the Warden¡¯s horn lit up and bashed into Ice¡¯s face at the same time. The electrifying hit was bigger than the others, and the power caused Ice to go flying and crashing into the other end of the wall.

    The Warden stood there, with multiple cuts andrge wounds on her body due to what Gary and ckjack had done so far, but then in front of their eyes once again, all of the wounds were healing.

    ¡®If she knows she¡¯s going to heal from our attacks, even wounds like that, then she can just focus on attacking one of us all out. And heal herself; she¡¯s going to take us out one by one,¡¯ ckjack thought.

    ¡°We can¡¯t keep arguing among ourselves!¡± ckjack said. ¡°We agreed to fight, to get out of this together. Let¡¯s just go with this; I¡¯ll go all out and keep her at bay; when you see the chance, give her a good bite.

    ¡°At least then, we have the chance to escape at ater time; after that, you do whatever you want to do, and try to take her out. That way, at least my n will be a backup n.¡± ckjack answered. ¡°But, you can¡¯t just bite her like that; you need to fully transform.¡±

    What ckjack said made a lot of sense; Gary rarely used his mouth in a fight because he was used to fighting as if he was in an AFC match, only at sometimes had he resorted to more of his instincts.

    ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with one of you, so now which one of you should I go for next?¡± The Warden said, looking at them both, as fresh as when she started the fight.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Gary answered.

    [Full transformation]

    ¡°Now we no longer have Ice; we need to start performing stronger attacks anyway! I¡¯ll bite her head off!¡± Gary answered.

    ---

 Chapter 890 Time For Garys Plan!

    Chapter 890 Time For Gary''s n!

    With Ice seemingly out of the picture, it was time for Gary to go all out, and that¡¯s exactly what he would do. He didn¡¯t have much energy to use his skills, but with his newly improved stats, he was sure to be even stronger than before.

    With his new improved stats, heshed out, diving straight ahead at the Warden, running at her.

    ¡°So, this is your full transformation; do you think it¡¯s going to make a difference?¡± The Warden eximed, but suddenly Gary¡¯s fist was right in front of her.

    She lifted both of her hands up in an X shape to stop the overthrowing arm, and it banged right up against her with full force. The moment it made contact, her horn electrified, hitting Gary at the same time, but her body was pushed back by the strength of the blow, skidding her feet across the ground.

    ¡®The hit was heavier than before, extremely heavy!¡¯ Before the Warden could react, though, she felt the werewolf grab her by her wrists; with pure strength, Gary ripped her arms, moving them to the side.

    Her arms were shaking, and her whole body was electrified, yet Gary was still able to hold on and pull the arms apart.

    ¡®In his full transformation, it seems like he¡¯s more resistant to my powers! But if he could do this, then why hadn¡¯t he done it from the beginning?¡¯ The Warden thought.

    As soon as her arms were pulled apart, Gary jumped up in the air with both of his legs, and swung out both of his feet, performing a dropkick right to her chest, sending her back.

    ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t forget about me as well!¡± ckjack said as he was standing in the perfect position, right from behind; he gave a fist right in her spine, making a popping crack sound. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Red aura flowed out from the other side. Yet, her horn was lighting up again, and was healing her body. With it, she wildly swung behind her; it had hit ckjack perfectly on the face, sending him bouncing on the floor before he got up again, wiping the mark that had been left behind.

    Now it was Gary¡¯s turn as he came in, swinging his fists, and jumping about the ce, trying to get a good hit in. The Warden was blocking each of the hits and was getting hurt by them, but it was useless with the healing abilities she had.

    That¡¯s when he grabbed onto one of the arms of the Warden and pulled it out. He opened his mouth ready for a bite; opening it up wide, he chomped right into her arm, drawing out blood.

    Immediately with her other hand, she repeatedly punched Gary in the head several times again and again; the pain was building up.

    [98/300 HP]

    ¡®After taking so many hits, my HP is bound to go down by arge amount.¡¯

    Eventually, the buildup of the lightning hits had gotten to Gary; his mouth opened wide, and she delivered a strong kick to his stomach, sending him away. At the same time from the other side, she could see ckjack in the air.

    She avoided two of the red aura shes in the air, moving to the side, then grabbed him by the arm and hurled him to the floor. His body bounced on the concrete again sending him to be right by Gary¡¯s side.

    ckjack was hurt, but bearing through the pain, he got up with his fellow ally. ¡°Haha, you did it, you did it!¡± ckjack said as he could see the bite mark on her arm. With this, his mission was done.

    Yet, the horn had lit up on the Warden¡¯s head once more, and right in front of their eyes, they saw it. They saw the bite mark healing up and her arm going back to as if it was new.

    ¡°What in the¡­¡± ckjack said.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m starting to realize you¡¯re an idiot,¡± Gary replied. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we think this would happen?¡±

    When ckjack thought about it more, he realized how much of an idiot he might have just been. The Unicorn was a Mythical creature, and not much was known about their powers.

    However, through myths, it was said that the horn was able to heal all ailments, poisons, diseases, and so on. In the first ce, the effect of a Werewolf bite didn¡¯t work immediately; it was something that took time in the body.

    Then eventually, the effects of the bite wouldpletely fade as well. So with the Unicorn Altered''s powers, the bite would just heal; it would have no further effect.

    Maybe if for whatever reason the Warden decided not to heal the bite, it would eventually have an effect, but who would do that? Right now, it was safe to say, even though Gary had sessfully bitten the Warden, in a week¡¯s time, she would bepletely fine still.

    ¡°She might be the only Altered in the world that won¡¯t be affected by your bite¡­ our n, it¡¯s ruined, we won¡¯t be able to make it out of here,¡± ckjack said.

    ¡°Screw that,¡± Gary replied. ¡°We tried your n, your methods, and it didn¡¯t work; that just means we now need to try my n. We¡¯re going to take her out here and now!¡± Gary imed.

    ¡°And how do you expect to do that, if she can heal all the time, we¡¯ve lost this. It¡¯s important in battles to know when to surrender,¡± ckjack replied.

    ¡°And it¡¯s important to know when to not,¡± Gary replied as he looked at the Warden, his upper lip quivering. ¡°This time, we go with my n; you can attack from far away with that red aura of yours, right? What I want you to do is just attack in that general direction as much as you can.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about hitting me or her; just try and do as much damage as you can, and don¡¯t stop!¡±

    ---

 Chapter 891 The Bite, Im An Idiot

    Chapter 891 The Bite, I''m An Idiot

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about hitting you?¡± ckjack asked, but before the question was even answered, Gary was already running forward and heading right for the Warden.

    ¡°You want me to give you support, but that¡¯s going to be hard to do¡­¡± ckjack said, looking around; he then quickly dived to one of the bodies by the side. Right now, he was going with the flow, and trusting this young wolf of all things.

    As he went to one of the dead on the ground, he sunk in his teeth, and his eyes started to glow as the blood entered through him.

    ¡°You said not to worry about hitting you or not; you better not regret it!¡± ckjack said.

    When Gary charged in toward the Warden, he went for an overhand swing again and started to punch and swing his arms widely at the Warden. He didn¡¯t care about whether it hit the Warden or not; instead, he was focusing on delivering blows at full force.

    The Warden in response was blocking the hits with a single arm, but could feel pain and struck back, hitting Gary on his side. Once again, the Warden could see another heavy strike and went to block the strike; using her arm again though, the bone from the inside could be felt breaking as the attack was blocked.

    Still, the Warden didn¡¯t worry about that and took another strike, hitting Gary on the side of his head, causing blood toe out from his mouth.

    [44/300 HP]

    ¡°I have to admit, it¡¯s tough taking you down, but I should let you know that I can do this all day!¡± The Warden shouted as her arm started to heal, and two electrified hits crashed into both sides of Gary¡¯s head.

    He felt a great amount of pain at that point, but he still continued; he knocked the arms away and gave a blow of his own toward her stomach.

    Right after that, from the side, several lines of red aura came out from the side aiming radically at both of them. The Warden, seeing this, wanted to move, but before she could, she felt Gary grab her wrist.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy; you will get hit as well.¡±

    As the Warden said those words, the strike stuck through Gary¡¯s fur, causing him to bleed and cut up the Warden as well.

    ¡°I can heal, but here you¡¯re just killing yourself!¡± The Warden imed.

    ¡°That¡¯s just what you think,¡± Gary replied.

    [Last Stand Level 3 has been activated]

    ¡°Keep theming!¡± Gary shouted.

    A flurry of red aura slices went through the air, hitting the two of them, and Gary¡¯s body was taking every one along with the Warden. At the same time, her body was healing the wounds, but as Gary was getting hit, he wasn¡¯t just standing there.

    He activated his w Drain skill and started to swing his hands while using his w sh skill as well. The Warden was getting hit from all over, her body being ripped to shreds, to the point where she was unable to even strike back.

    Her horn continued to pulsate and glow, healing and electrifying her body at the same time. Gary was still taking the hits from ckjack, who was continuing to fire them away, seeing the blood being sttered on the floor and the cuts across his body.

    ¡®Is this¡­ is this Last Stand!¡¯ ckjack thought as he relentlessly was swinging his arms away. ¡®But this skill is extremely rare among Werewolves. As far as I know¡­ it¡¯s something that''s only given to Alpha Werewolves and their partners¡­ is he¡­ is he really one? But that makes no sense¡­¡¯ ckjack thought but he had to continue.

    One of the traits of the leveled-up Last Stand skill was during the duration of the skill, not only was he impossible to kill, but he also had an unlimited amount of energy to use.

    Gary, in his full Werewolf form, was continuing to use his skills among other things against the Warden; both of them were bombarding her. Then, seeing her continuously heal, Gary was pulling everything he could out of his body, until he leapt on top of her.

    He clicked his legs around her waist and held on.

    At this point, seeing how the attacks would only hit Gary, ckjack had finally stopped his attacks.

    Gary on top of the Warden had caused her to fall to the ground, and with both of his arms, he continuously swiped at her face, ripping the skin off as fast as it was healing up.

    At the same time, his w Drain skill being activated was allowing him to heal up as well. With his w Drain now at level 3, not only did it restore his health, but also restored part of his energy as long as he got a sessful hit.

    All of this was now adding up, and he was no longer getting hit.

    Right as Gary continued to attack, he grabbed onto the horn at that point with both of his hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s this thing right, it¡¯s this thing that keeps on healing, so let me rip it off!¡± Gary pulled and pulled, but no matter how hard he pulled, it seemed like he was unable to detach it from the head.

    Trying everything he could, his natural instincts were taking over, and opening up his mouth wide, he decided to bite down. With the strength of his jaw, he crashed through the horn.

    The Warden, feeling all of this pain, kicked Gary as hard as she could, knocking him off from his body.

    When Garynded on the ground and got up from the floor, in his mouth, the horn could be seen. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I saw it up close,¡± Gary said, as he pulled the piece of horn out from his mouth. ¡°When Ice hit it earlier, there was a crack in it¡­ and now, you can¡¯t heal, can you?¡± Gary asked.

    Both ckjack and Gary could see it. The wound from her horn, part of her face was cut up and bleeding, yet it was no longer glowing or lighting up. The power of her horn was gone.

 Chapter 892 Give Me Your Strength

    Chapter 892 Give Me Your Strength

    Small sparks appeared around the Warden¡¯s horn. It lit up slightly by the stump, but it was doing nothing to her body. It was unable to fully heal her wounds, andpared to before, she was huffing and panting; it was clear she was tired now that her horn had been taken away.

    ¡°I never would have thought such a strong Altered would have a weakness like this,¡± ckjack said. ¡°Man, with the bite and this, I¡¯ve really been losing my brain cells rotting away in this prison. If the others found out about this, they would never give me the time of day.¡±

    At the same time, Gary¡¯sst stand skill had finished, but he was fine. He had arge amount of his health regained from the w Drain as well as his energy. He wouldn¡¯t be able to use the skill anymore for a while, though, which was a major issue.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t want to use the skill, but I had no choice,¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®Now, it¡¯s going to be even harder to get out of this ce, but we needed to win this fight.¡¯

    Gary lifted his head, looked at the Warden; now in this state, there was no longer any worry for them. Already injured, they just had to finish off their enemy, and as if the Warden knew it herself, she couldn¡¯t help but start tough.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± The Wardenughed. ¡°Do you really n to get rid of me, to stop me here? You got rid of my horn, but it will grow back eventually. But you should know the position that you are in right now.

    ¡°You think if you defeat me you¡¯ve escaped from this prison. It¡¯s quite the opposite; for you, Gary, it will mean you¡¯re stuck in here forever.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t charge forward; he was wondering what she had to say in herst moments.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her; let¡¯s just take her out!¡± ckjack added.

    ¡°I looked into your case,¡± the Warden replied. ¡°The circumstances of why you have been put in this ce are quite suspicious. There¡¯s a good chance that eventually, someone will find something, and your case will be thrown out of the window.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You are different from the rest of these; you are not meant to be in here. But if you take me out now, if you kill me, and you try to break out, that will be added to your crimes. You will be a real criminal. The entirety of the White Rose will be your enemy; they will chase you for the rest of your life.¡±

    ckjack went to look over at Gary to see if the Warden¡¯s words were convincing him; instead, they were surprised to see he was already walking toward the Warden.

    ¡°You are wrong about what you said; it seems you don¡¯t know much about me,¡± Gary said as he continued to walk and tense his fist. His face transformation was turning back to normal, and he was in his partially transformed state now.

    It was easier for him to talk this way without therge teeth getting in the way, and it was best for him to conserve his energy right now.

    ¡°I am not a good person,¡± Gary answered. ¡°I am part of a gang, the Howlers Gang, and not just a part of it, but my position is the leader, and as a leader, there are times when I have to do things I don¡¯t want to do, but it¡¯s all for the sake of protecting my gang.¡±

    Gary lifted up his head, and his eyes were glowing red as he looked right at the Warden.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do these things, but it¡¯s because of the way the world currently is that my hand has been forced to at least protect the ones that I care about!¡±

    Gary charged forward, and the Warden, seeing this, wanted to use thest of her power to zap away to the second floor. She could seal the door from the outside and lock those in. It would hold them back at least until the others came from the White Rose.

    When trying to move her feet, though, they were stuck in the ground; looking down, she could see that they were covered in ice.

    ¡°I will hold you down,¡± Ice said on the floor with his hands spread out on the floor. ¡°Without your horn, you can¡¯t break free, right? I promised to help him, to help him protect people, and you are in the way!¡±

    The Warden looked down at her feet; she didn¡¯t see iting, the fist full of strength crashing right into her head. A punch so strong that the ice broke from her feet. She flew in the air, blood dripping out from her mouth until she crashed on the other side of the prison, right toward the exit and entrance that she was protecting.

    The Warden¡¯s body had made arge crater in the wall when itnded; her head sunk down toward the floor, blood dripping out of her mouth, lifeless at that moment.

    With all three of them, they had sessfully not just defeated the South and North group but had also sessfully defeated the Warden.

    After delivering the punch, Gary continued to walk forward towards the Warden¡¯s body. The other guards that had lined up on the side of the prison; none of them dared to move toe towards him.

    After delivering the punch, the whole prison felt like it had gotten deathly silent, waiting for some type of order from the one who had managed to clear every obstacle in his way.

    Finally, Gary reached the Warden¡¯s body.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you were strong because your strength will now be added to mine, and I will use that to help my friends and family.¡±

    ---

 Chapter 893 The Start Of The Prison Break

    Chapter 893 The Start Of The Prison Break

    The guards in the prison were frozen in ce. Everything that had happened so far, it was an unprecedented matter. How were they meant to act? Who was in the next chain ofmand, and what were they to do?

    They just stood there as they watched, and not just them, the entire prison watched. Stinger was still cowering, somewhat pleased that he didn¡¯t go full force into his attack.

    Then there were the rest of the prisoners that had been spared. They were surprised to see that the three of them had so much strength still, enough to defeat the Warden.

    From this whole affair, it made one thing quite simple: Gary was the king of the prison; he had proven that he was the strongest out of them all.

    Still, they were all staring in his direction, and it was for one reason. They could see Gary picking up the Warden¡¯s body bit by bit and tearing into her with his sharp fangs.

    They had seen the sight happen already, but now they were witnessing him do it without their own situations going on. They were witnessing a person eat another. Gary was doing it with ease at this point, as if there was no one watching him at all.

    Standing up still hurt from his injuries, Ice then mmed his foot on the ground, and an ice wall was summoned out from the ground, blocking the view from the others. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What are you all staring at, unless you want to be next?¡± Ice eximed.

    ckjack was still somewhat in disbelief; the difficult Altered opponent he had gone against, the Warden of the prison that was stopping him from going to the outside world had finally been defeated, and it wasn¡¯t in the fashion that he thought it would be.

    ¡®Gary was stronger than I thought, his strength had increased considerably, but the amount of skills he had. I¡¯m sure of it, for him to have survived all those attacks before, that had to be the Last Stand skill, a skill only given to Alphas. This means that there is a chance that there are two Alphas.¡¯

    ¡®I have a feeling it means a war is imminent. This world might not have to worry about Altereds and gangs existing anymore. As there is a group farrger than them that is about to sh. Oh well, it¡¯s best not to think of that for now.¡¯

    ¡®I should just think of my own situation, because this was not part of the n. Now we are ying things by ear as to what to do next. We have to escape now; we have no choice, which means facing everyone on the outside.¡¯

    The one good thing was the guards that were frozen in fear; this matter had yet to be reported. As soon as they got out of the ce, though, there was no chance for them to just sneak around.

    They would be caught in no time; what they had to do was just to run as fast as they could towards the walls and climb over them. Leaving the area and never looking back.

    Thinking about that, ckjack thought he should also increase his own strength. He lifted one of the bodies off the ground and ced its neck up to his mouth.

    He held it there for a few seconds before dropping the body to the floor. Blood covered his mouth. The prisoners seeing this might have been shocked, but after seeing what Gary had done, this was far less shocking for them.

    ¡°So what happens now, there¡¯s no Warden?¡±

    ¡°Does that mean the only people that are looking over us are these guards?¡±

    ¡°If we get rid of them, we can just run out and exit, right?¡± the prisoners eximed.

    A chance was appearing for them, a chance of freedom.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Ice shouted. ¡°No one is to harm the guards; they are regr people. If you wish to get out of this ce, then just head for the door. I don¡¯t believe the guards will risk their life to stop you, so there is no point in harming them.¡±

    This might be the opportunity that ckjack was looking for; if the rest of the prisoners also broke out, the White Rose would be spread more thinly going after them, rather than going after the rest of the group.

    Having made up the next part of his n, Gary was also done with consuming the Warden. As he stood up, his body was digesting the food; his energy was restored along with his health, and it was the strongest he had felt since Kirk after consuming someone.

    ¡®This power I can feel, is this what it¡¯s like to consume Mythical type Altered? I can¡¯t believe it¡­ my stats have increased considerably.¡¯

    One of the main stats that had raised surprisingly out of all of them was Gary¡¯s health.

    [300HP >>>> 500HP]

    Gary¡¯s health had been at 300 for a long time, believing his energy was important because it allowed him to heal. He also increased his endurance stat, which would make him lose less HP.

    However, along with that, there was another stat that had improved as well.

    [Endurance 90 >>> 100]

    [Your Endurance stat has now maxed out.]

    [Your body is the strongest a Werewolf of your caliber can be.]

    ¡®Of my caliber? Does that mean that there are other Werewolves that could have stronger Endurance, I wonder. Either way, though, I can tell, with the health and Endurance increase, I¡¯ve be a strong tank!¡¯

    And finally, Gary had also received one more thing: enough Exp to get to the next Level.

    [Congrattions! You are now Level 40]

    [Conditions for ss Upgrade have been unlocked]

    [Reach Level 50]

    [Increase Grade Ranking to Queen]

    The requirements were set for Gary to reach his next stage of his Werewolf life, but he had to escape now.

    ---

 Chapter 894 Underground To The Surface

    Chapter 894 Underground To The Surface

    After having consumed the Warden, Gary looked back at what he had done for a moment. In reality, the Warden was just doing her job; her ce here was to stop the prisoners from escaping.

    To her, Gary was a criminal whether or not he had been wrongly ced here. Certainly, he had seen his fair share of people who deserved to be in the prison. Yet, he had to take the Warden''s life for two reasons.

    One, that at any cost she did what she could to stop him from getting out of the prison, because he was a criminal. The second¡­ although he didn¡¯t want to admit it, part of him needed the power he would gain.

    From his experience of being put into the prison in the first ce through the powers of the Phoenix Gang, Gary knew he had to get stronger. The power of one of the Kings was beyond what he had expected.

    They had great influence in multiple systems, and they were even able to take out Austin at the level he was, even though he was strong and a Mythical type Altered. The strength of the higher members in the Phoenix Gang were to be sure to have a lot of power and that included Sin.

    If he wanted to help his friends, or the people in his city survive along with the rest of them, he needed to get stronger; there was no option. He had killed those he didn¡¯t want to before; he had consumed those that wanted to carry on living.

    Perhaps, these actions had now made Gary a hypocrite in his thinking. For his gang, he himself had be someone he didn¡¯t want to, but it was all for the sake of survival and protecting himself.

    He understood to a degree why gangs at one point or another had to show their strength. Eliminating a small group of people with overwhelming power was a way to stop war, a way to stop others, and the Howlers Gang, due to Gary¡¯s belief, had been passive in this way of thinking.

    He looked at his hand that was covered in blood for a moment, and then looked at the staircase above. The criminals that had been contained, they were rushing up and heading towards the exit.

    ¡®The new ss quest I received,¡¯ Gary thought to himself. ¡®Escaping from the prison will give me the quest reward of bing a Queen Grade Werewolf. That will unlock one of the ss upgrade conditions.¡¯

    ¡®But getting to level 50 will be difficult. The amount of Exp required has increased dramatically each time. I get small amounts for just defeating Altered and nothing for beating the general mobsters I see.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡®There won¡¯t be many situations where I meet people as strong as the Warden. Even if I was to fight everyone I came across, I doubt I would be able to reach level fifty before I meet up with those in the Phoenix Gang; my current strength and stats will just have to do!¡¯

    Gary could feel the presence of one of the othersing up behind him.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s okay to leave now,¡± ckjack said. ¡°I can hear it; I can hear that the others have already left the main prison. They must have found the keys and are opening up all the gates.

    ¡°Then they should be heading up the stairs. It will take a while for the White Rose to respond to it because they probably never expected a prison escape to happen. When they send the White Rose members to deal with them, that will give us the best chance to burst through all of this!¡±

    Gary agreed, and he immediately jumped up, grabbing onto the railing of the second floor and pulled himself over. Ice took a big leap and reached the top, while ckjack quickly appeared by his side.

    The three of them could see some prisoners still trying to escape, and this would be good for them to blend in with as well. While running through the halls, although they could pass many of the other prisoners, they slowed their pace down for two reasons.

    One, both ckjack and Gary were faster than Ice and needed to slow themselves down, and the second reason, they wanted to blend in with the other prisoners.

    ¡°I wanted to ask something about what you said back there, that you''re some type of knight, is that rted to your Altered powers?¡± Gary asked.

    ckjack let out a littleugh.

    ¡°You really are a newbie, aren¡¯t you?¡± ckjack replied. ¡°You know, for an ancient species that existed even before us, I thought your group would have taught you a lot about us. Just think about it a little more, I know what you really are, and know what you can do. Are there many that would know that, and to top it off, I¡¯m not one of you.¡±

    The way ckjack was speaking, it was as if he was talking in riddles, but thinking about what he said more, he remembered something that Midwak had informed him about. That there was another species out there that the other Werewolves were worrying about more.

    About who Marie and Olivia hade across in the forest one time.

    ¡°You¡¯re a¡­ vampire,¡± Gary whispered quietly; for some reason, it still felt embarrassing for him to say, even though he himself was a Werewolf.

    ¡°Now you might know why your nose tingles a bit when you see me. It''s a built-in trait of yours for how long our two races have been at battle for,¡± ckjack exined. ¡°A bit like a dog, who eventually bes domesticated, you have grown to have a natural reaction to us, and look at us now, we''re working together.¡±

    Of all ces Gary expected to meet a vampire, he didn¡¯t expect to meet one in prison. However, he wasn¡¯t aware of the history because he didn¡¯t grow up with the other Werewolves, but he wondered, when all of this was over, would they be enemies or friends.

    ¡°The exit is just up ahead at the end of this staircase!¡± ckjack eximed.

 Chapter 895 White Rose Panic

    Chapter 895 White Rose Panic

    The White Rose base was an incrediblyrge structure, with the center of the building looking more like a giant castle with its tall, leaning spires. Around the building itself, there were also several departments that worked together.

    Different buildings housed different teams organizing a number of different things. For one, the White Rose epted many donations to continue doing their work. They also connected with other organizations based in other countries.

    At times, situations could be dire in other countries, and support teams would need to be sent to help out. Not only that, but the White Rose base city was a ce where government officials would gather.

    Those that needed protection from others that ran their cities. An image was kept up; the government was there for the people. Their decisions andws were there to protect the people.

    The centralized government was protected by the White Rose, who upheld thew for the people when things got tough. However, everyone knew on a smaller scale, it was the gangs that ran the cities.

    Therge tier 1 cities and further down. The government was powerless to do much against them, apart from creating a stalemate by having the White Rose organization to stop chaos and all-out war taking ce.

    In turn, high officials that made such decisions needed to be kept safe, otherwise, the Kings would have even more power than they did. Which was why the strongest members were kept in Centerfield, the city where the White Rose resided.

    The big base was almost like a theme park, with its paved walkways, nted trees, grand gardens, and more. The White Rose members enjoyeding back to the base as they went from one building to another.

    It was a busyplex, and as some members were walking in their white and gold uniforms from one building to the other, they noticed something.

    Running out from the court building, the door had broken off and a group of people in white bloody clothes hade out.

    ¡°Is that the prisoners!¡± One of the agents shouted. ¡°They''reing out from the courtroom!¡±

    The prisoners could be seen swarming out; they weren¡¯t running in one direction because the ce was sorge that they had no clue which was the closest ce to the exit. Some would even try their luck in scaling the walls if they were toe across one.

    Many of the White Rose members had spotted what had urred and started to transform. As they did, they bolted across the floor in their forms and attacked the prisoners, pinning them down to the ground.

    At the same time, though, the prisoners, seeing their chance at victory, were transforming as well. One, growing into arge muscr grey-skinned Altered with a horn, charged forward and rammed right past two of the White Rose agents.

    The prisoner crashed into them, pushing them down to the side and onto the floor.

    ¡°Zip Zap!¡± one of the White Rose agents shouted while on the floor. ¡°You have to hurry and inform the higher-ups, one of the Chiefs, or the Constables. This is mayhem, the prisoners have escaped!¡±

    Zip Zap, a White Rose agent, had transformed his legs and he was on the run. For the first time ever, prisoners had broken out of the prison and many were wondering how this was possible with the Warden being present. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    However, escaping wasn¡¯t going to be easy. As one of the prisoners reached the wall, arge web shot out, catching and hitting the Altered. It wasn¡¯t a man-made, but felt like an organic one from an Altered¡¯s powers.

    The man in general wasrge in size with a huge potbelly and a cigar in his mouth. He had his hand held out pointed toward the prisoners. This man was Chief Opptus.

    ¡°Prisoners are escaping, who took out Lia!¡± Opptus asked. ¡°Get the squad captains out to deal with the lower agents. I have a feeling that there is a big fry we need to catch. Lia wouldn¡¯t have let anyone out, so it¡¯s best we assume she¡¯s dead.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The three were running up the stairs; the fact that Gary had just learned a new fact about his ally didn¡¯t make a difference right now; they were working together to get out of here.

    What would happen after between the two of them, would have to be sorted then, and if anything he might learn more about himself through them.

    Although ckjack¡¯s n didn¡¯t work out as intended, with the help of both of them, and Ice, Gary was able toe out with a win that might not have been possible without the two of them.

    Reaching the top of the stairs, they were now in the back room of the courthouse. Gary remembered being dragged through the ce when he was waiting for his trial. They continued to move and there was no need to burst through doors because several of them were already broken.

    When rushing in, they were now in the trial room. Gary could see the stand, the seats, and more. This was the ce where he was convicted with ¡®Evidence¡¯ that the other side had brought.

    ¡®How long...how long was I away from Slough for, what is happening right now, I have to find out.¡¯

    Gary rushed through, going ahead, not looking around him and that¡¯s when he heard something.

    ¡°Gary!¡± A voice shouted out.

    Looking to his right in the room, he could see someone in the White Rose uniform.

    ¡°Elijah¡­ what are you doing here?¡±

    Standing next to Elijah, he wasn¡¯t on his own though, an orange-haired middle-aged gentleman was dragging one of the prisoners, and two more White Rose agents could be seen. All three of them were people that they recognized.

    ¡°We¡­ came to break you out of this ce,¡± Elijah answered.

 Chapter 896 Sound The Alarm

    Chapter 896 Sound The rm

    Gary was a little frozen in ce as he looked at Elijah. He remembered the conversations he had with him. He was an ally to him in this dark ce, feeding him information on the outside.

    Yet, why was he with others, others that Gary had all met before? Frank and Sadie, Gary remembered, were the White Rose Agents that had appeared in his city when the incident with Billy had urred.

    On top of that, there was Kanu, a squad leader. Gary had met him during his debut fighting match in the AFC. Due to his opponent being an infected Altered, Kanu hade to deal with the matter.

    "White Rose Agents!" Ice shouted, as he started to charge forward with his club in his hand.

    "No, wait!" Gary shouted, "Don¡¯t attack them, I know them."

    Although honestly, he was only sure about Elijah; he wasn¡¯t sure about the others.

    "What do you mean?" ckjack said, moving forward. "These guys are White Rose Agents, they''re here to stop us, he¡¯s even holding onto one of the prisoners."

    ckjack was pointing at Kanu who was dragging one of the others but immediately let go and dropped him onto the floor.

    "Hey, he attacked us, but I¡¯m not so surprised with the situation the way it is," Kanu answered.

    Elijah gestured for them to move forward and off to the side. There were still some prisoners that were climbing to the top of the stairs, but as long as they got out of the way, they would continue to run out of the courtroom and into the outside.

    The prisoners weren¡¯t trying to fight every White Rose Agent they came across; just one of them happened to be a little crazy and had attacked their small group, with Kanu swiftly dealing with them.

    "We never expected all of this to happen, for an entire prison break to ur, what went on down there?" Elijah asked.

    "What does it look like, we beat the Warden and broke out," ckjack answered, still being on the defensive as they were talking to White Rose Agents.

    However, Gary seemed to trust them, and ckjack didn¡¯t have a good n to continue from here. The other prisoners weren¡¯t thinking and just running out, but he guaranteed that not a single one of them would be able to escape. At least not with their strength.

    "You defeated the Warden?" Kanu said, surprised. Being a squad leader, he knew more about the Warden''s strength than any of the others. It was no simple task. The Warden was at least as strong as the Chiefs.

    Although there were some exceptions among captains like himself. In most cases, Chiefs were incredibly strong.

    "I see, honestly we were here because we were on our way to break you out," Elijah said nervously. "Kanu was going to distract the Warden while we headed inside and brought you out of this ce, but now that things have gotten like this, we''re going to have to change our n a bit."

    Hearing what Elijah said, Gary thought that if he had just waited a little longer then there didn¡¯t have to be too many deaths, but then again. If he had broken out with Elijah¡¯s help, then how would he have gained the strength he has now?

    If he was the same Gary as before, he might have been too weak to go up against Sin.

    "I understand you helping me, but what about the others?" Gary asked.

    "You can trust them," Elijah vouched. "They wouldn¡¯t have agreed to this n otherwise. There are some big things going on in the White Rose itself. Things that need fixing, things that you don¡¯t need to worry about, what you need to do is hurry up and go to Slough, they need you there;

    "Us breaking you out the rest of the way, is the best that we can do."

    Nodding along, they decided it was best for them to follow Kanu. They were White Rose Agents and knew the ce well, and now with the group bigger in size, they had exited out of the courtroom.

    Running around Kanu was going to the exit that would bring them the least amount of trouble, the least amount of agents for them to get through.

    "Do me a favor, will you, if wee across White Rose Agents and need to fight, don¡¯t kill them, they''re just following orders, and it will only slow us down anyway, attack and head straight forward," Kanu ordered.

    Gary was fine with this; it was his intention anyway, too much blood had already been shed.

    "You''re a squad captain, right?" Gary asked. "Why are you helping me? I don¡¯t understand even if there is distrust in the White Rose base. Wouldn¡¯t you rather solve that first, I mean nothing to you."

    Kanu couldn¡¯t help but smile when he heard this.

    "Gary, you might be a bigger deal to someone than you realize, you see someone from the outside, who¡¯s a close friend of mine asked me to help you out. No matter what the cost was, even if I was to lose my job, I would help him out."

    Gary was a little confused; he didn¡¯t know many people apart from those in the Howlers. Was it really possible that there was someone out there with this type of pull, to affect a captain, and someone that was so old?

    In the middle of his thoughts, a loud sounding rm went off. It was a droning sound that pierced all of their ears constantly, one after the other.

    ckjack and Ice covered their ears for a moment, waiting for them to get used to the sound.

    "What¡¯s that!" Ice asked. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "It means the whole of the White Rose now knows what¡¯s going on, it¡¯s going to be a lot harder to get out," Kanu answered.

 Chapter 897 Alert The White Rose

    Chapter 897 Alert The White Rose

    MWS Chapter

    With the situation on the ground floor in chaos, the White Rose members were split. Some were dealing with those on the ground floor, while others had entered the main buildings trying toin about the situation up thedder.

    Thankfully, Opptus, one of the Chiefs in the White Rose, was justing back from one of his missions.

    He was walking through therge grounds and was there when the outbreak had urred.

    At one of the exits, several prisoners in their uniform were tied up in a hard white substance. They had transformed their Altered bodies but were finding it difficult to break out.

    "Will you guys stop trying to break this stuff!" Opptus shouted as he delivered a fist right to the head of one of the prisoners, knocking them out on the spot.

    "This is no small number of prisoners, it looks like we have a full breakout here, I can hear the panic going on in different areas," Opptus imed.

    "We''ll need to get the Chief Constable to act at this rate. These prisoners are no small fry, there were some big hitters in there, like that guy named Ice. The other areas are going to need more help."

    ¡ª¡ª

    News was traveling fast around the establishment and, just as predicted, in the highest ce, in arge ss-like office, was the Chief Constable''s office.

    He was by hisrge desk, an enormous man who looked to be almost ripping his uniform as his shoulders were as round as his head, casting a shadow over his desk.

    In front of him were the Assistant Chief Constable and the Deputy Chief Constable.

    These three people in the one room were the highest-ranking individuals in the entirety of the White Rose. There was also the Superintendent, but his position was treated separately from the rest of the White Rose, since they were there just to punish the White Rose members.

    "How could this happen!" The Chief yelled, mming the table. Even though he hit the table with arge force and a big bang was produced, the table did not break. It almost looked like he had stopped just inches before his fist had actually hit the table.

    This was the Chief Constable, Don Tinge, one of the founders of the White Rose operation around the world.

    "If any prisoners manage to escape, do you know how much we will lose? Our funding is at risk here. Our image could be ruined and it will affect the White Rose bases all around the world!"

    The shout was so vicious, that Deputy Chief Leon Chen''s sses had nearly fallen off. He promptly ced them back on with his index finger pushing it onto the bridge of his nose.

    "This isn''t just a simple prison break, it appears everyone in the prison has escaped. We already checked the situation, it appears that the Warden is no longer."

    "If someone was able to take out that stubborn b*tch, then it means the prisoners have someone strong on their side. The captains might not be enough to hold them," the Deputy Chief Constable stood up from his chair.

    It was only then that his long frame could be seen as his head nearly hit the ceiling of the building they were in. His long legs, torso, and the rest of his body seemed strange, he didn¡¯t even look like a human, even though he was in his regr form.

    This man was Theodore Tallsworth. With a name like that, one would have expected him to grow tall, and this was his height before he had even be an Altered. This man was special for a number of reasons, not just because he was practically second in charge of the White Rose division, but because he was one of the first Altered to ever exist.

    "Stop!" Don called out. "You can''t join in the fight, if you do, maybe the whole base will be destroyed including the walls. That will just give more chance for the others to escape as well.

    "If funding is pulled we won''t have the funds to even repair the ce. We can say goodbye to our rxing lives. This whole situation is putting a lot of stress on me!" Don said, holding his head. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He pulled something from out under his desk, and a button could be seen. He pressed it with his finger and right after a loud droning rm was sounding through the entire ce.

    Right after, the entrances of the doors were reinforced. Steel barriers could be seening down from each of the entrances covering it entirely. Right now, no one could get in or out.

    Sure there was still the regr part of the walls made with concrete, but a person would have to break through or scale such a thing, and with the rm having been hit, it now meant every White Rose agent was aware that some sort of attack was taking ce.

    Pressing another button, Don started to speak out and the sound was resounded through every speaker in every building of the White Rose.

    "Attention everyone. There has been a breakout in the prison. Never in the history of the White Rose''s inception, in the fifty years we have been here has a person managed to break out, yet now there are prisoners running rampant trying to escape.¡±

    "Everyone is to stop what they are doing immediately, including the Chiefs of each department, and to catch these criminals immediately! Although we have failed in keeping them in the prison, we will not tarnish our reputation more by letting anyone escape from this ce!" Don said, taking his finger away.

    At that moment, after the order was made, every single White Rose agent was on the move. One of the strongest forces in the nation were ready.

 Chapter 898 Bring The Whole Army

    Chapter 898 Bring The Whole Army

    Gary and the rest that were with him had stopped in ce when they had heard the rm. Following Kanu rather than running straight ahead, they had decided to circle around to the back of the courthouse and went toward the exit there. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Not many of the prisoners had decided to do this; a few did, and this was a good and bad strategy because it meant they didn¡¯t have as much chaos to go through.

    Right after hearing the rm, though, they also heard the announcement with it.

    ¡°Come on, we need to keep going, we can¡¯t slow down, otherwise we¡¯ll get caught up in the mess!¡± Kanu answered.

    The group continued to run across mainly gravel on the floor. Out from one of the buildings to the right, arge number of White Rose agents hade out, and their bodies were already starting to transform.

    They leapt on the other prisoners and were engaged inbat, trading blows, but the prisoners were almost quickly dealt with because they were being overwhelmed.

    ¡°Kanu, we never talked about this, what would happen if we were seen with them as well!¡± Sadie asked.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯s there to talk about, we said we would break these guys out, so if we need to fight against other agents, then that means we¡¯ll fight against other agents!¡± Kanu suggested.

    Sadie would have much preferred the original n. To sneak into the prison, take them out, and pretend they were escorting the prisoners around the White Rose base, but with the situation how it was, now it was putting everything at risk.

    Right in front of the group, they could see a squad captain along with his group of ten or so agentse out and stood in the way of Gary¡¯s and the others.

    ¡°Everyone be careful, that¡¯s a squad captain!¡± Kanu shouted out.

    However, Gary had kicked off from where he was, sprinting up ahead, he had leapt over the captain, grabbing him by his head and flipping his body, mming it onto the ground before the captain could even transform.

    He quickly punched one of the members in the face, sending his body spinning in the air, and kicked another in the stomach, sending him flying and his body hitting a tree.

    Right after that, Gary continued on running.

    ¡°Hurry up, we¡¯re getting out of here!¡± Gary shouted, turning back.

    ckjack, and Ice were doing the same, a n of an attack and move, and they did just that. Hitting the people in a way that would result in them not getting back up again and moving.

    Then it was Kanu, Sadie, and Frank¡¯s turn, but they each only had one opponent to deal with because of the others, and swiftly carried on running with the rest of the group.

    ¡°Crap, the prisoners really are strong, did you see what they did!¡± Frank said with a wide smile on his face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good thing that we areplimenting the prisoners'' strength,¡± Sadie replied back.

    Although Kanu kept quiet, he was thinking the same thing. These prisoners weren¡¯t your standard run of the crop. They were able to deal blows to other Altered agents, and not only that, the one that had impressed him most of all was Gary.

    He had taken out a squad leader so quickly, his movements, his strength, among other things.

    ¡®He wasn¡¯t this strong in the AFC, right? I knew he was talented that time, and that he was keeping an eye on him, but to have this much strength.¡¯

    ¡®I guess I know how they were able to take out the Warden now,¡¯ Kanu thought.

    Just up ahead, the wall could be seen along with one of the entrances. It was reinforced with steel, but not the entire wall. With his ws, Gary was sure he could easily scale it, and from the looks of things, there were only two people standing by the gate.

    That was until, the sound of cutting air was heard from above, and going right past them was a helicopter. As it reached the gate, arge thick man had jumped down from the helicopter,nding on the ground.

    He had arge beard with grey hair, and he wasn¡¯t the only one that had jumped from the helicopter. Two squad captains along with a team of twenty people, ten from each squad, had all jumped from the helicopter and stood in the way of the rest of the group.

    Immediately, Kanu stopped, skidding on the ground along with the rest of them.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± therge man said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, our White Rose agents are working with the prisoners in their escape? Now we know why things have turned out this way, no wonder they could get past the Warden. I can¡¯t believe it, of all people it was you, Kanu!¡±

    The man with therge ck beard, Gary had noticed him when he was being transported into the courtroom with the others, he remembered his badge, this was Chief Jones. When seeing him before with his squad leaders, Gary had felt fear back then, but not this time, he didn¡¯t feel the same fear.

    ¡°Crap!¡± ckjack said to himself. ¡°We were so close to the exit as well, and from the sounds of things, everyone really is on the move.¡±

    ckjack was right, all of the agents hade out from their buildings and were protecting the wall, stopping anyone from leaving, and even now behind Gary and the rest of his group, there were Altered agents behind them as well.

    ¡°Just give yourself in!¡± Jones shouted.

    One of the White Rose agents'' arms extended out, it was swirling and had turned into a ck pointed end like an arrow. Right at that moment, Gary grabbed the pointed end, and with his other hand, he grabbed onto the arm and pulled the agent forward.

    The agent was seen in the air flying with the strength of him pulling him forward. As the agent¡¯s body came towards Gary he threw a fist down, punching the agent right to the floor and causing gravel to explode in the center.

    Through the dust of the gravel, Jones could see Gary¡¯s red glowing eyes, and when it settled he could see his agent defeated on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving this prison no matter what!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°If you want to chase me, and take me down, then you''re going to have to bring your whole f*ckin army!¡±

 Chapter 899 The Hero Of The Howlers!

    Chapter 899 The Hero Of The Howlers!

    Crucial fights had been taking ce in the main parts of Slough, with the Phoenix Gang almost in full force attacking the Howlers. They had used everything at their disposal.

    They used politics to try and shut down the business avenues of the Howlers, what held up their business and the gang together, yet that didn¡¯t seem to work, as Kai resisted using everything he could.

    After that, they had directly attacked the Howlers in a small burst from within Slough, trying to strike fear within the group, but instead, Gary had decided to lead the group on a counter-attack, heading straight to the Phoenix Gang¡¯s city.

    However, they had been stopped in the process and the leader of the Howlers was taken away. Still, the attack from the Phoenix Gang didn¡¯t stop there as a bounty had been ced on every individual member of the Howlers.

    Nonstop attacks urred as gangs in the surrounding area had decided toe from all over to get the bounty. Yet that still didn¡¯t stop the Howlers. Using this to their advantage the Phoenix Gang themselves had attacked and with them, the core group members had appeared as well.

    Somehow though, the Howlers held on as they decided to focus on only saving a few areas. In turn, unexpected help had urred in Gary¡¯s father, Dean Dem. Creating multiple loyal members of the Howlers into a pack of Werewolves in order to attack.

    Everything was turning out to be a lot more difficult for the Phoenix Gang, but it felt like for both the Phoenix Gang and the Howlers that they were just hanging on by a thread.

    Kai, fighting with the Werewolves by his side was still struggling, Crowley was badly hurt and perhaps dead. Many of the Werewolves that hade to support them had perished as well, and Kai wasn¡¯t winning his fight.

    Finally, though, at thest moment, two figures with hardened ck masks on their faces arrived, with strange armor on their bodies. These two were Altered Hunters, the final ace up Kai¡¯s sleeve.

    He had called every ally he knew to try and get help, and there was one person who would return to help the city when in need, and that was Innu. What Kai was hoping was that he wouldn¡¯t arrive alone and he hadn¡¯t, bringing along ke with him.

    Unfortunately, though, it was only them two, and no others. Still, Kai would take any help he could get.

    Now, the whole event was being ryed from above. The helicopter hadnded on one of the buildings at the top and was filming everything to the world, the stage was set.

    On the ground fighting in front of the barrier of cars, ke was standing by Kai¡¯s side, the two of them going head to head against Garbo. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Then there was Innu, still wearing his mask, havinge to help out Kevin. He had his mask on his face that Altered Hunters had, but from his shape, the bandaged wrap around his arms, of course, Kevin recognized who he was.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I waste, I¡¯m sorry that you had to resort to doing that to your body,¡± Innu said, holding two red axes in his hands.

    ¡°Innu! No, don¡¯t me yourself, I did this because I wanted to protect Slough, with this I have the strength to help, don¡¯t me the Howlers!¡± Kevin shouted back.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t ming them,¡± Innu replied. ¡°Remember, I¡¯m part of the Howlers myself as well. I¡¯m just sorry, that we couldn¡¯t protect the city so those like yourself could carry on living the lives you wanted.¡±

    ¡°Haha!¡± Greedughed and a mass amount of heat was lifted above his head from his position. Turning around he was facing Innu. His body fully transformed with spikes sticking out of his back, arge tail with a sharp end that heated up, and the tworge cleaver-like swords in his hands.

    ¡°So what if the Altered Hunters are here to help you, do you think that would make a difference. Altered Hunters are weaker than us, they are just humans!¡± Greed shouted. ¡°The Altered are an advanced set of humans, a new era, we are stronger, we live longer, our bodies don''t sumb to the diseases of the rest of you, and I¡¯m not just any Altered!¡±

    Shouting these words, Greed dived straight ahead. As he did, his weapon''s edge was glowing from therge amount of heat that was being transferred. Meeting him straight ahead though was Innu.

    He swung his axe out, which glowed with strength, and both of them shed together. Not one attack pushing back the other, they were equal in strength.

    ¡°What the!¡± Greed was stunned, but still swung his other de heading straight for Innu, and at that point, Innu swung his other Axe, matching it and hitting the strength.

    Greed still didn¡¯t understand what was going on. How was the weapon getting hurt from his attacks, and how could a mere human match his strength.

    ¡°You have no idea what I¡¯ve been through,¡± Innu said. ¡°In thisst year, the Altered Hunters have been training hard, making an elite force. They had to be differentpared to the others, and I have something that they don¡¯t have!¡±

    Firstly, Innu could now draw the strength of his special weapons that were made from the Ancient Beasts. Their power would transfer to him giving him more strengthpared to before.

    Higher tier weapons avable to high star Altered Hunters all had this trait and nearly all of them were able to do this. Still, this might allow Innu to face against other Altered but not enough to face against an Altered of Greed¡¯s caliber.

    The second reason why he was able to do this was because he now knew how to use Qi, and he was reinforcing his body, changing all of his cells and strengthening it.

    In a desperate attempt, using his tail, Greed then went to strike him again. Reinforcing his arms, Innu deflected the des and overpowered Greed for a moment, he flung the Axes out of his hand, and grabbed onto the tail with his bare hands.

    The end of the tail was sizzling but Innu¡¯s skin wasn¡¯t getting burned at all.

    ¡°The second stage of Qi, referencing the outside of one¡¯s body, will protect me from things like this!¡± Innu grunted as he held on. ¡°And that wasn¡¯t the only thing I learned.¡±

    Greed was wondering what the sound was that he could hear, and before he knew it, there were two red axes going through the air that sliced, hitting him right in the side of both sides of his lower neck.

    ¡°I¡¯ve trained harder than anyone else in my time away, because just like you Kevin, I will not be a burden to the Howlers Gang anymore!¡± Innu shouted.

    The axes didn¡¯t pierce Greed far enough in the neck to cause great damage, but they started to move, shaking slightly. Before that, they ejected themselves from his neck and were flying back in the air, until they had both returned right in Innu¡¯s hands.

    ¡°All of you will regret harming the Howlers, now that I¡¯m back!¡± Innu said.

    Watching everything, Kevin¡¯s eyes were sparkling with happiness.

    ¡°So cool!¡±

 Chapter 900 Innus Stronger?

    Chapter 900 Innu''s Stronger?

    Kevin was starstruck watching Innu at work. Innu had always been his ideal for a long time as he witnessed how hardworking he was, teaching himself the skills of Muay Thai and fighting.

    He had even taught some of this to Kevin himself, but seemed reluctant at times to teach him fully.

    In his eyes, Innu was the strongest person he knew, and the person he looked up to, the one who had done everything he could to protect the orphanage, and now, Innu hade back after being away from Slough for over a year.

    Not only had hee back slightly different from before, but it was almost as if he was a whole new person. The strength he had shown was inhuman, and Kevin was viewing him as a superhero who hade in to save the day.

    With both axes in his hand, Innu rushed forward again, he threw one of the axes straight ahead. The edge of the axe lit up as he drew its power out.

    Greed was hurt, twisting his neck, blood dripping down, but he was still fully capable of fighting. With the axeing towards him, he swung in anger with hisrge cleaver and crashed right against it.

    The axe flew right back into the air at that point. Now Greed was just focusing on Innu who was in front of him, and continued to charge ahead.

    Seeing this, Innu couldn¡¯t help but let out a smile. "You have no idea what I can do!" Innu said in a low voice.

    Greed getting close, swung both cleavers in the air at Innu, but in the middle of his swing he felt a great pain right in his back. The axe had lodged deep inside him.

    It caused Greed to flinch slightly. At that moment, Innu then kicked up from his feet, jumping a couple of meters in the air, high above the height of Greed himself.

    Coming down with the axe in his hand, he swung it with both of his hands, and powered it with Qi. Greed went to block the hit with his tail, but the power of the axe was strong.

    It cut through his tail and the Qi pushed Greed into the ground, destroying it beneath his feet and the concrete lifting up from below.

    Innu quickly then leapt to the side, and held out his hand, pulling the axe back towards him, and then hurled them both at Greed.

    Who, once again turning, tried to hit them away. He had done so, but the moment they were deflected, they came charging back at him again.

    He had hit another away, but was stabbed in the side with the axe again. Right after Innu held out his hands, like a ma, they came back to him again.

    "What are those axes made of, what are you doing!" Greed shouted annoyed. The multiple hits were getting to him, mainly because they weren¡¯t just regr hits, but Qi infused as well, making them far stronger than they typically would be.

    "You think it¡¯s these axes that are doing this? You''re wrong, this is all me baby, this is my power!" Innu said charging forward.

    He then threw one of the axes towards Greed again, who went to block the attack. However, he didn¡¯t feel any impact at all, it had never hit.

    Instead, the axe had been thrown into the ground, and Innu had kicked off the handle of the axeing right forward.

    The moment Greed lifted his head, arge knee crashed into both of the cleavers, sending him off his feet and hurling through the air crashing into a car.

    Quickly seeing this, quickly seeing the moment of the fight change. Kevin wanted to do something as well.

    He transformed his whole body, and moved quickly, he readied both of his hands, as he stabbed them through the side of his shoulders and pushed him onto the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold him, finish him now!¡± Kevin shouted.

    Innu was worried. He could have finished this fight off himself, but now that Kevin, the youngster, was getting involved he needed to be quicker about this.

    With the axes in his hand, he rushed forward and threw them again. Right as Greed was ready to move, the axes pierced through his wrist and were locked in part of the car.

    Greed could then only see Innu hurling toward him, and a knee that was growing bigger and bigger.

    Kevin let go, jumping, and the Qi-filled knee strike bashed right into Greed¡¯s head, crushing part of his skull. The car bent inwards due to the force and moved several meters along the ground.

    At the same time, with both axes returned to his hands, Innu gathered all his strength, drawing on the momentum of his steps using Qi to move faster, the reinforced Qi in his muscles, and the Qi covering the weapon, drawing out the power of the weapon itself, he hurled both axes right at Greed''s head.

    ''The amount of times I threw these axes again and again, using all my Qi, using all my strength and telekinesis powers. It took a long time to learn how to do it.''

    Right now, Innu was looking at his hands, even though they were bandaged up, blood was soaking through them, as his skin had torn off. The result of his training every single moment up until now.

    The axes flew in the air, and pierced right through Greed''s head, both of them breaking through the already broken skull.

    Blood dripped onto the ck of the vehicle, down the rest of his body, as his life was no more.

    The momentum of Innu''s steps was fading, and he soon felt weak as he saw his face getting closer to the floor.

    Moments before he fell, Kevin dashed and caught Innu, stopping him from hurting himself.

    "What''s wrong Innu, are you sick, what happened, I didn¡¯t even see you get hit by that guy!" Kevin asked in a panic, transforming back to his human self.

    "Just, I used up more power than I thought in that fight. It took a lot to take him out, and I''m sure if I was fighting him from the beginning he would have figured out my powers.¡±

    "The element of surprise does well in a fight, and you getting in there, was probably a big surprise to him as well. But I¡¯m feeling a bit light-headed."

    Kevin was thankful to hear that Innu had just exhausted himself. His new powers probably took arger toll than one could see just with their eyes.

    "I wanted to help out the others, but I think it''s important that we rest for now," Kevin said.

    Once again, Innu couldn¡¯t help but let out a small sliver ofughter. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "You don¡¯t have to worry about them, we can rest up. I might be the Hero and the Strongest of the Howlers right now¡­ but if you''reparing me to him, that guy is something else. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be the strongest of the Altered Hunters."

 Chapter 901 A 4 Star Altered

    Chapter 901 A 4 Star Altered

    When ke and Innu arrived at the scene, Innu naturally went to help Kevin, who was in more trouble than Kai, leading ke to join the fight against Garbo.

    His red-colored swords were drawn, bright against the ck-colored uniform of the Altered Hunters. Now that Kai was able to get a closer look at him, he could see more details. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The armor, although ck in color, had faint swirling patterns all over it. It wasn¡¯t the same type of armor that any Altered Hunter would wear. It was different from what ke had worn thest few times.

    Garbo, transformed back into his lion-like form with the ring of fire activating around his neck, looked like a mane on fire.

    ¡°Be careful, this guy is kind of strong,¡± Kai said. He was no longer in his transformed state after being hit several times by Garbo. On top of that, Kai was extremely exhausted, having already fought against Glutton and even having to fight Greed and Garbo both at the same time at one point.

    ¡°You have done enough,¡± ke said. ¡°You just sit back and rest, and don¡¯t worry, because I¡¯m quite strong myself.¡±

    Garbo wasted no time, as he ran across the floor. With each step, small marks of mes would be left on the floor. Then, when he leapt up in the air, mes exploded out of the bottom of his feet.

    A giant lion had preemptively exploded in the air, forcing them to boost in the air.

    ke readied himself, he moved his feet and gathered both swords next to each other. It almost looked like he was performing a dance, then at the same time he swung both swords right toward Garbo¡¯s head.

    Garbo¡¯s teeth closed, hitting the swords, holding them in ce, and the mane started to grow evenrger with heat. Yet, it did nothing to ke as he continued to push forward.

    ¡®He¡¯s matching an Altered¡¯s strength. Is this the power of his equipment, or is it his own power?¡¯ Kai thought.

    Regardless, ke was very calm, and shifting his feet forward, the boots he was wearing glowed slightly, giving him a boost in strength. ke had chucked therge lion to the ground, detaching him from his swords.

    Garbo quickly got up, as he wasn¡¯t hurt from the attack, but was quite surprised that he had just been overpowered by a human of all things, rather than an Altered.

    ¡°I could have avoided your attack,¡± kemented. ¡°I just wanted to test if I could beat you in every way possible.¡±

    Thements agitated Garbo who charged forward again, and this time he sted twice from his paws, giving him even more speed. However, ke¡¯s boots lit up again, and he, himself, seemed to get a boost of speed.

    He had met Garbo earlier than expected, as Garbo was still in the air. Seeing this, ke knelt down slightly and lifted his sword up.

    Through his vision, he could see it, he could see white lines appearing on Garbo¡¯s body, telling him the best ces to strike, he cut across the stomach of Garbo, and stood up on his feet.

    Turning around, he could see Garbo had pounced at him for another attack, but ke struck again with his swords striking against his teeth perfectly, and with the other sword cutting through his skin drawing blood each time.

    Kai, watching everything from the sideline, was impressed. It was as if he was witnessing a master swordsman at work. Even though Garbo was in his Lion form, his paw swipes were fast.

    His speed was like that of Kai in his werewolf form and his attacks packed more of a punch due to the me powers. Yet, ke wasn¡¯t just blocking each of the attacks, he was also able to deliver cuts back and attack at the perfect time.

    ¡®The white lines, during this fight, I¡¯m able to see them perfectly, this is the best I¡¯ve ever seen them during a fight. Why is that, what is this feeling?¡¯ ke started to think.

    Unbeknownst to him, his arms were moving faster than before, and Garbo was noticing something that was happening that he didn¡¯t notice until now. One of the sword strikes to the side of him hadpletely missed, yet he felt a stinging pain, and a short cut appeared on him after.

    Rather than going on the attack, now Garbo was moving backward, yet the swords from ke continued to swing. There was nothinging out from his swords, yet, Garbo could feel his body being hit and cuts were appearing over him.

    He tried to block it as heat was building up, and then Garbo started to move side to side jumping everywhere.

    ke continued to not move from where he stood, and continued to swing his swords at the white lines he could see in his vision. Continuously doing this, he was still hitting Garbo no matter where he moved to.

    Quickly, Garbo felt like he had no choice and had leapt behind a car. In doing so, the sound of metal scratching against metal could still be heard and cuts were being made on the car as well.

    ¡®Invisible attacks¡­ are his sword strikes moving through the air!¡¯ Kai thought.

    His guess was quite right. That was because ke had managed to unlock a stage of Qi even further than that of Innu. The first stage of Qi, reinforcing one¡¯s body with the mysterious power. The second stage of Qi, allowing one to use this power to coat items and weapons using it externally. Then the third stage of Qi, to truly use Qi outside of your body, projecting it out into an attack.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you how I became a 4-star Altered Hunter!¡± ke said, the inner of his eyes glowing slightly white.

    *****

    ****

 Chapter 902 Blakes Power

    Chapter 902 ke''s Power

    Both ke and Innu had been selected as part of a special program within the Altered Hunters. The leader of the organization, Edvard, felt like a big change would soone, and the Altered Hunters werecking in those who were greatly skilled.

    He had taken a select group of new students under his wing to drastically improve their strength, and one of them was ke. During this time, they didn¡¯t just train in skills, powers, and ways of fighting, but they also still had tomit to being Altered Hunters.

    This meant that they were still required to go out and hunt Altereds, doing their best to gain experience and raise their strength. In the end, ke had reached four stars, just one star under being considered one of the best Altered Hunters in history.

    The stars weren¡¯t just significant because of how many one had managed to kill, but because it also allowed the Altered Hunters to ess even better equipment.

    The boots that ke was wearing, due to his four stars, were the same as the armor that was on his chest.

    There was a reason why the Hunters didn¡¯t want to just hand out this equipment to all its members. For one, the equipment was rare, and if used, if they were to perish, then the equipment would fall into the hands of others, making their enemies stronger while also losing out on passing that equipment on to the future. The second reason was because they didn¡¯t want the hunters to be overly reliant on the equipment.

    They needed to grow their strength in skill, in power, and then when utilized with the equipment, they would be even stronger. The two reasons helped each other hand in hand since the stronger an Altered Hunter was the less likely to lose their equipment and it solved the distribution issue within.

    ke had managed to pass every hurdle that was thrown at him and was the quickest out of the group to rise, so naturally, he got the first pick of new equipment.

    Garbo, frustrated, decided to pounce forward again, but as if ke already knew what he was going to do, he had already swung both swords down. When they touched the floor, two strikes in the air had hit Garbo, drawing blood and causing him to fall onto the floor.

    ¡°If the same thing isn¡¯t working¡­ then I need to try something different,¡± Garbo said to himself.

    His full transformation wasing to an end. A ming ring was around his neck, but his body was now mostly human with a few Altered features, one in particr was the ws that came out from his hands, they were burning a bright red.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take on your little swords then!¡± Garbo swung his fist, and just like with his paws from before, mes would expand out from behind, giving him more propulsion, allowing him to move faster.

    ke jumped back, and the swipe had scratched right against his chest. The swings from Garbo were consistent and fierce, while also having a wild nature.

    There was almost no pattern, which was making it hard for ke to stop. He continued to swing his swords, blocking the attacks but getting hit on his armor once in a while.

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t have that armor on your body by now, you would have been ripped to pieces!¡± Garbo shouted.

    He was confident, as more of his hits were making contact, the smile on his face grew. He knew that he would be the victor.

    But from the side, where Kai stood, he had a clearer view of the situation, and to him, it sounded crazy in his mind but it felt like ke was purposely getting hit.

    ¡®All of the strikes have only hit the armor straight ahead. He hasn¡¯t been hit on his bare arms or been hit anywhere else.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The indented patterns on the armor started to glow with power. Slowly like a sand ss pouring out, his armor was filling up from the bottom.

    Until the whole chest piece was now lit up in a golden glow.

    ke retreated back, jumping quickly onto one of the car roofs.

    ¡°I killed many Altereds before having any of my equipment!¡± ke dered. ¡°But, no doubt, against someone of your caliber, we regr humans can¡¯t just rely on our own strength.¡±

    With the armor lit up, ke then charged forward, he knocked both of the wed hands of Garbo away, the power more ferocious than before. When he hit each of Garbo¡¯s hands the sound was like a cannon going off.

    The force of the air moving was seen with the strikes. Right after, ke started to climb up Garbo¡¯s body, he used his legs to jump up, and run up his body, before flipping himself in the air right above him.

    ¡°elerate!¡±

    While high up in the air, ke was ready to fall down, but he fell to the floor at an inhuman speed. A glow was left behind in the air, a trail from his body, and both of the swords had sliced right down the center of Garbo.

    ke was on the floor, in the same position, his weapons covered in blood and the armor¡¯s glow having disappeared.

    Standing up, he started to walk away, because he knew his job was done. Garbo¡¯s body was sliced in half, and he fell to the floor.

    The people of Slough, and the Howlers had been watching the fight going on. They had been biting their fingernails while waiting for everything, and now they had just borne witness to the Altered Hunters saving them.

    The city, and the residents couldn¡¯t help but burst into cheer as they saw, another one of the Phoenix Gang leaders fall.

    The unstoppable King that had been causing them so much trouble, was falling in front of them.

 Chapter 903 The Kings Decree

    Chapter 903 The King''s Decree

    Clem and Ash had lowered the helicopter and reached one of the hotels based just on the safe side of Cipen. They were filming from high above where the worried citizens of Slough were.

    Many of them were holed up in buildings watching the situation from their windows, but surprisingly, there were a lot of them on the ground floor, looking at the situation, seeing what their fate would entail with their own eyes.

    For those who couldn¡¯t see, many people in Slough had caught on to the fact that AJ Entertainment was live streaming everything that was going on.

    Clem wasmentating as the fighting was going on, talking about the arrival of the Altered Hunters appearing in the city of Slough. The reviews of the Altered Hunters were always quite mixed.

    At times, they were the ones that dealt with the Altereds that were out of control. Just like now, they hade and fought against those attacking Slough, while the White Rose and police force were sitting doing nothing.

    However, the general public looked up to Altereds like a type of superhero, many admired and wished to be like them, gain the strength and superpowers. They didn¡¯t want to get rid of all Altereds like the Altered Hunters did, only the bad ones, which was why the reception was a mixed bag, but in this case, they were thankful they hade.

    ¡°It looks like the situation of what is happening in Slough has reached the Altered Hunters! Even they have realized how bad the situation is¡­ but are they really helping Slough, it could also be an opportunity for them to get rid of as many Altereds as possible.¡±

    Innu noticed the camera filming from above, and ced the Altered Hunter mask on his face to make it harder for people to tell who he was. ke was still wearing his, the two of them went to the respective people that they helped, Kevin and Kai, giving them a shoulder to lean on as they headed back.

    All of them were heading to the row of cars, and the Howlers members that had survived including the few remaining Werewolves hade over to help.

    As they continued to walk, they went through the vehicles and the people around moved away giving them some space.

    ¡°Hey, get some bandages and medical supplies, bring them some food as well, hurry, they must be hungry!¡± One of the civilians shouted.

    They were quickly working away, bringing what they could, they knew Altereds ate a lot, but had no idea what werewolves needed to regain their energy, so Kai didn¡¯t say anything to stop the people.

    Slowly, ke had let Kai down onto the ground, his back leaning up against one of the cars.

    ¡°Thank you for helping us, thank you!¡±

    The crowd started to erupt into thank-yous and gratitude towards the Altered Hunters, as well as those that were fighting on their behalf.

    A lot of emotion had built up, that eventually caused many of the citizens to finally let out some tears. Some of them had already lost those that they loved.

    Others had been badly hurt, but the fear of what was going to happen to them next was toorge that they were unable to do anything themselves.

    ¡°Can you check on Crowley for me?¡± Kai asked.

    One of the other citizens had alreadye over.

    ¡°Sir Crowley is doing okay, he¡¯s breathing well!¡± The man answered. ¡°However, he¡¯s in no condition to fight.¡±

    Hearing this question, that was when Kevin started to walk over to Kai along with Innu, and it looked like there was something Kevin wanted to say.

    ¡°Not everyone made it.¡± Kevin said.

    Kai already knew this because he could feel his energy fading, many of the Werewolves that hade here didn¡¯t make it.

    ¡°Tyler¡­ he didn¡¯t make it.¡± Kevin answered, his head hanging down ashamed of himself.

    The instant reaction of Kai, he felt his heart sinking and grabbed his face.

    ¡®That young guy.¡¯ Kai thought, looking up at the sky. ¡®He was one hell of a person. He saved us during ourst problematic problem in Slough, even though he was just a driver.¡¯

    ¡°F*ck, F*ck, F*ck!¡± Kai started to shout in anger.

    Kai liked Tyler a lot. He would often talk to him when driving with him to ces, getting advice from him because he was more sound than the rest of them.

    On top of that, there wasn¡¯t a bad bone in Tyler¡¯s body, unlike the rest of the Howlers members. Why did someone like that have to perish over the rest of them?

    This wasn''t right, what the Phoenix Gang had done, it wasn¡¯t right, if they had just fought, gang to gang with those willing to risk their lives, then people like Tyler, who weren¡¯t really fighters wouldn¡¯t have to get involved. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The citizens had brought some food to all of them and they managed to eat, drink, and get partially reenergized, but Kai couldn¡¯t help but think about Tyler.

    ¡°But¡­ the fight still hasn¡¯t ended.¡± Kai said.

    Saying those words, it was almost as if a spell had activated. Because Clem zoomed in to a single man with arge red fur coat dragging across the floor walking down the street.

    Innu then shoved Kai as he looked through the gap.

    ¡°It looks like we might be needed again.¡± Innu stated, giving him a hand and lifting him up off the floor.

    Climbing up to the top of the cars were Kai, Innu, and ke. Kevin wanted to climb up as well, but Innu stopped him; the three of them then jumped down back onto the ground, the area where they were fighting not too long ago.

    All of them stared at the man in front of them.

    ¡°It looks like I might havee out a bit toote,¡± Sin said, looking at the dead around him. ¡°But I¡¯m not too worried. Now it¡¯s time the King makes his announcement, and my decree is that all of you will be eliminated.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 904 Sin, Is A King (Part 1)

    Chapter 904 Sin, Is A King (Part 1)

    The man who was behind everything, Sin, was finally taking part in the mess that he had created. One of the most well-known Kings, not afraid to show his power, was now right in front of their eyes.

    Was he overconfident that he always had the chance to win this fight? That was something Kai himself was trying to figure out.

    There was one of two reasons why Sin might have acted the way he had. One of them was that he might have been frightened of the Howlers'' strength. If he was a man that needed to be 100 percent sure to get the task done.

    That was why he attacked their business, then attacked Gary, and continued in such a fashion not getting involved himself until the very end, making sure the job was done.

    Or the second reason, he was extremely confident that no matter what, he could have always resolved this mess on his own, and he wouldn¡¯t get involved unless necessary.

    ¡°I see I had been keeping an eye on the right ce,¡± Sin imed, looking at Kai. ¡°When I saw you, I thought you were someone I needed to keep an eye on. I mean, who would have thought the Howlers had so many connections, but your group is half the group that I created.¡±

    Innu was holding both of the axes in his hands, he had recovered but only slightly, it was the same situation with Kai. The only one that perhaps had quite a bit of strength to fight was ke.

    Unknown to them though, he was having troubles of his own when he looked at Sin.

    ¡®The white lines in my vision, that would tell me where to attack, are not appearing now¡­ has something happened, or is it just telling me, there¡¯s no way to hit this guy properly.¡¯ ke thought.

    Regardless, ke¡¯s fingers were twitching in front of this person. The Kings, it was practically one of the ultimate targets of the Altered Hunter. His father was at the pinnacle of the organization and now ke was just a step behind him, but with this, everyone would recognize him officially in this situation.

    ¡®Even if I can¡¯t see the lines of attack, I¡¯m still strong and have my own strength. I can catch him with the element of surprise.¡¯

    ke was waiting, as Sin continued to walk towards them. From ten meters,ing closer a meter at a time, and then when he was just about five meters away. ke tightened his grip around his sword and swung it through the air.

    The movement of Qi powering his body allowed him to move as fast as if a person was Altered. The attack was going through the air but was invisible to the naked eye.

    Yet right in front of them, strange mes appeared in front of Sin¡¯s body. It flickered in a sharp line like a cut in the air and then disappeared.

    Nothing happened to Sin, there wasn¡¯t a scratch on his body. The attack never hit him.

    Seeing this though, ke didn¡¯t give up and swung his sword through the air several times but just like the first, flickers of mes forming a line would appear around Sin. He didn¡¯t move his hand or anything, yet not a single attack got through.

    ¡®Is it some type of me barrier that he has?¡¯ Kai thought. ¡®I know his Altered type, everyone does, based on the mythical beast, a Phoenix, but in terms of his powers, all we¡¯ve seen is his overwhelming mes.¡¯

    ¡®This guy has been attracted to fire for a while perhaps when he turned into the type of Altered he is, which is why all of his members have fire-like traits as well. Reminds me of those damn gym leaders,¡¯ Kai thought¡­ but it wasn¡¯t a situation he couldugh at. If he got close, would the me barrier act then as well?

    Seeing his attacks no longer working, ke stopped. He was only wasting energy, but as soon as he stopped, it was Innu that had acted. He gathered his Qi, activated the strength of one of the axes in his hand, and had hurled it.

    He had actually hurled it a few moments before ke had stopped attacking because he was trying to get a clean hit. The axe was seen flying and the barrier of mes had activated again.

    The axe broke through the barrier, engulfed in mes that did nothing, but Sin had caught the axe straight on, he swayed his hand only slightly back. The axe hadn¡¯t hurt him.

    With his hand free, Innu started to attempt to use his powers to pull the axe out of Sin¡¯s hands, a force could be felt, yet Sin held onto it like normal.

    ¡°What is this, you''re trying to pull it out! Now I see, you''re one of those freaks, aren''t you? With those special powers? Ha, just like that annoying Bree Family.¡± Sin ced the palm over his face, the corners of his mouth could be seen rising.

    ¡°And this axe is no normal axe, your group has had extremely good fortune, but you know what they say in this world right, there needs to be bnce, after a string of good fortune, bad fortune has toe.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sin continued to hold the axe in his hand, and the edge of it started to turn bright red. Heat could be seen in the air producing above the axe, and the metal started to melt. The whole thing was melting and burning away.

    Part of the metal fell onto the floor, while the rest of the axe had turned into nothing but ash. It was no more in Sin¡¯s hand.

    ¡°All of you have no idea what you¡¯re about to go up against, you should have just been good and died!¡± Sin said, stretching out both of his arms, and soon they turned into mes that were growing bigger and bigger.

 Chapter 905 Sin Is A King (Part 2)

    Chapter 905 Sin Is A King (Part 2)

    The entirety of Sin''s arms were covered in mes to the point where the structure of the arm itself could no longer be seen. It wasn''t just that, but the mes started to expand, growing bigger.

    It was as if a tornado of mes wereing out from his shoulders, spinning about in the air. The intense heat was getting to everyone that was standing there. They could feel it on the surface of their face as if the sun had moved closer to them.

    "Everyone get out of the street, and head inside!" Kai shouted at the top of his lungs.

    Kevin, along with the other Werewolves, quickly transformed, grabbing those that were injured or hard of moving, and rushed them inside. The other people ran to the closest buildings to their left and right.

    At the same time, Sin threw his arm forward, and in doing so, Kai had no choice but to transform into his Wolf form, rushing out one way, while ke and Innu ran to the other side.

    The mes skimmed past their faces and crashed into the barrier of cars. The mes continued to hit the barrier of cars so forcefully it even pushed them out of the way and the mes itself continued down the rest of the street.

    "We have to attack close if we want to hurt him, are you ready!" ke asked. His armor was lit up, ready to phase forward once again.

    Meanwhile, Innu had only one of the axes left in his hand, with the other onepletely destroyed.

    ¡®It¡¯s fine, if this axe gets destroyed, then I¡¯ll just have to use my fists!¡¯ Innu thought, charging in alongside ke.

    After therge attack, the mes were dwindling in size, Sin¡¯s arms were still covered but they were a lot smaller in size than what they originally were. Before ke and Innu even reached him though, they could see arge wolf behind his back.

    ¡®Kai¡¯s fast, incredibly fast!¡¯ ke thought. ¡®I wasn¡¯t able to see the fight he had before¡­ but he¡¯s strong. Maybe with the three of us we can do this.¡¯

    When Kai got close though, just like before, about a meter away from Sin¡¯s body, mes appeared in the air, and was touching the entirety of Kai¡¯s mouth. However, Kai didn¡¯t care and pushed through.

    Sin turned around and grabbed onto the top and bottom of Kai¡¯s mouth in the process, holding it before he could bite him. His hands covered in mes.

    ¡°You are a strong one, to get through my barrier¡­ that¡¯s twice that¡¯s happened now, none of you are normal, it¡¯s no wonder you were able to defeat the others after all, but are you sure you should get this close to me?¡± Sin smiled as the rest of his body was starting to turn into mes.

    Kai could feel his snout starting to burn. His hide protected him to a degree as well as his Werewolf body, but it was starting to hurt.

    ¡®His body is made of mes, it¡¯s hard to get close to him just like when I was fighting Glutton, but at least Glutton was slow.¡¯

    Another axe was thrown toward Sin, trying to get him to let go of Kai. Turning his head and with his arm held out, a fireball was shot out from his hand, hitting the axe with arge amount of force that caused it to go off direction.

    However, Innu wasn¡¯t going to give up there, using his telekinesis power it returned to his hand and he was ready to strike. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Now!¡± Innu shouted.

    From just behind, ke hade out to the side with his two swords. His chest piece lit up and his speed increased as he phased forward right in front of Sin. With his swords covered in Qi, he swung them in an X shape, causing arge cut on Sin.

    He was forced to let go of Kai, who fell to the floor and was transforming back into his human state. His skin around his mouth was looking a little burnt but it was starting to heal.

    ¡°We have to follow up!¡± ke shouted.

    Innu was on the task, swinging the axe now towards Sin¡¯s head. The axe was swung but it had hit nothing but air. Innu could no longer see Sin in front of him.

    ¡°Above!¡± ke shouted.

    His body covered in mes, Sin was in the air. Wings of fire had sprouted out from his back, rtively small in size, while an X mark could be seen on his chest, a cut through the mes which was slowly fading away.

    ¡°You managed to cut through my skin, either those aren¡¯t ordinary swords or you''re using some strategic type of power¡­ it reminds me of those Dark Guild bastards,¡± Sinmented. ¡°Still, I am a phoenix, one of the closest beings to that of a god, whatever harm is done to me will heal.¡±

    ¡°And now, it¡¯s time for the rest of you to be punished as well.¡±

    Looking at the ground, the entirety of Sin¡¯s body was covered in mes, growingrger than human size, then rising in the air, he looked like a giant bird. Soon after, he started to dive right into the ground and crashed against the floor.

    A massive amount of mes went out in all directions, hitting everyone in the area. It crashed into Innu, ke, and Kai¡¯s body, sending them off their feet, and their bodies hitting the buildings to the side.

    They were lifting their heads slowly from their position. Several mes were still burning on the ground, several items had caught on fire, and all of the cars and dead bodies had been pushed to the side.

    All they could see was Sin standing in the center of the crater-like structure he had created, still burning away.

    ¡°You see now, this is the difference between a King and you!¡± Sin looked up at the camera that was filming above and started to go into a frenzy ofughter.

    ¡°Hahaha, Haha!¡±

    From the side, arge metallic vehicle flew through the air, and crashed into Sin¡¯s body. It continued on hitting the building onto the side and rocks falling down.

    Kai, ke, and Innu, had finally got up from thest attack, realizing that it wasn¡¯t one of them who had thrown the car.

    ¡°Shut the F*ck up!¡± Midwak said, walking down the street. ¡°Everyone knows that no one can be a King forever, and all empires fall at some point, and today is that day!¡±

 Chapter 906 The Kings React!

    Chapter 906 The King''s React!

    ke, Innu, and Kai were staring at who had just entered on the other side of the street. All of them were still slightly hurt from thest attack that had been performed by Sin. However, with both of the Altered Hunters having Qi now, they were recovering quicker, and Kai with his natural speedy recovery rate, on top of that, he had just gotten a small boost of energy.

    ¡°I never thought that I would be happy to see that crazy wolf,¡± Kai smirked as he looked at Midwak.

    Innu was getting the shivers just staring at him, remembering everything they had gone through. However, an old enemy was now someone they were working with, and they would need his strength to take care of the opponent in front of them.

    ¡°Look at you weaklings, there¡¯s three of you and you can¡¯t even take on one person!¡± Midwak shouted. ¡°I¡¯ve just gotten here after defeating one of them, and I¡¯m still saving everyone. When this gang is under mymand, all of you aren¡¯t going to be asid back as you have been.¡±

    A strange slopping sound with heating from their left side was felt. The car that had crashed into the building along with Sin was starting to melt. A ming body was seen walking through the car.

    His wings were still intact, every part of his body was still intact and now, due to the fire covering him from head to toe, his whole body had burnt through the clothing he was wearing.

    After walking through the car, the mes started to die down. When the mes went away, his upper body was back to what it was, his bare chest with his abs were proudly on show, but now the bottom half of his body was covered in strange flowing feathers.

    His legs looked human but these red feathers that covered him at the very end were glowing with a type of heat.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, another one has joined the fight!¡± Sinughed. ¡°Did all of my members really lose against this gang, against a tier 2 city of all things? I see I made a mistake, I should have gotten involved far sooner!¡± Sin said, looking at all four of them. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    From above, Clem was still filming everything with Ash, they had zoomed in on everything happening and thements were moving too fast for them to read a single one.

    Even the servers at Ash Entertainment were struggling with the load. People were getting kicked out of the stream, others were stuck trying to see if the video could load, but millions were still witnessing what was happening.

    It was the first time they were seeing such a thing, they were seeing the power of one of the Kings, and how strong an Altered could really be. Sure, they had seen the devastation of Sin¡¯s power but never directly like this, and this close either.

    Out of those who were watching the broadcast, there wererge figures that were watching with a keen eye. The Dark Guild Association was watching the broadcast. In one of their biggest auction houses when not in use, it would be ced as a base.

    One man sat in a chair, had the broadcast being shown on arge screen. ¡°It looks like after everything that has happened, Sin might need to do more business with us. He will need to gain quite a bit of power back if he doesn¡¯t want one of the other Kings to attack him.¡±

    ¡°You''re right,¡± another Dark-clothed man said. ¡°But what if Sin actually loses this fight.¡±

    The other man just smiled. ¡°Then we will need to increase our rtion to the Howlers. They have been good customers of ours for a while as well, we might need to bring them onto the VIP table.¡±

    Elsewhere on a private jet, one woman with dark blue hair had a tablet propped up in front of her and was also tuning into the live stream.

    ¡°Are you seeing this as an opportunity Miss Bree?¡± Another woman said from a chair not too far looking at the same screen as her.

    Bree sighed. ¡°For some reason, Ennd has always had the most trouble when ites to these things. It¡¯s one of the most corrupt¡­ at the same time, their Kings are the ones that give me the most trouble.¡±

    ¡°Sin will win this, then he will be badly hurt. It will be an opportunity for one of the other Kings to enter into his territory. In Ennd, there is one King that is stronger than any of the others in the world, who I don¡¯t want to get in the middle of.¡±

    On arge hilltop inside a giant mansion, which had arge amount of training gear stationed all over the ce including octagon rings in the area, as well as a number of trophies and medals, there was Havor.

    Tanned skin and his open V shirt with sunsses on the top of his shaven head he looked at the screen. ¡°Sin, you are showing me up¡­ you really are showing me up. After all the mess you made,¡± Havor said, the champion of the AFC as well as the head of the One Gang. The gang considered the strongest of all kings.

    ¡ª¡ª In one city, ced in one of the most mountainous areas in the country, built by a cliff top where the sea could be seen. There was a group that was based in a castle, and they too were watching everything that was going on.

    ¡°Lupus,¡± a man with glowing blue eyes said. ¡°Do you recognize him?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± Lupus replied. ¡°It¡¯s that Omega Midwak¡­ what is he doing there?¡±

    It wasn''t just him that they had seen but the other Werewolves before as well.

 Chapter 907 And Then There Were Two

    Chapter 907 And Then There Were Two

    MWS Chapter

    Sin hade out from the crashed car, his body slightly different from before, his bottom half covered in red feathers that on the tips seemed to have small mes starting. He was standing there, still just as confident as before despite Midwak now being in front of him.

    ¡°Look at you, not a single one of you ising toward me, and the answer is clear, it¡¯s because you are all afraid,¡± Sin started tough.

    Right at that moment, a single person ran right at him, and it was none other than Midwak, who transformed into hisrge Werewolf self and flicked one of his nails, hitting Sin cleanly in the chest.

    The nail nudged his body but also quickly melted or faded away, not doing much damage at all.

    ¡°I¡¯ll throw as many cars as it takes!¡± Midwak shouted as he grabbed one, digging his single wed hand and hurling it right at Sin.

    Before the car reached Sin, both of his arms had turned into giant spiraling mes in the air. One encased the car, burning it up, and the mes themselves looked to have moved the car off to the side, crashing.

    The next spiral of mes crashed into Midwak¡¯s body before he even reached him.

    ¡°Help him!¡± Kai said, as he got up on his feet, his body starting to transform. ¡°We have to help him and attack together!¡±

    With Kai¡¯s body transformed, he rushed forward. Innu followed suit, and so did ke. Another spiral of mes went toward the two of them, chasing and wrapping around like an agitated serpent. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The three split up, trying to avoid the attack and moved in and out, but with the first person that had attacked, something was urring.

    Even though Midwak¡¯s body was being hit and pushed by the mes, he was taking one step forward and was pushing back against it.

    ¡°All of you, if you want to win this fight, then you can¡¯t be afraid of the mes!¡± Midwak shouted. As he shouted this, he swung his ws right at the mes. With such force, arge whirl of wind hade with it.

    The mes in front of him were extinguished, and he kicked off his feet at that moment.

    From the other side, the others were closing in as well. Seeing this, Sin lifted up his foot, waved it in the air creating a circle, and as he moved his foot, a trail of fire was left in the air.

    With full force, he kicked it, and it crashed into Innu¡¯s body and chest. The ring of fire was powerful; the moment it made impact on him, it was like an explosion of mes went in the air.

    The force sent Innu flying back, and his back crashed into one of the piles of cars at the edge of the street, blood coughing out of his mouth.

    With his other foot, Sin had done the same and kicked the ring of mes aiming right for ke this time. ke, with his two swords, was ready to attempt to cut through it, that was until he saw Kainding in front of him and swinging both of his ws against it.

    His ws, when hitting the ring of fire, exploded just like with Midwak swinging his hands up.

    ¡°Keep going, cut that b*stard¡¯s head off!¡± Kai shouted.

    ke quickly took a side step around Kai and charged toward Sin. From the other side, Midwak was charging towards Sin as well.

    ¡°So you managed to get through my mes and get close to me, but what does that matter?¡±

    When just a meter away from Sin, he spun his body, his wings pped, and right underneath their feet, the entire area went up in mes. A giant tornado of fire was created right where all of them stood.

    A pir of mes was being seen from the entire city; Sin was flying in the air, and the current of therge mes that had been created lifted both Midwak and ke up into the air.

    They were stumbled; they were finding it hard to control their own bodies. Midwak was scratching through the mes, but he was unable to do anything to them.

    ¡°Crash and burn!¡± Sin said.

    The tornado that they were split into two halves and arge amount of force from the mes had created a tunnel right around ke and Midwak. It hit them in the center of their body and pushed them to the ground.

    Both of their bodies then crashed into the ground, and the rest of the mes continued to burn into their bodies.

    As the mes continued to hit them, one man on the ground who had turned into his wolf form bit into ke¡¯s shoulder. He could feel the intense heat on his face but pulled him out and threw him onto his back.

    He then did the same for Midwak and rushed off, sliding them to where Innu was, who was grunting but looked as if he could no longer move. ke slid off, his chest piece looked incredibly damaged, most likely destroyed, and part of his skin was burnt.

    Midwak got off Kai fairly quickly; arge patch of his skin had been burnt, but he was healing as well. Still, he didn¡¯t look well; his legs looked weak, and Kai could say the same.

    He transformed out of his wolf form and had reverted back to his human form, his energy incredibly low.

    Sin had finished his tornado of mes andnded back on the ground, walking toward them.

    ¡°It looks like the two of you can¡¯t even stand anymore, and now, there are only two left, who look like they could fall at any moment, from a m of wind,¡± Sin said happily.

    Even with all four of them, they were hopeless.

 Chapter 908 Get Out Of My City

    Chapter 908 Get Out Of My City

    It was clear that Innu and ke were no longer able to take part in the battle; they had both been hit by fierce attacks from Sin, and they had been in great battles just before, using up much of their Qi.

    Although they now had strength greater than that of many Altereds, they still didn¡¯t possess many of the traits and advantages that Altereds had, such as the ability to recover quicker.

    Now, the only two left standing were Midwak and Kai, two werewolves who at one point had been in a fierce battle with each other. Yet now, both of them were in the same pack, looking at the same enemy side by side.

    ¡°This fight¡­¡± Kai mumbled to himself and looked at the two behind him. He quickly transformed his hands and lifted Innu and ke by the scruff of their necks. With his almighty strength, he hurled them, throwing their bodies in the air, far in the distance. He had hurled them in the direction of the others, right over the barrier of vehicles that had been pushed back more than once from the fight.

    While in the air, Kevin quickly transformed himself; he leapt up and grabbed the two, bringing them gently down to the ground. Looking at their condition, they were groaning in pain, but both were still very much alive.

    ¡°A useless effort,¡± Sin said.

    ¡°They are out of the fight,¡± Kai answered. ¡°So it¡¯s best if they don¡¯t get in the way. Do you think you¡¯ve already won?¡±

    Sin had tough at thisment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve won; I know I¡¯ve won. I know the two of you are too weak to even continue fighting. Even with the four of you, you couldn¡¯t harm this body properly, and now there are only two.¡±

    ¡°Do you regret your actions, everything you have done to get to this point, Kyle?¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The name spoken, it had brought back a lot of memories to Kai. He had said his real name, the name given to him by his father. How would one of the Kings know this? Why would he look into an unknown member?

    ¡°You think I didn¡¯t know? The Underdogs were working for me,¡± Sin exined. ¡°They had one simple job, and it was all messed up. I owned this city, I owned the Underdogs, and everything they did.¡±

    ¡°Do you think this was my first visit to this city? What is happening today, the same thing happened to them. But I have to admit, this is on a farrger scale. You are certainly putting up much more of a fight than your father ever did.¡±

    Kai was clenching his fists; he was annoyed. Sin¡­ behind everything, he had pretty much guessed it. One of the Kings had to be behind one of the original gangs, the massive amount of support they had.

    The thing was, what he was more angry about, was that the Howlers weren¡¯t able to give it everything they had.

    ¡°You''re the weak one!¡± Kai shouted, his body starting to transform.

    Midwak by his side was doing the same, but in the middle of their transformation, it was starting to fade away. They were turning back to their human selves. Both of them were trying to fight it, and their bodies were switching between transforming and going back to normal, yet none of it was working.

    ¡°It looks like we''re both out of energy,¡± Midwak said through his teeth. ¡°F*ck¡­ I need to eat.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even have a fair fight against us¡­ you are no King!¡± Kai shouted in anger at everything. ¡°The Howlers won¡¯t fall until you defeat every singlest one of us.¡±

    Despite not having transformed, Kai started to walk forward, and it was the same for Midwak.

    ¡°I agree; I can bite him to death with my own teeth. I¡¯ll rip out his jaws and then drink his blood!¡± Midwak shouted.

    Sin, seeing this, just smiled as the mes from his wings grew, and mes started to circle around his arms.

    ¡°Until you''re all dead, then I shall grant you your wish,¡± Sin stated.

    While the two werewolves were walking forward, their sensitive hearing had activated, and just over the cars, Kevin¡¯s ears had twitched as well.

    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Kevin asked.

    ¡°What?¡± the people around him asked.

    Kevin¡¯s eyes were slightly glowing blue, and a slight rise in energy could be felt in him. It was the same for Midwak, and the same for Kai as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Kai said, turning around.

    Sin''s mes continued to growrger on his hands until he realized the two of them were looking in a certain direction.

    ¡°SIIIIIIIINNN!!!¡± A loud, rough cry was shouted at the top of one¡¯s lungs, echoing through the city.

    The people were silent as they all heard the cry ring out through the ce.

    Then, looking at the top of one of the rooftops, running right past Clem and jumping off the edge, they had caught someone going straight past them like a blur, and now in the air.

    They had leapt across from the building they were on, reaching the other side of the building. One of their hands had transformed into a w, and sliding down the building, they were scraping through the brick and cement, leaving a giant w mark behind.

    The momentum of their speed, tearing up everything in its path.

    The camera tried to keep up with the person, and when halfway down the building, the person jumped in the air, the entire body transforming, the brown fur covering its entire body. The person had leapt right toward Sin.

    Seeing this, Sin swung his arms, spiraling mes right at the person. Yet through the mes, the face of the wolf-like beast had gone right through; it grabbed right onto his face, and his entire body was mmed into the floor, the concrete destroyed around him, the cars lifted up off the floor for just a moment before crashing back down.

    ¡°GET THE F*CK OUT OF MY CITY!¡± The werewolf shouted with his eyes glowing red.

    Kai looked in disbelief, as he knew it could be only one person.

    ¡°Gary!¡±

 Chapter 909 The Power To Match A King

    Chapter 909 The Power To Match A King

    A few hours before Gary had arrived in Slough, he was very much still at the base of the White Rose. The rm had been set, and the whole base now knew of the escape of the prisoners.

    On top of that, fortune didn¡¯t seem to favor the group too much. Meeting up with Kanu, Elijah, Sadie, and Frank, they thought with the help of the White Rose they would be able to get out of the base quickly.

    Instead, what had urred was right in front of their exit, they had met with one of the Chiefs, a position that was even higher than that of Kanu. Chief Jones, an old man with arge ck beard, part of it greying, was in their way.

    Multiple White Rose agents behind and in front of them were all blocking the path, yet that didn¡¯t stop Gary, as he dashed forward mming one of the White Rose agent¡¯s faces into the ground.

    ¡°If you want to stop me, you''re going to have to bring the whole Army, I¡¯m getting out of this ce no matter what!¡± Gary imed.

    Still filled with power after consuming the Warden. His strength had grown a lot to the point even the Chief was surprised.

    ¡°What are you all doing standing around for, capture him!¡± Jones shouted.

    Several of the White Rose agents had transformed and were jumping towards Gary. However, he swiftly avoided their attacks, he himself hadn¡¯t even transformed, yet with single hits by his fist, he was crushing them to the ground and they weren¡¯t getting back up.

    At the same time, some of those that ran toward him found themselves falling as they were slipping on ice. Others had cards pierced into their bodies.

    Finally, on top of that, there were feathers that were thrown out hitting the other people one by one, and an aging w-like hand that came sweeping and crashing into a group of them.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, Kanu, you''re betraying the entirety of the White Rose and for what, for a single prisoner!¡±

    ¡±Are you trying to teach me between what is right or wrong, because right now, I feel like I¡¯m doing the right thing!¡± Kanu jumped in the air, his entire arm had turned into a giant w like that of a crab. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He mmed it onto the floor, and the ground beneath broke up into two waves blocking the attacks from two of the agents. Right after, Elijah had mmed his fist into one¡¯s face full of rock.

    Another hade to attack him, with a quick duck though a body flew over his head from where Gary was and knocked the other member out.

    Although all of them were now taking part in this breakout fight, there was one person that was dying the most amount of damage.

    Not being able to take it anymore, Chief Jones had decided to step up as well. He charged forward, his arm extended and changed into a strange species with multiple spikes on its hand.

    Gary was still in the middle of fighting others, and as he hit one person, he saw the tentaclend on him. He used his hand and allowed for the spike to rip right through his skin.

    Right after, Gary, now holding onto the Chief, had decided to pull him forward and he had dragged his whole body, flinging him. Gary mmed the chief¡¯s body into the ground.

    As soon as he was done Gary was getting ready to either attack the chief again, or head straight for the door for his exit, that was until a strange web was shot out, and wrapped around his body.

    He tumbled to the ground in the giant web-like structure, falling to the floor.

    ¡°Opptus, this is just begging to get more annoying by the second.¡± Kanu eximed.

    ¡°What¡¯s the n? If we just stay here and fight, more and more members are going toe this way.¡± Sadie imed.

    She could see with her eagle eyes that already more White Rose members wereing at them.

    Kanu only could say one thing in response though. ¡°Just hold out, and opportunity will present itself, I promise you that.¡±

    With another chiefing at them, many would think Gary was down for the count, but his sharp ws were easily able to break out of the web, and immediately he was able to get back in the action and back in the fight again.

    Through the fighting, the White Rose agents helping Gary found their backs turned fighting against the other White Rose agents, and it was the same for Gary and his group.

    They were fighting, moving backward creating a circle, and even though they were taking out several more and more wereing.

    ¡°Your n of just waiting isn¡¯t a very good one.¡± ckjack imed. ¡°May I suggest we do something else.¡±

    Before Kanu could answer, it was then they could see another person moving. A man that was around 8 feet tall in length standing higher and taller than everyone else. The White Rose agents, as soon as they saw him, moved out of the way and instantly paid their respects to him.

    ¡°That¡¯s Constable Theodore Tallsworth!¡± Kanu said, shaking his head.

    Sadie was biting the bottom of her lip. While ckjack was wondering what the big deal was.

    ¡°Now that he¡¯se, even with Gary, I¡¯m not sure if we can get out of here.¡± Elijah said. ¡°There is a reason why the White Rose is considered a force as strong as the Kings, and it''s because of the three Constables that sit at the top.

    ¡°Each one of them is considered to have the strength, the same as that of a King¡­ this might now be¡­ the end of our escape.¡±

    The power of a king, and they were in a location where there were three of them. It was quite possible that Gary was in the most dangerous ce in the country, and he was understanding why the quest requirements were so hard.

    ****

 Chapter 910 Trapped between A Wall and Trouble

    Chapter 910 Trapped between A Wall and Trouble

    The man who hade out was the Deputy Chief Constable, Theodore Tallsworth. He was second in charge of the entire White Rose base of operations, and despite the Chief Constable stating there was no reason for him to get involved, he had this strange twitch under his eye. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    No matter what he did, it wouldn¡¯t stop beating, and because of that, he feared that something was amiss. Whening out onto the field, to see that two Chiefs were having trouble with a particr group in a particr area, things were bing very clear.

    That there were traitors among those in the White Rose n; seeing Kanu, Theodore believed that he was the primary reason for this escape because in the mind of the White Rose, it was impossible to imagine the Warden had been defeated.

    ¡°Kanu, if I was a betting man, I would be extremely rich right now!¡± Theodore said. With just a few words, his presence was felt by everyone there. He was a man that already towered over all of them, and now he felt even bigger in size than he actually was.

    ¡°You have caused much trouble in the White Rose; it was only a matter of time until you did something like this. I feel sorry for those that have followed you down this path and are now by your side.¡±

    Sadie was biting her lip at these words until she could no longer contain it.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t convince us!¡± Sadie shouted. ¡°The core values of the White Rose are not being followed. How could we continue to willingly do as we did if the morals, the values that we hold when joining this ce aren¡¯t being followed?¡±

    ¡°If these things are broken, we have no right to enforce rules upon others ourselves!¡±

    The one good thing was now that the Deputy Chief Constable hade out, the White Rose agents had stopped attacking. The bad news was that more and more White Rose agents were gathering, having captured and subdued the other areas.

    ¡®Those prisoners are useless,¡¯ ckjack thought. ¡®I should have known that they could hardly cause a distraction for us.¡¯

    ¡°What¡¯s the n now, Kanu?¡± Elijah whispered.

    Looking out of the corner of his eye, Kanu could see that the wall was fairly close. There were two chiefs on one side by the wall, and the Deputy Chief Constable on the other. If he wanted to take his chances, then it would be better for them to go for the wall.

    ¡°Prisoners,¡± Kanu said. ¡°It appears that the time hase for you to literally break out of this prison and climb over our walls. It will be a tough thing to do, but I believe, seeing your strength, you will be able to do it.¡±

    From the look of things, the White Rose agents understood what their role would be, and it took a short while, but Gary understood as well.

    ¡°You are going to hold them off while we climb up the walls, but then what will happen to you?¡± Gary asked.

    Elijah had helped him quite a bit, and although escaping was really important, he couldn¡¯t just leave him behind.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us; we are simply agents that have broken a few rules; we won¡¯t die here. Who knows, maybe you will need to return the favor to us,¡± Kanu joked. ¡°Either way, once you get over the walls, just keep heading straight through the forest until you hit the road; there will be someone waiting for you there, and they will take you to wherever you need.¡±

    It was clear that Kanu had prepared beforehand, a lot more than justing in and taking them away. Still, it didn¡¯t feel right, but at the same time, Gary was deeply concerned about time and what was happening to the rest of the Howlers right now.

    ¡°I¡­ have no choice. When I¡¯m done with all this, I¡¯lle back for you,¡± Gary grunted, and his legs started to transform; he nodded, giving a signal to both Ice and ckjack; they had heard everything as well.

    ¡°When I get back, you need to tell me who asked you to do all of this. We are in debt to them, and me and the Howlers will owe you,¡± Gary said.

    With his legs transformed, Gary made a break for it, running toward the wall. At the same time, ckjack and Ice followed him by his side.

    They bulldozed their way through, breaking past everyone in their sight, and Gary had even lifted two members, chucking them toward the Chiefs. If they were just to escape, then it was something that Gary could do.

    ¡°Being in debt to a gang¡­ what a crazy life I¡¯ve been living,¡± Kanu mumbled to himself.

    ¡°You think they will escape?¡± Theodore asked. ¡°You should know, being in the position you are in, why I haven¡¯t chased them. They have no chance of escaping.¡±

    At that moment, Gary and the others had reached the wall; with his ws, he jumped up andtched onto the wall. At the same time, Ice was creating pirs in the wall to pull himself up, and ckjack was doing the same as Gary scaled the wall.

    It was right there and then that the entire wall started to electrify itself. Large sparks came off the wall and went through the entirety of Gary and the others'' bodies. It was a deadly shock to the point where the White Rose agents could feel the heating off the wall.

    ¡°I think you''re the one that¡¯s being naive,¡± Kanu said. ¡°Do you really think that something like that is going to stop them after everything they¡¯ve been through?¡±

    Despite the electrifying wall, Gary ced his hand into the wall and continued to slowly scale it, one hand after the other.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting out of here, no matter what!¡± Gary shouted, his eyes glowing red, and the others following suit.

 Chapter 911 Climbing Over The Wall

    Chapter 911 Climbing Over The Wall

    The electrifying wall was a strange one. There was a reason whyrge amounts of electrical currents worked so well on Altereds, and it was because it interrupted the Altered process quite a bit.

    The wall was too high for Ice to just build a tform and climb over; he had also used a lot of his powers already fighting against the Warden, and now out here, he was exhausted. So he was physically using his Altered strength with a small amount of his ice powers to climb the wall.

    Yet, now the electric currents were going through his body; his strength was weakening, his body was getting the same power as before, and even his ice powers were getting harder to use.

    Gary, it was affecting him but less so; he had a high endurance after all, so he was able to carry it, but he could hear the sound of grunting from behind. When looking behind him, ckjack was doing fine, but he could see the heavy sweat on Ice¡¯s face, struggling.

    Ice looked up at Gary, huffing and panting, his eyes were fading, and just at that moment, his grip loosened, and he started to fall back toward the ground.

    ¡°And look at that, one of them only managed to make it about halfway,¡± Theodore imed.

    Ice was regaining his strength now he was no longer touching the wall, but his powers still hadn¡¯t returned. All he could think was, at least he managed to help someone while in this ce.

    That was until he could see green hairing closer and closer toward him. Gary had pushed off the wall from where he was and leapt down. He was sliding down with his w-marked hand and reaching out he had grabbed Ice, catching him before he fell to the floor.

    ¡°You¡­ havee this far with me; I¡¯m not letting you fall back down there; who knows what they would do. You deserve a better life,¡± Gary said as he lifted him up and ced him over his back with a single hand.

    A feat that looked impressive, but Gary, of course, had his supernatural strength.

    ¡°Hold on; we¡¯re going to get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Did you think we would just stand around and let you?¡± Opptus said. With his hand reached out, he started to fire away several of the webs he had used to catch other criminals before.

    As the came at them and with Ice on Gary¡¯s back, it would be harder for him to turn and cut it like he did before, but there was no need to. Before the had reached the two, several feathers hade out from both Frank and Sadie, hitting it; they had cut several parts causing the to just fall to the ground.

    At the same time, Elijah was busy with his stone rock hand bashing the White Rose agents below that were using their Altered abilities to attack at the wall.

    ¡°Keep moving!¡± ckjack said as he grit his teeth and was making it up the wall, while Gary did the same, cing one hand in front of the other.

    The electrified wall was turning out to be a double-edged sword for the group. On one hand, it was slowing their climb; at this point, most people would have fallen off. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But now, it was also stopping the physical-type Altered from giving chase by climbing up the wall themselves.

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m just going to watch them escape?¡± Theodore asked.

    ¡°Do you really think that I won¡¯t try to stop you!¡± Kanu said, looking right into Theodore¡¯s eyes.

    The other White Rose agents were slightly confused; why would the Deputy Chief Constable not attack? The two of them were eyeing each other up, almost waiting for the next one to make a move; it was like he didn¡¯t want to go against Kanu.

    However, when watching both of them, with a blink, Theodore was suddenly gone, and when looking at the scene again with his long arms, Theodore had grabbed the back of Kanu and mmed him to the ground.

    No one had even seen Theodore move, yet he had gotten behind Kanu in an instant.

    ¡°You should know why I¡¯m not in a rush, because I can get them at any time; I¡¯m just waiting for them to go over that wall, and they will see me right in front of their eyes.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Kanu grunted with his face on the ground. ¡°And it¡¯s that cockiness that I was expecting; if they had sent Leon, maybe they wouldn¡¯t have escaped, but I¡¯m d they have sent you.¡±

    In the middle of their conversation, Gary had pulled himself with Ice over the wall, and at the very top, they turned to look back at the White Rose members.

    ¡°I won¡¯t forget about you¡­ I just have more important things to deal with right now; I¡¯ll be back,¡± Gary said as he leapt off with ckjack as well.

    Theodore, seeing this, had a smile on his face; he was straightening his back as if he was just about to move.

    ¡°STOP!¡± A loud booming voice was heard; the sound was immense, causing some of the White Rose to use their hands to cover their ears.

    Turning around, a group of around ten people had entered the scene, their clothing mainly ck with a trim of red. For many of the White Rose, it was the first time they had seen this group of people before.

    For others, it struck fear in them when seeing them because they knew exactly who it was.

    ¡°What are¡­ what is the Superintendent doing here, and why is he with the disciplinary team!¡±

    The Superintendent a group of people that acted separately from the reagr members of the White rose, and usually their appreance wasn¡¯t good news.

 Chapter 912 The White Rose Discipline

    Chapter 912 The White Rose Discipline

    The White Rose agents were frozen in ce as they saw the Superintendent team arrive. No longer were they concerning themselves with those that had escaped, and Gary and the others had already made it over the walls anyway; the only person that could catch up to them was the Chief Constable. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yet, even in the presence of this man, he didn¡¯t move. The head of the Superintendent, the disciplinary department within the White Rose, was present, a man known as Adam Law. He wasn¡¯t overlyrge or had a strange body shape like that of the other constables.

    If anything, he was quite small in his frame, with his bald-headed appearance obscured by a peaked cap colored ck and red like his uniform. He stood upright, but the presence of him just being there was felt by everyone.

    ¡°I am here for one reason and one reason only; I am here to perform my duties as the Superintendent. There are those in the White Rose that I have concluded need to be punished!¡± In Adam¡¯s hand, he held a cane, which he didn¡¯t use for walking but always had it in his presence. After finishing his sentence, he mmed it on the floor.¡±

    In doing so, a clean hole had been made in the ground the same size as the cane. The area around didn¡¯t crack; only the small hole had been made.

    Adam Law was the Superintendent, the head of the disciplinarymittee in the White Rose. They were there to punish the White Rose members for any wrongdoings that would ur from within.

    In some cases, some could think of them as an HR team thatpanies would have. Only, because they were dealing with those in the White Rose, this team needed to be incredibly strong.

    Even in government offices around the world, there was always a fear when the White Rose organization was built up. What if someone was able to obtain this power for themselves? It wasn¡¯t umon for some governments to be in the hand of gangs in the first ce.

    So couldn¡¯t the same happen for White Rose? In an organization asrge as this one, there woulde times where there would be those that would be corrupt. Officers that turned to look the other way, and even being a part of misdoings themselves, maybe abusing their power.

    Even their White Rose needed to uphold their ownws that they were enforcing on the people. Which is how the disciplinary team came into ce. They were not involved in any regr cases on the outside.

    Their only role was to punish White Rose members if something was found, and in the White Rose bases Adam had just as much power as the Constable, a man of trust, a man of true justice.

    ¡°I understand that you might want to punish these people, but now isn¡¯t the best time; we have to get the escaped prisoners now!¡± Theodore shouted.

    ¡°The prisoners are not of my concern,¡± Adam answered. ¡°I only deal with the White Rose disciplinary measures. It does not matter to me how many escape, and I think you have something wrong, something very wrong.¡±

    Lifting up his cane, it was pointed directly at one of the Chiefs, it was Chief Jones. A man that was in the courtroom when Gary had his trial, as well as the one that made sure nothing went wrong in his trial.

    ¡°What?¡± Theodore said, confused.

    ¡°There is a grave matter of injustice that has urred, that must be dealt with. Chief Jones, as well as several others, have been implicated for working with the Phoenix Gang. All of them will immediately be taken in for questioning.

    ¡°It is a shame that something has been going on for so long in our base.¡±

    Chief Jones was stunned; he was unsure what to do; his heart felt like it was ready to jump out of his throat.

    ¡®How¡­ how did they find out¡­ we¡¯ve been working with the Phoenix Gang for years, but nothing has ever happened. Is this because of him?¡¯ Jones went to look at Kanu who was on the ground.

    At the same time, Kanu was d that everything hade through. In his position as captain, it would be hard for him to investigate those above him. On top of that, who knew how high this went.

    It wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if one of the Constables was working with the Phoenix Gang. The only people he could rely on were the disciplinary team, but again with his position, it was hard to look into things.

    So there was one person Kanu could trust, and that was Chief Hiru. Someone who had beenpetitive with Kanu from day one, wishing to rack up achievement after achievement getting to the top.

    With his disliking for Kanu, he didn¡¯t know if Hiru would help him out. It looked like he came through, and with enough evidence to get it so the superintendent will act.

    ¡°Involved in this investigation and important witnesses of information are Kanu, Elijah, Frank, and Sadie, so no one is to harm them until the investigation is done, and since I have seen you harming Captain Kanu right now, I will have to bring you in as well, Theodore.¡± Adam imed.

    ¡°Have you gone crazy!¡± Theodore shouted. ¡°They were helping the prisoners escape; what did you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t here at the time. All I can see is that you are harming an important witness right now, and I will make sure to make note of this in my ongoing investigation.¡±

    Theodore clenched his teeth, with things having gotten to this situation there was nothing he could do, there was nothing anyone could do, but allow for things to y out.

    ¡®It will be fine.¡¯ Jones thought. ¡®Our positions are important to Sin; he is a King; he can do something about this and get us out. After the mess is cleared out in Slough, he will help us.¡¯ Jones thought as the disciplinary team took him in.

 Chapter 913 Escape The White Rose

    Chapter 913 Escape The White Rose

    After climbing over therge wall, just as Kanu had described, they were now in a forest of some sort. The trees weren¡¯t tightly knitted together so there was plenty of space for them to run, and that¡¯s exactly what Gary did, still carrying Ice on his back.

    All of them ran, and Gary looked back, trying to use his ears to see if they were all right.

    ¡°You already said that you woulde back to help them, so don¡¯t worry too much,¡± ckjack said, seeing the young boy was concerned, or young man now. ¡°From the looks of things, that captain had some sort of n. So they will be able to handle themselves.¡±

    Up ahead, Gary could see the road that led to the forest, a ratherrge truck was parked up, partly on the road but mostly in the forest, and an old man was seen with a cigarette in hand. As soon as he saw those running toward him, he threw the cigarette on the floor and stomped on it.

    ¡°Are you the guys Kanu said wereing? Where is he?¡± The man shouted.

    The man wasn¡¯t anyone Gary recognized. He thought it might have been someone he knew since Kanu had stated someone had asked him to help break out of the ce, but the person in front of him wasn¡¯t giving him any clues.

    ¡°We are; Kanu isn¡¯t here,¡± Gary said. ¡°He told us to go on without him for now.¡±

    Gary took Ice off his back, who seemed to be recovering well now that he wasn¡¯t being electrified by the wall. Rather than getting in the back seats of the truck due to hisrge size, he got in the back.

    Opening the door, Gary was expecting ckjack to get in, but he hadn¡¯t moved, and instead just shook his head when he looked at him.

    ¡°This is where we part ways,¡± ckjack said. ¡°My job was done, our deal is done, we¡¯ve broken out of this ce, so there¡¯s no need for me toe with you anymore.¡±

    ckjack was ready to turn around, until he heard Gary call out for him.

    ¡°Wait, right now, I¡¯m sure my hometown is in a lot of trouble. I¡¯m sure there are a number ofrge enemies that need dealing with, that need help.¡±

    ¡°ckjack, you¡¯re strong, and I could really do with your strength in helping me out.¡±

    ckjack thought about it for a while. Originally, he never nned to get out this early. Gary was part of his n, but it was for the Warden to lose her powers. He started to think if Gary never turned up, would he have been able to escape such a ce.

    Maybe, an opportunity would have presented itself as time went on, but never this early. A good bulk of the reason they had escaped was because of Gary and his allies in the White Rose as well, a part of ckjack felt like he owed Gary a little bit of help.

    ¡°You have Ice that¡¯s already willing to help you¡­ as for me¡­ you should know now, that both of us aren''t meant to work with each other,¡± ckjack answered.

    ¡°Do you think I care about that?¡± Gary said, knowing that ckjack was alluding to the words he had spoken before. ¡°My history only goes back as far as 18 years, and all I remember between us two is what happened in the prison.¡±

    ¡°If you help me, then in the future when ites to it, I¡¯ll help you as well.¡±

    There was no time for Gary to be shy; he needed all the help he could get if he was to go up against the Phoenix Gang, and ckjack was incredibly strong.

    ¡°Help from an Alpha, you owe me a favor, then maybe it is worth it for me after all,¡± ckjack mumbled to himself with a smile as he walked forward and got in the truck.

    The driver quickly got inside and continued down the path, heading quickly away from the White Rose base.

    Now, all three of them were heading to the town of Slough. It had been a long time, and none of them had any devices on them, having no idea what was going on. All they could do was hope that they could get there in time. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    They were even unaware of the live stream that was going on, and how the whole country, even people from other worlds, were watching what was about to happen with the Howlers now.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Gary said. ¡°Thank you for getting me out of there and now doing more.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you being alive will benefit me a lot, especially if I¡¯m owed a favor from you. The others aren¡¯t going to believe what happened to me, I¡¯m not even sure they care since I was stuck in that ce for so long,¡± ckjackmented.

    These allies of ckjack¡¯s certainly interested Gary quite a bit, but in order not to create a rift between the two of them, he had decided it was best he kept his mouth shut for the time being.

    It wasn¡¯t the main issue at hand.

    ¡°Alright, we''re almost out of this city, I¡¯m surprised that there¡¯s no one chasing us with helicopters,¡± the driver said. ¡°I was getting ready to have my mind set like I was in some action movie. I guess whatever Kanu had nned it worked out in the end.¡±

    The man smiled.

    Gary also wondered how this older man knew Kanu. He didn¡¯t seem to be an Altered or a member of the White Rose either. Just as Gary was about to open his mouth, they had passed a sign and in an instant, a ding was heard in his head.

    [You have sessfully escaped from the White Rose]

    [Quest reward: Grade will now be upgraded from Rook to - Queen]

    [New quest received: Upgrade your Grade To King.]

    [The following quest will be unlocked: There Can only Be One]

    ****

 Chapter 914 Put Your Foot Down!

    Chapter 914 Put Your Foot Down!

    Gary looked at the message on his system screen, as he was progressing in strength and his levels he had been getting these advance notice messages quite frequently. Before thetest one, he had unlocked the requirements to have another ss upgrade.

    One of them being at the Queen Grade, which he currently was at, for the second, it was for him to reach a certain level. Now, having reached the Queen Grade he had received another quest on top of that.

    ¡®As I expected there was one more grade, the King Grade, but reading the sound of the wording of the text, I¡¯m not too sure I want to find out what it entails.¡¯

    ¡®Is it something I have to do, what if I decide to just never get the King rank in the first ce.¡¯ Gary thought. His mind though, went to the promise he had made. Afterpleting the strange ritual, he had made contact with whoever it was that had created the Werewolves.

    In order to not be restricted by the full moon, there were two promises. They weren¡¯t allowed to transform into their werewolf forms during the night of the full moon, and the second was to go against the other Alpha. Regardless he was under a time restraint.

    While looking at his system screen, it was then that Gary had noticed something horrid. His pupils started to narrow, the same way they would do when he transformed.

    His heart was pumping even faster and louder than before, and ckjack, who was in the car, could immediately tell something was up when he turned to look at him.

    ¡°Step on it!¡± Gary shouted. ¡°We need to get there as quickly as possible.¡± The driver was already driving at an incredible speed on the motorway, but he was still going within his means not traveling over a 100 miles an hour.

    ¡°If I go any faster than this, then the police will stop us!¡± The driver shouted back.

    ¡°Are you seriously worried about going to jail?¡± ckjack replied. ¡°We just escaped from jail, there¡¯s no need to worry about it, just go as fast as you can.¡± The driver did as told as he realized they made a fair point, and were now going as fast as the vehicle could take them, seeing the signs for Sloughing up they were nearly there.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ckjack asked. ¡°My friends¡­ they are in trouble.¡± Gary answered, he was filled with anger that it was hard for him to even contain his transformation. While checking out the system screen something had urred. Gary could see the deaths of his fellow pack members.

    The new ones that had been turned into Werewolves, and he had even seen the death of Tyler. Once dead they would no longer appear on the screen. With this, he still knew who was alive, but the fact that members of the gang were dying, it worried Gary that there might be more toe.

    ¡®Tyler¡­ I got you involved in all of this. You were just working at the shop, and I was the one that asked you to join¡­ and now, because of me¡­ crap, because of the damn Phoenix Gang.¡¯

    ¡®F*ck them, F*ck them, I¡¯m going to kill them all, what the F*ck do they think they¡¯re doing in my city!¡¯ Too many thoughts were racing through Gary¡¯s mind, and he had even ripped part of the cushioning on the seat he was on. It was frustrating but all he could do was wait.

    Finally though, the vehicle had arrived in Slough, but something odd had urred, at the border there was a row of cars in front of them, and several members that weren¡¯t in the Howlers uniform.

    As soon as they saw the car approaching them, they had pulled anti-altered weapons out, such as crossbows and more, and fired at the car.

    As it hit the car, the whole vehicle was electrified and started to swerve out of control. Ice who was in the back stood up, and seeing the attackers he created ice spears and hurled them right at the attackers stopping them from doing any more damage. On top of that, he hurled a hammer made of ice hitting the cars out of the way, allowing the vehicle to burst right through them and continue forward.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing they weren¡¯t members of your gang?¡± ckjack asked. ¡°No¡­ but they certainly looked like gang members.¡± As the car drove through the city, Gary had to clench his teeth at therge scale of destruction that had urred and there was another issue.

    ¡°Umm, I think when the guy shot that car there was a problem, it¡¯s not stopping!¡± The driver shouted mming his foot on the brake. They could see themselves approaching an apartment block right ahead, and at this speed they would all possibly die from the crash. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Seeing what was urring though, Ice in the back started to freeze the bottom half of the vehicle, until the whole thing was frozen over and stopped just shy of the building.

    ¡°Oh¡­ dear thank the heavens!¡± The driver said. He tried to open the door his whole body was shaking, and when he finally got out his legs wobbled so much he stumbled on the ground. Gary and the others quickly got out, but Gary was in no mood to hang around.

    ¡°You two, if you can follow the street signs to Burnham food street, I¡¯m sure there are people there that will need your help.¡± Looking in the air, Gary could see some of the trails he needed to follow from his markings in the air.

    ¡°There¡¯s somewhere I need to go as well, both of you, don¡¯t die!¡± Gary said, rushing off, and climbing to the top of the building.

    ¡°We don¡¯t n on it.¡± ckjack said. Once Gary had reached the top of the building, he carried on running jumping from building to building. He was continuing to follow the marking, and that¡¯s when he could see it with his eyesight.

    He could see Sin down on the ground, with no hesitation Gary didn¡¯t even have time to evaluate the situation. He jumped down, transforming and falling from the building. Then he reached out with his hand grabbing right onto Sin¡¯s face and mmed it onto the floor.

    ¡°Get out of my city!¡± Gary screamed.

    ****

 Chapter 915 Strike The King

    Chapter 915 Strike The King

    **MWS Chapter**

    The camera from above was filming everything: the transformation, the slide down from the apartment, and Gary bashing Sin¡¯s face into the ground. From Clem''s position, she could see the back of Gary¡¯s green hair. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Gary!¡± Kai called out, realizing who it was. ¡°It¡¯s really him, he freaking made it, he made it!¡±

    Kai was a person who was very calctive. He based a lot of his decisions on logic and the information at hand and didn¡¯t like relying on things like luck. If he was honest with himself, he thought they wouldn¡¯t see Gary again.

    He thought to himself, if he and Midwak were unable to take out Sin, then that would have been the end of Slough. Which was why it was such a relief for him to see this person, to see that he waspletely fine and right here in Slough.

    ¡®How did he do it? How did he manage to get here on time?¡¯ It had almost brought a tear to Kai¡¯s eyes, but he knew it wasn¡¯t over yet. Just because Gary was here, could he take on Sin?

    ¡®We need to help him still. Sin was too strong for all four of us to take on. It will be close to impossible for him to do it on his own!¡¯

    Gary continued to push down on Sin¡¯s head into the broken ground; he didn¡¯t dare let Sine up from the floor. That was when, right from underneath his fist, Gary felt an intense heat burning his hand.

    Soon, the entirety of Sin¡¯s body was wrapped in mes, and arge tornado of fire had appeared right by Gary.

    The Alpha werewolf had no choice but to lift his hand away as the mes pushed him back. A condensed pir of fire came toward him, but Gary, with his arms transformed, grabbed onto the fire.

    It pushed him slightly backward, but then with his strength, Gary shed into the mes. Even though it was burning his skin, it wasn¡¯t making arge difference and wasn¡¯t getting through his hide to his real body.

    When his arm swung through the mes, they disappeared from the spot.

    ¡°Get out of your city, get out of your city!¡± Sin said as he stood up. mes were burning evenrger from his two wings on his back, now nearly twice the size. Half of them looked physical while the other half of the growth was from the power of the mes.

    ¡°I owned this city from the beginning, the only thing I¡¯m doing is taking it back!¡± Sin swung his arms, and two giant pirs of mes went right out toward Gary.

    The pirs of mes looked like giant serpents in the air. They swirled around and came right toward him.

    Seeing this, Gary didn¡¯t move far from his position. He then swung his hands twice through the air, and arge w mark was unleashed, hitting one of the serpents of fire head-on.

    The sheer power of the w mark broke through the mes, making them break apart and eventually fizzle out. The other pir went to crash into Gary, but he jumped away from it. The pir hit nothing but the ground, melting part of the ground he was on.

    That was how intense the heat from the mes was. These attacks were more deadly than what Sin had been using so far, and Gary¡¯s hide was still able to keep up with it.

    Sin wasn¡¯t even able to see where Gary was. His mes were out of control until someone appeared by his side and swiped a powerful w cutting right through his chest.

    Sin saw his own blood stter in the air in front of him before his whole body was sent flying, crashing through the building walls.

    Kai and Midwak, watching from the back, couldn¡¯t believe it. They had been struggling with Sin, so they knew how strong he was. But now, it almost looked like Gary was the one ying with Sin.

    Midwak himself could feel something in his body when seeing Gary as well.

    ¡®How the f*ck did this kid get so strong in such a short amount of time? Just what did he do in that prison? Right now, I¡¯m feeling his presence; it¡¯s close to that of him¡­ my body feels like it wants to bow down¡­ it¡¯s disgusting.¡¯

    Now that Gary stood alone, Clem was able to get a better view of him from the side and his face, and she could confirm it.

    ¡°It is¡­ it¡¯s Gary Dem, the retired AFA fighter who was recently arrested. It looks like he managed to get out, and now he¡¯s protecting his city from the Phoenix Gang and fighting against one of the Kings!¡± Clem eximed.

    Thements were a blur as they came in, talking about how it was possible for Gary to escape from prison. People were debating whether or not he had been wrongly imprisoned in the first ce.

    People were making connections, and after seeing everything that had urred, it was only natural that they started to root for the green-haired werewolf.

    However, on the ground, Gary knew it wasn¡¯t over. He knew just that much wasn¡¯t going to be able to tip the scales of the fight.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret everything you did to me, including sending me to that prison!¡± Gary said, clenching his teeth.

    The night sky was out, and the Dark Warrior ss was activated.

    [Gary Dem]

    [Grade: Queen]

    [ss: Dark Warrior]

    [Level: 40]

    [Health: 500 (1000)]

    [Energy: 500 (1000)]

    [Strength: 85]

    [Dexterity: 84]

    [Endurance: 100]

    With the night sky out, due to Gary¡¯s ss type, all of his skills were leveled up, and his health and energy were doubled. It was now or never for Gary versus Sin.

    The citcens, the people tuned in on the live stream and the Howlers were all on standby for the final fight.

    ---

 Chapter 916 Turning Up The Heat

    Chapter 916 Turning Up The Heat

    ¡°Hey, Gary Dem, he wasn¡¯t always this strong, right? I mean,e on, we all know about the Kings, especially Sin; we¡¯ve seen him destroy entire gangs on his own.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Sin is strong. Didn¡¯t you see how he just wrecked all of those people before? He took on four Altereds at once, and none of them were weak.¡±

    ¡°Then, would that just mean that Gary Dem is stronger?¡±

    ¡°They say prison changes a person; maybe he went crazy because of how many people tried to stick a hot dog in him.¡±

    ¡°Hot dog.¡±

    ¡°Hot diggidy dog.¡±

    ¡°Forget the hot dogments for a second, what happens if Gary Dem wins this fight¡­ does he be one of the new Kings?¡±

    Thements continued to flow from the live stream at the appearance of Gary Dem. To the viewers, he was someone who was shrouded in great mystery. A man who hade with great potential in the AFC, and then left it just like that.

    No one knew why, and not many people tried to look into it. That was, until his name hit the news again, for the second time. Televised all over, stating that he had been locked up for a gruesome crime.

    No one knew why, and not many people tried to look into it. That was, until his name hit the news again, for the second time. Televised all over, stating that he had been locked up for a gruesome crime.

    However, the memories of what he had done in the news report, helping the people of his town, didn¡¯t fade from people''s memories, and now they were seeing him do the same again, with his overwhelming strength; they couldn¡¯t help but root for him against Sin, who had always been seen as a big bad in the public eye.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move,¡± Kai said. ¡°The way we are now, where we can¡¯t even transform, we¡¯re just going to get in Gary¡¯s way, and I wouldn¡¯t put it past Sin to start using everyone as hostages if he loses this fight.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do,¡± Midwak said, his mood seemingly more sour than before. ¡°I was already walking away; I know when I¡¯m useless.¡±

    Walking off, both Midwak and Kai couldn¡¯t help but look in the direction of where Gary was staring, where Sin had been hit. They knew the fight was far from over, and their sensitive skin could feel heat rising from that specific direction.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Coming out from the torn wall, a shadow of Sin could be seen, therge cut that was across his chest was burning brightly through the darkness, lighting up. When he stepped out, the mes started to dwindle on his chest, and the w marks were no more.

    However, Sin''s body transformation had changed once more. His wings on his back were still twice the size they were before, the red feathers that covered his legs mes were burning on them intensely, and now feathers had appeared on his hands up to his elbow.

    The feathers covered in mes looked like his body was made out of mes themselves.

    ¡°You¡¯re really starting to piss me off!¡± Sin shouted as he swung his arm in a circle. The mes lingered in the air, making a floating ring of fire, and he then punched the ring of fire, sending it forcefully out.

    It was the same ring of fire that had hit ke and Innu, taking them out, but this time it wasing out a lot faster than before.

    Seeing this, Gary swung his hand using the w Strike once again. His attack going through the air hit the ring, and both of them lingered in the air for a moment before the strike disappeared, and the ring of fire disappeared as well.

    ¡®That w Strike was at level 2 now that the night sky was out¡­ and he now has the strength of his fire and able to block it out?¡¯

    A smile appeared on Sin¡¯s face, and making several rings in the air, he started to punch them right at Gary.

    ¡®If my w Strike can¡¯t stop them, then I¡¯ll just avoid them all!¡¯ Gary jumped to the side, the ring of fire missing him. He continued moving closer to Sin, avoiding each of the strikes.

    When he was ten meters away, it was hard to avoid, but Gary didn¡¯t care, as he charged right ahead through the ring. When it came close to him, he swung both of his arms through the ring of fire.

    [-10 HP]

    [984/1000 HP] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡®With my endurance and new HP, I don¡¯t have to worry about getting hit!¡¯

    Now right on Sin, Gary swung his ws, but Sin was faster than he expected with his arms filled with mes. He blocked the hits with his forearms, and although w marks could be seen, there was no blood or wounds at all.

    Gary, seeing this, decided to change, and rather than using his ws, he started to use his fists. He was punching Sin as much as he could, who was blocking most of the hitsing his way.

    ¡°Do you think I didn¡¯t know how to fight and just relied on my power? There is a reason why I¡¯m one of the Kings!¡± Sin said as he made a ring of fire while blocking an attack and hit it forward, hitting Gary in the stomach.

    [-10 HP]

    [976 HP]

    He had been losing HP every time he slightly made contact with Sin, but it wasn¡¯t by much, and the attack hardly affected Gary.

    Going for a w Strike just before he had hit.

    [Lethal Pounce]

    Gary moved in the air, changing position three times, before he had managed to hit the center of Sin¡¯s body.

    Gary had hit slightly upward, lifting him up on his feet, and continued to throw a flurry of punches, but each time he was lifted, Gary made sure with one of his hands to hold him so he wouldn¡¯t go flying in the air.

    Then pulling him forward, Gary used his leg and kicked him up high in the air. Using his legs and bending his strong thighs, Gary jumped up in the air, and with both hands mmed them down, sending Sin right into the ground.

    Like a ming arrow descending from the sky, his body crashed into the ground, bending the buildings on the side slightly inward.

    While Gary was falling from the air to the spot Sin was in, he knew something was up though.

    ¡®Not enough, this is not enough; if the Kings were so feared, they wouldn¡¯t be taken out this easily. I know I gained a lot of strength so far, but something else has to be amiss here.¡¯

    While Gary was falling to the ground, a pir of fire went out from the hole where Sin was in and hit Gary directly in the chest, hitting his body. He spun a few times and eventuallynded on a broken part of the ground.

    [-22 HP]

    ¡®Well, that hit hurt a bit more.¡¯ Gary thought as he quickly got up from where he was looking, and he noticed the entire air changing around him.

    Even through the camera, it was hard for Clem to focus, and she saw a warning sign.

    ¡®Equipment overheating, please consider turning it off.¡¯

    ¡°We have to move; we have to get up quickly,¡± Ash said. He could feel it; he could feel something was amiss.

 Chapter 917 An Intense Heat

    Chapter 917 An Intense Heat

    A great intense heat could be felt from the ground and in the air, even though the citizens weren¡¯t too close; watching from behind the barrier of cars that had been built.

    Through their shoes, it felt hot to the touch, burning them if they didn¡¯t lift their feet. At the same time, a zing heavy heat surrounded all around them.

    Naturally, everyone started to move back to avoid the build up of heat everywhere.

    At the same time, Clem and Ash had taken the helicopter and rose up in the air again. Thankfully, with their camera, they were able to zoom in and still get a view of the situation that was taking ce down below.

    ¡°What is this feeling.¡± Kai thought, getting up from the floor.

    Innu and ke had managed to recover somewhat, not enough to fight, but enough to get up and walk on their own. They could hear the words of everyone from before, so they knew Gary was there.

    As everyone moved back from the heat, the Howlers members, ke, and Innu all stayed closer, taking the heat, wishing the view what was going to happen with their own eyes.

    ¡°Kai¡­ he can do it right¡­ Gary can win this.¡± Innu asked.

    ¡°Of course he can.¡± Kai answered. ¡°You know, from time to time, when we get new members, they ask me a question. Why aren¡¯t I the leader, why is someone like Gary the leader instead of me¡­¡±

    Interrupted his talk, they saw a mass amount of mes erupt from the crater created on the street. Rocks were flung to the side and hade crashing down. Now standing in the centre, they could see Sin¡¯s body standing strong.

    Despite all the times he had been hit, he was still able to stand, and he didn''t look like his body was hurt at all, in fact, there was once again another change in Sin¡¯s appearance.

    The wings had subsided in size, but they were burning brighter than ever on his back. They were glowing as if made of a pure single me, moving as he breathed. The red feathers that covered his body, now had gone right up to his shoulders and part of his chest.

    His entire body was covered in the red me feathers, apart from a small part on his chest, and his face that was still visibly human. The intense heat, that all of them could feel, it wasing directly off Sin¡¯s body.

    ¡°I guess his name of his gang isn¡¯t just for show.¡± ke said. ¡°Just like a phoenix, every time this guy gets beaten or taken down he is rising again, and each time he¡¯s rising even stronger.¡±

    ¡°And how is Gary meant to beat someone who can¡¯t die, and if anything, is getting stronger every time.¡± Innu asked back.

    ¡°Stop saying sh*t.¡± Midwaked. ¡°You guys aren¡¯t even the ones fighting, and yet you''re talking like this, and you''re forgetting something, does Gary look like he¡¯s hurt either?¡±

    [Gary Dem]

    [954/1000 HP]

    With Gary¡¯s endurance at its maximum after defeating the Warden, and with his health increase, he wasn¡¯t exactly the easiest person to kill either.

    Sin then looked at Gary.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe, of all people it¡¯se to this, I thought I would only use this on the other Kings.¡±

    Right after finishing his sentence, Sin dashed forward and mes intensely pushed from his wings. He moved increadly fast and was right in front of Gary, but Gary was fast as well.

    He swung his arm for a punch with his strength and so did Sin, the two collided and a tunnel of mes erupted from behind Sin¡¯s mes. His wings started to p forward and Gary was being pushed back along the ground.

    Pulling away from the struggle, Gary then threw a strike at Sin¡¯s side, it was a clean hit, hitting him and sending him away in the air, but quickly Sin had regathered himself with his wings.

    He started to dash through the air, flying at a fast speed and changing his path rather thaning straight forward, and now Sin was the one who struck Gary on his side.

    Gary had blocked the hit, but he saw that his HP still went down. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [-4 HP]

    After blocking the hit, Sin continued to throw hit after hit at the fast speed. With each hit, arge tunnel of mes could be seen erupting in the air. It was a wild sight to see. To everyone watching, those on the camera did not look like a battle between two Altered, it looked like a battle between gods. Only then they couldprehend what they were witnessing withrge mesing out with each individual hit.

    Then, Sin pulled back, and out from his hands, quick fire balls had hit Gary one after the other. He blocked them with his guard once more.

    [-2 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Gary shouted.

    [Lethal Pounce]

    Quickly he dashed from side to side to side, and then kicked Sin right on his head, it felt like a solid hit, and Sin was sent back across the street, his body crashing into multiple cars until he had eventually stopped.

    ¡°Haha, hahaha! Are you like me? Will you not die as well!¡± Sin was impressed, so many mes, so many powerful hits, and yet Gary still didn¡¯t fall.

    However, Gary wasn¡¯t so happy, because during the fight at hand, he had seen a message pop up. As Sin walked closer and the intense heat grew, the message had popped up again.

    [The intense heat is affecting you severely]

    [Your HP will gradually decrease]

    [Your Energy will gradually decrease]

    [HP 908/1000]

    [Energy 640/1000]

    ¡®I might not die in this fight, but if I run out of energy, I¡¯m as good as dead.¡¯

 Chapter 918 A Burning Cut

    Chapter 918 A Burning Cut

    Sin had transformed his body once again after being taken down, and now an intense heat was being given off from his body. It was so intense that Gary even received a message from his system.

    He would constantly lose HP as well as energy during his fight, and his energy was already low from using arge number of moves.

    Right then, Sin charged from his position, the fire boosting him, making him faster than before. Gary lifted his arms up to block the attack, and he was hit; his entire body moved back a few inches, but the fists wereing in one after the other, moving his feet back ever so slightly.

    ¡®He¡¯s fast, he¡¯s really fast, is he just as fast as me!¡¯ Gary started to think.

    What was even worse though, was the fact that his energy was running low. Standing his ground, Gary then swung his arm and enacted his w Swipe. The energy went forward, cracking the ground and tearing through the building on another side. However, it hadn¡¯t hit Sin.

    Instead, Sin was right by his side with his ming wings and swung both of his arms up, and from underneath Gary¡¯s feet, he felt his entire body being lifted up by a tornado of fire.

    Right after that, the fire started to envelop him as if it was alive. It covered his body and then forced Gary down like a tunnel of wind, sending him crashing into the ground.

    The mes continued to hit Gary¡¯s body again and again until they hadpletely singed and evaporated into the ground.

    [-86 HP]

    ¡®That was the biggest hit,¡¯ Gary thought, getting up from the floor and jumping back, creating space between the two. ¡®During that entire confrontation, my HP was going down regardless of the hit, and my energy is lower than before.¡¯

    ¡®Although my endurance is high, healing my tough hide, it¡¯s taking even more energy than before. Energy and health go hand in hand with this body.¡¯

    ¡°You really are a tough one as I expected,¡± Sin stated. ¡°Others who would have been hit by that attack would have burned into nothing but ashes, yet you still stand. Let¡¯s see which one of us is going tost longer then!¡±

    Arge amount of heat expanded out with mes from his wings, and Sin was boosted forward again. The mes were propelling him like a rocket, heading straight for his target.

    Taking the hit head-on again wasn¡¯t an option for Gary. If he just did the same thing again and again, he would lose this fight, and that was the same with the Lethal Pounce.

    ¡®I don¡¯t have the Last Stand skill¡­ I already used it, so there¡¯s no second chances in this fight. I have to do what I can.¡¯ Gary thought, spreading his legs and cing both of his hands by his side. A change started to ur.

    ¡°If I¡¯m going to lose my energy anyway, then I might as well use it all up getting rid of you!¡±

    [Full Transformation]

    Gary¡¯s entire body grew slightlyrger, his muscles bulging, fur covering his entire body. Finally, he was in his full form. He was slightly faster, stronger, and more menacing in this state.

    When Sin threw out a fist full of mes, Gary blocked it head-on, grabbing the fist.

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    Holding on tight, Gary kicked Sin in the stomach, sending him in the air. But he only went a meter or two back before he sprang into mes and came back like a shooting star, hitting Gary directly in his body.

    Gary gritted his teeth, holding on tight to Sin, as the mes were growing. To the outsiders watching, it appeared as if Gary was trying to hold back arge meteor, due to therge amount of mes that wereing back.

    [-15 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    [-2 HP]

    ¡®The mes on his body, it¡¯s getting even more intense. Never mind me running out of energy, at this rate, I¡¯m going to run out of HP as well.¡¯

    Tensing and using all the strength he could, Gary pushed on Sin¡¯s body, pushing him into the ground. He lifted his feet and started to stomp on Sin¡¯s body, but the heat was still causing him to lose HP.

    Arge amount of mes exploded from Sin¡¯s body, and seeing this, Gary quickly jumped back until he hadnded on the buildings at the side and was now hanging halfway down the building.

    [210/1000 Energy]

    [762/1000 HP]

    ¡®This¡­ is not good. I never imagined I would be in this situation, where I would be worrying more about my Energy than my HP. The boost from consuming the Warden helped with my resistance and HP; that might be the reason why.¡¯

    ¡®If I hadn¡¯t consumed her, I might have already been dead in this fight, but I can¡¯t just keep doing the same thing.¡¯

    Sin had risen from the ground and was now in the air in the middle of the street, looking at Gary hanging on the wall at the same level.

    ¡°I can tell, you¡¯re worried about something¡­ It looks like this is close to your end!¡± Sin charged forward,ing in at great speed.

    Gary tensed his legs and kicked off the building, breaking its structure and causing it to bend inward. While in the air, he swung his fists and continuously used the w Swipe.

    ¡®This move uses arge amount of my energy, but all I can do now is focus on this!¡¯

    With Sin moving so fast, he allowed for the w Swipe to hit his body, but only the side. It had cut across his shoulder, removing the mes. When the second and third w Swipe hit his shoulder, it had pierced through the mes and hit his skin, causing blood to drop.

    Gary had seen this all before, and sooner orter, the wound would just heal. But focusing on this point, with his energy so low, Gary crashed right into Sin¡¯s body.

    Everyone looked up into the sky as the two powers collided, and mes exploded everywhere. They were unable to see much as it appeared like a small sun in the sky, and then they could see it; they could see Gary¡¯s Werewolf body falling to the ground. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Gary!¡± Kai shouted.

    Out of the sh, it appeared there was a winner as Gary fell and bounced slightly when hitting the ground.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Innu shouted, but when looking at Sin, he noticed something.

    ¡°It looks like Sin didn¡¯te out of that unscathed,¡± Midwak said, and he had a deep smile.

    When looking at the air, everyone was starting to notice Sin no longer had his arm attached to his body. From his shoulder, it had beenpletely ripped off.

    Then when they looked on the ground, they could see in Gary¡¯s hand, there was an arm, still covered in mes and the special red feathers.

    Slowly, Gary got up from the floor and held the burning arm in his hand; it was still hurting him even now.

    [-1HP]

    [-1HP]

    Then looking at the ming hand, Gary opened his mouth wide and bit right into it there and then, mes covering his entire mouth and the red feathers falling onto the floor.

 Chapter 919 Limb From Limb

    Chapter 919 Limb From Limb

    The arm that had been removed from Sin¡¯s body, it was still burning as Gary held it. He could feel the intense heat, and his system was informing him of the constant HP and Energy drain it was doing to him.

    It was going down quicker than before, now that he was holding onto a part of Sin directly.

    However, there was one thing that Gary was sure about: it was the fact that Sin was an Altered, and if Gary consumed Altereds or parts of Altereds, two things would happen to him¡ªhe would get stronger, and part of his energy returned.

    ¡°I have to do this!¡± Gary opened his mouth wide and bit through the mes.

    The red feathers, when touching his tongue and mouth, gave a heavy burning sensation, but underneath it all, he could still feel the flesh. He only chewed a few times before swallowing as it wasn¡¯t something he wanted to savor.

    ¡°That fool!¡± Sin said, looking down from above in the air, and turning his head to his own arm. ¡°If he eats that, the entire arm will burn him from inside out; he¡¯s as good as dead!¡±

    Sin¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed as he looked toward his arm. Where it had been cut had been healed, but his arm wasn¡¯t growing back; he could heal wounds as long as it was attached to his body, but he was unable to grow limbs back. Regardless if Gary was dead, he hade out of this fight the winner.

    Pieces of the feathers and flesh went down Gary¡¯s throat and towards his stomach. His HP was going down faster than before; he was taking a big hit as he started to digest bits of it.

    [-2HP]

    [-2HP]

    [-2HP]

    [-2HP]

    The HP continued to decrease, and Gary had already consumed the entire arm. He was starting to think that maybe he had made a mistake. That for once, there was an Altered that he was unable to eat¡­ that was until the system had granted him a message.

    [542/1000 HP]

    [113/1000 Energy] >>>> [312/1000 Energy]

    ¡®It went up, my energy went back up¡­ and it went far higher than I expected; this has to be because he¡¯s some type of special Mythical Altered.¡¯

    Gary looked up at Sin who was still in the air, confident that he would have died; he could see that his arm wasn¡¯t growing back. With this, and his energy still low, it was the only way for him to survive, his only way he could win this fight¡ªto eat part of his enemy and use up every ounce of his energy.

    However, the system messages didn¡¯t stop there.

    [Your Endurance is at its maximum level]

    [Endurance can no longer increase]

    [Special properties of consumed Altered have been discovered]

    [You have gained Fire and Heat resistance!]

    After seeing those messages, the heat became a little bit more bearable. He could still feel the intensity of it, but it wasn¡¯t affecting him as much anymore, and the time it took for messages to appear about his energy being drained due to the heat were taking longer.

    ¡°You¡¯re not dead?¡± Sin said in shock. ¡°Why won¡¯t you die!¡±

    Sin flew up in the air and spun his body, a spiral of mesing out over the sky covering the city; right then, he dived down. Performing his strongest attacks, going through the sky like a falling meteorite.

    Since he had flown up higher, it almost looked as if he was breaking the sound barrier. Once in a while, a pulse of mes would go through the air, and it would increase Sin¡¯s speed even more than before.

    Gary, seeing this, first swung his arms several times, unleashing two w shes above him. He then bent his knees down and swung his arms again, swinging more w shes. They hit Sin straight on, but he continued to fall, only breaking some of the mes away from him.

    As Gary bent his knees fully, he went ahead and activated something he had been saving for a while. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [Lethal Pounce, level 4]

    Gary¡¯s feet sted from the ground, crushing the ground beneath his feet. The impact to the ground was the same as if Sin was to havended on the ground. As Gary sted from his feet, he met Sin in the middle.

    The two collided for a moment, and a shockwave destroyed all of the windows in a mile radius from the power of the sh. What was sent out and was burning some of the buildings in the distance.

    ¡®Lethal Pounce, the first level allowed me to quickly lock onto my target. The second stage allowed me to dodge before striking my enemy, and the third stage allowed me to add a number of pounces to my liking before the Lethal Pounce at the end of the strike, using up more energy than others.¡¯

    ¡®However, I can use these different levels of Lethal Pounces as I like; the second level isn¡¯t always good to use if I want to strike my enemy faster¡­ and through the use of the rest of my pawn points upgrading lethal pounce, and the Dark night sky, Lethal Pounce is now upgraded to level 4.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s like Level 1, but it takes up an enormous amount of my energy, a straight ahead attack!¡¯

    [-100 Energy]

    [98/1000 Energy]

    After the sh, Gary ripped his hands through and continued forward up in the air, now floating in sight of everyone; they watched Sin floating in the air with his wings, with one more of his limbs missing.

    In Gary¡¯s hands, a part of a ming leg could be seen, and just like before, Gary opened his mouth wide and chomped down into it.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to tear you limb from limb!¡± Gary shouted, opening his mouth through the mes. ¡°And each time while you''re getting weaker, I¡¯ll be getting stronger!¡±

 Chapter 920 A Grave Of Fire

    Chapter 920 A Grave Of Fire

    Now that Gary knew he could consume parts of Sin, the fight had gotten quite a bit easier for him. Due to his healing powers, he thought that he might have to try and finish Sin off in one go.

    To take out his head, or aim for his heart, but in his desperate attempt, when running out of energy, consuming Sin¡¯s body, he knew it worked.

    Now, he focused all of his attacks, aiming at one single point of Sin¡¯s body. It didn¡¯t matter if he got hurt in the process.

    He had high endurance and had plenty of HP. At this rate, getting Sin limb by limb, he was going to be the victor.

    With part of Sin¡¯s leg in his hand, Gary went and chomped down through the pieces, swallowing it rather quickly, and jumping out of the area.

    However, Sin wasn¡¯t giving him a chance; instead, he was looking at his situation.

    ¡°You¡¯re ripping me limb from limb?¡± Sin said, deep wrinkles appearing on his forehead, his fist tensing up, and the mes turning darker in color along with the anger that¡¯s building up in him.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t we still have to worry? What if Sin flies away, he still has his wings, it looks like Gary¡¯s winning this thing, but he could escape at any moment,¡± Innu imed.

    ¡°Do you really think Sin is that type of person?¡± Kai asked. ¡°The status of the Kings has existed for a long time. There was a reason why they were even given a name in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°They were at the top, looking down at everyone around them. In Sin¡¯s eyes¡­ he won¡¯t run because he still thinks he¡¯ll win this no matter what,¡± Kai said, and he was right.

    ¡°I am a King, you dare to take my body parts from me, you know what that will mean, you will know the punishment that will cause you, it¡¯s death!¡± Sin shouted.

    He started to spiral his way toward Gary, charging down and thening directly at him through the street. It was the same old skill that Sin did before.

    ¡°Is that the only thing you can do¡­ if that¡¯s the case, then this fight is over,¡± Gary eximed.

    [[You have gained Fire and Heat resistance!]

    [A part of your energy has been restored]

    Gary braced himself as he allowed for Sin¡¯s body to crash right into him. Immediately though, after taking the hit, Gary hopped up, and now was on Sin¡¯s back.

    The mes were burning through his skin, through his body, but having consumed two parts of his body, Gary¡¯s resistance was only growing.

    Sin, feeling the heavy weight on his back, tried to use the mes to propel him upward and was flying higher up in the air.

    However, Gary wasted no time, as he grabbed onto one of the wings and dug his ws in through the mes, drawing blood. Then opening up his mouth, he bit down hard and ripped a piece off the wing.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Sin screamed in pain.

    Right after that, with a corner of the wing bitten off, he then stood up on top of Sin¡¯s back and held onto the wing, pulling it while kicking down with both of his legs right on the body. The wing had ripped right off from Sin¡¯s back, and Sin went crashing into the ground. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Gary was seen falling but as he spun his body through the air, hended on the ground solidly. Up ahead, he could see Sin on the floor, trying to get up.

    While walking his way, Gary continued to consume the me wing, just like he did everything else, and he was losing far less HP this time.

    ¡°You should have left me alone!¡± Gary said. ¡°You should have left all the people in this town alone, and nothing would have ever happened to you! But you had to get involved, you had to hurt everyone and send me to that prison.¡±

    Sin had finally gotten off the ground, one armpletely gone, part of his leg missing, and only one wing out of his back; he had never been in this state before.

    ¡°I am a King!¡± Sin shouted, his mes partly dwindling. ¡°I can do what I want, this city, and everything belongs to me!¡±

    Sin with his final strength, let out an almighty roar, and a stream of mes went toward Gary. It was a pir of fire that was swirling arounding straight for him.

    At that moment, Gary had already consumed the me wing, and he swung his arm through the air, aiming to perform the w Strike when something strange happened. His ws turned bright red, and when the w Strike left his hand, several lines of mes could be seen flowing through the air.

    It crashed into the pir of fire and both exploded out. The shockwave had caused Sin to stumble and fall back on the ground.

    ¡°Fire power¡­ he has the power of fire as well.¡± Sin lifted his head, wondering what had just happened.

    But Gary wasn¡¯t too sure himself.

    [You have consumed a great part of a Mythical Altered]

    [Your fire resistance has increased]

    [Special Queen Rank Skill unlocked: You are what you eat]

    [Fire Attribute Unlocked]

    The system messages came up in his face, but he was far more concerned with dealing with Sin. Jumping from his position, hended right in front of Sin, and dug his ws into his chest. He then lifted him up into the air, with Gary¡¯s face directly next to his.

    Gary¡¯s face then transformed from a Werewolf back to its human self while the rest of his body was still in its beast-like form.

    ¡°I would have lost this fight today, I would have died, if you had never sent me to that prison. Because of you, you were the one that made me stronger, it was your mistake that made me win this fight, and before I take your life, I thought you should know that,¡± Gary said.

    Gary knew this was true; without his high level of endurance from consuming the Warden, would he have had the powers to consume part of Sin¡¯s phoenix body? On top of that, without all of the pawn points he gained, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to level up his Lethal Pounce, nor would he have been able to save the others.

    The strength he had gained, it was all because of the prison; otherwise, this whole fight would have been a lost cause.

    Looking at him, Sin¡¯s mes were dwindling, and what mes he had weren¡¯t working against Gary. Losing his limbs seemed to have also affected some of his regeneration powers as well.

    ¡°You think killing me¡­ is the end of all of this?¡± Sin said. ¡°You asked me, why did Ie to Slough? Why did I do all of this? Well, after you¡¯re done with me, you¡¯ll find out.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so surprised if they¡¯re watching everything right now; they will surely make their move. You have messed with Royalty; a peasant like you won¡¯t fit in, and will get kicked out.¡±

    Gary pulled Sin¡¯s face in closer.

    ¡°If I need to get rid of all the Kings to protect my city, and my people, then this is my warning message to them!¡± Gary¡¯s sharp teeth were on show. ¡°You mess with me, and you end up dead!¡±

    With his other hand, Gary dug his ws deep into Sin¡¯s head, and then threw his body onto the ground. Right after, he opened his mouth wide, and let out an almighty howl.

 Chapter 921 One Trouble Left

    Chapter 921 One Trouble Left

    While Gary and Sin were fighting in the main parts of Cipen, it wasn¡¯t exactly quiet in other areas. In Burnham food street, they were having major struggles themselves.

    Marie and Olivia had both been in tough fights along with several people who had supported them, including Izzy, Numba, and Ian, in taking down Raven.

    Raven, a member of the Phoenix Gang, was a special Mythical Altered type beast that imitated that of a Hydra. He had great strength, and he seemed unkible to the group. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Each time they ripped one head apart, several would grow in its ce, and they had another worry on top of that, the poisonous acidic blood of the Hydra itself. It made it almost impossible to take Raven down.

    Even with both Marie and Olivia advancing further in their Werewolf sses, in the end, they were no match for Raven.

    The public was watching everything from the restaurants and were unable toe out. Now with no one left to fight them, Raven was walking through the streets with his several heads going through the entire area.

    A group of people cowered behind one of the restaurant dining tables. They were peeking out from the window, and they could seerge scales moving about. All of them shook with fear as they saw the head pass the window.

    Until it eventually stopped, and reversing back, the head was now staring back through the window, its eyes looking deep into everyone in the restaurant.

    ¡°All of you are guilty, for forgetting and doing nothing about my brother! And you shall receive the same treatment as he did, death!¡± therge head broke through the window.

    An echo of screams followed at the top of their lungs, covering themselves and wondering what to do, but the head moved too fast toward them. It was aiming right for a family that had nothing but the table for protection.

    They felt a gust of wind past their face, loud footsteps on the wood until a strange foot, that looked like that of a horse hoof, hade out mming right into the center of the head, pushing it back.

    ¡°All of you head to the back, and get out as soon as you can!¡± Vere shouted.

    Vere was a member of the Howlers that had been brought in from the tier 4 city Gary had found some trouble in. She had joined and was close to Austin, and was a skilled fighter before she was an Altered, and now as an Altered she was even stronger than before.

    She had even been in the fight at the restaurant where the first attack from the Phoenix Gang had urred. However, when the attack on the city took ce, she was outside in the middle of the streets.

    She was dealing with everything that she could see in sight, trying to get to one of the areas and helping others until she had finally arrived at Burnham food street and the situation wasn¡¯t exactly good here either.

    Even though she had kicked the head of therge snake, it had only moved back slightly before it attempted to open its mouth and bite right through her.

    In the middle of opening its mouth, though, ck tentacles surrounded the entire Hydra¡¯s head and were holding the mouth shut.

    ¡°Good job, d,¡± Vere said.

    d had also been traveling with Vere, never leaving her side, and was here to help. Those in the restaurant moved to the back, trying to get out of the exit.

    They could see all members of the Howlers had been trying incredibly hard for a while now¡­ but it looked like it wasn¡¯t going to be enough.

    To the side of the restaurant, another giant snake head ripped through the walls, breaking it with ease. It then bent its neck up, bearing its mouth like that of a snake, and looked at where d and Vere were going to be at.

    This was too tough of an enemy for them to handle. The second head moved in toward them, but d didn¡¯t let go of the head that was trying to bite Vere; he wouldn¡¯t, and she knew this as well.

    ¡°Crap!¡± she shouted.

    Until she saw arge figuree out from the side, he held arge light blue club in his hand and lifted it with both of his hands. The moment the head came toward him, he mmed it down right on top of the giant snake¡¯s head.

    The head bent inwards, blood sttered across the room, and the head was moving no more.

    Therge man pulled the club out from the head and turned to the mouth that was looking at Vere. Then from his hand, he had formed a giant Ice spear and threw it as hard as he could, stabbing it right through another of the Hydra¡¯s heads.

    The Ice spike went through the skin and stuck in the middle; the green liquid started to pour on the ice, but at the same time, the ice spike spread its powers, freezing part of the head.

    ¡°Who¡­ are you?¡± Vere asked.

    ¡°I am an ally, sent to help the people of Slough, sent by Gary. If you need a name though, you can call me Ice!¡± Just as Ice said those words, another Hydra head broke through the wall and hit him in the stomach, causing him to drop his club.

    He held onto the head tight though, and while holding onto it, it started to freeze over. Eventually, it froze enough to the point Ice mmed the head onto the floor, breaking part of the ice along with the head.

    ¡°Gary was right, his city is in trouble, so we will help him.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± Vere asked, wondering who was the other that was here to help him, and where did Gary get to meet such strong people.

    ****

 Chapter 922 A Victory Cry

    Chapter 922 A Victory Cry

    Standing on one of the highest restaurants in Burnham food street, ckjack was staring at therge Mythical beast from above. He could see itsrge heads spiraling in all directions on the street.

    It looked like an agitating infection was taking over the ce, building by building.

    ¡°What the heck happened to the world while I was in that prison, that something like this can just happen in broad daylight, are the humans losing grasp on things¡­ they have been doing so for a while now,¡± ckjack said. ¡°But I think I''ll be able to deal with this thing.¡±

    Taking a few steps back, ckjack was ready as he took a run-up and leapt off the building, right down to the center of the Hydra. One of the heads had spotted him, and started to head his way. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Immediately, ckjack¡¯s eyes turned red, as the head went to bite him he stabbed his w into the top of its head and then spun his body so hended on top of it, and started to run down the back of its neck.

    As he ran down the neck of the Hydra and attacked it, many of the heads turned and started to look his way.

    Swiping his hands, ckjack threw out blood swipes that appeared in the air leaving his ws and crashed onto the Hydra¡¯s heads. He then jumped up,nding on one of the heads that had been hit and continued to run.

    More and more heads were starting to look his way, and as they dived to try and attack him, his fast nimble body was able to jump, spin, andnd on part of the hydra without getting hurt while doing attacks of his own.

    ¡°This is just like fighting one of those great beasts; it''s been a long time since I¡¯ve done something like that,¡± ckjack said with a bit of excitement in his eyes. ¡°Out here I can move as freely as I want, the main issue is that we need to deal with the heart¡­ and its main body, what to do¡­¡±

    As ckjack was calmly avoiding the heads and throwing out attacks of his own once in a while, he noticed something happening at the bottom. One of the heads that was striking into a restaurant below, was being covered in Ice.

    Right after, he saw two other figures run out, attacking one of the heads together. And soon the Hydra head was covered in ice, it was smashed to pieces and Ice himself was seen walking out with hisrge club and shield.

    ¡°It looks like Ice is doing good as well, let¡¯s try to get this whole thing dealt with then!¡± ckjack said as he started to move in quicker and towards the center.

    Vere, who was on the ground floor and just saw Ice m one of the Hydra¡¯s heads away to the side, could see that most of the heads were distracted by something. When she looked up she could see red aura falling about and a man moving in a way she had never seen before.

    ¡°Is that the ally that you were talking about,¡± Vere asked.

    ¡°Yes, now let¡¯s get rid of this big monster!¡± Ice replied charging forward to the point where he had run right past Vere and d. It was impressive; she had never seen someone so strong, and a lot of what he was doing and with his build reminded her a lot of Austin.

    One of the heads came charging at the side, but Ice lifted his body and blocked the attack; he was pushed back only a few meters before he continued to charge in. As another head came towards him, he then swung his giant club down, hitting it on top of its head.

    The club had formed sharp spikes at the end sticking in its head. Continuing to move forward, he left his club behind and threw his shield away, while forming another giant ice spear in his hand; he could see the body in sight.

    At the same time, there was ckjack getting closer and closer, and finally, he could see an opening, holding out his hand, condensed blood started to form, until.

    ¡°Blood cannon!¡± ckjack mumbled to himself.

    Arge beam of red aura shot out, hitting the center of the body, and Ice¡¯srge spear had hit the body at the same time. It had pushed the body, hitting it back and crashing into the building behind them.

    All of the heads that were floating in the air at that moment, had fallen to the floor, as if the Hydra was now lifeless.

    Everyone around was trying to see the situation; was the unkible Hydra¡­ was it finally dead? But they didn¡¯t daree out from where they were, for fear therge heads could move at any moment.

    When ckjack fell to the floor, moving forward along with Ice, they could see the dust starting to settle, but then on the ground of the building where the body had crashed into, they saw something strange.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know he could do that,¡± ckjack said.

    What they were all looking at were a trail of thin end parts of necks on the ground. They looked to have been detached from the body, but the body itself was nowhere to be seen that had been hit.

    It was as if the body had served all of its heads to escape.

    ¡°What a strange Altered, but I doubt that he will be back,¡± ckjack said.

    As Ice and ckjack stood there, they both then could hear something, a loud howl that resounded through the entire city. Perhaps everyone in Slough could hear it at that moment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but to me, that sounds like a victory cry,¡± ckjack said with a smile.

 Chapter 923 The Peace Of Howlers

    Chapter 923 The Peace Of Howlers

    Clem had flown up high in the helicopter along with Ash and continued to film every detail of the final fight between Gary and Sin. She captured as much as she could, and the whole world could see the powerful two sh.

    It was an eye-opener for many who had only watched fights in the AFC so far. Now they were witnessing powers from Altereds that they never knew were possible, and were understanding why the Kings were truly the ones ruling instead of the local government and such.

    They couldn¡¯t even me the local police force for ignoring matters or why the White Rose decided to stand down with matters between two groups. Otherwise, man would have been uneasily ughtered.

    Regardless, all of these thoughts were put in the back of their minds as thements came down, blurring the screen one after the other.

    "Did you see that, he ate through the mes and then got a huge power-up!"

    "Yeah, he didn¡¯t stop fighting, and the whole city around them ispletely ruined."

    "What does this mean though, Gary Dem defeated one of the Kings, he bested one of the strongest and biggest gangs, does that mean now the Howlers are one of the big gangs, that Slough is a tier 1 city, and that Gary is a new King!" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Does the person above me really not understand anything, it¡¯s a lot more than one individual power to be a King. They have cities with undeniable wealth and more. The issue is, the Howlers didn¡¯t attack Inferno City, they didn¡¯t take over their businesses and their resources."

    "Without that, Slough will still be a tier 2 city, the influence of the Howlers will still not be at the level of the Kings, and seeing this, it''s very likely that one of the other Kings will act."

    Although most of thements were discussing Gary¡¯s achievements and aplishments, many were still happy about one fact: the one they were cheering on had won.

    The people in Slough that were being tormented, the Phoenix Gang that was feared for their brutality, had managed to lose.

    The reach of Clem¡¯s stream had reached more people than she had realized as well. Many people in Slough themselves had logged into the stream to watch the event.

    Those that were held up in their apartments, hiding out waiting for things to die down. Even in the hospital, Xin, Amy, White, Austin, and Mai all of them had gathered around several screens.

    They were all watching the fight that Gary was taking part in, going up against Sin, they were wishing him luck, and they had all managed to see him protect the town once again.

    ¡°My boy¡­ how did he manage to change so much, in such a short amount of time¡­it seems that I really have missed a lot,¡± Mai said as she wiped the tears that wereing from her face.

    Amy immediately gave her mother a deep hug, and the two of them continued to let out tears of joy, as everyone now felt a sigh of relief, and a heavy weight came off of the city that they were in.

    ¡°Gary¡­ from school, I really can¡¯t believe that green-haired idiot was able to do all of this and help all of these people,¡± Xin said, looking around the hospital at all the tears of happiness.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I joined this group,¡± Austin said. ¡°I knew it when I met him, that If I joined him, that we would amount to something. Honestly, If I hadn¡¯t crossed paths with him, and if he never had the chance to shine in this city, I wonder what this city would have been like.¡±

    At the same time, a single man who was walking through the barren streets of Slough, lifting a woman on his back on the way to the hospital with a phone in his hand, had a big smile on his face as well.

    ¡°I guess our family could never avoid our fate, this is something that I avoided, and now the responsibility will have been passed onto my son. When I meet with him¡­ Gary deserves to know the truth, about everything.¡±

    However, as the livestream had witnessed thest moments of the battle between Gary and Sin, the camera had finally given out that they were using and the livestream hade to an end.

    ¡°The major heat from the battle must have affected it,¡± Ash shouted. ¡°I¡¯m surprised it honestlysted that long, maybe someone up there really wanted the whole world to see the conclusion to this. We did what we needed to do, let¡¯s get out of here. If we want to help out the Howlers, we need to sort out the whole mess at AJ entertainment as well.¡±

    Clem was a little saddened that she wouldn¡¯t be able to head down and join Gary in his victory bout. As the helicopter flew back over though, she just hoped, seeing the state of the city, that Slough would be able to recover from what had happened.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gary was huffing and panting, his loud howl echoing throughout the city as he surveyed Sin¡¯s lifeless body. The w had ripped through his head, his Altered form had disappeared, and his entire eyes were lifeless.

    ¡®The Kings, NIRV, White Rose¡­ and even those like ckjack and the Altered Hunters, all of them still exist out there, and at any time, any one of these guys can ruin the peace we have, and the peace that I created for everyone.¡¯

    ¡®I¡­ need to continue to protect that peace¡­ to do that I need to get stronger. So I¡¯m going to use the rest of your body Sin, just like I did with Kirk, to take out anyone who tries to take this away from me!¡¯

 Chapter 924 A New Type Of Talent

    Chapter 924 A New Type Of Talent

    In the hospital, Xin and Austin had tied Gil down to one of the hospital chairs. One of the doctors was in the room and had just ced a tap into his hand, pumping fluids into his body.

    ¡°This should keep him sedated,¡± the doctor said. ¡°I know Altereds are more impressive than regr humans but I¡¯ve given him ten times the amount. Even if he wakes up he¡¯ll be extremely weak. Honestly, if a normal human was given such a thing, their heart would have already stopped beating.¡±

    Both Xin and Austin thanked the doctor as he went off to treat the others. Although there was now arge outflow of people leaving the hospital¡­ going back to see the state of what their homes were in, or their friends and family they were unable to meet up with, there were also those that wereing into the hospital.

    Those who had been hiding from all of the trouble and carnage that was being caused. All of the gangs had heard the news of Sin¡¯s defeat by now, and had already decided to leave, just in case the Howlers showed their wrath against them.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re not back at 100 percent, but do you mind looking over this guy, you should be able to take him out if he opens his eyes,¡± Xin said.

    Austin nodded.

    ¡°But where are you nning on going, I¡¯m sure Gary would like to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Gary will have a lot of people to check on, his sister, talking to his mother again, heck even his father appeared and disappeared somewhere. With everything that happened, I¡¯m perhaps thest thing that¡¯s on his mind for the moment, but his mother said this person was important. So I think we should look out for him for the time being.

    ¡°I need to go see my own family.¡±

    When Xin walked off, her smilepletely disappeared. Because she was wondering, with all the town¡¯s people in trouble, with everyone hurt, where was her father, the Mayor, in all of this. What had he been doing this entire time?

    ¡®You wanted to protect me from danger my whole life, but when it came to doing your job of protecting your city, what were you doing?¡¯ Xin thought.

    ---

    Gary was continuously looking at the body, and now that crowds of people were realizing that the fight was over, they were starting toe out of their buildings, out in the open, out to feel the fresh air.

    Seeing this, Kai didn¡¯t waste any time as he acted, he grabbed one of the messed-up cars, and then dragged it with his supernatural werewolf strength over to Gary.

    At the same time, Midwak could see what he was doing and did the same thing, the two of them then started to move the cars over until it hadpletely surrounded Gary and blocked the view from the outside to the rest.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to feel any guilt for what you''re about to do,¡± Kai said. ¡°The eyes watching you, they might not understand, but they do know right now that you were the one that saved them, rather than being afraid of you. That is the image that needs to be in their head.¡±

    From watching the fight, and even before that Kai knew. The strength of a werewolf was consuming those that they fought, those around them. Gary¡¯s absurd increase in power, and what he had done eating those Altered before going to fight Sin, and then finally, with Gary¡¯s ws managing to catch on fire at the end, it was all because he had eaten Sin mid-match.

    ¡°You need to get stronger,¡± Midwak said, standing on top of one of the cars he dragged over. ¡°That is your prey that you ate, and you need to keep getting stronger, don¡¯t think for a second that this entire thing is over.¡±

    It was words that Gary never expected from Midwak, and judging from him being here, it looked like he had fought by the Howlers'' side in the end, regardless, he knew that they were right.

    Heading down to the final parts of Sin, Gary started to transform, and ripped apart the rest of Sin¡¯s body with his teeth and arms. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    While looking at this sight, Kai¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t continue in his head.

    ¡®Was Sin really working alone in all of this? He seemed quite desperate to attack Slough. If I¡¯m right, the Underdogs connection was with Sin from Inferno City. They were the ones that were delivering the package too.¡¯

    ¡®That package, that started this all, why would Sin want to get his hands on it? Why did the Underdogs have it in the first ce? It feels like there¡¯s still more behind this. The fallout of Sin being defeated, it will spread to the other kings.¡¯

    ¡®Yet I¡¯m worried as well, with the state we are in now, we can¡¯t suffer another attack. We don¡¯t have the power to take Inferno City for ourselves, we have to focus on looking after our city.¡¯ Kai thought.

    Finally, Gary had finished consuming everyst bit of Sin, and with it, his system pinged him multiple times.

    [You have defeated one of the Kings!]

    [50 Pawn points have been given]

    [Use them on yourself, on your pack, to help them grow stronger]

    [Arge amount of Exp has been gained!]

    [You have leveled up]

    [You have leveled up]

    [You have leveled up]

    [You are now level 43!]

    ¡®Eight more levels until I reach the next ss upgrade. Which I will need before I hit the next Grade, since it might activate that other quest as well.¡¯

    [You have consumed a special Mythical Altered beast]

    [You have received the following talents!]

    [Heat and Fire Endurance have been increased!]

    [Special fire attribute can now be added to all your attack-based skills. Attacks with fire attribute will consume more energy.]

    [You have unlocked the ability to gain talents from consuming.]

    ---

    At the same time, having watched the entire livestream, Lupis, the Werewolf Alpha, had seen everything he needed to see.

    ¡°He is no longer a problem that we can ignore. We have to get rid of him, before he gets stronger. Everyone, we will be heading to Slough, immediately!¡± Lupis ordered.

    ---

 Chapter 925 Xins Fury

    Chapter 925 Xin''s Fury

    During the whole attack on Slough, Ben Clove had decided to retreat back into his grand mansion that he had bought when he had first arrived in Slough. A ce that was located deep in the woods away from the life of the city and built-up areas.

    It was a gatedmunity filled with guards from old gangs of the past. Not everyone had joined up with the Howlers but the city itself was under the Howlers'' rules. At the same time, there were always those that preferred a cushy personal security job that would only entail them being in danger once in a while.

    For a while now, Ben Clove had been pacing backwards and forwards in his office. He was still technically the Mayor of Slough, and he was afraid that at some point the enemy woulde to him.

    He hadn¡¯t been keeping up with the situation, only getting reports once in a while from his phone. He refused to watch the live stream like everyone else had, afraid for the bad news toe.

    When he thought about it more, he wasn¡¯t even sure what he would prefer to have, either way, he was either being controlled by the Howlers, or he was being controlled by the Phoenix Gang.

    Suddenly, a loud bang was heard through his double doors, clearlying from inside the mansion itself.

    ¡°What is going on!¡± Ben went behind his desk. Even though he was an Altered, for anyone to get through all of his guards, they had to be incredibly strong to a degree.

    Lifting his head, he peeked his eyes over the desk, to see the double doors bust wide open as a body was flung and hit the desk.

    ¡°Dad, where are you hiding!¡±

    Standing in the doorway, with her clothes partially covered in blood, was none other than Xin.

    ¡°Xin?¡± Ben said, a little more rxed now, as he started to stand up.

    ¡°I knew you would be here, while the entire town is suffering you decided to hole up behind all your guards, you could have at least taken people in, or fought against those that were attacking your people!¡± Xin shouted.

    ¡°Wait, Xin¡­ how did you get here, shouldn¡¯t there be arge force of people through the city¡­ and why are you hurt¡­ is everything okay?¡± Ben asked.

    ¡°Yes, everything is okay.¡± Xin shouted again, frustrated.

    When Ben took a peek behind her, he could see that all of his guards had been taken out, seemingly by her. He knew Xin was stronger than before, especially due to her position in the AFC, but he was seeing it firsthand, and her anger was pointed toward him.

    ¡°However, none of it is because of you!¡± Xin continued. ¡°The Howlers Gang, Gary, they took out the Phoenix Gang, they cleared them out of this city. So you don¡¯t have to cower behind that desk anymore.¡±

    ¡°But with everything you¡¯ve done, I don¡¯t think you even deserve to have a ce behind that desk!¡±

    Ben was shocked, for one that Xin was shouting back at him, but then either that the Howlers were able to be triumphant over the Phoenix Gang, how was that possible, and did she just mention the words Gary? Ben thought he was still in prison.

    ¡°Xin¡­ but even the power you have now, it was because of what I have done to get you here. I gave every penny that I have for you, I did all this to give you what you want¡­ how could you treat me like this!¡±

    ¡°Because¡­ Because I was proud of you!¡± Xin said. ¡°I understood your position and the things you did to better our life, and even the fact that you were the mayor of an entire town like this.¡±

    ¡°But then, I learn of what you¡¯ve done, how you don¡¯t care for the people, how when things get hard you run away to your castle here¡­ seeing all of this, while I see people who were brought up in this town from the bottom be the ones that protect it¡­ it makes me embarrassed and frustrated for you to be called my father!¡± Xin shouted again.

    For a moment, there was silence between the two of them.

    It was the first time Ben had actually heard those words, that his daughter was proud of him, and he understood the key words of was. When getting into the position he never thought of it as a genuine mayor position.

    It wasn¡¯t just him, but many of the others had their pockets deep with the gangs, it was the only way to get in a general Mayor position in the first ce. Yet when he got here, when the Howlers were cleaning up things.

    Rather than thinking about the good of the city, Ben had always felt resentment for taking everything away from him. For everything that had been built up that should have belonged to him.

    Now he realized though, if he was in the situation, if the Howlers never existed, he would have never been able to build it up the same way, as the Howlers had been able to do.

    The phone that was ced on the table for updates, interrupted the silence. It continued to vibrate against the wood.

    ¡°Pick it up.¡± Xin said. ¡°It could be important.¡±

    Seeing whose name was on the phone, and after receiving the news which he had, he didn¡¯t hesitate as he answered.

    ¡°Hey big boy.¡± The voice said on the other end. ¡°The city is in ruins at the moment, there is a lot to be done, and I¡¯m going to need your help. I¡¯m sure you kept a piggy bank of your own safe for times like this right?¡±

    ¡°Wait, are you talking about using my own personal funds, I can¡¯t do that!¡±

    ¡°Dad!¡± Xin shouted back.

    ¡°I mean¡­ What is the request?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The voice paused for a second.

    ¡°We need to help rebuild this city together¡­ and stronger than before, before anotherrge threat gets us. I need you toe see me, it¡¯s time for change.¡± Kai stated.

    ---

 Chapter 926 A Bigger Problem

    Chapter 926 A Bigger Problem

    After saying a few more words and sending out arge number of texts, Kai let out a big sigh. He twisted his neck, letting off a few cracks here and there. Things were always busy for him; even after they had defeated Sin, it wasn¡¯t going to be so easy. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You asked Ben for help?¡± Gary said as he was pushing the car to the side.

    The victory cry had been heard by all, and messages were already being spread to everyone in the city that the attackers had disappeared. So the people were heading back to their homes and houses.

    The thing was, right after a great attack people would start to think about what they had lost. Think about moving, or thinking about what to do next, and it was Kai¡¯s job to make them believe that it was a safe ce.

    A city needed its people for the economy to work well with each other, so he had to use every resource he could. Right now, the Howlers were helping just make things look a bit better than they did before.

    ¡°We have to use everyone we can; Ben seemed quite reluctant, but I¡¯m sure I heard Xin on the phone; she seems to be knocking some sense into him. With the Mayor, it will be easier to get the police and local governments to work with us better as well,¡± Kai exined. ¡°It¡¯s easier to just control the one in power rather than micromanaging all the way down; I mean, did you see how many calls I had to make?¡±

    It was strange to think that after arge-scale battle, justing out of it all with their lives, that there was a lot for them to do. Gary wouldn¡¯t know where to start, so he was happy he had Kai sorting it all out.

    ¡°The good thing is, the pressure from the other cities will have been lifted now. AJ Entertainment, Cardenez Electronics, and Notsburg, we¡¯ll be able to get help from them and receive funds in due time, but the people need help now.¡±

    After finishing pushing the car, Gary noticed something; he could see that Kai was staring off into space. There was still a deep thought on his mind and a deep worry.

    ¡°Is there anything I can do to help in all of this?¡± Gary asked. ¡°I want to get this city, and the people back to how they were, so they don¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡±

    Kai was now the one looking at Gary. He still had no idea how Gary was able to escape, the tale behind it. He was sure Gary had gone through his own troubles to get as strong as he had done.

    Yet, before they could even begin to start a conversation with each other they needed to sort out the city first; then they would get time to rest.

    ¡°After the people feel safe, then we all need to say goodbye to the ones that we lost in this fight,¡± Kai answered. ¡°I think after that we can move on¡­ I need you to be ready, Gary, because I still don¡¯t feel safe; it felt like there was something bigger behind this attack.¡±

    ¡°The words from Sin, I think there might have been another King behind it, and there¡¯s a good chance with the state that we are in we could be attacked again. You as the leader need to protect this city,¡± Kai stated.

    Gary had a boost in his strength, and a lot of his energy had returned. He didn¡¯t mind fighting, but after onerge battle, would the Howlers really have to suffer another, along with all of these people.

    ¡°Another King, what are the chances that we¡¯ll actually be attacked?¡± Gary asked.

    The issues weren¡¯t just with the Kings themselves, but therge gangs that woulde with them along with their influence.

    ¡°Right now, Inferno City is up for grabs, but it¡¯s quite clear we don¡¯t have the power to take over it like we did Notsburg. We were lucky with Notsburg for one; we took the fight to them, the second reason was because we had Midwak who could protect it and was loyal to you.¡±

    ¡°Taking over a tier 1 city would be difficult, but not for another King. My guess is, and my hope is that they will ignore us and do this. It could be the Bree Family, the One Gang, or even the Lupis Gang.¡±

    ¡°Whoever was helping Sin would most likely be able to take over the city the quickest. I doubt there will be arge-scale battle as the other Kings might just concede to whoever gets there first.¡±

    ¡°Equally though, someone could choose to forget about Inferno City altogether, realizing it will belong to someone else ande for us instead¡­ I¡¯m worried; do you remember what I said about the Lupus gang before?¡±

    Gary nodded; he thought about it often.

    ¡°That the Alpha Werewolf was most likely to be from there.¡±

    ¡°Not most likely,¡± Midwak said overhearing. ¡°Lupus is the Alpha Werewolf, and he is in charge of a pack of strong werewolves.¡±

    Midwak had confirmed their suspicions; he being an ex-member of theirs already knew about it.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking as well,¡± Midwak added. ¡°That Lupis, seeing what Gary just did, wille attack us, and he¡¯ll do so now.¡±

    Gary¡¯s heart started to beat faster; fighting against another Werewolf, how big was Lupis¡¯s Pack in the first ce? How strong was Lupis? Was it something they could go against, certainly not now with the state that the city was in.

    ¡°You might not have to worry about Lupis,¡± ke said, and walking by his side was none other than Innu.

    Both Gary and Innu gave a nod toward each other. It had been a long time since the two of them met, but they knew there were more important matters at hand.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s something both of us need to tell you,¡± ke answered, and Innu and ke both looked at each other for a moment, while everyone else wondered what exactly they were going to say.

 Chapter 927 Ruin City

    Chapter 927 Ruin City

    The Lupus Gang was based in Ruin City, a ce named for the many ruins that once existed there. It had remains from a bygone era on a cliffside edge that overlooked the vast sea.

    Originally, it was hardly a town, with just a few small houses in the local area and amunity reliant on asional tourism. It was once considered a tier 4 town due to itsck of resources. Yet, it was socking in anything else that not even any of the local gangs saw a benefit in controlling the area.

    Among all the cities, it was the only ce to experience a boom in growth that people remembered, attributed to the Lupus Gang that now ruled it.

    The city was uniquepared to others that were filled with giant skyscrapers and streets lined with shops and vehicles. Instead, Ruin City respected nature.

    Although there werergepany offices and buildings, they resembled giant warehouses rather than towering skyscrapers. The houses were mostly made of wood, and scattered around the city was arge amount of greenery.

    There were dense forests and dirt paths in the various areas. Rather than roads for cars, they focused on ways for one to cycle around the ce. There was an underground subway, but it was essentially the only mode of transport.

    Many people seeking a simpler life moved to the city. Despite sounding like a utopia, it still had its share of problems like any other city.

    Being a tier 1 city, one could live a good life, but a hefty fee was paid to the Lupus Gang. On the border, there wererge watchtowers that would look out; no one could enter just as they wished.

    It was perhaps the most protected ce in that regard, and at the same time, there was no police force, only the Lupus Gang. Which meant the main thing the people had to fear was each other.

    At times, if disputes happened in the city, they could escte to the point where two citizens would end up killing each other, or perhaps even more than that. Full-on fights urred with shopkeepers at times just as they did in any city.

    Without a police force, it was essentially awless zone. Countless deaths urred, and the Lupus Gang didn¡¯t care. It was survival of the fittest with them at the top, and no one dared to mess with them.

    At the very top, throughrge dense forests and pathways, there was a castle that looked out just over the sea. Half of it was destroyed. Inside, this was where Lupus, the leader of the gang, resided.

    He sat on a throne-like seat, hisrge chest bare as he wore soft martial arts-like clothing, gray in color. A split down the center showed his hairy and muscr chest. His boulder-like shoulders wererge, matching his thick neck.

    On his face, a thick white beard that went at least three inches down his face, along with the cold look in his eyes. This was Lupus, the Alpha werewolf.

    There was great mystery surrounding the Lupus Gang in more ways than one. First, not many knew of their power, and for some reason, the other Kings didn¡¯t dare to check it. During their growth, they had suffered attacks from tier 2 gangs and more, yet every single one of them waspletely eliminated.

    It was too fast for information to truly spread, so the strength of the Lupus Gang to everyone was underestimated, and since they weren¡¯t trying to expand their territory, they let them be.

    However, the mystery of the gang was even greater than that. Not only were people wondering where they had gained their strength and started to rise in Ruin City of all ces, but also where they had gotten the funds to transform Ruin City into the ce it was today.

    Even by charging the citizens who wished to live there a high amount of tax, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to fund the running of such arge city and its constant developments. This was something no one knew the answer to apart from the Lupus Gang themselves.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough to realize that he will be trouble for our future,¡± Lupus said as he raised a single hand. ¡°Order an attack on Slough now!¡±

    A man by his side dressed in a straight zer that reached the floor gave a small nod and went to head off to the outside.

    However, Lupus was unaware of what was taking ce right now in the city itself.

    Due to the strict nature of Ruin City, arge wall had been built on the outside simr to that of medieval times with watchtowers looking at those that woulde and go.

    A single man was looking outside, unable to see anything until an arrow went right through his head, causing him to fall on the floor. At the same time, several more arrows went killing nearly all of those that were keeping watch. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Inside the city itself, random explosions were urring in particr areas. Buildings were being destroyed, and fighting had begun. The people were in a panic as they started to run down the streets heading back to their homes screaming.

    ¡°The Altered Hunters, it¡¯s the Altered Hunters they¡¯re attacking!¡± the people shouted.

    It wasn¡¯t just one or two Altered Hunters. All over the city, Altered Hunters were attacking areas under control of the Lupus Gang, and then from the outside, one of the hunters wound up his fist, and then threw it out, mming into the wall.

    A wave of red aura surrounded his fist, crumbling arge part of the wall.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Edvard said with a smile. ¡°To deal with these guys.¡±

 Chapter 928 Bringing The Howlers Together

    Chapter 928 Bringing The Howlers Together

    A nned attack on Ruin City?¡± Kai said.

    He had been listening in on what ke and Innu had to tell him. Both of them had learned more about the country, the gangs that ruled them, and the Altereds behind them since joining the Altered Hunters.

    Earning more stars, they had ess to more information, and on top of that, it was part of their own job to pass on this information back. With the ranking that the two of them had, Edvard, the leader of the Altered Hunters, had asked them to join them.

    ¡°The Altered Hunters were aware of what was happening in Slough,¡± Innu exined. ¡°ke went ahead and asked our leader, telling him that we were from Slough and had those we cared about. So he let use here, and once we were done, we needed to go and help them with what they needed to do.¡±

    Kai was extremely surprised by the news. He had no idea why the Altered Hunters were attacking Ruin City, and he was sure that ke and Innu didn¡¯t know the reasons behind it.

    Apart from the fact that they were considered a strong Altered group and they were following the Altered Hunters'' goals. In the end, it would all work out for them, and it would give them time to recover. Who knew, maybe the Altered Hunters would defeat Lupus and his gang, and there was nothing they could do.

    Yet, Kai had to n for the worst.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Innu said. ¡°I want to be here, I want to help everyone, I want to say goodbye to the ones that lost their lives, like Tyler, but I owe a lot to the Altered Hunters, and if I don¡¯t go help them, then even more people that I care about could lose their lives.¡±

    ¡°I promise, when this is all done, I wille back and pay my respects. I¡¯ll be back with the Howlers; I just at least owe them this much.¡±

    Kai and Gary both understood; they needed to do what they needed to do.

    ¡°ke, Innu, both of you are heading into danger. I don¡¯t want to be saying goodbye to both of you,¡± Gary said. ¡°I can¡¯t help you now, as I need to be here to help out Slough, and I owe others a favor¡­ but if you¡¯re in trouble.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± ke said. ¡°But you can¡¯t do that. The Altered Hunters are your enemy as well, Gary; don¡¯te looking for us¡­ we will survive.¡±

    The two of them waved their goodbyes and they were off. Knowing that news, Kai was a little more rxed thinking that an attack wouldn¡¯t happen any time soon, and it was time for them to gather everyone they could.

    In Cipen, people were moving out, some were receiving first aid treatment; others were heading to the hospital. The Howlers members were looking at other things. Many bodies had been covered with sheets ced over them.

    Both Kevin and Park, two Werewolves that had managed to survive, had jumped over to where Gary was and bowed down to him.

    ¡°I have a report to make,¡± Park stated. ¡°The Howlers areplying with everything you have asked and have spread to do work through the city. The damage is minimal in Cipen due to what had urred and the protection around it.

    ¡°The status of Burnham Street¡­ We have been told it¡¯s in a bad state, but there are arge number of survivors. As for Crowley as well¡­ he is alive and well, and is recovering. Although I don¡¯t know how long until he can move, I would suggest taking him to the hospital.¡±

    Gary was snappy and nodded, but he soon found himself walking over to one of the covered bodies. Lifting up the sheet, when looking at the face, he had to gulp down his emotions. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Tyler, I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t fast enough, I¡¯m sorry that I brought you into all of this¡­ your death is on my shoulders, and I will take it everywhere I go with me.¡¯

    Gary continued to burn in the images of Tyler as he went on to remember everything the two of them had done. A normal young adult that got swayed into everything by ident, much like himself.

    ¡±Hey, who are you!¡± Park shouted. ¡°Put them down right now!¡±

    Gary turned around to see what themotion was about, and he could see that Park and Kevin as well as other Howlers members had two individuals surrounded. Over their shoulders, there were two familiar bodies.

    ¡°Hey hey, we''re the good guys here; will you calm down,¡± a familiar voice said.

    As Gary went over, he lifted his hand.

    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t worry, they are here to help me, I know these two¡­ thank you for being here, Ice and ckjack.¡±

    The two bodies that they were holding onto were Olivia and Marie. They ced them on the floor; they looked injured, bones broken that weren¡¯t healing as they should have done.

    However, Gary knew one thing, thanks to the system, they were still alive.

    ¡°What happened to these two¡­ who did they go against to end up like this?¡± Kai asked as he came over.

    He started to eye up both ckjack and Ice, wondering who they were. He didn¡¯t recognize them, but imagined they were those that had helped Gary. The thing was, Kai started to sniff the air; there was an aggravating smell.

    ¡°I brought these two because I thought they were close to you, and didn¡¯t know what you wanted to do with them,¡± ckjack said.

    After finishing the sentence, the sound of sniffing was heard again. Footsteps followed as a particr individual wasing over.

    ¡°That smell, that disgusting smell, I know it, I know what it is!¡±

    With both feeting in front of him, Midwak¡¯s eyes were transforming as he looked right at ckjack.

    ¡°You F*cking Vampire!¡±

 Chapter 929 Two Races Can Never Be Together

    Chapter 929 Two Races Can Never Be Together

    The words shouted by Midwak were heard loud and clear by those close. At the time, Park and Kevin weren¡¯t too far off in the distance, and their new sensitive ears allowed them to hear the words that they would have thought were nothing but fantasy before.

    ¡°Did he just say, vampire?¡± Park asked, looking at Kevin and staring from afar.

    Those that were close, though, were Gary and Kai. ¡®I knew vampires existed,¡¯ Kai thought. ¡®Due to the meeting that had urred before, but one to be here and to be helping Gary.¡¯

    It felt like soon there would be bigger issues at hand, as Midwak¡¯s arms were already transforming.

    ¡°Youe here in the middle of all of this; there are big problems to have! Let¡¯s go you and me!¡± Midwak said.

    At the same time, ckjack was on guard, a strange red visible aura was swirling around his fingers. The two of them continued to stare at each other as if one or the other were ready to make the first move.

    ¡°Stop it, both of you!¡± Gary said, his eyes glowing red.

    A small blue glow was seen in Midwak¡¯s eyes, which caused him to flinch and stare away for a moment.

    ¡°This whole town has had enough trouble; I don¡¯t need more mess urring here,¡± Gary stated.

    Midwak grunted and knew there was nothing he could do, so instead, he turned away, looking as if he was getting away from the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯m heading back to Notsburg, and will deal with whatever you need from there,¡± Midwak said, and then turned around. ¡°I¡¯ll warn you since you¡¯re new to all of this, kid, but a vampire and a Werewolf can never work together. It¡¯s in our nature to be against each other.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t end up stabbing them in the back, they will do the same to you sooner orter.¡± Jumping from his position, Midwak had exited from Cipen and away from the entire scene.

    ¡°I guess not everyone from your group is extremely fresh; you have an interesting dynamic,¡± ckjack said.

    The bigger concern, though, was the two that had been brought over. Kai had immediately knelt down on the ground and went to check on Marie. He ced his head by her chest and could hear a heartbeat.

    Both of them were still breathing, but they were covered in wounds.

    ¡°What happened to both of them, who did this?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°We have a pretty good idea of the cause of this and got the story from some of the local residents,¡± ckjack exined. ¡°When we arrived, there was a giant beast going down the street. It had multiple heads like a Hydra.

    ¡°It was causing a rampage. Me and Ice managed to deal with it, but when we went to see the body, whoever it was seemed to have gotten away.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Kai, listening to the story, was quite impressed. He knew who would be at Burnham food street, other than Olivia and Marie. There was arge number of strong Altered and Werewolves that had been sent there.

    Yet they were unable to deal with the enemy but these two were. Regardless if ckjack was a vampire or not, Kai wanted him on his side after hearing this.

    Whereas Gary, looking at the two of them, he was thankful they were alive. He remembered in the prison. He was struggling in deciding who he should exactly give his pawn points to.

    He had decided to help Marie and Olivia, not aware of the situation. The two of them had to have gotten a power boost upgrading their ss like so, yet the two of them were still taken to this state after everything.

    If they hadn¡¯t evolved, it was most likely that the two in front of him would be dead.

    ¡°We should take these two, as well as Crawley, to the hospital. Maybe we should get Tyler to drive us there.¡± The words hade out of Gary¡¯s mouth quickly before he realized it.

    They started to remember that they no longer had a driver, Tyler, and all of them, for the creation of the Howlers, were partly to me for that.

    Bending down, Gary picked up Olivia off the ground and ced her on his back. Then, Kai did the same with Marie.

    ¡°Thank you for bringing the two of them, and thank you for helping us out; if you need us, after we sort everything out, we¡¯ll be at a ce called the Wolf¡¯s pool club,¡± Gary stated.

    Kevin and Park lifted up Crawley, and with the four of them, they started to head to the hospital. Running through the city at a fast speed past all of the destruction.

    ¡°That reminds me,¡± Kai said. ¡°Austin said there was something at the Hospital, he said it¡¯s something you have to see as soon as you can, so I think it¡¯s a good thing we''re heading to the hospital.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Austin, he¡¯s standing again!¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°There was some problem at the hospital as well, but he and Xin and Midwak managed to face off whoever came to attack them. The Phoenix gang had quite a few strong members in their group¡­that¡¯s why it wasn¡¯t easy until you came.¡±

    ¡°I just came at thest moment, don¡¯t give me that much credit, I should have done more.¡± Gary replied as he sunk his head into his chest

    ¡®Something for me to see?¡¯ Gary repeated in his head.

    He wondered what Austin needed to say to him. It was good news that Austin was awake, but what had urred for him to be called. Thinking of the hospital, he was reminded of another piece of news received in the White Rose prison.

    That his mother was awake. ¡®I haven¡¯t spoken to her in a long time; I hope mother and Amy are alright¡­and what do I tell her about all of this, about everything that¡¯s happened.¡¯ Gary thought.

 Chapter 930 Someone On The Inside

    Chapter 930 Someone On The Inside

    The pack of four werewolves were continuing to run through the streets of Slough. Every once in a while, Gary couldn¡¯t help but stray from the path to the hospital to help a few others.

    A lot of people had been injured, and he helped them get on their way, or there were even those that were trapped under some broken rubble that he could hear the cries of.

    On top of that, there were just those that were too frightened to leave their homes, fearing that whatever was happening was still ongoing outside, and Gary needed to make sure to reassure them that it was okay.

    Nearly everyone in the city recognized him, the infamous business tycoon that had propped Slough up, as well as the retired AFA fighter, and recently a person who was sent to the White Rose prison, but no one asked questions about that, and just thanked him as they left.

    As they were getting closer to the hospital, in the middle of the street Gary had spotted ash-grey hair below.

    ¡°Is that¡­ it is.¡± Gary said.

    He turned his head over to the other two that were keeping up with them. Park was holding onto Crawley while Kevin was following from behind.

    With Olivia over his shoulder, he walked over and passed her onto Kevin.

    ¡°She¡¯s not too heavy for you right, now that you''re super strong and all.¡±

    Kevin shook his head.

    ¡°Take her to the hospital for me, make sure she¡¯s okay, and make sure someone called Tom looks over her as well. I¡¯ll be there as soon as I can.¡± Gary said.

    Kai, seeing who it was, had done the same, passing Marie to Park. With their strength, carrying two and heading to the hospital wouldn¡¯t have been too much of a big deal.

    After that, both Kai and Gary jumped from one of the lower rooftops andnded on the ground. The loud sound made the woman on the street jolt.

    ¡°What in the¡­ wait, Gary, you''re here!¡±

    The woman with ash-grey hair rushed over and immediately gave Gary a big hug, holding onto him tightly.

    ¡°Hey¡­I smell quite bad right now.¡± Gary said, his entire face heating up.

    ¡°Do you really think I care about that right now.¡± Xin said as she pulled away. ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe what happened, how you got taken away and what happened to this city¡­but I saw what happened, you saved it Gary, you managed to do it again.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Gary was thinking back to when all of this started. He was having a nice meal with Xin, and had decided to tell her everything, he let it out in the open, and she still supported him with it all.

    ¡°So what happened, how did you get out?¡± Xin asked.

    Kai was quite interested in this as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, let¡¯s head to the hospital and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Gary said.

    Exining the story, Gary went through the details of how the one known as ckjack, as well as Ice helped him. The battle that he had against the warden, and finally when breaking out, the White Rose agents that had managed to help them at the end.

    It was because of all of these he had finally gotten out, but because of it, it was most likely the White Rose would still be after him.

    ¡°The public opinion matters a lot to White Rose.¡± Kai exined. ¡°The livestream that AJ started, if they try to arrest you again, there is a good chance they could loseplete favor so they won¡¯t being back anytime soon. It¡¯s good that so many people helped you.¡±

    ¡±You''re right.¡± Gary replied. ¡°Those at the White Rose, other than Elijah, I still don¡¯t know their full reason for helping me, I never found out, but because of it, it¡¯s possible that they could be in big danger. After helping out Slough, helping them might be the first course of action I need to take¡­or at least get an update to know if they¡¯re okay.¡±

    Kai was trying to rack things up in his head. Lupus, Inferno City, along with the Altered Hunters and the White Rose, they even had NIRV on their back slightly for what they had done, after Slough what was their course of action.

    ¡°I can see this is bothering you.¡± Xin said. ¡°You know, my brother used to be pretty close with someone at White Rose, I think he was semi high ranking or something like that. I could get him to check on them for you¡­if we can get in contact with him.¡±

    Another memory had then popped into Gary¡¯s head. After exining to Xin about who he was, and what he did. She had asked him a favor, to help find out what was going on with her brother.

    Thinking about that, Gary wanted to help Xin, as she had helped him and was sure she had helped in the matters of Slough while he was away.

    On the rest of the walk, it looked as if Xin wanted to say a few more things, but kept it quiet, figuring there would be a lot to exin when he had gotten to the hospital.

    When arriving at the site, it was quite clear that there had been fighting and destruction here as well. There was a queue of people lining up to enter the front of therge building.

    While tents had been set up, and public supplies used on patients being treated outside. Some of them were council workers. Xin was happy to see her father was keeping to his promise of helping out the others.

    Once entering, Gary had taken the elevator, and reached the top floor and had been taken to a certain room.

    ¡°Is this where Austin is meant to be?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Austin, why would you see that big meat loaf, it¡¯s more important you meet someone else first.¡± Xin said as she pushed Gary and the door slid open.

    Inside the room, White and Amy were standing by a hospital bed, and in the hospital bed itself, there was one more, a person that had brought tears to Gary¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Mom¡­¡±

    *****

 Chapter 931 The Past Of Slough

    Chapter 931 The Past Of Slough

    The downstairs of the hospital was frantically doing the best they could to deal with those that continued toe to the city. Not only were they healing the injured, but they were also trying to take care of those that needed a little more.

    Supplies for food and water, the basics for those that might have lost their homes for the time being. Members of Ben¡¯s local team were going around taking surveys trying to get a gauge on a number of things.

    In the middle of their struggle though, several vehicles started to arrive. As they opened up, medical teams, as well as more supplies, were seen on the inside.

    Help from Notsburg and from AJ Entertainment had arrived as well as various other ces. ces that hadn¡¯t been so affected by the Phoenix Gang''s attacks. They were unable to get to Slough before due to their own little problems, and fear of an attack as well as the blockades that had been set up in and out of Slough.

    As for in the hospital itself, at the very top floor where VIP members would receive the top treatment in thergest of rooms, Gary had been led to one room in particr, and as the door opened his eyes had met a person he had been longing to look eye to eye with for a while now.

    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Gary called out.

    Slowly, he ced one foot in front of the other. Before he knew it, his vision was getting blurry. He lifted his hand out, trying to reach his mother, until he finally stood by her bedside and stroked her face as she sat up right.

    ¡°It¡¯s real¡­ this is real¡­ it¡¯s not a dream.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not a dream,¡± Maya replied. ¡°It¡¯s real¡­ I¡¯m sorry Gary, I¡¯m sorry I left the family to you. You really did take everything upon yourself. I can¡¯t believe my stupid boy who dyed his hair green, grew up to build all of this and protect the entire city.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t know what to say, he just held his mother''s hand, and for a moment, he ced his head into her chest.

    The others watching, such as White, Kai, and Xin, looked away, as they wanted their family to have a peaceful moment. As the three of them hade in for a big hug with each other.

    ¡±Stupid, everything was so stupid, we lost so much time together!¡± Amy cried.

    The three of them continued to sob together with their shoulders moving up and down, but eventually, they started toe to. Gary had pulled up a seat and sat alongside Amy by her mother''s side.

    While Xin, White, and Kai had decided to go to the back of the room, where there was a coffee machine as well as a few magazines for them to at least pretend to read rather than listening in on the family''s conversation.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from Amy, and everyone else, I know what you have been up to, it must have been hard for you to have done everything Gary,¡± Maya said.

    In some way, Gary was quite pleased that he didn¡¯t have to tell his mother the difficulties of what he had done, what he had built up. For a long time, he had been wondering in his head, when his mother did wake up, how did she exin the entire situation.

    From what she had already told him, she had seen what he had done to Sin, the leader of the Phoenix Gang that had attacked the city, and had learnt even more of who Gary was.

    The one thing he was somewhat saddened by was seeing her reaction, but he saw that as a good and bad thing, as he didn¡¯t quite know what her reaction would be.

    ¡°There¡¯s something that I wanted to ask you, you remember everything right, everything that happened to you?¡± Gary asked.

    At that moment, Amy¡¯s eyes widened and she gripped the nket that her mother was using tightly. It was clear she had already heard part of the story.

    ¡°I will, tell you everything.¡± Maya went on to tell the details of what had urred that night. What went on with the color wars while she was working in the shop. How she had helped a fellow college of hers and who had caused the damage.

    Thest thing that had happened to her in the final moments. Gary was refraining from biting his own lip and drawing blood, as he didn¡¯t want to scare his mother, but right after the story came to an end, and there was one more detail that she had to travel to him.

    ¡°The person, that did all of this, Xin and Austin was fighting against him, he seems to be a member of the Phoenix gang, and he is in the hospital room¡­ next to us. Your friend Austin is keeping an eye on him. I asked them to take him in, because I¡­ wanted to talk to him, to find out why he did what he did.¡± Maya asked.

    Gary could feel his heart beating in his chest, it was humbling loud and adrenaline was running through his body. The person was right next door, that had caused so much trouble. He could easily break the wall between them and snap the person''s neck immediately.

    However, just like Maya, Gary was also curious.

    ¡°Can I speak to him first, and then when I know everything is okay, and if things are safe, you can speak to him?¡± Gary asked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Maya nodded.

    ¡°You deserve it, you have been dealing with everything else so far, so you can continue to deal with things now.¡±

    Gary stood up from his seat to head next door with Kai, but before he left he had one more thing to say.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just me mom, it¡¯s because I had great people around me to help.¡± Gary said with a smile.

    After leaving the room, Gary¡¯s smile disappeared and he wasted no time sliding the door next to him. He could immediately see Austin but his eyes then lingered to the man that was strapped down, and immediately Gary¡¯s mouth was left wide open.

    ¡°Gil¡­¡±

    *****

 Chapter 932 A Talk With Gil

    Chapter 932 A Talk With Gil

    Originally, when entering the room, the fact that Austin was up and well, Gary was hoping to clear his bad mood by talking to him. He had been worried for Austin in more ways than one.

    Austin was a mythical type Altered and badly hurt to the point where his special healing factor was even slowed down. It was the first time Gary had seen something like this, and the first time he had a core member of the gang so badly injured. Yet, instead of entering the room, his mind had turned even more sour upon seeing who was on the hospital bed, who was the cause of the mess involving Gary¡¯s own family.

    ¡°Gary, it¡¯s good to see you,¡± Austin said. ¡°Your mother told me to keep the *Bastard that put her in this state, I¡¯ve been looking over him. At the moment, the doctors are keeping him sedated, but from the look of things, you want to talk to him.

    ¡°I recognize him as well, he was someone that was in the Grey Elephants, right.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t say anything and instead moved closer to the hospital bed. He wanted to get a good look at Gil¡¯s face. To see if it was really him, and it was clear now, there was no doubt in his mind.

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t just in the Grey Elephants,¡± Kai said. ¡°He¡¯s someone that went to our school. Although he wasn¡¯t in my year, he was in Gary¡¯s year, I recognize him because he was in the school''s rugby team.¡±

    ¡°Was he just a delinquent then in a gang part-time while in school?¡± Austin asked. He couldn¡¯t say much because he himself was in the same situation.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to find out, how did he get involved in all of this, and why did he attack my mother?¡± Gary lifted his hand and pulled out the tap that was ced in his forearm.

    It wouldn¡¯t take long now before Gil would wake up.

    In the other room, Amy and her mother were slightly nervous for what was to happen on the other side.

    ¡°What do you think will happen, what if Gary gets too angry and¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Maya said, calming her daughter down. ¡°Whatever Gary does, it is down to him. He has looked after us, and if he goes too far, then that¡¯s just what he has decided to do. I won¡¯t hate him or see him in a different light, and you should do the same.

    ¡°Both your father and Gary did what they had to do for the sake of the family.¡±

    ¡°Father¡­as well?¡± Amy asked with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°I know the two of you hate your father for thinking he abandoned us, but he wasn¡¯t lying when he said he had his reasons. It¡¯s not my ce to exin his situation, and maybe he wille back and exin everything to the two of you.¡±

    Although Amy had a disliking for their father, it was more so felt with Gary because it was expected for his age.

    Slowly, Gil could feel strengthing back to his arms. He tried lifting them, but as he pulled up, he felt force pushing back down. Opening his eyes, he could see the white ceiling of the room.

    ¡°I was fighting those guys in front of the hospital¡­so where am I now?¡± Gil said in a sluggish voice.

    Looking at his hands, he could see that they had been tied up several times to the hospital bed itself.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of these restraints, sooner orter, I can just break these things easily,¡± Gil said. ¡°They should have just killed me.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯re still in the middle of deciding whether to do that or not,¡± Gary said. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Gil turned his head to where the voice hade from, and he could see in the darkness a person sitting down on a chair. Standing by the wall, two figures were behind him.

    One he noticed as therge man that he had fought against not too long ago, but beside him, a blonde-haired kid. Then finally, as the moonlight started to move into view, it shined down on Gary¡¯s face revealing his green hair and his fierce eyes.

    Immediately, Gil felt his heart beating, he was gaining more strength and pulled, but instead of towards Gary, he was pulling away.

    ¡°I see that you remember me,¡± Gary said. ¡°I remember you as well, Gil, I remember you very well, and I have a lot of questions to ask you.¡±

    Gil seemed to somewhat regain hisposure, as his fear had turned into a nervous smile, letting out a deep chuckle.

    ¡°Haha, what¡¯s wrong, is your little city crumbling due to the attack of the Phoenix gang! Are you here to beg me, beg me to stop them from attacking your city! I bet you never thought that I would be in this situation.

    ¡°Having joined a tier 1 gang, one of the kingpins and gaining this extreme power. You can beg all you want, but I can¡¯t wait until the entire Phoenix gang takes you down. Then, both me and Raven, will be looking from above, and you will wish you never messed with us!¡± Gil started to go into a maniacalugh.

    All of them let Gilugh in the room for a while, until Austin finally spoke.

    ¡°So who¡¯s going to be the one to tell him?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite fun seeing himughing like this,¡± Kai stated.

    Based on the tension in the room, Gil was starting to notice something. That those in the room didn¡¯t look nervous. As he thought about it more, he wondered why was Gary even in the room in the first ce.

    Shouldn¡¯t he have been in prison, why was he here in the first ce.

    ¡°The Phoenix gang is no more,¡± Gary said. ¡°Sin is dead¡­and I was the one that killed him.¡±

 Chapter 933 You Are A Monster

    Chapter 933 You Are A Monster

    Gil was speechless. He didn¡¯t shout back; he didn¡¯t shout to im what they were saying were lies because there was a strange confidence and look in their faces. They weren¡¯t scared; the city, there was no sound of panic anymore.

    All signs were leading to the fact that this was the truth.

    ¡°How¡­¡± Sweat was running down the side of Gil¡¯s face; his heart was racing even though he wasn¡¯t moving; his body was starting to heat up. ¡°They were one of the kings; they had so much resources.

    ¡°When we were in front of them, we felt powerless¡­we joined those at the top, and yet they were still taken down by you¡­by you¡­what are you¡­you monster!¡± Gil said in a soft voice, but his words were genuine. The fear that was running through him was because he felt like he really was looking at a monster.

    ¡°I¡¯m the monster?¡± Gary said, standing up. He picked up the chair he was sitting on and hurled it at Gil. It had gone over his head and crashed against the wall, bending and breaking part of the concrete and ster.

    ¡°It was you that came to this city with the Phoenix gang and attacked all of these people. They did nothing to you. If you have problems with the gang, or you have problems with me, thene to me!

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to me!¡± Gary pressed his finger against his chest.

    ¡°Come to you? You were in prison!¡± Gil replied. ¡°You weren¡¯t even meant to be here!¡±

    ¡°Not that!¡± Gary swung his arm wide and ced both of his hands on the hospital bed railing. ¡°Why, back then when you were part of the color gang, why did you attack my mother in the supermarket!¡±

    Gil¡¯s eyes lit up as the memories were resurfacing in his mind. He hadn¡¯t been in a gang for long, but he remembered an event tgvbhat had urred in a supermarket. Where an annoying older woman had stopped him from doing as he wished.

    ¡°That was your mother, oh how Karma works, that was your mother, did she die, did she bang her head!¡± Gil asked, with a sadistic smile as if he was enjoying the pain he caused.

    ¡°She¡¯s alive,¡± Gary said, to cut his smile short. The response from Gil was a click of a tongue.

    ¡°Damn, if Kirk didn¡¯t get in the way, then maybe things would have been different,¡± Gil mumbled to himself, and his mumble didn¡¯t go unheard.

    ¡°Kirk?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Are we talking about the same Kirk.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right,¡± Gil said, his smile quickly returning to his face. ¡°I saw it right, an Altered with a mask had killed Kirk, and he was the one that had stopped me from doing even more to your mother¡­wait, don¡¯t tell me, was it you, were you the one that killed the savior of your mother, I can¡¯t believe it, haha it looks like the world is working in my favor after all, punishing you for everything you did!¡±

    Gary never wanted to take out Kirk, but he was extremely loyal to Damion from the Underdogs. At the time, there was nothing Gary could do, and fighting for his life, he had to take out Kirk.

    He was his idol, the person who looked after him when he worked as a transporter. And now he was learning, he was the one that had protected his mother as well. Kirk was a good person, and Gary always wanted to remember him for that.

    The one thing he was thankful for was now he knew that his mother''s attack it wasn¡¯t because of him, it was a random urrence, but still, he wanted to know why.

    ¡°What did I do to you, why are you like this, why are you so happy when things happen to me?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°What do you mean, because you¡¯re a monster!¡± Gil replied as he pulled his hand and the straps had bent part of the metal framing. ¡°I had to live in fear each day, wondering what was going to happen, wondering if my life was going to end.

    ¡°And it appears I was right!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the monster. The only reason why I had to stop you guys was because you and your friend attacked Tom!¡± Gary said. ¡°And for what, just because I had entered the rugby team. Because I wanted to do something that I enjoyed and was good at.

    ¡°You attacked one of my friends who had nothing to do with it because he was an easy target for you; I was not the monster, you two were the monsters that started this!¡±

    Gary was huffing and panting. Kai, who was still standing by the wall, he was surprised to see Gary so worked up. It was the first time he had seen him like this, and it was no wonder when his friends and family were involved.

    This was a good trait of his, and one of the reasons why he was meant to be a leader and not himself.

    ¡°You ruined my life; I had nowhere to go; I had nothing to do; I had to be on the run, and then I found out that I wasn¡¯t the only life that you ruined, I found Raven from the Grey Elephants as well, do you remember him!¡±

    Gary briefly remembered him but didn¡¯t know too much.

    ¡°Right, of course, you won¡¯t remember us, because we are nothing to a monster like you. I bet you don¡¯t even remember killing his brother in the karaoke bar that day, do you! We had nowhere to go, both of us, with a hatred for you, and that¡¯s when we learned that the Phoenix gang wanted something from Slough as well.

    ¡°We both jumped at the chance to get rid of you, to let you rot in prison and then when you came out, to destroy everything you cared about, and finally get rid of you!¡±

    As Gil continued to shout, his eyes were turning darker, the sedation was wearing off, and his powers were rising.

    ¡°You should have killed me when you had the chance, because I¡¯m going to kill your entire fam-!¡±

    Gil stopped; he couldn¡¯t speak anymore as he stared into Gary¡¯s eyes. He didn¡¯t even see him move, but there was now a wed hand that had ripped right through his throat.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why all of this happened; that¡¯s why the two of you attacked us with the Phoenix gang¡­that guy tried to mess with my sister; he deserved death, and you''re right, it¡¯s dangerous to keep you alive.¡±

    Moving his hand, Gary sliced right through Gil¡¯s neck, and Gil¡¯s body went limp as ity in the hospital bed, no longer showing any sign of life. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You did what you needed to do.¡± Kai said.

 Chapter 934 Rebuilding Slough

    Chapter 934 Rebuilding Slough

    The body in the hospital bed was now lifeless. Gary knew this for a fact as his system had given him experience for the kill. Not only that, but he had found out a little more information as well from the system.

    When taking care of Altered, Gary at times would receive a quest stating for him to not waste the food in front of him. He would eat Altered in order to grow stronger, just like he had done against Sin.

    However, his system had stated that the current Altered was infected, so he was unable to consume the one in front of him. Still, the experience boost was quite nice for him.

    ¡°That was a lot of experience, but I still didn¡¯t level up. As I get higher and higher, it¡¯s going to get even harder to growpared to before.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll clear up this ce,¡± Kai said. ¡°You go see your family, make sure they''re alright, let me deal with the city.¡±

    Gary was thankful that he had someone like Kai. With him gone from the city, who knew what would have happened to Slough. Kai was certainly a pir of the Howlers and the entire city, and he had be a pir for Gary to rely on as well.

    ¡°It might be best if Tom has a look at him; it seems he was infected type Altered, like before. It might help him in his research,¡± Gary imed.

    Walking out from the hospital, before heading to where his mother was, Gary headed to the toilet to wash his hands of the blood. The water turned slightly pink, and when it stopped, he sshed his face a few times and looked at himself right in the mirror.

    ¡®When did killing be this easy?¡¯ Gary thought, thinking back to the deaths at the start of this entire Werewolf business. He didn¡¯t like it; he didn¡¯t like anything he had been through.

    Now, it had be second nature and his answer to a lot of the problems, because it was the only solution in this messed-up world.

    When returning to the room with his family, Gary stood at the door looking at his mother and sister. She looked back at him and tilted her head with a soft smile.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything; you did what you had to do,¡± Maya said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just start looking toward the future and move on together from this.¡±

    A month had gone past, and the country as well as Slough had changed quite dramatically from the events of the Howlers against the Phoenix gang.

    For one, the city was in the restoration phase. A lot of damage was done, but it was mostly external rather than the foundation of the building and theyouts itself.

    Streets were to be repaved, cars had to be cleared up, buildings restored back to their structure, and more.

    Originally, there were also quite a few people who had decided to leave Slough after the events. The city wasn¡¯t as safe as they thought it would be; however, at the same time equally, there were those that joined.

    The restoration of Slough was going quicker than expected. This was thanks to the outside resources and rtionship Kai had with the others. On top of that, they were also building up new rtionships with the smaller towns that were nearby.

    Some of the gangs that had attacked them from nearby cities apologized and donated hefty sums along with manpower to work things out between them. Then there were those that just wanted to get friendly with a group that had taken out one of the kings.

    The state of Slough had returned back to full force; it would only be a short while longer now, and it would be back to being a tier 2 city.

    Information spread about what had urred, and there were many people talking about what happened for a while. People had even run a donation page to help the victims of Slough more, helping to speed up the recovery of the city. However, a chain of events that followed had caused people to soon forget about Slough and what had urred.

    For one, the attack of the Altered Hunters on Ruin City. It was an ongoing mess with both sides hitting each other once in a while. There was arge-scale fight that had gone on for a few days with no victor. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Unlike the events of Slough, there was next to no news of what was happening, but from the look of things even now, there was no dered winner in it all. One thing was clear that the attacks had slowed down and now both the Lupus Gang and the Altered hunters had weakened.

    Kai thought it would have been a good time to attack them if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Slough itself was still recovering as well.

    Then there was the events that had urred in Inferno City. With no leader and the fall of the gang, the city was in chaos for a short time. The remnants of the Phoenix gang were attempting to protect themselves from the nearby towns and cities attacking them.

    Some of them were trying to get their funds for helping on the attack on Slough and the failure that had urred, but what everyone had expected had urred and one of the other kings had imed Inferno City as their own.

    It was none other than Harvor Ego, from the One Gang. Ranked 1 in the AFC rankings. With the Lupus gang dealing with the Altered hunters, it only left the Dark Guild and the Bree family to act, yet none of them did anything.

    The world was a crazy ce, and movements from the deeper dark shadows were starting toe out.

    In the town of Slough, a fairlyrge man walked through the streets and looked up at the sign spread across an entertainment establishment that read ¡®Wolf¡¯s pool club¡¯.

    ¡°So, this is the ce. It¡¯s time I exined everything to them,¡± Dean Dem said with a sigh and walked forward.

 Chapter 935 The New Club\

    Chapter 935 The New Club

    The Wolf¡¯s Pool Club was one of the ces that had changed the most in Slough. It hadn¡¯t been affected by the fight against the Phoenix gang. There was no reason for it to be.

    People weren¡¯t in it at the time of the attack, and apart from a broken sign or so from rioting from the nearby gangs, there wasn¡¯t much else to fix. Regardless, Kai had decided to use quite a bit of extra funds to rehash the ce. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    After all, the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club was the secret hideout where the main members of the Howlers gang met up.

    One of the first things that was noticeable about the ce was it was now three times the size. The building to the left and right of the pool club, other establishments were bought in Gary¡¯s name.

    They then knocked down the walls to create arger room. Kai wanted to still keep up the image of the ce being a pool club, so upstairs they had just created arger bar, rxing area, and more pool rooms.

    Downstairs in the basement, that also had been extended to arger establishment, a special VIP area for Howler members only. Here there was a special office that Kai stayed in most of the time with hiswyer and such.

    Then there were more areas for the group to continue to party, drink, and sort out real business. Kai had even created a wall that disyed all of their special masks that the core members would wear.

    A spare one for them. Even though their faces had mostly been revealed to the Howler members, it was still good to keep their basic identity a secret.

    It had been a long time, but currently downstairs in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club all of the Core members were present and they were enjoying a drink and chatting along with each other.

    Marie and Olivia had managed to recover, and her mother was doing the usual making drinks for everyone. This time, Park and Kevin were also present. Kevin wasn¡¯t drinking alcohol even though he hadined about that.

    Tom, Vere, and d were also present at the club that day. Tom had been working closely with d to try and clear the infection or keep it under control which he had been somewhat sessful with.

    Lastly, there were two more that were there, Xin, Crawley, and Ice. When Gary had returned to the Wolf pool¡¯s club along with Kai to talk about improvements the ce, they noticed that Ice was sitting outside.

    He nned to keep his promise, with sticking with Gary to see the improvements and his way of living his life. So far while being here, Ice had already seen how different the Howlers were with how much they had helped the people.

    As for where ckjack was, Ice had no clue himself.

    Gary then grabbed his drink and lifted it in the air, stopping the conversation between the others as they turned to look at him.

    ¡°I know I¡¯ve said this before, but we can¡¯t forget the people that lost their lives in fighting for Slough, in fighting for us. I also want to thank everyone here, and those that aren¡¯t here today that fought. I¡¯m sure, ke and Innu would have been here if they could, they wanted to especially say goodbye to Tyler, let¡¯s drink to that!¡± Gary said as he took a big swig along with everyone else.

    It wasn¡¯t the first time that Gary had mentioned Tyler along with others'' names, but it was to be expected with everything that had gone on. It weighed on Gary¡¯s mind a lot, and he was truly thankful.

    The room went on as they continued to talk, Austin and Ice were chatting away together.

    ¡°So you¡¯re also a Mythical type altered and you have Ice powers?¡± Austin said. ¡°You have super strength, great healing, and Ice powers, I¡¯m getting a bit jealous over your powers.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t always the case.¡± Ice replied. ¡°Sometimes special traits of altered are unlocked at ater time. Especially for Mythical type Altered, you can see it as an awakening. I doubt something as legendary as a Minotaur just has super strength. There is most likely something else you have yet to unlock.¡±

    Austin continued to talk to Ice, wondering if there was a hint in getting stronger. He had trained hard in the year, but he realized that even though they had strong Altered, fighting experience on their side, it wasn¡¯t enough.

    Gary was going around the room talking to everyone and had stopped at a moment when meeting Marie and Olivia.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Gary, we let that Raven guy escape,¡± Marie said.

    ¡°Hey, how many times have I told you to not worry about it. He had a grudge against me, if anything I¡¯m sorry about getting the two of you involved in all of this,¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°We achieved new powers but didn¡¯t have much time to learn how to use them. We were at a disadvantage, if we were to go up against that Hydra again, I won¡¯t lose,¡± Olivia added. ¡°Speaking of, when you have more funds, I would like a new beast whip, to get a good one you¡¯re going to have to go to the Dark Guilds Auction.¡±

    ¡°It will be the first thing on my list,¡± Gary said as he continued to walk off and went toward a special red-seated leather section in the corner.

    Here Xin was sitting down and on her own. To which Gary sat next to her, both of them looking at the rest of the Howlers in the room.

    ¡°What you¡¯ve built up here is really nice, Gary, you should be proud of yourself,¡± Xin said.

    ¡°We have you to thank for that, I heard what you did, giving your dad the kick and all,¡± Gary smiled back. ¡°You know things are settling down here, I contacted Elijah from the White Rose, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be an issue, he said he would exin more details but not to worry.

    ¡°So if you wanted we could start looking into things to do with your brother, like you asked me that day.¡±

    Xin didn¡¯t want to ask for Gary¡¯s help, she didn¡¯t want to take

    him away from all of this, but she had no choice.

    ¡°I need your help, I still have no idea what¡¯s going on with him, and I can¡¯t even get in contact with him. To be honest, I don¡¯t know where to start with all of this.¡±

    Gary started to think back to what Jayden had said to him thest time they met. When he was strong enough toe and seek him out. Gary was plenty strong now, so maybe he could help him with his troubles.

    ¡°Maybe, if I ask my dad, he might know something, a way to meet him.¡±

    As soon as Xin had finished her sentence, Gary could hear footstepsing from the staircase. Everyone who had been invited was here, so he wondered just what was going on.

    Then, the man in question finally came into view, and Gary immediately knew who it was.

    ¡°Dad...¡±

 Chapter 936 The Werewolf System

    Chapter 936 The Werewolf System

    When Gary¡¯s father had left them as a child, he didn¡¯t really understand what had happened at the time. He hardly remembered his father¡¯s face, only a few images of him here and there.

    It was hard for him to have hatred for a person he didn¡¯t really know, but slowly, as the situation in their family got worse, and he saw his mother struggle, he started to resent the person that had left them.

    He frequently would go to school where parents would help each other, where two adults would share the struggles together, but all of it was left to his mother, and why, there wasn¡¯t even a reason.

    As time went on, he wondered how could someone just abandon two kids on a single woman. If he was still out there, did he know how much they were struggling? It was why Gary was very thankful to his mother; he knew that she would have had a much easier life if she just left them.

    If she only had to work and care for herself, rather than two young kids, and it was also the reason why Gary did everything he could to help her try to climb out of that situation.

    Equally, it was because of these feelings that Gary had never gone looking for his father because even if he had found him, what difference would that make? Someone who chose to run away, would he even help them if they found him?

    And now, he had returned to the Wolf''s Pool club, after things were looking up, after Gary had done everything to help his family. Just seeing his father was making him grind his teeth slightly.

    ¡°We¡¯ll leave you guys alone,¡± Kai said, snapping his fingers. He had, of course, met Gary¡¯s father back then, who had helped them with the situation, given them a solution to their answer. Gary was aware of this from what Kai had told him, but he seemed to disregard it, and didn¡¯t even ask Kai many questions about his father.

    ¡°No,¡± Dean said. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I havee here to talk, and I think it¡¯s something best for all of the Howlers to know. You have stayed by my son¡¯s side for a very long time, and if you wish to continue to stay by his side, then it''s best that you all learn the truth as well.¡±

    His father continued to walk forward and eventually pulled a seat out and sat at the same table as Gary directly opposite him. The two of them stared into each other''s eyes.

    Gary so much wanted to tell the man in front of him to go away. To just disappear, that they were doing fine without him, but he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°What you need to tell us, it¡¯s so important that you have decided to finallye back right now in front of us? Is it the answer to why you were away for all that time?¡± Gary said, he was speaking slowly and fast, clearly, he was having a hard time controlling his feelings in front of his father.

    Dean''s chest expanded, and he let out a big sigh while looking away.

    ¡°I know a lot of what I¡¯m about to say will sound like excuses, but you are right. I want to tell you the reason why I had to abandon you all, why I could finallye back now, but before any of that, I want to tell you something first.

    ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you, son,¡± Dean said with a soft smile.

    Those words, it had hit Gary like he never expected them to. Why did his heart sink, did he have a lump in throat when he heard this person who was practically a stranger say that he was proud of him?

    Did this mean, he still harbored strong feelings towards this person? He hated it, he hated that it was the case.

    ¡°You looked after the family, you looked after the town and made it an entire city, and you struggled with everything on your own, without next to no one to help you. I¡¯ve already told your friends, like the pretty blonde boy over there, how happy I am that they were around you to help you.

    ¡°You might not be proud to have a father like me, and Ipletely understand that, but know this, no matter what. I am definitely proud of you.¡±

    Gary tucked his head down into his chest and had both of his hands clenched up on the table.

    ¡°Arsehole, how can you juste here and say something like that right out of the gate¡­you should have at least written to us more¡­and mum¡­.she always told us to not get angry at you. She always told us that you were a good person.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but she didn¡¯t seem to hate you for a second, Damn it!¡± Gary said as he wiped the tears with the sleeve of his shirt.

    Everyone in the room that were part of the Howlers, they hated seeing Gary like this. Hated seeing him so upset when he did so much to help them. The cause of his upsetness was a particr person in the room and now Dean could feel daggers searing right into his back.

    After giving Gary a brief moment, he regained hisposure and sat upright again. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Okay, so tell me, what is so important that you needed to talk to me know, and talk to all of us,¡± Gary asked.

    The soft smile that was on Dean¡¯s face disappeared.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to tell you everything I know, to prepare you, and for all of you to understand how you got into this situation, and just how you, Gary, got into this situation in the first ce, obtaining, the Werewolf System.¡±

 Chapter 937 The Past Of The Dem Family

    Chapter 937 The Past Of The Dem Family

    The words spoken from Dean¡¯s mouth had repeated in Gary¡¯s head, and with that single phrase, it instantly caught his attention. It proved that his father knew a lot about what was going on, and probably was the only person who could give them answers.

    Although many knew the truth about Gary being a Werewolf and the matters revolving around it, not everyone knew about the system he had in ce. The system that told him what to do, how to get stronger, and his way of helping others when being far away from them as well.

    Hearing these words, it was then that Tom had decided toe closer and sit nearby as well. He had been fascinated by Gary¡¯s true origin for a while, even handing him an object that might have very well belonged to them.

    Altered and Werewolves were different, and his curious mind wanted to know more.

    ¡°So you do know a lot then,¡± Gary said. ¡°Does this mean you were involved in it, was this not just something that happened by ident?¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t know whether to be angry or pleased. At the beginning, being a werewolf was tough. It was hard, especially with controlling his bloodlust urges. As time went on, though, it was his only way he was able to take out the Underdogs, protect his family, and get Slough to the state that he was in now.

    In some ways, his dream of bing an Altered was somewhat granted.

    ¡°I will exin from the beginning, and then maybe you will all understand how the Underdogs, the Phoenix Gang, NIRV, and Lupus are all involved in this,¡± Dean stated. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Now Kai, and nearly everyone who was in the room was really interested. All of the names mentioned wererge names, and the Underdog gang was the center of it all.

    ¡°Very well, exin everything, from the beginning and don¡¯t miss out a single detail,¡± Gary replied, looking him right in the eye.

    Dean let out a big sigh as he prepared himself.

    ¡°Firstly, unlike you¡­I was born a Werewolf, our family line, the Dem Family has always had this fact with them. Your grandfather was also just like me, and he passed on all of the knowledge forward to me.

    ¡°What would happen on a full moon, how to stop oneself from transforming. There were even special areas that were built to keep us at bay. You know of Ruin City, run by the Lupis Gang.

    ¡°That is where we were originally from, not Slough. The ruins that run in that city are based on our families¡¯ past. If you go down there you¡¯ll see areas that were made to stock food, areas for us to chain ourselves up on that particr day.

    ¡°I lived like that for many years, following what needed to be done.¡±

    Gary was half surprised by this fact. He gathered that his father knowing about Werewolves meant he was one as well, but then what about him?

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, If you¡¯re saying you¡¯ve always been a Werewolf, then is that why I¡¯m one now? I thought it was because of what was in the package that I was delivering for the Underdogs, and what does that mean for Amy, is this something that¡¯s meant to be unlocked? And if you knew, then why didn¡¯t you say everything to me, like grandad did to you? If you had told me things, then maybe the same with me, the same with me¡­¡±

    Gary started to think back to Billy, one of the first people he had turned into a werewolf by ident. Maybe all of this could have been avoided.

    Meanwhile, Kai was more interested in something else, the mention of Ruin City, where the other Alpha and Lupus gang currently were.

    ¡°I need to first give you some context about our past, the Dem family and Werewolves as a whole, and then you will start to slowly understand everything otherwise it won¡¯t make much sense.

    ¡°Honestly, a lot of it didn¡¯t make much sense to me either until it ended up happening. Werewolves have existed for thousands of years, and it¡¯s the same for our family line.

    ¡°They have all needed to deal with the same set of problems as us, and through the years they realized that there were things that could never be stopped. You see our Ancestor, a man who went by the name of Jack Dem was also a strong Werewolf.

    ¡°He had joined one of the strongest kingdoms in existence fighting alongside humans, ridding the world of the threat of beasts. However, despite everything he did, not everyone had a good view of beasts.

    ¡°With their transformations, and ability to not control themselves they were seen as dangerous and some humans saw them as beasts either way. Yet, Jack managed to change a lot of their views with him and his pack, and their Werewolf group became an elite force for the humans.

    ¡°Jack¡¯s group, our ancestor weren¡¯t the only group of Werewolves though. In the past, there was another, a group that was sick of everything that had happened to them. Sick of the humans treating them as monsters.

    ¡°However, they didn¡¯t hate Jack, they also saw him as someone to look up to as well because he was the strongest, something Werewolves cared for a lot, but the other group started to change.

    ¡°They started to think, why should they be the ones to suppress their nature. Perhaps the world was telling them that this was their calling, the night of the full moon was their need to feast. Whoever created them, must have created them this way for a certain purpose. Maybe humans did need to fear them because that was how things were meant to be.

    ¡°These actions had then caused arge rift between the two, and there goes a saying that has always been passed on, there can never be two Alphas.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 938 The Destiny of Alphas

    Chapter 938 The Destiny of Alphas

    Thest line from Gary¡¯s father; he had heard it before himself, or at least in some form. One of them was from the system quest; once he became a King Grade, it was almost as if it would initiate a quest between the two of them.

    Then there was also the deal that Gary had made during the ritual: within 5 years, he would take out Lupus and his group. He didn¡¯t know why, or who he was talking to, but he knew one thing¡ªhim and his werewolves were no longer affected by the full moon.

    ¡°This is a history that has been passed down by all werewolves,¡± Dean stated. ¡°That if there are two Alphas, that the two of them will always battle, leaving only one left to lead the pack.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s our nature, to not allow another pack to exist, or if fear eventually creeps into the Alpha that something will happen, but a fight between the two always seems to take ce.¡±

    So far, Gary thought it was extremely true, considering he had no choice in the matter due to the deal he had made. He could ignore the system¡¯s request, but what about the deal? What would happen if he didn¡¯tplete it? Would Gary and his entire pack be permanently werewolves?

    It was something he didn¡¯t particrly want to find out, but so far Lupus and his group hadn¡¯t attacked him either; maybe they didn¡¯t want to fight? So it felt wrong for Gary to bring the fight to them as well.

    ¡°I guess Midwak was right,¡± Kai stated. ¡°If they feel this way, if they know about you, Gary, now that another Alpha is out there, they will want to get rid of you before you grow stronger.¡±

    ¡°You are right about that,¡± Dean sighed, as it looked like he wanted to say more, looking into the distance. He still hadn¡¯t said much about the system part itself, but just as he agreed he would be patient.

    ¡°I told you about our nature; it seems to pin us together, but a correct term might be destiny. There is a reason why in the werewolf pack so much history of this happening. There has never been a case where there has been three Alphas, only two.

    ¡°Whenever an Alpha has been dealt with or taken care of, then at some point and time an Alpha will appear.¡±

    Gary thought about his own situation. Originally, he wasn¡¯t an Alpha wolf; he was considered an Omega but had be an Alpha wolf. Was it a coincidence? Could someone like Billy, even if he made his own pact, not be an Alpha wolf, or if he had created more would he have been another Alpha?

    ¡°I assume you know about the many mystical things about the werewolf packs, for instance, the right for members to challenge another, right?¡± Dean asked.

    Gary nodded. Thankfully, the only person that had challenged Gary for his position of Alpha was Midwak, and it was a great training tool for him to make sure he continued to get stronger.

    ¡°A werewolf can challenge the Alpha for their position; if the Alpha loses, then that werewolf bes the new Alpha. Everyone in the pack can feel it when this takes ce; it¡¯s even noticeable by the change of color in one¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s not just some silly traditional rule, but more so something that is bound to us by mystical power that even controls our forms,¡± Dean exined.

    ¡°Right, I understand all this, and I understand the history of where ites from and why it¡¯s important; are you trying to tell me that no matter what, I will have to go up against Lupus? Because I became an Alpha wolf.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°To a degree, yes, but remember I told you I would exin everything; this is part of my exnation,¡± Dean added. ¡°Think about it a bit more from what I¡¯ve told you; all werewolves originallye from one stem. There are two ways one bes an Alpha.

    ¡°Either an Omega that gets abandoned from the pack, but either way, they are part or once was part of the same pack, or the second¡­¡±

    Kai finished the answer for him.

    ¡°Or someone from the same pack to begin with. No matter what, at some point and time, there will be two Alphas, so getting rid of one, at some point, one of your own will be an Alpha as well¡­¡±

    Gary was slightly in shock by this. Even if they got rid of Lupus, did that mean that someone in the Howlers would be an Alpha and then history would need to repeat itself again?

    Gary couldn¡¯t imagine going against anyone in his pack, or them conforming to some destiny.

    ¡°The amount of time between a new Alphaing it can be long or it can be extremely short; there is no way to exactly tell,¡± Dean said. ¡°It could be many years, maybe even skip generations before such a thing happens. So it might not be something you have to worry about.¡±

    Once again, Dean went into a type of silence, taking a break from telling his story, and that¡¯s when, of all people, Xin had figured it out as she looked into his heavy eyes.

    ¡°It happened to you, right¡­ someone you knew became an Alpha?¡± Xin said.

    Gary shook his head in confusion. Gary¡¯s father wasn¡¯t an Alpha; Gary was an Alpha, and so was Lupus. As he said before, it was impossible for there to be three Alphas.

    ¡°You are right, youngdy, I was once a Beta wolf, part of the pack that lived in Ruin City, and I was under Lupus, and then, I too had be an Alpha werewolf, me, the younger brother.¡±

 Chapter 939 The Story Unfold

    Chapter 939 The Story Unfold

    MWS 932

    Gary was blinking rapidly, processing thest line from his father. In just a few moments of conversation, he had learned a lot that sounded unbelievable. But to hear the final revtion...

    ¡°Wait, are you saying... Lupus, the current Alpha, the current King of Ruin City, is also your older brother, which would mean he¡¯s currently my uncle?¡± Gary asked.

    Dean nodded slowly, confirming Gary¡¯s thoughts. An uncle he had never met, a life he knew nothing about; he felt like he had been thrown into the deep end of a pool and was struggling to stay afloat.

    ¡°And I thought I had family problems,¡± Xin remarked.

    ¡°At this point in time, I don¡¯t think Lupus is aware of this,¡± Dean continued. ¡°It¡¯s not as if we have spoken to each other in a while. If anything, it¡¯s quite possible that he thinks I¡¯m dead.¡±

    ¡°That would make sense,¡± Kai added. ¡°Based on the fact that there can only be two Alphas, and from what you just told us, you too had be an Alpha. But one thing is very clear.¡± Kai sniffed the air a few times. ¡°You are not an Alpha right now; in fact, you¡¯re not even a Werewolf.¡±

    This came as a surprise to the rest of the Howlers in the room who were not Werewolves, but not to the others. Even Gary knew that straight away, which made it all the more important for him to listen.

    ¡°Me and Lupus were both born as Werewolves. The Werewolf line can reproduce, and regardless if only one parent is a Werewolf, that bloodline is passed on. The first transformation from a full moon differs from age to age, but usually the first transformation always happens before the age of ten,¡± Dean exined.

    Gary started to count his own age and realized that he and Amy were above the age of ten. So, if they were born as Werewolves, they should have experienced their first transformation, but they hadn¡¯t. This pointed him towards the mystery of why he hadn¡¯t be a Werewolf in the first ce, a topic possibly rted to the package he had received.

    ¡°I can tell what you¡¯re thinking, and you¡¯re correct. You and Amy were both not born as Werewolves. If anything, with the way I was and what I had inside me, I never wanted to pass it on to my young ones. Others had different beliefs, but not me. Every time the full moon woulde, I would dread it every single time,¡± Dean exined.

    ¡°Regardless, me and Lupus were both Beta Werewolves, born two years apart in age. Our father was the Alpha wolf of the pack and exined everything to us. He had a more stringent approach. Ruin City was always a small ce that only attracted visitors who were looking to explore.

    ¡°Like me, I believe your grandfather also didn¡¯t quite like what they did, which was why he tried to bury us underground away from the eyes of the others and set up so many restrictions for everyone to have.

    ¡°Although Lupus and I had the same upbringing, he was always an explorer, pushing the boundaries of where one wanted to go. And one night, he hadn¡¯t restricted his food and even didn¡¯t chain himself on a night of a full moon. He had let his lust go and had killed a few visitors.

    ¡°This had happened from time to time, and our father would usually punish such wolves or even cast them out, making them an Omega Wolf. However, Lupus was his own son, and he believed that he could change his views.

    ¡°They butted heads again and again, and I was ced in the middle. I understood how Lupus felt; we certainly were like prisoners. It made no sense why we had to live life that way, the way our father wanted us to.

    ¡°But I also understood our father and why we couldn¡¯t just live freely. So, I was in the middle of the two. Eventually, though, with Lupus growing stronger and our father growing weaker after one too many arguments, Lupus challenged our father and bested him, bing the new Alpha of the pack.¡±

    Listening to the conversation, many of them knew the troubles of being a Werewolf, but not being born one or having to control such arge pack from the beginning. They couldn¡¯t even imagine the troubles one would go through. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Things aren¡¯t perhaps as they would seem. Our father was still a wolf in the pack, and Lupus respected a lot of his decisions. For one, they stayed in Ruin City, only helping it grow, and restrictions were still put in ce on the pack.

    ¡°Ruin City was starting to grow, and it was hard to say that Lupus was a bad leader. If anything, as he got older, he understood more where our father wasing from. Even in the younger Werewolves, he saw some of himself, those who challenged him for a seat and were kicked out of the group.¡±

    Both Gary and Kai looked at each other, both thinking of one troubling Werewolf they both knew about: Midwak. Perhaps, this was the reason why he was kicked out, or at least one of the many reasons they could think of.

    Both Gary and Kai looked at each other, both thinking of one troubling Werewolf they both knew about: Midwak. Perhaps, this was the reason why he was kicked out, or at least one of the many reasons they could think of.

    ¡°Things were going fine. During my father¡¯s time, there had only been one Alpha; they hadn¡¯t had any troubles. And with things going well, we thought they would continue that way. But it all truly did change when I had finally be an Alpha myself. The dynamics hadpletely changed between the two of us. It is something that I never wished on my family, and I feel so bad that you are now in this position.¡±

    The story of Dean''s past and the start of it all was about to unfold.

 Chapter 940 The New Alpha

    Chapter 940 The New Alpha

    Ruin City, a while ago, wasn¡¯t much to look at. There were remnants of buildings above that allowed people to imagine what a city was like around a thousand years ago. Old bricks, columns, and structures hadsted through time.

    People would visit the city, which was currently nothing more than an attraction site, for just a few hours or so. It was nice to go through the ruins and then over to the cliff to look out.

    The one standing structure was the castle located at the top of the cliff that looked out. Spread through certain spots were stalls selling fancy items and more, run by people who had been there a long time, passed down by their family members.

    ¡°Thank you for visiting Ruin City, and I hope you have a safe trip home,¡± a young man standing behind the stall said, rubbing his hands with a smile. As soon as the customer turned away with their key ring, he ced the money behind the box, and the smile disappeared immediately from his face.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we have to do this to survive¡­it¡¯s embarrassing as it is. I would rather work in some type of fast-food restaurant than this. Sometimes I even have to follow customers up and down the ruins, pestering them until they buy something.¡±

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s the only way we can live,¡± another older man said, who was in a stall next to him selling shirts with the castle on them. ¡°Your father did it to put food on the table and help out the entire pack. It¡¯s how we¡¯ve managed to survive.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know the names I get called while trying to sell them crap that they don¡¯t want,¡± the young man replied. ¡°There¡¯s only so much I can take. If they knew who we were, do you really think they would be calling us that?¡±

    Immediately, the older gentleman ced his finger on his mouth.

    ¡°You do not speak of those things. Even with a new leader, these rules are still to be upheld. Don¡¯t be so stupid.¡±

    The young man tutted, looking away again.

    ¡°With Lupus in charge now, I¡¯m sure things will start to change, and for the better. Maybe we can even leave this town.¡±

    Right then, a bus stopped on the worn-out dirt path on therge field of grass. It was the parking area for Ruin City. Seeing this, it was time for them to get back to work. They had things to sell, all of them, to keep the pack running as it had been.

    ---

    With the castle being one of the main attractions, it had to remain open for tourists. They made extra money from ticket sales alone. Although no one knew it, the entirety of Ruin City was part of the park, which was now under Lupus.

    Some sections of the castle were marked off, away from the public eye, and in one of those rooms, there was a special meeting going on between two of the werewolves, two brothers, Lupus and Dean.

    The throne had been moved away from the main room, and right now, Lupus was sitting in one of the many reception rooms in the castle, on the throne itself.

    ¡°What do you think, brother? Don¡¯t you think it suits me?¡± Lupus said with a high smile on his face as he pped the two sides. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s so nice that maybe even you will want to sit in this seat one day.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡± Dean replied. ¡°You know I¡¯ve never had any interest in that. Raising an entire pack, looking after them is too much trouble.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t hate me for what I did to father?¡± Lupus asked. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t hate you,¡± Dean replied immediately. ¡°Right now, I think he¡¯s enjoying retirement, just sitting out looking at the vast sea. Why would I hate you for giving him less work and taking on the responsibilities? If anything, even I am happy that you are in charge because it means I have less work to do. Yet, being your brother means I will get a lot of praise for doing next to nothing.¡±

    The two of themughed as they continued to joke about the current situation.

    ¡°Then tell me, brother, you know for a long time that I have wanted to change the way of our pack. To change us from selling trinkets and being confined just to this ruin city because of the moon.

    ¡°However, I want to know, if you don¡¯t desire the seat that I¡¯m sitting on, what is it you desire?¡± Lupus asked.

    Dean didn¡¯t answer straight away. If anything, as he thought about it a bit more, his cheeks started to flush red. Lupus noticed it and was mocking his brother.

    ¡°A werewolf who is as bright as a tomato, on the next full moon, you¡¯re going to have red fur.¡±

    ¡°Red fur,¡± Dean replied back. ¡°That¡¯s almost as crazy as green fur¡­but to answer your question. I¡¯m not against the changes you want to make. You weren¡¯t the only one that was wishing for something different.

    ¡°But my wishes have never been to do with the pack. If anything, one day, I wish to raise a family.¡±

    ¡°A family!¡± Lupus said, jumping out of his seat and throwing his arm around his brother¡¯s back. ¡°There are plenty of women in Ruin City that you can choose from¡­ and now that I¡¯m the Alpha of the pack, you know if you like someone who¡¯s not a werewolf, I have no problem with it.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t keep it a secret, that is a disaster for any rtionship. Bring them in on the matter, but make sure they can keep their mouth shut about everything, and who knows, maybe you can even turn her.¡±

    Dean forced a smile back at thement. His brother had good intentions, he could tell, but their views on werewolves greatly differed. There was a reason Dean didn¡¯t want to get into a rtionship with anyone.

    He didn¡¯t want to bring this cursed way of life to anyone. Or force the person he loved into this mess, and children into the world to be monsters.

    Whereas his brother thought it was a gift, they should be happy that they allowed them in, and everyone should wish to be like them.

    With the two of them close together, Lupus¡¯s eyes glowed red, and Dean¡¯s glowed blue. It was the first time the two of them were so close together that Dean saw his brother¡¯s eyes glow a different color from his.

 Chapter 941 Brothers In Ruin

    Chapter 941 Brothers In Ruin

    Up close, with Dean seeing his brother''s eye color, he realized there had been a change in the two of them, a change in status, but having grown up together and living side by side, it was impossible to just start acting differently.

    It was the same for Lupus as well, which was why Lupus was having a private meeting with just the two of them to begin with.

    ¡°You know what, I¡¯m going to make your dreame true,¡± Lupus said. ¡°I can change things so not everyone has to stay here and we can expand out of Ruin City, let the werewolves do as they wish.¡±

    Dean¡¯s eyes widened the moment he heard this.

    ¡°Wait, let the werewolves leave this ce? But then what about the full moon? What happens if they run so far that you can¡¯t even keep track of where they are, and then on the next full moon, a bunch of people end up dying!¡± Dean eximed.

    ¡°You do have a point,¡± Lupus said as he ced his hand on his chin. ¡°But I talked about how I would change things, make things different. I know there are those like you that don¡¯t mind staying in this ce until we grow old and gray, but there are also those who want to go out there and do something.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re expecting something from me, and I don¡¯t want to go back on my word. Especially since I want to do this anyway.¡±

    Dean started to scratch the top of his head. Dean himself wasn¡¯t the pack leader, whereas Lupus was. If Lupus was stubborn about it and made it so, then there was really nothing anyone could do.

    This was the problem when the strongest would be dered as the leader rather than the one who might be forward-thinking or just have a general n of what to do. It had worked out for centuries for them, though, and it wasn¡¯t something they could stop.

    ¡°What about the pack rules?¡± Lupus said. ¡°If I change the pack rules, I can try and limit them in a way where things could work out and control them better.¡±

    ¡°So the person who is giving them freedom is also the one restraining them?¡± Dean replied. ¡°I¡¯m not sure people would like that too much either. With things the way they are, any type of change will also be fought against. Change needs to happen slower for people to ept it.¡±

    ¡°And besides, if you let werewolves roam about everywhere, then what¡¯s going to happen when another Alpha wolfes into y? You won¡¯t even know that¡¯s the case, and they will have their own rules to go by.¡±

    This had really given Lupus a lot of thought. During their father¡¯s time, there hadn¡¯t been another Alpha wolf. So there were no such problems, but with the pack being in one ce, if another Alpha came about, they would know instantly.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but I need solutions, not just problems to my ideas, you¡¯re killing me here,¡± Lupus said.

    Eventually, Dean came up with an answer.

    ¡°How about changing Ruin City to be a better ce? Make the environment we are in better. Those that have always been here will feelfortable, and the others will feel like change ising about.¡±

    ¡°Make Ruin City a ce where we don¡¯t have to hide our true selves.¡±

    Lupus nodded as he liked the idea.

    With that and Lupus being the new Alpha, change did ur in Ruin City. It started to grow in many ways, no longer bing a tourist spot, but an actual city. Teams were sent out to do hardbor for the neighboring cities, bringing in money.

    With learning techniques, construction work started in Ruin City, making it grow itself. Then, when a neighboring gang from another city wanted to take care of those in Ruin City, they made quick work of them, cementing their name fairly quickly.

    The Kings at the time, andrger gangs, didn¡¯t pay Lupus and his group much attention because they didn¡¯t stray far away from Ruin City, and to them, it felt like a ce that there just wasn¡¯t much for them to gain from if they did take it over.

    The pack, the werewolves, were enjoying the new reign under Lupus and Dean, and then finally, their father passed away.

    Both Lupus and Dean were rtively happy that their father was able to see what was happening, what they had built up, before he passed on.

    asionally through the development, their father had been involved, also giving advice to Lupus. He was also the voice of those who were afraid when things were moving too radically in one direction.

    He would bring it forward, and surprisingly more times than not, Lupus would listen to the advice, but now that he was gone, it was all down to Dean.

    Dean had to be the voice of reason for his brother, who tended to get wild once in a while.

    Inside the office in the castle, which now was only used by the pack members, Dean was going through a number of papers. New constructions were being built everywhere, and in some cases, Dean was somewhat selected as the mayor of the town.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Dean said as he started to rub his nose. ¡°The government is finally trying to get involved in Ruin City. They¡¯re requesting a meeting with us. I thought as much. They didn¡¯t care too much about Ruin City when it was just a bunch of stalls, but people have started to move here.¡±

    ¡°Now, the government wants to try reigning in control of this ce. Lupus isn¡¯t going to like that.¡±

    While cing the document down, Dean could feel his vision blurring slightly, a heavy pain in his head which onlysted a moment, and then, a heaviness that was lifted off his shoulders, a lightness that was felt all around him.

    His visionpletely returned. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Why do I feel so different?¡± Dean asked, unaware at that time, his eye color had changed.

 Chapter 942 I Dont Belong

    Chapter 942 I Don''t Belong

    The headache that had gued Dean¡¯s mind at his desk had onlysted a small moment. He truly thought it was nothing to worry about, and as he got through more piles of paperwork for the entire pack and Lupus gang, he stood up and started to stretch his legs slightly.

    He walked around therge office space as he would do to keep the blood flowing, but as he reached the door, his nose started to tingle. He took a couple of sniffs in the air.

    ¡°The guards stationed outside by Lupus, he¡¯s always overprotective,¡± Dean mumbled to himself. But he noticed something. The smell, even though he could tell it was the same smelling off them every time, this time it was agitating him slightly.

    These werewolves almost felt different to him, differentpared to before, and his instincts were telling him to be cautious. He could feel the hair on his arm start to stand up the closer he moved in.

    Eventually, he started to back away. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me, first the headache and now this?¡±

    Walking around the room as well, Dean¡¯s sensitive nose could still smell the others, and his body felt like it didn¡¯t want to be here, it didn¡¯t want to be around the smell. His instincts were telling him this wasn¡¯t a good ce to be and he either needed to leave or get rid of those on the other side of the door.

    ¡°Why are these thoughts racing through my mind, what¡¯s wrong with me, am I just too tired?¡± Dean started to think. He decided to head to the private bathroom that was just off to the side of the office. When he got there, he started to ssh water on his face and eventually looked directly into the mirror.

    He didn¡¯t notice it at first, as he looked at the features deep on his face. The wrinkles that got slightly deeper, the stubble on his face that had grown from not caring about his appearance, and eventually, he looked into his deep eyes.

    That was when he could see it, the glow that reflected red back at him. A glow that would often only ur on a werewolf when they were inbat, but it wasn¡¯t the glow itself, instead, it was the color.

    ¡°These red eyes,¡± Dean said as he raised his hand. They were shaking as he reached into them. For a brief moment, he even thought about digging them out. He remembered the countless stories that were told about his ancestors having to fight each other because of these red eyes.

    And even in some cases, as soon as someone with red eyes would appear in the pack, an order would be dered to get rid of them immediately, killing them on the spot, stopping problems from urring.

    However, he didn¡¯t gouge his own eyes out, it wasn¡¯t something he could do. As he thought about it more, he thought it would be fine, things would be fine.

    ¡®My brother, he wouldn¡¯t do that to me, I know him, I¡¯ve been with him for a long time.¡¯

    Taking several deep breaths, Dean looked in the mirror again, and quickly threw out a fist, smashing the mirror. He didn¡¯t want to see those red eyes, but it was a reality he had to ept as he eventually left the bathroom.

    When entering the room though, to his surprise, he could see that therge double doors that would lead to his office were open, and the two guards had transformed their arms already and were looking around.

    ¡°Kpollo, Seneca, what¡¯s going on, what are the two of you doing in here?¡± Dean asked.

    His hand was covering part of his face, and he was looking down at the ground avoiding eye contact. It was better for him to tell Lupus himself about this matter before things got out of hand.

    ¡°Sorry, Seneca said he smelled something weird, and it was the same for me, something just didn¡¯t feel right. We knocked a few times and called out to you, sir, but there was no reply,¡± Kpollo replied.

    Dean figured they must have done these things when he was in the bathroom, too distracted to even hear them. In this state, he wasn¡¯t going to be helpful to anyone.

    As Dean got closer though, the two werewolves started to sniff the air, and it didn¡¯t take them long to figure out that the strange scent they could smell wasing from Dean himself.

    ¡°Sir, there is a smelling from you. It¡¯s startling me,¡± Seneca said.

    Dean had figured it out, it wasn¡¯t just him that felt different, everyone else did. Werewolves had a distinctive smell to others, but each person, even if werewolf or not, had their own smell that could be traced as well. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    On top of that, the memory of smell was even better than visual memory for werewolves. Sometimes they might see someone and not remember who they are, but once the scent wafts into their nose, they would remember every single thing about this person and where they met them.

    Which was why both Seneca and Kpollo were wondering, how could the smelling from Dean be the same, yet rather than remembering pleasant memories of him, an urge was building up within them. Telling them that this person didn¡¯t belong to them, they weren¡¯t family.

    ¡°Are you really Dean?¡± Kpollo asked.

    Now both of the werewolves knew they were on the same page.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m Dean, what kind of stupid question is¡ª¡± In the middle of his sentence, Kpollo took a swing at Dean, who leaned backward moving. He then charged forward and grabbed Kpollo right by his neck.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing!¡± Dean asked, his vibrant red eyes glowing.

    ---

 Chapter 943 A Second Alpha

    Chapter 943 A Second Alpha

    Dean was already on edge with everything happening. His head was hurting, he was afraid, scared, worried, and a mix of emotions were running through him, but he didn¡¯t want to fight. That was never his intention; it was thest thing he wanted to do in this situation.

    Yet, when he was attacked by the guards who had seen him every day, with whom he grew up, his anger came to the forefront. He swiftly avoided the attack and grabbed one by the neck.

    ¡°What are you doing? How could you just attack me like that?¡± Dean asked.

    Rather than give an answer, the other guard swiftly came forward and tried to attack him. This left Dean with no choice, as he flung one of the werewolves by the neck and threw him off to the side.

    As the other came close, he could see both of their armsunching at him. Dean hit them away before the ws could pierce him, knocking them down to the ground. He then jumped off the ground and lifted his knee, whacking the other werewolf right in the face.

    The werewolf''s body flipped, and mid-air, as he flipped, he turned into his full transformation. It wasn¡¯t just him; the first guard had fully transformed as well after being thrown.

    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± Dean shouted. ¡°I¡¯m Dean Dem, I am the brother of Lupus. I have done nothing for you to act this way!¡±

    The werewolves both didn¡¯t know what they were doing. They just felt like the person in front of them was no longer Dean. They were doing their responsibility, their role in all of this.

    The two were ready to fight once again, and Dean was reluctant to go into his full werewolf form and attack them.

    ¡°I¡¯ve known you both since I was so young¡­.¡±

    Just as they were ready to charge forward, both of them looked back as they sensed a particr person entering.

    ¡°What was that noise from before? Is something wrong?¡± The man who had walked through the open doors this time was none other than Lupus.

    Immediately the two of them got rid of their transformation, returned to their human state, and bowed their heads.

    ¡°Hey guys, are you going to exin? Were we attacked? What happened¡­ Dean?¡± Lupus¡¯s voice started to soften toward the end.

    He could sense it first, not just with his nose but nearly every cell in his body. Then, looking at his brother Dean, he could see it: the red eyes of all things.

    ¡°I think I understand what¡¯s happened,¡± Lupus said as he walked toward Dean. He ced his hand on his chest. With each step, Dean could feel his heart beating faster. It didn¡¯t make sense what his mind was thinking and how his body was reacting.

    Eventually, Lupus stood just a meter away from his brother, and both of them looked each other in the eye.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Dean. This isn¡¯t your fault. I don¡¯t want you to feel guilty about what happened. It¡¯s just the way things are,¡± Lupus said. ¡°And we can fight this, right? The two of us are brothers. Some crap destiny talk, who says the two of us have to fight? Look, me and you are staring at each other right now and we aren¡¯t fighting. So tell me, do you want to say ¡®F*ck you¡¯ to destiny and get along with each other?¡±

    One of the worries in Dean¡¯s mind was what if Lupus had changed? What if Lupus would start to treat him differently now that he was different? A big weight was lifted from his mind after hearing these words.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you, brother,¡± Dean replied.

    The news was spread to the rest of the pack about what had urred. Lupus and Dean agreed this was the best thing to do. Otherwise, word would have gotten out, and they feared that maybe the pack wouldn¡¯t be as strong now that this had happened. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The best way to avoid a fight was to make everyone aware of what was going on. Things worked as normal between the two, at least they tried to.

    For Dean, he could feel a strong difference. Part of the pack would no longer talk to him as freely as they did before. Before, they woulde to him if they had issues and problems, and now no one did.

    When he passed certain people in the hallways, they would turn their heads and whisper. He could even see some sniffing the air as he walked past.

    All of these things were building up in Dean¡¯s mind, and as he slept, he couldn¡¯t help but have nightmares. Often, he would wake up thinking that there were those in the room trying to kill him or those just outside waiting to strike him down.

    He would even check just outside his door to see if it was true, but there was never anyone there. It was then that Dean was figuring out that although nothing had changed for Lupus and it was fairly easy for him to keep on going as he had been, the same wasn¡¯t true for Dean; he was now different.

    As the thoughts and nightmares continued in his head, the treatment from the others worsened. Some even directly said to his face why he didn¡¯t just leave.

    Every time they looked at him, it agitated them. Dean was sure if he told his brother these things, there would be punishment, but it felt like this was the feeling of everyone in the pack and wouldn¡¯t change anything.

    Which led Dean to think, what if this was his brother''s true feelings as well? Maybe he was just hiding it, and eventually, all of it woulde out in one big explosion, causing the next fight.

    ****

 Chapter 944 Evolving Ruin City

    Chapter 944 Evolving Ruin City

    Although Dean had all of these thoughts running through his head, he had never once asked his brother how he felt. When the two of them would meet up, they would continue as if things were normal.

    But that was the thing, for Dean, he wasn¡¯t sure if things were just ying in his head, but it felt like they were just pretending things were normal, as if they were acting and it wasn¡¯t their true feelings.

    That was when a big urrence happened in Ruin City. During itsrge growth, it was currently at the tier 3 stage. Before that, some might have even considered it a tier 4. However, they were now on the cusp of growing to a tier 2 stage.

    There was a lot of migration into the city, as things became safer, and people were trying to predict the market. Some were banking on buying cheap housing in Ruin City before it grewrger, and morepanies were investing in the area.

    Then, an attack urred from the nearest tier 3 city. The gang thought things were going to be easy, but it was quite the opposite.

    The Lupus pack was spread out all over, still working on stalls that would border certain areas. With all of this,munication was easy, allowing them to take out the gang pretty much before they caused any rampage at all. It wasn¡¯t even news to the outside world or those in Ruin City.

    However, a meeting had urred. The Lupus group was strong enough to subdue them, and now they had to decide what was to happen to them.

    Currently, in the castle, Lupus was sitting in his throne-like seat. They were in arge hall, a ceremonial room with a red carpet that led up to the seat. On the ground, there were several core members of the pack who were kneeling down, bowing toward the throne that was slightly a few steps higher than the others.

    Standing by the side of Lupus, there were two people. One of them was Grk, a man from their father¡¯s era. He was slightly older than both Dean and Lupus and was often the one with the most knowledge.

    When ceremonies and rituals needed to be done to alter the pack rules or to talk about a number of things, Grk would be the one they would confide in. Then, of course, Dean was also standing on the other side up on the stage.

    One of the men on the floor stood up, his arm across his chest as he was ready to speak.

    ¡°I believe that we should kill those that attacked us. When they came to attack us, they did so with the full intent of taking over the city. They wished to ruin our lives, and I doubt that they would be sparing us right now.

    ¡°I feel like this discussion is only taking ce because we were so much stronger than them that we have been able to capture them with no trouble whatsoever.¡±

    ¡°I feel like this discussion is only taking ce because we were so much stronger than them that we have been able to capture them with no trouble whatsoever.¡±

    After listening to a few of the others present, they were all saying things along the same lines until Grk stepped forward.

    ¡°I think we are all on the same page that those who attacked us shall meet their end, but what I am more concerned with is how do we deal with them in a way that would make it so no one attacks us again?

    ¡°It will be hard for us to grow if we keep getting attacked like this, and due to this incident being silent, I¡¯m sure there will be more attacks in the future.¡±

    Many of those on the floor started to nod their heads, and it was the same for Lupus, who eventually came up with an idea.

    ¡°We are always the ones getting attacked. How about we take a page out of the Phoenix gang¡¯s book? If we attack a big city with our name on it and show our strength, I¡¯m sure that no one will dare threaten us again!¡± Lupus imed.

    The werewolves liked the sound of that. To show their strength to the world, to finally be leaving Ruin City as well.

    ¡°And reveal to the entire world who we are. Things aren¡¯t as easy as they were in the past,¡± Dean added. ¡°We don¡¯t just have things like the vampires to worry about, but the Altered Hunters, the White Rose, and Altereds in general. If we attack, we be everyone¡¯s target¡­and it might not be as easy as we think. There will be many lives lost because of this.¡±

    Unlike when Grk had made a suggestion, the werewolves were quiet about this one. They were looking up at Dean in disgust, and he knew it.

    ¡°You might be right about that one,¡± Lupus said, taking advice from his brother as an advisor.

    ¡°Then how about this,¡± Grk said. ¡°We use them on the next full moon. It will quell our urges, and on top of that, we can show what happens to those who try to attack us.¡±

    Once again, the werewolves liked the sound of that. For years they had been starving themselves on the day of the full moon, restraining themselves for those who were unable to bear it.

    With a new leader, Lupus, in charge, these were the types of suggestions they were thinking of.

    ¡°I like the idea of that. I think it could really work out for us. The full moon is not that far away either,¡± Lupus imed.

    Yet, Dean didn¡¯t like the idea of that either. ¡°But restraining ourselves teaches us control over our inner urges. That was what Father always told us. If we give in, then we might give in to the smaller urges closer to the full moon, or maybe even when there is no moon at all. The greatest strength of a werewolf is the self-control, especially on a full moon. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I believe that we can still get rid of them, and in doing so, send a message without using them on a full moon.¡±

    ¡°Why!¡± A member in the room stood up, his teeth bared as soon as Dean finished his sentence. ¡°Why do you always have to go against what Lupus says? He is our pack leader, not you. Why do you go against every suggestion that is made?¡±

    Some others started to stand up in agreement as well and voiced the same concerns. Seeing this, Dean started to feel even more out of ce than he usually would have and took a step back.

    He then turned to look at his brother for support, words of encouragement, until certain words came out of his mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s true¡­you seem to be going against me with everything¡­are you trying to take control of this pack for yourself?¡± Lupus asked.

 Chapter 945 We Wont Fight

    Chapter 945 We Won''t Fight

    Dean looked straight into his brother¡¯s eyes when those words were spoken. It was the look that Dean had been afraid of, the look he had been worried about for a long time.

    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Dean answered almost immediately. ¡°I have spoken just as I have always spoken. I am just passing on what our father would have wished.¡±

    ¡°Our father?¡± Lupus replied. ¡°Whenever we speak, you always go back to him. It¡¯s almost as if you''re trying to pull on my heartstrings to convince me. Just answer me, why does everything I say need to be adjusted? Is it because you don¡¯t think I¡¯m a good enough leader?¡±

    ¡°If you have so much to say, then why don¡¯t you be the leader?¡±

    The tone of Lupus''s voice was getting more aggressive. Of course, growing up, Dean and Lupus had their arguments. There were many, and at times the two of them would fight it out, even in their full Werewolf forms.

    The thing was, before now, neither of them were Alphas. If the two of them shed, it felt like it was a deration that a fight between two Alphas would begin.

    Dean, trying to keep a calm head and seeing this aggressiveness, had two words.

    ¡°Look, just calm down for a moment.¡±

    ¡°Calm down? Who are you to tell me to calm down? Just answer the freaking question!¡± Lupus said as he got up from his seat. He was already transforming, and it looked like he was about to take a swing at Dean.

    In response to this, Dean himself also partly transformed. The two of them took this as a sign of one being aggressive to the other, and that was when Lupus went ahead and took the first strike.

    Dean blocked the hit and struck back, kicking him in the chest.

    ¡°I told you to calm down, not to attack. What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±

    Lupus looked up and immediately pounced on his brother. The sheer weight from himunching from the stage had knocked Dean onto the ground. Now above and pinning him down, Lupus started to strike with both of his hands, hitting Dean across the face. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The hits were heavy, and the only thing Dean could think of to stop the hits was to transform his face, and then with his sharp teeth, he bit down on Lupus''s arm. With him fully transforming, he managed to push Lupus off and let out an almighty howl, bearing his teeth with saliva hitting the floor.

    ¡°ARGHHH!¡± Dean shouted.

    ¡°Stop being a fool!¡± Dean shouted.

    His brother, getting back up, then went in. When Dean went to strike, he hit nothing but air because Lupus was on the ground and had swung his foot, hitting Dean right across the face. The blow was so hard that his head banged into the wall, and he was now next to Grk.

    Grk, seeing this, transformed his hand, and his nails grew extra long.

    ¡°How dare you attack the Alpha? We have kept you by his side despite everything you have be. You deserve death!¡± Grk went to strike right behind Dean¡¯s neck.

    Just before the nails reached or pierced his skin, a hand grabbed onto him, stopping him on the spot.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lupus asked. ¡°Were you just trying to kill my brother?¡±

    Holding onto Grk¡¯s hand, Lupus then flung his entire body off the stage and into the crowd of people.

    The other Werewolves were quite shocked by this. Just a moment ago, the two were fighting, and now Lupus was hurting an ally who was just trying to help.

    ¡°This is family business, a family fight, and at the same time, I won¡¯t forgive anyone who touches my family!¡± Lupus imed, looking at them all.

    The anger and seriousness in his voice caused the others to cower away, and whatever they were going to say, they knew they were going to keep their mouths shut about it.

    Dean was fine as he turned around, canceling his transformation. All of the heat that was felt before seemed to disappear between the two of them, but Dean knew. After what had just happened, things between them could never be the same again.

    Lupus looked over his shoulder at his brother and then back at the Werewolves on the floor.

    ¡°This meeting is dismissed. All of you, leave the room.¡±

    The Werewolves decided to follow the orders, not that they had a choice anyway, and left the room. Now the only ones left were Dean and Lupus.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dean. I didn¡¯t want to fight; you know that¡¯s the truth, right?¡± Lupus replied.

    ¡°I know,¡± Dean replied. ¡°It¡¯s the same for me, but ever since I changed, ever since I was different, I can¡¯t help but get these thoughts out of my head. It¡¯s as if I¡¯m not in control of my own thoughts and actions anymore.¡±

    Lupus let out a big sigh because he felt the same way. This entire time, he was trying his best to suppress his feelings.

    ¡°I guess we were both foolish, thinking that we could ovee things that our ancestors, over 1,000 years, were unable to ovee. I thought maybe we were a bit different, but it seems it¡¯s the same,¡± Lupus said as he went back to his throne and slouched in his seat. It was taking arge toll on him.

    Seeing this, Dean decided to speak.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the pack,¡± Dean said. ¡°And I¡¯ll stop this destiny from happening no matter what. I won¡¯t create a pack of my own, and I won¡¯t appear in front of you again. We still haven¡¯t tried everything to stop this.¡±

    After saying those words, Dean walked toward the door, and Lupus didn¡¯t try to stop him. As he said, he didn¡¯t want to fight, so he was holding onto this hope.

    ¡°The only thing I will say is that the two of us might never meet again, but I promise you one thing: no matter what, you and I will not fight. Goodbye, Lupus,¡± Dean stated.

    ¡°Goodbye, brother,¡± Lupus said back.

    Exiting the room, Dean did have an idea in mind. He hadn¡¯t just said those words half-heartedly.

    ¡®There is one ce that might be able to help me, NIRV,¡¯ Dean thought.

 Chapter 946 Heading To NIRV

    Chapter 946 Heading To NIRV

    Dean had a n, but it was a very loose one. If anything, he just wanted to get out of his brother''s sight in case he changed his mind. Perhaps the longer he stayed with the pack and talked amongst the others, the more they would have convinced him that it was something unavoidable.

    It was hard for Dean; he had practically left not only his family but everyone he grew up with, and the town he had grown up in. Ironically, if it was up to him, he would have made it so all of the pack stayed in Ruin City, and now he was one of the first to leave.

    Now he had entered a tier 2 city, where a new headquarters of NIRV had opened up. It was argepany that was opening more offices in more cities spread around the ce.

    Dean knew a lot about the gang structure of the tier cities, but NIRV had a unique rtionship with many of the gangs. Opening up in their city and working together with them, they seemed to be one of the groups that were untouchable. Dean felt like he knew why as he stood in front of therge ss building.

    It was in a square of sorts, with perfectly nicely paved flooring and people rushing in and out. The building was made of ss in a square shape, and in the top corner, it had the letters NIRV.

    ¡®The reason for the rapid growth is because they are aheadpared to everyone else in Altered research. A change for the way humans are seen, a change for the human race. If they are able to change people''s bodies to make them more like a beast, then, there might be someone in there who can change my body to make it less like a beast.¡¯

    This was Dean¡¯s only idea, his only train of thought. If this didn¡¯t work, then he had no n at all. Walking through the building''s revolving ss door was easy. He saw countless people inb coats and suits walk past, seemingly ignoring him.

    Looking around the ce, there was security, but it seemed rtively standard; they were just standing by the door, ignoring him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Walking up ahead, there was an oval desk with workers behindputer screens. There was next to no one at the front of the ce, so Dean went ahead and gave it a shot.

    ¡°Hi there,¡± Dean said, sounding a little nervous. ¡°I was wondering if I could make an appointment.¡±

    The woman looked up at Dean and gave a big smile.

    ¡°Sure, can I know what it¡¯s regarding, or if you had someone in mind you would like to make an appointment with? Then I can see if I can help you further or not,¡± the woman politely said.

    ¡°Umm, can I have a meeting with an Altered Scientist?¡± Dean asked, unsure if that was the right term.

    ¡°An Altered Scientist, a researcher¡­¡± The woman slowly stopped typing on herputer and let out a sigh. ¡°Sir, I can¡¯t just book an appointment for a researcher to look at you.¡±

    ¡°What is your position? Are you an investor? Do you have a business card with you? We get countless requests from people who wish to talk. If it¡¯s regarding bing an Altered, it¡¯s also not as simple as justing to the reception and asking.¡±

    ¡°If you know someone, then perhaps I can ask them to call you, but judging from your questions, I doubt you do. I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t help you much further.¡±

    Immediately in response to this, Dean mmed his hands on the desk.

    ¡°Please, I just need to see someone. Can I not just speak to someone? It¡¯s very important. Like you said, it¡¯s about speaking about Altered things. I want to talk to them about that¡­¡±

    Dean was unsure what to say. Should he im to be an Altered? If that was the case, would they see him then?

    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t get aggressive. This is a ce where it¡¯s not wise to do such a thing. I¡¯m sorry, but even if you left your details, they would just be put in the pile underneath my desk, straight into the bin.¡±

    Dean couldn¡¯t give up here; he couldn¡¯t give up on the first step.

    ¡°I¡¯m an Altered. I just recently got turned into one, and I want to know what to do. I don¡¯t know about my body, and I¡¯m scared right now. Please, is there anyone I can see? I need help. I¡¯ll help them¡­ we can help each other!¡± Dean eximed.

    He figured they couldn¡¯t just disprove him being an Altered, but the woman behind the desk didn¡¯t believe a word Dean was saying. He had changed his tune, and she could see he was desperate.

    Because of this, she was a little shaken up and started to press a panic button that was located just underneath the desk.

    ¡°Alright, alright,e with me. You¡¯re getting out of here,¡± a voice said from behind.

    Dean turned his head and noticed it was the guard by the door. He had a strange baton he was holding onto, one Dean had never seen before.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving!¡± Dean said. ¡°I told you I need to see a researcher as soon as possible. It¡¯s important, I promise.¡±

    The guard then went to grab Dean by the arm and attempted to move him by pulling him, but Dean wasn¡¯t budging an inch. He was like a solid piece of metal.

    ¡°What the¡­ are you refusing to leave right now? If you continue to do so, I will consider it a threat!¡± the guard said, raising his voice, attempting to pull Dean again, but he still wouldn¡¯t move.

    Frustrated, the guard pulled out his baton, and the end of it started to electrify.

    ¡°This is yourst warning,¡± the guard stated.

    Dean looked into the receptionist''s eyes, not looking away.

    ¡°Please, I just need to see someone.¡±

    The guard, frustrated by Dean ignoring him, swung the baton, and it electrified his whole body.

 Chapter 947 Head Of NIRV

    947 Head Of NIRV

    It was clear that the guard wasn¡¯t used to using the baton. When swinging it and the baton started to electrify, he turned his head away and held it by the edge, afraid he was going to get hurt.

    The entirety of Dean¡¯s body lit up, and all the workers who wereing in and out of the ce turned their attention to themotion that had urred inside. Although they had many peoplee in, it wasn¡¯t every day something like this would happen.

    The woman behind the reception had even taken a step back due to the strong amount of sparks. In the end, though, the baton pulled away as its power surge stopped.

    The guard then blinked a few times as he looked at therge man. "You''repletely fine¡­ how can you bepletely fine?"

    Dean grunted a bit; the electrifying effect did sting a bit. He was just so focused on the task and the receptionist ahead.

    "Hey, are you listening to me? We told you to leave, or do you want to have another shock?" the guard shouted again.

    Since there was no response, he swung the baton again and it lit up once more. Before it reached Dean, though, he reached out with his own hand and grabbed the guard by the wrist.

    "I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t do that. It kind of hurtst time," Dean said, and for the first time, he turned to look at the guard. When staring at him, his eyes were now glowing red.

    All the hairs on the guard¡¯s body stood up as he was paralyzed with fear. When Dean rxed his grip, the guard dropped the baton straight onto the floor and started to run away.

    The woman at the reception wanted to shout at the guard, questioning the point of hiring someone like him if he wasn¡¯t even going to do his job. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When Dean turned back to the receptionist, he saw a long w heading straight for him. He quickly ducked, avoiding the hit, and took a step back when he saw someone at the counter.

    "Oh, you''re fast. You''re really fast. I like it," the man said.

    Dean took a look at the man that had just attacked him. He had strange long fingers with long curled nails at the end. They were ws, but not like a werewolf''s. In Dean¡¯s mind, they were far less intimidating.

    The man himself stood outpared to the rest who wereing in and out of the building. He was wearing a leather jacket and had wild messy hair with several piercings all over, including his tongue.

    "An Altered," Dean said.

    "Yes, and since you gave our guard a hard time, I guess I need to be the one to show you why you can¡¯t juste in here and do what you want!" The man charged forward and swung his ws.

    The swings were wild, like throwing punches trying to cause the most amount of damage. Dean easily avoided them, stepping to the side. This was easier than he thought.

    He had fought against Altereds, those that had attacked Ruin City before. To everyone else, it might look quite impressive because of the speed of the Alteredpared to the human, but it was nothing for Dean.

    Avoiding another wide swing, Dean knocked his arm to the side, making his body weight shift further. The man stumbled and Dean then punched him across the face. It was a heavy hit that nearly made the man lose consciousness.

    Dean could tell as he was shaky on his feet. After that, he grabbed him by the back of his jacket and flung him to the floor, knocking him down.

    "I¡¯m not here to cause trouble. I don¡¯t want to make a scene!" Dean said. "I just want to make an appointment."

    The receptionist, along with other staff members, were scrambling. Now that they had seen one of their Altereds defeated, they were worried about what the man might do. Surely in the NIRV building, they would have someone who could take him out.

    "Would you all calm down," a deep and resonant voice said.

    When turning around, they all saw arge tall man enter, an older gentleman with a gray beard, well-kept and still handsome. If one could have perfect wrinkles, then this man certainly had them, making him seem more charming.

    The man wore ab coat, and the other staff members seemed to listen to him.

    "I overheard you from before. You said that you were an Altered, correct, and you want to see a researcher?" the old man asked.

    "Yes¡­ I have a particr situation, and I want to see if someone can help me," Dean replied.

    "Well, the fact that you were able to take out an Altered by yourself is proof enough to me that you are an Altered. So I guess I can help you. Bianca, cancel all my meetings for today, tell them an emergency hase up," the man said.

    After saying those words, the man confidently walked ahead and gestured for Dean to follow him. He said things with confidence, didn¡¯t speak many words, and just got on with his work.

    Even after seeing what Dean could do, it was strange this man wasn¡¯t afraid of him. He would assume that every human would at least have a little bit of fear towards Altereds or strong humans, but it wasn¡¯t true for this man.

    "Thank you¡­ umm, I don¡¯t know your name. May I have your name?" Dean asked.

    "Sure, my name is Rickle Epmen, and I¡¯m one of the founders of NIRV, so you''re in good hands," he replied.

    ****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 948 My One Request

    Chapter 948 My One Request

    Dean felt lucky that he had run into one of the founders of NIRV. Through his research, he had found that there were three individuals who had founded the corporation and brought it to what it was today, and now he was with one of them.

    On top of that, out of the three founders, this one in particr was a researcher, the man who was said to have discovered how to create an Altered from beast fossils in the first ce.

    Dean had great confidence in this man but was wary of such a person who showed next to no fear when around him.

    Following him, the two had gotten into an elevator and continued their silence. They reached the 8th floor, which was just under the 9th at the very top. It wasn¡¯t a particrly tall building and far wider in the first ce.

    What Dean did notice was that a pass was needed to press the buttons on the elevator, so his n of forcing himself in and trying to figure things out himself would have been quite difficult.

    When the door opened, Dean was quite surprised to see that they had entered a giantb. There were severalrge tables with equipment that looked to be in the middle of being built or half-built.

    At the back of the room, Dean could even seerge liquid chambers that were empty, but he imagined at one point in time there would be humans floating inside.

    Then, as he continued walking around, there was even arge fossil of a beast propped up against the wall. The strangest thing of all, though, was that there was no one there. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Such a bigb, but where is everyone?¡± Dean asked.

    ¡°Oh, so you speak. I was waiting for you to tell me why you hade here and was being polite, yet you didn¡¯t say a single word,¡± Rickle said. ¡°But to answer your question first, there is no one here because no one is allowed here. This is my own personalb where I work on my own theories and productions.¡±

    ¡°Then, when I know things will work, I will push them through thepany.¡±

    Dean wanted to ask if that was even legal. From the sound of things, it seemed Rickle was a mad scientist who might have been doing hical research and then making it seem like his results were more ethical.

    In a way, though, that was the perfect type of person he needed, someone with no morals.

    Eventually, Rickle sat in a swivel chair office seat and kicked one over to where Dean was. It slid across the floor until Dean caught it with his hand, and the two were now seated opposite each other.

    Looking to the side, Rickle then picked up a coffee that had to have been sitting there for a while, maybe even a day old, yet started to sip it as he looked at the man.

    ¡°Please go on, what would an Altered want a researcher so desperately for? And I¡¯m also curious why an Altered like you isn¡¯t on our file?¡± Rickle asked.

    Now Dean was slightly nervous. Rickle raised his hand, and an electronic hand holding onto a tablet was seen in the air. Rickle snapped it from above and started to scroll down a list of people¡¯s faces along with information that Dean didn¡¯t quite understand.

    ¡°We have a list of every type of Altered we have created and who we have sold to. We also have ess to information from ourpetitors. There¡¯s always someone willing to sell something for a price.¡±

    ¡°Yet you don¡¯t appear on that list at all. At least my facial recognition software hasn¡¯t matched you with anyone in our database.¡±

    Dean lingered his eyes, and only just now he was noticing the cameras everywhere. A researcher oozing with confidence was a first for him, and why would he even tell him all of this in the first ce?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be an Altered,¡± Dean answered. ¡°It was something that was forced upon me, so that might answer your reason as to why I¡¯m not on your files. I don¡¯t really want to go into too much detail, but I think you should at least know this much because it¡¯s rted to my request.¡±

    ¡°I no longer wish to be an Altered. I came here looking for a solution, so I came to the best of the best, hoping that you could help me get rid of my Altered form.¡±

    While Dean was talking, Rickle had been typing away on the tablet in his hand, but when Dean had finished making his request, his fingers stopped, and he ced the tablet on the table to the side.

    ¡°Now that is a very interesting request,¡± Rickle said. ¡°Manye looking for me, asking for me to turn them into Altered. NIRV is all about making the human race into something else.¡±

    ¡°Even when one has be an Altered, many return asking me to make them stronger, to turn them less into a human. But this is a first, asking for me to reverse the changes. After all, if one doesn¡¯t wish to use the Altered part of their body, they can simply just not transform and reap the benefits of being a superior human being.¡±

    Rickle paused as if he was waiting for an answer from Dean, but Dean didn¡¯t reply, because he had no answer, just his head sunken into his chest.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s interesting enough for me to progress, so I agree to do this for you, but I do have some conditions. And I¡¯m telling you now, unless you ept my conditions, I won¡¯t help you out. And I truly believe that I might be the only person in the world who can help you out,¡± Rickle said with a smile.

    ¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 949 Whatâ€™s That Smell?

    Chapter 949 What¡¯s That Smell?

    Dean came into NIRV knowing that sacrifices would have to be made. After all, he had next to nothing to offer the researcher, nothing in terms of payment for helping him. In the worst case, he would have to force the researcher, but that was something Dean wanted to avoid.

    Luckily, the researcher seemed to be interested in the project and, in return, was just asking for conditions.

    ¡®I have no choice. I either have to fight against my brother or go through with this,¡¯ Dean thought as he gave his answer. ¡°Fine, what are your conditions to help me?¡±

    Rickle smiled, stood up from his seat, and started to pace back and forth, taking only about four steps in the room before turning around again.

    ¡°First, I have to inform you that removing or overturning an Altered will probably be a painful process. Once the process starts, I need your consent that you aren¡¯t going to back out.¡±

    Dean nodded immediately. He wasn¡¯t leaving until this worked. Otherwise, a torturous life was all that he would experience out there.

    ¡°Right, that¡¯s good. It seems you are trulymitted. The next condition is that I might need your help with other matters at NIRV for the time being. We have a group at NIRV called Retrievers who are required to use their strength and powers to further research. Do you ept this as well?¡±

    Although Dean wasn¡¯t much of a fighter like his brother Lupus, he still did have great strength. Maybe it was because he was part of the same bloodline as the original Alpha, or the fact that he was an Alpha now, he was stronger than most Werewolves and, in turn, stronger than most Altered out there.

    So he didn¡¯t have a problem with this either and gave another nod.

    ¡°Excellent. Thenst but not least, there is one more condition.¡± Rickle stopped pacing and looked directly at Dean. ¡°After the experiment isplete, I would still like you to stay with me for some time. Help me with a few developments and keep an eye on you.

    ¡°After that, you will be free to leave, but I would like to ask that if I need your help for something in the future, at any point in time, you wille to aid me, no questions asked. A favor for a favor.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Dean didn¡¯t immediately nod for this one. The request was left vague, and he believed there was a reason why. He had heard some dark things about NIRV, how they operated. They had to have good rtions with the other cities and gangs.

    It was quite possible that this favor might require Dean even to take someone else¡¯s life.

    ¡®But if I do this, and I¡¯m no longer a Werewolf, no longer an Alpha, I can head back and perhaps stop Lupus from going too far in his ways, saving countless lives.¡¯

    ¡°I agree to all your conditions,¡± Dean said.

    It was then that the two of them went through months of research together, and it started immediately that day. It was impossible for Dean to hide what he was because he had to transform multiple times for Rickle to work on him.

    There wasn¡¯t a day that went by without work being done on Dean. At times, there would be fewer hours spent because Rickle seemed to be an incredibly busy man, but it also felt like every spare second Rickle had was spent helping Dean get rid of his Altered form.

    The several experiments hurt, from taking parts of his skin off to going through different treatments and reactions, but it wasn¡¯t all bad working with Rickle.

    For one, Dean was given an apartment nearby and even an allowance for his food. Rickle had stated that this was all to help with the research and that he shouldn¡¯t travel too far either.

    At first, Dean felt bad, but he was also put to work rtively soon. He was selected as a Retriever, and his task was fighting against Beasts and taking their crystals.

    Dean actually learned more about his werewolf self and became a much better fighter because of it. He also learned all the amazing things that happened at NIRV and how they were able to gather crystals andbine them with human bodies in the first ce.

    How things were beyond what he could imagine. One thing was that Dean would never work with any of the other Retrievers. He would have to fight beasts on his own.

    He never knew the reason why, maybe because Rickle was trying to keep him a secret. As two months passed by, Dean had no clue how things were progressing. ording to Rickle, it was progressing nicely, but they couldn¡¯t do anything until he was sure of a solution.

    So he had to continue to live this life. Thankfully, not much seemed to happen in Ruin City either, so he was d of that.

    One day though, when Dean went to enter theb as usual, there was a strange scent that wafted into his nose. He could feel it aggravating him. He quickly moved to where the scent wasing from and, turning a corner in theb, saw Rickle standing there, spraying himself with a perfume-like substance.

    Right after that, the aggravating smell was gone, as if it didn¡¯t exist.

    ¡°You¡¯re earlier than I thought. I didn¡¯t know you got so used to this ce that you would just let yourself in,¡± Ricklemented. ¡°Anyway, shall we start?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Dean replied. As he followed Rickle, he was sure the smell wasing from him, and it was the smell of a Vampire.

 Chapter 950 An Exchange Between Races

    Chapter 950 An Exchange Between Races

    The experiments in theb continued as normal. This time, there were a few more pricks and prods into Dean¡¯s skin, draws of blood, and even more experiments. Usually, he would ignore a lot of the pain.

    For one, he was used to it, and because he was a Werewolf, it wasn¡¯t as painful as the first time turning when their fur practically ripped through their skin.

    This process would be repeated a few times until eventually, the skin would no longer be ripped and the fur would just grow on the skin. Then there were also the painful days of starvation and restriction during the full moon.

    Yet for some reason, the prods and pokes were getting to him this time. Arge needle the size of a bottle with a thick end was jabbed right into the back of his neck, and a stinging pain continued.

    ¡°You¡¯re just doing this on purpose today, aren¡¯t you!¡± Dean snapped.

    ¡°Do you really think someone as busy as me has time to just poke and prod you for fun? Do I look like a man who doesn¡¯t have apany to run?¡± Rickle replied.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look like a man to me.¡± The words had aggressivelye out of Dean¡¯s mouth before he thought about what he was really saying.

    For a moment, Rickle looked deep into Dean¡¯s eyes, and the two of them didn¡¯t break contact.

    ¡°Was it this morning?¡± Rickle said. ¡°I knew I was beingx around you, but I had a million other things on my mind at the time as well. You guys and your keen sense of smell¡ªI have to put double the amount on just to trick your nose.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Dean¡¯s heart started to beat faster. The reason he had been agitated this entire time was because of the smell he had in the morning. He was sure of it, that Rickle was a vampire.

    The experiments, everything was getting to him as the thought wasing to his mind: what if this vampire was just tricking him, just taking him for a fool?

    Now that he had been found out, would he have to fight his way out of the situation?

    ¡°Calm down, will you? I¡¯m not trying to harm you,¡± Rickle said as he stopped the experiment and moved away, sitting back down in his seat as he had done the first time the two of them had met.

    ¡°However, your nose has not lied to you. You are right; I am indeed a vampire.¡± When Rickle said these words, his eyes started to flicker red, but with a blink, they soon changed back to a deep dark brown.

    ¡°Before you start slicing and dicing and trying to make history repeat itself, I think I should make my position clear. I am not a part of the vampire society. In fact, right now, the vampires don¡¯t even know of my existence and believe NIRV is just being run by another human. So it would be best for the two of us to keep this as a secret between us,¡± Rickle exined.

    Dean didn¡¯t know what to believe. The vampire could be lying to him, and he would have no way to tell, but if he didn¡¯t believe him, it would mean the experiment woulde to aplete end.

    The experiment to stop himself from bing a Werewolf. The one saving grace was that he hadn¡¯t been killed yet, just poked, prodded, and had a lot of his blood drawn out.

    ¡°Will we still be able toplete the experiment? Will everything be okay between us?¡± Dean eventually asked.

    ¡°Of course. I wasn¡¯t lying when I said I was curious about this process. You de-wolfing yourself is something that has never urred in history, and I would like to be a great part of it,¡± Rickle exined. ¡°Of course, I knew what you were before you knew what I was, but I thought it was just best to keep things that way.

    ¡°I have to be honest, though. Now that the two of us know what we are, I want to take the experiment in a different direction. I am close topleting your request. In fact, I am certain I now have a way to remove the wolf from you.¡±

    Dean¡¯s eyes lit up. Was it a coincidence that now the vampire had been found out, a solution was near? How many months had they been going at this with seemingly no results?

    ¡°To finish the experiment, there is something I need from you. I need to know everything there is about Werewolves: how you work, what makes you tick, the feelings of your powers, and the feelings of powers beyond your own. Let me know them to the best of your understanding.¡±

    ¡°After that, we will need to run more experiments, and once everything you know about being a Werewolf has been cleared, we can safely go through the process.¡±

    ¡°Everything I know?¡± Dean was taken aback. ¡°Why would you need to know something like that? How is that meant to help with the process? I can¡¯t see why that type of information would help at all.¡±

    ¡°Or, are you nning on using all the information you have and using it to help the fight with the vampires against the Werewolves?¡±

    ¡°I already told you, I am not part of the society,¡± Rickle replied. ¡°If anything, I am a champion of Earth and society of all races as a whole. The information you give me will help me progress further in other research that I am conducting. It¡¯s just the start of something, a string of things toe. Well, maybe I wasn¡¯t the start of this.¡±

    Rickle seemed to ramble on about things that Dean didn¡¯t care about, and it was clear he would be vague about the answers he would give as well.

    ¡°Why now of all times? Why are you confident everything will be fine¡­ It¡¯s hard to trust you now,¡± Dean asked.

    Rickle then stood up and held a metallic object in his hand. The object started to meld and change shape, turning into something different altogether, now just a round ball of sorts.

    ¡°Just like you aren¡¯t an ordinary wolf, I am not an ordinary vampire. I have a power of sorts that lets me work in certain ways. There will be sacrifices on both ends¡ªthat¡¯s how my power works¡ªbut I guarantee you will get your results. It¡¯s an exchange; that¡¯s what this has been, that¡¯s always what this rtionship between the two of us has been.¡±

 Chapter 951 Removing The Wolf Inside

    Chapter 951 Removing The Wolf Inside

    ---

    Now that the two had acknowledged what they were, Dean had noticed that the experiments had taken a slight turn. Rather than poking and prodding him, the experiments were more about Dean giving a lecture.

    He recounted the history that was passed down to him, and exined the intricacies of the werewolf world, including their lives and customs. All of the data was being inputted into a tablet, and even his voice was being recorded.

    At times, Dean second-guessed himself. In a lot of ways, this could be seen as a betrayal of their kind. Dean and the rest of his pack had been werewolves for an incredibly long time. Yet, it didn¡¯t feel like that anymore, perhaps because Dean no longer felt like he was truly part of them. Sometimes, Dean was asked to exin certain rules and rituals.

    While this was happening, Rickle was off using his strange powers elsewhere. It didn¡¯t give Dean a lot of confidence because it seemed like Rickle was analyzing his own strange power, the one that turned and changed items into another form. It was almost as if he was trying to figure out the rules himself.

    Then one day, when Dean came in, instead of the normalrge ss test tube that he would be ced in, there was a specially made chair, and next to it was arge tube filled with glowing liquid. It was shining so bright it was radiating light on the other side of the ss.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Dean gulped, worried he was about to be injected with the strange substance.

    ¡°That is the pure form of beast crystals!¡± Rickle exined. ¡°You should know by now that we use the special Nest Crystal to give life to the fossils. In turn, the fossils transform into beasts, and then we harvest the crystals. Using the great energy of these crystals, we are able to make the Altered that we have today¡ªa strong fighting force making humans better than ever!¡±

    ¡°Do the vampires even want humans to be stronger?¡± Dean asked as he observed the chair. ¡°I mean, wouldn¡¯t that just give the vampires something else to worry about?¡±

    ¡°Do you not see vampires and werewolves as part of human society as well?¡± Rickle asked. ¡°Do you wish for them to stay in the same state as they currently are, so we can just consider ourselves above them? You are right that some vampires might view it that way, but I see our race as a collective. After all, we all stemmed from humans in the first ce; our bodies are just altered a little. You could even consider us a different type of Altered if it makes things easier. Besides, who knows what¡¯s going to happen in the future or who we are going to be attacked by? The human race might need to be stronger than ever!¡±

    Dean began to ce himself in the seat, knowing he would eventually have to, so he might as well get a head start. He even began to strap himself in.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know all researchers were so crazy to start talking about aliens.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t believe in aliens? I think you would be considered the crazier one, especially considering what you already know about the world,¡± Rickle said as he got into position, standing between the liquid and Dean.

    ¡°Point taken,¡± Dean replied. ¡°So care to exin what is going on today?¡±

    ¡°Today is the day where you will feel a big change. All of the experiments haven¡¯t gone to waste!¡± Rickle exined. ¡°You see, when I use my powers, I need to understand everything. After all, how do you weigh up your powers? The fact that you are stronger than others, the fact that you can hear better and even live slightly longer. For some people, that would be something they would be willing to exchange great value for, while for others like yourself, not so much. So the worth of what you have needed to be dissected. Over the years, I have learned about my power quite well. Now I have an idea of what your power is worth and what is needed to remove it. Sometimes, the energy I use when employing my power is enough to remove such a thing, but at other times it¡¯s not. The energy in here is a Nest Crystal¡ªsomething very rare and hard to get one¡¯s hands on, which is why you owe me a very big favor.¡±

    Rickle then ced one hand on top of Dean¡¯s head and the other on therge ss tube of liquid.

    ¡°If this works, that is¡­¡± Rickle said.

    The liquid started to bubble in the container, and immediately Dean could feel his heart thumping. It was thumping just the same as it would on a full moon, the thump sending shockwaves through his entire body.

    Almost immediately, he could feel his body changing, fur growing out of him, his teeth shape-shifting along with other features of his body.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Dean shouted and screamed.

    ¡°Keep it going!¡± Rickle shouted, not sure if his words were getting through. He was keeping an eye on Dean and could see his forearm growing incrediblyrge to the point where the straps were starting to bend, even though they were made of a special type of metal.

    Dean¡¯s body continued to transform and growrger, and it was far more painful than when he usually turned. If anything, it reminded him of the first turning when his skin was shedding. The pain of it ripping apart was quite familiar and one he wouldn¡¯t forget. So why now, of all times, was he feeling this pain? His eyes were closed; they had to be to try and focus on dulling the pain.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Dean gave out onest frightful scream, and it felt like there was onerge spike of pain, like tearing off a band-aid. His heart started to settle down, and as it did, he slowly opened his eyes. He could see something on the floor. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It was dark in color, fairlyrge and brown like a rug, but it was moving.

    ¡°Is that my¡­ is that my fur!¡±

 Chapter 952 No Longer A Wolf

    Chapter 952 No Longer A Wolf

    Dean couldn¡¯t quite believe what he was staring at. It was a moving rug, but not just any rug¡ªit looked like it was the fur from his very body. Now, the feeling of his skin being ripped off him like the night of his first transformation madeplete sense.

    As the rug continued to move, strange devices from above the ceiling quickly descended. They started to zap the fur several times with differentsers and all sorts of tools. It reminded Dean a lot of the experiments that he had gone through.

    After that, the moving fur seemed to stop, and the machinery lifted it, cing it in arge vat of liquid. It had ceased moving, and now Dean could just see it floating in ce.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive, you¡¯re breathing, and now that is over there, so I should say that all of this is a great sess!¡± Rickle imed as he came over from behind.

    A chill ran up the back of Dean¡¯s spine. It was because he didn¡¯t even know that Rickle had appeared by his side. Usually, he would smell, hear someone¡¯s breathing so close, yet he hadn¡¯t experienced any of those things.

    ¡°It¡­ did work? I¡¯m now just a human, no longer a Werewolf.¡±

    ¡°That is correct. I mean, feel free to try to transform yourself, but you are rid of everything that made you a werewolf. You are now just a regr human,¡± Rickle exined.

    The straps were released, and Dean tried to transform his hand at first. It didn¡¯t work, and a big smile appeared on his face. He looked at a piece of metal and tried to tear it, checking the color of his eyes, seeing if they would change, but they stayed dark brown.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, you actually did it. You weren¡¯t lying after all,¡± Dean eximed.

    ¡°Hey, what do you take me for? Well, I guess with that done, for now, our rtionship is over.¡± Rickle then walked away, before pulling something out of his drawer. It was a small burner phone, one that wasn¡¯t a touch screen but had small physical buttons.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know when, I don¡¯t know why, but if I need you, I will contact you on that phone, so make sure to keep it charged and just keep it on you at all times.¡±

    Dean took the phone and turned it on. He could see that there were no numbers inside, which meant he would have no way to contact Rickle. It wouldn¡¯t be the same asst time; he wouldn¡¯t be able to just barge in if he needed something.

    ¡°Alright, I understand,¡± Dean said. ¡°But can you at least tell me what that is, and what are you going to do with it?¡±

    Dean was looking at the fur that was floating about, which felt like it had a life of its own just a moment ago.

    ¡°Getting rid of the powers would be nearly impossible. After all, getting rid of something is impossible. When we exchange things, we are more cing them into something else or using energy in another form. So it¡¯s impossible to get rid of your powers.¡±

    ¡°So are you saying all of my werewolf self is in that fur right now? Will it be a werewolf itself?¡± Dean asked.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry. I will keep it in ce and continue to experiment on it. After all, I am reaching new ground myself. Who knows what it will do or what it can do, but as it is in this state, it is harmless. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    Although he didn¡¯t like leaving such a problem with the vampire he hardly knew to deal with, he was just happy that his solution was done. Exiting the NIRV building felt strange. He turned around and thought that he would never have to return to this ce again.

    Now the real question was, where would he go? After all, could he go back to Lupus and the others? Yes, he was no longer an Alpha, but now he was also no longer a werewolf. The same feeling as before would ur as well.

    ¡®I guess I can¡¯t return back there. It would be best for both of us, and everyone else in the pack. It seems like I managed to avoid destiny somehow,¡¯ Dean imed. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Dean, being thrust into the real world, found it harder than he imagined. For one, he had always lived in Ruin City, so getting a job was hard. With no experience, no qualifications, it was almost impossible for him to get a job in the tier 2 or tier 3 cities.

    Finally, though, he managed to get some work in a tier 3 town. His body was still physically fit and strong for a human, so he got work in construction and continued to live his life as he explored until he eventually ran into Maya.

    He had run into the love of his life, a sweet woman who knew next to nothing about his past. It was love at first sight for Dean, at least, and his persistence managed to win her over.

    The two of them continued to work and had earned enough with a wish to start a family. The first hade, a young baby named Gary. As they continued to raise their son, Dean felt blessed in his life.

    They weren¡¯t in the best environment. They weren¡¯t in the biggest ce, but they had more than he had dreamed of. Each day felt unreal, and he soon had another child on the way, a daughter named Amy.

    Maya and Dean continued to raise both of their children lovingly, sacrificing everything they had for them.

    Gary was four years old and soon to start school. He could walk and speak, while Amy, who was two years younger, at the age of two, was able to say a few words and experience things, but she would be too young to remember any of what happened when she was older.

    Then, in the following year, Dean felt his heart sink for the first time as he felt his left pocket vibrate, a ce where he always kept a particr phone.

 Chapter 953 Saying His Goodbye

    Chapter 953 Saying His Goodbye

    When Dean had first left the NIRV facility, almost every day he was expecting a call any second. At times he even felt phantom rings but there were no missed calls. As time went on, he forgot about the phone but had gotten into the habit of charging it once a week in order to receive a call.

    When he had met Maya, his anxiety and fear of having the calle someday hade back. He imagined that the peace and happiness he had achieved he would have to leave.

    He pictured in his head what to say to Maya, how to exin to her he had to suddenly up and leave, what his excuse would be. As time went on though, the fears started to settle.

    He had children, it had been years since he had met the person named Rickle, and it had gone out of his mind. That was until he had received the call.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me, I need you. We can meet at the ce where we first met. I¡¯ll give you a few days to do whatever you need to, so meet me at noon next week.¡± Those were the only words Rickle had said before hanging up.

    Dean knew it was him, the voice was the same as what he had remembered from that time. He thought he had forgotten what it sounded like. Maybe he could have tricked himself into thinking someone had called the wrong number, but it all came back to him once he had heard the voice.

    Currently, Dean was in the living room of their small townhouse home, which was attached on either side of the building. It wasn¡¯t the biggest ce but it wasn¡¯t small by any means.

    They had managed to afford it on both his and Maya¡¯s wages, and it was just enough for his children to have small rooms each. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Currently, the children were in the kitchen which was separated by a small hallway that led from the living room to the kitchen. Dean himself was in the living room away from the rest of the family.

    He had exited from the kitchen as soon as he had gotten the call.

    ¡®I can¡¯t even call him back, there¡¯s so much I want to ask.¡¯ Dean thought. ¡®What is it that he wants me to do? How long will I be gone for¡­ judging from the fact that he¡¯s giving me a few days, it sounds like it might be a long time.¡¯

    The number on the phone was a private number, so Dean couldn¡¯t even give it a ring back.

    Dean was pacing back and forth a few steps in the small living room, trying to think what to do, or what to say.

    ¡®I can always just not go, right? But then what will happen? That man isn¡¯t just a normal researcher. NIRV has been getting bigger and bigger and their connections among the gangs arerge.¡¯

    ¡®Not just that, but the man is a vampire of all things. I¡¯m sure he has ways to track me down, and now that I¡¯m no longer what I was before¡­ I can¡¯t even protect my family if need be.¡¯

    ¡°Dean.¡± Maya said standing by the living room door. ¡°I¡¯ve been calling you from the kitchen for a while now, but you didn¡¯t answer. What have you been thinking about so much?¡±

    Dean looked at Maya, and then looked at Gary who was pulling on his mother''s shirt with a thumb in his mouth. He was close to being five years old, yet he was dribbling everywhere.

    Usually, Dean would tell him to take his thumb out of his mouth, but in this instance, all he could think of was his son looked so cute.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Dean said, as he followed his wife and family and went ahead to have a meal with them all.

    While eating, Dean couldn¡¯t help but think that this was hisst meal with his family. That it might be a very long time since he saw them again. He would miss both his children growing up, the struggles they would have.

    On top of that, all of the burden would be left on his dear wife to raise two kids on her own.

    ¡°You know, if something happens to me, you can remarry and find someone else.¡± Deanmented. ¡°It will be easier on the children that way.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, with you walking back and forth earlier and now this?¡± Maya asked. ¡°Tell me the truth, are you in trouble?¡±

    In trouble, Dean wondered how he was meant to answer the question himself, because he didn¡¯t know if he was in trouble.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Dean said. ¡°But Maya, I have to go.¡±

    ¡°To the bathroom?¡± She replied.

    ¡°No, I mean, I have to leave this, I have to leave you all, there¡¯s something I need to do.¡±

    Maya looked at Dean and she could tell he was serious. She knew when something was bothering him and she knew it was something that Dean couldn¡¯t really talk about.

    ¡°And how long will you be gone for, while you deal with this business?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I really don¡¯t know. It¡¯s going to be hard without me, and the longer it takes I know it will be a struggle. If you guys end up leaving this home, just leave a note or something, keep me updated on where you guys are, and as soon as I can I¡¯ll be back.¡±

    ¡°But if you¡¯ve waited too long, and decided to move on, because you needed help or needed someone who could be there for you, Ipletely understand. I¡¯ll just watch, and do what I can from afar, and I promise no matter what I will do everything I can for our children no matter what.¡±

    At the end of his speech, Dean was getting teary-eyed, and it had caused a reaction in Maya as well.

    cing his spoon down, Dean then went towards Gary, kissing him on the forehead and did the same to Amy. Finally, he went ahead and kissed Maya as well.

    ¡°It will be easier for me if I just go now, otherwise the next couple of days would be torture for me¡­ goodbye¡­ I will always remember all of you, the Dem Family.¡± Dean said, as he went toward the door, closed it behind him, and never looked back.

    Heading to NIRV wondering just what they needed him for.

 Chapter 954 The Reason For Calling You

    Chapter 954 The Reason For Calling You

    Receiving the call from Rickle, Dean had left his home almost immediately. He had only taken a small backpack filled with just enough tost him five days or so.

    Then in his wallet he carried a photo of his family all out together at a fast-food restaurant. Gary¡¯s mouth was covered in ketchup, while Amy was pointing andughing as a child.

    Dean himself had a disgruntled look while Maya had a beautiful smile, she wasughing at the whole situation. It was one of Dean¡¯s most treasured photos.

    Eventually, before he knew it, his feet had taken him back to the tier 2 city, where one of the bases of NIRV was located, where he had met Rickle.

    ¡®NIRV sure has grown in a short time, they have these facilities in some of the tier 1 cities now as well. I wonder why Rickle, one of the founders, is here in a tier 2?¡¯

    Dean hadn¡¯t kept up with a lot of news regarding the world. They were in a tier 3 town, and he was too focused on just his family and trying to get by.

    It made him realize why the general public wouldin about the situation all the time, yet doing nothing to try and change it.

    It was simple, they had too many problems and their families as well as themselves to take care of. There was no time to try and make a big change.

    Only those that had the financial means and great power could afford to do such things.

    Entering the facility, Dean didn¡¯t know what to do. He was three days early leaving his family, knowing it would be harder for him if he stayed.

    ¡®Should I just stand here until something happens?¡¯

    ¡°I thought you would do this.¡± A voice said from behind.

    Turning his head it was as if Rickle had appeared out of nowhere. Knowing what this man was, and what he currently wasn¡¯t, it scared him.

    ¡°We worked together for a while, and I got to know your personality, so I thought I would be seeing you soon. I was just sitting in those seats by the side of the building over there.¡±

    ¡°Anyway,e on, we have important things to work on.¡±

    Dean followed, curious as to just what this important thing was, and what would happen that would tear him and his family apart from each other for so long.

    When Dean had entered the privateb of Rickle, he noticed that most of it looked the same. There was a familiar feeling as theyout was just like it was before.

    The various equipment that was littered around the room were at various stages of development, some looked to havee along more than others.

    The sign of a genius man that had too many ideas that he was working on at once.

    Then finally, Dean saw it, the container. Therge fur was floating in the container just as it had before. He imagined it had been this way for many years, but there was arge difference in thispartment.

    Several prodded wires seemed to have been injected into the fur. While next to it there was a giant server of some kind on the outside with a terminal, and then oddly arge glowing container.

    Which looked to be the same as when the fur had been removed from him, a vat of glowing liquid that came from that of a nest crystal.

    ¡°Is that why you called me here, is it to do with that?¡± Dean asked, and gulped.

    His promise was to do anything for Rickle, and he lived a great life because of that, so he agreed he was in debt.

    However, as a human and not a Werewolf, how could he help?

    ¡°That.¡± Rickle shook his head. ¡°No, the reason I called you, it doesn¡¯t have directly to do with that. I¡¯m sorry though, I will have to remove you from your family for a while.¡±

    ¡°You know I have a family?¡± Dean asked.

    It didn¡¯te as a surprise, but Dean wanted it to be, to still show some type of reaction.

    ¡°I needed to keep tabs on you in case I needed you, and besides, part of experimentation is to continue to observe for a period of time after results arepleted.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I guess I can ept that.¡± Dean answered knowing that he really had no choice. If anything, he was sure he had made the right choice in not trying to run away.

    ¡°The reason I have called you is because you and I are going to be quite busy for a while, and I¡¯m going to need an assistant to stay by my side.¡± Rickle exined.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Dean replied back. ¡°But, I can¡¯t fight, and I¡¯m not a researcher, surely someone else can help you other than me. I would be less than useless.¡±

    ¡°All of what you said is true.¡± Rickle replied with no hesitation. ¡°But what I need your help with only you can help with.¡±

    ¡°For you see, this matter is something that concerns your race and mine.¡± Rickle exined.

    Thinking about it for a short while, Dean finally came up with an answer.

    ¡°Vampires and Werewolves?¡± Dean replied.

    ¡°Correct, you see, right now there is high tension between the two, and a battle is imminent between the two races.¡±

    ¡°Although the vampires are arger force and perhaps stronger than the Werewolves at the moment, there is no doubt in my mind that both sides would take a significant hit, which is something that we can¡¯t afford.¡±

    ¡°Which is why we will get involved. I know a lot about the vampires and how they work. While you, the brother of the current Alpha leader of the Werewolves, know a lot about Lupus and his group as well.¡±

    ¡°The two of us will work side by side from the shadows, intervening in ways that neither side can understand, and do whatever we can to stop a war from breaking out!¡± Rickle said. There wasn¡¯t a hint of hesitation in his voice, he was dead serious about the matter.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 955 Going Against the Helper

    Chapter 955 Going Against the Helper

    The fight between the vampires and werewolf races had been recorded throughout history. The stories were passed down from Alpha to Alpha, and from Advisor to Advisor.

    In the case of the current Lupus n, they had heard of the history from their own father and the only other person that was extremely well-versed in these matters was Grk.

    The current right-hand man of Lupus. A certain individual in the pack would usually be appointed as the bookkeeper of the group. This individual''s duty was to pass on all of the knowledge of the werewolves.

    From the rituals, to enforcing the pack rules, and exining how an Alpha bite among other things worked. These things weren¡¯t just written down in books, because it was the duty of the bookkeeper.

    The bookkeeper would also do two things. One, they would pass on all of their knowledge to an apprentice, that way the knowledge would continue to live on.

    The role of the apprentice and the bookkeeper weren¡¯t usually fighting roles, as they were to be protected third in the group the most.

    The bookkeeper would even advise for this to take ce in the pack rules.

    The first to be protected was the Alpha, the leader, the wolf that could make arger pack again. The second, was the Luna of the group if there was one.

    Third was the bookkeeper and their apprentice. When a new Alpha was selected it was time for them to pass on what knowledge they had to the new Alpha.

    However, Alphas being the leader of the pack were also allowed to pass on what they needed to others, and Lupus¡¯s and Dean¡¯s father, had passed on all of the information to Dean.

    Lupus never seemed to care for the knowledge or the past of the werewolves, he was much more of a fighter, but Dean did care about those things.

    Thinking back on the stories that Dean heard, the vampires and werewolves used to be in a constant battle. Their history had determined at times werewolves were fighting against them to protect the humans.

    At others it was the vampires trying to protect the humans from them. In the end, it no longer became about protecting the humans but just going against each other.

    There was too much blood that had been spilt in fighting for either side to forgive.

    In arge battle though, the werewolves were badly hurt, and had gone into deeper hiding. It allowed the vampires to gain strong influence in the human world.

    Part of the reason their father had stayed low, out of sight and remained in one city, was to not get the vampires¡¯ attention. It was almost as if a silent deal had been made.

    As long as they didn¡¯t stick out their head, then there would be no need for the vampires to act.

    ¡°Lupus is now sticking out like a sore thumb, and he won¡¯tply with anything the vampires say.¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Rickle answered. ¡°I recently learned that due to the expansion of Ruin City, and how big it has be, a messenger was sent from the vampires.¡±

    ¡°They wanted to speak, to know exactly what the werewolves were nning. The messenger is now dead and the vampires aren¡¯t happy about this at all.¡± Rickle exined.

    Dean could already picture what had happened in his head. Lupus and the rest of the werewolves were already frustrated with their trapped lives.

    They had long wanted to expand and live more of a life in other cities. Thanks to their father and Dean himself, he had managed to convince Lupus into making the current city a better ce for all of them to live in, so there was no need for them to go outside.

    Yet now, the vampires were trying to control the little freedom they had there as well.

    Lupus always used to say, who decided what was wrong? Why was the vampires'' way the correct way, just because they were stronger than the werewolves?

    Now having built up Ruin City into a fortress filled with powerful werewolves, he would happily tell them to bring it on.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how I can really help.¡± Dean said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will use the knowledge that we both have. Knowledge is the power that we have, and the fact that what we are doing is secret, we can do this.¡± Rickle said.

    With no choice Dean had gone ahead and helped Rickle as he had asked. More questions were asked about the Werewolves at times Dean had to travel to different cities and towns.

    Investigating certain killings to see if they were that of a wolf or an Altered. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Opinions were asked about how his brother would react to certain things and what he thought he would do, and everything was somehow and somewhat working out.

    One thing that Dean realized was the fastwork of information that Rickle had built up.

    With NIRV being in so many cities, he got information at times before even the police force. Then there were the connections to the gangs he had in different areas.

    Finally, there were also the retrievers that could be used. There were many that appeared to owe NIRV a favor, either for giving them a discount on a solution or some other means.

    When it came to a point where fighting had to ur, whether that be between the vampires or werewolves, they could also be used.

    No one knew what a mastermind Rickle was, how he was controlling everything.

    Third parties were being moved to control the movement of both sides, and for a long time, Rickle had created a stalemate between the groups.

    Years went past and Dean started to think, when was the end of all of this? If their job was just to stop the two sides from fighting each other, wouldn¡¯t this go on forever?

    With no victor, their job would go on and on, and Dean might never see his family again.

    Seeing if there was a way that he could end all of this, Dean had decided to go meet his brother once again. After so many years he would meet him, but he would no longer be a werewolf.

 Chapter 956 The New Ruin City

    956 The New Ruin City

    In order to meet his brother, there was really only one ce that Dean could go, and that was Ruin City¡ªthe area where his brother had remained, along with the rest of the pack.

    Unlike before, Ruin City was now an actual city where many people lived; it had grown in size and had an unusual quirkpared to others.

    This allowed Dean to easily enter, and he was stunned by the sights he could see: how the city had integratedrge parks and cyclenes everywhere.

    It was a paradise for those like him, and for those who preferred the free natural life of living.

    For a moment, he stopped in the middle of the street and took everything in as he looked far ahead at the castle still located on the cliffside.

    "I''ve managed to get into the city, but getting into the castle is a whole other thing altogether," Dean said. "My stomach is churning, turning round and round. I don¡¯t really want to do this, but it¡¯s a must."

    As Dean was thinking of this, from the corner of his eye, he saw something moving high up in the tree. He couldn¡¯t see anything other than a few leaves rustling.

    "Must be a squirrel or something," Gary thought.

    Walking around, Dean was pretty exhausted; he had too many thoughts on his mind. For one, he hadn¡¯t told Rickle about what he was nning to do.

    He knew how Rickle would react, stating that it was pointless to talk to his brother. The reason he knew this was because Dean had brought it up several times before¡ªas a way to quell the fear of the two sides fighting¡ªbut it was never epted as an answer.

    At times Rickle felt like an ally, but at others, not so much. Now he was in another ce that didn¡¯t feel safe to him; it was getting to him quite a bit, and he just needed to sit down and drink some coffee to clear his mind. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Heading off the side, he had entered quite a small establishment; there were four booths lined up at the back and a few tables out front¡ªmaybe twenty people could fit in the ce at most.

    He noticed there were a few people inside but just continued on with getting his drink. He sipped it away, his hands rushing through his hair, almost pulling them out from stress.

    To the point where he didn¡¯t even notice the person walking toward him until the chair was pulled out.

    "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sitting here," Dean said.

    "Oh, it¡¯s okay. I think you wanted to meet me, right?"

    Dean looked up at the deep, raspy voice and set his eyes on a muscr man who had a chiseled frame. His face looked a little rough around the edges, more so than when hest saw him, but there was a giant smile on his face.

    "Lupus, how did you¡ª"

    Lupus opened up his arms and went in for a hug; the two of them embraced tightly as he went to sit back down.

    "This is my city; I know whoes in and out through those doors," Lupus exined. "Besides, there¡¯s still a lot that would recognize you, but you now have a lot of exining to do¡ªa lot of exining."

    Lupus tapped the side of his nose, and Dean knew what that was an indication for: the fact that through his sense of smell, he could tell that Dean was no longer an Alpha.

    "There was so much I thought happened to you; I don¡¯t think there was a day that went by," Lupus exined. "I thought it wasn¡¯t possible to stop being an Alpha; I thought that we would have to fight no matter what. So, you had done something that our old man would have done¡ªjust sealed yourself in a corner somewhere, not getting involved in anything. But you actually managed to get rid of... you¡¯re no longer a Werewolf yourself?"

    Dean was a little nervous as he twiddled his thumbs, but he had expected this. How could he not, going to see his brother? He had toe up with something to tell him.

    In the end, he decided to tell the truth. Dean exined how he had met someone from NIRV and what had taken ce, but he did decide to omit some details. For one, the fact that Rickle was a vampire, and the second was the exact method that had been used to remove the fur from his body, which was now located in theb itself.

    He just exined it as some science mumbo-jumbo that he didn¡¯t really understand.

    "The fur ripped off from your body and is now in the hands of NIRV!" Lupus said, shocked by this. "I wonder what they n to do with it."

    Dean was happy with this reaction; he was sure if he had mentioned Rickle was a vampire, the reaction would have been much worse.

    "I am in your debt, brother," Lupus continued. "I can¡¯t believe that you would go through all of that, that you would decide to give up this gift of ours just so the two of us wouldn¡¯t be able to fight. If it was the same situation, I¡¯m not so sure I could do the same."

    This was where Dean knew him and Lupus were different, seeing their werewolf selves as different as well. He knew that Lupus could have never done such a thing; it wasn¡¯t in his nature.

    "So, are you going to tell me then?" Lupus asked. "Why, after enjoying your life the way you have been, you decided toe back and meet me after all of this time... you¡¯re free now, right, and no longer like me, so this is not your home."

    Dean gulped as he thought, how was he going to stop the man in front of him from starting a fight with the vampires?

    He wouldn¡¯t listen to him before, so why would he listen to him now?

    ****

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 Chapter 957 Are You Still My Brother?

    957 Are You Still My Brother?

    The scene continued to y in Dean¡¯s head from the moment just before he left the pack. How he and his brother hade close to trading blows.

    Sure, they had fought physically many times as kids, with Lupus always being the victor. When they got older, though, that had stopped.

    Both of their strengths were far too mighty to just have a simple scuffle without seriously hurting the other.

    It was because of this that, now that he was in front of Lupus, he found it hard to speak.

    ¡®In my mind, this was a lot easier than I thought,¡¯ Dean thought. ¡®I guess I was just remembering the good times we had together.¡¯

    ¡®How he would follow and listen to my advice, but I can¡¯t be so sure about that right now.¡¯

    Yet the idea still stayed in his head. If he couldn¡¯t stop Lupus, sure, he and Rickle could continue to work on stopping the fight between the vampires and werewolves, but that wouldst forever.

    A type of truce needed to be signed between the two. He had to convince Lupus to promise the vampires he wouldn¡¯t act out further than he was doing.

    Because of this, he needed to stay, but he just needed more time before he could state his true reasons.

    ¡°There¡¯s some trouble at home,¡± Dean awkwardly answered, staring at the side of his head.

    ¡°You know, it¡¯s hard to get away from the family from time to time, and I just needed someone I was familiar with to clear my head.¡±

    Dean hated the fact that he was using his family as an excuse, but it was the only thing that felt believable to him.

    ¡°You should have told me sooner,¡± Lupus said, lifting his hand up, and then whacking it down, he patted Dean hard on the shoulder. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner that you have a family now!¡± Lupus said. ¡°You missed out on a pretty big detail. Come on, why don¡¯t I give you a tour of Ruin City? You can see what¡¯s changed, and you can tell me all about your family.¡±

    This was the feeling that Dean expected, making him think again that maybe things wouldn¡¯t be so bad.

    Standing up, Lupus did exactly as he said and gave a tour around Ruin City. Showing the various locations,rge domes, well-crafted working spaces.

    Rxing parks with a sense of openness, even deer were walking through the area with the public with no trouble at all.

    Lupus was showing him things that Dean couldn¡¯t even imagine, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel proud of his brother.

    His brother had talked about the wants he had, and in all honesty, he was afraid with Lupus at the helm as a leader.

    Yet it was clear he had done an incredible job; no one could say otherwise. As they walked from area to area, Dean exined how he had met Maya and the two children he had.

    When Dean started to talk about them, he couldn¡¯t stop, and then he realized something as he continued to tell his story.

    He hadn¡¯t kept up with them. Thest time he had, he had received a letter from their old house stating that they had moved.

    Dean was sure it was due to financial strains. He had thought about asking Rickle to help with his family situation, but then Rickle would also know where his family was, and he certainly didn¡¯t want that.

    However, he no longer had any stories to tell, to ask how his children were in school. He couldn¡¯t answer Lupus when it came to these questions.

    ¡°You know, I¡¯m the leader of this ce, not just the pack, but my name is nearly on every piece ofnd and building here.

    ¡°We have grown into quite a big organization and influencing force. If you wanted, you could leave that small town; your family could live here. You wouldn¡¯t have to worry about costs, and I would get a nice ce for you.¡±

    His sessful brother was being nice to him with open arms, but with his connection to Rickle, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ept them.

    Still, with everything he had been through, he thought that maybe it was time to tell Lupus everything and ask him about the situation with the vampires.

    As they hade to the edge of the city, they reached thest stop. There was arge gate and wall that blocked off the general public from the castle by the cliff.

    In the past, the whole area was the biggest tourist attraction, so it was strange to see it that way.

    Looking ahead at the castle where they grew up, Dean was a little excited to head inside and see what had changed there.

    He walked up to the gate, and that¡¯s when two guards came and stood in front of him¡ªtwo people he had never seen before.

    ¡°Lupus?¡± Dean asked, turning his head.

    ¡°Sorry, Dean, we have a strict rule: anyone that doesn¡¯t smell like us isn¡¯t allowed past this point,¡± Lupus exined.

    ¡°I see. Then can¡¯t you exin that I¡¯m your brother? I wanted to see what¡¯s changed inside or talk with John Luca and the others as well,¡± Dean asked, with a smile on his face.

    Yet the look on Lupus¡¯s face was quite painful, and eventually, he shook his head.

    ¡°That area is for pack members only,¡± Lupus replied. ¡°The pack is the family, and you are no longer part of the pack. I¡¯m sorry, but even for you, I can¡¯t make an exception. You understand that, right?¡±

    Although Dean did understand where his brother wasing from, it didn¡¯t stop it from hurting any less. Coming back here, now no longer an Alpha, Dean thought things might be able to go back to normal.

    Yet he was still an outsider, still not a member of the pack, and the pack was the number one priority for the Alpha.

    Just like Dean had his own family, which was his priority now, Lupus had his pack, which was his number one priority as well.

    ¡®I understand now. No matter what I said, you wouldn¡¯t listen to me. Because I¡¯m just an outsider. It¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t mention anything,¡¯ Dean thought to himself.

    ¡°Thank you for everything. I think I might have spent more time in this city than I have,¡± Dean replied and turned around, starting to walk away.

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re leaving already? But it¡¯s only been a few hours,¡± Lupus called out. ¡°What I said before, I was serious, Dean. If there is anything you need help with, your family or anything, I will help you out!¡±

    Dean turned around and opened his mouth, but he soon closed it.

    ¡®You would help out with anything unless it¡¯s to do with harming your pack,¡¯ Dean thought.

    The journey to Ruin City had ended, and Dean left feeling more disheartened than before. He hadn¡¯t really fixed anything.

    It was onlyter that he would learn that his visit to Ruin City had made things worse¡ªmuch worse.

    ---

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 Chapter 958 The Second System

    958 The Second System

    After his trip to Ruin City, Dean returned to theb to continue his work with Rickle. Their projects didn¡¯t always require Dean to be around Rickle constantly.

    Sometimes, there were even weeks between projects that involved stopping the vampires and werewolves from colliding. Rickle, after all, was a founder of NIRV, and they still had multiple projects to work on. It made Dean wonder if Rickle ever slept.

    So, returning after a day or two wasn¡¯t a big deal, and Dean thought it would be the same this time.

    Entering theb, it took only a few moments for Rickle to notice.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened this time? Did you get into an argument, or did you go back home to your wife and kids? I told you that would be a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°The work we¡¯re doing is incredibly dangerous. If it were found out, they could target your family, and we could be away for a long time. You¡¯d have to continuously break their hearts and put them in danger,¡± Rickle said.

    Dean had gone back home, but not to the home Rickle thought he had visited.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t go see them. I just looked from afar,¡± Dean answered.

    While exploring theb, Dean usually looked around or went into the city until he received a call from Rickle with information.

    What he noticed, however, was that in therge vat of liquid in the room, where arge floating piece of fur was usually present, there was nothing inside.

    Dean rushed to the ss and ced his hand on the outside. It really was gone.

    ¡°My fur... the werewolf fur. Where has it gone? What happened to it? Did you destroy it?¡± Dean asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd,¡± Rickle replied. ¡°Since the two of us have been working together for a while now, I¡¯ll be honest with you.¡± Rickle jumped from where he was and went to one of therge consoles, starting to hit several buttons in a way that would be impossible for Dean to imitate. It wasn¡¯t any simple sequence, that was for sure.

    ¡°Your fur from day one has been n B, or maybe more like n X or something, since many ns have already failed,¡± Rickle mumbled thest words to himself. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A projected screen appeared in the air, and Dean wondered what he was looking at. It disyed information about werewolves: the different sses they could have, information about the full moon, blood lust, and more.

    Dean remembered that he had provided nearly all of this information to Rickle, answering endless questions when Rickle imed he wanted to help remove the fur in the first ce.

    Off to the side, Dean also saw levels and experience points, like in some type of game.

    ¡°There¡¯s a good chance that our n will fail,¡± Rickle continued. ¡°The werewolves and the vampires won¡¯t fight forever. Eventually, one side will win, and one side will lose.

    ¡°But I told you before, we¡¯ll need the strength of the werewolves in the future. I¡¯m certain of it. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be in for a tough time, and I might have to start working on n Z,¡± Rickle exined.

    Dean somewhat understood. His fur was going to be used as a way to revive the werewolves somehow, to prevent them from going extinct. But why the need for all the information?

    ¡°That¡¯s a great question,¡± Rickle said as if reading Dean¡¯s mind. ¡°Think about it. If someone suddenly became a werewolf, they would struggle immensely. They wouldn¡¯t understand why they felt a certain way or know how to get stronger.¡±

    ¡°Which is why I had to create a system 1! Or maybe I should call it System 2.0 since she created that shambles of a system. But 2.0 also makes it sound like there might be more in the future,¡± Rickle started to mumble to himself.

    ¡°Wait... but that doesn¡¯t answer anything. Where is the fur currently?¡± Dean asked. ¡°I somewhat understand the purpose you¡¯re using it for, but where is it?¡±

    ¡°Why do you want to take it back?¡± Rickle asked, and Dean wasn¡¯t sure if he was joking or not.

    ¡°Anyway, right now I¡¯m transporting it through NIRV facilities. The product, let¡¯s say, has beenpleted. But as all secret ns need to be, they need to be stored away.¡±

    There was nothing left for Dean to ask. Instead, he moved closer to the console projecting information about werewolves. He was trying to understand how it worked and how the system would function.

    As he was reading the information, a shing signal appeared on the console.

    Rickle lifted his arm and tapped around his wrist. His eyes widened, and when he looked up at Dean, his eyes were glowing red.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± Rickle asked, his voice growing menacingly. It was the first time Dean had seen him so angry.

    ¡°What do you mean? I didn¡¯t touch the console!¡± Dean replied. ¡°I just looked at it. I didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Rickle walked forward and moved to the console, starting to tap away again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that. I¡¯m talking about this!¡± Rickle mmed his hand on a button, and the projection changed.

    It now showed a feed from a security camera inside a NIRV building¡ªone they weren¡¯t in, but another location.

    Workers were busy at their tasks until suddenly, the door was blown off its hinges and flung into the room.

    Momentster, a number of people began pouring into the room. It didn¡¯t take long for some of the scientists to transform as they were Altered themselves.

    That¡¯s when Dean saw it: those who had rushed in began to transform, their bodies changing into werewolves. They were running everything in theb, and were fighting against the researchers but seemingly keeping them alive. It even looked as if some were questioning them and asking questions.

    ¡°Now tell me, what did you do?¡±

    ---

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 Chapter 959 The Start Of The Werewolf System

    959 The Start Of The Werewolf System

    Dean watched the video and clearly saw that a pack of Werewolves had attacked the NIRV base. It wasn¡¯t some type of Wolf Altered or anything like that.

    He recognized the movements, the way they transformed¡ªeverything that was different between Altered and Werewolves.

    There weren¡¯t several packs of Werewolves out there. Although the attackers looked young and Dean didn¡¯t recognize any of them, they could only havee from one pack.

    ¡°It has to be Lupus and his group,¡± Dean said.

    ¡°Oh really? What took you so long to figure that out?¡± Rickle asked. ¡°What I¡¯m asking is why a pack of Werewolves attacked one of the NIRV bases. You¡¯ve been acting strange since you came in, so my inkling is that you have something to do with it.¡±

    Rickle¡¯s eyes started to glow an even deeper red.

    ¡°We¡¯ve worked together for years. Don¡¯t make me force the truth out of you.¡±

    Dean was confused. At first, he thought Rickle was trying to me him for the Werewolves'' attack on NIRV. But as he reflected on Rickle''s words, he started to realize the connection. The attack was too soon after he had met with Lupus.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Dean said. ¡°I didn¡¯t think this would happen. I... I went to visit Lupus. I wanted to persuade him toply with the vampires¡¯ demands so that the vampires and Werewolves could stop fighting.¡±

    ¡°If that happened, then¡­ then I could finally return home to my family.¡±

    When Dean poured out his heart, his voice filled with genuine ache, Rickle pulled back, his eyes no longer glowing. He shook his head in disbelief.

    ¡°I just told him what happened, how I was no longer a Werewolf. He could tell that the moment he saw me,¡± Dean exined. ¡°But I didn¡¯t tell him what you were¡ªjust that I had the process done at NIRV.¡±

    ¡°And now he must be attacking this ce for one of two reasons,¡± Rickle replied. ¡°Either he wants to eliminate NIRV, which has a way to remove Werewolves, or he¡¯s after the fur to use it for himself.¡± Rickle sighed. ¡°So how did the talk go anyway? I¡¯m assuming not well, given the situation we¡¯re in now.¡±

    Dean shook his head. ¡°Things are different now. I¡¯m no longer part of the Pack. The moment I became another Alpha, my words no longer held sway. I was in no position to tell him to listen to the vampires, so I said nothing.¡±

    Rickle returned to his console and began typing, pulling up information on each of the employees who had been killed. He eventually stopped typing.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure the Werewolves will be able to get very far,¡± Rickle said. ¡°Most of the NIRV employees know nothing, and even those who do only know it¡¯s a top-secret project, not much more.¡±

    ¡°I just hope for your sake that they don¡¯t resort to more extreme measures.¡±

    ---

    Back in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, everyone in the Howlers¡¯ underground room listened intently to Dean¡¯s story.

    Gary, in particr, was deeply engaged. Initially, he harbored a lot of resentment towards his father¡ªnever exining, never writing, never revealing his whereabouts while his family struggled, and his mother suffered.

    However, trying to understand Dean¡¯s perspective, Gary found himself rting more and more. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t have thought the same way before, but now, with a pack of his own, he understood his father''s motives, allowing his hatred to soften. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°There were a few more strikes on NIRV after that,¡± Dean continued. ¡°But they never managed to find the fur.¡±

    ¡°However, one day, the fur was stolen from us. Rickle ran an investigation and found that arge number of items had been stolen.¡±

    ¡°The two of us ran investigations within NIRV ourselves to find out what happened and discovered there was a traitor among us.¡±

    ¡°Someone who was working for a particr gang and handing them NIRV products. Care to guess which gang the NIRV employee was working for?¡±

    Everyone pondered the question until Kai came up with the answer.

    ¡°The Phoenix Gang,¡± Kai said.

    Everyone was surprised by his answer. They wondered how he had arrived at that conclusion, but Kai had been following the trail for a while before the others.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Dean confirmed. ¡°The Phoenix Gang had many people from various ces in their pocket.¡±

    ¡°Right, they even had some of the White Rose Agents helping them out, and they were pretty high-ranking,¡± Gary added.

    ¡°The product was stolen by the Phoenix Gang, and I¡¯m pretty sure you can guess who ordered it¡ªLupus and his pack. But even a gang of that caliber had to be cautious with apany like NIRV. They, too, had their connections and retrievers in their back pocket.¡±

    ¡°So the idea was to move the product through a long line of other gangs. This was a way to obscure the trail of where the product went.¡±

    ¡°Every step of the way, Rickle and I were one step behind because of this. The second tactic was the me game. NIRV needed a reason to attack one of the Kings, and using smaller gangs made it hard to start a war.¡±

    ¡°Although NIRV has strong individuals, it¡¯s not a gang itself or arge army. Any movement we could make would take a long time to produce results.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve figured out where this story is going,¡± Kai interjected. ¡°One of these small gangs used and controlled by the Phoenix Gang was the Underdogs.¡±

    The look on everyone¡¯s face was one of disbelief as things started to make sense.

    ¡°Right,¡± Dean confirmed. ¡°The attack by the Phoenix Gang wasn¡¯t random. The product meant to be delivered to them and forwarded to Lupus¡¯ gang had been lost in Slough. As for where it ended up¡­¡±

    Dean lifted his hand and pointed directly at Gary. ¡°This is how you came into contact with the Werewolf System.¡±

    ---

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 Chapter 960 The Strength Of The Howlers Now

    960 The Strength Of The Howlers Now

    Gary had always been curious about what had happened that day, why he had turned into a Werewolf, and what was in the package that the Underdogs were delivering.

    All his questions had been answered now, and it was from a person he thought he might never meet again.

    He looked at his father, thinking back to the story he told. Although his anger had subdued and he could understand him, what now?

    After years of not living with his father, was he expecting things to go back to normal? For him to be part of his life again?

    With everything going on, it felt like an impossibility.

    ¡°I have an idea of what you are thinking, Gary, and you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± Dean said. ¡°First, I came here right now to exin everything to you.¡±

    ¡°So you knew why you were in this whole thing to start with. So you knew the reason why you had gotten involved. You were born into this world because of me and dragged into this world because of me, so you are my responsibility. Yet, I was unable to be responsible for you as you grew up.¡±

    ¡°Which is why I deeply apologize to both you, Amy, and, of course, Maya. What you need to do now with what I told you is think about what will happen next.¡±

    ¡°Next?¡± Gary asked, wondering in what way. They were still somewhat recovering from everything that happened with the Phoenix Gang. Where were they to go from this other than rebuilding themselves?

    ¡°He¡¯s talking about Lupus,¡± Kai added. ¡°The whole world saw what happened, the whole world knows about us, which means Lupus knows that there is another Alpha.¡±

    ¡°Based on his character, he will be frightened and scared and will do what he can to get rid of you. You have to remember though, he doesn¡¯t know who you are, Gary, that you¡¯re his nephew or anything like that, and even then, because you¡¯re an Alpha of another pack, he won¡¯t feel that way.¡±

    Gary always knew that they would have to fight against the other Alpha. He knew that since the ritual had taken ce, including the quest he had gotten.

    It was strange to know now that Lupus was rted to him.

    ¡°You are in a fortunate situation. Right now, Lupus is busy dealing with the Altered Hunters. I don¡¯t know how long that will go on for, but I doubt he will lose the fight. Still, it will go on for a long time, use that time to keep growing,¡± Dean said as he stood up from his seat as if he was ready to leave the establishment.

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving¡­ again,¡± Gary said.

    Dean looked deep into Gary¡¯s eyes; they were the eyes of a person in pain.

    ¡°I have to. Even now, I¡¯m still working with Rickle. He allowed me to help the Howlers because it was somewhat good for our situation.¡±

    ¡°The vampires had been shing with Lupus and his group for a while now, but now that they know that there is another Alpha, they might take a step back,¡± Dean exined.

    ¡°Wait, why?¡± Marie asked.

    ¡°Because we¡¯ll just take out each other,¡± Kai replied. ¡°The best time for the vampires to strike if they want to get rid of the Werewolves is after a battle between two Alphas.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Dean said. ¡°Even more so, it¡¯s been a long time since another Alpha has been able to make a group this big and this strong. The two sides are evening out. My guess is, the Altered Hunters are actually being controlled by the vampires as well.¡±

    ¡°In a way, they sent the Altered Hunters to fight against Lupus to help you, so that you guys can continue to grow and to even out the ying field so both sides are more even.¡±

    ¡°The vampires are some of the most advanced and trickiest people out there. I know since I¡¯m working for one of the trickiest of them all.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°There¡¯s a good chance that the vampires could switch their target from Lupus to you, or even after a sh between the two of you,e for you. Which is why I need to continue working with Rickle to stop all of that.¡±

    ¡°This is my role in life. I hadn¡¯t epted it before, but knowing that my role in life will help out my family, that it will help out you, Gary, and your mother and sister, it¡¯s easier to ept, and I don¡¯t feel like running away from it anymore.¡±

    ¡°Gary, you are stronger than me. You didn¡¯t run away from Slough or the Werewolf side of you. I have a feeling that some of it is due to the friends around you. So I will say it again, thank you, everyone, and if ites to it, there might be a time when you will see me again, but I hope that is not the case.¡±

    Dean walked towards the staircase to head up the stairs. His words, heavy in their minds, meaning he would only be there if there was trouble like the time not too long ago.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Gary called out. It was hard for him to say as he was standing there with both of his cheeks a little red.

    ¡°I just want you to know that I understand why you did what you did, and I don¡¯t me you for it, but with everything our family went through, it¡¯s going to be hard just to forget about those things.¡±

    Dean smiled back at his son.

    ¡°How did you grow up so good, even without me there?¡±

    ¡°Mum was a pretty good dad as well while you were away,¡± Gary replied, but his expression turned serious for a moment. ¡°I want to ask if the Howlers as they are now went on to take out Lupus¡­ are we strong enough?¡±

    This was the question on everyone in the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club¡¯s mind. They had just won a battle against the Phoenix Gang, one of the Kings, and all of them had grown stronger in the process.

    ¡°There is a reason why the Phoenix Gang was listening to Lupus and his group and went as far as to attack your city.¡±

    ¡°The Phoenix Gang were afraid, Sin was afraid of Lupus¡­ so that should tell you a lot,¡± Dean said as he continued to walk and headed out the door.

    Leaving everyone wondering just how strong Lupus and his pack were.

    *****

    ****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 961 A New King Arrives

    Chapter 961 A New King Arrives

    The repairing and rebuilding of Slough had taken another three months until it was fullyplete. However, the progress of the rebuilding of Slough was far more than anyone had expected.

    Due to the major destruction caused in the fight with the Phoenix Gang and the surrounding gangs, the city had a chance to rebuild itselfpletely anew.

    Old structures that had been poorly formed due tock of nning or funds could bepletely destroyed to form buildings with thetest structures, built in a way that would clear up congestion.

    The city was able to start to form an underground subway station that would get people quickly from one main district to the next, clearing up the roads of cars.

    Even on the streets, wide cyclenes were created where people were able to ride their bicycles and electric scooters. The city experienced an extreme wave of modernization and was nothing like the city where Gary had grown up or lived in.

    This was mainly thanks to major support from the partners that worked with the Howlers. After the scuffle, people understood just who was backed by the Howlers.

    The famous groups such as Cardenez Electronics and AJ Entertainment. Now knowing the strength of the gang and group behind them, AJ Entertainment had more talent and deals behind them.

    No longer were they a group that just focused on rising talents, but even established celebrities and talents decided to sign up with AJ Entertainment.

    Knowing full well that they had the backing of the Howlers behind them. It was the same with Cardenez Electronics. With Harry at the helm, he was making business decisions after decisions.

    He had a keen eye for what technologies were trending and was able to team up or take over smaller electronicpanies that were making breakthroughs.

    Of course, at the helm of all of this was the Howlers gang, owning the majority shares, boosting their funds more and more. These were the funds being used to advance the city, and beyond that, this brought arge influx of people immigrating into the city.

    Job opportunities, safety, and a modern style of living were what attracted everyone to the new city of Slough, and that¡¯s when things changed.

    There was now no doubt in everyone''s mind that the City of Slough was a tier 1 city, and now that it was considered one, it was also considered that the Howlers were one of the New Kings. A new King was something that hadn¡¯t appeared in a while, but not a single person could deny this fact.

    Not only did one have to have the power tobat against the Kings but also the city and finances in their control to back it up, and now the Howlers had it all.

    In Cipen, a new skyscraper had been built. It was the tallest building in the city that would light up at night. In the tower itself, there was abination of offices that would run through it.

    Not only did one have to have the power tobat against the Kings but also the city and finances in their control to back it up, and now the Howlers had it all.

    In Cipen, a new skyscraper had been built. It was the tallest building in the city that would light up at night. In the tower itself, there was abination of offices that would run through it.

    A team would be left on each floor with connections to the subsidiaries that were under the Howlers and Gary Dem, the business tycoon.

    As for the name of the building itself, it had been decided to be called Green Corporation.

    At the very top, there was a single floor, an office with ss surrounding the entire side and floor made of white marble. This was where Gary was at.

    ¡°Hey, are you really sure of calling this building after my family name? That makes no sense,¡± Tom said as he was perplexed, having barged in the room not too long ago.

    ¡°Kai said that we have already achieved what we needed to with my name being a business tycoon,¡± Gary replied. ¡°Everyone knows that I¡¯m the leader of the Howlers now, in and outside of the gang, so there¡¯s no need for me to have this second identity.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not good at running the business anyway.¡±

    ¡°Then name it after Kai¡¯s family name or something,¡± Tom said. ¡°I just can¡¯t ept this. I¡¯m really not deserving of this at all.¡±

    ¡°Kai is running the Howlers, yes, and he¡¯s running the business side of things as well, mainly due to the help of Harry, but we need more help.¡±

    ¡°Besides, your family, they all quit from NIRV and are helping the Howlers. There¡¯s even ab in the building now to help you with your own Altered research.¡±

    ¡°And, I even left an entire floor for your hobby.¡±

    Tom was still shaking his head. Everything had changed so much from when the two of them were just in school a couple of years ago.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a name,¡± Gary added. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s still rted to me. I like the color green, and my hair is stuck this color now. Even the night lights light up green, so no one is going to think it¡¯s rted to your family name.¡±

    ¡°But you put half of this building under my name. I own half of it!¡± Tom shouted again.

    ¡°That¡¯s for your hobby of the game studio and your help with the Altered research. We can¡¯t have NIRV dominate the Altered scene, we need to understand all of this ourselves now.¡±

    Tom felt defeated. He felt there was no way to argue with his friend, and the more he thought about it, the situation was just what it was.

    Gary now had more money and assets than he could deal with. It wasn¡¯t as if giving half the current building they were in would affect him in any way.

    It just felt strange for Tom to have everything fall in hisp when it didn¡¯t feel like he had earned it.

    ¡°Things have changed so much,¡± Tom eventually said as he sat down, defeated.

    When the two of them looked at each other, they couldn¡¯t help but smile, and in the middle of their moment, both of their phones pinged at the same time.

    Pulling it out, they could see the notification.

    ¡°Oh, you got it as well, you¡¯re still following the AFC?¡± Tom asked.

    The two of them had bonded in ss because of their interest in the AFC in the first ce. They werepletely different from each other, one being skilled at studying and the other practically nothing. The days of them just enjoying the AFC had long gone though, so it came as a surprise that they were both still keeping up to date with the matches.

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s someone that Xin told me to keep an eye on,¡± Gary said as he looked at the notification.

    ¡°You mean¡­ Jayden, right? The fight, it¡¯s happening soon, right? And Xin still can¡¯t get in contact with him?¡± Tom asked.

    To which Gary nodded and continued to stare at the notification.

    [Jayden Tiger, ranked 22 in the AFC, goes up against the number one Ranked AFC fighter Harvor Ego!] N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡®What are you doing, Jayden? What did you want to talk to me about that day? Aren¡¯t I ready to help you now?¡¯

 Chapter 962 Jaydens Trouble

    Chapter 962 Jayden''s Trouble

    Gary was thinking back to when he first met Jayden. All of his impressions of him were good. He had helped Gary when he was practically a stranger, bringing him off the street.

    Then, when he learned about his close rtionship with Xin, he didn¡¯t try to get in the way. If anything, he had encouraged Gary even more to work harder than he did before.

    The rtionship was as if he truly had an older brother, and Gary felt like he could always learn from Jayden. However, it was onlyter that Gary started to realize that Jayden might also have his own problems.

    The day he came to the special lesson at the AFA academy. After fighting against him, and losing the fight rtively easily along with his fellow students, he had met him secretly after.

    That was the first time it felt like Jayden was calling for help. Saying that when Gary was strong enough, maybe then he could do something for him.

    The Gary from back at the academy and the Gary now were twopletely different people, at least in terms of strength, so if Jayden asked for his help now, he was sure to give it, but the roots of Jayden¡¯s problems perhaps ran very deep as he was learning.

    Xin also was worried for her brother and had been trying to get in contact with him, to meet up with him. It seemed impossible. She had asked others if they knew what was going on, yet it was a lost cause.

    For the time being, Xin was staying in the city of Slough as she waited to find out more, and she believed her father might know more as well.

    Looking at his phone, he looked at the matchup again.

    ¡®Jayden¡¯s strength had to have improved in the year and a half since we met as well. He went from top fifty to top 25, and because of a number of situations, he¡¯s now able to go against the rank 1.¡¯

    ¡®What happens if he wins and he bes AFC Champion! Damn, that would be kinda cool to know the champion.¡¯ Gary thought and started daydreaming.

    Maybe this was what Jayden wanted help with, a partner to train. There were times when other family members didn¡¯t understand one''s desires and goals and were just unsupportive, and knowing who Jayden¡¯s father was, Gary could understand from that point of view.

    ¡®Maybe we could try and use our connections at the Howlers. Crowley was a teacher there; he might know someone in the AFA that¡¯s linked to the AFC to get in contact with them.¡¯

    ¡®Or maybe one of the new contract signups at AJ Entertainment can get in contact with him. Jayden should have some type of agent, right?¡¯ Gary thought.

    He was also starting to think, now being one of the Kings, it was handy to do things with all of these connections that one had on hand.

    While thinking of all of this, Tom had already left to look at the facilities that had been handed to him, and that was when Gary felt his phone vibrating in his hand.

    As for the name that came up, it was one that he wasn¡¯t quite expecting.

    ¡®Elijah¡­ well, I guess it¡¯s good to know he¡¯s calling me,¡¯ Gary thought.

    Answering the phone, Gary was a little nervous. He had heard through his news sources that something was happening at White Rose after the events revolving around him.

    Thankfully, all of Gary¡¯s charges were dropped, including that of him escaping, but that wasn¡¯t news released to the public.

    ording to them, once White Rose found out that they had made a mistake, they had released Gary.

    At first, he thought of arguing and fighting back against the truth. They had a mighty powerful tool in AJ Streaming Services tomunicate with everyone in the outside world. The tform had be extremely popr after streaming the events of Slough.

    However, Kai and theirwyers had stated it was better for them to just take this win. There were a lot of wrongdoings that Gary had done during his breakout.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m d you answered,¡± Elijah said. ¡°And sorry it¡¯s been a long time since I contacted you, I wanted to earlier, but things have been crazy over here.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it goes both ways. We¡¯ve been pretty busy in Slough as well, but things have started to calm down a little. So what¡¯s been happening over there, with White Rose?¡±

    Elijah went on to exin how White Rose had been going through an internal investigation. They were rooting out all of those that had worked with the Phoenix Gang, and every single one of them was being removed from their position of power.

    It was made quite public by the superintendent of the White Rose organization. Doing this was a deterrent for anyone working with gangs in the future.

    At the same time, an announcement was made that the White Rose would be further cracking down on gangs in cities, clearing any wrongdoings a bit at a time. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It felt like arge reform had urred within the White Rose organization.

    ¡°Actually, do you remember Sadie, Frank, and Kanu, the three that helped you out? They¡¯ve changed departments now. They¡¯re part of the superintendent¡¯s team, so they will be dealing with internal affairs within White Rose.¡±

    ¡°Essentially, Kanu got a promotion for what he had done.¡±

    Hearing those names, it did remind Gary. He never figured out why they had helped him. He understood Elijah, but everyone else made next to no sense.

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s something else as well,¡± Elijah said. ¡°The reason I called you might be perfect timing. You said you weren¡¯t so busy, right? Do you minding here again? Kanu wants to meet you; he said there¡¯s something he wants to talk about.¡±

    ¡°Talk about, with a White Rose agent, and back to that ce?¡± Gary repeated as he wasn¡¯t so sure.

    ¡°Yeah, he said you might act like this. He said, it¡¯s about Jayden.¡±

 Chapter 963 Mysterious Friend

    Chapter 963 Mysterious Friend

    Talking with Elijah, the meeting had been set up as to where Gary would go, and he was now heading to his next destination, Centerfield. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sitting down in a ratherfyrge red chair, Gary was watching the fields and trees pass by, and a momentter anotherrge train had passed right by them going at great speed.

    It caused his sensitive ears to twinge slightly, but he had gotten used to sensitive sounds.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe it, I¡¯m heading to Centerfield, where the White Rose base is located, and thest time I was here I was directly underground in the White Rose base. At least I won¡¯t be meeting Kanu in the White Rose base, but just in the city. Still, it¡¯s a worrying thing,¡¯ Gary thought.

    Centerfield was considered one of the safest cities in the country. This was due to the fact that no gang ran the ce, and it was because of the White Rose base in the first ce.

    Many of the central government¡¯s politicians lived here, as well as other wealthy individuals who felt like they would be targeted or used by the gangs that controlled the other cities.

    There were great schooling systems that ran in Centerfield, and nearly all of the mayors that ran the cities and towns as the mayors and representatives for the local governments came from Centerfield.

    Depending on one¡¯s standing, background, or how well they had done in the system, they would be sent to look after different cities.

    This was the type of ce Gary imagined Ben Clove had been raised in and was sent to Slough of all ces to try and run the ce.

    ¡°If you stare out that window any longer, I think you might just be able to pass through it,¡± Kaimented.

    Turning his head, Gary looked at his two travelpanions that were sitting opposite him. There was a table between them, and Gary and Austin were both facing toward him.

    ¡°I have a lot on my mind these days. I was thinking back to when things were simpler,¡± Gary said as he slouched across the table.

    ¡°We can always talk about those times,¡± Austin said. ¡°Like when we first met, or fights that we used to have back in school.¡±

    ¡°Hey, not all of us were brutes in school. Gary had a pretty tame life in school,¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°Really, I guess you¡¯re just a natural talent then,¡± Austin replied.

    ¡°Not natural, it¡¯s all because of this Werewolf System. Anyway, I keep telling you, the two of you didn¡¯t have toe. I¡¯m sure you would prefer to just stay in Slough with the others,¡± Gary said.

    ¡°You think you can just travel on your own now?¡± Kai stated. ¡°You¡¯re well known all over the world. People will recognize you left and right; you need some strong bodyguards to look after you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve left a lot of duties to our allies back in Slough, and if anythingrgees along we have Marie, Olivia, Midwak, and more to deal with them,¡± Kai exined. ¡°Especially now that you have that new friend of yours, Ice, who seems to be settling in quite well.¡±

    Gary wanted to mention that wasn¡¯t enough thest time someone had attacked them, but it was very unlikely that they would be attacked again.

    As for the reason why Austin hade along, he seemed to have his own reasons.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking about why I insisted oning along, right?¡± Austin asked. ¡°It¡¯s because wherever you are, trouble seems to follow you. It would have been a great chance to have entered that prison with you. I would have gained a lot of experience in getting stronger.¡±

    ¡°Trust me, you wouldn¡¯t have liked to have gone in that prison. It was a rough ce, and just heading to Centerfield is reminding me of it again.¡±

    Gary did think of one thing though: everyone in the Howlers right now was focused on getting stronger. After hearing the stories from his father, it had ignited a fire in them.

    They were always training to grow stronger but not to this degree. Everyone knew at some point they would have to go against Lupus and his pack of Werewolves.

    Another King, that was considered to be stronger than even Sin. The gang had be attached to Slough, and in thest fight they had lost a lot that couldn¡¯t be recovered.

    For one, they had lost Tyler, their driver, and had yet to rece him. It was something that Gary couldn¡¯t do.

    Kai did try to push for a round of interviews. They needed someone close that they could trust that would be taking the core members of the Howlers after all.

    Someone that wouldn¡¯t be swayed by money from other gangs or persuaded in other ways, and it was nearly impossible to meet the requirement. It felt like a position that couldn¡¯t be reced, which was why they were taking the train today, but were at least in the first-ss cabin.

    ¡°What I wanted to ask is why didn¡¯t you bring Xin?¡± Kai said. ¡°I mean, this Kanu from the White Rose said he wanted to speak to you rted to her brother. I know you and Xin have gotten closer, but to ask you and not her, what gives?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea,¡± Gary sighed and went back to staring out the window. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been wondering as well. But I think it might be for the best that Xin doesn¡¯te along until I figure it all out.¡±

    ¡°Thest she said to me was after sorting out her father to be a better role model for Slough, she would ask him about her brother. Her father must have some answers, so maybe if we link the two together we can get something.¡±

    ¡°Besides, there¡¯s something so strange. I told you Kanu and a few other White Rose agents helped me break out of the prison.¡±

    ¡°When I asked why he was helping, he said it was at a request of someone. At first, I thought you might have pulled some strings, but you had nothing to do with it.¡±

    ¡°So you think this special person that asked for a favor is Jayden,¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°Exactly. It might be because of him that I was able to break out of the prison, so I need to return the favor.¡±

 Chapter 964 Dont Get Involved

    964 Don''t Get Involved

    The first-ss cabin on the train only consisted of a single cabin, which looked like it could fit around fifty people at max capacity.

    The cabin itself was half full, so there was actually no one sitting on the side next to their group. A few bobbing heads could be seen in the seats ahead.

    Kai had purposely selected this time, of course, when it wasn¡¯t so busy to head to their destination. It was all for the sake of Gary traveling without too much trouble. Even now, he wore a ck wig on his head.

    His green hair gave him away, and even though many would recognize his face, the ck hair was enough for people to second guess themselves and believe they had seen the wrong person.

    After all, all the scenes and shots of Gary were mostly shown during him fighting.

    ¡°Take this, my meteorite punch!¡± A small boy that looked to be around the age of five shouted down the aisle as he threw out his fist.

    ¡°I use my famous special, super-duper ultimate move, the cross block!¡± A young girl, around the same age, lifted both of her hands and blocked the hit.

    The two children had been ying up and down the aisle for a while now.

    ¡°Hey, hey, you should be on the ground, my special punch was just as strong as Havor!¡± The boy said.

    ¡°Just because Havor is ranked 1 doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s the strongest in the AFC, there were people before that were strong, and so I can block your attack, you idiot!¡± The girl shouted back.

    The two started to argue, and Kai was shaking his head as if he had a headache brewing.

    The boy then went to throw another punch, and when he did, he hit Gary on the arm.

    ¡°Ahh! Sorry, mister!¡± the boy said, giving a polite bow.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Gary replied. ¡°I was like that as well. I¡¯m guessing you two like watching the AFC? I didn¡¯t realize kids so young enjoyed it these days; I didn¡¯t get into it until I was a teenager.¡±

    ¡°Everyone wants to be an Altered; who wouldn¡¯t know about the AFC!¡± the boy shouted.

    ¡°Mister,¡± the girl said, tugging Gary¡¯s trousers. ¡°You like the AFC as well, right? So who do you think is the strongest, Havor, or maybe Gustav, or Taxin?¡±

    All three of the names mentioned Gary knew well because they were the top five of the AFC rankings.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Gary said with his finger on his chin as he gave it a real thought, but having gone against only one person, and with everything happening, he could only think of one person. ¡°What about Jayden Tiger?¡±

    ¡°Jayden Tiger?¡± Both of them said at the same time, and then looked back at Gary.

    ¡°Mister, you¡¯re an idiot. Jayden isn¡¯t even in the top 10, he¡¯s going to get beaten by Havor in less than a minute.¡± The boy said.

    ¡°Yeah, I expected you to know about the AFC, but now we can see you¡¯re lying, you must just be some weak uncle or something.¡± The girl retorted.

    ¡°Right, he thinks Jayden is strong because he is weak, so he has no clue. Sorry for wasting your time.¡± The boy said as the two ran off down the aisle and continued to fight with each other.

    ¡°Did they just call me an uncle?¡± Gary asked, looking at Austin and Kai.

    ¡°Hey, to those kids, we¡¯re all already ancient fossils, don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°And did you hear that?¡± Gary turned to Austin. ¡°They said I knew nothing about the AFC. I was in the AFA, and I was even in an AFC match.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it is a match that everyone has forgotten about.¡± Austin said. ¡°I don¡¯t even think your videos are making the circuits anymore, in those videoptions titled, ¡®Forgotten AFC fighters, what happened to them now?¡¯¡±

    There was a reason why Gary had answered the way he did as well. He remembered speaking to Jayden about the rules of the AFC.

    How Altereds with special traits and powers weren¡¯t allowed to use them in an AFC match. They were limited to the physical changes that their bodies could make.

    This would also alter the rankings, so fighting in the AFC and a fight in real life wouldn¡¯t necessarily produce the same results.

    There was a good chance that Jayden would lose to Havor in a fight, but outside it might be a different story.

    ¡°WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU¡¯RE DOING!¡± A booming loud voice was heard from the back of the carriage, which caused Gary to turn in his seat and see what was going on.

    He could see that the two kids who were fighting near them not too long ago had continued down the cabin they were in, and now arge man in a ck suit was standing in front of them.

    ¡°You two brats fighting over here, you nearly hit Sir Ken! Where are your parents? What are they doing letting you two run around wild like that!¡± The man shouted.

    The two kids froze in ce and looked to be on the verge of tears.

    ¡°We¡¯re so sorry, mister, we didn¡¯t mean to hit you, we¡¯re sorry¡­ we¡¯re so sorry.¡± The girl said on behalf of the boy since he was too frozen to say anything.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re sorry, you two brats should have been taught manners by your parents, where are they!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not in this cabin, sir¡­ our mother, she¡¯s in the other cabin.¡± The girl was pointing to the economy ss cabin.

    ¡°So you two snuck in here when you¡¯re not even allowed to be in here. Kids these days get away with everything and it¡¯s all because they¡¯re not taught a lesson.¡± The man said as he lifted his hand and pped the boy around the face.

    The hit was heavy, causing him to fall to the floor. In shock, the boy raised his hand to his red stinging cheek until he started to let out a loud cry.

    ¡°The reason you kids misbehave is because you think you can get away with anything and no one in this world will punish you for it.¡±

    Themotion was causing quite a scene as more people turned their heads to look at what was going on.

    ¡°Gary¡­ don¡¯t get involved.¡± Kai said. ¡°That man isn¡¯t going to do them any more harm than that.¡±

    Looking, Gary could see therge man¡¯s hand was raised again.

    ¡°And if he does? Am I allowed to intervene then?¡± Gary asked.

    Kai looked at the situation further.

    ¡°Definitely.¡±

    *****

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 965 Im Not Scared Of You

    965 I''m Not Scared Of You

    ¡°Your orders, sir?¡± therge guard asked, raising his hand and looking back over his shoulder.

    Sitting with two more guards opposite him was a man in arge blue suit, stretched to its limit over his belly, with one button ready to explode like a bullet at any moment. The man¡¯s hair was balding,bed back in a futile attempt to cover it up.

    ¡°Those brats!¡± Sir Ken shouted. ¡°I¡¯m the mayor of Clusterfield, and I¡¯m about to have a meeting soon. Their fighting knocked the coffee over my trousers. Are they going to pay for a new pair of trousers? These people weren¡¯t even meant to be in this cabin in the first ce! People like them never learn because it¡¯s ingrained by their parents, these uneducated scum. You can¡¯t just punish them; you have to punish the root of the problem. Bring their parents and deal with the two brats so they can¡¯t say a word.¡±

    One of the guards stood up and immediately went through the cabin door, presumably to search for the parents.

    With the order given, the remaining guard raised his hand in delight, ready to swing.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair? You weigh around twenty times what these two little children weigh,¡± a voice said.

    The two kids, holding their hands under their chins, turned around to see who was talking.

    ¡°It¡¯s the mister who knows nothing about the AFC,¡± the boy sniffled.

    ¡°If he makes them angry, won¡¯t we get hit even more?¡± the girl started to sob. They did not see the weak, small man they had met earlier as their savior; far from it.

    ¡°Mind your own business,¡± the guard said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°This matter is not of concern to you unless you want to get the whole of Clusterfield on your bad side,¡± Sir Ken said, still sitting in his seat and overhearing the conversation.

    ¡°I know your type,¡± Gary spoke as he continued to move forward and now stood just shy of reaching out and grabbing the guard. He could get a good look at Sir Ken and the guard now. ¡°You, the big one, took this job so you could abuse your power. Have a chance to show off those muscles and fighting skills of yours, a legal way just to do some damage, so you let your fists fly about. And you,¡± Gary said, looking at Sir Ken now, ¡°are someone who uses their position of power and sees themselves above everyone else, that is, until they meet someone higher than them.¡±

    Sir Ken didn¡¯t care for Gary¡¯s words and instead gave a new order.

    ¡°Get rid of him as well, and make sure the people in Clusterfield are aware of this person¡¯s misdoings. You messed with the wrong person. You should have kept out of it, but now not just you will suffer but those in your town and everyone else.¡±

    Therge guard raised his hand again, this time making it into a fist. When he threw it out, he aimed to strike Gary.

    The two kids closed their eyes, fearing the worst, and before they knew it, they heard a loud bang.

    Slowly, they opened their eyes and, to their surprise, saw therge man had crashed into the door, his eyes rolled back into his head.

    ¡°What... what happened... did the guy who knows nothing about the AFC... do that?¡± the kids asked as they stared at Gary, who had his fist out.

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Gary thought to himself. ¡°I could tell he was human, so it was good that I held back my strength.¡±

    If Gary had hit the man any harder, the guard would have gone flying through the door.

    The kids didn¡¯t see how the stranger had dealt with the first guard, but they were there to witness the second one.

    One of the other men stood up from his seat and leapt up, throwing a punch. Gary dodged it while throwing a clean hit right across the guard¡¯s chin. It was a lighter hit than his first strike, causing the man to feel a little wobbly on his feet before falling back down into his seat.

    ¡°It would be better if you stayed down,¡± Gary stated.

    The two kids suddenly had stars in their eyes. It was the first time they had seen a real fight so close. Watching someone avoid punches so cleanly and deliver them back confidently was something they had only imagined.

    ¡°Haha!¡± Sir Ken started tough while in his seat. ¡°So you¡¯re good at fighting, but that doesn¡¯t mean anything. Although many people think that the strength of one¡¯s fist rules this world, that is not quite the case. It¡¯s the strength of those who rule those fists. Do you know Clusterfield is a tier 2 city? A city that I am in charge of, including everyone involved in it. I¡¯m not afraid because if something happens to me, you will receive punishment far worse.¡±

    The door tried to slide open a few times, but the weight of the fallen man made it hard until it was yanked to the side, and the guard rushed in, looking at his fallen ally.

    ¡°What happened here?¡± the guard asked. Following behind him, there was a woman who seemed startled, and behind her, there was someone else.

    ¡°Who has caused this mess?¡± a man asked in a white and gold uniform with the badge of White Rose on his clothing.

    ¡°Ah, Ryan, it¡¯s been a while,¡± Sir Ken said, looking at the White Rose agent. ¡°This man was just threatening me and took out two of my powerful guards. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s an Altered, so this is in your jurisdiction to take care of him, right?¡±

    Hearing these words and watching from the back, Kai couldn¡¯t help but p his own face.

    ¡°I told you, trouble always follows him,¡± Austin smiled.

    ---

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 966 Im Going There Again!

    966 I''m Going There Again!

    Gary was quickly trying to analyze the situation. He looked at the mother in the back who had deep concern, but her head was also facing the ground as if she was scared.

    He had to assume that this was the mother of the two kids, but she didn¡¯t say anything when seeing them, perhaps because of the pressure of the entire situation.

    Then there was the White Rose agent. Having seen the marking on the clothing many times, Gary knew what he was looking at was the real thing.

    ¡°Let me get a clear evaluation of the situation,¡± the White Rose agent named Ryan said as he pushed himself between the two groups of people.

    ¡°The damage that has been done here, the door is even bent in. That¡¯s clearly the strength of an Altered state. Are you an Altered, and did you attack this man there?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°I mean¡­I did,¡± Gary said, perplexed. ¡°But the situation warranted it, and I was just defending myself.¡±

    ¡°You were the one who threw the first strike that made contact,¡± Sir Ken said, still calmly in his seat while the whole situation was unfolding.

    ¡°As an Altered, even if this man was to attack you, it wouldn¡¯t have done too much damage. You know being an Altered, one has to take better care of themselves and not abuse their powers.¡±

    ¡°For the attack on two men, and going beyond that of self-defense, I¡¯m going to have to take you in,¡± Ryan exined.

    Ryan was already moving toward Gary, and Sir Ken was just sitting there with a smug look on his face, ncing mainly at the window, not even paying attention to the situation fully at hand.

    ¡°But that¡¯s not fair!¡± the boy shouted. ¡°That big meanie pped me, and then he was about to hit Erica as well. That¡¯s why the kind man helped us!¡±

    ¡°He was just beating up the big bullies, so why is he getting taken away?¡±

    The mother, now understanding the situation, lifted her hand up to her mouth and was holding back her tears. She wanted to say something, but the guard who had gone to retrieve her stood even closer to her, making sure that she was aware of his presence.

    ¡°Listen, there were multiple ways an Altered could have dealt with the situation, yet he chose violence. That is not the right choice; you do not put out a fire with fire,¡± Ryan exined.

    ¡°But then who would have stopped him? When there are bullies in the world hurting those that are weak, who is meant to stop them?¡± Erica asked.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t here, and if he hadn¡¯t arrived, then I would have been hurt even more! It¡¯s because of you that there are people like this all over the world!¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Ryan snapped at her. ¡°I am part of the White Rose. I signed up to give up my life to serve the people, to help them from threats like the Altered here!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because of me that people like you can sleep easier at night. You¡¯re lucky that all you guys got was a little p. What if this man was the attacker and he had sent you flying through the door? This is why I act.¡±

    Whening close to Gary, he took a step back, wondering if he should fight or try and escape, but he felt his back hitting against someone and a hand ced on his shoulder.

    ¡°Just go along with it,¡± Kai whispered. ¡°We are too close to Centerfield to cause a problem; it¡¯s the next stop. With everything that happened recently, we don¡¯t want to cause a mess so close. We will deal with the situation differently.¡±

    Kai didn¡¯t seem too worried about what was happening. It wasn¡¯t like thest time Gary had been taken away.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Gary said as he held out his hands. The White Rose agent had pulled out a set of special cuffs. They were partly metallic with small links that had a visible connecting electrical current running through them.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you areing along without arge amount of resistance. When the train stops, you are to follow me,¡± Ryan exined.

    ¡°Will we be going to the underground prison below the White Rose Base?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°What?¡± Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow and gave him a look that made Gary feel like he was a madman. ¡°This is a small crime; only the most dangerous Altereds get ced there.¡±

    ¡°It is not a ce for someone like you. We¡¯ll take you to the closest station and put you in a holding cell while we gather more information about who you are and what you¡¯ve done before.¡±

    ¡°From there, we will decide further,¡± Ryan exined.

    With all of that, Gary was happy to see that the children were at least safe and had been returned to their mother. Nearly all of the attention was now ced on Gary, so Sir Ken and his guards seemingly forgot about the children.

    The train had stopped at Centerfield, and they all went off, with Kai and Austin on the tform watching them take Gary away.

    The smug Sir Ken had gone another direction, and it wasn¡¯t long until the mother with her two children came running up to Kai and Austin.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for what happened there. Because I wasn¡¯t keeping an eye on my children, because of what happened, now your friend is going to jail just because he helped my children!¡± The mother said and took out her wallet, proceeding to hand over every penny she had to the two.

    ¡°I heard that if you get a goodwyer, you can help him. I don¡¯t think this is enough to cover things, but it should be fine.¡±

    Kai pushed the mother¡¯s hand back and shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, none of this is your fault. You didn¡¯t force our friend to make the actions he did, and besides, don¡¯t you worry; everything is going to be fine.¡± Kai said as he took out his phone. While reaching into his inner pocket, he also pulled out a business card and handed it over.

    ¡°In fact, if there are any problems you have with them again, feel free to give us a call,¡± Kai said and was already walking off with Austin.

    The mother looked at the card in her hand and read a few words on it.

    [Howlers Limited]

    ¡°Where have I heard that name before?¡±

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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 Chapter 967 Learning His Lesson

    Chapter 967 Learning His Lesson

    Austin and Kai had left the tform and finally exited the station to see they were in Centerfield. They had exited just in time to see Gary being ced in a patrol car and taken away.

    ¡°So what are we going to do now? Are we going to follow them?¡± Austin asked. ¡°Or are we going to call Elijah or someone to help Gary out?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think sometimes Gary needs to learn a lesson?¡± Kai said, which was an answer that took Austin by surprise. ¡°Gary is a great leader because he cares for everyone, and in a way, that is what drives his strength.¡±

    ¡°However, sometimes his actions can cause trouble for him and others. The situation is no longer like it was before. If we wanted to stop them from attacking, we could have also just simply told them who we were, but Gary decided to act out with his fists because, well, that¡¯s all he knows.¡±

    ¡°So I want to show him that acting in other ways, other than his fists, is also a good option. We¡¯ll get him out, and we¡¯ll go to the meeting in his ce. For now, let¡¯s enjoy Centerfield for a bit. It¡¯s one of the safest ces in the world after all!¡±

    Centerfield was one of the bigger cities that received a lot of funding from local governments, so there were no shortcuts when it came to using funds as well.

    There wasn¡¯t a single pothole in the roads that were being used. All buildings were maintained and improved as new legition came into effect. The pathways were set up so pedestrians had priority as well.

    It was, in a lot of ways, the perfect standard for how a city could be.

    ¡°Being here, it makes me sick,¡± Austin said as he sat on a park bench watching families enjoy their time with their children.

    ying badminton, and even seeing gardeners maintaining the public parks.

    ¡°I know exactly what you''re feeling,¡± Kai said. ¡°How can such a ce like this exist when there¡¯s still so much trouble out there? It¡¯s a perfect ce made for what they deem the perfect people.¡±

    ¡°If they can make a ce like this, why don¡¯t they make it everywhere? So seeing it, it just sickens you that a bunch of politicians are the ones that get to live a peaceful life. They say they¡¯re for the people, but they¡¯re just for themselves.¡±

    ¡°They say what they want just to get elected, the people believing things will change in their cities, and yet nothing happens. If anything, over fifty percent of them are corrupt, taking part in hush money from gangs and then reverting it back to here so they can live their perfect life, forgetting everything that is happening out there.¡±

    The moment Kai had finished his speech, he could hear the sound of resounding ps, and an orange maning over in a ck and red outfit sat down on the bench not too far from them.

    ¡°Judging by the way you guys talk, it seems that you''re not from around here. No one would admit to something like that out in the open,¡± the man said.

    Kai took a nce to the man on the right and then smiled.

    ¡°The one you''re looking to meet, he¡¯s not here at the moment, Officer Kanu. It appears that he has gotten himself in some trouble,¡± Kai exined.

    As the two of them had arrived at the meeting spot.

    ¡ª¡ª

    For Gary, he was calmlyplying with everything so far. He had entered the vehicle and continued to follow Ryan as he brought him to a small station.

    It was nowhere near the main base center which he could see as he was in the car a few times while riding. Entering the ce, he then went downstairs where there were around fiverge cells.

    There were a few people in a couple of them and the others were empty. Eventually, he had arrived with Gary and ced him in the cell.

    ¡°Wait, how long am I going to be in here for?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Until Sir Ken is happy,¡± Ryan replied. ¡°Look, you got involved with the wrong guy. Sir Ken is the mayor of a tier 2 city. He¡¯s got his hands in a few people in Centerfield, and his city brings in quite a bit of donations to Centerfield and the White Rose.¡±

    ¡°So we need toply. You need to understand, in the situation you were in, there wasn¡¯t a right or wrong. You were forced to be in the wrong either way.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Gary replied, annoyed by the fact that a White Rose agent was saying these things of all things. ¡°What about your pride? Didn¡¯t you take this role because you wished to help the people from Altered?¡±

    ¡°So why are you helping someone just because they give bigger donations?¡± Gary asked. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I do,¡± Ryan replied. ¡°We at White Rose can do what we do because of these people. Which is why we need to look after them. We have to turn our heads to a few people doing these things so we can go on to help the general public. As I said, you just annoyed and messed with the wrong person, so I need to do my part.¡±

    It looked like Ryan was ready to walk away at that point, but Gary needed to meet up with Kanu. He thought he would just get a telling off and then he would be on his way, but it didn¡¯t look like that at all.

    ¡°I thought White Rose cleaned up their act after the Phoenix Gang scandal, and now you¡¯re saying they¡¯re like this as a whole!¡± Gary asked.

    Ryan turned back.

    ¡°That was true corruption up at higher management. This is just how the system can keep going. The smaller scale things like this, there is no way the upper management would evere down on things like us.¡±

    ¡°Report it, and no one will believe you. Oh, I almost forgot, I need your name so I can put it into the system,¡± Ryan asked.

    Gary was hesitant for a moment, but if it would get him out without fighting, then maybe it would be okay.

    ¡°Gary Dem,¡± Gary answered.

    Ryan just chuckled with a smile and shook his head.

    ¡°Yeah, right, and I¡¯m John Bena,¡± Ryan answered. ¡°I¡¯lle back when you¡¯re ready to give me a real name.¡±

 Chapter 968 That Is My Name

    Chapter 968 That Is My Name

    After leaving the underground cell, Ryan went up to the office where the other police officers currently were.

    He sat down on a chair by one of theputers. Usually, at this point, the officer would make a report. Since it was to do with Altered, Ryan himself would have to write up a report to send to White Rose as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but I can¡¯t really write anything without a name,¡± the police officer said.

    ¡°That might be for the best,¡± Ryan replied. ¡°His charge is assault on a civilian, but that civilian is very much alive. Depending on who he is and since he was in the first-ss carriage, he might be able to just end this with a settlement, which is probably why he¡¯s so calm down there.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s harder than people think to get Altereds taken in. They would have to do something quite drastic, or at least be a repeat offender, which I was hoping for, but there¡¯s no name.¡±

    Ryan still didn¡¯t like it. He had taken in Altered many times, sometimes for legitimate crimes, other times for them just abusing their powers on civilians.

    When they saw the White Rose badge, they quickly straightened up, especially in an area like Centerfield. But this Altered didn¡¯t, and it was bugging him.

    ¡°He¡¯s questioning my ethics?¡± Ryan said. ¡°When he gives no respect to the emblem that I wear.¡±

    ¡°So what are we going to do? We can only keep him in there for 24 hours,¡± the officer said.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I think it¡¯s better this way. He won¡¯t get much of a punishment for what he did, even if it went on trial. The person he upset was Sir Ken. I¡¯m sure you know what he¡¯s like, and when someone upsets him, he likes to deal with them personally, so we will just let Sir Ken deal with him. I¡¯ll stay with you guys until he arrives,¡± Ryan answered.

    Since it was a regr police station that Ryan had brought him to, Ryan decided to stay, just in case Gary decided to break out.

    Looking at his phone, he had even received a text.

    ¡°I was right, Sir Ken does want toe meet him personally. After hees here, that will be my cue to leave.¡±

    After waiting a while, Ryan decided to head back down to the cell to check up on the prisoner to see if he had tried anything, but he could just see him sitting on a back bench calmly.

    ¡°So are you ready to tell me your real name?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°I already told you my real name. It¡¯s your decision to believe me or not,¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°Come on, you could havee up with a better name than that. Why pick someone so infamous? If you were really Gary Dem, then you wouldn¡¯t have even been here in the first ce. No one would have caused trouble with you,¡± Ryan continued.

    It was then that Gary went ahead and pulled the wig off his head, revealing his green hair.

    ¡°I have my reasons for visiting. I¡¯m sure you should know why I would hide myself in this city,¡± Gary said calmly.

    Ryan went to take a closer look at the prisoner but continued tough as he went back up the stairs.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret being in here. If you talked to me nicely, then maybe I would have put in a good word with Sir Ken,¡± Ryan said, heading away.

    When Ryan headed back to his seat, he was still just casually enjoying his time. Sitting in a chair, his legs were propped up on a desk, and he was endlessly scrolling through clips on his phone.

    Laughing once in a while at what woulde up. However, there was this nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

    Twisting his phone, he soon went onto the search browser and quickly typed in the words, ¡®Gary Dem.¡¯ Then right after, he clicked on images.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Ryan said. ¡°He does kind of look like him.¡±

    The hairs on the edge of Ryan¡¯s forearms could be felt standing up; they were tingling slightly. He put his legs down as he took a closer look at the photo.

    ¡®No, it can¡¯t be. It¡¯s impossible to be him. Why would he justply ande in with me if it was the real Gary Dem?¡¯

    ¡®Heck, not even Sir Ken would get involved if they knew who he was. He could have just mentioned or done something and dealt with the situation in other ways.¡¯

    ¡®I mean, someone of his caliber wouldn¡¯t even be riding on the train in the first ce. It makes no sense.¡¯

    Thinking about it more though, Ryan remembered Gary wearing a wig covering up his green hair. Him saying something along the lines of having a reason to hide himselfing to this ce.

    There was big news that had been spread through the whole of the White Rose, that was unable to be stopped. That Gary Dem had broken out of the prison, defeating the Warden among other things.

    It went to prove his strength, but the White Rose never revealed that information to the outside. It would have just given Gary a bigger name than what he already had. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡®It¡¯s impossible to be the real Gary Dem¡­ but then why did he ask if we were going to the underground prison?¡¯ Now the hairs were standing up on the back of Ryan¡¯s neck.

    It was a low chance, a low probability that this could be the real Gary Dem, but then what if it was?

    The sound of the door opening to the building was heard in front of them.

    ¡°We¡¯re looking for an individual that has been kept here. I hope everyone willply. My name¡¯s Kanu, and I¡¯m with White Rose.¡±

    Ryan¡¯s whole heart sank to the pit of his stomach.

    ****

 Chapter 969 Internal Affairs

    Chapter 969 Internal Affairs

    Ryan¡¯s body had instinctively acted before his mind could properly think. Everything he had eaten felt like churning up out of his mouth.

    When seeing Kanu enter, Ryan knew who he was; there wouldn¡¯t be many that didn¡¯t. The White Rose had gone through big changes, and one of them was putting more effort into the Internal Affairs team with the superintendent.

    The group of people was to keep the White Rose in line and true to their goal. They had weeded out everyst member that was corrupted by the Phoenix Gang¡¯s money.

    Kanu, who was a squad captain, was somewhat infamous in White Rose for being a powerful member but never getting a promotion due to him being troublesome.

    In the end, after certain events, he had been transferred into Internal Affairs and had received a promotion. He was involved with weeding out the Phoenix Gang, and now he was arge fear for those in White Rose.

    ¡®Did he find out about my dealings with Sir Ken? No, that can¡¯t be it. Why would someone so high up theddere down here themselves?

    ¡®The situation with Sir Ken is small. I just look the other way sometimes, help the flow of the city and our fellow agents to continue getting donations from them. It¡¯s not a big deal, nothing to get reprimanded over.¡¯

    ¡°Is anyone going to speak or what?¡± Kanu asked. ¡°Was there an individual suspected of being an Altered brought here? I¡¯m pretty sure you should know.¡± Kanu said, walking over and casting a shadow over Ryan. The presence was overbearing and was making it hard for Ryan to breathe.

    ¡°Sir, the White Rose agent brought in someone around three hours ago. They are being held in the cells underneath,¡± an officer said.

    ¡°Take me to him,¡± Kanu asked, not looking at the officer but at Ryan. As if he knew the order was meant for him and not the officer, Ryan stood up and started to head over to the underground ce.

    Ryan was unable to think straight. What was going to happen to him? Who was he even here to see? Then it all came together.

    ¡°We have a meeting together, and you end up here. Maybe it would have been better for me toe to you,¡± Kanu stated, looking at Gary. ¡°Anyway, before we start, do you mind telling me why he¡¯s in this cell?¡±

    ¡°He attacked a civilian!¡± Ryan immediately said. ¡°He hurt two civilians to the point of knocking them out. If a regr citizen did such a thing, he would be brought in as well. Since it¡¯s an Altered that had acted, it might be an even more severe case.¡±

    ¡°Right, right, did you get witness statements, a full blend of the story, whether it was an act of self-defense or not? Even though Altered attacks on civilians are treated more severely, even Altereds have their rights. They can¡¯t just let themselves get attacked¡­ and why hasn¡¯t a full report been filed?¡± Kanu asked.

    Ryan didn¡¯t have an answer for that. He brought in Gary as the guilty party because the person he attacked was Sir Ken, but there was no way he could say such a thing.

    ¡°I see, this whole case will be thrown out and dismissed, so let him out,¡± Kanu ordered.

    Walking over, Ryan used the key to unlock the door, sliding it open, and then went over to Gary and unlocked the bindings around his hands.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my mistake,¡± Ryan said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As he let Gary walk past him, he still wondered why this was happening and now that he had let Gary go, what would happen to him when Sir Ken found out.

    ¡®This must mean, to have someone in such a high position¡­ that¡¯s the real Gary Dem. No wonder he was so confident because he was all buddy-buddy with someone from the internal affairs department!¡¯ Ryan thought.

    If Ryan was to act out now, he would be punished by Kanu. If he did nothing, he would suffer a simr fate from Sir Ken.

    A thought clicked in his head, a way to get rid of all his problems at once.

    ¡°Wait a moment,¡± Ryan said, turning around with arge smile. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, you were the real deal. You really were who you said you were. You¡¯re Gary Dem, right!¡±

    An unavoidableughter seemed to being out of Ryan, somewhat nervous. His heart was beating incredibly fast.

    ¡°Youe in here and try to lecture me and order me around, yet you haven¡¯t realized what you just revealed yourself.¡±

    ¡°You, Kanu, are working directly with one of the Kings! Who would have thought that you would rece the scum you were removing with even more scum?¡±

    ¡°When the White Rose finds out about this, they will remove you from your positions.¡±

    Kanu looked back and then lifted his hand, clicking his fingers. The next moment, groups of men came rushing down, all of them wearing the ck and red uniform.

    The uniform of the Internal Affairs department. They came in and quickly cuffed Ryan before he could even do anything, and with how many men were in the room, there was no chance of Ryan escaping.

    ¡°Do you know how I found this ce? By running investigations into our officers that worked on the Central Train Line.¡±

    ¡°Out of all of them, I had to look into them all, and I went here first looking for the most corrupt of all. I have a file on every single dealing you have made, enough to put you away and kick you out of the White Rose.¡±

    ¡°You know the interesting thing is, when someone¡¯s been caught and is proven guilty, everything they say after that sounds a lot like lies.¡±

    The Internal Affairs team started to pull Ryan away, who was dragging his feet.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ no!!¡± Ryan screamed.

    Finally, with Kanu and just Gary together, he patted him on the back.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you for a long time. Now let¡¯s go have a nice talk about Jayden.¡±

 Chapter 970 Who Are You To Him?

    Chapter 970 Who Are You To Him?

    In Centerfield, if there was one thing there was an abundance of, it was coffee shops. There was one on nearly every corner, with arge number of people working inside them.

    Even on a weekday, in the morning, the shop would be filled with people typing away on theirptops or just casually having a chat. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It was the first time for Gary to see such a thing, making him wonder if any of these guys even had a job. Regardless, sitting outside and enjoying the nice sun, Kanu, along with Kai and Austin, were sitting at a round table at the front.

    ¡°You¡¯re a harder person to meet than I expected,¡± Kanu said as he could see Gary was adjusting his wig.

    ¡°Well, you could have alwayse to us if it was an important matter,¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°Maybe, but then you would have more people in the White Rose iming that I was in talks with the Howlers, right? Which would be bigger trouble than it¡¯s worth.¡±

    ¡°Regardless, I am in a much better position to talk to you nowpared to the past. You¡¯re not a criminal, at least not one that¡¯s tried to get their hands involved in the White Rose. That¡¯s what our investigations havee out with, so it¡¯s safe to talk to you.¡±

    ¡°Today, let¡¯s think of this conversation as one between friends and not White Rose and the Howlers.¡±

    Both Austin and Kai nodded to this. Austin was a little conflicted about his feelings. Maybe the whole thing wouldn¡¯t end up in a brawl after all.

    Which would have been a half-wasted trip for Austin.

    ¡°What happened to you guys? Elijah didn¡¯t really say much on the phone,¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you heard the news after the disbandment of the Phoenix Gang. There was a purge within the White Rose, getting rid of all those that were epting the Phoenix Gang¡¯s money on the side.¡±

    ¡°Because of what happened with you, they actually called for my help. Me, Sadie, Frankie, and Elijah all got moved to the Internal Affairs team and started to go after our own people, so we¡¯re not the most popr within the White Rose, but in a way, we¡¯re more protected now.¡±

    It felt strange to think of the other two White Rose agents that had helped Gary back then. He remembered meeting both of them at the start of all the mess.

    How much he feared that they would find out he was an Altered, and they were the first White Rose Agents he hade across.

    Yet, they were there helping him in his breakout of all things. Letting out a sigh, Gary wanted to get to the bottom of all of this, how everything had started.

    ¡°You said you wanted to talk to me about Jayden. I¡¯m assuming we¡¯re talking about the same person, the one known as Jayden Tiger, or his real name Jayden Clove,¡± Gary said. ¡°Why did you ask for me?¡±

    Kanu was peeking around with his eyes, as if he was looking to see if others were listening in, but didn¡¯t make it too obvious.

    ¡°The fact that you said that much means that you must know him in some capacity,¡± Kanu replied. ¡°There is a reason I wanted to talk to you about him.¡±

    ¡°You might be wondering why I, a squad captain, even bothered helping you break out of White Rose that day. Well, you have Jayden to thank for that.¡±

    ¡°He had asked me to help you out no matter what it took, and me and Jayden are¡­ somewhat close, so I decided to help him out.¡±

    Gary blinked rapidly for a few moments. His guess was right; Jayden was the one that asked for the favor. But how would he know someone in the White Rose?

    ¡°The thing is, I know Jayden very well,¡± Kanu continued. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t ask me to just help anyone. So before I go on and tell you more about Jayden, I need to ask you.

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with Jayden?¡± Kanu asked.

    ¡ª¡ª

    In one of the small police offices, the police officers were in quite a stir. Their involvement with the White Rose was limited.

    They were in the city where the White Rose was based, but because of the city itself, crime was rtively low. So the urrence of what had just happened was quite unusual for them.

    The police officers were continuing to chat about what had just happened when the door to the office swung open once again.

    This time, tworge men in suits had entered first. They walked through the door, stepping to the side, and an older pot-bellied gentleman walked through the doors.

    ¡°I believe that there is someone waiting for me, held up in the cells?¡± The man was Sir Ken, and he was scanning the room looking for a certain someone.

    Then he noticed that the police officers were staring at each other with worried looks on their faces.

    Eventually, one of the younger officers stood up and headed to Sir Ken, making sure to keep his distance.

    ¡°The prisoner that you are looking for was released.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Sir Ken shouted, stomping his foot on the ground.

    ¡°How is that possible? Where is Ryan? Didn¡¯t he tell you to keep him for me!¡± Sir Ken shouted.

    ¡°Ryan¡­ he¡¯s no longer here. Some agents from White Rose came, and they took him away. That was when the prisoner was released as well!¡± the officer exined.

    Sir Ken continued to clench his teeth hard.

    ¡®I thought I had a new toy to y with, and then someone goes snatching it right from my hand.¡¯

    ¡°You need to tell me everything about this person, and when I find him, I think it¡¯s time for the Cluster Gang to have a word and deal with him,¡± Sir Ken mumbled under his breath.

 Chapter 971 Im Not The Villain

    Chapter 971 I''m Not The Viin

    ¡°My rtionship with Jayden?¡± Gary asked, his feet starting to fidget, and he was somewhat twiddling his fingers before he eventually gave an answer.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange, you know,¡± Gary said. ¡°We met through chance, but it seemed like we¡¯ve been connected in more ways than one.¡±

    ¡°First, I had problems controlling myself, my powers when I turned into an Altered. At the time, I was on a street, and Jayden was just there. He saw me and helped me. That was the first time I interacted with him.¡±

    ¡°I was a fan of the AFA. Can you imagine it, someone like me being helped by him? It was onlyter that we would meet again and again.¡±

    ¡°I was friends with his sister, who went to my school. I had no idea they were rted at the time, but something happened to her, and both of us helped her get out of that situation.¡±

    ¡°From then on, me and his sister Xin have continued to be good friends.¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, you idiot, tell the man the truth,¡± Kai interrupted. ¡°You two are a lot more than friends, and we know it. You both have feelings for each other.¡±

    Gary¡¯s cheeks were starting to turn a shade redder.

    ¡°I mean, yeah, you could say that, but it¡¯s not official between us, so I don¡¯t want to go around putting abel on it.¡±

    ¡°Either way, Jayden pushed me to chase after her, joining the AFA, and after that, I met Jayden again. In an odd way, he was always there for me, and now you¡¯re telling me he helped me out again by asking you for help. It seems like I owe him a lot.¡±

    Kanu was listening intently to the story, and when Xin got brought up, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. Right now, he was staring off into the clouds, thinking back.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange how the world works. I can¡¯t believe it,¡± Kanu said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how your situation with little Xin is quite simr. I guess thingse around in circles.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the town of Slough, one of the ces that hadn¡¯t been targeted in the middle of one of the forests was arge manor.

    This was where a certain individual had stayed, and most had forgotten about a certain someone. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Kicking down the double front doors, the hinge had been removed.

    Several of the guards, wrapped up in bandages and still recovering, turned to look at who had entered, and they immediately started to cower.

    ¡°Come on, Xin!¡± Ben shouted as he stood there in his hallway. ¡°This is part of your house, your inheritance as well. Every time youe here, do you have to go ahead and destroy it like that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still annoyed at what you did. Do you think it¡¯s going to be something that can just be forgiven like that?¡± Xin asked.

    ¡°Anyway.¡± Xin then dragged a man over and threw him onto the ground. ¡°That¡¯s another one of the scum from the groups you worked with. It seems to be thest of them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve cleaned up their act, and now you have to promise me that you¡¯re still going to clean up yours.¡±

    It was then that Xin was ready to leave. She had been cleaning up the mess her father had made as Mayor. The gangs that he had hired to protect himself were doing all sorts of misdeeds and were ruining even the Howlers'' name because the Howlers had allowed them to operate.

    Her father had promised to be a more just mayor, helping out the Howlers, and he seemed to be following that, so Xin took it upon herself to get rid of some of the trash that were involved.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why do you hate me, Xin!¡± Ben shouted. ¡°I only did everything for our family. I did what we could. I didn¡¯t have the power to care about others, but I was a good father who tried to protect you.¡±

    Xin immediately turned around, her upper lip trembling.

    ¡°What do you mean? You became what you tried to protect me from!¡± Xin shouted. ¡°What about other families that had to walk the streets in fear because of the way it was?¡±

    ¡°It was your job to get rid of them, and then someone else had toe along, a student, and clean up your mess and clean up your act! If Jayden was here, he would understand.¡± Xin said as she turned around again.

    That¡¯s when she could hear her father give a little grunt ofughter.

    ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Ben replied. ¡°You know I¡¯ve always been protective of you. It¡¯s normal for a father to be protective of his children in a world like this, in towns like this.¡±

    ¡°You look up to your brother because he¡¯s strong, and I didn¡¯t mind that, but you have no idea what happened, what we wanted to protect you from.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xin asked. ¡°Every time I ask you to tell me, you never tell me what happened about Jayden, and what are you even trying to say now?¡±

    Ben didn¡¯t reply back straight away. It was almost as if something was biting at his tongue, forcing him to keep his words in.

    ¡°F*ck it,¡± Ben said. ¡°Your brother never wanted me to tell you this. I was hoping that he would be the one to tell you himself. But you already hate me, and Jayden, who knows where he is¡­ If he hates me as well, then so be it.¡±

    Ben was tired of his daughter hating him, he was tired of being the villian on the outside and in their family home. So he had decided to tell Xin the truth.

    ¡°Your sheltered life wasn¡¯t just because of me, it was Jayden¡¯s idea in the first ce.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 972 It Goes In Circles, Jayden

    Chapter 972 It Goes In Circles, Jayden

    ¡°Your rtionship is really interesting, really interesting with Jayden, and maybe he feels close to you because your rtionships are closer than you expect,¡± Kanu said as he leaned into Gary.

    ¡°Some people might think that it¡¯s not my ce to talk about this, to tell you his past when he decided not to tell you, but f*ck them,¡± Kanu said. ¡°Because this has a lot to do with me as well, so it¡¯s my choice to tell you, and there¡¯s another reason.¡±

    ¡°I want you to listen to this, Gary. I want you to listen to this well,¡± Kanu said as he stared deep into Gary¡¯s eyes. The sincerity in his voice could be heard.

    ¡°The reason I decided to call you and tell you what I¡¯m about to tell you today is because I think you¡¯re the only person who might be able to drag him out of the pit that he put himself into because I sure as hell couldn¡¯t,¡± Kanu said.

    Gary braced himself. He was reminded of what Jayden said on the roof that day, a special meeting with him after their special lesson at the AFA.

    Telling him that if he was strong enough, he would ask for his help. What exactly was it that Jayden wanted to ask him for that day?

    Kanu then showed his hand and lifted up three fingers in the air.

    ¡°Jayden has a frequent saying. He says the same damn thing every time I see him,¡± Kanu said. ¡°There are three things he hates more than anything in this world.¡±

    ¡°NIRV, that¡¯s right, the big organization that is at the forefront of making Altered. The second one, gangs.¡±

    Gary had heard this before as well, that Jayden had a hatred for gangs more than anything, but a lot of people did, even Gary.

    ¡°Although it seems his view of hatred for gangs has lessened, and I have an inkling that you might be the reason behind that.¡± Now Kanu only had one finger left held up.

    ¡°Lastly, he hates the AFC.¡±

    ¡°The AFC?¡± Gary repeated because he was quite surprised by thest one on the list.

    Gary mainly knew Jayden because he was part of the AFC. If anything, that was his job, his life, so why was it on the list?

    ¡°All these things have a connection and a weakness, and there is a lot we at the White Rose know but can do nothing about,¡± Kanu continued.

    ¡°Firstly, let me tell you something. Jayden, he¡¯s my brother and not like what you might be thinking. For one, I¡¯m ginger¡­ but he is my brother-inw, and I¡¯ll give you a clue: me and him didn¡¯t get married.¡±

    ¡°You have a sister,¡± Kai replied.

    ¡°Had a sister,¡± Kanu said. ¡°Had is an important word in this story. I always liked Jayden. The two of us were close, and well, he and my sister were closer.¡±

    ¡°The two of them were happily married, and at the time, even though Jayden was an Altered, he wasn¡¯t part of the AFC. I actually managed to get him a job in the White Rose, but as for my sister, she was working for NIRV at the time.¡±

    ¡°And then she was killed by an Altered. It was clear as day for me and Jayden to figure out. It was our job, after all. We both had seen this in and out, and you bet that the two of us obsessed over who her killer was.¡±

    ¡°The issue was, when we found out, our hands were tied more than you think.¡±

    Gary was understanding why Kanu said their situations were simr now, with his sister falling for Jayden and the two of them getting together.

    ¡°From our investigations, we found out that my sister had found something, something that NIRV wanted to keep secret at all costs. So they decided to silence her for it.¡±

    ¡°The thing is, NIRV is good at not directly getting their hands dirty. You were in the AFA, correct? So I¡¯m sure you know they have a group of people called the Retrievers. Members from everywhere, all sorts of Altered, part of different gangs.¡±

    ¡°These people are at their beck and call. These Retrievers worked for a particr gang, and they were ordered to take out my sister.¡±

    Now Gary was understanding why there were two things he hated most: NIRV and gangs because they were the cause of his beloved¡¯s death.

    ¡°Obsessed with getting revenge, Jayden could no longer be part of NIRV, and when I saw he was in the AFC, it surprised me even more. Do you know why?¡±

    Gary shook his head.

    ¡°Because the AFC is practically owned by NIRV. Do you know who the two biggest shareholders are in the AFC?¡± Kanu asked.

    Kai knew the answer.

    ¡°NIRV, and the other one is the One Gang, led by Harvo Ego, the number one-ranked person in the AFC.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. NIRV and Harvo were the ones who came up with the idea for the AFC in the first ce, a way to show the strength of what Altered could do. Make it a sport out there, make it so everyone grew up dreaming of wishing to be an Altered, and it worked.¡±

    ¡°I bet even when you were in school, at one point, you wished you were an Altered.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°The One Gang are closest with NIRV because of this, and as for who NIRV ordered to take a hit on my sister, it was none other than Harvo himself, the AFC champion.¡±

    Gary¡¯s heart started to thump louder in that moment.

    The hate for the AFC wasn¡¯t directed at the AFC itself, but because of who ran it and who was the current champion.

    ¡°Harvo killed your sister, he killed Jayden¡¯s wife!¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°That he did. Imagine finding out that your enemy is the number one-ranked AFC champion, and on top of that, NIRV, the biggest corporation in the world. Most people would give up at that point, but not Jayden. He dived headfirst, bing a Retriever himself, and part of the AFC¡­ all for his chance at Harvo¡¯s head.¡±

    That was when Gary remembered, soon there would be a match between Harvo and Jayden, and now with this knowledge, it wasn¡¯t just going to be a simple match for the championship.

    ****

 Chapter 973 Another King?

    973 Another King?

    **MWS 966**

    All at the table were silent for a moment while Kanu simply sipped his coffee as if it was just another normal day for him. It seemed he had somewhat made peace with what had happened with his sister.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that Jayden didn¡¯t tell you anything, nor did he tell Xin,¡± Kai said. ¡°The fact is, his enemy is NIRV, one of the biggest corporations in the world with links to all gangs, including several Kings.¡±

    ¡°And the One Gang as well. If anyone knew that these were the enemies they needed to face, I imagine they would quickly give up.¡±

    Kanu was looking directly at Kai when those words were spoken, and it raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Let me assure you, neither I nor Jayden have given up. We¡¯ve just decided to go our separate ways. Remember, there are two enemies in all of this.¡±

    ¡°From the White Rose perspective, even though they don¡¯t want to, I have been pushing them further and further into investigating NIRV.¡±

    ¡°I was the one in charge of the ck substance investigation and was why I came and took your opponent away that day.¡±

    ¡°Right, wait, so you know NIRV is behind the ck substance?¡± Gary asked. ¡°And you know the One Gang is behind your sister¡¯s death, so why don¡¯t you do something with the White Rose?¡±

    Kanu ced his cup of coffee on the table rather forcefully.

    ¡°Do you need your ears cleaned, young man? I just told you I am. I¡¯m from a group that carries the weight of several cities and the government in its hands. We are funded by the general public, so it means that our movements have to make sense to the general public.¡±

    ¡°If we were to go up against the One Gang, then we would have to use every single one of our resources. We woulde out of that fight maybe not even as the victor and would have little to show for it.¡±

    ¡°But you guys got Gary, right?¡± Austin added, which caused Kanu to be a little embarrassed.

    ¡°That was because the White Rose agents involved had the Phoenix Gang as well, and at the time no one knew your strength. Even you guys weren¡¯t going to pull anything knowing you could go up against the White Rose and the Phoenix Gang.¡±

    ¡°However, trying to bring in a gang head would mean going to war. Think of it, if the White Rose came now and tried to take Gary away, do you think it would be as easy?¡±

    Everyone had gotten a lot stronger from the fight with the Phoenix Gang. If they were to employ hit-and-run tactics and the White Rose had toe into Slough, it would be near impossible now.

    There was even mass recruitment into the Howlers Gang after Gary was announced as one of the Kings.

    ¡°With NIRV, it would also be impossible to take the whole group down, but what I do want to do is at least know who ordered the hit, or what my sister found.

    ¡°She was also looking into the ck substance. My guess is someone at NIRV is heavily involved. If I could find the link, then we could bring them in, and the White Rose could help Jayden and me in some way at least,¡± Kanu said.

    ¡°Still,¡± Gary said, ¡°that doesn¡¯t solve the issue with the One Gang, another one of the Kings.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re strong, Gary,¡± Kai replied. ¡°Many of the top fighters in the AFC are actually under the One Gang. Since the whole thing somewhat belongs to them.¡±

    ¡°With their connection to NIRV as well, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they have some of the best Altered solutions or at least first pickings before anyone else.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they also the ones that took Inferno City for themselves as well?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Kai replied. ¡°But no one had put up much of a fight. The Bree family were really the only ones that could contest it with the way things are at the moment, and the Bree family have multiple cities to deal with in other countries as well.¡±

    ¡°So unless she was here in person, I doubt she would have tried to fight for it.¡±

    Everyone continued to sit there in silence. They were waiting for Gary¡¯s response at the end of it, forcing Kanu to speak up again.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not asking for your direct help in all of this. At the end of the day, this is none of your business, it¡¯s not Xin¡¯s either,¡± Kanu added. ¡°However, I¡¯m worried with this fighting up.¡±

    ¡°Jayden might be putting a lot on this fight, and if it doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯m afraid he might jump and try to do something more radical. I already lost my sister, I don¡¯t want to lose a brother as well.¡±

    Gary looked up and turned toward Kai and Austin, wanting to gauge what their reaction was to all of this.

    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t have to ask us,¡± Austin said. ¡°Look, we know the guy saved our leader¡¯s life, you managed toe to Slough in time because of Jayden¡¯s string pulling.¡±

    ¡°At some point or another, we would have to go against another of the Kings,¡± Kai stated. ¡°When we fight Lupus, the other Kings would think we were trying to expand and target us.

    ¡°Your dad told us that there needs to be a way for us to get stronger, and maybe, helping out your brother-inw and going up against the Kings can get us to where we need to be,¡± Kai cheekily said.

    In Gary¡¯s mind, they had just gotten out of a tough battle with the Phoenix Gang. Slough was just repairing itself, and he didn¡¯t want to put the people through that again.

    He had to make a choice, though, helping Jayden possibly meant going up against another one of the Kings. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 974 King Slayers

    974 King yers n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Still sitting at the coffee shop in Centerfield, listening to the peaceful Jazz music that yed, both Austin and Kai were waiting for Gary to decide what to do. They watched carefully, noting every detail of his bodynguage, ready for his response. A few times Gary looked like he was going to open his mouth and Austin twitched expecting a response but their was nothing. Then Gary finally decided to speak.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should get involved,¡± Gary said.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it!¡± Austin cheered, pumping his fist. ¡°I¡¯m ready to fight whenever you ask, going up against one of the kings. We did it before, and we can do it again. Then we can be the King yers¡­ wait, what did you say?¡± Austin asked, realizing the words that hade out of Gary¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not saying we won¡¯t definitely help, and especially if Jayden asked me directly for help, I would jump in a heartbeat. But we have to analyze and get a bigger picture of the whole situation.¡±

    ¡°When I think about this more, I have to consider it from Jayden¡¯s point of view. There has to be a reason why he didn¡¯t ask anyone and is going at this alone.¡±

    ¡°Not just that, I can¡¯t imagine how much he must have already gone through to reach the position he¡¯s in. Everything he¡¯s done has been through his own effort, and he¡¯s had no help along the way.¡±

    ¡°Finally, he¡¯s reached one of his targets, and they¡¯re going to fight it out in the AFC. It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s my ce to join in, and if I were him, I wouldn¡¯t want anyone else to either.¡±

    After Gary had exined himself, the others realized they might have been the hot-headed ones in this situation, too keen to fight and solve things with their fists rather than waiting and seeing how the tide goes.

    ¡°You are a much more sensible leader than I thought. It¡¯s no wonder the Howlers have been able to grow so quickly,¡± Kanu stated. ¡°I can see you have a good heart, Gary, and I am d you and your gang are currently one of the Kings.¡±

    Kanu then stood up from his seat and ced a card on the table, shifting it carefully across until it was in the centre.

    ¡°This is my direct contact number. There may be a time when I need your help, if ites to matters in your town or help with NIRV itself. I have your details from Elijah.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to help, but you would be doing me a favor as I did you when you were in prison. It will be good to have someone like me on the inside of the White Rose,¡± Kanu said as he straightened his jacket, getting ready to leave.

    He turned to look at Gary once more.

    ¡°I¡¯m a pessimistic person rather than an optimistic one. I¡¯ve called you now to tell you the story because I want us all to have a n if something happens.¡±

    With those words, Kanu had left the group, and they couldn¡¯t agree more. Kai especially felt like if they were going to do this, they needed to n so a surprise like what happened against the Phoenix Gang didn¡¯t happen again.

    ¡®I don¡¯t want to lose someone again, like Tyler,¡¯ Kai thought.

    There was a lot on Gary¡¯s mind after hearing Jayden¡¯s story, and when this happened, he enjoyed going for a walk. So the group decided to take a stroll in arge park.

    It was a nice open area with lots of grass, a running and cycling track that went around the ce, and even segmented areas for one to take their pets.

    ¡°What are you thinking about, how to break this news to Xin, or whether to even tell her or not?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of the simrities of our situation. The good thing is, Xin is an Altered and always wanted to be strong enough to protect herself.¡±

    ¡°Now that she¡¯s in the Howlers, there¡¯s a good chance she might get attacked.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a good chance any of us will get attacked,¡± Austin said with his hands behind his head. ¡°Gary, we¡¯re not stupid. Most of the people in the Howlers have joined you knowing the consequences.¡±

    ¡°For a lot of people, you¡¯re giving them a better life than they ever would have had. Remember, Xin is her own person. Don¡¯t go trying to control her life, telling her she can or can¡¯t do what.¡±

    Kai smiled.

    ¡°Smart wordsing from you. Did you get knocked too many times in the head? Are you sure the hospital did a full check-up on you?¡± Kai asked.

    To which Austin swung his fist, but Kai easily avoided it as he leaned back, allowing it to just make a whooshing sound through the air.

    Pulling out his phone, Gary decided it was best for him to tell Xin everything that he found out. She deserved to know more than him.

    If she then wanted to help her brother out, he would do so, but try to exin and rationalize to her how he thinks Jayden would feel.

    [There¡¯s something I need to tell you, do you mind if we meet up?] Gary sent.

    To his surprise, it wasn¡¯t long until he got a text back, almost as if Xin was on her phone already.

    [I already know you like me, you don¡¯t need to pour your heart out again]

    [And sure, that¡¯s not a problem. Where do you want to meet? Also, I need to ask you something.]

    [Can you do me a favor? Can you get me tickets to Jayden¡¯s next fight? They¡¯re sold out.]

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

    91

 Chapter 975 Dont Distract Gary

    Chapter 975 Don''t Distract Gary

    Although Gary knew Xin was trying to chase her brother down, it seemed like she never wanted to directly get involved and chase him. She had tried to contact Jayden multiple times, wanting him to reply to her. She wanted to find out why he was avoiding her so much.

    There was always the option to attend one of his fights as a way to see him, but it would still be nearly impossible to talk to him. Which was why Gary was quite surprised that Xin wanted tickets to watch the fight. It was the first time she had asked for such a thing.

    ¡®I was going to try to get tickets myself to the event in case anything happened. I guess Xin wants toe along as well. I can count this as a date too.¡¯

    [I¡¯ll see what I can do. You can count on me!] Gary replied with a little thumbs up.

    ¡°Hey Kai, if I wanted to get tickets to the event, do you think you could handle it?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Not me directly. It might be better for you to get in contact with Harry, or if not, send a message to AJ. He seems to get a fewplimentary tickets to those types of things.¡± When Kai replied, his eyes were darting around the ce. It was something unnoticed because Gary was too focused on his phone.

    What Kai had noticed was theck of people suddenly in the path that they hade to. Up ahead, the path would be more wooded with trees on either side.

    They had finally entered, and Kai was even more on alert.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Kai whispered into Austin¡¯s ear. ¡°There are three guys behind that tree. Deal with them quickly, ande back. Don¡¯t bother Gary with this small stuff.¡±

    Austin agreed and quickly went into the forest. He could see that Kai was right; three men with small pocket knives in their hands were ready. When they spotted therge Austin, one thrust his knife toward him. Austin dodged the stab and then picked the man up by his face with a single hand, hurling him towards another.

    When the man''s body hit his own ally, they were both lifted off their feet and mmed right into the tree.

    The third one hade up behind Austin and went to stab the knife in his back, only to have the knifepletely bend.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± the man said.

    With hisrge hand, Austin pped him across the face, spinning his body before hended on the ground.

    ¡°Who are these guys, and why are they ambushing us here of all ces?¡± Austin said, as he decided to hurry back on the path where Kai and Gary were continuing to walk.

    The thing was, there were more than just those three. Kai noticed another person running toward Gary, holding onto a baseball bat. Gary still had his head stuck in his phone, typing away. This allowed Kai to quickly rush forward, jumping in the air and kicking the man in the chest with both of his feet, sending him flying back into the forest.

    ¡°What the... who the heck texted Gary to get his mind so unfocused?¡± Kai thought. Gary should have a keen sense of smell, a second sense for when he felt threatened, but it wasn¡¯t as if these people were really threats to them in the first ce.

    When Austin returned and the two of them were back next to Gary, Kai had another order.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the end of the attacks. The only type of people that would attack us so openly is another gang. The next lot, find out who they are.¡±

    As expected, it didn¡¯t take long. As they continued to walk through the path, they could see a man up ahead. This one appeared a bit differentpared to thest.

    A pair of goggles were protecting his eyes, and he stood there looking at them all. That was when his throat started to erge, and his skin became somewhat transparent. A green liquid could be seen growing out from it.

    The man then opened his mouth, but Austin charged forward, going in front of everyone. Kai was worried about Austin.

    Transforming just his hand, Austin¡¯s forearm grew until it was nearly four times the size. The strange liquid hit his skin, burning through his clothing. It went deeper, searing his skin, but Austin felt almost no pain. As he continued to move forward, his skin was already in the middle of healing.

    The attacker was getting ready to open his mouth again when Austin was already by his side and had pulled him down from behind, mming him into the floor.

    ¡°Open your mouth again, and your own goo will slip right onto you. Who are you guys? Who sent you?¡± Austin asked.

    The man then went to spit a stream of green liquid right at Austin¡¯s face. It reached his cheek, burning part of it, but Austin¡¯s own face started to change. Horns were growing out of his side as his face started to heal.

    Dripping off from his own skin, a bit of acidic spit had fallen back onto the attacker.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to die from your own spit if you don¡¯t speak up, or I should crush your throat right here,¡± Austin said.

    ¡°No, wait! I¡¯m from the Cluster Gang! I had an order from our boss to get rid of you three, that¡¯s all. I didn¡¯t know you were an Altered as well!¡± the man shouted.

    Having the information he needed, Austin squeezed the neck tight until the man could no longer breathe, and eventually, his life came to an end.

    ¡®I can¡¯t go easy on gang members,¡¯ Austin thought as he turned around. ¡®I nearly died once, and we already lost people. I can¡¯t have sympathy for those that try to kill us.¡¯

    Austin walked back, joining Kai and Gary, and gave a little nod stating the job was done.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Gary suddenly cheered with his phone in his hand. ¡°I got it! I got the tickets!¡±

    As he turned to look at the two others, he noticed their clothing torn and blood on them.

    ¡°What happened to you two?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 976 What Power Can Do!

    Chapter 976 What Power Can Do!

    The group had decided to have a nice evening meal just before leaving Centerfield. It was a time for them to rx and explore a new ce a little. On top of that, Kai had suggested it, feeling it was safer for thempared to other areas. Being in the open public in a ce like Centerfield, the gangs would surely be less likely to act.

    ¡°So, we were attacked by a gang. What for?¡± Gary asked, as he finished his third serving of steak and went ahead to order a fourth one. Gone were the days where Gary had to worry about food anymore. He was eating plentifully to keep his energy up day by day.

    The thing was, it wasn¡¯t just Gary who was a big eater. Austin, being arge guy, and Kai, being a werewolf himself, were the same.

    ¡°That I¡¯m still not sure about. I didn¡¯t exactly get much information out of them. I doubt it¡¯s a random urrence, but at the same time, I feel like if they knew who we were, they wouldn¡¯t have sent such weak members out to get us. Which is why I¡¯m a bit stumped on this one,¡± Kai said.

    The waiter came back empty-handed with a concerned look on his face as he looked at the three individuals.

    ¡°Did you run out of food?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that, but the amount you three have ordered is quite excessive. And forgive me for saying this, but the three of you are quite young as well,¡± the waiter imed.

    ¡°I see where this is going. In a ce like Centerfield, I didn¡¯t think this would happen, but you can pre-charge the card if you want,¡± Kai said as he took out his wallet, handing over a ck card.

    ¡°Certainly, your food will be out fairly quickly once everything is verified,¡± the waiter said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you don¡¯t get angry at that,¡± Gary said as he watched the man walk away.

    ¡°People are hurt, it¡¯s fine. No need to make a big deal out of a problem that can easily be solved. The issue I have is still this Cluster Gang,¡± Kai replied. ¡°I looked them up and got some information about them. I¡¯ve asked for further things to move along and hopefully deal with the whole mess behind the scenes before it bes a bigger thing as well.¡±

    ¡°Right, right,¡± Gary replied. ¡°Deal with things differently instead of using our fists. I understand.¡±

    Just then, the food came over, with threerge tes of food in their hands, all being delivered to the table. With howrge the orders were, they had attracted quite a bit of attention in the restaurant, but that didn¡¯t stop the three of them from not holding back. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After finishing the meal and exiting the restaurant, the night sky was now out, and the three of them figured it was time for them to leave Centerfield.

    ¡°I can safely say, I hope we nevere back here again,¡± Kai stated as they got in the taxi and headed off to the train station.

    As they got their tickets, they looked at the board and decided to head to the tform where their train would appear.

    They walked down the staircase and were now on the long, winding tform, waiting for their train to arrive. It still had another fifteen minutes before the train would even get there.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange again,¡± Kai said.

    ¡°Yeah, even I¡¯ve noticed it this time,¡± Gary replied.

    ¡°What? What?¡± Austin asked. ¡°Are there more people here again? I don¡¯t have a nose like you guys, so I can¡¯t tell if they¡¯re hiding.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Gary said. ¡°There¡¯s no one on our tform.¡±

    ¡°This train has three major cities as stops between here and Centerfield. I doubt we would be the only ones heading back, but there¡¯s not even a worker here, which has got me worried,¡± Kai stated.

    Gary was wondering if they should make a move and try to find another way to head back to Slough, and that was when his sensitive ears picked up on something, and it was the same for Kai.

    ¡°Can you hear that?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Yep, and there¡¯s arge number of them as well.¡± Kai pulled out his phone from his inner jacket and started typing away.

    Soon, though, all of them could hear the sound of footsteps as they saw a rush of people walking down the staircase.

    Men carrying weapons openly by their side as if they were going to some type of cosy convention were walking down the stairs and eventually walked out onto the tform.

    They didn¡¯te charging in for the attack, though. Instead, they stood to the side as they made way for a certain pot-bellied man who continued to walk down the staircase.

    He was confident, with a smug smile on his face, and eventually reached the tform floor.

    ¡°What a sight, right? After you broke out of that little jail cell, you thought you had gotten away with offending me scot-free. But here I am, in the ce you least expected, and right at the end, just before you get to go home!¡±

    The man in question was someone all three of them had seen before; it was Sir Ken. The man they had met on the train ride on the way here.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard for me to guess that if you came here by train, you would be leaving by train, and then just having someone call me when they spotted you. I have many contacts in this town, and it was simple for me to get this group here in front of you.

    ¡°This whole ce was cleared just for you. This is what power can help you attain, this is what power grants you, and you will deeply regret trying to get in my way, boy!¡±

 Chapter 977 This Is Who I Am

    977 This Is Who I Am

    Gary was looking at just how many people had been brought. There had to be around fifty or so gang members just for the three of them.

    He couldn''t believe that a man would act in such a way just because he wanted them not to hit a kid. At times he thought the world was getting better, and then situations like this one would appear.

    Sir Ken was continuing to gloat as he looked at the three of them who appeared to be on the back foot.

    That was when Gary stepped forward, tensing his fist, but Kai reached out his hand, stopping him from walking ahead.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Gary called out, still being held back by Kai. ¡°All of this, how much money did you spend? Clearing the tform, hiring a bunch of thugs!¡±

    Sir Ken was a bit dumbfounded. He thought there would be one of two reactions from the stranger: either for him to try and attack and fight his way out of the situation or to beg for his life. But out of everything, this person seemed to be concerned about money.

    ¡°This is what power can do for you. If you have funds, you are able to control this world at will. me the game, not the yer,¡± Sir Ken stated.

    ¡°You idiot!¡± Gary continued to shout. ¡°With all that money, you could have helped people. You could have hired these workers to build houses or feed the mouths of those struggling every day.¡±

    ¡°There are those that are losing their lives, taking their own lives because they can¡¯t afford to pay the next bill, and then there¡¯s you wasting money like this on clearing a tform for such a stupid thing!¡±

    Sir Ken¡¯s lip was curling. He particrly didn¡¯t like the insult shouted at him.

    ¡°The way you speak is of a poor man. Don¡¯t me the situation because of their ownck of talent and decide to be a victim. Why should I care for their lives? In this world, I¡¯m too busy fighting for myself. What are you idiots doing? Get rid of them!¡± Sir Ken shouted, flinging his hand forward, and the group of men started to run ahead.

    Gary was ready to bulldoze his way through the group. It would be fairly easy for him to do, but he could feel Kai¡¯s hand was still tense around his stomach.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you, Gary. There are other ways of dealing with the situation than just your fists,¡± Kai stated.

    Seeing how calm Kai was, Gary rxed a bit and stepped back, and instead, Kai moved ahead.

    ¡°Are you sure you guys should be doing this?¡± Kai said as he pulled his phone and waved it in his hand. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The attackers were hesitant for a moment, wondering why someone wasn¡¯t running off but instead showing their phone, and that¡¯s when several pings were heard among the attackers.

    They could feel it; some of them could feel their phone vibrate, while others could hear the message tone from their phone.

    One of the men at the back pulled out their phone to have a look.

    ¡°Guys, check your phone now!¡± He said in a panic. ¡°It¡¯s a message from Krazy!¡±

    Hearing the panic in their voice, they quickly took their phones out, and they all could see the message being disyed.

    Some of them were shaking, and sweat was running down the side of their heads. Immediately they straightened up and looked toward the three of them.

    ¡°We apologize for all the trouble we have caused!¡± The men bowed down as an entire group. ¡°Please, forgive us!¡±

    Sir Ken¡¯s mouth opened at the sight, but words weren¡¯ting out. He just moved forward in between the group.

    ¡°What are you doing? Why are you bowing down to them? They should be the ones begging for forgiveness! What do I pay you fools for!¡± Sir Ken shouted.

    It was then that Sir Ken could feel the side of his pocket start to vibrate.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s best that you answer that, and then maybe you will get the answers to your questions,¡± Kai said.

    Taking out his phone, he looked at who the contact was, and it was none other than Krazy, the leader of the Cluster Gang.

    Sir Ken answered and immediately was demanding answers.

    ¡°Krazy, are you going to exin to me why your men won¡¯t move? Do you want me to get the White Rose involved and clear your gangpletely?¡± Sir Ken shouted.

    ¡°Do what you want, old man, but my men aren¡¯t going to attack or listen to a word you say,¡± Krazy answered.

    ¡°What! You fool, are you trying to test me at a time like this!¡±

    ¡°From now on, the Cluster Gang breaks off all ties with you, Sir Ken. Don¡¯t ever contact me again. I¡¯ve ordered my men to fall back.¡±

    Sir Ken could see that the words were true as the men turned around and started to head back up the staircase.

    ¡°No, what are you doing!¡± Sir Ken said, trying to get in the way of some of them, but they just moved past him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you out of my own pocket. Just stay and deal with these guys, and then you can go!¡± Sir Ken continued to shout, but nothing he said or did seemed to work.

    ¡°Krazy, exin yourself. Why, after all this time, have you decided to do this now? Don¡¯t you know who you¡¯re dealing with!¡±

    There was a slight pause on the other end of the phone.

    ¡°Due to all of the business we have done over the years, I will give you an answer. This time, it appears that you have messed with the wrong person. I thought this would happen one day, but not for you to be this stupid.¡±

    ¡°I suggest you beg for your life because there isn¡¯t anyone stupid enough to go against one of the Kings.¡±

    The phone on the other end had hung up with the final message passed on.

    ¡°One of the¡­ Kings.¡±

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.i.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 978 Im Not Losing Anyone

    Chapter 978 I''m Not Losing Anyone

    ¡°One of the Kings, one of the Kings, one of the Kings.¡± The phrase Sir Ken repeated to himself several times because it was unbelievable to him.

    The situation just didn¡¯t make sense. Many people may have considered Sir Ken a fool, but he would never have been foolish enough to offend one of the Kings.

    They held the most power in the country, and one of the leading countries in Altered development, practically making the Kings the strongest people in the world.

    Everyone knew never to upset the Kings, which was why such a title was referred to them in the first ce¡ªa title that referred to the royalty of the past, who could do as they wished and whose word wasw to the rest.

    It was why it was so hard for him to believe the situation. Why would one of the Kings be visiting Centerfield? In many people''s eyes, the White Rose were against everything the Kings stood for.

    Even if they were to travel, why would they do so on a public train, and why would someone strong enough to be considered royalty stand up for a stranger they didn¡¯t know?

    Lastly, if someone had just mentioned that they were with one of the Kings, they would just let it go.

    However, as Sir Ken¡¯s hand dropped to his side and his weak grip dropped the phone on the floor, the only thing that could exin the current situation of everyone backing away was if it really was one of the Kings.

    ¡°I told you,¡± Kai said. ¡°There are other ways of solving things now. Just a few calls, and I was able to get in contact with the Cluster Gang leader. There were a few things I needed to do to prove to them who we were, but it didn¡¯t take long for them toply.¡±

    ¡°Who are you guys?¡± Sir Ken asked. ¡°I mean¡­ I apologize for what happened. I hope you can forgive me, and I can help show my support. Which group are you from? The One Gang, Lupis, the Bree Family?¡±

    Sir Ken was practically already on his knees, groveling in front of the others.

    That was when the three of them finally walked forward. The wig was getting hot on his head, so he decided to take it off.

    Seeing the green hair, a name sprang to Sir Ken¡¯s mind.

    ¡°You¡¯re Gary Dem!¡± Immediately, Sir Ken mmed his forehead to the floor.

    Not only was it one of the Kings, but the King himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!!¡±

    Not only that, but one of the Kings who had ruthlessly taken out the Phoenix Gang. This wasn¡¯t the power of a King that went unchecked.

    ¡°If I knew who you were, I would have never done such a thing!¡± Sir Ken said, still with his face to the floor.

    ¡°And that¡¯s where the problem lies,¡± Gary replied. ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking, why didn¡¯t I just tell you that we were from the Howlers or who I was? If you had known, you would have backed away.¡±

    ¡°The issue is you would have done that to someone that wasn¡¯t one of the Kings. You would have done the same thing that you tried to do now.¡±

    ¡°This might be a first for you, right?¡± Austin said. ¡°Someone who holds more power than you but doesn¡¯t use it. You kept unting about what power gets you.¡±

    ¡°The thing is, the reason why we came into power was because there were people like you in charge in the first ce.¡±

    Sir Ken couldn¡¯t even think straight. Right now, all he wanted to do was have his life spared. So he wasn¡¯t really listening to what the others said.

    Kai and Austin were waiting for Gary¡¯s order, and that¡¯s when the train arrived at the stop.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave him be. Solving an issue with no blood on my hands is nice for once,¡± Gary said, as he turned and went along to head on the train, and the other two had done the same, heading back to Slough.

    Once entering, they went to their cabin and sat down, and Gary let out a big sigh.

    ¡°That was a headache that I didn¡¯t expect, and I got a lot on my mind to worry about,¡± Gary said.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a lesson that we can all learn from, that now we aren¡¯t the same as before, and there¡¯s a good chance we can avoid trouble in other ways, right?¡± Kai said with a smile.

    ¡°Excuse me, while I have to go find the bathroom.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Back at the station, Sir Ken saw the train leaving, and he finally lifted his head as he watched it head away. On the ground, there was arge sweat mark that had been left behind.

    ¡°I¡¯m alive¡­ I¡¯m alive, they really left me alone!¡± Sir Ken said, and finally stood up.

    When he did, he came to the realization, though, that he might have just lost everything.

    ¡°The Cluster Gang¡­ they won¡¯t help me out anymore. They¡¯ll be too scared of the Howlers. Damn it, damn this situation, how did this happen!¡±

    Sir Ken dragged his eyelids, and when he turned around, he could see a hooded figure right in front of him. A stinging pain could be felt in Sir Ken¡¯s stomach, and as he took a step away, he could see his own blood soaking through his clothing. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Right after, the hooded man shed the knife right at Sir Ken¡¯s neck, drawing blood and causing him to fall right to the floor.

    The hooded man then put his phone to the side of his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±

    At the same time, in the train cabin, inside one of the toilet cubicles, a certain individual was on the phone as well.

    ¡°Good, we can¡¯t leave any loose ends to bite us in the back. I¡¯m not losing anyone again.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 979 The One Gang

    Chapter 979 The One Gang

    The AFC was arge organization owned by several corporations, with the tworgest shareholders being NIRV and ONE LTD, apany owned by Harvor Ego, the leader of the One Gang.

    They even had ownership and were part of the creation of the AFA, one of the many academies that trained young Altered, but the AFA had the closest links to the AFC, providing a direct path to bing an AFC fighter, which was the goal of many Altered.

    The AFC was the biggest sport in the world, with several venues in multiple cities. There were even venues in other tier-1 cities where the other Kings were present.

    If a big AFC match was to take ce, people from all over, including other countries, would arrive to watch it. It was a big boost to a town¡¯s economy, so they had no reason to go against it.

    The biggest and most well-known venue was in Strifehold, thergest city in the north of the country.

    It was also the biggest territory owned by any of the gangs and under their control, and it only grewrger when they took over Inferno City.

    Strifehold City wasn¡¯t like many tier-1 cities. Due to thergend mass, it wasn¡¯t like other urban areas where there would berge skyscrapers or apartment buildings where people lived on top of each other.

    There were severalrge courts, giant shopping malls, and car parks. To travel around, nearly everyone needed a car or had to take the underground tunnel to get from one ce to another.

    Everything was built on arge scale, including statues, one of them being the current AFC Champion, Harvor.

    The biggest arena, known as the Bloodspire, was located in arge open square. It was more like a theme park, with open roads, shops, shopping malls, cinemas, and thrill-seeking rides as well.

    Some of them were based on Altereds that were well known in the AFC, modeled around the creatures. It was a must-see destination for many.

    Then it had the main attraction: the actual fighting venue in the center. In the center of thendmass where the event would take ce, there was arge statue of Harvor.

    One section of therge area, which was a strange round-shaped building like a giant ball, was the building for the staff, and not just the staff, but also the main center where the One Gang operated from.

    The space had facilities for training Altered, rooms for offices, and more.

    In one of the rooms, there was an octagon ring, and state-of-the-art equipment littered everywhere. The room took up an entire floor of the building, and there was even a specially designed swimming pool that would produce its own waves.

    In the center of the ring, there was a man. His dark ck hair was standing tall, slightly swept back, with his sides shaven.

    Sweat was running down his chiseled body, tracing along arge tattoo of a purple dragon on his back.

    Standing in the center, he was breathing slowly until a beeping sound was heard, and he looked at his wrist at his digital watch.

    ¡°Is that the time already?¡± Harvor said, and right on cue, double doors on one side of the room swung open. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Several men, in purple and white tracksuits, entered the building. All of them were of different shapes and sizes, but there was one thing inmon about them all: they had an athletic build.

    If they were big, they had bouldering shoulders. If they were smaller, their veins could be seen clear as day, even while standing.

    They all looked like athletes who had been training their entire lives.

    ¡°We greet the Great Harvor!¡± the men said as they bowed down, and one person in particr, with square ck frame sses, moved forward.

    He opened the octagon cage door and handed Harvor a towel.

    ¡°You¡¯re usually ready by now, sir. Is there something on your mind?¡± Stanley asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just the uing match. I have to prepare for it, don¡¯t I?¡± Harvor replied.

    ¡°You always put in the same amount of preparation no matter who you are going up against, but this time it¡¯s against someone who isn¡¯t even above rank 20. Why are you training so hard?¡± Stanley asked.

    ¡°You should know that there are new Altered every day,¡± Harvor replied. ¡°There are other organizations making new serums and stronger beasts every day.¡±

    ¡°Once you have be an Altered, there is no way to change what Altered you are, at least that we know of yet. So I am limited by my Altered¡¯s powers.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but your Altered is still the strongest one ever found by NIRV, is it not? NIRV has not told you of another one that they have found?¡± Stanley replied.

    ¡°You are correct, but Sin also had an extremely powerful Altered, and look at what that did for him. Since we can¡¯t change our Altered forms, we have to improve our own natural bodies.¡±

    ¡°Pushing the body strengthens the Altered as well. It¡¯s a basic principle taught in the AFC. Those who rely on the powers of their forms will never make it to the top,¡± Harvor said as he looked ahead behind the door.

    ¡°Now tell me, which fool decided to beat up some of our men just so he could get a meeting with me?¡±

    Stanley looked behind him and clicked his fingers. Then tworge men stood by a certain individual¡¯s side as they walked a particr person in.

    A man with dark hair that swept over his face. He was quite muscr and from the way he was standing and the expression on his face, it didn''t look like somone who had just been captured by one of the top gang''s in the world.

    ¡°My name is Raven,¡± the man stated. ¡°And I want to talk to you about the Howlers.¡±

 Chapter 980 Do I Need You?

    Chapter 980 Do I Need You?

    ¡°Raven, that¡¯s not a name I¡¯ve heard before,¡± Harvor said, looking him up and down.

    The way the person had entered, and the way he spoke, it was as if he should have known the name, yet the appearance didn''t ring any bell.

    Raven stood there respectfully; after all, he was in enemy territory, but there was an odd sense of calmness when Raven looked at Harvor.

    It wasn¡¯t like when he had met Sin for the first time. Sin felt like a person whose presence he couldn¡¯t even stand to be in front of, while with Harvor, there was this calmness to him.

    An aura of a star that anyone was able to approach.

    ¡°I was a member of the Phoenix Gang, and I¡¯m sure you are aware of what happened to them,¡± Raven stated.

    ¡°Ah yes, Sin. He certainly did always keep things exciting among the Kings. I liked having him around because he showed what the Kings were capable of. It¡¯s a shame he¡¯s gone now,¡± Harvor said. ¡°You state that you are here to inform me about the Howlers. Does that mean you are here for revenge?¡±

    Raven was stumped for a moment. He had several ns for how to approach Harvor, one of the Kings, but depending on how he was, it would dictate how Raven would act.

    There were wild people like Sin out there, but now after meeting Harvor, he didn¡¯t know what to say that would please him.

    ¡°Yes, the Howlers are a troublesome bunch. They are a group that seems to think they are differentpared to other gangs,¡± Raven went on to exin. ¡°They started by clearing up the gangs in Slough and changing it.¡±

    ¡°They went against the Phoenix Gang because their morals didn¡¯t line up. To put it simply, you could see the Howlers as an anti-gang, which means they will soon be after you as well.¡±

    Of course, Raven wasn¡¯t sure about this himself. He had a faint idea based on the actions Gary had taken in Slough, but more importantly, he needed a reason for Harvor to attack them. He needed the help of a King now more than ever if he wanted revenge for his brother.

    ¡°They only just defeated the Phoenix Gang, and you say they are going to go after one of the other Kings next? At the moment, I have no trouble with the Howlers though. It would be crazy to start a war with them for no reason.¡±

    ¡°And besides, why would I need you for that anyway? What could you even provide me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m strong!¡± Raven instantly said. ¡°There¡¯s a reason I was ced in the Phoenix Gang. I¡¯m a strong Altered, and I¡¯m sure I proved that myself.¡±

    ¡°Yes, certainly, Yannis was in the top 15 of AFA fighters, and he was under the One Gang banner, yet you defeated him.

    ¡°It¡¯s only because of that I invited you anyway. I have to say your n to catch my attention worked, but I have plenty of people stronger than you. An addition from a fallen gang wouldn¡¯t do much,¡± Harvor replied.

    Raven had done his research into the gang, and although it wasn¡¯t made public that Rank 12 in the AFC, Yannis, was part of the gang, Raven had found links and targeted him for this reason. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After beating him outside, he knew the One Gang woulde looking for him, and in turn, he surrendered himself, all so he could be put in front of the leader.

    ¡°I know every detail about Slough. I know about the gang¡¯s structure, their allies, and the powers they have,¡± Raven insisted. ¡°You could take them down with ease.¡±

    ¡°I know every detail about Slough. I know about the gang¡¯s structure, their allies, and the powers they have,¡± Raven insisted. ¡°You could take them down with ease.¡±

    ¡°Sin failed because he was overconfident and underestimated them. If we¡¯re the first to strike where we can, we can defeat them!¡±

    Raven had let himself get ahead of himself. It was clear he was passionate about getting rid of the Howlers.

    ¡°I see. I can see why you have pushed yourself toe here and warn us,¡± Harvor stated and started to move closer to Raven until he was standing right next to him.

    Suddenly, Raven felt very small. He fell to the ground and was on his knees looking up at Harvor, and didn¡¯t even know what happened, but his legs had justpletely stopped working.

    ¡°Do you really think we need your help in fighting the Howlers?¡± Harvor asked. ¡°You think we¡¯re weaker than them? You have no idea the amount of power we have.¡±

    ¡°And, I need to make things clear to you, I am not like Sin. I wouldn¡¯t go for underhanded tactics to take out my opponent. We would crush them with pure strength.¡±

    ¡°When the timees, if the Howlers, Gary Dem, or whoever, cross us, we will defeat and crush them because that is what we do.¡±

    ¡°I named my gang the One Gang because we will be the only ones left standing at the end of it all.¡±

    This was partly what Raven was afraid of. It was a risking to another one of the Kings, but in the situation he was in, he had no choice.

    Taking out the Howlers wasn¡¯t something he could do on his own anymore, but now he felt like his life was in danger.

    And before he knew it, Harvor¡¯s entire hand was encased around Raven¡¯s neck. Then Harvor threw him onto the ground.

    ¡°Lock him up,¡± Harvor ordered. ¡°And no matter what he says, don¡¯t let him out. I¡¯lle see him when I want to.¡±

    Raven was getting ready to transform, but as if Harvor knew what he was going to do, Harvor looked into his eyes and shook his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Don¡¯t,¡± Harvor ordered. ¡°The only reason I¡¯m keeping you alive is so you can see when the entire Howler Gang falls and you realize how much of a fool you were.¡±

    ****

 Chapter 981 Strifehold City, Another King

    Chapter 981 Strifehold City, Another King

    Not much had urred with the Howlers or Gary after the meeting with Kanu in Centerfield. After all, the decision had been made that they wouldn¡¯t act at all. It meant no running investigations into NIRV, no trying to find out how the One Gang operated or who its enemies were. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    If anything, they wanted to do everything in their power to avoid getting into another situation like they had before. With the Phoenix Gang, it truly felt like they were just protecting themselves.

    In this case, doing anything against another King would just be asking for a fight. As time went on, the day of the big event approached, and arge limo-like vehicle was seen leaving Slough, heading to Strifehold.

    While traveling down the highway at a reasonable speed, the man behind the wheel couldn¡¯t help but keep a big smile on his face.

    ¡°I have to say once again, thank you so much, sir, for giving me this opportunity!¡± Park said. ¡°Honestly, when the job came up and a chance to work closer to you guys who created the Howlers, I just had to jump at it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to do my best. Oh, and how¡¯s my driving? Would you like the window down, or an update on where we are every minute?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Park. I¡¯ll let you know if I need anything,¡± Gary replied with a nervous smile. It had already been thirty minutes, and the new driver, Park, had been like this the whole way, constantly asking questions one after the other.

    ¡°Do you remember when we first met, sir?¡± Park asked again.

    ¡°Was it at that bakery that time?¡± Gary answered.

    ¡°Right! You have a keen eye, sir. I thought you might have confused me with someone else because both me and my brother, Park, were made into squad captains. At the time when you asked for Altered selections, I was the one who volunteered.¡±

    ¡°Whereas when you asked for help that time to go to Notsburg, that was my brother. I was there too, but just in the background. It can get confusing since we¡¯re both named Park.¡±

    Gary wondered what kind of insane parents would name both of their kids Park, but there was no doubt that the Park twins had done a lot for the Howlers group.

    They had shown their loyalty in more ways than one, and Park¡¯s brother was now a Werewolf while the other was an Altered. So they were both strong assets to the team.

    ¡°So how long have you two been together then? I didn¡¯t realize the boss had a girlfriend,¡± Park asked.

    Immediately, Gary¡¯s face turned red as he sat not too far from Xin, who was in the seat with him. He didn¡¯t know what to say, especially since the two weren¡¯t official.

    It was a strange rtionship. Gary liked her, and he was sure that Xin liked him as well, but it just wasn¡¯t the right time to bother with what young adults would typically do at that age.

    Gary had to train every day for a fight he was about to have, and Xin had other things on her mind; he hadn¡¯t even seen her until today.

    ¡°Does this man never shut up?¡± Ice asked with his arms folded. ¡°Is he going to ask how your mother gave birth to you next?¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Austin couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°Rx, Park is just excited and nervous at the same time. You can loosen up a bit, Ice.¡±

    All five of them were heading to the Bloodspire stadium. Since it was just to watch a match, Kai hadn¡¯te along with them and wanted to let Xin and Gary enjoy their time together.

    Regardless of the result, whatever Xin¡¯s expression was, it was perhaps something that only Gary could see.

    Yet, Kai couldn¡¯t send them offpletely helpless and on their own because they were going into enemy territory. Given the situation with the rest of the Howlers, he had decided to send Austin, a trustworthy member of the Howlers, who Kai knew could be relied upon to help Gary.

    Then second, he sent Ice, a person no one knew and wouldn¡¯t know was part of the Howlers.

    ¡°Xin, there¡¯s something I wanted to tell you before we get there. It¡¯s about your brother¡­ and who he¡¯s fighting today,¡± Gary said.

    ¡°You mean about Kanya? Yeah, I know, but I didn¡¯t know when you knew. When did you find out?¡± Xin asked, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

    ¡°Oh, you already knew as well?¡± Gary replied. ¡°I only found outst week, the day you texted me to get those tickets.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Xin replied, much happier, realizing that she couldn¡¯t be annoyed at Gary because he hadn¡¯t known either. If it was something he had purposely kept from her, then that would have been different, but it wasn¡¯t long from when he had found out.

    ¡°Yeah, I know how much this fight means to him, which is why I was asking,¡± Xin said. ¡°I have to see what he does today, and I have to stop him if he tries to do anything crazy.¡±

    Gary then went to grab her tense hand, holding it firmly.

    ¡°And I¡¯ll be there as well if you need me to. I mean, I want to help Jayden too, not just you¡­ of course, I want to help you as well. I just mean Jayden is important, but not as important as you.¡± Gary continued to fumble with his words, going around in circles.

    ¡°Thank you, Gary,¡± Xin replied, cing her hands firmly on his as well. ¡°I need someone right now, and you¡¯re the closest person to me, other than Jayden.¡±

    ¡°Guys, I hate to ruin the moment back there!¡± Park shouted, tensing both of his hands around the wheel, ¡°But we¡¯re here, we¡¯re just entering Strifehold.¡±

 Chapter 982 The AFA Comes Back

    Chapter 982 The AFA Comes Back

    Once the vehicle entered Strifehold, the city came into view. Surrounded by mountains and centered around argeke, the ce was truly a sight to behold. Out in theke, one could also see the giantndmass and square where the Bloodspire stadium was located.

    It was still far away, yet they could see therge statue in the distance. Another thing that struck them was the extremely wide roads with multiplenes as they drove through the city, and how spacious thend was.

    Everything just felt like it was on a massive scale. There were evenrge outdoor spaces carved into the architecture surrounding the actual doors of buildings, making it look like a ce for giants.

    There was one thing that every major city seemed unable to avoid, despite the severalnes for cars, and that was traffic.

    ¡°I guess everyone¡¯s going to the stadium today, so it looks like it¡¯s going to be quite busy,¡± Park said nervously as he went to honk his horn. ¡°Oi, what the F*ck do you think you¡¯re doing? Do you have balls for eyes or something? You can see I¡¯m trying to move forward, why did you cut me off?¡±

    There was almost another side to Park as the traffic emerged, something that brought out the monster inside him. It was good to have someone like this in this situation; otherwise, they would never be able to move in the standstill traffic.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re part of the AFC, right?¡± Austin asked. ¡°And you¡¯re quite high-ranked as well. Didn¡¯t you just get into the top fifty or something? Then shouldn¡¯t they at least give you tickets to these events?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I quit the AFC,¡± Xin said.

    Gary turned his head, as this was news to him as well.

    ¡°My goal was always just to get into the top fifty to prove to my dad that I could look after myself. I¡¯ve done that, and my dad doesn¡¯t control my life anymore. Not that he had much say for a while.

    ¡°I love the AFC, but I like it as a hobby. My goal isn¡¯t to reach number one. I quit to find out more about what was going on with Jayden. I didn¡¯t realize this whole thing was linked to him,¡± Xin replied.

    Tickets were incredibly hard to get for the event. Any fight that included Harvor, especially one against a top contender, was a hot ticket. Although Jayden wasn¡¯t ranked second in the AFC, he had arge fan base, particrly arge female audience due to his looks. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I see. Well, I guess Ice and I will just have to wait outside since we don¡¯t have any tickets,¡± Austin said. ¡°I only came along in case there¡¯s another mess. Worst case, if something happens, the two of us will be enough to break you out of this city.¡±

    ¡°And then what, run back to Slough?¡± Gary said. ¡°I don¡¯t want Slough to be affected again. I wouldn¡¯t do that... not that anything is going to happen anyway.¡±

    When Gary said those words, it was as if he didn¡¯tpletely believe them himself.

    The car was making decent progress, but then they approached the Bloodspire stadium. There was a queue of cars waiting to head into therge car park outside, and although they had left early, it was frustrating just staying in the car when they could see the stadium up ahead, so close.

    ¡°Hey, do you want to just head there, stretch our legs? I think it would be quicker if we walked,¡± Gary suggested.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯ll be fine,¡± Park replied. ¡°I can park up and just go have something to eat somewhere in the city. Us boys can catch the fight in one of those sports bars, so you don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡±

    ¡°Us boys?¡± Ice said.

    ¡°Look, he says some cringey stuff sometimes, but think about it¡ªhe¡¯s a good guy, like you, right Ice? You¡¯re supposed to be cool as well, being ¡®Ice¡¯ and all,¡± Austin said, cracking up at his own joke. ¡°Ha!¡±

    Ice just shook his head. This trip, meant to see the life Gary lived and to determine if he was a good person worth helping, was giving him a bit of a headache. He was missing the quiet days of being alone in a prison cell.

    Xin agreed, and the two quickly decided to leave the car and walk across the pathway to the stadium, leaving the others behind. On their way there, they passed countless people.

    Just likest time, Gary was wearing his ck wig so he wouldn¡¯t attract too much attention, but soon he realized it was pretty useless because the one getting attention wasn¡¯t him.

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Xin Clove?¡± one of the bystanders said. ¡°Do you mind if I get a photo with you?¡±

    Xin nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±

    She went ahead, taking one photo, and that started it all. After taking one photo after another, more and more people began recognizing her. Being part of the top fifty, she wasn¡¯t extremely famous.

    However, the people who would be attending to watch today¡¯s match were hardcore AFC fans, so they would, of course, recognize Xin.

    ¡°Hey, hey, no more photos, guys!¡± Gary said. ¡°You¡¯re crowding her.¡±

    ¡°Is that... is that Xin¡¯s boyfriend?¡± others said as they started taking photos of the both of them.

    Several phones were pointed up at the two of them, and Gary couldn¡¯t help but feel like he had made the situation worse.

    ¡°Hey, over here quickly!¡± another person shouted.

    Hearing this, the fans¡¯ attention soon turned. ¡°Look at who just arrived, it¡¯s Apollo!¡±

    Memories started to flood into Gary''s mind, as the name wasing in and out. He had heard the name but it wasn''t exactly clear where from and then it hit him.

    ¡°Apollo?¡± Gary raised an eyebrow. ¡°That big bear guy from the AFA?¡±

 Chapter 983 A Friend Or Foe?

    Chapter 983 A Friend Or Foe?

    The attention quickly shifted from Xin to Apollo, a giant of a figure that stood out like a sore thumb, even with all the people crowding around him, Gary could see the top of his head. There were still some people here and there trying tog et shots of Xin, but at least they were able to move now.

    ¡®What is it with me and running into giants everywhere recently?¡¯ Gary thought as he imagined an AFC match between Austin, Ice, and Apollo¡ªcertainly one to watch. He was already imagining it with all their variations of powers.

    Although it wouldn¡¯t sell a lot of tickets, considering no one knew who Austin or Ice really were.

    ¡®Apollo, huh? It¡¯s been a while since I saw him. Thest time was at the AFA; we were both the top-ranking students, and he was quite strong. I remember him going up against Jayden that time, but the two of us never fought each other.¡¯

    Gary was quite thankful for that¡ªthe big guys tended to be more resilientpared to others. His fight with Ice had been a long one, but the toughest fight was with the Unicorn Mythical-Type Altered, the warden of the prison.

    ¡®From what I remember, after the AFA, Apollo had his debut match as well, and he quickly rose several ranks. He even reached the top fifty before Xin did, even though she had her debut match before him.¡¯

    ¡®He was known for just taking fight after fight, even if there wasn¡¯t a lot of money involved. To get others to fight him, he would even give up his purse to the other contestant¡ªall for the sake of fighting and climbing the ranks.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s gotten so popr with everything he¡¯s done. It¡¯s rare to see someone who¡¯s in it for the fighting rather than everything else thates along with being in the AFC.¡¯

    Regardless, what Gary was thankful for was that there was now a chance for him to escape and get out of the situation.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s break out of here,¡± Gary said as he dragged Xin along.

    Breaking away, they finally reached therge open square where a statue stood in the middle, with the Bloodspire Arena behind it.

    The square was extremely busy with people trying to get into the arena, and at the same time, several stalls were lined up, selling food, drinks, and various other items.

    Taking this chance, Gary went up to one of the stalls, swiped his card, and handed a ck hoodie over to Xin.

    ¡°Here, take this. It will cover you up for now. Otherwise, we¡¯re going to get stopped at every single street corner.¡±

    Xin looked nervous, unsure whether or not to take the hoodie.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is just going to draw more attention to me?¡±

    ¡°Nah, trust me, it¡¯s fine,¡± Gary said.

    As he finished his sentence, Xin noticed arge shadow looming over Gary¡¯s back. She and the shopkeeper took a step back for a moment.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Apollo!¡± the shopkeeper said, his finger pointed out and one hand over his chest as if he was going to fall any second.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you both here at the event. I assume it¡¯s to watch the match today, right?¡± Apollo said.

    Gary slowly turned around, expecting arge crowd of people, but instead, there were several security guards who had pushed people back, not allowing them toe any closer to Apollo.

    No one was getting through the security team, even as people attempted to sneak peeks at what was going on.

    ¡°So much for not getting any attention. Did youe here to say hi to Xin?¡± Gary asked.

    From a distance, the crowd of people certainly thought it looked like that, as they could still see Xin and Apollo, and what they guessed was Xin¡¯s boyfriend or guest.

    ¡°This is exciting, right? Do you think Apollo is going to challenge Xin to a fight? They¡¯ve never gone against each other after all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible anymore though, right? Didn¡¯t you hear the rumors?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What rumors?¡±

    ¡°That Xin had quit the AFC. It¡¯s why they haven¡¯t announced her next fight. There hasn¡¯t been an official announcement, but people think it¡¯s just so it doesn¡¯t get overshadowed by Harvor¡¯s next big fight.¡±

    ¡°Still, there might be a chance it happens, or a fight breaks out here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I saw you, Apollo,¡± Xin said, now pushing Gary to the back and to the side. ¡°We¡¯re here to see the fight. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s the same for you.¡±

    As Xin talked to Apollo, she noticed his eyes were wavering. He wasn¡¯t looking at her; instead, he was looking at...

    ¡°Gary...¡± Apollo whispered. ¡°That¡¯s you, right? I thought it was.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Gary replied. ¡°How can you tell it¡¯s me? My hair¡ªit¡¯s a different color.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but your face is exactly the same,¡± Apollo said. ¡°For those who have seen you in person before, it¡¯s easy to tell, but it works on people who have never seen you and will second-guess themselves.¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t really know what to say. It had been years since he had seen Apollo, and even while in the academy, it wasn¡¯t as if the two were buddy-buddy friends.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been following you, Gary. You¡¯ve done a lot. It¡¯s as expected¡ªyou were onto bigger things than the AFC. But I wonder why you¡¯re turning up like this. Do you two just have standard tickets?¡± Apollo asked.

    Gary checked his phone, along with the ticket code, and it was indeed standard tickets. It was even in the outer ring.

    No VIP box, no ground floor cage seats. If it wasn¡¯t for their superior eyesight, it would be hard for both of them.

    ¡°I have a VIP booth. Why don¡¯t you twoe and join me? That way, it will be morefortable for Xin as well,¡± Apollo suggested.

 Chapter 984 I Dont Like Being Watched

    Chapter 984 I Don''t Like Being Watched

    There were three different car parks for the venue alone due to the sheer size of the ce. It could hold up to 100,000 viewers, making it one of thergest venues for events in the world. It was a lot of people just to see two individuals fight at a time.

    There was a multi-story car park, underground parking, as well as outdoor parking next to it. On top of that, they had a bus and ride system where one could park outside of the main city and then ride buses to view therge event.

    Finally, Park managed to get the car to the underground parking lot after a bit of maneuvering.

    ¡°Hey, you d*ckhead!¡± one of the other drivers in the car park shouted. ¡°You¡¯re taking up twones, it¡¯s already busy as it is.¡±

    ¡°Are you blind, you tub ofrd!¡± Park shouted back while still sitting in the car. ¡°This is a limo, it can¡¯t fit in one space.¡±

    One of the reasons it was so hard to find a parking space was that Park needed to find two empty spaces connected next to each other so he could just drive in.

    ¡°Yeah, then maybe don¡¯t bring such a big fancy car, and use the regr parking!¡± the man continued to shout.

    At that point, Austin was getting frustrated and opened the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem? We¡¯ll pay for two spaces, and there are a few of us in this thing,¡± Austin said.

    Right behind Austin, Ice got out of the car as well. Seeing tworge men, the man gulped and quickly decided to drive off.

    ¡°Well, he left rather quickly. You¡¯d think that people who watch the AFC would have some backbone, but most of them look like they¡¯ve never exercised a day in their life,¡± Austinmented.

    Now that they had parked, all they could do was wait and explore the city until the match was over. It was a big event that would consist of several fights, performances in between, and interviews as well.

    So it would pretty much take the whole day and run into the night.

    ¡°Just a quick question, so you said there are two Parks, right? So are you the Werewolf one or the Altered one?¡± Austin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m the Werewolf one.¡±

    ¡°So you should be of some use then. I¡¯m getting hungry, so let¡¯s use your nose to find us the closest ce for food,¡± Austin said.

    Maybe some would be offended to have their new supernatural self used like this, but honestly, Park was happy to just be part of the team and be used in such a way.

    Sniffing the air, Park was ready to point in a direction when each of them received a ping on their phone. Immediately, all three of them were quick to pull out their phones.

    ¡°Phew!¡± Park said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. ¡°I thought we were going to get a text that they were in trouble already and I would have to get the car ready.¡±

    ¡°Right, I was a bit worried. I mean, things happen fast with Gary, but not that fast,¡± Austin said. ¡°But what do we do about this?¡±

    [Hey guys, hope you are all doing well. Things have changed a bit, and Xin and I have found another way into the stadium.]

    [Which means we won¡¯t be using our two tickets. So I¡¯ve sent the code to you guys if you want to see the match. Sorry there are only two of them, so decide among yourselves.]

    They all looked up at each other. There were only two tickets, but there were three of them.

    ¡°Please, please, please!¡± Park immediately said. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen an AFC fight in person. Can I use one of the tickets?¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey!¡± Austin replied. ¡°Firstly, do you think I¡¯ve seen an AFC fight myself? I was a high school dropout; I had no money to do such a thing before.¡±

    ¡°Besides, it just makes good sense that me and Ice, the muscle of the group, stay as close to Gary as we possibly can, while the driver stays next to the car because that¡¯s his job¡ªto help us drive away.¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do if we need you for a quick escape, yet you¡¯re stuck in the middle of the crowd?¡±

    Austin had made a good argument, such a good argument that Park really had nothing to say back. It all made sense, and it looked like he was almost on the verge of tears.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. At the end of the day, you¡¯re one of the founders of the Howlers. If it was before, I would have listened to whatever you said, so I shouldn¡¯t get ahead of myself,¡± Park answered.

    Austin felt a little guilty hearing those words, almost as if he was the one abusing his power.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay,¡± Ice said. ¡°I never wanted to see an AFC fight in the first ce. I have no interest in such things. I just wanted to be by Gary and see what it is he would do.¡±

    ¡°But I can see this is important to both of you, since you both look like you¡¯re on the verge of crying.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Hey!¡± Austin shouted back. ¡°I¡¯m not the one on the verge of crying, just him. Don¡¯t lump me together with him.¡±

    Park, wiping a tear away, gave a thumbs up to Ice. ¡°You¡¯re the best; you really are Ice cool!¡±

    With the decision made, the two of them walked off, and Ice just stood there by the car. There was something bothering him, and with his arms folded, he looked up.

    He saw a camera in the corner blinking red, looking directly at him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like being watched,¡± Ice said as he lifted his hand, and out from it, a single shard of ice shot out, destroying the camera on the spot.

 Chapter 985 The VIP Room

    Chapter 985 The VIP Room

    ¡°Wow, this room is huge!¡± Gary eximed as his eyes scanned the VIP booth they were now in.

    The VIP booths wererge viewing areas stationed about two-thirds of the way down the stands. They weren¡¯t directly on the floor level next to the AFC arena. Instead, it was a spacious ss booth that upied arge section of the stands, made entirely of one-way viewing ss.

    From inside, they could see out into the arena floor, but those in the stands had no idea who was inside the booth. If one were to look around the stadium, there were a total of twelve of these viewing booths, allowing the very important to watch the match infort. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The booths were special, equipped with their own bar filled with drinks and snacks, a lounging area with screens showing the televised version of the fight, and every luxury fitting of the name "VIP booth." Gary immediately gravitated toward the snack area, opening a cupboard and finding all sorts of treats. He quickly pulled out some beef jerky and started munching on it almost instantly.

    ¡°Thank you again, Apollo, for letting us use this room with you. You really didn¡¯t have to,¡± Xin said, a little embarrassed by how rxed Gary was, already making himself at home.

    He couldn¡¯t help himself¡ªhe was a little hungry.

    ¡°Nonsense, I see you as fellow ssmates. We all entered the AFA around the same time, and since both of you are no longer in the AFA, it¡¯s not a problem. Besides, Gary and I go quite a way back, both of us being part of the special lessons. I wanted to ask, did you ever take part in those lessons?¡±

    Gary¡¯s ears perked up when he heard this and looked over at Xin, who nodded as well. It wasn¡¯t that the special lessons themselves were bad, but more so the fact that they had all signed a contract. When entering the special lessons, they had agreed to help NIRV in certain instances when called upon. Gary had discussed this with Kai.

    The best guess was that they would be called to be retrievers when the time came, but now that Gary was one of the Kings, they wondered if NIRV would ever pull that card. ording to Kai, he felt like they might, just to test their power and see who was loyal to them or not.

    From the sound of things, they already had Harvor and others in their back pocket, and if Gary didn¡¯tply with the contract, they could send people like Xin and Apollo after him.

    Thankfully, nothing hade of the situation yet.

    ¡°I see, I guess we really are allies more deeply rooted than we thought,¡± Apollo said as he grabbed a drink, twisted the cap off a bottle, and proceeded to sit down on the sofa.

    He took a big swig and then ced the bottle on the table in front of him as he looked at the empty stands.

    With them being VIP members, they were able to enter the stadium early. People were slowly filtering in and taking their time finding their seats. There were still a couple of hours before the event would even start, and that was just the start of the event, not the match between Jayden and Harvor.

    ¡°You know, I wanted to watch this match closely because of that special event. Do you remember, Gary? The one we had with Jayden. Ever since then, I¡¯ve been quite a fan of his. I wanted to catch up and test my skills against him again.¡±

    ¡°With you, I¡¯m wondering, do you feel the same way? Or now that you¡¯re a King, do you think your power surpasses his?¡± Apollo asked.

    Gary had grabbed a bunch of snacks and drinks and ced them on the table before sitting down on the sofa, not too far and not too close to Apollo.

    ¡°Honestly, in terms of raw power, I¡¯m not sure. I might have the edge now. I¡¯ve grown quite a lot, but in terms of fighting techniques, I think I would lose to Jayden 99 times out of 100.¡±

    ¡°Like you, I still remember that day he beat us pretty badly,¡± Gary casually replied.

    It was something he had thought about a few times but never seriously, because Jayden wasn¡¯t his enemy, so he never nned to have a fight to the death with him or anything like that.

    ¡°Which makes me want to ask you another question. You¡¯re a King now, so why were you sneaking in with the other people?¡± Apollo asked.

    ¡°If you had called up and asked Harvor himself, I¡¯m sure he would have handed you a VIP booth. It would have protected you guys.¡±

    Gary wasn¡¯t so sure about that. He was a new King, and calling up the other Kings like they were friends when they were really enemies¡ªwas that how others acted on the outside? He hadn¡¯t even spoken to any of the others: the Dark Guild, the Bree Family, Lupis, or Harvor. Besides, he was here just in case something went wrong.

    ¡°I¡¯m new to this... and I¡¯m not cut out for it. I¡¯m just here as a fan and a supporter,¡± Gary answered.

    ¡°Actually, I want to ask something as well,¡± Xin said. ¡°Not that you aren¡¯t a big deal, Apollo, but how did you get a VIP booth like this?¡±

    ¡°I tried asking my old teachers and a few friends in the AFC, and they couldn¡¯t even get tickets.¡±

    Now that Gary thought about it, it was strange. Even using AJ Entertainment, the most he could do was get tickets to the event, never mind a booth.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not too big of a mystery. It¡¯s because I¡¯m part of the One Gang,¡± Apollo answered.

    Causing Gary to drop his packet of crisps onto the floor.

 Chapter 986 The VIP Guests

    Chapter 986 The VIP Guests

    Gary''s body stiffened up, and he was like a statue frozen in ce, the only thing moving were his eyes, fixed on the packet of crisps he had dropped. He didn''t know whether to jump back, pick up the crisps, or at least say something to break the awkward silence.

    That was when Xin, who was just about to sit down, suddenly took a fighting stance, her eyes fierce and ready for action.

    "Calm down, you two," Apollo said, still sitting and gesturing with hisrge hands. "Do you really think this is some kind of trap? That I would make things harder on myself by bringing you two to this room? I wouldn¡¯t have even approached you like this if I had any ill intentions.¡±

    "And besides, what''s the big deal? I knew who you were, Gary. It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m from the One Gang or not. The two gangs aren¡¯t against each other, right? We¡¯re just meeting as old allies."

    As Gary thought about it more, he realized Apollo was right. No one knew the real reason why Gary was here. No one even knew that Xin and Jayden were rted, let alone the story of why Gary opposed Apollo or that Gary wished to help Jayden. To them, they were just two people from different groups, like people from different countries. Their gangs weren¡¯t at war, so there was no reason for hostility between them.¡±

    ¡°So, the One Gang,¡± Gary said, picking up the crisps from the floor and immediately resuming eating.

    ¡°You can open a new packet, you know,¡± Apollo said.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Gary replied. ¡°I hate wasting food, and it¡¯s still in the packet, so it didn¡¯t really drop on the floor. Anyway, how did you end up joining the gang?¡±

    Xin was also curious and went to sit on a single-seated sofa a little away from the two, positioning herself at an angle so she could keep an eye on the door, just in case.

    ¡°Right, I mean, even if you are a member of the One Gang, it¡¯s not like just anyone in the gang can get a room like this,¡± Xin said.

    ¡°You¡¯re both right, and naturally, as someone from another group, you¡¯re curious,¡± Apollo answered. ¡°My father¡¯s gang was part of a Tier 2 city. They were already under the One Gang¡¯s control technically, but not directly. As you know, I joined the AFC, and I stood out quite a bit.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a regr thing for Harvor to select his members from the AFC after seeing their skill, but because of my father, I had a more direct route. You know my strength¡ªI¡¯m not just anyone from the AFC, so I was invited into one of the Twelve Zodiac positions.¡±

    ¡°These Zodiac positions are what members of the group fight over and are considered the highest positions under Harvor. You weren¡¯t the only one making a name for yourself and being busy, Gary. So, I¡¯m quite a big deal in the gang,¡± Apolloughed.

    Learning that Apollo was one of these Twelve Zodiac members didn¡¯t make Gary feel any better. However, he imagined it was the same with the Howlers and its core members.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that the story isn¡¯t anything special. I¡¯m just strong and work for a very strong person.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Gary answered. ¡°It dide as a surprise, but like you said, we¡¯re not enemies, so let¡¯s just enjoy the fight today.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    As time went on, more and more people started to fill into the stadium. The normal guests were entering, and excitement was starting to fill the air as a number of press and more arrived. Several news channels were covering the event, including AJ Entertainment. The person they had sent was none other than Clem, who had be a superstar in her own right.

    She had a camera crew with her, and they were live-streaming the event to the whole world.

    ¡°As you can see, things are still being set up, but the tension in the air is already electrifying,¡± Clemmented. ¡°If we look into the stands, you will see every so often theserge ss booths. Those are the special VIP booths, and we can only guess who is beyond the ss on the other side.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, in a special CCTV room for the event, several workers were monitoring the screens, and a particr man with square-shaped sses in a purple and white tracksuit was overlooking everything.

    ¡°Sir Stanley!¡± one of the men said, clicking and typing away. On one of therger monitors, a screen disyed the inside of a particr room.

    ¡°It appears the representative from the Bree Family has arrived.¡±

    ¡°Good, I never expected Bree toe herself, but for them to send a representative is certainly interesting. And what of the other VIP members as well?¡±

    The man clicked around once again, and another screen appeared. This time it showed a room with fully cloaked men sitting around. They were clearly members of the Dark Guild. The screen changed again, this time showing Apollo.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that with Apollo?¡± Stanley asked.

    The camera zoomed in, showing the female.

    ¡°That¡¯s Xin Clove. I didn¡¯t realize the two of them knew each other.¡±

    The camera then changed, and started to concentrate on the other guest that was in the room.

    ¡° I can¡¯t recognize the other guy.¡± Stanley said.

    ¡°Apollo did ask to bring in guests, sir.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, just keep a note of it and I¡¯ll inform Harvor, continue through to the other rooms,¡± Stanley instructed.

    Clicking away, the worker moved to the next room. There were more than just one high ranking person and one of importance that the One Gang were keeping track of, and there was an interesting one they were looking at today.

    ¡°That¡¯s the representative from the Lupus Gang, correct?¡± Stanley asked.

    *****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 987 Harvor Rank 1

    Chapter 987 Harvor Rank 1

    Time had gone by, and the event was about to start any moment, but the final act of the event still wouldn¡¯t be for at least another two hours as they watched other fights take ce.

    Both Park and Austin had made it to their seats in time to see the spectacr opening ceremony. mes erupted from the octagon center, and an announcer had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, with the crowd alreadyrgely cheering.

    ¡°Hey, hey, that¡¯s Clem from AJ Entertainment, right? Isn¡¯t she basically under the Howlers gang? Maybe I can get an autograph or something.¡±

    ¡°Calm down and focus,¡± Austin said. ¡°I know we came here to have a good time, and it¡¯s your first AFC event, but as a member of the Howlers, and if you¡¯re going to be around us, you need to always focus.¡±

    ¡°Right, focus,¡± Park said, looking straight ahead at the octagon and not even blinking as he watched the announcer announcing the uing fights.

    Austin just pped his head.

    ¡°Have you ever experienced danger in your life? Right now, we¡¯re in enemy territory. Look around you¡ªthis is the One Gang¡¯s city, and Harvor himself should be here. So, have you recognized which ones are part of Harvor¡¯s gang yet?¡±

    Park looked around, trying to spot any obvious gang members, either men dressed in sharp suits or those with tattoos and wearing sses.

    When he couldn¡¯t spot too many of those types, he started to notice something else. In the crowd, there were those who were ecstatic, enjoying the event¡ªmost people were.

    Either with their phones out, taking photos, or just cheering ahead, but there was one group of people who weren¡¯t cheering. Their facial expressions were almost stone-cold as they looked around the ce.

    On top of that, Park noticed their clothing as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s the guys in tracksuits, the purple and white, right?¡±

    ¡°Bingo,¡± Austin said. ¡°Just remember their position. Keep an eye out if they make any moves. Right now, we don¡¯t know where Gary is either. There are too many people in one ce, so the signal isn¡¯t even sending out messages properly.¡±

    ¡°So be on guard and be ready to act, and remember you¡¯re our driver. You¡¯ve got an important role. If we need to get out of here, we rely on you.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± Park nodded and pumped his fist. ¡°I have big boots to fill; I won¡¯t tarnish Tyler¡¯s name.¡±

    There was a pause for a moment¡ªthe name had somewhat stunned Austin.

    ¡°Right,¡± Austin answered, thinking that Park was a quick learner. He might have been annoying at times, but he certainly did care about the gang, that was for sure.

    ---

    Inside the stadium itself, there were several preparation rooms. These wererge square spaces that were mostly empty for the athletes.

    One would bring their entire team with them¡ªa coach, a sparring partner, medical staff, whoever they liked as long as they were okayed by the AFC beforehand.

    In the room, the only thing that was supplied was a TV, allowing them to watch the matches that took ce before theirs. It was up to one¡¯s own team to bring training equipment for them to warm up before their big fight.

    For Jayden, he only had one person in his room: his coach, Byron. Right now, Jayden was sitting on a bench, his head facing down in his AFC uniform.

    His hands were clenched together, and even though he hadn¡¯t worked out, hadn¡¯t done any warm-up of the sort, his body was sweating.

    ¡°Jayden!¡± Coach Byron shouted, cing his hand on Jayden¡¯s shoulder. It was the first thing that had gotten a reaction from Jayden.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been calling you for five minutes, and before that, I was rambling on for fifteen minutes. Are you really going to make this old man think he¡¯s gone crazy?¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± was the one-word response from Jayden. He ced his head down again, and it looked as if he was going into a trance.

    ¡°We¡¯ve done a lot of preparation for this day. You know you¡¯re one of the best at analyzing tapes and figuring out a way to beat an opponent with your skills.¡±

    ¡°You did it today, and you¡¯ve continued to do it, and heck, you need to think about it¡ªthis is one heck of a jump up in opponent.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost before, and you¡¯vee back stronger and better.¡±

    They were words Byron never wanted to say¡ªwords one shouldn¡¯t say to his athlete. Even the thought of losing would be considered taboo, but they had to look at the reality of things in a situation like this.

    There were arge number of ranks between Jayden and the current participant, and Harvor was undefeated and had been for a long time. It was only because of a string of events and absences in the in-between ranks that Jayden had gotten his chance. After all, exiting fights had to happen and with a lot of he rank''s remaining stagnant, they could only watch fights between the second and third rank so many times, and knowing Harvor had already bested them they wanted to see something else.

    ¡°I can¡¯t lose this one. I¡¯ve waited so long for this day,¡± Jayden said as he looked up at his coach. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready to use and do everything I can to win this fight.¡±

    Jayden didn¡¯t say it, but even if he got banned from the AFC, if he saw a chance, then he was going to take it. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°There¡¯s something else as well¡ªall those tapes we watched are useless.¡±

    ¡°What was there to analyze? Whenever he faced a new opponent, he would change up his style of fighting and defeat them in another fashion.¡±

    ¡°He seems to be a genius at fighting, and not just that, you know as well as I do, there¡¯s something else too.¡±

    ¡°In all the time since the AFC existed and that Harvor has been the champion, he has won every single fight without having to reveal his Altered form. So who knows how strong he is.¡±

 Chapter 988 I Own This Place

    Chapter 988 I Own This ce

    The event was underway, and the first match had already concluded. It was a fight between a debut contestant and a veteran.

    The debut contestant was from the AFA, whereas the other contestant had several fights. Experienced, and was a person who was there to weed out those that were talented and those who weren¡¯t.

    Thankfully, as usual, the student selected from the AFA had won rtively easily, and in between the fights, there was now a singing performance taking ce.

    ¡°That reminds me of my debut fight as well,¡± Gary said, watching the match. ¡°Watching it, it does make me wonder how I would have done in the AFC?¡±

    ¡°I never expected you to be the leader of your own gang and control your own city,¡± Apollo said as he handed Gary another drink.

    The two of them shed their drinks together and drank away. Even though it wasn¡¯t alcohol since Gary wasn¡¯t much of a drinker.

    ¡°But you know, Harvor manages to do it. He¡¯s a King as well, and he manages to control the gang and still participate in the AFC, but I guess that¡¯s just because it¡¯s him,¡± Apollo said.

    It had been this way for a while now, Xin noticed. The two of them would casually talk, and then any situation that came up, Apollo would find some way to praise Harvor, which was annoying her somewhat.

    ¡°That¡¯s because Harvor¡¯s business is the AFC,¡± Xin replied. ¡°Think of it this way: if Harvor lost the AFC¡ªno, no, it doesn¡¯t even have to be that¡ªif Harvor lost a fightpletely, wouldn¡¯t you say that the whole gang falls apart then? And who knows, he might very well lose this match to Jayden.¡±

    ¡°Impossible,¡± Apollo replied instantly.

    This made Xin¡¯s eyebrow twitch¡ªof course, Apollo had no idea Jayden was Xin¡¯s brother.

    ¡°Jayden is strong; we should know that more than anyone considering we both fought against him, but from what I¡¯ve seen with Harvor, that man is unstoppable. I don¡¯t think it would be an understatement to call him the strongest man in the world.¡±

    ¡°You know, once I thought that I could be the strongest, that I could reach rank 1, then after meeting Harvor, I realized there was no chance ofpleting that dream. So if you can¡¯t beat them, then join them, right?¡±

    In a way, Gary felt a little saddened¡ªApollo had changed quite a bit. He remembered him in the AFC as arge force striving to be the best.

    He and Gary were practicallypeting against each other for the number one position, and now he was willingly letting it go.

    ¡°Then why do the other Kings exist? If Harvor was truly the strongest, then shouldn¡¯t he have controlled the whole country, the whole world by now?¡± Xin asked.

    Apollo lifted his drink up and could see the next fight was underway. Time was drawing closer for them.

    ¡°Every King has different sets of power. Take Sin, for instance¡ªhe had ears and eyes everywhere, he had his men in everypany there was, and he was able to influence the world.¡±

    ¡°If Harvor went up against him, he would have taken arge loss in many ces. When I say Harvor is the strongest, it might not be the gang or the business, but the man himself is the strongest,¡± Apollo exined.

    ¡°The way I see it, he is already challenging the entire world. Think about it¡ªhe made one of the biggest fighting sports there is out there, and he allows any Altered toepete, including the Kings.

    ¡°Right now, he is the champion, he is considered the strongest Altered in the world, so if anyone wants to, they cane challenge him.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for entire gangs to battle it out or take control of cities. You can face him in the ring if you want.¡±

    ¡°As for what I was saying earlier, Jayden is jumping up too many steps. There are five of the Zodiacs that are part of the AFC, all ranked higher than Jayden.

    ¡°He¡¯s jumping to the king before taking out his knights, and that¡¯s why he will lose.¡±

    Gary could feel the hairs on his arms start to stand up, and that¡¯s when he noticed an electrical charge wasing off from Xin.

    ¡°And if you and I were to fight, who do you think would win? We could set it up as an event before the main, don¡¯t you think?¡± Xin said.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready to go anytime,¡± Apollo said with a smile.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not,¡± Gary quickly said as he stood up. ¡°If you want to fight and fight fairly, then do it in the ring at your own time¡ªdon¡¯t do it here!¡±

    ¡°And Xin, you know that it¡¯s someone else¡¯s day today. If you were to fight, it could make it hard for them to focus or concentrate.¡±

    Xin thought about it for a bit; she knew what Gary was talking about. If they were to fight and word got out to her brother, he would be distracted. She just came here to see him, to watch him, and then stop him from doing anything crazy if the worst was to happen.

    The hairs on Gary¡¯s arms were starting to settle.

    ¡°I thought for a moment you were going to take us both on,¡± Apollomented.

    ¡°Please, I¡¯m hoping I won¡¯t get into any mess at all today,¡± Gary said, his hand behind his head. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    That was when the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the door.

    ¡°Apollo, did you have any more guestsing today?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°No, it should just be me¡ªI didn¡¯t invite anyone,¡± Apollo replied and turned his head to look at the door.

    As everyone watched the door, they saw it being pushed open, and a man with a purple and white jacket was seen walking through, wearing the AFC uniform.

    In an instant, Gary knew who it was and muttered his name under his breath.

    ¡°Harvor!¡±

 Chapter 989 The Leader Is Here?

    Chapter 989 The Leader Is Here?

    Harvor had entered the VIP room, a ce that should have been off-limits to any guests apart from those who were registered to enter. It was the expected rules of such an establishment.

    Of course, there was one person to whom these rules didn¡¯t apply, and that was Harvor. This was his city, this was his arena, and no one could say no to him.

    Gary could recognize the presence of him immediately, and his looks due to him being the champion of the AFC.

    The man had walked in with only a jacket with sleeves covered in purple and the rest of it white. It was left open, allowing his chiseled abs to show through.

    This was a man meant to be in his fifties but looked like he was still in his prime around thirty or so. He was practically the poster boy for why everyone wanted to be an Altered.

    If this was something that had happened before Gary got involved in all of this mess, he would have beenpletely star-struck, as he was one of the biggest fans of the AFC.

    ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t believe it!¡± Gary said. ¡°It¡¯s Harvor Ego, the AFC champion¡ªmy heart, it¡¯s beating so fast!¡±

    ¡°Erghh, I think you might be speaking out loud without thinking too much,¡± Xin said, wanting to remind him of his ce.

    ¡°Haha! I didn¡¯t realize you had brought guests¡ªmy apologies for interrupting,¡± Harvor said as he entered the room regardless and had brought in a man whose head resembled that of a pineapple. It was quite narrow at the top, with the top pointed.

    There were only the two of them in the room as the doors closed behind them.

    ¡°I just wanted to see my fellow friend here before the match, you know, to calm the nerves,¡± Harvor said.

    The way Harvor was naturally speaking, the rxed manner he was in¡ªall of it was annoying Xin. In a couple of hours, he was meant to be fighting her brother.

    Yet, the man was right here in front of her, messing around.

    ¡°Hey, do you mind if I take a photo?¡± Gary asked as he handed his phone over, which was shaking slightly.

    ¡®Gary, what are you doing? You¡¯re not a fan, you¡¯re a King. If Kai were here right now, he would be telling me to act the same as him¡ªthat the two of us were in the same position and I shouldn¡¯t back down with my power.¡¯

    Yet before he knew it, Harvor had already taken the phone and gestured for Gary toe over. Now the two of them were side by side, as the camera flipped and they both took a photo.

    After the photo was taken, Harvor went to sit on the sofa. It looked like Apollo was getting ready to get up, but Harvor gestured for him to sit down as well.

    Meanwhile, the man who had entered with Harvor stayed standing by his side.

    ¡®I wonder if that¡¯s one of the Zodiacs that Apollo was talking about. It has to be for him to have a guard walking around with him.¡¯

    Now that Gary had his photo and had met with the AFC Champion, his starstruckness was dying down a little, and he was starting to think with his head straight.

    That, and a few times on his return, Xin had kicked him and pinched his back a few times for what he had done, and hepletely understood why.

    On top of that, Xin was very wary of Harvor just visiting like this. Ever since Gary had trouble in Centerfield, they had done a lot more to try and change Gary¡¯s disguise.

    Not only was he wearing a ck wig that made his hair look like a mop, but they also gave him a fake prosthetic nose that he could ce on top of his own.

    With therge mop-like wig covering the top of his head, it was now nearly impossible to tell who he was, which still begged the question of how Apollo could tell.

    Then again, Gary did do a lot of speaking, so maybe it was his voice as well.

    Apollo and Harvor seemed to be chatting away, which was making Gary feel at ease. There wasn¡¯t an ulterior motive to this, at least not one that he could tell instantly.

    ¡°Hey, I have a question,¡± Xin asked. ¡°If it was the two of us against all of them, do you think we could take him out¡­ especially if your friend Apollo helps?¡±

    The thought came into Gary¡¯s mind¡ªit was something he just didn¡¯t think about. Right now, Harvor wasn¡¯t the aggressor, the two gangs weren¡¯t against each other.

    But maybe it would be the case in the future, especially with what he knew Harvor had done, taking out Jayden¡¯s wife.

    While there was only one, possibly two, of the Zodiac guards here, maybe with just the two of them, they would be able to take him out.

    ¡®This might be the best chance that we¡¯ll ever get¡­ but Jayden and Harvor haven¡¯t even fought yet, is it something that I should do?¡¯

    Gary¡¯s mind was going through a number of possible scenarios, and at this point, he was wondering what Kai would do.

    If it was Kai, he perhaps thought he would give it a go. After taking out Harvor, with Austin and the others, they could make for a quick escape.

    Gary¡¯s eyes were focused on the back of Harvor¡¯sughing head.

    ¡®Would it be that easy?¡¯

    While looking through, he saw Harvor raise his hand.

    ¡°Oh, sorry for ignoring the two of you. I just realized, I recognize you, Xin¡ªyou were in the AFC as well, right?

    ¡°I do keep my eye on the uing neers, but I noticed something else as well¡­ I believe you and Jayden are siblings, right?¡± Harvor slowly turned his head around and smiled right at Xin.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 990 What Do You Think Your Doing?

    Chapter 990 What Do You Think Your Doing?

    Ever since Harvor had entered the room, a sick feeling had settled in the pit of Xin¡¯s stomach. She wondered why her brother¡¯s opponent was here of all ces. It didn¡¯t make sense, even if Apollo was one of the Zodiacs. Apollo wasn¡¯t a long-lost friend or anything, and it was clear that Harvor was treating the uing fight as just another match.

    Then she heard it¡ªHarvor called her by name and mentioned that he knew she and Jayden were siblings.

    Gary kept a close eye on Xin, noticing her hand twitching, ready to move.

    ¡®If she acts out, do I stop her or help her? I have no clue; this is all happening too fast,¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve looked into my brother more than I thought. I¡¯ll give you credit for that,¡± Xin stated.

    Harvor waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t give me credit. My right-hand man, Stanley¡ªone of my Zodiacs¡ªhe¡¯s the one who found out the information. It seems you went to great lengths to keep it a secret. I guess you were afraid that the academy or someone else would show you favoritism. Either way, I found it interesting that you came here to support your brother. It¡¯s a good thing you met Apollo, and he brought you in.¡±

    Harvor then stood up and started to stretch his limbs.

    ¡°It¡¯s too bad that your brother is going to lose this match, but since his little sister is watching, I¡¯ll go easy on him.¡±

    ¡°Harvor!¡± Xin shouted at the top of her lungs as her arms began to transform into electrified feathers, shocking the area and the floor around her. She was grinding her teeth, and her eyes were starting to narrow.

    ¡°Oh, this is interesting. I don¡¯t believe we ever saw this Altered version of you in the AFC. It seems you¡¯ve really improved,¡± Harvor pped.

    Behind him, even Apollo was getting nervous, unsure of what Harvor was trying to do. It was as if he was purposely riling Xin up.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Gary said, appearing beside her and cing his hand on her yellow feathers. It was clear that the attack was striking Gary¡¯s body, but he had no reaction at all.

    This caught Harvor¡¯s attention, who had thought the man in the room was just an ordinary person.

    ¡®Is he an Altered as well? And he¡¯s not affected by her powers?¡¯ Harvor thought.

    ¡°You should leave the beating up to Jayden. You need to let him have his turn first,¡± Gary said.

    ¡°Come on, that¡¯s kinda boring, don¡¯t you think?¡± Harvor asked. ¡°You¡¯re a fan of mine, right? What are the chances that Jayden will be able to beat me when no one has since the start of the AFC?¡±

    ¡°Do you think Jayden will be any different? I¡¯m giving you a chance to make it so your brother has a bigger chance of winning. Fight me here in this room.¡±

    ¡°If Xin is able to damage me, or hurt me, maybe even give me a fatal wound, I will still go out there in that ring tonight, no matter what condition I¡¯m in.¡±

    ¡°The only shame is, honestly, the world won¡¯t be able to see this. It would have been a lovely match to get the spectators to hand over their money.¡±

    Harvor continued his taunts, and Apollo now understood why Harvor was doing such a thing. He wanted the match to be more exciting.

    He remembered a time long ago when he had fought against Harvor himself¡ªthe words ¡°boring,¡± the dull expression on Harvor¡¯s face that faded with each hit. This was a man who lived for the thrill of the fight, someone who wanted to go against the strongest. He truly believed that his fight with Jayden was going to be an easy one, and doing something like this would make it more interesting.

    However, Gary continued to hold onto Xin¡¯s hands, and eventually, she looked at him. That¡¯s when Gary turned to look at Harvor. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°To answer your question from before, I have watched a lot of your fights. I think I¡¯ve seen every single one. Even when I got busy, if I missed the fight live, I would rewatch your fights and evaluate everything you do.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯ll give you my answer now¡ªyou are seriously underestimating Jayden.¡±

    Gary¡¯s strong words finally made Xin calm down. The parts of her that had transformed into an Altered were disappearing, and her regr skin was returning.

    All of the words that Gary said were true to his thoughts. However, he had decided that a fight might not be favorable for them.

    There was the man in the room with the pineapple-shaped head, who was most likely a Zodiac, and then Apollo.

    Gary wasn¡¯t sure how well he would match up to Harvor with his new powers, but the odds weren¡¯t in their favor.

    Besides, he was looking forward to seeing Jayden give this man a beating.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Apollo, but it looks like we aren¡¯t wee here. Xin and I will take our leave,¡± Gary said.

    ¡°No, wait,¡± Harvor said, raising his hands. ¡°I have another idea. They say a person is at their strongest when they have something to lose.¡±

    ¡°So why don¡¯t we take little Xin here and put her as the prize for Jayden? With his sister¡¯s life in my hands, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll fight a little harder.¡±

    The pineapple-headed man then transformed his hand, and a strange,rge stinger appeared. Lifting it up, the stinger fired out a purple liquid straight toward Xin.

    She hadn¡¯t expected it, thinking the situation had deescted, but Gary was in front of her.

    [w Drain activated]

    [Special trait has been added: Fire]

    Gary¡¯s fingernails grew, and the tips of them were burning as he swung his hand, cutting right through the stinger and leaving a trail of fire in the air.

    ¡°What the F*ck do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Gary said, ring at Harvor and the attacker.

    ****

 Chapter 991 Your Not Getting Hurt

    Chapter 991 Your Not Getting Hurt

    Reacting on instinct, Gary activated the w drain as he threw his hand. He could see the attack was not simple one, and he had a feeling that if it hit his skin even in a slightly trasnfromed state it would hurt and do some type of damage.

    No one at Harvor¡¯s side would be weak by any means. He knew they would all be Altered and they were part of some of the very best. More importantly, Gary wasn¡¯t going to hold back in his strike when it was about to hit Xin. He wouldn¡¯t let her get hurt when she was right there.

    Which was why, unconditionally, he activated the new fire trait he had received, allowing him to add extra power to nearly all of his attacks. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As he swiped his w through the air, the loud sound of wind was heard ripping through, but more importantly, everyone could see the mes engulfing the air and the intense heat radiating from them.

    The attack waspletely destroyed, turned into nothing, and Gary was the one who had acted.

    With what had just urred, it was hard for him to think straight, consumed by pure anger.

    ¡°What the f*ck do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Gary stared at the pineapple-looking man.

    When Gary guessed the man who attacked was no ordinary man, he was right. He was one of the Zodiac¡¯s, named Pinner.

    Pinner had great strength, strong enough to be considered for one of the top 12 positions. Not only that, but he had also been around Harvor enough to know when he wanted him to act.

    Harvor rarely acted by asking; he just did. So when he made suggestions, it was for those around him to act.

    Pinner knew very well what was expected of him, so he went ahead and struck, yet his attack had failed, and he had no idea how, or who had blocked it.

    He was so stunned that he didn¡¯t follow up with another attack, and Harvor didn¡¯t me him, because he was shocked as well.

    ¡®Pinner is almighty strong; he could be part of the top 10 in the AFC,¡¯ Harvor thought. ¡®There¡¯s no doubt in my mind, if he were to fight against Xin, there would be no contest.¡¯

    ¡®I thought he couldplete this job easily, but then this stranger hase by the side and attacked. Just who is that man? He can¡¯t just be Xin¡¯s boyfriend. Is there really an Altered so strong that the world doesn¡¯t know about?¡¯

    What had confused Harvor more than anything was the elemental powers he had just seen, and it wasn¡¯t only him¡ªApollo was confused as well.

    ¡®I watched the fight between Gary and Sin, or whatever was recorded of it anyway,¡¯ Apollo thought. ¡®During that fight, he never used any mes of the sort.¡¯

    ¡®There was nothing like this. How can Gary even produce mes in the first ce? Isn¡¯t his Altered base a wolf? I guess they¡¯re not based on beasts or animals that we have today, but those of the past, but to have ming ws now¡­ This is hurting my head a bit,¡¯ Apollo thought.

    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t juste here and attack one of your guests,¡± Gary said with a slight growl in his voice.

    This time it was Xin who ced her hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to ease up.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re angry; I am too. Trust me, the attack was aimed at me,¡± Xin said. ¡°But you¡¯re the one who said it yourself: we shouldn¡¯t cause problems. I don¡¯t want to distract my brother from the fight he¡¯s about to have; we need to leave it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m not looking at your brother¡¯s opponent. About that deal, Harvor, how about you put me and him in the ring? I¡¯ll take him right out,¡± Gary said.

    Although Gary probably knew the man only acted because of Harvor, he was trying to create a favorable situation.

    Now, they were all just waiting for what was going to happen. Gary was thinking a little straighter now thanks to Xin and hadn¡¯t already leapt on Pinner, but if Harvor acted, he needed to as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my friend¡¯s actions. I¡¯m sure he got swayed by what I said,¡± Harvor said. ¡°As you mentioned, I have an important match, and you told me not to underestimate Jayden, so I won¡¯t.¡±

    Harvor then turned to the door, but before that, he walked up to Apollo. When close, Apollo, who was taller than Harvor, knelt down so he could lend him an ear.

    ¡°Do you know this man? Who is he?¡± Harvor asked.

    Apollo thought about it as he turned his head. Should he tell the truth? Would it change anything, and did he want to tell the truth?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Apollo whispered back. ¡°I just brought Xin with me, and he was with her at the time. I¡¯ll do my best to find out who he is.¡±

    Harvor quickly leaned back and headed toward the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for getting both of you riled up. Xin, I will face your brother with the respect he deserves, as long as he has earned that respect in the ring.¡±

    ¡°As for you, young man, first you should get a haircut. Second, what¡¯s your name?¡± Harvor asked.

    ¡°Screw you,¡± Gary said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be friends with someone who just attacked us. As a champion, you disappoint me, Harvor.¡±

    Harvor didn¡¯t know why, but he was quite annoyed at thement, and decided to turn away and head out the door with Pinner following him.

    Pinner was surprised Harvor didn¡¯t act, and he had just left before getting what he was supposed to¡ªwhat was going on?

    ¡°Speak to Stanley,¡± Harvor said. ¡°Find out everything about that man, an Altered that¡¯s powerful with fire powers. I want to know everything about him.¡±

 Chapter 992 Who Is He?

    992 Who Is He?

    When Harvor finally left the room, it left a rtively awkward situation with Gary, Xin, and Apollo all together. Xin hadn¡¯t said anything, as she was still trying to fully calm herself down.

    Images reyed in her head¡ªwondering whether she should have just tried striking Harvor right then and there to see what would happen. She was sure many in the AFC would underestimate her, especially with the ban on elemental powers.

    A lot of Xin¡¯s strength came from her elemental abilities, derived from the feathers on her body. Even though she was at a disadvantage, she still managed to rise quite high.

    Meanwhile, Gary was wondering if they should leave the room now that Harvor knew where they were, but he had already given his tickets away. If he were to leave, there would be no way for him to watch the fight.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gary!¡± Apollo suddenly said. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him toe visit me like that. I¡¯m a new Zodiac, so it made no sense for him to visit me. It¡¯s not like the two of us know each other well, other than a few encounters we¡¯ve had before.¡±

    ¡°I really mean it; I had no intentions of tricking you and Xin by bringing you here and then having him show up.¡±

    Apollo felt awkward and somewhat stuck in the middle of the situation he was in. He had loyalty to the One Gang, being a high-ranking member. He had agreed to help them after he had challenged Harvor outside of the AFC and lost, and he wasmitted to keeping his word.

    That was the type of person he was, and it was this that was conflicting within him. He truly did invite Gary to talk and catch up from the old days. However, he didn¡¯t expect Harvor to act like that in front of Xin, and for two meetings of Kings toe so close to fighting right in front of his eyes.

    ¡°I know you didn¡¯t mean anything by it,¡± Gary said as he came over and reached up, giving Apollo a pat on the shoulder. Listening to his heartbeat, he knew Apollo needed it. It also made Gary realize the height difference between the two of them.

    Maybe in his Werewolf form, he reached about the same height? Regardless, Gary knew full well what Apollo had done for him, but he decided not to say it out loud.

    During the conversation between Apollo and Harvor, he had heard Apollo lie. His sensitive ears had picked up the question and Apollo stating he knew nothing about Gary at all.

    If Apollo had told the truth, who knew what would have happened? Although Gary and Apollo weren¡¯t really friends in the AFC, they were friendly rivals, and Apollo himself had done nothing to harm his group of friends along with Numba; most of that was Sty.

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about it, huh? He¡¯s gone now,¡± Gary said to everyone in the room. ¡°Think about it¡ªhe¡¯s got a fight to worry about, and we have people we want to cheer for. He won¡¯t be returning, so let¡¯s just watch these warm-up fights and cheer,¡± Gary said, sitting back down.

    Right after, Apollo sat down to the left of Gary, and then Xin sat on the other side. The two of them weren¡¯t speaking to each other; Xin didn¡¯t know what Apollo had done for them, and in her eyes, she was just in a bad mood.

    ¡°Ah, speaking of supporting, both Gary and I are supporting Jayden, obviously,¡± Xin said. ¡°But what about you, Apollo? You said you have history with Jayden, right? Are you supporting Jayden or your arsehole of a boss?¡±

    Gary shook his head because it felt like fighting wordsing from Xin. He wondered if he would ever get out of this heated situation.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Harvor had returned to his personal room, where he was to get ready for the fight. There was arge team inside the room¡ªpeople in white gowns that looked like medical staff.

    They even had samples of blood that were being analyzed, and next to them, more serums were being created. It looked partly like ab from NIRV.

    Then there were the trainers watching several videos, and finally, there was Stanley with his sses.

    ¡°All your preparations, as usual, are good for the fight. Your blood shows no abnormalities; there is no sign of you being crazed,¡± Stanley informed.

    ¡°Good. As one of the first to be ab rat for NIRV, I expected there to be some downsides, but it seems these days there are more problems with the serums than when I took it. But maybe I¡¯m just lucky,¡± Harvor started tough. ¡°I guess I make my own luck.¡±

    ¡°Of course not, sir,¡± Stanley replied, pushing his sses onto the bridge of his nose. ¡°There are many out there with powerful Altered forms. If your Altered form were in the hands of another, I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t be nearly as skilled.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of Altered forms, did you get the information I sent you?¡± Harvor asked.

    Stanley pulled out a tablet and started to scroll through it.

    ¡°I looked through NIRV¡¯s database, and it certainly is strange. To block an attack like you said, and so easily... The only Altered capable of doing such a thing should be part of the Phoenix Gang. Even then, there should only be a few who couldpletely disregard an attack like that.

    ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t see it myself and am just going from the footage, but there should be no Altered in existence with fire abilities that can do such a thing at the moment, due to what happened to the Phoenix Gang.¡±

    ¡°So right now, we have no idea who he is,¡± Harvor said, thinking back to the man in the room. ¡°Interesting, very interesting.¡±

    *****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.i.s.cord.gg/jksmanga N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 993 A Great Escape

    993 A Great Escape

    In the preparation room, there were several peopleing and going, leaving and entering the room. The majority of them seemed to be members of the One Gang, recognizable by their purple and white tracksuits. They would either speak to Harvor directly or talk to one of those inb coats.

    Despite there being only one hour left until his big fight, Harvor was still on the phone, and he had been for a while. His phone constantly rang, and he was making many decisions.

    This was a side of Harvor that not many knew¡ªhe was hardworking. He had to be, after all, to even conceive of a business like the AFC and make it all work. There was always another mystery that had never been solved to the public, a question people had stopped asking.

    To start the AFC in the first ce, arge amount of funding was needed, and somehow, Harvor managed to get his hands on it. Although some guessed it was through NIRV, it made no sense as to why they wouldn¡¯t take advantage of Harvor and own more of the AFC if that were the case.

    ¡°RR!¡± Harvor called out after ending his call.

    A man in a purple tracksuit, dark-skinned with curly hair, looked over. He had a perfectly cared-for beard that made his jaw look even wider, and a precise cut on his hairline. RR was clearly someone who was proud of his appearance, and he was also one of the 12 Zodiacs.

    ¡°What is it?¡± RR asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hit some pads,¡± Harvor said. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    RR¡¯s mouth dropped open. He wasn¡¯t sure if he had heard the right words or not, but hitting pads was essentially warming up before a fight. This was something that nearly every Altered did. Although their bodies were differentpared to regr humans, some still liked to hit to practice their move sets and such.

    After all, they could only rely on the strength of their body so much. However, for Harvor, he never warmed up. The only time RR had seen it was when Harvor faced off against the Rank 1 of the AFC for the championship, or if a neer who had risen quickly had appeared.

    ¡°You¡¯re not worried, are you?¡± RR asked as he went and picked up a pair of ck pads. As he lifted them, the veins on his arms could be seen running through. No regr pads would be able to take Harvor¡¯s hits.

    They were specially made material that would break anyone else¡¯s hands, but for Harvor, it was the only thing he could hit.

    ¡°I won¡¯t hit at full strength, so don¡¯t worry about it, but you¡¯re the only one who can keep up with me,¡± Harvor said.

    Harvor hadn¡¯t answered the question, but regardless, RR lifted up the pads, and his forearms started to transform. They bulged up like balloons, growing in size and bing even bigger than the pads themselves.

    Everyone in the room turned for a moment as they saw Harvor and RR in the center; it was a rare opportunity for them to witness a magical disy. The next moment, resounding bangs could be heard, and the entire room shook.

    The room was specially designed by top scientists at NIRV to be as soundproof and break-proof as possible. It was the same type of room used to contain beasts. Yet, it was unable to contain the force.

    Harvor was simply punching the pads one after the other. The sound from the hits was so loud that some of those in the room had to cover their ears.

    Eventually, it came to a stop, and there didn¡¯t appear to be a single sweat mark on Harvor¡¯s body.

    ¡°Alright, are you going to be honest with me now?¡± RR asked. ¡°I want to know what¡¯s going on. Why are you warming up when you never warm up, and for a nobody at the AFC?¡±

    The mitts that had been used could no longer be contained, and part of RR¡¯s skin could be seen breaking. That was why Harvor stopped.

    ¡°Someone who caught my eye told me I should be careful of Jayden, so I decided to take what this person said seriously,¡± Harvor said.

    ¡°That¡¯s rare,¡± RR replied. ¡°You don¡¯t listen to anyone. This person who said that must be pretty amazing to make you think.¡±

    Harvor had a deep smile on his face, and he looked at his fist at the same time.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m hoping. I¡¯m hoping he¡¯s very special.¡±

    Looking at the clock, it was almost time for him to go out there. The match just before his should being to an end, and then there would be a performance.

    Stanley, at that moment, pressed a message that had just been received on his tablet. Seeing the message he hesitated whether to tell Harvor or not. He could tell that Harvor hadn¡¯t exactly been acting his usual self.

    ¡°Sorry, sir, this may not be the best time, but I have some information.¡± Stanley decided to say something. He felt like he was being ridiculous how could he for a second doubt that just a piece of news would throw Harvor into losing the match.

    ¡°Just say it. I won¡¯t lose, no matter what it is,¡± Harvor replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s about the man we captured¡ªthe one known as Raven. Well, it appears that he has escaped.¡±

    ¡°Escaped? Didn¡¯t we ce the Zodiac Peter to look out for him?¡±

    Although Raven had already defeated a member of the One Gang to get their attention, it was Zodiac Peter who had captured him, so that was why Harvor thought it was the best choice, and never thought an escape was even on the books.

    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, sir,¡± Stanley answered as he continued to look at the screen, making sure the details were right. ¡°Zodiac Peter has been found dead.¡±

    *****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 994 Everyone Ready To Move

    Chapter 994 Everyone Ready To Move

    With the news of Zodiac Peter having fallen, Harvor couldn¡¯t help butugh at the situation. It wasn¡¯t many people''s first reaction when they heard one of their top men had been defeated¡ªin their world, ¡°defeated¡± often meant killed.

    ¡°Did I make a mistake in making Peter a Zodiac?¡± were the first words that came out of Harvor¡¯s mouth.

    After all, the One Gang was filled with incredibly strong powers, and Harvor picked them based on the strength he believed they had.

    ¡°Either way, it seems that Raven is a lot smarter than I thought. When we captured him, Peter obviously didn¡¯t use his full strength, and Raven didn¡¯t either when escaping.¡±

    ¡°Even when we locked him up, he didn¡¯t try to fight, knowing full well we were stronger than him. I can see why the cunning Phoenix Gang wanted someone like him.¡±

    That was when more information appeared on the tablet, and Stanley lifted his sses with his index finger once again.

    ¡°Sir, the singing performance is taking ce. The time ising for the match,¡± Stanley informed.

    Harvor then stretched in his tracksuit and let it fall to the floor, revealing his upper body and the giant tattoo disyed on his back.

    He now only wore the purple and white tight-fitting shorts and was ready to fight.

    ¡°So many exciting things happening in one day. I hope you don¡¯t disappoint me, Jayden.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The final singing performance hade to an end, and the performer waved to everyone down below. The anticipation had reached its climax, with many of the celebrities now having arrived on the ground floor.

    Many of them would onlye for the final fight and wouldn¡¯t even bother to watch the fight before it. A few moments passed, and the lights went off in the entire stadium, leaving only small LEDs in front of all those seated.

    A spotlight turned on, shining light on a man in the center dressed in a white suit.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I wee you all tonight for the fight of your lifetime¡ªthe championship AFC Belt!¡± the announcer shouted, and the whole stadium erupted into cheers.

    The entire ce was shaking from the cheers as people screamed at the top of their lungs. Clem, who was doing her livestream, couldn¡¯t even be heard even though she had a microphone right next to her mouth.

    ¡°Without further ado, we will announce tonight''s challengering onto the stage. You all know him¡ªJaydeeeeen Tigeeeer!¡±

    Lights shined on the right side of the stage, and Jayden, along with his coach, could be seen. He stood there, shaking his arms as he walked to the stage, and screams were heard from both males and females, though it seemed a higher percentage were from females.

    There was something different about Jayden this timepared to his usual appearance. For one, he would usually be clean-shaven, yet for this fight, he had grown his beard slightly out.

    ¡°He¡¯s focused,¡± Xin said from the viewing box. ¡°He¡¯s so focused on the fight ahead that he hasn¡¯t thought about anything but fighting, including his appearance.¡±

    ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t seem to have stopped his fans,¡± Gary said, looking to the side at the girls screaming. They seemed to enjoy this slightly rugged look he had.

    Music was ying as Jayden made his way, and when he got close to the octagon cage, he jumped up andnded on one side. He looked at the crowd and took a deep breath.

    ¡®This octagon, it¡¯s a lot bigger than it usually is,¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®Today is an important day; everything I¡¯ve gone through is for this. This might be my only chance, so I need to make it count.¡¯

    Right then, the lights shut off once again, and a spotlight appeared, revealing Harvor standing there on his own. Instead of walking, though, he decided to run up, and then when he was halfway down the track, he leapt up in the air and entered the stadium as well.

    Looking at the crowd, he waved to the others.

    ¡°Anddies and gentlemen, it seems today we have an overexcited Harvor!¡± the announcer said once again. ¡°The reigning champion for thest ten years since the AFC has existed, give it up everyone!¡±

    Although Jayden had much support, Harvor¡¯s support was about three times louder. Even in the VIP room, Gary felt like the area was going to break.

    ¡°The fight, it¡¯s about to start. Come on, Jayden,¡± Gary said as soon as the cheering had stopped.

    All over, people who weren¡¯t present at the arena were tuning into the fight. Kanu, for one, had it disyed, having taken the day off. He was in a sports bar watching the ring walks unfold. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡®Come on, Jayden. I¡¯m getting old; don¡¯t make me do any more work. Let¡¯s get revenge,¡¯ Kanu said, lifting up his drink to the screen.

    At the same time, in Slough, something strange was happening. A meeting was taking ce in a giant parking lot. Arge projector had been set up, allowing those parked to watch the fight.

    Then right in front of the giant projected screen, Kai was standing on top of a truck.

    ¡°Alright, everyone!¡± Kai said. ¡°The fight is about to start, and I need you all ready!¡±

    HIs voice loud and firm as he looked into the eyes of all of those that were below him.

    Down below, there was a number of ck cars and motorbikes¡ªvehicles that had all been purchased using the Howler¡¯s funds. The vehicles themselves were no ordinary cars having been reinforced on the inside to make them more durable than most, and every single one of them belonged to Howler members.

    ¡°We need to be ready; there might be a big order. If something happens, we will be ready to get Gary out of that city, no matter what happens. For the Howlers!¡± Kai shouted.

    ¡°For the Howlers!¡± all roared back.

 Chapter 995 Another One Like Me?

    Chapter 995 Another One Like Me?

    The tension was rising everywhere, even ces outside of the arena unknown to others. It might have just been another fight for Harvor, another way for him to show his skills to others, but it meant a lot more to a lot of them.

    In the arena itself, in the VIP rooms, there were also the special guests that had arrived. In one booth, the representative from the Bree Family.

    Inside the room, there was a woman sitting on the sofa, wearing ck stockings that went up to her thighs. She had dark long blue hairing down to her shoulders and a stern look on her face.

    This person was Daphne Bree, the current head of the Bree Family that had been going on for generations and currently was thergest gang in the world.

    It was stated that the strongest Kings in the world hade from the small country ind that Gary was on. It was where the name Kings even came from, since suchrge powerful groups hade from a small ce.

    However, the Bree family was different¡ªa gang spread so far and wide that they even had power in other countries. Control of the underworld in other countries.

    Although the Bree family also originated from the same small ind as others, due to Daphne¡¯s position she was rarely in the country, but had returned for this event, on the request of Harvor.

    In the room, there were two more men, part of the Bree family, who seemed a little nervous. Their eyes kept staring at therge creature in the room, that was lying on the floor.

    They could see Daphne¡¯s hand brushing the mane of the creature back and forth.

    ¡°I always wondered why so many things would start here, so much trouble, even NIRV was founded here as well,¡± Daphne said to herself. ¡°The only reason I epted the invitation was because I thought he might have invited him.¡±

    ¡°By him, are you referring to Gary Dem?¡± Another female with a short, tight office skirt came over with arge tablet in her hand.

    ¡°Yes, Samantha,¡± Daphne replied. ¡°For the first time in a long time, the status of the Kings has been disrupted in this ce, things are changing, and I thought I could see who was the cause of it.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°If only I could see through those VIP rooms.¡±

    ¡°After the match, there might be a chance to visit all of the other VIPs if you speak to Harvor,¡± Samantha suggested.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Daphneughed. ¡°Do you think me and Harvor are best friends or something? He¡¯s a troublesome one, if it wasn¡¯t for him, I would have already taken over this whole country by now.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s more trouble than people think. But who knows what will happen with this fight. I was wrong about what had happened with Sin, so let¡¯s just wait and see.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Inside one of the other VIP rooms, there were also others paying attention not to the match but the entire situation that was urring.

    Inside the room, a woman with short ck hair on her head was lying down. Her long slender legs were positioned on the sofa, but her head was lying right up against a bare chested man¡¯s muscr chest.

    The man was sitting there straight with his muscles on disy, while another man, also not wearing any upper clothing, was busy giving the woman a massage, concentrating particrly on her feet while he was sitting on the floor.

    ¡°Why did Lupus have to send me of all ces? I would have been much better tasked at dealing with those Altered Hunters,¡± the woman sighed.

    ¡°You are right, Miss Ylva. If you were involved in the fight against the Altered Hunters we would have had no trouble at all in dealing with them,¡± the man sitting on the sofa said, still staying straight.

    ¡°However, you are someone that must be protected at all costs.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ylva replied, as she started to stroke the bare chest with her fingers softly going around in circles. ¡°I don¡¯t think Lupus sent me here for no reason. If anything, I think he has another n.¡±

    Looking through the ss, Ylva was staring at the two contestants.

    ¡°A high-ranking individual and the other a King. In this ce, there are a lot of incredibly strong Altered,¡± she said with arge smile.

    ¡°Yes, but none that can match up to you. The only one that can match up to you is Lupus himself!¡± the man said again.

    ¡°Right, but Lupus is clearly on edge. He has been, even before the Altered Hunters attacked, and he hasn¡¯t told me anything. My guess is that other werewolf has him troubled.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you all saw it as well. That werewolf that defeated Sin, they had red eyes, which means there¡¯s another Alpha.¡±

    Ylva¡¯s hand that was stroking the man¡¯s bare chest, the nails started to grow. The nail was so sharp that as she swirled circles on the man¡¯s skin, it broke through and was cutting it apart.

    Blood was starting to drip down the man¡¯s chest, but he didn¡¯t squeal or scream in pain. Instead, it looked like he was holding in whatever he could.

    ¡°You should know that if there is another Alpha, then that means my position is at stake as well. Maybe I should help Lupus out. If there¡¯s some tasty meals here, and I was to consume them, who knows how much power I would obtain.¡±

    ¡°Maybe even growing above Lupus himself.¡±

    This time the men didn¡¯t say anything about that; they wouldn¡¯t dare speak bad about their current Alpha.

    ¡°Another Alpha,¡± Ylva repeated. ¡°Does that mean there¡¯s another one like me?¡± As she spoke those words, the color of her eyes started to slightly glow a bright white around the iris, before quickly disappearing.

 Chapter 996 Remember Her Name!

    Chapter 996 Remember Her Name!

    The two contestants were in the ring, having made their entrances, and it was customary for both of those taking part to move toward the center and touch fists before heading back to their areas for the sounding bell to start the fight.

    Intensely, both of them made their way to the center, and Jayden could feel his heart beating through his entire body with each step he took.

    ¡®This is Harvor, he was the one who took out Jasmine. It took me everything to find out the person responsible. I even became a retriever myself. I snuck into NIRV and found the files.¡¯

    ¡®Telling me who was sent out to do the job. Kanu, the White Rose, they could do nothing, so I¡¯ve had to try and settle all of this with my own hands.¡¯

    When the two stood in the center, Harvor lifted both of his hands, but Jayden hadn¡¯t done the same; they were still down by his side.

    ¡°Hey, the fight can¡¯t start until you do this, you know. You¡¯re not exactly new to this?¡± Harvor said.

    There was still no response from Jayden, and seeing this reaction, it got those in the crowd a little worried, wondering if Jayden had gotten cold feet.

    After all, he had jumped quite a few rankings to get this fight that wouldn¡¯t have otherwise been possible.

    But instead, it was because Jayden was in front of the man he hated most in the entire world.

    ¡°Do you remember the name of everyone you fought against?¡± Jayden asked, still avoiding eye contact. He had to, because if he looked into Harvor¡¯s eyes right there and then, he was sure of it¡ªhe would snap on the spot.

    ¡°I remember those that interest me, Jayden, and it seems that someone you know has caught my eye, and they told me to be careful of you,¡± Harvor said.

    This caught Jayden by surprise and let his guard down slightly. Someone he knew had caught Harvor¡¯s eye. But he shook his head quickly, forgetting about it.

    ¡°Let me ask you another question: Do you remember those you fought who didn¡¯t even have the strength to fight back?¡± Jayden was growling slightly through his teeth.

    Harvor didn¡¯t reply, feeling the anger. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You don¡¯t even remember the names of the lives you¡¯ve taken!¡±

    At that moment, Harvor grabbed Jayden¡¯s fists firmly and pulled them toward him.

    ¡°Do you care to give names to all of the ants you step on while walking? When going to your home, do you think of the destruction caused in the process? How about the food you eat to maintain that strong body of yours? Do you ask about the lives and names of every single thing you consume?¡±

    ¡°No, nobody thinks about the things they do in order to be where they are today, and I don¡¯t look back at anything I¡¯ve done¡­ You need to show me today whether you¡¯re someone whose name I need to remember, or just another bug.¡± Harvor then let go of Jayden¡¯s fists and walked back to his corner.

    In that moment, Jayden could feel the strength of Harvor in his hands. He couldn¡¯t move, even if he wanted to.

    Regardless, Jayden went back to his corner and lifted his head, looking directly into Harvor¡¯s eyes.

    Everyone was waiting for the moment, and then the sound of the bell rang out.

    *Ring, *Ring.*

    With the bell sounding, the fight had now started, and in that moment, in an instant, Jayden rushed forward, kicking his feet off the mat.

    The muscles in his calves flexed along with the rest of the muscles in his body. He darted across the canvas floor faster than in any of his previous matches, and there was something that everyone noted as well.

    Just like Harvor, Jayden hadn¡¯t transformed, which was rare for those that went up against Harvor, knowing full well they had to go all out to beat him.

    Still, Jayden reached right where Harvor was, who was slightly stunned by what had happened. He then saw a fist from Jayden heading toward his face.

    ¡®Directly from the front? You can¡¯t be that obvious, can you?¡¯ Harvor thought, lifting his hand, but the fist suddenly disappeared.

    Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Jayden¡¯s body was bent at a strange angle,ing from the side. Using full momentum, his fist mmed right into the side of Harvor¡¯s face.

    Harvor¡¯s arms had lifted in time to block the hit, but the sound of the impact resounded in the arena. And what¡¯s more, right after the first hit, Jayden swung to Harvor¡¯s other side and used the momentum to deliver another heavy blow with his entire body weight.

    Jayden¡¯s body was continuously moving in a figure-eight, and each time, he would use the full weight of his body tond a heavy blow right on Harvor.

    Heavy blow after heavy blow went off, and some in the crowd began recognizing the familiar movements.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Dempsey roll, right? The boxing move by Jack Dempsey!¡± one in the crowd said.

    ¡°Boxing¡­ does that even still exist?¡±

    ¡°Of course, since Altered fights began, suchpetitions are no longer watched, and fighting styles seemed to go out the window¡­ But I assure you, if such techniques are implemented by Altered fighters, the impact would be what we¡¯re seeing right now!¡±

    The loud bangs went off one after the other, and as Jayden dragged his fist through the air, his fist knocked into both of Harvor¡¯s arms, dragging them to the side.

    After so many hits, Harvor was unable to lift them back up. Then, before he knew it, a fistnded right on the side of his head. Harvor had been hit with the heavy blows that had built up momentum.

    His entire body shifted to the side, and it was leaning, until his head hit the canvas floor.

    The crowd went silent at the sight. It was the first time they had ever seen Harvor hit the canvas floor in any fight, and there Jayden was, standing over him.

    ¡°Her name¡­ was Jasmine!¡± Jayden said, his fist still shaking with power.

 Chapter 997 Unrankable

    Chapter 997 Unrankable

    The setup for the current match wasn¡¯t something that Jayden was used to. The octagon was bigger, around three times the size, allowing for much more movement.

    This was the ring that the top ten fighters fought in. It was designed to give ranged Altereds more of an advantagepared to the closebat types.

    There was no referee for the match in the ring itself; instead, they would observe the fight from the outside.

    It wasn¡¯t as if a referee could stop a fight between two Altereds. Instead, there were hard-set rules in the AFC, and if anyone broke them, they would be subject to a personal ban.

    Because of the person who ran the AFC in the first ce, no one dared to break the rules unless they happened to turn into a crazed.

    The venue would then have personnel that might be able to handle the matter, just like what had urred at Gary¡¯s debut match.

    The ring itself was painted in two colors: one side called the red zone, the other the blue zone, where part of the fence¡¯s pirs were painted.

    The two had gone to their side of the ring, and everyone had been waiting for the bell to ring. Inside the VIP area, various guests from the top gangs in the world were watching. Would they see a glimpse of Harvor¡¯s real strength? All of them wanted to know.

    Meanwhile, Gary and Xin couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous.

    ¡°AFC fights are pretty much all the same these days,¡± Apollo said. ¡°The contestants focus on going into their Altered form as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°So it became something that AFC fighters would practice¡ªwhoever got into their Altered form first would have an advantage over the other. After all, an Altered form is stronger than just a regr human form.¡±

    ¡°But Harvor is the exception to that rule¡ªa person whose Altered form has never been seen before. If he wants to, he can just jump right out of the gate and take out his opponent. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn¡¯t.¡±

    Gary started to think about Jayden¡¯s story and what he would do if he were in his shoes.

    ¡°If it were me¡­¡± Gary said, ¡°then I would fight in a way that would humiliate Harvor as much as possible.¡±

    The bell rang, and right off the bat, Jayden dived in. He was moving faster than he had ever done before. Hit after hit wasnding on Harvor, and everyone was left speechless until arge, solid hitnded on the side of Harvor¡¯s face.

    Harvor was sent to the canvas, his head hitting first and bouncing before falling right to the floor. The entire stadium fell silent. There weren¡¯t loud cheers like usual when a knockdown urred, because no one had predicted this oue.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, Harvor has been knocked to the ground!¡± the announcer screamed at the unexpected upset that had happened in mere seconds.

    Jayden continued to stand over Harvor, looking at him. His body felt lighter than it ever had before, and it was the same for the strength in his fists.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be it. I know you aren¡¯t this weak, get up!¡± Jayden said.

    The crowd had a dyed reaction to the knockdown and erupted in cheers, shaking the entire ce. There were plenty of people that supported Harvor, but when an underdog did something that no one believed was possible, there were those who would support it no matter what.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening, though? Harvor has never been knocked down before, right, in any of his fights?¡± someone said from the crowd.

    ¡°Is he knocked out for real? Is the fight over?¡±

    Just as someone spoke those words, Harvor¡¯s eyes opened, and he pushed himself from the ground. He was in a pushup-like position and pushed his hands so explosively from the ground that he lifted his entire body up.

    Seeing this, Jayden went to deliver another punch, but this time, rather than a block or hit, the fist went right past Harvor¡¯s head. A strong current of wind was felt, showing just how powerful Jayden¡¯s strikes were, rattling the cage a few meters behind.

    Jayden went ahead, trying to do the same as before as he shifted his position and bent his knees, throwing consecutive strikes, but each one Harvor avoided, taking a step back.

    ¡°Your strikes are strong, very strong. You are definitely deserving of your position in the AFC,¡± Harvor said as he continued to dodge strikes. ¡°In fact, I would say you¡¯re deserving of a position in the top ten.¡±

    Jayden screamed with all of his might, and then threw a punch that aimed for the side of Harvor¡¯s head. It was the same strike that had ced him on the canvas.

    Just before it hit his head, Harvor moved his hand and knocked Jayden¡¯s to the side, hitting it away.

    ¡°You have achieved a first inside this ring, so I should give you credit for that. Since you weren¡¯t transformed, my body didn¡¯t even feel like reacting. I thought you might have been more of a threat to me¡­ but it seems you didn¡¯t activate any instinct inside me to try and defend.¡±

    ¡°Which means you need to try harder!¡±

    Before Jayden could do anything, or even see Harvor move, he felt a heavy impact dig deep into his stomach. His legs were lifted off the canvas floor, and he was sent flying through the air.

    ¡®I can¡¯t breathe,¡¯ was the thought going through Jayden¡¯s mind as his back crashed against the cage, bending it slightly, before he fell to the ground.

    ¡°I did some research into you,¡± Harvor said as he bent his neck to the side. ¡°I can speak quietly and know you¡¯ll hear me because you¡¯re an Altered, but I saw that you¡¯re a retriever, and an S-rank retriever at that.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Which is very impressive. You know, I¡¯m a retriever as well, and NIRV has a few more rankings for their retrievers. They have double SS rank, they even have triple SSS rank retrievers.

    ¡°And then there¡¯s me, someone who can¡¯t even be ranked by their standards. This is the wall that you are now facing,¡± Harvor imed.

    ****

 Chapter 998 Dont Like Being Watched

    998 Don''t Like Being Watched

    Xin and Gary both winced the moment they saw Jayden being hit with the fist. They had an idea of Jayden¡¯s strength, even though he hadn¡¯t transformed.

    They knew how sturdy he was, how firmly his feet were nted on the ground, which gave them an idea of just how painful Harvor¡¯s hit was.

    It had sent Jayden flying and even damaged the cage that was made with reinforced metal, designed for Altered fights to begin with.

    Now, Jayden was on the ground with one knee, trying to catch air, while his opponent was seemingly fine from the initial attack from Jayden.

    ¡°What type of Altered even has that strength?¡± Gary wondered, trying to think even with all of his stats if he could match up to Harvor.

    ¡°I told you, once anyone faces Harvor, the image of trying to best him and beat him goes out of one¡¯s mind,¡± Apollo said. ¡°I¡¯m confident in saying that I have one of the strongest Altered forms out there, yet not even I can beat him in a matter of strength.¡±

    ¡°And even you don¡¯t know what his Altered state is?¡± Gary asked.

    Apollo gave no answer, which was an answer in itself. Right now, although Gary was confident in his words about Jayden being someone for Harvor to look out for, he had to admit he was a little worried.

    Staring at Xin as well from behind, he could see her legs were shaking. It was the first time she seemed afraid.

    ¡ª¡ª

    While the fight was taking ce, there were many eyes glued to the arena itself, and if they weren¡¯t glued to the arena, they were glued to the screens that were disying the fight on mobile devices, live streaming services, restaurants, and more.

    However, there were a few individuals who were able to continue as if the fight didn¡¯t exist, and one of these individuals was Ice.

    Having traveled with Gary and the rest, he was currently in the arena car park, one of the parking lots that was stationed a little away from the main arena where the fight was taking ce.

    The parking lot was void of people since everyone who had a car parked was there to watch therge fight. As for Ice, he had left where the car was, as he wandered into one of the corners of the lot.

    He looked up at the corner and could see a camera moving from side to side. It was oval in shape but had a small red blinker.

    Lifting his hand, Ice let out part of his Altered powers, freezing over the camera andpletely blocking its view.

    ¡°That¡¯s the fifth camera on this floor alone,¡± Ice said. ¡°Am I still being watched? I hate this feeling.¡±

    Ice continued to wander around on the floor he was currently on, and every time he saw a camera, or even what looked like a camera, Ice lifted his hands using his powers to freeze them, making them useless.

    He didn¡¯t just go for the cameras that were hanging on top of the walls. He had even used his powers on those that had obvious dashcams in the cars.

    Eventually believing he had gotten rid of them all, he returned to the car and felt a little at ease.

    He folded his arms with a smile on his face.

    ¡°That is a lot better. Now I can rx with my thoughts.¡± Shortly after closing his eyes, he opened them wide again. ¡°Wait, the elevator.¡±

    Following the path, Ice went to the elevator. Rather than heading inside, though, he decided to just press his hand on the outside of it and started to freeze the whole thing, ridding the cameras in the elevator themselves as well as making the elevators useless.

    ¡°A good job done,¡± Ice thought as he went back to his car, as he would peacefully wait for Gary and the others. Now with nothing watching him, he could finally rx.

    However, the cameras losing signal didn¡¯t go unnoticed, as a certain individual inside the arena had been aware of what had happened.

    Stanley, who was on his tablet, was watching the fight through the screen in the waiting room. At the same time, he seemed to be organizing a number of things when he received a notification.

    ¡°What¡¯s this? All of the cameras in the parking lot on floor eight have been destroyed?¡± Stanley thought. ¡°First, Raven escapes, and now this. Just what is happening?¡±

    Stanley quickly reviewed the footage of the cameras being destroyed. It wasn¡¯t exactly clear what was happening. He could just see arge figure going to each of the cameras, and then they suddenly stopped working.

    He was unable to see the use of powers.

    ¡°If someone is getting rid of all the cameras, then it¡¯s quite clear they are doing something they don¡¯t want us to see,¡± Stanley thought, pushing his sses back up to the ridge of his nose.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be a coincidence. That ce is where they will be turning up. Once Harvor is done with the fight, he was meant to head over there himself.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want him to cause any more trouble. Harvor seems more excited than usual, which can cause a lot of trouble for us.¡±

    Clicking a few times on the tablet again, a list of twelve members came up on the screen. They were all green in color apart from one.

    The one that was marked red was Peter, one of the twelve Zodiacs and the one that was found to be deceased.

    ¡°Usually I would send someone like Apollo to deal with this, but he¡¯s busy viewing the match at the moment. I guess I have no choice but to send Simba to deal with it.¡±

    ¡°One of the Zodiacs should be more than enough,¡± Stanley said as he tapped on Simba¡¯s name.

    **** N?v(el)B\\jnn

    *******

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 999 A secret uncovered?

    Chapter 999 A secret uncovered?

    With a deep wound in his stomach, part of his face disfigured, a certain person had been running through the halls inside the arena.

    He quickly went down a hallway with his back against the wall as he heard several footsteps running toward him.

    ¡°F*ck me!¡± Raven said. ¡°Fighting one of their Zodiacs or whatever it was, they were a lot harder than I thought. In fact, every single one of these guys in the One Gang is tough.¡±

    ¡°The caliber of the gang members here is nothing like that of the Phoenix Gang. I guess I was a bit stupid to put them on the same level just because both of them were Kings.¡±

    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s check this way as well. Stanley said anyone who captures him will get a big reward!¡± a voice shouted.

    Raven quickly looked above him and could see a vent. He stretched out his hand, and it transformed into that of a hydra¡¯s head.

    It broke through the vent ceiling and hung onto the edge. Then, retracting its long neck, it lifted Raven up easily, allowing him to go inside.

    Right after, Raven carefully ced the vent back as he could see therge group of One Gang members enter the hallway looking for him.

    They searched up and down for a while but were unable to find anything.

    ¡®Crap, what do I do now?¡¯ Raven thought. ¡®The Howlers'' powers have grown, and so has that damned Gary! I just wanted to get some f*cking justice for my brother.¡¯

    ¡®Back then, no one would have dared to touch any of my family, and this damned green-haired kid came out of nowhere. Now I have no choice but to use the power of these gangs to try and get them to fight each other¡­¡¯

    ¡®But¡­ the One Gang, they tried to kill me! Harvor tried to kill me, I can¡¯t just forgive that.¡¯

    For a while now, there seemed to be no one running up and down the hallways, so he jumped down from his position, back onto the floor, and continued to run.

    ¡®I want to deal with the Howlers for messing with my family, but the One Gang messed with me personally, which is a different matter!¡¯

    Finally, after running around for a while, Raven found himself going through a connecting hall that led to therge car park area attached to the arena.

    He continued to run and found himself in arge multi-level car park.

    ¡®During my younger days, I managed to take a few vehicles for myself. I can take one of these and get out of this ce.¡¯

    Raven continued to go from car to car. He tried the door handles and a number of other techniques, but there was arge issue with his n.

    ¡®Damn it, all these new cars, I don¡¯t even know how to get into them. The door handles aren¡¯t even sticking out!¡¯

    He had the urge to just smash the cars due to therge frustration building up. At that moment, as the anger was somewhat oveing his body, he could feel something crawling across his eye. It was a sudden itch, several points clinging as it dragged across his retina.

    ¡°Stop it! Stop it!¡± Raven shouted as he clung to his eye. He could tell part of it was turning ck, something was digging into his mind.

    It had happened before, during the attack on the Howlers.

    ¡®Why is it acting up now, just because I showed a little bit of anger?¡¯ N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But he could feel that whatever was in his body was pulling him, moving him in a different direction. While in the multi-story car park, Raven found his body moving by itself.

    He followed it up the staircase, continuing to climb floor after floor. Eventually, the pain in his eye stopped, and he was in full control again, but he could still feel his body pulling him toward something.

    ¡®This feeling all started when I took that strange Altered serum. What was that¡­ that Sin gave me?¡¯ Raven thought.

    He was in two minds¡ªwhether to continue following where his body was taking him or just head back, leave the ce, get in a car, and drive as far away as possible.

    Exiting from the staircase door, he saw the elevator and pressed the button, but it didn¡¯t light up.

    ¡°What, out of order, on a big day like today?¡± Raven thought as he pressed the other button, but there was no response again.

    ¡°What is this, how can all the elevators be broken? What kind of crap show is Harvor running, and why was the button cold?¡±

    Regardless, Raven went back to the staircase, ready to head back down, but the pulling feeling was annoying him.

    Deciding to go ahead and follow it, he continued up the stairs, which eventually led him to the top floor¡ªthe roof parking.

    As he opened the door slightly ajar and stared out, he could hear the sound of several vehicles parking.

    ¡°What are cars doing arriving at this time?¡± Raven said to himself. ¡°The main event would have started by now. I doubt they would even be allowed in sote.¡±

    Opening the door more, Raven wanted a better look, and that¡¯s when he could see certain individuals exiting from the cars.

    Some of them were roughly dressed and looked like your typical gang members, carrying weapons. The thing was, Raven recognized some of them.

    Some high-ranking gang members from tier 2 cities, but they were from different cities, all from different ces.

    ¡®Why would so many strong gangs gather in one area, who the heck is behind this?¡¯

    That was when the final man exited from the car, wearing a whiteb coat.

    ¡°Wait, I know that person. Aren¡¯t they one of the three founders of NIRV? That¡¯s Rumper Karn, what is he doing here?¡±

 Chapter 1000 Too Strong

    1000 Too Strong

    Jayden was finally able to catch his breath. He could feel his abdomen throbbing as he stood up and ced both of his fists up by the side of his head, ready in a fighting position.

    ¡®That hit was incredibly heavy, and I couldn¡¯t even see where he came from,¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®I can¡¯t get hit too many times. I don¡¯t know how many times I can stand up if I get hit again.¡¯

    Just as Jayden thought those words, he could see Harvor move from the other side of the ring, right up in front of his face.

    Out of instinct, Jayden snapped his hands, trying to hit Harvor¡¯s head, but he was hitting nothing but air.

    He threw three punches at a fast speed, but they continued to hit nothing, and then a fist came smashing against the side of Jayden¡¯s head.

    It flung his head along with his neck to the side, and the rest of his body followed as it crashed into the cage once more.

    This time, Jayden recovered quicker, lifting his head up and trying to ignore the hit.

    ¡®Where is he? Where is he? Why can¡¯t I keep him in my sight!¡¯ Jayden thought.

    Once again, Harvor was nowhere near him, though, still on the other side of the arena from where he had struck Jayden, but he knew that meant nothing now.

    ¡°You certainly are a stubborn one. You still haven¡¯t transformed. Is it because I haven¡¯t shown my Altered form?¡± Harvor said with a smile.

    ¡°You know, usually I let these fights look a lot closer than they are. We scuffle in the center, you get a few hits in, I get a few hits, and I end up winning in spectacr fashion, still not having transformed.¡±

    ¡°But with you, I want to see what this damned person saw in you!¡±

    Once again, just like before, Harvor had closed the distance at an immacte speed, appearing right in front of Jayden again.

    This time, though, Jayden was already in the middle of throwing out his fist. It missed Harvor, but Jayden¡¯s fist brushed past his face, his fingers skimming across his skin.

    Just then, Harvor could see that it wasn¡¯t just a fist¡ªa knee was lifted, aiming right for his chin. Before it hit, Harvor managed to stop the knee strike, grabbing it with the palm of his hand.

    Right after, Harvor threw an overhand strike, which crashed into Jayden, flinging him back again.

    His body was thrown into the air, crashing into the cage, but this time, Jayden had blocked the attack as well, crossing both of his arms across his body. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They were sore from the heavy hit, but he had managed to block it.

    ¡°My body senses can¡¯t keep up with your speed,¡± Jayden said. ¡°So I needed to forget what I see and what I hear and just go for it, right?¡±

    ¡°The good thing is, it¡¯s so obvious what you¡¯re going to do¡ªI just need to move my body around like a child to get a hit on you.¡±

    Jayden imed. What he was saying wasn¡¯t just taunts¡ªit was the truth. Rather than keeping track of Harvor, he would throw his strike before he came in, giving him a chance to hit him.

    He didn¡¯t know when to block, so why not just block right after guessing that his opponent was going to strike?

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, you might be a triple-S rank retriever in sh*t talking, I¡¯ll give you that!¡± Harvor said as he dived forward again.

    Jayden threw out a punch, and he felt it solidlynding against Harvor¡¯s face. It was a clean hit, and a loud bang was heard in the arena.

    The strike looked painful, causing others to wince, but Harvor continued to move forward. As he did, he took the punch and then grabbed Jayden by his shoulders.

    He then walked forward, pushing him until his back hit the cage.

    ¡°If you want to y it like that, then why don¡¯t we see whosts longer, huh? Who can take more hits!¡± Harvor eximed.

    Jayden lifted his leg and kicked Harvor right in the stomach. A nonexistent grunt was made, and in return, Harvor punched Jayden right in the stomach, lifting him off his feet.

    However, his other hand, which was tightly gripping his shoulder, made sure he stayed on the ground.

    ¡®I can¡¯t breathe again¡­ and his grip, with a single hand, he¡¯s holding my whole body!¡¯

    Rather than strike, Jayden went to grab the single hand on his shoulder with both of his arms and started to pull.

    ¡°Wrong choice. You kicked me, right? So let¡¯s see how you deal with one of my kicks!¡± Harvor said as he swung his leg and bashed it right into the thigh of Jayden.

    Once again, Harvor¡¯s hand had stopped Jayden¡¯s body from being lifted off the floor.

    ¡®I can¡¯t feel my leg¡­ I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s broken!¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®How can a single person have so much power when they¡¯re not even in their Altered form?¡¯

    Getting a fist ready, Harvor threw it at Jayden¡¯s face, hitting him right on the mouth and nose. Blood sprayed into the air, and the taste of iron filled Jayden¡¯s mouth.

    It no longer felt like a fight to the audience¡ªit almost felt like they were watching a bullypletely dominate someone smaller than them.

    ¡°Ah right, the name you said before, right? Jasmine. You know what? I remember her name. She was quite the looker.¡± Harvor smiled and threw his fist right at Jayden¡¯s face again.

    The fist was caught before impact, by a furry hand, and a deep growl could be heard.

    When Harvor looked at Jayden, he didn¡¯t look like himself. White fur had appeared by the side of his face, ck markings had appeared, and his eyes were glowing a fierce yellow as they narrowed.

    ¡°Get her name out of your filthy mouth!¡± Jayden screamed.

    *******

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1001 The Zodiac Simba

    Chapter 1001 The Zodiac Simba

    In the parking lot, Ice hadn¡¯t moved from the floor he was on. They had parked on the eighth floor, and there were still four more floors before one would reach the rooftop. The reason he hadn¡¯t moved was because there was no reason for him.

    After having spent a long time in a prison cell, staying outdoors in the current wide space was a rtively easy task. He had actuallye to enjoy it now that nothing was watching him.

    He leaned up against the car, folded his arms, and started to daydream.

    ¡®I left the prison, and now I¡¯m on guard duty, but if it¡¯s all for the sake of helping the world better itself bit by bit, to forgive my crimes, then I can ept this,¡¯ Ice thought.

    It was then that his peaceful time felt like it hade to an end. Footsteps could be heard, and momentster he could hear the sound of a door pping. Someone had entered the same floor as him.

    ¡®The fight isn¡¯t over, there would be a rush of people. And no one would leave in the middle of it,¡¯ Ice started to think. ¡®So who hase to pay a visit at this time? It can¡¯t be any of the Howlers¡ªthey would have sent me a message.¡¯

    Just in case, Ice went to look at his phone. Upon seeing that there were no messages, he ced it back down. Now, in the car park, down the driving aisle, there was a figure standing there.

    They were wearing a purple and white sporty tracksuit. The jacket the man was wearing was unzipped, revealing his dark skin and chiseled abs.

    Although the man wasn¡¯t exactlyrge like Ice, his upper body was well-built and carefully structured. There was another thing Ice noticed. After being in prison so long, he could figure out differences between the two types of people.

    Those who faked their strength and had a bigger bark than their bite, and the real thing. In this case, the man in front of him felt like the real thing.

    ¡°Are you here for me¡­ an enemy of ours?¡± Ice asked, figuring he was part of the Howlers now; he imagined they would have a number of enemies.

    ¡°Are you the one that destroyed all the cameras?¡± Simba replied. ¡°If so, then I guess it means you¡¯re my target. It¡¯s quite clear you¡¯re up to no good, and you¡¯re no ordinary person.¡±

    The two were staring at each other, both of them able to tell the other had some strength behind them.

    ¡°My name is Simba Jule!¡± the man stated. ¡°I am one of the Twelve Zodiacs from the One Gang. The reason I¡¯m telling you this is so you give up fairly quickly once you¡¯ve tasted the strength of my fist.¡±

    ¡°One Gang¡­ I guess you are trying something then,¡± Ice said as he thought about the situation. Arge number of thoughts were running through Ice¡¯s mind.

    They had figured out who Gary was, and Gary was possibly in the fight for his life. Now they were trying to get rid of their escape route.

    ¡®If that¡¯s the case, I need to get to the others as quickly as possible.¡¯ For a moment, Ice turned to look at the car, and that¡¯s when Simba took his chance. He ran forward, digging his feet into the ground. The flooring underneath was destroyed as he took each step toward Ice.

    ¡®Going straight toward your opponent¡­ that¡¯s not a good idea when you have no idea what they can do,¡¯ Ice thought to himself as he reached his hand out, and his ice powers started to form.

    The ice condensed down and turned into the giant ice club that Ice was familiar with.

    Simba could see this in his hands and was already making adjustments to his ns.

    ¡®So he¡¯s an Altered, and one with strong ice elemental powers. No wonder he¡¯s confident in his strength. I can¡¯t take this lightly!¡¯

    Simba¡¯s own body started to transform, as his dark skin thickened in areas and grew slightly in size. His whole body was changing.

    Ice ignored this as he went ahead and swung his club with full force right at Simba. Both of them moved ahead, and Ice felt arge connection as his club made a sessful hit, but it had been stopped.

    Ice¡¯s muscles were tensing as he tried to push forward with his club, but he was unable to. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What in the Altered are you?¡± Ice asked.

    Looking at his club, he could see that Simba¡¯s mouth had erged to a giant size and had ovepped over the big club. The entire thing was in Simba¡¯s mouth, and he was able to match up with Ice¡¯s strength as they both pushed against each other.

    At the same time, though, Simba was thinking the same thing.

    ¡®I am one of the Zodiacs. I¡¯ve trained, conditioned my body to be one of the strongest in the One Gang. In my Altered form, I shouldn¡¯t lose out in a battle of strength. So who is this stranger? Who is this nobody holding me back?¡¯

    The longer Simba was holding onto the club with his mouth he could feel his teeth, and his insides starting to freeze over. The elemental power was one of the strongest he had faced.

    As Ice looked at Simba, his body was now starting to change slightly, as white fur was growing on the back of his arms and neck. He then lifted his other hand, and an ice spear had formed in it.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a bit of a rush, so I need to finish this fairly quickly!¡± Ice dered.

 Chapter 1002 The Mythical Ice Altered

    Chapter 1002 The Mythical Ice Altered

    Ice had been in his fair share of fights before he entered the prison, and only a few while he was inside the prison. Usually, he would conserve some of his strength because there was a chance he would need to fight moreter.

    This time though, Ice was going all out from the get-go. As he held the ice spear in his hand, he hurled it with all his might.

    Simba, seeing this, let go of the club with his mouth and tried to jump back, but the spear was too fast and hit deep within his chest. His thick skin and muscles managed to stop part of it, but the spear was still lodged in his chest.

    With his arms, he pulled out the spear and threw it to the ground, shattering it in the process.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite clear I was mistaken. You are no ordinary Altered. Just what the heck are you, and where did youe from?¡± Simba shouted. Even with his bleeding chest, he charged forward once more.

    Ice, seeing this, mmed his foot onto the ground, and a trail of ice scattered from where he stood and went around Simba¡¯s legs. But with his mighty strength, Simba managed to break through, pulling his legs free.

    ¡°Do you know what one of the most dangerous animals in the world is?¡± Simba said as he leaped into the air after building uprge momentum.

    Ice readied himself again, holding the club, prepared to swing with full force and perfect aim.

    ¡°The hippo!¡± Simba shouted as he opened his mouth wide, growing to gigantic size.

    Ice hurled his club out, and it bashed right into Simba¡¯s mouth. A battle of strength was urring as both pushed against each other, but with the mighty strength of his jaw, Simba managed to bite down andpletely destroy the club.

    Right after, Simbanded on his feet and, with his fists, punched Ice right in the stomach. The blows were powerful and strong, resonating through the car park.

    They continued to hit Ice back, swinging his body slightly from side to side.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t just strong Altered, but we are also excellent fighters!¡± Simba said. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Then, Ice''s back hit a car. Anotherrge punch delivered by Simba pushed Ice¡¯s massive body into the car, causing it to crumble.

    Another punch was thrown, but this time, Ice used arge ice shield to block the attack.

    Letting go of the ice shield, Ice then kicked it with all his strength, pushing Simba slightly back. Without wasting time, Ice grabbed the cars near him with both hands and, using his strength, hurled them into the air.

    Simba had tossed the ice shield aside and could see both cars go over his head.

    Letting go of the ice shield, Ice then kicked it with all his strength, pushing Simba slightly back. Without wasting time, Ice grabbed the cars near him with both hands and, using his strength, hurled them into the air.

    Simba had tossed the ice shield aside and could see both cars go over his head.

    ¡°You seem to have bad aim,¡± Simba imed.

    But Ice wasn¡¯t done yet. A car behind him and two more that had been thrown over Simba formed a sort of triangle in the area. Holding them in ce, Ice began using his powers at an extreme rate.

    The cars were freezing over, and they connected. The ice continued, forming a wall that locked them both in.

    ¡°So, you¡¯ve created an arena for the two of us. Isn¡¯t that kind of stupid when you were losing the fight?¡± Simba said.

    Ice ced his hand on part of the wall behind him, and right then, a sharp stinging pain shot through Simba¡¯s shoulder. When he turned his head, he saw several ice spikes had grown from the wall and stabbed him.

    The areas they hit were freezing slightly as well. Then, when he turned back, he saw his opponent was changing. Ice''s body had grown slightlyrger, and the white fur on his body was increasing in size.

    Now, Ice held two clubs, one in each hand, and there was nowhere for Simba to go.

    ¡°This whole time, I¡¯ve been trying to figure out what type of Altered you are, and I think I¡¯ve got it. I saw the files from NIRV¡­ you¡¯re a mythical type Altered with ice powers and incredible strength. You¡¯re the mythical type Altered¡ªthe Yeti.¡±

    Ice swung one of therge clubs, hitting Simba right in the face. He couldn¡¯t even open his mouth wide to stop it, as right after, the other giant club swung and hit Simba again.

    With each hit, parts of Simba¡¯s skin froze slightly. The sound echoed through the car park, making it sound like construction work was taking ce, but no one was there to hear it, and no one knew what was going on. The clubs continued to hit until eventually, the ice wall around the cars descended, and Ice returned to his normal self, dressed in his ck and gold uniform.

    He was no longer his Altered self, his body still immacte.

    ¡°These uniforms are quite handy since they shrink and grow to match my body size. I was a bit worried I¡¯d rip them, and that blonde kid would shout at me,¡± Ice said as he looked down at Simba.

    ¡°I¡¯m a changed man, so I won¡¯t kill you, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to fight for a while.¡±

    Thinking about everything that had happened, Ice felt he needed to act fast. He headed over to a car, opened the door, and quickly got in the driver¡¯s seat.

    ¡®Since I was attacked, the others must be in trouble. I need to get to them so they can escape,¡¯ Ice thought.

    He turned the key, and the engine of the vehicle started, but then he froze for a moment.

    ¡®I¡¯ve never driven before¡­ but how hard can it be? I¡¯ve yed those games at the arcade,¡¯ Ice thought to himself. ¡®To go forward, I step on the right pedal, and¡­¡¯

    The car jerked forward, faster than he expected, and crashed into the car in front of him.

    ¡®This may take a while¡­¡¯

 Chapter 1003 A Big Mistake

    Chapter 1003 A Big Mistake

    Stanley had his eyes on two ces. One was therge TV screen where the fight between Harvor and Jayden was taking ce. Usually, he would just ignore the fight altogether, but the way Harvor had been acting had Stanley a little concerned.

    Not that he thought his boss would lose, but maybe something else would ur. As for his other eye, it was kept on the tablet screen. Not too long ago, he had sent one of the Zodiacs to check a particr location.

    ¡®I¡¯ve still had no news on Simba at all, and the cameras couldn¡¯t get a clear image of the person responsible. Simba should have dealt with it, I shouldn¡¯t be overly worried. There aren¡¯t many people in the world that can take on the Zodiacs, after all.¡¯

    cing his tablet by his side, Stanley decided it was best to continue concentrating on the fight ahead.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside the ring, Jayden was no longer ying games or trying to fight Harvor on an even ying field. He wanted to beat his opponent in a way that felt fair, to feel like they were on the same level, but it didn¡¯t seem possible.

    So Jayden had transformed into his Altered state. ck markings could be seen across his face, running down the side of his cheeks, while mystic white fur flowed from the rest of his body.

    He had stopped Harvor¡¯s strike with his hand, and his heart was still pumping, ready to fight. While holding onto Harvor¡¯s hand, Jayden pushed with his leg, forcing Harvor¡¯s hand back, winning a battle of strength for the first time.

    Harvor seemed to stumble backward, and Jayden quickly moved across the floor, kicking himself from the side. His body was swinging wide, just like the Dempsey Roll punches he had performed before. This time his body was leaning so far back, his face was almost skimming the floor.

    With the momentum he had built up, his body flung like a spring and bashed right into the side of Harvor¡¯s body. The moment it hit, the impact of the air was visibly seen by the crowd. It looked like the punch had stayed in ce for a moment before Harvor¡¯s body went flying toward the cage.

    While in the air, though, Harvor spun his body several times andnded before reaching the end of the cage, oddly getting rid of all the momentum of the punch.

    ¡°That hit was quite heavy,¡± Harvor said with a smile. ¡°This is more like what I expected.¡±

    He stared at Jayden, who didn¡¯t say a word, instead baring his long canine teeth that had grown with his fierce eyes.

    Jayden made the first move as he rushed forward, and in an instant, reacting the same way, Harvor moved in as well. The two of them met in the center and started to throw blows at each other.

    Jayden¡¯s first hits struck nothing but air, as Harvor had managed to dodge them. But when Harvor went to strike back, Jayden blocked a bunch and then delivered a kick of his own that was blocked by a kick.

    The two of them furiously continued to throw punches and kicks at each other, and the crowd couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. It was like watching an action movie fast-forwarded right in front of them.

    A series of blocks and hits with no clear winner between the two. If a person blinked, they would miss part of the sequence, and if it were any faster, they weren¡¯t sure if they¡¯d be able to see anything at all.

    ¡®I can see them, I can see them. While I¡¯m in this state, I can see all of his movements, and I¡¯m able to match his strength as well!¡¯ Jayden thought, as he threw another hit, aiming right for the side of his head.

    Harvor blocked the hit and continued to block another oneing from the other side. Right then, he lifted his leg to kick Jayden in the stomach, but Jayden leapt back and pounced forward after dodging the attack.

    Jayden jumped up at Harvor, kicking him with both legs, then flipped in the air. One thing was clear: Jayden was the more athletic of the two.

    When Jayden looked to see how Harvor was coping, there was still a smile on his face.

    ¡®Even though I¡¯ve transformed, even though I¡¯m in my Altered state and he¡¯s not, even though I can see everything he can do, I still can¡¯t win this fight!¡¯

    Moving forward, Jayden swung a fist right at Harvor¡¯s face, and then saw an uppercuting his way. With his other hand, Jayden threw a hook, and now both were striking toward each other at the same time, and both blowsnded.

    Jayden was struck on his chin, his head rattled, while Harvor was struck on the side of his temple. Both of them had to have been hurt from the hits, but they continued their attacks once again, fighting without rest.

    ¡°Hey, I might be imagining things, but I think this is the hardest I¡¯ve seen Harvor fight,¡± one of the crowd members said.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re right. You know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen Harvor move this fast.¡±

    It was true, and Harvor could tell as well. That¡¯s why the smile couldn¡¯t be wiped off his face. But the more the smile stayed, the more it angered Jayden.

    ¡®That damned smile, how can he¡­ how can he smile¡­ how can he!¡¯ With fury running through his entire body, Jayden took a swing. He knew his fist would miss, but in his anger, wishing to use all the power he had, a glow started to appear around his wed fist.

    Arge current swayed in the air, and right out of Jayden¡¯s hand, a wind w strike appeared. The attack cut right through Harvor¡¯s forearms and lifted him into the air, until he crashed into the cage.

    Stanley was staring at the screen in the waiting room.

    ¡°That damned Jayden Tiger!¡± he shouted. ¡°What does he think he¡¯s doing? Elemental attacks are illegal in the AFC!¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ****

 Chapter 1004 Banned From the AFC?

    Chapter 1004 Banned From the AFC?

    Harvor¡¯s body had remained unscathed. Although in his fights he had survived a number ofrge blows in the past, there was never a real mark left on his body. His skin had never been cut, even by the most dangerous of Altered forms.

    It was one of the reasons why people considered Harvor to be simply above the other Altered. It made others incredibly curious as to just what type of Altered he was, to the point where there were even bets going on, and the one day when Harvor¡¯s Altered form would be revealed to the world, there would be a huge payout for the right answer.

    However, that in itself was difficult as well, considering Altered forms were based on beasts from the past, and some that people had never even seen before. Regardless, people still bet on these things. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Because of all this, it was a big deal that right now, Harvor was bleeding. His forearms were badly cut, with blood dripping down from them, going to the elbow andnding on the canvas floor.

    ¡°At least we know his blood is red,¡± one of those in the crowdmented.

    ¡°What, you thought it would be ck? There¡¯s no way he¡¯s a crazed. He runs the whole business and does interviews and everything. Anyway, what is going to happen now?¡±

    Most of the people, and even the announcer, were stunned into silence because they didn¡¯t know what to say about the situation that had just urred.

    ¡°What was that? His hand didn¡¯t even look like it hit him. It looked like something came from his body.¡±

    Most of the crowd was confused by what they had seen Jayden just do. Most of the world knew about Altereds due to the AFC in the first ce, and there was a strict rule in the AFC: one was only allowed to use whatever was part of their physical body.

    Because of this, people¡¯s general knowledge of what Altereds were capable of wascking. They had no clue about elemental or special powers that one could get from bing an Altered.

    There were some who would know about it, those who researched more into Altereds beyond the AFC, but some were unclear about it. For instance, Sin and his disy of powers were pretty well known to the world.

    Everyone had watched Sin fighting against the Howlers, but because his Altered form was a Phoenix, they didn¡¯t think he had fire powers but more that it was just part of his body.

    Regardless, for those who did know the rules, the use of these types of powers in the AFC was banned, and instant use would mean disqualification.

    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to Jayden?¡± Gary asked. Having been part of an AFC fight himself, he remembered the rules being hammered into him before his match.

    It was a point they had stressed over and over to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to the match now that he¡¯s used that? Doesn¡¯t that mean he¡¯s disqualified?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Apollo answered. ¡°Right now, even if Jayden were to win the match, it wouldn¡¯t matter. It wouldn¡¯t go on the AFC record, and it wouldn¡¯t count as a loss for Harvor either. If anything, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they were to stop the fight right now.¡±

    Although Apollo said that, Gary had a different feeling. Having met Harvor for a brief moment, he wouldn¡¯t dare to end the fight there. If he did, it was almost like epting that he would lose the fight.

    On the ground, Clem was continuing her report of the match and what had urred.

    ¡°Right now, Jayden has performed an illegal act in the ring, which means he will be disqualified from the match,¡± Clem exined. ¡°On top of this, ording to the rules, he will be banned from participating in the AFC from now on.¡±

    Thements were rolling in from the stream, and the general public didn¡¯t understand. Even if desperate, right now, Jayden had just ruined his whole career in the AFC. It made no sense to them, and many werementing on how stupid Jayden was to do such a thing.

    Some even called him a sore loser for having to resort to cheap tactics. They assumed the rules in the AFC were there for a reason, to try and make it so everyone had an even ying field.

    After seeing what had happened, Stanley immediately organized security as well as instructed the ref to stop the fight. Running through the tunnels around to the bottom of the cage was a group of people in the familiar purple and white tracksuits.

    The ref was getting ready to enter the cage until Harvor lifted his hand and held it out. It was clear he was telling the ref to stop, and so he did.

    ¡°No one is to enter this cage,¡± Harvor said, lifting his head, all smiles as usual. ¡°The fight is still to go on, and that¡¯s on my order. Keep the cameras rolling along with everything else.¡±

    ¡°My recent fights have gotten a bit boring, so let¡¯s turn it up a notch. I know how you feel, right? You want to use everything in your power to fight me. So let¡¯s just say you got a little excited and call that a mistake, and continue on, shall we?¡±

    The way Harvor was speaking, it was as if to forget about what Jayden had just done.

    ¡°Is he forgiving my brother?¡± Xin asked. ¡°Pretending like it never happened, just so the fight can continue on?¡±

    In the arena, it looked like Harvor was waiting for a response from Jayden, who had ced his wed hand in front of his face.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Gary said. ¡°Your brother has made his decision. No matter what happens after this, if he doesn¡¯t take part in the AFC again, he doesn¡¯t care. He¡¯s going to use everything he can in this fight!¡±

    Whirling winds started to gather around Jayden¡¯s w as he charged in at Harvor once again.

 Chapter 1005 Still Not Strong Enough

    Chapter 1005 Still Not Strong Enough

    Despite the words of Harvor, despite all of the cameras in ce and the people watching, as well as how this would affect his future, Jayden ignored it all. Strange currents started to gather around his fist.

    They were visible to everyone who was watching, twirling up and down his forearm. Right there and then, Jayden kicked off from his feet and a current of wind pushed from behind.

    He was now moving even faster than before. It was like a bullet had gone across the canvas. He had reached Harvor in an instant and threw his fist straight at him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a f*ck about your rules, because I¡¯m going to kill you right here!¡± Jayden screamed fearlessly.

    His fistnded on Harvor¡¯s face, and the currents wrapped around his entire body. Harvor was lifted into the air again and his back mmed into the cage, bending it outward.

    What was even worse, though, were the currents that went around Harvor¡¯s body with the strike. The vortex of wind had cut up his body and ripped part of the clothes he had on, and even deeper wounds appeared on his body.

    It was just a punch, yet it was as if Harvor had been ced in a giant blender.

    Right after the first attack, Jayden didn¡¯t stop there as he swung both of his hands in session, and tworge w marks went through the air aiming for Harvor.

    Kicking off from the cage, Harvor rolled on the ground and avoided the attack. As the attack continued, it went right through the cage, ripping apart the special metal and slicing right through it.

    It went to show just how sharp Jayden¡¯s attacks were, and if they were to be used on others, those that were even Altered, how much the attack would hurt.

    It was a miracle, in a way, that Harvor¡¯s body was so strong, despite having not turned into an Altered, to only receive cuts on his body.

    Still, Jayden never thought it was going to be that easy, and with his keen eyes, he kept track of where Harvor was. This time, Jayden readied both of his fists. Just likest time, currents of wind were gathering around his hands, the difference was they were covering both of his hands rather than just one this time.

    ¡®He survived one of my strongest attacks, and I shouldn¡¯t have expected any less,¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®Yet, he still hasn¡¯t turned into his Altered form, but I don¡¯t care if he does or doesn¡¯t. I just want justice for what happened to her. If I kill you while you don¡¯t ever show your full strength, well, that¡¯s just your downfall!¡¯

    Harvor, covered in more wounds than before, still had the same expression on his face. Even though the watchers were worried about him, as well as the staff just outside the cage door.

    ¡°If the boss gives the signal, we¡¯re all going in on the spot,¡± the ref said to the others who nodded in response. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°The White Tiger, most think it¡¯s just a regr Altered base,¡± Harvor said. ¡°But I¡¯m quite knowledgeable about Altereds. You¡¯re not just any White Tiger, but a very special one, known as one of the four Guardians of Mankind.¡±

    Jayden rushed forward just like before, his body sprung like a bullet. Everyone thought there was no way for Harvor to react to this, but he quickly lifted up his face with a huge grin and at the same time threw both of his fists out.

    They mmed right into Jayden¡¯s, hitting them cleanly, and arge powerful force of current had blown all of the wind away. Harvor wasn¡¯t lifted off his feet, and the wind elemental attack seemed to have disappeared.

    ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s the reason why you¡¯re too kind, because even the beast inside of you is meant to be one who protects humans,¡± Harvor said.

    ¡°What¡­¡± Jayden said, shocked that his attack, his most powerful attack, hadn¡¯t worked, it hadn¡¯t done anything to Harvor.

    ¡°You¡¯re surprised? The only thing I did was use a bit more strength in my punches, that¡¯s all!¡± Harvor imed as he quickly grabbed onto Jayden¡¯s arm, and then with a single throw over him, lifted him in the air and swung him, mming his body down onto the canvas floor.

    The side of the entire arena looked like it had bent and even the cage itself appeared to have sunk into the ground slightly.

    Blood sttered out of Jayden¡¯s mouth, the impact was so strong. After coughing a few times, Jayden looked at Harvor from the ground; from the simple hit, his whole body was sore.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done¡­ I¡¯m not done yet,¡± Jayden said.

    ¡°Oh yes, you are,¡± Harvor said as he mmed his foot right into Jayden¡¯s body. It caused the whole arena to shake again and further sink slightly into the ground, making even cracks on the outer floor.

    It was then that Jayden¡¯s Altered form started to disappear.

    ¡°You¡¯re a special Altered, so you won¡¯t die from something like that,¡± Harvor imed. ¡°Still, everything was useless. You weren¡¯t the one, after all, that was able to draw out my power. I wonder when I¡¯ll meet one.¡±

    Harvor then looked up at the VIP room. Right where Gary and Apollo were in. Harvor knew the location, having met him inside.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that once again, Harvor hase out as the victor!¡± the announcer shouted.

    At the same time, the ref entered the ring, along with a number of other men in purple and white tracksuits. With Jayden having done what he had done, he was banned from the contest, but he was in the hands of Harvor.

    Inside the VIP room, that was when Xin, with her eyes slightly teary and her heart racing, turned to Gary.

    ¡°What¡­ do we do now?¡± Xin asked.

    ---

 Chapter 1006 A Good Idea?

    1006 A Good Idea?

    The fight hade to an end, and a winner had been announced. With that, the ref hade into the ring, and along with them arge group of those from the One Gang. In this instance, it was usually time for the after-fight interviews where they would ask a bunch of people questions.

    However, Jayden appeared to still be on the floor, knocked out. So instead, a microphone had been handed to just Harvor.

    ¡°Today would have been quite a glorious day,¡± Harvor said. ¡°The fight was tougher than those I had faced in the past, and Jayden Tiger is a skilled fighter. However, I need to make something clear so no one else tries what happened today, to happen again.¡±

    ¡°Something Jayden did today is considered illegal in the AFC. There¡¯s a reason we have rules in the AFC, and it¡¯s because we don¡¯t wish for anyone to lose their life for the sake of entertainment.¡±

    ¡°Which is why Jayden will be banned from the AFC, and this is a more serious matter where other governing bodies will have to get involved as well.¡±

    It was a surprising side for many who didn¡¯t know Harvor, to see him speaking this way. Everything he said made sense to the general public. His words felt kind, and the public had no reason to go against him.

    In the eyes of everyone, Jayden was the viin, a loose cannon who had gone too far, and that¡¯s when on the arena floor itself, a special set of handcuffs, the same type used by the White Rose, were ced on Jayden¡¯s wrists and legs.

    ¡°Gary, what do we do?¡± Xin asked again. A mix of emotions filled her. She was shaking with anger and just wanted to rush out. At the same time, she was worried and scared about what was going to happen to Jayden now that he was in the hands of Harvor.

    The police, White Rose, no one would dare to try to take something from Harvor.

    Gary was conflicted about what he should do as well. Right now, he wished he had Kai by his side, knowing whether acting rashly was the right thing or not.

    Unexpectedly, there were two individuals on the ground floor already thinking ahead.

    ¡°Hey, we have to do something,¡± Austin said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Park replied. ¡°Are you saying to go right into the ring and try to fight those guys? That¡¯s crazy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but if my gut is right, after all the showmanship, the belt, and the interview questions in the ring are over, there¡¯s someone who won¡¯t be able to hold themselves back anymore and will jump into the middle of all of this mess. So we need to find a way to clear this ce.¡±

    Now Park understood. Of course, Gary would end up getting involved; it always seemed like he did. The only thing holding him back was the number of spectators there were, the number of people in one ce.

    Park immediately started to look for a solution.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got it. It¡¯s time for me to shine, baby,¡± Park said as he started to push through the crowd. His body was rtively thinner than Austin¡¯s, so it was easier for him to get through.

    ¡°I¡¯m really not sure if I can trust that guy yet, at least for important jobs,¡± Austin muttered to himself.

    It was only a few momentster, though, that a loud ringing was heard throughout the entire arena.

    ¡°What is that, is that the fire rm?¡±

    ¡°Quick, we need to head to the quickest exit. Come on.¡±

    ¡°Hey, whenever a fire rm is set off, these things are never real in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°And you really want to risk it in a ce like this? Be my guest, wait for me.¡±

    Austin had a smile on his face.

    ¡°It seems that maybe I was wrong about Park; he had a good idea after all.¡±

    The people were exiting the stands and the arena fairly quickly. It didn¡¯t take long for Park to return to where Austin was, and raising his hand, Austin gestured for a high five.

    ¡°Good job, and now we need to just wait and see.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for the people to exit the ce, yet Harvor, the ref, and his people were still inside. The ref ced his hand next to the earpiece so he could hear more clearly.

    ¡°Stanley has confirmed that there is no such fire, and where the rm was pulled, there is no fire either,¡± the ref exined.

    ¡°So someone pulled it on purpose to clear this ce, huh? I wonder what¡¯s going to happen now,¡± Harvor said.

    In one of the VIP rooms, two of the guards standing by the door seemed quite panicked about the rm. Even more so because the person they were meant to be looking after wasn¡¯t even moving.

    ¡°Miss Bree, I think it might be safer if we were to leave this ce,¡± the guard said.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Daphne replied back. ¡°Can¡¯t you see? Coco here hasn¡¯t reacted at all. If there was a fire, he would be rushing off. Something is about to happen, and I don¡¯t want to miss it.¡±

    Daphne continued to stroke the fur of her pet lion as she watched what was about to take ce.

    It wasn¡¯t just her who hadn¡¯t left, though. In another room, another representative of one of the Kings, part of the Lupus gang, Ylva had remained in ce.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to worry. If there was a fire, I would have smelled it,¡± Ylva said. ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see what¡¯s going to happen, and whether or not we should get directly involved.¡±

    ---

    For updates on *MWS* and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of *MVS*, *MWS* or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1007 The Only Chance

    Chapter 1007 The Only Chance

    Due to the ringing fire rm bell, everyone had been escorted out of the building. Many of the event staff were focused on making the peoplefortable and not causing a disaster.

    Since there was less panic, more people had time to think about the fight that had just gone on inside as well. They were talking to each other about the event.

    ¡°Man, Jayden Tiger did better than I thought. It was almost as if he drew out more power because this was a title match.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it makes me wonder what would have happened if he just waited. If he had climbed the ranks and then challenged Harvor. At this rate, it feels like Harvor is going to be the champion forever until he grows old.¡±

    ¡°What I want to know is what is going to happen to Jayden Tiger. What even happens to Altered fighters who have such a great career and then get banned like that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have to worry about them. They must have earned a fortune for all of those years of fighting, especially at the top. They¡¯ll probably justy low and retire. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if we never hear about Jayden Tiger again after today.¡±

    Inside the arena, if one was to look around, there wasn¡¯t a single person. The only ones present were in the rings themselves.

    What did stand out were the ss VIP rooms that were one-way, allowing them to view the fight. So it was hard to tell if these were empty or not.

    Among the many seats, though, if one was to look hard enough, they would be able to see two bent-over backs.

    ¡°Seriously, what are we doing this for?¡± Park asked.

    ¡°Because everyone has left the audience. If we are the only two left here, then it would be pretty obvious we were trying to start something,¡± Austin exined.

    ¡°But we are trying to start something. Didn¡¯t we clear the area so we could do something?¡± Park replied.

    ¡°Right, but who gets to decide that, us or him?¡± Austin looked in the corner of his eye at one of the ss VIP rooms, which was ced in the middle of the stands, looking down at the center of the ring.

    ¡°We did that just to help him out. We don¡¯t act unless he acts,¡± Austin exined.

    Inside that very VIP room, now that the situation had cleared up, Gary was seeing it¡ªhe was seeing an opportunity to get involved.

    ¡®Right now, a lot of the One Gang will be frantic helping people out in the arena. There¡¯s still about ten guys down there, and then we have the Zodiacs as well. There¡¯s Harvor, and he¡¯s right in my sight,¡¯ Gary thought.

    The thing was, for a long time Gary had thought this wasn¡¯t his fight; he was just here to support Jayden. As Kai had told him, the One Gang and the Howlers weren¡¯t currently against each other.

    ¡®With him having fought against Jayden already, I¡¯m sure he must be somewhat tired out or hurt, right? This might be my best chance to take out a future enemy,¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Stop it,¡± Apollo said, standing from his seat. ¡°Both of you. I can tell from the look in your eyes, you¡¯re both thinking of jumping in there.¡±

    ¡°You saw what Harvor just did to your brother. He will do the same to both of you, and¡­¡± Apollo¡¯s fist was shaking; it was hard for him to get his words out.

    ¡°If you go out there and start a mess, then it means I will have to be your enemy as well.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The ringing from the fire rm had eventuallye to a stop. Regardless, they weren¡¯t going to get people toe back in, since the event was practically already over at that point.

    Right now, Jayden had been lifted onto his feet. The front of his uniform was dirty with his blood that hade out from his mouth.

    Holding him tightly were two more of the Zodiac members, as Stanley was still controlling everything from his room, including the Zodiacs¡¯ movements.

    All of the Zodiacs were present in the building in one ce or another.

    Slowly, Jayden¡¯s eyes started to open again, his vision bing clearer, and he could see Harvor looking right at him.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake, which I expected of an Altered of your caliber,¡± Harvor said to Jayden, who tried to move his arms, but his body was already beaten, and the strength of the two holding him was more than he thought.

    ¡°Now, now, you see, I¡¯m in a bit of a rush. There was a meeting I was meant to get to, but you managed tost a lot longer than I imagined,¡± Harvor said. ¡°So I¡¯m going to make it quick for you.¡±

    ¡°I have an offer¡ªto join the One Gang. I can¡¯t publicly put you back in the AFC, but being part of the One Gang will change your life in ways bigger than the AFC itself,¡± Harvor exined.

    Jayden lifted his head up and started to chuckle. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Work for you¡­ I¡¯ve already worked for people I hate for long enough. If I was part of your gang, then I would make you look over your shoulder every second.¡±

    ¡°Wondering when I would stab you in the back and rip your head off!¡± Jayden snapped in anger.

    Harvor shook his head, and for the first time since the fight, his smile had disappeared.

    ¡°That is a shame. I don¡¯t like getting stabbed in the back. So it seems I¡¯m going to have to get rid of you right here and now!¡±

    Harvor readied his fist and then stomped the ground as he threw out a punch right at Jayden. Just as Harvor corked up and clenched his fist, a loud smashing sound was heard.

    Turning his head, Harvor could see ss had been smashed from one of the VIP rooms. Jumping from the VIP room, in the air, heading straight to the arena, Harvor could see the ck-haired youngster.

    ¡°HARVOOR!!!¡± Gary screamed at the top of his lungs with his fist out, leaping over the stadium seats.

    ¡°So, you decided to y,¡± Harvor said.

 Chapter 1008 The Man With Black Hair

    Chapter 1008 The Man With ck Hair

    Gary was conflicted in the VIP room for a long time, wondering what to do. He had been going back and forth. It wasn¡¯t his mess to get involved in.

    It wasn¡¯t his ce; he had the responsibility of the entire Howlers. His actions weren¡¯t just his, but also the actions of the entire Howlers, so he couldn¡¯t just do as he wished.

    However, the situation was setting it up, almost inviting him in. The ce was cleared of people, and there weren¡¯t many around Harvor.

    In the end, thest straw was the moment he saw Harvor tensing up his body. Gary knew that Jayden was going to be struck again.

    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot,¡± Gary said with a smile as he looked back at Xin in the VIP room. ¡°Jayden helped me out so many times, and I¡¯m sure of it, if it was me down there and Jayden up here, he would find a way to help me.¡±

    After saying those words, Gary ran back towards the door in the room. For a moment, Apollo thought he was going to exit and head down into the ring, but Gary quickly did a turn.

    He had only run to the door in order for him to do arge run-up. Sprinting across the room, Gary leapt and threw his fist right through the ss window.

    It smashed to pieces, and the momentum drove Gary above the seats as he continued in the air.

    ¡°HARVOR!¡± Gary shouted at the top of his lungs, doing anything he could to get the One Gang Leader¡¯s attention and stop him from striking Jayden, and it worked.

    Not just Harvor though¡ªeveryone on the ground was looking at Gary in the air. Those in the VIP rooms were watching as a brave or stupid man had decided to interrupt the middle of this mess.

    It was then that Garynded just above the cage walls and right onto the canvas on the other side. His feet firmly ced on the ground.

    Stanley had juste out from the preparation room and had exited from one of the hallways. As he was walking towards the cage, he witnessed what had just urred.

    ¡°What are you idiots doing!¡± Stanley shouted. ¡°There¡¯s an intruder in the ring, get him!¡±

    The two Zodiac members stayed firm, holding onto Jayden, and as for Harvor, he just had a smile on his face.

    After the order was given, the other One Gang members in their tracksuits quickly sized up the intruder. Looking at him, they rushed forward.

    The first person threw a swing, but Gary dodged the blow swiftly, and right after, the man fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

    ¡°What just happened?¡± the men said, taking a step back.

    ¡°Why did he faint just like that?¡±

    The people were confused, so they were scared to go forward.

    Meanwhile, there was only one person that saw what had happened, making Harvor¡¯s grin grow in size. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s just go at him.¡±

    Several of the men went in at once, but Gary effortlessly swept in between them. It looked as if he was just dodging the hits, but each time he avoided a hit, another person would fall.

    In the end, he grabbed thest person right by their face and then mmed them onto the ground.

    ¡°I knew you would be too strong for them,¡± Harvor said. ¡°They couldn¡¯t even see you hit them.¡±

    Wasting no energy and time, Gary, with his enhanced speed especially after gaining arge amount of stats, had hit the other members as he dodged their attacks. It was just too fast for them to even realize it.

    Those in the VIP rooms who were watching what was happening were getting quite excited.

    ¡°An intruder, and one that isn¡¯t scared of Harvor? They came from the VIP room, but I don¡¯t recognize them?¡± Daphne Bree said. ¡°But for someone to not be scared of Harvor¡­ just who are they?¡±

    Rushing in through the tunnels located on each side were more of the One Gang members in tracksuits. Some of them started to transform into their Altered forms as well.

    Gary stood in the ring, and it looked like the odds were massively against him.

    That was until, right on the floor, sparks could be seen lighting up the area. Several men screamed after.

    ¡°I¡¯m right behind you!¡± Xin shouted. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you just act on your own!¡±

    Xin said as she swept her leg, and yellow electricity followed after, speeding up her leg and knocking one of the men back into the stands.

    Right after that, the men in the ring heard a loud thud, and they could see another one of the gang member¡¯s faces being squashed up against the cage from the outside.

    ¡°I knew something like this was going to happen!¡± Austin said.

    And Park, standing next to him, also pulled another man¡¯s head and then threw him into the others. They were all heading to where Gary was.

    They were all there, ready to support him.

    Stanley, seeing this, could tell that these were no ordinary people. Especially Xin, who was quite the talented fighter.

    ¡°I¡¯m calling all Zodiacs right now. All of them are to get to the main stage immediately! All of you are instantly to get here, to get rid of this mess!¡±

    ¡°Haha! What an entertaining oue,¡± Harvor said. ¡°Look at this, it seems there are quite a few people that want to save you.¡±

    Harvor looked at Jayden.

    ¡°Remember, all of them will be punished because of you, and as for you¡­ who are you?¡± Harvor asked, staring at the man with ck hair.

    Gary lifted his hand from the gang member¡¯s face and stood there strong.

    ¡°My name doesn¡¯t matter. Because I¡¯m the person that¡¯s going to kick your arse!¡±

    *******

 Chapter 1009 A Strange Quest

    Chapter 1009 A Strange Quest

    Stanley was still standing on the outer ring, watching everything going on. He was getting extremely frustrated and continued to dig into his tablet, pinging the other members.

    ¡®Those Zodiacs, where are they all? Did they not get the message!¡¯ Stanley thought. ¡®Am I really going to have to do things myself at this rate?¡¯

    Even though he could see that Xin, Park, and Austin were dealing with the One Gang members with ease, he still didn¡¯t step in himself, oddly.

    The members on the ground floor were mostly regr gang members and fighters, but there were a few Altered among them, though it didn¡¯t stop the rest.

    Austin lifted his fist, and regardless of a transformed spiky creature, he punched with full force, sending them flying into the arena seats.

    ¡°Go after the smaller one. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s an Altered; then we¡¯ll deal with the big guy!¡± one of the members shouted.

    ¡°Me? Are they talking about me?¡± Park said, as one swung a kick right at Park. With his flexible body, he leaned backward, avoiding the hit, and then sprung right back up, delivering a punch himself.

    ¡°Even before I changed into what I am now, I was a gang member as well. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know how to fi¡ª!¡±

    In the middle of talking, a long limb from one of the Altered members had hit him in the stomach, sending him skidding across the floor in the other direction.

    ¡®These guys, they all know how to fight, and really well too,¡¯ Austin thought. ¡®I guess that¡¯s expected for a gang that is in control of the AFC, but I¡¯m sure Park will be okay.¡¯

    Just as Austin said that, he saw Park leaping in the air andnding on top of his target, who had just hit him. It put a smile on Austin¡¯s face as he continued his fight.

    Meanwhile, Xin was the one that was doing the best against the One Gang members. She dodged hits and countered each time.

    As she would hit, punch, and kick, she would use her elemental powers, causing them some serious damage.

    ¡®Although these guys are skillful, they¡¯re nothingpared to those that are actually in the AFC,¡¯ Xin thought.

    ¡®Still, because they are somewhat good fighters, I can¡¯t just ignore them and head straight for the cage.¡¯

    Thinking about it, Xin rushed to head to the center to help out Gary and her brother. She ced both hands by her side.

    They started to transform as her skin became jagged with hard feathers until both of her arms lit up.

    She was ready to supercharge herself forward, blowing those by the side away and, in doing so, getting into the center.

    Setting off from her position, she sparked and exploded forward until she crashed, and arge discharge of energy appeared right in front of her.

    ¡°Huh¡­ what is going on?¡± Xin thought.

    She was meant to reach the cage, but as she charged forward, she had only made it a couple of meters until she had stopped, and now she had two arms pressed against her, holding her by her shoulders.

    When looking up, she could see a familiar face.

    ¡°I told you that you shouldn¡¯t have tried to attack,¡± Apollo said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Apollo hadn¡¯t even transformed, yet he was holding onto Xin perfectly fine. He had stopped her attack straight on, and on top of that, even though her electrical elemental power was still hitting Apollo somewhat, he didn¡¯t appear to be flinching.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you get closer to Harvor!¡± Apollo stated.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Stanley sighed in relief. ¡°At least there is one reliable Zodiac member.¡±

    Although just as Stanley said those words, someone had appeared right by the side.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have the right to decide that!¡± Austin shouted as his fist grew in size as it started to partly transform into its Altered form.

    With Apollo holding Xin and so concentrated, he had no way to protect himself. The fist came out and mmed at the side of his face, causing him to take a few steps back and to the side.

    ¡°This is the second time that you¡¯vee and helped me,¡± Xin said.

    ¡°Well, try not to make it a third, and go and help the boss,¡± Austin said.

    Right after, Xin charged forward again, electrifying her feet and bursting forward. The men that tried to grab her were hit with a powerful electric st that flung them to the side.

    With one hand, Xin grabbed the outside of the cage and then lifted herself over, finally getting inside andnding right by Gary.

    Turning his head to the side, he was rtively surprised to see Xin.

    ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t make it? This is more important to me than it is to you,¡± Xin said. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t broken through that ss, a secondter, I would have broken through it myself.¡±

    Gary just smiled as he looked ahead. Now there was Harvor and the two Zodiacs that were by his side.

    Jayden, whose eyes were open, could see that of all people, his sister had entered the ring. He wanted to shout to tell her to get away, but if he did, he was afraid it would only make Harvor target her even more.

    ¡®I knew she would get involved if I told her, which is why I tried to keep her out of all of this,¡¯ Jayden thought. ¡®I hate it, I hate this feeling, but who is she with, who is that?¡¯ Jayden thought.

    His hearing was still a little funny since he had been hit by Harvor hard, so he couldn¡¯t quite recognize Gary¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You go save your brother. I¡¯ll take on Harvor,¡± Gary said.

    In that moment, his system had pinged him a message.

    [Meeting with the First Altered!]

    [Quest: Force Harvor Ego to use His Altered form.]

    ¡®Wait, the quest is just to get him to use his Altered form¡­ not defeat him?¡¯ Gary thought.

    *******

 Chapter 1010 A Knock In the Face

    Chapter 1010 A Knock In the Face

    Gary had fully learned about the system, or at least arge chunk about it, due to his father, which made him wonder for a brief second if anyone knew the strength of Harvor and details about him¡ªit would be the system.

    It was created by one of the founders of NIRV after all, and NIRV were the first to create the Altered to begin with. Perhaps that was why the system was now cing such a quest.

    Regardless, it didn¡¯t matter, because Gary needed to focus on the fight ahead regardless.

    Xin looked toward her brother, and she was ready to run right to his side, but before that, it was up to Gary.

    ¡®Alright, just going against the number one ranked in the AFC, let¡¯s do this then!¡¯

    Gary then charged forward first.

    He exploded with his feet right toward where Harvor was, and just before he reached him¡­

    [Lethal Pounce]

    Gary jumped from one side and then pounced at an incredible speed. His feet lifted off the ground slightly, and his fist was ready as it flung.

    Gary could see it; Harvor had lifted his hands to try and block the attack, to try and stop it, but he was too slow. Gary was just too fast as his fist went right through and hit him right on the side of the face.

    The hit was heavy, as it echoed several times in therge empty arena. For a moment, everyone who was fighting looked as they heard the loud banging sound.

    Even Stanley had to stop for a moment.

    ¡°How heavy was that hit, how strong was that?¡±

    The thing was, in the end, Harvor didn¡¯t fall. As Garynded his feet on the canvas, he twisted his body, now throwing another hit to swing from the other side.

    Only this time, Harvor had caught it before it managed to hit him. Without the speed of the lethal pounce skill, Gary was a little bit slower.

    ¡°You¡¯re really strong,¡± Harvor said as the muscles on his arm were fully tensed up just holding Gary back. ¡°Really strong. I think that might have been the hardest I¡¯ve ever been hit, but tell me, why aren¡¯t you using your powers like before?¡±

    Harvor went to throw punches back, and in turn, Gary blocked them away with his hands and then went to strike at Harvor¡¯s stomach. Before theynded, Harvor knocked them away with both of his hands and went to kick Gary.

    Quickly reacting, Gary jumped back in the air, avoiding the hit, and as he jumped back, he saw the perfect chance. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡®Right now, while he¡¯s underestimating me, let¡¯s see if I can finish him off.¡¯

    Mid-flip, Gary had partially transformed his arms, giving him more power. Then the moment hended, he swung his arm out even though he wasn¡¯t close to Harvor.

    [w Strike]

    [Fire attribute has been added]

    Arge w mark came out, slicing through the air, but it wasn¡¯t the regr w mark. It had the added power of mes.

    The mark crashed right into Harvor, pushing him back. His feet dragged across the canvas floor, and the fire could be seen on top of his body.

    The attack had ripped through his skin again, just like Jayden¡¯s had done, until Harvor swung both of his arms out, blowing out the mes. But the markings were still there, as well as the heat on his skin.

    Once again, for a moment, everyone who was taking part had somewhat frozen. Xin hadn¡¯t even had a chance to get close to her brother because Gary and Harvor were fighting in the middle, blocking their path.

    ¡°This is making no sense,¡± Stanley said on the ground. ¡°How can there be someone so powerful and have fire abilities that we don¡¯t know about?¡±

    ¡°Why would someone who has such strong fire abilities juste out right now?¡±

    There was arge worry: was it someone high up from the White Rose? Was it one of the connections Jayden had?

    As for Gary, he was somewhat upset that his w Strike didn¡¯t do more damage. For one, it was a skill that took up a lot of energy, and there was something else as well.

    Using the fire attribute with his skills, although clearly making them more powerful, also consumed more energy.

    Since it wasn¡¯t nighttime, Gary didn¡¯t have the double energy pool he was used to using.

    ¡°What I really want to know,¡± Harvor said, ¡°is who you are!¡±

    The muscles in his calf had tensed up, and the vascr veins could be seen pumping the blood to his muscles. Now it was Harvor who had exploded forward.

    This time, Gary was trying to block the fist; he moved both of his hands to cover the strike, and he managed to be fast enough.

    Only the fist punched right through his guard, it didn¡¯t work, knocking his hands away before hitting him straight in the stomach.

    [-26 HP]

    ¡®It took off that much of my HP, even though I now have my endurance maxed out?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®This guy, he¡¯s a monster, not even in his Altered form.¡¯

    More thoughts entered Gary¡¯s head, and that was Jayden during the fight. He had taken more hits just like this one.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Gary said. ¡°Your hits are heavy, but I know, so are mine.¡±

    Gary responded as his transformed arm delivered a blow, swinging right into the side of Harvor¡¯s face.

    His head swung to the side, and blood sttered out on the canvas. Immediately, Harvor turned to look at Gary with his eyes and mouth smiling.

    ¡°Punch for punch, I¡¯ve never found someone that can oust me!¡± Harvor said.

    ¡°Oh, trust me,¡± Gary grunted as he used his other hand to hold onto Harvor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I still have a lot more pain to give you.¡±

    Both men swung their fists at the same time, neither even trying to block the strikes, and smashed them into each other.

    As both heads flung back, that was when Gary¡¯s ck wig swung onto the floor, and his familiar green hair was revealed.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Gary Dem!¡± Stanley said from the sides.

 Chapter 1011 Gary Dem Enters The Ring!

    Chapter 1011 Gary Dem Enters The Ring!

    Despite Harvor not using his Altered form, there was one thought that had gone through Gary¡¯s mind at that moment as he received the hit right to his face.

    It was the heaviest and hardest he had been hit, and that was saying something now that his Endurance in his stats had maxed out.

    Although he might have received more damage from attacks from Sin, those wererge on the power scale, including the power of the mes.

    This was just a solid hit, nothing else, and Gary could feel it vibrate through his entire body. What was even more worrying was that Gary wasn¡¯t sure if his hits were having any impact at all.

    Usually, he would see some strain on one¡¯s face, or with Sin, at least each time Gary did arge amount of damage, his body had transformed to suit that.

    Harvor would just smile each time, but as Gary¡¯s head was flung to the side from the hit and he gritted his teeth, he saw a change in Harvor¡¯s expression.

    It wasn¡¯t a smile; his eyes had widened in surprise, and the two of them had even let go of each other. It allowed for the power of the punch to skid them both across the canvas, putting more distance between themselves.

    That was when Gary saw it as well¡ªfloating down from above, onto the canvas floor, was a ck wig.

    ¡°Whose hair is in the middle of the¡­¡± The realization hit Gary as he went to grab his head, and he could feel nothing moving apart from his own green hair.

    ¡°CRAP!¡± Gary said.

    Seeing the green hair, and matching it up with the face in front of them, along with anyone who would be crazy enough to even match Harvor, it had be pretty obvious to even the men watching the fight from the ground who this was.

    ¡°Gary Dem!¡± Stanley said. ¡°It¡¯s Gary Dem. I should have guessed it¡­ this situation just got that much more important.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Stanley lifted his tablet and furiously tapped on it, trying to notify the other Zodiac members to get there as soon as possible.

    He even started to move closer to the cage himself. Now that Gary Dem was involved, he would have to get involved in the fight as well.

    ¡®Gary Dem, the leader of the Howlers, the new King on the block who took out the Phoenix Gang along with Sin. He is a person who¡¯s not to be underestimated.¡¯

    ¡®On top of that, unlike the other Kings who have been willing to keep the bnce for the sake of peace, he seems to do his own thing!¡¯ Stanley thought.

    He had done a lot of research on Gary Dem and the Howlers after their rise. He had analyzed the fight between Gary and Sin multiple times as well, and that was where a big confusion hade in on his part.

    ¡®How then, how is it that the Gary Dem in front of me is able to use fire powers?¡¯ Stanley thought. ¡®The reason why we were thrown off in our research was because we were looking for someone who had fire powers. In the fight, he never used them once¡­ what is the meaning of this?¡¯

    Stanley had never heard of an Altered being able to change their elemental or special trait. Sometimes, the beast would have a few traits, but it seemed odd.

    Was it a coincidence that Gary had fought against an Altered with fire powers, and now they were witnessing him use fire powers as well?

    Eventually, Harvor¡¯s surprised expression had disappeared, and his face returned to a smile as he started tough out loud.

    ¡°Now this is amazing,¡± Harvor imed. ¡°I have to admit I was worried for a moment, that there might be a person that had gone unnoticed that had managed to catch my attention.¡±

    ¡°But learning that it was you, Gary Dem¡ªthat really pleases me.¡±

    ¡°You know my name?¡± Gary asked, still a little starstruck that the AFC Champion knew who he was.

    ¡°Of course, you have my admiration for going after one of the Kings¡ªwhat none of us had done, you were the first. Since that day, I had imagined how I would fare if I were to go against Sin myself, and I too have wanted to go against you.¡±

    Jayden, whose grogginess was disappearing, was able to see the full situation, and seeing the green hair, he knew exactly who it was as well.

    It pained him, pained his whole body to see his sister and her friend fighting right here and now. Biting his lip, he wanted to shout out to them.

    He wanted to tell them to run away, but he couldn¡¯t do that in this situation, and knowing them, he knew it would be useless.

    ¡°Regardless, this doesn¡¯t change a thing!¡± Gary said. ¡°We¡¯re taking Jayden back with us.¡±

    Harvor looked back at Jayden and remembered what was said in the VIP room.

    ¡°Now I see, so you two have some sort of special rtionship. I guess it¡¯s true of Xin as well. Maybe they are all actually part of your Howlers gang.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s great, but you¡¯re wrong¡ªthis has changed now. Now that everyone knows that you are Gary Dem, this is a deration of war between the One Gang and the Howlers!¡± Harvor said excitedly.

    Gary, Austin, Park, and Xin were all gearing up, tensing their bodies at that moment.

    ¡°And if I beat you here, it will end it before it gets to that point,¡± Gary imed.

    Inside the VIP rooms where Daphne Bree and Ylva from the Lupus gang were watching, the revtion that the mystery attacker was Gary Dem had changed everything.

    ¡°Oh my!¡± Ylva said as she dragged her finger across her bottom lip. ¡°Gary Dem, the other Alpha is present. No wonder my body was acting up. I guess it wasn¡¯t a wasteing here after all.¡±

 Chapter 1012 Interrupted Skill?

    Chapter 1012 Interrupted Skill?

    Before Gary had jumped down to the cage, before he had made a decision to punch Harvor, he knew the weight of his fists.

    It was the reason why he hadn¡¯t jumped in sooner, because him being the leader of the Howlers meant his actions reflected on everyone in the Howlers and those that lived in Slough.

    He needed to think of the consequences of his fists. So, him being revealed in a ce like this was always a possibility, and now that he had been seen, it just meant he needed to get things done.

    *[Partial transformation]*

    His legs started to change, and his shoes even expanded in size. Right after, Gary kicked off his feet, charging for Harvor once again.

    ¡°If I have to take out another King because they think they can do whatever they want, then so be it!¡±

    *[w Drain]*

    Gary¡¯s ws had extended as he swung his hands, swiping at Harvor. He hadn¡¯t activated his fire attribute, only using his normal ws.

    Swinging them, they sliced through the air, hitting nothing. Even though Harvor had been hit several times before this, now his eyes were locked on and his hands slightly in front of him.

    Gary continued to swipe, but each of his attacks was missing.

    ¡®I¡¯m not slow, I¡¯m far from being slow, especially after I consumed Sin, but he¡¯s avoiding everything!¡¯ Gary thought in shock.

    He didn¡¯t understand it, but the more he looked at Harvor, it appeared as if the man didn¡¯t even blink, watching every single little detail of Gary.

    ¡®Then, I¡¯ll do the one thing that did work!¡¯

    *[Lethal Pounce]*

    Gary¡¯s knees bent slightly as he prepared for his speed to exponentially increase. Just as he burst from his feet, Harvor grabbed both of his arms, stopping Gary before he could even move.

    *[Lethal Pounce has been interrupted]*

    ¡°What the?¡±

    As Gary saw this message, he was lifted into the air, and then Harvor mmed him right into the canvas. It was heavy, sinking them deeper into the floor just like the attack with Jayden.

    [-34]

    ¡®That hurt even more thanst time¡­ and he stopped me before I could even perform Lethal Pounce, that¡¯s never happened before!¡¯

    ¡°I saw your fight with Sin, I saw your Altered form, it¡¯s some type of wolf,¡± Harvor said. ¡°But right now, you¡¯re fighting like sh*t. What¡¯s the matter, are you not fighting hard enough because your town isn¡¯t on the line?¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to send the whole One Gang to Slough and cause a rampage just like Sin did!¡± Harvor said as he went to punch his fist down right into the base of Gary¡¯s stomach.

    Gary¡¯s eyes glowed red, as he grabbed onto it with both of his hands, pushing back.

    ¡°Now, I won¡¯t feel so bad when I eat you up as well!¡± Gary said as he pushed with his legs and kicked Harvor off from his body. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He quickly flipped himself back onto his feet with the momentum of his body, ready to go at Harvor again.

    ---

    The fighting on the outside hadn¡¯t stopped either, as Austin was going full force against Apollo. Both of them had transformed into their Altered state.

    Austin¡¯s upper body looked like that of a bull, hisrge nostrils ring steam out from them.

    Meanwhile, Apollo¡¯s body was mostly covered in fur, with his limbs being slightlyrger than anything else.

    The two of them then charged at each other, grabbing hold of each other¡¯s shoulders. They were grabbing at the back of the neck. It looked as if the two of them were in a wrestling match, each trying to get a better hold of the other, trying to push them down.

    ¡°Do you need help?¡± Park said, as he avoided a swing from a strange tail of an Altered, then rushed in and delivered a strong punch across one of the gang member¡¯s faces.

    ¡°Just keep them off my back!¡± Austin said. ¡°I want this to be a fair match!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that Gary had managed to find some strong friends on the outside!¡± Apollo said.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Austin said as steam continued to grow from his nose. ¡°Don¡¯t speak Gary¡¯s name like you know him. If you¡¯re fighting on the other side, then pay attention!¡±

    Austin pushed his neck up, forcing Apollo¡¯s hands down as he delivered an uppercut punch straight to Apollo¡¯s head.

    He stumbled slightly before regaining his footing and charging in. As he did, he grabbed onto Austin¡¯s waist. It was then that he lifted Austin in the air and performed a suplex, mming therge minotaur Altered on the ground.

    Austin was hurt, but he was far from being out of the fight.

    ¡°Why do we keep running into stronger and stronger people?¡± Austin said.

    ---

    Since Gary was going head-to-head with Harvor, Xin finally decided it was her time to make a move, and she rushed forward, heading right for the men holding onto Jayden.

    As she rushed forward, two of the Zodiacs noticed hering toward them.

    As he saw Xin gliding across the room, one of the Zodiacs known as Roy lifted his leg, and it transformed into a triangle-like point, while having reptile scales on the end of them.

    Xin crashed right into therge foot, her whole body electrifying itself, but it seemed like Roy¡¯s whole body was unaffected as Roy continued using his foot.

    ¡°You should know me right, I¡¯m ranked 8th in the AFC,¡± Roy imed. ¡°Xin, it¡¯s not going to be so easy to take me out, and the guy next to me is JJ, ranked 12th. The One Gang is filled with the strongest and most skilled Altered; you will never get close to your brother!¡±ch out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1013 A Sisters Love

    Chapter 1013 A Sister''s Love

    Xin had been so focused on trying to free her brother and on her brother¡¯s fight in general that she hadn¡¯t even paid attention to who had him held. The fact was, they were some of the best fighters in the AFC. The One Gang was rather secretive to most of the world. Only those that looked into matters deeply even knew that Harvor was the head of a gang in the first ce.

    Because of this, who was part of their members was also hidden. It was expected that some of the fighters in the AFC would be under Harvor, but it wasn¡¯t as if everyone was. Plenty of people like Jayden and Xin herself had no rtion to the organization or the gang. At least, that¡¯s how it started.

    Stanley, one of the Zodiacs, was in charge of picking those that had caught his attention in the AFC and bringing them to their side before anyone else could get their hands on them. This was why the One Gang was filled with so many talented fighters, and those called the Zodiacs weren¡¯t anything tough at.

    ¡®It¡¯s the first time my electrical powers seem to havepletely no effect on someone... and two top-tier fighters¡ªcan I do this?¡¯

    As Xin was still being held back by arge foot that looked like it was part of a chicken, she saw Gary¡¯s whole body being flung back into the air. It flew until he hit the back of the cage. Chasing right after was a blur, but she knew it was none other than Harvor.

    Throwing a punch out, Gary had moved his head, and Harvor¡¯s hand had gone right through the cage, its power so strong the wind vibrated the seats in the distance.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to get a bit hot!¡± Gary said as he swung his hands filled with mes, hitting Harvor in the sides. The blows were heavy, but Harvor had mostly blocked them as he moved back into the ring.

    ¡°More, more¡ªbring out more of your power!¡± Harvor imed. ¡°I knew when you became a King, the two of us would face each other someday!¡±

    Blocking two hits, Harvor lifted his leg and kicked Gary right in the chin, sending his head flying back, but Gary continued to fight without getting startled.

    ¡°Me and you are not the same, just because we hold the same made-up title!¡± Gary rushed and locked hands with Harvor as the two were in a battle of pure strength.

    ¡°Really? Anyone who has be a King has done so because of one reason¡ªbecause they had great ambition. It doesn¡¯t matter what that ambition is or the reason for it. To help people, to get richer, to prove their power. After all, at any point, you could abdicate your throne.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want any of this, then give it up. Let someone else take over. I¡¯m sure whatever it was you initially wanted to achieve had been achieved long ago, so why are you here in front of me? Because you, as a King, believe you can do as you like, right? Right?¡±

    Gary right now wanted to use his full transformation and attempt to deal with Harvor. However, full transformation would only give him a slight boost in all of his stats. With their fight being so even right now, maybe it would give Gary the upper edge, but then what?

    The worry in the back of Gary¡¯s mind continued to linger. Harvor had yet to transform any of his body. If Gary couldn¡¯t best him partially transformed, then when Harvor really transformed, what were they to do? How would he defeat or even get out of the situation they were in?

    Gary hated to admit it, but during his fight with Harvor, he was conserving his energy¡ªhis energy so they could get out of there and escape because Gary wasn¡¯t so sure he could beat this monster in front of him.

    Xin, having watched Gary getting hit heavily and still fighting, had the opposite effect on her.

    ¡°I can¡¯t run away when he¡¯s fighting, even though it has nothing to do with him!¡± A single yellow feathered wing stuck out from Xin¡¯s back. As she pushed off from her feet, it had given her a boost. The sudden strength hade as a surprise to Roy, and he had fallen over on his back.

    Quickly, he twirled his legs and lifted himself off the floor. He was ready to attack Xin but was unable to see her. Before he knew it, an electrified fist had mmed him right across his face, sending him sliding on the canvas floor again.

    Roy never expected someone so low-ranked to get the upper hand on him in the situation they were in.

    ¡°If that crazy bitch thinks she can do what she wants, she¡¯s wrong!¡± JJ said as he looked at Xin and his body started to transform. By the side of his head, a strange swamp-like mass began to appear, and his eyes were beginning to bulge, until a stinging pain was felt through his back.

    When looking down, he could see a bloody w right through his stomach and white-colored fur. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Don¡¯t call my sister a bitch.¡± Jayden said, pulling out his hand and kicking JJ¡¯s body onto the floor. In all of the chaos, the two men that were meant to be holding Jayden steady had let go of him.

    Although Jayden was badly hurt, seeing his sister, seeing Gary both fighting, he summoned what strength he had to change back into his Altered form. Right after the attack, Jayden¡¯s body had returned to normal, no longer in his Altered state. He fell to his knees, but Xin was right there by his side.

    ¡°Jayden!¡±

    ¡°The big brother is meant to look after his sister, you shouldn¡¯t havee.¡±

    Roy, getting back up from his hit, was stunned to see JJ lying there on the ground, most likely dead. On the side, Stanley¡¯s jaw could be seen clenched even on the outside. Everything was going wrong, but that¡¯s when footsteps could be heard from behind.

    Casually walking onto the stage, several white and purple tracksuited men were present.

    ¡°Took you long enough!¡± Stanley said. ¡°Look at what¡¯s happened because all of you were so slow. Get in there now!¡±

    Stanley had ordered all of them. Now all of the Zodiacs were present in the fighting hall.

    *****

 Chapter 1014 The 12 Zodiacs

    Chapter 1014 The 12 Zodiacs

    The Zodiac members were a staple of the One Gang and its strength. There were 12 in total, and they were the ones who upheld the gang and were called in to do the real dirty work.

    Harvor was hardly ever involved in getting his hands dirty directly, and there were a few reasons for that. However, in return, they were paid well and received power and fame within thepany and gang as a whole. It was different from other groups and gangs.

    Because everything was linked to the AFC in the end. On top of that, to keeppetition fierce among the Zodiacs, the members could be reced at any moment. Those in the One Gang could even challenge other Zodiac members for their position.

    Out of all the Zodiac members currently, there was only one who had been there since the beginning and the person who had created the Zodiacs in the first ce, and that was Stanley.

    He stood there, cing his tablet down to his side and lifting his sses back onto the bridge of his nose before turning around to look at everyone.

    ¡°Look at all of you, casuallying in. You would think at least one of you would have half a brain to know that if I¡¯ve called for you numerous times, then something serious is going on!¡± Stanley said.

    From right to left, Stanley looked at the lineup of the Zodiac members that had arrived.

    There was a disinterested man named Pinner, his hair spiky on top of his head, his shirt sleeveless as he picked his nose.

    Then there was William, a man who stood straight and upright with his blonde hair gelled back. He was the slightly older person of the group.

    Next to him, there was a man named Vico. Rather short and had orange hair, a person who cared about his looks quite often. Currently ranked 18th in the AFC. However, his ranking would be higher if he cared more about fighting than promotional shoots, which was why he was allowed in the AFC in the first ce.

    A taller, slender man named Terrance had also appeared, one of the more reliable members who were covered in sweat but quite a in-looking person in general. If he waste, Stanley was sure it was because he was either gathering the others or busy dealing with what had happened outside.

    There was also a man named Tearnce. Small blocky frame with rounded sses, he didn¡¯t look much of a threat, but his Altered form and the fact he was in the Zodiacs said otherwise.

    Then there were thest two, the only females in the Zodiacs. They had to be ruthless to be part of the One Gang.

    Lena was a smaller woman who was always challenged for her Zodiac position because there were many in the gang thinking it would be easy for them to get the position from a girl.

    In turn, Lena had be one of the best fighters of the whole lot since she was always having to prove herself.

    Then there was Berry, a small girl who had her hair tied up in two buns. A person who had only been challenged once, and after the state of the individual, no one dared to challenge her again.

    ¡®This should be enough to deal with the situation without having to get personally involved myself¡­ and I don¡¯t want Harvor to go on a rampage in the entire city,¡¯ Stanley thought.

    ¡®Peter is no longer here due to that Raven guy that took care of him. JJ was just killed in the arena as well, but where is Simba? He was sent to the car park, but he should have been done by now.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Regardless, Stanley had to deal with the situation that was in front of him.

    ¡°Enter that damned cage, and get rid of anyone who is not a member of the One Gang!¡± Stanley ordered.

    After the order was given, something had caught the attention of the Zodiacs¡ªarge figure that was in the air.

    It eventuallynded, crashing into the canvas floor. When Gary turned his head to look at who it was, he quickly went by their side.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, I¡¯m fine,¡± Austin said as he got up off the floor. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡±

    During their fight, Apollo had practically used his insane strength to hurl Austin into the cage. Constantly, Austin found himself grabbed, and for the first time ever, someone was able to deal with him like so.

    Shortly after, Park had also jumped over the cage and ran over to where Gary and the others were.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re alright, right? I kept the others off your back¡­¡± Park said, breathing heavily.

    Gary could see it; Park was tired. Looking around at the situation, he saw Xin carrying her brother with her shoulder, heading to the center as well.

    Now all of them were in the middle, and Harvor was still present in the ring.

    When things felt like they couldn¡¯t get any worse, though, opening up from outside of the cage, the Zodiac members that had just arrived rushed in. As they did, they ran around the edge of the ring.

    They stood there, all staring at the center, leaving them no chance or way to escape.

    ¡°Is it safe to say that this situation is a little bad?¡± Xin said.

    They had Jayden on their side as well now, but in his condition, he wouldn¡¯t be much help.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be that guy, especially since this is like my first rodeo and all, but if I were to take a guess, this situation would be very bad,¡± Park said. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve been in worse situations than this before.¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Gary answered hesitantly, and that¡¯s when his ears could pick up something, the sound of a person walking from outside, oddly wearing high heels,ing toward the cage.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this fight a little too one-sided?¡± Daphne Bree said, leader of the Bree Family.

 Chapter 1015 Everyone In The Centre

    Chapter 1015 Everyone In The Centre

    The woman walked confidently with her high heels. She had a long, serious face as she paced into the ring with two men in suits following behind her.

    Upon entering the cage, no one approached her. None of the Zodiac members tried to lunge at her or attack. Instead, it was almost as if they stepped away, allowing her to enter the arena.

    It was a good thing that the ring being used was a specialized one,rge enough for a championship bout; otherwise, it would be far too crowded in a regr fighting cage.

    Other than that, though, Gary was looking at the individual who was brave enough to enter in the middle of all that was happening.

    ¡°Is she another member of the One Gang? But she¡¯s not wearing the same clothes as them?¡± Garymented. On top of that, he had heard her words from before.

    ¡°No,¡± Jayden said with a weak voice. ¡°That person¡­ she¡¯s Daphne Bree, the leader, the one in charge of the Bree Family.¡±

    Gary started to think back to the lessons that Kai had ingrained into him. While in Slough, Kai thought it was important that Gary at least knew beyond what a normal person knew about gangs.

    Such as who the Kings were and how things operated. From the information he knew, the Bree Family was not just one of the Kings; they were currently the biggest gang in the entire world.

    Having bases set up in various different countries, the leader of all of that was right here in the ring.

    ¡°What is she doing here?¡± Gary said, worried that the situation might have just gone from bad to extremely bad. Now, though, he understood why none of the other Zodiacs were acting up and hadn¡¯t jumped in on her.

    ¡®If she¡¯s one of the Kings, it means she should be incredibly strong as well, right? So what¡¯s her Altered form¡­ it has to be something scary for her to walk into the middle of all of this and be unfazed,¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°Youing in here right now and saying those words, what do you mean the sides look uneven?¡± Harvor asked.

    Almost in an instant, all of his attention had gone off Gary and was now focused on Daphne.

    ¡°Those are fighting words. Do you really n to go up against us in a ce like this?¡±

    Daphne looked at Gary and his allies, who were standing in the center of the ring. She was eyeing them up one by one. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She knew she had to choose her next words wisely, but havinge inside the ring with the others by her side, she had already made her choice.

    ¡°You always invite the other gangs to these events of yours,¡± Daphne said. ¡°It¡¯s quite clear what you had nned, and I¡¯m just someone who is looking to take advantage of a certain situation.

    ¡°As of today, the Bree Gang will dere itself at war with the One Gang. If any business is detected in our cities, we will act immediately, and we will do our best to cut off all funding of the One Gang!¡± Daphne said with a smile.

    It was quite a shock to Gary¡¯s ears and quite a statement to make in the middle of all of this mess.

    ¡°Young man, I hope this proves that our intentions are real with this one and that we too will be going up against the One Gang by your side,¡± Daphne said with a smile.

    For some reason, rather than getting out of the current situation, Gary felt like he was being swept up into a somewhat bigger situation in that moment.

    Right now, though, they needed more allies. Whatever her intentions were, they needed to get out of the situation alive and think about what to do after.

    ¡°To make such a statement in front of me must mean you truly have a death wish. I hope you know that you won¡¯t be able to make it out of here alive.¡± Harvor said as he started to clench his jaw.

    Rather than the fun he had while fighting, this matter seemed to extremely annoy Harvor in more ways than one.

    It looked like he was getting ready to punch her as she moved closer to the center, but that was when Park noticed something as he sniffed the air.

    ¡°Can you smell that¡­ it smells almost annoying?¡± Park said.

    ¡°How can something smell annoying?¡± Austin replied. ¡°Someone can be annoying, like you, but smell¡­¡±

    However, Gary wasn¡¯t so quick to dismiss the thought because he could smell it as well. It was almost like when someone cooked chili and it would hit you at the back of the throat.

    Only this smell was more menacing. It was familiar to him, like a smell he had smelled before, but for some reason, extremely agitating as well.

    Before he knew it, his teeth on the inside of his mouth were starting to erge. As he turned his head to look in the stands, he could see a woman standing there next to two shirtless men.

    The smell wasing from that woman.

    ¡°Now, now, what¡¯s this?¡± the woman said. ¡°If everyone is joining in on this mess, I don¡¯t think I should be left out.¡±

    The woman, along with the two men by her side, jumped from their position andnded right into the ring.

    It was inhuman¡ªthe jump they had just performed with ease. As theynded, the two men continued to snarl, staring at Park and Gary.

    ¡°Who¡­ is that?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°I¡­ have no idea,¡± Jayden replied.

    However, Gary would soon know, as his system had popped up with another message.

    [Warning, warning]

    [Members of another Pack have been detected!]

    [Members of another Pack have been detected!]

    [Your senses are heightened!]

    [Quest Pack War has been initiated]

    [Additional Rewards will be given for each Lupus Pack member that has been killed.]

    [Additional Reward will be given for the killing of the Lupus Luna Wolf]

    ---

 Chapter 1016 What Is it Im seeing?

    Chapter 1016 What Is it I''m seeing?

    The number of system messages that had appeared in front of Gary were quite rming. He read through them quickly despite the situation he was in, because they were just that important.

    The woman who had just entered with two shirtless men were just like him and Park; all of them were Werewolves.

    ¡®And they''re not just any Werewolves, they¡¯re not like Midwak who was an Omega, they''re part of the Lupus Pack!¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡®They must be here because they were invited by Harvor. He invited all of the top gangs, so it makes sense, and that message from before, could it be, that she¡¯s¡­she¡¯s¡­¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you finally.¡± Ylva smiled and then bowed slightly. When lifting her head up, she had a graceful smile. ¡°I expected to meet you someday, but it appears that fate wanted the two of us to meet before even you and Lupus himself met.¡±

    Stanley was keeping a close eye on the interaction between these two, and he didn¡¯t have a good feeling.

    ¡®The two of them are talking on terms as if they know each other?¡¯

    ¡®How is this possible? The Howlers are a new rising gang. Bree might just be taking advantage of the situation, but for the Lupus Gang to be doing the same? If they were close to the Howlers, then why didn¡¯t they help them out when Sin attacked?¡¯

    ¡®Regardless, if she is also going to help out Gary, this might turn out to be a tricky situation.¡¯

    ¡°I know what you are,¡± Gary said. ¡°But did you have toe now, of all times?¡±

    The reason Gary spoke these words was because he had the direct opposite thought of Stanley. There was no doubt in his mind that the Lupus Gang considered Gary an enemy.

    Lupus himself wouldn¡¯t allow for another Alpha to exist, and even Gary had made a deal during the ritual to go face-to-face with the Lupus Gang.

    It seemed like inevitably the two woulde to a fight. It was the perfect chance to stomp the other Alpha right now before he rose in strength.

    The only reason Lupus hadn¡¯t acted so far was because the Altered Hunters were in a scuffle with Lupus.

    Even with Bree helping him, they were having enough trouble against Harvor.

    ¡®There¡¯s something else that worries me as well, based on the message that I got¡­ is she the Luna of the Alpha''s Gang?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡®I remember seeing the system message, allowing me to select a Luna Wolf. Honestly though, I don¡¯t even know the benefits of having a Luna or what strengths or powers they have.¡¯

    ¡®I never thought about selecting a Luna because ording to the system it has to be a female, which gives me only two choices, Marie and Olivia.¡¯

    ¡®From what research I¡¯ve done, the Luna is also somewhat like the Alpha¡¯s wife. Like a father and mother running the pack¡­ which was why...¡¯

    It was then that Gary looked toward Xin. Yet she was an Altered, not a wolf. If he made someone else a Luna, would there be anything he needed to do? Was it something that was in name only? It was a decision that Gary wasn¡¯t ready to make until he had more information.

    ¡°Rx, do you think I would get involved in a battle of Alphas?¡± Ylva said. ¡°That is his decision to make. He is the Alpha, and he isn¡¯t here. Besides, in order to prove he is the true Alpha, he needs to do it himself.¡±

    ¡°If I was to do it, then it should be a position for me to take, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Gary didn¡¯t quite understand what Ylva was saying, only that it didn¡¯t look like she was going to attack him.

    Stanley had heard enough to make a decision himself.

    ¡°Everyone, as I said before, everyone who is inside the ring and not part of the One Gang is the enemy.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At that point, entering through the cage door, even Apollo was now inside, and on the order all of them started to transform into their Altered forms.

    Fur, scales, widened mouths,rge tongues, strange-colored bodies. Every single one of them looked to be trouble to deal with.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t looking good, even with the help we have,¡± Jayden said. ¡°These are top AFC fighters, and are all Altered. I think even to take on Harvor all of us would need to fight together.¡±

    As Jayden talked about his worry, though, it was then that Bree walked forward. She looked at one of the members that was closest to her side, and quickly rushed forward.

    Her feet were quick, and it was only then that Gary noticed that the boots that Daphne was wearing weren¡¯t exactly normal.

    They were simr to the whip that Olivia used, or the Axes that Innu now used. They were beast weapons, carved from the ancient monsters and using the crystal.

    It was why she was able to move so fast. Eventually, she had reached Roy.

    He went to kick, but she quickly spun her body and her hand was ced on top of Roy¡¯s head. At that moment, Roy had stopped moving.

    The other Zodiac member closest, William, decided to rush forward. Daphne let go of Roy, and suddenly Roy moved, lifting hisrge chicken-like leg.

    It crashed into the center of William¡¯s stomach and flung him until he hit the cage.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± Vico, another of the Zodiacs, asked. ¡°Is Roy working for the Bree Family?¡±

    ¡°I said from the beginning the sides weren¡¯t even, so I¡¯m just trying to make them a bit more even.¡± Daphne said with a smile, with Roy hanging over her shoulder. His eyes unfocused, not looking like himself.

    Gary and the rest of his friends had no clue what had just happened.

    ¡°What did she just do?¡± Gary asked.

    A different fear was running through the group because they just witnessed something they didn¡¯t understand.

 Chapter 1017 A Special Power

    Chapter 1017 A Special Power

    Gary was carefully observing Bree as she moved. As one of the Kings or Queens¡ªhe didn¡¯t really know the correct term; it was just that all leaders were given titles as the Kings.

    Either way, he watched her because there was a chance in the future that there might be conflict. Although Gary had no intention or strong ambition to take over or rule the country or countries, the words that Harvor spoke did ring true in his mind.

    Because of others'' ambition and his desire to protect the people of his town, he might end up shing against all of the Kings, including the Bree family or the Dark Guild.

    Which was why he was sure of it, he could see the Zodiac member ready to fight, even lifting up his leg to deliver a powerful kick.

    ¡®It was in the instant she touched him, his eyes changed, they no longer looked alive¡­ and now of all things, he¡¯s fighting against the other Zodiacs!¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡®Is it some type of mind control? That can¡¯t be it, right? What Altered or beast would have the power to do such a thing? That doesn¡¯t sound like a beast power but more like some type of superpower out of a book!¡¯

    Whatever the case was, Gary couldn¡¯t deny what he was seeing. Quickly and confidently, Bree was moving forward to the next Zodiac member, with Roy running by her side.

    The Zodiac Vico had run ahead, thinking Roy had betrayed them. Little wings on the back of his leg made him run at an incredible speed.

    Seeing this, Bree had arge smile on her face, but before Vico could move several steps forward, the back of his shirt was pulled, and then the rest of his body had been yanked back onto the ground as well.

    ¡°When did he get in here? I didn¡¯t even see him,¡± Xin said. Her Altered form was fast, especially when she used her elemental ability along with her transformed state.

    This was at a simr speed but was almost silent, and the person in the ring looked like they hadn¡¯t transformed at all.

    ¡°That¡¯s Stanley,¡± Jayden spoke up. ¡°He¡¯s not an AFC fighter, but he¡¯s always by Harvor¡¯s side. I¡¯ve been watching the One Gang for a while, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen him make a move himself.¡±

    For a second, Gary was thinking the tides were turning with having Daphne on their side, but the One Gang were proving even more ferocious.

    ¡°You fool, do you not think?¡± Stanley said as he pulled Vico up and let go. ¡°If you just attack, then you will be falling right into the enemy¡¯s hands.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Harvor said, stepping slightly forward. ¡°Everyone, stop using your Altered forms.¡±

    At that moment, there was a scorn on Daphne¡¯s face. Gary also noticed that her heartbeat had changed slightly.

    ¡®Did Harvor figure something out?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ¡°What?¡± Harvor said, looking at Daphne. ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t do research into others? That I was that arrogant?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I am more amazed that the rumors were true. Honestly, I can¡¯t take all the credit¡ªit was Stanley that actually figured it out.¡±

    Stanley pushed his sses back onto his nose; there was almost a smug look when his name had been mentioned.

    ¡°The fact that you seem to be able to control animals, and that isn¡¯t limited to Altereds. However, the control seems to disappear when the Altered is knocked out and they have reverted back to their human form.¡±

    ¡°So I thought, well, what if everyone just didn¡¯t transform¡ªwouldn¡¯t they be fine then?¡±

    ¡°A power to control Altereds!¡± Park said in amazement. ¡°No wonder she¡¯s able to be the top in so many countries¡­ isn¡¯t that like the biggest cheat ever!¡±

    Gary started to wonder if the powers they were talking about were simr to what Innu was able to do.

    When Innu came back, he had some type of telekinesis power with his axes, allowing him to throw them and return them to his hand.

    From the little conversation he had with Innu, it wasn¡¯t something that all Altered Hunters could do, but a power that he had learned.

    ¡°This is why you¡¯re so dangerous as well, Harvor,¡± Daphne said. ¡°I was honestly hoping I would be able to get a few of you before you figured it out, but now I only have one by my side.¡±

    ¡°But I can see it on your faces. Even though none of you are able to use your Altered forms, you¡¯re still confident that you¡¯re going to win this fight.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Harvorughed. ¡°You should know that we Altereds are the strongest without even having the need to transform. I could take you all on without even using my Altered form.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Daphne replied. ¡°You are probably the most difficult person in the world for me, which is why I have decided to roll the dice and gamble on this one.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to gamble that he will be the one to take you out.¡±

    It was only then that Gary noticed that Daphne was now standing next to him, and the person she was speaking about was him as well.

    ¡°Quit your yapping!¡± Ylva shouted. ¡°I came here for a rumble, so are we going to do this or not!¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Stanley clicked his fingers, and everyone moved forward, no longer transformed. Gary and his new allies were ready, and the fight had begun.

    A fist was thrown at Ylva¡¯s face, and she quickly dodged it. Throwing a punch back, it hit the man known as Terrance and spun him in the air.

    Hended on the canvas but had quickly got back on his feet.

    ¡°What are you doing, green boy!¡± Ylva said. ¡°That one that¡¯s standing there is left for you, he¡¯s not going to let us escape, and you need to stop holding back.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to win this fight the way you are. While they can¡¯t transform, this is the perfect chance to go wild.¡±

    Gary understood what Ylva was saying, even though she was from another pack, and he decided it was the perfect time after all.

    [Full transformation]

 Chapter 1018 A Dreaded Completion

    Chapter 1018 A Dreaded Completion

    Gary¡¯s whole body was changing as the dark brown fur grew out from the paws of his skin. Hisrge size was increasing, as his limbs elongated and his upper chest grew in size.

    This was the full transformation of Gary Dem, the full transformation that the others had witnessed that day in the videos that had gone viral, with Gary fighting against Sin.

    With his full menacing size on sight, there was a strange tingling sensation Ylva could feel.

    ¡®Yes¡­ he certainly is an Alpha!¡¯ Ylva thought. ¡®It¡¯s taking everything in my body to not transform myself; this feeling is certainly satisfying!¡¯

    She looked to the other two pack members that had been brought with her, and they were practically dribbling out from their mouths, their lips curling upward.

    Even though they hadn¡¯t transformed, it was in their nature to attempt to get rid of therge threat in front of them, to protect the Luna.

    ¡°Use the energy that you have to fight against the rest, because you¡¯re going to need it.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just as Ylva said those words, the two Zodiacs, Berry and Lena, came rushing forward.

    The two Werewolves threw wild swings with fierce power, aiming to take them out in one hit, but even though Lena and Berry hadn¡¯t transformed, they were able to dodge with ease and even came in close, delivering a strong blow right to the Werewolves¡¯ ribs.

    ¡°I would expect no less for those that are at the top of this country, otherwise things wouldn¡¯t be interesting anymore!¡± Ylva stated.

    Looking through the corner of her eye, that¡¯s when she could see Gary charge forward.

    As Gary charged toward Harvor, one of the Zodiacs, Pinner, hade right in front of him, hoping to do some damage.

    However, Gary avoided the manpletely and grabbed onto his arm. He continued moving forward and then flung the man right onto the cage.

    As the body hit the cage, it bent and had torn through, causing the man to fall into the stadium seats.

    ¡®Such raw strength!¡¯ Harvor noticed. ¡°Nobody get close to him, none of you can handle him now!¡± Harvor said with his arms stretched out and his legs slightly bent as if he was ready for a tackle.

    All of the muscles in Harvor¡¯s body tensed up. Heat was building up above his head, visible steam like a kettle.

    Gary charged forward with his body and crashed right into Harvor. He was lifted off his feet and crashed into the back of the cage.

    However, Gary didn¡¯t stop there; as he continued forward again, he pulled Harvor¡¯s hand and mmed him right into the floor.

    Harvor was still conscious despite the tworge hits. When Gary went to hit him again, trying to punch Harvor on the ground, Harvor managed to roll his head to the side to avoid the punch and even threw a punch of his own, hitting Gary across the face.

    Only it didn¡¯t quite fling Gary¡¯s face to the side like it would have done before. Instead, Gary turned his head back around and tried to snap at Harvor with his mouth.

    Just before Gary¡¯s mouth snapped close, Harvor had dug his fingertips, piercing the canvas floor, and then pushed against it, sliding his body across the ground.

    The sweat covering his body allowed him to glide slightly further, and when Harvor got up, for the first time, it appeared as if he stumbled slightly, his leg twitched just a little.

    ¡°Gary, he¡¯s gotten so strong, so much stronger¡­ to be able to hurt Harvor even if he¡¯s not in his Altered state,¡± Jayden said.

    ¡°Gary¡¯s gone through a lot to protect us all,¡± Xin said. ¡°And he¡¯s doing the same right now.¡±

    Gary hadn¡¯t actually used his full transformation to fight ever since beating and consuming Sin. Other than the heat resistance and the fire attribute as well as increased stats, he was noticing that his full transformation was also much more powerful as everything was increased slightly.

    In the center, the Zodiac members wereing forward, and Gary and his friends were able to keep up with them all, mainly because they weren¡¯t able to transform.

    Austin could take Apollo¡¯s hits, and when Austin struck back, Apollo was stunned for a few moments by the heavy blow.

    This was the case for most of the Zodiacs that hade forward.

    ¡°Man, these guys don¡¯t give up though, and I¡¯m starting to get tired,¡± Park said. ¡°They keep getting up.¡±

    ¡°Just keep fighting!¡± Austin said. ¡°We just need to go against them until Gary takes care of Harvor.¡±

    Stanley in the ring had barely made a move.

    ¡°All of you, go for Bree!¡± Stanley ordered. ¡°It¡¯s because of her none of you are able to use your full strength, so do whatever it takes to take her down!¡±

    Bree expected this to happen, and now the others also knew they would be on guard duty, but just as the order had been given, heavy blows were heard.

    They turned their heads and could see Gary had punched Harvor on the side of the head; another arm swung, hitting him on the other side.

    It was almost simr to the Dempsey Roll that Jayden had performed. So many loud hits werending on Harvor.

    It was then that Gary leapt back slightly, and then pounced forward, throwing his right fist right into Harvor¡¯s stomach.

    He was lifted off his feet again, and this time when crashing into the cage wall, his body ripped right through it, and he continued until he had eventually crashed into the seating area.

    ¡°Did¡­ Gary just do it? Did he just finish off Harvor!¡± Park said with excitement.

    There was no movement from the stands for a while, but not long after, chairs started to move, and Harvor could be seen standing up.

    ¡°I see¡­ I see, so everyone is against me now. The Lupus Gang, the Howlers, and the Bree Family, so this is the decision that you have made,¡± Harvor said, standing there straight and strong.

    ¡°Very well, Gary Dem, I¡¯ve decided¡­ you¡¯ve earned it.¡±

    Right after Harvor said those words, Gary had heard a ding.

    [Questplete]

    It was the first time ever that Gary wasn¡¯t happy toplete a quest.

    *******

 Chapter 1019 The Mystery of NIRV

    Chapter 1019 The Mystery of NIRV

    Rumper Karn, one of the three founders of the organization known as NIRV. There was Rickle Epmen, Rumper Karn, and Tinth Dullwan. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It was said that these three scientists were the ones that hade up with the Altered process in the first ce.

    Although NIRV was not the only facility orpany that dealt with Altereds and their creations, they were certainly the first, the biggest, and the most known throughout the world.

    Which was why Raven was wondering, what on earth was one of them doing on the rooftop of a car park of all ces?

    He stood there with his whiteb coat on and his puffy hair that stuck out the sides. This was how Raven was able to recognize him; he had a more distinctive lookpared to the other founders.

    There were a few men in ck suits and sunsses looking like a team of bodyguards, but on top of that, there were those that were far more casually dressed nearby.

    They didn¡¯t look to be part of NIRV, but Raven had a good guess as to who these individuals were.

    ¡®Retrievers¡­ it makes sense for the founder to have some protection around him. Normally, people wouldn¡¯t be enough,¡¯ Raven thought. ¡®But what is the founder doing right here, right next to the stadium where the match is going on of all ces? It can¡¯t be a coincidence that they¡¯re in this city¡­ something has to be going on.¡¯

    Rumper had been standing in the parking lot for a while, constantly checking his watch and tapping his foot.

    ¡°What is going on? That man has beente a few times in the past, but he¡¯s never been thiste!¡± Rumper shouted. ¡°Is he still not answering his phone, or sending any type of update?¡±

    ¡°No, sir,¡± one of the men in ck suits answered.

    ¡°I thought with him having Stanley by his side, he would reply quicker. He should know how important all of this is! Did he get knocked out in his fight or something?¡±

    ¡°Sir, you know how impossible that is. Let¡¯s just wait for a little while longer,¡± the man replied.

    Raven waited by the outside door, not moving from his spot. At first, he just wanted to escape, run away from the city, and figure out what to doter.

    After all, he was sure the One Gang would have figured out he had escaped by now, and there was a chance that there would be multiple people after him from all over.

    Yet, another thought hit his head. There was anger toward Harvor for what he had done, locking him up, and he wanted payback even if it was small.

    This might be his chance to dig up some dirt on Harvor or find a way to disrupt whatever n he had.

    Since it was NIRV that was involved as well, there might be even more opportunities for him to do something.

    As he waited, though, something strange urred¡ªa loud ring rm started to sound. It was constantly going off, and even Rumper looked confused.

    ¡°Sir, it seems to be the fire rm.¡±

    ¡°Fire rm, now of all times?¡± Rumper asked.

    ¡°From what I can tell, the fight seems to havee to an end, and now the fire rm has been set off. The people could be rushing to the car park after, to head home.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s best if we get inside and wait there.¡±

    Rumper looked extremely annoyed by everything happening, twisting and turning his head. It looked as if he didn¡¯t want to be seen.

    ¡°I need to make the delivery today,¡± Rumper said. ¡°You two, head to the area along with Simion,¡± Rumper ordered, pointing at two of the retrievers and one of the men in ck suits.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting harder and harder to deliver these. Rickle¡¯s eyes are on my back, and if he finds out, this whole thing is going to be a mess.¡±

    Due to Raven and his special Altered trait, he had heard everything.

    ¡®So the founders are going behind each other¡¯s backs? But what¡¯s in that metal suitcase that he just handed off? This might be bigger than I thought.¡¯

    Rumper had gotten back in the luxurious car that drove away. It didn¡¯t appear to go far though, only parking up.

    It made Raven more curious about whatever was in that briefcase. Rumper surely wanted it to be delivered, and Raven was already sure it was heading to the One Gang leader.

    ¡®They¡¯re heading this way; it might be the perfect opportunity.¡¯

    Raven headed further down the staircase. The door opened, and the man in the ck suit held onto the briefcase while walking ahead with the two other retrievers.

    They walked down the staircase and went to take a quick turn heading further down. It was then that one of the retrievers felt arge green slime ball hit them right on top of their head.

    ¡°ARGHH! It burns!¡± The retriever wanted to shout, but the green liquid had already burnt most of his head, killing him on the spot.

    The man in the suit turned around, but before he or the other retriever could do anything, both of their heads were chomped off by what looked like a giant snake¡¯s mouth.

    They fell to the floor, dying on the spot.

    ¡°If it¡¯s so important, they should have gotten better guards,¡± Raven said as he de-transformed his body.

    ¡°Although there aren¡¯t many stronger than me, only those damned Kings.¡±

    Taking the metal case, Raven wanted to look at what was inside instantly. It was locked, but that wasn¡¯t much trouble for him.

    Pricking his finger slightly, his blood dropped on the locks, his acidic nature of his blood melting right through the briefcase.

    He went to hold it again, and just as he did, his heart started to thump louder.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Raven said as he went to grab one of his eyes. When pulling his hand away, it was covered inplete darkness.

    ¡°Why is my eye acting up now of all times!¡± Fighting through, Raven opened up the briefcase anyway.

    As soon as he did, his body started to react strongly. Inside the briefcase, there were ten Altered injections. However, all of them¡ªthe liquid inside the vials¡ªwere moving around, a ck substance that appeared almost sticky and alive.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like the solution I took¡­ and there¡¯s so many of them! Why would Harvor even have this?¡±

    *******

 Chapter 1020 This Isnt A Game...

    Chapter 1020 This Isn''t A Game...

    It wasn¡¯t until this moment that Gary realized something particr about the system, and that was the sound of the dings that would ur in his head.

    They were like that of a notification on his phone, always alerting him of something. But what he had noticed was that there were different sounds, different dings.

    The reason he had just figured that out was because the sound of the ding forpleting a quest was just heard, and it made the hairs on his werewolf body almost stand up on their end.

    ¡®That was the sound for the questpletion. Does that mean right now, Harvor is¡­ Harvor is¡­?¡¯

    [Quest Completed]

    [In the face of a mighty enemy, your Werewolf cells are shaking with power. Your body wishes to give you what is needed to survive.]

    [First Reward: All Skills have leveled up]

    [w Drain: Level 3 >>> Max]

    [Last Stand: Level 2 >> Level 3 >> Max]

    [Lethal Pounce: Level 3 >>> Max]

    [Maic Howl: Level 2 >> Level 3 >> Max]

    [w Strike: Level 1 >> Level 2 >> Level 3]

    **Alpha Skills**

    [Howling Force - Cannot level up]

    [Alpha Bite - Cannot level up]

    The system message that appeared in front of Gary came as aplete shock. He was trying to think back if there was ever a time he had received such a great reward.

    Even when defeating Sin, he wasn¡¯t sure the reward was on this level.

    ¡®Skills take a lot to level up, and it looks like all of them have been pushed to the max apart from w Strike, and even w Strike leveled up twice! I¡¯m not even sure what these skills can do now,¡¯ Gary thought.

    Before, Gary would have to wait for nighttime to use his superior skills. It was how he was saved by another effect of the higher level of Last Stand from before.

    Now, with it maxed out, he no longer had to wait for that situation. With the night sky out, he would also be able to use the max level of w Strike, which was one of his most powerful skills.

    There was something else Gary had noticed as well. The quest had said it was the first reward, which meant there was even more toe.

    However, as he stared ahead, looking at where Harvor had crashed, waiting for something to happen, he heard a sharp, deep ping. It was a noise that he wasn¡¯t even sure he had heard before.

    [Error, Error]

    ¡®Error, what the heck is going on right now? This is not the time for the system to freak out on me, not at a time like this!¡¯

    The hormones in Gary¡¯s body were going rampant, making him go from one extreme to the other.

    [User is not Level 50]

    [Error]

    [The User is not at King Grade] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Error]

    [New Transformation Form is unable to be unlocked]

    ¡®A new transformation form? What the heck is my body meant to turn into other than a Werewolf?¡¯ Gary thought.

    It certainly sounded like something he could use in the current situation. All he could hope for was that when he did reach the other two conditions, he would still get the reward he was meant to get.

    ¡®I¡¯ll just have to do with what I have for now.¡¯

    Harvor started to take a step forward, and the first thing Gary could see was his strange scaled foot, the toes erged withrge w-like features, and the scales themselves looked to be gold in color.

    As Harvor stepped out more, Gary could see something behind the humanoid figure that was standing there, what looked like a fairly long tail that was waving in the wind.

    ¡°You know NIRV were the first to create the Altered, right?¡± Harvor¡¯s voice resounded loudly, echoing in therge room.

    ¡°But the truth is, the Altered project is deemed a failure. The creations that people call Altered today are not the real thing.

    ¡°You are all merely just beasts living inside human skin. The Altered that are made today are just a byproduct of the true creation.¡±

    The Zodiac members, as well as Gary and the others, were wondering just what Harvor was going on about. At that point, he reached out his hand.

    It wasrge and thick in size. At the end of his fingertips were giant ws the size of one¡¯s fist, while the golden-colored scales continued to flow upward on Harvor¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Out of the True Altered project that NIRV had started, I was the only one that survived, the official project that NIRV started, to revive an ancient race that had long been forgotten by this world!¡±

    From his back, tworge wings spanned open, blowing gusts of air to the side, revealing Harvor¡¯s Altered form.

    Golden scales ran down his legs and arms. He now appeared at least two timesrger than before, and hisrge wings spanned a few meters on either side.

    His golden tail swung in the air, resting on the seats at the end, with a long single white feather. The scales continued on Harvor¡¯s face with his fierce eyes shining bright and narrow.

    ¡°What¡­ is he?¡± Park said. ¡°He¡¯s some type of golden flying beast¡­ it¡¯s so bright. An ancient race? Is he talking about dinosaurs?¡±

    ¡°The beast preexisted the dinosaurs,¡± Xin said. ¡°This is something else. Can¡¯t you feel it in your body?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Xin, but everyone that was an Altered in the room could feel a part of them wing out from their bodies, wishing to run away.

    The beasts inside their bodies, the beasts of the past, all wanted to run away.

    The only ones that seemed to be unaffected were those that weren¡¯t Altered in the first ce.

    ¡°He almost looks like¡­ a dragon,¡± Gary said.

    [Error, Error]

    [Your level is too low]

    [Unable to grant the user a quest]

    As Gary received the message, he thought back to the times when he yed games. How characters would enter areas that were too high for their level.

    There was no quest yet to defeat the enemy because they were in an area they shouldn¡¯t be, and in those games, the result would be a quick death.

    ¡°But this¡­ isn¡¯t a game,¡± Gary said.

    ****

 Chapter 1021 A Real Altered

    Chapter 1021 A Real Altered

    Name: Gary Dem

    Grade: Queen

    ss: Dark Warrior (ss Upgrade in progress ¨C reach Level 50)

    Current Level: 43

    Gary was listening to Harvor¡¯s words, but he had no clue what was true about them or not. Talking about how the Altered project was to revive a race of sorts?

    If he was talking about himself, was it some type of dragon they were trying to revive? Did dragons even exist?

    Although he knew Werewolves and Vampires existed, would the fact that a dragon exists really be out of the realm of possibility?

    However, what was even more troubling was just how strong this Altered form would be, and judging by the system¡¯s messages, it would be an incredibly hard task, possibly almost impossible.

    ¡®Right now, I¡¯m level 43. I still have 7 levels before reaching level 50. In this current state, that would be impossible! Every time I reach a higher level, it takes a considerable amount of exp to reach the next one.¡¯

    ¡®Even if I were to take out all of the Zodiacs here, I don¡¯t think it would work¡­ well, maybe if I took out that Luna and Bree, something might happen.¡¯

    ¡®But right now, they¡¯re on my side, and I would have to do that while fighting him!¡¯

    There was an unsettling panic inside Gary. It was the fact that Harvor just stood there on the stage like there wasn¡¯t a care in the world, as if at any moment he could be taken out.

    ¡°Hey, Miss Bree!¡± Austin called out. He was still trying to shake the feeling from his body. The only result of having Harvor transform was that even his Zodiac members weren¡¯t moving forward and attacking.

    ¡°Can you do the same to that guy, like you did the other one? You know, control him.¡±

    Daphne let out a nervousugh, which had already pretty much given them an answer.

    ¡°If I could touch him, maybe I could try and do something, but it¡¯s not a guarantee. In some cases, I might be able to just force someone to untransform themselves, but not outright control them like this guy.¡±

    ¡°Also, using everything I have, I would have to give up control of all of those under mymand with my power.¡±

    ¡°Despite all of that, I don¡¯t think I could even get close to him without getting my head taken off.¡±

    ¡°Did you expect the woman to help you?¡± Ylva said with her arms crossed. ¡°This woman willingly gave up Inferno City to Harvor, why do you think that is?¡±

    ¡°Because she knows there would be nothing she could do against the One Gang. She¡¯s just a person with connections all over the world.¡±

    ¡°Right now, I¡¯ll tell you all one thing. There¡¯s only one person that would be able to take on Harvor, and that¡¯s Lupus.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Park shouted. ¡°That Gary can¡¯t do anything? Then why did you even bother to help us?¡±

    Ylva shrugged her shoulders.

    ¡°If Gary were to get out of this situation and face Lupus, it would give a chance for our Alpha to grow even more powerful, making his fight with Harvor easier.

    ¡°A fight between Alphas will make him strong enough¡ªstrong enough to even go up against them.¡±

    Park didn¡¯t understand who *them* was. If she was referring to the One Gang, then surely she would have just said their name, but she hadn¡¯t done that.

    For Austin, he had a slight idea. A group of individuals that were considered enemies to them.

    Under the ceiling of the arena, there was something that no one realized, and it was at that point that Gary thought his luck was starting to look up.

    [The night sky is out]

    [The effects of the Dark Warrior are now in effect]

    ¡®It¡¯s night time¡­ it¡¯s night time!¡¯ Gary cheered inwardly. ¡®This is it, with all this energy, maybe I can use everything I have!¡¯

    Gary prepared his w, digging out, using the w Drain skill. He then added his fire-burning mes to the end, and looking at Harvor, he was ready to swing his arm out.

    ¡°Whatever you¡¯re nning to do, I won¡¯t let you!¡± Harvor kicked off from the arena, and the power of his legs caused a type of explosion to ur behind him.

    Part of the stadium seating area and rocks had broken off, flung far into the distance.

    It was less than a blink, but as Gary went to swing his arm, he could see Harvor¡¯s smiling face in front of him. His giant w had tensed into a fist.

    It mmed right into Gary¡¯s face as he used his w Strike at the same time.

    The strike went into the air, fiercely moving several times but hitting nothing.

    Loud bangs were heard, as the others couldn¡¯t even see Gary¡¯s body as he was flung back into the air. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    They turned their heads and could only see the broken half of the stadium. The whole area had cracked, the seats all ripped apart, and a fissure had even appeared by the ring.

    ¡°What¡­ was that hit?¡±

    ¡°GARY!¡± XIN screamed. ¡°We have to go, we have to quickly see if he¡¯s alive!¡±

    The Zodiac members were still in the ring, though, and it was hard for any of them to make a move. But everyone was desperate to get to him as soon as possible, staring off at where his body had crashed.

    While they saw Harvor floating in ce, his wings weren¡¯t moving, but a strange golden mist covered his body, allowing him to stay in position.

    On one side of the stadium, deeply buried somewhat into the concrete and covered by mist, Gary¡¯s body was there, no longer in his Werewolf state.

    [Last Stand - Max level has been activated]

    [If the damage received by the user¡¯s HP were to go down to 0, Last Stand will emergency activate]

    [1/500 HP]

    [Due to emergency mode being activated, the skill will now deactivate]

    [Last Stand is now on cooldown]

    [Gary Dem has fainted]

 Chapter 1022 Hes Still Alive?

    Chapter 1022 He''s Still Alive?

    Little did Gary know that himpleting the quest at that moment and receiving the rewards had practically saved his life.

    The Last Stand skill had been used a number of times before when Gary was in a tough situation, and it allowed him to best his opponents.

    He had used it when he first went up against Olivia, and further used it when fighting against Midwak as well.

    However, it was a skill that needed to be activated. When activated, Gary could receive as much damage as possible and still have some HP left.

    As it leveled up, though, the Last Stand skill had grown stronger.

    In one case, while using Last Stand, Gary would also have an unlimited energy pool to use, allowing him to use skill after skill during that time. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Using this along with his w Drain, it allowed him to regain arge amount of health.

    Now that the Last Stand skill was at its max level, it had another effect.

    If the user was unable to activate Last Stand in time and detected a hit that would cause death, Last Stand would auto-activate.

    This is exactly what had happened when Gary had been hit by Harvor. It wasn¡¯t Gary who had activated the skill, but the skill had activated itself, leaving him with 1 HP and saving his life.

    Still, there was a drawback, and that was if the skill self-activated, it would only save the user and would not work the way it usually worked.

    Now Gary had no chance to use the Last Stand skill, and it had deactivated an instant after the hit had been delivered.

    It would have been almost a second chance, a near-death state, yet Gary had been hit so hard he had fainted, and now his life wouldn¡¯t even be in his own hands.

    Harvor, in the air, slowly descended with the strange gold mist that was holding him up, and he returned back into the ring.

    As hended, he was still in his strange humanoid dragon-like structure. His feet gently touched the canvas floor.

    ¡°Will you look at all your faces? I change for one moment, I throw a single hit, and this happens.¡± Harvor said. ¡°This is why I don¡¯t like transforming so much. You have to congratte him, though. Your friend managed to make me transform.

    ¡°I would say because of that, he was certainly deserving of the title of one of the Kings. As for you two¡­¡± Harvor lifted his hand, and his long singr w was pointed at Bree and moved over to Ylva.

    ¡°For two of the Kings to go on his side, I guess you can safely say that you guys chose the wrong side.¡±

    The Zodiac members were all smirking at the situation, and there was arge change in demeanor for Stanley. He was clearly relieved that the situation unfolded the way it had.

    ¡®In the past, when the One Gang was on the rise, before the AFC was even a thing, there were a number of challenges.¡¯

    ¡®Back then, Harvor would use his Altered form only briefly, but each fight ended just like this one, with one punch.¡¯

    ¡®Because of that, Harvor started to limit himself, only fighting in his human form, and looking for somewhat of a challenge, he even started the AFC.¡¯

    ¡®In his human form, he got what he wanted. I thought maybe, knowing this was Gary Dem who had defeated Sin, that he would have been able to take a punch.¡¯

    ¡®If he did, and it ended up as arge fight and breakout between the two, I could already imagine half the city no longer being here.¡¯

    As Stanley thought about it more, for as long as he had been with Harvor, he had never seen the full extent of his strength.

    Which was equally why he didn¡¯t want to see it himself.

    ¡°How does it feel? The person you had put all your hopes into is now dead!¡± Harvor imed.

    Xin¡¯s eyes were sparking, and her body was still in its transformed state. Tears had already filled her eyes, and she was ready to dash forward.

    Regardless of the sparksing off her body, it was Jayden who grabbed onto her, now more so standing on his own feet.

    ¡°Xin¡­ I don¡¯t want to lose you too. I don¡¯t want to lose you to that b*stard! I know you¡¯re a smart girl. You should know you can¡¯t face him¡­¡±

    Jayden was biting his own bottom lip. After finally seeing the Altered form and a fraction of Harvor¡¯s real strength.

    If he had known there was no chance for him, and if he had known the situation would unfold into this, then he would have never attempted this.

    ¡®Was I so wrong, though, to attempt to get my revenge, to just get some damned type of justice for her¡­¡¯ Jayden thought.

    ¡®But now, I¡¯ve ended up dragging people that care about me, people that don¡¯t even know me, into all of this, and all of them will be taken down with me.¡¯

    Jayden was tensing his fist. He had gained back some of his strength. His special Mythical Altered form did allow him to heal somewhat quickerpared to regr Altereds.

    But he was nowhere near in the condition to fight like he had before, but he wondered if it would be enough to let the others escape.

    While still surrounded, and with no one left to even face Harvor, they were all at a loss of what to do, until one person stepped forward.

    ¡°You idiots, can¡¯t you even tell? Your friend, he¡¯s still very much alive,¡± Ylva said. ¡°But I suggest that you get to him as fast as possible.¡±

    ¡°As for this one¡­ I think you haven¡¯t been paying enough attention to me.¡± As Ylva said those words, her two shirtless guards hade by her side, and they started to transform, along with her.

    ****

 Chapter 1023 Just Escape

    Chapter 1023 Just Escape

    The two that stood by Ylva¡¯s side had transformed, and their forms had gotten incredibly wide and big. Their muscr stature looked giant.

    The men were already rtively muscr, but the Werewolves they could see were a rarity. They were more simr to the protector-type ss.

    That was because they were both like Marie. They were both Titan Vanguard ss Werewolves, those that had the strongest protection.

    Regardless of the type of ss they were, Ylva was no fool. After seeing Gary, an Alpha and a strong Werewolf, being blown away by a single attack, she too was ready to join the fight.

    As fur started to cover her entire body, it grew white in color. It was almost translucent, simr to the look that Jayden had when the fur grew on his body. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Although while his was fine, this was more wild and flowing on her body. Ylva didn¡¯t grow much in size, yet for some reason, as the others stood behind her, they could feel that she had an intimidating presence.

    ¡°How long do you think she¡¯s going tost?¡± Park said.

    ¡°Does that really matter? Didn¡¯t you hear what she said? Gary is alive, and we need to get to him fast. He might need to be taken to a hospital or something!¡± Austin said.

    Even though he never had to in the past, even when Gary was badly hurt in fights, as long as he had a good hearty meal, his body naturally healed itself.

    ¡°Everyone, I¡¯ll make a path, just keep up with me!¡± Austin dered as he looked in the direction where Gary was.

    Steam started to re out of Austin¡¯s nostrils, and his body was starting to turn slightly red. The muscles on his skin were moving.

    It was the first time Park had seen Austin like this in his Altered form, but he didn¡¯t say anything due to the situation.

    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Austin exploded with his feet and continued to run forward.

    Xin, in a panic, decided to follow, and so did the rest, Jayden mostly dragging his feet.

    It wasn¡¯t just them though, Daphne Bree herself decided to go ahead with the trail of the others.

    ¡°Keep them off our back!¡± Bree ordered Roy.

    Quickly, the Altered went behind and stood in their way.

    A few of the Zodiac members moved in front of Austin, but like a bull charging in their direction, even as they attacked him, it didn¡¯t slow him down, and his shoulder barged into William, sending him flying off to the side.

    Austin continued to run forward, and he had broken right out of the cage. He jumped off the main tform, and the others did the same as they followed him toward the stands.

    Perhaps the Zodiac members could have stopped the charge if they could transform, but with Bree traveling along with the group, they didn¡¯t want to take the chance.

    Some of the Zodiac members were already busy giving a beatdown to Roy. With three of them on one, they had managed to pin him down and restrain him, giving him quite a few injuries in the process.

    ¡°What are we going to do when we get to Gary?¡± Xin asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s get to him first, and see what happens then!¡± Austin shouted.

    None of them wanted to turn around. All of them feared at any moment they would see a figure flying right behind them, ready to get rid of them one by one.

    ¡°Are you not going to chase after them?¡± Ylva asked, her eyes glowing white. As she lifted her hand, the ws on her front stuck out extremely far, unlike the other Werewolves by her side.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I can catch up with them anytime,¡± Harvor answered. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m somewhat interested in the Lupus Gang. A group that has kept to themselves, undisturbed, for a long time.¡±

    ¡°And yet, you chose to help them. Bree I can understand, but as for yourself, I¡¯m not so sure.¡±

    ¡°Right, right,¡± Ylva said as she stretched out both of her hands, the ws injecting into both of the Werewolves by her side.

    At that moment, their eyes were glowing fiercely blue, and their size started to grow even more. Their muscles were bulging even more into solid walls.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ylva said, charging forward with the other two by her side.

    Austin and their group could hear loud bangs constantly going off behind them. It sounded as if they were in the middle of a warzone, but none of them looked back.

    They had finally reached the area in the stands where Gary had been whacked into. Park and Xin were pulling away and chucking the chairs to the side.

    While Austin had gone deeper into the hole. It was hard to see just where Gary was because he had been hit so deep.

    After clearing the area, Austin hade back out, and he now had Gary on his back.

    ¡°Is he¡­¡± Park said, shocked, seeing blood even dripping from his head.

    ¡°He has a pulse, his heart is still strong, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to be able to wake up and fight anytime soon.¡±

    Just as Austin finished those words, three resounding bangs went off one after the other, and on another side of the arena, threerge holes had been made, breakingrge parts of the stadium.

    ¡°I think the Lupus Gang just went flying out of here,¡± Bree said.

    Honestly, Bree was surprised they hadsted that long. It was unsure if they were alive or dead, but they were no longer in the stadium, which meant their attention was now based on them.

    Getting out was clearly the only option; there was no way for them to win this fight, but how could they even do that?

    ¡°Hey, is it just me or is it starting to feel cold here?¡± Park asked.

    It wasn¡¯t just him though. When Xin looked at the stand and the seats next to them, for some reason, arge chunk of it was freezing over. All of the seats were covered in frost and were encasing themselves in ice.

 Chapter 1024 Alpha Vs Alpha

    1024 Alpha Vs Alpha

    Looking up at the sky, the night stars could be seen twinkling above. The moon wasn¡¯t fully out, around half of it was showing.

    Slowly, Ylva¡¯s transformation started to revert, as her white fur decreased, and her ws were reverting back to normal.

    Eventually, she stood up from the ground and looked around.

    ¡°This is the outside food court and parking area?¡± Ylva said. When she looked right ahead, she could see the three distinctive holes in the wall off in the distance.

    ¡°It was easier to get out of that ce than I thought,¡± Ylva said, as she tugged on her shirt, making sure the cement was right. Since her Werewolf form didn¡¯t change her size much, her clothing was perfectly intact despite transforming.

    When she went to take a step forward, she felt arge pain in her abdomen.

    ¡°He hits quite hard, that one,¡± Ylva took a deep breath and continued walking over to one of her guards.

    They too had shrunken and reverted back to their original size. She could see him moving, and slowly, he got up off the ground, in far more pain than her.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get Uventus and get out of here,¡± Ylva said. ¡°It seems we aren¡¯t his main target for today.¡±

    As the two walked over to where Uventus was, though, they could see blood dripping down his front. She could hear it¡ªhis heart was no longer beating.

    Uventus had taken a slightly stronger hit than the two of them, and he wasn¡¯t going to make it back.

    ¡°Pick him up, and let¡¯s bring him back,¡± Ylva said. ¡°He deserves to head back to Lost City.¡±

    After picking up their ally, the two of them rushed off, nning to leave the city and note back for a long time.

    Looking around, they could see that the area of the stadium had been cleared. It was no wonder the Zodiacs along with others were so busy.

    The One Gang was incrediblyrge, yet so few were inside the stadium, and it was most likely to clear the area.

    From her observation, nearly all of the nning was done by the one known as Stanley by their side.

    As Ylva continued to run, and eventually they headed into a more green area where they could use the trees and branches, she started to think back to the situation.

    ¡®It seems I underestimated Harvor¡¯s strength, and I would guess that Lupus has as well. Still, I think out of the two of them Lupus would still win¡­ but¡­¡¯

    ¡°What is it that you are worried about?¡± Bartho asked while still carrying their ally on his back.

    ¡°Is it about Harvor? What would happen if the One Gang was to attack us because of this? We already have a lot to deal with, it will be difficult.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it,¡± Ylva replied. ¡°I can see why you¡¯re thinking the way you are because after that altercation, there is no chance for the Howlers to survive. They will be eliminated after today.¡±

    ¡°But you see, as the Luna of our pack, I have to prepare a bit more. While Lupus has his great strength, I have to protect the pack in other ways, so I have to think of the worst oue.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡± Bartho asked.

    Ylva didn¡¯t answer, instead, she left her thoughts to herself. She had originally helped out Gary Dem and the other Alpha because of knowledge that she had learned.

    ¡®If two powerful Alphas face each other, they will grow in strength exponentially as they try to take the other out. After a long battle, the winner, by consuming the other, will gain an immense amount of strength.¡¯

    ¡®It will be a great strength that will allow us to no longer be surprised by them. This is why I had nned to save Gary Dem.¡¯

    ¡®The n was for him to best Harvor and grow stronger and then at least be somewhat of a challenge for Lupus, helping him grow.¡¯

    ¡®However, Harvor is far stronger than I expected. If Gary were somehow able to defeat Harvor, and in the end consume him as well¡­ there is a chance that he would be too powerful for Lupus to deal with¡­¡¯

    Ylva knew that Lupus didn¡¯t see Gary Dem as a big threat, even after witnessing his strength against Sin. Right now, the bigger trouble was the Altered Hunters who had targeted him.

    No doubt that someone else was behind forcing them to make a move, but a bigger threat might grow because of that.

    ¡®Wait, did they n this all along? Have they been supporting the other Alpha in the shadows? The timing of the attack from the Altered Hunters, it was just as our attention was focused on them.¡¯

    This made it even more clear to Ylva: if they were supporting the other Alpha, then there was a good chance that Gary Dem could still win this fight against Harvor.

    ¡®If that¡¯s the case, I need toe up with a backup n of sorts. A sure way so that our side can win no matter what.¡¯

    Ylva thought about it as she leapt through the forest, right past her ally andnded on the ground.

    They were now on some type of mountain pass where a car was stationed with another member of the pack waiting for them.

    There weren¡¯t many words exchanged, but they had carefully put the body of the fallen ally into the car.

    ¡°Hey, do you remember that guy who was really annoying and eventually got kicked out, what was his name again?¡± Ylva asked.

    ¡°Are you talking about Midwak?¡± Bartho replied.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s him. Let¡¯s go pay him a little visit before we head back.¡±

    ****

    For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Instagram: Jksmanga

    Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1025 The Great Chase

    Chapter 1025 The Great Chase

    Inside therge stadium where the battle between Jayden and Harvor was to take ce, Gary and his group of friends were in a dire situation.

    The Zodiac members were powerful even though they were unable to transform, and they had Harvor in his transformed state on their backs as well.

    To top it all off, Gary had received arge blow that had knocked him out and pulled him out of the fight.

    Thankfully, due to Austin¡¯s bullish nature, he was able to break out of the fighting cage and get to where Gary was, pulling him out and now carrying him on his back. But where would they go now?

    Ylva and her pair of Werewolves hadn¡¯tsted long against Harvor, and now the only way out was to try to head for one of the tunnel-like exits.

    ¡°Hey, do you guys feel that? Isn¡¯t it getting a little cold in here suddenly?¡± Park said.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s the time to start talking about how cold you feel?¡± Austin asked.

    Xin didn¡¯t say anything, but she could feel it getting colder as well. A few rows away from her, she could see it¡ªthe seats were gathering frost.

    The frost was starting to grow until the whole thing was condensed in ice. She raised her hand to point in the direction of the ice, and right at that moment, it exploded.

    Large parts of the stadium seats, as well as the foundation it was built on, went flying in different directions. All of it covered in ice.

    Everyone had to brace themselves, worried they would get hurt, but they soon turned their heads to look at what was the cause of it.

    ¡°My word, is that you, Ice?¡± Park said, ecstatic.

    Xin and Austin turned their heads to confirm it, and it was indeed Ice. The strangest thing was, it wasn¡¯t just him, but he had arrived in his car.

    When looking in the direction of where Ice hade from, there was a giant ramp made of ice that flowed down, away in the distance.

    It attached itself to the floor, and when looking in the distance, Ice could also be seen in the multi-story car park in the distance.

    Not only that, but once more, the car itself waspletely wrecked. The front bumper looked to be barely hanging on and was heavily dented.

    As for the roof, there wasn¡¯t even one. Half of the car had been ripped off from the top. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s get in!¡± Park shouted.

    The others were quick to follow, even though they weren¡¯t sure that the car would even work. Since it was arge limo, there was plenty of space for all of them.

    After everyone got in, Ice quickly got to work. But rather than putting the car in reverse, he shifted the ice beneath the car¡¯s wheels and then turned it around.

    Right after, he forced his foot on the pedal. The tires slipped slightly before it eventually got going, and as they exited out from part of the stadium, the others could see therge ice ramp that was heading straight for the floor.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to die in a car!¡± Austin shouted as the car vertically dropped down like a rollercoaster.

    The bottom scraped across the floor of the outside car park, and the car started to speed off. It continued to drive, heading for the main roads.

    ¡°What the heck happened to this thing?¡± Park asked. ¡°The car¡¯spletely destroyed! Kai¡¯s going to kill me.¡±

    ¡°Just keep driving, otherwise they¡¯re going to kill us!¡± Xin shouted.

    Ice continued to drive, going through the car park, turning left and right, trying to get out of the way of a few cars.

    At the same time, if a maneuver seemed too hard, he would st it away, creating arge pole from his hand, pushing the car away.

    ¡°Driving this vehicle is incredibly tough,¡± Ice said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it was a good idea.¡±

    ¡°You came through for your group in the end,¡± Bree said. ¡°That¡¯s what matters.¡±

    Everyone turned their heads, and that¡¯s when they noticed that they had an extra person with them on board.

    ¡°But seriously, how did you know toe and get us?¡± Park asked. ¡°Were you in a fight or something? Is that why the car got wrecked and half of the roof is missing?¡±

    ¡°Yes, someone strong came to fight me. So I guessed that you guys were in trouble. I tried to get here as fast as possible. As for the car¡­¡± Ice paused for a moment, and even his cold cheeks started to turn slightly red.

    It was hard for him to admit that all of the destruction of the car was entirely his fault, including how the top part of the car¡¯s roof was now missing.

    There was another thing¡ªIce had pushed himself quite a bit, using a lot of his elemental powers. Any moment now, he could fall asleep, and he certainly wasn¡¯t in any condition to fight.

    Which was another reason why he had decided to just drive away rather than support the others.

    ¡°What about him¡­ is he okay?¡± Ice asked.

    Gary wasid out on the back of one of the seats. His head was on Xin¡¯sp, while Jayden was next to his sister.

    ¡°He¡¯s alive,¡± Jayden said. ¡°He did well. He did really well.¡±

    As Ice made it out of the stadium area and started to drive down the main road, everyone looked back at the stadium and they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

    But that feeling onlysted a moment. As they looked back, the top of the stadium roof was seen broken, and arge object had flown up into the air.

    It hadrge wings and golden scales. It circled in the air beforending itsrge, giant feet on the edge of the stadium.

    Arge beast could be seen on the edge of the stadium, looking in the direction of the car. A beast that couldn¡¯t be described as anything but a dragon.

    ¡°It¡¯s Harvor,¡± Bree said. ¡°He¡¯s fully transformed into his Altered form.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 1026 Flying Dragon

    Chapter 1026 Flying Dragon

    The car had to be around two kilometers away from the area. It was stillrge and in sight from most of the city as it was a central point for a lot of the city.

    A ce where most of those that lived there were proud of. When visitors woulde, people would usually show them the arena as one of the bigndmarks.

    Now, as those in the city looked at the arena¡ªthose that were driving, those that were leaving the arena, and those that just stared at it as the LED lights shined on the outside¡ªthey could see something almost glowing.

    Arge figure, with its ws dug in on the outside, itsrge wings slightly moving as the giant creature breathed in and out.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Clem said. ¡°It looks like a dragon.¡± She quickly pointed to the man next to her, who had pulled the camera out and began the live stream immediately.

    Several users had logged on, looking at therge creature that was currently there.

    ¡°Is that¡­ a monster, a dragon, on Earth?¡± the cameraman said.

    ¡°It came from the AFC stadium¡­ could it be, is it actually a type of Altered?¡± Clem asked, speaking to the viewers.

    Thements wereing in one after the other. It was hard for them to believe that this really was an Altered. If it was, it certainly had to be one of the biggest ones in existence.

    They had seen people change in size when using their Altered forms and full Altered transformations, but it was the first time for them to witness something sorge in sight.

    As thementers were thinking this, Xin, as well as the others driving away in the car, thought the same thing.

    ¡°That¡¯s his fully transformed Altered form! It¡¯s so big!¡± Xin said.

    ¡°It¡¯s ginormous, it could eat other Altereds up with ease,¡± Park added.

    ¡°Everyone!¡± Austin said with a strict voice, snapping everyone out of it. ¡°Get ready!¡±

    Austin could feel it, a sixth sense of his, that Harvor hadn¡¯t just transformed into his full Altered form for no reason.

    He wasn¡¯t going to let them go.

    The ws dug into the stadium, and then Harvor set off. Parts of the stadium crunched off, falling onto the ground below, and now a giant creature in the sky was flying over the city.

    Due to its size, it was impossible to miss. People pointed up at it, pulled out their phones, and began to film as they stared at it in awe.

    When the dragon went past them, a few secondster,rge gusts of wind swept them up.

    In one of the cars, it also didn¡¯t take long for a particr member of NIRV to see this.

    ¡°Harvor is showing his Altered form in public!¡± Rumper said. ¡°What does that man think he¡¯s doing?¡±

    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s finally decided to act, sir,¡± his man on the side said.

    ¡°Something must have happened. It¡¯s no wonder he didn¡¯t arrive at the meeting. And where are our men in the first ce? Shouldn¡¯t they have sent a message, sent some type of report?¡±

    ¡°I will go investigate both of these matters for you, sir,¡± the man said as he got out of the car and started to walk toward the stadium. To get a full answer on what was going on, all they needed to do was find Stanley.

    In the vehicle itself, Ice had already stepped heavily on the pedal. They were passing cars quite quickly left and right, and now they were on the highway heading across arge bridge that went over the river.

    After therge bridge, around five kilometers more, and they would be out of the city and be on their way to Slough.

    However, with thisrge creature flying toward them, even getting to Slough wouldn¡¯t be the best decision.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s catching up! That damned dragon is pretty fast!¡± Park shouted.

    ¡°How¡¯s Gary?¡± Ice asked.

    Xin took a look at him. She gently tapped the side of his face, but he still appeared to bepletely out.

    Daphne, who was in the car, was wondering if she should just jump out of the vehicle, but due to who she was, there was a good chance that Harvor would decide to chase her rather than Gary.

    So she decided it was best for her to stay inside for now.

    ¡°If Gary is still out, then we need to make decisions ourselves!¡± Ice imed. ¡°Park, swap!¡±

    Park didn¡¯t have to be told twice as he quickly climbed over the seats and headed for the steering wheel.

    Ice had swapped and now had moved toward the back where the others were. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much energy left, so I¡¯m hoping you can carry me if I end up passing out,¡± Ice imed as he had formed two spears made from ice in his hand.

    He then hurled them right at Harvor. The spears were on course and fast, but as they hit Harvor¡¯srge face, they just shattered, doing no damage as Harvor continued to fly closer and closer.

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to be enough!¡± Austin said, looking around at anything. ¡°Go closer to the side!¡± Austin shouted.

    Park listened, and as he went to the side, Austin transformed, his arms reached out, and he snatched up arge parked vehicle.

    He lifted it above his head and then hurled it with all of his strength.

    The car spun through the air several times, but unlike the ice spears, this time, a strange gold mist surrounding Harvor¡¯s body swirled around the car, moving it around its body to crash onto the ground and explode.

    The car took a heavy turn as they had joined onto the bridge and were now going down it as fast as they could.

    When joining the bridge, they could see Harvor fly up above. It was then they noticed that his wingspan was wide. If he flew where the bridge was present, then he would snap the wires holding the bridge.

    Still, now he was directly following them from above, and there was no turning around.

    ¡°What do I do?¡± Park said.

    ¡°Just keep going!¡± This time, it was Jayden who spoke. ¡°Keep going¡­ there¡¯s something that I can do¡­ something that I have to do.¡±

    *****

 Chapter 1027 My Last Words

    Chapter 1027 My Last Words

    The car continued to travel on the bridge across the river. Most of the cars had already stopped and pulled over to the side, as they stared at therge creature in the air and started to film it.

    It wasn¡¯t every day they would see such a creature. While others who were too afraid to film had just stopped and stayed still, hoping not to gain any attention.

    There was only one vehicle moving on the bridge, a limo with half its roof torn off and several people inside.

    Xin had been caring for both Gary and her brother, and she felt at that moment Jayden slipping away from her as he stood up and made a deration.

    ¡°Keep going¡­ there¡¯s something that I can do¡­ something that I have to do.¡±

    ¡°Something you have to do?¡± Austin said. ¡°Don¡¯t be crazy. There is nothing we can do. Just sit back down while wee up with a n.¡±

    Everyone in the car had roughly the same thoughts, but Xin had a fear that made her heart start to race and beat slightly louder.

    She knew her brother better than anyone. He had protected her so many times while growing up.

    ¡°Jayden, don¡¯t¡­ just don¡¯t!¡± Xin called out. ¡°Just do as the others say and sit down.¡±

    Harvor¡¯s shadow was cast above them. It was the only time they could speak as the car continued down the bridge.

    ¡°We all know the truth of the situation,¡± Jayden said. ¡°If we continue traveling this way, sure, we might be able toe up with some ways to fend Harvor off, but where does this trail lead to?¡± Jayden lifted his index finger, pointing ahead.

    ¡°The only ce that can be considered safe for us is Slough. It¡¯s clear what type of person Harvor is. He has made up his mind, and he will continue the chase all the way to Slough.¡±

    ¡°Your city, Gary¡¯s city, the city where my family currently lives. Slough was just rebuilt. It can¡¯t be destroyed again because of me.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Xin said, careful to move as Gary¡¯s injured head was still in herp. ¡°What do you think you can do? You already fought him with all you had, and look at the state you¡¯re in. You only just started to recover.¡±

    ¡°If you try anything, then you will die!¡±

    There was silence from Jayden. At that moment, Xin just wanted Jayden to say something back, to say words offort, or that he had a n, that he was going toe back to her.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t do anything, then everyone will die, everyone that was involved in this because of me. When I fought Harvor today, I was prepared for what was going to happen.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Xin. I never expected to see you here¡­ you are my dear sister, and you know I always have to protect you.¡±

    Tears were flowing down Xin¡¯s face as she couldn¡¯t understand why Jayden was saying these words, why he was trying to upset her.

    ¡°If you¡¯re gone, then how can you protect me? If you want to keep protecting me, then you have to live!¡± Xin shouted.

    Jayden gave a long stare at Gary and thought back to the moments they had together¡ªwhen they worked together to save Xin from the gang members.

    When they sparred at each other¡¯s house, and the several meetings and urrences they continued to have. He couldn¡¯t imagine that the young boy would be able to surpass him like he had done now.

    ¡°He will be able toplete my revenge. I wish I could see it with my own eyes, but I know the type of person he is¡ªsomeone who always gets things done.¡±

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Xin screamed. ¡°Stop talking like this! All of you, stop him! Stop him!¡± Xin screamed.

    The others didn¡¯t act. It wasn¡¯t their ce, and every word spoken by Jayden was true. Even with whatever Jayden was nning, there was a good chance it wouldn¡¯t work, and none of them would survive this.

    The car continued forward, and they could see that they were trulying up to the end. There were only a few moments left.

    ¡°I wish I could have spoken to him more. I wish the two of us could have hung out more. Actually, I wish all of us could have hung out more,¡± Jayden continued.

    His body started to transform. The white fur was growing all over. In the night sky, a special glow appeared over his entire body and skin. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I have some final words that I wish to pass on. Xin, you have grown strong, a person who is capable of making your own decisions in life.¡±

    ¡°You have a good sense of justice, and maybe at times see too much good in people, but you have managed to surround yourself with very special people. You asked me before, right? Who can protect you when I¡¯m gone? Well, just take a look around you.¡±

    ¡°As for Father, tell him that he needs to be his own voice of reason now. Sometimes, another way, although it may not be your way, can work as well.¡±

    ¡°And that I knew he was always looking out for us. That he tried his best for both of us after Mum passed away.¡±

    The sobs from Xin were getting louder, uncontrobly.

    ¡°And my final words are to be passed on to him, Gary Dem¡­ Can you tell him he would have made a good brother?¡±

    As Jayden finished his sentence, the car passed the bridge, and Harvor was seen descending toward them.

 Chapter 1028 A Golden Light

    Chapter 1028 A Golden Light

    Xin''s sense of time felt like it was slowing down as she saw the end of the bridgeing up.

    Thest of the metallic wires that held everything together.

    She saw that her brother had already transformed, and she wanted to reach out and grab him.

    But she was afraid that doing so would put him in more danger.

    Then, as the car passed, she saw it: Harvor had started to descend toward them, the heavy wind produced by the p of his wings could be felt.

    It was like a giant ne right on their backs, and it would catch up to them regardless.

    Jayden''s feet leapt off from the back, and he was seen in the air, glowing bright. He lifted his wed hands, feeling the weight of the air growing heavy.

    The feeling behind Jayden''s fingertips was like pulling thousands of tons, and then he let go.

    Giant wind strikes left Jayden''s hands, far heavier and stronger than he had ever performed before, even stronger than when he fought against Harvor with his anger in the AFC. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The giant strikes crossed Harvor''s face, causing him to flinch and go off course.

    The scales on his face and his giant shoulder slightly bled as they were cut.

    Now Harvor was above the water where the bridge was, and Jayden hadnded right on Harvor''s face.

    Jayden could tell that his strikes were stronger than before, and he started to think about the difference.

    "I thought the angrier I was, the more I wanted my revenge, the stronger my strikes would be. But now I can tell, this strength I''m feeling now is because I want to protect them all. This is what I can do."

    As the car continued to drive, they could see Jayden fiercely fighting, scratching and swinging his hands on top of Harvor.

    Harvor''s giant dragon body was swirling around, trying to knock him off violently. At the same time, the strange golden mist was trying to attack Jayden as well.

    "That was his n, huh?" Austin said. "To fight the damned giant dragon while we get away."

    "A warrior''s death," Icemented.

    "He''s not going to die!" Xin shouted. "Don''t you dare say those words."

    "But I''m surprised. Jayden was hurt in the AFC fight, right? And Harvor seems far stronger now. He''s even changed to his Altered form. So how is it that Jayden is even able to put up a fight?" Austin asked.

    "There are many tales throughout history¡ªtalks of battles between the mythical white tiger and the dragon," Daphne said.

    "You should know that all mythical tales of ours have some truth to them. That''s why even Mythical-type Altered exist. Jayden is that mythical white tiger.

    "Perhaps this fight is his calling."

    As the car continued to move, they were soonpletely out of the city and onto the highway, and that''s when they saw it.

    Both Jayden and Harvor ended up crashing into the river. The dragon''s body was skimming across the surface. Jayden''s attacks didn''t seem to stop asrge scratches were made across Harvor''s face.

    Eventually, they were both seen sinking deep into the water. The car turned, and buildings blocked the sight of the riverpletely.

    All they could see in the distance was a figure flying high in the air.

    Golden beams of energy started to gather into a singrrge ball, and then with the opening of the dragon''s jaw, arge light beam shot out.

    The beam of energy spread wide, and the shockwave was seen exploding out until it broke, shattering several windows of buildings.

    Even with how far the group had gotten, the car shook, moving on its side before falling back.

    "Jayden..." Xin cried, continuing to sob, and the rest were left in silence.

    They wondered if Harvor woulde after them or if they would see himing, but he never did, leaving the group to their own conclusions.

    Maybe after all the fighting, Harvor was too tired and weak. Perhaps he was still fighting Jayden or was too hurt from the fight to continue the chase.

    As for Jayden''s state, nobody knew, but they could take a good guess. Instead, they wanted to believe that it was because of Jayden that all of them were able to get away safely.

    Suddenly, Park turned the wheel of the car and lifted the handbrake. The car screeched across the floor until it came to a stop.

    "What the heck?" Park said, opening the door of the car.

    The others slowly got out of the vehicle as well, wondering what was going on.

    The road was empty. No cars were present heading toward Slough. They hadn''t noticed during their escape, but now they had a good reason why that might be.

    "Kai!" Park shouted.

    Kai was standing on top of arge delivery truck, and behind him was a fleet of different cars, buses, SUVs, pickups, and more.

    Each of those in the vehicles wore the infamous Howlers uniform¡ªck and gold.

    "Is everything okay? Is everyone here? Where''s Gary?" Kai asked as he rushed over.

    Still in the car were Gary and Xin, both of them together.

    "What are you doing here?" Austin asked.

    "We saw what happened on the news, and we guessed something must be up," Kai said. "I wasn¡¯t taking any chances. There was a good chance that we would be in a full-out war to get Gary back."

    Kai, standing about five meters away, could see Gary was hurt, blood covering his clothing, and he waspletely passed out.

    "What happened to him?" Kai asked.

    "It was Harvor... he was too strong for all of us. We luckily managed to make it out alive."

    It was only then that Xin noticed all of the cars and that they had stopped. For a moment, when she saw Kai, her face lit up.

    "Kai, you brought the whole Howlers gang. That means we can go back, we can go back and save Jayden... right!" Xin asked.

    ****

 Chapter 1029 Turn Back Now!

    1029 Turn Back Now!

    When Xin came out of her own thoughts for a moment, she could see therge number of vehicles in front of her, and seeing who it was, a spark of hope ignited inside.

    Kai had brought along arge force of the Howlers, and there had to be at least around five hundred people in the vehicles.

    The Howlers, since their start, had grown strong as well. It wasn¡¯t just filled with new gang members.

    There were arge number of Altered among them, and Crowley, who had made it out of the attack from the Phoenix Gang, was present as well.

    It was clear that Kai was serious about his words. He was ready for war, and just maybe, they would be able to save Jayden.

    However, as she asked her question, Xin could instantly see the conflicting look on Kai¡¯s face.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xin said. ¡°You said you brought everyone because we might have to go to war. My brother is still there¡ªlet¡¯s go and get him!¡±

    Xin¡¯s cries were met with silence, but Kai knew he had to give an answer.

    ¡°Xin, we can¡¯t go back to help your brother,¡± Kai answered.

    ¡°What did you say!¡± Xin went to dash forward, but before she could reach for Kai, Austin grabbed her and held her slightly up in the air before cing her behind him, making sure that he was in-between the two of them.

    ¡°I understand your feelings!¡± Kai said.

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Xin shouted. ¡°If it was Gary in there, you would head in without a second thought. Because it¡¯s my brother, you won¡¯t! Is it because he isn¡¯t a member of the Howlers? How is that fair? If Gary was awake, he would go back in there¡ªI know it!¡±

    ¡°And would you want him to?¡± Kai replied.

    The question made Xin pause for a moment.

    ¡°That is why I can¡¯t let the Howlers go in there¡ªit¡¯s because of Gary,¡± Kai answered. ¡°Right now, Gary is in this state because he went against that One Gang. He went in to help your brother.¡±

    ¡°From what I can see, it¡¯s lucky Gary made it out of there alive, and you want to send everyone back in?¡±

    ¡°You want to send everyone after an opponent even Gary couldn¡¯t beat?¡± Kai raised his voice.

    It was one of the few times he had done so, especially against an ally, a friend. In situations like this, when everyone was hot-headed, he needed to be the level-headed person in the group. Otherwise, they would all run into their deaths.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, Xin,¡± Austin said. ¡°Think about it¡ªeven if Gary was awake, we weren¡¯t able to do anything. We need to prepare.¡±

    ¡°But Jayden¡­ he¡¯s so close. He was right there. It was only because of him we were able to escape. How can you all live knowing that? How can you?¡±

    Maybe if Xin were in the others¡¯ positions, she could understand, but being so closely rted to the individual, she couldn¡¯t think straight and was acting purely on emotion.

    ¡°Xin!¡± Kai said, wanting to get through to her, because he could tell she still hadn¡¯t given up. And there was a worry for Kai¡ªif Gary woke up at any moment and heard the words she was shouting, there was a chance he would run back in there.

    ¡°You can go back if you want. I¡¯m not in control of you. But if something happens to you, it would ruin your brother¡¯s sacrifice, and even Gary¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°To send in the Howlers and risk the lives of so many others for Jayden¡ªwe can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s different for Gary.¡±

    ¡°He is the Howlers, which is why everyone can take that risk. Because without him, we don¡¯t exist.¡±

    ¡°But to lose our lives for someone we don¡¯t even know is alive or not¡ªI won¡¯t risk their lives.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Take that back!¡± Xin shouted, her body already transforming. Austin turned around to see her, but she had already zipped past him and was in the air, aiming for Kai.

    ¡°Jayden is alive!¡± Xin shouted.

    In a sh, Kai¡¯s entire body transformed, revealing his light grey fur.

    His body had grown partially, and at the perfect moment, Kai grabbed Xin by her neck and mmed her onto the concrete floor.

    Her electrical powers surged through Kai¡¯s body, but bearing through the pain, showing his front teeth, he continued to hold Xin down.

    ¡°How are you even meant to save your brother if you can¡¯t even beat me!¡± Kai yelled.

    Watching everything unfold was Daphne Bree, who was standing to the side. Her eyebrows raised the moment she saw Kai transform.

    ¡®He has the same Altered base as Gary Dem, but something feels different about it all,¡¯ she thought. ¡®Either way, it seems that Gary isn¡¯t the only strong member in the Howlers. He has quite the diamond aiding him by his side.¡¯

    As Xin¡¯s transformation ended, she began to sob on the ground, and Kai let go.

    ¡°Alright, everyone, we¡¯re heading back to Slough!¡± Kai ordered.

    Everyone started to head back into their vehicles while Austin lifted Xin off the ground.

    Just as Kai was about to turn around, someone approached him.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind, but I would like to pay a visit to Slough.¡±

    Looking at who it was, Kai instantly recognized one of the Kings from his research, but as to why she was here, he could only guess.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee until you¡¯re not,¡± Kai said.

    The group returned to Slough, anxiously looking over their shoulders. They wondered if Harvor woulde after them at any moment, but he never did.

    They stayed updated on the news channels and more, but there was nothing¡ªno mention of Jayden for now.

    The news of a giant flying dragon was pretty much all that was covered.

    As they saw the sign for Slough and entered the city, Kai was worried mostly about one thing.

    ¡®When you wake up, Gary, with everything that¡¯s happened, what are you going to do? What can you do?¡¯

    *****

    *******

 Chapter 1030 Wake Up Gary

    Chapter 1030 Wake Up Gary

    When the group had arrived in Slough, it wasn¡¯t peaceful times for the Howlers, nor could any of them rx.

    Kai knew what had urred¡ªthere was a fight between two leaders, two of the Kings, and retaliation was expected one way or another.

    They didn¡¯t know when, so Kai quickly called for a meeting. In the underground of one of the grand hotels in Cipen, where wedding venues would be held, a grand meeting had urred.

    ¡°Everyone is to stay on high alert. Inform each other if there is anyone suspicious. Keep an eye on the color gangs as well in case any of them are being used,¡± Kai ordered.

    ¡°As for the teams located in the skyscraper towers, you need to make sure you don¡¯t miss anything. Several eyes need to be awake at all times, looking out for attacks from above or below! Does everyone understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± the squad leaders replied, and they would go ahead to ry the information to the rest of the Howlers in the city.

    A lot had changed in Slough¡ªthere were new buildings and a redesign of the city. Skyscrapers had been built as touristndmarks, four in total.

    However, this was actually all nned out by Kai. The skyscrapers were more like watchtowers that were observing from the outside.

    Even the way the buildings were built around the outskirts was done with a strict urban nner so they could defend the city easier from an attack.

    After leaving the hotel lobby, Kai was immediately back on his phone, contacting a number of people. He was getting information from all of their allies, trying to get a handle on Harvor and the One Gang¡¯s movements.

    If they could get ahead of it, it would be great for them.

    ¡®The good news is so far there seems to be no movement from Harvor and his gang; the bad news is I don¡¯t know the reason why that is.¡¯

    ¡®If possible, I want to avoid a fight in Slough at all costs. We were able to rebuild Slough once, but I¡¯m not sure we could rebuild it again.¡¯

    ¡®After thest fight with one of the Kings, we weren¡¯t the ones that got Inferno City¡ªit was Harvor, so he got all the riches from the fight.¡¯

    ¡®The same thing could happen again, and we would have no way of rebuilding Slough at all.¡¯

    After exiting the building, Kai raised his hand, getting a car to pull over. It wasn¡¯t a taxi, but the member driving was part of the Howlers.

    Since thest fight, Kai had stopped wearing his mask, so pretty much everyone knew who he was and the important role he yed in Slough.

    ¡°Take me to the ice rink,¡± Kai said.

    The man asked no questions, even opening the door from his driver¡¯s side, and allowed Kai to get in. After dropping him off, Kai looked at the ice stadium.

    A ce where certain sporting events in Slough would take ce, and at other times, just be used as a regr ice rink for entertainment.

    Today, the venue was closed, privately booked out.

    As Kai reached the entrance and had his hand on the door, he let out a big sigh.

    ¡°This is what I¡¯ve been dreading the most.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Slowly opening his eyes, there were two things that hade to Gary¡¯s mind. One of them was that he was cold, and the other was that he was quite hungry.

    In his view, he was staring at a metallic ceiling with a disy of lights. It wasn¡¯t the usual scene of a bed or the white ceilings of a hospital, so he was quite confused.

    As he eventually got up, he realized he was in a bed but mostly ignored the sights in front of him because there was a table with a tter of meatid out and ready for him.

    Gary¡¯s body was moving even before his hands as he reached out and gobbled up the food bit by bit. As he did, his energy was restored, and he started to feel a lot better.

    As he took a break, it was only then that he started to realize where he was.

    ¡°Am I in an ice rink?¡± Gary called out. ¡°And there¡¯s a bed of all things¡­ am I still dreaming?¡±

    ¡°You certainly aren¡¯t,¡± Kai said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As Gary turned around, he could see the bed he had gotten up from, and further in the stands, where the observers would be, were the core members of the Howlers.

    Austin, Marie, Olivia¡ªthose that had been with Gary since the start of the Howlers¡¯ creation.

    Gary was pleased to see them there, and it brought a smile to his face, but equally, things were confusing for him. Nothing was making sense.

    ¡°Wait a minute, why am I here?¡± Gary thought as he went to touch his head.

    He could feel a pain in his stomach. As he went to check his system, he saw that the food and energy were doing their thing, and seeing it all, it hit him.

    The new, upleted quests, the fact that his HP was still low, and his body was healing¡ªGary remembered everything.

    ¡°Wait¡­what happened? How are we here? This is the ice stadium in Slough, right?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Where is everyone else? Where is Xin? Where is Harvor?

    ¡°What happened? I remember being hit¡­¡±

    Gary was panicking, but then he thought for a moment. He was fine, and Austin was over there as well. Since Kai was here, maybe somehow they all managed to get saved.

    ¡°I guess we all made it out alright in the end if I¡¯m here,¡± Gary said.

    To that question, though, he felt Kai¡¯s pulse change.

    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, Gary¡ªnot everyone made it out,¡± Kai answered.

 Chapter 1031 The Path With My Hands

    Chapter 1031 The Path With My Hands

    Remembering everything that happened, the people involved, and therge hit that Gary had suffered, it was almost as if he was going through it a second time. In doing so, the adrenaline running through his body was already high.

    ¡°Kai, you know I don¡¯t usually say this stuff to you,¡± Gary lifted his head and directly looked into Kai¡¯s eyes. ¡°I want you to cut out the smart talk. What do you mean by that? Who didn¡¯t make it? What happened?¡±

    There were a number of possibilities. Since Kai hade to rescue them, maybe it was some of the Howlers gang members. In the worst case, maybe it was someone else¡ªamong those people he wasn¡¯t able to see in the stadium.

    ¡°It¡¯s Jayden Clove,¡± Kai answered. ¡°I heard what happened to him in the ring, and why you got involved, trying to stop Harvor. After that, Harvor gave you arge blow, knocking you out, and Ice appeared.

    ¡°He took you all out of there as far as he could, but Harvor continued to chase your group. No one was strong enough to fight Harvor, and there was a good chance that he would take you all out.

    ¡°At that point, Jayden decided to fight back. He allowed you to get away and meet with us halfway on the way to Slough. We brought you all back in the end¡ªeveryone was saved, everyone came back safely¡ªbut Jayden hasn¡¯te back.¡±

    The entirety of Gary¡¯s body was shaking, and he was clenching his jaw. He started to think about what had gone wrong, what he could have done to change the oue. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Maybe he should have used all of his energy to escape from the get-go, or maybe he could have used his position as a king to try and negotiate with Harvor. The truth was, no one knew how that would have turned out either.

    Still, Gary was upset with himself. Jayden, who had helped him before¡ªmultiple times¡ªand had been a person of guidance, was now gone, and Gary had beenpletely passed out at the time.

    ¡°ARGHHHHHH!¡± Gary screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice rebounding off the empty ice arena. He lifted both of his fists and mmed them into the floor.

    The ice rink cracked in several directions, and something else urred. Underneath Gary¡¯s fists, steam was rising as part of the ice began to melt. In his anger, he had somewhat activated the fire attribute of his body.

    Lifting his head, Gary stood up as he realized something.

    ¡°What about Xin? What happened to her? Where is she now?¡±

    Kai turned his head away¡ªit was clear he was hesitant to answer the question.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you straight: I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, you don¡¯t know?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°She came back with us to Slough. I was busy trying to get Slough ready in case of any sort of attack, but I had people following her. I was worried that she might try something¡­ and I knew how you¡¯d act if something did happen,¡± Kai exined.

    ¡°But she took out those who were following her. She didn¡¯t do much to them, just enough to escape, and now no one knows where she is.¡±

    Gary lifted both of his hands to his head, wanting to pull them apart.

    What situation was he in? What had he done to deserve all of this? What had she done?

    Gary was sure, although he was feelingpletely distraught, that losing Jayden was somewhat like losing Kirk for the second time, but the feeling he felt now¡ªit had to be multiplied intensely for Xin.

    ¡®I was there. I was right there. I talked so confidently, I told Xin not to worry, and same with Jayden, yet both of them went away.¡¯

    ¡°Xin¡­ she must have gone back to Harvor to find her brother,¡± Gary said as he turned around. ¡°I have to go get her, now.¡±

    Kai reached out and grabbed Gary¡¯s hand, holding and pulling him back.

    ¡°What are you doing? We don¡¯t even know if Xin really went there. She might just need space for herself. If you go there, what would you do anyway?¡±

    ¡°Even if she isn¡¯t there, I need to go and try. If I can at least help Jayden, then Xin will be alright as well. I can fix this, I can sort it all out¡ªthere won¡¯t be a problem,¡± Gary said.

    As Kai¡¯s grip lessened, Gary continued to move.

    ¡°STOP!¡± Kai called out. He hated that he was right at this moment¡ªhow he could predict Gary¡¯s thoughts. Xin was right about Gary¡¯s actions as well.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to go back for Jayden. I¡¯m telling you now, Jayden is dead. You will be walking in there for no reason,¡± Kai stated.

    ¡°Did you see him die with your own eyes?¡± Gary asked.

    There was no reply from Kai.

    ¡°Did any of you see Jayden die with your own eyes?¡± Gary shouted across to the others as well.

    There were no answers from them either.

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t see him die with your own eyes, then don¡¯t be killing him off yet,¡± Gary said.

    Gary continued to walk, and as he did, the others started to move from their seats, making their way into the stadium.

    ¡°There was a reason I brought you here, Gary,¡± Kai said. ¡°I thought this whole thing would get a little messy, but it¡¯s my job to stop you from doing stupid things, and to make sure you¡¯re walking the right path¡ªeven if I have to do it with my own hands.¡±

 Chapter 1032 Unstoppable Pain

    Chapter 1032 Unstoppable Pain

    "What do you mean?" Gary said. "You''re prepared to fight me and you got everyone here to go against me."

    "Do you think I want to fight you?" Kai replied. "I don''t want you to die.¡±

    "Think about it. You already went to the One Gang, you already faced Harvor and after a single real blow by him you passed out.¡±

    "If you go there now, what are you going to do? Do you have any idea of how to beat him, any idea of changing the oue.¡±

    "Any idea of stopping the entire One Gang froming to Slough and starting a war!"

    Gary was starting to have shbacks of what Slough looked like after the fight with the Phoenix Gang.

    How the city was in ruins, how even the people who lived in Slough were hurt and injured, some of them even losing their lives.

    "Did you forget who lives in this city, your friends and their families and even your family Gary!¡±

    "Right now it''s more important to protect those that you know are alive! You''re right, I didn''t see Jayden die with my own eyes but do you know who I know is alive.¡±

    "Your sister Amy, your friends behind me, and your mother. If you go there and you lose your life then what will happen?¡±

    "Stop being a selfish child and think about the people here and how they would feel if they lost you, and then think about who will protect them.¡±

    "If we lose you and Harvores here, no one will survive. Right now you have to face it Gary¡­ you''re just too weak to do anything."

    Kai was carefully watching Gary''s reactions, he could see his hands tensing up his muscles flexing.

    Just like before it was how Xin had reacted before she had attacked.

    It was then that Gary made arge moment and his right arm had transformed.

    Austin and the others were quick to look at the move, ready to jump in. There was fear in them, would they really have to all try and take on Gary? Could they even hold him back?

    The fist was thrown out but it went right past Kai''s face, who hardly even moved, instead the fist was thrown straight into the ground breaking the ice further.

    "ARGHHH" Gary screamed at the top of his lungs, he dug his ws into therge chunk of the ice underneath and pulled it out.

    He then swung it hard into the stands and seating areas, smashing it to bits. Gary then jumped up in the air andnded in the ice again pounding his fists into the ground.

    "What is he doing?" Marie asked as the others had arrived, now standing close to Kai.

    "He''s just blowing off some steam, he''s got a lot of emotions right now and he''s letting it all out. It''s normal in these situations, I know how he feels." Kai answered. "After he breaks a few things he''ll feel a bit better, but after that he will have to face the facts of everything."

    Gary continued to trash the ice arena using his physical strength to hit whatever he could find.

    He never was going to hit Kai, he never would. He knew Kai was right and Kai had be someone that was extremely precious to him.

    Even in a fit of anger Gary wouldn''t dare to hurt those that had been with him a long time and helped him so much through this entire journey.

    But he needed to get it off his chest, he needed to get everything out of him.

    The others continued to watch Gary struggle on as he destroyed everything in sight and the more they watched him the more hurt they felt as well.

    "Gary is always the one that''s baring so much for us." Marie said. "I hate it¡­ we need to do our part as well, not everything and the protection of Slough is down to him, why do you put so much on his shoulders Kai, he''s just like us."

    "He''s not like us." Kai answered. "Have you ever read those books where someonees across a lot of power and thinks about what you would do in those situations?¡±

    "I''m sure many people believe they would do the right thing or take a hero-like path. But the reality is, it''s a tough situation to face.¡±

    "When literal lives are in your hands, when things aren''t just a number and when it''s easier to just run away and live a peaceful life.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "You''re right, it is a lot of responsibility and something that most our age wouldn''t be able to handle. Gary is someone that''s been able to handle everything that''s thrown at him.¡±

    "Even if I was in his shoes I''m sure my rational mind would choose an easier option but he won''t, he will take everything on."

    Gary then stopped destroying the ice arena and in that moment fell onto his knees no longer transformed.

    Tears were flowing down his face and with a weak shaky fist he continued to pound the ice below his feet.

    "I''m not strong enough, you''re right I''m too weak¡­ I''m too weak to go back!" Gary said.

    Gary then wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his hand and looked up at the sky.

    Eventually he stood back on his feet and turned to Kai and the others.

    "Please Kai tell me you have a way, you know of a way that I can get stronger?" Gary asked.

    Kai shook his head, and in response, a great pain was felt in Gary''s entire body.

    "I don''t Gary, but there might be some who does." Kai answered.

    "I think I might be able to help with your problem, I have been a guest here for a while so I guess I should return the favour."

    When Gary turned his head he could see Daphne Bree, the head of the Bree Family, one of the Kings.

 Chapter 1033 Lets Team up?

    Chapter 1033 Let''s Team up?

    Seeing Daphne, Gary remembered the situation when he was in the ring. Although he had focused a lot on Harvor, he remembered her, not just because of who she was, but because she had also oddly helped him out during a difficult moment for him and his group.

    ¡®What is she doing here?¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®I thought she would have gone back to her city after the escape. How long have I even been asleep for... it couldn¡¯t have been that long.¡¯ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Regardless, Gary had to see Daphne as somewhat of an ally after helping them in the tough situation they were in, especially since she was here, and Kai was here as well.

    ¡°Daphne Bree... it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I didn¡¯t get to thank you for helping us out back then,¡± Gary said. He was tripping over his own words as he wasn¡¯t quite sure what the right thing to say was.

    He then just realized that he had gone on a rampage right in front of her and was a little embarrassed by what he had done. The two of them were both Kings, meant to be on the same level.

    ¡°It¡¯s no worry,¡± Daphne said with a bright smile. She was extremely confident, even though she was technically in enemy territory, and in the Ice Ring, not a single person was on her side.

    Everyone present was core members of the Howlers, who were incredibly strong. Gary remembered seeing some of her power, but just with the power to control Altered alone, how could she just freely be here? And Gary was even wondering if her power would work on Werewolves, since technically they weren¡¯t Altered.

    ¡°I make my own decisions,¡± Daphne said. ¡°And at the time, I took the opportunity. Now we both have amon enemy, which is the One Gang and Harvor.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve made a bet, and betted on you, Gary Dem. Let¡¯s not make Harvor right and make me lose this bet. Listen to your friends more.¡±

    Out of the corner of her eye, Gary could see she was looking at Kai. It seemed the two of them had been having much deeper conversations than he realized.

    ¡°I¡¯m not against you helping us,¡± Gary said. ¡°But I just don¡¯t understand what you¡¯ll get out of all of this.¡±

    ¡°We already discussed that, Gary. You¡¯ve been out for a day,¡± Kai answered. ¡°Just like you, I was also skeptical about the help, but seeing how badly hurt you were, it makes sense.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite possible that Harvor is the strongest Altered in this world, and if he makes a move, none of the other Kings can survive. So, the only way we can survive is by working together.¡±

    ¡°In turn for helping us out, Daphne wants Inferno City,¡± Kai exined.

    ¡°The city that used to belong to the Phoenix Gang?¡± Marie asked as she tried to rack her memory. She had been busy training with Olivia and hadn¡¯t focused too much on the status of the current country''s underworld scene.

    ¡°It belongs to Harvor now, right?¡± Marie asked.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Daphne replied. ¡°Inferno City is still a tier 1 city. With it, Harvor has gained positioning, strength, and a whole leap of funds. If there¡¯s a better time than any, it¡¯s now.¡±

    ¡°He can wage war against all the other Kings if he wants to, and even if we all tried to cut him off, he¡¯s gotrge enough finances and hold over the country to be able to continue the fight.¡±

    ¡°Going against the Kings hasn¡¯t always been about strength, but wealth and influence as well. If we take out the One Gang, you can have their city, and we will take Inferno City. I think that¡¯s a fair split.¡±

    ¡°And if you¡¯re worried about the power and control getting to my head, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve never been interested in that stuff. I¡¯m not one of those Kings because I want to be. The reason is because of my family¡¯s legacy.¡±

    ¡°You should know, our family is big all over the world, not just this country. Our family has had influence for many years and wants to keep that influence.¡±

    ¡°I have a duty to somewhat uphold that. So, I can tell you now, as long as you don¡¯t step on my toes, I won¡¯t step on yours.¡±

    For some reason, even though Gary hardly knew Daphne, he believed her. Her whole attitude to the whole thing, in the first ce, felt like she was just doing what she wanted.

    She was unlike any of the other Kings he had met before.

    ¡°I spoke to Crowley, since he used to teach at the AFA,¡± Kai said. ¡°The Zodiacs are incredibly strong and something we need to worry about, but even more so, the general gang members are incredibly powerful as well.¡±

    ¡°Honestly, I asked him what he thought would happen if our two gangs were to fight, and he said it would be aplete annihtion on our part.¡±

    ¡°Which is why Daphne will attack Inferno City. It¡¯s likely they¡¯ll send arge group of people, including some of the Zodiac members, tobat it.¡±

    ¡°However, Daphne and the Bree family can¡¯t take on Harvor. If hees to defend the city in full force, everything will fail.¡±

    ¡°Which is why shortly after the attack on Inferno City, we need to attack Harvor directly as well.¡±

    ¡°Attack Harvor? We¡¯re going to be on the attack?¡± Gary asked. It was the first time for them. To do such a thing... they had always been on the defensive, and attacking others felt a little wrong to Gary.

    They had attacked Notsburg before, but that was a one-time thing.

    ¡°You¡¯re not ready, though, as we established,¡± Daphne said. ¡°Which is why, in the meantime, I¡¯m going to be the one to train you up.¡±

    Gary blinked a few times. Just what was Daphne nning to do? And how could the two of them even train together, to begin with?

    Meanwhile, Kai¡¯s thoughts were elsewhere. How much time did they have for Gary to get stronger before Harvor was the one to attack?

    ¡®It¡¯s worrying me, but why hasn¡¯t Harvor made a move... there has to be a reason,¡¯ Kai thought.

    ****

 Chapter 1034 The One Gang Facility

    Chapter 1034 The One Gang Facility

    Strifehold City has been trending in online searchestely, and it was all because of the multiple footages that had been posted online of a particr creature¡ªa dragon in the sky.

    There were too many videos from too many individuals to im that these videos were fake. Yet, those who weren¡¯t in the city itself still found it hard to believe.

    A giant Altered like that existing, and one with the form of a dragon? Surely whoever this Altered form belonged to had to be one of the strongest Altereds in existence.

    It didn¡¯t take long for online readers to put things together. Something had urred at the event¡ªthe fight between Jayden Tiger and Harvor. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    No one had seen Harvor¡¯s Altered form before, yet he was an incredibly strong individual. That, along with the tattoo on his back, which had been captured multiple times and posted online, led most to assume this was the first appearance of Harvor¡¯s Altered form.

    It had only been a couple of days since the footage had been posted, and neither Harvor nor the AFC had made a statement on the matter.

    One thing that was happening frequently, though, were repairs throughout the city. Events had to be moved to ater date or to a different venue because the stadium was under construction.

    Several repairs were also being done to multiple apartment blocks and office buildings, mostly fixing ss and structural damage.

    Many reporters hade to the AFC¡¯s headquarters for answers, but they weren¡¯t getting any. No one really knew where Harvor was at the moment.

    On the outskirts of Strifehold City, there was quite a bit of wide opennd. In one of these areas, a special facility had been created, all under the One Corp corporation.

    Large warehouse-like buildings, giant fields, and several types of training equipment could be seen outside. There were even apartment blocks stationed next to the area.

    This was a special training facility for One Corp athletes. After students graduated from an Altered academy, severalpanies and groups would sponsor particr fighters under certain promotionpanies.

    One Corp was one of these promotionpanies, and if they sponsored you as a fighter, you would have ess to their top training facilities.

    A ce where fighters lived and breathed their training, with everything they could want.

    In one section of the training facility, there was a special tarmac with a painted H. A loud chugging sound was heard as a helicopter approached the facility.

    Standing on the ground, looking up, Stanley pushed his sses back on his face. He was wearing the usual One Gang tracksuit, colored purple and white.

    As the helicopternded, a particr muscr man exited. He wore only a jacket, which was unzipped, revealing the rest of his chiseled body on disy.

    ¡°Everything is ready for you, sir!¡± Stanley said.

    ¡°Great,¡± Harvor replied, and the two started to walk toward one of the mainrge buildings.

    As they walked side by side, Stanley couldn¡¯t help but continue to look at Harvor¡¯s arm.

    ¡°I can tell you want to say something, so just say it,¡± Harvor said.

    ¡°Your wound on your arm... is it healed now? Is that why you¡¯re here today?¡± Stanley asked.

    Harvor stopped walking for a moment, then pulled up his jacket sleeve, revealing the skin of his forearm.

    Arge scar from his wrist seemed to spiral up his forearm. Although Stanley was unable to see higher than Harvor¡¯s elbow, he imagined the scar went further up.

    ¡°It¡¯s healed. My arm is back to normal, but it seems this permanent scar will remain from that Jayden fellow,¡± Harvor imed. ¡°He was stronger than I expected in the end.¡±

    Stanley had to agree, especially considering Harvor had never received such a marking before. He had seen the final moments of the battle between Jayden and Harvor at the stadium, and this was the first time Harvor had ever been scarred.

    As the two of them continued to walk, they eventually reached the main building door. Tworge steel metallic doors slid open automatically, and the sound of several grunts could be heard from inside.

    Now, they had a full view of what was going on. There were hundreds of people¡ªmen and women¡ªwearing the purple tracksuits, and they were covered in sweat.

    The people inside were fighting against each other. Some weren¡¯t transformed and were taking blows and delivering them.

    Others had several people teaming up on one individual. Then, there were even those who were transformed, going up against each other.

    When Stanley and Harvor entered the room and the others noticed them, nearly all of them stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Harvor.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long timeing,¡± Harvor said, lifting his hands into the air. ¡°But the day has finally arrived¡ªthe reason why we¡¯ve all been working so hard to get stronger.¡±

    ¡°The remaining Kings have gone against us. Gary Dem, Daphne Bree, and Lupus! All of them have decided to go against us. Honestly, I thought we were going to take the first bite, but it looks like we¡¯ll have to be satisfied with retaliation instead.¡±

    Those in the room hadrge smiles on their faces. They were grinning widely¡ªuntil they were interrupted.

    The sound of several vehicles pulling up behind them was heard. When Harvor turned his head, he could see severalrge vans, and immediately,rge groups of people began to pour out of them.

    As for the people emerging from the vans, most of them wore white and gold uniforms, except for one individual who wore ck and red.

    ¡°Harvor!¡± the man with a ginger beard said as he exited. ¡°You and your entire group are currently under investigation by the White Rose!¡± Kanu said.

    ****

    *******

 Chapter 1035 There on our side now?

    1035 There on our side now?

    With the details discussed, the group didn¡¯t want to waste any time and decided it was best to spring into action, but Gary wanted to make sure of something else.

    ¡°Olivia, do you mind trying to find where Xin is? Try asking the guys where she wasst spotted. Maybe you¡¯ll be able to track her down,¡± Gary asked.

    There was a reason behind Gary asking Olivia this, and it was due to her ss of being a hunter. Although Xin wasn¡¯t marked, and Gary didn¡¯t really know where she was, the Werewolves still had a great sense of smell, and the hunter ss even more so.

    There was a time when Xin had gone missing, and Gary had somewhat been able to track her, so he thought Olivia would be able to do the same.

    Along with her being an older woman with her experience, Gary believed she would at least be able to guess where Xin might end up.

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything, but I¡¯ll give it a go,¡± Olivia said. ¡°Just be thankful that Kai got me a new whip, but since it¡¯s the funds of the Howlers, I guess it came from you.¡±

    It was a task for her to do on her own, and then Gary turned to face Daphne Bree.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a good ce for the two of us,¡± Daphne said. ¡°Especially since it¡¯s trashed, and part of your new powers seem to have a fire effect.¡±

    Quite a bit of therge chunks of ice that had been thrown around were partly melted.

    ¡°I can think of a couple of areas where we can go,¡± Gary said.

    As the two of them were getting ready to leave, Kai¡¯s phone started to ring. Seeing the name on the screen, he raised his hand, gesturing toward Gary before answering.

    ¡°Alright¡­ alright, I understand, we¡¯ll be there right away,¡± Kai replied.

    After hanging up the phone, Kai walked over to the two of them.

    ¡°You can¡¯t leave just yet. It looks like Elijah is in Slough. He¡¯s at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club and wants to meet with us.¡±

    The core members of the Howlers, along with Park, their new driver, went from the ice ring to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club. Only Olivia wasn¡¯t present, as she had gone to carry out her own important task.

    When they arrived, they could see Elijah waiting out front.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Elijah¡¯s mouth was left open as he stared directly at Daphne. ¡°What is she doing here¡­ what is¡­ what is going on?¡±

    ¡°You recognize her? I didn¡¯t have a clue who she was,¡± Austinmented. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I mean, we have all of the Kings on file, so an important figure like her¡ªof course, we would know about her,¡± Elijah replied, continuing to stare.

    ¡°Can you guys stop talking as if I¡¯m not here? I¡¯m right here, and besides, don¡¯t you have important matters to discuss, or are we just going to stand outside all day?¡± Daphne asked.

    The group walked inside, and unlike other days, the pool club was open this time. However, most of the members inside were part of the Howlers Gang anyway.

    It had be a ce for them to rx and calm down. As usual, they headed to the underground floor, where they could discuss various matters.

    ¡°Wow, you guys are really showing me all your secrets,¡± Daphne said, looking around. ¡°I¡¯ll know what ces to target if we ever be enemies.¡±

    Marie and Austin both turned to look at Daphne at that moment, thinking it wasn¡¯t a very good joke.

    As they sat down, Elijah took a deep breath and looked toward Daphne before speaking.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you said this was about Harvor, right? If it is, then she needs to hear this as well,¡± Kai stated.

    ¡°Alright, well, I was actually sent here by Kanu,¡± Elijah started.

    Gary remembered Kanu¡ªtechnically, he was Jayden¡¯s brother-inw, and the man who had told Gary the entire truth about his past.

    ¡°Kanu wanted me to tell you that he has started an investigation into the One Gang,¡± Elijah exined. ¡°Honestly, due to his position, it¡¯s not something he should be doing.¡±

    ¡°But he used every string he could pull, every favor he had within the White Rose, to start this investigation. It happened after he saw what urred between Harvor and Jayden in the match.¡±

    ¡°On the surface, the investigation is about the giant Dragon Altered that flew through the city. The White Rose deals with Altered matters, and a few people were hurt just from the sheer size of the Dragon.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no official link between the Dragon and Harvor. Regardless, this is just on the surface. I¡¯m pretty sure Kanu is trying to find out what happened to Jayden or dig up some dirt on the One Gang.¡±

    ¡°Right now, they¡¯re tied up, but it can¡¯t stay this way forever, and eventually, they will be on the move again.¡±

    Kai finally had his answer as to why the One Gang hadn¡¯t moved. Last time, the White Rose was the one obstructing the Howlers and Gary; this time, they were on their side, helping hold Harvor back.

    ¡°You said Kanu is doing everything he can, so can the White Rose get involved more and try to bring in Harvor?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Just like they did with Gary?¡±

    Elijah shook his head.

    ¡°We have absolutely nothing on Harvor. I¡¯m sure if Kanu did, he would have tried to do something about it a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°Which is why Kanu wanted to give you this message. If you find anything rted to the One Gang that can get the White Rose to move, bring it to him immediately.¡±

    ¡°If you do that, then the White Rose will be able to help in taking down the One Gang.¡± Elijah mmed his fist on the table.

    ****

    *******

    For updates for MWS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1036 We Do This My Way

    1036 We Do This My Way N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Gary, along with the rest of the Howlers, remembered how they had been treated when going against Sin. Sin had used his influence to force Gary to be locked up.

    It had caused great problems for the Howlers, and it was the reason why so much of the city was destroyed before Gary was even able to make his way there.

    However, they weren¡¯t able to do much beyond putting Gary behind bars, and the White Rose now was a much cleaner ce than it was before.

    ¡°When you say the White Rose will move, what do you mean by that?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°I mean exactly what I said,¡± Elijah replied. ¡°Kanu has been building up whatever he can find on the One Gang, but he knows it¡¯s not enough.¡±

    ¡°You know we are aware of some situations linked to NIRV and the ck substance, but we can¡¯t act on it because there¡¯s ack of evidence.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, the White Rose is an organization that needs to act based on evidence and has a procedure to follow. If you can dig up something big on Harvor, then we can get big people from the White Rose involved.¡±

    It was hard to guess the strength of White Rose, but Kai knew those at the top, at leastbined, had to have the same power as a King.

    If he could get their help, then maybe they wouldn¡¯t even have to rely on Gary getting stronger either.

    ¡°But what does the One Gang even have?¡± Gary asked. ¡°If Kanu is running an investigation now and can¡¯t find anything, how are we meant to be able to find something? I mean, is there even something to begin with?¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Daphneughed. ¡°I guess even though you are King, you really are a youngster. To get to this position, there are always things we have had to do. Although to us it might be considered justice, to others it might not be the same thing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s how Sin even put you behind bars, because there was a partial truth to what happened.¡±

    Gary couldn¡¯t deny that. His hands were soaked with blood, soaked with those of the dead. At times he thought about the lives he had taken.

    What was even stranger about him was his sense of guilt about doing such things was practically non-existent, and he wondered if that was because of the Werewolf side of him.

    ¡°Right, so he must have done something bad, but getting into the city is going to be hard,¡± Gary added.

    ¡°You leave that to me,¡± Kai said, rising from his seat. ¡°Tell Kanu that we¡¯ll inform him if we find anything, and to inform us when he¡¯s pulled out of the city. That way we can be prepared for what happens next.¡±

    ¡°As for you, Gary, I think you need to focus on something else, right?¡±

    Shaking his head, Gary remembered they had been caught off guard by the news.

    After giving a few greetings to Elijah, Gary said his goodbyes to his old friend. Both of them appeared incredibly busy.

    Thest thing Elijah said was good luck to Gary, which were words he didn¡¯t particrly like. He felt like luck wouldn¡¯t get them out of the situation they were currently in.

    Leaving the rest, Gary and Daphne had gone out of the city slightly and had entered one of the deeper wooded areas located at the foot of a few hills.

    It was an area Gary would frequent a few times in his past when he had first hunted a few squirrels here and there.

    He knew there were no eyes that would see them here.

    ¡°This ce seems appropriate considering your Altered form,¡± Daphne said.

    ¡°So what did you have in mind? Are the two of us going to fight? Is there anything you want me to focus on?¡± Gary asked.

    When thinking about his own situation, his endurance was already maxed. Even if he did get more stats, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference.

    Yet, he had still been knocked out by Harvor in a single punch. So how was he even meant to train? Could his body go beyond the system, or had it hit some type of limit?

    There was one thing he thought he could do, and that was to try and level up, reach Level 50, but it was clear that would take too long.

    ¡°Maybe I can figure out something with your Altered form,¡± Gary said, thinking that Daphne had to have some type of n.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have an Altered form,¡± Daphne replied.

    This had shocked Gary. Sure, there were many people in the world that weren¡¯t Altereds, but for one of the Kings to not have an Altered form¡ªwas that even possible? How did one even rise to the top?

    ¡°But in the ring... I saw you control one of the Zodiacs,¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Right, but that¡¯s not because I¡¯m an Altered, that¡¯s because it¡¯s part of my family¡¯s power,¡± Daphne replied. ¡°You can believe it or not, but there are many people out there that are hiding things from this world.¡±

    ¡°One of those things is special powers that they contain. Maybe they can control fire, or have telekinesis or something. But they, just like our family, have never made it general public knowledge.¡±

    ¡°Because a lot of these powers can be taught rather than passed on, and we wouldn¡¯t want everyone to have hold of these powers... it would cause the same disaster as when the Altereds were created.¡±

    Gary was somewhat bbergasted, but he remembered Innu had also learned to use strange powers. It wasn¡¯tpletely far-fetched, and if he were to go further...

    If there were vampires and werewolves, why couldn¡¯t there be those out there in the world with powers?

    ¡°So your power, it allows you to control Altereds?¡± Gary asked.

    ¡°Not quite,¡± Daphne said as she rolled her fingers and stretched them out with one hand. ¡°It¡¯s a bit moreplicated than that, but what I¡¯m hoping is that my powers can unlock something in you.¡±

    ¡°And give you a little shortcut. Are you ready?¡±

    *******

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1037 Unlocking Your Power

    Chapter 1037 Unlocking Your Power

    An odd feeling stirred in Gary¡¯s body as he watched Daphne walk toward him. She had her hand raised and was wiggling her fingers. There was even an odd smile on her face, which made Gary feel like those fingers might end up somewhere else.

    In the end, his natural reaction was to take steps back as she came forward.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Daphne asked. ¡°If you move back, then I can¡¯t help you sort this out.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± Gary replied. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re going to do. What do you mean by shortcut?¡±

    When Gary thought about it more, what if this was some type of strange n from Daphne all along? What if this was a way to get the Howlers to lower their guard? Then, with her powers, she could take over Gary and cause him to go on a rampage in his own city, fighting those he cared about.

    It wasn¡¯t out of the realm of possibility.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about, and I wanted to keep some of my powers a secret, but I guess there needs to be some trust between us,¡± Daphne imed. ¡°The stronger a person¡¯s will is, the harder it is for me to control them.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to control direct animals or beasts thatck intelligence. I can control Altered when they¡¯re transformed because it seems to lower the person¡¯s will or intelligence.¡±

    ¡°Most people who are Altered aren¡¯t the brightest in the first ce. But usually, the stronger an individual, the stronger their will is.¡±

    ¡°I can control strong beasts that only have the thought to kill, but I doubt I could control Harvor. For you, it¡¯s the same, Gary. You¡¯re most likely too strong for me to control.¡±

    ¡°So, for this to work, you have to let me take control of a part of you. See what I can bring out. If you want, you can fight against it, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to break free,¡± Daphne exined.

    The exnation did settle Gary slightly, but it meant he would have to believe Daphne¡¯s words, that everything she was saying was the truth.

    ¡®I guess, if Kai believed her enough to allow her to be alone with me, then I should trust her as well. He¡¯s a much better judge of character than I am.¡¯

    Gary let out a big breath and took a step forward toward Daphne. They didn¡¯t have a lot of time, so what other choice did Gary have?

    ¡°There¡¯s a chance this might not work,¡± Gary said as he looked down at Daphne¡¯s face. The two of them were rtively close.

    Strange thoughts began to enter Gary¡¯s mind. If he just leaned forward, he could even kiss her.

    ¡®No, damn it, you have Xin!¡¯ Gary thought, shaking his head.

    ¡°I know¡­ You¡¯re not exactly an Altered, right?¡± Daphne said, pressing her hand on Gary¡¯s chest.

    ¡°How did you¡ªugh!¡± Gary felt something strange activate in his body, and he fell to his knees.

    ¡°Remember what I said,¡± Daphne said, grunting as she kept her hand on his chest. The veins on her arm were moving, and sweat started to run down her face. ¡°You have to let me in, you have to let me unlock it inside you.¡±

    Experimenting with her powers, Daphne was able to do a number of things. For one, she could force other Altered to transform back into humans.

    She could also make it so they fully turned into an Altered as well. In fact, there were times when people struggled to use their Altered forms, and they would payrge sums of money to the Bree family to help them with such things.

    After all, not everyone could fully transform into their Altered form even after bing one.

    Taking this a step further, she could use her power to draw out an Altered¡¯s abilities even further, and this was what she was trying to do with Gary as well.

    [Interference with the system detected.]

    [Interference with the system detected.]

    [The user is strong enough to block the interference. Would you like to block the interference?]

    Gary felt strange. His mind was somewhat foggy, and he couldn¡¯t think straight, but when he saw the system screens, he realized what Daphne said had to be somewhat true.

    ¡®I guess this is my only chance to reject it¡­ but I have no choice!¡¯

    [You have declined to block the interference.] N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [Your system has been adjusted.]

    [New transformation has been unlocked.]

    At that moment, Daphne no longer felt any resistance. Her powers had flowed into Gary, and she quickly pulled her arm away. She felt faint and nearly fell over backward, but her eyes were locked on Gary in front of her. She couldn¡¯t take her eyes off him.

    ¡°What¡­ is this?¡± Daphne said, this time it was her who was taking a step back, and she knew if she didn¡¯t get out of the way, she might be caught up in it all.

    Half an hour had passed, and in that time, Daphne had lost control of Gary. At the same time her powers had ended, Gary¡¯s transformation had alsoe to an end.

    Hey there, no longer wearing any of his clothes, his bare body lying among the dirt on the ground.

    ¡°It worked,¡± Daphne said. ¡°The shortcut worked¡­ with this, I think you might have a chance to beat him.¡±

    Gary lifted his head, still crouched on the ground. Noticing that his clothes were gone, he looked at the forest. In a one-kilometer area, there was nothing but destruction.

    The trees had disappeared, and the ground looked leveled.

    ¡°Maybe¡­ this will be enough,¡± Gary said.

    ***

 Chapter 1038 The Dem Family

    Chapter 1038 The Dem Family

    There was a slight recent change that had urred within the Dem family, which was somewhat against Gary''s wishes, but in the end, he had been convinced by Kai that it was the best thing.

    This was all to do with Maya Dem and Amy Dem, Gary''s mother and sister.

    For a long time, Maya had been staying in a luxury apartment in Cipen with one of her closest friends, White.

    It was deemed a rtively safe ce, as on the ground floor there were several members of the Howlers. On top of that, Crowley, one of the top teachers at the AFA, also lived at the apartment.

    It was unlikely that such a ce would be attacked, and there weren¡¯t many who knew about the location.

    When Maya had woken up from the hospital, she too had stayed at the same location, but Kai didn¡¯t like this.

    The attack on Slough from the Phoenix Gang had put too much worry on his mind, and he was afraid of what could happen to Gary if his family was used against him.

    So the proposal was to let them both move out of Slough. It was clear why Gary was against this.

    In Slough, they had the entire Howlers Gang protecting his family, and it was where Gary was located.

    At a moment''s notice, he could go and help them.

    However, Kai had reminded him that he would always be the main target, from other Kings as a King himself, and from the other Alpha.

    He was the only werewolf in his family after all. The chances of someone attacking Slough were high.

    To make Gary feel at ease, their names were scrubbed from every directory as much as possible, severing the connection between him and his family.

    Not many knew about his family in the first ce, and this would make it even harder. With that, Maya, Amy, and White all moved out of Slough and into Ashen City.

    The home of AJ Entertainment as well as a ce that was still under the Howlers'' control.

    Although the fight against the Phoenix Gang had affected AJ Entertainment, it had only impacted its business side; the city itself was virtually unaffected.

    Also, with how much talent came in and out of the city, arge number of wealthy individuals lived in Ashen City, which led to some of the top universities in the country being located there.

    Inside one of the lecture halls, the bell rang, signaling the end of the ss, and for both Amy and White, it was the end of the day.

    "Ah!" Amy said, mming her head on top of the table. "What was I thinking, trying to be a doctor of all things?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Just because I was good in school, I thought this would be a walk in the park, but I have several more years of this!"

    White, beside her, was diligently scribbling away the notes left on the board, and in her notebook, they were broken down even further.

    "You know you didn¡¯t have to take this as your major too," Amy said. "I hate the fact that you had toe with me."

    "It was my choice toe with you," White said as she closed the notebook and slid it over to Amy. "Although I was asked, I wasn¡¯t forced to do this. We''ve lived together for a long time now, and it would feel awkward."

    "But you could have at least taken another major or done something else. Every time we walk down the street, there are so many scouts that approach you. Why don¡¯t you do something like that?" Amy asked.

    Amy wasn¡¯t lying. A number of modeling agencies, as well as acting offers, had approached her, and they were legitimate offers, unlike what some people received.

    Her pale skin and slender figure, along with her cold yet beautiful eyes, attracted a lot of attention.

    "I don¡¯t like to be used by others, not again anyway," Whitemented. "For me, all of my joyes from helping you, which is why I do my best to pick up the ck where youck."

    White often remembered her past under the control of Olivia. It had left a deep scar in her heart.

    She could trust almost no one, no matter how nice they appeared on the outside, or what they imed was for her benefit.

    She only trusted one person, and that was Gary Dem. For him, she would do anything, and her role was to look after his sister.

    Although in her mind it started as her doing a favor, the line between Gary and Amy blurred for White, and she saw the two as somewhat the same people.

    It was truly fulfilling for her to look after Amy. If it was something she had to do for the rest of her life, then so be it.

    "Thank you, I do appreciate it. I just feel bad," Amy replied.

    "Don''t feel bad. Trust me, I wouldn¡¯t want to do anything else," White replied.

    Noticing that everyone else had left the lecture room already, the two of them got up and started to go through the long corridors of the university, eventually leading them outside onto the school grounds.

    There were hundreds of students spread out, talking to each other, flirting with each other, and doing a number of other things.

    For the two of them, it was still a fairly new city, and they hadn¡¯t made many friends.

    "Ah, I think tomorrow Ash said he wanted to meet us to show us around," White imed.

    "Yes, let the head of AJ Entertainment give us a tour. Not like that will make us stand out. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s just trying to please my brother," Amy replied.

    "I think he¡¯s just a kind man. We should take him up on his offer," White replied.

    As the two continued to walk down one of the wide streets, on the opposite side, a hooded man paused and turned around.

    "Isn¡¯t that¡­ I know her, don¡¯t I?" Raven said.

    *******

 Chapter 1039 Follow For Follow

    Chapter 1039 Follow For Follow

    Amy and White continued to walk down therge streets, where they passed a number of people who were live streaming or had a camera set up on the sidewalk and had just started to dance in front of it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It truly fit the theme of the city. If a person wasn¡¯t already here for entertainment-type work, then they were here trying to make it.

    As they continued forward, they could see that their apartment was only a few streets ahead, but that¡¯s when a foot stepped out right in front of them, and a figure had stopped their path.

    ¡°Amy!¡± White said as she grabbed onto her shoulders and pulled her back. She yanked Amy so hard the two of them almost fell over, and that¡¯s when a single arm reached out and pulled them back up.

    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare the two of you like that,¡± Tyson said with a smile, rubbing the back of his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s you again. You shouldn¡¯t juste out like that,¡± White said. ¡°And why is it always you? Are you following us or something?¡±

    At that moment, Tyson¡¯s cheeks turned red.

    ¡°No, you know I live in the same apartment block as you guys, so I thought we could just walk together, but I was trying to find the right time to ask.¡±

    ¡°So you rushed in front of us and jumped out?¡± White said, rolling her eyes. ¡°How did you even get in front of us with us not knowing, you could have even made it seem more like a coincidence?¡±

    ¡°Ah, just forget it,¡± Tyson said, waving his hand and continuing to walk in theplete opposite direction, not toward the apartment they were heading to.

    They watched Tyson for a while and saw him look back and quickly turn his head as he quickened his pace.

    After they could no longer see Tyson, White nudged Amy on the shoulder.

    ¡°So what do you think?¡± White asked.

    ¡°What do you mean, what do I think?¡± Amy replied. ¡°You mean Tyson is a good-looking person? Is that what you¡¯re asking? He is part of AJ Entertainment after all.¡±

    A while ago, a group of individuals had traveled with Gary when he did a documentary for AJ Entertainment. Out of those people, Tyson was one of the individuals.

    An Altered mainly used for certain advertisements and such. He wasn¡¯t particrly a fighter, but he was more of a person selected for his good looks.

    When in the apartment, Tyson had first approached the two girls and exined that he knew her brother.

    Although when asked how they knew Amy was his sister, they didn¡¯t really answer, and could only guess that Ash had something to do with this.

    ¡°I think he likes you. That¡¯s why he gets red-faced all the time and is always hovering around us,¡± White exined.

    ¡°Him like me? No, that would be impossible,¡± Amy replied back. ¡°He¡¯s practically a superstar and has his pick of girls, including all those thin models.¡±

    ¡°The reason he¡¯s following us is quite clear. Ash must have told him to follow us as some type of guard.¡±

    ¡°Right, but that doesn¡¯t exactly exin why he blushes like that when he¡¯s around you. I''ll tell you what, next time we meet him, I¡¯ll ask him,¡± White said.

    The two of them continued to move, and Amy started to think about White¡¯s words, but in her mind, it was impossible for someone to like her in a city like this, filled with beauties, and with White by her side as well.

    The two of them continued on, and it was practically in silence because there was a lot on Amy¡¯s mind, and most of the time, she would be the one to start the conversation.

    Although these days White had been a lot better. Just as they reached the gate, they saw the guard standing off to the side.

    Amy then looked over her shoulder, trying to see if anyone was following them.

    ¡°You¡¯re still very cautious. It¡¯s like you¡¯re a celebrity,¡± White smirked. ¡°This ce is heavily guarded because of how many celebrities are here. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    ¡°I know, but since my mom lives here as well, and besides, I was just a little paranoid earlier. It felt like someone was watching us.¡±

    ¡°You say that every day, and someone was watching you, remember,¡± White winked, and then with her hands made a heart shape.

    Ignoring her, Amy went to show her face to a small ck box by the side. The facial recognition identified her, and the door swung open.

    As the two walked inside, the guard gave the two women a salute, and they walked in peacefully.

    The apartment building itself, around the outside, was filled with different shops. A general convenience store, a hairdresser, a massage ce, and more.

    It generally had everything one would need for those living in the apartment block itself. The outside area had a rtivelyrge pathway.

    It wasn¡¯t long since the girls had gone in, and looking up at the high apartment building was none other than Raven, who was wearing his hood.

    ¡®The girl who was with my brother at the time back then. I talked to her before, I don¡¯t even remember what she said. I got my answer from the girls, and that¡¯s what led me to the chase with Gary.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m sure of it. He was the one that killed Hawk, that killed my brother¡­ but now I¡¯m living this life on the run¡­ what¡­ do I do?¡¯

    Right then, a hand was felt on Raven¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Hey, did you think I didn¡¯t notice you following them?¡± Tyson said.

 Chapter 1040 A Familiar Place and Person

    1040 A Familiar ce and Person

    It was a peaceful night for Amy and White, and Amy was starting to think that maybe she had just been a bit paranoid the day before.

    So she did her usual: ate her breakfast, checked her phone for any news and to see her morning message from Gary, and went to kiss her mother before heading out with White.

    All three lived in the same apartment, and even Amy¡¯s mother was epting. It was like she hadn¡¯t missed being a mother, now able to care for two girls instead of just one boy and girl.

    Things were a lot easier this time as well, considering there were no finances to worry about. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Finally, the two of them were on their way to school, and Amy even had a bit more energy in her step, until White was the one to make ament.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± White said.

    ¡°What?¡± Amy asked.

    ¡°It just feels like no one is following us.¡±

    Amy let out a sigh of relief. She had been worried that someone was following them, so hearing that White felt like no one was trailing them made her feel better.

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. Tyson is always following us. Like you said, I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s doing it because he was asked, or if it¡¯s because he likes you, but he¡¯s not following us now.¡±

    ¡°You really make him sound like some crazy stalker,¡± Amy replied. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s taking a day off from his stalking duties.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s never taken a day off before.¡±

    Amy didn¡¯t know whether to be impressed that White could notice Tyson was following them or not, but it made her wonder¡ªwhat was the feeling she had?

    She had never felt Tyson¡¯s presence before, so why did she think she felt something earlier? Then, just like yesterday, as they took a step forward, a man appeared from the side of the street wearing a hood.

    White was quick to act, stepping in front of Amy, but when the man raised his head, it didn¡¯t take long for Amy to recognize who it was.

    ¡°Wait, White, step back... he¡¯s dangerous,¡± Amy said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scream, don¡¯t shout, don¡¯t make a scene,¡± Raven quickly said. ¡°If you do, that pretty boy bodyguard of yours will lose his life.¡±

    From what White had just said earlier, it was obvious who he was talking about. Raven had managed to get hold of Tyson somehow.

    Amy was starting to remember this person well. With everything that had happened, it felt like it had all urred a long time ago. In the past, Amy had a dear friend, a best friend she would do anything with.

    Her name was Stacy. Stacy had been going out with Raven¡¯s brother, Hawk, and had invited them to a small get-together. However, Hawk and his friends weren¡¯t exactly the nicest people.

    They took narcotics and tried to force themselves on both Amy and Stacy. At the time, it was Gary who had saved them both.

    The truth was, Amy didn¡¯t really know what happened that day with Hawk, but knowing Gary¡¯s position and what he had be, she had a good guess at the possibilities.

    Later, Amy had run into Raven himself, and the two of them had been brought to a coffee shop. They were trapped, and Raven was asking for information.

    Of course, Amy wouldn¡¯t spill anything. She didn¡¯t want to get her brother in trouble, but in the end, it was Stacy, out of fear, who told Raven that thest person to have seen his brother was Gary.

    It was these chain of events that caused Raven to search for Gary in a blind lust for revenge. Based on the type of person he was, Amy had no doubt in her mind that he had Tyson as well.

    ¡°I want to have a little talk with you both. Why don¡¯t we stop by a coffee shop?¡± Raven said as he turned around with a smile and started to walk ahead.

    Amy was getting ready to follow him when White grabbed her wrist.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go,¡± White whispered. ¡°We can contact your brother, and he can sort this out. It¡¯s too dangerous, and we don¡¯t know what he wants. I know you want to help Tyson, but... it¡¯s too risky.¡±

    Amy shook her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to drag you into this. Right now, he only wants me. White, you¡¯re free to go, and if you want, contact Gary and the others as well¡­¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t have Tyson hurt because of me, and besides, I have a feeling that Raven won¡¯t hurt me.¡±

    If Raven wanted to hurt Amy, he could have done the same to Tyson already. On top of that, Amy still remembered thest time they had met at a coffee shop.

    He had allowed her to leave, and to this day, she never really understood why.

    As Amy walked ahead, it didn¡¯t take long before she heard footsteps behind her.

    ¡°I¡¯ming too,¡± White said. ¡°And I¡¯ve already contacted your brother... so let¡¯s go into this with confidence. Both of us. It¡¯s different from before.¡±

    Amy smiled widely. This wasn¡¯t like thest time when Stacy had betrayed her trust. She had a new friend by her side, one that wouldn¡¯t betray her like thest.

    Eventually, as the group continued to walk, they arrived at a small coffee shop, covered in white decorations with a flower pot on every table.

    Raven sat by the window, watching the people walk past, and both Amy and White sat on the opposite side.

    ¡°This is just like back then. It looks like we¡¯re back where we started,¡± Raven said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you remind me what happened that day?¡±

    ****

    For updates on MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: Jksmanga

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    When news of MVS, MWS, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1041 Ravens Request

    Chapter 1041 Raven''s Request

    The situation was almost identical tost time. Amy was in a coffee shop, and by her side, she had a friend. It wasn¡¯t the same friend asst time, and they weren¡¯t in the city of Slough.

    As Amy thought back to the situation from before, she started to think how simr yet different everything was.

    ¡°I guess not everyone is working for the Grey Elephant gang likest time,¡± Amy said with a smile. ¡°I came here because I want to know what happened to Tyson. He¡¯s not involved in any of this. He has his own family too, a mother and father. If you hurt him, they will be upset, and losing someone... you must know how that feels.¡±

    Opposite them, Raven had a strange smile on his face. They could all tell it was fake, a forced smile in the situation, almost creepy, as if he was about to snap at any moment.

    White was also surprised at how confident Amy was, even in this situation.

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m in this situation,¡± Raven said. ¡°You know, Hawk and I, we only had each other. Sure, he would do stupid things from time to time, but didn¡¯t we all when we were teenagers, things that we regretted?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think he deserved to die? To have my younger brother, my only family, taken away from me? In my quest to get rid of Gary... I did what I had to. I just wanted an eye for an eye, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.¡±

    A hiss almost escaped from Raven¡¯s teeth as he spoke those words, and for a moment, a flicker of strange ck substance appeared across his eye, but it quickly reverted back.

    ¡°You want me to tell you what happened that night, and I told you everything,¡± Amy said. ¡°Nothing has changed from back then.¡±

    Raven then pulled out arge stack of paper from under his hoodie and ced it on the table.

    ¡°This was all the information the Phoenix Gang gave me. Do you know that? It was because of this that your brother, Gary Dem, was able to be put behind bars,¡± Raven exined. ¡°The cameras had been purposely wiped.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Turns out someone did a sloppy job, and the Phoenix Gang was able to find something on them. They continued to search¡ªnot the police, not the White Rose, but the Phoenix Gang.¡±

    ¡°They found crushed phones buried in the ground with Gary Dem¡¯s fingerprints, and traces of my brother¡¯s DNA on the phone. It wasn¡¯t as if the Phoenix Gang forced your brother into that jail cell. Your brother did bad things, and he was put behind bars for a reason!¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s the same for your brother as well!¡± Amy screamed, mming the table.

    Others in the shop turned to look at them, and White quickly stood up and calmed Amy down, bringing her back to her seat as she told the others in the shop that it was okay.

    ¡°I told youst time that your brother tried to force himself on my friend. If my brother hadn¡¯te back then, I don¡¯t know what would have happened to her. And do you know what happened after all of that?¡±

    ¡°Do you know why my friend Stacy isn¡¯t here today? Because she died,¡± Amy said. ¡°That¡¯s right, in your little research, did you even know about that?¡±

    ¡°Stacy died after that incident. Our life wasn¡¯t easy either. Do you know, Gary and I, we were just in high school, but we had to go against all of that¡ªall of the gangs of Slough. He had to go against all of that.¡±

    ¡°Our mother was ced in the hospital on top of that, and when the Phoenix Gang attacked, several people died! Do you really think you¡¯re the only person with a problem? All you¡¯ve done is cause much bigger problems!¡±

    Amy was taking deep breaths. She was holding in a lot, but honestly, she thought that even if her brother did kill Hawk, it was justified. She had seen too much happen during the Phoenix Gang¡¯s attack.

    Now, the two of them had to wait for Raven¡¯s response to all of this. To be honest, they were surprised that he hadn¡¯t snapped back.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange how things work,¡± Raven said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because there¡¯s something wrong with me, something inside of me that I can¡¯t get rid of, or it¡¯s just true what they say.¡±

    ¡°Time will heal everything. As time has gone on, I¡¯ve actually been able to ept what happened to my brother more. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I still hate your brother... it¡¯s just that the anger has lessened.¡±

    ¡°Like you said, a lot of people have been hurt in this, and it looks like my own life is now on the line as well. I don¡¯t even have a ce to sleep, a ce to stay. Because it looks like I¡¯ve made an enemy of every single one of the Kings.¡±

    Raven paused there, almost as if he was reflecting on every decision he had made. When Amy looked closer, she noticed his clothes were remarkably dirty, and he had deep bags under his eyes.

    She thought that might have been the look he was going for, but realized it was much more than that. Being an Altered was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but for Raven, he was now someone who couldn¡¯t be epted anywhere, in any city.

    ¡°Your friend from before, he¡¯s alive, and I¡¯ll tell both of you where he is,¡± Raven imed. ¡°But only if you do me one favor.¡±

    ¡°This guy,¡± White mumbled under her breath, ¡°does he really think he has the right to be asking for favors?¡±

    Raven ignored thement from White and continued.

    ¡°I want you to set up a meeting with your brother. I think I have something that might interest him.¡±

    ---

 Chapter 1042 Striking A Deal

    1042 Striking A Deal n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The fact that Kai had entered Ash''s office was no coincidence. When Raven had made the request to meet with her brother, she assumed it wasn''t because he wanted to hash out his feelings or challenge him to some sort of honorable fight.

    It was clear he wanted to talk to Gary because of his position. There were multiple times when Raven had mentioned his current position, and with nowhere else to go, he had to turn to the Howlers.

    So, Amy had decided to call Kai instead. She knew exactly how her brother would react, especially if he learned that Raven had met her behind his back.

    Amy had been in contact with Kai several times because it had simply be easier for the two of them.

    Constantly, Amy would ask Gary for a few things, such as apartment contracts, to open up bank ounts, and so on. Each time, Gary would have to contact Kai.

    In the end, it was just easier for Amy to contact Kai directly, and because of this, the two of them had developed a closer rtionship.

    This had allowed Amy to contact Kai to set up this meeting. However, the words Amy had spoken to Raven, informing him to never meet her again, were a true message sent by Kai himself.

    Now Kai was in the room, and by his side, Austin was standing as well. Meanwhile, Ash felt a little lost in the situation, knowing full well he couldn''t do anything and was probably in a position where everything said needed to be kept a secret.

    "I guess that leader of yours was too scared to even see me," Ravenmented. "Well, as long as you''re high enough up thedder to make some decisions, then I''ll speak."

    Kai had a smile on his face, but the corner of his mouth was twitching.

    "Let me tell you something right now¡ªthere are two people in this room who would happily have your head ripped off," Kai said. "We know you were part of the Phoenix Gang, and they took a dear friend of ours away. We''ve figured out a number of things on our own, so why would we even need to meet with you?"

    Raven¡¯s knee was constantly bouncing up and down. A briefcase wasid in front of him, and he seemed hesitant about what to do.

    "I know what''s happening between you guys and the One Gang," Raven exined. "At some point, he''s going toe after you guys.¡±

    "Sure, you can go against him like you did with the Phoenix Gang, but you''ll end up losing a lot in the process.

    "And I know the strength of the One Gang¡ªyou might end up losing a lot more. But what if there was a way to beat them without you getting involved?" Raven asked.

    Kai raised an eyebrow, thinking what Raven was saying was ridiculous. What could possibly be in the briefcase that could do such a thing?

    "Obviously, you won¡¯t give us this for free. Just tell me your demands," Kai waved his hand, not really caring.

    "A ce in one of your cities¡ªthis one will do¡ªand a card so I can buy what I want.¡±

    "I just want to forget about everything... I don¡¯t want any part in this crap anymore, and that includes Gary and the whole lot of you.¡±

    "Give me these things, and you can have what¡¯s inside this briefcase. I''ll never contact or appear in front of you again," Raven dered.

    Kai was stroking the scar on his chin, thinking about the offer. Although he had a disliking for Raven, he wasn¡¯t directly responsible for Tyler''s death.

    Although Raven had killed a few of the Howler members, the same could be said for Kai himself¡ªhis hands weren¡¯tpletely clean of blood, nor was his conscience.

    There was always the chance of Raven going back on his word, but having spoken to Olivia and Marie, Kai knew Raven was an Altered who was incredibly strong. It would be best to stick to the deal if Raven was true to his word.

    Although Kai doubted that whatever was in the briefcase could help them, it was worth the chance for a small cost.

    "Alright, I''ll do what you say, and I won¡¯t even make Gary aware of our deal. That way, you truly won¡¯t have to worry about him either," Kai said.

    With the deal confirmed, Raven clicked the edges of the briefcase and opened it up, revealing several Altered solutions.

    By no means were these regr Altered solutions. Each one was tainted with a strange ck substance wriggling around in the tubes they were encased in.

    "These are infected Altered solutions. If you use these, you can have several fighters on your side willing to die for you to go up against the One Gang!" Raven imed.

    Kai looked at the vials with interest, but he wasn¡¯t sure of their strength, nor would he use them on loyal members of the Howlers, knowing what they could do.

    Instead, though, he was thinking of something else¡ªwords that Elijah had spoken about in the past.

    "Where did you even get your hands on so many of these?" Kai asked.

    "Oh, it was in the car park where that big fight was taking ce," Raven exined. "One of those founders of NIRV was there. It looked like they were going to give them to the One Gang.¡±

    "So, I can assure you these aren¡¯t any regr Altered solutions!" Raven said excitedly.

    "NIRV was making a deal with the One Gang¡­ and with infected solutions?" Kai repeated.

    In the past, Elijah had vented his frustrations about the White Rose looking for who was behind the infected solutions.

    Austin remembered being in one of the tier-three cities and discovering links between the infected solutions and NIRV, but there hadn¡¯t been enough evidence to go after them.

    ''Maybe with this¡ªone of the founders involved¡ªthere''s a way to pin all of this on the One Gang¡­ and get the White Rose involved after all¡­ Raven, you have no idea how much you''ve helped us.''

    ****

    For updates on *MWS* and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: jksmanga

    Discord: d.i.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of *MVS*, *MWS*, or any other serieses out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1043 An Enemy is a Friend

    1043 An Enemy is a Friend

    A deal had been struck, and the briefcase of infected solutions was now in Kai''s hands.

    In exchange, a card with a monthly allowance and a ce in a tier-2 city was given to Raven as requested, along with a disposable phone with only one number programmed inside.

    Kai didn¡¯t care if he ever saw Raven again, and he wasn¡¯t sure if leaving this loose end woulde back to bite him, but he needed to decide what to do with what he had received.

    Upon his return to Slough, he called for a meeting at the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club.

    The core members were present, with Marie and Olivia even ying a game together, while others sat on the side, ordering drinks now and then.

    Gary was also there, along with Bree, who was in the room. Oddly, she was constantly picking up pool balls and tossing them over to Gary, who would catch them and throw them back as if ying a game of catch. It was hard to imagine these were just ordinary balls.

    Kai assumed it was part of some training they were doing, and as long as they paid attention to the meeting, he was fine with it.

    "Alright, Tom!" Kai said as he patted him on the back. "Show them what you brought."

    Tom was wearing arge whiteb coat simr to those from NIRV. In the past, Tom had worked at NIRV, obtaining a position thanks to his father.

    However, Kai had decided to set up a dedicated researchb of his own with the information Tom had learned.

    They had picked up a few disgruntled former NIRV employees and were researching everything rted to Altered.

    One of Tom''s projects was learning how to control d, an Altered with an infected serum.

    ced on one of the many pool tables was a metal briefcase. With a few clicks, it opened, capturing everyone¡¯s attention.

    "Infected Altered solutions¡ªand a whole lot of them," Breemented.

    "Did you make those?" Marie asked. "You¡¯re not nning to use them, are you?"

    Not much was known about the infected solutions; even Gary¡¯s system couldn¡¯t decipher them, apart from the fact that he couldn¡¯t consume those who were infected.

    "No, Tom didn¡¯t make these. They were stolen¡ªa delivery intended for the one and only One Gang!" Kai imed proudly.

    "The One Gang dealing with infected solutions? I guess this means we can get White Rose involved after all," Olivia said.

    Gary hadn¡¯t thought of that. If White Rose could capture Harvor, they might have a chance to deal with this without getting directly involved.

    But something didn¡¯t sit right with Gary. He didn¡¯t want to let Harvor escape without at least getting some revenge.

    "Wait, where did you even get this?" Ice asked.

    "That doesn¡¯t matter," Kai replied. "Unfortunately, just because we have these infected solutions doesn¡¯t mean White Rose can get involved. I already called up Elijah. If anything, we¡¯re the ones likely to get in trouble just for possessing these."

    "However, what this does mean is that there¡¯s something big enough to link the One Gang, NIRV, and the infected solutions together. If we can get our hands on evidence, it¡¯ll finally be enough to get them involved."

    "Evidence again? But how would we even get that?" Park asked. "Wouldn¡¯t that mean we¡¯d either have to go after the One Gang or NIRV?"

    Kai snapped his fingers and pointed at Tom.

    "Exactly. Through my information gathering, I found that the founder working with Harvor is Rumper Karn, one of the founders of NIRV.

    "It seems that others at NIRV aren¡¯t aware of this. So we can guess that this is happening without NIRV¡¯s full knowledge. If we can get someone at NIRV to help us, we can get everything we need."

    Everyone was deep in thought about what could be done. Attacking a NIRV base was risky¡ªthey had the Retrievers, powerful Altereds with them. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Wait, Gary!" Marie said. "When your dad came, didn¡¯t he say he was working with Rickle Epman? Isn¡¯t he one of the three founders as well?"

    For the first time, Bree was surprised to hear this. From what she knew, Gary was a nobody who had risen from a tier-3 town. No one knew he had connections like this.

    "Right, if he worked with my father, then maybe this Rickle guy is someone we can trust¡­ but," Gary paused for a moment, "I have no idea how to even get in contact with my father."

    "It¡¯s not like we can just walk in there," Kai added. "We don¡¯t know who is or isn¡¯t involved in the shady dealings. There¡¯s even a chance your father is behind it, but I do have an option."

    Kai patted Tom on the shoulder.

    "We have a person here who still has family working at NIRV, and it wouldn¡¯t be strange if he paid them a visit.

    "We could ask for a meeting with Rickle, using your father¡¯s name. I¡¯m sure that would catch his attention."

    "Wait, for Tom to go to NIRV headquarters on his own?" Gary shouted. "He can¡¯t¡ªwhat if something happens? He¡¯s just a¡­ he¡¯s just a¡­"

    "An ordinary person, I know, Gary," Tom replied. "But I want to help. Let me meet Rickle. Let me help you in a way that I can."

    Gary didn¡¯t like it¡ªnot one bit. From his father¡¯s story, there was a great mystery surrounding this Rickle Epman. Whether he was good or bad was hard to tell, and they still had no idea about the origin of the infected solutions either.

    Yet, it was the best option they had.

    "Alright¡­ meet him."

    *****

    For updates on *MWS* and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below.

    Instagram: jksmanga

    Discord: d.i.s.cord.gg/jksmanga

    When news of *MVS*, *MWS*, or any other serieses out, you¡¯ll see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I¡¯m not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1044 Pulling From The River

    Chapter 1044 Pulling From The River

    A squad of White Rose agents stood on the bank of a river. They were spread out, looking at some of the stones on the ground, while also taking readings from the water itself. They weren''t alone either, as a few members of the police force were out with them, aiding them and trying to help steer public attention away.

    If one was to look up, not too far away, arge bridge loomed overhead, with traffic moving back and forth. Looking further at the skyscrapers in the city, there were several wires hanging off the buildings, with ss being reced.

    The workers had recently been working overtime.

    On the bank itself, some agents wore the familiar white-and-gold uniforms, while a few donned ck with a red trim. A site that was unusual for the general public, as these White Rose agents would hardly be spotted on the outside.

    ¡°The number of calls I¡¯ve been gettingtely¡­¡± Elijah muttered, putting his phone back in his pocket.

    Making his way toward his captain, Kanu, he nced to the right, where several boats floated offshore.

    A team of special divers was on board, preparing to enter the river. On top of that, they had even called in a White Rose specialist¡ªan Altered who could breathe underwater and swim well despite the strong currents, spreading out their search.

    ¡°That was headquarters,¡± Elijah said. ¡°The One Gang is doing everything they can to pressure us to leave this city.¡±

    ¡°Which means we¡¯re on to something,¡± Kanu replied. ¡°You should know by now that if they¡¯re trying this hard, they have something to hide.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Elijah agreed, scratching his head. ¡°The thing is, we can¡¯t keep investigating on a hunch. We¡¯ve raided nearly every building the One Gang owns, and there¡¯s been nothing.¡±

    ¡°At least, nothing we could use. Why are we even searching this river? What are we going to find here that we couldn¡¯t find anywhere else?¡± Elijah asked.

    Kanu looked at the bridge and the buildings surrounding the area.

    ¡°I spoke to a few people who reported sightings¡ªthest ce the Dragon was seen was right above this river. Arge beam attacked the river itself; nearly everyone saw it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m betting there¡¯s something here, but part of me doesn¡¯t want to find anything¡­ How is Gary doing?¡± Kanu asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s alive; the One Gang hasn¡¯t made any moves against him because of us. From what I¡¯ve heard, they might have something, but it¡¯ll take time.¡±

    Kanu let out a deep sigh. The Howlers needed more time. Although White Rose hadn¡¯t found anything to extend the investigation or cause trouble for the gang, they had realized just howrge and strong the One Gang was. For the Howlers to go up against the One Gang on their own would be nearly impossible. White Rose needed to get heavily involved.

    They needed to find something¡ªand fast.

    ¡°We found something!¡± one of the men on the boat shouted.

    At that moment, Kanu¡¯s heart started to beat rapidly, twice as forceful as usual. shbacks filled his mind¡ªhe had felt this feeling before.

    He looked over as he saw the specialist Altered, covered in blue fins, pull arge object from the riverbed.

    It was heavy, and they ced it in the boat. The view was still unclear, but the boat began moving slowly toward shore.

    As all of this was happening, Kanu was unaware that someone was watching from the top of the bank on a slight uphill, standing by the guardrail.

    It wasn¡¯t just anyone who was watching either. Xin was biting her lip as she looked on.

    The boat finally reached the shore, and carefully, using arge bag, they brought the object out.

    ¡°It¡¯s a body¡­¡± Kanu said.

    One of the specialists turned the body on its side, and instantly, Kanu recognized who it was.

    Elijah immediately turned to look at his captain¡¯s face. It felt like the world had frozen; Kanu wasn¡¯t blinking, staring straight ahead at the face. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Put it away and bring it in. We need to confirm who it is,¡± Elijah ordered.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to confirm. Even with a bloated, pale face like that, anyone could tell.¡± Kanu said. ¡°Why did you have to follow in her footsteps?¡±

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you just wait a bit longer until we had everything ready?¡± Kanu looked up at the sky.

    ¡°It feels like I¡¯ve lost everything,¡± Kanu whispered.

    ¡°What do you want to do now?¡± Elijah asked.

    ¡°We have to use this,¡± Kanu replied. ¡°Use this as our reason to continue the investigation.¡±

    ¡°No matter how much pressure they put on us, we¡¯ll push back twice as hard. Every news outlet, every bit of power we have¡ªwe won¡¯t leave anything unturned.¡±

    ¡°Harvor will have to try and stop me himself if he wants us to leave!¡±

    Elijah didn¡¯t say much. The person was clearly important to Kanu. A death was always tragic, but in his eyes, this was what they needed to buy time for the Howlers.

    He hoped that Kanu wouldn¡¯t get directly involved, and all he could hope was that Gary and his friends would pull through and find something.

    Meanwhile, Xin, who stood at the guardrail, couldn¡¯t stop tears from flowing down her face.

    She wore a hoodie that covered her appearance, and just under her sleeve, several yellow sparks could be seen.

    Her eyes glowed yellow. She couldn¡¯t control herself or her emotions; they had reached an unbearable level.

    She hade here for a reason after safely returning to Slough. She hadn¡¯t wanted to cause any problems; she was going to stay hidden while investigating on her own.

    Now, though, there was nothing left for her to investigate.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill them all¡­ I¡¯ll kill them all! Whatever it takes¡­ I¡¯ll kill you, Harvor!!!¡±

    **

 Chapter 1045 This Better Be Important

    Chapter 1045 This Better Be Important

    Things were moving rtively quickly, quicker than Tom had imagined, as he stood inside one of the NIRV buildings with a guest badge around his neck.

    It wasn¡¯t one of the facilities he had worked at before, but all of NIRV felt quite simr. The whiteness of the flooring, the walls, even the lights disyed a stark white glow.

    It almost reminded Tom of a hospital, yet at the same time, a hospital never felt this fancy. The seating areas, the decorations, and even the curved oval reception area.

    It was certainly a ce with money, which came as no surprise.

    What did surprise Tom was that they¡¯d let hime as a guest to a facility where neither he nor his father worked.

    In the end, Tom did ask his father for a favor, requesting ess to visit as a guest at a certain facility of NIRV, which had locations all over the country.

    Yet with how many secrets they held, he thought it would be more difficult. As for why this facility was chosen in particr, it was the one mentioned in Gary¡¯s father¡¯s story.

    As a guest, Tom had been given a tour around the facility by one of the fellow researchers. As they walked around, Tom kept asking questions to try and find out where Rickle Epman was.

    All he learned was that Rickle Epman visited this facility a lot, but he also visited other facilities, so it was hard to know if the person in question was even here.

    To be careful, Tom asked other questions as well.

    ¡°As for the other founders, do they frequently go to the other facilities?¡± Tom asked as they walked through the hallways.

    ¡°The other two founders¡­ well, Rumper Karn usually stays at one facility. It¡¯s arge ce, but further out. Not many transfer out there.¡±

    ¡°As for Tinth, he¡¯s more of a passive founder of NIRV. You could almost say he¡¯s retired. You have to remember, they¡¯re all getting old now; he¡¯s the most passive, with a hands-off approach.¡±

    ¡°I guess Rickle is really the only one that¡¯s on the move all the time.¡±

    Tom was thankful that was the case. They knew Rumper was the man behind some of the infected solutions, but they weren¡¯t sure about the others.

    As long as they weren¡¯t here, he would be okay.

    ¡®Gary is still in Slough training with Bree, and just outside the city, not too far from the base, are Marie and Olivia¡­ but it¡¯s not like they can get inside quickly,¡¯ Tom thought.

    As he had these thoughts, he turned his head at an odd-looking group of people walking by. Tom had seen people like this before; it was clear they were Retrievers.

    This made Tom¡¯s heart beat even faster.

    ¡®I wonder, though¡ªthis facility is in a tier-2 city and is a bit smaller than the other NIRV bases. Is that the reason why Rickle likes to spend his time here, away from the others?¡¯

    Eventually, Tom¡¯s tour came to an end, and they returned to the main reception.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure, as a past researcher, you know the workload can get tough,¡± the man said with a big smile. ¡°But honestly, things at this facility are a little calmer. You have the choice to be more active in the experiments and investigations or focus on the research side.¡±

    ¡°I have to ask, though, what makes you want to move here? Isn¡¯t it far from thest facility you worked at or where your father worked?¡±

    Tom gave an awkward smile back.

    ¡°Actually, there was a reason I was asking you so many questions. It¡¯s because Rickle is somewhat my role model and someone I look up to.¡±

    ¡°I actually left NIRV thinking I could start up my ownpany like this, but it was harder than I thought. In the end, I guess I just wanted to work here¡­¡±

    ¡°Speaking of, you don¡¯t think there¡¯s a chance I could meet him, do you, if he¡¯s here right now?¡±

    The researcher shook his head but gave aforting smile to Tom.

    ¡°Unfortunately, not even I can get you a meeting with a founder. Unless he calls for you, and even if you request a meeting with him, he¡¯s unlikely to answer; you¡¯d have to try booking in advance.¡±

    Tom was wondering what to do. He didn¡¯t want to be too pushy, just in case the researcher got suspicious. He could also let him go and search around the facility himself, but after having the tour, he was unsure if that was possible.

    ¡®I have to think¡­ the reason I came here as soon as possible is because we don¡¯t have much time. The others are relying on you,¡¯ Tom thought.

    He started to think back, to when he¡¯d even given Gary a piece of chocte, almost killing his friend. Beyond that, how Gary had ended up getting payback for those whoid hands on him.

    And now, how Gary was secretly looking after his family from matters involving Slough and more. Things even Tom¡¯s parents weren¡¯t aware of.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a shame,¡± Tom answered. ¡°Actually, I was wondering if there¡¯s another person I could thank¡ªis there a researcher by the name of Dean Dem here?¡±

    The man pulled out his tablet. He couldn¡¯t say it was a name he¡¯d heard, but he also knew he didn¡¯t know every staff member¡¯s name.

    ¡°Oh, there is a Dean Dem who works here, but it doesn¡¯t state what his role is¡­ just wait here a moment, and I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After saying no to Tom¡¯s first request, the researcher didn¡¯t want to disappoint Tom again, which was why he gave this one a try.

    And if the person in question was important, it would have given him some title, so the man didn¡¯t mind asking.

    While waiting, Tom sat down on the sofa. He saw the researcher talking back and forth with the reception staff, then the researcher headed off somewhere.

    Around ten minutes had passed, to the point Tom thought they might have forgotten about him.

    ¡°So, it was you? You were the one who asked for Dean¡­ that¡¯s odd, I don¡¯t even know who you are,¡± a voice said from behind.

    The hairs on Tom¡¯s back stood up. He hadn¡¯t even felt anyone behind him, but when he looked, he saw a tall man with dark ck hair.

    Immediately, everyone in the area gave a small bow to the man.

    ¡°Sir Rickle!¡± the staff members said.

    Looking at the man, Tom couldn¡¯t help but gulp.

    ¡®So this is one of the NIRV founders¡­ Rickle Epman.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°A person I¡¯ve never met, using a name that shouldn¡¯t be known¡­ this better be important,¡± Rickle stated.

 Chapter 1046 A Meeting With Rickle

    Chapter 1046 A Meeting With Rickle

    What Tom had told the other researcher before wasn¡¯t aplete lie. When he said he was a big fan of Rickle, there was some truth to that.

    Tom had interest in the Altered space and his father¡¯s work. He did have a stronger passion for something else, but due to everything, he did admire the founders of NIRV.

    Seeing the person right in front of him, he was somewhat struck with fear. Which was why it was odd, without saying a single word, Tom had ended up in theb along with Rickle Epman.

    ¡®Wow, it¡¯s just like Gary¡¯s dad described it¡­ actually, it¡¯s even more impressive,¡¯ Tom was moving his head.

    There were several experiments half set up. Crystals of beasts ced around the area along with other experiments and screens.

    Some of the charts and screens gave him an idea of what Rickle was working on, while others he had no clue about.

    Shaking his head though, he knew he needed to get to the point and tried to focus.

    ¡°Um¡­is Dean Dem here?¡± Tom asked, his voice breaking toward the end.

    Although Tom hadn¡¯t really met Dean, only seen him from a distance and heard him speak, he still felt like for some reason it would be safer if Dean was in the room and it wasn¡¯t just him and Rickle.

    ¡°What, are you scared I¡¯m going to bite you?¡± Rickle used his leg and dragged a stool over into the center of one of the aisles and sat down. ¡°Sorry, bad joke, but why are you even looking for Dean anyway?¡±

    ¡°I mean, sure, he¡¯s allowed to live his life, but no one who actually knew Dean woulde here; he would never tell them toe here in the first ce.¡± Rickle ced his elbow on the side of the table and was leaning on his hand, staring at Tom. Not breaking eye contact for a moment.

    Tom gulped.

    ¡®Is this how a founder of NIRV acts? He¡¯s so calm. I thought he might be more sophisticated, or¡­ I don¡¯t know what I thought, but not this.¡¯

    ¡°Actually, the real reason why I came here was to talk to you,¡± Tom said. He took a deep breath again. He needed to make sure everything that needed to be said was said.

    ¡°Well, now you have my attention. You know Dean, and you wished toe to me?¡± Rickle replied.

    ¡°First, I need to say that I am here as a researcher for the Howlers. I am here on behalf of Gary Dem. I hope you can understand why he couldn¡¯te down here himself,¡± Tom said.

    No longer was Rickle just leaning on the table; he sat upright as the name had caught his attention.

    ¡°One of the Werewolf Kings, I see. Now if you said you were here to meet Dean Dem, I would understand, but you said you were here to meet me?¡± Rickle asked.

    That was when Tom stretched out his arm, and there was an odd metal contraption attached to his forearm.

    As he tapped it a few times, it slid open, and a small syringe was seen. Instantly the ck liquid could be seen moving about in the vial.

    ¡°An infected solution? You want to talk to me about this?¡± Rickle asked. ¡°But that¡¯s quite an interesting contraption that you made.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom answered. ¡°We actually have arge number of these infected solutions that we obtained, but in order to get past your sensors and security, I could only bring so much.¡±

    Rickle¡¯s eyes were glued to Tom¡¯s arm rather than the solution itself.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help you much. I¡¯m aware of the infected solutions, but if you came here to ask where theye from or how to get rid of an infected Altered, I don¡¯t have an answer for you,¡± Rickle replied.

    Tom was hoping for this kind of response, and Rickle sounded like he was speaking the truth as well.

    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s why we wanted to talk to you. The infected solutions, we discovered that they were being sold from NIRV to the One Gang,¡± Tom exined.

    ¡°We heard that the one behind selling these solutions is Rumper Karn.¡±

    Suddenly, Rickle stood up from his seat, and the chair flew back, hitting a ledge and falling onto the floor.

    ¡°That¡¯s a brave usation to make of one of my business partners, especially with no proof,¡± Rickle said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°That¡¯s why we came to you!¡± Tom blurted out. ¡°NIRV is a big organization, and it¡¯s hard for us to find out the truth. Right now, we just have witnesses.¡±

    ¡°But checking, it¡¯s something you could easily do, right? And wouldn¡¯t it help you out as well to stop where the infected solutions areing from, especially if it¡¯s right under your nose?¡±

    Tom was betting on the fact that Rickle was a righteous person and would want to get rid of the infected solutions as well.

    ¡°We need evidence. If you can get evidence that Rumper is behind this, then we can pass it on to the White Rose, and he can stop them. Gary really needs your help; we all need your help with this!¡±

    When Tom shouted thest line, he bowed his head, looking at the floor. He had nothing to convince Rickle to take the request.

    Yet he was hoping for a string of things to put Rickle into action¡ªthe fact that Gary¡¯s father worked for him and helped him out, and Rickle¡¯s sense of character in the first ce.

    ¡°The infected solutions are indeed a problem,¡± Rickle said. ¡°I will deal with it for now. When I get an answer or some information, I¡¯ll send someone to Slough.¡±

    ¡°As for you, tell me, what is it that you¡¯re interested in?¡±

    Tom finally looked up with a raised eyebrow, confused. Why was he asking this question?

    ¡°Um¡­I¡¯m interested in Altered solutions and trying to get rid of th-¡±

    ¡°Not that. It seems you like to tinker with stuff as well. If there were no barriers, what would you like to work on? And answer truthfully, I can tell if you¡¯re lying or not.¡±

    Tom looked deep into Rickle¡¯s eyes, and at that point, he didn¡¯t know why, but he gave his answer.

    ¡°Video games,¡± Tom said.

    ¡°I see,¡± Rickle replied. ¡°You can leave. In the future, I might help you achieve your goal, and pay you a visit, although there is a chance that I might look different.¡±

    ¡°Good luck, Tom Green.¡±

    Tom quickly bowed, saying thank you, and left theb as soon as possible. As he reached the other side of the door, he finally let out a big breath.

    ¡°Wait a second¡­how did he know my name?¡±

 Chapter 1047 Rickle Moves!

    Chapter 1047 Rickle Moves!

    In what was perhaps one of the most tense moments in Tom¡¯s life, it had ended just like that.

    He was in a car riding back to Slough with Olivia and Marie by his side. There were no crazy troubles, no blood spilled, or any type of saga that was needed to get Tom out of trouble.

    "I''m starting to think that Gary might be the cause of all the troubles," Marie said, sitting in the front and staring out the window.

    She had simr thoughts as Tom since everything went fine.

    At least that¡¯s what Tom thought? He was sure Rickle had agreed to the request¡­ right?

    The car they had taken returned to the Wolf¡¯s Pool Club, where everyone was waiting for Tom inside.

    As he entered through the door, Gary rushed over to Tom, checking him all over.

    "Are you alright? You didn''t get hurt or anything, right¡­ there was no trouble, they didn¡¯t inject you with the infected serum or anything?"

    Tom smiled as he lifted his arms and turned around, trying to give Gary peace of mind.

    "It''s fine, I''m fine, and¡­ thanks for worrying about me," Tom said. "I told Rickle everything, and it didn¡¯t seem like he knew about where the infected solutions wereing from.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "And he¡¯s agreed to help us; he said he would send someone over with the information when he finds something."

    "If he finds something," Kai corrected. "From Gary''s father, Rickle should be a careful person, yet he allowed someone to sell infected solutions from under his nose? I mean, it might be the fact that he''s a founder and never expected a thing, but even more so, that means that Rumper might have covered all of his tracks," Kai said.

    What Kai said was true, but nheless, it was good news for the group. Without getting directly involved, they might gather dirt that would allow the White Rose to act as well.

    If they also had Rickle¡¯s support, it meant the White Rose would be even more confident in moving against them.

    Kai was well aware that the White Rose was cautious about incriminating all of NIRV, and for good reason.

    With their influence over other gangs and the retrievers they had.

    "I''m sorry," Tom suddenly said as he faced Gary. "I didn''t meet your father; I didn¡¯t see him there, only Rickle, so I have no update on that."

    Immediately, Gary patted Tom on the back.

    "What are you doing? Did I tell you to keep updates on my father or something? If he wants to see me, he''lle see me like before.¡±

    "I honestly was just worried about you the whole time. You''ve got nothing to be sorry about. If anything, I¡¯m sorry for putting you in such a tough situation."

    Gary and Tom were true friends. Their awkward rtionship from high school had continued.

    Although so different, they were incredibly close, and Gary was happy to still have Tom by his side despite every single thing that had happened.

    A tune started to y out, and Kai quickly reached for his phone. He didn¡¯t say anything as his hand slowly went down to his side, and he turned to Gary.

    "It''s news from White Rose¡­ they found him, they found Jayden."

    ---

    Rickle had stayed in hisb since he heard the news from Tom. He had been in two ces.

    On one hand, he was tinkering with a number of devices but would then stop partly, while also looking up files and trying to gather information in another area.

    Eventually, he sat down at one of the workshop tables and pushed a load of parts away in front of him.

    He then rested his chin on both hands as he started to think.

    "How did this even happen?" Rickle said. "I expected it, I even expected it from the inside, but I didn''t think it would ur with you, Rumper.¡±

    "Are you being set up? ckmailed, or are you doing this for the money? None of that seems to be the case¡ªyou seemed to be an honest person."

    Rickle started to think back to when he met Rumper. A smart man, an archeologist, and one of the first to discover some of the fossils of the dead beasts.

    It wasn¡¯t just because he had started thepany with this man that Rickle trusted him.

    Rickle had also saved his wife¡¯s life, something that couldn¡¯t be cured by normal means.

    Rumper had said he was forever in Rickle¡¯s debt, and Rickle could tell that he wasn''t lying.

    "So what has changed? It¡¯s annoying as well that she didn¡¯t foresee something like this.¡±

    "She gives me bits and pieces, and I¡¯m meant to just prevent everything. It''s tiring at times¡­ very tiring," Rickle said. "These things¡­ just keep repeating."

    A few beeps and bops were heard from the other side of the door. As it slid open, a man wearing a dark outfit that almost looked like it absorbed the white room into him walked in.

    His heavy footsteps echoed across the room.

    "You''re not working? That''s very strange for you," Dean said.

    "A friend of your son came to visit me."

    Dean froze for a moment but didn¡¯t say anything else.

    "You need to get ready, bring what tools you can. We¡¯re going to be quite busy, and you need to be ready for a fight," Rickle ordered.

    "Right," Dean said as he moved over to one side of theb.

    Pressing a few buttons on the console, one of the walls started to descend, revealing a whole wall of different weapons oozing with power.

    Weapons even beyond what the Altered Hunters had.

    "Oh, by the way, how were they?" Rickle asked.

    "The Talen family, they were doing just fine," Dean replied.not too busy, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1048 Do We Even Like Each other?

    Chapter 1048 Do We Even Like Each other?

    Currently, the night sky was out, and Dean as well as Rickle were both traversing through a dense forest.

    There were arge number of trees with fallen leaves on the ground. Dean had metallic bracers attached to both of his forearms, and on his back, he carried what looked like a guitar case.

    The two of them had traveled by car for a while, and when looking at the surrounding area, Dean saw no city or vige life.

    Just plenty ofrge fields and forestation. Even with the car, they had just stopped in a seemingly random location.

    "I don''t understand why we have to travel this way," Dean said as he continued to walk. By his calctions, they had already walked for two miles.

    "What, you want to use the teleporter?" Rickle replied. "I know we used it before, but that is not something I set up everywhere. There are several technologies that will aid humanity in growing their strength.¡±

    "I don''t believe it is the right time for this one. So having such things in random locations isn¡¯t for the best."

    "Do you really think if someone found such a thing, they would even know how to replicate it?" Dean asked. "I''ve been following your studies for a while now.

    "I can wrap my head around a few things you¡¯ve created, but you have knowledge now that stems back, what, thousands of years? I don¡¯t think if they found it, they could replicate it."

    "You might be right about that," Rickle replied. "But there are reasons for this. Humans are reluctant to work together. With enough of them, they could perhaps aplish such things.¡±

    "When there is a dangerous threat that faces the whole of Earth, the world wille together. This magicless era is a tough one, one reced by technology and the beasting process. People build on top of each other''s knowledge.¡±

    "To create an application on your phone, one doesn¡¯t need to know the workings of the inte inside and out, and you should know if others found this technology, there would be questions."

    "Right, because to them, you''re meant to still be a dead man," Dean replied. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Dean hardly had direct questions for Rickle. He only knew things here and there¡ªthe fact that Rickle was a vampire who had lived for an incredibly long time.

    However, Dean knew next to nothing about vampires themselves. The history of the Werewolves he had learned didn¡¯t even mention them much.

    A society that was hiding in the shadows, and yet, for some reason, Rickle was also hiding from them.

    What Dean didn¡¯t like, though, was the fact that matters were starting to involve his son.

    ''Although Rickle is a vampire, because he stays away from the others, he doesn¡¯t get involved directly, so I doubt he will get involved with Gary¡­ But for Gary to request this, what is happening?''

    "There''s a reason why we''re walking, by the way," Rickle added. "Rumper was in charge of the excavation sites.¡±

    "His base of operations would actually move based on where the fossils were found. He would dig up the fossils, extract valuable information, and then eventually send the fossils to one of the other NIRV locations.¡±

    "Fossils continued to be sent to the other sites, and everything seemed smooth. I¡¯m not one to bother someone when they¡¯re doing their job. Right now, we''re heading to thetest base and excavation site."

    Up ahead, Dean could finally see therge floodlights glowing in the distance. The excavation site had to cover several miles.

    There wererge diggers along with drills and other machinery he didn¡¯t even know the purpose of.

    Huge mounds of dirt were split to the side, exposingrge areas of ground. In the center of it all was a square building, built out of solid materials but not seeming to be a permanent structure.

    "If I were to take a guess, this is where Rumper would be," Rickle stated.

    "Did you try sending him a text?" Dean asked.

    "To let him know we wereing? Why do you think we walked all this way? And I did try to contact him, feigning it was for work purposes, but there was no response.¡±

    "It seems he must have some type of sixth sense that trouble ising. So I¡¯m trying to reach him before he flees."

    On initial observation, due to it being night, work seemed to have ceased.

    Dean thought this was normal until they reached the firstrge excavation site and stood at the edge, looking in.

    He could see arge rectangr site, as if a giant being had just plucked part of the earth out.

    Then there were severalrge tunnels leading in different directions.

    "That''s strange," Rickle said. "No one''s working."

    "It is past 6 p.m. I wouldn¡¯t take a job if it was past 6 p.m.," Dean stated.

    "Yes, and yet you¡¯re working for me right now. Besides, this is different. These people are well-paid for their services. They wouldn¡¯t just abandon a site.¡±

    "And you should know that NIRV aren¡¯t the only ones who can perform the Altered solutions; somepanies might even resort to stealing, so there are supposed to be guards at all times."

    Rickle jumped down into the pit, while Dean saw adder and began to descend.

    When Dean finally reached the floor, he wondered what Rickle was looking at, as on the other side of the pit there was a group of people now standing on the edge.

    "Who are they? They don¡¯t look like scientists," Dean asked.

    "No, they¡¯re Retrievers," Rickle replied.

    ***

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 1049 Take Out The Troubling One

    Chapter 1049 Take Out The Troubling One

    The members that were standing on the other side quickly dropped down. There were five of them in total¡ªthree men and two women.

    All of them were crudely dressed, either in leather jackets, open tops, and some of the women were wearing clothing that only covered their chest, revealing their stomach and other areas.

    It was clear as day that these were not researchers, and even their clothing didn¡¯t match the environment they were in.

    ¡°I think we should let me handle the talking,¡± Rickle said as he continued to walk, fearlessly, despite knowing who these people were.

    In the center of the group was a man in a small sleeveless leather jacket, revealing his arms and even the sides of his hips since the jacket was so small.

    He even had an odd hat on his head, nted to the side.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to give you two a warning right now¡ªthat you should turn around,¡± the man at the front said. ¡°I¡¯m Astal, and you might have heard of me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the leader of the Pandemonium Gang in Selfort. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of the city since it¡¯s a tier 2 one, and my name has spread quite far and wide,¡± Astal exined with a smug look on his face.

    All of the Retrievers were part of a gang from somewhere, and all Retrievers were Altereds as well. It was part of their contract, and judging by the fact that Astal introduced himself, he had to be the strongest one here.

    ¡°Only a tier 2 city, huh? Well, it shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem,¡± Rickle said, moving forward. ¡°I have permission to be here. Don¡¯t you know my name¡ªRickle Epman?¡±

    The Retrievers behind Astal turned to look at each other, blinking heavily a few times.

    ¡°Now that he mentions it, that does look like him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve seen photos.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Astal stammered, his lip trembling. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for not recognizing you, sir!¡± Astal bowed down almost ny degrees.

    ¡°Please, sir, as you said, on your way!¡±

    The other Altereds stepped aside, making way for Rickle to walk forward.

    ¡°See, what did I say? Let me do the talking; this was a lot easier than I thought it would be,¡± Rickle said as he confidently walked ahead, and Dean wasn¡¯t too far behind him.

    They continued walking, but when they were a few steps past, immediately the Retrievers turned around. Their bodies started to change, and one of the females leapt up in the air, her arm transforming into something that appeared carved like bone.

    Dean turned around and lifted his hand. He swung his metal bracer, stopping the sharp-edged arm instantly, but he struggled as he pushed against it.

    As Dean stopped the attack, he looked into their eyes.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t looking so good. I think they¡¯re all infected Altereds as well!¡±

    Eventually, Dean twisted his foot and performed a kick from his side, hitting the person in the stomach. It was powerful and sent them flying through the air. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Ah, so I see your Qi lessons have been going well,¡± Rickle said calmly, as he avoided some strange yellow substance that came his way.

    Itnded on the floor, seemingly doing nothing, but Rickle wasn¡¯t about to let any part of it touch him.

    The other Altereds looked ready to charge at Dean, who was closest to them, when the guitar case on his back quickly unzipped. With a spin, Dean grabbed the orange-colored de.

    The de itself was quite thin, almost like a rapier, but the guard was extremelyrge¡ªaround a meter long¡ªyet was light in Dean¡¯s hands.

    One of the women hadpletely transformed into a giant green toad-like creature with its mouth open extremely wide anding toward Dean.

    ¡°Remember what I taught you about beast weapons?¡± Rickle said.

    Dean then pointed the weapon right at the giant Altered, and started to activate his Qi, which in turn activated the power of the weapon.

    The sword began to shine brightly until orange energy, like a tunnel of mes, came out, hitting the Altered.

    As it struck, parts of the strange body were burned away. It continued and continued, as the body shrank, until the sword¡¯s attack finally ended, and in front of him there was nothing but a pile of ashes.

    ¡°JULIEEEEE!¡± one of the Altered shouted, their body shrouded in the strange ck energy emanating from it.

    Another attacker, with tentacle-like limbs, went to wrap them around Dean, who swung the sword, deflecting it away and leaving arge scorch mark.

    ¡°What type of weapon did you make me pick?¡± Dean asked.

    ¡°I told you about the ranking of weapons. What you have in your hand is a Demi-god tier weapon. Not many Altereds will be able to go against you with that in your hands!¡± Rickle said, as he continued to avoid the attacks.

    Then, from under the ground, a giant ck beetle appeared. When Rickle saw the face, it was clear that it was Astal. Just like the others, his eyes werepletely ck.

    ¡°Got you!¡± Astal swung his arms, hitting Rickle, and his body was sent flying to the side until he crashed into the wall of the excavation site.

    Dust billowed everywhere.

    ¡°That damned scientist, he brought a strong bodyguard with him, but he was a fool to think we couldn¡¯t get to him!¡± Astal said. ¡°Now to get rid of the troublesome one.¡±

    Astal then turned to Dean.

    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Dean said. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not the troublesome one¡­ it¡¯s him, and you might have just woken him up a bit.¡±

    Through the dust, glowing red eyes could be seen.

    *******

 Chapter 1050 The Infected Altered

    Chapter 1050 The Infected Altered

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Originally, all of the Retrievers'' attention was focused on the man with the strange-looking sword.

    It had unique properties and was powerful enough to take out an Altered without even striking with the sword itself. One had already fallen to the weapon.

    It was quite clear to them that the troublesome one was the man, not the researcher.

    But Astal had seen an opportunity with his special digging traits, granted by his Altered form, to attack what he saw as a primary target¡ªa person who was nothing more than a researcher. Someone who would be defenseless and was the main goal of their task.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Astal said, standing in his somewhatrge, beetle-like casing on his arms and the rest of his body, looking straight ahead.

    Through all the dust that had been kicked up, he could see red eyes glowing through it.

    ¡°Ah, how is he still alive? I''ll get him!¡± one of the Retrievers shouted as they leapt into the air.

    As they got close, arge red streak of aura flew through the air and struck the man on the chest, cutting through his skin and sending him back through the air.

    It was a type of attack they weren''t used to.

    ¡°Careful, he must be an Altered as well!¡± Astal shouted. ¡°It has to be some elemental power.¡±

    The Altered looked at the wound on his chest just as he was about to hit the ground, but the red eyes seen through the dust were now directly in front of him.

    Rickle reached out and grabbed the Altered right by the head, mming him onto the floor.

    ¡°How long have I been alive, and you think something like a surprise attack is going to get me?¡± Rickle lifted his other hand, while one held onto the man''s face.

    Red aura condensed in his palm, turning into a ball of red energy. Suddenly, the energy shot from his hand and hit the Altered right in the stomach.

    The attack continued, burning a gaping hole through the Altered¡¯s stomach and even destroying the ground beneath his feet.

    The life had long gone from the Altered''s eyes, and when Rickle stood up, his hand was still holding onto the head and shoulders of the Retriever¡¯s body.

    ¡°Oh¡­ right.¡± Rickle let go, throwing the rest of the Retriever¡¯s body onto the ground.

    ¡°Now, what to do with the rest of you? You¡¯re infected, so I doubt I can gather any information from using the influence skill... but maybe I can change you into a bug or a rat, and then I won''t feel so bad about getting rid of you.¡±

    Astal didn''t understand anything. He was a high-level Altered, and he couldn''tprehend how a mere scientist had moved so fast out of the dust.

    He couldn¡¯tprehend the elemental powers being used, and this person hadn¡¯t even used their Altered form.

    Not only that, Astal could feel the carelessness he had for life.

    ¡°You... You... You''re a monster! A monster!¡± Astal shouted, charging forward, bulldozing his way to Rickle.

    This time, no aura surrounded Rickle¡¯s body; he didn¡¯t look like he was about to strike. Instead, he held out his hand.

    ¡°Right, I guess since you¡¯re some type of Bug Altered, turning you into a bug will do!¡±

    Astal thought everything was ridiculous. What could an old man do just by holding his arm out?

    He was an Altered with a strong body; he would run and crash right through the enemy.

    As his feelings intensified, ck mist began to pour from him. He took another step, but before he could even reach Rickle or get any closer¡ª

    A searing pain ran down the middle of his body, and looking at the floor, he could see a thin metal object touching the ground.

    Astal¡¯s body was sliced in half, and both sides split, falling to the floor.

    ¡°Trust me, you should thank me that I was able to take your life so effortlessly,¡± Dean said, looking around for the guitar case, ready to put his weapon away.

    Dean had already dealt with all the others while Astal was having his spat with Rickle.

    ¡°I thought you don¡¯t usually get involved in these things,¡± Dean said. ¡°That''s why you brought me along, even though you could handle it yourself.¡±

    ¡°I was going to stay out of it, but then he came for me. Anyway, it¡¯s quite obvious that there¡¯s something Rumper wanted to cover up,¡± Rickle imed.

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think they would suddenly attack us like that. It was almost as if they were ordered to attack if they met you, knowing you woulde here,¡± Dean said.

    Having put his weapon away, he continued walking with Rickle, climbing out of the first evacuation site, and they could see the temporary base not too far ahead.

    ¡°What I¡¯m more concerned about is the fact that all of them were infected and protecting this ce. The reason we¡¯re here is to try and establish what Rumper¡¯s involvement is with the infected solutions.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Dean nodded. ¡°So you think those guys were indebted to him, that they were protecting this ce because he gave them those infected solutions?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± Rickle answered. ¡°And that¡¯s what worries me.¡±

    ¡°Infected, crazed Altered people¡ªlink the things together, but they¡¯re not really linked,¡± Rickle said. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you see? Those guys were fine. They could talk, they knew what they were doing, and they were in full control.¡±

    ¡°But even though they seemed sound, there''s a chance that it was only an illusion. What worries me is the origin of the infected solutions... I fear it might being back.¡±

 Chapter 1051 Entering The Base

    Chapter 1051 Entering The Base

    Both Dean and Rickle continued on their way, exiting from one excavation site and moving toward the temporary base up ahead. Even though it was a temporary base, it covered an extremelyrge area. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After all, the base was used to extractrge pieces, taking them carefully apart and cing them together. There was also on-site research that would be done and more.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have sensitive noses as well?¡± Dean asked as they were closely approaching the front entrance of the building.

    ¡°For¡­certain things. We¡¯re not animals; we¡¯re just higher beings. Our senses are all better than that of the average human, so they don¡¯t work as well as yours¡­ I mean, as well as yours used to,¡± Rickle replied.

    ¡°If you¡¯re asking whether I knew there were people here or not, the answer is yes, I knew. However, I wanted to know what their reaction would be. At first, judging by how they acted, I thought they were just employees of NIRV, but it¡¯s quite clear they¡¯ve ced something above even the founders.

    ¡°So something is going on, and before we enter, I think it¡¯s best if you keep your sword out,¡± Rickle said with a smile.

    Dean did as told and took the sword out from his guitar case, but kept the guitar case on his back this time. Rather than Rickle taking the lead, he was the one who went ahead first.

    They entered the first area, the reception area, and what was quite odd about it was how it was void of staff. There were several seats that remained empty and untouched. It was hard to tell if it was a sudden evacuation of sorts or if it had happened a long time ago.

    Sniffing the air, Rickle couldn¡¯t smell any blood, though, so it wasn¡¯t as if they were attacked or anything like that. They went down one of the halls, and it came as no surprise when a person at the other end immediately started charging toward them.

    ¡°Narrow hallway makes things a bit easier.¡± Dean pointed his sword, and a bright energy shot out from the tip, covering the entire Altered¡¯s body until there was nothing left.

    The two of them continued down the corridor, eventuallying across a sliding secure door. It didn¡¯t matter, as Dean swung his de, and the top half of the door fell. On the other side was a ratherrge room.

    ¡°This looks like a training hall,¡± Dean said, taking a step inside. ¡°The scratches on the walls¡­ were they making beasts here as well? Does that mean they had a nest crystal?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the only way they could have¡­ and do me a favor,¡± Rickle said. ¡°Can you leave one alive for me?¡±

    Several Retrievers moved their way, running toward the two of them, infected. Using his sword, Dean sted one away with a short burst that hit the center of the Altered¡¯s body and caused them to fly through the air, but they didn¡¯t disintegrate like the ones before.

    Right after, Dean used the sword and swung it about, cutting limbs that wereing at him and even slicing one of the Altered in the air in half. Eventually, after dealing with a few of them, he left thest one alive, stabbing him through the shoulder with the de and continuing to charge forward until he had pinned the person to the wall.

    ¡°Good job, good job; you really have been keeping up with your Qi,¡± Rickle said, moving in close and cing his hand on the Altered¡¯s head, pushing it back against the wall.

    With his thumb, he pulled up the skin on the man¡¯s forehead and looked directly into his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not the symptoms of a Crazed Altered who¡¯s been consumed by its ck blood. This is an infected Altered¡­ and from the way you¡¯re looking at me, can you see me, do you remember who I am?¡±

    Just as Rickle said those words, the breath of the man began to fade. His heart had strangely stopped beating.

    ¡°Did you do that?¡± Dean asked, pulling the sword out of the Altered¡¯s shoulder. When Rickle let go, the man¡¯s body fell to the floor.

    ¡°Do you think I would do that when I was asking him questions? Anyway, let¡¯s hurry¡ªI¡¯m getting more worried by the second,¡± Rickle said.

    Finally, after passing through therge training room, they entered what looked like a researchb. There were severalrge terminals, testing tubes, and tablesid out with various equipment one would see in any NIRVb.

    Just like the rest of the ce, it waspletely empty, though, and as Rickle moved to the terminal, he noticed that it was still on.

    ¡°It¡¯s still hot,¡± Rickle said. ¡°Which means the terminal had to be doing something within the hour.¡±

    ¡°Can you get in?¡±

    ¡°Can you not ask stupid questions?¡± Rickle replied as he started to type away and was looking up all the information he could. Everything that was taking ce at the base, and he had even gotten into Rumper¡¯s personal files.

    ¡°So what does it say?¡± Dean asked.

    ¡°There were arge number of infected fossils and beasts that were found. Rumper had been getting rid of them himself. Based on the experiment files, he¡¯s made arge amount of serums.¡±

    ¡°And, he was getting paid to give these to the One Gang? That¡¯s what you said, right? About the whole thing?¡± Dean asked.

    ¡°No, he was paying the One Gang to take the serums,¡± Rickle replied. ¡°That¡¯s what makes this whole thing strange.¡±

    ¡°I need to look¡­ when did this start? There are so many infected beasts that they found. Was it rted to this site?¡± Rickle started to type furiously away until he had eventually found something.

    ¡°This is where we need to go. This is where things started. I have a bad feeling about all of this. Let¡¯s head to the site immediately,¡± Rickle ordered.

 Chapter 1052 The Person I most Fear is Him

    Chapter 1052 The Person I most Fear is Him

    A private mansion was located at the edge of a river, surrounded byrge tall trees on either side and a private gated entrance.

    It was quite the sight for people to see as they visited the city. As they crossed therge bridge or drove from the other side, many would spot the mansion and point at it, staring in awe.

    They wondered what type of person could live in such luxury, what type of person one had to be to own such a ce. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The thing was, no one really needed to ask the question because everyone in the city knew that it belonged to Harvor.

    Sitting outside with the sun shining, Harvor was lounging in his grand garden with a number of guests.

    He wore sunsses and had his top off. No sweat wasing from his body despite the heat, but he felt a pulsating sensation.

    "Do you think things will escte?" Harvor asked as he took arge sip from his ice-cold beer.

    "They shouldn¡¯t. They have nothing they can find and no proof to pin it on you," Stanley said, sitting at the same table and tapping away on his tablet.

    He was also looking at his phone at the same time, trying to work out a number of things.

    "The White Rose only has a few options, even if they find something. They wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to go against us alone. No matter what, this has just dyed your n," Stanley exined.

    Right now, Harvor was under house arrest. Since the White Rose had managed to dig up something in the river, he was not allowed to leave his home as a prime suspect to avoid obstructing the investigation.

    He was thest person that had been seen, but Harvor wasn¡¯t worried; with his strength, they couldn¡¯t arrest him even if they wanted to, which was exactly what Stanley was saying.

    From Stanley''s tablet, a few dings were heard, and pressing on it, a camera feed appeared showing the front of the house and a particr person at the door.

    "Is it White Rose? Have theye to bother us again? I''m starting to think it would be better to make them all disappear in a type of ident," Harvor grumbled.

    "That wouldn¡¯t be wise. The Bree Family is watching us, the Howlers as well, and possibly the Lupus Gang. Although I¡¯m confident in your ability to take them all out, adding the White Rose to that might just be too much, even for you." Stanley pressed his sses back up on his face.

    "It¡¯s Rumper," Stanley said.

    "Bring him in."

    A couple of members greeted Rumper at the door and began to hold him by his sides, pulling him through the house until they eventually brought him out to the back.

    ¡°Let go of me, let go of me, you idiots!¡± Rumper shouted as he swung his arms, including the metal briefcase in his hands.

    "And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here today?" Harvor asked without even turning his head. ¡°I know I failed toe to ourst meeting, but I¡¯m sure even you can understand why I was unable to, with everything going on.¡±

    Before Rumper could move closer, Terrance, one of the Zodiacs, blocked his way, cing his hand out.

    "You need to solve this issue now!" Rumper shouted. ¡°This whole thing is a mess. Right now, I have Rickle investigating everything I¡¯ve done!¡±

    ¡°Somehow, he¡¯s managed to catch onto all of this. With how wild and reckless you¡¯ve been, I can only me you.¡±

    Harvor took another big gulp of his drink and invited Rumper to sit on a chair located by a table not too far from his own. Rumper epted, but he was still startled and shaken.

    "So, it looks like one of your cofounders finally found out what you were doing, huh? You knew this day woulde, so why are you so scared? I said that you could alwayse here and that I would protect you. It was part of our deal, so what¡¯s the problem?¡± Harvor asked.

    "Right, our deal that helped you build everything," Rumper said. "In return for taking the infected solutions and spreading them out to the lower-tier cities, I financed your entire AFC business. On top of that, I even provided normal Altered solutions to strengthen your gang! You owe me this protection, and I¡¯m d you remember that. As long as you remember that.¡±

    Looking up at the sky, Harvor was remembering his days back at theb.

    "It¡¯s a shame; I have quite fond memories of Rickle. You three were part of the Altered project and helped me be who I am today. In the end, you were the one who approached me, though.¡±

    ¡°So don¡¯t worry; my loyalty lies with you. But you don¡¯t have to be afraid. Don¡¯t you have plenty of Retrievers under your thumb?¡±

    Harvor could sense it¡ªeven though Rumper was in his house, surrounded by so many strong Altereds including him, he was still afraid.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Harvor asked.

    ¡°You just don¡¯t understand,¡± Rumper said. ¡°If it were Tinth we were dealing with, it would be fine. But the one looking into all of this... it¡¯s Rickle.¡±

    ¡°I know we call ourselves the three founders, but that¡¯s just on paper. The whole of NIRV was Rickle¡¯s idea to begin with. Wanting to revive the race of the Dragons¡ªall of it.¡±

    ¡°That man¡­ he¡¯s been able to do things that aren¡¯t human. Out of everyone, he¡¯s the man I fear most in the world¡­ even more than you,¡± Rumper said.

    ---

 Chapter 1053 Getting Them One By One

    Chapter 1053 Getting Them One By One

    Another round of investigations was taking ce with the White Rose and local police force working hand in hand.

    They had returned to thest ce where everyone knew Jayden wasst seen, which was the fighting arenas.

    It was in the middle of reconstruction, so it hadn¡¯t been used since that day, but the work had been halted since the investigation continued.

    ¡°Keep an eye on the police!¡± Elijah shouted in the ring. ¡°Make sure every bit of evidence is collected properly and sent to theb.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s wise to say that in front of the police force that¡¯s helping us?¡± one of the other agents asked.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s even better that they know we¡¯re paying strict attention,¡± Elijah replied. ¡°These are all Kanu¡¯s orders anyway. This isn¡¯t our city. This city is owned by the One Gang.¡±

    ¡°It would be no surprise if the entire local police force were in his pocket. In fact, I¡¯d be more surprised if they weren¡¯t.¡±

    Elijah was standing in the ring with blue coverings over his shoes, looking around at therge stage.

    ¡®Honestly, I have my doubts that we¡¯ll find anything. We already investigated this ce once, and after finding nothing, they even had time to clear up what we might have missed,¡¯ Elijah thought. ¡®We¡¯re just buying time¡­ and I need Kanu to quiet down.¡¯

    There was something bugging him, though, and that was a particr member in a white and purple tracksuit, observing from the top of the stands where the crowd would be.

    It was a tall, slender man known as Vico, one of the Zodiacs. Although Harvor had been ced under house arrest, that wasn¡¯t true for the rest of his gang members.

    ¡®If I remember the testimony from the others, that Vico is quite the trusted member of the One Gang. I guess he¡¯s here as insurance for them.¡¯

    Gritting his teeth, Elijah continued to shout orders at the force, hoping to help in any way he could.

    After some time had passed, Vico eventually left the police force and the White Rose to continue their investigation.

    Even though he was an Altered, nature still called. He headed down the corridor and made his way to the men¡¯s toilet.

    ¡®This ce would usually be crammed with people, but it¡¯spletely empty. It¡¯s strange to see,¡¯ Vico thought as he approached the urinal and started his yellow stream pouring down, letting out a sigh.

    ¡°I was holding that one in for a while,¡± Vico said, turning around.

    ¡°Hey!¡± a voice called out in the room, but immediately Vico¡¯s vision was blocked by a strong stream of water that exploded in his face and pushed him back.

    It sent him back until his back was touching the urinal itself. Eventually, the strong, powerful stream of water stopped, and now he didn¡¯t quite know what he was seeing in front of him.

    ¡°An Altered?¡± Vico raised an eyebrow.

    The Altered was covered in strange, hardened feathers, but the feathers were jagged, making them look deadly in nature. On top of that, the Altered in front of him only had one wing.

    Evaluating the situation, he could see what had happened; someone had burst a water pipe and had forced the flow of it to soak his entire bodypletely.

    ¡°What are you¡ª¡±

    Before Vico could even finish his sentence, the Altered rushed right at him, the whole room electrified itself, and even he was being hurt before it hit him.

    A hardened, jagged yellow hand then burst right through the side of his stomach.

    ¡°Ah! You bitch!¡± Vico yelled.

    He hadn¡¯t transformed; he couldn¡¯t even get a word out. It was a surprise attack, but who would even attack them like this under conditions like this?

    The Howlers wouldn¡¯t make a move with the White Rose all around, and the White Rose was never this brazen when it came to things like this.

    Looking down, Vico looked into the other¡¯s eyes, and he came to the realization.

    ¡°You¡¯re Xin?¡±

    With Xin¡¯s hand lodged into the man, all the feathers on her body, including that on her wing, charged up with immense power, and the elemental energy exploded off her.

    Her hand was still stuck inside Vico, and his whole body was being electrocuted, shaking, and there was even a burning smell being emitted.

    With the added water, her elemental power was conducting more electricity, allowing for it to hit every part of Vico.

    Before Vico knew it, his entire brain had been fried. When Xin stopped, she pulled her arm out, and the man fell to the floor, lifeless.

    ¡°I have to clean this up,¡± Xin said, huffing and puffing as her Altered form reverted back.

    She dragged Vico¡¯s body into one of the stalls and closed the door. The bathroom was still a mess, so she quickly went into the hallway and into the cleaner¡¯s closet, finding an out-of-order sign.

    On the outside of the men¡¯s toilets, she ced the out-of-order sign. She wasn¡¯t sure it would buy her much time, but it would buy her some time.

    Exiting, Xin started to walk down the hallway and tensed her fist.

    ¡®I don¡¯t care what I have to do. Attack them by surprise, attack them from behind, trick them, or kill them with my bare hands!¡¯ Xin thought in her mind. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡®I¡¯ll get rid of them all, I¡¯ll get rid of every single one of them. I¡¯ll get rid of the Zodiacs, and I¡¯ming straight for you, Harvor!¡¯

    Back in the arena, for a moment, all the hairs were standing up on Elijah¡¯s body.

    ¡°Is there a load of static somewhere?¡± Elijah asked.

    ---

 Chapter 1054 Ticking Off The List

    Chapter 1054 Ticking Off The List

    Xin had swiftly left the arena. As for what had happened with White Rose or those inside, she didn¡¯t know, nor did she care about the result.

    If she was captured by the White Rose after this and ced in jail, then so be it, as long as she got back at those responsible for everything.

    Currently, she was walking down a street wearing arge hoodie over her head. People recognized her, so she also wore a white medical mask over the bottom of her face.

    As for the people she was following, it was other White Rose agents who had branched off in pairs.

    It was how she was able to find the Zodiac members in the first ce. It appeared as if she wasn¡¯t the only one tailing the gang.

    The White Rose agents were fairly easy to spot as well, with their shy white and gold outfits.

    Tailing them had eventually led her to a training center. Looking up, it looked like another academy that trained fighters for the AFC.

    She didn¡¯t head in immediately, as she wanted to wait for the White Rose agents to leave before she went to look for whatever it was inside.

    While waiting on the other side of the street, there was one person that she was worried about.

    ¡®I wonder how Gary¡¯s doing now?¡¯ Xin thought. ¡®And I wonder what he would think about me doing all of this.¡¯

    Lost in her thoughts, she eventually saw the White Rose members head out. She still wanted to wait a minute or so before heading in to see who they were meeting, but it didn¡¯t take long for her to see another member of the Zodiacse out, in the familiar white and purple tracksuit.

    ¡®That¡¯s William, one of the One Gang¡¯s Zodiacs. He¡¯s ranked 18 in the AFC, but from rumors, he might even be ranked higher if he didn¡¯t care about his looks so much.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Even now, Xin could see the man bringing out a small round pocket mirror and adjusting his blond, gelled-back hair.

    ¡®Just like the other Zodiac members, it won¡¯t be good to take him head-on. I need to wait and see the perfect opportunity,¡¯ Xin thought. ¡®And I need to take them out as quickly as possible, before they find out and have their guard up.¡¯

    She followed William for a short while after he left the academy, staying on the other side of the street.

    Unfortunately for her, though, a beep sounded, and she could see that he was getting in a car.

    ¡®Crap¡­ I need to follow him.¡¯

    Xin looked around and quickly entered one of the alleyways. She looked around a second time, making sure no one was watching, before she transformed, a single wing extending from her back, and sparks of electricity could be seen at her feet.

    After transforming, she ran up to the wall, cing her feet and kicking up. She was moving at an incredibly fast speed and stayed close to the wall as she climbed.

    Eventually, she reached the top of the building and pulled herself up. The area they were in was quite built-up.

    There weren¡¯t giant skyscrapers as such, but things still went to around the sixth or so floor. As long as she stayed somewhat in the center of the rooftops, not too many people would be able to see her as she ran¡ªnot that they would notice much anyway.

    The car was on the move, and Xin was quickly running across rooftops, using her ability as well. As she turned her head, she saw the car turn right, so she needed to get there quickly.

    She ran across the t rooftop and then jumped over it at an extraordinary height, using her powers to give her a boost andnd on the other side.

    She didn¡¯t rest as she continued to move.

    ¡®Although there might not be a chance for me to have William on his own, there¡¯s a chance he can lead me to the others.¡¯

    ¡®The Zodiacs have been a little harder to findtely.¡¯

    With this in mind, Xin continued to follow, and she could soon see the car heading toward the area of the bridge.

    Seeing the bridge reminded her of that day, bringing memories back, and only stirred her will to try even harder.

    She was running out of rooftops, so she decided to leap down, aiming right for an empty pickup truck. Moments beforending, she used her elemental powers to slow down and settled herself in the truck.

    The man driving didn¡¯t pay much attention, and for a moment, the cars behind saw a bright sh of light, causing them to slow down before they regained their bearings.

    Xin took a peek from the pickup truck once in a while, and she noticed the car with William took a detour, heading off to the side into a forest rather than staying on the main road or going across the bridge.

    She had jumped out at the perfect time and was thankful for the cover of the tall trees. Now, she could run on the ground without causing too much attention.

    ¡°Where is he going? What even is this ce?¡± Xin wondered.

    That¡¯s when the car came to a stop, right at a gate. It waited a few moments before the gate opened, and the car started to drive in.

    Just as the gate doors were closing and the car drove ahead, Xin slipped past and let the gates close behind her. Now she could see, not too far ahead, on neatly cut grass, arge mansion.

    ¡®Is this¡­ Harvor¡¯s house?¡¯ Xin thought.

    ---

 Chapter 1055 In The Middle Of The Storm

    Chapter 1055 In The Middle Of The Storm

    Seeing the grand mansion in front of her eyes, Xin could only think of one person who would have such wealth to afford a luxury ce right by the river.

    Not only that, but after following another Zodiac member, it was clear as day where she was. As she stood out in the open in the garden, she quickly rushed forward.

    She saw William enter the front door of the house, opening it without a lock, while she proceeded to hide in some shrubbery outside.

    Carefully maintained hedges were ced in particr areas. There was even a specially carved deer out of hedging in the front.

    ¡®No guards or anything in a ce like this?¡¯ Xin thought. ¡®I guess when you have the Zodiacs and you¡¯re as strong as Harvor, you don¡¯t feel the need to have guards.¡¯

    Carefully, she looked around to see if there was anything else. The only camera she could see was on the front of the door.

    ¡®It¡¯s dangerous being here right now; there¡¯s a good chance that Harvor is here, as well as the other Zodiac members,¡¯ she thought, pivoting her foot back toward the gate. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yet for some reason, her body refused to move, refused to leave.

    ¡®I don¡¯t know who is here¡ªit could just be William alone, and Harvor might not be here either. Maybe a few of the Zodiacs are here, and if I can take them out one by one¡­ this might be the perfect chance¡­ I can¡¯t just leave without knowing what¡¯s ahead.¡¯

    Before, Xin was known as calm and collected, and anyone with a sound mind would also know it was too dangerous to do this.

    However, pain, anger, and other emotions were taking over her rational thought, and having already seeded in taking down one of the Zodiacs once, she believed she could do this because, in her head, she had to do this.

    She quickly ran up to the mansion and knelt down. Her head was just under a window. She made sure she heard nothing, not even footsteps, before taking a peek inside the house.

    She could see arge kitchen area with an ind, sofa, and an incrediblyrge TV. The ss on one side allowed her to see straight through to the other side of the house, showing the back garden.

    Although she could see people outside, she couldn¡¯t make out who they were. Instead, she saw William, her target,ing towards her.

    She quickly ducked her head down and listened to the sound of footsteps growing fainter. She took another peek and saw he was heading upstairs.

    ¡®Why is he going upstairs if everyone else is outside? Could this be the chance I was looking for? I need to check it out first.¡¯

    Xin noticed an open window. Holding onto the ledge, she pulled herself up easily with the strength of one arm, carefully climbing up the side of the house with little trouble.

    Pushing the window up, she climbed into what looked like an office. There was still no one present, so she peeked her head into the corridor.

    Down one side, she saw it led to more rooms on her right. To her left, it led to the main area, where arge chandelier hung above a staircase that went up to both wings of the mansion.

    The other wing of the mansion was so far away that she felt there was no problem for her if she was to do something.

    She decided to check the left side rooms first to see if anyone was inside. Checking each room, she found nothing.

    They were mostly empty rooms, with some used as storage, all cleared to one side and packed in boxes, almost as if someone was moving out.

    She wondered if this was a result of the investigation going on with the White Rose.

    Eventually, she heard a voiceing from one of the rooms, and she pressed herself against the wall near the open door.

    ¡°I got here at 3, just like they asked,¡± William mumbled to himself. ¡°And yet, to everyone else, 3 means 3:15 or 3:30. Why am I always the one actually here at the stated time?¡± William sighed.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just get some rest and wait for the others toe.¡±

    Xin was thankful that William was talking to himself out loud, allowing her to make some guesses. A meeting was likely going to take ce with the other Zodiac members.

    She imagined the White Rose were following the others, just like she saw with William, which exined their dy.

    She hadn¡¯t confirmed who was outside, but it didn¡¯t matter much, because now there was one more person she could take out.

    ¡®I can do this¡­ I can do this,¡¯ she thought in her head. Her Altered form started to emerge once more, feathers extending all over her body, including her legs.

    She wore shorts to allow the feathers to protrude without obstruction. With her Altered form at this speed, she could finish it in at least two strikes.

    ¡®Now!¡¯ she called out in her head, turning toward the room¡¯s door and bolting for William, whoy on the bed.

    The feathers on her hand pointed out and twisted as if forming an electrified drill. She swung it aiming right for William¡¯s face, nning to take him out in one hit. Just in case though she had readied her other hand doing the same. These after all were Altered and the Zodiacs she was dealing with.

    Her arm was stopped. She looked and saw that William had grabbed it with his bare hand, his eyes wide open.

    ¡°What are you doing¡­ Xin?¡± William asked.

    ---

 Chapter 1056 Me And You The Same

    Chapter 1056 Me And You The Same

    In a short amount of time, Xin was able to achieve part of her revenge. Deep down, she knew she couldn¡¯t go for Harvor or match up to him.

    She had seen what he was capable of, which was why she had decided to take out those around him.

    A difficult task, but in the process, she would learn to be more ruthless, face countless challenges, and maybe even grow strong enough to take down Harvor as well.

    All her life, she had ovee the difficulties in front of her and thought she might be able to do the same by herself and alone.

    Yet in the situation she was in now, she felt hopeless. She stood on the open grass, seeing arge number of people sitting at tables.

    Harvor sat there in sunsses, his tattoo showing from his back and a scar running up his arm.

    At the same table, there was a man in a whiteb coat, and as for the others, it was the rest of the Zodiacs that had arrived.

    She thought that maybe, seeing Harvor in front of her, she wouldsh out and try to take him down.

    Instead, her mind was racing as she saw the strongest of the One Gang gathered in one ce.

    Her eyes evennded on Apollo for a few moments; his expression said it all. Even if he was Gary¡¯s friend, there was nothing he could do in this situation.

    Even with Harvor right in front of her, it wasn¡¯t the right time¡ªthere was no way she could escape this.

    ¡®Thest two people I was going to face on my list were Stanley and Harvor. That damned Zodiac member who¡¯s always by his side¡­ he¡¯s somewhere around here even during Harvor¡¯s fights. He¡¯s an unknown variable.¡¯

    There was only one correct decision in this situation, and she had decided to take it: to run.

    Turning around, the feathers on her legs extended out and vibrated, emitting arge amount of yellow-colored electricity around her feet.

    It traveled up to her single wing that sprouted from her shoulder and then spread across the rest of her body.

    She turned and sted off, leaving a tunnel of electricity right behind her. If there was one thing her Altered form had over others, it was speed.

    Yet, after only four steps, she crashed into what felt like a solid wall, causing her to fall back on her feet.

    ¡°I am someone who alwayspletes their tasks... you are not getting away,¡± Stanley said.

    It was then that Xin realized what she had crashed into. It wasn¡¯t a wall of any kind; it was arge wing.

    Spread out on Stanley¡¯s back were tworge, blue-colored wings suspended in the air.

    As he stretched out his hands, two swords seemingly made of ice appeared.

    Xin stood up, ready to bolt again, but Stanley was right in front of her. He shed her leg, creating a deep cut on her inner thigh, and then went to swing the sword across her body.

    Xin managed to lift her hand in time, blocking the sword, but blood was dripping down her forearms as the de had cut a good inch into her arm.

    Stanley then let go of both swords he had created, swinging his hand toward her leg. Another ice sword formed, piercing just to the side of her shin bone and sticking into the ground.

    With his other hand, Stanley grabbed her neck, and her whole body started to freeze over at that moment.

    ¡°I thought, since we were the same type of Altered, we would have been a match for each other. After all, you took out William, but it appears I waspletely wrong.¡±

    ¡°Do you even know what type of Altered you are?¡± Stanley asked. ¡°Both of us are wyverns. People often confuse us with dragons, but we are far weaker than them, though we still hold great power, particrly in speed.¡±

    ¡°On top of that, wyverns are here to serve dragons¡ªthat is our role. And you are notmitting to your role in this beast-like world.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°How dare you even think you could take on royalty?¡± Stanley shouted.

    Xin had no idea what type of Altered she was; she remembered watching the video from one of the NIRV employees.

    But the video was dark, and she could only make out that it was a winged creature with an elemental power of lightning.

    As for the difference between wyverns and dragons, she only knew from books that described their appearance and where their wings were attached¡ªpart of their arms rather than separated.

    Her Altered form wasn¡¯t quite like that, but it might have had something to do with her human side interfering in the first ce.

    Yet, hearing Stanley¡¯s words, she couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    ¡°Haha, why are you following these stupid rules of these beasts!¡± Xin shouted. ¡°Are you saying you only follow Harvor for this reason?¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you something: if these beasts that we infuse our bodies with were so great, then why aren¡¯t they still here now? Because they were all killed!¡±

    ¡°Just because Harvor has a dragon infused in his body doesn¡¯t make him some type of god! The dragons fell, and he will fall as well. If it¡¯s not me, then someone else will do the job!¡±

    Although she didn¡¯t mention anyone in particr, an image of a certain individual appeared in her mind, and it made her wonder¡ªis this what Jayden saw as well?

    Was this the person Jayden had put his hopes on as well? Maybe, rather than trying to take on this whole thing by herself, she should have leaned on him a bit more.

    ¡°Maybe... I should have spent more time with him,¡± Xin mumbled to herself.

    Angered by her words, Stanley swung his sword, and with ice encasing her whole body, there was nowhere for her to go.

    ---

 Chapter 1057 The Reason Your Alive

    Chapter 1057 The Reason Your Alive

    The entirety of Xin¡¯s body was already frozen, with one hand from Stanley holding onto her neck. Maybe Stanley¡¯s words were right¡ªthat the two of them were the same, that both were based on a wyvern.

    However, it was clear there was a huge difference in elemental power between the two of them.

    Now, as she saw Stanley ready to swing his sword, all she could do was close her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jayden¡­ and Ga-¡±

    She heard the sound of the sword cleanly swinging through the air, and then, in the middle of it, a scream.

    ¡°STOP!¡± a roaring voice shouted so loudly that even the birds in the nearby woods began to fly above. Right on cue, Stanley stopped his strike as well, leaving it mid-air.

    The vein on his forehead was bulging slightly.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Stanley asked. ¡°Why are you, another Zodiac, telling me to stop, Apollo?¡±

    The others turned to look at him. Apollo was standing up, hisrge frame tense, fists clenched. With all eyes on him, he knew he had toe up with an answer fast.

    ¡°I just¡­ don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good for us to kill her.¡± Apollo gulped, buying himself a little more time to think.

    ¡°I mean, we¡¯re already being investigated heavily by the White Rose. Xin is the sister to Jayden. If she goes missing too, if that¡¯s on our hands, it could give us a lot of trouble.¡±

    ¡°But she just killed William!¡± Berry argued. ¡°Don¡¯t you think she should pay for that? Why does the White Rose only care when someone else dies and not one of our own?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Berry.¡± Lena said, cing her hand on Berry¡¯s back. ¡°It¡¯s just the situation we¡¯re in right now. The world is against us and Harvor. Even though from the beginning, all we¡¯ve done is protect ourselves.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s clear the White Rose is out to get us.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Stanley didn¡¯t say anything but instead looked at Harvor. In truth, he agreed it was bad timing to kill her, though he was beyond annoyed and had already lost his patience.

    ¡°The White Rose getting more involved is not good,¡± Rumper said. ¡°We need them as far off our backs as possible. We can¡¯t give them a reason to investigate us! If we have NIRV and White Rose against us¡­ it¡¯ll be too much!¡±

    It was clear Rumper was panicked, yet despite everything, Harvor remained calm. Behind his sunsses, no one could tell what he was thinking.

    ¡°Take her to the old training warehouse. White Rose has already investigated the ce, and their focus has shifted anyway, so it¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Just in case, though, since you suggested this, Apollo, I think you should be in charge of guarding her.¡±

    ¡°Stanley, I want you to set up an operation as well. There was something Berry said that I liked. We are the good guys in all of this, and we need the public to see it that way¡­ so let¡¯s make the Howlers be the ones to attack us.¡±

    ¡ª

    Stanley entered a vehicle along with Apollo and Xin. Stanley was still using his powers to restrain her as they drove away.

    It was silent for most of the drive until Stanley eventually spoke.

    ¡°Thank you for keeping a cool head,¡± Stanley said. ¡°I almost lost it back there. This is why I like you¡ªbecause you¡¯re not all muscle. You¡¯re quite reliable.¡±

    Apollo just nodded, remaining silent until they arrived at the warehouse. At the same time, another vehicle arrived, and they all entered.

    The warehouse was filled with training equipment, most of it worn, torn, and beaten. When they reached the back, the other vehicle was filled with more equipment.

    It looked like iron shackles and giant weights. Stanley ordered Apollo to lift these giant square blocks of metal.

    In order to lift them, Apollo had to transform into his Altered form. He then ced the cube down on the ground; it had to weigh at least a few tons.

    Then shackles were attached from the cube to Xin¡¯s wrists and legs.

    Three of theserge cubes were ced in different areas. After seeing Xin tied up this way, even Apollo thought it would be impossible for her to escape.

    He could hardly move one of these cubes, never mind three, and he was surprised the vehicles that transported them could handle their weight.

    The shackles and castings were made of the same material throughout.

    ¡°A team will arriveter and stay here with you. It¡¯s a busy day, so you stay with her,¡± Stanley said as he walked off with the only key to the shackles, so there was nothing even Apollo could do if he wanted to.

    ¡°I know I¡¯m not in the best situation¡­ but thank you,¡± Xin finally said. ¡°You saved my life.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Apollo said, turning his head. ¡°No, I was just telling the truth, that¡¯s all. Don¡¯t think too much of it¡ªI¡¯m not on your side.¡±

    Apollo looked away with his arms folded, and she was sure she could see his ears turning slightly red.

    ¡°Right, right, that¡¯s fine. But still, I¡¯m alive because of you. You¡¯re Gary¡¯s friend, though, right? Maybe that¡¯s why you helped me¡­ but I have no clue what I¡¯ve done now, ending up like this.¡±

    It was then that Apollo turned to Xin and looked her straight in the eyes.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time Harvor has done something like this. I have an idea of what he¡¯s going to do,¡± Apollo said. ¡°Stanley saw the rtionship between you and Gary, between your brother¡­ so I know they¡¯re going to test it. He¡¯s going to use you¡­ he¡¯s going to use you to start a war with the Howlers.¡±

 Chapter 1058 The White Rose Move!

    Chapter 1058 The White Rose Move!

    Vampires¡ªthrough Dean''s story, the Howlers including Kai knew Rickle was one, one of the founders of NIRV.

    Although because of their small run-in with these creatures, Kai had almostpletely forgotten about it, and he remembered once he realized the knee-jerk reaction his body had to Rickle''s presence.

    He started to think back to all the situations where the group had encountered vampires of sorts.

    Marie and Olivia being the first, then there was also the vampire Gary had encountered in the jail, and there was Rickle as well.

    ''We have no idea of their numbers or their purpose. When I try to dig information it''s almost impossible,'' Kai thought.

    ''Is it some type of power they have? It might exin how Rickle was able to obtain all of this information as well.¡¯

    ''The main concern I have is if there''s something to worry about. Midwak talked about them as well, and said it was the main reason why the Lupus Gang was unable to act.''

    Their ultimate goal in all of this after things settled with Harvor was to deal with the Lupus Gang, and seeing how Gary had already met a high-ranking member, he knew it wasing.

    But Kai wanted to think beyond that; he couldn''t just think of the next step. If the vampires were pushing things behind the scenes, then taking out the Lupus Gangpletely wouldn''t be good for them unless they could reconcile with the vampires as well.

    ''I''m going to have to put a pin in it,'' Kai said as he picked up his phone and wrote down a few notes.

    ''First, we need to get this to White Rose. I have a feeling that just passing on this information¡­ just might not be good enough.''

    There was another thought on Kai''s mind as he waited for the phone to answer on the other end. Just what did he mean don''t betray his friends? Why would he ever betray Gary?

    The files and information given by Rickle had been sent over to Elijah, and Elijah had wasted no time passing on the information to Kanu.

    Currently, Kanu was at the local police headquarters in the city. He was keeping an eye on them in case any information that came in was hidden from their eyes.

    He had already caught a couple of things: files indicating movement from the One Gang in certain areas, but it was nothing serious that Kanu could use.

    When Elijah handed everything over, the smile couldn''t stop appearing on Kanu''s face.

    "They did it, I didn''t think they could do it, but they gave us enough information that can bring down the One Gang and arge part of NIRV as well!"

    After Kanu passed on the information, all he could do was wait for a response from White Rose.

    He was imagining them sending in support,rge squads and more, to first hit the corruption inside NIRV and then go to the One Gang.

    Instead though, Kanu had received a call to head back to the White Rose headquarters.

    In therge surrounded walls of the White Rose Base in Centerfield, Kanu had a dissatisfied look just before he walked in.

    "Why do I get the feeling that them calling me here isn''t a good sign," Kanu sighed. "If this doesn''t get White Rose to move, then nothing will."

    When going through the front doors of the main building, Kanu was surprised to see arge man in ck and red outfit¡ªthe Superintendent Adam Law.

    "What are you doing here, sir?" Kanu respectfully asked and gave a salute.

    Now that Kanu was in the Internal Affairs Division, the Superintendent was the top-ranked official in his department.

    "I''m here to mediate the meeting today, since it''s with the Chief Constable himself."

    An operation on this scale¡ªof course the Chief Constable would have to get involved, but then why was he, a low-ranking member, being called?

    Heading into the elevator, they had gone to the top floor. Entering the office, arge round table used for meetings was there, and the Chief Constable Don Tinge, the man at the top of the entirety of the White Rose, was present.

    He wasn''t alone either, as two more were by his side.

    Deputy Chief Theodore Tallsworth, who was a practical giant even among all therge people in the room.

    And Assistant Chief Constable Leon Chen with his ck hair and sses sitting on his face.

    "Firstly, I would like to thank you for making so much corruption within the White Rosee to light, Kanu, you are a valuable member to the White Rose," Don Tinge spoke.

    "It''s a shame that you have been snapped up by the Superintendent, but it is what it is, and we need good people there as well."

    Adam didn''t say anything about thement and just had his arms folded as he sat at the table. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Although both were part of White Rose, in a way Adam and Don both had equal power within the organization, and Kanu felt like he was in the middle of it.

    Don ced his hands on a thick stack of paper.

    "The report you gave is invaluable to us. Never have I seen such detail giving us everything we need to apprehend parts of NIRV and the One Gang.¡±

    "Which is why I have to ask, where did you get this information?"

    Kanu was hesitant to answer; he hadn''t received it himself but did it matter? When they put Gary in the prison, they hadn''t tried to confirm the information back then either.

    All they had to do was give Rickle Epman a call to confirm these facts or use their authority to contact the banks and other services.

    "I''ll take your silence as the answer," Don said. "Before we do anything, we would like to ask for a meeting between us and The Howlers Corporation, in particr Gary Dem."y, I tend to reply back.

 Chapter 1059 The Top Of White Rose

    Chapter 1059 The Top Of White Rose

    Never did Gary think he would be returning to Centerfield city so soon. He hade a while ago to meet with Kanu, and it was here where he learned about Jayden''s past.

    Jayden was the string that tied all of these things together, and things felt like they wereing full circle.

    Just like the time before, the group were traveling by train, only a different set of people were on board.

    "Are you feeling nervous?" Daphne asked.

    "This ce leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Considering I was locked up here, it''s not exactly somewhere I have full trust in," Gary replied.

    "And that''s why the two of us areing with you," Kai said.

    Passing on the message, White Rose had imed they wanted a meeting with Gary. This was something that had never urred in the history of the organization before.

    After all, Gary and his group were a gang of Altered. Although maybe different in morals and pursuitspared to other organizations, they were still Altered that had killed others and worked in some extremely grey areas.

    In the end, Kai had insisted that they would only do the meeting if Gary could bring some people along. He was joking, and in the end, Bree wasing as well. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She was a big ally in all of this, and it was at the request of Gary. Kai couldn''t put his tongue on it, but it seemed like the two were keeping some sort of secret from him.

    Either way, he was d the two were getting closer; having a King as an ally rather than an enemy was always wee.

    The train had arrived, and walking through therge station, they were heading to the exit, and Gary had somest few thoughts on his mind.

    "Do you think this will be a trap?" Gary asked.

    "You met with Kanust time; he assured me it wasn''t a trap at all, and I have an inkling as to what they want to propose," Kai replied.

    When exiting the station, there was a squad of White Rose agents already gathering quite a bit of attention from the public.

    Both Gary and Bree had disguised themselves with wigs on top of their heads that worked better than they thought they would.

    Kai approached the group, and after cing them in a vehicle, they were all on their way.

    When they finally had reached Centerfield, Gary had taken off his wig while Bree kept on hers.

    Kai didn''t want the White Rose to know just who their allies were.

    Walking through the main building with his green hair, Gary received quite a few looks from the other agents and whispers.

    "That''s Gary Dem, one of the Kings, and he''s the leader of the Howlers, right?"

    "Yeah, that''s him alright, but he looks so young. How can someone so young be in charge of such a big organization?"

    "Hey, you have to remember, he''s also the only one to ever escape from the Centerfield prison, and no one was able to capture him. He''s dangerous, very dangerous."

    Gary couldn''t help but think that the White Rose agents were certainly weing to him.

    After entering the main building, it was Kanu and Adam Law in their ck and red uniforms that greeted them.

    "We will take it from here, thank you for escorting them," Kanu said.

    The White Rose agents left, and Kanu gave Gary a big smile and even went in for a surprising hug.

    "Hey, hey, are you sure this is okay?" Gary said with his eyes looking around. "I mean, if they see you friendly like this..." Gary was also taken aback since they had only met a few times, so he didn''t expect Kanu to be this close.

    "Jayden was a brother to me, and he treated you like a brother as well. Which means I am a brother to you now as well. In this sick world, we need to look out for each other.¡±

    "I don''t care what everyone else thinks, and besides, both of us are going for the same thing."

    The two had a strong look at each other, and Gary gave a slight nod.

    "This is the superintendent of the White Rose group, in charge of internal affairs and discipline. He has a lot of power within White Rose, and he''s here to make sure that whatever is said today is binding.¡±

    "Don''t worry, Gary, I''m going to make sure that the White Rose isn''t all talk. I''m not going to lose another brother."

    Kai had to say he was impressed. Kanu was a man who ced his own morals above that of the White Rose, and it had worked out for him.

    He could feel it as well; the link between Kanu and Gary was that they both had true pain that they were going through.

    Gary looked up at Adam Law, and after fighting the Warden, he didn''t want to imagine the strength of this certain individual. Still, he extended his hand, and the two shook them firmly.

    "I hope the two of us will never have to confront each other in the future," Adam said.

    "Likewise," Gary replied.

    With all introductions done, they had headed into the elevator, and the top floor button was pressed.

    Not a single person said a word as it went up and up, and finally, a ding was heard indicating they had reached the correct floor.

    The doors slid open, and everyone could see it sitting at therge round table. All of the heads of White Rose¡ªall three men¡ªwere sitting there waiting patiently.

    "The leader of the Howlers and one of the Kings, as you mobsters on the streets like to say," Don smiled, sitting in the middle. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Gary Dem. Please, sit."

 Chapter 1060 A Distraction

    Chapter 1060 A Distraction

    Kai, Daphne, and Gary all took a seat first; they were practically opposite the three leaders of White Rose.

    Only afterwards did Kanu and Adam sit off to the side. It was as if they were there but not practically part of the meeting. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Kai opened his mouth to say something, but the words just didn''te out.

    ¡®I wasn''t expecting myself to be like this. I''m meant to be here to support Gary, and yet I can''t even say a single word.¡¯

    Having raised the Howlers to the rank of King, an untouchable position in the eyes of those below, he had hoped that the meeting could take ce on equal footing.

    Yet seeing the three from White Rose, he felt like he was sitting with three other Kings, and all of them were on the same side.

    "I will handle most of the talking, and I would like you to hear my proposal," Don said. "This is a talk between the White Rose Chief Constable and the leader of the Howlers.¡±

    "The reason we have called you in is because the evidence that has fallen into our hands, allowing us to put a silver bullet into the One Gang and part of NIRV, hase from you," Don imed.

    Gary was a little worried about the use of the phrase ''silver bullet.'' For a split second, he wondered if Don was just using a metaphor or had purposely used it because of who they were.

    "I''ll cut to the chase: we want to use this information to bring in the corrupt in NIRV as well as the One Gang organization.¡±

    "Although we have the evidence, legally bringing them in and actually doing so are two different matters.¡±

    "For NIRV, there are the retrievers that work for them. Now, you have the support of Rickle, so hopefully that''s not too much of a problem for us.¡±

    "The bigger issue at hand is Harvor. Do you think if we asked him toe in nicely that he will do the same as you, Gary? Do you think he would willinglye to a cell and stay there?"

    The answer was obvious to everyone in the room.

    "Taking in Harvor means going to war with one of the Kings. In all honesty, the White Rose doesn''t have the manpower to take him in by force.¡±

    "On top of that, Harvor even has control of gangs located in other cities, including the recent Inferno City.¡±

    "If we focus on him, chaos across the country will unfold. The White Rose afterward will be prime to be attacked, meaning we can''t do our job of protecting the people."

    Kai wanted to say, ¡®What people? The politicians who lived in Centerfield?¡¯ But he knew to keep his mouth shut.

    "This, however, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us, and Kanu says you have good reason to go against the One Gang as well.¡±

    "Which is why I''m proposing a once-in-a-blue-moon offer¡ªa coboration between the Howlers and White Rose.¡±

    "We will give you and your gang immunity for whatever happens to the One Gang members that are involved.¡±

    "While the Howlers and the One Gang fight each other, we will go after NIRV and everything linked to the One Gang.¡±

    "Of course, we know Harvor''s strength, and we don''t expect you to take him on your own. Which is why Assistant Chief Leon Chen will also aid you in the fight against the One Gang."

    Leon looked there, his face expressionless, to the proposal.

    "So let me know your initial thoughts first."

    Gary was trying to take it all in. They wanted the White Rose''s help, and they were getting it in multiple ways, but there was something that just felt wrong that he couldn''t put his finger on.

    He was waiting for Kai to speak, but no words came from his mouth.

    "Isn''t this deal unfair?" Daphne eventually spoke, which was surprising to both Kai and Gary.

    "Essentially what you''re suggesting is that we take all of the losses. The Howlers will lose a lot of people instead of White Rose.¡±

    "It leaves you in a strong position and us in an even weaker position."

    Now Gary knew what the strange feeling he had was. This was exactly the case¡ªthey were being used.

    If anything, only Leon was being offered as help.

    "Do you have any suggestions then?" Don said. "At the end of the day, you can either go against the One Gang on your own, but the risk is too big for us. In our eyes, we are the ones helping you; we don''t have to take on this case."

    Daphne clicked her tongue, thinking, ¡®So much for the White Rose working for the sake of the people¡ªthey were just looking out for themselves.¡¯

    It was then that Kai leaned in to Daphne and started to whisper in her ear a proposal he hade up with.

    "I think that could work," Daphne smiled. "We will take care of Inferno City and the smaller-scale cities that are controlled by the One Gang.¡±

    "The resources you were going to use can be used as support for taking the One Gang and NIRV."

    The truth was, Kai had suggested that the Bree family do this and not the Howlers. In turn, they would give up all control of those cities over to Daphne.

    Without Harvor in the picture or the Zodiacs, the Bree family would be able to deal with the other cities, and she could focus on helping them.

    "I think that could work, but my issue is that you would be spread too thin," Don replied.

    "At the end of the day, I don''t want to send my men in on a suicide mission," Don exined. "As I said initially, I wanted to use the Howlers as a distraction, but if you''re spread so thin it might not be big enough to cause problems."

    Kai was now the one frustrated; they couldn''t reveal that the Bree family were the ones actually involved in taking on the other towns and cities.

    Yet it was clear it wasn''t enough to convince the constable in moving his people.

    "The main issue is Harvor, right?" Gary finally spoke. "If we can distract him, then everything can move without getting him involved.¡±

    "If that''s the case, then I think I know a distraction that can work."

    Kai was wondering what Gary was thinking, and everyone at the table was ready to hear Gary as it was the first time he had spoken.

    "I''ll return to the AFC again and challenge Harvor in the ring."

 Chapter 1061 A Broadcast To The World

    Chapter 1061 A Broadcast To The World

    News channels, broadcast stations, and live streamers were on high alert as they had all heard strange rumors floating around. They had received a tip-off that spread like wildfire everywhere.

    Because everyone was covering the news, the rumors had reached the general public as well.

    Live chat forums buzzed with discussions about the rumors.

    "Have you heard what''s going on?"

    "I heard a bit, but I don''t see why it''s such a big deal. Something about someoneing back to the AFC to fight or something, but don¡¯t people say they''re going to retire and thene back anyway?"

    "This is different. We¡¯re talking about Gary Dem!"

    "Gary who?"

    "Man, who is this guy? Is he a troll? Can the admins kick him out already?"

    "Gary Dem was the top student in the AFC. He had a debut fight with a high-ranking AFC contestant. In his debut match, his opponent even turned into a crazed Altered, yet he still won."

    "Ah, right. That did happen, and then he announced his retirement straight away."

    "Yeah, it sucked because people thought he was going to be the next big thing, rising to the top."

    "Ha, you guys don¡¯t even know half of it. It¡¯s not just because he was a future prospect. Gary Dem left to run his enterprise. He¡¯s a business tycoon, and part of the reason why Slough has be a mega city." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Right, and everyone saw the other stream, right? Apart from this troll above? About how he had beaten Sin, one of the kings. He¡¯s the leader of the Howlers."

    "Wait, and he¡¯sing back to the AFC now? Maybe since he¡¯s done with improving Slough, he wants to be the king of the ring."

    "For now, it''s just rumors, but everyone¡¯s talking about it."

    "News alert! News alert! AJ Entertainment said that Clem is going to do a live broadcast in an hour!"

    Gary''s reputation had grown immensely from just being the rookie champion. He was one of the most well-known figures in the world after his fight with Sin.

    That,bined with his past, had drawn all attention to him, and the entire AFCmunity, including those outside of it, were ready to tune into Clem''s live broadcast.

    Outside AJ Entertainment, arge number of new guards in ck and gold stood watch.

    The uing and current stars were a little confused by what was going on, but they quickly learned about the broadcast.

    Those who usually had a few guards protecting them at all times were now learning what real power and fame brought.

    They could practically see a hundred members of the Howlers inside and out of the building, and in Ash''s office, Gary was sitting behind a desk on his own in his ck-and-gold outfit.

    "Are you sure you want to wear that?" Ash asked, while he and Clem set up the final details for the camera.

    Since Gary didn¡¯t have his own ount, they were using their biggest star¡¯s ount to livestream the current event.

    "No, I want to wear the Howlers uniform," Gary said. "The Howlers isn¡¯t something I¡¯m ashamed of. It¡¯s a group that I, Kai, and everyone else built together."

    "This message I want to send¡ªI don¡¯t want to hide behind anything."

    Gary looked at the mask ced on the table¡ªthe masks he often wore to cover his face. He picked it up with one hand and snapped it in half.

    "I think it¡¯s the right choice, Gary," Clem said with a smile and gave a thumbs-up, indicating everything was ready.

    Gary took a deep breath. This time, there was no Kai feeding him words to say. An agreement had been made with White Rose, and this was the n he hade up with.

    White Rose had agreed, and now perhaps the biggest coboration in the current world was happening.

    Between The Bree Family, White Rose, The Howlers, and even one of the founders of NIRV, alling together to take down Harvor.

    The AFC champion and head of the One Gang.

    Gary looked at Clem¡¯s fingers as she counted down: three, two, one. Another thumbs-up was given, and the red light on the camera lit up, signaling they were live.

    Immediately, thousands of people began tuning into the stream. More and more, the numbers didn¡¯t stop.

    "Holy crap, it¡¯s true! That¡¯s Gary Dem, the rumors are true!"

    "Look at how many viewers there are. I swear, even government officials wouldn¡¯t get this many views."

    "It must suck for them to know these guys hold more power, huh?"

    Thements didn¡¯t stop, but Gary couldn¡¯t see them, nor how many people were watching. That made it a bit easier as he started his speech.

    "I am Gary Dem. I am part of the Howlers organization and from the city of Slough," Gary dered.

    "I am here today to make a public announcement: I will being back to the AFC. Some of you might remember my debut match, but at the time, I had important responsibilities to deal with."

    "But now, one of those important responsibilities for me is the AFC."

    "It¡¯s true!" thements read. "He¡¯s reallying back! I told you, freaking hell! But what¡¯s he going to do? I think the AFC will let him in, but he has no ranking."

    "Yeah, and they can¡¯t just let him face any low-ranking guys. I think maybe the promoters andmission can set up a special event."

    A lot of thements stopped, though, as they could see Gary was ready to speak. The look in his eyes was different.

    "Some of you might be wondering why I¡¯de back to the AFC. I have a good life, and honestly, I do."

    "But the answer is clear to me. There is only one reason I¡¯ming back to the AFC, and I¡¯m making a public deration right now."

    "I¡¯ming back to face Harvor Ego. I will do everything in my power to take that crown off his head and strip him of his belt!"

    As Gary spoke passionately, his eyes narrowed, and a red glow could be seen around them, along with his teeth changing.

    "Harvor, be ready, because I¡¯ming for you!"

 Chapter 1062 Challenger Accepted

    Chapter 1062 Challenger epted

    There was only one thing that everyone was talking about, and that was the recent livestream made by Gary Dem. Videos were resurfacing and being shared of his first debut match. Professional analyses were being made about what would happen if Gary and Harvor were to fight against each other.

    While at the same time, rumours were being spread as to why Gary wanted to fight Harvor in the first ce. From the video itself, people could tell that there was pure anger behind his words and his deration, and people wanted answers. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, there were a few things that were quite clear to the general public¡ªthe conclusions they hade to. No one knew really how strong Gary Dem was.

    People learnt of him being a king, and the videos of him fighting against Sin¡ªat least what could be gleaned from it and what was recorded. However, fighting in the AFC was considered different, and Harvor was just someone who had never lost a fight before.

    After seeing what had been done to Jayden Tiger, people were starting to truly think that the man was invincible, and in turn everyone was waiting for a new matchup or response.

    "It''s here!" Kai said, bursting into the underground room of the Wolf''s pool club, holding a stack of papers.

    Bree and Gary were sitting in the corner, conversing with each other, while Marie stood up from behind the downstairs bar as she was helping her mother.

    "You mean the contract with Harvor?" Marie asked.

    Kai snorted slightly inughter.

    "No, we wouldn''t be able to get that. You have to understand that even though Harvor is the owner of the AFC, there are many investors that run the entire thing," Kai exined. "I''m sure Harvor could push them into forcing to make this fight, but they would be against it."

    "But why would they be against it?" Marie asked, confused. "The potential fight between Gary and Harvor is all everyone''s talking about; I think the investors would be happy with the money that gets brought in."

    This time it was Daphne that snorted near Gary.

    "Sorry, I didn''t mean tough," Daphne added. "It''s just that investors involved are greedier than you think. They have lots of ways to make money, but they want to make big money. Right now what they want is to build up the fight, make itrger andrger, until no one can take it anymore and then it will be announced."

    "Which is why I have this," Kai said, mming the stack of papers in front of Gary, and on the very first page there was a picture of an individual¡ªa bald-headed man with sunken-in eyes.

    "Armanez Flook; he is currently ranked 38 in the AFC. He was the highest ranked AFC fighter not linked to the One Gang that would ept our offer, and he will be your next opponent," Kai smiled.

    ---

    The follow-up news had been announced, with the return fight of Gary Dem scheduled. The venue that had been picked was in a city which actually was under the control of the Bree Family, a tier-two city.

    They had chosen this so there would be as little influence involved from the One Gang. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly to many, the tickets to the event were all sold out in less than five minutes. Manyined that it should have been a bigger venue, orined about ticket resellers, but there were none.

    Systems had been implemented to disallow ticket reselling; it was just how big the event was that was taking ce.

    The fight day hade extremely soon, as Altered fighters required little time to heal, and the event was underway. The seats were packed without a single seat empty. A few fights followed, and finally it was time for the main event.

    "Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer shouted, in the centre of the cage. "It''s what you have all been waiting for. First, before him, Armanez Flook!"

    The light beamed on the challenger wearing tight-fitting shorts while the rest of his muscr body was on show. There were cheers and ps but the crowd hadn''t erupted extremely loudly.

    The man ran through and then jumped in the ring and raised his hand.

    "Can''t believe it, I''m one of the top-ranked fifty fighters and this is the entrance I get?" Armanezined. "They should all be here for me, but instead they''re here for some dropout. Well, I''ll show them all!"

    The announcer then looked to the other side and lifted his hand in the air.

    "And, the one that you have all been waiting for, the Green Fang, GARRY DEEM!"

    The spotlight shined on Gary''s green hair. His muscles were extremely chiselled as he wore ck and golden shorts, walking down toward the ring.

    The crowd erupted in a deafening cheer, shaking the whole stadium. Yet, Gary wasn''t even able to take it in; the noise was drowning him, as he just walked forward looking at his opponent.

    Finally, Gary reached the ring, and he had his eyes locked.

    "Hey, if you''re too eager, you''ll lose this fight, you know," Armanez said.

    Gary didn''t reply, and the announcer had gotten out of the ring.

    "The fight will now begin!" the announcer shouted.

    Armanez, in an instant, went to transform his body. The higher-ranked Altered fighters were quick to change, quicker than any others, but Gary was already right upon him. In the middle of his transformation, Gary had swung his fist and hit deep into Armanez''s stomach.

    It looked like Armanez''s eyeballs were going to pop out, as he was flung backwards and his body mmed into the back of the cage, bending the metal. It had bent the metal so far that part of Armanez''s back was cut by the cage, and he was held there in ce, from the bent part of the metal.

    The fight was over, in an instant and in a single punch, and the crowd was silenced. They had no clue what was happening. Was this it?

    "HARVOR!!!" Gary screamed at the top of his lungs, silencing the few whispers that were heard. "I will fight tomorrow!" Gary continued to shout. "I will continue to fight, every day, until you meet me in the ring!!!"

 Chapter 1063 One After The Other

    Chapter 1063 One After The Other

    One after the other after the other,tely it felt like no matter what news channel, or where one looked, articles online and even on the streets, it seemed like everyone was talking about Gary Dem. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The AFC had been pretty stagnant in their eyes, to the point where the lower-ranked matches were more exciting for them, as they were seeing peoplee up and contests between two undefeated records would go at it.

    With the top-ranking positions though, next to none of them changed. Harvor had already beaten several of them, and the position seemed to be held stable. Once in a while, someone woulde up, and they would either fall before reaching Harvor or would fail at Harvor, which was pretty much granted.

    Yet it was the first time that someone had been publicly calling out Harvor, dering that they would take him down, and the match that Gary had taken part in had shown great strength.

    People were cutting the videos together of Gary delivering a blow right to his opponent''s stomach, and then cutting it with his speech over. They were making it overly dramatic as they had voice-overs of Gary''s voice booming out as he took down his opponent.

    Not only that, but true to his word as well, the next day he had another appointment. Gary had entered the same arena asst time. Although they had no problem selling tickets before, the outside of the stadium was packed with people as well.

    Now he was going up against the rank 32 opponent in the AFC. Altered''s recoveries were fast, but Gary hadn''t even been injured from thest fight.

    His opponent''s name was announced, and when Gary''s name was announced before entering the ring this time, it was thunderous. He couldn''t make out anything, and even his focus was broken by the sheer amount of noise that was just washing him out.

    "This noise," Gary thought as he looked out. "Are they cheering from outside of the stadium as well?"

    Noticing it for the first time, Gary had no idea what was going on. To him, this was just a n. Entering the AFC, part of the n to take out Harvor. Getting supporters behind his back, it wasn''t part of his n so it didn''t matter if it happened or not.

    Shaking off the feeling, he had entered the ring, the bell rang indicating the fight had started, and a long limb came out. Gary had avoided it, moving his head and grabbing the man''s wrist. Then with a pull, he had yanked the man''s body towards him and with a powerful fist Gary crashed it deep into his face.

    He dragged his fist with the man''s body, making him crash into the canvas below rather than the cage. The man''s body bounced and part of the cage was seen sinking into the floor. A powerful hit and the fight was over.

    "It''s strong but not as strong as Harvor''s hit, this isn''t enough... I keep needing to get stronger."

    [A powerful Altered has been defeated. 8945 exp has been gained]

    Although Gary couldn''t eat his Altered opponents he faced in the ring to gain strength, there was still one thing the system was rewarding him for and it was winning these fights, and maybe if he won enough of them, he would be even stronger when facing Harvor.

    At the end of the match, Gary made the same deration again in his victory, and he moved on to the next day. Raising in strength of his opponent again, this time reaching the high rank 20''s, and he bested them in a single move, without having the need to transform.

    Now people were wondering, Gary might be the person to take out Harvor. It was no longer just an interesting fight or a grudge match. They were starting to see with each fight that Gary was the real deal.

    At the White Rose base, they were also keeping track of everything that had urred so far. Every detail, and all of the focus.

    Don sat there with a tablet in his hand, as he watched everything that wasing in.

    "Haha, he did it, he really caused arge distraction and this is much bigger than we thought. If he gets the fight, the whole world will be focused on what''s happening," Don imed.

    Which meant, he now needed to be ready with the White Rose to make a move.

    "Harvor... how long... how long until you make your move? Is it us that''s holding you back, the current investigation, or what?"

    ---

    The day after, and Gary continued his streak; he had now had four matches, and each one of them was won in a simr fashion to thest. It was always a single hit, and always calling out Harvor after the match.

    After winning the match, the fans who watched went on to write about it, and since there was no response from Harvor, the support he had was turning into hate.

    "What is going on, why isn''t Harvor saying anything? Before, he''s at least said he would wipe the floor with them."

    "Right, could it be that Harvor is actually scared this time, scared of an opponent?"

    "You guys are exaggerating, Harvor has beaten a lot more skillful people than Gary Dem. He''s not scared; it''s just not worth his time."

    "Ah, a true Harvor stan. I''m telling you, just like Gary said, the crown has to be removed from someone''s head at some point, and this could be the time. Either way, he can''t avoid Gary forever."

    "Gary''s next fight is with someone in the high teens! If Harvor doesn''t ept he''ll reach rank 1 at this rate."

    And with that, Gary had won his fifth fight, in the same fashion as the rest.

    Harvor, staying in his home, had seen the result, and ced his phone down, and after took off his sunsses as well.

    "He''s been making an awful lot of noise, yet has no idea what is happening," Harvor smiled. "Send the message to Gary... let''s see if he will ept our offer."

    ****

 Chapter 1064 The Grand Prize

    Chapter 1064 The Grand Prize

    Wishing to catch a drink before heading to the Wolf¡¯s pool club, Gary had stopped by in his local convenience store. As he was there he bought a few drinks along with a few snacks, as well as packets of uncooked meat.

    He had a sudden moment of realization remembering back to when he struggled with the thought of buying raw meat, and now it was a natural thing for him to snack on away from the eyes of others. How quick one person had to get to their situation and destined to such things was quite an amazing thing, but there was one thing he still couldn¡¯t get used to.

    ¡°Wait, you''re Gary Dem, right?¡± the shopkeeper said as he scanned a few items. ¡°Do you mind if I get a photo with you, a selfie?¡±

    The shopkeeper had finished, and Gary nodded his head. He then awkwardly held the customer''s phone while making a half-smile, and right after Gary was done, he could see the sparkling eyes of a few teenagers in the shop as well.

    Gary was a well-known figure in Slough for multiple reasons, and his fame seemed to keep growing as well as the power of the gang. From the TV report when he first had his match in Slough, to the business tycoon who had invested in Slough.

    Then the fight with Sin that was broadcasted to all the people, and the people of Slough were very aware of who saved them. Yet still, he could live a fairly normal life, and with all things, they eventually died down as they went on to live their normal lives.

    It was a shame but Gary was a hero, not a celebrity, and heroes quickly got forgotten about as their images weren¡¯t constantly in the media.

    That was until recently, with the constant wins in the AFC, and Gary¡¯s videos going viral one after the other, there wouldn¡¯t be a nan and her grandson who didn¡¯t know who he was with his green hair.

    Having just taken a few photos, now there looked like there was arge queue and eventually Gary felt someone grab onto his hand and pull him. He was startled at first but seeing who it was he calmed down when they eventually exited from the streets and ran down an alleyway together.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Marie asked. ¡°Haven¡¯t you learned that you should say no by now. If you say to one person then a crowd will quickly form.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s just hard to say no, and a photo is such an easy thing to take.¡±

    Marie shook her head at the sometimes innocent Gary, and from the corner of her eye she continued to stare at him, remembering the time when she had been saved by him. Nearly all sides of Gary, she didn¡¯t have a problem with.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Gary asked. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Startled, Marie shook her head.

    ¡°Yeah, let''s go, Kai said he had something for us,¡± Marie answered.

    The reason the two of them had met up wasn¡¯t a coincidence, it was because they were both heading to the Wolf¡¯s pool club along with the other core members. As they made their way there they saw Ice heading to the venue, and inside everyone else had appeared as well.

    With all the attention the Howlers got, the Wolf¡¯s pool club was still one of the best ces that was unknown by the general public.

    Using the top floor, everyone was sat down mostly by the ck felt seats. Gary decided to sit down and there was a space for him between Austin and Ice.

    ¡°Sit between those two for me,¡± Kai said with a smile, but Gary could feel the smile was strangeing from Kai; it was forced.

    Bree was currently in the room as well, having arrived before the others, and with everyone present that needed to be present, Kai had pulled out the projector.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to inform you all that we finally got a response from Harvor,¡± Kai said.

    ¡°A response, does that mean the fight is finally going to happen?¡± Marie asked. ¡°That Gary and Harvor are going to go against each other.¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s why all of us have been gathered then,¡± Park added. ¡°Because we need to be ready to move.¡±

    Kai went to the projector and hovered his finger over the button.

    ¡°Just watch the video.¡±

    Pressing the button, Harvor appeared on screen against a ck background. He was on his own and no one else was in the video.

    ¡°Gary Dem, and your little gang of Howlers!¡± Harvor said, ecstatic, pping his hands. ¡°It seems that there are many people that have a grudge against me, and that includes you as well.

    ¡°I have to say that I¡¯m a big fan of yours. I¡¯ve watched every one of your AFC fights, and I¡¯m pretty sure if there wasn¡¯t one person in the AFC, you might even be champion. But unfortunately for you, there¡¯s one person that you need to beat and that¡¯s me, and that¡¯s just impossible.¡±

    Harvor then sighed.

    ¡°I thought you would have learned your lesson fromst time, and I didn¡¯t respond thinking you might be clear-headed, but instead you wanted to be humiliated in the ring, and you want the same thing done to you as what was done to Jayden.¡± Harvor started tough.

    Already Gary was tensing his fist and both Ice and Austin were keeping an eye on Gary.

    ¡°Very well, I ept your fight, let¡¯s make it happen, you and me in the ring, but that would be boring, right.¡± Harvor then stood up and moved to the back, and with his hand he pulled the curtain down falling to the floor.

    Underneath the curtain the full sight was revealed. A person was tied up, heavily; they looked malnourished and frail, but the grey hair could be seen as well as other delicate features that Gary knew well.

    ¡°Whoever wins this fight gets the grand prize, Xin Clove!¡± Harvor dered.

 Chapter 1065 A Response

    Chapter 1065 A Response

    The video being yed from Harvor had ended with a chillingugh as he looked toward the screen, and a belly of loud "Ha''s" came out from his mouth, while in the background there was just Xin, lying there on the ground tied up by her ankles and wrists.

    Theugh continued until the projector screen finally ended. The video had been watched by everyone there, and there was silence, but the silence onlysted for a moment.

    "DAMN HIM!" Gary shouted as he leapt from his seat.

    Immediately both Ice and Austin jumped up as well and grabbed Gary by his wrists, attempting to pull him back. As they did, both of them were being dragged forward as Gary took a step at a time on the flooring, pulling them along with him.

    ''Was Gary always this strong?'' Austin thought as he tensed and was using all the muscles in his body. ''Even though I haven¡¯t transformed, Gary hasn¡¯t either. How can I not even pull him back in this situation?'' n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ice, in the end, while holding onto Gary, had to use his powers.

    "You need to chill," Ice said, and then he chuckled to himself slightly. The others hadn''t caught the subtle chuckle Ice had done, due to them being far too focused on Gary.

    Feeling that his hand was cooling over, it did allow Gary to stop moving ahead. It wasn''t like he could punch Harvor through the projector screen even if he wanted to, but the worry kept going through his head.

    "Xin... Xin, they have Xin!" Gary eximed. "We know what happened to Jayden, what if they do the same to her? We have to go get her as quick as possible!"

    "Gary," Kai said, raising his hands. "We received this video, and I analyzed it. We tried to match it up with when Xin wasst seen, and you might not like my answer, so let me exin. My guess is Xin has already been captured for several days."

    "Several days!" Gary said, trying to push forward and his ice-covered hand breaking. The moment Kai raised his hands though to remind him to calm down, he had done so.

    "Yes, which is a good thing. Harvor is keeping Xin alive, and the reason is probably to force us into an attack, just like you wanted. I feel that Xin will stay alive; otherwise, he would have killed her when he had the chance.

    "Now you can go andmand the Howlers to attack Harvor right now if you want to. It''s your right to do so as leader of the Howlers, go off on your own if you want to not get anyone hurt, but either of those options won''t result in saving Xin.

    "And it will ruin everything that we have built up so far to get ourselves in our current situation."

    It was hard, extremely hard for Gary after knowing what had happened to Jayden, to see Xin on the screen. He was so focused on getting revenge for Jayden that he had messed up. Of course Xin was upset, of course she would be trying to do something to the One Gang on her own.

    Yet during this entire time, he didn¡¯t even go look for her, just thinking that at some point she would get better, and now he felt like a fool for thinking that way.

    Kai then reached out and mmed a thick piece of paper on the ground.

    "I''m guessing you''re going to go with the second option then. This is the contract that Harvor proposed to us for the AFC fight. It''s quite standard business practice, and he seems to be a good businessman.

    "Everything split 50/50 from sponsors to pay-per-view, and more. He even included details of the grand prize that he stated in the video in the contract."

    It was silly since thest part couldn''t even be enforced by court, not that the courts had any power over Harvor anyway, but it made Kai believe he understood Harvor''s character, and in these circumstances he would be a very fair man.

    "I''ll fight," Gary answered. "I''ll fight, and I''ll win."

    Arge smile appeared on Kai''s face.

    "I''ll talk with White Rose. We need to work out the finer details for all of this, and I promise that we will use this chance that you give us, this distraction, to do everything we can to make sure we help her, and save her."

    Gary¡¯s eyes looked at Kai as he was pleading with him. Gary still didn¡¯t know if he could beat Harvor, but if he was to fight against him, and allow for White Rose and the others to save Xin, then that would be enough.

    He would push Harvor as far as he could, so he didn¡¯t have to lose another person and not one that was so close to him as well.

    The meeting was practically over and everyone needed to make preparations, including Kai calling White Rose to inform them of the news; little did he know he wouldn¡¯t have to do anything.

    Several pings started to be heard throughout the room. It was quite clear it wasing from their phones. Pulling them out of their pockets they all looked down at the notifications, and their hearts started to beat faster and louder.

    "Are you seeing this!" Park said.

    "Yeah, we''re all watching the same thing," Marie answered.

    Gary looked at it, and a video had been released online, live streaming to everyone. In the video, Harvor was on his own. It was filmed in the same set as before, only Xin wasn¡¯t in the background.

    The video was simple as it was shared to the world.

    "Alright Gary, I ept your challenge. Meet me in the ring."

    ****

 Chapter 1066 Three Missions

    Chapter 1066 Three Missions

    After the build-up of fight after fight taking ce with Gary¡¯s videos going viral, everyone had been waiting for any type of response¡ªa press conference, a statement, anything of the sort. The world had finally received their response; they just never expected it to be done in the same way.

    Online media outlets were buzzing with excitement, and everything was lining up in ce.

    At the moment, it was a good time for things, at least for Gary. It wasn¡¯t close to the next full moon so Gary could go full force, and it gave him some time to sort out thest bit of details with Bree. She would being along; she had toe along, Gary thought, if they had any real chance at taking out Harvor. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The two of them were training once again, and there was the worry that Gary would try to escape and save Xin, but Daphne Bree was level-headed, so Kai had to rely on that as well for his words getting through to him.

    Because Kai had other things he needed to handle in order for everything to fall into ce. In one of the hotels of Cipen, Kai had rented one of therge halls in the underground floors that would host events and weddings.

    Only the room wasn¡¯t filled with decorations of any sort. Instead, there were just members of the Howlers lined up on the side, and also the core members of the Howlers as well.

    "Are you getting Midwak involved in this?" Olivia asked.

    "He does a good job in protecting Notsburg," Kai replied. "Although he is strong and helped us in defending the attack, he¡¯s not a person that will willingly do as we ask. With no reason for him to take part in this fight, he will be hard to control, and besides, we have others that are helping us out this time."

    Kai stared at therge door as it was pushed open. A man with sses and a head of ck messy hair like a mop entered the room, wearing the familiar white and gold uniform of the White Rose.

    Following inside was a group of eight others that were in the same uniform. They were walking straight and lined up right behind the man, one after the other looking at the core members, and finally two more men had entered the room, this time wearing a ck and red uniform¡ªKanu and Elijah.

    When they saw Kai they gave a respectful nod in his direction, and Kai returned the favor, as the meeting was ready to start.

    "Is this everyone that is going to help us?" Olivia asked. "Aren¡¯t we going up against one of the kings? And with us being in their territory it''s not like we can utilize the whole gang; they¡¯ll see us from a mile away."

    "You are correct," Chen answered. "If we were to utilize arge force of the White Rose it would be the same. Believe me, the squad behind me and myself areposed of capable people; if anything I am afraid that your side iscking.

    "There are three goals in this: to bring in Rumper Karn who is presumed to be hiding within the One Gang itself, to take down and bring in all of the Zodiac members, and to bring in Harvor Ego. There is no need for a full-scale battle.

    "All of this is to take ce while Gary is fighting against Harvor, and then once we have confirmed the other targets have been dealt with, then we will help Gary take out Harvor."

    "There is one more thing," Kai said before going ahead with a more detailed n. "There is something else that hase up. Xin Clove, who I¡¯m sure you all know of, has been captured by Harvor. A video was sent, iming that she would be the prize between the contest with Gary and Harvor.

    "I suggest that we have some n in ce to rescue her as well, as there is no telling what Harvor will do."

    "Your suggestion has been declined," Chen answered immediately, which came as a shock as they didn¡¯t even consider it.

    "I already informed you of our targets. Our manpower is limited. If what you said is true, then after we take out Harvor, then we can save Xin anyway."

    Kai knew Gary wasn¡¯t going to like that, and Kai didn¡¯t exactly want to lie to Gary about how the meeting had gone. If there was no saving Xin, then Gary might not even turn up for the fight itself and instead just go looking for her.

    Everyone in the Howlers had the same feeling, and were just wondering how they could convince the White Rose, or if it was something they would just have to do themselves.

    "We can take part in that," Kanu said stepping forward. "The two of us joined this mission on special request. So we weren¡¯t originally going to be part of the squad. So we are spares if you will. We can take part in that."

    Kai remembered that Kanu had a special rtionship with Jayden. So the man would do well to make sure she was protected. Perhaps right now, the man was holding in his shock and surprise but he was someone they could count on.

    "The Howlers is arge force; we have many strong people on our side as well but will limit those that will be there on the day of the event. We will ask a few of them to go with you for support," Kai said, giving a small bow, and with that sorted it was time for them to go into the finer details of the event.

    After that day was recorded, an announcement was made. The showdown between the return of Gary and Harvor would be on the weekend, the uing Saturday.

 Chapter 1067 Clash Of Kings

    Chapter 1067 sh Of Kings

    All of the news channels, online media, content creators, and more were talking about one thing¡ªthe uing fight that was to take ce in a few days. It had been titled the "sh of Kings." The name had spread around online before the announcement had been made, and the marketing team had taken the chance to select the title of the event as such.

    Pinning what Gary had said, iming to take away Harvor¡¯s crown from him, and the fact that both of them were respective kings of their city¡ªthe name the Underworld had given them both. The rumors had swirled about the backgrounds of the two, and what was once kept a secret to the many eyes of the public wasing out into the open.

    Regardless, people didn¡¯t really care about that, as they were more focused on the main fight up ahead.

    Inside a castle, Lupus was watching a broadcast of the situation that was unfolding; it was unavoidable.

    "What circumstances of events led to this?" Lupus asked himself as he leant on his hand, propping up his head in his throne-like chair. "It will be an interesting fight to watch, to see if he''s actually someone I need to worry about.

    "But right now I have a bigger headache with the Altered Hunters. I haven¡¯t taken part in all of this just yet... but it appears one of their leaders is here, was it Edvard? I guess if I take him out, then the rest of them will fall with ease.

    "I¡¯m sure the vampires are the ones behind this. Always moving through the use of others and the shadows, not wishing to get their hands dirty. If only it wasn¡¯t so hard to locate their settlement, I would love to rip them apart."

    Elsewhere in the world, the news was spreading to those in AJ Entertainment, who were willing to show their full support. The members in Cardez Electronics and those in the AFC Academy who remembered Gary very well.

    His personality, as well as his bright green hair and the events that had urred, allowed all of them to remember him.

    Then there was even Maya, who had been stuck on the sofa changing from news channel to news channel.

    "I believe in the end that Harvor will be the winner. Although Gary has shown impressive feats, it has been nothing when we look at the two''s records. I believe this whole thing is just to build up hype around the fight."

    "Stupid news reporter, doesn''t even know what he''s saying," Maya mumbled.

    "Mum, you shouldn¡¯t watch TV for a while. Everyone¡¯s just talking about Gary," Amy imed.

    "I know, but I have to do something, and I get to see my boy all the time on the screen. On top of that, I''m worried for him, I can''t help but worry. What do you think, should I give Gary a call, should I be there when he''s fighting, will that help him?"

    Amy came over and ced both of her hands on top of her mother''s shoulders.

    "I want to be there cheering him on, but knowing Gary there''s something bigger with all of this going on. It¡¯s best if we let him focus and just stay here where he knows we''re safe."

    Maya started to rub her daughter''s hand, and through it, she could feel how nervous she was, how nervous they all were.

    "Gary solved so many things on his own, and while you were in the hospital. Look at how much has changed because of him. That brother of mine, and son of yours, he''s grown up, we have to leave this to him."

    It wasn¡¯t just Gary¡¯s mother that had received the news though. Off a cliffside, walking down on a stony beach with the waves rushing in and out, two people in particr were traveling to another excavation site. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It was one that had finished its excavation. It was a site that Rumper Karn had worked on before. It still had several bases set up and guards surrounding the ce, as did all excavation sites; they would eventually be tourist hotspots for people to see, with certain fossils that weren''t used in the excavation.

    Or even with interactive disys of what Altereds came from here. This site in particr wasn''t at that stage yet.

    Rickle ventured deep into the ground, looking at the soil, and cing his hand on the area. Dean didn¡¯t really know what he was doing, but was just on his phone watching a broadcast of sorts.

    Unlike thest site, there were no Retrievers to attack them; if anything, there weren''t many people at all. Eventually, frustrated with what he was watching, he had ced the phone away and looked at Rickle.

    "Why are we at this excavation site in particr? It seems there is nothing here," Dean asked.

    "Right, at the moment there is nothing here, at least not anymore," Rickle confirmed, still with his hand touching the ground. "When reading through the reports, there was a high number of suicides that had urred on the site.

    "When I looked further into it, it wasn¡¯t just the workers here, but it seemed like the families were affected as well. Sure, things like this happen from time to time, but it''s notmon for it to happen in one ce and the link to be that they all worked at this site.

    "In some cases, the person would even kill all of their family before ending their own life. Friends and colleagues have no idea what happened."

    Rickle then lifted up his hand and gave out a big sigh.

    "I think I know the reason as well, and why Rumper did all of this. It looks like we are going to have to get involved. We need to help in this case and help your son take down Harvor. Otherwise, things might get a lot worse."

 Chapter 1068 Over Support

    Chapter 1068 Over Support

    For some, the weekend had arrived quicker than anticipated, and it was already upon them. For others, the days dragged as they waited for the event of the century to take ce. Regardless, it was finally the big day¡ªthe grand event **sh of the Kings** was to take ce.

    Gary lifted his head up from his bed and looked at the white ceiling of his room. Turning his head to pick up his phone, he could see it was 7:58; he had woken up just two minutes before his rm was set to go off.

    He hated when this happened, and it always did when he knew he had something he needed to do, an event that he was going to.

    "It''s time¡ªall the training, all the experience I gained. I''m actually fighting the AFC Champion," Gary thought as he went over to his TV. These few days, not only had he been training but he had also been doing research on Harvor as well.

    He looked up every fight that he had, but could tell it was useless. His analytical skills that he had for fights even before bing a Werewolf told him that. There were no patterns, nothing that he could really follow, and he saw the true strength of Harvor. He might have been one of the only people in the world that knew of Harvor''s true strength.

    Moving his hand toward his belly, Gary remembered the punch that brought his HP down to 1 HP, and he was about to willingly step in the ring with someone that was able to do that to him again.

    Taking a deep sigh, Gary opened up his wardrobe and could see a specially made pair of pants for the fight, crafted in ck and gold, with the words **Howlers** written on the back. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Most AFC fights were done in this uniform¡ªa stretching undergarment that covered one''s private areas, while the rest of the body was open and bare, allowing for everyone to see the full result of the transformations and more.

    After getting changed into the uniform, Gary ced a pair of tracksuit bottoms on over his spandex-type material, and then ced the Howlers jacket on top of him, zipping it up to the top.

    He didn''t bother putting on a shirt underneath, and just as he was about to leave his bedroom, he could hear a knock at the door.

    "Just on time, like he said he would be," Gary smiled and answered the door to see a blond-haired man standing there.

    Walking in, Kai wasn''t alone. Following in from behind were Marie, Olivia, and Park. Olivia, whening in, went to sit straight on the sofa, while Marie looked at Gary, clearly wanting to say something but didn''t know what to say to encourage him.

    "It''s the big day," Kai imed. "It''s the day you''re going to kick Harvor''s arse, right?" Kai punched Gary on the arm.

    It made him chuckle, and Gary replied, "Right."

    "I''m just going to go over the finer details onest time for this whole thing, but I want to make sure that there is nothing for you to worry about¡ªyou just need to focus on the fight," Kai exined.

    "The four of us will be part of your training team. We are there to support you and will be watching the fight from your changing room on the screen. While the fight is taking ce, we will deal with the core members of the Zodiacs.

    "We will be supported by Chen and the White Rose team, who will enter as guests undisguised. They will be locating the members among those in the crowd and find the perfect time to strike.

    "At the same time though, Chen''s priority is to try and find Rumper Karn. Most likely he will be at the event as well. White Rose have already done searches for him at every property he owns and have concluded the safest ce for him would be in the heart of the One Gang."

    Gary didn''t know how things were going to work out, but knew that Kai and Chen had directmunication with each other. So they could try to form the best n on the go as things were happening.

    "Lastly, there will be a different rescue team trying to locate Xin: Kanu, Elijah, and Austin along with Ice. I think you will be quite happy with my choice," Kai said.

    Gary was; Ice was extremely powerful and versatile, while Austin was not only strong but a loyal member of the Howlers who had been there from the beginning. It wasn''t that Gary didn''t have faith in Marie and Olivia to do the job as well, but maybe Gary could help them likest time, so he wanted to keep them in his sights.

    And he remembered therge metallic objects that held Xin; with the two of them, it should be enough strength to get rid of whatever is holding Xin down.

    "Now that you know the final details, it''s time for us to head to the arena. It''s a long drive, and we need to get ready for it after all."

    Gary nodded and didn''t even bring anything apart from his phone, not even a wallet, as he walked out of his apartment door. He took the lift down, and the reception hall was empty, but he didn''t even notice this himself, too focused on things ahead.

    As Gary continued to walk, the sliding doors opened up, and arge wave of cheers hit him right in the face, even moving his hair slightly it was so loud.

    "AGHHHHH!" Loud screams were heard from all over.

    "What is going on?" Gary asked.

    "This," Kai smiled. "This is your cheering squad; there isn''t a single person in Slough that doesn''t know about your fight, and that isn''t supporting you. There''s a lot of people that believe in you."

    Gary looked ahead at a packed, filled street of people waving gs of wolf masks, and even wearing the familiar ck and gold uniform. It was just like Kai said¡ªthe entire city was there to support Gary.

 Chapter 1069 Why Act Now?

    Chapter 1069 Why Act Now?

    A wide range of people had gathered in the streets. It was as if a giant parade was taking ce in the city, but it wasn¡¯t a celebration of a grand event that had urred over the years. Everyone had gathered for one individual, Gary Dem.

    Looking among the faces, Gary couldn¡¯t even recognize them all¡ªthe faces of those he passed every day. These were the people that supported him, these were the people that cheered for him, yet he knew nothing about them, and they took the time out of their lives to see him off.

    ''It''s like a fantasy... am I even living in the real world right now?'' Gary thought, as he was practically getting dragged away by Kai and the others.

    This was something that maybe every child dreamed of one day¡ªentering the AFC and having overwhelming support¡ªand he had achieved it as a byproduct of another goal in his mind. Just for a moment, he wanted to cherish the crowd in front of him.

    He finally moved and was about to enter the car when he heard a bystander shouting with his phone recording.

    "Are you going to win today''s fight?" a young man shouted. "Gary, are you going to take Harvor''s crown?"

    Gary looked at the young man''s face; it was shining brightly. He looked to be a teenager still in school.

    Clenching his fist, Gary thought of the words of those that he would watch, what they would say, and then he lifted it in the air.

    "After today, Harvor will no longer be able to call himself a king," Gary replied.

    Right after, the entire crowd erupted into cheers again, and when sitting in the limo, Gary felt like it was shaking just from the sound of the cheers alone. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With that, the vehicle went off, going through the city. The cheers continued from the apartment buildings to the side of the streets and more, and they had eventually left the city.

    "You have the biggest smile on your face," Kai said. "That''s good, you earned everything that we have here. You want to protect it, I understand... Slough has be a much better ce now."

    "But it''s not just because of me," Gary replied. "It''s because of all of us, and the people that stayed with Slough."

    In the vehicle were Marie, Olivia, and Kai, while Park was driving. It was the small group that was allowed to apany Gary to his fight and allowed him to prepare.

    While the rest of the Howlers, including that of the White Rose, would be appearingter as regr customers to watch the event. During the time, preparations would be made, directions for the camera team and more.

    Smaller details needed to be sorted out, and things needed to be set up so both fighters would make it there with no problems at all.

    "Gary, that was cool man, really cool," Park imed behind the wheel. "I mean, so many people know who you are and are supporting you. I thought Harvor being the champion and all for so long, maybe there wouldn''t be so many people, but did you see that, did you see it?"

    "Have you seen the road?" Olivia suddenly asked, her tone was serious including the look on her face. She was sat upright staring out the window.

    "What do you mean, what''s wrong with the road?" Marie said. She could observe that there were cars around them; it wasn''t so busy which was expected at this time and on the highway.

    "The same type of cars have been driving around us, not a single one passing us no matter whatne we are in¡ªthe one in front, the one to the left, and the one to the right as well," Olivia imed.

    They were only a quarter of the way to the venue and would still have an hour to drive to where they needed to be. So no one had expected anything to happen, but Olivia had a sense from her days.

    Now having made Park aware of what was taking ce, he saw the car from the side swing into theirne,ing close to them, ready to crash. Park quickly slowed down allowing the car to go in front of him, and then sped up to the side.

    As he quickly drove away, he looked into his rearview mirror and could see several cars were now following him, and just like Park himself they had their foot down.

    "Any chances that the ones that are trying to knock us off the road are from the One Gang?" Marie nervously said with a smile.

    "I thought you said that Harvor had morals though," Olivia replied. "That he wasn''t the type of person to do this. He''s confident in beating Gary and taking him down, he has no clue what is going on, so why go to such lengths to knock us off the road before we even reach such a ce?"

    When Gary heard what everyone was saying, his blood was boiling. They already had Xin, and now Harvor wasn''t even willing to have a fair fight with him. He wanted to just rip off the roof of the car and pounce on those chasing them.

    "Sometimes it''s not the person himself but those around him that believe they are doing such things for the better," Kai added, thinking of one person in particr from the Zodiacs, and Kai understood, because if the situations were reversed then maybe he would have done the same thing.

    "I''ll tell you one thing though," Kai said as he opened the car door. The wind was blowing and the car slowed down as the wind pushed into the door. "These people are seriously annoying me."

    Kai then pushed himself until he was on the roof of the limo.

    "Keep heading to the venue, I''ll get rid of them."

    Kai said as his body transformed, and suddenly from the view of the vehicles they now could see a giant wolf on top of a car.

    ****

 Chapter 1070 Stop The Vieachle

    Chapter 1070 Stop The Vieachle

    There were few times when Gary would witness a clear disy of emotions on Kai¡¯s face, and this was one of those times. Before he could even say anything, Kai had already exited from the vehicle and was on the roof of the car.

    "Hey, what do you want me to do? Should I keep driving or what?" Park asked.

    "Yeah," Gary replied. "Keep going. Kai, he''ll do a good job, and he can catch up to us."

    Kai leapt from his vehicle and immediatelynded on top of the roof of another. His ws dug into the top of the metal roof, firmly keeping him in ce. The vehicle tried to move left and right, aiming to swing him off but nothing was working.

    Lifting onerge paw up from the top, Kai then scratched at the roof, ripping arge chunk off. He quickly dipped his head inside and bit down right at the driver''s neck. The car started to veer off, going close to the guard rail, and seeing this, Kai then leapt off the vehicle and went right towards another in the air.

    It was arge leap, but the other vehicle that was following was prepared. The window was rolled down, and a strange device that looked somewhat like a harpoon was sticking out.

    It fired out arge spike that was electrified and going through the air. The One Gang members were using some of the top anti-Altered weapons one could get their hands on.

    Seeing this, Kai quickly used his strength to somewhat kick the air, and in doing so he moved, allowing for therge spear object to go right past andnd on the ground.

    "Damn, you missed!" one of the gang membersined and pped his colleague on the back of his head.

    "What was that for!" the man shouted back. "It doesn''t matter if I missed; now that damned wolf isn''t on top of us, we can leave it in the dust and go after our target."

    The others smiled as they realized this, but the smiles didn''tst long. It was only a few momentster that they could see therge gray wolf head right by the side of their window, bobbing up and down.

    The man then stared out of the window to look at the ground and could see that the wolf was running across the floor. They were in a vehicle and yet somehow thisrge wolf was able to run by their side and keep up with them?

    It was quite clear that this was no ordinary wolf. Before they knew it, Kai had gone for the tires, shing at them with his ws. The sudden stop of the vehicle had caused it to flip and topple over several times, but now two vehicles were no longer following them, and Kai was continuing to run from behind with Gary¡¯s vehicle in sight.

    "He''s doing well, just like you said he would," Marie imed as she had her head stuck out the window the entire time watching the whole thing.

    Gary had only been seeing things now and then through the rearview mirror.

    "I''m not the only one that''s gotten stronger. I know full well all of you guys have been trying your best as well."

    Gary knew that, based on how well the rest of the Howlers had done when they had defended the city from the Phoenix gang without him. Sin wasn''t the only strong individual, and it was the same here for the One Gang.

    Although the n required him to fight against Harvor alone, if they hadn''t gone through with the n and Gary was to try and take on Harvor and the One Gang on his own, it would have been impossible. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I have a feeling that the One Gang won''t just stop there; this is light work," Olivia said.

    Right on cue, that was when even more vehicles were starting to arrive. Despite Kai having gotten rid of two of them, there were even more vehicles¡ªa fleet of around thirty or so of them.

    Immediately, they had pulled out all sorts of different weapons¡ªcrossbows and more¡ªand started to fire away the anti-Altered equipment. With Kai in his wolf form, he was quick and able to avoid them with ease.

    At times though, there were close calls, and Kai had to use his paw to knock the equipment away.

    ''This is beginning to be a bigger pain than I thought,'' Kai was trying to calcte. If he went on a full attack maybe he could stop them, but he would be even further away in distance from Gary.

    "I can catch up, I should be able to catch up... but I''m worried that this is just the start of it."

    A row of electrified arrows came at Kai, from above and below, and it was hard for him to jump up or continue running forward; he was already traveling at max speed.

    From the corner of his eye, he saw something fling past him, and a resounding bang sound was heard vibrating the whole area. The sound exploded with energy and caused all of the arrows to immediately copse on the floor.

    When Kai looked ahead as he continued to run, he now could see someone else standing on the roof of the car.

    "You brought us along for a reason, right?" Olivia said with a smile. "Besides, I haven''t really had the chance to try out this new whip that you got me."

    The whip had already raveled back into her hands and twisted over her forearms¡ªa new whip they had gotten from the Dark Marketce after her old one had been ruined.

    In the row of vehicles following from behind, there were a few guests that were inside.

    "It looks like Stanley was right," the voice said. "Gary Dem would have some respectable people protecting him and following him. I guess it''s a good thing we Zodiacs came after all."

    ---

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 1071 Keep Moving

    Chapter 1071 Keep Moving

    The constant attacks from outside of the vehicles continued, and they were all aimed toward Kai. Just like before, with his fast speed in his full wolf form, he was able to keep up with the cars'' speed.

    His agile body allowed him to even dodge all of the attacks that came his way, but just like before, an overwhelming number was being coordinated his way. But once again, the loud sound of the whip, through the shockwaves alone, would break the course of all the weapons and cause them to drop on the floor.

    "Did you think trying that again a second time would work?" Olivia said with a smile. "I know most gang members don''t do that well in school, but this is kind of ridiculous!" As she said these words, she moved her whip above her head like asso before throwing it out again.

    The side of the whip had hit one of the cars and crushed part of the door. The impact was so great it was like a car had hit it, causing the vehicle to swerve and veer off to the side, crashing into one of the barriers and continuing to scrape itself along it.

    Right after, Olivia didn''t let up. She continued to swing the whip, grabbing several of the weapons in the others'' hands and pulling them out, chucking them onto the floor. Even before returning, she struck their faces, leaving a deep scratch on them.

    ''With Olivia helping out now as well, we might be able to keep going with Gary along the way after all,'' Kai thought. In the middle of this thought, he could see a transformed figure with arge tailing right in front of him.

    Kai quickly leapt up and transformed his body into his Werewolf form, grabbing onto the sides of the figure''s arms.

    ''An Altered!'' Kai thought. He quickly dug his ws into the arms of the strange Altered creature and then, pushing with his legs, kicked its body, causing it to skid across the floor, ripping the skin off its body.

    The Altered then managed to somewhat reorient itself, grabbing Kai''s arm, and tried to climb on top of his back. Before it could reach the top though, Kai dug his ws into its shoulder and then hurled it onto the ground, creating arge pothole in the floor.

    Kai then quickly transformed into his wolf form and carried on running forward. He had slowed down, getting behind a few cars but quickly went past them again.

    ''It was quite obvious that they would have Altereds in their group,'' Kai thought. ''After all, the One Gang is one of thergest gangs in the world. Not only that, but they have the AFC where they can pick their members from, and they even have a close connection with NIRV.''

    This was the thought that was always at the back of Kai''s mind from the beginning. If there was one gang, or one group of people that they didn''t want to face directly, it would be the One Gang, as they clearly had a force that would obliterate the Howlers.

    Anotherrger Altered this time was in the air, having jumped out of one of the vehicles and was about tond on top of Kai. Before it could reach him though, a whip surrounded its entire body, and then it was flung to the side, hitting another vehicle.

    Although one had been taken care of, it didn''t matter because there was another running side by side with Kai, with a smile ready to attack him.

    "Is every person in the vehicles an Altered!" Kai said frustratedly. He was already tired just running alongside the car, but it was the best way to keep it going.

    If he had to fight arge number of Altereds, how long could he continue?

    Inside one of the vehicles that was trailing behind the others, there were three individuals in the back seat of the car: a man with spiky hair on top of his head and two short females. One looked a bit rough around the edges with markings on her body, while there was also another female with her hair tied up into two buns.

    "They were trained AFC fighters, and that wolf Altered got rid of them with ease," Pinner, the spiky-haired man, said.

    "Right, and that woman, she has great strength as well. I wonder what type of Altered she is," Lena asked, licking her lips.

    "It just means that we might have to get involved," Berry said, slumped and looking uninterested by the whole thing. "That was Stanley''s request, to make sure they don''t get to the ring."

    "Let the others wear them down," Pinner said with a smile. "And then it will make our job much easier. There''s not much for us to do." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Inside therge limo that Gary was riding in, Marie could see that his fist was clenching into a ball tighter and tighter. He was anxious, and he wanted to do something.

    "Gary, you need to stay in here," Marie said. "You need to make sure you get to the ring no matter what. Keep going forward and don''t look back, you have to do it for us."

    Before Gary could say anything, Marie had already opened the door and jumped out. Her legs started to transform; when her feet touched the ground they dug up and started to rip the concrete apart.

    Right in front of her, a car was hailing its way towards her, and the rest of her body had transformed. The car smashed into her, and the middle section of it crumbled around her body.

    It looked as if the car had hit a solid metal pole. Right after, Marie grabbed onto the car and hurled it to the side, hitting another vehicle and breaking it.

    Olivia had jumped off from the roof and carefully used her whip to burst one of the tires, spinning it on its side as well, and eventually a pile-up had been caused.

    The cars behind had toe to a screeching halt unless they wanted to add to the pile-up.

    Just then Kai had joined the other two, and now all three of them were facing the others.

    "You made a good choice," Kai said. "We will make sure Gary gets to the arena uninterrupted."

    Marie nodded, and the three of them just continuously saw cars stopping and lining up, with members climbing out of their vehicles. The cars continued until they could no longer see the end of vehicles.

    It was madness, and once again they were witnessing the full force of one of the kings.

 Chapter 1072 Everyone Gets us

    Chapter 1072 Everyone Get''s us

    Park had his foot down on the pedal and was speeding across the highway. He looked back in his rearview mirror and could see smoke in the distance from the cars. It was quite amazing that he only realized now how empty the highway was, and it all could be put down to the One Gang¡¯s power.

    "Keep moving," Gary said. "They are doing what they need to do; we can¡¯t let them falter. We can¡¯t hesitate, and they are strong, so keep going."

    Park knew fully well how much Gary cared about his people, so for him to say these words, it had to be hurting him inside.

    "You''re right, and we have to look at what is ahead," Park added. "Harvor is going to have the strongest in his group surrounding Xin and around him. We still have the White Rose on our side that is helping us as well.

    "We have more people helping us out this time around; we are going to win this fight."

    Gary agreed. There was more than him involved in this, and the situation had be bigger than just getting his vengeance for what happened to Jayden. Harvor had gone too far now.

    Kai turned his head back for a moment; he couldn''t see far beyond the piled-up cars, but there was a big smile on his face.

    "Alright,e on, let¡¯s deal with this, so we can watch Gary¡¯s fight to this whole event."

    "Right, so let¡¯s just clean up this whole area, fairly quickly." Olivia moved her whip and shed it out, hitting the ground in front of many of the Altered, halting them.

    The powerful whip had even destroyed some of the ground before it returned to Olivia. The transformed One Gang members were hesitant to step forward, even some of the AFC fighters who were professionals.

    Eventually, one of the Altereds jumped forward, and Olivia snapped her hand fast, and the whip went out hitting the Altered right in the stomach. It ripped part of the skin, causing blood to fall on the floor, and then they were chucked back into the air off in the distance.

    Now even more of the One Gang members were hesitant to move forward.

    "If you guys aren¡¯t going to attack, then I¡¯m going to go forward!" Olivia imed, as she spun her body and swung it, hitting the concrete a few times. The momentum was building up, and then she swung it out with the aim to hit several others.

    Until a small hand reached out and grabbed onto the whip. It didn¡¯t rip through the person¡¯s skin; it didn¡¯t even make a loud bang at the end as it was silenced.

    "Berry!" the One Gang members shouted.

    They could see a small girl with pigtails on top of her head, holding onto the whip. She held it tight and wasn¡¯t even transformed. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Who''s that?" Marie asked. "How is she able to hold onto that?"

    "That is one of the Zodiacs," Kai answered. "And it seems like there¡¯s more than just her. With them and this army of Altered, I¡¯m hoping we can make it to the arena in one piece."

    "Don¡¯t talk like that, please," Marie smirked.

    Olivia managed to control the whip, wiggling it out of Berry¡¯s hand, and it had returned to Olivia, who didn¡¯t have the best look on her face.

    Coming by Berry¡¯s side were two more who had a different air around their bodies¡ªa man with ck spiky hair and another short-haired fighter. These were Pinner and Lena.

    "Two more of the Zodiacs join the party," Kai said. "Well, at least this will make things easier for Gary. Things still the same as before, let¡¯s make it back for Gary¡¯s fight!"

    ---

    Park continued to go ahead on the highway, which was still empty, and then right up ahead he saw somethinge into his sight. Quickly he spun the steering wheel of the car and mmed on the brake. The car was skidding and nearly tipped over as it hit the side.

    Now that they had stopped, Park and Gary looked out the window and could see the reason why the car had stopped.

    "A blockade, right before entering the city. They closed the whole road, a few hours before thepetition. This is madness! What are they doing? How can they even do this?" Park shouted, hitting his wheel.

    Although it was the route from Slough to the arena, so they had to have only stopped a particr route of people froming, and since it was early morning, not many would have traveled early to the arena.

    All of this was meticulously nned and set up, knowing full well how the Howlers would act and move. They were dealing with an opponent that wasn¡¯t underestimating them like the Phoenix gang.

    "Gary!" Park shouted as he kicked the door and it flew off its hinge, breaking. He then stood up and walked out of the car. "You are getting to that arena on time no matter what. Harvor won¡¯t use this as an excuse. Get going, get there on foot and run!"

    Gary opened the door and stood out of the car. He couldn¡¯t believe what was happening and leaving with so many people behind, all of the problems that were caused.

    "Fine," Gary said as he got into his fighting stance, and then he pushed off the floor and sped right toward the row of cars. He then flung his hand and arge energy w came out.

    It hit two of the One Gang members, splitting and cutting their bodies. It pushed and moved the cars, and Gary then leapt over the cars and continued to run.

    He ran and ran ahead toward the arena, with a name on the tip of his tongue.

    "HARVOR, HARVOR, HARVOOOR!" Gary screamed at the top of his lungs.

 Chapter 1073 Reaching The Arena

    Chapter 1073 Reaching The Arena

    Gary had partly transformed his body. His forearms had partial fur sticking out of them, his teeth had elongated, and he had given up on wearing his shoes, transforming his feet and digging them into the ground as he continued to rush forward.

    While running at this speed, whoever got in his way was easy for Gary to handle. He could see that there were other roadblocks up ahead that had been prepared, and instead of going forward or using his energy in a fight, he had just jumped off the highway andnded on one of the roads below.

    He continued to run down, and then leapt across, reaching another road and digging his ws in, pulling himself up. They were small detours, but it hardly slowed him down with the way he was progressing.

    If anything, the thought of those that were still fighting, and those that left him behind, had spurred him on, and eventually he had passed the sign weing him into the city.

    He pushed forward until he hade off the highway, and the high-rise buildings could be seen. Gary didn¡¯t stop there as he continued to rush, and eventually reached therge bridge over the river.

    A familiar bridge he recognized. He had gone through it using the underpass, just swinging his arms through the metal underpart. Nothing was going to stop him.

    Then finally, Gary had reached it¡ªhis final destination. He had rushed over the security gates and was in the open-space car park that was practically empty.

    There were a few cars for staff there that were getting ready for the main event, but even now, there was still meant to be another four hours or so until the event was to start. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A meeting was to take ce with the promoters, the organizers, and the judges of the event before everything was to happen. When he walked to the front entrance, he could see several vans set up.

    People were getting ready with their equipment and more, and there were the familiar purple and white tracksuits, and a man standing at the entrance, pushing up his sses onto the ridge of his nose.

    It was a particr person that Kai had told him to look out for¡ªthe head of the Zodiacs, Stanley.

    ¡°It¡¯s great to see that you made it here,¡± Stanley said, looking at his wristwatch. ¡°And it appears that you have made it earlier than I thought.¡±

    There was an odd feeling when Gary looked at Stanley. In a lot of ways, he reminded him of Kai, and if this man truly was like Kai, going up against someone like him would be a tough opponent for someone like Gary, at least without Kai by his side.

    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Gary said. ¡°I¡¯m here now, so let¡¯s just get the preparations started. I¡¯ve been ready for a while now.¡±

    Stanley then tilted on one leg and looked behind Gary, and the others were even talking to each other, confused as well.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your team?¡± Stanley asked. ¡°We had a request for you to bring some people by your side. Are they not here with you? That¡¯s a bit irresponsible of them.¡±

    ¡°My team will be here,¡± Gary answered. ¡°They''ve just run into some small annoyance, a very, very small annoyance, but they will deal with it and be here soon.¡±

    Those standing around, although they weren¡¯t quite part of the One Gang, could tell that there was strange air and sparks going off between the two of them.

    ¡°Oh well, follow the production team and they will take you to the green room and give you your schedule for the day. It¡¯s a rough guideline as things really depend on how long other fightsst and such, and of course your event against Harvor will be headlining.

    ¡°I hope you''re able to give as big a show as people are expecting. I¡¯ve been reading the headlines, that many people think you are the hope to take the crown from the king. Even the betting odds, although still in Harvor¡¯s favor, they seem to be the highest odds an opponent has ever had.

    ¡°It¡¯s quiteughable though, right? If they saw what had happened, then I don¡¯t think anyone would have this much confidence. I¡¯m surprised if even you have a lot of confidence in yourself at winning this thing.¡±

    Gary followed the production team¡ªa man with a headset who looked nervous as he was trying to move things along. When Gary stepped close to Stanley, only a few steps away, he was afraid something was going to happen, and that¡¯s when Gary stopped in his footsteps.

    He stared right at Stanley in the eye.

    ¡°Everything that has happened today, I¡¯m telling you now, all of you will regret what you did.

    ¡°It could have just been a simple fight; people could have just witnessed the fight they wished to see, but you had to resort to too many underhanded methods, and always seemingly going a step too far.

    ¡°I can see the look on your face¡ªyou think I¡¯ll lose this fight, right?¡± Gary smiled as he asked the question. ¡°But tell me, do you really think there¡¯s a hundred percent chance I would lose?

    ¡°If you truly believed that, would you have done everything you have done? It''s because you know it, don¡¯t you.¡± Gary took a step closer; it was a little too close and in Stanley¡¯s personal space, but neither raised a hand despite being so close.

    It almost looked like Gary and Stanley were about to face off rather than Harvor and him.

    ¡°Every person I met, they thought the same thing, they thought that I would lose, yet every single one I took them down one after the other. That¡¯s what I do. I¡¯m used to being the underdog.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to do the same now, and I¡¯m going to take down everyone involved,¡± Gary said as he continued to walk into the arena.

    ---

 Chapter 1074 Growing Ache

    Chapter 1074 Growing Ache

    Inside the arena, Gary was willingly working with the production team. He was being taken around the ce, being shown the schedule and what he needed to do.

    There were even small details such as picking what music he wanted to. There was also stated that there would be a person always by his side to help him, so he didn''t have to remember too much anyway.

    A lot of what was said had gone in one ear and out the other, because Gary was thinking about too many things at once, and eventually he was brought to a green room.

    The room wasrge; it reminded him of the training rooms the AFC had. There was a small cage, several training equipment, weights, pads, and more. At least thirty people could train in the room at once.

    It was a dedicated space for fighters to practice before their fight, but Gary was in the room alone.

    "The first fight of the night starts at 6 PM. It''s now midday," An, one of the assistant producers, said. "You can take a sleep; there''s hibernation chambers and more. An hour before, I''lle back to check up on you. If we''re on schedule, your fight should be around 10 PM."

    After An left, Gary then stood there looking in the room. Dread was being felt in his entire body; what was he meant to do as he waited on his own, to just be drowned in his thoughts.

    As the public started to filter in with the other fighters, this was a mental struggle already for him, especially with no support of the others.

    "10 PM, that''s when the fight might start. They have the time; they can make it."

    ---

    One route of the highway had been closed in advance. Cones and signs had been ced on one end and the other. While radio stations, inte services, and apps all gave other alternate routes, no one had a real idea of what was taking ce.

    "This is going to be difficult," Kai said. "Pickle, Lena, and Berry. Those are the three that we need to focus on, but we need to pay attention to the others as well."

    Just as Kai said this, a green liquid came shooting out ready to hit him. Kai moved to the side and the acidic power melted part of the ground. At the same time though, another figure that had stone-like skin was hurling toward the three of them.

    Marie had shoved her shoulder and turned into her Werewolf form and braced the other with the shoulder. She then dug her wed hand into the Altered''s stomach; it pierced the skin and blood soaked her hand.

    In the past, she would have been hesitant but not this time as she dug her w in harder, and then lifted the Altered and hurled him towards the others.

    All three of the Zodiacs jumped over the car running toward them, and thennded cleanly on the ground. Right after, Pickle''s hair started to rapidly grow over his body.

    The hair covering his body was ck and was sharp all over his body like thorns. Then from his hand, a spiky ball had grown out, and he threw it towards the others.

    Seeing it in the air, Kai''s senses were tingling. He could either hit this away or avoid it. As Kai moved to the side and avoided the ball, it stuck to the floor, not even bouncing, and the ck tips started to light up.

    It lit bright blue and exploded right in everyone''s eyes.

    ---

    In arge open field surrounded by greenery, there was a metallic warehouse. The shining sun was hitting the metallic roof causing pangs as the metal expanded and retracted.

    While inside, there was an individual who was sweating, body frail. Wrists and ankles were sore, covered in red markings. They were in several ces showing how many times the captive had tried to escape.

    Yet now, no attempts were made, as the grey-haired female just slumped down on the ground. If she wasn''t able to escape when she had all of her energy, then how was she meant to escape when she had next to no energy.

    The sound of the door slid open, and arge man started to walk with a metal tray.

    "I''vee to bring your food," Apollo said, as he held the bread bun and gave it to Xin.

    She weakly opened her mouth and started to chew. It was a few bites and then he gave her some water as well to help the bread pass through her throat. Although the food had been brought on a metal tray, when looking at it there was nothing else on it.

    Just the bread bun and the water¡ªthose were the only two items Apollo was allowed to bring to Xin a day. Enough to keep her alive, who knew for how long, but it didn''t matter as there wouldn''t need to be any longer.

    At first, Apollo had tried to talk to Xin andfort her; even when she said nothing back, he continued, but he had stopped now. He didn''t know why, but his attempts at trying tofort her just made him hate himself more.

    Eventually, when he saw that Xin had finished, he stood up, ced the metal tray to the side, and exited out of the warehouse. But it was only for a moment, and when returning, Apollo wheeled something else into the ce, along with a few other One Gang members.

    "There is something that Harvor wants to show you, that you need to watch, and it''s important."

    Connecting up therge TV, the connection was made and a broadcast could be seen. It only took a few moments as the inside of the arena was being shown for them to mention.

    "Today we will finally be witnessing the fight everyone has been waiting for, Harvor Ego against Gary Dem!"

    Immediately Xin''s head was raised as she looked at the screen and could see the two photos of them side by side.

    "Gary..." N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ****

 Chapter 1075 Stay By My Side

    Chapter 1075 Stay By My Side

    Although it was only midday, the car park to the grandrge arena was already filling up. Reporters, news agencies, livestreamers, and more all got their chance to enter the ce first. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They were able to ask questions to the organizers about who they thought was going to win the match, while also getting a few sneak peeks behind the scenes of the arena as well as other programs.

    After all, it wasn¡¯t just them that were in the arena. There were also past AFC fighters that had retired who were all talking about the event that was to take ce.

    In the arena, up in a ss booth, an interview that was going out on a program was showing.

    "Vicello, you were once Rank 1 in the AFC. You had climbed the ranks, and then after a loss to Harvor you ended up retiring.

    "Many wished for you toe back stronger hoping to fight him again, but that never happened. So I need to ask, why did you never challenge Harvor again, and what do you think of Gary Dem¡¯s chances?"

    A man sat in a suit that was stretched out, with thinning hair on his head that made a shape of a pinecone. This man was Vicello, who was only a fraction of his former self.

    "Why didn¡¯t I fight him again? First, I have to say, if you look at the facts, anyone who has fought against Harvor has never fought against him again. I am not the only one.

    "You might say that I managed to go further than the others, but there is one fact that has been confirmed by every fighter: No one has seen Harvor¡¯s true Altered form, at least not in the ring.

    "If I lost to Harvor in his human form, what hope do I have in his Altered form."

    The interview broadcast was meant to be quite casual between the host and the guests, but Vicello¡¯s answer was straightforward and was spoken in a way that made even them feel slightly fearful toward Harvor.

    "I see, well you are certainly right about that!" the host imed. "Not a single person has ever gone against Harvor twice. I suppose it¡¯s just a wall that can¡¯t be faced, but now we have someone who¡¯s been challenging him non-stop."

    In the interview room, behind the guests, a video began to y of Gary¡¯s great strength¡ªhow he defeated opponents one after the other, and his deration.

    "This is also something we¡¯ve never seen before, right? What do you think, Clem? You have followed Gary for a while, right?" the host asked.

    One of the other guests that had been asked on was Clem. Traditional media was getting less and less views these days, but big sports events that were ced behind a paywall were slightly different.

    Still, they wanted to connect with a new audience, and there was no better way than to invite one of the top-performing livestreamers onto the tform.

    "Gary is a king soul, and we have seen that multiple times in the past," Clem started. "But to see him this way in his fights, to see this pure anger of emotion that ising across.

    "It¡¯s clear that something has upset him. When there¡¯s something clear on his mind that he wishes to get, he will get it. I¡¯m betting on Gary winning this fight."

    There was a clear amount ofughter that filled the room in that moment from the host as well as the other guests.

    "Maybe it¡¯s because you''re a woman you understand nothing about the fighting world," Vicello said. "But Harvor is unbeatable. Gary will lose this fight, and the answer will be here today."

    "Just because I¡¯m a girl my opinion doesn¡¯t count?" Clem replied back. "I¡¯m sure when you saw Gary fighting against the higher ranks of the AFC you thought the same thing you''re thinking now.

    "There¡¯s a reason why I was invited on this show in the first ce, because your opinion doesn¡¯t matter. No one cares about what a loser like you has to say."

    "How dare you, you little bitch!" Vicello said, standing up and rushed towards her. Immediately off-screen, security quickly rushed in, stopping Vicello before he could do anything, and the broadcast show continued as the screen switched to other things.

    Inside therge waiting room, Gary hadn¡¯t tuned into any programs nor did he turn on the TV where he could watch the program himself.

    He only had his phone on, waiting for a text from his fellow allies. He was in two minds. He still had time now? He could have gone back to help the others.

    He could have stayed with them? But it was Kai¡¯s orders and sacrifice to tell him to keep going?

    There had to be a reason. Was it in case Stanley had anything nned, a reason to dy Gary in getting here, or was it something else?

    In the middle of his thoughts, the door was pushed open. Gary¡¯s head snapped to see who it was and could see An enter.

    "You have a guest, and they''re on the pre-approved list."

    Gary¡¯s heart started to thump. Had the others already dealt with the trouble and appeared? If so, he could really do with them by his side right now.

    Walking through the doors on high-heeled dark boots though, was a person on the guest list but not who he expected.

    "You can leave the two of us now," Daphne said, and An quickly left.

    "It seems you''re not happy to see me, but I can understand why. I got news of the shut-down road and considering you''re here on your own, it all makes sense," Daphne said. "Still, you have to remember if you want any chance of beating him, then you''ll need me to stay by your side."

    Daphne then pulled out her phone which was linked to the program titled The sh of Kings.

    "Because Harvor¡¯s here now as well."

    On screen, Harvor could be seen entering the arena reception, shing lights from cameras and video cameras as well as reporters were ready for him.

    Now, the two kings were in the same building, with the fight drawing ever so closer.

 Chapter 1076 The Titan Vanguard

    Chapter 1076 The Titan Vanguard

    Not far from Slough, on a long toll highway, the entire road had been blocked off, not allowing for any more cars to enter. Little did people know what really was happening on such roads.

    A pile-up of cars, a small army of Altered, all going up against three members of the Howlers, and to top it off, there were also three of the Zodiac members present: Lena, Berry, and Pinner.

    The first of the three to attack and transform was Pinner himself. His spiky hair started to coat his entire body. From head to toe, it seemingly was a type of beast fur but didn''t have the same soft touch feature.

    The fur was sharp and pointy like a thorn bush, and it didn''t look weing to pet it. Reaching out, the fur on his body gathered to one point and now was arge ck ball of spikes.

    Pinner threw it towards the others, and when itnded on the ground it started to light up in a bright blue light. It exploded, and the ground shook. Even the cars were bouncing up and down from the explosion.

    Arge smile was on Pinner''s face.

    "There was no need for all three of us toe; I could have handled all of them myself."

    When the dust started to settle though, an extremelyrge figure could be seen, with its eyes in the air. It was breathing heavily. Its size was around ten meters in height, and it was bulging.

    Finally, the finer details came into view for the Zodiacs. They could see what looked like a human wolf standing on its two legs, yet it was gigantic in size and blocky.

    Its fur was fine on its body, hardening its hide. From Pinner''s attack, the spikes had gone off in different directions like that of a grenade and shrapnel. Several of the sharp hair follicles had pierced the concrete ground, creating micro cracks, and if it had hit the others it would have deeply pierced their skin as well.

    Instead, all of the sharp hair follicles were seen in the chest of Marie as she stood there. She was more powerful than before, now a Werewolf of the Titan Vanguard ss. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her healing factors were fast, her size and weight wererge, and the fur on her body acted like a thick coat of armor. The sharp hair follicles started to fall onto the ground, nging as they hit the floor as if made of metal.

    "So they can do a few special things from the looks of it. It''s no wonder Stanley was worried about them," Pinnermented.

    "Are you guys okay?" Marie asked.

    "Yeah, we''re fine..." Kai answered.

    "Do you want me to strengthen you guys, and then we go all out from the beginning, or is there some other type of n?" Marie asked.

    With her new ss, Marie was able to stab other fellow Werewolves and inject some strange substance inside of them. It would energize the Werewolves while also strengthening their hide as well.

    However, it could only be done once in a fight. Its effects would eventually wear off, and until the next day, the strengthening would have no effect if used again.

    Which was why Marie was asking Kai if it was the best time to do such a thing.

    "Kai!" Marie asked again.

    "Stop your transformation, and both of you get on!" Kai said, as he transformed into hisrge wolf-like form and jumped in front of the two women.

    Marie was stunned and confused, but they decided to both listen. Marie changed back, reverting her size, and Olivia was already on. The two of them had hopped on the back of Kai, as he rushed off down the highway and continued running.

    It was an unexpected move, one that the Zodiacs didn''t predict. They were startled, and seeing the speed of the wolf, they knew that they couldn''t keep up. So instead they had gotten into their vehicles.

    "Follow them, we''ll clear the way!" Pinner shouted, as he rushed with Berry and Lena ahead to clear the blocked cars, chucking them to the side.

    The wind was blowing in both Marie and Olivia''s faces, their hair going all over the ce.

    "What are we doing?" Marie asked. "I thought we were going to fight them."

    "There''s no need," Kai answered. "We just needed to buy enough time for Gary to get away, and he should be well ahead of us now. They won''t be able to catch up.

    "If we can, I would like to avoid a fight, especially if it''s with the Zodiacs!"

    Both Marie and Olivia understood, or at least they thought they understood, but Kai didn''t share his true thoughts. There was a fear in him; if they were to go up against the Zodiacs, then what if one of them was to perish?

    It wasn''t just that he was afraid of losing someone close that was in the Howlers, but there was another fear. Kai realized the strength of the pack and the Werewolf sses.

    Werewolves were packs, and they had different traits because they were all there to support the single Alpha. With all of their powers, they had things that could help them take down arge enemy.

    Gary, although stronger than Marie, couldn''t reinforce his own hide, but she could. Olivia, with her special trait as an Apex predator, she could also see where the weak point was of an enemy.

    And with Kai''s own quick speed, he could attack in various different ways, maybe even be a mount to be used for Gary and helping him in his fight.

    With all of them at full strength, then maybe they could take down Harvor. So they needed to survive to help him.

    "Once we get past the blockade and into the city, they won''t be able to do anything to us. We''ll be there for Gary!" Kai imed

 Chapter 1077 Everyone Ready?

    Chapter 1077 Everyone Ready?

    An hour had passed since Gary had arrived, and although he had been busy going through things with production and then meeting Daphne, there was a constant thought in the back of his mind: Where were the others?

    Even if held up, the journey would take two hours, say three hours max. Sure, Gary had gotten to the arena faster than a typical car due to the shortcuts he could take himself, but he would expect Kai to arrive in the next hour or so unless there were other problems.

    ''Altered fighters canst a long time; they have arge amount of energy as well. It¡¯s not a simple five-minute fight or so like people have on the street, but all of those thoughts just worry me more.''

    "Shake off those thoughts, you were already distracted before all of this and we knew there was a chance of this happening," Daphne said. "You need to focus on him, the main event, especially if you want to save everyone."

    Taking a deep breath, Gary started to focus, and with his focus he could hear the soundsing from outside. The doors were being opened to the public; they were now filtering in.

    The AFC events were one in a lifetime to watch, especially when Harvor was fighting. Various numberts of shows would be put on before even the first fight of the night; it was truly something that people could spend an entire afternoon and evening at.

    Now the clock had struck 1 PM; people were starting to filter in for the first shows at 3, and eventually the first fight that woulde at 6 PM.

    A short whileter, An had appeared in the room.

    "Gary, you''re up. It''s your first interview of the night, and then after we want you to head to the press conference room just for a few photo shoots between you and Harvor before the big fight, so be ready."

    Gary knew this wasing; it was on the schedule¡ªa meeting with Harvor before the big fight. He wondered if he could contain himself.

    ---

    With the people entering the arena, there was a certain group which had their tickets checked. They were spread apart and eventually got to their seating areas. A man with ck hair wearing a normal white shirt with a tracksuit jacket looked around the arena.

    His eyes nced at a few of the people in the arena and made note of everyone''s positions.

    "It looks like everyone has made it in smoothly," Chen, one of the top-ranking officials in the White Rose, confirmed. "Teams will scout the area andndscape to confirm it matches with the obtained blueprints.¡±

    "We then have a few key objectives: the capture of the Zodiacs, the capture of Rumper Karn, and finally the capture of Harvor Ego. Agents must obtain as much information. When the fight starts with Harvor and Gary, everyone will move."

    The agents in the crowd did several different signs, such as stretching both arms, scratching the top of their right eyebrow, and more. Every one of the agents had a different sign to make it harder for someone to track what was happening.

    Still, every agent had confirmed loud and clear what they needed to do.

    ---

    Elsewhere, in what seemingly looked like emptynd¡ªan abandoned partial farm in the hills¡ªthere was a certain group of individuals who were hidden in the greenery behindrge trees and such.

    Kanu was leading the group, and having seen therge metal shack, he turned around and headed back in deeper to the forest, until he saw three others: Elijah, Ice, and Austin.

    "This is the same location that was confirmed in the video," Kanu reported.

    When their team was running investigations into the One Gang, they had raided almost all properties that belonged to Harvor, and that included the current warehouse they were at.

    At the time they found nothing, but just in case, Kanu had everything photographed, to remember what the inside of each area was. Having received the special video from Harvor dering Xin as the grand prize, Kanu had analyzed the background.

    He had noticed the strange ripped and rusted patterns on the back of the warehouse, and it had matched up to some of the photos that had been taken, leading them to this ce. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They had been observing the ce for a while, and Kanu had witnessed gang members move in and out.

    It was already a big sign, considering the time they were here before, the ce waspletely empty and didn''t seem to be used in the slightest.

    "So you''re pretty sure Xin is in there, right?" Austin asked. "If that''s the case, why don''t we go in there now? If we rescue Xin and I send a message to Gary, I''m sure there''s going to be a lot off his mind with that."

    "Because there''s a chance it can cause even more problems," Elijah said. "We don''t know how heavily guarded she is, and there is still a lot of time before the fight. If we go in now, Harvor himself coulde here or call off the fight.¡±

    "The important time to act is when the fight between Gary and Harvor will start. There will be no disruptions then, and Gary knows this so he can have some peace of mind."

    ---

    Finally, there was one more group on the move against the One Gang, and they were already inside the arena itself. A man was being pulled by the hair as they dragged him into one of the toilets.

    Another man just outside of the toilets stayed on lookout.

    Inside the toilets themselves, the man had picked up one of the men in the purple and white tracksuit and mmed him against the toilet stall door.

    "Now I''m in a rush, you see, so I''m going to have to use some of my powers. Where is Rumper Karn?" Rickle asked, both of his eyes glowing red.

    ---

 Chapter 1078 The Meet

    Chapter 1078 The Meet

    Rickle¡¯s eyes were glowing red as he directly looked into the One Gang member¡¯s eyes. As this was happening, the One Gang member felt his brain start to slip into unconsciousness.

    He was in a daze, almost asleep, his eyes droopy as he gave an answer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where Rumper Karn is.¡±

    Frustrated with the answer, Rickle pushed the man further up against the stall door, bending part of the metal frame on the other side.

    ¡°A man in a white robe, anyone that looked like they were from NIRV that are in this building, where are they?¡± Rickle asked again.

    As he did though, there was no answer, confirming that he had no idea. Rickle finally let go of the man, allowing him to break free.

    Right after, he quickly moved his hands, and blood started to fall from the One Gang member¡¯s neck. The gang member fell to the floor, his life having vanished from him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Kneeling down, Rickle then ced his hand on top of the body.

    Closing his eyes, the body started to change. It was bubbling at the skin and breaking off; it continued to break off, turning into nothing but particles and ashes, and eventually was nothing but dust.

    In Rickle¡¯s other hand, he had grasped a crystal tightly, and then quickly lifted his hand, and the crystal had vanished.

    When one looked at the ground now, there was no trace of blood, there was no body itself; it was as if the man had never existed.

    ¡°I should have asked him if he knew anyone that would know the answer, then I wouldn¡¯t have to go searching around like this,¡± Rickle clicked his tongue. ¡°I¡¯m being far more impatient than usual... I just hope I¡¯m wrong about Rumper,¡± Rickle said to himself, exiting the bathroom stall.

    Dean, who had been keeping watch from the outside, saw Rickle exiting and was already walking down the hallway.

    There were quite a few people in the hallways now as things were getting busier in the stadium as time went on.

    It would get harder and harder for them to find out what they needed.

    ¡°What happened, did you find out anything?¡± Dean asked, catching up to Rickle.

    ¡°No, we need higher-ups. Harvor will be busy with the fight, but I¡¯m also sure that Rumper wouldn¡¯t let just anyone protect him.

    ¡°We need to find one of these Zodiacs or whatever they''re called.¡±

    Dean nodded in agreement but had another question pending on his mind.

    ¡°What about the man you took in there, don¡¯t we need to do something? What if someone else enters the stall, or he asks others questions?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s been dealt with. We can¡¯t have anyone interrupt our work,¡± Rickle answered. ¡°This is bing too important of a task.¡±

    After doing a few scheduled interviews and such, it was time for Gary to move on with An to the head-to-head photo shoot.

    Now he was going to meet Harvor, and it was the only time the two of them would meet before the fight was to take ce.

    They were walking through the halls to one of the rooms which had been set up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Daphne said, whispering. ¡°I¡¯m here by your side. Remember what we said, we have a chance.¡±

    With just her presence there, she also thought it was less likely that Harvor would do something. After all, it was an unlikely alliance, and they had no idea the Bree family were ready to attack and take over Inferno City.

    An opened the double doors, and Gary could see a small stage up ahead. There was an image of him with a painted Werewolf behind, then there was Harvor with swirling energy surrounding him on the backdrop.

    Not only that, but multiple media representatives were sitting in seats as well as photographers, who had turned and instantly started to take photos of Gary.

    Turning his head to the side, Gary could see Harvor and Stanley enter as well. Arge smile was on Harvor¡¯s face as they walked up.

    Gary continued to walk, heading towards the stage where the two of them would stand.

    ¡®Is this what Jayden had to go through as well? Before his big fight. He had to spend all of his time with this sick guy!¡¯ Gary thought. ¡®And he had to hold it all in, to unleash it when they got to the ring.¡¯

    Finally, in the middle of his thoughts, Gary had stepped onto the stage, and Harvor had done so as well, who was walking toward him.

    The two continued until they were only two meters away from each other.

    ¡°And so we finally meet,¡± Harvor said the first word, and instantly several devices were recording and taking photos of the two of them.

    Clem was even in the room as part of this conference, but Gary didn¡¯t notice her, too focused on Harvor in front of him.

    ¡°I have to admit that I¡¯ve never been more excited for a fight before. Maybe it¡¯s the fact that we''re both Kings, or maybe it¡¯s because of the grand prize on the line.¡±

    The others listening thought they meant prize money of 50 million dors to be used¡ªan amount that would just add to the vast wealth of the two that they already had.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised though, to see that you have her by your side and not your friends. Were you worried I would do something to them?¡± Harvor asked.

    Gary gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

    ¡°You know damn well why they aren¡¯t here. You... are a disappointment, and not the champion I thought you were.¡±

    With those words, Gary was too frustrated to continue, and so he turned around and started to walk back out of the room.

    At the end of the day, they wouldn¡¯t cancel the fight just because of one press conference that had a reaction like so.

    Eventually, he stormed out, and that was the end of the only meeting that would ur before the big fight.

    ¡°It seems my opponent has decided to rest up for the big fight,¡± Harvor said, turning to the others. ¡°So I shall do the same.¡±

    Ending the press conference early, Harvor and Stanley had returned to their preparation room, and in an instant, Harvor swung his hand and pped Stanley right across the face.

    His cheek turned bright red in an instant.

    ¡°About what he was saying up there, is it true? Did you do something behind my back again?¡± Harvor asked.

    Stanley didn¡¯t reply and only straightened his sses.

    ¡°Did you think I was going to lose? That you were the one that needed to act? Don¡¯t do something behind my back like that again, don¡¯t you dare ruin my fun.¡±

    Now it was Harvor¡¯s time to leave the room, leaving Stanley on his own.

    When Gary had returned to his preparation room with Daphne, he looked at the clock again. It was now 3 PM. Three more hours until the first fight was to take ce.

    ¡®Why... why aren¡¯t the others here yet... what happened to you?¡¯ Gary thought.

    ****

 Chapter 1079 A Werewolf Pack

    Chapter 1079 A Werewolf Pack

    Both Marie and Olivia had their hands lifted above their heads, blocking the wind from hitting their eyes. With their other hand, they were holding tightly onto the grey fur.

    It was incredible¡ªthey were riding on top of Kai¡¯s wolf form. Hisrge body could easily take the two of them, but what was actually more impressive was the speed at which he was moving.

    It was faster than both Marie and Olivia could muster in their werewolf forms.

    Turning their heads, although with their eyes they were unable to see the cars, Olivia was able to hear the sound of the engines in the distance.

    ¡°If they put their foot down, they might eventually catch up to us, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try and stop them,¡± Olivia said.

    It was easier to deal with the cars; hitting a tire or the side of the door and forcing them to crash off to the side would stop their pursuit, and the cars were the only thing they had that could keep up with them.

    The One Gang in their Altered forms had no chance of catching up, and she was starting to realize that this was a better option to fight in more ways than one.

    ¡°Are you going to be okay though? Isn¡¯t using this form going to use up all your energy? What if you have to fight after this?¡± Marie said, concerned.

    As she and Olivia would be just fine. In a way, this was a gamble on Kai¡¯s behalf to try and avoid fighting.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine!¡± Kai answered, but soon started to slow down his stride. The strong gust of wind felt by the two women also slowed, and lowering their hands they could see what was up ahead.

    ¡°That¡¯s the car!¡± Marie said.

    ¡°And it¡¯s not just the car, but that¡¯s Park fighting as well,¡± Olivia added.

    Not only was Park fighting, but it was quite clear he was having a hard time. He had transformed, ck fur covering his body, but around him there were several Altered¡ªaround eight of them¡ªwith one on the ground hurt.

    Park was on the roof of the car and had just avoided a strange vine from one of the Altered. He then leapt from his position,nding on top of the gang member, and went to swipe his hand.

    Before he could, another Altered from behind had grabbed onto his arm, stopping his swipe. Then a smaller Altered jumped in the air and bashed into his chest with their horn. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Park flipped and skidded on the floor. When he finally figured out where he was, he could see a flying bird Altered diving towards him.

    ¡°I hope I managed tost at least long enough for Gary to reach the stadium. I don¡¯t even know how long I¡¯ve been fighting for,¡± Park said, knowing full well that the beatdown would continue.

    As a werewolf, he had great endurance and even managed to defeat one of the Altered while facing so many at once, but he had perhaps reached his limit with this.

    ¡°Screw you, bird man!¡± Park shouted as he went to take a swing, but when he did, it had hit nothing but air. Looking at the bird man, he saw it being dragged off in apletely different direction. However, Park couldn¡¯t focus on the bird man as the small Altered had already caught up with him and was ready to use its head to crash into Park¡¯s stomach again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can take another hit from the small man!¡± Park braced himself and was ready for a few bones to be broken. Before the little man hit him, he felt a sharp pain in his back.

    Turning his head, he was surprised to see the ws of a fellow ally.

    ¡°Marie!¡±

    ¡°Just brace yourself!¡±

    A surge of power was felt in the entirety of Park¡¯s body. Newfound energy and strength filled his body. The small Altered crashed into the centre of Park¡¯s stomach but fell back onto the ground.

    It was the first time this had happened in the fight, and Park, with a smile on his face, looked down at the small Altered.

    ¡°Come here, you little shit!¡± Park said as he swiped, picking up the Altered by its neck and then throwing it and mming it down onto the ground.

    The other Altereds didn¡¯te close after what had happened. Just like that, two Altered had been defeated¡ªthe small little rock-type Altered as well as the bird man.

    Now standing by Park¡¯s side was Kai in his wolf form, Marie who had aided Park, and Olivia dragging half of the bird man¡¯s body with her whip. Eventually, she swung the whip, hurling the body over to the other Altereds.

    When itnded in front of them, they looked at the ground in disgust at the body.

    ¡°Is Gary okay?¡± Kai asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Park answered. ¡°When we ran into the blockade I told him to keep going. He continued to run, and at his speed I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to have any trouble.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Kai said as he reverted back to his regr form. ¡°You did a good job, Park, and made the right decision.¡±

    The One Gang was looking at the four werewolves, all of them partly transformed, standing side by side.

    ¡°You can hear them, right? The cars¡ªthey¡¯ve caught up with us,¡± Olivia said.

    ¡°Right, but I also feel something else,¡± Kai said.

    Now that they were with the pack of werewolves with more around them, the strength was rising in Kai due to his special trait, and not only that, but for a moment all of them felt a surge in energy. Their eyes glowed for just a brief moment.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Park asked, touching his chest.

    ¡°That was Gary sending us his support,¡± Kai answered. ¡°Looks like a change of n. Right now, it¡¯s the best time to fight!¡±

    The Alpha¡¯s howl has been used, and the werewolf pack working together were stronger together.

    It was time for a small pack of werewolves to go against the Zodiacs, who were possibly the strongest group of Altereds currently in existence.

    **

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